2022 Pisoni Estate, Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The Santa Lucia Highlands owe much to the pioneering spirit of the Pisoni family and this Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir is maybe the region’s best and most coveted wine, with this latest deep garnet/ruby 2022 vintage showcasing this terroir to near perfection and very much in keeping with the winery’s style, delivering an extra dimension of fruit density and texture, but still being beautifully balanced and wonderfully complex. The rich and luxurious palate revolves around a core of classic black raspberry, dark cherry, plum, blood orange and Mission fig fruits that are nicely accented by smoky oak, wilted roses, a hint of violets sultry earth, briar and brambly spices, as well as sage, cola bean, lavender and vanilla. The vintage provided excellent depth of fruit, silky tannins and great aromatics, all the while retaining acidity that gives an inner brightness and lift here, making this opulent Pinot Noir a standout. Winemaker Jeff Pisoni says the Pisoni Pinot Noir was all hand-picked from various blocks on different soils, including sand, loam, granite, marine sediments and bits of quartz, seeing careful sorting, a cold soak and a native yeast fermentation with partial whole cluster. After which, he adds, this wine is aged in barrel, racked with gravity flow into selected French oak with a high percentage of new wood, without racking or moving for 10 months. Bottling is then carried out carefully after final blending to tank, and as always, the Pisoni Pinot is unfined and unfiltered.

It was great to meet up recently with Jeff Pisoni, one of the most talented winemakers of his generation and taste his signature Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir, originally made famous by his father Gary, one of the greats of California, who created this iconic Pinot Noir, who’s passion for wine and the region led him to start planting grapes here back in 1982. Much has already been written about his achievements, his stories, like his bringing of La Tâche cuttings home in his socks to plant here. The Pisoni label was founded in 1998 and that first release set new standards for Santa Lucia Highlands wines and the latest release continues enjoy its place in the elite league of California Pinots. Gary’s enthusiasm lights up a room, you can’t help but to love the man, for his style and humble grace wrapped up in an extroverted personality, much like the Pisoni Estate wines taste! I will forever be a huge fan of Gary for all he’s done for Monterey wines and the next generation here at Pisoni very much pay tribute to him and are striving to be better and better each year. There’s a deep collection of quality offerings here with the Pisoni family, with these Pisoni Estate offerings being the pinnacle of their efforts, but not far behind are their Lucia Vineyards wines, including the Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir, Soberanes Vineyard Syrah and the Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, all of which I highly recommend, plus the related, Lucy Wines, with the Rosé and Gamay being fun and delicious. The 2021 and 2022 vintages, currently out there, prove the Pisoni’s can handle very different vintage conditions and produce outstanding wines, don’t miss them.
($85 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive

2018 Under the Wire, Chardonnay, Brut Sparkling Wine, Sangiacomo Vineyard, Carneros AVA, Sonoma County.
It’s the mission of Under the Wire’s Chris Cottrell, a partner in Bedrock Wine Co, to make California sparkling wines based on individual vineyards, like this fabulous grower producer inspired Sangiacomo Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay bottling, that also highlight the influence of an individual year, as this cool vintage shows. The first vintage of Under The Wire sparkling wine was in 2011 and there’s been a wide range vineyards and varietals seen here from Riesling to Zinfandel, but this traditional method 2018 Sangiacomo Vineyard bubbly is by far my favorite by Cottrell, it rivals top notch Champagne, this is right up there, in my opinion, with the best of California sparkling wine. I have been tasting some excellent grower producer Champagne and Sparkling Wines, so I went into tasting this one with a tuned up palate, making this wine even more impressive, it delivers loads of quality and character, being luxurious and deep in flavors, but with a dry steely nature and elegance. This 2018 Sangiacomo Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay starts with crisp apple, pear, white peach, golden fig, lemon preserve and quince like fruits, along with clove spice, bread dough, saline, a touch of earth, white flowers and leesy nuttiness. The vibrant and creamy mousse is perfectly matched to the acidity, richness and complexity here, this is very rewarding stuff that will appeal to a wide audience and can be easily match up to cuisine. The Under the Wire wines are obviously limited in production and have gained a following, so it is best to get on Cottrell’s mailing list, but I do encourage you to look for this one in particular.

The Bedrock Wine Co, as noted here in my prior reviews, was started in 2007 by winemaker and Master of Wine Morgan Twain-Peterson, son of the legendary Zinfandel maker Joel Peterson of Ravenswood fame, and his partner Chris Cottrell, who also has his Under the Wire label, featuring unique sparkling wines, such as this one. The winemaking here at Bedrock remains faithful to their beliefs, made with simple low intervention traditional methods that showcase the vineyards first and foremost with Morgan Twain-Peterson MW saying “overly sculpted by activist winemakers tend to be less satisfying and soulful gustatory experiences..” Of which I totally agree and is a reason why that his and Chris’ winery has been elevated to the top echelon of California wine. For this bottling, Cottrell says he’s trying to showcase California terroir with this all Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs, and that he wanted to work with some fruit from an archetypal vineyard, and though the Sangiacomo Vineyard is actually a lot of different vineyards he decided to work with a unique block that was planted in 1982 known as “Catarina’s.” He adds that not only do the old vines produce dynamic and wonderful fruit, they are also located on the other side of the creek from the original Ravenswood winery, where Morgan’s dad got his start. There’s a committed group of traditional method Champagne style producers making some incredible small lot and hand crafted yeasty single vineyard sparklers, including Michael Cruse, Samantha Sheehan of Poe Wines and Caraccioli, to name a few, and it is great time to discover them and these Under the Wire wines.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Storybook Mountain Vineyards, Zinfandel, Eastern Exposures, Estate Grown, Napa Valley.
The impressive and sensual 2021 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Eastern Exposures Zinfandel, always one of my favorite Napa Valley wines, is beautifully aromatic, complex, deeply fruited and nicely structured with some mountain intensity, making this vintage very compelling stuff. This deep garnet and ruby edged Zinfandel shows off brambly black raspberry, plum, currant and cherry fruits in an elegantly layered wine with a smooth underlying backbone of tannin, plus a core of nice acidity, along with briar spices, a heightened sense of floral aromatics, sage, anise, cedar and a touch of vanilla. Coming in at around 14.5% natural alcohol, the 2021 Eastern Exposures Zin by the Seps family, which saw a small percentage of co-fermented Viognier, feels balanced from start to finish. As per normal here at Storybook, and not unlike Turley, the Zinfandel is organically farmed, hand harvested and native yeast fermented, 100% de-stemmed, and aged in a combination of mostly used American and French oak barrels for about 15 months. I was thrilled to taste through the Storybook Mountain Vineyards wine with owner and winegrower Jerry Seps recently, who I hadn’t seen in a long while, and I was delighted with the few 2019s and 2021s that I tried, I highly recommend these latest releases.

The historic Storybook Mountain Vineyards, which dates back to the late 1800s, was founded in modern times by Jerry Seps and his wife Sigrid in 1976 when they discovered and bought a ghost winery, with true winemaking caves and discarded vineyards, which he worked tirelessly to restore and replant, focusing on Zinfandel and Bordeaux varietals. Located a few miles North of Calistoga at the top of Napa Valley on beautifully positioned eastern facing slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains, on ridges that separate the Napa and Sonoma Counties. This site provides their vines a unique terroir and micro climate, with iron rich red clay and loam soils, and are conditions that makes these Storybook Mountain Vineyards wines their distinctive character and structure. Over the years, the Seps have made this one of the most desirable collection of California wines out there, joining the likes of Biale, Turley, Ridge, Bucklin, Lamborn and Bedrock to name a few, that Zinfandel enthusiasts can’t resist. As mentioned, the Storybook Mountain Vineyards has seen a change in generation, with Colleen Seps, Jerry’s daughter taking over the cellar and now leads the winemaking efforts here, which almost seamlessly transitioned with Collen continuing the style here with her wines. The generational change here at Storybook Mountain Vineyards has brought a lot of new excitement to a long time favorite and I look forward to following their efforts well into the future.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Moreau-Naudet, Chablis AC, White Burgundy, France.
A bit more rounded and concentrated that normally the case, this wonderful 2020 Moreau-Naudet Chablis, from a choice selection of limestone parcels, is a beautifully drinking pure Chardonnay with a fine minerality and chalky palate of lemon/lime, green apple sand subtle stone fruit, along with delicate herbs, oyster shell, clove, dry honeycomb, citrus blossoms, golden fig, seashore notes and hazelnut accents. The fermentation(s) at Moreau-Naudet is always natural and spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, followed by a long maceration and elevage on lees, with a fantastic result in the wine’s textural quality and richness. The wine is usually aged for an average of 18 months depending on the vintage in a combination of stainless steel and 600-liter French oak barrels, with a majority of the Chablis AOC cuvee, typically two-thirds, sees just the stainless. There is a lot to admire at Moreau-Naudet and while the Premier Cru and Grand Cru are exceptional offering and highly sought after, I recommend not missing out on the regular Chablis bottling, with this 2020 being a well balanced, but richer wine that definitely makes an impact and should drink nicely for few more years!

The Domaine Moreau-Naudet has an almost cult like follow and Virginie Moreau, who has bravely carried on after the tragic death of her husband Stéphane in 2016, along with her winemaker have, as I have mentioned, continued the excellence found at Moreau-Naudet. The basic village Chablis bottling, in the brilliant Moreau-Naudet lineup, is the only wine in their cellar that sees any new oak, with this cuvée providing the seasoning for those barrels which end up in the Premier Cru program after the first fill. Even so, as Moreau-Naudet’s importer Grand Cru Selections notes, it is always just a few new barrels that are being added to replace far older ones and actually only constitute a tiny, almost un-noticable percentage of the final blend, as seen here. As seen in previous versions this pale straw colored Moreau-Naudet Chablis proved to be excellent as both an aperitif and main event wine with an array of cuisine choices, especially with fresh seafood dishes and soft creamy farm cheeses. This was impressive, and compares well with Moreau-Naudet’s outstanding Vaillons Premier Cru, that comes a tiny block of 35-50 year old vines set on the historic Kimmeridgian limestone and some rocky top soil that gives the terroir influence and class, so look for both.
($49 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial, Mercurey, Red Burgundy, France.
I just love what is coming out of Domaine Dureuil-Janthial and this small estate is certainly becoming one of my personal go to labels for value Burgundy wines, with this 2020 vintage being stellar for their releases, like this vivid ruby hued Mercurey Rouge beauty that delivers pure Pinot Noir class. Tasted blind in a seriously star studded lineup of Burgundy offerings, the minerally Domaine Dureuil-Janthial Rully Blanc and this almost Volnay like Mercurey Rouge way out performed what their more humble villages would normally do, and I loved the aromatics and depth found here, definitely a killer bottle of Burgundy for the price. The palate is still wonderfully fresh and vibrant with black cherry, red currant, blood orange and strawberry fruits leading the way in this medium bodied wine, along with a hint of flinty reduction, rose petals, red apple skin, a touch of chalky earth and delicate herbal tones. For his Pinots, Vincent Dureuil employs mainly de-stemmed grapes with a very small percentage of whole clusters used for the single-site wines and a cold maceration of 8-10 days in old wooden upright vats. The cool fermentation with indigenous yeasts is allowed to go slowly before the wine is racked into small barriques, with usually about 20 to 25% new with an elevage of 12 months. Dureuil lets the final blend rest another 4-6 months in tank before they are bottled unfined and unfiltered, which results in, as he suggests, very elegant and authentic terroir driven wines, like this delicious example.

Vincent Dureuil, who took over the Dureuil-Janthial domaine from his father Raymond in 1994, is an establish star now and has passionately made it his mission in life to up the game in this part of the Côte Chalonnaise, which sits just about five miles south of Chassagne-Montrachet, and especially with his Rully, which is a fine limestone and clays terroir, as well as his Mercurey. The Domaine Dureuil-Janthial, Domaine A et P de Villaine and Domaine Sylvain Pataille are some of the most exciting producers here in the Côte Chalonnaise and I suggest chasing down all of their efforts, in particular these 2020 wines, which are very elevated examples that rival much more expensive Burgundies, Though lesser known than some other places here in the Côte d’Or, like St. Aubin, Santenay or Saint Romain, Rully makes for some tasty Chardonnays that deliver some of the best bargains in White Burgundy, such as this Vincent makes. For Vincent, as he explains, the magic starts in the vineyards and every since he took over the estate, he has worked with organic principles, with each site treated as one would treat their own personal garden. His approach in the cellar is said to be classic and minimalist with low sulfur additions and a focus on transparency. For his whites, the whole bunches are pressed slowly and racked straight into barriques for fermentation and aging, and again they are classically reductive and crisply detailed. There’s a lot to admire here, with Dureuil’s collection of Rully Blancs and Rouge, as well as a selection of rare Puligny-Montrachet bottlings, a tasty Aligoté, and even this Mercurey Rouge, especially from this vintage, are all exceptional wines to look out for.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Melville, Chardonnay, Estate, Sta. Rita Hills.
The 2023 Melville Estate Chardonnay is crystalline and electric in the glass with a cool toned character, vivid fruit density and a lovely mineral intensity that reminds me of Chablis in vitality, though pure California in expression and profile, this light gold/straw colored wine is an absolute thrill. The zesty palate gains depth and complexity as it opens up, it shows off crisp/steely details and reveals green apple, tart peach, lemon/lime and just a hint of tropical fruit, along with clove spice, an almond note, saline infused wet rock and white flowers. The Estate Chardonnay, as the winery notes, is a mix of of clones 4, 76, 95 and 96, along with Mount Eden, Hanzell, Hudson, Wente and a special Melville selection, was gently whole-cluster pressed, cold settled overnight and transferred by gravity to barrel for fermentation in neutral French oak barrels (15+ years old), with zero malolactic and sur lie aging without any lees stirring. Set in the rolling hills of Western Santa Ynez Valley, the Melville Winery, which was established in the mid nineties was founded by Ron Melville, who had previously grown high end grapes in Knights Valley, is dedicated to producing exceptional cold-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah grown exclusively on estate vines in the famed Sta. Rita Hills region, which Ron helped pioneer. Ron and his son, Chad Melville, now the director of the estate, are continuing their tradition of excellence and being one of the most critically acclaimed estates in California. As I’ve stated in prior reviews, Melville widely admired for their Pinot, rightly so, also do great stuff with their Syrah, which is my favorite, and in this vintage especially, I recommend grabbing their Chardonnay.

I’ve long been a fan of Chad Melville as a winemaker and of these Melville wines and again it is good to see these latest releases live up to and or exceed my expectations, with the regular estate Syrah being a huge favorite, along with their Block M Pinot, Terraces and the regular Estate Pinot, which I recently got a chance to try. All made an outstanding impact on the palate, impressing me greatly, as does this latest 2023 Estate Chardonnay. This latest selection of Melville’s collection are some of their best efforts to date and I highly recommend not missing them. As mentioned before, since Chad Melville took the reins here the Melville wines have gone 100% estate grown and the farming has moved in a more sustainable direction, which shows in the intensity and his light touch with wood adds to the wines transparency, though it must be said the grapes here have always been remarkable and the wines too. After making edgy and raw wines under the Samsara label, Chad has found his sweet spot at Melville and it’s been driven by a real sense of place focus, which is the best news I can give you, with these new releases having incredible purity. Chard says his chardonnay vines, which were planted in 1997, are predominantly on the west side of the Melville estate where we have varying degrees of sand density in the soil. This west side of the property also receives the brunt of brutally cold Pacific ocean-winds and these vines are grown in nutrient deficient, well-drained soils, resulting in a Chardonnay that captures the vibrancy of the cold Pacific Ocean, minerality, and really concentrated flavors that, as he continues,t are hallmarks of the SRH appellation, and can be seen here in this 2023 version.
($44 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Clos Canarelli, Corse Figari Rouge, Corsica, France.
Clos Canarelli is one of my favorite producers and it was a pleasure again to sit back and enjoy their beautiful 2019 Corse Figari Rouge, a wine that is really coming into its own with graceful tannins and rewarding depth, showing off a rich array of dark fruits, delicate florals, subtle earthiness and savory tones. This bottling comes from all biodynamic vines planted in 1997 and set on pure granite soils which provides a mineral essence here and allows for spice and fruit intensity, that comes through perfectly in this vintage. The palate is full, but elegant, delivering blackberry, plum, cherry and huckleberry fruit in a seamless fashion, along with minty mountain herbs, tobacco leaf, cedar, graphite, grilled fennel, bitter coca and acacia flower. The powerful and sophisticated Corse Figari Rouge is passionately crafted by the talented Yves Canarelli from a unique blend of 80% Niellucciu, 15% Syrah and 5% Sciaccarellu, with Niellucciu being an ancient Etruscan clone of Sangiovese and Sciaccarellu being also an Etruscan grape brought to the Island ages ago and is the same varietal as Mammolo, a lesser known Chianti red grape. The Tuscan grapes are now indigenous here on Corsica and form the base for some the island’s most prized wines and make for truly distinctive efforts that don’t resemble their mainland cousins.

Clos Canarelli, originally founded in 1968, is an all organic and certified biodynamic estate in the remote village of Tarabucetta, on the outskirts of Figari on the southern tip of Corsica, is one of the Island’s most iconic wineries, crafting white, pink and red wines. According to Canarelli’s importer, the famous Kermit Lynch, who was one of the first to recognize the greatness on Corsica, Yves’s choice to convert the domaine to biodynamic viticulture has has given his wines an unusual freshness, complexity, and aromatic intensity that others in Figari have been unable to achieve. Kermit adds, In the cellar, Yves only uses indigenous yeasts, and prefers slow, deliberate, precise fermentation(s), and leaves his reds unfiltered. With this Corse Figari Rouge being 100% de-stemmed and fermented using large foudres with gentle hand punchdowns daily then aged up to 18 months. This wine is a great alternative to Tuscan reds, Bordeaux and or Rioja, it certainly out performs many such wines in its price class if not much higher! In modern times, this Mediterranean island has gained attention for the fabulous Rosé and Vermentino or Vermentinu, as it is known locally. Corsica is riding high these days, once thought of as a rustic and remote wine producing region, the wines now are cherished for their excellence and uniqueness, with wineries like Abbatucci, Leccia and Clos Canarelli being highly coveted.
($51 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Hundred Suns, Gamay Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The lighter, wetter and brighter acid vintage of 2021 gave winemaker Grant Coulter of Hundred Suns some concerns I’m sure, but his Gamay Noir, as well as his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay all turned out very nice indeed, very much in an old world style, with this Gamay reminding me of Côte de Brouilly or Moulin à Vent in style. The cool and tangy toned 2021 Gamay Noir shows off a vivid ruby color and a mix of floral and herbal notes on the nose with the zesty medium bodied palate giving plenty of crunchy and juicy red berry, cherry, cranberry and tart plum fruits, along with bitter/minty herbs, racy orange peel, delicate mineral notes and a touch of fennel. The acidity is still plenty firm here, but everything comes together nicely with air and especially with food, and the low natural alcohol makes it wonderfully quaffable, plus it is delightful with a slight chill too. If you’ve not had Hundred Suns before, I suggest you make that a priority, as Grant Coulter and Renée Saint-Amour’s wines are some of the most exciting in Oregon and they are still fantastic values, especially their Willamette Valley series of offerings, but then again you don’t want to miss their outstanding single vineyard wines either.

As per normal in recent vintages, Grant sourced the Gamay from vines growing in the high hills of the Chehalem Mountain AVA on rocky basalt soils that helps keep the acid intact while these grapes hung out a long time, to ensure depth and ripeness. After harvest Coulter sorted the fruit into three separate lots, each seeing individual winemaking and aging vessels. One lot of 100% whole bunch was tightly sealed for a slow carbonic fermentation, while the second portion was half de-stemmed/half whole bunch, and a third that was fully de-stemmed and crushed traditionally. These three pieces of the Hundred Suns Gamay Noir puzzle were aged in a variety of barrels small and large, and with 25% of it uniquely aged in clay amphora. I’ve loved these Hundred Suns wines for the better part of a decade now and really admire what Renée and Grant have accomplished under this label, in particular the single vineyard Willamette Valley Pinots obviously, but also with this Gamay and the Chardonnay, which is a steely gem of a wine that is Chablis like and distinctive than many Oregon versions. as mentioned, you really don’t want to miss these Hundred Suns wines, the latest set now include some new vineyards, like Carson-Phillips and Lone Feather, which look like intriguing sites, joining the established stars, including Breaker, Badnarik and Mike Etzel’s (Beaux Freres) Sequitur Vineyard.
($35 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Comando G Viticultores, La Bruja Tinto, Valle del Tietar, Sierra de Gredos, Vinos de Madrid D.O., Spain.
The beautifully chiseled, limpid ruby/garnet hued and ripely layered 2022 La Bruja Garnacha by Dani Land and Freddy Garcia of Comando G is a class act, again, in the glass with pretty florals, sultry earth and sexy fruit concentration. This is pure and riveting Garnacha from old vines up at around 900 meters above sea level in the Sierra de Gredos region in the mountains that overlook Madrid. The medium bodied palate has youthful freshness, but is very serious stuff with raspberry, plum, strawberry and brandied cherry fruits, along with some whole cluster pop, bramble and pomegranate undercurrents, along with snappy herbs, anise, subtle sandalwood, cinnamon, rose petals, grilled orange and peppery accents. There’s some grip and tannin that carry the flavors, but also a long silky mouthfeel that really makes this a hugely rewarding wine. Using organic grapes, grown on vines that range from 50 to 80 years old and are planted on sandy soils, with weathered from granite, slate, and quartz, farmed with biodynamic methods, Comando G’s La Bruja, 100% Grenache, was all hand harvested, with winemakers Landi and Garcia employing a natural yeast fermentation with the noted partial whole cluster (depending on vintage) and a long 40-60 day maceration. After which, the wine is racked to wood, that as they note, then saw an elevage of nine months in mainly large neutral French 500L and 700L oak vats, or a little old foudre, and sometimes even some clay amphorae to mature, which all adds up to transparency, terroir influence and authentic character.

As I’ve said before, every year these Comando G wines seem to get better and better, these are stunning wines that are almost Burgundy like class, in fact with its slight reduction, mineral tones and light graphite notes at the start they can remind me of a Premier Cru Nuits-Saint-Georges, but with dark Grenache purity. Comando G Viticultores is a small winery in the Sierra de Gredos, this special terroir in the mountains above Madrid in Castilla y Leon, central Spain, making hand crafted wines, it is led by the talented duo of Daniel Landi and Fernando Garcia, who have been friends since their school days and they formed Camando G in 2008, after always wanting to work together, even though they had successful careers with their own wine concerns, Bodegas Jimenez-Landi and Fernando at Bodega Marañones. As widely noted, and reported here, the Sierra de Gredos is a Garnacha region that rivals the world’s great sites for this grape, these wines show high elevation elegance and detail, but with old vine concentration and amazing aromatics as well as length, as this one shows to near perfection. The Sierra de Gredos is blessed with its combination of high altitude, freely draining soils, a mild climate, cool nights and long growing season which adds to the elegant moderate alcohol style, sensual lifted aromatics and complex nature of these wines. I’ve been a fan of this region for a while now, following producers like 4 Monos and Comando G for the better part of of a dozen years now. This region has some stars, with Landi really leading the way with his own label and these incredible Comando G efforts, which I really highly recommend, they do take Grenache or Garnacha to another level.
($40 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

1990 Château Sociando-Mallet, Haut-Medoc, Red Bordeaux, France.
I’ve always loved Château Sociando-Mallet and it was a thrill to enjoy this 1990, even though it is a bit past its peak, it was wonderful, deeply layered and even held up nicely with sunny an outdoor meal, which included lamb, grilled asparagus, Greek pastry with feta cheese and some garden vegetables. The still full bodied palate has plenty of richness, but with loads of earth and leathery notes with dried cherry, reduced raspberry, stewed plum, fig and mulberry fruits, bramble, incense, wilted roses, bell pepper, loam, old cedar, minty anise, faint creme de cassis, pencil shavings, meaty sous bois, cigar wrapper and sticky lavender. With air you gets decayed forest leafs and tilled soil notes, but the color and fruit holds on with a sense of faded beauty, I can appreciate it for its former glory and the wine’s almost will to hold on and be rewarding, even as it clearly doesn’t have many more days of pleasure ahead. This was a delicious surprise and I am grateful to my friend Alex Lallos, who has stashed some lesser known and some very famous Bordeaux bottles in his cellar, and for which I’m thankful of his generosity in opening a few for me and a small group of enthusiasts that meet up once and a while. Sociando-Mallet, as I said, is a favorite, along with the likes of Château Haut-Bailly, Château Calon Ségur, Château Leoville-Poyferre, Château Lynch-Bages, Château Beychevelle, Château Haut-Bages Libéral, Château Cantemerle and Château Cantenac Brown, all of which are or used be exceptionally affordable “Left Bank” Bordeaux options. It’s wine like this that remind me to drink more Bordeaux and put away a few bottles again, even though the world has moved towards more immediate pleasures, because they are experiences that still very much excite me. The Château Sociando-Mallet, set on a beautiful gravel terroir overlooking the Gironde Estuary, is good Cabernet Sauvignon country and the wines are led by it, with most vintages seeing 50 to 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a good dose of Merlot, typically in the 40% range and with either some Petit Verdot, as seen here and or Cab Franc, though not a big factor in the final blends.

Château Sociando-Mallet is an unclassified growth Bordeaux producer within the appellation Haut-Médoc, which is pretty up there on the “Left Bank” of the river in the Cabernet zone of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, just to the north of Saint-Estèphe. This has always been in my lifetime in wine a real place to get value, some of my earliest Bordeaux experiences were with Sociando-Mallet and when I recently had this wine, which was brought out blind, I was immediately on the right track, with my palate memory seemingly on point here picking up the region’s loamy and minty nature. The dark hued1990 Sociando-Mallet was made from a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, though many people swear they get some Cab Franc notes here, it really is the Haut-Medoc’s terroir that picks up that Chinon or Anjou like bell pepper note, even in ripe years like this one. The history here is interesting, with the current Château being situated on what was in 1633 the residence of a Basque nobleman named Sièvre Sociando, and that was the first documentation of the estate and any mention of its importance. After its acquisition in around 1850 by Madame Mallet, it became more known as a wine growing property and took on its current name. It saw a brief bit of notoriety in the late 1800s when it was recorded in the1883 Cocks & Féret directory, which later become an influential Bordeaux guide, but after that things went down hill with wars and tough times. In fact Château Sociando-Mallet was simply forgotten and was a derelict property of vastly reduced land by the time it was bought in 1969 by Jean Gautreau, who’s family still runs it, he was a négociant from Lesparre and is credited to bringing true respect to this widely known estate. Nowadays, there’s about 20,000 cases produced of the Grand Vin here and they are well priced, usually in the $40 range and especially in good years, which have firm tannic structure and can and do age well, are very good values. I must say, I didn’t expect the depth and robust nature in this 1990 Sociando-Mallet, but I was, again very impressed and look forward to searching out some modern versions with maybe 10 to 15 years of age, and I see many in the 40 to 50 dollar range, with 2014, 2015 and 2016s looking like good bets.
($135 Est.) 93 points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Bernard Moreau et Fils, Chassagne-Montrachet, White Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, France.
I had not had the Bernard Moreau wines in quite sometime and was incredibly impressed by Alex Moreaus’s 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc with its dense and luxurious concentration and underlying vitality and verve, this vintage has it all with deep fruit and mineral intensity, making it a serious white Burgundy. Grown on a small plot, the Chassagne vines are mature and set on classic clay and limestone and farmed sustainable with mainly organic methods with the winery focused on maintaining healthy and balanced soils, saying that they use only organic fertilizers and no pesticides. added to that, to ensure greater flavor intensity they farm for lower yields through pruning, de-budding to get later, but better fruit sets, and green harvesting in August to maximize ripening, both with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Alex is pragmatic and flexible in the cellar, with a deft use of new wood and long elevage(s) striving to show off terroir and vintage, which is clearly the case with his 2020, delivering a beautifully rounded wine with lemon curd, apple, Bosc pear and peach layering, along with chalky wet stone, clove spice, leesy brioche, dry honeycomb, white flowers, vanilla and subtle creaminess. In a week of tasting lots of white Burgundy, this one is noticeably less reductive, but still with an underpinning of vibrant acidity, it truly is an excellent Chardonnay that is best with food, from soft farm cheeses to lobster tail.

The Domaine Bernard Moreau’s roots go back to about 1809, as I learned recently, to when Auguste Moreau built a cellar across from the famous Champs Gain vineyard and farmed some Chardonnay and Pinot along that most coveted of hillsides in the Côte de Beaune. In the 1930s the Moreau project saw an expansion of the family’s vineyards under the guidance of Marcel Moreau, in fact close to 80% of the domaine’s current vineyard holdings were acquired by Marcel during his time in charge, which seems significant in terms of vision and providing for future generations here. According to the winery, at the remarkably young age of 14, Bernard Moreau took over the vineyards and cellar in the early 1960’s, something that would almost be impossible today. It was at this point In seventies that the reputation of this historic estate was fully established, again under the leadership of Bernard and Françoise Moreau, and it was in 1977 the winery was named Domaine Bernard Moreau. There was innovation in the farming and wine making too and they also purchased additional prime plots, with some St. Aubin and Volnay vines included, bringing the domaine close total to 14 hectares. Bernard’s sons Alex and Benoît joined the Domaine in the 1990s after having worked in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and Alex is now, as mentioned, responsible for the overall operations of the winery including cellar, winemaking and the vineyards, which looks to have enhanced the wines and secured the future here. While the whites have always stood out, as seen here, the reds, especially the Chassagne Rouge and Volnay bottlings have started to create a buzz and I am look forward to trying them soon as well!
($90 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2015 Domaine Marc Roy, Gevrey-Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes, Red Burgundy, France.
Vigneron Alexandrine Roy, who leads the highly regarded Domaine Marc Roy in Gevrey-Chambertin, is one of my favorite winemakers in Burgundy and it was a nice treat to have her fabulous 2015 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. This deep and pure Pinot was tasted recently at a special blind tasting of Burgundy wines, where it showed extremely well and was one of the wines of the night. The deep garnet/ruby old vines Gevrey-Chambertin, from a concentrated and complex vintage, shows off loads of depth, warm ripeness and personality with dark berry, black cherry and reduced plum fruits leading the way on a rich medium bodied palate, along with mineral tones, crushed flowers, a touch of smoke, subtle wood, earthy truffle, orange tea, and fig. Alexandrine used all de-stemmed grapes here with native yeast, employing a very gentile winemaking style and it’s raised in traditional small barrique, about 30% new in this and most vintages, then bottled unfined and unfiltered that all showcases her desire for graceful textural wines and with transparent elegance, which is readily apparent in this beauty. Roy does a very limited selection of bottlings that includes her gorgeous Gevrey-Chambertin Pinot Noirs from mostly special Lieu-Dits, like her La Justice and Clos Prieur efforts, as well as this Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine), which as I’m sure you can tell is one of my favorites, along with a delicious Marsannay Blanc.

In October of 2015 Alexandrine Roy of Domaine Marc visited San Francisco and showed off her beautiful 2014 Gevrey’s, these were preview barrel samples that gave great insight into the vintage and showcased Roy’s gifts as a winemaker, and again I met up with her in the City in 2018 and tasted through her 2018s, in was a great pleasure to meet her and taste through her outstanding wines. So it was a thrill to get a chance, as mentioned, to blind taste this gorgeous and perfectly maturing 2015 old vine Gevrey-Chambertin, which absolutely impressed all that tasted it and (it) looks to have another 15 to 20 years left. As mentioned before, Alexandrine Roy is a 4th generation vigneron, and the current matriarch of the Roy family, she farms old vine parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin and the Marsannay parcel, where she does an excellent steely Chardonnay from, employing organic practices and is ever searching for perfection. This is a tiny domaine, according to her importer Skurnik, that includes just four hectares that are meticulously cared for as if it was Alexandrine’s personal garden. Alexandrine knows her vineyards (many of which are more than 100 years old) very well, as she’s basically grew up in them, and they are a reflection of her soul and they have roots that are dug deep into the classic shallow limestone soils. Roy’s mission is to show off the terroir through in her wines, something I can say she does exceptionally well, and I highly recommend chasing down her wines. While this 2015 vintage might be hard to find, I suggest looking for the current releases.
($100 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Clos Sainte Magdeleine, Cassis AOC Blanc, Provence, France.
France’s historic and ancient Mediterranean fishing village Cassis in Provence is well known for its natural beauty, but maybe lesser known is that it is home to one of the world’s most iconic white wines and Clos Sainte Magdeleine makes one of the best, as seen here. Even with a few extra years of age now, this steely 2020 vintage, gives an exciting spark of freshness and has a sense of more evolved stone fruit and textural charm showing of tangerine, white peach, rounded melon and a hint of tropical fruit on the medium bodied palate, adding citron oil, almond and lime flower accents. The all organic Clos Sainte Magdeleine Cassis Blanc is all de-stemmed and gravity pressed and then the juice is fermented and aged in 100% temperature-controlled stainless steel tank with some lees contact and with most vintages seeing full malos. The regular Cassis Blanc, a blend of Clairette and Marsanne, plus a touch of Ugni Blanc, is, as noted before, aged in total for between 14 to 18 months in tank before bottling and release. Everything is done to allow the terroir to shine through and make a wine that goes beautifully with the local cuisine, which luckily mirrors the local food foods I get here on California’s Central Coast. The Clos Sainte Magdeleine’s Cassis Blanc, as importer Kermit Lynch adds, success lies in an uncanny ability to capture a dichotomous nerve and sun-kissed unctuousness, making it both incredibly food-friendly and delicious entirely on its own, of which I complete agree with. I’ve long admired and followed this wine, I enjoy it with sea foods and Middle-eastern dishes, like lemon chicken and couscous.

The Clos Saint Magdeleine estate, as I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, now run by Fancois Sack was originally founded by Jules Savon, who won the Gold Medal for the domaine at the World’s Fair in 1900 and put this estate on the map and the Sack family who have been in charge for four generations continue to make awesome wines in this picturesque village on the Mediterranean sea, not far from both Bandol and Marseille, where Cassis is a favorite at the best bistros and cafes. The Cassis village wines (AOC) which allows only White and Rosé is an ancient fishing village, and as Kermit Lynch notes, Cassis has seen its fair share of visitors over the millennia. Greek colonists from Phocaea first arrived in the sixth century B.C., and with them came the timeless Ugni Blanc grape and viticultural savvy. The Romans later made their way here, as well as their Barbarian successors, followed by the medieval Counts of Les Baux, all the way to tourists of the modern era looking to escape the cold, dark cities. Cassis is not only an active port, but what Kermit calls “an earthly paradise…”, with the vineyards of Clos Sainte Magdeleine being particularly stunning, and, as I’ve dreamed of, it is a place I hope to visit in person someday sooner v. later. These vineyards jut out on to a private cape to meet majestic shoreline and spectacular limestone cliffs, poised above gorgeously beauty of the sparkling, azure Mediterranean, which is the perfect setting for this Cassis Blanc, it even transports me there, this is a must have Summer wine. As I’ve said, this dry and crisply focused Clairette and Marsanne based wine is one of the best from France’s Mediterranean region, don’t miss a chance to enjoy it!
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Desire Lines Wine Co, Dry Riesling, Cole Ranch Vineyard & AVA, Mendocino County.
Cody Rasmussen’s set of Rieslings are maybe the finest set of American versions you can find and his 2023 Desire Lines Massa Estate and Cole Ranch bottlings are the best yet and electric, especially this cool toned, steely and vibrant Cole Ranch old vine Dry Riesling with its racy acidity and mineral intensity making an instant rival to the best from Alsace, Austria and Germany. Like the outstanding 2018 and 2021 vintages, this greenish/gold 2023 Cole Ranch Riesling, from a cooler year, really has a laser like focus and precision on the crisp and tension filled lighter framed palate with zesty lime, unripe apricot, green apple, quince and muskmelon fruits, along with hints of peach pit, almond, chamomile, orange blossom, wet stone and lemon oil. This wine, as always, transmits the combination of rocky soils, that includes some limestone, gravel and loam that are here at the Cole Ranch, with its mature vines, with a stunning pristine clarity. I was grateful for the chance to taste the current and new releases of the Desire Lines collection with Cody’s wife Emily Rasmussen recently, who showed off these hand crafted and small lot bottlings, with the brilliant Rieslings again grabbing my attention. To make his Rieslings, Cody Rasmussen, also as noted before, uses traditional old world methods, with grapes seeing a whole cluster pressing with cold settling in tank, which bleeds out, or drops out the green phenolics, that, as Cody explains, is followed by fermentation in neutral barrels, where the wines are left on fine lees until bottling in the following summer, or about 9 months in total, which allows for a charming roundness, while focusing on absolute purity. I can’t seem to say it enough, this is a winery that should be on your radar and I suggest getting on their mailing as soon as possible.

One of the most iconic single vineyard alternative white wines in California, the Cole Ranch Dry Riesling by Cody Rasmussen at Desire Lines Wine Co, as I’ve said before, is an exceptional bottle of varietal wine with an amazing contrast between acidity and fruit concentration. The Cole Ranch Vineyard, located in a remote area of Mendocino County, is in a narrow valley, as Rasmussen notes, in the mountains between Boonville and Ukiah, it is a rare monopole site being both a single-vineyard and an AVA. The incredible mature Riesling vines here, as Cody adds, were planted back in 1973 and are on St. George (American) rootstock, all old school head-trained and dry-farmed, which makes them some of the most interesting and historic Riesling vines in California. Cody and Emily Rasmussen started their own micro-winery and label, Desire Lines Wine Co. with a small batch of Syrah in 2014 and now has a wonderful collection of wines from which to chose, including his set of Rieslings, which, like a broken record, I can’t recommend high enough for Riesling lovers, and the brilliant Carignane based Evangehlo Red Wine, which is from vines well over 100 years old. Rasmussen, who works for Morgan Twain-Peterson MW at Bedrock Wine Co, is doing some mighty work here with his Desire Lines label, and I will be reviewing a bunch more soon, with his Massa “Kabi” slightly off dry Riesling being another classic effort that has a nice generosity and goes great with spicy cuisine, making it a wine that proves you don’t need to fear residual sugar! While Rasmussen does fabulous Zinfandel with his day job at Bedrock, his Carignan and Mourvedre blend, mentioned above, comes from the deep sandy soils in Contra Costa and the famed Evangehlo Vineyard, which dates back to the late 1800s and an incredible historic site, is a sleeper in the lineup and a must have along with the Rieslings here.
($26 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2018 Il Paradiso di Frassina “12 Uve” Maremma Toscana Rosso DOC, Tuscany, Italy.
This unique dark garnet Maremma Toscana Rosso by Brunello producer Il Paradiso di Frassina is like fine music to the palate with a fantastic array of flavors and rustic charm led by loamy mulberry, plum, brandied cherry and brambly raspberry fruits, along with a spicy savory crunch, bay leaf, balsamic tones, dried flowers, cut tobacco, creme de cassis, anise and cedary accents. This firmly structured and medium to full bodied red has twelve distinctive varietals in the blend, including 40% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, 6% Cesense, 6% Ancellotta (Which I’ve never heard of), 5% Alicante (Grenache), 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, 3% Carmenere, 3% Canaiolo and 2% Ciliegiolo, which the winery says are like individual notes in a piece of music. This wine keeps changing and evolving in the glass and while the Sangiovese leads here and comes into focus with air and food, the other grapes really all play key roles and I was totally convinced it was a Rhône based wine at first when tasted blind, but later I clearly got the dusty Sangiovese component, especially when I enjoyed with my meal. The subtle leathery element and warm ripeness in this Maremma Rosso makes this an old world treat, and it nicely contrasts with the winery’s top Brunello di Montalcino, which reviewed a while back. The music theme here is intriguing, and the estate’s main Mozart Vineyard at Il Paradiso di Frassina is an exciting project where Mozart’s music is played by specially designed Bose speakers 24-7 and heard in the vines, as well as in the cellar. This study into the beneficial effects of sound waves on the grapes and the resting wine post fermentation has actually proved successful! The winery truly believes this has been a breakthrough in winemaking, playing a part in producing a distinct and lusty Brunello di Montalcino, and even my skepticism couldn’t hide the big smile on my face when I had the 2016 Brunello and this wine is almost as delicious. This excellent wine, which is very seriously crafted, saw 100% de-stemmed grapes fermented in stainless steel with a 25 day maceration and then was aged for two and a half years in Allier oak barrels and one year in bottle, in the vault of Paradiso di Frassina, before release.

The 12 Uve comes from a vineyard located on sandy clay and loam soils the hills of Cinigiano, in the shadow of Mount Amiata and not far from the sea in the Maremma DOC on the Tuscany Coast and this crazy blend, which the winery calls a Super Cru, rather than Super Tuscan, is Bach inspired, as it imitates Bach’s musical scale with its 12 semitones.The Paradiso di Frassina, as I noted in my prior review of their fabulous Brunello, is set amongst olive groves and Tuscan forested hillsides and is an ancient medieval farm that dates back to the 11th century that is located just five kilometers north of the historic hilltop town of Montalcino. This estate is perfectly nestled at the foot of the famed hill of Montosoli, which is one of the best terroirs in all of the Brunello of Montalcino DOCG zone! The Paradiso di Frassina property, as they themselves note, enjoys a unique location in the picturesque countryside to the south of Siena, in the Val d’Orcia valley, not all that far from the border with Chianti, in rolling hills that marry a more continental climate and soils that range from volcanic to classic clay and limestone. It is a great terroir for Tuscany’s best known grape, located in a cooler zone, and with the vineyard immersed in the harmonies the famous Austrian composer Mozart’s music, that is played and spread amid the rows of vines thanks to a hundred weather proofed speakers at Paradiso di Frassina. This is not a silly gimmick, as it might appear to be, as this is a serious experiment into agronomic and scientific research concerning the beneficial effects of musical frequencies on the vines (Vitis Vinifera), supported by the Universities of Florence and Pisa, and from the center of agronomic research of Arezzo. It also came about with the sponsorship of and by BOSE itself, who obviously specialize in the production of ultra high quality audio systems and who were interested in what the results would find. Staying at Paradiso di Frassina with its two small villas or cottages on site has become a very coveted opportunity with the promise of gorgeous vineyard landscapes, good music, a relaxed atmosphere and great Brunello (to drink during the stay here) being a huge draw. The farm’s agriturismo limited accommodations are widely popular, so you’ll have to book it well in advance, which I would recommend for classical music and wine lovers. There’s a lot to admire here at Il Paradiso di Frassina and I highly recommend searching these Tuscan gems out, with this one being a great place to start.
($40 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2018 Giuseppe Rinaldi, Barbera d’Alba, Piemonte, Italy.
Of course, Giuseppe Rinaldi is one of the most sought after labels in Italy and a producer of coveted and rare Barolo, which I cannot afford these days, but just like other top Barolo makers there is their Dolcetto and Barbera bottlings that are the outstanding values, and this 2018 Rinaldi is just what the doctor ordered, even though not cheap by any means. As much as I love Nebbiolo, I love Barbera, so I was thrilled when a friend opened this beauty with a home cooked pasta meal recently, it brought joy and rustic charm to an evening of serious wine tasting and never once the lesser on the night. the 2018, with some age, shows off a minty and earthy character with brandied cherries, dark plum, briar laced Marionberry and currant fruits, along with hints of leather, pipe tobacco, bay leaf, dried flowers, cedar and balsamic notes. Rinaldi believes his wines should not be ones that pleases easily, especially his Barolo, rather he hopes his wines are austere or severe, so that they demand research. He says It takes time for a great wine to seduce and reveal its complexity, maybe like foreplay and you can see that even in this Barbera. While not as firm or austere as Nebbiolo, this is pretty serious and savory stuff and a bucket list Barbera for those that admire this grape, sadly it is none to easy to get, but not as hard as the Barolo and worth the chase.

The ultra traditionalist, Giuseppe Rinaldi, or Bebbe, represents the fifth generation of this historic winemaking family to work the vines here in the heart of Barolo, when he took charge of the estate when his legendary father Battista passed away in 1992. Rinaldi pays respect for his ancestors and the land by farming organically, and he ferments with the indigenous yeasts in his father’s and grandfather’s ancient tini—tall upright oak vats—without temperature control. with his Barolo seeing about a month of on skin maceration, he punches down by hand and ages in old botti grandi for 3 ½ years. Intriguingly, I learned that, Rinaldi like Maria-Teresa Mascarello, and her late father Bartolo, is a fierce adherent to the tradition of blending Barolo from different sites, instead of individual vineyards as is most common now. He has old-vine holdings in some of Barolo’s greatest crus, including Ravera, Cannubi and Brunate, but still he makes no single-cru Barolo bottlings. Beppe is widely quoted as saying that this, blending from different crus, is how the previous generations obtained a natural balance and harmony in Barolo, and, for him, it is still the perfect method to make his top wine. For the Barbera, Rinaldi fermented it spontaneously, then maceration on the skins in steel for about 2 weeks, after which the wine aged for 12 months in 33HL Slavonian oak casks, giving the wine a real depth of character and what a treat to enjoy. This is not an everyday Barbera, but this grape can be truly great, as seen here.
($79 Est.) 94 points, grapelive

2023 Alfaro Family Vineyards, Grüner Veltliner, La Playita Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains.
One of the first top notch dry Grüners in California, Alfaro’s estate La Playita Vineyard Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s signature white grape, is a dynamic and crisp version with bright lemon/lime, gooseberry, quince and tart white peach fruits, along with white pepper, verbena, bitter almond, sea shore and wet stone accents in a zesty lighter framed palate. i’ve always been a fan of this wine and Ryan Alfaro has hit a home run with this vintage, this golden straw tinted 2023, which is due for public release soon, is electric and crystalline, rivaling many of its cousins from the old world. This Grüner saw a cool stainless fermentation and after settling it was aged 6 months on its fine lees in neutral oak, to promote freshness and purity, while allowing for some textural quality. Just around 250 cases of the Alfaro Family Vineyards La Playita Vineyard Grüner Veltliner were produced and I would gather from my own reaction and other who tried at a recent trade tasting in San Francisco, this one that will sell out fast.

Ryan Alfaro, who is also gaining a great reputation for his personal Farm Cottage Wines, is a latest generation of Alfaro’s to craft wines at this hilly site, less than 8 miles from the cool Pacific Ocean and set on sandy loam soils between 450 to 800 feet above sea level, perfect for cool climate varietals. The long growing season here allows for deep flavors and retains plenty of zesty acidity, as seen here in the latest edition of Alfaro’s GrüVee. Ryan worked many years with his dad Richard, who got things started here in the late 1990s, in the cellar, in recent years he’s taken a bigger role with great success. After doing a stint with California legend Adam Tolmach at Ojai Vineyards and studying wine in New Zealand, he has brought a lot passion to the family business and has, as noted above, put a lot of hard work in to get to this point, and Ryan’s personal project Farm Cottage Wines is natural extension to these efforts at this small Corralitos estate. It was great to catch up with Ryan recently, along with his dad Richard at their distributor’s portfolio tasting in San Francisco, and I was highly impressed with the full set of Alfaro wines, including some of my other favorites here, like the Trout Gulch Chardonnay and Pinot, along with the regular Estate Pinot Noir, all of which are beautifully drinking wines.
($34 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

August 2024

2023 Cleto Chiarli e Figli – Vecchia Modena, Lambrusco Grasprarossa DOC “Nero” Methode Ansestral Sparkling Red Wine, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
This dry and tasty Vecchia Modena Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro black label from Cleto Chiarli is a delightful red sparkling wine with a deep magenta and ruby color and a bright juicy medium bodied example with a vibrant beading mousse. The vivid earthy blackberry, cherry, blood orange and brambleberry fruits are lifted by natural acidity and the Pet-Nat style creamy bubbles make this tasty Lambrusco shine, along with hints of leather, lilacs and tangy herbs that add to the complexity here in a sparkling red that goes great with simple country rustic cuisine. The Cleto Chiarli Lambruscos are some of my favorites from the Emilia-Romagna region and always bring a smile and some fun to a meal and this one really is a delicious example and great with meaty dishes. We’ve seen a dramatic rise in quality in Lambrusco in the last ten years and this one definitely has loads of character and balance, it’s a great way to discover these unique and traditional wines, which go great with burgers, pasta lunches and or as a fun aperitif or starter wine.

The Vigneto Cialdini is Cleto Chiarli’s top-of-the-line Lambrusco Grasparossa DOC that with the 2023 vintage has moved into the Cleto Chiarli’s Vecchia Modena line, and now know as (the) Vecchia Modena Nero. Cleto Chiarli’s importer, Chambers and Chambers, says the wine is made through a single fermentation under pressure, rather than the normal two-fermentation process of almost all other classic sparkling wines. This dry Lambrusco is in the Brut range, with only a slight sweetness detectable. The vines where this wine comes from, Vigneto Cialdini, the name of the vineyard, is dedicated to Enrico Cialdini, who was a famous general during the unification of Italy. Made from vines that have served up fine and hearty Lambrusco efforts since ancient times, this single vineyard is located in the heart of the Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro denomination and makes for a high quality sparkling red wine, as seen in this fabulous 2023 vintage and I highly recommend this distinction fruit driven, spicy and savory Cleto Chiarli e Figli – Vecchia Modena treat.
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Frédéric Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin AC Rouge, Red Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, France.
The pretty, dark ruby hued and open knit 2022 Gevrey-Chambertin is a rewarding Pinot Noir with a lovely silky texture and concentrated fruit with a medium bodied palate of dark cherry, mulberry and plum layers, along with subtle oak, tea spices, mineral tones, a touch of sultry earth and a delicate mix of florals. This is wonderfully pure and already is drinking well and it has the depth and structure to age, much less reductive in nature than most Burgundies in this realm and with good acidity to shine with a meal. Frédéric Esmonin has beautiful Premier Cru and Lieu-Dit parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin, including “Estournelles St-Jacques,” “Lavaux St-Jacques,” “Clos Prieur” and “Champonnets” to name a few and the Village wine is always a treat too. The Premiers Crus, like from the Lavaux Saint-Jacques, which is Grand Cru quality, is a touch darker in fruit, with mineral and iron notes. Esmonin uses a bladder-press which gives excellent control over the amount of pressure exerted on the grapes, which are picked only when they have reached ideal ripeness. The grapes are de-stemmed and after a short cold maceration gives the wines an extra dimension of fruit, and only indigenous yeasts initiate fermentation. The domaine ages its wines in oak for between 14 to 17 months, with carefully selected French oak barrels of Allier and Nevers forest wood, which are exclusively made by coopers Radoux and Berthomieu. The top wines see about 80% new oak, but this one can be the reverse depending on the vintage with the 2022 getting a bit more new than say the 2021, but usually is more neutral.

The Frédéric Esmonin winery is one of the most consistent performers, and a fine high quality producer based in Gevrey, and they draw upon some prime vineyard holdings to make these beautiful Pinot Noirs. Their Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards were mostly re-planted in the 1950s so the wines and are reaching sublime levels of complexity and consistency that can only be achieved with these older vines.This Gevrey-Chambertin, as I’ve said before, you’ll want to re-visit in 3 to 5 years and again in 10-15 years, one of the best in the set for value, but if you are looking for a bit more serious offerings both of the Grand Crus I tried were exceptional with Esmonin’s Mazy-Chambertin getting my personal nod for the cellar. There’s not much of these wines available, but certainly they will be worth the effort to get some, especially these exceptional ’22s and the set of Gevrey-Chambertin bottlings, which I have enjoyed for more than 15 years now, in particular the Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos Prieur” and this one. I have been lucky enough to taste with the domaine’s namesake Frédéric Esmonin a few times at tastings in San Francisco, and I am a big fan of wines here, though sadly he wasn’t able to come to this most recent tasting in the City, hosted by Monterey Bay Wine and Atherton Wine Imports. It truly is heroic with his being wheelchair bound, and with no heirs, how he is able to run and manage this estate, with his 90 year old dad still helping, bravo Frédéric for all of your awesome and brave efforts and putting out such delicious stuff year after year, it is truly inspiring. Esmonin’s Pernand-Vergelesses too are very good, but it is the Gevrey offerings, including this one, the Lavaux Saint-Jacques rarity and the Clos Prieur, which are real prizes here!
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Reeve, Vermentino, Sonoma County.
Noah and Kelly Dorrance’s Dry Creek based Reeve wines are lovely California wines and their 2023s are stellar across the board, it was great to catch up briefly with Noah as he showed off his latest stuff at a portfolio tasting in San Francisco, with his new Vermentino putting on a delightful and refreshing performance. For this vintage Dorrance put his Vermentino together from three Sonoma County sites, including some estate Dry Creek fruit, that gives depth and ripe textural elements, the Las Brisas Vineyard, which always enhances the cool climate zesty and green essences in Vermentino and a western Sonoma site that adds mid palate complexity. This cool year 2023 really excites the palate with juicy citrusy lemon/lime, gooseberry, along with white peach and tart apple fruit, all accented by steely and stony notes, plus wild herbs, bitter almonds, white florals and zesty verbena. This brilliant effort adds an extra dimension with air and food which make it great for Summer quaffing as well as with a full meal, especially sea foods like steamed clams and or raw oysters. Vermentino looks to continue its run of success in California, with many fine efforts coming from many drastically different regions from cool to hot and from many exciting producers from Ryme to Tablas Creek, with the varietal being high in acid allowing it be grown in wide range of climates. This Reeve Vermentino embraces all those forces with its mix of terroirs, but the sunny warm Dry Creek and its stony volcanic soils providing some backbone, spice and opulence to the mix. This vintage, 93% Vermentino and intriguingly 7% Falanghina was fermented and aged in a combination of stainless, concrete egg and very neutral French oak barrels to achieve these thrilling results.

Reeve Wines, as mentioned in prior reviews, was founded by Noah and Kelly Dorrance, who hit the ground running with an all-star winemaking team that included Ross Cobb, of Cobb Wines and Katy Wilson of LaRue Winery and has kept getting better and better with each new set of releases with this 2023 collection being the best yet, especially Noah’s awesome Heinz Chardonnay, the Pinots and this brilliantly crisp Vermentino. Noah and Kelly have special love for Tuscany, where they got married, and in particular Cortona, which is home to one of Italy’s most intriguing wineries, d’Alessandro, and it inspired them to try their luck at Italian varietals like Sangiovese and Vermentino. I’ve been impressed with their versions, which usually feature a California twist and hope to show off a sense of place, with this Vermentino being a nice tribute to the Tuscan and Ligurian coastal styles with a crisp, mineral toned and salty charm and subtle richness, which this Mediterranean varietal is known for. Like I said, I really enjoyed all of the wines here at Reeve, this was a serious and delicious array of wines, which still has the talented hands of Katy Wilson guiding Noah’s stylish and desirable efforts. The winery based in Healdsburg is mostly focused on cooler hillside fruit and work with sustainable vineyards that provide grapes that excel in purity and vibrancy, which clearly shows in this set of 2023s. Noah’s early career in importing classic European wines also inspired and influenced his wines, with his wines going for restraint in alcohol and a light touch with oak use, things that make these Reeve wines very popular with Sommeliers, as they are food friendly and nicely balanced, as seen here, with this wine coming in at just 12.7% natural alcohol. So be sure to search out these Reeve wines, I’m sure you’ll find some of these small lot and hand crafted offering very compelling!
($38 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Cattleya, Syrah “The Initiation” Soberanes Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
I was very excited to taste through the latest Cattleya wines and it’s not a surprise I was blown away by this producers set of outstanding offerings and especially this awesome “The Initiation” Syrah from the Pisoni’s exceptional Soberanes Vineyard, a wine that is regularly one of California’s best. After the almost perfect 2021, winemaker Bibiana González Rave-Pisoni had to deal with a bit more difficult conditions with heat spikes playing havoc with even ripening, making her efforts here even more remarkable and this 2022 is a gorgeous wine of depth, a full range of flavors and elegance. The full bodied Initiation Syrah has incredible fruit density and velvety tannin(s), like a Giugal La La, displaying boysenberry, damson plum, blueberry compote and black cherry fruits, along with crushed violets, creme de cassis and vanilla, as well as subtle savory meatiness, sweet cedar, black licorice, bitter espresso, smoky graphite and peppery spices. The SLH terroir coolness helps cut into the opulence and warm ripeness adding a fine sense of balance here, making it again a class act and a standout example of this varietal. The deep purple/black hued Alban Clone (Côte-Rotie) Soberanes Syrah, again saw, a 10 day cold soak and a slow maceration and primary fermentation lasting about three weeks with gentle punch downs and pump overs daily until it was dry, then it was pressed to French oak 228L barrels, with close to 70% new, where it matured for 16 months. The Initiation Syrah, Bibiana says, marks the true beginning of a quest, one she took, to Côte-Rôtie, home to some of the world’s most exquisite Syrahs, was where she worked her very first harvests and made her first wines. Now her goal with her Pisoni family vines is to create a Syrah of great beauty and finesse that shows this terroir, but honors where she’s been. The Soberanes Vineyard, owned and farmed by the Pisoni team, on decomposed granite and sandy loams, in the Santa Lucia Highlands captures the essence of the region with its cool Pacific Ocean breezes and chilly nights allowing for long hang time for the grapes, giving deep ripe flavors and a lift of natural acidity, and it’s one of the most important sites for Syrah in the state, as seen here and with the Pisoni family’s own Lucia version.

As I’ve mentioned before, Bibiana González Rave-Pisoni is an unlikely master of vine, coming from Colombia, a country almost without any grape vines, but, in her childhood she says, a few sips occasionally stolen from her father’s wine glass were enough to inspire an all-consuming dream—to become a winemaker and as soon as she could she packed her bags a went to France! While in France she quickly took to winemaking like a duck to water, ultimately earning a BTS degree in Viticulture and Enology from Cognac, which was followed by a degree in Enology from the University of Bordeaux, she adds, graduating with honors. After which she was well on her way to stardom, working the sheer granite slopes of Côte-Rôtie at Domaine Stéphane Ogier, then she helped at Domaine Clusel-Roch, before returning to Bordeaux and the famed estates of Château Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion. If this sounds amazing for a young Colombian winemaker, it was only the beginning of her incredible journey which has seen her excel in Burgundy, Alsace, Cognac and even in South Africa before turning her attention to California, where she is one of the state’s absolute best winemakers. While in California she met and married another rising star winemaker, Jeff Pisoni of the famous Pisoni Estate in the Santa Lucia Highlands and the two have become an awesome team, producing wines together under their Shared Notes label. In 2011 Bibiana’s Cattleya label was born and by 2014 she had become winemaker of the year, focused almost exclusively of Syrah vines at the Pisoni’s Soberanes Vineyard, though she had at that time helped Pahlmeyer’s Wayfarer become a world class producer of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Soberanes Vineyard, planted last among the Pisoni crus, has proven to be one of the top sites in the highlands and while I love the Chardonnay and Pinot from here, I truly believe Syrah, which is mainly Alban (Cote-Rotie) clone, is the best grape here. The Orchid or Cattleya, as noted before, is Colombia’s national flower, hence the name for Bibiana’s solo project, which includes her heroic Syrahs, as well as her regional bottlings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are also just amazing wines, they too continue to impress all that taste them, it’s needless to say I highly recommend them all!
($70 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

n.v. La Rogerie – Familie Petit – Boxler, Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Brut Nature Champagne “Lieux de Vie” (#2) Avize, France.
This exciting and deep Vieux de Vie 100% Chardonnay, coming a mix of vintages, and a 2018, 2019 and 2020 base, from very old vines set in chalky and clay in the Avize Grand Cru area and makes for an excellent Brut Nature bottling with a rich mouth feel, ultra dry extract and a luxurious but vibrant beading mousse. This gorgeous La Rogerie offering, which I had head about, but haven’t had before, shows off precise steely details and has a firm palate of lemon, apple, quince and white peach fruits, as well as a serious stony quality, white blossom, honeycomb, saline, clove spice and a hazelnut leesy depth. The Domaine La Rogerie – Famille Petit Boxler, which was founded in Avize in 2016 by François Petit and Justine Boxler, both from famous wine families, has become a must have with grower producer Champagne enthusiasts and their latest Vieux de Vie Non Vintage Blanc de Blancs is a gorgeous wine of depth, presence and elegance. Made from old organic vines that were planted between 1937 and 1961 with a massale selection of Chardonnay clones, with chalky soils and fossils that adds to the distinction of the wines here. A big thank you to my friend Alex Lallos, who has long worked with small Champagne houses, rarity grower fizz and top Tête Cuvée bottlings from the Grande Marques, and who shared this bottle with me and friends, he never fails to amaze me with his generosity and discoveries, and this one was remarkable.

Justine and François Petit-Boxler’s Domaine La Rogerie Champagne house is all about terroir driven Grand Cru vineyards, which are in the Avize area and extend to the border of Cramant and Oger, where Chardonnay is magic. These chalky vineyards are famously known for their tuff and ancient limestone soils made up of marine sediments, allowing for deep complexity, mineral toned flavors and purity of fruit. The Boxler’s are famous in Alsace and I’ve loved those wines for years, especially their stunning Rieslings, but I had known much about this project and or Francois Petit, who was born and raised in Avize and seems to have been inspired by the cult favorite Selosse Champagnes. Justine and Francois, who have recently moved into a farmhouse that has been in the family years, have immersed themselves in this project and the nature here, they carefully work the land by plow by horse and lightweight tractors, have eliminated herbicides/pesticides, and are using homemade organic compost. The goal of this pair, they say, is to encourage the natural growth and development of organic biodiversity in the vineyards and showcase the purest form of terroir. This absolute delicious non vintage La Rogerie Brut Nature Grand Cru Champagne “Lieux de Vie” Number 2 (only 155 cases made) was disgorged, I think, in 2022 after seeing close to three years on the yeast, it really impressed me and I can wait to explore the full collection of offerings and recommend grower producer Champagne enthusiasts search out these offerings, with this one being a great place to start.
($99 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2020 Raul Perez – Castro Ventosa, Mencia, D.O. Bierzo, Spain.
The fresh very Beaujolais like 2020 Castro Ventosa Mencia is vibrant and spicy with a pretty violet/lilsac nose, juicy berry fruits and a savory ops on the medium bodied palate, it shows off all the quaffable joy that this grape can deliver to near perfection. Authentic and charmingly raw in style, again reminding me of a Côte de Brouilly, this Mencia has layers of black raspberry, plum, candied cherry, pomegranate and cranberry fruits, good zesty acidity, loamy earth notes, minty anise, truffle, bay leaf and a light sense of old cedar. The family owned Castro Ventosa winery led by Raul Perez has been in viticulture since the 18th century and remains a benchmark producer in Castilla y Leon’s Bierzo region, focused on old vine Mencia wines, with all traditional bush vines and organic farming. This “Bunny” bottling is an entry level from the famed Raul Perez and made mostly from Valtuille de Abajo grapes, from very old vineyards, with a good combination of the of grapes sourced as well from all the places in the town, sometimes including over 300 micro plots! Fans of Mencia with really enjoy this bargain version and love its sultry character and easy to drink quality.

The Castro Ventosa estate, with the largest old vine holdings in the area, can proudly say that it is one of the few wineries in Bierzo with all its vineyards on their own property and Its Mencía vineyards are all more than 85 years old. As early as 1752, the ancestors of the Pérez family were vine growers in Valtuille region here and continue today under the leadership of Raul Perez, one of Spain’s greatest winemakers and the Godfather of Mencia! The soils here in the Bierzo, differ from the Ribeira Sacra and are mostly a mix of clay soils, clayey with stone, sandy and rich in organic matter and the terroir is more Continental influenced and with a minor bit of the cooling from the Atlantic, giving the Mencia real depth and complexity. Castro Ventosa typically lists this wine with having 85% Mencia, 8% Alicante Bouschet, and the other 7% being a mix of white grapes and other native and super rare varietals and usually sees a full de-stemming all stainless fermentation and maceration. The fermentation takes place only using native yeasts and lasts about 25 days, in cool temperature controlled vat the with daily pump overs before pressing, then it rests and goes through malos. After which the wine sees a short 3 months in neutral old 5,000L wood fudres, then it gets bottled quickly to preserve freshness and transparency. What’s not to love? This is an under the radar gem from Raul Perez’s family winery, I highly recommend chasing this one down.
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Carl Loewen, Riesling Kabinett, Herrenberg, Old Vines, Mosel, Germany.
The old 1200L Mosel fuder raised 2022 Herrenberg Kabinett is beauty from Loewen and even though it’s got a lighter off dry palate it drinks drier than you would expect and has some serious depth, intensity and steely tones with racy citrus, white peach, kiwi, crisp green apple and quince, along with slatey flint and spice. The brisk, low alcohol, but juicy palate adds dimension and a touch of the lees adds a almond and there a bit of verbena and apricot that lingers, this is so good. A huge fan of Christopher Loewen and the Carl Loewen wines and his set of 2022s were impeccable and outstanding wines, and for value it s almost impossible to drink a better Kabinett for the money than his pure and mineral driven Herrenberg. This brilliant Carl Loewen Herrenberg Kabinett comes from ungrafted 100 year old vines, with the Longuicher Herrenberg being planted in 1902, and there remains some original blocks here from 1896 that go into the top cru wines. it is set on pure red slate closer to the Mosel River where it gets a reflection effect, meaning riper fruit and the iron rich broken slate soils influence the Riesling in the grandest way possible. Loewen is very careful picking only grapes that are non botrytis for his drier wines, which takes extreme attention to detail. As noted, these Longuicher Maximin Herrenberg Riesling grapes are from some the oldest Riesling vines in Germany, and from a dramatic steep vineyard, that transmits terroir into the wine.

The Carl Loewen estate, as mentioned before, originally founded by the Catholic followers of the Maximin order was privately established during Napoleonic times around 1803 and the Loewen family purchased the famous Maximin Klosterlay in 1805, after which the family continued to pick up steep parcels in the area, with Christopher’s dad collecting some great plots in more recent times, including the second steepest site in Germany, they very smartly picked up historic vineyards that were difficult to farm, but produced awesome grapes. The Loewen the younger, Christopher, has taken over in the cellar and has set the world on fire with his wines since about the 2014 vintage, employing a more natural approach in the cellar and stricter organic practices in the vines, and as he puts it, he presses the grapes whole cluster and the pomace is never moved as to not break up the solids that leads to phenolic (bitter) flavors that can mire delicate wines and he browns the juice pre-ferment(s), which reduces reduction and he allows the wine to ferment sponti, using no yeast or enzyme additions with his single vineyard wines and top cuvées going directly into large fuder, oak casks. Congratulations to Christopher Loewen, not only for his absolute masterpiece 1896 Feinherb, which I reviewed previously, but for the whole collection of the Weingut Carl Loewen 2022s, including this one, all of which are stunning efforts that I highly recommend, again each of these Rieslings are stars in their own right, don’t miss them.
($25 Est.) 93 points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Künstler, Riesling Trocken, Hochheim Kirchenstück, VDP Grosses Gewächs, Rheingau, Germany.
The gorgeous Künstler 2021 Hochheimer Kirchenstück Grosses Gewächs sourced from select parcel on calcareous löss and loam soils from vines planted in 1969 is starting to unwind from a tight and youthful period and gaining magnificent palate expansion, while remaining precise, steely and crisply detailed with this region’s lemony tones and exotic tropical fruit notes in the full bodied, texurally pleasing, but with a vibrantly dry vitality. There’s a lot going on here, and it should keep getting better, displaying white peach, bitter melon, green apple and quince, along with leesy notes, clove spice, white blossoms, saline, chalky stones and lingering tart mango and hazelnut. The Kirschenstück GG or Grand Cru vineyard site is, as Künstler notes, set on a heavy lime bedrock, with löss, loam, and sand, making for a complex mix of soils that all play a part in this wine’s greatness. The grapes in this wine come from vines in the famous village of Hochheim am Main, which gained prestige in the 17th century Britain, after a brief visit by English royalty and the term ‘Hock’ was used to describe all Rhinegau wines for the better part of a hundred years. At that time, these Hoccheimer wines were much more famous than Mosel wines and were even, as historic record shows, more expensive than some of the finest Bordeaux. As I’ve mentioned, Künstler has a vast collection of Rheingau Cru plots from Hochheim to Assmannshausen, where he has an amazing parcel in the fabled Hollenberg Vineyard where he gets some his Pinot Noir, plus Gunter has some Rudesheimer Berg GG vines in Rottland and Schlossberg, which are intense with slate vigor, as well as some quartzite influenced blocks in the Drachenstein, which is one of my favorites. I was, as I am usually, very impressed with the latest Künstler wines, in particular their Kostheim Weiss Erd GG, the new Pfaffenberg Monopol GG, the profound Hölle GG, and this fantastic, if not under the radar, Hochheim Kirchenstück GG.

Gunter Künstler, who’s family has been involved in winemaking since 1648, is one of Rheingau’s greatest producers based at the confluence of the Main and Rhein rivers in the “Hoch” sub zone, which along with Rudesheim one of the most historic winemaking villages in Germany. As noted before, Gunter Künstler’s family winery was founded in Hochheim am Main, in 1965 by Gunter’s father Franz, with Gunter taking over In 1992, after which its fortunes began to rise quickly. In 1994 the Künstler estate was admitted to the VDP, and since then it has become maybe the most iconic grower of the “Hoch” zone and one of Germany’s best. The historic sleepy Hochheim am Main, doesn’t always get a lot of attention, but it truly is one of Germany’s most distinctive terroirs, and it was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who famously visited Germany and the region here back in 1788 and wrote about the delicious wines he found. This area takes heroic farming effort to overcome the humid conditions to produce crystalline dry Rieslings without Botrytis and Künstler is working these amazing sites with organic practices and his wines are some of the most elegant and monumental dry wines in Europe. Künstler explains that he ferments with (a) cultured yeast because it’s often still warm when grapes are being picked and to work sponti (native yeast) would mean a greater risk of volatile acidity. The cellar at Künstler gravitates toward cask fermentation as opposed to steel, though tank is used here as well depending on vintage and style of the wines. Wood gives, what Gunter says is the ideal for giving some low-tech micro-oxygenation. The overriding goal at Künstler is to produce soulful wines with expressive and authentic personalities, especially these GGs, which are incredible in terms of depth and elegance, as seen here. Again, as noted in my prior reviews, this is a must have label for serious white wine lovers and collectors, I have been lucky over the years to have tasted with Gunter and had many older vintages which were and are astonishingly like Burgundies when they have significant age, in particular the offerings from Hoccheim, with the limestone and marl soils adding to that impression.
($62 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Farm Cottage, Syrah, Ryan Spencer Vineyard, Alfaro Family Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains.
From vines named after him by his dad, Ryan Alfaro’s Farm Cottage Ryan Spencer Vineyard Syrah is a stylish and complex deeply hued wine that excites the palate with a dense array of blackberry, damson plum, tangy blueberry, currant and bramble berry fruits, a heady mix of dark florals, spice, earth and wild herbs in support, along with hints of clove, tar, licorice, tapenade and subtle oak notes. This ripe, but vibrant Syrah has a nice textural mouth feel and modest alcohol, making a fine companion to a wide selection of cuisine choices, going great from everything from Basque cheeses to Korean BBQ, with just the right about of cool climate acidity. The response to Ryan’s Farm Cottage label has been amazing and there’s quite a well deserved buzz about these wines, in particular the set of Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots. Ryan worked his dad in the cellar in recent years, after doing a stint with California legend Adam Tolmach at Ojai Vineyards and studying wine in New Zealand. He has brought a lot of new passion to the family business and has, as noted here, put a lot of hard work in to get to this point, with Ryan’s personal project Farm Cottage Wines being a natural extension to these efforts at this small Corralitos estate.

As the winery notes, the Ryan Spencer Vineyard Syrah plot was originally planted back in 2001 by Richard Alfaro, Ryan’s proud dad, on his Corralitos estate using three different and distinct clones. The hilly site, less than 8 miles from the cool Pacific Ocean, is comprised of 7 acres broken into separate blocks on a very steep slopes and up between 450 and 800 feet in elevation. These unique parcels are situated on sandy loam and are clones 470, 877, and 174, for those that are into those things, like myself. Ryan says he hand harvested the grapes on October 6th, allowing for a long hang time, hence the depth and complexity of the fruit. Then he continues, unlike the original Alfaro version, the grapes were fermented 100% whole cluster in an open-top stainless steel tank with those vivid stems adding distinction and pop here. A natural pied de cute (fermentation starter direct from the vineyard) was put into the tank on day two. The must saw gravity rack and returns that were performed twice a day for full, but gentle extraction. The healthy skin fermentation lasted just nine days before Ryan pressed the wine, after which he racked into neutral French oak barrels for an elevage of just about 9 months. This excellent unfiltered, sultry and transparent Syrah gets kinda forgotten behind the Pinots and the fabulous Trout Gulch Chardonnay, but it shouldn’t be missed and I’m even more excited about the 2023 vintage!
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Schloss Lieser – Thomas Haag, Riesling Kabinett, Juffer, Mosel, Germany.
Kabinett Riesling is having a moment in the spotlight and are some of the most pleasing lighter framed and easy to love whites in the world, with this brilliant 2023 Schloss Lieser Juffer version showecasing why these wines are having a modern revival, displaying crystalline purity, delicate sweetness and freshness. I was very excited to taste Schloss Lieser recently in San Francisco and this one was a thrill with its slate terroir of the histroic Brauneburger Juffer cru showing through with smoky, mineral and spicy character influence behind the peach, tangerine, green apple and fleshy melon fruits. The low alcohol, juicy Juffer Kabinett, coming from some un-grafted vines with 70+ years of age, is a fabulous effort and a delicious Summer sipper that brings nothing but smiles, it delivers the class of this vineyard in a no pretense, but is a serious and sublime quality effort. The wines at Schloss Lieser, as noted in my prior reviews, are almost all done in stainless steel and are exceptionally pure terroir driven efforts, as this drier Kabinett Juffer 2023 clearly shows. It was a pleasure to go through the latest set of wines with Lara Haag, who is one of the latest generation of this famous Mosel family led by her dad Thomas Haag.The Schloss Lieser Rieslings see no skin maceration fermentation(s) that are always spontaneous and the grapes a a cool, gentle pressing as to not allow for bitter phenolics and the must is allowed to take as long as needed to finish, sometimes about 6-10 weeks. Then the wine ages on the lees for 4 or so months, after which it racked to tank to further mature and is only bottled when it tastes ready to do so. There’s an incredible array of talent in the Mosel these days and Schloss Lieser has eagerly joined the ranks of top producers and these latest releases, mostly 2022 and 2023 vintages, really are stunning.

The historic Schloss Lieser winery, which dates back to 1904, is known locally to have one of most striking buildings in the Middle Mosel and it is beautiful Neo-Renaissance castle that was built in 1875, but it was known for its wine until recent times under the leadership of Thomas Haag, who’s father Wilhelm Haag is an important figure in German wine and the owner of Weingut Fritz Haag. Thomas decided to stay and lead Schloss Lieser instead of take our his father’s estate, which is run by the also very talented winemaker Oliver Haag, Thomas’ brother. Thomas became the director of the estate in 1992 and has slowly revamped this special small estate with some prime Grosse Lagen vineyard parcels, including the Lieser Niederberg Helden and the well known Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr (Sundial), which provides some elite old vine Riesling grapes. One of the most prized of vineyards, the steep Brauneberger Juffer, is set on classic decomposed Devonian slate and capable of producing monumental and structured wines, as seen in the Haag family’s GG version, which dry Riesling fans need to put on their bucket lists. The Haag family, as mentioned here in my previous reviews, with the new generation of Lara and Niklas, both of which studied at Geisenheim University in the Rheingau, the top wine-making school in Germany, have a hand in making the wines now. Also notable is that they have added other top quality vineyards to their portfolio, including Graacher Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Bernkastler Doktor and Graacher Domprobst, helping fill out the fantastic collection here. The extra care and effort here, in each and every bottling, including this lovely Juffer Kabinett, really pays off and these Schloss Lieser wines are exceptional and very rewarding Rieslings, with the traditional off dry, sweet and dry styles to chose from, to keep an eye out for!
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2016 Domaine Fabrice Vigot, Vosne-Romanée “La Colombiere” Red Burgundy, France.
Totally unknown to me until recently, the Vigot wines look to be under the radar jewel with very classic Burgundy character, as this earthy old school Vosne-Romanée shows in the glass with morning forest floor and truffle led aromatics and a complex medium bodied palate of black cherry, strawberry, mulberry and tart blueberry fruits, along with hints of leather, delicate dried roses, orange peel, tea spices, anise and subtle sandalwood. This is a wine that changes as it swirls and the reduction funk, plus a faint brett note, taking a back seat allowing a more pleasing and silky personality to take over, though it is much more poised and elegant with food. I was on the fence on this one, coming from a single Lieu-Dit in the famed village of Vosne-Romanée and its limestone and clay soils, but it grew on me and in the end there was a lot to admire in its authentic and unvarnished style. The winemaking here is pragmatic depending on the grapes and parcel, with de-stemmed or full-cluster, depending on the vintage. The Vigot’s ferment with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, with temperature controls, getting a gentle extraction of color, fruit depth and tannin. Wines are then pressed off the skins aged in new 228L French oak barrels for around 12 months, then transferred to older tonneaux for an additional six months, before bottling all unfined and unfiltered.

From what I’ve learned, Fabrice and Christine Vigot founded their own Domaine back in 1990 and not long ago, Christine inherited the vines from her family’s Domaine Bernard Martin-Noblet, giving them some extra top notch parcels in prime terroirs in the Côte de Nuits. Notable too, is that they have moved towards all organic principles, and are experimenting with biodynamics. Fabrice and Christine Vigot are focusing on crafted small lot, handmade and soulful Burgundies from the famous communes of Vosne-Romanée, Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-St.- Georges. Interestingly, especially to enthusiasts of Burgundy, I understand that the famed Mugneret-Gibourg and Dr. Georges Mugneret hired Fabrice Vigot’s father to tend a number of his prized vineyards in a crop-sharing agreement, which included a Grand Cru plot in Echezeaux, as well as prime plots in Nuits-St-Georges and Vosne-Romanée. The Mugneret-Gibourg contract, which was first done in the 1960s was passed down to Fabrice, who with his wife, Christine, continued his father’s legacy, until 2016, and though it has now ended, they still farm some very coveted grapes from all estate owned vines. The Vigot’s, who only farm 100% Pinot Noir are going to be all organic certified with this vintage and I look forward to trying more of these wines in the future, especially the Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges, as well as their more affordable Bourgogne or Coteaux Bourguignons bottlings. I must thank Ryan Cooley, Sommelier at Carmel’s critically acclaimed Aubergine Restaurant for sharing his personal bottle and the introduction to this producer.
($90 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Cantina Spada, El Cencio, Bianco Verona IGT, Italy.
The Spada El Cencio Bianco Verona IGT is an exotic and golden dry white wine with a beautiful sense of expansion and textural presence in the glass, it shows off racy gooseberry intensity to start and then adds expressive apricot, preserved lemons and muskmelon fruits, along with peach sorbet, vanilla, bitter almonds and a touch of waxy honeycomb. To achieve this, 50% of the grapes were partially dried, which adds some tropical notes and richness, without much if any residual sugar, keeping plenty of zest and zing, with this El Cencio having some mineral charm, mouth watering saline and wet stone notes. The winery notes, the grapes are all carefully sorted and hand picked, and this bottling saw a vinification in toasty French oak barrels, which is quite rare in the Veneto. The Spada vineyards are set in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico zone, in the area around San Pietro in Cariano in Verona, and I get the sense they are extremely focused on quality and traditional methods, along with a flourish of innovative winemaking, as seen here, with the use of red grapes in the white blend.

Cantina Spada, most known for their deep Amarone and Valpolicella reds, does an interesting selection of white wines with this El Cencio Bianco Verona IGT being a signature bottling, as this 2020 vintage shows. The vines for this wines are located in the Valpolicella Classico zone, but whites don’t get the DOC, and this wine uniquely was made from 50% Corvinone, a red varietal, juiced clear and 25% Garganega, the noble grape found in Soave, and the ancient Malvasia, again 25%, with the white grapes seeing a bit, as noted, of Amarone style drying before being pressed. The final blend is racked to small French barriques for fermentation and aging, with a percentage of new wood, for six months and then rested in bottle for another six months before release. Renzo Spada, the founder of the Spada winery, is nicknamed “El Cencio” hence the name here, and the winery continues to pay tribute to him in the most delicious way possible. I had not had the Spada wines before, I am not sure they are easily found in the States, but I was excited to try this one and look forward to exploring their full range of offerings in the future, especially the limited series of Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG bottlings, as well as the Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC reds and the Ripasso!
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 La Petite Tour de Bessan, Margaux, Grand Vin de Bordeaux – Medoc, France.
The pretty aromatic, dark berried and deeply hued 2019 La Petite Tour de Bessan Margaux by Marie Laure Lurton is wonderfully pure and ripe fruited with layers of earthy blueberry coulis, blackberry, currant, plum and black cherry along with classic Medoc loam, black olive, anise, a touch of iris and violet and a bit a raw tannin grip. Interestingly for a Margaux classified Bordeaux, Lurton uses no oak on this tank raised dark purple/garnet full bodied wine, made from mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a touch of Petit Verdot, which adds color and spice to the background. I was very joyously impressed with this wine, the second wine to Château Tour de Bessan, which I had never had before, especially as I probably would have never had noticed it or picked on the shelf, so thanks to H. Mercer Imports for putting this one in front of me to try. The top wine, with much more Cabernet Sauvignon in the final mix, sees about 30% new wood and is matured quite a bit longer, and while under the radar, it should be a Bordeaux to look for, especially for the price, and this one even more so. This 2019 La Petite Tour de Bessan Margaux with its light perfume and raw transparency of form is wonderfully food friendly and will go nicely with hearty meat dishes and or just with a selection of hard cheeses.

The estate where Château Tour de Bessan sits was originally established back in 13th century, where a tower was situated, in Soussans, and it wasn’t for centuries later that this Château became noticed, and It was in 1972 that Lucien Lurton bought the tower and vineyards from the Clauzel family. To show intent to make this a serious property, Lurton, according to their importer, pulled out all the stops to rebuild this wine estate, all the while managing his other more famous properties. In 1992, his daughter, Marie-Laure took over, and progress continued, armed with a wine making degree in hand, and 6 years experience under her belt, this Margaux’s vineyards began producing some outstanding fruit. Marie Laure, who cut her teeth working on her father’s other domains, knows all the blocks here like the back of her hand, and she led this estate to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly place, raised the quality to new heights. The vineyard parcels here are set on classic Medoc Pyrenean gravel with clay underpinning, making a happy long time home for Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with Lurton adding Petit Verdot in more recent years starting in 2012. The typical cepage for the La Petite Tour de Bessan is about 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot and the wine is vat raised for close to 12 months, making it a wine to be enjoyed in its youth, rather than being a wine to hide in the cellar for a decade or more. The wine is a nice alternative to the oaky and flashy Saint-Emilion offerings and I recommend it to bargain Bordeaux enthusiasts.
($40 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Dönnhoff, Riesling Trocken, Hermannshöhle, VDP Grosses Gewachs, Nahe Germany.
I needed a moment to gather myself and my thoughts after tasting this 2023 Hermannshöhle, such was the striking precision and quality here in this Grand Cru Dry Riesling, and words absolutely fail to describe what is in the glass, except maybe perfection. In fact maybe this wine will be a 110 out of 100 in the years to come, interesting I think giving this wine a 100 Points will almost take away from the anticipation and wondrous joy of Riesling fans that get a chance to experience this magical effort. Less flashy than the recently reviewed Felsenberg GG, this crystalline Hermannshöhle GG shows off a classic slatey/flinty mineral driven palate with lime, green apple, tart apricot and quince, along with subtle smokiness, delicate white blossom, saline, spice and citron oil. There’s tremendous depth and grace here, it easily rivals the white wine greats of the world and there’s so much more to come, just wow. Dönnhoff, which is located in the village of Oberhäusen an der Nahe, is one of the Nahe superstars and the full range of wines here are exceptional and these 2023s are stellar collection of dry Rieslings by winemaker Cornelius Dönnhoff, who produced some of greatest pre-release samples I’ve ever tried, especially this perfect Hermannshöhle. The Dönnhoff family, as noted here many times, arrived in the Nahe region over 200 years ago, and their modest farm slowly evolved into one of Europe’s greatest wine estates, making some of most desirable dry, off-dry and sweet wines in the world. The Grosses Gewachs dry wines, like this one, are typically fermented in Dönnhoff’s traditional German casks (1200 L stuck and 2400 L doppelstuck), with the lighter and or sweeter wines seeing mostly stainless steel, with both allowed to go through spontaneous fermentations. Though, interestingly, as Terry Theise, who introduced me to these wines, notes that Donnhoff’s cellar is unique in its capacity to hold all of its production entirely in stainless steel or in wood casks, allowing for the ideal élevage for any of wines at any point during a vintage, depending on the nature of the vintage or personality of each wine.

Helmut Dönnhoff, who is credited with bringing this property into the limelight had been making the wine since 1966, and now his son Cornelius, the 4th generation to run this historic winery and their 25ha of Grand Cru vineyards, has increased the fame of these wines as the winemaker. The Riesling vines here at Dönnhoff are old clones which according to the winery were sourced from sites in Niederhausen and Schloßböckelheim and the estate vines are farmed with holistic and mainly organic practices to preserve the soils here and produce the highest possible quality grapes, which are mostly Riesling. A vineyard that has the same prestige as Montrachet, the Niederhauser Hermannshöhle is one of Germany’s and especially the Nahe region’s jewels with some of the best and historic wines coming from this spectacular site above the river. As noted by the winery and wine lovers for over a hundred years, the Hermannshöhle has been revered as one of the Nahe‘s best vineyards and is a benchmark for the Nahe. It most likely takes its name, according to the Dönnhoff family, from a small mine, or “Höhle”, in the middle of the hillside and “Hermann” is derived from Hermes, the Roman god of messengers and travelers. The name likely hints at an ancient place of worship once located here, in Germany’s smallest region that straddles the Rheinhessen and the Rheingau. The VDP Grosse Lage Hermannshöhle vineyard faces due south and sits up around 150 meters above sea level and has a combination of complex soils with a lot of slate, mixed with igneous rock, porphyry (volcanic) and limestone elements. The mature and organically farmed vines are on steep slope and there is micro parcels here that allow making of both dry and sweet Riesling treasures. It should be noted that the Dönnhoff Riesling vines are all old clones and are quite distinctive in character and add tons of terroir personality, in particular in their Grand Cru wines, such as Klamm, Brücke, Leistenberg, Felsenberg, Kirschheck, Dellchen, Krötenpfuhl, Kahlenberg, and Höllenpfad. I was grateful to taste through Dönnhoff’s 2023s early this Summer and I again was blown away with each and every wine in the limited collection of samples and I highly recommend pre-booking a lot this amazing vintage, especially this unbelievable Hermannshöhle GG!
($100 Est.) 99 Points, grapelive

2016 I. Brand & Family Winery, Chardonnay “52 Month Elevage” Escolle Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
As a fan of Jura’s rustic, often funky in style with nutty, sherry like oxidative notes which are typical of wines aged sous voile, with flor, I was excited to try Ian Brand’s well aged California semi Non Ouillé version, which is still bursting with energy and has bright preserved lemon, apple, baked pear and dried pineapple fruits, as well as pecan, hazelnut, dried apricot, subtle wood, delicate florals, loamy stones, saline and clove spice accents. This held back 2016 vintage has a nice textural development with a touch of a honeyed waxy element and mineral charm to go with the expressive Jura character and the depth and complexity with impressed the true enthusiasts of this quirky type of wine, which has the zesty zing of a Fino or Manzanilla Sherry, making it great with Alpine cheeses and or Tapas plates, including fried anchovies or grilled sardines. In recent years there’s been an underground movement in California to explore the Alpine French style of winemaking, with both the Jura and Savoie regions being inspirational, especially in Sommelier circles looking for something unique and food friendly, as most have lower alcohol and can be very distinctive in a lighter framed wine. Brand naturally fermented and aged the cool climate Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay on the lees without racking for over four years before bottling, with a few top ups and allowing for a light filmy flor. Some of his evolved golden hued 2016 was held in bottle for another four years and is now about to be library released, along with a limited amount of 2010 and 2012, which are much farther along in the oxidative realm.

Jura tradition, according to Kermit Lynch, who imports some of the region’s finest examples, calls for aging whites sous voile, or under a fine “veil” of yeast, sometimes referred to as Flor, that grows over wine in barrel that has not been topped-off (non ouillé) to compensate for evaporation. The voile effectively slows the process of oxidation, while chemical reactions between these microorganisms and the wine below give rise to a highly distinctive and complex set of aromas. Continuing Lynch says these wines often hint at walnuts, beeswax, oriental spices, cheese rind, and brine, and I agree and that sous voile matured wines can come as a shock to the unhabituated palate, or newbie to Jura or a dry Sherry even. Their textural and aromatic singularity, Kermit explains naturally sets them in a category of their own at the table, (which) perhaps the best setting in which to gain an appreciation for such wines. Three of my own 100% Chardonnay favorites from the Jura are Jean-François Gavenat, who’s wines range from Burgundy style to the oxidative, the very authentic and old school Domaine Tissot and François Rousset-Martin, who’s Côtes du Jura Chardonnay is aged sous-voile in barrel for six years and the most like what you see here in Ian Brand’s flor influenced Non Ouillé bottling. Certainly this 52 Month Chardonnay will not be a crowd pleaser, but it intellectually it’s quite intriguing, recommend to only the geekiest of wine lovers, otherwise enjoy the crisp Albarino and or the normal Escolle and or Fox Creek Chardonnays offerings here. There’s always a few new goodies in Ian Brand’s winery and it’s a good time to visit the winery tasting room in the Carmel Valley Village.
($36 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Bedrock Wine Co, Old Vine Zinfandel, California.
As per normal, this 2021 vintage Old Vine Zin from Bedrock really hits the spot with its deep purple/garnet color, dark fruit density, a dusting of spices and a satiny full body this wine is always eager to please. Coming from a wide collection of old vine sites throughout California, including Sonoma and Contra Costa counties, again sourced from vines ranging over 80 years old, with some well past a century, so you really taste and see California wine history in the glass with a hedonistic reward. Hats off to Morgan Twain-Peterson MW and his team for the excellent quality throughout the range here at Bedrock and these 2021s are exceptional offerings, especially his Heritage Old Vine Zins, but for outstanding value, this bottling is one of California’s greatest bargains. A bit less ripe and with a nice almost cool tone, this 2021 shows off classic layers of crushed black raspberries, Italian cherries, plums and currants, which is accented by classic bramble and briar spices, sweet cedary sandalwood, minty herbs and beautiful dark florals with a vibrant kiss of acidity and a hint of shaved vanilla. The Old Vine Zinfandel again includes a who’s who of top Zin sites with Teldeschi Ranch, Beeson, Sodini, Nervo, Dommen, Pagani, Papera, Evangelho, Pato, Katushas’ and of course Bedrock all playing roles here. I can say without a doubt, if I want to enjoy a soulful and pleasing California Zinfandel based wine, this and Ridge’s Lytton Springs are two of my favorites and ones I personally like to have around as much as possible. This no pretense offering can be enjoyed with a hearty range of foods, but is also just a really good sipper with friends and family, when you might not want to get into a more serious indulgence. While the flagship, old vine Bedrock Vineyard, Sonoma Valley Heritage Red, continues to be magic and it’s hard to imagine a better poster child for Californian wine, this one is an easy to like pure Californian red in the same mold as a Côtes du Rhône Village.

Bedrock Wine Co., as noted here, is run by Morgan Twain-Peterson, who’s family has a significant history making Zinfandel in California, with his dad Joel Peterson, famous for crafting some of the best Zins of the 1980s and 1990s under his ex Ravenswood label, with Morgan carrying on the traditions, but with the added responsibility of caring for two of the state’s most prized old vine Heritage vineyards, their namesake Bedrock, in the Sonoma Valley and Evangelho in the deep sands of Contra Costa County. In the winemaking, Bedrock’s main mission is to keep things simple and let the grapes do the talking, with Morgan saying that they try to use native yeast and natural fermentation(s) without additions, similar to how Ridge and Turley do their Zinfandel based wines, with the Zinfandel lots being made with almost entirely de-stemmed grapes, even though the winery embraces whole-cluster fermentation in their other varietals. Bedrock ultimately for their wines, focus on ideal ripeness, freshness and aromatics in their offerings and age their wines in top notch oak. Bedrock’s most prized wines are field blends which include many black grapes, but with this Old Vine Zinfandel there is a more single varietal style than their other efforts, with the finished blend being about 85% Zinfandel, plus 7% Carignan, 4% Cinsault and, as Twain-Peterson notes, there is also, bits and bobs of Grand Noir, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and other field-blended varieties. With this entry level wine, Morgan and Bedrock Wine Co. wants to express generosity and release a wine that can be enjoyed in its youth, as this 2021, as usual does it all very nicely and it should age for another decade too, and I can’t wait to try the 2023! In recent years, as I did deeper and deeper into Bedrock’s collection, a few under the radar bottlings have also stood out, and I’ll mention that I recommend you explore the whole range, but the Beeson Zin and Evangelho wines are right up my alley!
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Caraccioli Cellars, Brut Cuvée, Escolle Vineyard Sparkling Wine, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The absolutely gorgeous, intensely serious and cool mineral toned 2018 vintage Caraccioli Brut Cuvée grower producer Methode Champenoise sparkler is almost perfection in the glass, with a vivacious and luxurious mousse and a beautifully layered palate of bright lemon, tangy peach, green apple and crisp pear fruit, along with exceptionally well integrated yeasty richness and hazelnut, clove spice, delicate florals and wet stone accents. I help but be completely seduced by this 2018, I can’t remember a California sparkling wine reaching this level of depth, energy and elegance, bravo Scott Caraccioli and team for this amazing release, which by the way saw 58 months on the lees! As mentioned, Caraccioli’s estate Escolle Vineyard, which is set on the Santa Lucia Highlands’ sandy loams and sees a huge cool Pacific Ocean influence, was first planted in 2008, and is named after the historic local legend Honoré Escolle. Caraccioli says he was one of Carmel’s founding fathers, and was very influential in many ways to Monterey the region, as well as operating the main kiln for pottery and clay works in the area and was known to camp on the land where the vineyard lies. Escolle has become one of the most prized vineyards in the region and noted for the quality of the fruit, especially its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The farming here is quite exceptional making it, along with likes of Garys’, Rosella’s, Tondre, Pisoni, Soberanes to name a few, a top site in the Santa Lucia Highlands and the recently added Gamay Noir here is showing huge potential, as witnessed with their own efforts and others. I caught up with Scott Caraccioli recently during Carmel’s famous Car Week events and was treated to his exceptional 2018 sparklers, which to my humble palate are the best yet and should not be missed!

Few other wineries, as I’ve mentioned before, have put together such a fine collection of terroir driven wines in such a short time than Caraccioli, especially their Sparkling wines, which is the main focus of the winery. It all started with the help of the late Michel Salgues, who had worked for famed Champagne house Louis Roderer for most of his career, including the last nineteen years at Roederer Estate in Anderson Valley, where he was the founding winemaker. Scott Caraccioli and his team have quickly gained a solid reputation for his grower producer style bubbly and is now considered one of the best producers in California of Champagne method sparkling wines. Caraccioli follows a very traditional regime from the vines to the bottle, with early picks to long lees aging on these elegant and extra lively wines. Caraccioli first does a light pressing of the cool and fresh juice in small lots, with the winery noting that they do 120 gallons (well below what the law in Champagne mandates: 150-180gl.) at a time. The Cuvée and Rosé see no skin contact and mostly gets some stainless, though some of the lots are fermented in barrique, with all of the primary fermentation(s) being spontaneous, done with ambient yeasts. The Caraccioli Brut Rosé undergoes the same processes and initial blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, as this Brut Cuvée. The difference in the Rosé is that Scott hand picks of a barrel of Pinot Noir still wine to blend into the final Rosé for color, while Brut Cuvée is all naturale. As mentioned in prior reviews, to enhance complexity and depth the young wine is barreled down-post fermentation for a few months, taking as Caraccioli explains, a little rest before blending, though in a few years there is some stainless aged juice and a long élevage in bottle. What a treat is was to visit Caraccioli’s Carmel by the Sea tasting lounge and taste the latest releases, luckier still to have Scott Caraccioli there to show them off to me, especially this one, and the fabulous vintage Rosé, both of which are equally stunning!
($65 Est.) 98 Points, grapelive

2018 Cantina Roeno, Teroldego della Vallagarina “I Dossi” Vallagarina Veronese Trentina, Italy.
The deeply hued black/purple and garnet 2018 Roeno I Dossi Teroldego Vallagarina IGT Rosso is a beautifully aromatic, complex and concentrated example of this rare and unique Dolomiti varietal and makes for a wine that has distinct character that reminds me of Chinon (Cabernet Franc) and Cross-Hermitage (Syrah) love child with dark fruit, spice, mineral tones, meaty elements and lovely florals. There’s a lot to love in this Roeno Teroldego della Vallagarina, with its very dark almost Petite Sirah like color and its layering of blackberry, wild plum, mulberry and black cherry fruits, along with an accenting of black olive, bell pepper, dried minty herbs, cedar, graphite, tartare and crushed violet flowers. This textural medium to full bodied effort impresses in the glass and has started to evolve into a very engaging wine with a firm underpinning of tannin, subtle acidity and now displays a rewarding mouth feel, along with a good length and persistence that makes it a superb companion with a hearty meal. The Roeno Winery, which has a unique array of varietals planted, is located near the border between the Veneto and Trentino, in the land known as “Terra dei Forti” or land with no borders, with the estate surrounded by majestic Dolomite mountain slopes that flank the Adige River. There’s a bunch of cool things being made here and this wine is just the tip of the iceberg and I highly recommend searching out these Roeno offerings.

After years of guessing and study, it was through DNA analysis, that revealed that Teroldego, native to the Trentino area, together with the Schiava Gentile, is a close relative of Lagrein and Marzemino, and a cousin of Dureza, which all are relatives of Syrah. In modern times, Teroldego has been championed by the famous Elizabetta Foradori and her wines remain the grape’s finest and most coveted efforts, they need to be on your bucket list of Italian red wines, but as a starter version of Teroldego, this Roeno is an outstanding way to begin your exploration of this varietal. For their Teroldego della Vallagarina, Roeno uses 100% de-stemmed and carefully hand harvested grapes that are fermented with maceration on the skins in temperature controlled stainless steel vats with pump overs to extract the Teroldego’s intense color, structure and fruit density. After primary fermentation the wine is pressed to large mostly used neutral oak casks, where the winery says it goes through natural secondary (malos) fermentation and matures for about a year before being settled in tank and then bottled. This was the first time I’ve tried the Roeno wines, by the Fugatti family, who’ve lived and worked here for multiple generations, and I look forward to sampling the full range of imported options, which is still pretty limited in the States, as I see that they do some Interesting stuff, including a dry Riesling, that looks like one of their signature wines. I also understand they have an ultra rare red made from 100% Enantio (which I had never even heard of) from vines planted in 1865, which is on my radar now to discover as soon as possible!
($22 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Spreitzer, Riesling Kabinett, Lenchen, Rheingau Germany.
Again, as I’ve mentioned before, after focusing more on the old vine and dry wines, including the fabulous set of GGs at Spreitzer in my reviews, I noticed I hadn’t mentioned often enough, one of my favorite wines in their lineup, the delicious Lenchen Kabinett, and that is an almost unforgivable oversight on my part! This aromatic and bright lighter bodied pre-release sample of 2023 shows lovely potential for the vintage with radiant slightly off dry crystalline fruits, including white peach, green apple, honeyed lemon and hint of pineapple, along with lime blossom, rosewater, ginger spice and green tea. The Lenchen parcels, part of the VDP Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) Oestricher Lenchen vineyard, overlook the widest part of the Rhein and this area gets an almost lake effect climate, warmer and moist, usually allowing for high sugars and early ripening grapes, making for flexibility in picking so the Spreitzer’s can make a wide array of styles from the Grand Cru dry Grosses Gewachs to a lush and intensely sweet Auslese, as well as this traditional Kabinett. The Spreitzer team used a combination of old fuder (German oak cask) and stainless steel tanks to ferment and lees age the wines here, with the Lenchen Kabinett exclusively seeing stainless steel, to retain fresh detail as well as give texture, which this vintage manages to convey to near perfection, making for an ideal Kabinett Riesling. This is a wine that is both fun and quaffable along with having complexity to thrill the senses and goes brilliantly with food, classic German dishes and especially spicy Asian cuisines like Thai.

One of the oldest family wineries in the Rheingau, Weingut Spreitzer, which I visited in 2016, is located in the tiny hamlet of Oestrich in the middle Rheingau is run now by Andreas and Bernd Spreitzer, who took over from their father Josef in 1997 and have really done an amazing job elevating this historic estate. One of their prize holdings, is the Lenchen Vineyard with its VDP Grosse Lage Rosengarten being the elite parcel here, it is set on mostly of gravelly loam and loess soils and not far from the Rhein and the winery itself. There are numerous underground streams here that ensure that even in dry years the vines have plenty of refreshment and a natural source of water for the roots to drink up. During my visit with Andreas in the 2016 harvest period I got a chance to see a lot of his vineyards and tasted in the ancient cellars and in the modern tasting lounge the Spreitzer’s have. It certainly was a fantastic experience and a beautiful place that I recommend to visit when you tour the Rheingau region. The whole area should be on your short list of paces to taste when in Germany and Spreitzer is not far from some other famous spots like Kloster Eberbach and Schloss Vollrads, as well as being close the Geisenheim University and just up Rhein River from Rudesheim, one of the Rhein’s most picturesque villages. I was thrilled to catch up with Andreas Spreitzer earlier this Summer and taste through his upcoming releases, including this deliciously pure Lenchen Kabinett, all of which were outstanding efforts that are reason for excitement and the 2021 and 2022 vintages are already tremendous wines, with the Wisselbrunnen GG being a monumental and profound dry Riesling.
($24 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Chiussuma, Carema DOC, Alto Piemonte, Italy.
Still flying under the radar, the new on the scene, Chiussuma winery that is based in the Carema and Caluso wine regions in Alto Piemonte, north of Torino, bordering the Val d’Aosta, specializes in Nebbiolo and this 2020 Carema DOC is elegant, evocative and beautifully detailed version which delivers lovely delicacy, purity and incredible length. This ruby/brick hued wine highlights why this remote area, lesser known than the famed Barolo and Barbaresco, is capturing the hearts of Nebbiolo fans, it shows off Burgundy like class, with fine rose petal aromatics, silky texture and mineral tones. The medium bodied palate delivers charming Nebbiolo red fruits, including brandied cherry, damson plum, currant and blood orange, along with all spice, crushed stone, wild mushroom, light cedar and anise accents. Still vibrant and fresh, this lighter framed Nebbiolo is developing nicely and gets better and better in the glass, this is a wine to spend an evening with and enjoy its full personality over a slow meal. Winemaker Matteo Ravera Chion says the Nebbiolo vines here are set on morainic & mica schist soils, carried up the impossibly steep slopes from the valley bottom, with the terroir benefiting from a dramatic daily temperature fluctuation, which adds complexity and distinction to the wines.

This winery, which is named after one of many nearby waterfalls, Chiusumma is located in Alto Piemonte and the Carema region, which has been produced Nebbiolo based wines for over five hundred years and a region that has seen a lot of modern times attention recently with this varietal’s most fanatic fans. Chiussuma has founded in In 2016 by the young Matteo Ravera Chion, a graduate of Torino University, who joined forces with a couple of locals including his wife Alessandra to form this label, first releasing a 2019 vintage Rosso Canavese, after which the longer aged 2016 and 2017 Caremas . These early efforts are what that caught the eye of a savvy importer and now we can get these exciting, extremely small lot and authentic wines in the States. The Carema, which was awarded its DOC back in 1967, by Ravera Chion here at Chiusumma saw a 100% de-stemmed 15 day skin maceration and fermentation, after which it was pressed to used bigger 500L Tonneaux barrels, where it matured for 18 months. Production is tiny by anyone’s standards, with this wine being a limited 100 case offering. Chiussuma also does a Caluso Erbaluce, a white wine that I am excited to try too. This vintage of Carema is only the second of Chiusumma’s wines I’ve tried and I was especially impressed by this one and recommend keeping an eye out for this one.
($60 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Berger, Gelber Muskateller, Kremstal, Austria.
Digging deeper into the collection of Berger wines, beyond the basic Grüner Veltliner by Erich Berger, you’ll find some other outstanding values, especially the Rieslings and this highly aromatic and dry Gelber Muskateller, which is a fun and delicious Summer wine with classic Muscat jasmine perfume, a touch of spearmint, vibrant white peach, lemon/lime and crisp green apple, along with a stony element and bitter almond note. This is fine light bodied effort that is a fabulous aperitif wine and or fun picnic wine, being fresh and zesty it also goes nicely with lighter sea food dishes. An ancient, very floral varietal, the light gold/geen berried, Gelber Muskateller, which is the German (and Austrian) name for Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, a white wine grape that some believe originates from Greece, though certainly around the Mediterranean Sea, and is also commonly in Italian and French region, with Alsace maybe the most famous. It’s also quite versatile and can be used to make dry, sweet and sparkling wines with great success and is even done in a tawny port style too, most notably in Australia. Muscat is one of the oldest grape varieties in the world, of which there are many distinct different clones or genetic version, especially in Italy, and are differentiated by the color of the berries, like yellow, orange and black. Grown in the Kremstal on Loess and deep brown rich soils with gravel and marl, Berger’s Muskateller is slowly fermented and then shortly aged exclusively in temperature controlled stainless steel tank to allow for freshness of detail and transparency. I’m a fan of dry Muscat, especially from Müller-Catoir in the Pfalz, Germany, and in Alsace, but for everyday drinking it is easy to love this zesty/tangy Berger version.

As noted with my reviews of Berger’s wines, in the cellar, Erich Berger does everything to preserve and focus of vitality and freshness, he uses only ultra clean practices with his Grüner, Riesling and Muskateller only seeing selected cultured yeasts and temperature controlled stainless steel fermentation(s) and aging, nothing fancy, but highly effective for transparency and clarity of form. Erich Berger, the winegrower, is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and completely humble, and to taste his his wines is always a pleasure, and as mentioned they all impress for their no pretense quality, and in particular, this one. Weingut Berger has implemented methods, such as organic farming, and a focus on sustainable practices to produce wines that showcase terroir and varietal character, and while always highlighted as a value producer, the game has changed here, as mentioned before in my prior reviews, and the wines are certainly winners through out the collection. I met up with Erich’s son Max at a recent tasting in San Francisco, with Berger’s importer Skurnik Wines, and was again impressed with the quality here, especially Berger’s white grape wines, as noted above, that come from steep terraced sites in the eastern section of the Kremstal region, not far from the Danube River, just to the west of Vienna on classic loess soils. I have really enjoyed Berger’s wines over the years, and have noticed a surge in quality in recent years and highly recommend the current vintages, in particular the Grüners of course, with the 1L bottle being an outstanding quaffer, along with the more serious single cru offerings, like the Gedersdorf Kremstal Grüner, as well as the superb intense Kremstal Ried Steiner Pfaffenberg Riesling, which is the most limited in the portfolio.
($24 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Parsonage Village Vineyard, Syrah, Monterey County.
A big, opaque purple/black and tannic Shiraz style Syrah from Parsonage with deep aromatics, a dusting of mixed spices and a core of ripe black fruits, making for a broad and gripping wine that absolutely needs a hearty protein rich meal to bring out its best quality. This wine, sourced from the Argyle Vineyard in the remote arid San Antonio Valley area of Monterey, which gets a lot more heat during the Summer and cool nights from the Pacific Ocean breezes leads to thick skins and biting tannic structure, which this 2021 Parsonage delivers with chewy intensity, a nervy and fiery version of this grape, rather than the more opulent and hedonistic that the estate examples of Parsonage show. The palate is full and powerful with dark berries, violets and subtle wood notes lead the way with a firm layering of blackberry, plum, currant and blueberry compote, along with a touch of mocha, peppercorn, anise, Tahitian vanilla, incense and gritty graphite notes. Best to decant and enjoy this with a prime rib, lamb and or a selection of Basque hard sheep cheeses, this is a wine for those that are looking for throwback version of forceful Syrah. There were no 2020s due to the fires within the region here and these 2021s so far are turning out to be thrilling wines that look like they might need some extra bottle age to soften, though this one I think will stay on the firmer side, it makes for an interesting contrast to Parsonage’s more luxurious and hedonistic estate wines.

As mentioned many times here with my reviews, Bill Parsons planted his estate with Syrah, a first for the Carmel Valley AVA, and Bordeaux varietals, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the rare Petit Verdot blocks back in 1998 and hit the ground running with his 2000 debut bottlings that garnered eye brow raising critical acclaim. The wines have impressed for their lush fruit driven quality, something that not many people thought possible here until Parsons brought these wines out, up until then most of the Carmel Valley reds were austere and needed tons of bottle age to be their best, like the wines that came from the historic Durney label, now known as the Massa Estate. If you’ve not had the Parsonage wines, now is a good time to start, in particular the estate grown bottlings of Syrah, like this Estate, the Cabernet Sauvignon and especially the single varietal Dario Reserve Merlot, which is also absolutely stunning in this stellar 2019, and the delicious 2018, vintages. The Parsonage wines are crafted by Frank Melicia, owner and founder Bill Parsons’ winemaker and son in law, who also makes the Silvestri wines, and that goes after richly flavored, ripe and textural wines that stand out, which has been a winning formula for this small label in Carmel Valley. As with all the Syrah efforts here, the grapes are 100% de-stemmed and vigorously sorted, seeing a lengthy maceration and daily punch-downs for full color and phenolic extraction and then they basket pressed to French oak barriques, mostly used and mature close to 18 months before bottling. I highly recommend chasing down the 2019s here at Parsonage for near term drinking and put these 2021s away for another couple of years.
($45 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Prieler, Pinot Blanc, Leithaberg DAC “Alte Reben” Burgenland, Austria.
Georg Prieler, one of my favorite Austrian producers, makes some of Europe’s best examples of complex and delicious Pinot Blanc, rivaling top notch versions from Alsace and the Alto Adige, with his latest Leithaberg old vine being an outstanding vintage. The 2021 Leithaberg Alte Reben Pinot Blanc is delicately golden in the glass and has surprising depth and structure to go with a lovely mineral toned palate of apple, lemon preserves, white peach and fleshy melon fruits, along with yeasty hazelnut, honeycomb, zingy herb and stony notes. Fresh and lively with a medium bodied feel there is a lot to admire here and elevates this varietal, which can rarely reach this level, this is stunning stuff again from Prieler. Prieler’s 20 hectares of vines are cultivated in small parcels between the Leithagebirge, which according to the winery, is the last outpost of the eastern Alps that protect the vines from the western winds, and the Lake Neusiedl, which tempers the hot climate of the Pannonian plain, where there is the most sunshine in all of Eastern Europe. I highly recommend digging deep into this latest Prieler collection. Prieler has many varietals planted here, including Blaufränkisch, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Welschriesling, Sankt Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which all enjoy lots of sunshine and a complex series of calcerous and iron rich soils with sand, limestone over deep chalk, fossilized rock and some mica-schist. As well as this Cru version, Prieler does the all stainless Seeberg bottling, which is a great value priced option as well.

The Prieler estate, as mentioned here in my prior reviews, founded in 1972, is based in Schützen, which sits on the western side of the Lake Neusiedl, in Burgenland, it is a historic old farm, that was once dedicated to many types of agriculture, but now specializing almost solely in grape growing. Georg Prieler is a the second generation Prieler to run this iconic winery and the one that has brought world wide acclaim to this property with his fantastic terroir driven Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc wines. Georg’s wife Silvia brings a wealth of experience to the winery with a PhD in biochemistry, international experience including an internship at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy and a precise touch, which explains the class and finesse in the wines. The winery notes that all of the grapes are carefully crushed and fermented at closely controlled temperatures in steel tanks or wooden casks. The character of the variety and the vineyard determines how the wine will be matured and what in. For example, the Prieler’s add, the most of the Pinot Blanc will aged exclusively in stainless steel to maximize freshness and clarity, though this one sees two days on the skins and some lees aging in large cask, which adds depth, as seen here. Prieler’s Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc bottlings take center stage in the lineup, with the 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch and this white Burgundy like 2021 Leithaberg DAC Pinot Blanc Alte Reben (old vine) being my favorites, along with their dry Rosé and the Kalkterrassen Gemischter Satz (co-fermented white blend), which was all new to me. Again, as noted and written here, Prieler is a jewel of a winery and if you’ve not had them before, now is an excellent time to do so!
($45 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Whitehall Lane, Merlot, Napa Valley.
The dark purple/garnet and lush 2019 Whitehall Lane Napa Valley is a smooth and deeply opulent wine that is drinking fabulously well right now, it captures the varietal’s and region’s best character and qualities in the glass with lovely aromatics, a polished luxurious texture and has good depth and complexity with loads of dense black fruits, velvety tannins, a light dusting of spice and well judged oak use. This vintage of Whitehall Lane’s Merlot had a final blend of 87% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot, and the winery notes it has always utilized the art of blending to make their Merlot, which adds to the total enjoyment in the wine, especially in years like 2019 that was ripe, but also well balanced. The full bodied palate delivers classic blackberry, black cherry, plum and currant fruits along with hints of pencil lead, chocolate, sweet sandalwood, sage/spice, caramel, delicate pipe tobacco, licorice, dark floral notes and smoky vanilla. The Merlot, sourced from multiple parcels and areas within the Napa Valley, 100% de-stemmed saw a lengthy cold soak and was fermented using a selected culture and once dry it was pressed to 100% French oak with about 35% new wood used. The Napa Valley Merlot was allowed to mature in barrel for close to 20 months, after which it was bottled unfined and unfiltered, that adds up to a wine that is ready to please upon release, though this vintage looks to be rewarding for a decade, such is the structure and fruit density.

The Leonardini Family, owners of the famed Whitehall Lane Winery in St. Helena, as I mentioned in a recent review, originally founded this label mainly dedicated to Bordeaux varietals in 1979, then oversaw the 1989 re-planting of their 14 acre vineyard site right near the famous Harvest Inn and eventually bought the vineyard in 1993, forming their first true estate property. According to the winery, the area had been originally planted to black grapes in the late 1800’s when the Lewelling Family settled on a large tract of land on the southern outskirts of St. Helena. The old-time farmers of the area said that the soil, Cortina Gravely Loam, in this particular area was renowned for quality wine grapes, though much turmoil followed and it wasn’t until more recent times and better farming that the full potential was realized here and it was planted to mainly Cabernet Sauvignon. Like the winery itself, the vines are right off the Highway 29 that carves through the Napa Valley, on the western side on what has become one of the most iconic area in the wine world. As mentioned, I was a huge fan of the early 1990s wines here, drinking lots of Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and the Merlot, that has long been a great value offering, as well as visiting the winery when I was up in Napa, so it was great to taste their current offerings, which I highly recommend. Most recently Whitehall Lane added a series of small lot Tête Cuvée Cabernets, a brace of Pinot Noirs rom cool climate sites and a single varietal Petit Vedot, all of which I am excited to try.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Sandlands Vineyards, Assyrtiko, Lodi, California.
While winemaker Tegan Passalacqua is manly known for his red wine, especially his Turley Zinfandel and Petite Syrah, along with his own Sandlands collection of distinctive reds, including his fabulous Cinsault and Carignane offerings, he also has some very savvy whites, with the Semillon, Chenin Blanc and now this exciting and mineral crisp Assyrtiko, one of Greece’s signature white grapes, most commonly found in the famous wines of Santorini. This is a rarity in California, and maybe the only Assyrtiko in California, at least by a high profile and quality label so far and it sure likes like this varietal will find the state a happy home. This pale golden hued 2022, the debut release, from sandy soils in Lodi, has plenty of fresh acidity and shows of an array of sunny citrus and tangy stone fruits on the light to medium bodied palate with kumquat, kiwi, unripe apricot, quince and melon, along with bitter almond, zesty herb and a delicate orange blossom floral note. With air you pick up a textural appeal and a light yeasty tone, along with a mouth watering saline and chalky element, making for a nicely balanced white wine to enjoy over the next year and with a flexible range of foods, in particular grilled salmon, sardines and or squid dishes, though also a nice Summer refresher with a picnic or salad. Even in a year with some intense heat, this Assyrtiko, a grape that can handle arid and hot conditions, keeps a natural vibrancy, showing that it should be a good fit for the future, retaining acidity, like Vermentino does.

For these Sandlands wines, as mentioned before, winemaker Tegan Passalaqua, who is the vineyard manager and head winemaker at the famous Turley Wine Cellars, uses restraint and employs a light touch in the cellar here with most bottlings being small wines made with indigenous yeasts and lots of whole cluster. Along with an old school maceration(s) with hand punch downs, basket pressing and with the aging being done in well used barrels, mostly French oak. California wine enthusiasts are re-discovery Lodi and other region’s historic old vines, like here in Contra Costa County, with many vineyards being well over 100 years old, set on well draining sandy soils, which is what many of California’s best vineyards have. The Sandlands line-up encompasses these forgotten classic California varieties, and other rarities such as this Assyrtiko, Mencia and Listen Prieto, AKA The Mission Grape, primarily grown in decomposed granite (sand), as seen here, from regions and vineyards that have been farmed, as Passalaqua notes, for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. Coming from primarily head-trained, dry-farmed and own rooted 100 year old plus vines, as Tegan continues, that harken back to California’s roots of exploration, wonder, and hard work. There’s a lot to admire and enjoy here with Tegan’s Sandlands Vineyards wines, and while the reds are always very tasty treats, don’t over look the whites! I’ve been a fan of Sandlands for a long while and am very excited to see these latest set of wines exceeding my expectations, with the Mataro, Carignane and Cinsault really impressing me in recent years.
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs, Red Wine, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County.
The beautiful, aromatic, opulent and spiced 2021 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel blend is one of my favorite vintages and is showing fantastically right now, with this slightly cooler year adding a heightened excitement on the palate with black raspberry, tree picked plum, Italian cherry, tangy red currant and puckering blueberry fruits, along with bramble/briar, sandalwood, anise, dusty earthy loam, smoky vanilla and delicate dark floral accents. This wine, while full bodied and densely vinous, is also nicely crafted to keep vibrancy of form, with contrasting savory notes to go with the seamless layering of fruit, this very seductive stuff again from one of California’s greatest wineries of all time. I have been visiting Lytton Springs since before the Ridge take over and seen it grow from a rustic barn with a few feral cats wondering through to its current form as one of the most sustainable and modern tasting facilities in Sonoma County, and even though I adored it back at the beginning, it still is a must visit when in the Healdsburg and Dry Creek area. I have many wonderful memories from Lytton Springs and equally great experiences with the wines from the estate, which are some of California’s best and most pleasing wines, which was again proved here with this 2021 edition. There’s a ton to admire about Ridge past and present and their current collection has an amazing array of diverse wines to chose from, including their famous Monte Bello Bordeaux blend, as well as things like single varietal Carignane, Syrah and even Valdiguié, and there has never been a better time to explore them.

Ridge’s Lytton Springs Zinfandel based bottling typically sees 70% Zinfandel along with a mix of small parts of Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and even some Cinsault and Counoise, as seen in this 2021 version, all coming from the old school bush vines around the Lytton estate property. For this wine, Ridge does all hand harvesting and a 100% de-stemmed native yeast fermentation with rigorous daily punch-downs and a full maceration, which goes for a couple weeks before being pressed to barrel. The Ridge Lytton Springs goes through natural secondary fermentation in the wood with an elevage in a selection of air dried American oak barrels, usually seeing close to 20% new oak, but with about 60% seeing 5 plus year old barrels to allow for authentic transparency and a focus on the purity of the fruit and the place. In recent vintages, I am noticing a slight and very welcome drop in natural alcohol, with this one coming in at 14.3%, which also helps deliver a more fresh and vivid profile, that I find more balanced and more appealing, especially with a meal. This 2021, which was aged in barrel for 18 months, ended up with a final blend of 72% Zinfandel, with a good portion coming from vines planted in 1901, 15% Petite Sirah, 9% Carignane, 2% Alicante Bouschet, from ancient vines right next to the tasting room, 1% Cinsault and 1% Counoise, from an 80 year old parcel. Ridge does everything they can to keep to minimum intervention in the winemaking with low sulfur and a light filtration, making these wines brilliant and delicious on release, but with the potential to age decades, as I’m sure this one will be able to do. I must say, as I get older I do like these Ridge Zins, including the classic Geyerville, Pagani and this Lytton Springs with bottle age, but was gracefully impressed with this 2021 from first sip to last drop, I wish I had a few more!
($55 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Trocken, Felsenberg, Grosses Gewächs, Nahe Germany.
The Dönnhoff Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg VDP Grosse Lage or Grand Cru site is set on porphyry dominated soils, which are volcanic influenced and is quite distinctive in the wines that come from here and this is very much the case with Dönnhoff’s outstanding 2023 Felsenberg GG barrel sample I tried recently at Skurnik Imports West Coast Germany and Austria portfolio tasting. Without quest the critically acclaimed 2022 vintage were exceptional wines, but I was curious to get a preview of the 2023s, and I was not disappointed, with Dönnhoff being some of the best examples, in particular their set of GGs, with this ’23 Felsenberg being close to my favorite with its spicy and slightly austere start and its intense mineral driven nature. Once given a moment to come alive in the glass this pale greenish/gold dry Riesling opens up to becoming a monumental and profound wine with heightened aromas and flavors that excite the senses. The medium bodied and racy palate shows layers of complexity with a mixed array of powerful forces engaging you, including lime blossom, tangerine, smoky rock, white peach, muskmelon, tart green apple, bitter almond, verbena and quince playing roles here. This wine is absolutely electric and zingy, but there’s an underlying vinous depth that makes you take notice and it lingers on and on with extreme persistence and length adding rosewater, tropical essences and tea spices, there’s some real potential here and I wouldn’t want to miss seeing what is going to happen in 5 to 10 years!

The spicy intense Felsenberg Grand Cru (GG) dry Riesling from Donnhoff is simply out of this world, and like I’ve said before here in my reviews, it is very different and unique wine and site in the collection of amazing vineyard that Dönnhoff has above the Nahe River, I can only explain that Felsenberg is to Hermannshöle, is like what Batard-Montrachet is to Corton-Charlemagne! In some ways, I can compare the Dönnhoff GGs to Grand Cru Chablis, especially Le Clos, as they are steely and mineral driven, more so than the wines of the Côte de Beaune and I mean that they are similar in class, even though the Rieslings here are very much varietal in the purest sense, it is just way of conveying just how fantastic they are and helps to explain where they sit in the peak of dry white wines, and they are maybe better, especially from what I recently tasted rom Dönnhoff! The mature and organically farmed vines in the Felsenberg cru are on steep slopes and are perfect to produce dry Riesling treasures, as seen with this 2023. It should be noted again that the Dönnhoff Riesling vines are all old clones and are quite distinctive in character and add tons of terroir personality, in particular in their Grand Cru wines, such as Klamm, Brücke, Leistenberg, Felsenberg, Kirschheck, Dellchen, Krötenpfuhl, Kahlenberg, and Höllenpfad. There’s exceptional quality throughout the range at Dönnhoff and I, as noted before, am a huge fan of these wines and highly recommend them all, with my personal favorites being the Leistenberg Kabinett, the Hermannshöhle GG, the Tonschiefer Riesling Trocken and this one. It was great to catch up on the latest releases from Dönnhoff, with their 2022 showing fantastically well and 2023s too, please note the 2023 GGs will be a year away from release, and all are wines to stock up on!
($89 Est.) 96-98 Points, grapelive

2019 Drew Family Cellars, Syrah, Perli Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge, Mendocino County.
Again, as fantastic as Drew’s Pinots are, Jason Drew’s Perli Syrah is just as desirable, and it is usually one of my favorite bottlings from this small family producer based in the western edges of the Anderson Valley, with this 2019 proving to be an elegant and compelling vintage, less meaty and gripping than most years with a vivid array of dark fruits, delicate florals, spice and mineral tones. I almost thought I made a mistake, and did a double take on the label to be sure I actually opened a Syrah and not a Pinot! Such was the graceful and bright nature found in this version of Drew’s Perli cool climate Syrah. The natural acidity and under 13% alcohol here with Drew’s Perli Syrah give this wine a lean and lighter feel on the medium bodied palate, which shows off some beautiful and silky black raspberry, tangy blueberry, damson plum and tart currant fruits, along with hints of briar, camphor, anise, peppercorns and a subtle violet toned bouquet. Definitely within keeping of pure Syrah varietal character, but this vintage is a bit more shy and less fleshy than I would have expected, though perfectly exciting, fresh and delicious with food. This year’s Perli comes across more Saint-Joseph like, rather than Cornas or Côte-Rotie, for reference in this exceptional Northern Rhône inspired wine. I love all of the Drew wines and as the estate gets more and more mature, the home grown stuff gets better and better, especially the Field Selection bottlings.

As noted here in my prior reviews, the Perli Vineyard, as Drew notes, comes from hillside vines that were planted about 20 years ago with the Syrah being the McDowell selection and the 877 clones, is 10 miles from the ocean and is perched at close to 2,200 feet above sea level on thin and steep north east facing slope. The Ornbaun soils here are a unique combination that gives this wine its soul, consisting of shale, fractured sandstone and rhyolite with some sandy loams. The McDowell selection, as Jason adds, is notable as it is the oldest field selection of Syrah in North America, brought into California to the San Jose Mission in 1880 and later planted on the McDowell Ranch in Mendocino County in 1902. This very lovely cool climate Syrah, with a nod to Cote-Rotie, is co-fermented with close to 5% Viognier in the traditional style of one of the Northern Rhone Valley’s most legendary places. The winemaking at Drew is always transparent and artisan in nature with a gentle touch to allow for a terroir driven profile with this Perli Syrah, with this 2019 noticeably less stemmy in profile than past editions, which maybe down to vintage conditions. Normally, Jason Drew, employs a 100% native yeast and 50% whole-cluster fermentation on his Perli Syrah with just the right amount of stem inclusion, but this one saw 100% whole bunches, and it was aged solely in a neutral French Oak, typically Puncheon(s), for 18 months. I also recommend Drew’s sister Syrah from the Valenti Ranch, and I am very excited for the new estate Syrah which I hear was just released to their mailing list!
($58-70 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Assenovgrad Winery, Mavrud, Asen’s Fortress, Red Wine, Thracian Valley, Bulgaria.
I tasted this bottle, which was brought back from Bulgaria by a friend’s daughter, with it’s local home market label instead of the English language export version, it is a traditional Bulgarian red wine, made from from the indigenous Mavrud grape and was fermented and aged exclusively in stainless steel vat, making for a lovely pure, dry and red fruited expression of this rare, in the West, varietal. This clean and bright ruby red Mavrud, which drinks a bit like Pinot Noir and or Gamay, is medium bodied with vivid cherry, wild plum, cranberry and red currant fruits, along with a bit of brambly spice, mineral, tangy/minty herbs and orange peel. This wine opens up nicely and has mild tannins, a touch of creamy texture and at 13.5% natural alcohol, comes across ripe, but nicely balanced, making it pleasing, clean and interesting, which is better than most Eastern European efforts which mostly still suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, of the lost years under Soviet rule. This is especially true in the Balkans, with Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania having it very tough under the Soviet regime, where collectives produced cheap wines for the Russia market, and old family estates disappeared maybe forever and many native varietals, sadly, were ripped out all together as in later years the Soviets wanted to sell cheap wine to the west and thought international grapes like Merlot were a better sell to world markets. I’ve been luck to have tasted many Bulgarian wines through the years, mostly with depressing results, so it was uplifting to taste such a fun and tasty wine as this Asen’s Fortress red by Assenovgrad Winery so unexpectedly and I hope we see many more of Bulgaria’s historic varietals make a comeback too. Bulgaria is a ways behind Hungary and the Republic of Georgia in terms of quality and the cool factor, but there is lots of potential if given the chance, with a country that has tremendous, almost California like diversity of terroirs and nature, with high mountains (great skiing), cool coastal regions to the east (Black Sea), beautiful rolling hills and forest areas and the more arid Thracian Valley, perfect for deep red wines.

Assenovgrad Winery, based in the village of Assenovgrad, in Bulgaria’s ancient growing region of Plovdiv in the Thracian Valley, in the south-west corner, home to some of the oldest orthodox Christian monasteries in the world and the country’s main wine area. The Mavrud grape, or Mavroudi as it is known in Greece, is a dark-skinned grape varietal that is widely believed to be of Bulgarian origin, it is found throughout the Balkan counties, though mainly here in Bulgaria and Romania, as well as Greece and Albania. This grape, which depending on market tastes can be used to make wines of various levels of sweetness, but has been more recently, with modern technology and farming, done as a dry red wine with some success, especially here in the Thracian Valley, though still not as well thought of as it deserves. Interestingly, there was at one time speculation amongst some grape growers that Mavrud might actually be an ancient clone of Mourvédre, maybe originally imported into Bulgaria by the Romans, but that almost certainly has now been proven not the case, even with some vine similarities. Winegrowing, not only suffered here from the Soviets, but also during the rule and occupation of the Ottoman Empire, who’s aversion to alcohol through their religious faith led to the destruction of many vineyards during their harsh reign. One of the other local myths regarding Marrud, is the legend that tells of how Mavrud got its name and survived the Ottoman rule. It goes that during the reign of Khan Krum of Bulgaria, all vineyards were ordered destroyed, though later, a lion (or other monster) escaped from its cage and terrorized his city, however, a fearless young man named Mavrud (hence the name of a wine grape) confronted and slew the lion. After which the grateful king summoned Mavrud’s mother to learn the source of her son’s remarkable courage. She confessed to him that she had secretly saved a grapevine, made a small batch of wine, and that this was the source of Mavrud’s bravery, where upon his majesty the king Khan Krum ordered the vineyards to be replanted. While not against some of the international grapes grown here in Bulgaria, they are just not as exciting to me personally and my curious nature gravitates to the almost lost varietals rebirth as seen here!
($16 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

nv Domaine Rolet, Brut Blanc, Crémant du Jura, Sparkling Wine, Jura, France.
Very savvy buy in quality sparkling wine, the Domaine Rolet Crémant du Jura Brut Blanc delivers loads of class, crisp detail and excitement in the glass with a creamy effervescence and a dry palate of lemony citrus, a touch of peach, apple and quince fruits, plus a luxurious toasty brioche, hazelnut and mineral notes. Not as chalky as classic Champagne Blanc de Blancs, this Crémant du Jura is brilliant, leesy and distinctive, without a thing out of place, this is an everyday priced treat that you’ll want to stock up on. This all organic Brut sparkler comes from mature vines, at least 20 years old, set on gray marl at over 300 meters up and includes usually about 50% Chardonnay and a local 40% red varietal mix of Pinot Noir, Trousseau and Poulsard, along with close to 10% Savagnin, the native white grape of the Jura. Obviously there’s no skin contact and the cuvée was fermented with indigenous yeasts, with Rolet’s all stainless steel Crémant seeing a full 24 months on the yeast and a low dosage. This most recent version, certainly the best edition I’ve tried saw a slightly different cépage, with no Trousseau, it contains 57% Chardonnay, giving depth and richness, 16% Savagnin, which adds more intensity and zing, 16% Poulsard and nearly 11% Pinot Noir that helps with natural structure. The lively and steely Domaine Rolet Crémant du Jura is hand crafted in the traditional method or Methode Champenoise and is serious, but easy to just sip, also it can be enjoyed with a fuller meal or as an aperitif.

The Domaine Rolet, with vines in the Arbois and in the Côtes du Jura, began in WWII with Désiré Rolet making his first wines in 1942, but it was in 1958 when the family domaine really came into being with his four sons all deciding to join the family winery. The Domaine Rolet has become a well known property over the years and according to their importer, Skurnik Wines, with successes they began to grow and acquired some prime old vine vineyards in the appellations of Arbois and Côtes du Jura, helping further to establish themselves in this remote region. From the beginning, they realized it was all about fruit quality and the farming has been the focus, which to, Skurnik adds, that today that focus continues and the domaine is undergoing a complete conversion to 100% organic. The farming here is never easy, with their very steep-sloped vineyards this can prove quite difficult indeed, but the results are in the glass, and the latest generation, under the new leadership of Cedric Ducoté, who comes from Burgundy, Domaine Rolet is committed to excellence and I think they’ve raised the game significantly and I recommend checking out their latest efforts. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed the traditional bottlings, including the uniquely Jura style nutty Côtes du Jura Savagnin, the concentrated almost sherry like Arbois Vin Juane, 100% Savagnin also and which saw 6 years in barriques, the juicy, slightly raw Macvin du Jura, made from unfermented Chardonnay and Savagnin juice that is stalled with Marc (Brandy) and aged 48 months, as well as the delicate, ultra pale and lightly spicy Arbois Trousseau.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2016 Kenefick Ranch, Cabernet Sauvignon “Doctor’s Cuvée” Estate Grown, Calistoga AVA, Napa Valley.
I was thrilled to try this reserve bottling from Kenefick Ranch, it really is in a wonderful stage, combining the power of the 2016 vintage in Napa with some graceful elegance brought on with a good bit of maturity, though there even more potential here for decades of future rewards with this wine’s depth and structure well put together for extended cellaring. This deep garnet/crimson Cabernet shows off excellent purity with blackberry, currant, plum and blueberry coulis fruit on the full bodied and luxurious palate that has sweet cedary wood framing the fruit, along with cut tobacco leaf, anise, acacia flower, sage, loam and vanilla accents, all adding up to a well made and impeccable Napa expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker, Chris Kenefick, explains that every year the Doctor’s Cuvee is selected from the best lots of the vintage and the finest barrels of each lot. The final blend is fleshed out, with some seeing a small amount of new French Oak to add, he says, boldness and character impact on the wine’s palate. The 2016 uses Chris’s best or favorite selected barrels from a Clone 6 block and from there Clone 337 block, which gives great complexity and balance, which I can attest to here. This Kenefick Ranch Doctor’s Cuvée, the winery’s most coveted all estate, Calistoga AVA effort, got 24 months in wood, with 70% New French Oak and 30% neutral French Oak, and then another 12 months in the bottle before release.

The Kenefick Ranch Vineyard, as mentioned here in recent years, is a fantastic 125 acre estate located beneath the Palisades of Mt. St. Helena on the east side of Calistoga and, as mentioned in my prior reviews, is widely known for the quality of their grapes, which they mostly sell to top end wineries, though they keep a small amount for their small label. Owned by the Kenefick family, with Chris running the show these days, the vineyard has been in operation since 1985 with hillside vines mainly planted to Bordeaux varietals. The Kenefick Ranch Winery started with their 2002 vintage wines and has now after 20 or so years has gained an enthusiast following, though keeping incredibly realistic pricing. Again, aarlier this year I met up with Chris Kenefick at portfolio tasting, and tasted through his wines from his family’s vineyard close to Calistoga and I especially loved this firm, ripely dense 2016 Doctor’s Cuvée, the previously reviewed 2018 Cabernet Franc Caitlin’s Select, which combines the power and depth of its Napa valley fruit with the cool elegance and the perfect balance of the vintage, so it was nice follow with again with the gorgeous and opulent 2019 signature Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon and the cooler 2021s, which are stunning as well, though best to give them time. The Doctor’s Cuvée, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming in at close to 15% natural alcohol, was, as noted above, a special barrel selection with this vintage seeing top notch Taransaud, Orion and Sylvain casks, which are now receding nicely in to the background, allowing the wine to really show off its impressive full array of flavors.
($125 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

July 2024

2023 Union Sacré, Pinot Noir, Monterey County.
After just trying and reviewing their Carbonic Sangiovese, I am enjoying Union Sacré’s new and delightful Pinot Noir, which is in the same quaffable and juicy mode, with a heightened carbonic style, almost Beaujolais like personality in the glass and is really best served with a chill. This vivid ruby red Pinot Noir was exclusively whole berry fermented and raised in cement vat, which brings out extreme purity of form, but less austere than steel, allowing also for a more rounded creamy mouth feel in a lighter/brighter framed wine. This floral 2023 is showing off a Jolly Rancher candied cherry, crushed raspberry, strawberry and tangy cranberry fruit, along with hints of bubble gum, red apple skin, rosewater, garden herbs, vibrant orange, a bit of watermelon and delicate mineral accents. Union Sacré is noted for their focus on elegant, single vineyard, single Alsatian noble varietal wines, this include dry styled Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir. They also explore seriously other grapes from the Central Coast like Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, plus some fun extras such as the mentioned Sangiovese, a couple of white Alsatian blends, a skin contact white, a Rosé and this unique version of Pinot Noir. The Monterey, breezy and marine influence long growing season adds dimension, with ripe fruit, but with a lively freshness that shines through here, especially in this exceptionally cool vintage that delivered elegance and electric vibrancy throughout a huge range of varietals.

Union Sacré, A tiny micro winery owned by Philip Muzzy and French winemaker Xavier Arnaudin, from the Rhône, who formed in 2014, calls Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties home, and again as mentioned they are known for their Alsace styled whites, which I first tried with their 2016 “Fraulein” Riven Rock Vineyard Riesling. The Union Sacré wines, which they say are made for the tables of friends, made by these two friends, from different continents, Xavier and Philip, who arrived at the Central Coast from opposite ends of the Earth, as they note, Xavier is a WSET certified, oenology degree holder from France, Philip is a self-taught designer from Michigan who kind of misses living in a van. Between the two of them, Xavier and Philip have 35+ years experience working in Central Coast wineries, and Xavier has made wine with some of the Central Coast’s most notable wineries, including Sans Liege, Arcadian and Herman Story, adding to the pedigree here at Union Sacré. This 2023 Monterey Pinot Noir has lots to admire in a non pretentious way, it is more fun and easy to love than most in this price range, even though it isn’t something you’d want to bury in the cellar, it is something, with low alcohol (13.1%) you’d want to enjoy with Summer picnics and Beach meals. I understand this wine was sourced from a single vineyard, Rancho Solo, at the foot of the Gabilan Mountains, where the grapes grow in an alluvial fan of decomposed limestone and granitic sand, which explains the expressive fruit and retained acidity here.
($26 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Von Winning, Riesling Trocken, Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad, VDP Erste Gewächs, Pfalz, Germany.
These Von Winning wines are some of the best dry wines in Germany and their 2022s are next level, especially the cru Riesling bottlings and in particular this gorgeous Reiterpfad Erste Gewächs (Premier Cru), which again is stunningly impressive and an incredible value in this lineup of stars. This aromatic and beautifully mineral driven crisply dry Riesling is pulsating and electric on the palate, but still vinos and generous with a well rounded medium bodied feel, highlighting the depth of this vintage, this wine is every bit a GG in presence and underlying structure. I was thrilled to try this wine with winemaker Stephan Attmann recently in San Francisco at their west coast importer, Skurnik, tour event, and even though it was up against the top GGs, this Reiterpfad 1er Cru really shined and should continue to develop over the next 5 to 10 years! AS per normal, this steely Reiterpfad was fermented with native yeast in wood casks, as feels, as it usually does, like a Premier Cru Chablis, but with pure Riesling varietal character, delivering lime blossom, tangerine, green apple, quince, lemony marmalade, stone fruits, leaning on tangy apricot, along with lip smacking saline, wet rock, bitter almond, rosewater and chamomile notes. The pale gold Reiterspfad saw a spontaneous fermentation or Sponti in used 500L barrels and was left on the gross lees for a full 12 months. Everything is heightened in this vintage and I would certainly suggest stocking up on these very distinctive, powerful and crystalline Von Winning wines!

The Reiterspfad name came about, according to legend, from when the ancient Roman legions and their cavalry passed through this area, with “Reiter” = rider and “Pfad” = path and is located at the foot of the Haardt in Ruppertsberg, it is one of von Winning’s best premier crus. As mentioned in my last review of this wine, the Ruppertsberg Reiterpfad Vineyard is a VDP Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) site, but this Reiterpfad is labelled as Erste Lage, and it is set on sandy loam, red sandstone, limestone soils, making it a gateway wine to the mighty Grosses Gewächs in the Weingut Von Winning collection and it is an exceptional value. Von Winning’s Stephan Attmann, who was very influenced by Burgundy, treats his Riesling in rather the same way as the French do in the Côte d’Or and uses a minimalist approach in the cellar and gentle vinifications, employing stainless steel for the village bottlings, while the Premier and Grand Crus see natural fermentation and lees aging in oak, with the top wines seeing 500L French barrels, as this Reiterpfad saw. Von Winning’s lineup, all of which I recommend, has thrills from top to bottom, but the two wines that bargain hunters and Riesling enthusiasts should chase down are this one and the Paradiesgarten Trocken. Back to the Reiterspfad Erste Gewächs, as it opens, it becomes even more striking and familiar too, with subtle exotic tropical essence in the background there and that terroir chalkiness from the Pfalz soils, as well as its delicate white flower perfume, making for a sublime Riesling that is all about class and majesty in the glass even now. I’ve been a serious follower of Von Winning for more than decade now, and was originally turned on to them by Terry Theise who introduced me to their amazing dry Rieslings, and later to their mind-blowing Sauvignon Blancs as well, if you’ve not tried these wines, you best do so soon, they should not be missed.
($38 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2018 Castro Ventosa – Raúl Pérez “El Castro De Valtuille” Mencia Joven, Valtuille de Abajo, Bierzo D.O., Spain.
The El Castro de Valtuille Mencia Joven, by Raúl Pérez and his family’s historic Castro Ventosa, is a dark fruited and savory pure expression of this grape and the Bierzo region with briar spiced blackberry, tangy currant, cherry and cranberry fruits on the medium bodied palate, which is nicely accented by bay leaf, loamy earth, wild sage, anise, a hint of cedar and grilled orange. This Castro Ventosa – Raúl Pérez Mencia Joven, which is made to be drunk fresh and young comes from hand-harvested Mencia grapes sourced from young vines in the village of Valtuille de Abajo, which are then vinified naturally in stainless steel and aged a short time in vats, or a touch of old neutral wood cask. Half of all the grapes grown in the Bierzo are Mencia, and it is the most regal of the indigenous varietals, but interestingly enough the an equal percentage of white and red grapes here, with Godello leading the whites. The 2018 vintage of this Raúl Pérez “El Castro De Valtuille” Mencia Joven is still drinking very nicely, though I would suggest getting the latest release of this particular wine and enjoy the fruit intensity at its freshest point, and always with food for best results.

The Castro Ventosa winery is situated in the village of Valtuille de Abajo, at the foot of the slope of the Castro, the ruin of an ancient Roman fort that dominates the village, and has been in the Pérez family since its founding back in 1752. Castro Ventosa, which means “The Windy Castle” has become a cult favorite, especially with Raúl Pérez, the godfather of Mencia and the grand master of the Bierzo, overseeing the wines here, from ancient pre-phyloxera vineyards that are set on the sandy calcarious soils of the Birezo. The historic region of Bierzo is in a small valley surrounded by mountains, making for an exceptional terroir with a unique micro-climate that allows the Mencia grape to achieve its full potential and greatness, with a fuller body than those of the Ribeira Sacra. Mencia, was once thought to be a long lost relative of Cabernet Franc, is native to the Bierzo and is the main red grape and the Pérez family owns about 75 hectares of Mencia, making them one of the largest farmers of this varietal within the Bierzo region, if not the number one. Raúl Pérez, to do his own label, which I’m more familiar with and his consulting, stepped away from Castro Ventosa day to day and appointed his nephew César Márquez as the winemaker, and he’s now become almost as famous as his uncle! The “El Castro De Valtuille” Bierzo Mencia is a terrific value on release and I highly recommend checking out the latest stuff, especially the old vine bottlings.
($18 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2020 Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel “Buck” Cobb Vineyard, Shenandoah Valley, Amador County, Sierra Foothills.
The deeply colored, purple/garnet 2020 “Buck” Cobb Zinfandel from Turley is wonderfully vinous and generous on the full bodied palate with loads of blackberry, raspberry, plum and Italian cherry fruit, along with dark floral notes, sandalwood, briar spice, mocha and a touch of anise that all meld together in a smooth and seamless way. This is a terrific effort from the old Karly property in the Amador County that the Turley family acquired, and this wine has been bottled since the 2012 vintage, it is obviously mostly all Zinfandel, but there’s small amounts of Petite Syrah, Mataro (Mourvédre) and Alicante Bouschet, a rare teinturier grape with red flesh and juice, in the mix and give added complexity. In fact I love the savory, almost meaty undertones and hints of sanguine irony/mineral accents that come through in the background and there’s an underlying structure, velvety tannin and brightness that balances out the ripe fruit, making for an interesting and thoughtful wine. I enjoyed this Shenandoah Valley Zin with a rustic pizza and found something new and exciting with each sip, making for a food friendly version of this grape and I can see it going fabulous with BBQ as well. Hats off to winemaker Tegan Passalacqua and his Amador team for another exceptional wine from the Sierra Foothills, joining some of my other favorites in the Turley collection, like the Judge Bell and Sadie Upton Zins.

Part of Turley’s Amador Estate, the “Buck” Cobb vineyard, which is planted at 1500 feet on the volcanic, granitic hillside of their property in Plymouth, formerly part of Karly, is one of the most distinctive and terroir driven sites in their Sierra Foothills collection of offerings. The Cobb Vineyard Zinfandel, as Turley notes, is an homage to “Buck” Cobb from whom they purchased this vineyard and the Karly estate property in Amador. To pay a full tribute, Turley even added a little bi-plane symbol to the label to commemorate Buck’s time as an aerobatic pilot! The rocky conditions here and more extreme weather (including snow) in this dry-farmed vineyard, Turley adds, makes for a very hearty, robust and complex Zinfandel, but still opulent and hedonistic, as this 2020 shows. Not old by Turley standards, the “Buck” Cobb Vineyard has plantings that began in the 1980s, with more added here in 2001 and, just after Turley took over, in 2013. Coming from all head-trained, dry-farmed and hand harvested vines, as per normal for Turley, this “Buck” Cobb Zin saw a native yeast fermentation and small lot maceration with gentle daily punchdowns before being racked to barrel, with 80% used oak, 20% new, 80% French oak and 20% American, for 15 months. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered and saw limited distribution, with some restaurants getting some, though mainly released to mailing list members, which is how I got mine, and those that visited the Amador tasting room, which is highly recommend if you are up that way!
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Valenciso, Rioja Blanco, Fermentado en Barrica, Rioja Alta, Spain.
The gorgeously textural and mineral fresh Rioja Blanco by Valenciso, a blend of 70% Viura, a classic native varietal and 30% Garnacha Blanca, or Grenache Blanc, is a white Burgundy like barrel fermented example with a rush of steely citrus and stone fruit, leaning on lemon oil, baked peach, a touch of apple and waxy pear on the vibrant, but creamy rich palate, along with almond paste, honeysuckle, subtle toasty oak and yeasty accents. The grapes come from very old estate vineyards, close to 75 years old now, in the cooler north of Rioja Alta between 1640–1970 feet up and set on clay based calcareous soils with each variety harvested and vinified separately. The Rioja Blanco is fermented with native yeasts in exclusively used French oak barrels and lees aged for 6 months before bottling, to capture vitality and purity. After which it was aged in bottle for another few months before release to let everything meld together, as this one shows with even more bottle maturation now. I had seen the Valenciso wines around, but this was the first time drinking one in earnest and tasted blind, it is serious and delicious stuff that could easily be mistaken for White Burgundy, which seems to be the inspiration here in this uniquely different Rioja Blanco.

Winegrowers, Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso formed their winery back in 1998, the name Valenciso is a combination of both of their last names, teamed up and have now farmed their 31 hectares of vines all organically since 2017, even though their wines do have certification, and are known for making a modern style of Rioja that has quickly caught the attention of the wine world. Rioja natives, with extensive experience in the region, are based in the La Rioja Alta, home to some of the areas best vineyards of old vine Tempranillo of which they’ve become famous for in recent years, but I was absolutely blown away with this Rioja Blanco, made in a traditional white Burgundy style. The pair explain they are careful while harvesting and picks are timed to capture the intensity of the fruit, while avoiding over ripeness or excessive alcohol levels. They say, in both their white and red wines that an aromatic lift rather than physical weight is the goal, again borrowing from the Burgundy playbook to craft distinctive and elegant bottlings. Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso took on, fortunately, some minority partners in Valenciso, including some former managers of Radoux, makers of some of the finest French oak barriques, which is influential in the wines, and a few growers in the best areas of the Rioja Alta that supply some outstanding low yielding fruit, as also seen in the end product.
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Philippe Bouzereau, Meursault “Clos de la Croix Noire” White Burgundy, France.
This small Domaine, located in the heart of the village of Meursault, was all new to me and I was very impressed by Philippe Bouzereau’s beautiful medium bodied Clos de la Croix Noire lieu-dit Meursault. It is a wine which is wonderfully balanced with lemon, apple, pear and white peach fruits, along with classic chalky stone, steely mineral, hazelnut, white flowers, wild fennel and clove spice. This parcel, sitting at near the top of an escarpment, the “Croix Noire” is actually known as Aux Murger de Monthélie, which is slightly confusing, as it is in Meursault, and has a bit more freshness and verve from the elevation. Not from from Monthélie, hence the name, this site is on classic Côte De Beaune clay and limestone soils, which heavily influences the terroir character in the wine, as this pale golden hued 2021 serves up in the glass. The importer received permission to use the old name, on the label, here, Clos de la Croix Noire instead, which gives a nod to a tall black cross at the corner of the vineyard, which has overlooked this vineyard for ages.

Philippe Bouzereau, the 9th generation vigneron, has vines from Aloxe-Corton in the north, to Santenay in the south, through Beaune, Auxey-Duresses, Meursault and even a small parcel in Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Champs Gains, making up a mosaic of terroirs that are showcased in his wines. This allows Bouzereau to offer a collection of small lot and handcrafted wines that also display a great diversity of soils that is transmitted exclusive through Chardonnay. To make his wines, Bouzereau carefully selects the best clusters and hand harvests the fruit which comes into the cellar cool and is then pressed to barrel for fermentation and aging. The wines rests on the lees for about a year, with elevage in all French oak, which is usually close to 30% new, allowing a luxurious textual mouth feel, but also allowing for transparency and pure terroir to shine through, as seen perfectly in this 2021 vintage. As well documented, Meursault is one of Burgundies great terroirs and is also host to some of the most exceptionally talented winemakers on the planet, with the likes of Coche, Roulot, and Lafon to name a few, having brought world wide fame to the region, and Philippe Bouzereau hopes to join them.
($90 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2014 Quinta do Pinto, Red Wine, Estate Collection, European West Coast, Portugal.
This mature, dark garnet and richly flavored red blend from Quinta do Pinto is made from Touriga Nacional, Aragonêz, Syrah and Merlot coming off vineyards in the Lisboa region of Portugal, is a remarkable value that is drinking fabulously right now. Kinda of a Bordeaux meets Rioja in style, this nicely balanced full bodied 2014 Quinta do Pinto red shows off a palate of crushed berry, dark currant, cherry and plum fruits, along with hints of cedar, anise, dried flowers, mocha and subtle loamy earthiness. The tannins are opulent and smooth and this wine has a serious palate impact and still retains a freshness, making it a crowd pleaser and goes easy with hearty cuisine and or hard cheeses. The Quinta do Pinto, is a woman-owned and passionately run winery by two sisters, Rita Cardoso Pinto and Ana Cardoso Pinto, along with winemaker Rui Reguinga, is definitely a winery to follow and this wine is a great place to start. I really enjoyed the white wine, Vinhas do Lasso, a blend of Fernão Pires (A.K.A Maria Gomes) and Arinto, as well.

As noted by their US importer, Banville Wine Merchants (Winebow), Quinta do Pinto, as mentioned here as well, is a family-owned estate located just north of the coastal Portuguese capital of Lisbon, and was originally established in the 17th Century, though risen in quality in more recent times while it has been owned by the Cardoso-Pinto family, who took over the estate about a 100 years ago. The Cardoso-Pinto’s are dedicated to a more natural approach in the vineyard and in the cellar, working sustainably, they believe in respect for terroir and minimal intervention in (their) winemaking. The influenced by the cool Ocean and the climate the wine have a vibrant and elegant profile. Soils here are Jurassic clay and limestone, and the Quinta do Pinto wines are crafted from native and international varietals that include, as noted, Touriga Nacional and Arinto, as well as Aragonêz, Syrah and Merlot, and fermented in temperature controlled concrete vats and then in, for this red blend, used French barrels. This one, matured in oak for 12 months and then bottle rested in the cellar for close to 8 years, making it nicely balanced, fully evolved and delicious on release, as on display here. Portugal has so much going on these days in the wine world, with many unique regional wines and a good mix of traditional and modern styles from which to chose from, and Quinta do Pinto does an excellent job of melding both.
($18 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Selbach-Oster, Riesling Trocken, Zeltinger “Alte Reben” Mosel, Germany.
This outstanding steeling/flinty old vine dry Riesling comes from Selbach-Oster’s lower part of the Zeltinger Himmelreich vneyard including its 40+ year old vines on the classic Blue Devonian slate and was made as per normal here, a natural fermentation and native yeast in old Mosel fuder (casks) which adds to the terroir authenticity and depth in this sleeper bottling, that is basically a declassified GG. The 2022 vintage is turning out to be a thrilling year for German wines, in particular these Trocken Rieslings, which show off remarkable concentration, depth and complexity, and no one that loves Riesling, dry, off-dry and sweet, should miss these Selbach-Oster wines, like this superb Zeltinger Alte Reben. I have long been a fan of Johannes Selbach and his wines going back to the late nineties and early two-thousands, and you can see here many high scores and reviews. The 2022 Zeltinger Alte Reben is pure slate driven Riesling at its best with aromas of white blossoms, stone fruit and smoky rock leading to a crystalline palate of crisp apple, lime and tangerine citrus, pineapple, quince and tart apricot fruits, along with a fine dry extract, zesty acidity and retrained alcohol, as well as subtle lees, bitter almond, chamomile, spicy crystallized ginger and saline accents. This wine absolutely rocks, even in its youthful state, and it should age fantastically well, though no patience is required here, especially when this Zeltinger Alte Reben is paired with a meal. It was great to catch up with Johannes Selbach and taste through his currant set of wines at a recent tasting in San Francisco, where he was one of the headliners of Skurnik Imports west coast tour of German and Austrian wines, these mainly 2022 and 2023 offerings were all exceptional and impressive for quality and value.

Johannes Selbach, one of Germany’s best known winemakers, and son Sebastian, of Selbach-Oster, which dates back here in the Mosel since the 1600s, run this winery looking forward and backwards, paying tribute to generations of Selbachs and their traditions. A very significant portion of their vines are on their original rootstocks and are ungrafted, including the stunning set of parcels in Zeltinger, their home town. I’m a huge fan of these wines, especially the set of Himmelreich, Schlossberg and Sonnenuhr, all set on blue Devonian slate, where this wine comes from. Selbach’s holdings of Schlossberg, Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher and Bernkasteler Graben are ultra steep sites that showcase their slate driven terroirs to perfection and sit on contiguous slope facing south-south west and without question are some of the most prestigious sites in the Mosel. The winery notes that 85% of the Selbach’s vines are on steep slopes, which helps give their collection of Rieslings an extra boost of intensity and distinction. The Selbach wines have always been crafted to be generous and full of pleasure, highlighting the quality of the fruit and the expressive terroirs, with Johannes using traditional 1000L oak fuder(s) on the upper end wines. The vinifications, as the winery notes, are done in a combination of fuder and stainless steel, in a hands-off manner with no fining, and with wild yeasts. The main focus at Selbach-Oster is on meticulous work in the vineyard, which is carried out with organic and sustainable farming, with the aim to produce and bring home perfect fruit. It also notable that In 2016 the Selbach’s brought in Christian Vogt, former winemaker at Karthauserhof that has added even more talent to the estate. There’s so much to admire in the Selbach’s latest set of releases, in is hard to pick favorites, but this one should be on your radar, along with their stunning 2022 Sonnenuhr GG, the single parcel Rotlay, the brilliant Schlossberg Spatlese, and the tasty dry Pinot Blanc!
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Fedellos Viños do Macizo Ourensan, Peixe da Estrada, Viño Tinto, Red Wine, Galicia, Spain.
The pretty and medium bodied Peixe da Estrada, made from an unique Galician blend of Mencía, Mouranton, Grao Negro, Garnacha Tintorera, Bastardo, Godello, Doña Blanca, Palomino and Colgadeira, with the Mencia taking the lead and delivering a bright array of red fruits, spice, mineral tones, raw earthiness and floral notes. This vibrant lighter framed red has radiant palate of dark berry, currant, plum, pomegranate and cherry fruits, along with hints of tangy herbs, anise, wilted roses, a touch of cedar and zesty blood orange. Winemakers Curro Barreño and Jesús Olivares of Fedellos use whole cluster and indigenous yeast, employing a co-fermentation in open-topped plastic and stainless steel tanks. With this wine seeing daily hand pigeage, and a long, gentle maceration, after which, the wine is aged 12 months in neutral French oak barrels, mostly 500L demi-muids as well as a huge 3000L foudre. The Fedellos Viños do Macizo Ourensan team says this Peixe da Estrada Viño Tinto is their village wine, coming from a selection of mature 60 to 80 year old vineyards in Fornelos de Filloás, Grixoa, and Buxán, which are set on a mix of sand, granite and schist soils, which adds to the complexity and the distinctive nature of their wine here. To relate this one for those unfamiliar with Galician red wines, led by Mencia, you can see Pinot or Gamay like qualities here and a nice low 12.5% natural alcohol, making for a fresh and food friendly character.

The Fedellos Viños do Macizo Ourensan label, as mentioned here, was founded in 2011 by Luis Taboada, and based in his family home, and is headed up by winemakers Curro Barreño and Jesús Olivares, who are focused on crafting wines from the local terroir in Galicia and local varietals, like Mencia and Godello. The winery is influenced by the Ribeira Sacra, which is a very historic wine growing area in Spain’s green Galicia region just northeast of the Portuguese border near the Mina and Sil Rivers that was prized by the Romans who cherished the wines from this steep and remote region. This area has seen a huge amount of excitement in recent years with wines of outstanding quality making quite a slash with wine critics and wine lovers, these new generation of Ribeira Sacra wines are led by the likes of Pedro Rodriguez of Guimaro, Laura Lorenzo of Daterra Viticultores, Envinate and Fedellos. This wine, it should be noted is sourced from high elevation, at close to 700 meters up, parcels are cool Atlantic climate influenced, all located just south of Ribeira Sacra and Valdeorras, so can only be labelled as a Viño de España. The break down of grapes in the Peixe da Estrada includes about a third Mencía, while another third is made up of Mourantón, Grao Negro and Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet), with the remainder being, as the winery notes, Bastardo (Trousseau), Godello, Doña Blanca, Palomino and Colgadeira. I have loved everything I’ve tried from the Fedellos team and I highly recommend these authentic offerings, especially their Loma dos Ares and this Peixe da Estrada.
($32 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Korrell, Riesling Kabinett, Nahe, Germany.
The 2022 Korrell Kabinett is a dry drinking fruity Riesling coming from organic vines close to the estate with a combination of clay-marl and volcanic red iron rich soils, bringing out a nice mineral tone and a medium bodied textural, showing off lush yellow fruits, with peach, apple and pineapple leading the way, along with flinty wet stone, chamomile and lemon zest. The residual sugar never feels heavy or cloying and this is a lovely vintage with crisp freshness of details and will go fabulous with a wide range of cuisine choices from curries to cured meats. The Korrell family, which as Spanish roots, has been practicing viticulture for the better part of 250 years, and the estate in the Nahe has been around since 1832, with Wilfried Korrell in 1967 converting it to all wine focus, and now run by Martin and Britta Korrell, who are the sixth generation and are the ones that have raised it to the level it is now. They built a new press house and modern winery in 2011 and farm 26 hectares of vines that include Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Silvaner, Muskateller and Scheurebe as well as the red grapes, Pinot Noir, Frühburgunder, Portugieser and Dornfelder.

As I’ve mentioned in my past reviews, each wine from Korrell seems like a personal expression, and Martin joins a long list of stellar producers here from superstars like Schlossgut Diel to Dönnhoff, as well as Gut Hermannsberg, Kruger-Rumpf and Schäfer-Fröhlich in making some of the Nahe’s best examples of Riesling. While under the radar until recently, Korrell like Harald Hexamer, also in the Nahe, have taken a while to get discovered in America, but the wines speak for themselves and now are getting well deserved attention. Of what is imported now, be sure to explore the signature Paradies Riesling, the Von Den Grossen Lagen (a special cuvee of dry Riesling lots from all VDP Grosse Lage sites) and this Estate Trocken that is a fabulous starting wine to get an insight into the quality here, plus there is a tiny bit of Eiswein and an award winning Sparkling Sekt to be found. I’ve been a fan of the Korrell winery since they first reached out with their 2017s to review, before having an importer, so it is great to see they are really catching on over here and the latest set looks to be something special, as this basic Kabinett gives hint to! The 2022 Korrell Kabinett Riesling, which is about 10% natural alcohol, was fermented and lees aged exclusively in stainless steel, with the promotion of purity and freshness a top priority here, allowing the unique terroir influences to shine through. As a huge Nahe fan, it is great to see all of the distinctive and diverse choices available and Korrell is a valuable addition to my personal favorites from here.
($24 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2019 Terroir Al Limit “Terroir Històric Negre” D.O.Q. Priorat Tinto, Catalunya, Spain.
The sexy, aromatic and opulent 2019 Terroir Històric Negre Priorat Red is wonderfully pure, textural and authentic in the glass with a Chateauneuf du Pape like intensity and richness, showing off a deep garnet/ruby color and a mix of dark berries, plum, cherry and pomegranate fruits, that are accented by anise, wild sage, cinnamon, a touch of earth and brambles. Made primarily from Garnatxa Negra (Grenache), along with a small dose of Carinyena (Carignan), coming from higher elevation plots of 35 to 50 year old vines, which the winery says are, set on a combination of clay and limestone mainly, but as well as some on alluvial soils and some schist, which helps provide some freshness and minerality to go with the deep concentration of fruit. In many ways this wine reminds me of Château de Saint Cosme Gigondas and some of their cement raised Côte du Rhône cuvées, which is fantastic in my book, but uniquely its own and with its expressive and spicy whole cluster personality.

The Terroir Al Limit has old vines planted to Garnatxa Negra and Carinyena for their red wines, along with Garnatxa Blanca and Macabeu for the whites, which all are hand harvested, with direct, whole cluster pressing for the whites, and whole cluster fermentation for the reds, as seen here, all with indigenous yeast, and fermented and aged in concrete tanks exclusively. Proprietors Jaume Sabaté, Carlos Masia and the very influential Dominik Huber, along with the talented winemaker Tatjana Peceric, have made this small label one of the most sought after in the Priorat region of Spain with Terroir Al Limit winery now having world wide fame, especially with the speciality importer Eric Solomon at European Cellars getting them into the hands of the American market. This no oak Negre, typically 75% Garnatxa Negra and 25% Carinyena, which saw six months in the large concrete tank, is from certified organic parcels, which don’t get any irrigation, that produce almost impossibly small yields, really highlights the intensity and seriousness of this fiercely independent Catalan Mediterranean terroir. This wine is a stellar value and a savvy buy for Rhône and Spanish wine lovers and I highly recommend looking for this intriguing red and enjoy them for between 3 and 5 years.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Sandlands Vineyards, Cinsault, Lodi, California.
A bit riper and more expressive than the 2021 edition the the bright ruby/garnet 2022 Sandlands Cinsault is Pinot Noir like silky, smooth and fresh with tangy strawberry, black cherry, brambly raspberry tree picked plum and tart lingonberry fruits, along with delicate florals, chalky stones, minty herbs, a touch of earth and candied orange rind accents. This vintage actually reminds me of a Frappato, the native grape of the Vittoria region of Sicily, with its medium bodied palate and juicy charm, a bit less Beaujolais like in personality and it was terrific with a pizza and has plenty of acidity to keep things crisply focused, plus the lower natural alcohol 12.6% is a bonus. I tried it both at cellar temperature and chilled down, and it was great both ways, though I think I preferred it with the chill on it. The Cinsault grape is found throughout the Rhone, Languedoc and Provence regions of France, where it is mostly a minor player in Reds and Rosé, though its influence in the wines should not be overlooked and most are significantly better with the addition of this grape, as it retains good acidity, has modest sugars and provides life to the resulting wines. When done solo, most people think of it as the south of France’s (or here in warm California) great alternative to Cru Beaujolais, it is seriously tasty stuff and easily quaffable, especially done in the whole cluster style, like this Sandlands. In winemaker Tegan Passalaacqua’s Sandlands fabulous collection of hand crafted and authentic wines, which are mainly made with whole bunches, native yeasts and aged in neutral oak barrels, I always love this one and recommend getting on the mailing list here.

This Sandlands Cinsault comes from the historic 135 plus year old Bechthold Vineyard, as Tegan Passalacqua notes, was originally planted back in 1886, this Cinsault vineyard is the oldest of its kind in the country—perhaps even beyond. The legendary vines here are gnarly, head-trained and planted on their own roots, it is all organic and dry-farmed, and set in deep, sandy soils, it makes for a distinctly California wine, as Tegan’s shows, that is terroir driven and always delicious. Over the last ten years Passalacqua, along with a few others of his generation, have become the keepers of the faith of California wine history and are very influenced by old school wines rather than modern trends. The Sandlands version, as I’ve said many times, is one of the best examples of California Cinsault, along with the Turley Bechthold, that Tegan oversees as well, it provides joyous purity and drinking pleasure, that makes it so compelling for fans of this grape. As mentioned many times here at Grapelive.com, Sandlands Vineyards, the personal project of Tegan Passalacqua, who is the head winemaker and vineyard manager at the famed Turley Cellars, and his Olivia, is an exciting small lot winery and must follow label, especially for those that want to taste California wine history. Their line-up of wines, as they note, includes some the forgotten classic California varieties, like this Cinsault, but also includes the Mission grape, Carignane, Mataro (Mourvedre), Chenin Blanc, Grenache and Zinfandel field blends from old vine vineyards, mostly planted on California’s sandy decomposed granite soils. I never miss the chance to try these soulful, authentic Californian and transparent wines, especially this Cinsault, the mentioned Carignane, along with the Nebbiolo and the Soberanes Syrah!
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Nanclares y Prieto, Albariño “Tempus Vivendi Rosina” Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain.
The bright gold and salty Nanclares Tempus Vivendi Rosina Albariño is zesty, but with a subtle oxidative, nutty and waxy element, making for a beautiful authentic and complex version of this grape and place. The medium bodied palate has loads of acidity and steely notes to go with a core of apple, white peach, quince and tangy citrusy lemon/lime fruits, that are backed up by bitter herb, orange flower, verbena, wet rock and iodine accents.The Nanclares y Prieto Tempus Vivendi comes from 6 parcels in the parroquias (or parishes) of Vilalonga, Noalla and Dorrón close to the municipality of Sanxenxo along the Atlantic coast in the famed sub zone of Val do Salnés from historic and traditional Pergola trained and grown vines that range from 25 to 40 years old. Tempus Vivendi was pressed whole cluster and fermented in steel tank, allowing native yeasts and non malolactic conversion, to preserve its natural freshness and retain high acidity. While crisp and zippy, this Albariño was raised on the lees over winter, which adds wonderful texture and mouth feel and was bottled with very low levels of SO2, and was neither clarified or filtered. Enjoy this with steamed clams or mussels in white wine and scallion broth, fresh raw oysters and or rosemary accented grilled sardines.

Nanclares y Prieto, led by Alberto Nanclares and joined by the youthful talents of Silvia Prieto, has fast become the go to Albariño estate in Spain’s Rias Baixas with their handcrafted biodynamic/organic wines. Based in the Cambados zone, Nanclares’ estate wines are unique Atlantic influenced Albariños grown at sea level on a mix of sand, clay and granite soils that allow these wines to display a deep saline quality as well as a striking mineral core. Alberto Nanclares, who started this small winery as a second career, was convinced of, and had a passion about holistic and organic farming, which with the closeness to the Ocean and the humid conditions here in the Rias Baixas make that very difficult, but has been proven it can be done and that the wine is much better for it. He even became incorporating the biodynamic methods in recent years, along with an innovative addition of natural seaweed composting. This bottling is a tribute to Alberto’s great passion for sailing and the wines true soulful connection to the sea, I love these wines and almost every vintage is a treat, especially the regular estate version along with this Tempus Vivendi and the tasty little Dandelion cuvee, and while limited and mostly hard to find they are well worth the extra effort it takes to get a few bottles, drink up.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2016 Weingut Prieler, Braufränkisch, Ried Goldberg “Schützen am Gebirge” Leithaberg DAC, Austria.
The absolutely gorgeous, almost Bordeaux like and perectly mature dark garnet 2016 Prieler Ried Goldberg “Schüten am Gebrge” Blaufränkisch is wonderfully deep, balanced and aromatic wine with a silken medium/full bodied palate, taking this varietal from Leithaberg, Austria to the next level. Winemaker Georg Prieler, one of my favorite Austrian producers, has done a masterful job here, with this Goldberg cru Blaufränkisch, set on mica-schist with clay loam soils, really hitting on all cylinders and in a peak window showing exceptional depth and transparency. There’s an array of dark berry berry, earthy plum, black currant and cherry fruits, along with fine tannin, a nice cut of subtle acidity, as well as sandalwood, rose petals, minty herbs, truffle like wild mushrooms, chalky stones, black olives and saddle leather accents. Again, It was nice to catch up on Georg’s wines, with his signature Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc bottlings taking center stage, with the 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch and 2021 Leithaberg DAC Pinot Blanc Alte Reben (old vine) being my favorites, along with this dry Rosé and Prieler’s Kalkterrassen Gemischter Satz (co-fermented white blend), which was all new to me. Prieler has many varietals planted here, including Blaufränkisch, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Welschriesling, Sankt Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which all enjoy lots of sunshine and a complex series of calcerous and iron rich soils with sand, limestone over deep chalk, fossilized rock and some mica-schist. While this one might be a little harder to find, it shows that Prieler’s reds have huge potential, so I would grab his 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch ($65), which I also loved, now and put a few bottles away for 5 to 7 years.

The Prieler estate, as mentioned here in my prior reviews, founded in 1972, is based in Schützen, which sits on the western side of the Lake Neusiedl, in Burgenland, it is a historic old farm, that was once dedicated to many types of agriculture, but now specializing almost solely in grape growing. Georg Prieler is a the second generation Prieler to run this iconic winery and the one that has brought world wide acclaim to this property with his fantastic terroir driven Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc wines. Georg’s wife Silvia brings a wealth of experience to the winery with a PhD in biochemistry, international experience including an internship at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy and a precise touch, which explains the class and finesse in the wines. The winery notes that all of the grapes are carefully crushed and fermented at closely controlled temperatures in steel tanks or wooden casks. The character of the variety and the vineyard determines how the wine will be matured and what in. For example, the Primer’s add, the Seeberg Pinot Blanc will aged exclusively in stainless steel to maximize freshness and clarity, while the Blaufränkisch from Johanneshöhe will be raised in large oak casks, and Georg’s top crus like this Goldberg, as seen here, are macerated and fermented in open top fermenters and are matured in small Burgundy barriques, for 26 months in this vintage. Prieler’s 20 hectares of vines are cultivated in small parcels between the Leithagebirge, which according to the winery, is the last outpost of the eastern Alps that protect the vines from the western winds, and the Lake Neusiedl, which tempers the hot climate of the Pannonian plain, where there is the most sunshine in all of Eastern Europe. I highly recommend digging deep into this latest Prieler collection, especially the mentioned wines above, they will certainly impress for their outstanding quality, age-worthy structures and elegance, as proven here.
($125 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2022 Union Sacré, Carbonic Sangiovese “Sangio” Paso Robles.
The fun, magenta/ruby hued and quaffable “Sangio” Carbonic Sangiovese, best served with a good chill on it, delivers a fretting and juicy palate of racy strawberry, plum, tart cherry and red peach fruits, along with an array of dried herbs, peppery spice, seeped flowers and loamy notes. The chill keeps things fresh and tangy and the ripe fruitiness make this medium bodied wine that is more complex than a Rosé, but lighter and zesty than a true red, giving it a personality that is particularly good on warm days and or warm evenings. Union Sacré, mostly known for their Alsatian style wines in the lower Central Coast, have made quite a name for themselves in the last decade with their unique wines and graphic style. This 100% pure Sangiovese was fermented whole-cluster in a closed tank for 36 days with no oxygen, after which it is pressed and racked to barrel. Finishing with a lower natural alcohol, in the 13% range, the “Sangio” saw a brief elevage in 100% neutral French Oak for just about 3 months, to preserve vibrancy and freshness.

Union Sacré is a tiny micro winery owned by Philip Muzzy, from the mid-west and French winemaker Xavier Arnaudin, from the Rhône Valley region, who formed this label in 2014, calls Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties home, that began with a series of white wines. As mentioned, they are known for their Alsace styled whites, which I first tried with their 2016 “Fraulein” Riven Rock Vineyard Riesling, an impressive mineral driven effort that grabbed my attention. These wines, which they say are made for the tables of friends, made by these two friends, from different continents, Xavier and Philip, who arrived at the Central Coast from opposite ends of the Earth, as they note, Xavier is a WSET certified, oenology degree holder from France, Philip is a self-taught designer from Michigan who kind of misses living in a van. Between the two of them, Xavier and Philip have 35+ years experience working in Central Coast wineries, and Xavier has made wine with some of the Central Coast’s most notable wineries, adding to the pedigree here at Union Sacré. According to the winery they went a bit more serious in 2023, with their Sangiovese, but this is a value effort and worth chasing down.
($22 Est.) 88 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Georg Breuer, Riesling Trocken, Pfaffenwies, Lorch, Rheingau, Germany.
Theresa Breuer’s all new Lorch project is getting off to a very successful start and her gorgeous ’22 Pfaffenwies cru Riesling is proof positive, this is divine dry Riesling with nuance and transparent terroir distinction, showing off a crisp/steely delicacy with bright fruit intensity, crystalline mineral focus and a sultry earthiness in a youthfully fresh medium bodied effort. The Pfaffenwies revolves around a core of white peach, citrusy lime, quince and tart green apple fruits, along with flinty stone, a mix of spices, verbena, subtle rosewater and lemon oil accents, making this slightly austere wine finely balanced and profound on the racy palate. The Lorcher Pfaffenwies vineyard, in the most western part of the Rheingau, is of Grosse Lage quality site set on Stony Hunsrück slate and Taunus quartzite soils with deep loess in the lower slopes, making unique and different from Breuer’s other terroirs. As noted before, the Breuer’s were some of the first to promote a dry style of Rheingau Rieslings and believed that the Rheingau was perfectly suited to producing very fine, elegant and flavorful dry Rieslings. Today’s generation, Theresa Breuer is a superstar in the region and works exclusively with organic methods, and she believes physiological and “aroma ripeness” are more important than must weight and the grapes are picked when Theresa and her team feel the fruit is perfect. She adds that botrytis is avoided, with a majority of the wine production being dry. Her fermentations are natural or started with pied de cuve from the vineyard sites, and élevage, as seen here, is done in large used barrels with some stainless percentage depending on the vintage, and she uses a mix of barrel and steel for the entry level Estate wines. Breuer does mainly Riesling, with the Rüdesheimer Berg Grand Crus being my favorites, which I also have had the privilege to hike through on a few occasions, especially their Schlossberg section overlooking the Rhein.

I have twice now spent time here, in Rüdesheim, back in 2009 and more recently at harvest time in 2016, and both visits included tasting with the Breuer’s (at the old cellars) in downtown Rüdesheim, unforgettable experiences, since I have long been a fan of this historic winery, which was originally founded back in 1880 and I admire the direction Theresa Breuer has taken the Georg Breuer label. Theresa has taken a more holistic approach in the vineyards and in the cellar, while continuing to be faithful to her late father’s vision. Bernhard Breuer, who, as the winery notes, was one of the key members of Charta, an organization formed to promote a drier style of Rheingau wine, sadly died way too young, but his legacy is alive and well with Theresa’s own talents honoring him. She has taken her dad’s ideas to heart (and next level) and has been raising the quality here with each vintage, through grit, hard work and natural practices in the vineyards and a gentle hand in the cellar. Bernhard was a huge proponent of this GG style of wine, and believed that the Rheingau was perfectly suited to producing very fine, single site, elegant and flavorful dry Reislings. The fermentation(s) as noted above, are old school and natural or started with pied de cuve, basket ferments in the individual vineyards, with fermentation and élevage being done in large used barrels for the top wines such as the Monopole Nonnenberg, Rottland, Roseneck, the outrageously good Schlossberg and this new GG quality bottling from Lorch. Again, as I’ve said before, there is a raw sex appeal and a compelling natural life force to Theresa’s wines and I seem to be more and more drawn to them when given the chance, I highly recommend these Georg Breuer wines. I was excited to try the latest collection recently in San Francisco, with an interesting selected for the US West Coast Skurnik tour stop, all of which were delicious, with Breuer’s Lorch offerings, which I had not tried before, being impressive standouts!
($100 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Château Fuissé, Pouilly-Fuissé AOC “Tête de Cuvée, White Burgundy, France.
The 2021 Tête de Cuvée Pouilly-Fuissé from the famous Château Fuissé shows off classic white Burgundy character and detail with loads of lemony citrus, golden apple, pear and tangy peach fruits, along with hazelnut, clove, chalky stone and subtle wood and floral accents in a medium bodied wine that impresses the palate with a touch of creamy luxuriousness and mineral clarity. I can’t think of a more French way to celebrate Bastille Day than with a wine like this one, and this Pouilly-Fuissé will go great with so many dishes, and especially with a creamy selection of Époisses de Bourgogne cheese and baguette. From what I hear the 2020 and 2022 versions are more concentrated and fuller bodied, but I loved the lighter fresher nature of this 2021, of course that is just a personal preference and I’m sure I wouldn’t mind drinking any of them. The Vincent family has done a fabulous job of promoting the region and creating a standard of excellence in the wines here, there’s a lot to admire in Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Veran and the whole Mâcon these days, and Château Fuissé deserves quite a large percentage of credit for the upswing in quality in this part of Burgundy.

Château Fuissé, which dates back to 1604, has been in the hand of the Vincent family for five generations now, with each of generations in charge having raised the game and added vineyard sites. They all increased the quality of the fruit and the wines, all of which has enhanced, as their importer Frederick Wildman notes, the worldwide recognition of Château Fuissé. Today’s generation is Antoine Vincent, and he’s been maybe the best yet in terms of getting the most from their vines and is recognized throughout the region for his commitment to quality. The wines here such that most people will find them as compelling as the more famous appellations of Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault in the Côte de Beaune, just to the north. The most famous vineyards of Château Fuissé are Les Brûlés, Les Combettes and Le Clos, which are surrounding the château itself and are bottled as specific cuvées to showcase their unique terroirs, while this one is a blend of estate controlled parcels throughout the Pouilly-Fuissé AOC. The winery says that presently, both Les Brûlés and Le Clos are in review by the INAO for premiers crus designation, which would be reward for the passion the Vincent’s have put into them and a credit to what is possible here. The Château Fuissé’s Tête de Cuvée shouldn’t be too hard to find and I think it’s a good time to try it, if you’ve not had it.
($49 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Berger, Grüner Veltliner, Dry White Table Wine, Austria.
As always the case, the Weingut Berger One Liter, easy opening Grüner Veltliner has a vibrantly fresh and classic array of fruit flavors and a steely mineral essence, with a light to medium body showing lemon/lime, white peach, a whiff of wild fennel and white blossoms, along with wet stone, white pepper, a touch of tropical essences, bitter almond and herb accents. Easy and quaffable, the basic Berger Grüner by Erich Berger has become a must have for Summer and it is an awesome party, picnic and beach sipper, it is also a solid companion to most sea foods and salads with artichokes. This 2023 is an exceptional version, punching way above what you’d expect for the price and giving some good insight on what you’d like to know about the vintage along the Danube, which shows promise. Along with this fine effort, I enjoyed a selection of Berger’s latest releases, which included a fabulous set of 2022 Ried Spiegel Vineyard Rieslings, a very notable Kremstal Gedersdorfer Lössterrassen Grüner Valtliner and the lovely and crisp 2023 perfumed dry Gelber Muskateller, a sleeper in the lineup. This 12.5% zesty 1L bottle of Grüner is superb and is a quality guilt free white wine that should be a perfect refresher during these hotter than normal days we’ve been experiencing.

In the cellar, Erich Berger does everything to preserve and focus of vitality and freshness, he uses only ultra clean practices with his Grüner, Riesling and Muskateller only seeing selected cultured yeasts and temperature controlled stainless steel fermentation(s) and aging, nothing fancy, but highly effective for transparency and clarity of form. Erich Berger, the winegrower, is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and completely humble, and to taste his his wines is always a pleasure, and as mentioned they all impress for their no pretense quality, and in particular, this one. Weingut Berger has implemented methods, such as organic farming, and a focus on sustainable practices to produce wines that showcase terroir and varietal character, and while always highlighted as a value producer, the game has changed here, as mentioned before in my prior reviews, and the wines are certainly winners through out the collection. I met up with Erich’s son Max at a recent tasting in San Francisco, with Berger’s importer Skurnik Wines, and was again impressed with the quality here, especially Berger’s white grape wines, as noted above, that come from steep terraced sites in the eastern section of the Kremstal region, not far from the Danube River, just to the west of Vienna on classic loess soils. I highly recommend checking these very charming Berger wines out as soon as possible.
($16 Est. – 1.0L) 90 Points, grapelive

nv Jacques Lassaigne, Le Cotet, Extra Brut, Blanc de Blancs Champagne, France.
Again, this Jacques Lassaigne grower producer Champagne is beautifully crafted and vibrant stuff, the Le Cotet Blanc de Blanc Extra Brut from Emmanuel Lassaigne is exciting, lovely and finely tuned bubbly with a brilliantly beading, vigorous and smooth mousse and crisp minerally detail. This vibrant, saline and chalky all Chardonnay cuvée comes from a single old vine parcel planted in the 60’s and on very thin tuft (chalky) soil in the area of Montgueux in Champagne’s southern end, part of this blend saw neutral oak barrel aging to allow more complexity and slight oxidation while the rest is raised in tank, both on the lees and with loads of acidity. This is a perfect vivid, brisk and vital Extra Brut, that is exceptionally bone dry, racy and distinctive, but with surprising depth, richness and length. The palate is filled with citrus, white flowers, apple and hints of hazelnut, yeasty brioche and steely mineral tones as well as having, as the prior release I tired had, flashes of dried honeycomb, creamy lemon curd, clove spice and wet river stones. This is pure, chalk driven and energetic Champagne at it best, in my preferred style, offering plenty of layers of complexity for the grower producer and or terroir lover, but will also turn the heads of the novice Champagne drinkers used to the big houses, plus this Le Cotet is a fabulous cuisine partner gaining lush mouth feel with food. This is Champagne, that while happy going with oysters and caviar, can cut into fattier dishes and or fine Sushi, in particular Toro, Saba and Uni, which would be my preference. In the cellar, the Lassaigne wines ferment in a combination of wood and stainless steel and see comparatively long lees aging before tirage, the winery explains, and are disgorged by hand without dosage. The style here at Champagne Jacques Lassaigne is almost perfectly balanced between powerful and vinous impact, and a more electric and riveting expression.

Lassaigne’s Champagne is classy stuff and is in the same league of quality characters such as Benoit Dehu, Prevost, Agrapart and Boulard, this is unique bubbly that deserves plenty of attention. Certainly I agree that Lassaigne is one of the best and most interesting all the Chardonnay grower fizz wines, and Emmanuel Lassaigne is one of the region’s most exciting producers. I learned that he works with mainly sunny south and southeast-facing sloping hillside vines in Montgueux, which is an isolated outcropping of chalk near Troyes that is, as the winery notes, the geological continuation of the strata of the famous Côte de Blancs. Interestingly, recent studies, as the winery continues, suggest that the hillside that nurtures the Lassaigne vines today might have been the site of the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, where Aetius and Theodoric defeated Attila the Hun (the first-ever victory for European forces over the Hun army). Emmanuel’s father Jacques Lassaigne who, in the 1950s and 1960s, began to replant some of the village’s abandoned vineyards and started growing some impressive fruit, and is founder of this Champagne house. Things started to decline back in the mid nineties, so in 1999, rather than risk losing the estate, Emmanuel quit a successful career in manufacturing to return home at went to work on the vineyards. He converted to all organic farming and began harvesting at full maturity to avoid a sweeter dosage. Lassaigne employs methods to improve soil and vine health with rolled cover crops and under-row cultivation, and in some parcels “tressage” (gently pulling the canopy shoots away from the clusters) that is a more holistic method than hedging, to avoid cutting the shoots, to get better exposure to the sun. I firmly believe that these Lassaigne offerings represent the best in what can be achieved a small artisan producer and, that while not cheap, are solid values for what you get in the bottle, especially this stunning Le Cotet, which I couldn’t resist if I tried!
($85 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2015 Edmunds St. John, Rocks and Gravel, Mourvédre, Grenache and Syrah, Dry Creek Valley AVA, Sonoma County.
The beautifully mature, silky and stylish Rocks and Gravel 2015 from Steve Edmunds at Edmunds St. John Winery is a Chateauneuf du Pape inspired Rhône red blend, 47% Mourvédre, 39% Grenache and 14% Syrah all coming from the rocky terroir of the Dry Creek Valley that is loaded with evolved dark fruit, spice and a warm stony character. I have long been an admirer of the wines of Steve Edmunds, a legendary California winemaker and who was one of the heroes of the Rhône Rangers and a pioneer of true Gamay Noir in the state, I especially loved his Amador County, Sierra Foothills bottlings, including his amazing Syrahs from the mid nineties and then later on this delicious Rocks and Gravel Rhône blend. It was nice to try this with friends and celebrate Steve Edmunds, who recently announced his retirement and the end of this label, a big thank you to Lee Lightfoot, who dug this bottle out of his cellar to share. This 2015 Rocks and Gravel is ripe and supple, especially at this stage of life, giving an array of raspberry, black cherry, strawberry, plum and red currant fruits, along with hints of crushed flowers, peppery spices, truffle earthiness, a touch of blood or iron ore, a bit of leather, mountain sage and anise. This crimson/garnet red is drinking as smooth as satin and is wonderfully seamless, this is a wine to enjoy now and was delicious with a variety of meat dishes and would be even better with Spring herb crusted lamb. The Rocks and Gravel, made with a gentle touch and no oak is sultry and raw, but missing nothing, it just hits all the right notes and reminds me of a Gigondas and or Vacqueyras in many ways. These Edmunds St. John reds have lots of personality and have always been over the years a fabulous value for the money.

The garage based Edmunds St. John winery, located in Berkeley, was founded by Steve Edmunds back in 1985 with a focus on Rhône varietals, yes, way before in was a thing, about the same time as Randall Grahm started his Bonny Doon Vineyard label, and Edmund’s was inspired by old world producers that favored finesse and elegance over power and richness. His wines have certainly proved that his vision and passion had followed a rewarding path with wines that aged gracefully and that had, in my own experience, beautiful layers and fresh details at well over 20 years old. As mentioned I was drawn to Edmunds’ Fenaughty Vineyard Syrahs, from vines set on volcanic clay-loam above the historic Gold Rush town of Placerville, which were incredible, deeply complex and very Côte-Rotie like in my opinion at the time. Steve says he started working with this vineyard in the late 80s and I remember buying his early 2000s versions from plots that were planted in the mid to late 90s. The Rocks and Gravel, coming from biodynamic vines at Unti Vineyards in Dry Creek, was crafted as most of Edmunds St. John wines, with a light hand using what he called La Méthode Ancienne from grapes picked at a window that allowed for no additions and with enough natural acidity retained to give the wine the desired elegance and balance, as well as delivering transparency and just the right amount of rustic charm. Typically this wine is fermented with de-stemmed foot trodded grapes that only see stainless steel, and maybe some concrete for aging. Pretty soon it’s going to be hard to impossible to find these wines, but I highly recommend searching them out, in particular the El Jaléo, from Shake Ridge Ranch, it’s Rhône meets Spain blend, with 31% Mourvedre, 29% Grenache, 26% Graciano and 14% Tempranillo, as well as this one, and the Gamay Noir, which is a lovely quaffer!
($29 on release) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Künstler, Riesling Trocken, Hochheim Hölle, VDP Grosses Gewächs, Rheingau Germany.
The gorgeously crystalline and youthful 2022 Künstler Hochheim Hölle GG, which I tasted from a barrel sample and comes out this fall, is an outstanding dry Riesling with poise and finesse that should get close to perfection, possessing a depth and concentration that rises above the norm and thrills the palate. I was really excited to taste through Gunter Künstler’s latest wines recently at his importer Skurnik Wines’ trade show in San Francisco and I was not disappointed with the excellence of his offerings, I’m only sad he wasn’t’on this year’s tour. This chiseled 2022 Hölle GG, ultra pale gold in the glass and steely firm in structure shows off this vineyard’s classic lemony yellow fruits, with citron oil, peach, pineapple, tart kumquat, green apple and quince, along with subtle leesy notes, salty wet rock, snappy gingery spices, rosewater, lime zest and bitter almond. There’s a lot more to come here and this is easily a 20 year plus wine and as I’ve found in perfectly aged Künstler Trockens, I expect it to fill out texturally and blossom in the way great white Burgundies do, definitely this is a masterpiece in waiting for the patient Riesling fans. As noted before, Gunter Künstler’s family winery was founded in Hochheim am Main, in 1965 by Gunter’s father Franz, with Gunter taking over In 1992, after which its fortunes began to rise quickly. In 1994 the Künstler estate was admitted to the VDP, and since then it has become maybe the most iconic grower of the “Hoch” zone and one of Germany’s best. The historic sleepy Hochheim am Main, doesn’t always get a lot of attention, but it truly is one of Germany’s most distinctive terroirs, and it was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, who famously visited Germany and the region here back in 1788 and wrote about the delicious wines he found.

Gunter Künstler, who’s family has been involved in winemaking since 1648, is one of Rheingau’s greatest producers based at the confluence of the Main and Rhein rivers in the “Hoch” sub zone, which along with Rudesheim one of the most historic winemaking villages in Germany. This area takes heroic farming effort to overcome the humid conditions to produce crystalline dry Rieslings without Botrytis and Kunstler is working these amazing sites with organic practices and his wines are some of the most elegant and monumental dry wines in Europe, this is especially true here with Gunter’s Hölle GG. In my experience, this Grand Cru vineyard, Hölle, which is set on a dense/hardened clay and Marl, which gives a core of yellow fruits, subtle minerallity and allows for a seductive perfume with refined acidity that shines through. Typically, with this wine, Gunter employs a gentle hand in the winemaking, allowing gravity to settle the must at cool temperatures, using a special yeast strain that brings out the delicacy in the Riesling grown here and either ages it in Stuckfass and or stainless depending on the vintage. Künstler’s wines are a reflection of the year and always show fabulous detail and focus, as this soon to be released 2022 sample shows to near perfection. As I’ve mentioned, Künstler has a vast collection of Rheingau Cru plots from Hochheim to Assmannshausen, where he has an amazing parcel in the fabled Hollenberg Vineyard where he gets some his Pinot Noir, plus Gunter has some Rudesheimer Berg GG vines in Rottland and Schlossberg, which are intense with slate vigor, as well as some quartzite influenced blocks in the Drachenstein, which is one of my favorites. I was, as I am usually, with the latest Künstler wines, in particular their Kostheim Weiss Erd GG, the new Pfaffenberg Monopol GG, the Hochheim Kirchenstück GG and this stunning Hochheim Hölle, do not miss them!
($65 Est.) 97+ Points, grapelive

2019 Pax, Gamay Noir, Bearg Vineyard, Sonoma County.
Gamay has really taken hold in California and there’s a ton of high quality examples from which to chose and Pax’s collection are very distinctive, especially this dark ruby hued Bearg Vineyard, which I’ve been short term cellaring to allow it to show it’s true potential, it’s a nice quaffable wine, but with a sense of seriousness and plenty of rustic charm. Much like Pax’s 2018s, this aromatic 2019 has a solid backbone of fresh acidity and is finely layered with black raspberry, cherry, tangy wild strawberry and dusty plum fruits on the medium bodied palate, along with an array of spices, herbs, crushed flowers, iron/mineral notes and a light cedary element. There’s a sultry leathery element again here, with what tastes like touch of Brettanomyces, which adds a savory dryness and meatiness, keeping this wine from being a fruity, candied or bubble gummy, making this Bearg Vineyard Gamay come across very old world like and best with food. As mentioned before, I am loving the unique alternative wines being done by the talented Pax Mahle, in particular his Chenin Blanc, the Carignan, Vermentino, and even in some years Valdiguie, which is also known as Napa Gamay, and the Trousseau Gris, all of which add some contrast to his famously deep and powerful Northern Rhône style Syrah bottlings.

This Bearg Vineyard Gamay Noir was crafted using traditional methods, similar to Cru Beaujolais, with 100% whole cluster fermentation and partial carbonic maceration with the wine getting close to 10 months in used French oak barrels with almost no sulphur added. This vintage, again reminds me of older vintages of Clos de la Roilette Fleurie and will certainly appeal to those that love a touch of funk, it’s an intriguing edition that might get a reaction, both positive and negative. Pax, most known for outstanding Syrah, was the first winery to produce and release a Gamay Noir from the cool climate Sonoma Coast region, not too long ago, starting with a tiny batch he did in 2015, since then Pax Mahle turned out a fabulous selection of Gamay wines, with this Bearg Vineyard version maybe being his flagship offering. The Bearg Ranch, which is set on a steep hillside, farmed with Biodynamic methods and sustainable practices, and was grafted to Trousseau Noir, Gamay Noir, Mondeuse, Poulsard and Pineau d’Aunis back in 2016. This Sonoma County site is located in the Mayacamas Range and gets some cool mountain air that benefits the grapes here, along with its complex soils. True Gamay has come along way in California since Steve Edmonds first introduced us to his Amador County version in the 1990s, to now having it planted from the Central Coast all the way up to Oregon, and Pax’s latest, including his Alpine Peaks and Rancho Coda versions, are (being) ones to look for!
($38 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Spreitzer, Riesling Feinherb, Alte Reben, Rheingau, Germany.
One of my favorite wineries and a top producer in the Rheingau, Weingut Spreitzer, makes a beautiful collection of Rieslings, so it was awesome to catch up with Andreas Spreitzer and taste through his upcoming releases, including this fabulous, just off dry, Alte Reben (Old Vine) Feinherb Riesling, that knocked my socks off. This vintage, just came in above the Trocken threshold in residual sugar, but drinks crisply dry and is wonderfully balance, making it a pleasing all around Riesling that is hugely flexible with cuisine choices. The lush medium bodied palate is led by juicy citrus, white peach, earthy melon and tropical fruits, along with lime blossom, wet stones, tart herb and citron oil. This vintage of the Spreitzer Old Vines Riesling was sourced from two of their top crus, Oestricher Lenchen and Oestricher Doosberg and was fermented in stainless steel tank and aged in old wood, large German oak 2,400L casks, which are neutral, but allows for texture and complexity as seen here. Here at Spreitzer, the wines are fermented with mostly native yeast or Spent, which they prefer, believing it adds to the distinctive personality in the wines at this historic estate in the middle Rheingau. The Oestricher Lenchen and Oestricher Doosberg vineyards are set on mainly a base of loess and quartzite soils, which transmits a pure mineral tone and the terroir here is unique, being at the widest point of the Rhein River, that has an almost lake effect allowing for a warm riper opulence in the wines, while retaining good structural acidity.

The Weingut Spreitzer estate, also known as Josef Spreitzer, as originally founded back in 1641, now run by the Spreitzer brothers Andreas and Bernd, is also one of the oldest privately run wineries in the Rheingau region and has some tremendous vineyard holdings in the middle Rheingau, where the Rhein River runs at its widest point. These vineyard sites, many Grosse Lage and Erste Lage crus are set on an amazing combination of different soils including loess, loam, sand, slate, quartzite, red iron rich stones and clay, all of which add complexity and the climate here is slightly warmer which aids in ripening, helping develop exotic flavors and textures. As noted, this Old Vines Riesling, and Spreitzer’s Estate Trocken, are heavily influenced by the Lenchen vineyard in Oestrich, the heart of Spreitzer’s holdings, which is composed mostly of loam and loess soils, is also the basis of one of their majestic GG’s, the Rosengarten, which is one of the most prestigious wines of the lineup and the region. The latest set of GGs at Spreitzer, which are from the 2021 and 2022 vintages are stunning wines, and I will be following up on them soon here, but as a tease I will let you know that the 2021 Spreitzer Wisselbrunnen Grosses Gewächs and the 2021 Rosengarten Grosses Gewächs are truly outstanding dry Rieslings that offer tremendous value and are wines that are just starting to reveal their full potential. Also, I remain a big fan of the classic Kabinett and Spatlese here at Spreitzer, which go great with spicy Asian dishes, and in particular I love the wonderfully pure and expressive 2023 Lenchen Kabinett. Even as a long time fan, Spreitzer always has something to keep things exciting and this lovely Old Vines Riesling hits it out of the park!
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Bernard Ott, Grüner Veltliner “Am Berg” Wagram DAC, Austria.
The Am Berg Grüner Veltliner from Ott is fresh, crisply dry and pure with a zesty personality, showing classic Kaffir lime and Meyer lemon, white peach and quince fruits, along with bitter almond, green herbs, a touch of white pepper and wet stones accents in a fine lighter framed wine. This wine, made from organic grapes sourced in a variety of vineyards, all on the region’s classic loess soils and hilly sites along the Danube, was all stainless steel fermented and aged to promote freshness of details. Now, imported by Skurnik Wines, it is easier to find these wines and I’m enjoying them more regularly in recent vintages especially, they are no longer hard to find here in states, which makes it easier to recommend them. Bernard Ott, based in Austria’s Wagram DAC, is still a revolutionary figure in the region, making a collection of outstanding wines from an area that doesn’t get the attention it maybe deserves and his Am Berg Grüner is one of the best buys you can get. Wagram, as I’m reminded of when I ever check out the Ott lineup, is one of Austria’s 17 official wine regions, and one of eight located in the state of Niederösterreich. This distinct viticultural area, again as mentioned, lies just east of the famous vineyards of Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal, stretching about 30 or so miles from Krems in the west to Klosterneuburg, just on the outskirts of Vienna. Bernard Ott, along with Johannes Hirsch, Fred Loimer, and a group of like-minded producers, formed Respekt, an Austrian wine producers organization committed to green and biodynamic practices that go a long way to preserving the soils and environment.

The Ott family, I learned, has been growing and producing wine in the Wagram region since 1889, in what used to be called “Donauland” until a name-change in 2007, on the banks of the Danube River. This area is almost immediately downriver from the capital Vienna, in northeastern Austria, it sometimes gets overlooked, but has a long history of producing quality wines, especially Grüner Veltliner. Bernhard Ott is the fourth generation vigneron of his family, and according to the winery, he has managed it since1993 when he took over from his father. Like many of his age he was only passionate about producing wines of the highest quality and immediately Bernhard set about on his quest to prove that elegant and long lived wines could be produced from Grüner Veltliner grown on his loess based soils. Originally Bernhard replaced all the old wooden casks with stainless steel and began working the vineyards to promote depth of fruit and purity in the wines. In 2018, after nearly 30 years after switching all vinification and élevage to steel, Ott began working with varying sizes of Stockinger Austrian oak fuders which are used for his upper end cru bottlings. Ott’s importer Skurnik wines also notes, that In 2004 Bernhard began composting, using organic cow manure from a friend in the region to improve the health of the soils. It’s been noted too, that In 2006 he took a trip to the legendary biodynamic property, Domaine La Romanée Conti in Vosne, Burgundy to see how things were done there and after a marathon tasting in the cellars with Aubert de Villaine, Bernhard committed to biodynamic viticulture. There’s a bunch of great offerings here at Ott, including the Cru Grüners, with the Rosenberg being my favorite, along with this Am Berg, and the brilliantly vivid Rosalie Zweigelt Rosé, all worth chasing down.
($29 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2009 Cayuse Vineyards, Syrah, En Cerise Vineyard, Walla Wally Valley.
The dark, meaty and hedonistic 2009 Syrah En Cerise Vineyard , which was fermented in concrete, with loads of stems and then aged in large French oak demi-muids, with close to 20% new is pure Cayuse with a raw intensity, slightly funky savory crunch and opulent textural quality with mature fruit fully developed with its tertiary elements on display. Maybe on the edge of its peak, I wouldn’t wait any longer here with this 2009, though the chocolatey dark fruit still dominates the palate with macerated blackberries, stewed plums, brandied cherries, sweet currant and blueberry coulis, along with sous bois beefiness, bay leaf, dried potpourri (floral) notes, pipe tobacco, cedar, mocha, leathery loamy earth, tapenade and anise. Ripely lush as it opens, this vintage of Christophe Baron’s En Cerise reveals classic Cayuse distinction, these wines are unlike anything else, no mater the varietal either, they are completely unique, not tributes to their old world cousins, but completely their own animals. Cayuse, is located in the Southwest of the Walla Walla Valley and owner/winemaker, Christophe Baron, a French import, is a legendary figure in the world of American wine, who over the last two decades has made it his mission to put out handmade, small lot single vineyard wines of incredible depth, individuality and rustic charm, which comes from fruit grown entirely using biodynamic farming methods. The En Cerise Vineyard, as the winery notes,literally translated, means “cherry,” which is appropriate, since this 10-acre vineyard was a former cherry orchard before it was planted to grapes by Baron in 1998. Though known mainly for Syrah, the En Cerise Vineyard has an interesting mix of grapes, including Bordeaux varietals, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, which go into Cayuse’s Flying Pig and Camaspelo blends.

Originally from the Champagne region, Christophe Baron thought he was coming to America to make Pinot Noir, but as noted by many, his attention and imagination was drawn totThis rocky terroir and rugged terrain with its large Châteauneuf like galets (river stones) that dominate the area. It was these rocks that drew him here back in 1996 and led him away from making his home in the Willamette Valley and he chose this area to make wine, a hugely difficult task. This part of the Walla Walla straddles Washington and Oregon, and is prime for his focus on Rhone varietals, especially Syrah, rather than his first love Pinot Noir. The conditions here are tough and the vines are highly stressed, meaning that vineyards average a low yield, of about only two tons per acre, helping explain the deep flavors and concentration in these wines. This area was the key in the creation of Cayuse, more than twenty years ago now, as well reported and told by the winery, is an almost mythical story, about how a brash, young French vigneron who fell in love with a few acres of seemingly useless, stone-covered ex-farmland. This district, the Rocks, as it is called has become one of the most iconic sites in the new world. Christophe Baron, who helped pioneer biodynamics here, almost single handedly, and deftly turned a field of stones into this remarkable terroir, one of the most coveted in the world and borrowing again from the winery, the rest, as they say, is history. Cayuse Vineyards, almost solely available by mailing list, is the Pacific Northwest’s top cult wine. I got to taste a more recent set of Cayuse at the Slow Wine tasting in San Francisco, all of which were stunning, I only wish I could afford these bottles! In recent years I’ve managed to score some of Baron’s other label bottlings under his Horsepower and No Girls labels. They are tasty in their own right, but the Cayuse still take it to the next level, they are, as I’ve said before, bucket list wines.
($149 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Ludovic Montginot, Morgon “Les Charmes” Cru Beaujolais, France.
Ludovic Montginot’s beautifully pure and ruby hued 2021 Morgon is from the prized and intense Les Charmes vineyard, the highest altitude lieu-dit in the Morgon appellation, with its mature Gamay vines that are set on granite, schist and manganese soils. Even in a so so vintage, Montginot, who was all new to me, really got the best out of it and this traditionally or Burgundy style de-stemmed and macerated Gamay shows off pretty floral aromatics and a fine medium bodied palate of dark berry, plum, strawberry and tangy cranberry/currant fruits, which are accented by cinnamon, walnut, a touch of cedar, wild herb, anise and mineral tones. This well made, precisely detailed and charming Les Charmes cru Morgon reminds me of some the non-carbonic Anne-Sophie Dubois wines, for my own reference point and a huge compliment to Ludovic Montginot’s effort here and I look forward to following this label going forward, and suggest Gamay fans keep an eye for these Montginot wines, especially this one. I’m usually in the other camp and really go for the old school whole-cluster, crunchy, fruit driven Cru Beaujolais, with Foillard, Dutraive, Thevenet, Sunier and Lapierre being my go to wines, but this one certainly is delicious and shows off an impressive intensity in a refined, pure and appealing fashion, and the price is excellent.

Known as a self styled artisan winemaker, Ludovic Montginot, who’s importer H. Mercer says, works with the patience of a spider and pays careful attention to the nature of his place and is a soil and vine whisperer. He is passionate about applying holistic methods in the vineyards and believes, as many do, that this leads to a better and more expressive end product in the bottles. His commitment has paid off in his latest efforts, as seen here in this Les Charmes Morgon, which shows supple tannin, lively focus and distinctive terroir influences. The H. Mercer guys say they are not a fan of carbonic, bubble gum and candied versions of Beaujolais and were looking for a well balanced and austere producer, which led them to Ludovic, who 100% de-stems and open top ferments his Gamay and does daily hand punch-downs, after which he ages his Morgon in used Burgundy barrels. His ambition is to create a quality Morgon with an organic approach where his vines are expressed not by winemaking, but by their sense of place, which he believes, cannot be substituted. Ludovic wants his wines to drink with the energy of his vines naturally possesses, and that he is faithful to his three hectares. He says it is ultra important to honor the ancestral way of harmonizing with the rhythm of the soil and working with the moon cycles that guide his actions throughout the seasons, both In the cellar as in the vineyard. So far so good here and I recommend this unique Cru Beaujolais, which is a savvy bargain.
($23 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Von Winning, Sauvignon Blanc “Lime Rift” Pfalz, Germany.
I was thrilled to meet up with Stephan Attmann, director of winemaking of the famous Pfalz Von Winning estate, and taste through the latest releases, which of course included a world class set of Rieslings, but I also got a chance to taste the Chardonnay for the first time and this newer version of Sauvignon Blanc. While obviously well know for the Rieslings here, Von Winning’s Sauvignon Blancs are absolutely outstanding, rivaling the best from the Loire Valley, with this superb Lime Rift, being a standout with a racy medium bodied mineral driven palate, showing of lemon/lime, gooseberry, white peach, muskmelon and tangy quince fruits. There’s a limestone influenced steely/chalky Sancerre like character, along with zesty acidity, tart herbaceousness, bone dry finesse, while also having a nice textural quality. This Lime Rift Sauvignon Blanc comes from a selection of Von Winnings limestone soil parcels and was fermented and aged in a combination of 90% stainless steel and 10% well used neutral oak casks, which includes 500L French oak. Von Winning’s Sauvignon Blancs, like their Rieslings, have tremendous aging potential and patience will certainly be greatly rewarded! Careful, almost Burgundy like, as mentioned in my prior reviews, treatment and methods doesn’t start and end with Von Winning’s GG Rieslings, as they also employ this native yeast and gentle regime with their all wood fermented and matured Sauvignon Blanc 500, which is one of the world’s greatest version of the grape, as well as to this one in part, making it a real class effort. It was a great privilege to meet Attmann and sample some of his greatest hits, including the upcoming set of GGs, which are rock star wines, especially the Kirschenstuck and Ungeheuer, as well as one of my secret favorites, the Reiterphad Erste Gewachs, all of which I will review soon.

The historic Von Winning estate, as mentioned before, was founded in 1849, by Leopold Von Winning, but saw its most important evolution under Dr. Andreas Deinhard, with his commitment to excellence and improvements in vineyard management, the Deinhard’s were also a founding members of the VDP. The VDP, which focused on single cru sites, like those in Von Winning’s holdings in Ruppertsberg, Deidesheim, and Forst, has paved the way in promoting truly great dry wines in Germany and wineries like Von Winning and neighbors Mueller-Catoir of the Pfalz region are two of the shinning stars. The Von Winning winery explains that back in the 1800s, basalt from the nearby quarry was brought into the vineyard and then it was ploughed in the soil to improve it, and now it employs all sustainable and organic viticulture. Stephan Attmann’s approach to wine growing and winemaking has helped revolutionize the wines here at Von Winning,, taking his inspiration for the Côte d’Or, with Attmann adopting the single cane trellising system, as his importer Skurnik Wines notes, which is quite prevalent in Burgundy, and shown to improve balancing of ripening of the Riesling and other varietals here. The Von Winning Grosses Gewächs Rieslings are fermented and lees aged for close to 24 months in 500L French oak, which leads to the texture and depth in these stunning wines, and the Sauvignon Blancs are not far off, but this one is not aged as long on the lees and is bottled quicker too, to allow for more freshness of detail. To achieve this stunning level of quality they employ a minimalist approach in the cellar with the noted Sponti or natural yeast fermentation(s) and the wine is only moved with gentle gravity flow, to allow all these the Von Winning wines, Sauvignon Blanc included, to deliver purity, terroir nuance and a good sense of tension, which shows in this under the radar Lime Rift bottling, which I highly recommend chasing down.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Hatzidakis Winery, Assyrtiko, Cuvée No. 15, AOP Santorini, Greece.
The beautifully maturing and done dry, crisp and steely Cuvée No. 15, made from 100% Assyrtiko, is a striking golden/yellow in the glass and has tons of mineral, wet stone and tangy vitality, almost giving it a Riesling meets Falanghina like personality and is uniquely distinctive in character. Assyrtiko, like Arinto in Portugal, is a grape that famously keeps good acidity even in warm climates, making it well suited for the arid conditions of Santorini, set in the picturesque Aegean Sea, where some of the vines must be basket trained to protect them from the harsh breezes or wind. This nicely mature 2020 vintage shows off preserved citrus, white peach, quince and tart mango fruits, along with saline (salty) infused crushed rock, minty herbs, verbena and orange blossom. The striking medium bodied Cuvée No. 15 comes from two vineyards, Pyrgos and Emporio, and was fully de-stemed, but it saw 12 hours of cold maceration before being pressed to stainless steel vat for a very slow fermentation, sometimes going for close to 45 days. The wine’s aging is done exclusively in the stainless steel tank, spending about 6 months on the fine lees before bottling, which is unfiltered to preserve all the natural nuances. Hatzidakis is dedicated to native varietals and were the first to bottle monovarietal wines made from the rare Aidani and even rarer Mavrotragano grapes, both of which are almost never seen outside of Greece or Santorini even, making Hatzidakis a must for the adventurous wine enthusiast. The main estate vineyard at Hatzidakis is near to the historic monastery of “Profiti Ilias-Santorini” and It is up at close to 330 meters above sea level. Today, the Hatzidakis Winery, owns and sustainable farms about 10 hectares of vines and in fact most of them are fully organic, the Hatzidakis Winery is actually the only certified organic grower on the island. The style of the wines at Hatzidakis is focused on pure and powerful expressions, with an effort to move away from reductive winemaking, with the whites seeing some skin contact and lengthy fermentations, as this Assyrtiko showcasing that to near perfection.

One of the most prized and sought after wineries in Greece, Hatzidakis, founded by the late Haridimos Hatzidakis, who is originally from Crete and only came to Santorini after he graduated from, as the winery notes, the Wine and Beverages school in Athens where he studied agronomy and oenology. Haridimos began his wine career in 1991 when he took an internship at the huge J. Boutaris and Sons, which is like the Gallo of Greece, where he eventually became head oenologist at their Santorini winery. Keeping his connection to Crete he also oversaw the winemaking at the Fantaxometoho Estate on the island and began looking for the right opportunity to go out on his own and follow his dream of making small lot handcrafted wines. While still at Boutari Haridimos met his future wife, Konstantina Chryssou, who was originally from Santorini), and was working in the wine hospitality business, they got married in the mid nineties and shared a vision to bring something new to the Santorini wine scene. The couple started their own winery, Hatzidakis, in 1997 using Konstantina’s family’s vineyards, which were almost abandoned in the village of Pyrgos Kallistis, and the rest as they say is history as they produced award winning wine and award winning wine. Sadly, as noted, In the summer of 2017 Haridimos Hatzidkais died tragically, which left Hatzidakis in the hands of his three children, with Stella, looking to carry forward her father’s vision. Stella moved things forward expanding on the success of her father and now the winery has an all-female team of oenologists, or winemakers, that is headed up by Helena Alevra, who had worked with Haridimos back in 2008 and Stella Papadimitriou who worked with him too. Assyrtiko has many fans and Santorini has a host of great producers, including Hatzidakis, as well as some of my other favorites, Domaine Sigalas, Skouras and Santo Winery, plus the grape has now found its way to Australia, with Jim Barry in Clare being a star and Assyrtiko is finding a home in California, with Turley’s Tegan Passalaqua championing the grape in his own Sandlands label. I’ve had these terrific small batch Hatzidakis wines quite a few times, mostly for personal use, but this wine, which I tasted blind, is a thrilling example of grape and terroir.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Alfaro Family Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Alfaro Family Vineyard, Corralitos Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains.
The beautifully deeply hued ruby/garnet Alfaro Family Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir 2021 is loaded with personality on the silky medium/full bodied palate, again showcasing the quality of Richard Alfaro’s vineyard in Corralitos region of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Alfaro Family Vineyards, now run by the father and son team of Richard and Ryan Alfaro, is making a fine set of wines including this tasty delicious Estate Pinot, which shows off a complex array of red fruits, a lovely smooth texture and subtle oak, making for a wine that can easily enjoyed on its own, but still fabulous with a variety of dishes, from salmon to steak. This 2021 delivers the vintage’s distinctive nuances perfectly with loads of bright black cherry, plum, crushed raspberry and cranberry-apple fruits, along with hints of sweet tomato, bergamot, sassafras, tea spices, vanilla, cola bean and blood orange accents. This wine is developing well in the bottle, and I really enjoyed it in half-bottle recently with a garden veggie and basil pizza and it was even better on day two with its satiny mouth feel and nice cut of acidity. The oak use is well judged here, it never takes away from the purity and freshness here, but adds a delicate toasty/smoky sweetness without taking away from the rose petal aromas and mineral notes. I’ve long been a fan of this winery and excited for their upcoming releases and for Ryan Alfaro’s personal Farm Cottage offerings, that I reviewed previously and which have really impressed since they debuted a few vintages ago now. Also, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention and or recommend the Alfaro’s Chardonnay as well, especially their Trout Gulch and Lindsay Paige single vineyard expressions.

The main 14 acre Alfaro Estate vineyard, was originally planted back in 1999 in Corralitos, the most southwest corner of the Santa Cruz Mountains region, with its cool Pacific Ocean influence helping provide a perfect spot to make world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Richard Alfaro’s impeccably farmed Estate blocks of Pinot Noir vines here, contain nine distinct parcels, each, as Alfaro notes, one is graced with a different combination of clones and root-stock, including a collection 113, 114, 115, 667, 777 and 828 clones. The vine density here is really high at 1361 vines per acre, which gives lots of concentration and intensity, highlighted in vintages as good as this 2018, one of the best I can remember. This vineyard is on a south facing hillside between 500 and 650 feet in elevation on sandy gravels over loam and sandstones. The Alfaro Family Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir was, as usual, traditionally fermented using de-stemmed ripe fruit, mostly in stainless steel with some small bin lots as well with cool maceration and then was aged 10 months in mainly used French oak, with just about 300 cases produced. Richard Alfaro has gained a well earned reputation for his wines and his top notch farming in the last decade and now he has the talents of his son Ryan in the winery, after he has done stints in New Zealand and with Adam Tolmach, Ojai Vineyards legendary winemaker. Ryan, as mentioned, has established his own label Farm Cottage wines, with an exceptional set of Pinot Noirs and is someone to keep an eye on. The Alfaro’s also farm the old vines at Trout Gulch, where he sells grapes to Arnot-Roberts and Jamie Kutch, and their efforts here are thrilling, in particular the exciting also Chablis like Chards, these are not to be missed either.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 L’Armangia, Barbera d’Asti DOCG “Sopra Berruti” Piemonte, Italy.
The pretty food friendly, ruby/garnet and smooth 2019 Sopra Berruti Babera by L’Armangia is a mid-weight pure varietal red wine that shows off a polished array of black cherry, currant, strawberry and plum fruits, hints of spice, wild herbs, crushed flowers and subtle earthiness. Everything here makes for a nice expression of Barbera and while silky and ripe, there’s good acidity still and this wine has lots of flexibility of use, going well with a wide range of foods, though especially with rustic meat dishes and pasta choices. As this well balanced and textural Barbera, that was aged in a combination of stainless steel tank and used large wood casks, which comes in at 13.5% natural alcohol, slightly less than other current releases, opens up and fills out adding fresh violets and a fine stony/mineral element. The terroir includes classic marl limestone and clay, along with some sandy soils, and this wine was crafted to showcase transparency and freshness, and I highly recommend it for value savvy Barbera fans and those seeking a clean drinking old world wine without pretense.

The L’Armangia winery, based in Canelli, was all new to me, so it was exciting to try this Barbera d’Asti and learn about their collection of wines, which includes another cru Barbera from Nizza, a sweet Moscato, that is very common in the Canelli zone of Piemonte, a Spumante, a Rosé and a unique Chardonnay. The Armangia winery has roots going back to 1850, but this label, started in 1988, is run by Ignazio and Giuliana Giovine, with Ignazio making the wine and Giuliana, who is a Sommelier, running the administration at the winery. Imported by Lucidity Wine Merchants, L’Armangia strives to be fully sustainable in the vines and in the cellar and makes wines with a humble, humorous and authentic personality, as this one shows, and while serious in quality, they also express a sense of place and tradition, being part of the Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti. The Sopra Berruti Barbera d’Asti comes from a variety of hillside parcels and is 100% de-stemmed and is cool fermented in stainless vats in separate lots and aged between 6 and 9 months with about 30% in barrel before blending and bottling. I could easily go through a case of this stuff pretty quickly and I look forward to trying the Nizza DOCG version too.
($22 ESt.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Carl Loewen, Riesling Feinherb, Longuicher Maximin Herrenberg “1896” VDP Grosse Lage, Mosel, Germany.
This is one of the wine world’s great unicorn wines, the Carl Loewen 1896 Riesling is from the oldest Riesling vines in Germany, and from a Grand Cru steep Mosel vineyard that transmits absolute purity of terroir, and while not a GG, it is maybe better. Christopher Loewen picks, for this bottling, the grapes at perfect ripeness and allowing the fermentation to go as nature demands, which in this case comes in just above (or outside) the legal limit to be called a Trocken, though with a higher must weight, it is more generous on the palate. Don’t fear, it’s still very much a dry drinking style Riesling, but with the texture and presence of something really special, as this 2022 vintage shows! This delicately aromatic and light pale greenish/gold, Riesling is slate intense with liquid rock, flinty smoky notes and a combination of white peach, green apple, citrusy key lime and quince fruits in the mouth, it opens up in the glass, adding accents of rosewater, apricot flesh, white blossoms, bitter almond, chamomile, candied spicy ginger and a hint of refreshing saltiness. This Carl Loewen 1896 Riesling Feinherb, dressed up in its special label and dark red wax capsule, is again a truly a profound wine, and again one of the absolute best of these modern non Grosses Gewächs cru style offerings, it is once again one of the top wines I’ve tasted this year. As per normal with this wine there is an impeccable balance between the pleasing residual sugar and the chiseled and steely precision, it is an expressive old vine Mosel Riesling that is worth every penny and more, again, bravo Christopher Loewen, not only for this masterpiece, but for the more collection of the Weingut Carl Loewen 2022s, all of which are stunning efforts that I highly recommend. Each of these Rieslings are stars in their own right and in their price class, see below for ones to look for besides this one, which is always a bit harder to find.

The Carl Loewen estate, as mentioned before, originally founded by the Catholic followers of the Maximin order was privately established during Napoleonic times around 1803 and the Loewen family purchased the famous Maximin Klosterlay in 1805, after which the family continued to pick up steep parcels in the area, with Christopher’s dad collecting some great plots in more recent times, including the second steepest site in Germany, they very smartly picked up historic vineyards that were difficult to farm, but produced awesome grapes. The Loewen the younger, Christopher, has taken over in the cellar and has set the world on fire with his wines since about the 2014 vintage, employing a more natural approach in the cellar and stricter organic practices in the vines, and as he puts it, he presses the grapes whole cluster and the pomace is never moved as to not break up the solids that leads to phenolic (bitter) flavors that can mire delicate wines and he browns the juice pre-ferment(s), which reduces reduction and he allows the wine to ferment sponti, using no yeast or enzyme additions with his single vineyard wines going directly into large fuder, oak casks. The Maximin Herrenberg 1896 Feinherb, as the name suggests comes from ungrafted vines planted back in 1896 and are on pure red slate closer to the Mosel River where it gets the reflection effect, meaning it has riper fruit and the iron rich broken slate soils influence the Riesling in the grandest way possible, with Loewen very careful picking only grapes that are non botrytis for his drier wines, which takes extreme attention to detail. This is a masterpiece in excellence, and while not easy to get, it is worth almost any price to get your hands on it, though, if you can’t get it, be sure to check out any and all of the Loewen offerings, they all are classy wines and great values in the more basic range, savvy choices are their Alte Reben (old vine) Trocken, the Premier Cru (Erste Lage) Maximin Klostelay Trocken, the Herrenberg Kabinett and the super tasty basic Estate Riesling, one to grab by the case.
($105 ESt.) 98 Points, grapelive

June 2024

2022 Mauro Veglio, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Angelo, Piemonte, Italy.
The traditionally crafted Veglio “Angelo” Langhe Nebbiolo DOC comes from the estate’s youngest and most vigorous vineyards sourced in the townships of La Morra and Monforte d’Alba as well as Roero, all good terroir for Nebbiolo, as this one shows with classic varietal character and depth. The smooth and opulent 2022 Angelo, while easy to love, is nicely serious too with layers of brandied cherries, damson plums, red currants and strawberries on the medium/full palate, along with crushed rose petals, creamy tannin, tar, minty herbs, salted black licorice and a touch of cedary wood. Alessandro Veglio took over the winery and brought this inheritance parcel with him. These vines, located, as the winery notes, in mainly the Eastern slopes in the Barolo zone and set on classic marls (clay and limestone) and sandy soils, it has proven itself capable of producing an outstanding wines such as this one, and its a good one for faithful Nebbiolo enthusiasts. This dark ruby and garnet Nebbiolo is delicious and pure, I highly recommend it and it’s even better with food, where it can really strut its stuff and open up completely.

I discovered the Mauro Veglio wines only in the 2017 vintage, they offer a stylish series of Barolo wines, from many highly regarded Cru sites, as well as a terrific normal Barolo bottling from the younger vines that is an awesome bargain. As noted before here, Veglio makes a very nice set of Barbera and Dolcetto wines, as well as this exceptional value “Angelo” Langhe Nebbiolo, which I just opened at home. Veglio, a traditional winery with a long family history going back generations in the Piemonte region, typically get a maceration on the skins in stainless steel tanks before the grapes are pressed with fermentation in stainless tanks as well, lasting about 6 days, with its malolactic fermentation also taking place in the tanks to preserve aromatics and fresh details. While the Barolo offerings get their two years of aging in a combination of wood casks, the Langhe Nebbiolo is bottled after a short period in used small barrel and another resting period back in tank before bottling, which is unfined and unfiltered. This 2022, which is already drinking fabulous, is a wine to stock up on for the next two or three years, but I am now very excited to dig into Veglio’s upcoming Barolo wines!
($25 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Alfred Merkelbach, Riesling Kabinett, Ürziger Würzgarten, VDP Grosse Lage, Mosel, Germany.
The beautifully perfumed and exotic Merkelbach Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett Riesling, made in old Mosel fuder, is a gorgeous wine with a heavenly lightness, but with a generous palate and mineral complexity, delivering an outstanding off-dry performance in the glass. Lively acidity and youthful charm cuts into the residual sugar and allows for crisp refreshment in this Riesling from steep and mature vines with tangerine and Mandarin orange citrus, green apple, papaya, lime blossom, Asian spice and smoky wet stones leading the way of the zesty palate.The iconic Ürziger Würzgarten, set in natural massive amphitheater has a combination of stony, weathered Blue Devonian, flinty slate and red, volcanic, mineral rich, sandstone soils that give the wines their distinctive heightened aromatics and spicy iron intense character, hence the name Spice Garden. This tiny, one hectare, estate has small holdings that are divided between the Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Treppchen, and Kinheimer Rosenberg vineyards. The farming is done with ancient hand tending on these classic Mosel sites, all lying just above the Mosel, between the town of Ürzig and Erden, where they have found evidence of a centuries old Roman press house, with a good Southern exposure. The winery, now run by Johannes Selbach of the famed Selbach-Oster, says that when most of the Ürziger Würzgarten vineyards were replanted during the re-alignment of the vineyards (called “Flurbereinigung”), Merkelbach’s vines remained on original rootstock, with an average vine age of 45 years. Over the years, I have quite enjoyed the Merkelbach wines, even if they were slightly rustic and I am honestly, after tasting this one, excited by what’s to come here, and this label looks to finally get the attention it deserves.

I was first introduced to the Merkelbachs and their wines about 20 years ago by Terry Theise, one of the world’s greatest Riesling gurus, author and retired importer, so it was sad to learn that they had recently passed away, but happy that the Selbachs plan to continue their legacy. Alfred and Rolf Merkelbach from their home in Ürzig lived as though time didn’t exist and not not changed a thing in something like 50 years, including, as Theise explained, the brother’s old school approach to winemaking. Well into their seventies and eighties, the brothers Alfred and Rolf still tended their vines and make the wines with little or no help, even, as Terry remembered, heading up the ultra steep Würzgarten and Treppchen hillsides! The Merkelbach’s vinified each parcel separately, and according to legend, with each fuder (old German oak casks) in the cellar representing a different parcel. Theise also noted that because of their tiny cellar, their Pradikät wines were never be a blend of any more than two parcels, and this was indicated by the fuder numbers on the Merkelbach label’s AP code. The Merkelbach’s were committed to and true believers in tradition, and even though in modern times the must weights are higher and everyone makes riper wines, the brothers still crafted true old Mosel style wines. I consider their Kabinett wines fresh, low alcohol and this latest offering is a wonderful tribute to their history and life force. I was thrilled to see Johannes Selbach and his son Sebastian at Skurnik’s San Francisco stop on their US tour and taste through their own Selbach-Oster collection, all of which were exceptional, more notes to follow, and sample the Merkelbach lineup. These included a small selection of a few 2020, 2021, 2022 offerings, and the early release of this brilliant 2023 Ürziger Würzgarten Kabinett, which shows the Selbach touch, and I highly recommend keeping an eye out for it.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Galévan, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC Rouge, Southern Rhône Valley, France.
All new to me, Domaine Galévan was originally founded back in 1836 by Jean-François Goumarre and It has been in the same family now for more than 180 years, and I was excited to try their latest Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge at a recent tasting with their importer H. Mecer, where it made quite an impression, in a good way. Prior to 1995, the grapes here at Galévan were sold off to a local co-op, with the main production being basic Côtes-du-Rhône, but they have 2 hectares in the famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape zone, where this beautiful and opulent wine was born. The deeply hued purple/garnet 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, made from 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvedre is powerfully rich, sultry with a fine earthy authentic element, dark fruited, spiced and impressive in mouth feel impact. Interestingly, tried Coravin, this wine did not fully come alive and didn’t reveal its full potential in the glass, while the open bottle was gorgeous and expressive with a seductive layering of boysenberry, plum, candied cherry, mulberry, mix berry coulis and black fig fruits, along with mocha, creme de cassis, salted licorice, raw peppercorns, lovely crushed flowers, chalky loam, sandalwood and a touch of meatiness. The tannins are well covered up, there’s some lift from acidity, the wood is well judged and there’s that certain Châteauneuf-du-Pape thrill, opulence and presence that really pleases the palate here and it should be enjoyed with a full hearty meal. The Galévan Châteauneuf-du-Pape has lots to admire and it lingers on and on with a ton of fruit as well as grilled herbs and lavender, it went nicely with marinaded pork mole and beef street tacos, but I’m sure it will be best with roast lamb and or hard cheeses.

Winemaker Coralie Galévan, according to her importer H. Mercer Imports, is the first women in the nine generations of vignerons to run this small estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and has taken this label to new heights, especially in recent years. Galévan is located in the commune of Courthézon and the estate covers 60 hectares across a few AOC and non official appellations and all the vines are farmed with organic agriculture. The Galévan vineyards are spread between Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône Village, Côtes du Rhône and Vin de Pays with all the usually suspects planted, including the classic Rhône grapes, but led by Grenache. Coralie Galévan, who’s put in technology, sustainable practices and still pays tribute to traditional and historic methods where needed to produce her collection of wines, from her Côtes du Rhône, the Châtauneuf red and white, a couple of special cuvée versions, to her unique Vin D’Pays, which includes a good dose of Cabernet Sauvignon, which I look forward to trying. For this Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC Rouge, Galévan carefully selects and sorts her fruit in the vineyard and again in the cellar, crushing and de-stemming the Grenache and Mourvédre, which get picked and fermented separately in tank with temperature control. After primary fermentation and maceration to gently extract the full potential of the grapes the must is pressed and racked to Burgundy sized barriques, mostly used, where the wine ages 15 months before blending and being tank settled before bottling. The combination of 80% of Grenache and 20% Mourvédre works well here with the Grenache’s lush depth and the rustic leathery charm of the Mourvédre, that gives the structure and savoriness, all plays well to allow joy now and gives it plenty of rewarding age worthiness.
($68 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2018 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Feinherb, Cuvée R, Hermannshöhle, VDP Grosse Lage, Nahe, Germany.
It was great to catch up on the latest releases from Dönnhoff, with their 2022 and 2023 showing fantastically well and are wines to stock up on, but I also discovered this beautiful special old vine “R” Riesling, a cellar selection from the winery that is slightly off-dry, but with GG like character and pedigree. The 2018 vintage is kind of a sleeper year, strangely not favored by critics, but with some fabulous efforts, as this wine proves, especially with the extra age that this Nahe gem has, showing off a great depth of fruit, crystalline purity and intense minerality. The palate of the pale gold hued Hermannshöhle -R- Riesling is nicely structured and pleasingly vinous with bright citrus, apricot, green apple and puckering quince fruit, along with generous roundness, an array of spices, liquid rock, citron oil, chamomile, a fine saltiness and a hint of rosewater. The tiny extra amount of residual sugar adds mainly a creamy dimension to this excellent wine. The dry drinking “R” Hermannshöhle, coming from 65 year old vines with a steep slope of between 40 – 60% degrees, sees a fermentation in cool conditions and is matured in a mixture of stainless steel vats and neutral oak with 1200L German stückfass from Hösch, all playing a part to make this wine so brilliantly balanced and transparent, while allowing for textural grace. Cornelius Dönnhoff makes some of the world’s greatest wines and continues the excellence in Riesling with his newest set of offerings, it is never a mistake to drink any of these Dönnhoff wines and this one is an outstanding example of pleasure and class.

A vineyard that has the same prestige as Montrachet, the Niederhauser Hermannshöhle is one of Germany’s and especially the Nahe region’s jewels with some of the best and historic wines coming from this spectacular site above the river. As noted by the winery and wine lovers for over a hundred years, the Hermannshöhle has been revered as one of the Nahe‘s best vineyards and is a benchmark for the Nahe. It most likely takes its name, according to the Dönnhoff family, from a small mine, or “Höhle”, in the middle of the hillside and “Hermann” is derived from Hermes, the Roman god of messengers and travelers. The name likely hints at an ancient place of worship once located here, in Germany’s smallest region that straddles the Rheinhessen and the Rheingau. The VDP Grosse Lage Hermannshöhle vineyard faces due south and sits up around 150 meters above sea level and has a combination of complex soils with a lot of slate, mixed with igneous rock, porphyry (volcanic) and limestone elements. The mature and organically farmed vines are on steep slope and there is micro parcels here that allow making of both dry and sweet Riesling treasures. It should be noted that the Dönnhoff Riesling vines are all old clones and are quite distinctive in character and add tons of terroir personality, in particular in their Grand Cru wines, such as Klamm, Brücke, Leistenberg, Felsenberg, Kirschheck, Dellchen, Krötenpfuhl, Kahlenberg, and Höllenpfad. There’s exceptional quality throughout the range at Dönnhoff and I, as noted before, am a huge fan of these wines and highly recommend them all, with my personal favorites being the Leistenberg Kabinett, the Hermannshöhle GG, the Tonschiefer Riesling Trocken and this one.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas, Aux Lieux-Dits, Rhône Valley, France.
A bit deeper and more complex than the prior release, this fantastic opaque purple/black 2020 Aux Lieux-Dits Gigondas by the famous Domaine Santa Duc reveals smoky bacon, crushed lilacs, mountain sage and red berry coulis on the nose which leads to a full bodied palate of classic Southern Rhône joy. The mouth feel and presence is very much inline with a top Grenache based Châteauneuf-du-Pape with an impressive and powerful layering of boysenberry, plum, currant jam, black cherry and Mission fig fruits, all accented nicely by aromatic sage, crushed stones, subtle sandalwood, anise and snappy lavender. This is serious stuff, structured and while meaty and gripping, it does open up to an opulent and wonderfully proportioned wine that really does best with a hearty meal. As mentioned, I had a 1996 version of Santa Duc Gigondas recently, even though well mature and peaking, it was glorious, so don’t be afraid to put a few of these Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas bottles in your long term cellar, I see this one going 20 plus years. The wines here at Domaine Santa Duc are old school efforts coming from special massale selections of mostly Grenache, but with Mourvèdre, Syrah and some Cinsault as well, as I’ve noted before, that goes into these incredible Rhône blends. All farmed by hand and with biodynamic and true holistic methods, while In the cellar the winemaking team uses lots of whole cluster vinification with the Gigondas seeing fermentation with wild yeasts and minimum interventions, capturing all the terroir nuances in the Dentelles de Montmirail area. The hilly Gigondas zone, with hardened clay, marl, limestone and schist soils, higher up and a slightly cooler area typically show off a fresher sense of detail, mineral and even in a low percentage, display the Syrah’s personality in many ways, as this one does.

The Domaine Santa Duc, most famous for their Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas, employe an all manual harvest in small crates with, as the winery explains, sorting in the vineyard, followed by a second on the sorting table in the cellar to be sure of absolute quality. They also do, what they call partial de-stemming with the percentage of whole bunches and stems being decided according to the best needs of vintage and with consideration of the plots of vines themselves. The must sees a gravity vatting and fermentation for 20 to 30 days in stainless steel vats under controlled temperatures to heighten the aromatics and show off purity of form in the wines. The malolactic fermentation is also done and encouraged in tank as well, which also makes for a more clean and stable process. The Domaine Santa Duc, as noted in prior reviews, Gigondas, and the Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge efforts, typically ages for about 18 months in large 36-hectoliter Stockinger (Austrian) oak barrels and uniquely in some eight-hectoliter terracotta jars, after that the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. The famous Domaine Santa Duc, located at the foot of the mentioned legendary Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range that is the spine of the region in the Gigondas zone, with complex soils, based on clay and marl, with the sixth generation of winegrowers, Benjamin Gras, now carrying on the family’s history and tradition here to great effect, as his latest wines show. This Aux Lieux-Dits Gigondas is made usually with about 75% Grenache Noir, 10% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre and 2% Cinsault, and these non-filtered wines show their sense of place and are proudly robust and earthy, and are somewhat gritty and raw when released, but as noted above, they gain tremendous sex appeal and character with some aging, I highly recommend these Santa Duc wines.
($45 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Whitehall Lane – Leonardini Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley.
The floral aromatic, dark opaque purple/garnet 2019 Whitehall Lane Leonardi Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep, opulent and structured wine that shows off the best of what we love about the Rutherford and St. Helena part of Napa Valley with loads of black fruit and velvety tannins. The full bodied palate is beautifully layered with Bordeaux like class and polish, it delivers blackberry, dark currant, huckleberry, blueberry coulis and plum fruits, along with sweet sandalwood, mocha, loamy earth, vanilla, dusty coco, pencil lead, black olive, creme de cassis, pipe tobacco and anise notes. This wine is ready performing great and I see it going another couple of decades easily, it opens nicely, the nose is full of violets and spice, and it firms up to make it food friendly, excellent with an array of beef dishes and or hard cheeses, which I recommend highly with this stunning effort. The Leonardini Family, owners of the famed Whitehall Lane Winery, founded in 1979, oversaw the 1989 re-planting of this 14 acre vineyard site right near the famous Harvest Inn and eventually bought the vineyard in 1993, forming their first true estate property. According to the winery, the area had been originally planted to black grapes in the late 1800’s when the Lewelling Family settled on a large tract of land on the southern outskirts of St. Helena. The old-time farmers of the area said that the soil, Cortina Gravely Loam, in this particular area was renowned for quality wine grapes, though much turmoil followed and it wasn’t until more recent times and better farming that the full potential was realized here and it was planted to mainly Cabernet Sauvignon. Like the winery itself, the vines are right off the Highway 29 that carves through the Napa Valley, on the western side on what has become one of the most iconic area in the wine world. As mentioned, I was a huge fan of the early 1990s wines here, with Whitehall Lane’s Morisoli Vineyard Reserve Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon being one of my absolute favorites, in particular I loved the 1992, 1993 and 1994 vintages, made by Gary Galleron, a legend at the time, after which I switch my attention the Leonardini Estate bottlings.

Whitehall Lane says that the final blend for their Leonardini Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was close to 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6%, Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc, and they note that it was the first time that they used all five of the main Bordeaux varietals in a single vintage, which definitely seems to have added character and complexity here. To keep every nuance complete in the Cabernet Sauvignon, they also bottled the wine unfined and unfiltered, which is nice authentic touch and a throwback to earlier vintages, like my favorites in the early nineties. To get these results, the winery hand harvested the grapes in the early morning hours, keeping them cool from the vines to the cellar, after which they were carefully de-stemmed, but sent to tank for a whole-berry fermentation, instead of harsh crushing. The grapes, the winery notes, were cold-soaked in tank at 45˚F for 4-7 days, allowing for increased color, aroma, and flavor extraction, without excessive tannins. After inoculation, the grape must was warmed and fermented at about 82˚F, which allowed for a hot extraction on the skins, which helped get to dry faster and healthier. For fermentation cap management, Whitehall Lane’s team pumped juice over the skins two times per day, wetting the cap evenly to keep everything in order and as mentioned perfectly healthy throughout the maceration and fermentation period. After going dry the wine is pressed to barrel, with 70% new French oak and 30% neutral French oak barrels employed, where it matured for close to 26 months. I was thrilled to give this current release a try, and I loved the style it has with that touch of earth, and delicate stony character, as well as the hint of black olive, that reminded me of classic Pessac-Léognan or Medoc wines, I appreciate that is full ripe and lush, but still has some savory elements and not over the top, which I think bodes well for a long life ahead. As I said above, I really loved drinking the Whitehall Lane Cabernets of the nineties and this 2019 really took me back to those pleasure filled times and it really performed on the level of some top Napa labels costing twice or more, and now I look forward to tasting the 2021s!
($85 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Schloss Lieser – Thomas Haag, Riesling Trocken, Niederberg Helden, VDP Grosse Gewächs, Mosel, Germany.
Fast becoming one of the top go to estates in the Mosel, Schloss Lieser is putting out some fantastic and elegant Rieslings, which I was very excited to taste recently in San Francisco with the estate’s newest generation winemaker Lara Haag, who helps her father Thomas Haag, of the famous Fritz Haag family, in the cellar. One of the most beautiful and nuanced wines of the collection is the upcoming release of their estate Niederberg Helden Grosse Gewächs, which shows its unique soft decomposed slate terroir with a fine smokiness and a restrained steely mineral austerity. This is a thinking person’s wine of depth and delicacy, showing tangerine, tart green apple, stone fruit and quince fruit, along with wet flint, chamomile, almond and a touch of creamy leesy texture or roundness. Bone dry, as GG’s have to be, this wine still manages to gorgeous proportions and grace on the firm youthful palate and I’m sure there’s so much more to come, I can only hope to re-visit this wonderful Grand Cru in 5 to 10 years time. The wines at Schloss Lieser are almost all done in stainless steel and are exceptionally pure terroir driven efforts, as this one clearly shows. It was a pleasure to go through the latest set of wines with Lara, and while this one was a standout for my tastes, there are no duds here and I loved the traditional Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese Brauneburger Juffer offerings, especially the drier Kabinett Juffer 2023, a wine I could drink every day with an incredible array of cuisine choices. Thomas, as the winery notes, believes that native yeasts bring more complexity and more texture, without taking away from transparency and seeing his wines, tasted together, can see that thread throughout and I was left very impressed.

The historic Schloss Lieser is known locally as one of the most striking buildings in the Middle Mosel and is beautiful Neo-Renaissance castle that was built in 1875, but it was known for its wine until recent times under the leadership of Thomas Haag, who’s father Wilhelm Haag is an important figure in German wine and the owner of Weingut Fritz Haag. Thomas decided to stay and lead Schloss Lieser instead of take our his father’s estate, which is run by the also very talented winemaker Oliver Haag, Thomas’ brother. Thomas became the director of the estate in 1992 and has slowly revamped this special small estate with some prime Grosse Lagen vineyard parcels, including the Lieser Niederberg Helden and the well known Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr (Sundial), which provides some elite old vine Riesling grapes. The Haag family, with the new generation of Lara and Niklas, both of which studied at Geisenheim University in the Rheingau, the top wine-making school in Germany, have a hand in making the wines now and they have added other top quality vineyards to the portfolio, such as Graacher Himmelreich, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Bernkastler Doktor and Graacher Domprobst. The Schloss Lieser Rieslings see no skin maceration fermentation(s) that are always spontaneous and the grapes a a cool, gentle pressing as to not allow for bitter phenolics and the must is allowed to take as long as needed to finish, sometimes about 6-10 weeks. Then the wine ages on the lees for 4 or so months, after which it racked to tank to further mature and is only bottled when it tastes ready to do so. The extra care and effort here really pays off and these Schloss Lieser wines are exceptional and very rewarding Rieslings to keep an eye out for!
($60 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

n.v. Filipa Pato, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Nature, 3B, Sparkling Wine, Bairrada D.O., Portugal.
The Filipa Pato Blanc de Blancs Brut bubbly is a lovely bottle and a savvy buy for Champagne style sparkling wine with class and distinction in the glass and a luxurious mousse to bring a real smile. There’s a lot to like here, Pato, who’s a darling of the organic and natural wine world and known for her beautiful Baga red wines, does a quality set of non dosage traditional sparkling wines, including this Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs and a fine Rosé, which I usually opt for. This wine, made from native varietal white grapes, 70% Bical, 23% Maria Gomes and 7% Cercial, coming from biodynamic vines set on chalky clay soils sees a primary fermentation in tank with wild yeast and a second fermentation in bottle with 9 months sur-lie aging. Again Pato uses zero dosage allowing a very dry profile and vibrant personality, while the yeasty notes are elegant and give complexity. This lot bottling shows vibrant citrus, quince, golden fig, clove spice, white blossoms, a hint of apple and wet stones, which adds sharp contrast to the rich brioche and doughy notes.

Filipa Pato, who is partnered by her husband William Wouters, a Belgian sommelier and wine enthusiast, as I’ve mentioned before, who started her own project in 2001 after working for the family estate in this coastal Portuguese region is now an established leader in Portugal. Pato, as the winery notes, a graduate of the University of Coimbra as a chemical engineer, has refined her skills working harvests in Bordeaux, Mendoza, Margaret River, and right at home in Bairrada with her father, Luis Pato, famous in his own right. She now works a total of 12 hectares of vineyards, only using native grapes, scattered in various plots throughout the Bairrada appellation. Filipa is now a celebrated star in the globally is admired for utilizing biodynamic farming practices and minimal-intervention winemaking, she and her husband, the famous, as mentioned sommelier and restaurateur William Wouters, produce, as they put it, vinhos autênticos sem maquilagem, ‘Authentic Wines Without Makeup’. While known for her reds, Pato does an incredible white made from 100% Bical, the best local white grape, from the ‘grand cru’ village of Oís do Bairro (Filipa’s hometown) that has the class and structure of a exceptional white Burgundy, as well as crafting this grower fizz, that is seriously fun stuff.
($22 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Argiano, Rosso di Montalcino DOC, Tuscany, Italy.
The really fresh ruby and garnet Argiano Rosso di Montalcino is drinking beautifully right out of the bottle and is fabulous with a wide array of food choices, especially grilled meats and hard sheep cheeses with its vibrant and pure Sangiovese red fruits leading the way. The palate is vivid and a bit youthfully juicy with a medium body of cherry, plum, strawberry and earthy mulberry fruits, along with tangy minty herbs, a touch of tobacco leaf, almost no wood in evidence, just a touch of spicy cedar, crushed stones, wilted rose petals and anise. The Argiano baby Brunello fits the nickname, but is not as powerful, age worthy or serious as some can, which is fine when you are looking for something to enjoy tonight and I appreciated the clarity of flavors and terroir nuances, it is very solid effort and nicely rewarding without pretension.

The Rosso di Montalcino from Argiano comes from all organic vines up around 300 meters above sea level with mostly loam, clay, with some alluvial origins and classic marl and limestone soils, which give this wine its mineral and bright tones, as seen perfectly in this lighter framed 2022 vintage. Of course, this is 100% Sangiovese Grosso, or Brunello clone that is sourced from 20 to 25 year old vines, with the grapes coming into cellar coolly hand picked, de-stemmed and cold soaked. Argiano allows for a spontaneous fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel with about 10 days on the skins for structural extraction before the wine is pressed to a combination of large French and Slavonian barrels. The Rosso di Montalcino spends about nine months in these big casks with are pretty neutral to promote purity, transparency and freshness, as especially seen here. This 2022 is a touch lighter and easy to enjoy than some vintages I’ve had, but certainly impresses for its deliciousness.
($32 ESt.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Prieler, Rosé of Blaufränkisch, vom Stein, Burgenland, Austria.
I’ve been following Prieler for the better part of 20 years now, and I was thrilled with their latest releases and especially the dry Rosé, made from 100% Blaufränkisch, with its beautiful delicate pink/salmon hue and bright sour cherry, watermelon, strawberry and ruby citrus fruits, along with fine crisp mineral tones, it’s a excellent and unique quaffable Summer sipper. For his Rosé, winegrower Georg Prieler does a direct press saignée to stainless steel tank for fermentation and short aging on the lees, bottling it just 5 months from harvest, all to keep things vivid and refreshing, as this 2023 vintage shows with excellent clarity. The stony Prieler Rosé, coming from all organic 25 year old vines in Burgenland’s Leithaberg region near the Schützen am Gebirge commune and set on classic limestone soils, which adds a sense of place and complexity to this fun and tasty effort. It was nice to catch up on Georg’s wines, with his signature Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc bottlings taking center stage, with the 2020 Oggau Johanneshöhe Blaufränkisch and 2021 Leithaberg DAC Pinot Blanc Alte Reben (old Vine) being my favorites, along with this dry Rosé and Prieler’s Kalkterrassen Gemischter Satz (co-fermented white blend), which was all new to me. Prieler has many varietals planted here, including Blaufränkisch, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Welschriesling, Sankt Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which all enjoy lots of sunshine and a complex series of calcerous and iron rich soils with sand, limestone over deep chalk, fossilized rock and some mica-schist.

The Prieler estate, founded in 1972, is based in Schützen, which sits on the western side of the Lake Neusiedl, in Burgenland, it is a historic old farm, that was once dedicated to many types of agriculture, but now specializing almost solely in grape growing. Georg Prieler is a the second generation Prieler to run this iconic winery and the one that has brought world wide acclaim to this property with his fantastic terroir driven Blaufränkisch and Pinot Blanc wines. Georg’s wife Silvia brings a wealth of experience to the winery with a PhD in biochemistry, international experience including an internship at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy and a precise touch, which explains the class and finesse in the wines. The winery notes that all of the grapes are carefully crushed and fermented at closely controlled temperatures in steel tanks or wooden casks. The character of the variety and the vineyard determines how the wine will be matured and what in. For example, the Primer’s add, the Seeberg Pinot Blanc will aged exclusively in stainless steel to maximize freshness and clarity, while the Blaufränkisch from Johanneshöhe will be raised in large oak casks, and Georg’s top crus like Goldberg will mature in small Burgundy barriques. Prieler’s 20 hectares of vines are cultivated in small parcels between the Leithagebirge, which according to the winery, is the last outpost of the eastern Alps that protect the vines from the western winds, and the Lake Neusiedl, which tempers the hot climate of the Pannonian plain, where there is the most sunshine in all of Eastern Europe. I highly recommend digging deep into the Prieler collection, especially the mentioned wines above, they will certainly impress for their outstanding quality and elegance.
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Alois – Donna Paolina, Greco di Tufo DOCG, Campania, Italy.
The lovely and mineral driven Alois – Donna Paolina, Greco di Tufo, sourced from the Contrada Marotta vineyard, is excellent example of this ancient grape with delicate white flower aromatics, bright citrusy fruit, along with its steely/stony personality, is a nice crisply focused lighter framed and quaffable white wine. The Alois Estate, which produces an exceptional value priced collection of terroir influenced bottlings, based in Campania’s Pontelatone, is located in Caserta area just northeast of Naples. Set in an Amphitheater-like setting of rolling hills near the inactive volcano of Roccamonfina and the Matese Mountains, Alois has a prime spot to produce serious and quality wines, with their Aglianico and Fiano based wines being some of my favorites here. The farming practices the Alois family employs, according to the winery, is not as of yet fully organic, but certified 100% sustainable. The Alois family originally known for their textiles and had good reputation as quality silk producers, but eventually turned to viticulture in the twentieth century and now are well respected within the wine community, with their passion for the traditions and history in Campania.

The Donna Paolina 2022 is made up of 100% Greco di Tufo from organically farmed 20-year-old vines that are grown on sandy soils, with a beneficial southeastern exposure. The hand harvested grapes are exclusively fermented entirely in stainless steel tanks, all to preserve the naturally acidity and to promote fresh detailing. The fermentation and aging is quick, always lasting only a few months, after which the wine then rests in the bottle for another three months before release. Alois has put a lot of passion into the historic native varietals, and as they note, in 1992, Michele and his son Massimo Alois, partnered up with the University of Naples in a quest to rediscover some the almost extinct ancient varieties that were popular with the Romans and Bourbons. The Bourbon era of Southern Italy was back in the 1800s and a time of rejuvenated interest in the wines of Campania. The Alois family have grafted pre-phylloxera cuttings of Casavecchia, Pallagrello Nero and Pallagrello Bianco, all almost forgotten grapes, and have included them in their more recent lineup of wines with great success, and I like Pallagrello Bianco a lot and recommend exploring these unique Alois wines. I’ve been following the Alois winery for almost a decade now and before this one I most recently reviewed their lovely Caulino Falanghina, and I hope to dig into more soon.
($20 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 La Mesma, Cortese, INDI “Con Le Bolle” Metodo Ancestrale, Piemonte, Italy.
Even though I’m pretty much over the whole Pet-Nat thing, this one from La Mesma, which is made from Cortese grapes grown in the famous Gavi appellation, is a tasty sparkler and is an exception to much of the hipster juice, with a nice yeasty, clean, varietal character and a distinctive nutty profile. The true Gavi bottlings at La Mesma are fantastic, so I made my decision to give this fizz a try much easier and I enjoyed the quaffable lean palate of lemon/lime, quince, green melon and tart pear fruits, along with the almond, bitter herb, fennel and salty stone accents. The mousse, typical of Pet-Nats is a little foamy and doesn’t bead as nicely as Champagne style bubblies, but it can be forgiven as this price point and as as good as it tastes, especially as it is not meant to be overly serious anyway. La Mesma, who’s cellar is in the small Piemonte local of Tassarolo, with winemaker Massimo Azzolini, is definitely a winery to look for, in particular the Gavi Riserva DOCG, Vigna Della Rovere Verde, which is a rockstar example of grape and place, it is also a ridiculous value too. The Gavi Riserva, traditionally made and packaged, but with a gold wax capsule really is an intriguing example of this region’s most acclaimed varietal, rivaling some white Burgundies for class and style in the glass. Azienda Agricola La Mesma was founded in 2003 and is an organic certified winery following strict holistic and sustainable practices, they are faithful stewards of their land and promote biodiversity to grow better grapes. A leader in the Slow Wine movement, La Mesma’s Gavi wines have been recognized by national critics as some of the top sustainable wines in Italy and they are committed to the best environmental practices. La Mesma is going as green as possible, even adding solar panels above the cellars to reduce their carbon footprint, as well as trying to be socially conscious, including their hiring and training of displaced peoples, that had to flee war zones and or famine.

The La Mesma winery, as mentioned previously, is a small family run business being owned and managed by three sisters, Paola, Francesca, and Anna Rosina that have turned a small plot of land into a very noteworthy estate making precise and soulful wines. Their importer Tanaro River were impressed by the quality of the wines here and note Paola and her two sisters were raised in the city of Genoa on the Ligurian coast, without any viticulture background, but that didn’t stop them from making a success of their project. The Rosina sisters’ journey to producing Gavi wines began about 20 years ago when they decided to turn their family country house, which is nestled in the peaceful hills on the border between Piemonte and Liguria into a tiny self contained estate winery. La Mesma, introduced to me by my Italian Sommelier and Sardinian winemaker friend Giuseppi Cossu, is located in famous the Piemonte region noted for little and zingy white wines made from the native Cortese grape. It was, as they explain, their mother that suggested to the sisters, that they plant a small vineyard here, thinking they could just make wine for family and friends. So what originally started out as a hobby vineyard would blossom into a viable, successful business with outstanding quality well beyond their imagination! While not born into a family of winegrowers, the Rosina sisters used their individual professional talents to good effect and their passion and hardworking or grit has served them well, creating winery that is now the pride of the region. The Rosina’s La Mesma estate is also the only producer to make the full range of Gavi wines, each of which are grown and made adhering to the full DOCG rules, including a still Gavi, Gavi Frizzante, Gavi Spumante Traditional Method and the mentioned Gavi Riserva, as well as this fun Pet-Nat. The La Mesma wines are not commonly found in the United States, but are well worth the time to search them out, it’s an estate you can feel good about supporting and I hope you do.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2020 Cantina Fradiles, Red Wine, Mandrolisai DOC, Sardinia, Italy.
The rare and unique Sardinian red blend here is wonderfully pure with a high elevation freshness, it shows off beautiful aromatics with distinctive rose petal and mineral notes that lead to a medium bodied palate that has tons of personality, layers of strawberry, wild plum, tangy currant and sweet cherry fruits, along with mountain herbs, anise, loamy earth and a mix of spices. The Fradiles Mandrolisai DOC Rosso, a blend of native varietals, Bovale Sardo (Muristellu), Cannonau (Grenache) and Monica comes from mature vines high up in the Mountains, at close to 2,000 feet up that are all organic and hand tended with sandy granite based soils. This vintage reminds me of Freisa or something like that, less grippy than the 2016 that I tried a few vintages ago. The main grape in this wine, Muristellu (Bovale) is now known to be indigenous to Sardinia, which many experts believe was born here on this island. Many Sardinian varieties are genetically close to Muristellu (Bovale) and scientific studies have proved its long history here, and while complicated, these discoveries suggests that Sardinia itself is one of the oldest known wine growing regions in Europe dating back to the 11th century BC. I previously reviewed Fradiles here at grape live.com and highlighted their captivating Bagadìu, which is 100% Muristellu (Bovale) and as noted, it is distinctly different, but equally as delicious. These wines, rustically charming, are best enjoyed with a hearty meal and go great with lamb dishes and or hard sheep cheeses, though I also suggest wild mushroom pasta as well.

The Cantina Fradiles, based in the Atzara district, and winemaker Paolo Savoldo, are making some of the most authentic and intriguing wines on Sardinia, with this field blend being an exceptional example of the region’s wines with deep layers, mineral tones, savory elements and pretty aromatics, all held together with some raw mountain tannin(s) and nice acidity that remind you this is an old world wine. Fradiles makes a lineup of intriguing native mono-varietal wines, which I note above, including white and reds, as well as this Mandrolisai DOC blended wine, which is a true field blend that is co-fermented from Bovale Sardo (Muristellu), Cannonau (Grenache) and Monica, another rare local red grape. In the cellars, Paolo Savoldo handcrafts his reds with native yeast fermentation(s) with temperature controlled vats, with a skin maceration of about 8/10 days in the stainless steel, before being gently pressed and racked to large used oak casks for 6 months or so. I really enjoy this wine, as I did with the 2016, which is typically about 40% Muristellu (Bovale), 30% Cannonau and 30% Monica. Fradiles has become a favorite winery of mine in recent years, thanks to my Sardinian friend Giuseppi Cossu of Impromptu Wines, who makes a limited set of small batch wines as well, and who has been educating me on some of the Island’s rarities. These wines offer a fascinating glimpse into Sardinia and show a unique sense of place, on this strongly independent Mediterranean island, I highly recommend checking them out, even if it means a slightly hard chase to find them.
($34 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Ramey Wine Cellars, Chardonnay, Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma County.
One of California’s iconic producers and winemakers, Dave Ramey has been close to the top of the state’s most desirable Chardonnay for decades and this 2022 Russian River bottling is a delicious example of why, with cool toned fruit, mineral detail and opulent mouth feel, while retaining crisp/fresh acidity. Chosen from an array of vineyard sites, this 2022 vintage is made up of 44% Lafranchi, 18% Martinelli Laughlin Rd, 14% Kilcullen, 12% Dutton Sebastopol and 12% Westside Farms vineyards, with most on classic Goldridge loam soils with clone 4 being the main selection in this wine with a small amount of Wente. The aromatics are subtle with delicate white flowers and minor notes of wood, clove spice and citron oil in the glass before a medium/full palate of apple, pear and peach, along with a touch of lemon curd brûlée, golden fig, wet rock, yeasty brioche, vanilla and just a touch of clarified cream. This vintage, which was warm, might now have to intensity of 2021 or the upcoming 2023, but still delivers a well balanced Chardonnay, in the hands of Ramey, who was very on top of pick dates, and those that love Hanzell, Mount Eden, Kistler and Aubert will really enjoy this one. I tasted this one along side some Burgundy offerings two and or three times the price, and to be honest this Ramey Russian River Chardonnay was performing much better on the day.

For this Ramey Russian River Chardonnay’s fermentation, Ramey employed his traditional methods with a whole cluster pressing for what Dave says is done for phenolic delicacy. The primary barrel fermentation is done with spontaneous native yeast and it saw a full native malolactic fermentation in barrel as well, with some sur lies bâtonnage (stirring the lees) to enhance the textual quality. Ramey aged this one for 12 months in mainly used wood with just about 10% new French oak, with a selection of high-end cooperage, including Taransaud Beaune and François Frères, and this 2022 Chardonnay was, as Ramey notes, traditionally fined for clarity and then bottled without filtration. The early pick dates helped give this wine its precision and the older mature vines delivered concentration and depth here, making for a lovely wine that will partner up nicely with a wide range of cuisine choices, though I imagine it going great with lobster, swordfish and soft/creamy farm cheeses. Ramey says these cool sites, with low vigor soils were planted between 1978 and 2006 and the grapes coming them exemplifies the Russian River Valley style, which is clearly on display here. I have recently tasted Ramey’s Claret and Syrah, both of which were exceptional wines and impressive in presence and structure, as well this Chardonnay, and I highly recommend them all. Dave Ramey founded his name-sake winery back in 1996 and quickly rose to the top echelon in the state and continues to this day to be highly regarded for the greatness of the wines and now he has brought the next generation with his kids Claire and Alan now playing big roles within the winery.
($50 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2017 Manzone, Barolo DOCG “Bricat” Piemonte, Italy.
I love this 2017 Manzone Bricat Barolo, it was quite a surprise too, it is very dark ruby/garnet, expressive and full bodied with loads of classic Nebbiolo goodness, with brandied cherry, bramble berry, damson plum and red currant fruits, along with tar, black licorice, wilted roses, crushed chalk, truffle, leather, cigar wrapper and cedar notes. There’s a lot of reviews of this 2017 described as shy and delicately elegant, but I can tell you that this bottle of Bricat showed that this wine as of now has filled out and it was quite serious, powerful and gripping in tannic structure, it must have had some warm vintage baby fat, that has melted away and left a more true Barolo in place now. Fermented and macerated in tank on the skins for 25 days, this Bricat was then aged in a combination of 500L and 700L Slavonian casks and French tonneaux for 36 months. Manzone’s Barolo Bricat is sourced from the oldest vines, in the highest, best-exposed parcel of the Gramolere cru in Monforte d’Alba and though Bricat actually translates to a small hill in the native slag here, the name really is that of the old owner of these vines, which were purchased by the Manzone family in 1989. Interestingly, Manzone also produces the rare Rossese Bianco, a native white Piemonte varietal, with bright tropical notes, that is pretty much only found and grown around the communes of Roddino and Sinio in the Langhe region of Cuneo. It’s noted that while sharing the name Rossese with the likes of Rossese di Dolceacqua (Tibouren) there is no DNA relationship and that grape experts believe it acquired the name, because like Pinot Grigio the skins get quite dark pinkish/red close to harvest, though I’ve not heard of any skin contact versions. Back to the Bricat Barolo, it was incredible and changed dramatically in the glass, getting wonderfully silken and was great with food as well, even the dark mole pork dish was an unlikely, but awesome pairing, though I imagine a leg of lamb and or prime rib would be fabulous with this wine.

Manzone was originally founded In 1925 when Giovanni Manzone Sr. purchased “Ciabot del Preve” (the Parish Priest house) and helped pioneer winemaking in Monforte d’Alba area, which has become one Barolo’s most famous spots. The Manzone family made some significant upgrades to their holdings over the years and they purchased important vineyards on the historic hill of Castelletto and Gramolare, which have proved to be two of the best Barolo crus in the Monforte d’Alba zone. It’s from these two prime Nebbiolo sites from which they still rely upon for the heart and soul of their collection. In recent times, Mauro and Mirella Manzone joined their father Giovanni Jr. in the management of the winery, both have graduated from the famed Oenology School of Alba. The farming is all sustainable with mainly organic viticultural principles being used and natural native grass is left between the rows of vines, mowed and left on the ground to form, what they call humus, to add nutrients to the soils. All the wines at Manzone are unfined and unfiltered, and they only add minimal amounts of SO2 to them. I’ve followed Manzone for most of my own professional career and was, again, excited to try a recent release and was greatly impressed with the depth and purity of this 2017, which was an uneven vintage in quality and not as heralded as 2010 or 2016, making Manzone’s Bricat effort even more thrilling, it is turning out to be quite a wine. The Bricat Nebbiolo vines, as I learned, were planted in the 1970s and are up at between 335 and 400 meters above sea level, getting loads of sun, but also seeing a lot of higher elevation cooling, which in this case proved critical to produce such a gorgeous wine. Another point of interest here, is the Helvetian, or Serravallian soils, which are sandstone based, are mainly found in the communes of Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba and Monforte d’Alba, where Gramolare is, again helping explain the distinctive characteristics found in this wine, which intrigued me.
($81 ESt.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 La Marea by Ian Brand, Cachudo, Pierce Vineyard, San Antonio Valley AVA, Monterey County.
I find Arinto to be one of Portugal’s most interesting and structured white grapes, and I was excited to try Ian Brand’s La Marea version, a totally new solo varietal bottling that is another intriguing alternative white wine from Monterey County, following Brand’s successful series of Albariño, Verdelho, Arneis, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Melon de Bourgogne. The pale gold and bone dry 2023 Cachudo (Arinto) is brightly focused with vivid citrus leading the way on the crisp and steely medium bodied and pithy palate with meyer lemon, tangy white peach, quince, papaya and green apple fruits, along with sour grass, flinty stone, saline, bitter almond, lime blossom, wet chalk and lingering shaved orange zest. As mentioned in recent reviews, winemaker Ian Brand has told me that the soils and terroirs of Monterey County are really prime spots for expressive white grapes and he feels strongly that we are on the cusp of some remarkable changes here, moving beyond just Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and this wine certainly gives credence to what he’s told me. Especially given the local cuisine, wines like this Arinto makes perfect sense, it goes beautifully with the native catches in the Monterey Bay from sardines to squid, as well as Moroccan lemon chicken and or freshly sucked raw oysters.

Arinto, as Wines of Portugal (USA) notes, is a versatile grape, grown in most of Portugal’s wine regions, from Madeira to Vinho Verde, and on its own produces vibrant wines with lively acidity, nicely youthful refreshing and with a strong mineral undercurrent, which is in evidence here in Ian Brand’s La Marea South Monterey County version. It has long been the case, that the wines made from Arinto grapes are usually identified by their citrusy notes, such as lemon and lime, with some orange marmalade when more mature, as well as hints of green apple and tropical fruits. One of the best qualities of Arinto is its ability to retain its acidity even in warmer climates, as also see here in San Antonio Valley, which contributes to the wine’s freshness and longevity, this is especially true with some fantastic 20 year old versions from Portugal that I’ve enjoyed. Arinto, in California and in particular arid areas, was thought to be a good choice to plant as Arinto is resistant to extreme water deficits in the warmest of months, but due to its compact clusters it can be susceptible to bunch rot, though luckily enough that hasn’t been an issue according to most growers in the state. Arinto, or Cachudo, is native to the Bucelas region north of Lisboa and is also known by the following names: Arinto Cercial, Arinto d’Anadia, Arinto de Bucelas, Arinto do Douro, Azal Espanhol, Chapeludo, and Terrantez da Terceira. The cool 2023 vintage on the Central Coast is really producing some outstanding wines, and Ian Brand’s newest releases are tasty, no or low oak examples of intense purity to track down.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Morra, Arneis, Roero DOCG, Piemonte, Italy.
The pale gold hued Morra Arneis, all new to me, was a pleasant surprise and a lovely effort, with this old Piemonte varietal, with delicate aromatics, a vibrant citrus burst and some tangy peach and quince fruits on the lighter side palate. There’s a sense of textural lushness, but plenty of verve, making this 2022 vintage great with Summer cuisine choices, adding some hints of wet stone, wild fennel and almond, which adds complexity to package here. The Roero appellation, with its distinctive terroir is best known for Barbera and Nebbiolo, but it is Arneis’s only DOCG and was the place were this grape came back from almost extinction before the likes of Giacosa and Luca Currado helped bring it back to life with a series of top notch offerings in the 1990s. Morra actually did their own Arneis for the first time in 1990 and this version has a lot to admire, along with the winery’s main focus Barbera, which I hope to get my hands on soon as well.

The Morra family, now led by Stefanino, and the youngest generation, Luca and Erica, who are being primed to take on the winery in the coming years, have a long history, dating back to the 1920s here in the Roero zone and the village Castellinaldo. This area was remote back then, mostly known for, as the winery notes, peaches and the Morra’s only took to grapes after World War Two, in fact the family did just home use stuff until the 1980s. As mentioned, the main efforts at Morra are their Roero Barbera DOCG bottlings, but I still highly recommend this excellent Arneis, and especially for the fact that this estate only produces a tiny amount of wine for export and the pricing is wonderfully reasonable. Arneis, which doesn’t like heavy clay soils, needs small yields, and more limestone, sand and pebbles to really shine and the Roero provides that, which is why it has achieved its DOCG status. Fermented and aged exclusively in stainless steel also helps promote its best qualities and preserves purity and freshness, as this Morra shows with exceptional clarity.
($24 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Georges Glantenay, Volnay 1er, Le Ronceret, Côte de Beaune, Red Burgundy, France.
The beautifully satiny dark ruby/garnet Premier Cru Volnay Le Ronceret from Domaine Georges Glantenay and winemaker Guillaume Glantenay, which I’ve not before, is an exciting and well crafted red Burgundy with pretty aromatics, deep red fruits, fine tannins and delicately spiced, making for a graceful and rewarding treat in the glass. The Glantenay with its succulent medium bodied palate feels weightless and is brilliantly balanced, it shows off black cherry, red currant, huckleberry and tangy plum fruits, along with subtle oak accents, a chalky and mineral note, as well as wilted roses, orange tea, a hint of gun flint, herbs and bergamot. This 2021 is noteworthy, because even in more difficult vintage with less fruit density, it delivers a solid performance and is very seductive, this is a brilliant effort from Glantenay and I am very impressed and look forward to trying more wines from this small Volnay based domaine. Volnay, located above Meursault and below Pommard has vines that benefit from well-drained, limestone-rich soils which gives these wines their classic character and sense of place. The wines here are less brawny and powerful as Pommard, but still very age worthy, especially the Premier Crus, like this Le Ronceret, and the famed Taillepieds, which is a source of many collectable versions, such as Domaine de Montille’s outstanding example. Glantenay has nine hectares of vineyards in the Volnay, Pommard, Meursault, Monthélie and even a some parcel in Chambolle-Musigny with mainly old vines, on average 60 plus years old and a main focus on Pinot Noir. There’s a lot to admire here and I’m excited to follow this domaine in the future, I also look forward to trying the basic Volnay bottling, which is exceptionally well priced and well within my usual budget.

The Domaine Georges Glantenay, which dates back to 1893, is now run by Guillaume and Sarah Glantenay, who are brother and sister, is a small estate that has just 8 hectares of vines, all farmed with sustainable agriculture, with the greatest respect for the terroir, which is centered around their prime holdings in Volnay and Pommard. The three main villages of the Côte de Beaune are the famous Meursault, Pommard and Volnay, all very distinct and, while not Grand Crus, these are some of Burgundy’s most serious vineyard sites. Volnay itself is situated between the other two and is widely loved for its silky-smooth Pinot Noirs. The name Volnay, I learned, is derived from the God of water – Volen, and it was called Volnay before its present name of Volnay came into vogue a few centuries later. This region dates back to when the first château was built here around 1250, and its been a favorite spot for red wines for well over the next 800 years. Volnay has became hugely popular with enthusiasts ever since it became its own AOC in 1937. Located atop the hill of Chaignot, the village and vineyards here are set on a steep selection of hills, with a complex set of soils and blessed with favored Southeastern exposure, again making it a prime spot for Pinot Noir with over two dozen Premier Crus. Even the village wines here are highly coveted, but wines like this Glantenay Le Ronceret is a step above and fabulous example of why these wines are so sought after. For this wine, which was 100% de-stemmed and fermented with native yeasts, the maceration was extremely gentle, lasting 10 to 15 days and lightly pressed to barrel for 14 to 16 months with mostly used wood, including about 20% new French oak, to promote purity and elegance. Only a few barrels were made of the Glantenay’s lovely Le Ronceret Premier Cru Volnay, making it a bit hard to find, but it’s one to certainly keep an eye out for.
($120 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Brooks Winery, Gemischter Satz, Eola-Amity AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The rare Austrian inspired Brooks Gemischter Satz Willamette Valley white wine is unique blend of varietals and done is a zesty crisp mineral driven style with loads of zippy acidity and restrained ripeness and subtle aromatics, showing off racy citrus and stone fruits on the lighter framed palate, making for a lovely and refreshing Summer wine. Brooks does a collection of alternative whites and are famous for their incredible range of Rieslings, along with Alsatian classics Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer which get blended and or made into single varietal bottlings depending on the vintage, with this one being a debut release. Unlike the Austrian Grüner Veltliner led version which can see as many as 19 different grapes, this one wasn’t co-fermented, but rather was a winemaker selection of separate varietal lots, mostly done in small stainless tanks. This precise, steely and finely detailed ultra pale straw/greenish gold white has lots of personality with an array of lemon/lime, quince, unripe apricot, mango, gooseberry, sour green apple and pithy orange fruits along with subtle florals, Asian spices, a sea shore element, wet rock and verbena accents. I was luckily enough to taste this pre-release special Brooks offering with owner Janie Brooks Huek recently along her tasty pure Pinot Blanc and a set of Pinot Noirs, including the Rastaban and the Temperance Hill, both of which were exceptional. Brooks is one of the greenest wineries and most award winning in Oregon, and are committed to sustainable practices including only organic grapes from mainly volcanic mineral rich soils and have full estate biodynamic certification by Demeter.

Janie Brooks Heuk, who runs this innovative Oregon winery that specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling and who just announced her long time assistant winemaker, Claire Jarreau, is taking the lead role here and comes into this with tons of passion, experience and precision. As Claire looks to raise the bar here at Brooks after finishing her first harvest in charge with the 2023s, I got a chance to sample through the current releases, all of which are delicious and soulful examples. The Brooks Winery, as I’ve noted in my prior reviews, was founded by the late Jimi Brooks, who tragically passed away much too young, and is based in the Willamette Valley’s Amity-Eola Hills with an inspirational tale starting with passion, leading to heartbreak, then to love of family and responsibility to community. As I’ve said before I’m honored to have had an early look in on this great journey in American wine and it was a pleasure to catch up with Janie Brooks Heuck recently and taste through the new releases. The Brooks wines, up until this vintage have been made by Chris Williams, who as a winemaker believed in low intervention and traditional methods, and the wines are lovely, dynamic and filled with life, they have plenty of acidity to keep their fans happy, especially in the Riesling, as seen here. Originally inspired by his time in Burgundy, Jimi Brooks focused on a rustic whole cluster style with his Pinots that showed a Nuits-Saint-Georges personality and old world charm, something that has continued at Brooks, especially with the captivating Rastaban bottling, always a favorite of mine, and the Rieslings are also distinctively old world versions, both in dry and sweet styles. As I’ve said many times, this is an exciting winery to follow and I highly recommend getting on their mailing list and visiting them when you are in the Willamtte Valley.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Château Saint Pierre, Cuvée Eden, Côtes de Provence Rosé, Provence, France.
A taste of Summer in the glass and a fabulous crisply mineral fresh and bone dry Côtes de Provence Rosé by Château Saint Pierre, an ancient property first established by in around 1055, that specializes solely on Rosé. This 2023 is the first time in many vintages that I got to sample Château Saint Pierre’s unique Cinsault led Rosé and I was not disappointed with its steely refreshing personality, which was perfect to start a sunny meal, it is brisk and zippy, but with good complexity and palate pleasure, showing bright sour cherry, strawberry, subtle watermelon, ruby grapefruit and raspberry water fruits, along with saline, wet stone, rosewater, snappy herb and a hint of peach pit. The Eden Cuvée, in this vintage as usual, was stainless steel cool fermented and aged with a short crush/maceration and bottled quickly to preserve clarity and tight detailing, as seen here on the latest release. While not overly deep or concentrated, this wine is seriously delicious and easily quaffable and perfect for warm sunset sipping as an aperitif and or with a beach picnic. I wholeheartedly suggest you search this Rosé out and enjoy it over the next six months, I don’t recommend missing it, as it has very much joy on offer, and I know I’ll be pairing it with steamed mussels in a spicy broth.

Château Saint Pierre, now run by Jean-Philippe Victor, the fourth generation of sons to head this historic estate, has some fifty-five hectares of vines to work with to make his tasty collection of regional Rosé offerings. The winery and vineyards go up from the Argens River to the foothills of the Maures Mountains, and is planted to the mentioned Cinsault, as well as a good amount of Grenache and Syrah, which make the cepage of the wines here at Saint Pierre. The 2023 saw 40% Cinsault, 30% Grenache and 30% Syrah, which is a touch more Syrah that I remember or would personally like to see in a Rosé, though it really worked out well in this edition of the Eden Cuvée, which is vibrant and impeccably balanced. The Côtes de Provence AOC is influenced by the near by Mediterranean Sea, stony limestone and clay soils, warm exposures and a cool Mistral wind that keep the vines from suffering in the hot Summer conditions. Recently, so you notice, the glass bottle at Saint Pierre has changed, sadly the original glass, a bowling pin shape, is not available as a result of Putin’s overt aggression and invasion of Ukraine, but replaced with another distinctive fluted bottle. I must thank my friend, Laurent Michit, who imports Château Saint Pierre, for sharing this new release, and Michael Marcy of Cultura Comida y Bebida in Carmel-by-the-Sea for proving a tasty array of treats to go along with it!
($21 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Manoir du Capucin, Pouilly-Fuisse “Sensation” White Burgundy, France.
One of my favorites from the Mâcon, Cloé Bayon, who started her family label in 2002, makes a fine set of whites, including this stylish and mineral driven Sensation Pouilly-Fuisse that delivers a lot of bang for the buck with a steely core of apple, pear, lemon and white peach fruits, along with clove spice, wet stones, delicate leesy notes, oyster shell, bitter almond and a touch of citrus blossoms. This medium bodied and pale straw/gold white Burgundy has plenty of crisp acidity and depth, making it a compelling bottle of wine. Cloé, who after studying Oenology in Provence, came back to her family’s property and was the first of the Bayons to bottle their wines under their own label after almost a century of selling their grapes, and the world has definitely taken notice of her Chardonnay wines. I first discovered these Manoir du Capucin nearly ten years ago now with Bayon’s 2010 Aux Morlays Pouilly-Fuisse cuvee and I’ve been a fan ever since. I highly recommend these transparent and clean Chardonnays, which are outstanding values and well worth chasing down.

As I’ve noted before, Chloé Bayon, proprietor, winegrower and winemaker at Manoir du Capucin is one of the region’s stars and she is in fact President of the Pouilly-Fuisse union of growers/producers. She makes a range of wine from Mâcon to single Cru Pouilly-Fuisse, all of which show her gift with Chardonnay, this is a talented winemaker and a label to follow, I would compare her offerings to those of Domaine Robert-Denogent in terms of style and quality, this are fantastic white Burgundies. Now, with 20 plus years behind her, Cloé has created a tight and focused lineup of wines, all from sustainable grown grapes and mature vines, which give these offerings the depth and complexity to rival wines two or three times the price, especially these days with Burgundy costs skyrocketing. The historic and picturesque Manoir du Capucin, in the village of Fuisse is one of the oldest homes in the Mâconnais region, was built back in 1602, and bought by the Bayon Family in 1921. Chloé, who actually grew up in Nice, usually ages her Pouilly-Fuisse for just about a year on lees, employing mainly neutral oak, which allows the chalky/limestone soils to shine through, and this Sensation is a great way to start exploring her wines.
($36 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2001 Château Vannières, Bandol Rouge, Provence, France.
I got introduced to Château Vannières almost a decade ago and have loved the White, Rosé and Red Bandol bottlings here ever since and I was thrilled to try this 23 year old 2001 vintage that importer Laurent Michit, at H. Mercer Imports, brought over direct from their cellars. This is a fantastic wine, old school and still firm, while allowing the best of its maturity to shine though with a rich, pure and powerful core of fruit on the full bodied and tannic palate, it shows off dark berry, black plum, dusty cherry and currant, along with subtle cedary wood, crushed wild flowers, dried sage, anise, baked earth, a light meaty/savory character and the beginnings of tertiary elements coming through in a beautifully complete and complex Mourvèdre based Bandol. The owners, Eric and son Eric-Charles Boisseaux, Burgundians by heritage, have made this property a go to label and have perfectly balanced traditional methods and modern technology to producer outstanding wine, all from holistically and sustainable vines that are set on the regions classic limestone and clay soils and almost a stones throw from the blue Mediterranean Sea. There’s not many more picturesque wine regions in the world, with beautiful Provence hills, pine forests, vast vistas of the sea, olive groves and of course these vineyards, which are capable of some exceptionally age worthy wines, as seen here, and with the famous estates like Domaine Tempier, Gros Nore and Pradeaux.

The Château Vannières, which is just a few miles from the Mediterranean, is an excellent and historic estate that was first established back in 1547, it is now highly focused on its Mourvèdre, Bandol Rouge, the Provençal rival of Barolo, Rioja and or Grand Vin Bordeaux, which pays off the patient wine enthusiasts with great rewards. Château Vannières Bandol Rouge saw careful selected clusters, 100% de-stemmed berries, from low yielding vines, a long vinification regime with 35-days of punch-downs, after which the must is pressed to barrel. The Bandol, 95% Mourvèdre and 5% Grenache saw 24 months of maturation in French oak featuring a combination of neutral, well seasoned, large foudres and some small barrels. With this wine seeing two decades in bottle in the winery’s cool cellar, which has softened the tannins and allowed layers of autumn leaves, leather, lavender oil and spicy tobacco to evolve nicely in the profile, but still deliciously fruit dense and pleasing to all of the senses. The current releases are exceptional values for the quality, with the Rouge always a standout, but the Bandol Blanc, made from Clairette Blanche and Bourboulenc, is a beauty, and the Boisseaux’s Bandol Rosé, which leans heavily on the Mourvèdre, also has a good dose of Grenache and Cinsault, makes for a stylish and mineral fresh version. All of these Château Vannières are excellent food wines, in fact they really deserve a menu based around each of their distinctive and individual qualities, with this 2001 Château Vannières Bandol Rouge cellar selection in particular going fabulously well with lamb, cassoulet and wild mushroom dishes.
($97 ESt.) 95 Points, grapelive

2004 Tenuta San Leonardo, Vigneti Delle Dolomiti IGT Rosso, Italy.
It’s not often that you get a chance to taste an aged and well kept bottle of San Leonardo, a legendary estate near Trentino and the Alto Adige in the Dolomites that is well known for their Bordeaux style top bottling that has an almost cult like following, but when you do, you are really lucky, as I was recently when my friend Giuseppi Cossu surprised with this lovely 2004 vintage. Cossu, a native of Sardinia, a jazz musician and sommelier turned winemaker, who has a long history, like myself, in wine and has worked in the United States since moving here in the mid 1990s, in restaurants and as an importer/distributor rep, so he had access to some of the world’s most prized wines, especially from Italy and collected a few, hence him opening this one and blind tasting me on it. The 2004 San Leonardo, made from mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, along with good doses of Merlot, Carmenere and Cabernet Franc, was a difficult wine to peg without reference points to grab on to, I said it was like Chinon (Loire Cab Franc) meets out Medoc (like Saint Julien) and had no idea what I was experiencing as I’ve not had it before and it kept changing in the glass. I found this wine, which still had plenty of dark garnet color, it didn’t look 20 years old, or taste it either, to have an intensity of flavors with blackberry, currant and cherry fruits with just a little tertiary elements showing, but with loads of pyrazines in evidence and subtle wood notes. In the end, I knew this was a serious and rewarding wine, though I finally guessed it was a Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, but after the reveal, and with food it became more Cabernet Sauvignon like and took on a deeper complexity with hints of graphite, bay leaf, anise and loamy earth with a faint cedary note and some lingering creme de cassis. San Leonardo, does this wine as its Grand Vin, as well as offerings of Riesling, common to the region, a solo varietal Carmenere, Sauvignon Blanc, Terre, a second Bordeaux style red wine, a Merlot based offering and a Rosé, which is 100% Lagrein, a native grape in the Alto Adige. The San Leonardo was fermented and macerated in cement tanks, with close to 15 days on the skins before pressing, and aged a minimum of 18 months in a combination of Slovenian and French oak, which can be in a range close to 80% large Slovenian casks and 20% small newer French oak barrels. After which the bottled Grand Vin of the estate saw another 6 months of resting time in the cellar before being released to the market, with most people holding it for 5 to 10 years before even thinking about opening one of these treasures.

Founded in 1724 the Tenuta San Leonardo is one of Italy’s most iconic wine estates, and wine, which is a unique Bordeaux blend from up in the Italian Alps with a centuries-old history, far before the modern times legends of Bolgheri happened upon the scene in the later part of the 1960s. A classic cool climate Bordeaux blend, typically about 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Carmenere, with some years seeing a small percentage of Cabernet Franc as well. Interestingly Carmenere, which has long been in Italy, had almost been forgotten in Bordeaux itself since Phylloxera wiped it out in the late 1800s, until vines in Chile were discovered, even though it had a continuous happy home here in Italy. It has influenced the character here in San Leonardo’s blend for many generations with its earthy spice and bell pepper notes, as seen here in this 2004. Unlike its Tuscan cousin, through a family relation, from Bolgheri, Sassicaia, San Leonardo is much more old school and while both age exceptionally well, the San Leonardo really needs that bottle age to show off its best side. Located in the Vallagrina area, which was carved out by the Adige river, San Leonardo, on sandy and pebbly soils, has a more temperate climate and sees lots of s un and is blessed by the Ora del Garda wind that cools and helps project the vines from lingering humidity. Once a medieval fiefdom that spanned over 740 acres, the San Leonardo estate, as I learned, has been producing wine for centuries. The property has been under the ownership of the Guerrieri Gonzaga family since the mid 18th century, and according to their importer, it has also been the setting of many historical events, from the marriage of Longbard kings to the negotiation of the WWI armistice with Austria. But, it is the wine that is this place’s most prized jewel, and today, San Leonardo has some 50 acres of vines that are planted to these Bordeaux varietals that seem to thrive in the varied microclimates here. The majority of these vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, but Carmenere, Cabernet Franc and Merlot are also found here and add a very distinctive class and character to the wine, as seen here in this finely aged version. What a pleasure, this San Leonardo, made by the Marchesi Guerrieri Gonzaga and his winemaker Carlo Ferrini, was, a big thank you to Giuseppi for sharing this remarkable wine with me, to my great honor, and to the team at Cella Restaurant in Monterey that encouraged our evening of exciting wines with great service and exceptional food, including an outstanding duck paté with a cherry reduction and cherries, to go with them.
($125 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Envinate, Mencia, Lousas “Vinas de Aldea” Ribeira Sacra D.O. Galicia, Spain.
This darkly ruby hued 2020 Lousas Vines de Aldea is wonderfully Pinot Noir like, in fact it reminds me a lot of Philippe Pacalet’s Chambolle-Musigny, and is joyous expressive and a bit less rustic than some recent vintages have been with a core of juicy red fruits. The medium bodied palate here has really come together and is silky in feel, but with good acidity and loads of mineral with a subtle smoky note, it leads with black cherry, strawberry, tart red currant and lingonberry fruits and spiced violets, fennel, sultry earth, cinnamon, black tea and rose oil. The Mencia based Lousas Vinas de Aldea which is usually 40% to 100% whole cluster, is all naturally fermented with native yeast, with classic foot-trodden maceration, it is fermented in bins and then raised in used mid size oak casks without racking. It is matured for just under a year normally then bottled with only a tiny amount of SO2, unfined and unfiltered.The Viticultores de Ribeira Sacra y Envinate Lousas comes from vines overseen by Alfonso Torrente in Galicia on the cool Atlantic coast, in this ancient wine region known as the “sacred banks” with its steep river valleys of slate soils being an awesome area for wine, in fact it was highly prized back in Roman times. I’ve long been a fan of this winery, in particular their Canary Islands wines and their Ribeira Sacra Mencia offerings, so it was interesting being blind tasted on this one by my friend Bernie de Luna of Cella Restaurant in Monterey, who always has some cool stuff on the wine list.

Envinate, as mentioned here many times, which means “wines yourself” is four friends that met in college, which are from vastly different regions of Spain, but always promised to make wine together. They are a very talented crew that come from unique parts of the country including the remote Canary Islands to Murcia, as well as here in the Ribeira Sacra, they are winemakers Roberto Santana, maybe the most well known for his incredible Tenerife wines made from Listan Negro and Listan Prieto, as well as Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez, all regional, if not international stars in their own right. I am a big fan of Envinate, as my reviews have shown for many vintages now, and I chase their bottles down for my personal use, they are soulful and intriguing terroir driven efforts made by humble and passionate hands. The grapes are hand tended from very steep parcels, and as noted before, these Sil River valley slopes look like the Rhein or Mosel and the soils are smoky slate, schist, sand and granite, which gives these Mencia wines their likeness to the Northern Rhone, in fact Lousas means Slate in the local dialect, with this Vina de Aldea coming from 60 year old organic vines on the weathered slate. The Ribeira Sacra bottlings are all well worth searching out, Envinate keeps impressing with each vintage and this one especially shines for the price, it will certainly appeal to those that like lower alcohol and rustic styles of wines. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I recommend searching out these find to find Envinate bottlings, from their Albahra (70% Garnacha Tintorera, 30% Moravia Agria) from Alicante to the Migan (Listan Negro) from 120 year old vines a top an ancient volcano on Tenerife!
($42 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Fèlsina, Chianti Classico DOCG, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tuscany, Italy.
The wonderfully dark floral, pretty ruby/garnet hued and richly textured 2021 Fèlsina Chianti Classico is already drinking fabulously well and shows of a heightened palate of blackberry, plum, strawberry and mulberry fruit, as well as snappy herb, licorice, cedar, sweet tobacco and a hint of leathery earth, in a seamless flow, but with a bright lift of acidity keeping things balanced. I adore this wine and this vintage especially stands out for my tastes, its medium bodied fleshiness and delicate savory tones make it lovely with food, as it should be with a Chianti. Fèlsina’s vines have almost exclusively with a southwestern exposure, that delivers full ripeness, they sprawl across hilly slopes at an altitude ranging from 320-420 meters above sea level that allows a night time chill even in the heat of Summer, making for balanced and expressive Sangiovese. Geologically, again as the winery adds, these vineyards have distinct and individual underpinnings with an array of soils, with the higher parts seeing predominantly quartz and calcareous alberese mixed with alluvial pebbles as well as strataform sandstone and loams that add to the overall quality and complexity in Felsina’s lineup. This vintage, while not surprising given Fèlsina’s record of quality, does grab your attention for its value and purity of form in this price point, honestly you’d most likely be happy with this wine’s performance at twice the asking price, this is something I’ve said a few times before about this white label Fèlsina Chianti Classico, and no doubt will say again. Fèlsina’s lineup, with Rancia and Fontalloro being absolutely sublime, always makes me happy and when I just want Sangiovese, this Chianti Classico is without a doubt one that I never get tired of and has been a go to for over 20 years now.

The wines of Fèlsina have always moved me and I find them as compelling as Bordeaux and or Burgundy, the Castelnuovo Berardenga based estate in the southeastern most Chianti Classico zone has long been one of the great names in Tuscany, especially their iconic Fontalloro 100% Sangiovese Vino di Tavola. This Fèlsina Chianti Classico, 100% Sangiovese as well, was fermented and macerated in stainless steel tanks for almost two weeks with pneumatic (programmed) punchdowns and daily pump-overs. Once primary fermentation was complete the wine went into medium-size Slavonian oak barrels, and a small percentage into twice and thrice used oak barrels for 12 months of elevage, after which the final blend was chosen, or put together, and then bottled. As noted here many times, this wine comes from vineyards, as the winery notes, that are all located in the Castelnuovo Berardenga commune, in the southeastern part of the Chianti Classico appellation, as noted, to the southeast of Siena. The estate, in an area that was cherished during Roman times, was once the farm of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, back then Fèlsina was mostly known for its sense of peace and its olive groves, with, as the winery notes, just a few hectares dedicated to viticulture before the nineteenth century. The original wine cellar was small, but in the early 1900s had already begun bottling on site and Fèlsina’s slow and historic march toward greatness in Italian wine began, with the present generation of care takers here committed to holistic and sustainable farming and the Sangiovese grape, including preserving a selection old special clones of this classic Tuscan varietal. There’s a wealth of gems coming from the southern end of the Chianti Classico zone these days, from Radda to Castelnuovo, almost on the outskirts of Siena, with Montesecondo, Montevertine, Castello di Ama, Le Miccine, Mazzei and Fèlsina being my favorites, which I always highly recommend.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2017 Piedrasassi, Mourvèdre, Harrison Clarke Vineyard, Ballard Canyon AVA, Santa Ynez Valley.
The beautifully crafted, firmly structured and deeply flavored 2017 Harrison Clarke Vineyard Mourvèdre is really coming into its own, giving a performance that would do Domaine Tempier Bandol(s) proud with power and old world charm, making me glad that I had tucked this bottle away for some extra aging. The full bodied palate here reveals dark berry, plum, candied cherry and earthy and tangy red currant fruits, along with dried lavender, espresso, sandalwood, anise, mountain herbs, loam, leather and grilled orange accents. Sasha Moorman, famous for his winemaking at Sandhi wines for Raj Parr and now Evening Land in Oregon, founded his Piedrasassi in Lompoc back in 2003 and focused his program on cool climate Syrah, with this one 100% Mourvèdre bottling and a unique Vin Santo (dessert wine made from Sangiovese). The Syrahs are legendary here at Piedrasassi, from Moorman’s PS to his old vine Bien Nacido version, these offerings could fool you into believing they were from Cornas or old school Côte Rotie, they remind me of the Auguste Clape wines, which seemingly were the inspiration here. Moorman likes early picks to keep natural alcohol down and this meaty and chewy Mourvèdre saw an elevage for over a year in used big 500L barrels to limit the wine’s exposure to oxygen and to minimize the influence of oak.

Winemaker Sashi Moorman under his personal Piedrasassi label, makes some of California’s best Syrah wines, which are styled in a true Northern Rhone way with loads of whole bunches and stem inclusion, leading to meaty, pure and powerful versions of the grape, especially with this old vine Bien Nacido Syrah, but with time they become more beautiful in aromatic quality and elegant in nature, while still blessed by Jamet like character with loads of savory personality. Moorman, who has worked with the legends of the Santa Barbara region and become one of the area leading lights, crafts absolutely fabulous Syrah and Mourvedre wines at his Piedrasassi winery that are usually raw, taut and varietal precise, employing traditional techniques with whole bunches, native yeast fermentation in cement vats and aged in mostly used French oak casks. Moorman, who was the long time director of winemaking at Stolpman, where he made some outstanding Syrahs, has found his touch with Mourvèdre, as this brilliant effort shows, even in an uneven year that had some unfortunate heat issues during the later part of the growing season, but luckily this grape held up nicely, even retaining a core of energy and acidity. The Harrison Clarke Vineyard, which is situated in the Purisima Hills, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, just north of Santa Barbara, not far from Los Olivos. Sadly, this Mourvèdre is not part of Moorman’s most recent collection, so finding it is going to be tough, but as I’ve said, I highly recommend getting on the Piedrasassi mailing list and get some of Syrah.
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Odonata, Sangiovese, Machado Creek Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley.
The rounded, fruit dense and juicy 2019 Machado Creek gets more and more interesting with air and time in the glass, this deeply hued garnet wine unveils a rich vein of black cherry, plum, red currant and blackberry fruit, as well as an underlying sense of Umami, with tobacco leaf, mountain sage, minty anise and loamy earth providing nice accents to this full bodied effort. Odonata has released a terrific set of new wines, this one included, and I’m always intrigued to see what they have on offer. Owner/winemaker Denis Hoey, who as well as being a skilled winemaker, is one of the most real and nicest people you could meet, in this business, a quality that even makes his wines taste even better. Using traditional methods in the cellar and sustainable farming, Hoey’s Odonata has really made a name for itself with a tasty array of eclectic and standard small lot bottlings, from Riesling bubbly to classic Pinot Noir, with this SLH Syrah being one of my favorites. as well as his Sangiovese based wines and even a 100% Malbec. The wines have a tasty raw character and a purity of fruit that is compelling, especially for those that appreciate old world wines, like this one, which is on par with many Rosso di Montalcino wines.

The winemaking here, for the Machado Creek Sangiovese, included gentle daily punch-downs during an extended cold soak, with fermentation and maceration lasting for about 14 days, after which the must was pressed and the wine racked to barrel. All the grapes were 100% de-stemmed for this one and the wine, uniquely was matured in all Hungarian oak puncheons from Trust Cooperage, which Hoey thinks gives his Sangiovese a more authentic character and used just about 15% new wood, to promote transparency and less obvious toasty oak flavoring here, which I think worked out well. This wine, like its cousins in Tuscany, enjoys a firm tannin structure, ripe fruit, with this vintage coming at 14.5% and good natural acidity, making it much better with food, it certainly will enjoy some robust cuisine, which will bring out its best qualities. Odonata Wines, as mentioned, was founded in Santa Cruz back in 2005, but became a full fledged estate winery in 2014 when they moved into the old Marilyn Remark Winery property in the Santa Lucia Highlands on River Road, which is one of the best places to visit on the SLH wine trail. I always gravitate to Denis’s Grenache and Syrah, but I also love his Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings, these Sangioveses, and the recent releases of Pinot Noir, especially his 2021 Escolle Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands version, which is drinking fabulously well. These are all wines I recommend checking out, as soon as possible.
($32 ESt.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Tempa di Zoè, Paestum Fiano IGT 6 “Asterìas” Cilento, Campania, Italy.
Tempa di Zoè’s new project is all about promoting the ancient terroir of Cilento and the Paestum zone and includes a set of wines mostly focused on the Aglianico grape, but also includes this crisply mineral driven Fiano, which impresses for its balance and depth of flavor. This pale straw and golden hued 2020 6 Asterìas shows off white peach, racy citrus, quince and melon fruits on the lighter framed medium bodied palate along with a salty essence of the sea, wet stones, snappy herbs, almond oil and delicate white flowers. This 100% Fiano was fermented and macerated exclusively in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks and then matured for close to 11 months, in a combination of 60% steel tanks and 40% which was rested in large well used 10HL oak barrels. Everything done here is to allow for authentic terroir character and transparency, while also enhancing the experience with just the right amount of textural presence, which in this 2020 version is executed to near perfection. I’m excited to taste the rest of the lineup here and will certainly be following this label into the future, and this is an interesting and seductive example of Fiano, which I recommend looking for.

Tempa di Zoè, founded by Bruno De Conciliis, who’s name sake winery I’ve long been a fan of, now includes some of the south’s most passionate wine growers, with Feudi di San Gregorio being involved now, with Francesco Domini, Vincenzo D’Orta and Bruno De Conciliis all playing roles here. The name Tempa di Zoè refers not only to a physical place; it is, above all, a declaration of intent. “Tempa” is the word for the rolling hills of Cilento that stretch down to the sea from north to south. Zoè is the Greek word for the essence of life, the universal principle common to the animal, vegetable and mineral worlds. Asterìas, which means starfish in Greek is the first white wine in the Tempa di Zoè lineup, and is made from Fiano grapes. n that come from their vineyard that is nestled between the Monte Stella and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Monte Stella is a massif in Cilento National Park that towers up to 1,131 meters above sea level and Its peak looms large over the whole region and provides inspiration. Interestingly, while most of the Campania region is volcanic by nature, Cilento is blessed with a unique sedimentary schist layering of sandstone and marl. This, the winery notes, gives a specific minerality and results in a particular salty and savory character for both the reds, based on Aglianico, and the Fiano-based whites, as seen here.
($26 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Swirling Hawk Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Estate Grown, Monterey County.
The warmly ripe and textural 2022 Estate Pinot Noir, from David Arizini’s Swirling Hawk Vineyards and winemaker Frank Melicia (Parsonage and Silvestri) shows off sweet florals, baking spices, macerated red berries on the nose with plush layering of black cherry, plum, raspberry, Mission fig and candied orange fruits, all rich and pleasing in the mouth. The vintage, which saw some extra warm days, makes for a distinctive fruit forward palate, but it is nicely focused, with accents of vanilla, rose oil, sassafras, chalky mineral, framboise, wild sage and subtle truffle that add to the depth, persistence and complexity in this satiny mouth coating Pinot Noir. This tiny estate has just about two acres of steep south facing vines in two parcels, one older block that saw mostly Dijon clones with the usual 777 and 667 and a new block recently planted to Swan and Pommard clone 4 selections. The vineyard is set on very chalky soils with clay loams and California shales with fossilized Carmel stones that help, along with the cool coastal climate, transmit real terroir character here. I recently got turned on to this exciting new label by Frank Melicia, who as mentioned farms and makes the wine here, and who’s wines I’ve long admired, be it from Silvestri, where I love the Barbera, or Parsonage, known for some of Carmel Valley’s deepest reds, including Syrah, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, which have long been favorites of mine, so I’m excited to se the evolution here. Frank started here with this 2022 vintage and says there’s great potential and thinks his 2023 will turn some heads when it gets to bottle this fall, and I cannot wait to try that one as well, especially as the vintage looks to be legendary for the region and the state!

David and Marieke Arizini founded the Swirling Hawk property and vineyard just a few vintages ago, it is an all new small boutique winery located in the heart of Carmel Valley, just off the Los Laureles Grade and close to the famous Diamond-T Vineyard, and not far from Albatross Ridge and Pelio, in what has become an area known as the Carmel Coast. It’s an area a few miles from the original Carmel Valley AVA and sees much more cooling influence, it is also trying to become an AVA sub region of its own, and different from the deeper end of Carmel Valley in Monterey County. Perched on the hills overlooking Carmel Valley, Swirling Hawk Vineyards, only 7 or 8 miles from Carmel Bay and cool Pacific, captures the elements of nature in every vine. Each day, as inland heat rises, hawks swirl on the thermals that help ripen our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Ocean fog cools the vines at night enhancing their quality. Clay-loam soil and deep shale beds, distinctive to the region, add complexity to our signature style. The long growing season allows for intense flavors and fruit density and we bring in the ripe and healthy grapes into the mid of October and they are careful sorted in the vineyard and on the sorting table. The clusters are full de-stemmed and gently crushed and put into temperature controlled open top stainless fermenters for a two week maceration and primary fermentation using selected cultures. After a small basket pressing the wine is racked to French oak barrels, where it finished malolactic fermentation with about 40% new wood, and rest being neutral wood, and it saw about 10 months of elevage, on the fine lees, without racking, before bottling. Only around ten barrels were made and the wines are only available to their mailing list, which I recommend checking out, eventually there looks to be an estate Chardonnay, this Pinot and a special barrel selection Reserve Pinot as well.
($60 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

Grapelive.com Wine Reviews – May 2024

2019 Jonata, Todos, Red Wine, Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley.
The Jonata Todos Red Wine, made from Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Franc coming from Ballard Canyon in the Santa Ynez Valley, is a luxurious and full bodied wine with an opaque dark purple/garnet color, sweet floral and spicy aromatics and a rich opulent palate of black and red fruits. Again, the Syrah leads the way, with lots of whole cluster personality giving tons of excitement here with its lush dense blue and black fruits and umami background. This 2019 follows this wine’s previous style and is filled with similar layers of earthy boysenberry, black raspberry, plum, currant and dark sweet cherry fruits leading along with a touch of violets, tobacco, dried lavender, peppercorns, anise, and light woody cedar notes, but seems more complex and complete than my prior experience, it is impressive stuff again from Jonata and winemaker Matt Dees. This edition saw 48% Syrah, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petite Sirah, 9% Merlot, 2% Sangiovese, and 5% of other varietals, including white and red grapes and aged in mainly used French oak, with just about 20% being new, with helps promote transparency and still smooths out the tannin, though it seems quite firm enough to age and has nice acidity helping keep it fresh. This wine is the gateway wine to the upper end bottlings here at Jonata and represents a savvy value, especially in the vintages I’ve had over the years.

The Jonata and The Hilt wines are made by, as noted before here, the highly regarded Matt Dees, one of California’s great new generation of winemakers, with this particular bottling being a fascinating red blend from tiny yields on the Jonata estate, which is set on sandy soils. Dees, with a degree in Soil Science from the University of Vermont, has done stints at Staglin in Napa and Craggy Range in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, and is a firm believer in organic and or sustainable farming practices and is looking to transmit the terroir into the wine with transparency, with this one being a unique example of his work. I recently tasted and reviewed Jonata’s sister label The Hilt, which specializes in Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay and Pinot. This Todos cuvée was selected from separate fermentation lots, sort of a kitchen sink blend with a Rhone meets Bordeaux feel to it, while also being a pure California wine. The color and aromatic quality here is very seductive and brings all of your senses alive, this Todos gains another level of dimension with food, the simpler the better, it also allows the tannic nature to gracefully smooth out and makes the finish much longer and pleasing. Jonata has been making this Todos blend from quite a while, with great success, and the vines at Jonata are immaculately taken care of by local legend Ruben Solórzano, who is also responsible for the vineyards at Stopman, so you known the grapes are awesome here, as this intriguing red wine shows, I highly recommend it again.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Lucia by Pisoni, Chardonnay “Estate Cuvée” Santa Lucia Highlands.
The 2022 Lucia Chardonnay Estate Cuvée from the Santa Lucia Highlands by winemaker Jeff Pisoni is absolutely brilliant and rewarding with luxurious texture and crystalline focus, showing off the quality and class that Pisoni has become famous for. The full bodied palate shows off golden apple, Bosc pear and white peach fruits, along with lemon curd, clove spice, hazelnut, vanilla and saline infused stone accents. This straw gold hued Chardonnay is pure class and delivers loads of terroir and textural pleasure, one of the best Chardonnays so far from this vintage, and I can’t for the 2023 version, which looks set to be a legendary vintage. Grown exclusively from our Pisoni and Soberanes vineyards, the Lucia Estate Cuvée of Chardonnay is a wonderful representation of our estate vineyards. The limited-production Lucia wines are created using classic, gentle and thoughtful winemaking techniques. Hand-picked and sorted grapes are fermented with native yeast and aged in carefully selected French oak barrels, with about 11 months in 40% new wood. Jeff Pisoni’s Santa Rosa state-of-the-art winemaking facility, where he and his wife make their collection of awesome wines, uses gravity flow as part of a custom design, which was conceived to merge the estate vineyards and winery, allowing him also to have more time with his wines throughout the winemaking and aging process.

The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, arguably made famous by Gary Pisoni and his family, and their wines, is part of the western mountains of the Salinas Valley and is now Monterey’s most prized appellation these days. This range faces east, receiving the gentle morning sunshine and enjoys the cold climate conditions from the near by Pacific Ocean. Pisoni says their Southeastern-facing bench lands sits in and above that morning fog and is cooled by coastal breezes funneled in from the deep depths of the Monterey Bay. Grown exclusively from their Pisoni, Garys’ and Soberanes vineyards, the Lucia Estate Cuvée Chardonnay, the Pisoni’s add, is, like their Pinot version, a wonderful representation of the family’s estate vineyards, of which each block is cultivated to the same high standards. As part of their wine growing process, overseen by Mark Pisoni, they select certain vineyard blocks for this wine, with Jeff Pisoni designating particular lots of free-run wine and hand-select barrels to be devoted to each of Santa Lucia Highlands cuvées, like this one, with the goal to create a “world-class” appellation blend. These wines are handcrafted to capture the essence of the cool-climate Santa Lucia Highlands AVA that the family has been farming since 1982.The difficult 2022 vintage, which started cool and ended extremely hot, has higher than average concentration, as the Pisoni’s note, but still with vibrant aromatics and fresh detail, thanks to extra diligence in the vineyards and cool nighttime picking. I tasted through a few of the Lucia Spring/Summer releases and I highly recommend all of them, and this one should not be missed!
($50 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Joyce Vineyards, Albariño, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County.
Russell Joyce’s 2023 are looking to be some of his best ever wines and this ultra fresh and steely Albariño is wonderfully pure and vibrant stuff that perfectly captures the vintage and place with a stony core of green apple, tart white peach, racy citrus and an element of salty wet rock on the zingy light bodied palate, making for a super refreshing Summer wine. I was able to taste through some of Russell’s latest releases recently, including this tasty Albariño, as well as the previously reviewed Vermentino, the Sauvignon Blanc and his brilliant Gamay, and it really got my attention, especially the early set of 2023s and I can’t wait to see the full lineup from this vintage that should get out by mid Summer. Joyce has really found his niche with a tight collection of marine climate influenced wines that shine for their clarity and zesty personalities, especially with his white and rosé bottlings, and the lighter framed reds. Since moving in to his new facility and winery in the old Ventana spot in Arroyo Seco, Russell has really upped the quality throughout the range and has been able to put an extra focus of the terroir and non intervention winemaking, promoting greater transparency and varietal nuance. Having watched Joyce grow up, it is impressive to see how much attention to detail goes into every wine in the portfolio now and how the winery has become a standard barer for the Monterey region. As noted before, Arroyo Seco AVA, home to Joyce Vineyards, is one of the smallest AVAs in California, but it has taken on a more important status in recent years, after being a very sleepy region since some of the vines were planted here by the famous Mirassou family in 1961, over two decades before the region received its AVA status. Named for its unique geographic features of an ancient waterway named “Arroyo Seco” which was a seasonal creek that brought rain water and snowmelt from what we now call the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Los Padres National Forrest to the Salinas Valley.

Joyce Vineyards, which has now become one of Monterey’s most recognizable labels, maybe best known for their value priced Submarine Canyon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as the original Carmel Valley Estate Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, now has a cult like following for the Russell Joyce Collection Gamay offerings. Russell also does a nice set of alternative whites, like this Vermentino, as well as his Chenin Blanc, and the Albariño, which is absolutely stunning in this 2023 vintage. The Cedar Lane and Mission Ranch grapes, as seen here, with the Albariño and with Vermentino, as I reviewed recently, for Joyce’s almost electric shock style dry white wines, were harvested in idea cool temperatures from Mark Chesebro’s vines in the Arroyo Seco AVA, just south of the Santa Lucia Highlands bench. This AVA, one of Monterey’s oldest, was officially recognized in 1983, and is well known for having a lengthy growing season, giving ripe fruit, but with loads of energy, as the grapes retain lots of natural acidity. The strong daily winds that bring cool fog from the Monterey Bay, as seen in the SLH as well, as winemaker Russell Joyce explains, force the grapes to spend more time on the vine building flavor and complexity, for which his wines, like this one, are noted for. Extremely rocky well-drained alluvial soils are, as he continues, the base for creating wines processing a signature freshness and minerality. This terroir in Arroyo Seco, with its combination of sand, granite, and shale loam soils, along with, as the winery adds, with the ever present marine influence, helps provide the perfect conditions for growing grapes like Albariño and Vermentino, as I have mentioned. Again, as shared recently, Joyce, who uses only indigenous yeasts, prefers lower PH, low alcohol and bright acidity, which he believes results in authentic clarity and he uses less oak, almost all being neutral, especially on his white wines and this wine stays very faithful to that style, but this vintage takes to the next level. I am excited to see how the 2023 Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs turn out here at Joyce, they should be something quite special, but in the meantime I highly recommend sipping on this Albariño!
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 La Capuccina, Nebbiolo, Faren, Colline Novaresi DOC, Alto Piemonte, Italy.
The 2018 La Cappuccino Fare Colline Novaresi, 100% Nebbiolo, shows off a classic old school rustic charm with a slightly austere start and dusty tannins, but really gets better and better with air and time in the glass, delivering an engaging and pleasing performance, especially with food. The medium bodied bodied palate revolves around pure Nebbiolo fruit, with a core of earthy mulberry, tart cherry, dried cranberry, damson plum and faint orange notes along with wilted roses, cedar, minty herb, mineral tones, anise and a touch of tobacco leaf. Now led by Raffaella Zanetta, after the death of her husband, La Cappuccino winery, part of a sustainable farm and restaurant in Alto Piemonte in the Colline Novaresi DOC district, focuses on traditional native varietals and organic farming practices. All wines here at La Cappuccino, including this beautiful Faren Nebbiolo, are fermented spontaneously with native yeasts and handmade with nonintervention winemaking methods. Looking for elegance and transparency in the wines and terroir driven flavors the wines are are aged only in large Slavonian oak “botti” much the same as old school Barolo wines are. According to the importer Raffaella, with her small team, and the aid of her vineyard manager and cellar master, is carrying forward the late Gianluca’s vision of crafting true native varietal offerings, looking to make refined and authentic Alto Piemonte wines. The region, with its complex mix of depleted silt, sand, clay, glacial and alluvial rocky soils, has chilly nights and a long growing season, all of which adds up to some exciting Nebbiolo wines.

La Capuccina, based in a 14th Century farmhouse in the remote upper Piemonte village of Cureggio, is a self contained farm, restaurant and vineyard that was founded by late Gianluca Zanetta, who in 2020 sadly and tragically passed away recently, in 2000 and has become world renown and critically acclaimed for each of its parts, as well as the whole, especially as experienced in person, from what I hear. That said, I have only had the wines, which were discovered and brought to the United states by famous wine importer Giuseppe Lo Cascio and his partner Iacopo Di Teodoro of Lucidity Wine Merchants. Zanetta and his wife Raffaella, who bravely has carried on had dreamed of doing a life project together, became direct farmers, breeders, wine producers and restaurateurs with great passion, which has led to, even without Gianluca, some remarkable successes, after taking over this old family property and creating what he called a proper agritourism estate. Today La Capuccina has grown from a humble mom and pop’s place to having fifteen full-time employees, adding new parcels of land for the animals and for the crops, all to satisfy the overwhelming demand, in is what otherwise would be called a sleepy less traveled part of the country. The Alto Piemonte area is a modern hot spot for Italian wines and the Colline Novaresi, in the hills north of Novara and situated between the Seccia and Ticino rivers, was granted its full DOC status in 1994, with red wines that are led by Spanna, the local name for Nebbiolo. This area can also have labeled Whites and Rosé, made with indigenous grapes, but is mostly known for the DOCG red wines, such as Gattinara, Boca and Gemme, and it is definitely a place to explore for wine and food lovers, especially with wines like this on offer.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Masseria Li Veli, Verdeca “Askos” Salento IGT, Puglia, Italy.
Li Veli’s Verdeca white, which I first tried with their 2012 vintage, is a steely fresh wine with racy citrus, white peach and melon fruits, along with lime blossom, wild mint, wet stones and citron oil accents, all in a light framed and zesty palate that makes it great with Summer cuisine choices and especially seafoods. This rare ancient Greek varietal, found in Puglia and recently saved from extinction, Verdeca, makes for an intriguing white and Li Veli’s gentile and artisan touch showcases the best of this grape. The grapes about 90% Verdeco and maybe close to 10% Fiano, depending on the vintage, are all hand harvested in small baskets and kept chilled through there handling and fermentation, in stainless steel tanks, and they allowed a fairly long skin contact which brings out aroma and extract, but they didn’t allow malolactic to occur here, so the wine stays firmly acidic and minerally crisp. This extra care and craftsmanship really pays off in this beautifully detailed and vibrant wine from Italy’s south “The Heel of Italy” Salento region.

Askos, as I’ve mentioned before in prior reviews, is the name that Falvo family, the owners of Masseria Li Veli gave their project of rediscovery and selection of ancient Apulian grape varieties, like Verdeca, as seen here, and Susumaniello, a red varietal, that had almost gone extinct. These Li Veli wines are produced by using exclusively these ancient indigenous varietals, cultivated in their most suitable terroirs according the traditional methods. The Li Veli winery says that they have chosen a Greek “Askos”, an ancient clay decanter or vessel, as a symbol of the wine making here, a practice that in Puglia was started by the Greeks, who inhabited the region way back when and pioneered the winemaking trade. Some of the grapes found in Southern Italy were have thought to have been brought here by those ancient Greek colonists and throughout the area, here and in Campania, you can find grapes even named with respect to that, including Greco di Tufo, though recent studies have suggested that many of the varietals were here originally. The delicately floral Verdeca grape, which is almost unknown outside the Salento zone, is lovely in the hands of Li Veli and I highly recommend it, and I am hugely impressed by Masseria Li Veli and their commitment to wine, history and traditions.
($28 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2015 Manuel dos Santos Campolargo, Vinha do Putto, Bairrada DOC, Portugal.
I was very impressed by the Manuel dos Santos Campolargo, Vinha do Putto, Bairrada DOC red blend, which is a unique mix of mainly Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Merlot, though there is maybe a tiny bit of Syrah as well, it’s a richly flavored and delicious wine that performs way beyond its price and is fabulous either on its own and or with simple cuisine, perfect for BBQs and or pizza nights. Coming from Bairrada’s classic clay and limestone soils the Vinha do Putto feels nicely textural and medium bodied, being deep with a dark garnet/ruby color, matured tannins and evolved fruit, it shows layers of black raspberry, currant, plum and cherry, along with a light cedar, anise, dried flowers, mineral, a touch of baked earth and spice accents. I absolutely enjoyed this bottle and look forward to exploring upcoming releases of these Manuel dos Santos Campolargo wines, which I’ll be keeping an eye out for, especially for personal use as well as reviews. The current generation of the Campolargo family, interestingly, say that their grandfather Martinho, a farmer from Mogofores, produced red wine as far back as the early 1920’s and that he was amongst a rare group of growers who would separate white from black grapes those days and produced a locally renowned and beautiful white wine.

Winemakers Raquel Carvalho, a trained enologist, and Carlos Campolargo, the fourth generation of the family, and the head of Manuel dos Santos Campolargo, do an interesting set of wines from the Bairrada DOC zone with a selection of white, rosé, red and a single varietal Baga, of which are high quality offerings, distinctive and tasty stuff, as this red blend shows. The grapes here were all de-stemmed, and saw separate fermentations by varietal in small vats with a cool maceration period, after which the must was pressed and rack to wood where the wine finished secondary or malolactic fermentation in used French barrels. This was followed, as the winery notes, by an elevage for close to 8 months before the wines are blended, settled and bottled. Even though the Campolargo family has been growers since the 1920s, their first Campolargo labeled wines came in 2000, and their modern cellar was built in 2004, so not that old by European standards. The Campolaros have, I understand, planted Baga, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Trincadeira da Bairrada (periquita), Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon red grapes along white Bical, Arinto, Cerceal and Verdelho grapes, seeking to promote terroir through a diversity of varietals. If you are looking for an aged old world, but fruit driven, wine, this one is an authentic and joyous bargain that I highly recommend if you can find it, which isn’t easy, but worth it.
($15 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!, Close Encounters, Skin Fermented Orange Wine, Brosseau Vineyard, Chalone AVA, Monterey County.
California “Orange Wines” have come of age and found a small and enthusiastic niche, with some versions really reaching new heights of quality and balance, one of those is this brilliant Close Encounters Brosseau Vineyard skin fermented organic blend of 40% Chenin Blanc, 40% Chardonnay, 8% Viognier, 6% Roussanne and 6% Marsanne from the chalky soils of Chalone in the Gabilan Mountains Ranch by Hardy Wallace of Sonoma’s excitingly unique Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Winery. This wine glows rose gold pinkish in the glass and has plenty of stony and light floral aromas that leads to a slightly phenolic and exotic palate of dried pineapple, earthy muskmelon, apricot, preserved lemon, quince and apple fruits, along with oyster shell, crystalized ginger, brown butter, saline infused wet rock, verbena, sea shore and honeysuckle. The textural quality, zesty acidity and fine tannins make this Close Encounters very intriguing and reminds me of some of my favorite Italian versions from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which lies in Italy’s far Northeast close to the Slovenian border, like the wines made by Benjamin Zidarich and Sandi Skerk. That said, Wallace has made this Close Encounters very much his own, especially with the choice of grapes used, which give a bit more fruit density and a tropical note. Some of the hipster Orange Wine offerings can be kombucha funky, or ultra savory, this one doesn’t go there, but obviously it won’t excite the mainstream wine drinker, though it makes no apology about that either. I highly recommend checking out the Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! wines and following Hardy on social media, he has a larger than life personality and charm that shines through in his wines.

Winemaker Hardy Wallace macerated these grapes on the skins with classic foot trodding and native yeast fermentation, allowing good flavor extraction and some grip, with a lengthy skin contact, measured in weeks, not hours and matured it in neutral barrels for a few months. The Brosseau Vineyard, in Monterey’s Chalone appellation is farmed all organic and is set on a complex mix of the region’s famous limestone, as well as some decomposed granite, and some volcanic material, it’s an area that always delivers a terroir influence, even in a wine such as this one. The 2021 Close Encounters, which I first tasted with Hardy at his Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! tasting room in downtown Sonoma, just off the historic square, is a dry and intense wine that will appeal to a wider audience than you’d think and not as funky as you’d expect, it makes for a nice companion with, as Hardy suggests, Paella and or Jambalaya dishes. The wine finished at 13% natural alcohol and perfectly captured the ripe elements of grapes, while also retaining good tart and fresh acidity, hitting a nice sweet spot. Hardy says the flavors of the 2021 Close Encounters are incredibly playful on top of a canvas of serious substance, which is what I found too. Going on he adds that this wine is where wilderness meets a fantasy metropolis. Explaining the name, Wallace notes that this orange wine is written in a beautiful, yet unknown language that was made to communicate with extraterrestrial life. I don’t always gravitate to “Orange Wine” but there’s a few exceptions that really impress me and this is a really fun example that would be one of my go to California versions. I admit to being a fan of this winery, especially the latest set of reds, with their outstanding old vine Carignane, Mourvédre, Hardy’s favorite grape, and Grenache offerings really hitting the spot for me.
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel, Del Barba Vineyard, Contra Costa County.
One of my favorites in Turley’s recent releases, is this Del Barbara Vineyard Contra Costa County Zinfandel in what is the debut for this single vineyard wine from vines planted in the1980s. This delicious 100% Zinfandel is lively and fresh on the full bodied palate with crushed boysenberry, raspberry, tangy blueberry, Summer plum and red currant fruits, along with cinnamon spice, fig paste, a fine mineral tone, sandalwood, bright sagey herbs and anise. There’s some thrilling layering here, delicate florals and a nice pop of acidity from a pretty cool and even growing season, even here in the warm Contra Costa County, all of which allows this deeply opaque purple/garnet Zinfandel to really shine in the glass. Turley notes that this vineyard, with its Zinfandel sees sustainable viticulture with classic head-trained vines that are all hand harvested. As per normal for Turley these days, fermentation is done with native yeasts and mainly de-stemmed grapes that are crushed and macerated with temperature controlled stainless tanks to preserve freshness and aromatics. After being fermented the wine is pressed and racked to barrel, with 80% used oak, 20% new employed with a combination of 80% French oak, and 20% American, with this wine matured15 months in barrel, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. Turley adds that after working with the fruit from Del Barba for over a decade, they are proud to present this first single-vineyard bottling for Turley collection, and it is an impressive wine. The Del Barba Vineyard, in Contra Costa, is on the delta where the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers meet, and set in deep dehli blow sand, as the winery adds, made up of decomposed granite coming down from the Sierra Mountains. The resulting wine, is what Turley exclaims, the embodiment the best of the delta, offering up silken textures, ultra fine tannin, and dark saline fruits, which clearly is the case and I certainly will be looking for the 2023 next Spring.

The iconic Turley Wine Cellars, as I’ve mentioned many times here, is one of California’s most desirable labels and one of the top Zinfandel producers in the state, it was founded in 1993 in Napa Valley by Larry Turley, the ex emergency room doctor and flying enthusiast, who grew up on farms in the south, where he gained a huge respect for the land and wanted to produce authentic Californian wines. Now, with winemaker Tegan Passalacqua leading the efforts, Turley hand crafts about 50 different wines each vintage from more than 50 unique sites across California, with some vineyards in the collection dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, making them well over a hundred years old. Passalacqua has raised the game here at Turley and they really respect the history of these vines, putting a lot of effort into the care of these old vines, relying on organic farming and preserving these old vine vineyards with California’s classic varieties, as Turley says, they aim to both create and preserve California’s unique winemaking culture and traditions. Turley, looking to the future has put together an impressive team, with Larry’s daughter, Christina Turley, who joined the winery full time in 2010 leading the sales and marketing efforts from the Napa headquarters in Saint Helena. Turley, a visionary, brought a few lesser known properties in California’s Zin locations over the last couple of decades, like their Pesenti site in Paso Robles and more recently the Karly winery in Amador County. I must say, these Contra Costa wines, which sometimes fly a bit under the radar, are stunning efforts and this new 2021 vintage Del Barba Vineyard is outstanding, a real sleeper in the Turley Zin portfolio, which is jam packed with quality offerings. As I said in my latest series of reviews, I have really become a huge admirer of Turley’s Sierra Foothills Zins too, along with these Contra Costa bottlings, especially in recent years, with the 2018, 2019 and 2021 vintages being exceptional, so be sure not to miss them.
($38 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Holman Ranch Estate Vineyard & Winery, Pinot Noir “Three Sisters” Estate Grown, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
The bright ruby hued, freshly youthful and ripely fruit forward, the latest Holman Ranch “Three Sisters” Pinot Noir, due out soon, is already drinking nicely and has beautiful aromatics and textural pleasure, capturing the vintage almost perfectly in the bottle. The ripe, almost creamy, tannins really carry the classic Pinot flavors on and on here, with a lingering core of black cherry, raspberry, strawberry and blood orange fruits on the smooth medium bodied palate, along with subtle oak toast, rose petal, aromatic sage, tea spice, mineral tones and a touch of vanilla. Winemakers Greg and Chris Vita have done a wonderful job in finding balance and depth in these latest Holman releases, especially the Pinots, but also I really enjoyed the Rosé, the Pinot Gris and the “Virgin” Chardonnay, which utilizes cement instead of oak, it is a really exciting version of Chardonnay, highlighting the grape’s purest character, maybe the closest you’ll see to a Carmel Valley Chablis. The Holman property is a picturesque old ranch, some 13 or so miles inland from Carmel Bay and the cold waters of the Pacific, with some higher elevation parcels of vines, on chalky loamy soils with fossilized rock, that see the cooling Ocean breezes and Carmel Valley sunshine, making it nicely situated for making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Three Sisters Pinot will certainly gain some dimension and depth with more bottle age, though tasty now, and I suggest a bit of patience, maybe even putting a few bottles away for 3 to 5 years.

Made from hand harvested grapes that were carefully sorted in the vineyard and again in the winery, the Holman Ranch Three Sisters Pinot saw a section of Pommard, 777 and Swan clones and a stainless steel fermentation started with vineyard yeast, with about 10% whole cluster, and finished with a selected cultures for primary and malos, before the wine is pressed and racked to barrel, which were 30% new French oak, getting 11 months of elevage. The Holman Ranch Winery, as mentioned, makes a very focused a range of wines, under the guidance of the father and son winemaking team Greg and Cris Vita, which demonstrate the unique characteristics of this hillside property in Carmel Valley, including its rocky soils and coastal climate. The root-stocks and the mix of California heritage and Dijon clones are carefully selected to make the most expressive and distinctive wines. The lineup includes various small bottlings of Pinot Noir and the vineyard includes a good range of seven main Pinot noir clones, these include Calera, Pommard, 828, 667, 777, 115 and Swan selections, with vines coming into full maturity, which the Vita’s have put to good use, in particular here with their 2021 and 2022 releases. The vines are farmed with extra care with organic and sustainable farming practices, avoiding the use of any pesticides or herbicides, to preserve the environment and nature of the site and encourage small yields to enhance richness and depth here. I’ve been impressed with the rise in quality here since I first starting tasting these wines from their 2012 and 2013 vintages, and I recommend visiting their tasting room when you get a chance.
($58 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 I. Brand & Family Winery, Supertoothy, Skin Fermented White Wine, Central Coast.
I got a leak preview of a new and rare skin contact white wine from winemaker Ian Brand, which is going to released in July of 2024, that is mostly Sauvignon Gris, a grape you don’t see much of in California, as well as small amounts of Verdelho, a grape Ian has now added to his line of La Marea label, along with Pinot Gris and Chenin Blanc. This bright yellow gold Supertoothy is not as deeply hued or edgy as many “Orange” wines are, it shows off a crisp, bone dry and light to medium bodied palate of kumquat, pear, tangy peach, apple, earthy Cavaillon melon and quince fruits, which are accented by a saline sea shore intensity, plus loamy wet stone, bitter herbs, iodine and tart lemon rind. Brisk and austere by natural, Ian Brand’s Supertoothy, which sports a label designed by his son, will first be available to the I. Brand & Family wine club, with any bottles left over with be mainly sold directly at their tasting room in the Carmel Valley Village. Coming from vineyards that Ian works with on the central coast, all of which are sustainably farmed and rocky soiled sites, this exciting wine, also delivers a cool climate personality and Pacific Ocean influenced inner energy. Ian has told me many times that the Monterey region is maybe most exciting for white varietals and he’s really made it a challenge to argue with him, especially when you try his Arneis, Albariño, Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, in particular his most recent vintages!

The debut of the I. Brand & Family Winery “Supertoothy” blend, is made from 68% Sauvignon Gris, 24% Verdelho, 4% Pinot Gris and 4% Chenin Blanc, and is based around a small block of the rare Sauvignon Gris grape on Vista Verde Vineyard in San Benito County. Sauvignon Gris, mostly found around the Bordeaux region, is a lightly pink mutation of Sauvignon Blanc that typically has smaller berries, high acid and a spicy profile which in this wine, as Ian Brand notes, showcases the calcareous soils of Vista Verde beautifully. Brand held the must of the Sauvignon Gris on skins for five days before pressing and fermented with endemic yeasts in stainless steel before aging the Supertoothy in neutral barrels for about 6 months. After which he blended it with the Portuguese white Verdelho, along with tiny splashes of Pinot Gris (that also saw skin contact) and racy Chenin Blanc for a wine that Brand calls zippy, special and decidedly delectable. This salty fresh, mineral driven and slightly phenolic skin fermented white came in at a nicely ripe, but vibrant 12.67% natural alcohol, making it a totally uniquely California wine, of which just 222 cases were made. This tasty 2023 Supertoothy, to best show its charms, should be enjoyed with food, and due to its less fruity character, so subtle cuisine choice work well, in particular goat cheese and or fresh raw oysters. These latest releases from the I. Brand & Family Winery, La Marea and Paysan labels are delicious, very interesting and value packed stuff, so I recommend checking them all out.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2018 Château Simone, A.O.C. Palette Rouge. Provence, France.
The rare Palatte appelation tucked between the Luberon and coastal Provence is home to only a handful of small family producers, none more prized and sought after than Château Simone, who make a completely unique set of wines, including a fabulous Rosé, a white, which maybe the most coveted and this incredible deeply flavored Rouge, made from a wild array of varietals, which includes Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut, Syrah, Castet, Manosquin, Carignan, and even some white grapes. This 2018 is juicy rich on the palate with a classic field blend kind of character and even though you’d think it would be Rhône like, it is not, it leans more towards a Bordeaux or a Tuscan wine in feel with Marionberry, dusty plum, red currant, black cherry and blood orange, along with cigar wrapper, allspice, a delicate meaty note, grilled herbs, dark florals, sandalwood, graphite/stone and anise. Still tightly framed, firm and wrapped in ripe tannin, the Château Simone Palette Rouge opens nicely and is very expressive, though decanting would be best and it is best enjoyed with a hearty meal, like roast leg of lamb. This Mediterranean influenced wine is full of rustic charm and as well as having brilliantly judged contrast between fruit and savory tones, it should continue to intrigue enthusiasts for many years to come.

Château Simone, run by the Rougier family since 1830, is located on a limestone soils on a single hillside near the remote village of Montaiguet, a small town that sites almost exactly between Châteauneuf du Pape and Bandol, situated just east of Aix-en-Provence and 20 miles north of Marseille. The estate is highly regarded in the wine world, with the wines being very difficult to find these days, their importer to the USA is Rosenthal, and like Kermit Lynch, does a great job of promoting this iconic and distinctive producer. The Rougier family’s vines that face north to keep them from being over heated during the sun drenchd Provence Summers and allow the grapes here to retain good freshness and balanced acidity. The winery notes that all the grapes for this wine were hand harvested and 100% de-stemmed, then lightly pressed before a native yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks. After alcoholic fermentation is complete the must was pressed and was racked into small oak casks for eight months, then wine was blended and put into larger barrels with mostly neutral oak. The Palette then went on to mature an additional year before bottling unfiltered. This 2018 Rouge is really coming into its own and I was thrilled to experience it and I do certainly recommend checking out this label as soon as possible, and as mentioned be sure to try their Rosé and white as well.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

1999 Domaine de la Janasse “Vieilles Vignes” Châteauneuf du Pape, Rhone Valley, France.
I continue to enjoy and be intrigued by 1999 Rhônes, especially Châteauneufs, like this beautifully matured Janasse Old Vine version, which contains about 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, and 5% of other legal varietals, most which came from vines planted in 1920 and 1965 on a combination of soils, including large gales, sand, clay and limestone, all of which add complexity here. Janasse, still a major player in Châteauneuf du Pape, made a gem in 1999 with a firm tannic structure, spiced dark fruits, earthy leather, black olive and pretty dried flower notes coming alive on the medium/full palate, that age (here) adds loads of tertiary and savory leathery elements with sous bois and bay leaf noticeable, but not intrusive. I would add that there is a subtle mineral note, some coffee grounds and some fading creme de cassis that comes through in the mouth, this wine still has a lot going on and impressively delivered everything during a twenty minute span, though there’s no question it is on its way over the hill, so I would drink this Janasse sooner versus later. I have had Janasse many times over the years, but this by far was my favorite experience with a bottle of this winery, but that said, I do love their basic Côtes du Rhône, which I recommend often and consider a great bargain. Drinking a quarter of a century old Rhône is not as risky as it would seem, and while of course there will be bottle variation, I’ve had some awesome wines recently, including this one, giving me a new appreciation for older Grenache based wines, with 1999 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf Rouge being one of my all time favorites.

The Domaine de la Janasse, founded in 1973 by Aimé Sabon, farms sustainably and is guided by organic principles for soil and vine health, along with a respect to regions history and environment with the vines all grown without pesticides or insecticides and employ natural elements such as manure and compost to provide nutrients. This Domaine de la Janasse Vieilles Vignes Châteauneuf du Pape, the estate’s flagship cuvée, sees a classic manual harvest with a careful sorting in the vineyard to be sure of top notch quality with the grapes getting about, as the winery notes, 80% de-stemming, allowing close to 20% whole clusters in the fermentation with the maceration lasting for about 28 days with daily manual punch downs. This process brings out a dark rich purple/garnet color when young and grabs a firm tannin structure to allow for its aging potential, and this 1999 shows that it the case, and the winery says in its own notes they expect the Vieilles Vignes to go nicely for between 10 to 25 years. The newly fermented wine is pressed and racked to a combination of mostly large wood casks, these include traditional old Foudres and 600L Demi-Muids, which gives the muscular Mourvèdre and Syrah room to spread their wings. This elevage usually lasts 12 months and then the wine is bottled and rested in bottle almost another half a year before release, and while those that like power and youthful fruit will like to drink their Châteauneuf early, though wines such as this are very chewy and closed in its youth, so finding a balance is key, even though I was thrilled by this Christophe Sabon (who took over from his dad in 1991) made 1999 Janasse at 25 years old. As mentioned I have had some lovely old Rhônes, mostly Gigondas and Châteauneuf du Pape, as well as some freakishly good 15 to 20 year old Côtes du Rhones!
($85 Est. Current Release) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Paşaeli, Karasakis, Old Vine Red Wine, Aegean, Turkey.
I recently tasted Paşaeli, a Turkish family run winery, and was pleased with the light and delicious nature of their pale ruby red Old Vine Karasakis, from the Aegean region, which showed off a Pinot Noir like freshness and silky body with strawberry, cherry and guava fruits on the medium bodied palate, along with delicate spices, dried flowers and herbs, as well as very subtle oak and lively acidity. Honestly most of the Turkish wine I’ve tried was at local fairs and cultural events, as most Turkish restaurants are places to get a beer and a Donner, and none have been as delightful as this Paşaeli. Seyit Karagözoğlu, who planted vineyards and founded Paşaeli more than twenty years ago now after spending a decade as a wine importer, makes a wide array of small batch wines from whites, reds, rosés and sparkling versions, with both Pet-Nats and Methode Champenoise. This wine made from 100% Karasakız variety, which is native to north Kaz Dağlar, and in the Marmara appellation, an area that is notably close to the ancient and historic Troy, and is a single vineyard wine coming from 35 year old bush vines located 1,640 feet above sea level set on of sand and clay soils with some volcanic veins and granite rocks as well. For this wine, Paşaeli fermented the 100% de-stemmed grapes in an open top stainless steel tank with close to three weeks skin contact with daily pump overs and punch downs. After the must went dry, they then pressed and racked the wine to barrel, where it matured for about 8 months, with close to a third of new French oak used. Just 85 cases were produced of this very quaffable Karasakiz Old Vine red wine, which is best served with a slight chill and enjoyed in its youth, without much in the way of tannin, it might not be a wine to cellar, so no patience required.

Paşaeli is a family owned Turkish wine estate, quite the rare thing in the country, that was founded by Seyit Karagözoğlu in 2000 and produces quality offerings, enough so to attract the attention of some serious US wine importers, like Marc de Grazia, who is now a personal friend of the winery’s owner Karagözoğlu, and the wines now are available in the States. With the help of Michael & Harmon Skurnik, nation wide US importers, who met Seyit at an event at Vinitaly a number of years ago and now promote his wine to a fine dinning audience through sales to restaurants and unique specialty wine merchants. Turkish wine has a long history, especially in north east Turkey where it has been made for thousands of years, but the western side is just slightly newer, maybe dating back to ancient Greek times, and is now typically made for the resort tourism in this Muslim nation that has a wary eye on alcohol and tries to limit its availability to the general public. In America, you almost never see small estate grown Turkish wine, and nothing of significant quality, mostly you find generic wines that are served at Turkish cultural events. Karagözoğlu, who was born in İzmir, felt, according to the Skurnik brothers, the soil and climate of Turkey were ideal for growing high quality grapes. He discovered Indigenous varieties, like the Karasakiz red grape, planted in the Aegean region made for some very distinctive wines. I found out that like Pinot Noir, Karasakiz, also known as Kuntra, is an early ripening thin skinned grape, though with bigger round berries, which is mainly found in the Trace region as well as, interestingly in Greece. The Aegean region also has other native grapes including Sultaniye and Yapıncak, and Seyit notes that Bordeaux varieties are planted near his birth place in İzmir, all of which play a part in his wines. The Paşaeli wines look to be well-made, balanced, and great value, as I found out here with this Old Vine Karasakis, which was one of the best wines from Turkey I’ve tried to date.
($27 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2021 Tornatore, Pietrarizzo, Etna Bianco DOCG, Sicily, Italy.
The single Contrada Pietrarizzo yellow/gold hued Etna Bianco from Tornatore is a 100% Carricante cuvée from terraced vines set high up on the volcano on lava rock and mineral rich soils that perfectly transmit terroir to the glass with elegant transparency and intriguing complexity, and while most will know and search out their Nerello Mascalese reds, this white is fabulous stuff, impressive in depth, texture and length, while being impeccably balanced and mineral intense, rivaling some very charming Burgundy favorites. Slightly smoky, reductive and with an edgy gun flint start, the steely, crisply and bone dry palate quickly opens up to rewarding peachy stone fruit, bright spice, floral tones and zesty citrus, along with hints of leesy almond brioche, white flowers, preserved lemons and snappy herbs. A hint of tropical fruit as well as contrasting earthiness and saline notes makes for a compelling wine that is always reminding you that you need to pay attention here and it should play a starring role at a leisurely meal, especially with a misto of fresh seafoods. I had heard good things about Tornatore, but this wine was proof and I look forward to tasting through the rest of the collection. Investment has brought quality to go with the passion here, with concrete, stainless steel, and conical wood vats for fermentation, as well as choices of wood barrels, in many sizes, for different aging regimens, with this one getting a combination of vats and large casks. Tornatore, which shares the name with the famous director Giuseppe Tornatore, of the cult classic and academy award winning “Cinema Paradiso”, does a Rosé, three different whites, including this one, and five reds, three highly prized single Contrado offerings, one basic Etna Rosso and a rare Etna Rosso Riserva, made from Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio that sees an extended aging regime.

The Azienda Agricola Francesco Tornatore dates back to 1865, but its fame has only really begun to shine in recent years, when in 2012 they began to label the wines under the family and is now one of the larger Etna wineries with a reputation for quality with some high elevation vineyards that truly capture the essence and soul of the place, set on the slopes of Europe’s most active volcano. The Contrada Pietrarizzo, on the higher and cooler north side of Etna is east of the famous Passopiscaro and on some good slope, where it gets a lot of sun and gets fully ripe Carricante grapes with concentration and vibrant acidity, as seen here in this pure Etna Bianco. For this wine, the team at Tornatore, including the respected winemaker Vincenzo Bambina, use temperature controlled cool natural fermentations, with some cement and stainless, and the grapes are whole cluster pressed and aged, on the fine lees for about 5 months in large neutral oak 50HL botti before a quick bottling to preserve clarity and precise details in the wine. Most people wouldn’t believe how cold it is up on the volcano and considering Sicily is not far from Africa in the Mediterranean Sea, this terroir is unique and there is a longer growing season, in fact this wine sees a harvest in October typically and that adds to the authentic expression and complexity in the finished wine. Tornatore, located near Castiglione di Sicilia, is set up between 400 and 700 meters above sea level ensures fruit density and good acidity and they take full advantage of that blessing in their wines, as this Pietrarizzo Carricante displays to great effect. For the last decade or more now, Etna has been a wine world hot spot for enthusiasts with wines, both red and white, that are full of personality and delicacy, which I personally have a great fondness for and highly recommend for their soulful and exotic seductive qualities, there’s never been a better time to discover them.
($49-55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Bodegas Los Bermejos, Blanco, Diego Ecológico, D.O. Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.
It was great to catch up with the latest Bermejos wines, especially this mineral driven and zesty Diego Blanco, which is a unique volcanic influenced wine that is easy to love and a great alternative to the crowds of generic Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio wines, it is a super Summer sipper and excellent with lighter seafoods. This wine, made from organic 100% Diego, a native grape to Lanzarote and La Palma, is high-acid varietal that has a slight bitter almond and loads of mineral character Bright and steely in the glass, this Bermejos, with its traditional carafe style bottle, is a fun citrusy lighter framed stony and spicy white wine with lemon/lime, tart peach, quince and green apple fruits, along with mineral, saline, faint florals, green leafy herbs and verbena. As mentioned in prior reviews, the Bodegas Los Bermejos, in the Canary Islands is one of the most interesting estates of this volcanic islands range, run by winemaker Ignacio Valdera, is located on the easternmost island of Lanzarote, that is just 125km from the African coast. This is one of the most extreme vineyard locations on the planet with vines fighting to survive by digging through lava rock in pits to keep the harsh Atlantic winds from ripping the canopy apart, but through all this Ignacio still hand crafts, as noted, an amazing set of wines. Interestingly, Diego, also known as Vigiriega, is a Spanish white wine grape almost only found in the Canary Islands, though was popular pre-phylloxera near Granada and was grown throughout the Andalusia region of Spain and was probably brought to the islands by the Missionaries, and Spanish explorers in the 1500 or 1600s to supply the ships going to the new world.

Based on the island of Lanzarote, Bodegas Los Bermejos is an old school winery making some of the Canary Islands most authentic wines that pay tribute to their history, traditions and extreme terroir, but never take themselves to seriously, even though this wines are remarkably delicious offerings. All of Los Bermejos’ vines are set in the crust of petrified lava and ash that runs 3-5 meters deep from an ancient eruption and six year lava flow that created these wild landscapes and each vine is individually hand tended using organic and sustainable practices without irrigation, making for tiny yields and excellent concentration of flavors in the wines, which include this quaffable crisply dry white and a carbonic red, made from Listan Negro, one of the original Mission grapes, as well as one of coolest Methode Champenoise sparkling wines in the world. The Canaries have been getting a lot of love in recent years, with serious stars of the Islands, like Envinate, this Los Bermejos, as well as Crater, Suertes del Marques and Fronton de Oro are all wines to try and discover. This Diego Blanco was all stainless steel fermented and aged, with just about three months of lees contact and was bottled quickly to preserve freshness, as well as promoting transparency in the finished wine, it is a wine meant to be enjoyed in its expressive youth, making it great for pool or beach side meals. I highly recommend checking out how these Bermejo vines grow and are set in the black lava, it is truly breathtaking in the moon like rocky landscape. I have enjoyed Bermejo for many years and usually drink their Malvasia Blanco, but I was thrilled with this Diego bottling, which I hope to have more of in the coming warm months. Bodegas Los Bermejos or Bermejo, is really an exciting estate, for all the reasons mentioned here, and worthy of chasing down, in particularly for the wine lovers that are looking for rare and adventurous things.
($30 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Clos Canarelli, Corse Figari Rouge “Amphora” Corsica, France.
Yves Canarelli, who I last saw and tasted with last year at Kermit Lynch’s 50th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting in San Francisco, again has put together another amazing vintage of wines with his 2022 Clos Canarelli offerings and especially this expressive and pure Amphora aged red, which is absolutely stunning and even better than last year. Made from mainly Niellucciu (Sangiovese) and Sciaccarellu (Mammolo), ancient Estruscan/Tuscany varietals, but as the winery notes, it also contains small amounts of rare native grapes, including Minustellu, Carcaghjolu and Moresconu, which Canarelli has planted recently, replacing some what he calls foreign grapes. The Amphora use is limited to the fermentation, which can last about 6 weeks, but brings out distinctive character in this wine, with this 2022 being fresh, clean and wonderfully floral aromatics, it shows off an extra degree of depth and length over prior versions and it should age well and evolve to great effect. This dark crimson and magenta Clos Canarelli Amphora delivers a full bodied and textural palate of dark berry, juicy plum, currant and black cherry fruits, along with spicy and stony accents, sweet lavender, minty anise, a touch of sandalwood, earth and framboise. The underlying tannin, natural acidity and structure, means it is best to decant this wine, especially in its youthful state, and there is loads of exciting potential here and can only hope to re-visit it in 5 to 10 years. The whole collection at Clos Canarelli is delicious, rewarding and special, I whole heartedly recommend any and all of them, including the fabulous Rosé, Biancu Gentile and Vermentinu bottlings, but again these reds, including this one, as well as the regular Figari Rouge, the Carcaghjolu Neru and the super rare Tarra d’Orasi, made from a field blend co-ferment of Sciaccarellu, Minustellu and uniquely Cinsault, are next level treasures!

One of my favorites, Clos Canarelli, based in the small village of Tarabucetta, a little outside of Figari on the southern tip of Corsica, Yves Canarelli has become one of the greatest winemakers on Corsica and is widely admired, along with the flamboyant Jean-Charles Abbatucci have led the island’s wines to world wide acclaim. According to importer Kermit Lynch, Yves Canarelli, since 1993, after taking over the family domaine, which dates back to 1968, has championed the restoration of native Corsican varietals and he in fact ripped out entire vineyards of foreign varietals. The appellation Corse Figari lies along a plateau just inland from the coast, where grapes have been farmed since the 5th century B.C. The vineyards here, which get cool breezes, are set on a complex set of soils, which play a big role in terroir influence here, with a mix of sand, chalk, granite and limestone all found here. Though Figari is regarded as the most ancient growing region on Corsica it is a tough area to grow grapes and that makes the wines of Clos Canarelli that much more special, and this wine is spectacular proof in the bottle.The grapes used for Clos Canarelli’s Amphora, include about 80% of Niellucciu and Sciaccarellu, plus, the mentioned rare native varietals, with 20% of Minustellu, Carcaghjolu and Moresconu, making it a very unique blend. They are 100% de-stemmed, vinified in amphora, as the winery notes, that are macerated and fermented on the skins for between 4 to 7 weeks, and then aged in a combination of stainless tanks and neutral barrels for 7 to 9 months, all to promote the wine’s exceptional purity. Yves used absolutely no sulfur in the vinification here, nor at bottling either. The bottom of each amphora is lined with beeswax before being used, very much like what is done in the ancient wines of Georgia, which may have been, as I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, part of the inspiration here, but Yves has made this process his own and this wine is again brilliant and transcendent, and as I’ve said before, put this one on your bucket list.
($98 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2022 Tyler Winery, Chardonnay, Estate, Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Santa Barbara County.
A real sleeper in the Tyler lineup, this 2022 Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay, which crafted using exclusively estate grapes from winekmaker Justin Willett’s Mae Vineyard, shows off a radiant array of golden apple, pear, zesty lemon and fresh peach fruits, which are backed up with mineral tones, white flowers, fig, subtle wood use, clove spice, stony notes and a delicate reductive leesy background, in a pretty and textural wine. This wine, I understand, is usually is a special regional blend of selected Willett farmed vineyards, including Fiddlestix, but for 2022 Willett decided to only use his own grapes, and this impresses for that single vineyard distinction, making for a delicious cool climate Burgundy inspired Chardonnay that sits between the enter level Santa Barbara County bottling and Willett’s signature Mae Estate version. There’s a lot to admire in the Tyler collection, with a fine range of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that already have an enthusiast following, with most grapes coming from sandy/loam soils and extremely Ocean influence of the Sta. Rita Hills. The Tyler label has a quality laced small lot group of wines, these include a vibrant dry Rosé of Pinot Noir, the basic Tyler Santa Barbera series of Chardonnay and Pinot, plus the top end Mae Estate efforts, along with a tiny release of Sanford & Benedict old vine Chardonnay.

Winemaker Justin Willett, as mentioned here in prior reviews, who start the Tyler label in 2005, believes the winemaking starts in the vineyard and he says that he has sincere desire to have minimal impact on the environment, with all of his grapes being farmed organically, with his wines having grapes that handpicked at night, and then carefully sorted by hand at the winery before de-stemming and crushing them. In the cellar, Willett adds, that all lots are fermented using native yeast in large oak vats, and once his must and juice are dry the wines are then put down to barrel for their elevage. Everything here is all about transparency and balance and these wines have a big following, especially the Chardonnays, which are somewhat counter culture with their freshness and mineral tones being quite the opposite of the oaky and buttery style that dominates the perception of what California Chardonnay is. The Tyler wines are full of personality and vitality, but still have a rewarding textual quality and go great with a range of cuisine choices, with both the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay delivering plenty of excitement. Willett acquired Fiddlestix Vineyard in 2021, which was first planted in 1998, and is one of Sta. Rita Hills most iconic sites, set immediately adjacent to Sanford & Benedict in the southern corridor of the region, and will play an important role in the future. I highly recommend this wine, as well as all of the Tyler stable of offerings, along with Willett’s Lieu-Dit line, which is a Loire inspired set of wines, including his beautiful Chenin Blanc.
($50 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Brick House Vineyard, Pinot Noir “Select” Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
One of my favorite producers and one of the first Burgundy inspired certified biodynamic properties in the new world and of course Oregon, Brick House and founder Doug Tunnell make some fantastic Chardonnay, Gamay and in particular Pinot Noir, like this entry level estate Select bottling, which is brightly ruby hued, youthful, focused and pure. This 2022 Select is fresh and lively in the glass with loads of charm, character and a delicate earthiness, it shows off a vibrant array of black cherry, cranberry, wild berry, plum and tart red currant fruits, plus a light dusting of spices, sandalwood, mineral tones, crushed flowers, loamy underbrush, a touch of toasty vanilla, snappy herbs and blood orange tea. This vintage is silken and has fine grained ripe tannins that melt into this pretty medium bodied Pinot Noir, sourced from all organic grapes coming from the Ribbon Ridge’s ancient Willakenzie soils, one of Oregon’s prime sub regions, which is home to some of the Willamette Valley’s best wineries, like Brick House, as well as Patricia Green, Beaux Frères, Sequitur and Penner-Ash to name a few. This 2022 version is just starting to develop and comes off juicy, nicely aromatic and vivid at first, but opens up well with air and gains personality and complexity, making it an exciting wine and one that benefits greatly being paired with food and simple cuisine choices. In recent years, Brick House, who is primarily known for Pinot, has really upped the quality in their Chardonnay game, they should not be overlooked, especially if you like restrained white Burgundy style versions.

As mentioned above and in my prior reviews, (the) Brick House Vineyard was established by Doug Tunnell, one of the admired winemakers in Oregon, who planted the first vines around his old brick farm house in the spring of 1990. Tunnell planted Pinot Noir first, then added Chardonnay and true Gamay Noir, which has been a cult favorite in the Brick House lineup for many years. Tunnell says that every one of his vines were planted with a commitment to holistic methods and sustainable farming, a practice that was rare in the Willamette Valley at that time, with Brick House becoming a true certified organic farm. After pioneering biodynamics in the Willamette Valley, Brick House in 2005 achieved its goal of a full Demeter Biodynamic certification. Today, Tunnell on his beautiful southeast facing slopes in Ribbon Ridge hosts close to 45,000 vines, densely planted to better produce elegant and intense wines, and in particular deep Burgundy inspired Pinot Noir. This area of the Willamette Valley, again, is mainly ancient seabed and has marine sediment soils and home, as noted, to some serious Cru quality vineyards, like Brick House and Beaux Frères have, and there is a distinct terroir influence here and you can see why Burgundy inspired winemakers love this place, in particular these wines. Ribbon Ridge bottlings by Cameron and more recently Hundred Suns, along with Tunnell’s offerings are big personal favorites, all of which are incredible and unique Pinots. It should be noted, this lighter framed, low alcohol Pinot saw a traditional native yeast fermentation and saw a lengthy elevage in French oak, and as always it has well judged in new barrel use, which is decided depending on the vintage’s concentration, with this one usually seeing only neutral barriques, that promotes transparency, as seen here.
($48 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

n.v. Billecart-Salmon, Brut Rosé, Champagne, France.
Billecart-Salmon’s latest disgorgement of Billy Rose is luxurious, comforting and very refined, this again, is one of nicest lots of this classic in the last 10 years, it shows some deft blending, remarkable clarity and detail with an energetic, but creamy beading mousse. There are maybe better sparkling wines out there, as I’ve said before, some that might be cheaper, but it is hard not to fall head over heels for this joyous, delicious and elegant Champagne. This edition of their fabled Rose really hits the spot with a dreamy pale hue, tight bubbles, lifting acidity, mineral tones, slight yeasty brioche and heavenly hints of strawberry, red berry and tangerine essences along with citrus, apple skin and bread dough. This Billecart-Salmon Rosé really, as always, and as I’ve said before, keeps your interest from first sip to the painful moment when you have to toss the bottle into the recycling bin! I’ve been lucky to have had many a chance to drink Billecart-Salmon and taste through their full collection, including the top Tête de Cuvée bottlings, including the vintage Cuvée Elisabeth Rosé, the Cuvée Nicolas François, the vintage Blanc de Blanc Cuvée Louis Salmon and the very rare single vineyard Le Clos Saint-Hilaire Brut, along with specialities like the wood aged Sous Bois, one of my personal favorites along with the racy vintage Extra Brut, all of which are class acts that should be on anyone’s Champagne bucket lists. This Rosé is crafted from mostly Chardonnay, sourced from a selection of Billecart’s favorites crus, along with Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne areas, and (Pinot) Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and the slopes of Epernay, with these chalky sites or terroirs all playing a role in this sparkling wine’s personality and adds plenty of thrill on the palate.

The famous Billecart-Salmon Champagne house has always been a family run winery and continues to be a though leader in the region with a long and prestigious history of elegance and innovation, including being credited with creating Rosé Champagne, and this wine pays a great tribute to that. Billecart-Salmon dates back, as they note, to 1818, when Nicolas François Billecart and his wife Elisabeth Salmon started this journey as a couple in love with the same terroir, and each other. Louis Salmon, Elisabeth’s brother, helped create the wines from the beginning and was a passionate oenologist that dedicated himself to the success here, he is very much remembered and honored even now. Billecart-Salmon, was founded in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, near Epernay, establishing what would be one of the most renown Champagne Houses, which still excites even the most jaded of Champagne lovers. The Billecart family has remained faithful to Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and today, the seventh generation of the family, Mathieu Roland-Billecart is in charge of this Champagne House. Today, Florent Nys is the Chief Winemaker for Champagne Billecart-Salmon, and Florent, who, as the winery notes, has been working as an apprentice here under the watchful eye of family since 2005, and is credited for all these fabulous recent bottlings. For the Rosé, Billecart uses 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 30% Meunier, all without skin maceration, with the delicate pale hue is from the addition of still (Pinot Noir) wine. The non vintage Rosé, that sees a low dosage, is put together from three recent vintages, for vitality, and typically includes 40% of reserve wines, which adds depth, complexity and character. This edition of Billecart’s Rosé is impeccable and rewarding, it is a Champagne for all occasions, special and otherwise, and it goes great with an array of cuisine choices and should be enjoyed not just on birthdays and or anniversaries!
($85 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2009 Beaux Frères, Pinot Noir, The Beaux Frères Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The beautifully mature 2009 Beaux Frères BFV Pinot Noir is, especially this bottle, peaking now and I would highly recommend popping corks on any that people might have tucked away, as to not miss the best and most pleasing features of this special Oregon wine. The color is still ruby/garnet with just a hint of brick and the nose is just starting to fade into dried flowers and fruit with a gorgeous medium bodied palate of black cherry, poached plum, raspberry, burnt orange and Mission fig fruits, along with a touch of rose petal porporri, truffle, grilled herbs, black tea, loamy earth, shaved vanilla, sous bois and a faint autumn leaves. This is excellent and silken Pinot that is wearing its age and tertiary elements very well and the graceful textural quality make it a joy in the glass, it lingers on and on with a complex and dreamy delicacy, a big thank you to my friend Germain, who dug deep into her cellar to share this wine in a tasting of Oregon wines recently. One of Oregon’s most coveted and prized wineries, Beaux Frères, founded by Mike Etzel, on an old pig farm in the Ribbon Ridge appellation back in the late eighties, it’s an area that has ancient marine sediment Willakenzie soils and picturesque hillside vineyards, perfect for deep, vivid and expressive Pinot Noir. The original Beaux Frères vineyard, at close to 400 feet of elevation, is a mixture of own-rooted Pommard and Wädenswil clones, along with a selection younger Dijon clones which were planted later on phylloxera-resistant rootstocks.

As mentioned in my prior reviews, Beaux Freres, established back in 1986, though their estate first bottling was released in 1991, is one of the Willamette Valley’s most admired wineries that is focused mainly on terroir driven Pinot Noirs, which have become legendary efforts. The Pinots here are made in traditional Burgundian methods and, like Brick House Vineyard just down the road here in Ribbon Ridge, is committed to following biodynamic principles in the vines and in the cellar. The fermentation is allowed to occur spontaneously, relying on “wild” indigenous yeast, and as the winery notes, the must is tended to the old-fashioned way with punch downs and pump overs by hand throughout the day and night in small lots with lengthy maceration(s) before being pressed to barrel. Every vintage dictates the oak regime here at Beaux Freres and the wines see a percentage of new oak depending on the strength and concentration of the year with most of the Pinots getting a good dose of neutral wood and get 30% to 50% new in the best selections. The wines, which are matured in classic barriques, see no racking and Beaux Freres believes in reductive winemaking throughout the process to save freshness and purity of aromatics. The wines see, typically, 12 months in toasty French oak with secondary fermentation happening naturally and the Pinots are bottled without fining or filtering. This distinctive Beaux Frères Vineyard bottling and the Upper Terrace Pinot, from vines planted in 2000 and exclusively to Dijon clones, are the top wines here and should be bucket list Pinots, they age well, as proven to me many times, I highly recommend them.
($89 to $125 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Théo Dancer – Roc Breïa, Chardonnay, Vin de France, Mâcon/Burgundy, France.
The 2021 vintage proved a difficult one, for the Roc Breïa estate and the winery, run now by the youthful talent of Théo Dancer, sold off almost two thirds of their crop, but managed to produce a beautiful and mineral toned Chardonnay, on what was their premier release from this unique Mâcon property. My friend, a long time Burgundy enthusiast Alex Lallos, was an early admirer of Théo and was almost first in line for this Roc Breïa label and shared this 2021 edition with me, filling me in with just a tiny bit of the background to peak my interest and allowing me to settle in with the bottle to full appreciate wine without distraction. The light gold and straw hued Roc Breïa Chardonnay has a classic reductive start and loads of steely mineral, it opens quickly though and has pretty aromatics and a nice rounded palate with apple, Bosc pear, preserved lemon and golden fig fruits, along with flinty wet stones, loamy earth, hazelnut, clove spice and a tart white peach note. There is good restraint, bright energy and austerity, but you get a sight line of potential here and I am looking forward to the future releases coming from this label, especially as I hear the 2022 is a huge step up in all areas, even though I really liked this one. Dancer, under the Roc Breia label had a rare opportunity, in Burgundy, to grow a vineyard from the ground up and make a singular set of wines, which has to be a thrilling adventure for a young man, still riding the coattails of his famous father.

Théo Dancer, the son of Chassagne-Montrachet legend Vincent Dancer, has just released wines from his own exciting new project in the Mâconnais region in southern Burgundy, with the watchful eye of the wine world on him. The Roc Breïa property, which is located near the village of Bray in the Mâcon, just south of the Côte d’Or with 10.5-hectare vineyards, all of which all farmed conventionally before Théo came on the scene and converted them to all holistic, helping restore the life of the environment and significantly improve the soil health to produce quality and expressive grapes. For this premier release, Dancer used 100% organic Chardonnay grapes sourced from Roc Breïa’s four different parcels that were planted in 1944, 1945, 1976, and 1977 respectively, making the vines nicely mature, adding to the depth and concentration here. The 2021 vintage Chardonnay was fermented and aged in a combination of well used larger 350-500L neutral French barrels and was bottled unfined and unfiltered, all done to promote purity and transparency of the terroir. Théo reveals that his winemaking theme at Roc Breïa is almost identical to what happens at his family’s Vincent Dancer’s home domaine. He is aiming to showcase the Roc Breïa terroir in a clear and simple way, and he produces only two wines from here, including this Chardonnay made from those vines, with an average age of 60 years, and a Pinot Noir, which I hope to try soon, sourced from parcels that are about 35 years old. Thanks again Alex, this was a treat to sample and it is going to be fun to try the next set of releases.
($89 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Chesebro Wines, Grenache Rosé, Cedar Lane Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County.
The latest release of Chesebro’s Provençal style, 100% Grenache Rosé, which sports a more delicate pale light pink/salmon hue in the glass and is extra bone dry and zippy on the racy palate makes for a very refreshing and delightful Summer wine. The Chesebro’s have done a beautiful label and package for these 2023s, and they really highlight the quality in the bottle, especially their Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, Pinot Noir and this Rosé, as well as showcasing the Arroyo Seco appellation, just to the south of the Santa Lucia Highlands along that bench that sees the cool Pacific breezes and a long growing season. The 2023 Cedar Lane Grenache Rosé shows off crisp, stony and zesty ruby grapefruit, strawberry, sour cherry and juicy watermelon fruits, which burst from the glass with expressive energy, but without any weight or sweetness, adding s steely/saline mineral element, rosewater, a touch of fennel and a fine sage herbal note. This bright and exciting edition is one of my favorites to date from Chesebro and I highly recommend stocking up on this limited production single vineyard Grenache Rosé for the warm months ahead, it is savvy quaffer that can be wildly enjoyable on its own, but very confident with meals as well, especially with Monterey’s wonderful abundance of sea food choices.

Father and son team of Mark and Will Chesebro have turned up the excitement at Chesebro Wines in recent years and their latest set of wines, as mentioned, are authentic and rewarding wines that offer a ton of value, in particular their Rhône varietal red and white wines, including their Carmel Valley estate GSM, Roussanne, and Vermintino, one of my favorites, along with the noted Cedar Lane Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño and Pinot Noir. Mark Chesebro, a main stay in Monterey’s grower class, has a long history winemaking here, he has come a long way since he took a crush job at Bernardus Winery under Don Blackburn in the fall of 1994. Chesebro really helped bring national attention to Carmel Valley’s Bernardus Winery during the late 1990s and early 2000s, until the left in the spring of 2005 to focus on grape growing and his own label. Chesebro has also instrumental in raising the profile and quality of the Arroyo Seco region, with his Cedar Lane Vineyard being one of the Crown Jewels of the region, which is set on decomposed granite, sandy loam, rocky and alluvial soils. This terroir influence is very much a feature in the Chesebro wines, with its semi cool marine Mediterranean like climate retaining a nice fresh acidity and promotes balance and lower natural alcohol, while allowing good ripe flavor development. For this wine, Mark and Will, employed an early pick on the Grenache grapes, a short skin maceration and exclusive stainless steel fermentation and a short aging, with gives this wine its clarity sand transparency.
($23 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2023 Morgan Winery, Dry Riesling, Double L Estate Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
This ultra pale and bone dry Trocken style Morgan Double L Vineyard Riesling, a limited alternative version, is wildly aromatic, briskly mouth watering and full of steely intensity with racy lime themed citrus, bitter melon, unripe apricot, green apple and quince fruits, salty wet stones, saline, verbena, orange blossom, rosewater and chamomile tea notes. Coming in at around 11%, this is truly and thrillingly dry stuff and will really appeal to acid head and enthusiast Riesling freaks, which describes me pretty well and I was lucky to try this one, plus the slightly off dry Kabinett inspired version too, both of which are fantastic in this 2023 vintage, and I highly recommend them, neither has any overt sweetness and are vibrant with lighter framed and energy filled palates. The vines here, as mentioned in my prior reviews, are plantings that date back to 1997 making them nicely mature, they are extremely well cared for with holistic methods that owner Dan Lee pioneered here, in fact Morgan’s Double L Estate Vineyard is the only certified organic vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, though now many others have seen the benefits and heading in that direction. Located at the cooler northern end of the AVA, the vineyard’s north-south row orientation provides optimal balance between the cold winds and warm sun exposure leading to perfectly ripe grapes that have beautiful fruit density and still retain refreshing vitality. The well draining sandy, clayey Chualar Loams, which are granitic based, soils, which help give this wine its mineral tones, zingy acidity and good fruit concentration, all of which gave winemaker Sam Smith the raw material to craft some outstanding Rieslings. I love crispy Dry Riesling, and this 2023 edition reminds me of some of favorites, more in the lines of Rheinhessen and Pfalz Trockens.

The winemaking for Morgan’s Dry Riesling was thoughtful and similar to how Sam Smith did the 2021, with these organic Riesling grapes being hand picked, then the clusters were, as the Winery notes, foot stomped and left to macerate on the skins overnight, then the juice was cold settled after gentle pressing. This vivid, expression and nervy 2023 vintage, with its cool intensity, shows tons of energy, extract and vibrant fruit character which was preserved by cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The winery says too, that the fermentation was allowed to finish completely, thus achieving this dry or Trocken style, after which the wine was rested in neutral French oak for about 4 months, this further added to the wine’s complexity and gave a little texture that cut into the bright acidity that is a hallmark of this grape. Winemaker Sam Smith and Dan Lee have experimented with this drier example of Riesling over the last few years, making only small batches, like this one, again of which, only a few barrels were made, to compliment their slightly off-dry or Kabinett style version they’ve done historically, which is also tasty, by the way and great with spicy foods. This Dry Riesling joins some of the best I’ve tasted of California Rieslings, like those of Tatomer, Cobb, Desire Lines, which is my favorite in modern times, as well as classic producers like Stony Hill, Casa Nuestra, Smit-Madrone and Navarro, to name a few. Morgan has put out an amazing set of wines in the last few years, with the full collection here, especially the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays being of note, being excellent and stylish wines that reflect to commitment to quality that the Lee’s have and the distinctive terroir where the grapes are grown. Again, I tried this clean, zesty and refreshing Dry Riesling at Morgan’s tasting room in the Carmel Crossroads Shopping center, and it was available to take home, though mostly to their Wine Club, as well as on their website. I suggest not waiting too long to get this one, it sold out fast last year and this vintage is the best yet!
($26 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Mongeard-Mugeret, Vosne-Romanée “En Orveaux” Premier Cru Red Burgundy, France.
The Domaine Mongeard-Mugeret, who is a highly regarded winery and admired for some fabulous Premier Cru and Grand Cru bottlings, with their Echézeaux Grand Cru being one of best in their lineup, along with this stellar Vosne-Romanée “En Orveaux” Premier Cru, which I just tried recently. Mongeard-Mugeret was one of the first wineries I got into when I started in the wine business and I’ve enjoyed many vintages of their excellent Burgundies, so it was great for me to sample this more recent release, which did not disappoint. The deeply garnet/ruby hued 2019 Mongeard-Mugeret “En Orveaux” delivers lovely aromatics and a rich medium bodied palate of black cherry, raspberry, tangy blueberry and plum fruits, along with touch of earth, spice and an elegant smoky/creamy oak framing. Delicate notes of violets, graphite, vanilla and fig add to this wine’s pleasure and complexity, as well as having ripe, silken tannins and a touch of mineral, making for a serious and rewarding terroir driven Pinot Noir, that could only be from the Vosne-Romanée region.

One of the elite wineries in the Vosne-Romanée area for more than eight generations, the Mongeard family was first established in Vosne-Romanée back in the year 1620, though the modern winery (label) just goes back to 1945, with Vincent Mongeard now in charge here. The village of Vosne-Romanée lies between Dijon and Beaune in the heart of the Côte de Nuits region, near the prestigious Château du Clos Vougeot, and is famed for the Pinot Noir wines. The wonderful exposure enjoyed by the Vosne Romanée Premier Cru “En Orveaux” vineyards endows these wines with a deep ruby color and aromas of red fruits, blackcurrants and raspberries typically. Mongeard-Mugeret is known for robust and richly perfumed wines with, as they note, a character that is both silky elegant and rustically charming. Their En Orveaux parcel combines sensuous viscosity and savory tones that make it a step above most other Vosne-Romanée offerings. Coming from 20 to 50 year old vines set on a shallow layer of fertile alluvial soils on top of classic limestone, the carefully selected grapes for Mongeard-Mugeret’s Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru “En Orveaux” is fermented 100% de-stemmed and macerated in traditional fashion, after which it is aged close to 18 months, depending on the vintage, in 30 to 40% new oak barrels. As mentioned, I’ve been a long time fan of Mongeard-Mugeret and I highly recommend these Burgundies, which are not cheap, but still excellent values.
($179 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2018 Hundred Suns, Pinot Noir, Sequitur Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Still youthful, juicy and vivid, the 2018 Sequitur Vineyard Pinot Noir by Hundred Suns is sensual, vinous and beautifully layered Pinot with black cherry, red currant, plum and red berry fruits on the bright and lively palate along with a burst of spice, mineral tones, wild herbs, orange tea and subtle wood notes. These Hundred Suns wines, are very unique, as I’ve noted before in my prior reviews, always have vibrant almost Gamay or Cru Beaujolais like character to them, with this Sequitur Vineyard following that form, again reminding me of wines by Jean Foillard of Morgon fame and or Jean-Louis Dutraive’s gorgeous and perfumed Domaine de la Grand’Cour Fleurie. The vines are set at about 450 feet up in the warmer Ribbon Ridge AVA and are set in the classic Willakenzie, marine sediment soils with Mike Etzel, founder of Beaux Freres, farming them all biodynamic and holistic care, where Grant getting a selection of clone, including Chalone, Pommard and a secret unclassified clone to make his own version. In past vintages, Coulter’s winemaking, really depends on the vintage, and has had some years done in three separate fermentation lots, with one being 100% de-stemmed in traditional style, one being about 50% whole cluster with stem inclusion, and lastly a tiny batch done in full carbonic maceration. Then all these would get blended together to make for a very distinctive effort. Though lately, with his 2022 bottling, I see he’s gone for making for a single lot of Pinot from here with close to 33% whole cluster, resulting in a wine with supple mouth feel, a vigorous crunchiness, along with brambly spices and Chinato like herbs. The wood aging, again, was done in a way that almost no oak shows in the glass, showcasing the purity and delicacy of this awesome wine. Unlike areas like the Dundee Hills, the Ribbon Ridge AVA, is non volcanic, with as Coulter explains the region was formed by eons of tectonic movement has lifted the ancient seabeds to where they lie today, making it one of Oregon’s most prized Pinot Noir terroirs, as this wine, which I had been saving, certainly proves with some flair.

Coming from Mike Etzel’s coveted home vineyard, of Beaux Freres fame, where Hundred Suns Grant Coulter worked as head winemaker, who along with Renée Saint-Amour started their own label Hundred Suns in 2015, with a focus on small lot Pinots, of which the Shea Vineyard and this Sequitur Vineyard are two of their signature wines. The Pinots are handcrafted to show transparency and Coulter has been experimenting with the use of Amphora and always uses a significant amount of whole cluster. The wines are exceptional in their youth, but cellaring looks like a good idea, especially if you want the flavors to fold more into traditional Pinot in its profile. So I myself have put a few bottles away for the long term, with the natural acidity and backbone, they should provide rewarding drinking pleasure in the future, though such patience is hard and I love they taste now, especially with the right cuisine pairings. While this 2019 vintage is, as mentioned, was cooler and wetter than vigneron’s would have liked, causing many headaches, but Coulter prevailed and created a set of rockstar stuff and they look to have good aging potential, with his Pinots all showing their own charms, personality and sharp detailing. There is such attention to each of these brilliant wines, each vintage and wine here at Hundred Suns are incredibly distinct, these are wines that remind me of the wines of Philippe Pacalet, along with the mentioned Dutraive Freurie and Jean Foillard, who’s Morgon Cru Beaujolais are legendary. These Hundred Suns wines are expressive, authentic and thrillingly energetic, I feel they are best with some bottle age, as this one shows, it is just reaching its full potential and should continue to drink well for another 5 to 10 years. Oregon is producing a lot of new labels of merit and there’s so many to be exited by, which makes me itch to get up there and continue exploring, with Hundred Suns being one winery that way over delivers for the price. The Hundred Suns Old Eight Cut Pinot Noir is their entry level wine, it is a huge bargain and utterly delicious stuff that is beyond guilt free and a great way to get started with these wines, but of course the single vineyard offerings are top notch collectables, especially this Sequitur Vineyard and the Bednarik, as well as the rare Own Rooted Pinot Noir. I highly recommend getting on the Hundred Suns mailing list and be sure not to miss these other-worldly Pinots, and not over look their Chardonnay, Gamay, Syrah, Cabernet and Grenache offerings.
($50/65 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Txomin Etxaniz, Getaria Bianco, D.O. Getariako Txakolina, Spain.
The light bodied, pure and zingy Txomin Etxaniz Basque white, from the classic Getariako Txakolina coastal region southwest of San Sebastian on Spain’s cool Atlantic side, is slightly spritzy, refreshing and exceptionally bone dry with loads of lime citrus and steely mineral tones, making it perfect for Summer sipping and great with shellfish and especially oysters and clams. The Txomin Etxaniz vineyards and winery are located in Getaria, the heart and soul of txakoli wine with its history and tradition being a marriage of the land and sea. This remote region is all about txakoli and fishing, which lthrives together in, what the winery says, perfect harmony, and represent their essence, authentic character and personality. The Txomin Etxaniz winery is owned and was founded by the Txueka family, who have deep roots in the D.O. Getariako Txakolina, dating back to 1649, and they have been instrumental in the promotion of the region and upping the quality here. This latest offering from Txomin Etxaniz is delicious stuff and I highly recommend chasing a few bottles down and enjoying them over the next year or so. After the first sip, there’s additional brisk tart peach, melon and quince fruits, to go with a main citrus core and delicate aromatics, saline and light herbal notes.

The Txomin Etxaniz Txakolina is made with 100% Hondarrabi Zuri grapes that see an inox, all stainless steel, cool temperature controlled fermentation and short aging process to promote the renown clarity and crisp details that are highlight this region’s white wines. During this process the wine captures CO2 and the wine gets it effervescent zestiness, that adds to the racy and energy driven profile that we all love about Getariako Txakolina white wines. For generations, Txomin Etxaniz has existed here in the Txakoli zone, making it one of the go to properties in the region and a go to label for quality. The Txueka’s, led by Iñaki Txueka, helped lead the efforts back in 1980s to establish the regions official recognition, which finally got its own D.O. in 1989, which has become one of Spain’s most exciting spots for unique and distinctive wines. The Txueka family, as noted by their US importer Chambers and Chambers, exclusively uses the indigenous Hondarrabi Zuri (white) and Hondarrabi Beltza (red) grapes, with vines that were planted between 1915 and 2000 on pergolas and terraced trellises, just over a hundred yards from the Ocean. These Txakolina wines, which are, ultra pale, low alcohol, with this one coming in at barley 11%, and bright with acidity, all of which make them mouthwatering good, with Txomin Etxaniz and their wines, including this one and their Rosé, being a great examples of place, are good way to discover this part of Spain.
($25 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Frédéric Esmonin, Gevrey-Chambertin “Lavaux Saint-Jacques” Premier Cru Red Burgundy, France.
For many, myself included, these Frédéric Esmonin red Burgundies are savvy buys and go to wines for personal use drinking, they always deliver purity, class and distinction at a very fair price, especially these days with sky rocketing Burgundy pricing and the Gevrey-Chambertin bottlings are my favorite. Another thing, Esmonin has a great selection of mature vines in some fabulous plots, like this Lavaux Saint-Jacques, one of the most coveted Premier Cru sites in the region, rivaling some very costly Grand Crus, as this 2021 shows. I was thrilled to sample this vintage and while not a blockbuster year and less concentrated than 2020, it is a divine wine, that is sultry, aromatic and serious by nature, with a deep ruby/garnet hue in the glass and medium bodied on the palate, showing off classic, slightly reductive dark red fruits, earthy elements, rose petal, a touch of toasty wood and baking spices. This lightly tannic wine is poised and pedigreed, it opens nicely to reveal black cherry, red currant, cranberry, plum and blood orange fruit, plus a bit of mineral, and it gets more expansive and textural, making for an impressive Pinot Noir that is best with food, where its depth, complexity and length all fills out. I have been lucky enough to taste with the domaine’s namesake Frédéric Esmonin a few times at tastings in San Francisco and I am a big fan of wines here, in particular I love Esmonin’s Gevrey offerings like this Lavaux Saint-Jacques rarity and the Clos Prieur, which is a real bargain!

The Frédéric Esmonin winery is becoming one of the most consistent, high quality producers in Gevrey, and they draw upon some prime vineyard holdings. Their Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards were mostly re-planted in the 1950s so the wines and are reaching sublime levels of complexity and consistency that can only be achieved with these older vines. André Esmonin, who has worked with dad Frédéric and taking on the duties of winemaker at the domaine, has beautiful Premier Cru parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin, including “Estournelles St-Jacques,” “Lavaux St-Jacques,” and “Champonnets.” The Premiers Crus, like from the Lavaux Saint-Jacques, which is Grand Cru quality, is a touch darker in fruit, with mineral and iron notes. Esmonin uses a bladder-press which gives excellent control over the amount of pressure exerted on the grapes, which are picked only when they have reached ideal ripeness. The grapes are de-stemmed and after a short cold maceration gives the wines an extra dimension of fruit, and only indigenous yeasts initiate fermentation. The domaine ages its wines in oak for between 14 to 17 months, with carefully selected French oak barrels of Allier and Nevers forest wood, which are exclusively made by coopers Radoux and Berthomieu. Typically, at Esmonin, the Grand Cru bottlings, and this Lavaux Saint-Jacques Premier Cru sees about 80 percent new oak, which incredibly still feels subtle and well judged, especially in this 2021 version, not an overly concentrated vintage, but rewarding non the less. I high recommend all the Esmonin Burgs, from the basic village wines all the way to the exceptional Grand Crus, they are some of the best red Burgundies for the money you’ll find.
($89 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2018 Istine, Chianti Classico DOCG, Vigna Cavarchione, Gaiole in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy.
The 2018 Istine Vigna Cavarchione Chianti Classico is deep and concentrated with a dark garnet/crimson color in the glass and has a vinous full bodied palate of ripe Sangiovese fruits, showing black raspberry, plum, cherry and currant, along with classic minty herbs, tobacco leaf, savory tones, cedar and anise. Istine, which isn’t an old established winery in Chianti Classico, but does have deep roots here and I was excited to try their latest efforts, in particular this 2018 Vigna Cavarchione, from the Gaiole zone, which is delicious and compelling stuff. While Radda in Chianti, one of my favorite villages in Tuscany, is a charming medieval village, surrounded by towering walls and situated on a slope between the Arbia and Pesa valleys has very ancient origins, as does Gaiole in Chianti. There are numerous old Etruscan settlements in these areas and some of the names today still have their origins that date back to the 9th century BC. Gaiole in Chianti, which less picturesque that Radda, has many great wineries, with Le Miccine being one of my absolute favorites. This wine, with organic grapes sourced in Gaiole, set on what the winery says is marly limestone based soils and includes Galestro stones, near the historical village of Vertine, it is one of the youngest vineyards in Istine’s collection, was first planted in 2009 and 2010, and the first harvest here was 2013. This Vigna Cararchione, only about 250 cases made, was macerated and fermented in concrete vats, lasting almost two and half weeks, before being racked over to large Slavonian oak casks, where the wine aged 12 months before bottling, after which it rested in bottle for another year.

Istine’s Fronti family, after many years in the viticutural business, began to get closer to making their own wine when in 1982 they bought their first hectares of land, where they planted their set of vineyards, though they didn’t actually starting producing wine under their own label until 2009. They now own about 20 hectares of vineyards, mainly in the municipal area of Radda in Chianti and Gaiole in Chianti, where this wine comes from, but the Fronti’s also has vines in Gaiole in Chianti. These vineyards are not in a single plot, but are located in unique separate parcels, and they have been certified organic since 2016, as the wines continue to get better and better. My first serious, overseas, wine trip included an extensive tour of Tuscany and especially the southern hills of Chianti Classic with its beautiful and historic forested hills, castles and picturesque vines, which made an impression on me that still excites my thoughts and palate. As the winery notes, the territory of Chianti Classico’s terroir was legally recognized back in 1916 in famous the provinces of Florence and Siena. The main municipal areas or crus of the Classico zone include Castellina in Chianti, Gaiole in Chianti, Greve in Chianti and Radda in Chianti but also part of the municipalities of Barberino Val d’Elsa, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Poggibonsi, San Casciano Val di Pesa and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. In 1984, the winery continues, the wine produced in this Tuscan region was among the first in Italy to obtain the full DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) status, with a special consortium now governing Chianti Classico, which has tweaked the rules many times in recent times to promote mainly the Sangiovese grape and other native varietals. This Istine Vigna Cavarchione, 100% Sangiovese, is a very confident effort and will age easily for another 5 to 7 years, but is drinking exceptionally well already and I highly recommend this vintage.
($38 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Lagar de Pintos “Castiñeira” Albariño, Val do Salnés, D.O. Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain.
I was delighted and impressed by this latest Castiñeira Albariño by Bodega Lagar de Pintos, which saw the hand harvested organic grapes, 100% de-stemmed, get a long and gentle pressing all with gravity flow, with a spontaneous fermentation exclusively done in stainless steel tank, making for a salty crisp example that begs for briny sea foods. This vintage sees a new label, but has the classic aromatics, tangy apple, which peach and racy citrus of pure Albariño, along with a lighter framed medium bodied palate, delicate lime flower bouquet, with steely mineral character and some wet stone, tart herbs, almond, verbena and, the region’s famed sea shore, saline influence iodine. Located in Galicia, the Ria Baixas zone, planted almost exclusively to Albariño, is in Spain’s cool climate northwest corner, right on the Atlantic Ocean and is separated from northern Portugal by the Miño River. Within the Rias Baixas DO region there are 5 sub-zones, including Val do Salnés, seen here, Condado do Tea, O Rosal, Ribeira do Ulla, and Soutomaior, with the Val do Salnés being the most famous and maybe the most sought after by Albariño fans and home to some of the most respected growers and vintners. In recent times I’ve found some fabulous small producers in the region to look for with Nanclares y Prieto being maybe my favorite these days, though I do adore the classic Do Ferreiro wines too, which usually see an extended lees elevage, are the most sought after in all of the Rias Baixas. The US importer, Luis Moya says he can’t get enough of this wine and even gets the owners here to cut short the aging of this Albariño, so he can get it out as fast as possible!

The Lagar de Pintos estate is located in the Salnés Valley town of Ribadumia, just a bit inland from Cambados, is run by a 4th generation winemaker, Marta Castro-Pintos, who converted the vines to organic farming in the early 2000s. The vines grow just a few miles from the cool Atlantic Ocean, which is highlighted in the wine’s intense salinity and acidity, and the US version of Marta’s Albariño is given just five months of lees aging in the tank before bottling to capture that fresh detail. The sub zone of Val do Salnés is known as the best area for top notch Albariño and seeing this on the label almost guarantees the quality and style of the wine, and that certainly is the case here with this 2023 Castiñeira, which has just arrived in the States. The Rias Baixas region received its Spanish Denominación de Origen or D.O. in 1988, but had been known for its unique terroir and delicious Albariño for ages and it is believed that the Albariño grape was originally introduced to Galicia back in the 12th century by the Cistercian monks, who were at the historic Monastery of Armenteira. Albariño makes up around 90% of all the plantings, though there is also small amounts of Loureira, Treixadura, Godello, Espadeiro, Sousón, Mencía (Jaen), Brancellao, Caiño Blanco and Torrontés grown here, almost all of which, are also found in nearby Portugal as well. This Val do Salnés area has soils that are generally rocky and mostly alluvial by nature, that adds to the mineral note in the wines. To keep the grapes healthy, vines are usually grown on pergolas to keep them higher off the ground, which allows for better aeration and helps to avoid fungal disease that is often a risk in these damp climates. I am thrilled to have found this Lagar de Pintos Castiñeira, it is a great value and I look forward to enjoying this one over the next 2 to 3 years.
($21 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Schlosskellerei Gobelsburg, Cisterien Rosé, Kamptal, Austria.
As a long time fan of Schloss Gobelsburg, going back 20 years, I always get excited to try their wines and their dry Cisterien Rosé, made from mainly Zweigelt, but with St. Laurent and Pinot Noir, is a favorite. Winemaker Michael Moosbrugger, inspired by the 850 years of winemaking here and what the original Cistercian monks did here, crafts his offerings in tribute to them, with a beautiful set of wines, including classic dry Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, along with this tasty Rosé, some sparkling wines and a few reds. The Cisterien Rosé, sourced from a selection of cool climate sites in the Kamptal region and set on loess soils, is vibrant and steely with ruby grapefruit, sour cherry, tart strawberry and peach fruits on the bone dry, spicy and zesty light bodied palate, along with faint rosewater, wet stone and herb accents. This delicately pale salmon hued Rosé is wonderful all on its own, especially as a refreshing aperitif, but can easily be enjoyed with a variety of cuisine choices and goes great with sea food and Summer inspired menus. I highly recommend searching this one out, and I can’t wait to try the new 2023 vintage soon, plus I suggest grabbing Gobelsburg’s classic Kamptal Grüner, which is a very savvy value every vintage.

Schloss Gobelsburg has a long history, founded at the site of the Zwettl Monastery, which dates back to 1074, and the Monks of Zwettl were granted their first vineyards a hundred years later, including Heiligenstein & Gaisberg, the oldest documented sites in the Kamptal, alongside the Danube. The estate and Castle Gobelsburg, according to the winery, was controlled by as many as 19 different families between 1074 and 1740, and in 1786 it absorbed the famous Kammern Winery and vineyards, becoming a powerhouse of quality wines within the region. Two hundred years later Eva and Michael Moosbrugger were granted the winemaking and viticultural contract here in 1996, which has proved a good choice and with the help and guidance of Michael’s mentor Willi Bründlmayer, the winery has regained its prestige and is considered to be a leader in quality and innovation, with a nod to organic farming and precision winemaking in the cellar. The estate does mainly a set of traditional bottlings of Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, with Michael having read the meticulous notations of the Cistercians (monks) at the estate over the past 150 years, and he pays homage to them in his role as cellar master here at Gobelsburg, making very authentic and naturally inspired wines. I admire the the crystalline purity and clarity of terroir in these Gobelsburg wines and this one did not disappoint, it is a fine effort, well priced, that is a great alternative to mass production Rosés stack up at the big box stores.
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Sheldon, Graciano, Luc’s Vineyard, Fountaingrove AVA, Sonoma County.
One of my favorites in Dylan Sheldon’s lineup is his Sheldon Graciano, the rare in California, Spanish grape, that is usually found in Rioja blends, but can also be known as Tintilla, with its bright purple/ruby hue in the glass and fresh medium bodied palate, this vintage, has an almost joyous Cru Beaujolais like appeal and drinkability. Showing off wild plum, spiced strawberry, red peach and Bing cherry fruits, as well as sage, lavender, minty herbs, white pepper, sandalwood and cranberry notes. Soft tannin and vitality from tangy acidity make this a wine that can be chilled slightly and with low alcohol, about 12%, make this a nice quaffable Summery red wine. Graciano, usually blended with Tempranillo in Rioja has been gaining traction in California, with some of the plantings coming online in Paso Robles, where the grape thrives, was done by a lucky mistake, as they were supposed to be a new Monastrell clone of Mourvedre as well as being grown in the Arroyo Grande and Edna Valley area as well, but the Sheldon’s who have loved the Graciano grape a long time have sourced fruit from Ripkin Vineyard in the Lodi area and from this tiny parcel in Sonoma County, where the varietal does exceptionally well, as this 2022 vintage again shows. Over the last decade, the Sheldon’s have explored many different styles with their Graciano, from Rosé to a dense red wine, and even two different sparkling versions. As mentioned in my past reviews of this wine, the Luc’s Vineyard, planted to mainly Rioja varietals, all organic, is planted on a west facing hillside on volcanic soils, that give this wine its iron rich and spicy personality, adding red pepper and pomegranate notes after getting air. To the best of Dylan’s knowledge this might be the only Graciano vines in this part of Sonoma County, and notes that there are only about 30 or so acres in total in the whole State, making it a unique treat that I highly recommend. This Sheldon Graciano joins a celebration of obscurity along with Luke Nio’s Filomena St. Laurent, Arnot-Roberts’ Trousseau, Tegan Passalaqua’s Sandlands Mencia, Michael Cruse’s Tannat, Martha Stoumen’s Nero d’Avola and Jaimee Motely’s Mondeuse, to name a few fun and rare offerings from lesser known grapes in California.

The Luc’s Vineyard Graciano red wine, as crafted by winemaker Dylan and Tobe Sheldon, was made in their traditional and transparent way with just a few barrels produced saw an indigenous yeast spontaneous fermentation and cool maceration with classic foot treading and small basket pressing to neutral, well used or seasoned French oak for just about a year. The Sheldon’s note, that no new wood was harmed during the winemaking process and that this new Graciano was bottled unfined and unfiltered to preserve every nuance from the vineyard and to highlight the purity of the finished wine. In an effort to make a varietal(ly) honest wine. Sheldon usually goes with about 50% whole cluster and he made sure the fermentation went smoothly at low temperatures to retain the more delicate aromatics that this wine delivers, and with a sensual element that makes this wine so additive. Dylan Sheldon, the winemaker, says that to him, this ancient and rare varietal is uncommon to find as a solo varietal in its homeland, in the Rioja region of Spain, but the ones that are done as a single varietal wine has always intrigued and inspired him to do a Graciano here in California, which he has done for more than a decade with great and geeky success, again, as this example does with a flourish. It was great to catch up with these latest Sheldon wines, especially now the Grenache has had a bit more time in bottle to mature, it is stunningly pure and delightful, and this Graciano continues to be one of California’s best examples, and the wild Graciano, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese and Syrah blend is very tasty as well. Dylan, who is now working with a cool climate vineyard in British Columbia Canada, which continues his journey in winemaking adventures, so this label will be sadly suspended, but hopefully will see a comeback at some point in the future. Sheldon has almost always been at the forefront of low alcohol red wines and is really focused on making wines that are put into the bottle without adornment, but with a certain unique panache, as this one shows. Sheldon started this label in 2003, and is celebrating more than 20 harvests, and has always put a particular effort into his Grenache based wines, which are wonderfully compelling offerings, and all the wines are worth the chase or searching out.
($29 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

Grapelive.com Wine Reviews – April 2024

2021 Lucia by Pisoni, Syrah, Soberanes Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Wow, this 2021 Lucia by Pisoni Soberanes Syrah is gorgeous stuff and delivers a serious sense of depth and complexity with a dense core of black raspberry, damson plum, black currant, Mission fig and blueberry fruits, along with subtle smoky/toasty oak, as well as brambly spices, bitter dark chocolate, snappy crushed herbs, violet florals, cedar and anise. Winemaker Jeff Pisoni seems to get even better with every set of releases, and this full bodied and beautifully aromatic Syrah is a thrill to behold, showing off classic Northern Rhône profile, but with California ripe concentration. This deeply purple/garnet hued wine is pure class in the glass, and it certainly re-enforces my personal belief that Syrah here can be the equal to Pinot Noir in quality, if not better, as the Syrah loves the sandy decomposed granite soils here and the cool climate here in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The Soberanes Vineyard is the part of the joint venture between the Pisoni and Franscioni families that has brought international fame to this region, with the Garys’ being instrumental into establishing the Santa Lucia Highlands itself and its elevation in quality. The Soberanes site, with 33 or so acres of vines, has Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted there, which produce some awesome wines under the Roar and Lucia labels, as well as a few other top wineries, but the Syrah should not be overlooked, as it truly captures the greatness of this terroir! The 2021 Lucia offerings are largely sold out now, though I highly recommend chasing them down where possible, as they are some of the best wines I’ve tried from the Pisoni family to date. I have tried some of the 2022s which are now available and they also impress, and I’m excited for the 2023s that I have heard are going to be another set of must have wines.

The Soberness Vineyard, as mentioned more than a few times in my reviews, is a fantastic site and is the Pisoni family’s youngest vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, set over the next ridge from the famed Garys’ Vineyard, but higher up, its on a sandy loamy hillside with an almost constant cool breeze, delivering a long hang time and incredible fruit concentration. Soberanes just might be the most exciting plot in the Santa Lucia Highlands right now and as I’ve said in the past, this Lucia Syrah shows why, it’s planted with an excellent set of clones, like the Alban clone (Côte-Rotie) for this Syrah, and makes for one of the best wines in the region. Not only is this Pisoni made wine a stand out, also check out Cattleya, made by Jeff’s wife Bibiana Gonzalez Rave-Pisoni and the Sandlands Syrah by Turley’s winemaker Tegan Passalacqua for comparison, these are some of the best Syrahs in California and come from the Soberanes Vineyard. The Pisoni’s say that the 2021 vintage, joining 2019 and 2018, was another excellent year for grape growers and winemakers alike, with an end result of exceptional wines, with this Soberanes Syrah being a stand out bottle. Again this wine is elegant and seamless in style with a Côte-Rotie like personality, and remarkably it is was done with 100% whole bunches. Jeff Pisoni employed very gentle techniques, using carefully hand-picked and sorted grapes that were fermented with native yeast and aged 17 months in carefully selected French oak barrels, with about 40% new wood. Pisoni has a state-of-the-art winemaking facility in the Santa Rosa area and it exclusively uses gravity flow to move the wines, ensuring quality, with total control of the farming and winemaking process from start to finish. This wine, always one of my absolute favorites from Pisoni, has lots more to offer and will evolve nicely for the next three to five years, best to enjoy it with robust cuisine and friends.
($65 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Patrick Piuze, Bourgogne Tonnerre, Les Boutots, White Burgundy, France.
The light golden hued 2021 Bourgogne Tonnerre by winemaker Patrick Piuze is Chablis like and shows a chalky/stony personality with a steely charm and detailed layers of lime, white peach, green apple and pear fruits, along with hints of white flowers, saline, oyster shell, flint, citron oil and hazelnut, in a poised medium bodied wine. This Tonnerre AOC is made from 100% Chardonnay, sourced from a south-facing single-vineyard in the commune of Vaulicheres, just to the east of Chablis, in an area that is lesser known, but that has a good terroir for crisp mineral driven whites, as this Piuze version shows. Most all of the basic whites at Piuze are fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks to promote purity and capture the natural energy in his wines .In the cellar, Piuze’s fermentations are spontaneous with indigenous yeast and go at their own pace to dry. The winery says that these village level “Terroir” series wines are fermented and aged mostly in their stainless steel tanks that are not temperature controlled, while the Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines are fermented and aged in used barrels for ten months. While most cellars use a pneumatic press, Patrick uses a vertical one because, as he explains, he likes the initial blast of oxygen for the wines in hopes of preventing pre-mox later, a condition that has ruined many an old Burgundy, a way of thinking also espoused by Jean-Marc Roulot, of Meursault fame. All wines go through malo(s) naturally, which adds to the textural quality here, while still holding on to their backbone of acidity. In some years, Piuze notes, his fermentation(s) finish after two and a half weeks and in others, they last up to a full three months.

Patrick Piuze, who moved to Burgundy in 2000, is a Montreal native, has become a star talent in Chablis after having worked for some famous names, like Leflaive, Jean-Marc Brocard and Jean-Marie Guffens, before starting his own label back in 2008. Many critics consider Chablis the purest example of Chardonnay showing the best transparency and terroir with intense acidity and mineral layers with a slight flinty spice and a light pale hue that can seem to have slight greenish tint. Without question Chablis reputation is still growing and it’s fortunes rising, with exciting new producers making waves with names like Piuze, Savary and Chistophe becoming the next generation of super stars, following such legends as Raveneau, Dauvissat and Fevre! The Chablis AOC White Burgundy classification began in 1938 and covers about 4,800 hectares of vines with AC, Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites and newer still is non Cru single vineyard or proprietary cuvee wines. Chablis is a cool climate terroir with unique Kimmeridgian soils with clay, limestone and river stones, the main Grand Cru area occupies a single small southwest facing slope just north of the town of Chablis itself. This historic Burgundy area has been around since the mid 15th century with most of the wine being shipped to England, but the area was razed by the Huguenots in 1568 and was slow to rebuild it’s importance, it regained it’s glory in the late 1800’s only to be hit with a devastating vine decease and didn’t recover until post WWI and again after WWII. I’ve been enjoying these Patrick Piuze wines since around 2014, along with his Val de Mer label, where he also does a selection Champagne style sparkling wines, and I highly recommend exploring his full collection, which includes some prestigious Grand Cru offerings, as well as top notch Premier Crus, with his Montée de Tonnerre and Vaillons being patricular favorites of mine, along with inspired village efforts like this one and an old vine Aligoté.
($36 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Akarregi Txiki, White Wine, Getariako Txakolina, Spain.
A new producer for me, Akarregi Txiki, making a tight collection of wines from Spain’s Atlantic coast and the Getariako Txakolina, with their classic white being my first experience with this winery, made from 95% Hondarrabi Zuri and 5% Hondarrabi Beltza (juiced from the red grapes without skin contact),which impressed me with its energy and light steely crisp details. The 2023 Akarregi Txiki shows off a brisk and bone dry array of lime, green melon, unripe white peach fruits and sea shore, mineral tones and delicate herbal essences, making it fabulous with razor claims, canned sardines and raw foods. Super fresh and with some spritz, from captured zesty CO2, this Getariako Txakolina is an absolutely perfect, ultra pale and delicious example of the region’s classic style white, which is an awesome Summer wine.

The Akarregi estate situated on the slopes of the famous Basque coastal town of Getaria and based in family’s generations-old caserío, or farmhouse, with just 17 hectares of vines. Their importer Skurnik Wines says wine has been produced here for many decades, but that the current bodega and label only dates back to the establishment of the Getariako Txakolina appellation in 1990. Skurnik adds that there are no frills here, and none are necessary, for the production of this salty wonder of the world, Getariako Txakolina, with just clean tanks and cold temperatures needed to make them. So, Akarregi Txiki uses hand harvested grapes and ferments cold in stainless steel tanks, with a short lees aging, 3 months only and then the wine is bottled quickly to preserve all the natural vibrancy and clarity, as seen here with their zingy Getariako Txakolina. This remote cool climate area of Spain is located between San Sebastian and Bilbao, with the wines mainly focused on the local Hondarrabi Zuri grape and whites, but some producers also doing red wine, and super crisp Rosé (Rosado) as well, which Akarregi makes along side the whites.
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Bodegas Muga, Rioja Reserva, Rioja Alta, Spain.
The ripe and deeply concentrated 2019 Muga Reserva, which the winery says is composed of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 7% Mazuelo, and 3% Graciano, is made in Muga’s traditional and sustainable style of Riojan viticulture, which they add, is in fact organic, but uncertified. These vineyards are planted in the coolest and highest elevation sites of the Rioja Alta and grow on terraced parcels with calcareous clay soils from the Tertiary or Cenozoic period. The climate is continental with some cooling Atlantic influences up at this area, making for powerful wines, but with a sublime balance, as this one shows. This savvy Rioja Reserva has an intense opaque garnet/purple hue in the glass and delivers plenty of hedonistic fruit density with blackberry, dark currant, candied cherry and plum leading the way on the full bodied palate, along with pretty florals, oak toast, anise, graphite, cedar, sweet pipe tobacco and vanilla notes. Like the Torre Muga and Prado Enea, this Ruga Reserva will thrill now, but it has the potential to go 25 years in bottle. As a side note I always suggest decanting these Muga Rioja offerings and be sure to take your time and have a hearty meal with them. With a warming planet, these vines, as I’ve mentioned, planted in high altitude areas of Rioja Alta are incredibly precious and historic sites that provide outstanding fruit to make world class Rioja(s) that have potential and promise for the future.

One of the noble family’s in Spanish wine, the Muga’s, who founded the winery in 1932, as I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, and run now by Isaac Muga and Aurora Caño continue to be great ambassadors of the Rioja region and the heritage here. Muga pays great respect for traditions here in the region and takie great pleasure in preserving and protecting the environment and terroir. The lineup here is vast and delicious, every wine a treat, from their light white Rioja Blanco and Rosé (Rosado) to their Tempranillo based, powerful reds.like this Reserva. As noted, the Reserva, coming from mature vines, some of which were planted between 1926 and 1976, is 100% de-stemmed and the grapes are rigorously sorted, as the winery notes, then it sees an indigenous yeast fermentation from a vineyard pied de cuve in custom made open top oak fermenters that were produced here at the winery. The 2019 Muga, after fermentation and cool maceration, was then pressed and racked over to French and American oak barrels, seeing a light egg white fining, where the wine is aged for 24 months, after which it rests in bottle for another 12 months. The combination of French and American oak is well proportioned and adds to the wine’s supple tannin(s) and luxurious mouth feel, adding a seductive element without being over done, very much in line with a quality growth Bordeaux. Rioja is seeing a serious re-awakening period these days, with dozens of exciting new wines and this is a great time to re-discover this region, and this classic wine is a great way to start exploring the range of wines and producers.
($36 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2016 Crux Winery, Petite Sirah, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County.
Though not a current release, Crux’s 2016 Petite Sirah is available still directly as a library selection and it is well worth checking out with loads of upfront blackberry, dark currant, plum and candied cherry fruits and a richly tannic mouth feel that excites lovers of this varietal and also is backed up with hints of leather, toasty oak, dark chocolate, licorice, crushed violets and dried lavender accents. While 2016s have plenty of grip, they are starting to reveal a nice supple full bodied palate that delivers a hedonistic physical pleasure and lingering creamy aftertaste and this inky purple Petite is delicious and at its best with hearty meat dishes. While far less port like that some, this is a big wine with a luxurious personality, again with protein in meat or cheese form, coming in at a healthy 15% or so of natural alcohol, this Crux Petite Sirah makes its presence felt in the glass. The winery specs list Petite Sirah 90%, Zinfandel 5% and Syrah 5% which is pretty much the normal break down for this wine and adds some freshness and complexity to the whole. This was my first experience with Crux’s Petite Sirah, after mostly tasting their Rosé, GSM and Grenache Blanc efforts in the recent years and so far it’s my favorite.

Somewhat new on the scene, Crux Winery, who’s owners Brian Callahan and Steven Gower, are dedicated to make handcrafted small lots of mainly Rhône style wines done with a California flare, using varietals including Grenache, Syrah, Mourvédre, Grenache Blanc and Viognier, as well as a little Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, as seen here. Brian and Steven say that they focus on wines that capture the unique characteristics of Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, where they live and has a rich history of winemaking and great wines. The wines are compellingly ripe and lush to my palate, and the winery adds that they are rich, complex and balanced, without excessive alcohol levels or overripe fruit flavors, though obviously they are bigger, boldly expressive and not shy. As grape growers and winemakers, Steven and Brian, farm with sustainable and earth friendly practices and all of their estate grapes and other select vineyard sites, owned by growers, are cared for using a similar philosophy and embrace more holistic environmental practices. The wines are made with clean traditional methods and aged in quality French oak with a restrained use of new wood. Just 170 cases of the 2016 Crux Petite Sirah was produced and it was great to try a wine with some time on it to develop, and I can see this one drinking nicely for many years to come as well.
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Nicolas-Jay, Pinot Noir “L’Ensemble” Willamette Valley, Oregon.
I’ve been an eager fan of Nicolas-Jay wines, the joint partnership between famous Burgundy producer Méo-Camuzet’s Jean-Nicolas Méo and music entrepreneur Jay Boberg in Oregon, and was thrilled again to try one of the Pinots, this being their 2019 L’Ensemple, which even in a difficult vintage shows a fabulous purity, luxurious texture and seductive detail. Nicolas-Jay winemaker Tracy Kendall has again crafted a beauty here, showing off her touch and precision in the cellar, with this L’Ensemple showing off a dark crimson/ruby color in the glass, pretty florals, delicate spice, red berries and savory underbrush notes on the nose and a medium bodied silken palate of black cherry, vine picked mountain berry, strawberry and orange preserves, that is accented by baking spices, mineral, loamy earth, Earl Grey tea, rose petal and warm woodiness. For the L’Ensemble, Kendall carefully crafted an assemblage of individually fermented blocks of Pinot Noir sourced from some of the finest vineyards, which are all sustainably farmed and or organic, in the Willamette Valley. The production level on this is limited to vintage quality, where Kendall only uses the most texturally rich barrels for the L’Ensemple cuvée, with each parcel vinified separately. The traditionally made L’Ensemple saw careful cluster selection, de-stemming and a cool maceration on the skins with daily punchdowns during primary fermentation, after which the wine is aged in French oak barriques with typically 30-50% new used. For this cuvée it took multiple years of vineyard and winery trials to identify and isolate the subtle variations of each site Nicolas-Jay farms to capture a Pinot of distinctive charm and character, as seen here in this 2019 version.

Domaine Nicolas-Jay, Meo-Camuzet’s Oregon project, as mentioned in my prior reviews, which I first tried with their 2014, and again with the 2017s, is a partnership between famed Burgundy vigneron Jean-Nicolas Meo, of Domaine Meo-Camuzet, one of my favorites, renowned for wines like his Clos de Vougeot and his Vosne-Romanee bottlings, and the music and media mogul Jay Boberg, who co-founded IRS Records, was president of MCA/Universal Music and now heads Isolation Networks-INgrooves. The Domaine Nicolas-Jay owns a vineyard, Bishop’s Creek and sources from top growers in the Willamette as they build this label, I would think after this first success they’ll be around a long time and have more of their own vines. The other part of this story that shouldn’t be overlooked, is the work and achievement of their local winemaker Tracy Kendall, a young winemaker on the rise, coming from a three year stint as enologist at Adelsheim Vineyard, where she really was making some great stuff before joining up with Jean-Nicolas. Tracy has an impressive CV, with international experience, having worked harvests at Vasse Felix in Western Australia, Serisin in New Zealand as well as Kiwi Pinot specialist Felton Road before settling in Oregon. As I said about the 2014 and 2017 vintages, the Nicolas Jay wines have a Burgundian soulfulness, but are all Oregon in character close to what you’d expect from top producers like Beaux Freres, Domaine Drouhin, Brick House and others, don’t miss a chance to get a few bottles, and while this Pinot is lovely now, it should evolve nicely over the next 3 to 5 years. There’s a sense of Burgundy inspiration here with these Nicolas-Jay Pinots, especially in the style of Méo-Camuzet, but truly shine as great examples of the Willamette Valley terroir and I highly recommend them.
($75 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Russell Joyce, Vermentino, Cedar Lane Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County.
A perfect Summer wine, especially delicious with Monterey’s local cuisine and its beautiful coastal environment, this new 2023 Vermentino from Russell Joyce and Joyce Vineyards is a crisp and steely ultra pale white that delivers fresh tangerine, quince, white peach, preserved lemon and tart green apple fruits on the vivid light to medium bodied palate. There’s a sea shore salty quality that is mouth watering and subtle white blossoms, along with a touch of zingy herbs and verbena notes that add to this brilliantly detailed Vermentino. Joyce used a combination of stainless steel, neutral French oak and cement vat to ferment and age this wine, allowing for full transparency, fine leesy/almond notes, texture and refreshing acidity, thanks to an early bottling, to come through in perfect harmony and again helps show some of range of this Mediterranean grape, which can be either opulently textural or racy and Riesling like, depending on its pick dates, sugar levels and how it’s made. Consisting of just over 18,000 acres the Arroyo Seco AVA, home to Joyce Vineyards, is one of the smallest AVAs in California, but it has taken on a more important status in recent years, after being a very sleepy region since some of the vines were planted here by the famous Mirassou family in 1961, over two decades before the region received its AVA status. Named for its unique geographic features of an ancient waterway named “Arroyo Seco” which was a seasonal creek that brought rain water and snowmelt from what we now call the Santa Lucia Mountains and the Los Padres National Forrest to the Salinas Valley. Over the millenniums the pressure of this natural water-release created a diverse geography by dumping hundreds of thousands of rocks here and filling a deep subterranean aquifer with fresh water. The original appellation cited this unique terrain that formed the Arroyo Seco area as the distinct features that sets it apart and was the basis of the foundation of AVA’s boundaries.

Joyce Vineyards, which has become one of Monterey’s most recognizable labels, maybe best known for their value priced Submarine Canyon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as the original Carmel Valley Estate Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, now has a cult like following for the Russell Joyce Collection Gamay offerings. Russell also does a nice set of alternative whites, like this Vermentino, as well as his Chenin Blanc and Albarino, which is absolutely stunning in this 2023 vintage. The Cedar Lane Vermentino grapes, for Joyce’s almost electric shock dry wine, were harvested in idea cool temperatures from Mark Chesebro’s vines in the Arroyo Seco AVA, just south of the Santa Lucia Highlands bench. This AVA, one of Monterey’s oldest, was officially recognized in 1983, and is well known for having a lengthy growing season, giving ripe fruit, but with loads of energy, as the grapes retain lots of natural acidity. The strong daily winds that bring cool fog from the Monterey Bay, as seen in the SLH as well, as winemaker Russell Joyce explains, force the grapes to spend more time on the vine building flavor and complexity, for which his wines, like this one, are noted for. Extremely rocky well-drained alluvial soils are, as he continues, the base for creating wines processing a signature freshness and minerality. This terroir, at Cedar Lane in Arroyo Seco, with its combination of sand, granite, and shale loam soils, along with, as the winery adds, with the ever present marine influence, helps provide the perfect conditions for growing Vermentino, especially when, as I (or you) compare it to the similar conditions in the places that make for distinct versions of this grape, like Sardinia, Corsica and Liguria. This new Vermentino, again this vintage stays on learner side and begs for lighter cuisine, with oysters, clams, grilled sardines, sole and goat cheeses being ideal choices. Joyce, who uses only indigenous yeasts, prefers a natural vibrancy, authentic clarity and uses less oak on his white wines and this wine stays very faithful to that style, but takes to the next level.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Paitin, Barbaresco DOCG “Sorì Paitin” Serraboella, Piedmonte, Italy.
This vintage Paitin Barbaresco “Sorì Paitin” Serraboella is broad shouldered, dense and much more powerful than the previous two vintages, but no less attractive and rewarding, it again is slow to open, with classic Nebbiolo character, pretty rose oil florals, dried herbs and bay leaf on the nose and a palate of youthful and graceful layers of brandied cherry, damson plum, red currant and blood orange fruits. The “Sorì Paitin” Serraboella is accented with minty tea, leather, cedary wood, hoisin, baking spices, mineral tones, chalky stones and salty black licorice. All of which fold together with excellent detail, again similar to past efforts, taut tannin(s) underneath and an impressively long and lingering silken vinous feel and aftertaste. While the Paitin’s Barasin and regular Serraboella are extremely poised and rewarding wines, this one again rises above, making it always my first choice of the Paitin offerings, though I wouldn’t say no to any of them, and I highly recommend Nebbiolo fans grab this one. This Sorì Paitin Barbaresco needs some time to be its best, but with decanting it is drinking very confidently now, though like I have said before, I certainly believe this 2020 will gain loads more depth over the next 5 to 10 years. This Barbaresco comes from mature Nebbiolo vines that, as the winery notes, were planted between 1953 and 1980 and guyot trained, grown on sand and marl stratification called Formazioni di Lequio, which adds to the terroir expression here and makes this Barbaresco very compelling vintage after vintage. This wine is a favorite of collectors and this dark garnet/brick and ruby 2020 shows off this parcels most prized qualities, again this wine displays this terroir to almost perfection, it deserves its historic reputation and your full attention is required and a meal to celebrate it, with a hearty meat or mushroom dish to see all of its seductive charms in the glass.

Barbaresco’s Paitin, as noted here in my prior reviews, is based in Bricco di Neive, which is located very near the main Commune of Neive and set on ancient picturesque hillsides covered in vines, mostly Nebbiolo, and up nearly at a 1,000 feet above sea level. The notable Paitin winery was originally started back in 1796, when, as the winery notes, Benedetto Elia bought the estate, but things really got more serious after WWII when a later generation of the Elia family took over and rejuvenated and re-planted the vineyards, with a focus on quality and estate made wines. Paitin today has Giovanni and Silvano Pasquero Elia making the wines here, all sourced from sustainable vineyards farmed with organic and biodynamic methods in the Barbaresco zone. They produce a studied collection of wines, including Barbera, which is a sleeper in the lineup and one I also love and think highly of, plus a Freisa, which I haven’t yet tried, along with a Langhe Nebbiolo, which is a killer bargain, and these small lot Barbaresco offerings, as well as their prized Vecchie Vigne (old vine) Riserva. The Serraboella cru, one of the most prized sites in Barbaresco, is on the warmest slope, it is, as the winery explains, graced with unique soils, mentioned above, and is planted exclusively with Nebbiolo. The Sorì, which means the first place where the snow melts, is blessed with the first winter sun rays and allows for perfect ripening conditions. Paitin ferments and macerates the carefully sorted and de-stemmed Nebbiolo grapes, getting from 3 to 6 weeks in stainless steel, than, after which it finishes its maceration with what the winery calls the ancient technique of the submerged cap, which delivers full extraction of color and flavors. The Sorì Paitin Barbaresco is matured between 18 and 24 months in used wood, a combination of large casks, made of Slavonian and Austrian oak, with an average age of 15 years, to promote transparency, finesse and soften the tannin in the finished wines. These Paitin wines are serious and impressive efforts, I suggest getting to know them sooner versus later, especially this exciting “Sorì Paitin” Serraboella.
($68 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2023 Paysan, Rosé, Central Coast.
The Paysan Rosé, by Ian Brand, always seems to deliver the goods, it again has crisply dry and refreshingly delicious radiant fruit, spice and mineral tones in very confident and delicately pale salmon hued Mourvedre driven Provence style wine. Formerly know as Pierre’s Pirouette and with a playful cartoon label, the Paysan Rosé has joined the rest of Brand’s Paysan lineup with a new look with labels, that started last year, that better reflect the authentic nature and quality found in the bottle with an earthy feel and artist simplistic look, which I really like. The latest dry pink from Ian Brand and his team comes from selected vineyard sites to best produce this Bandol inspired wine with San Benito County and Monterey County forming the core here with 78% Mourvèdre, 11% Grenache and 11% Cinsault. This cool toned and refreshing 2023 Paysan Rosé shows off crushed raspberry, sour cherry, ruby grapefruit, watermelon and orange fruits along with steely wet stones, dried herbs, rosewater and saline notes. This is just what the doctor ordered for Summer days ahead and it will go great with beach sunsets and picnics, as well as being a great aperitif and poolside sipper. As mentioned before, Brand, a noted geology (dirt) geek and vineyard whisperer has found some incredible vineyards to craft his collection of Paysan, La Marea and signature I. Brand & Family wines, with his latest Paysan Sauvignon Blanc and Rhone Blend Le P’Tit Pape, Le Marea Albarino and the I. Brand & Winery Grenache, Bay Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings being some of my personal favorites.

Much the same as last year’s 2022 and the 2021 Le P’Tit Paysan Rosé “Pierre’s Pirouette” this 2023 Paysan Rosé by Ian Brand & Family Winery, based in Salinas California, is a blend of mainly the mentioned Mourvedre, along with with a small bit of Grenache and Cinsault, this time around, that adds complexity and vibrancy in a wine that is a tasty local favorite. The quality to price ratio here is outstanding and this Rosé joins a select group of California pink wines that deliver an almost Mediterranean influenced like character, including exceptional offerings by Arnot-Roberts, Bedrock, Tribute to Grace and Stars & Dust, all worth chasing down and enjoying this coming Summer. The direct press Rosé saw stainless steel fermentation, seeing only a few hours of skin contact, and tank aging with no malos, it was cold stabilized and sterile filtered and was bottled early to preserve intensity and vitality. The grapes are usually picked early and benefits from that fresh acidity and the stony/mineral elements that come from, what Brand calls, the calcium rich Aguajito Shale as well as the calcareous alluvial soils. There’s a tons to admire and like here with Ian’s current set of wines and some new varietals in the mix that are very intriguing, like the recently reviewed Verdelho, Arneis, Cabernet Pfeffer and Escolle Vineyard Gamay Noir, along with Brand’s all new and exciting Flint Vineyard Pinot Noir, which comes from a limestone influenced site not far from the famous Calera and near Mount Harlan. That said, Ian’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Albarino and Grenache bottlings are also absolutely brilliant wines, not to miss either.
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Dr. Loosen, Riesling Trocken, Ürziger Würzgarten VDP Grosse Gewächs, Alte Reben, Mosel, Germany.
Following the outstanding 2020 version and the 2015 Reserve Ürziger Würzgarten GG, both that I’ve had recently, the latest 2022 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten GG dry Riesling again was outstanding, it is pure, distinctive and expressively terroir driven. The spicy and slatey mineral elements lead the way here in this Grand Cru dry Riesling, giving a burst of exotic fruit, crisp acidity and delicate tropical notes, adding a nice background from which can shine with tangerine, white peach, kiwi and tart green apple fruits, as well as wet flinty stones, rosewater, a touch of verbena and lychee accents. As always the case here, the old vine Ürziger Würzgarten GG is bone dry, but still wonderfully generous and richly textural in the mouth. There’s a serious sense of palate impact in the glass that is absolutely thrilling, this vintage might be the best I’ve tried from Loosen, it has a fine balance and age worthy structure, even now it delivers almost perfection. Grosses Gewächs (GG) means “great growth” and is the designation for an estate’s best dry wine, or Trocken, with grapes coming exclusively from a Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyard site as recognized by the VDP. The iconic Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling GG is, as the winery notes, one of the most famous in the Mosel, that has a special parcel of old vines (“Alte Reben”) that lies directly behind the village that are exclusive to Loosen. This block is still referred to by its historical name, Urglück and these vines are about 120 years old now and are sustainably farmed to allow for concentration, transparency and crystalline purity, which is on display in this magnificent pale straw hued wine.

The Ürziger Würzgarten, which translates to the “Spice Garden”, as mentioned in prior notes is a celebrated steep vineyard and Loosen’s vines are highly coveted for the intensity of the fruit and the historic nature of the place. This Grosses Gewachs, as noted above, sees the exclusive use of the un-grafted old vines, they are up to 120 years old and located in a plots which rise up from behind the Ürzig Village and set on this vineyard’s famous red volcanic veined soils, sandstone and weathered slate. That gives the wines its distinctive delicate aromas, generous fruit and those exotic spices. As mentioned often here, the legendary Ernst Loosen, a larger than life figure in the world of wine, took control of his family’s over 200 hundred year old Mosel estate in 1988, that was blessed with some awesome steep, primarily slate dominated vineyards of very old un-grafted old Riesling vines. He makes an incredible collection of traditional wines from Kabinett to Auslese, as well as his Dry offerings, like this one, from some of the Mosel’s best sites. The Loosen Grand Cru GG’s are fermented with indigenous yeasts in traditional 1,000-liter Fuder casks and are matured on the full lees for 12 months with no bâtonnage (or stirring of the lees), making for expressive, stylish and profound wines, with this Dry Ürziger Würzgarten GG being one of the favorites. Again, there is a lot to like here at Loosen and these 2022s are looking good and this wine in particular will be very rewarding for many years to come. I always highly recommend exploring the whole set of offerings from Dr. Loosen, they are impeccably crafted and offer tons of personality and value across the board.
($60 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive

2022 Sandlands Vineyards, Carignane, Contra Costa, California.
The latest version of Sandlands Contra Ccosta Carignane delivers tons of personality, ripe concentration and complexity, while still being simply delicious, with its dark purple/garnet color and blackberry, blueberry, plum and black cherry fruits on the medium/full smooth bodied palate. The background accents include brambly spices, a touch of earthy loam, sandalwood, delicate florals and anise, all of which adds to the pleasure this wine offers in the glass, again making it one of my favorite Carignane bottlings. The Cariognane or Carignan grape, usually found in blends, is one of the Châteauneuf du Pape varietals, but is also found in the wines from Corbieres, Minervois, Fitou, Maury, Saint-Cinian, Pic Saint Loup, and Faugères, in the Languedoc and the Rhône regions of France primarily, but can be found in the heritage California vineyards where it usually finds itself with Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Mourvédre. This Sandlands Carignane, from ancient vines set in deep Delphi sand in the Contra Costa region, is crafted with traditional handmade care and sees a minimalist approach in the cellar and aged with used wood to promote fresh detail and transparency. This Contra Costa Carignane and the Lodi version are great examples of this varietal, which can be similar to Zinfandel, though darker in profile and with some good underlying tannic structure, while retaining fresh acidity, even in warmer climates.

For these Sandlands wines, as mentioned before, winemaker Tegan Passalaqua, who is the vineyard manager and head winemaker at the famous Turley Wine Cellars, uses restraint and employs a light touch in the cellar here with most bottlings being small wines made with indigenous yeasts and lots of whole cluster. Along with an old school maceration(s) with hand punch downs, basket pressing and with the aging being done in well used barrels, mostly French oak. California wine enthusiasts are re-discovery Lodi and other region’s historic old vines, like here in Contra Costa County, with many vineyards being well over 100 years old, set on well draining sandy soils, which is what many of California’s best vineyards have. The Sandlands line-up encompasses these forgotten classic California varieties, like Carignane, primarily grown in decomposed granite (sand), as seen here, from regions and vineyards that have been farmed, as Passalaqua notes, for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. Coming from primarily head-trained, dry-farmed and own rooted 100 year old plus vines, as Tegan continues, that harken back to California’s roots of exploration, wonder, and hard work. There’s a lot to admire and enjoy here with Tegan’s Sandlands Vineyards wines, I especially love this Carignane, along with his Mataro from Contra Costa, the Chenin Blanc and the Cinsault, another offering I really love.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Holman Ranch Estate Winery & Vineyard, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Susan’s Saignée, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
The vibrant, steely crisp and refreshing pale salmon hued Susan’s Saignée Rosé of Pinot Noir from Holman Ranch in Camel Valley is a delectable and tasty Spring and Summer treat with a bright array of bone dry flavors, including racy ruby grapefruit, peach flesh, watermelon, sour cherry, wet stones, tart herbs, saline and rosewater. This light to medium bodied Rosé certainly captures the 2023 growing season perfectly and has loads of personality, it can be enjoyed on its own, for Summer sipping, as an aperitif and or with a meal. As mentioned in my more recent tasting of Holman Ranch, there’s a lot to get excited about, with the quality of their wines really jumping up in the latest two vintages, especially with the main estate Pinot Noirs, but even with the rare Syrah, the Pinot Gris and this Rosé seeing step up. This property is a gorgeous piece of land with a sunny exposure and blessed with cool ocean breezes that continuously flow in from the Carmel Bay and the cold Pacific Ocean, making for a prime location for Burgundian varietals, helped further by the chalky stone strewn terrain with California shale/sandstone and loam soils. Pinot Noir Rosé wines can be found in a wide range of styles, but this one is right in between a Provence Rosé and a Burgundy or Marsannay style version, staying on the drier side of things, which I enjoy best.

The winery notes that a prolonged cool period of weather during set proved positive, as the vines were able to develop slowly with above-average yields in the vineyard and wonderfully healthy fruit overall, as was the case state wide. The cool Spring weather gave way to a very moderate Summer, delaying the start of harvest to a record late pick, and while nervous, winemakers here and other places were rewarded with an extra degree of depth and concentration, while having loads of acidity and low to moderate alcohols. This all makes for an exceptional year to stock up on, and these early release wines, especially the Rosé and the Pinot Gris from Holman Ranch are some of best done to date at this property. Winemakers, father and son, Greg and Chris Vita, who have farmed and made the wines here since the beginning, crafted this Rosé using a gentle long bladder pressing, without any skin maceration and fermented it exclusively in cool stainless steel. This one sees just about three months on the lees in tank before cold settling and bottling, all to keep things tightly focused and extra fresh on release. Interestingly this wine, only 500 cases made, usually comes from particular blocks of Dijon 667 and 777 clones, that are nicely suited for the earlier picks and allows for just about 12.6% natural alcohol, keeping it finely balanced and eager to please.
($38 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2018 Yacoubian-Hobbs, Areni, Vayots Dzor, Armenia.
The Armenian red from Paul Hobb’s intriguing project there is a dark ruby/garnet medium bodied and spicy wine that really reminds me of Fronton (Negrette) with its peppery and briar berry notes, with this Areni (grape) giving some floral and earthy elements, showing off a core of plum and Italian cherry on the pure, un-oaked and mineral toned smoothy textured palate. There’s some distinctive herbal notes and some nice acidity, from the high elevation vineyards that are not far from Armenia’s iconic Mount Ararat, it is a pleasing wine that is simple to understand and best served with rustic cuisine choices. I’ve only had a few wines from this small country which as far as the modern wine world knows, maybe the oldest wine caves yet discovered with some dating back more than 6,000 years. We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface on the history of winemaking in Armenia, but in more recent times, especially under Soviet rule, the country has been much more famous for Brandy, which I’ve had a few times both here and in my visit Moscow, where it is very popular. Still wines are a rarity in the States, so I was excited to find this Paul Hobbs example, knowing his penchant for clean and precise winemaking, and I was not disappointed, though I do still want to find a few authentic versions to compare. I’ve long been fascinated with the wines of the Caucasus Mountains and Eastern Europe/Western Asia, with Armenia, which, together with the Republic of Georgia, long believed to be the birthplace of viticulture and (the) public wine trade.

Paul Hobbs, famous for his elite Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and his team at Yacoubian-Hobbs sourced the hand harvested grapes from the Rind vineyard, in the Vayots Dzor region, located over 1,300 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level, where the vines grow on, the mentioned, mineral rich volcanic soils with limestone deposits. The Areni, a native and ancient varietal, is blended with a small percentage of the even more rare indigenous Armenian variety Tozot to add some complexity, which I trust the Hobbs team painstakingly researched and came up with the ideal percentage. The wine was 100% de-stemmed and cool fermented and macerated to extract the color and allow for transparent aromatics and flavors in stainless tanks. After the wine was fermented dry it was then aged 20 months in the stainless steel tanks, again to promote all the raw nuances and terroir here. This vintage, which I assume was pretty normal, warm and ripe, comes in at a healthy 14.5% natural alcohol, though it doesn’t feel quite that hot and again with a hearty meal it is an impressive and unique wine. Finding the Vayots Dzor region is not an easy trek, it is a province of Armenia that sits in the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, an unfriendly neighbor, to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east, with a rugged mountainous backdrop and incredibly remote villages. That said, even though it is a long way from Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, it is dotted with ancient Monasteries and is well known in Country for the quality of the wines and local cuisine.
($39 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Sandro Fay, Valtellina Superiore DOCG “Il Glicine” Lombardy, Italy.
Another new producer to me, Sandro Fay, is from the Valtellina region and does a full selection of Nebbiolo based wines, with this Il Glicine Superiore being an excellent example and the one I got my hands on first, which impressed me with its elagant class, depth and elegant array of pure Nebbiolo fruit and mineral charms. I’m a big fan of Valtellina and its Nebbiolo, that the locals call Chiavennasca, and I’m always excited to try the wines from here, especially from the Cru Villages, which are mainly the Grumello, Sassella and Inferno sites, as well as the rare Sforzato, an Amarone style version, but that said this Sandro Fay, with its lovely aromatics and almost Barbaresco like personality is fabulous stuff. I found this wine to have a medium to full bodied palate and while youthful, very silken in texture with mix of red fruit and savory influences in the mouth revolving around brandied cherry, damson plum, spiced raspberry and earthy mulberry fruits, along with pipe tobacco, a hint of leather, crushed granite, licorice, rose petals, orange peel and tangy herbs. Everything comes together beautifully here and even with its concentration and underlying tannic structure it feels heavenly light and lingers on and on, this is wine that that never puts a food wrong and makes for an exciting companion to a long leisurely meal, where it can entertain and reveal all of its complexity. The Sandro Fay winery, originally founded in 1973, sustainably farms 15 hectares in the Valtellina region of Lombardy, with vineyards that are located throughout the picturesque terraced hillsides that seemingly climb all the way up to the Alps. The wines of Sandro Fay, each of which is uniquely distinct are influenced, as the winery says, by the effects of altitude, soils and exposure of the parcels. This dark ruby and brick hued Il Glicine comes from the sandy soils of the Sassella sub-zone, up at 350 Meters, in the commune of Sondrio and was made with fermentation in stainless steel tank, after which it was aged for 12 months in a combination of larger wood casks, usually some 30HL and 500L oak barrels.

The remote Valtellina region, as mentioned in my prior notes, is a high Alpine valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland and renown for its mountain Nebbiolo wines, which have really gained worldwide attention in recent times, even though this area has flourished since Roman times. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Valtellina region belonged to what was know as the Three Leagues (the “Grey Leagues”), which was then a mutual-defense zone that was independent of Switzerland, but was part the easternmost Swiss Canton of Graubünden. This remote area in which German, Romansh, Lombard and Italian languages are all spoken, the region became known variously as Veltlin, or Westtirol (West Tyrol) in the 1800s, but now proudly Italian. Interestingly, because of Valtellina’s remote location and easy to defend terrain, during the last months of World War II, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and other diehard fascist leaders of the Italian Social Republic (RSI) proposed making a “last stand” against the advancing Allied forces in the Valtellina, but their plans never got a chance to came into being and the area became much more well known for its wine culture. As noted, In Valtellina, the wines are mostly made from Chiavennasca (the local name of Nebbiolo), along with some percentage other local varieties such as Rossola Nera of which is permitted up to 20% in the DOC and just 10% for the DOCG bottlings like this one. Grapes, by local rules must be small yields for the utmost quality and the finished wines have to be aged for at least 24 months prior to their release or three 3 years if labeled a Riserva bottling, also they need to be at least 11% natural alcohol. The yields for the DOCG wines are restricted as well to promote concentration, with requirements of a minimum alcohol level for the DOCG wine at 12%, with this wine seeing 14% natural alcohol. Again, as mentioned before, Valtellina is a great place to find distinctive Nebbiolo and I highly recommend looking for this one from Sandro Fay. I will be following these Sandro Fay wines and am excited to explore their full range in the near future!
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Division Winemaking Co. – La Frontière, Sauvignon Blanc, Oregon.
The pure, energy filled and mineral driven pale gold Division-Villages “La Frontière” Sauvignon Blanc is joyous expression of the varietal, from what might be an unexpected place, but it certainly shows the promise of the grape in Oregon with bright gooseberry, lemon/lime and tangy white peach and quince fruit and steely/stony notes, sourgrass, herb and delicate leesy quality. This really reminds me of Pouilly-Fumé (Loire Valley) and feels exciting on the medium bodied palate, austere in the best way and more complex than you’d usually see at this price point, making it a great alternative to many generic domestic and imported versions of this grape. There’s a lot to like here, with this La Frontière, it goes great with food and is an interesting Summer sipper, it is sourced from all organic vineyards and made with this Portland based urban winery’s natural style winemaking, fitting nicely in their collection of wines. Cool fermented and aged in neutral vessels on the fine lees, nothing is hidden or heavy handed here, this is delightful stuff to enjoy over the next few years.

The Division La Frontiere is 100% Sauvignon Blanc by winemaker Kate Noris comes from two main vineyard sources that provide a perfect Ying and Yang balance and gives the wine a distinctive personality. Part one is a small certified organic vineyard on Jory, Yamhill & Woodburn soils in the Eola-Amity Hills, planted in in 2006, which that makes up about half of the “La Frontière” along with the certified organically farmed Allegre Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, planted to unique Fruilian clones, in the Columbia Gorge, making up, as the winery notes, the remaining half of this cuvée. Noris has done a brilliant job here, highlighting her talents and touch with this transparent and lively Sauvignon Blanc, a varietal they themselves were a bit uncertain of, but one that has really turned out delightful. The winery says, that there’s a fine line between the finest Sauvignon Blanc wines and well, not-so-good Sauvignon Blanc, and that they were skeptics too, but now they believe they have found magic in the Oregon terroir and its soils, which is mineral rich, especially in the volcanic Willamette Valley site they have. I’ve been a fan of Division for a few years now and I think Noris has upped the game, I recommend checking this winery out, this Sauvignon Blanc and the latest Pinot are delicious wines.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Sandro De Bruno, Soave DOC, Colli Scaligeri, Veneto, Italy.
The upper end cru bottling, this straw/gold hued and textural Colli Scaligeri Soave, from Sandro De Bruno is a beautiful and substantial white that carries itself with the class of a Premier Cru White Burgundy showing of a bit of reduction, leesy mouth feel and mineral charm, making for a very stylish effort. The medium to full bodied palate rotates between lemony citrus, apple and fleshy apricot fruits, along with background notes of almond paste, herbs, clove, wet rock, orange blossom and muskmelon, and opening up, it adds a touch of earth, tropical essences, very subtle waxy/oily notes and a round opulence, but it stays lively and has just the right amount of tension, this is an excellent wine, especially with sea foods, lighter dishes and creamy farm cheeses. The third generation Sandro De Bruno Winery, all new to me, based in the volcanic Lessini Mountains, between Montecchia di Crosara and Terrossa di Roncà, is run by Tasoniero Sandro and his wife Ferraretto Marina, with this label being founded in 2002. The Sandro De Bruno winery employs sustainable agricultural techniques and with an eye on the protection of the natural environment and create healthy soils.

The Sandro de Bruno Soave DOC Colli Scaligeri is 100% Garganega from 35 year old south-facing vineyards at between 150-300 Meters above sea level on mineral rich and salty volcanic soils, which gives this Cru wine its personality and terroir distinction. Thanks to the volcanic soils that host the vineyards, the winery says that grapes, from vines in the Roncà and Montecchia di Crosara zones, transmit very pleasant mineral and savory notes, which alternate with fruity-tropical scents, intense flowers and aromatic herbs. The Garganega grapes were all de-stemmed and saw a cold skin maceration in a closed press for 12/18 hours and got a gentle soft pressing at low temperatures. The winery explains that the pure free-run juice gets settled for a short period before the fermentation. After the stainless steel fermentation, with what the winery calls the noble lees preserved for close to 18 months, with a weekly bâtonnage, (stirring) which adds to the gravitas in this expressive example of Soave. Sandro says his mission is to create wines capable of preserving local tradition and expressing the identity of the territory, as he strongly believes in respect for nature, time and tradition. I will certainly start following this label and while quite rare in the states, I recommend searching the Sandro De Bruno wines out.
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Margins Wine, Grenache, Paicines AVA, San Benito County.
It was a pleasure to taste through the Margins latest releases with winemaker Megan Bell, definitely a star on the Central Coast, including a preview of her fabulous 2023 Paicines Grenache, which shows off the most beautiful purity of fruit, lovely aromatics, delicate pale ruby/violet hue, sultry earthiness and mineral tones on a fine silken medium bodied palate. Much like the prior 2022 version, there’s a pinot like seductive quality and low alcohol brightness with strawberry, cherry, bramble berry and tangy plum fruits, all accented perfectly by some savory notes, wild fennel, herbs and grilled orange rind. This 2023 Grenache was, again, sourced from organic, regenerative and holistic vines at the Paicines Ranch Vineyard, which was originally planted in the 1960s in San Benito, set on sandy soils that contains a lot of limestone and decomposed granite. For her Grenache, like last year, Margins Wine(s)’ Megan Bell, used 100% de-stemmed grapes that were native yeast fermented on their skins for nine days with a gentle maceration. After which the Grenache was aged in neutral oak for just about 4 and a half months, before being bottled quickly with no fining or filtration, with only a small dose of sulfur, all to preserve purity and freshness. This is delightful translucent stuff and while still vibrantly youthful, it is easy to enjoy now and should be very pleasing for 3 to 5 years, it will be great served slightly chilled durning the warm Summer months and will be joyful with a wide array of cuisine, from poultry to meat dishes and or picnic and BBQ. Megan’s talents on display with these new offerings, in particular her Chenin Blanc, her Rosy Wake vin gris, the Neutral Oak Hotel red, and this distinctive Grenache.

The Margins Wineery, as mentioned here recently, is a small lot and mostly organic label of Megan Bell, a winemaker, who is focused on lesser known varietals, sustainable and hidden places, living and working mainly in the Santa Cruz Mountains. These wines are infectious and delightfully quaffable, but are serious too, with a true respect of place and varietal, in the same way Tegan Passalacqua’s Sandlands Vineyards wines are. Bell says, prior to settling on the central coast of California, she received her BS in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis in 2012 and apprenticed in wineries and vineyards in Napa, the Livermore Valley, the Willamette Valley, Central Otago (NZ), and the Loire Valley (France), all of which has given her perspective and helped her find her path to success. She is on a mission, being part of the growing movement in California to make low-intervention wines using grapes from underrepresented regions from vineyards, that she explains, are farmed organically or in organic conversion using minimal additives during the winemaking process, thereby showcasing the vineyards the grapes came from, like this Paicines Grenache. The Paicines Ranch Vineyard, Megan says, is home to a host of unique programs, including holistic planned grazing of cattle and sheep, organic minimum-till vegetable production, academic research studies, and educational workshops, and provides her with top notch grapes, including Grenache, but also Assyrtiko, an awesome Greek white grape, which I cannot wait to try and Verdejo, the Spanish grape most commonly found in Rueda. It is an exciting time to explore Megan’s Margins Wines, especially her 2023s, with many cool offerings available that I highly recommend searching out.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Montalbera, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG “Laccento” Piedmonte, Italy.
I usually begin by saying, the rare and beautiful Ruché, native to the Piemonte region, is a grape that produces one of the most perfumed red wines in the world, and the Montalbera is especially aromatic with layers of flowers and incense leading to a medium bodied palate of cherry, strawberry and bitter dark chocolate with hints of anise, pepper and candied fruits. The nose is like bathing in rose oil while rose petals shower you like the poster from American Beauty while a touch of mineral and truffle play in the background. This 2021 vintage of Montalbera’s Ruché is much the same, but a touch bigger, structured and expressive in the mouth, almost Nebbiolo like and definitely riper in fruit density. Montalbera’s Ruchè, which I love, is more high profile and has more availability stateside and maybe setting the standard for quality, at least in what I’ve tasted so far. For most of its history in Piemonet, the Ruché grape has been cultivated in relative obscurity, but now the secret is out and there plenty of excitement for it at home and even abroad, like here in California, where excitingly, ex Bonny Doon founder Randall Grahm is planting some Ruchè for his Popelouchum estate in San Juan Bautista and a few other people have planted a few acres. Montalbera’s Morando Family has been passionately making wine from their grapes and vineyards in the Monferrato and Langhe for three generations, crafting this bottling with 80% regular picks and 20% late picks to add some depth and intensity as this Laccento shows.

Ruchè is a mysterious grape once believed to have originated in the hills northeast of the town of Asti and I haven’t encountered too many notable versions, as noted, here in the states, especially as it is made in very low numbers and not imported often, though when done right it can be exceptional and very memorable. It is without question best from Castagnole Monferrato and that is highlighted with its full DOCG status there. The Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato terroir is similar to Barolo and is up at about 200 meters with classic limestone soils with some hardened clay, sand and mineral sediments all of which add to the complexity and balance here. The fermentations are tricky with Ruché, which is quite the diva grape, and that was almost its downfall, though now it is very much appreciated for is unique qualities. The exact originsof Ruchè, as mentioned, are still unknown with ampelographers holding different theories, with two most prominent theories, one being it an indigenous Langhe grape, always been native to the Piemonte region or that it originated in Burgundy and was brought to Piemonte sometime in the 18th century, though that idea seems a touch far fetched, in my view, as I have yet to see a grape similar in character in that part of France. The best way to express Ruché is through clean and cool stainless steel fermentation and aging with it having very little use for oak, and then bottled within 8 to 10 months, as seen here. I first had the Montalbera Ruché 10 vintages ago, and it is still one I’m always looking forward to.
($29 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Samuel Louis Smith, Gamay Noir, Escolle Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The 2022 Samuel Louis Smith Gamay Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands’ Escolle Vineyard is a dark electric ruby hued Cru Beaujolais inspired effort of class, verve and excitement with ripe plum, strawberry, black raspberry and tangy currant fruits, which are Gamay juicy, but not bubble gum or cotton candy like, accented with smoky mineral, a touch of brambly spice, crushed lilacs, earthy loam, crunchy stems, wild herbs and fennel notes. Winemaker Sam Smith, who’s talents are on full display with his latest set of releases, used 75% whole-cluster here and employed about 25% carbonic maceration with a native yeast fermentation that was started by a pied de cuve from the vineyard. Smith adds that after a seven day carbonic fermentation the wine was racked to wood where the Gamay saw a 7 months élévage in 100% neutral French oak barrels, to capture freshness, purity of varietal and transparency, with bottling done unfined and unfiltered. Sam, as he notes, is dedicated to sourcing fruit from the most distinctive, sustainably and organically farmed vineyards, highlighting the best of the Central Coast’s mostly cool climate mountainous sites. Smith, who produces about 1,000 cases annually, made close to 5 and a half barrels of his Gamay with this ’22 vintage, ending up with just 135 cases. This vintage is rounder and more complete than the debut release and really hits all the right notes, comparing well with some of the modern classics from Fleurie, Morgan and Brouilly and certainly on par with the best Gamay offerings on the west coast, impressive stuff again from a winemaker that continues to raise the bar with each new wine. This vibrant and delicately perfumed Gamay, joins some fine efforts locally as well as other top producers of this varietal in California, and it should age nicely for another few years, but is absolutely delicious in this window. Everyone is already buzzing about 2023, which might be the best ever vintage for California Gamay, and I am super excited to see what comes out, especially as I’m a huge fan of this grape.

Coming off the Escolle Vineyard, which is located in the northern section of the Santa Lucia Highlands, which is what Sam Smith calls an 18 mile-long northeast facing bench in the windswept Salinas Valley, this wine is perfect suited to the climate and soils conditions here, with good beam of acidity, briar spice and silken texture. The SLH mountainside appellation here divides the Santa Lucia mountain range to the west from the Salinas Valley floor to the east, given to long consistent growing seasons, again which does Gamay well. With its incredibly cool climate thanks to nearby Monterey Bay, Sam says the pairing of granitic loam and new graftings of Gamay Noir at Escolle is what he calls an SLH renaissance, or a marriage made in heaven. His Samuel Louis Smith is a micro-négociant label, now based in Salinas, CA, is focused on some of the coolest sites of the Central Coast, most with Mountainous terroir and organic viticulture. As with this wine, Smith uses minimal intervention in the cellar, explaining these things are tenets of his brand. The collection includes Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Pinot Noir, and cool-climate Syrah (mostly single varietal versions) sourced from Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Santa Cruz, with a set of small batch grower fizz, Champagne style sparkling wines, to come out soon. According to Sam these offerings embody a neoclassical style where lower alcohol and higher acidity, stem inclusion in the reds, and native fermentations with little to no additions of SO2 create wines of place and purity, aroma and structure. Sam has worked in Santa Barbara (Brander, Tres Hermanas, Margerum), Australia (Mitchelton), the Willamette Valley (Tendril), the Northern Rhône (Villard), and most recently in Champagne (Nowack & Sélèque). After being head winemaker of Morgan Winery since 2016, a pioneer of organic viticulture in the Santa Lucia Highlands Sam is now moving on to focus on his label and get closer to the vines themselves, so expect new adventures, watch this space, in the meantime check out his latest stuff.
($37 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Castello di Perno, Barbera, Nizza DOCG, Piemonte, Italy.
I absolutely fell in love with this 2018 Nizza DOCG by Castello di Perno, who are mostly known for their cru (Perno) Barolo, and tasting it blind I almost thought it too was Barolo or Nebbiolo, such is the unique personality and elegant power in this 100% Barbera. This finely balanced, but firmly structured 2018 has lovely rose and subtle violet aromas to go with an earthy and sultry bouquet that transfers to the palate with black raspberries, damson plums, brandied Italian cherries and red currants leading the way on this medium to full bodied wine, along with hints of leather, sandalwood, wild herbs, licorice and a touch of loam and briar spiced underbrush. This is an enthusiasts Barbera that drinks like Burgundy, with concentration and depth, but with a lighter saturation of color, this wine is a thrilling bottle with a fine tension between opulence and savory elements. Nizza is Piemonte’s sole Barbera DOCG only cru area and this wine, with its distinctive charm is perfect example of why you need to discover it! An ancient Castle in the hills above Monforte d’Alba, Castello di Perno was a lesser known property in Barolo, but after Giorgio Gitti purchased it and the estate in 2012 from the famous Einaudi family things started to get exciting and these wines are great discoveries. Nizza, near Monferrato, which was promoted to DOCG status 10 years ago in 2014, a hilly region that sees good exposures and that originated from the lifting of the ancient seabed and has prime calcareous soils with sandy-clay marls and stratified sandstones, all the better to make rich and complex wines from the Barbera grape.

For their Nizza DOCG Barbera, Castello di Perno does 100% de-stemming of the berries, then does a 48 hour cold maceration and spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel tank with the maceration lasting close to 25 days at controlled temperatures to preserve crisp details and aromatics. After the fermentation the Barbera is then aged 14 months in French oak Tonneaux, but then before bottling the wine does a short period in concrete vat to harmonize the finished wine and then settles at least 6 months in bottle before release. Interestingly, a few years back now, the officials in Asti decided to call their best Barbera zone “Nizza” and giving it a full DOCG, elevating the tiny region up, above the Barbera di Asti designation and with a higher set of standards in the production. The rules say, Nizza DOCGs must be a minimum of 13%, but usually you’ll see them closer to 14.5%, along with farming to lesser yields and strict aging requirements, 6 months in wood in the normale and 12 moths for Riservas, which are super rare, though this one qualifies. Then wood elevage helps smooth out the acidity, which Barbera, like Pinot Noir, is known for, and in a year such as this, it makes for version that reaches otherworldly seductive quality. Admiringly I am nuts for a good Barbera, especially those by Luca Curado (formerly of Vietti), Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta and Giuseppe Vajra, so when I found this one in my glass recently Became very happy and smitten with it and highly recommend Castello di Perno, for this Nizza and the Nebbiolo bottlings as well, especially the Perno Cru Barolo, plus their rare Nascetta, which is an indigenous white varietal that you don’t often here in states.
($40 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Martha Stoumen, Out of the Meadow, White Wine, Suisun Valley, California.
A beautiful and Summery dry white wine made from a uniquely Californian blend of Chenin Blanc, Vermentino, Trousseau Gris, Green Hungarian and Chasselas Doré by Martha Stoumen, who calls this wine a historic field blend from grapes sourced from the Suisun Valley just East of the Napa Valley. Martha Stoumen, based in Sebastopol, makes an intriguing set of wines that are distinctive and celebrate California’s diversity of grapes and terroirs, inspired by her work with European natural wine producers, where she spent years fine tuning her craft and gaining insight before returning to California to produce her own wines. Her approach is based on her respect for nature and the gifts of the older generation that bravely planted such a wide range of grapes here, as seen in this wine, and her fermentations are done with indigenous yeasts and hands off winemaking methods, but with extra care and precision as to make for the highest quality and clarity as possible. This wine is bright and fresh with uninteresting array of aromas and flavors with subtle earthiness and juicy acidity, it shows off white blossoms, salty sea shore, mineral tones and a touch of zesty spiciness that lifts a core of apple, peach, lemon/lime and passion fruit. There’s a joy in drinking this wine, with its tangy, slightly savory (maybe a touch of skin contact?) and juicy character and it is wonderfully transparent in its soulful expression, it is not overly complex or too geeky, drink this now and for the next year. Stoumen uses neutral vessels to craft her wines and while she uses oak, it is very subtle and has almost no effect on the wines purity of flavors, which is evident here, and I would suggest having food with her wines to bring out all the best from them, with this one being exceptional with soft creamy farm cheeses and lighter style cuisine.

As noted here, the Martha Stoumen label was founded in 2014, and Martha will be celebrating a decade with this upcoming harvest, she started this natural California project by exploring warm and breezy regions that allow for organic and holistic farming. She was thrilled to find a handful of dedicated farmers, primarily growing Mediterranean grapes in the Ukiah area of Mendocino County, Contra Costa County and Suisun Valley that have formed the backbone of her collection. Martha, as she notes, also found two traditionally planted, head trained, dry farmed vineyards that she now leases, that she farms, which now make up close to 25% of her production, sites that include unique Italian varietals like Nero d’Avola and Negroamaro. I’ve been a fan of these wines for awhile now and really enjoy Martha’s reds, with her Carignan, Syrah, Zin blend and especially her Nero d’Avola being my favorites, but this Out of the Meadow white definitely is a charmer and a fun alternative white. As Martha explains, after 8 years apprenticing around the world, including under Giusto Occhipinti at COS Winery in Sicily, hence her passion for Nero d’Avola, she set out as a self-funded, first generation winemaker to answer the question, “What does California taste like?” In this hot little corner of Northern California, she believes these Mediterranean grapes thrive and the healthy vineyards allow her to create ripe and joyfully balanced wines. Martha continues that her approach the winemaking process, which includes the utmost care and cleanliness in the cellar is done with patience and looking after the details – no shortcuts (are taken) for this ancient process. The results of which are authentic and tasty wines, such as this one, and as a heads up, Martha says her just to be released 2023, with its long cool growing season, is even better!
($40 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Brooks Winery, Riesling, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
There is lots of excitement at Brooks Winery these days and it was great to see Janie Brooks Heuk, who runs this innovative Oregon winery that specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling and who just announced her long time assistant winemaker, Claire Jarreau, is taking the lead role here and comes into this with tons of passion, experience and precision. As Claire looks to raise the bar here at Brooks after finishing her first harvest in charge with the 2023s, I got a chance to sample through the current releases, all of which are delicious and soulful examples, making me think there will be something even more special coming down the road. The pale green/straw and gold 2021 Willamette Valley Dry Riesling from Brooks is a dynamic, vivid and crystalline wine with mineral and acidity leading the way on the taut lighter bodied palate with racy lime, unripe tart peach, muskmelon, crisp green apple and quince fruit, all accented nicely with loamy/stony notes, saline, oyster shell, lemon oil, delicate white flowers, herbs and sour grass. Mouth watering and zippy, this Riesling is refreshing and bracing, so best to match it up with your Summer cuisine and raw foods. This Willamette Valley Riesling comes from a selection of vineyard site across the region and a complex mix of mineral rich and marine sediment soils, including mature vines at the Hyland Vineyard, which certainly adds some pedigree here, even in small does. Janie is a big advocate for sustainable practices and has certified her estate in biodynamic framing, and focuses on organic grapes from non-estate sources, as seen here.

The Brooks Winery, founded by the late Jimi Brooks, who tragically passed away much too young, and based in the Willamette Valley’s Amity-Eola Hills, as mentioned here and beyond, is an inspirational tale starting with passion, leading to heartbreak, then to love of family and responsibility to community. As I’ve said before I’m honored to have had an early look in on this great journey in American wine and it was a pleasure to catch up with Janie Brooks Heuck and taste through the new releases. The Brooks wines, up until this vintage have been made by Chris Williams, who as a winemaker believed in low intervention and traditional methods, and the wines are lovely, dynamic and filled with life, they have plenty of acidity to keep their fans happy, especially in the Riesling, as seen here. Originally inspired by his time in Burgundy, Jimi Brooks focused on a rustic whole cluster style with his Pinots that showed a Nuits-Saint-Georges personality and old world charm, something that has continued at Brooks, especially with the captivating Rastaban bottling, always a favorite of mine, and the Rieslings are also distinctively old world versions, both in dry and sweet styles. The Riesling, which is bone dry and about 12.5% natural alcohol, was direct to press crushed and fermented in stainless steel at cool temperatures with aging also done in the stainless tank with a short period of lees contact and bottled quickly to preserve transparency, verve and freshness, which is perfectly captured here in the 2021 edition. I highly recommend the Brooks lineup, who are west coast leaders in Riesling and think this wine in particular is a great way to start exploring Oregon dry Riesling.
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Farm Cottage, Pinot Noir, Trout Gulch Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains.
The latest release from Farm Cottage, the signature Trout Gulch Vineyard Pinot Noir is a nicely aromatic beauty and has loads of personality with a ripe and silky core of black cherry, brambly raspberry, strawberry and plum fruits along with a touch of Asian spice, rose petal tea, subtle wood notes, loam and a light herbal stem, edgy element. This vintage feels plush and medium bodied, slightly more polished, making for an extremely pleasing dark fruited, expressive and delicately floral Pinot. Very impressive stuff again from the younger Alfaro. Ryan Alfaro’s Farm Cottage Wines, as mentioned in my prior review, is a great new addition to the local scene in the South Santa Cruz Mountains. Trout Gulch, planted in 1980, gets loads of cool Pacific air and is uniquely set only a few miles from the ocean with an almost Clos effect from the redwood trees lining most of this 16 acre dry-farmed hillside vineyard. Sitting at 750 feet above sea level with well-draining sandy loam soils, the cool climate Trout Gulch Vineyard, with Heritage Wente clone Chardonnay and Mt Eden clone Pinot Noir selections, really is a jewel in hills above Soquel in the Southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains. In the current lineup, Ryan has this wine, along with a Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot from a combination of sites, a Lester Family Pinot, his Chardonnay and his Northern Rhône inspired Syrah, all of which are top notch small batch offerings. This Trout Gulch Pinot Noir was fermented with a natural pied de cuve (vineyard indigenous yeast) and saw 100% whole cluster in an open-top stainless steel tank with gravity rack and returns during the maceration, after which the wine was aged close to 10 months in well used French barriques.

The Alfaro Family Vineyards, founded by Ryan’s Dad Richard back in the early 2000s, in Corralitos is a must visit for those seeking out great values in both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as specialties like the winery’s Grüner Veltliner and the new 100% estate Malbec. Ryan worked his dad in the cellar in recent years, after doing a stint with California legend Adam Tolmach at Ojai Vineyards and studying wine in New Zealand. He has brought a lot of new passion to the family business and has, as noted here, put a lot of hard work in to get to this point, with Ryan’s personal project Farm Cottage Wines being a natural extension to these efforts at this small Corralitos estate. The Alfaro’s who have been leasing the Trout Gulch site for many years, finally purchased this vineyard outright a few years ago and this wine is a fantastic way to celebrate that achievement. Ryan, who has now taken over the winemaking duties at the Alfaro estate, does these small lot offerings under his Farm Cottage label with a distinctive style that employs more whole cluster in the winemaking with the Pinots and the Syrah, with native yeasts and mostly neutral barrels, with the results so far being very well received. All of the wines come in at low natural alcohols, due to the close proximity to the Monterey Bay and the cold water influence here, with this 2022 Trout Gulch Pinot seeing just 13.2%, making for wines with sublime tension and balance, but with vivid fruit concentration from the long growing season. The Farm Cottage wines, especially the Pinots, including this seductive Trout Gulch version, already have a serious following and sell out fast, so I highly recommend getting on the mailing list, and also don’t miss the steely Trout Gulch Chardonnay and the cool climate Ryan Spencer Syrah.
($54 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2018 Rosavica Benotti, Roero DOCG, Piemonte, Italy.
Though founded a few years ago in 2015 and run by Ermanno Cordero, the Rosavica Benotti estate located in Piemonte’s Roero zone, which was totally new for me, actually dates back to 1955, and I am excited to report this 2018 Roero DOCG, 100% Nebbiolo, is a stunner with Barolo like character and structure. This ruby/brick red delicately earthy Nebbiolo has all the goodies expected from this grape and place with brandied cherry, damson plum, macerated strawberry and mulberry fruits, accented nicely with hints of leather, chalky stones, minty herbs, saline notes, rose petals, orange tea and licorice. Coming from sustainably grown 50 plus year old vines, and fermented with native yeasts, in tank, this Roero DOCG, by the appellation rules must see for a Rosso, a minimum of 20 months of aging, including 6 months in barrel, with Cordero doing everything he can to make his wine’s as naturally and terroir driven as possible. All of which shines here in his 2018 version, it soulfully delivers a clarity of fruit, texture, balanced tannins, and still has a delicate rustic edge, things I admire in Nebbiolo, especially with a hearty meal. With prices of Burgundy going through the roof, I’ve found myself buying and enjoying Nebbiolo more and more, and this wine really hit the spot.

A rising star of the Roero, Azienda Agricola Rosavica Benotti, named for Ermanno’s mom, is an all organic farmed estate, with just three hectares of vineyards, with their vines set on the region’s sandy soils, consisting of a core of classic marl and planted to Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo. Cordero’s parents, Rosavica and Antonio still help out in the vineyards and his brother, Ignazio, assists him in the cellar, making this a tight family project, in other words this a tiny estate and is dedicated to preserving traditions and focusing on terroir driven wines. As Ermanno notes, his mission is to showcase the uniqueness of his soils and makes the wines with eye on purity, natural processes and transparency. It is because of these soils, according to the winery, that these wines are vibrant, lively, nicely ripe and drinkable in their youth with heightened aromatics and what they feel is a surprising sense of complexity. I must say I was immediately drawn to this Rosavica Benotti Roero, especially as a Nebbiolo and Barolo fan, and I highly recommend it for its complete and complex substance, it is a quality and pleasing effort with a subtle tension between concentration (of fruit) and savory elements, keep an eye out for this producer and the Roero region, who’s main grapes are Arneis for white and Nebbiolo for the red.
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Cruse Wine Company, Sparkling Valdiguié, Ranch Chimiles Vineyard, Napa Valley.
Known for his precise and uniquely tasty sparklers, Michael Cruse has mastered the art of both Methode Champenoise and Pètillant Naturel (Pèt-Nat) with his Sparkling Valdiguié, as seen here, being an outstanding and fun California rarity with bright citrus, wild peach and cherry fruits, along with a touch of leesy/nutty richness, a smooth and luxurious mousse and some nice mineral/stony notes. Valdiguié, once mistaken here in California for Gamay and long called Napa Gamay, is a red wine grape grown primarily in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, where it is generally known by the alias Gros Auxerrois, but without much fanfare, while here in the state it is admired for its juicy fruity personality. Cruse also does a regular red from Valdiguié from time to time and it has a very Cru Beaujolais like charm as well, but the sparkler is a bit more unique and very much a specialty product, one I don’t like missing out on. Maybe not as thrilling as Cruse’s sophisticated Methode Champenoise Ultramarine, that has a cult following, but it s one that doesn’t require a special occasion to enjoy!

Cruse reveals that his Valdiguié Pet-Nat was whole cluster pressed using the same slow steady cycle as for his traditional method sparkling wines, as I’ve mentioned, but this version comes from the Rancho Chilies Vineyard, which is different from some of the past versions that came from the old 60 year old bush vines at the Deming Vineyard. The wine was then fermented a small stainless steel tank with maybe a touch of skin contact, but without much of any colorful tint, typically finishing at between 11.5% and 12% natural alcohol, which is nice and dry, much like a Brut, especially in this 2022 edition. Towards the end of the fermentation the wine was bottled, stored, and then riddled, and disgorged for clarity, with Michael adding that there was zero additions made here, no yeast, no sugar, or sulfur added, it is pure, fermented, grape juice, and that is exactly what you taste in these delightful sparkling wines. Planted back in 1972, the Rancho Chimiles vineyard, a hot spot for Valdiguié, is located in the Wooden Valley, northeast of the town of Napa, its a special terroir with warm sunshine, but the area is cooled by evening breezes and fog from nearby San Pablo Bay that allows these grapes to get ripe, but with balance and gives the wines a welcome finesse.
($40 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Franco Toros, Sauvignon Blanc, Collio DOC, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.
The Azienda Agricola Toros, now under the direction of Franco Toros, was new to me and I was excited to try this brilliant Sauvignon from the Collio DOC, an area in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia, which has long been home to French vines, Sauvignon Blanc, Franc and Merlot especially and I’ve long been a fan of these wines and of Italian Sauvignon Blanc, from here and in the Alto Adige. In fact, I tasted this one blind and nailed it, it could have been a Pouilly-Fumé, but I went with Collio, trusting my gut as it reminded of some other fine efforts from this region with loads of gooseberry, elderflower/merigold, bitter herbs, lemon/lime and tart peach leading the way on the medium bodied, ripely smooth palate, along with sea shore notes, mineral, almond and a loamy earth element. While dry, crisp and steely, there’s a pleasing textural quality and persistence that makes this wine a standout and maybe more interesting than other Sauvignon Blancs in this price range and it was wonderful with food, even grilled spicy octopus and tartare, which was a bonus for a simple white that is best enjoyed with less complicated dishes and or shellfish. Franco Toros is from a multi-generational wine growing family and his three daughters, Eva, Cristina and Erika, are the new generation, and ready to show their stuff, and will continue the family winemaking tradition well into the future. This saline rich straw/gold Sauvignon, which carries a fine tension, was cold pressed to tank and was exclusively fermented and aged in large up-right stainless steel tanks, seeing some lees aging to allow for the rounded mouth feel and giving the pure expression of terroir and varietal character.

Sauvignon Blanc grows exceptionally well here in the Collio DOC, in the extreme north-east of Italy, in that area of ​​Friuli Venezia Giulia that is, that Toros notes, located between the Isonzo river and its right tributary, the Judrio river, which cuts through the lands of nearby Slovenia. This hilly area, located between the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea, is perfect for growing vines. It is here in the Collio Goriziano, where the Azienda Agricola Toros winery is based in Novali in the small hamlet of Cormòns. The Toros family has many native varietals planted as well, including local favorite Ribolla Gialla, along with Friulano, plus Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, as well as the mentioned Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, all of which go into single varietal traditional bottlings. The mild winters and rather cool summers, as the winery again notes, because of the closeness of the Adriatic Sea, which helps to mitigate temperature variations, all of which keeps a core of acidity to go with the concentration found in the wines, which can be closer to 14.5% natural alcohol, but without flabby weight. The Collio DOC wines typically impress and this one is a class act and will appeal to those that admire the famous Sauvignon Blanc producer and legendary winemaker Didier Daguenau, who’s wines were known for their intensity and age worthy quality. Toros says his soils are made up of stratified marl and sandstone which, over the centuries, have been eroded by atmospheric agents, creating an ideal soil for the vines to dig into and give the wines balance, depth and mineral tones, which is clearly on display here in his Sauvignon Blanc. I look forward to exploring more of these wines and can certainly recommend this one to those looking for a distinctive and savvy version of Sauvignon Blanc.
($42 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Hirsch Vineyards, Pinot Noir “San Andreas Fault” Sonoma Coast.
The beautifully layered and deep ruby colored Hirsch Vineyards San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir 2021 is really drinking nicely, usually a wine that takes years to develop, it is delivering on the potential of the vintage to near perfection with silken layers of black cherry, wild raspberry, plum and blood orange fruits leading the way in this stylish and structured wine. This wine has exceptional purity, bravo winemaker Jasmine Hirsch, and is wonderfully complex with a delicate earthiness, crushed rose petals, tea spices, subtle smoky wood framing, vanilla, mineral tones and a touch of cola bean. The year’s vivid clarity and lifting acidity, along with a bit of savory tension really makes this Pinot a standout and incredibly exciting in the glass, with air it gathers up a profound presence and gets better and better. This stunner looks to eclipse my two prior favorites, the 2014 and 2010 versions and I’m convinced there is even more to come in the future, I hope I get a chance to re-visit this 2021 in a decade to see if I’m right! The Hirsch Vineyards, part of the Fort-Ross Seaview, West Sonoma Coast AVA, has a wide diversity of clones, with this San Andras Fault Pinot seeing a clonal breakdown, according to the winery, of what they call a 49% mix of classic Pommard and Wädenswil, the old Swiss clone, 18% Swan, 18% Dijon selections 114 and 777, 14% Mt. Eden and a tiny 1% of Calera clone. Hirsch notes that the vine age is 49% from plantings in the 2000s, 50% from the 1990s and 1% from the original 1980s vines, all of which gives a full representation of this premier California vineyard, its coastal marine sediment soils and seasonings from the collection of genetic profiles of the different clones. One whiff draws you in here and this vintage has an exceptionally long aftertaste and it, this Pinot, should be a centerpiece of a meal and graced with your full attention, which will be rewarded and then some with a haunting magical experience.

David Hirsch’s estate in the remote western Sonoma Coast was one of the original vineyards out here and the quality of Pinot Noir here is now legendary, I’m a huge fan and have been for last almost 20 odd years or so, and while I have admired the past offerings, some made by Ross Cobb (Cobb Wines) and Anthony Filiberti (Anthill Farms), the present efforts, especially this gorgeous vintage by Jasmine Hirsch, who does almost everything here these days, are fantastic wines. Before that, there was Williams-Selyem’s versions of Hirsch that set the world on fire, those early ones probably are still fabulous now! The Hirsch estate is situated on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean close to Fort Ross, and is considered a Grand Cru of exceptional terroir on what we call the extreme cool climate Sonoma Coast. Pioneered and planted by David Hirsch in 1980, this site provided the inspiration for all those that came later, and later Hirsch further led into organic farming here, he pushed commitment, as the winery notes, to site-specific terroir(s) that was further enhanced by the transition to biodynamic viticulture initiated by David in 2011, culminating in its completion in 2014. This holistic approach, Jasmine says, now extends across the entire 72 acres of the property, encompassing all the vines, gardens, and orchards. The fruit sourced for this San Andreas Fault Pinot comes from 34 distinct farming blocks or parcels at Hirsch Vineyard, giving a full range of flavors from the property and Jasmine picks and ferments each of them separately in small handmade lots, doing about 12% whole cluster and stem inclusion, and then barrels them down in French oak with about a third new wood, which all sounds very Premier Cru Burgundy like and allows for true sense of place and class. I love these Hirsch Pinots, from the entry level Bohan-Dillon to the single block offerings and the Reserve, but I also highly recommend the very under the radar Chardonnay that Jasmine does, it’s crisp steely goodness on par with Meursault and or Puligny-Montrachet. In other words, like I’ve said before, none of these wines should be missed!
($72 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2005 Domaine Hugel et Fils, Riesling “Jubilee Hugel” Vin d’Alsace, France.
The beautiful aromatic, ripe and golden hued 2005 vintage Hugel Jubilee Riesling is richly dense on the palate and shows off its fully mature range of flavors, including a lush core of apricot, baked apple, lemon preserves, candied orange and golden fig fruits, accented by clove spice, wet rock, rosewater, verbena, dried pineapple, earthy truffle, waxy honeycomb notes and leesy nuttiness. This Alsace Jubilee Riesling cuvée is a selection of what the winery says are the finest plots of the Hugel Grand Cru Schoenenbourg vineyard and crafted in small lots with handmade care. It saw small crates of grapes gently pressed, everything done with gravity flow, no pumps and the wine must settles to let green phenolics to drop out before the juice goes into a combination of wood and stainless tanks to ferment, with this Riesling is fermented in temperature-controlled barrels or vats to preserve aromatics. The wine then rests for 8 to 9 months before bottling, it doesn’t get filtered, only a natural clarification through a single racking, and then it was aged in bottle in the cellar until Hugel believes it is ready for release. This fantastic historical terroir, at their Schoenenbourg Grand Cru vineyard, has been almost exclusively devoted to Riesling for centuries, and has complex soils with elements of keuper, marl, dolomite and gypsum, and is rich in fertilising agents, overlaid with fine layers of quaternary siliceous gravel, Vosges sandstone, clay and Muschelkalk, as well as the classic limestones.

First created in 1989 to celebrate the Hugel family’s 350th anniversary, these special Jubilee wines are made only in, what the winery thinks are, the finest vintages and are the ultimate expression in dry, gastronomic terroir wines that Hugel makes and are cherished by Alsace fans world wide. The Hugel Jubilee bottlings are sourced, exclusively and solely from the family’s oldest and best estate sites in Riquewihr, where Hugel is based, with the Riesling coming from the heart of the Grand Cru Schoenenbourg vineyard, that is set on classic marl and clay soils. This prestigious and historic Grand Cru Schoenenbourg with its mature vines and perfect exposures allows for depth, fruit density and mineral intensity, making for powerful, complex and age worthy wines, as this nicely aged 2005 shows, it definitely is within a fabulous drinking window, delivering on the promise of the ripe vintage. This wine, which was tasted in a blind Riesling tasting, was part of a celebration of Rieslings 589th birthday last month and was one of the wines of the night, it shined with its secondary flavors and luxurious textural quality, it was exactly what you’d expect from a top notch aged Alsace wine. Interestingly, this dry 2005 Hugel Jubilee Riesling joined Weingut Von Hovel’s 2005 Auslese as the stars in the mature set of wines, highlighting the year’s potential at this point. This wine also has the stuffing to go another 5 to 10 years, but I personally love where it is at now and would certainly recommend enjoying this Jubilee in the near term and be sure to pair it with a meal that compliments its stage of life and character, maybe a baked ham and or roast poultry dishes.
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Fattoria di Bacchereto – Rosella Bencini Tesi, Terre A Mano Sassocarlo, Bianco Toscano IGT, Carmignano, Tuscany, Italy.
The deeply golden hued Terre A Mano Sassocarlo Bianco Toscano IGT, made from 80% Trebbiano (Tuscano) 80% and 20% Malvasia, saw some skin contact and a natural fermentation, with natural yeasts in cement vats, with malolactic fermentation and aging done in 350L (hogheads?) Allier oak barrels, with the wine maturing typically on the lees for between 12-18 months. There’s some savory grip, a slight oxidative nuttiness and a bone dry medium bodied palate that id vibrant and slightly earthy with persevered lemon, white peach, baked pear and quince fruits leading the way, with sea shore notes, wet stones, cedar, herbal tea and pecan notes. This is interesting stuff from the certified all organic and biodyamically farmed Fattoria di Bacchereto, located in the tiny and remote Carmignano region in Tuscany, a mostly unknown small estate, which produces mainly a rustic red wine that has an earthy and powerful appeal and made from classic Sangiovese (75%), Canaiolo Nero (15%), a more rare native varietal, and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), which is allowed in the DOCG wines. The Bianco has an orange wine kinda feel about it and with just the right amount of funkiness, giving the wine a bit more complexity than is usually the case with the local Trebbiano, which is related to Ugni Blanc I believe, the largely unloved brandy (Cognac and Armagnac) grape. Grown on Marl, limestone, shale and sandstone soils at up at over 800 feet above sea level, the grapes get nicely ripe, mineral toned and retain vibrant acidity, with the organic farming and small yields adding a nice tension between concentration and energy.

Fattoria di Bacchereto, one of only 14 producers who make Carmigniano wine in the DOCG Carmigniano, the smallest appellation in Italy, is owned by Rossella Bencini Tesi, who inherited the estate after her father & brother sadly passed away in the 1990s. Though having no prior experience herself in the winemaking process, Tesi put management of the winery into the hands of experts until she was introduced to biodynamic and organic techniques in 2000. After which, she, I understand then implemented these methods at her winery, and through this, she saw a dramatic change in the environment and resulting wines she produced. Over time, these malnourished vines were revitalized, the soils became healthy and the terroir enhanced, turning a little known estate into a model for the region. Interestingly, not only is Carmignano the smallest region in Tuscany, but it is also one of the oldest appellations worldwide, having been first registered in 1716 by Cosimo III de Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. It is a hilly and heavily forested area, northeast of Florence, indeed, it was the preferred hunting grounds for the noble Medici family when they resided there during the season. Carmignano also was the first to include Cabernet Sauvignon in the official blend, along side Sangiovese and as well as the native Canaiolo Nero grapes. According to the historic rules here, to be classified as a Carmigniano DOCG Rosso, the wine must age at least 8 months in oak or chestnut barrels, and it must contain at least 50% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo Nero, and or 10-20% of the Cabernet Sauvignon, a varietal that was said to have first been introduced to the area by another Medici, Catherine, the wife of the King of France. Fattoria di Bacchereto’s main interest is their Carmignano DOCG Rosso, but their non DOC or DOCG bottlings, including this IGT Bianco, a super limited bottling, and a 100% Sangiovese IGT Rosso are very much worth checking out too.
($46 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Anita, Moulin -À- Vent “Cœur de Vigneronne” Cru Beaujolais, France.
The Domaine Anita label, led by Anita Kuhnel (Neveu), a former professional cyclist-turned winemaker who is a quickly rising in Beaujolais, has put out a set of delicious wines from 2021 and 2022, with this exciting purple/garnet and floral 2022 Moulin -À- Vent “Cœur de Vigneronne” from 50 year old vines, being a step up on everything I’ve tried so far with a deep and dark core of pure Gamay fruit, it’s perfect for those that want a richer, clear and more polished style version of Beaujolais. Anita is certainly going down her own route and creating wines that have their own distinctive personality, with this special Moulin -À- Vent Cœur de Vigneronne, maybe her signature bottling, showing off ripe black currant, plum, cherry and black raspberry fruits along with sprigs of wild fennel, dried herbs, rose oil, walnut and lingering black fig and subtle acidity, making for a supple, but nice structured Beaujolais that is drinking satiny smooth already. This cuvée is getting a lot of attention, deservingly so, and it is very different from my early experiences with Moulin -À- Vent, which tended to be grippy and chewy wines, far more rustic and tannic by nature than this luxurious and expressive example. I picked up a combination of these latest Domaine Anita wines and a few bottles of each, which I will stagger and open over the next few years to see how they develop, but there seems to be no reason not to enjoy them right away, with the hedonism and youthful fruit, even if I do enjoy aged Cru Beaujolais.

Vigeron Anita Kuhnel (Neveu), at Domaine Anita, as mentioned in prior reviews, is a rising star and is based in Chénas, she does mainly cru bottlings from Moulin -À- Vent, as seen here, but also has this plot of old vines in Morgon, a plot in Fleurie and another in Chénas. All of which are sustainably farmed, they feature in her lineup of lush Gamay offerings, and are from vines that range from 40 to 100 years old on mainly the classic granite based soils here. This vineyard, I understand, is set on a pink granite subsoil, at an altitude of 240 meters, with a warm exposure, helping to full ripen the grapes and retaining energy. Importer, Neal Rosenthal says that Anita is assisted in making the wines by Guy Marion, who he adds, oversaw no fewer than 52 harvests as cellarmaster for Georges Duboeuf, so there is solid foundation of experience, along with youthful passion to play off of here. Anita has a collection of small concrete vats to ferment each parcel separately and that she uses a different percentage of whole cluster in each wine and she uses ex-Burgundy barrels to age the Cru bottlings like this one. For this special cuvée Cœur de Vigneronne and her Chateau-Galliard Morgon, reviewed from the 2021 vintage, Anita did a native yeast fermentation after a cool maceration in cement with a combination of whole clusters, with some stem inclusion, but mostly de-stemmed berries to end up with the silky and opulent mouth feel and concentrated fruit density seen in the finished wine. After the fermentation, this wine was raised for about 11 months in oak barrels, with enough toast to leave a whiff of shaved vanilla, along with the textural feel, and then it saw 5 months in the bottle before release.
($39 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 La Marea by Ian Brand, Albariño, Kristy Vineyard, Monterey County.
Again, as I’ve highlighted already, this 2023 vintage is crazy good and these early releases, from California, are fabulous, expressive and vibrant offerings, especially this latest set of Ian Brand’s La Marea and P’Tit Paysan whites and his Rosé are exciting wines, as this new Albariño demonstrates with its bright and vibrant apple, peach and zesty citrus fruits and wet stones, saline, light herbs and almond accents. This lighter framed white, inspired by the classics in Spain’s Galicia area and in particular the brilliant coastal Rias Baixas region efforts, and it is a savvy buy for the exceptional quality and its sublime sea food pairing capabilities and zesty charm. With air, this steely new La Marea Kristy Vineyard gains a nice white blossom bouquet and tangy melon note and lingers with mouth watering lime, making it a fine Summer sipper and tasty with grilled fish tacos and oysters on the half shell. Most everyone, especially Monterey winemakers like Ian Brand are absolutely thrilled with this 2023 vintage and can’t wait to show them off, so stay tuned and before to act fast to grab these wines up.

Winemaker Ian Brand, who is mostly known for his reds, like Grenache and Cabernet Franc, told me recently that he’s getting really excited with the white wine grapes in the greater Monterey region and his latest set of wines reflects that, with his Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnays, this Albariño, Melon de Bourgogne, the rare Arneis and Ian’s new Verdelho, all being distinctive, thrilling and delicious! There’s quite an exciting set of white grapes growing in the Monterey region, many from Spain and Portugal, as well as Mediterranean varietals, like Vermentino and Malvasia, which have become very popular, along with a lots of white Rhône grapes, including fun rarities like Picpoul and Clairette. So there’s plenty to explore here in this large and diverse Coastal region that has many unique terroirs, such in the stony soils and warm days you find in the Southern zone, where this grape, which retains loads of fresh acidity is grown. This white wine, coming from a mix of loam and alluvial soils, saw a stainless steel fermentation and an ultra short lees aging in neural barrel and bottled quickly to preserve puritry and freshness, as can be seen here perfectly. Ian’s Sauvignon Blanc under the P’Tit Payson label too, along with the Albariño, which just was released, is one to stock up on while you can and enjoy this Spring and Summer.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

Grapelive.com Wine Reviews – March 2024

2018 Rivetti & Lauro, Uì Sassella 298, Valtellina Superiore DOCG, Lambardy, Italy.
Coming from one of Italy’s most picturesque and unique wine growing areas, the Rivetti & Lauro Uì Sassella, Valtellina Superiore DOCG is a beautifully expressive Alpine Nebbiolo, which is also known in this parts as Chiavennasca, it shows off a smooth layering of brandied cherry, damson plum, balsamic strawberry, brambleberry and blood orange fruits, all supported nicely by mineral and floral tones, sweet and sour herbs, cedar, loamy earth, briar spices, crushed roses and anise. This Rivetti & Lauro Uì Sassella Valtellina Superiore DOCG is not quite as concentrated as the last wine I tried from this producer, he 2012 Uì Inferno, which comes from an ultra steep sun soaked site, Vigna 117, a single terraced parcel, but definitely similar and remarkably elegant by nature. Over the years I’ve become a big fan of Valtellina wines and this beautifully textural and pure high elevation version really hits the spot with bright acidity and and depth, it is an excellent example of the Cru Sassella, which is set on combination of sand and clay soils with high density plantings on the classic terraces. This wine, 100% Nebbiolo, is hand harvested with small yields, and a careful selection of the grapes, which are all de-stemmed. The fermentation takes place in small stainless steel tanks with a cool maceration period and the aging, close to 24 months is done mainly large 30HL casks and some French oak barriques, after which the wine is rested in bottle for another couple of years. Valtellina also has an Amarone style DOCG Nebbiolo wine called Sforzato, where the grapes see a period of drying on straw mats to give a hedonistic density and richness of flavors, it is a fabulous rarity I highly recommend Nebbiolo fans search out. If you’d not discovered Valtellina, above Milan and the lake district, yet, it is a great time to get started and this wine should be one on your list of must try options from this intriguing part of Northern Italy. The wines here are age worthy with supple tannins and Rivetti & Lauro say the wines tell the tale centuries of history and local traditions, that are infused in the place. These vineyards are the largest terraced wine-growing area in the whole of the Italian mountains and its remote location make it an under the radar gem and a bit of a mystery to uncover with glorious rewards in the bottles.

The Valtellina region, as mentioned in my reviews from here and prior notes on Rivetti & Lauro wines, is a high Alpine valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland and renown for its mountain Nebbiolo wines, which have really gained worldwide attention in recent times, even though this area has flourished since Roman times. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Valtellina region belonged to what was know as the Three Leagues (the “Grey Leagues”), which was then a mutual-defense zone that was independent of Switzerland, but was part the easternmost Swiss Canton of Graubünden. This remote area in which German, Romansh, Lombard and Italian languages are all spoken, the region became known variously as Veltlin, or Westtirol (West Tyrol) in the 1800s, but now proudly Italian. Interestingly, because of Valtellina’s remote location and easy to defend terrain, during the last months of World War II, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and other diehard fascist leaders of the Italian Social Republic (RSI) proposed making a “last stand” against the advancing Allied forces in the Valtellina, but their plans never got a chance to came into being and the area became much more well known for its wine culture. As noted, In Valtellina, the wines are mostly made from Chiavennasca (the local name of Nebbiolo), along with some percentage other local varieties such as Rossola Nera of which is permitted up to 20% in the DOC and just 10% for the DOCG bottlings like this one. Grapes, by local rules must be small yields for the utmost quality and the finished wines have to be aged for at least 24 months prior to their release or three 3 years if labeled a Riserva bottling, also they need to be at least 11% natural alcohol. The yields for the DOCG wines are restricted as well to promote concentration, with requirements of a minimum alcohol level for the DOCG wine at 12%. The Cru Villages for red wines in Valtellina are Grumello, Sassella, Inferno, where this Rivetti & Lauro comes from, Valgella, and Maroggia. I have added Rivetti & Lauro to my list of Valtellina producers to follow, along with another new favorite, Tenuta Scerscé, as well as long time favorites Nino Negri, Nobili, Alfio Mozzi, Conti Sertoli Salis and in particular Ar. Pe Pe (Arpepe), which are a bit easier to find here in the states.
($42 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2017 Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich, Riesling Trocken “Felsneck” Grosses Gewächs, Nahe, Germany.
The thrilling, gripping and intensely mineral driven Felsneck GG by the Nahe’s premier Schäfer-Fröhlich comes from mature organic vines at the legendary Bockenauer Felsneck Vineyard, the steep VDP Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) site that is set on a rocky sparse hillside with classic slate, basalt and quartzite soils, making this wine a prestigious and powerful monument to its terroir. This 2017 is still firm and austere with an ultra reductive and slate flinty personality, it is like drinking liquid stones and the fruit, while dense and deep, is subtle with a bright core of energy, which comes through in taut waves of lime, lemon, quince and apricot essences. This a purist wine, it is not hedonistic, it is a wine chiseled from stone and it takes its time to unwind, in fact I might not want to open another bottle for another 5 to 10 years! Sometimes a great wine allows early drinking pleasure, this is not that wine, this is serious dry Riesling for the GG enthusiasts that have the patience of the Saints, as it opens you get seductive teases at what surely will come with time, at the moment, this wine is at the extended foreplay stage with outrageous tension. The medium bodied palate reveals loads of secondary elements that includes wet stone, salty shale, bitter citrus oil, orange leaf, chamomile tea, clove spice, grapefruit pith, lemon grass and verbena notes. The Schäfer-Fröhlich’s wines are made naturally with “Sponti” spontaneous fermentation and the GGs, all of which are reductive like classic white Burgundy, are aged in mostly traditional stainless and stay on the lees for an extended period, with at least 9 months in tank before bottling.

Tim Frohlich, known for his exceptionally pure terroir wines at the famous Schäfer-Fröhlich in the Bockenau, he is one of the many stars of the Nahe, a region that despite being one of Germany’s smallest, is producing some of the great winemakers and wines. From what I understand, the Fröhlich family has been vignerons and working vineyards since the 1800s, but the Schäfer-Fröhlich label didn’t come into being until the 1970s when the two families through marriage merged and created the winery. Over time this estate has become one of the top wineries in Nahe, joining the region’s elite like Donnhoff and Diel to name a couple. More recently Schäfer-Fröhlich has cemented its reputation in Germany and throughout the world, gaining the following of Riesling enthusiasts, making these wines collectors items, even here in California. This fame is largely due to Tim Fröhlich, who is in charge at Schäfer-Fröhlich after taking over his family’s business in the 1990s. Fröhlich, known widely as a perfectionist and a hard working sort that never rests on success, he made his first vintage in 1995 at the age of 21, and has never looked back. The village of Bockenau, the winery’s location in the Nahe was close to being unknown until Tim’s wines achieved international success, with the wines now some of the most sought-after Rieslings in Germany. Schäfer-Fröhlich’s success is also a reflection of the greatness of the slate-based, quartzite-laced Felseneck VDP Grosse Lage in Bockenau, a truly amazing site with its steep slopes. Fröhlich, as mentioned, looks for extreme purity in his wines, and is a true terroir fanatic, according to his friends and admirers. He has a sublime touch and is hugely talented, capturing the essence of the place with precision, subtly and elegance (with time) in his outstanding wines, like this one.
($125 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Oversand Wine Company, Rosé Wine, Central Coast, California.
The bright, salmon hued and crisply Bandol inspired 2023 Oversand Wine Company Central Coast Rosé is expressive with tangy strawberry, ruby grapefruit, guava, watermelon and sour cherry fruit, along with rosewater, sage, minty herb, lavender and a salty refreshing accents. This steely, but flavorful dry pink is almost exclusively for the Nantucket Island and their local market and put together by wine guru Carl Sutton, who I talk about below, and who I recently caught up with while he was here in California. Sutton, who has wine projects from Sonoma to Nantucket, also is consulting with a winery in Arizona, has a long history as a winemaker and I first remember tasting his wild ferment and unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc in the early 2000s. Most recently, I saw him in his adopted hometown of San Francisco, around 2015, when he was selling his speciality dessert wine and his Vermouth, which had a cult following in the City. The Oversand project is brand new and looks to be a huge hit, mostly for a wine shop on Nantucket that commissioned it, as Summer season comes to the Island, a Provence style Rosé made with 78% Mourvèdre, 11% Grenache and 11% Cinsault, faithful to the legendary Domaine Tempier, Château Pradeaux and Gros Nore, should sell out quickly. This light bodied Oversand Wine Company dry Rosé is energetic stuff with mineral tones, wet stones and zippy acidity, it is in the league with Mourvèdre led pinks, like Bedrock’s Ode to Lulu, Liquid Farm, Star and Dust, Ian Brand’s P’Tit Payson and Randall Grahm’s original Bonny Doon Vin Gris. The label shows the map on Nantucket to find one of its famous lighthouses, hence the Oversand name.

Winemaker Carl Sutton who puts these Oversand Wine Company wines together, is formerly of Sutton Cellars, which was one of the original urban San Francisco wineries, founded in 1996 and famous for doing small lot natural style wines, before it was hip. all from from unique vineyard sites, mainly in Sonoma County. He says that is was wines hand made by a guy in a warehouse in Dogpatch, SF… and that, oh yeah, he also made a great vermouth, which was how I heard of him and he wasn’t wrong. Carl caught the Vermouth craze when cocktails were making their huge comeback in the mid 2000s perfectly and Negronis were all the better for his Vermouth. Now very much a practical winemaker with experience, Sutton, enjoyed a period with the dogma of of Natural Wine, on reflection he wouldn’t change a thing. He relates that, the idea at Sutton Cellars always had been to allow the most character (to shine through) in what he made (and makes) with the least amount of additions, processing, or manipulation. In the current zeitgeist of “natural” wines this may sound like a well worn trope, he adds, but the last time he filtered a wine was in the late 90s, the last he purchased yeast used was for a stuck ferment in 2004. Sutton always preferred organic, dry farmed fruit, as he still does, always hand harvested and sorted, and fermentations that go slow, usually lasting close to three weeks or more. In the last decade of Sutton Cellars the use of new oak has diminished to zero, and his new projects remain faithful to his vision, but with a focus on palate pleasure, as seen here with his Oversand Rosé, a wine perfect for lots of sunset walks and smiles. Let’s hope this wine finds its way to a broader audience, but be happy for those visiting Nantucket this Summer!
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Keller, Riesling “Von der Fels” Rheinhessen, Germany.
Keller’s Von der Fels, again delivers a thrilling steely excellence with its classic core of racy lime, green apple, bitter white peach and muskmelon fruits leading the way on the lean light bodied palate that also displays a salty character, stony notes, a bit of lees and a bit of earthiness. Again, I note, this wine hack austerity about it, and is more about freshness and clarity rather than showy in style, though impressive and Chablis like, with cuisine, especially sea foods, like oysters or cracked crab. With air you always get, as prior releases have shown, get more complexity, both aromatically and with depth, adding things such as white flowers, verbena, tea spice and wet shale, plus a bit of an earthy loamy element. The Von der Fels name means “from the rocks” and the winery says this dry Riesling is a blend of young vines from the Grosses Gewächs’ vineyards that Keller has with a mix of limestone, slate and volcanic bedrock underpinning. Klaus Peter and Julia Keller, are superstars in the region, who along with a few others have brought fame to the Rheinhessen, an area that sometimes gets wrongly maligned, they also as noted before, do a set of GGs that have a cult following and are some of the most sought after wines in the world. Sadly the word has got out about this wine and the price has risen, but it still remains a good score if you can find it.

Winemaker Klaus Peter Keller, as mentioned in my prior reviews, is a huge Burgundy fan, having worked with Hubert and Roman Lignier as well as Eric Rousseau in the Cote d’Or, brings that experience to his wines here in the Rheinhessen, and he has a star studded collection of Rieslings, which are all coveted by enthusiasts with savvy Riesling fans grabbing these value priced Estate versions. Klaus Peter Keller and Philippe Wittmann, again as noted before, have inspired an entire generation of young winemakers leading to a renaissance in the Rheinhessen, a region that includes historic vineyards, including Grand Cru sites, like Kirchspiel, Hubacker, Morstein and Abtserde, as well as the workman like vineyard of Hipping, where these superstars have made some of Germany’s most sought after wines, with Keller’s G-Max bottling being one of the world’s most expensive white wines. Klaus Peter and Julia Keller have made Keller an iconic label, focusing on dry wines and now have a cult like following for their GGs, but don’t miss the basic estate efforts, like this Riesling Trocken Von der Fels, which is a fabulous and savvy buy and one I always look for, along with their Limestone terroir/soil Riesling and their lovely Sylvaner, that is a unique and wonderful expression of varietal and place. This basic Keller’s Rheinhessen bottlings also age pretty well, as the 2014 version of this wine proved last year and it is always a good idea to have a few extra around, ten years is not too long to hold them, if you have patience of course.
($49 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Hedges Family Wines, CMS Red Blend, Columbia Valley, Washington State.
The new “Green” label, all organic CMS Red Blend from Hedges is a dark purple/garnet opaque, rich and expressive wine, made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, that very much impresses for the price with loads of fruit density, nice toasty oak and pretty floral tones. This opulently smooth full bodied Columbia Valley red delivers a thick layering of blackberry, blueberry, plum and dark cherry fruits, along with coco, vanilla, crushed lilacs, sage, toasted coconut, cigar box, cedar and lingering creme de cassis background notes. This wine, sourced from all sustainable and certified organic grapes, usually is Merlot heavy with smaller amounts of Cabernet and Syrah with each vintage being slightly different after the final blend is made. The CMS has quality terroir, including the Columbia Valley Appellation and the Red Mountain Appellation that add to the pedigree here and gives this wine its core depth and complexity, it is a serious crowd pleasing offering and a great way to start exploring Washington State wines. Hedges was founded by Tom Hedges and his wife Anne-Marie who fell in love with Red Mountain and founded this estate there and helped establish the region as one of the best terroirs in America, especially for Bordeaux varietals.

The CMS Red Blend, made by Sarah Hedges Goedhart, the second generation of Hedges, who’s really upped the game here at Hedges in recent years and this wine is an exceptional value and again, a great way to celebrate women winemakers and Women’s History Month. The grapes, again mostly Merlot, come from the Columbia Valley vineyards, Wooded Island, Bacchus and Sagemoor, as well as the Red Mountain Vineyards of the Hedges Estate, with their Bel’ Villa, Jolet, Les Gosses and Magdalena plots included. Under Sarah’s gifted touch, the different separate lots were pumped over during alcoholic fermentation for 6 to 10 days on the skins while on American Oak, helping extraction, but with soft tannin development. About 40% of the wine was racked to American oak barrels where it completed malo-lactic fermentation and then aged for an additional 15-18 months. The other, the winery explains, 60% completed their Malos in tank, after which, it was racked to French Oak for more than year, before blending, ending up with typically 60% French oak and 40% American oak in the end. I first had Hedges in the early 2000s and have always enjoyed their efforts and look forward to trying the upper end of their range soon and recommend this 2022 CMS for savvy bargain hunters and those looking for a very polished organic wine.
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Bortolomiol, Brut Millesimato Pinot Noir, Filanda Rosé, Sparkling Wine, Oltrepò Pavese, Italy.
This vivid pink/salmon hued Bortolomiol Filanda Brut Rosé is crisply focused and clean bubbly with ripe Pinot fruit, bright citrus, mineral tones and an elegant creamy, but energetic mousse, making for a distinctive Italian sparkling wine that comes from the Oltrepò Pavese area in the Lombardy region. In contrast to their classic Prosecco, the Filanda Rosé comes from a different zone and this wine is made using only Pinot Nero grapes from that Oltrepò Pavese zone in north west Italy and sees a cool temperature controlled primary fermentation, which adds to the heighten aromatic quality here, allowing for its pretty rosewater element and its general floral highlights. While dry and fully a Brut bottling, this is a nicely fruity and expressive wine that can be enjoyed on its own and can be pleasing with a wide range of cuisine options. The brief skin maceration gives the natural color and provides complexity and the three months of lees aging adds richness and depth.

Giuliano Bortolomiol, known for his Prosecco, made his first rosé in the early 1970s and today his daughters Maria Elena, Elvira, Luisa and Giuliana carry on the family tradition, along with with their mother Ottavia run the Cantine Bortolomiol, based in Valdobbiadene. As well as their classic Prosecco, they produce this unique 100% Pinot Nero Sparkling Rosé, the Filanda Rosé, usually crafted with a single harvest or vintage. The winery decided the Filanda Rosé, made by women winemakers, was going to be dedicate to the women who worked in the Valdobbiadene silk mills, women who with their hard work contributed so greatly to the development of the area, which became famous for the Prosecco bubbly. This is, as the Bortolomiol’s explain, A homage from women to women, and is a proudly pink and wears its pink color with pride and strength. This was a fun way to celebrate women winemakers at a recent international celebration of women in wine tasting event and I highly recommend this Bortolomiol Brut Filanda Rosé. The full flavors and acidity here does allows for this Sparkling Wine to go well tomatoes and pasta, as well as medium spicy foods.
($33 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Santa Duc, Gigondas, Aux Lieux-Dits, Rhône Valley, France.
What a thrill to behold in the glass, with a deep purple/crimson color and a mix of earth, spice and floral notes on the bouquet, making this Gigondas a brilliant wine, made by Domaine Santa Duc, one of the old world classics, an estate that was originally founded back in 1874, and still considered, as I’ve mentioned before, a vocal point of great southern Rhônes. This vigorous 2019 Aux Lieux-Dits is a full bodied version with a powerful ripe palate of boysenberry, black plum, currant and cherry fruits, all accented by peppery spices, dried sage, tobacco leaf, warm tiles, a touch of leather, cedar, wild lavender and anise. This vintage is starting to plush out and soften, but still has quite a grip and rustic tannin, so best to enjoy this one with a robust meal and plenty of decanting to fully reveal the charms here, it’s a Southern Rhône that will reward the patient and in fact I had a 1996 version of Santa Duc Gigondas recently and it was glorious, so don’t be afraid to put a few in the long term cellar. The wines here at Domaine Santa Duc are old school efforts coming from special massale selections of mostly Grenache, but with Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault as well that goes into these blends. All farmed by hand and with biodynamic and true holistic methods, while In the cellar the winemaking team uses lots of whole cluster vinification with the Gigondas seeing fermentation with wild yeasts and minimum interventions, capturing all the terroir nuances in the Dentelles de Montmirail area.

The Domaine Santa Duc, most famous for their Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas, employe an all manual harvest in small crates with, as the winery explains, sorting in the vineyard, followed by a second on the sorting table in the cellar to be sure of absolute quality. They also do, what they call partial de-stemming with the percentage of whole bunches and stems being decided according to the best needs of vintage and with consideration of the plots of vines themselves. The must sees a gravity vattingand fermentation for 20 to 30 days in stainless steel vats under controlled temperatures to heighten the aromatics and show off purity of form in the wines. The malolactic fermentation is also done and encouraged in tank as well, which also makes for a more clean and stable process. The Gigondas, and the Châteauneuf du Pape, typically ages for about 18 months in large 36-hectoliter Stockinger (Austrian) oak barrels and uniquely in some eight-hectoliter terracotta jars, after that the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. The famous Domaine Santa Duc, located at the foot of the mentioned legendary Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range that is the spine of the region in the Gigondas zone, with complex soils, based on clay and marl, with the sixth generation of winegrowers, Benjamin Gras, now carrying on the family’s history and tradition here to great effect, as his latest wines show. Made usually with about 75% Grenache Noir, 10% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre and 2% Cinsault, these non-filtered wines show their sense of place and are proudly robust and earthy, and are somewhat gritty and raw when released, but as noted gain tremendous sex appeal and character with some aging, I highly recommend Santa Duc.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Bodega Lanzaga, Lanzaga, Rioja DO, Spain.
The dark purple/garnet and full bodied 2019 Lanzaga, made by Telmo Rodriguez, is a gorgeous spicy and deeply floral, almost Hermitage like wine far removed from the normal expression of Rioja, it comes from local organic vineyards in the village of Lanziego in Rioja Alavesa, which is located north of the Ebro River. These unique parcels of old bush vine Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha, including Atalaya, Majadales, Arroyo la Losa, Pasocastillo and Soto are set on shallow, stony, limy, silty soils on flat sandstone plateau that has a cooler climate and gives plenty of natural acidity and inner energy. This fantastic and very serious Rioja really highlights Telmo’s vision for his Rioja, making it his own with a wine that doesn’t follow a single varietal character, but excels as a whole and complete wine that never fails to intrigue and please the palate, as this beauty does. The main core of dark fruit is peppery with black currant, plum, cherry and blueberry, all accented and supported by firm, but polished tannins, graphite, earthy Umami, sandalwood and anise. Telmo Rodríguez and his partner and friend Pablo Eguzkiza set up Compañia de Vinos Telmo Rodriguez in 1994 to explore Spain true potential and push its wines to the next level and In 1998 they started to buy old vineyard sites around the town of Lanciego and this was the catalyst for Bodega Lanzaga label. For this wine Rodriguez used 100% natural indigenous yeasts and a lengthy cool maceration period, extracting serious depth and concentration, while retaining elegant aromatics. After primary fermentation, which is done in small separate lots in a combination of vats and tanks, the wine is rack to a mx of what Telmo says are French fudres of 1500-2500 liters and some 225L small barrels to achieve his desired transparency and profile of flavors, with some new wood used when needed, depending on the vintage. This 2019 is just starting to reach its full potential, but still has a hugely rewarding life ahead on it, I would recommend drinking a few now and soon, but also put a bottle of two away for another 5 to 7 years, at this price I am definitely buying more for personal use.

One of Spain’s best winemakers, Telmo Rodriguez, who In 1998, returned to Rioja, after making wine in the Rhone at Jean-Louis Chave, and Bordeaux, more experienced and loaded with enthusiasm, wanting to explore a new era of Rioja wine. Besides crafting his family’s famous Remelluri estate, he is producing a signature line of wines made in his ancient cellar from purchased grapes within the region, which includes his Bodegas Lanzaga lineup, made from all organic vines. Telmo’s entry level bodegas Lanzaga bottling, which is the unoaked LZ , made as a Joven, is produced with a blend of old vine sites of head-pruned Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano in the Alavesa zone, and from the village of Lanciego. It is a star value offering with a Cotes-du-Rhone like feel, and though it’s a pure Rioja, but one with Telmo’s unique personality and charm showing through. Rodriguez is one of Spain’s leading lights and one of the world’s most influential winemakers, he was one of the only Spanish winemakers ever to lead a Bordeaux cellar and was, aa mentioned, mentored by the legendary Jean-Louis Chave in Hermitage, where he gained insight that has shaped his own wines, in particular his fantastic Remelluri Rioja Blanco, which is one of the greatest white wines I’ve ever tried. Telmo, who I met first in 2012, is coy about his use of different varietals and percentage, he smiles as talks about it, but refuses to give exact details, which I have personally experienced when I’ve quizzed him! He believes it is more important to understand the place rather than the grapes used in the blend and he adds that the winemaking is to express terroir and honor the area’s history. Bodegas Lanzaga collection that ranges from their exceptional entry level LZ to what I’d call their Premier and Grand Cru bottlings, like this signature Lanzaga masterpiece. Rioja is seeing more and more unique wines, there’s a new wave of talent, some inspired by Telmo, that are crafting some exceptional and exciting wines, as well as the classics that are seeing a modern revival, and Rioja is a region that isn’t resting on its past glories, it is a great time to re-visit and explore these wines.
($46 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2019 Alma de Cattleya, Red Wine, Sonoma County.
Bibiana González Rave-Pisoni, is a perfect person to spotlight in Women’s History Month and celebrate as a woman winemaker, with her incredible portfolio of work and the passion she puts into all of her efforts, within the vineyards and the cellar, along with her down to earth and humble charm, all of which comes through in her wines. So, I was glad her Alma de Cattleya Sonoma County Red Wine was part of a tasting tribute to women winemakers from around the world, which is even more relevant with Bibiana, as she’s from Colombia, not an easy place from which to transition into the world of wine, making her chase her dreams far from home, traveling to Europe, studying winemaking and working at some of the most important estates in Bordeaux, the Rhône and Burgundy before coming to California. She is now recognized as one of the state’s most talented winemakers, she specializes in Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, along with Sauvignon Blanc that she produces with her husband, another hugely skilled winemaker Jeff Pisoni, under her Shared Notes label. Her exceptional value priced Sonoma Red Wine, made from 64% Syrah, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot, that nicely combines her Rhône and Bordeaux expertise and making for a polished, complex and deeply flavored wine with blackberry, blueberry, dark currant and cheery fruits, a mix of cedar, lilac florals, sweet and savory tobacco, mocha, Asian spices and anise. The texture is smoothly rich, highlighting the ripe tannin nature of the vintage and this garnet/crimson wine has just the right amount of vigor and tension to provide good companionship to a hearty meal and tastes far more expensive and luxurious than it should for the cost.

This Sonoma County Red Wine by Alma de Cattleya was sourced from Sonoma hillside vineyards and a mix of the region’s sedimentary soils and was made with hand crafted care and vigorous and careful selection of clusters and grape berries, which saw a cold soaking to enhance extraction and to lock in heightened aromatics. González Rave-Pisoni says she de-stemmed all the grapes and fermented them in open top stainless steel fermenters, after primary fermentation is complete, the wine was, she adds, drained from the tank and skins are gently pressed, that results in a touch more structure, but allows for elegance to shine through, as seen here in her 2019 version. Then the wine is racked to barrel, where it was aged for eighteen months in all French oak barrels, all of which were neutral barrels, to promote transparency and purity of form, while still having enough effect to soften and mature the wine with a delicate sense of the wood. I’ve been a huge fan of Bibiana’s since her first releases under her top Cattleya label, as well as her efforts for Pahlmeyer’s Wayfarerer Estate, with her Soberanes Vineyard Syrah, farmed by her husband’s famous family in the Santa Lucia Highlands, being one of my all time favorite California wines. I highly recommend this wine, along with all of the Alma de Cattleya offerings showing fabulous right now, in particular the latest Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, but for the more serious wine geek, do not miss her Cattleya Chardonnays, wines that fly under the radar, and the mentioned Syrah bottlings, they highlight her Côte-Rôtie credentials and intriguingly she has bought historic cutting from this famous region to the family’s ranch and makes a limited edition from them! Last May, 2023, I was able to taste through her exceptional Santa Lucia Highlands offerings, including her mentioned rarities and I look forward to tasting her upcoming set of releases soon.
($27 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Anna Espelt, Pla de Gates Blanc, Grenache Blanc/Grenache Gris, DO Empordà, Catalunya, Spain.
Anna Espelt, the skilled winemaker behind her family’s Espelt Viticultors, does a personal set of limited offerings and for the first time I got a chance to try her fabulous Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris white “Pla de Gates” that I really loved, it’s a very distinctive effort coming from organic vines on granite, sand and clay based soils. Pla de Gates is a blend of Lledoner Blanc and Roig (Grenache Blanc and Gris) that Anna Espelt grows in her organic coastal Mas Marés vineyard. This bright gold hued 2022 is beautifully clean and crisp with tangy white peach, racy lemony citrus, unripe apple and quince fruits, along with wet flint, chalky stones, minty herbs, almond and lime flower accents in a vibrant medium bodied wine. Having gained experience with these varieties further inland, her importer Eric Solomon explains, where the climate is warmer, Anna has discovered that they really shine a bit closer to the Mediterranean Sea, where nearly constant winds result in smaller clusters, berries, thicker skins, and fresher acidity, providing excitement, balance and complexity, as seen here. The naturally indigenous yeast fermented Pla de Gates grapes cooled overnight after harvesting by hand, are partially de-stemmed, and gets a short skin maceration before a long gentle pressing, that Anna says, captures all the aromatic and phenolic potential of these two varieties. Formerly this wine was aged in large neutral oak, but now sees 6 months in cement eggs on the lees, which makes it all that much more compelling and transparent. This sunny white is a great way to celebrate women winemakers and Women’s History Month, bravo Anna on this lovely Spanish wine that is brilliant with sea foods.

I’ve been a fan of this winery for many years and have enjoyed their whites and reds, which are savvy buys, especially the basic Côtes du Rhône style Garnatxa Negra that sells for under 15 bucks and comes from all organic estate vines ranging from 30 to over 100 years old. The Espelt family, who for centuries have grown grapes in the Empordà area the sunny tourist beaches of the Costa Brava in the Catalunya, not too far away from the Capital Barcelona. In the early 2000s they built a cellar and began bottling wines under their own name, Espelt Viticultors, they are led now by winemaker Anna Espelt, who’s proved to be a talent in her own right and a true leader in the area. As the family’s inheritor of generations of grape growers in Empordà, Anna has been overseeing the farming too, which is 100% certified organic, and uses holistic and biodynamic methods in the vineyards, not only because it makes better wines, as the winery points out, but because the vineyards are located around several nature preserves in the area and there’s a true love of the environment and a commitment to preserving it. The Indigenous varieties, that Espelt specializes in and which Anna uses in her own label wines, including all the Grenache family, known locally as Lledoner, and Clairette Blanche, known strangely as Picapolla natively. While the main Espelt vines, mostly the reds, like Garnatxa Negra and Carinyena (in Catalan) are grown on the inland mix of sandy granite, limestone and slate, a complex set of soils that give the wines there freshness of detail, mineral intensity and ripe depth of flavors, aided by the warm sunny Mediterranean climate, benefited by cool breezes and nighttime temperatures. These wines, both the regular Espelt and Anna’s own bottlings are wonderful expressions of place and stellar values, I highly recommend them all.
($27 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Anne-Sophie Dubois “Les Cocottes” Fleurie Cru Beaujolais, France.
The Les Cocottes is fast becoming a favorite of mine and a go to Fluerie Cru Beaujolais, it is one of the most expressive in Anne-Sophie Dubois lineup, especially this 2022, which is bursting with personality, vivacious and pure Gamay fruit and bright energy. Anne-Sophie, as mentioned here, is a full fledged star in the region these days, and while her wines can still be under the radar, there’s no doubt about her talents and each of her wines are remarkably distinct and transparent. The Les Cocottes is her old school traditional whole cluster version and this latest edition shows loads of ripe dark berry, black cherry, plum and tangy currant fruit on the vivid medium bodied palate, along with its perfumy and spicy bouquet and racy stem herbal notes. As with all of her wines, it is texturally silken and there’s Fleurie’s classic strawberry and mineral tones that are always present. As with prior releases of Les Cocottes there’s that touch of stemmy crunch, structure and an electric freshness with its varietal’s natural acidity. This vintage is very delicious and well balance, going sublime with food, this is an exceptional Gamay wine that can be enjoyed young and vibrant, though looks set to age nicely for another 5 to 7 years. Anne-Sophie, who also designs the labels as well as hand crafting her wines, has a gifted and thoughtful touch and is a perfect producer to highlight during Women’s History Month and deserves huge credit for her sublime collection of past and current offerings.

Dubois grew up in the Champagne region and learned her winemaking skills in the Côte de Beaune’s Volnay area, and now, based in Fleurie, using her organically farmed parcels, with the vines, some over 60 years old giving her grapes terroir personality and concentration. Anne-Sophie Dubois’ Fleuries were once all 100% de-stemmed and fermented in a Burgundian-style fashion with a nod to delicacy and elegance, though in recent years, this Les Cocottes, her “little sweetie(s)” is different from her usual style, she crafts this Fleurie with 100% whole cluster and using a carbonic maceration, making it her most, as noted above, flamboyant offering, and it is one, as mentioned, it along with her more traditional L’Alchimiste, her signature bottling, are must haves. The L’Alchimiste is as divine as many Burgundy Premier Crus with a sensibility that is not far off a Chombolle-Musigny. Anne-Sophie, as noted in my prior reviews, uses a combination of cement vats, stainless and neutral French oak casks for her fermentation and elevage, which each wine demanding an individual approach, to bring out the singular parcel’s soulful characteristics. There’s a fine tension between savory complexity and elegant delicacy, here, and in Anne-Sophie’s wines and lots of charm in this bottling, as there was in the 2019 and 2020 releases. I very much recommend these Dubois wines, which as I’ve said are in league with the region’s icons, like Dutraive, Lapierre, Thevenet and others in that elite set of top producers in the region. My love for these wines has grown over the last five years and Dubois through her wines shows off her skills as a vigneron and the glorious terroir of the Fleurie appellation.
($38 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Cantina Ratti, Barbera d’Asti “Battaglione” DOP, Piemonte, Italy.
The bright ruby/garnet, fresh and juicy Cantina Ratti Barbera d’Asti “Battaglione” is an easy to love Piemonte red that has an array of clean and ripe dark berry, plum and black cherry fruit, as well as hints of wild flowers, mountain herbs, spice, subtle earthy Umami elements, mineral tones and youthful acidity. All folding together in a highly enjoyable and quaffable way, this less serious bottling, is perfect for light to medium cuisine and makes for a fun bistro style, smooth and fruit forward Barbera to drink over the next 2 to 3 years. Ratti has been making this version of Barbera since 2009 and make this Battaglione Babera d’Asti with exclusively, stainless steel tank fermentation and aging, which is very short, much like a Côte du Rhône, promoting clarity, purity of varietal character and terroir nuance. I have founded Ratti for about 10 years now and usually enjoy their wines, especially the Ochetti Langhe Nebbiolo and the top Barolo offerings, though they do a series of reasonably priced Dolchetto, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardnnay.

The Cantina Ratti wines sport a distinctive package, with the historical “soldier” label that was created by Renato Ratti to recall the heroism of the Piedmontese regiments in the 18th Century when the republic of Italy was being formed, making the wines easy to identify on the shelves of your wine merchant. These Ratti wines offer loads of value and personality and I have found, especially in these latest vintages, very expressive fruit and ripe flavored profiles, as seen here in the Battaglione Babera d’Asti. That said, the signature Barolo offerings, with the bird label, are far more structured and age worthy, with single cru wines leading the way, including their brand new Serradenari, first made in 2019 from some of the highest vineyard sites in La Morra, the Marcenasco, the Conca and the historic Rocche Dell’ Annunziata, which is the collectors price in the lineup. These Barolo are traditionally crafted and see the full DOCG rules with a three week maceration and a submerged cap fermentation in stainless before being aged close to 24 months in classic large oak casks. Ratti has become a very popular winery and are savvy buys, with their Barbera being a very friendly option that should not be hard to find.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2021 Herman Story Wines “Made” Proprietary Red Blend, California.
The unique “Made” red blend here, made by Russell From, winemaker at Herman Story in Paso Robles, is a dense, dark fruited and deeply purple hued wine comprised of 31% Sangiovese, 20% Syrah, 18% Barbera, 17% Teroldego, the rare Dolomiti grape, and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon that begs for a rare steak and or hard sheep cheeses to cut into the tannic backbone and concentration of fruit, which feels thickly rich on the full bodied palate, very much in keeping with the stye here and will thrill From’s fans. This luxurious cuvée, loosely Italian inspired, but all Californian in ripe presence and opulence with dark berry coulis, boysenberry, blueberry compote, plum, black cherry and currant fruits along with smoky/toasty oak, dried herbs, sweet tobacco leaf, mocha, allspice, acacia flower and lingering creme de cassis accents. This wine, coming in at 15.6% natural alcohol, really coats the mouth and is teeth staining and is distinctively hedonistic in style, much the same way as Leonetti (Walla Walla), and other Paso Robles icons, like Linne Calodo, Torrin and L’Aventure. As the wine opens, there is some complex savory tones and the aromas blossoms with violets in the glass. From recommends at least a 30 minute decanting of his reds and as mentioned I’d suggest a hearty and robust meal to pair with this one, wild mushroom dishes and meaty dishes.

Herman Story, named after Russell From’s salt of the earth grandfather is a small producer, based downtown Paso Robles, most famous for Syrah based offerings, most notably his signature “Nuts & Bolts” bottling, plus as per normal around here, intriguing red blends, like this one, along with another cult hit called “Milk & Honey” made from Tempranillo and Syrah. These wines are big and impressive efforts with loads of intensity, most are very limited cuvées with rarely over 4 to 5 barrels made of each and everything here is done exclusively by Russell himself. He and his wife, who is the force and winemaker of Desparada, are a youthful power couple that produce a great range of handcrafted wines that reflect the bounty of the Paso Robles of Santa Barbara regions. Russell From has added a few more specialities to his lineup in recent years, these include a 100% Viognier, called the Tomboy, The On the Road 100% Grenache, The First Time Caller 100% Petite Sirah and very desirable Bien Nacido Vineyard 100% Syrah. Then, there is the even more rare seasonal “After Hours” Rosé of Grenache with an electric and vivid ruby/pink color and three barrel “Buckle Bunny” white, made from 100% Edna Valley Marsanne. This “Made” red blend is sourced from quality sites from around Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles, crushed and de-stemmed and aged in toasty French oak, seeing a long cold soak and full extraction, after which it aged for around 18 months with a high percentage of new wood, as is the case with most of the reds here.
($65 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Ingrid Groiss, Grüner Veltliner, Weinviertel DAC, Austria.
The bright and pale greenish/gold hued 2022 Groiss Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s signature varietal, comes from vines grown on loess, sand and gravel soils in the town of Zeirsdorf within DAC Weinviertel north of Vienna, not far from Groiss’ hometown of Breitenwaida, and was fermented and aged in stainless steel. The 2022 is slightly richer and deeper than the previous vintage, but remains beautifully mineral driven, fresh and vibrant with herbal laced lemon/lime, unripe peach, quince, kiwi and melon fruits, along with wet stones, green almond, verbena, grapefruit pith and mint tea accents. Picked with lower sugars, this lighter framed, fresh and salty dry Grüner, made in the Federspiel style, comes in usually at just about 12.5% natural alcohol and saw natural yeasts ferments that while in tank captures a bit free CO2, like Spain’s Txakolina Basque whites, though less obvious in this 2022. As this Grüner opens you get the classic white pepper, pithy and calcareous elements to go with that tangy lemon/lime core. I have been a fan of Ingrid’s wines for about eight or so vintages now and they continue to impress me and are solid values in my book, in particular I love this Grüner, as well as her Rieslings, which I recently reviewed, are in a slightly richer style and her fabulous Gemischter Satz, a local traditional co-fermented white.

Interestingly, as I’ve noted here many times, the Groiss Gemischter Satz, the signature wine of Ingrid Groiss is her amazing Gemischter Satz, a field blend white made from Chardonnay, Frühroter Veltliner, Grauburgunder, Grauer Vöslauer, Grüner Veltliner, Hietl Rote, Müller Thurgau, Neuberger, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Roter Veltliner, Rotgipfler, Sämling, Silberweisse, Welchriesling, Wiesse Vöslauer, Zierfandler. It’s all from a single parcel planted by her grandmother in Braitenpuechtorff, north of Vienna, in Austria’s Weinviertel region not far from the Czech border. In the hands of this talented winemaker, these organic 50 year old vines produce one of the world’s great traditional white wines. Totally unique and terroir driven with subtle depth and lively mineral character, Ingrid Groiss’ Gemischter Satz is an awesome, authentic wine and tremendous value! This zippy Grüner is always transparent, tasty and an exciting wine on its own and merits its own praise, especially this exciting vintage, which is very expressive and compares well to much more expensive bottlings from the Wachau. It is also worth mentioning that Ingrid’s sensational wines have gone from an underground favorite to getting world wide recognition and now she is imported by Vineyard Brands that is a leader in organic, family owned and high quality offerings, with the benefit of making it easier to find her wines here in the States. With a focus on Women’s History Month, Ingrid is worthy of attention and I highly recommend this vintage of her wines.
($20 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Family Band Red, California.
One of the wildest and most fun wine I tasted with Hardy Wallace of Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! was his almost Cru Beaujolais like Family Band Red Wine, which is a mad scientist’s blend comprised of 50% Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, 35% Mendocino Old Vine Grenache and 15% Wild Horse Valley Chardonnay (skin fermented), but of which everything folds together in a brilliant and seamless fashion, making for a dark colored, juicy red fruited and spicy wine to eagerly quaffed. In a month where a lot of focus is on promoting and enjoying American wine, I cannot imagine a better and more California wine than what Wallace makes here at his Sonoma based Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Winery and his fabulous set of organic and naturally styled wines. This Family Band Red, is, as described by winemaker Hardy Wallace, a wine is a warm wooly vintage Pendelton blanket with the just right amount of stimulating scratch. Juicy. Toe Tapping exuberance as you are held in the delightful puzzle of, how can this be both pure and raw and beautifully sophisticated at the same time. Well, translated by me, the Family Band Red is jazzy and has a medium bodied palate that revolves around black raspberry, wild plum, candied cherry and tangy red currant fruits, all accented by fennel, dusty cinnamon, crushed lilacs, clove spice, cigar box, old cedar and orange marmalade. Serve this slightly chilled and with BBQ fixings and or pork chops, this wine gets smoother and deeper with air and while having nice crisp acidity, there is lots of textural pleasure here and can be a fine afternoon sipper too.

As I’ve said before, Hardy Wallace is one of the most gentle, flamboyant and intriguing personalities in the world of California wine and his Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! is an awesome label that marries old world traditions with way out there experimentation, as seen in his crazy blends, like this Family Band red that has Zinfandel, Grenache and Skin fermented Chardonnay! Then there is Wallace’s deep dive into orange wines, with his 2021 Close Encounters being a phenomenon all its own, skin contact Chenin, Chardonnay and Viognier, that rivals anything I’ve ever had in the weird and wacky world of orange wines. The more standard stuff now includes a set of Bordeaux varietals, of which I was the most in impressed with his Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Franc, that I wrote about last month, but the quality of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon will surprise fans of these grapes as well! The all new Carignan was another personal fav, again I loved its soulful transparency, lively nature and its pleasure on the palate. Getting this far into talking about Hardy and not gush about his Mourvèdre bottlings, all of which come from outstanding and historic sources. Again, I highly recommend visiting Hardy’s tasting room in downtown Sonoma, where I tasted through his winter set of wines, which included some fantastic and more serious efforts, like his incredible Old Vine Grenache and Old Vine Carignane, along with those mentioned Bordeaux inspired Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot bottlings. Wallace, who is a Mourvèdre freak, once part of Dirty & Rowdy, also has some Bandol inspired wines and those are his signature wines, though you’ll need to join his wine club and mailing list to get a chance at those, as there is a fanatic cult like following for them, so it is best to get signed up.
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 La Marea by Ian Brand, Verdelho, Monterey County.
Here’s a brand new, cool and mineral crisp white wine from Ian Brand made from the Portuguese Verdelho grape and under his Spanish inspired La Marea label, which also has an Albariño, a local favorite and killer old vine Grenache wines, all of which are savvy value priced offerings. The new Verdelho is a perfect sardine sand or oyster wine, perfect for fresh Summer refreshment, beach sipping and picnics with its lighter and zesty personality showing off zippy lemon/lime, white peach, melon and tart apple fruits, along with saline, wet stone, bitter almond and sour grass. The grape is not unlike Sauvignon Blanc naturally, but in this case and made to be drunk young, there’s less intensity of aromas and or gooseberry accents. The Verdelho grape variety comes most famously from the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco where it is made into those iconic maderized wines, from Rainwater to Malmsey, originally and accidentally made by the British who sailed barrels through the heat of the Equator.

Ian Brand, who is mostly known for his reds, like Grenache and Cabernet Franc, told me recently that he’s getting really excited with the white wine grapes in the greater Monterey region and his latest set of wines reflects that, with his Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnays, the mentioned Albariño, Melon de Bourgogne, the rare Arneis and this new Verdelho all being distinctive, thrilling and delicious! There’s quite an exciting set of white grapes growing in the Monterey region, many from Spain and Portugal, as well as Mediterranean varietals, like Vermentino and Malvasia, which have become very popular, along with a lots of white Rhône grapes, including fun rarities like Picpoul and Clairette. So there’s plenty to explore here in this large and diverse Coastal region that has many unique terroirs, such in the stony soils and warm days you find in the Southern zone, where this grape, which retains loads of fresh acidity is grown. This white wine saw a stainless steel fermentation and an ultra short lees aging period to capture the vitality and freshness of the long cool growing season, being bottled very quickly, similar to Basque white. This wine is part of Brand’s latest club release and is now available at his tasting room!
($25 ESt.) 90 Points, grapelive

2020 Fèlsina – Berardenga, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tuscany, Italy.
This dark, aromatic supple and rich 2020 vintage of Fèlsina’s black label, Chianti Classico Riserva is, as per normal, a wonderfully pure Sangiovese and is densely packed with luxurious fruit and has solid and gracious length, while retaining a fine balance. This wine, like the gorgeous 2016 version, offers up a range of flavors including blackberry, plum, black cherry, mulberry and currant fruits along with accents of mocha, minty herb, spicy cut tobacco leaf, crushed flowers and cedar, adding an a touch of anise, leather and a lingering framboise note. This bottling, as I’ve mentioned before, while not surprising given Fèlsina’s record of quality, does raise an eyebrow for its value and purity of form in this price point, you’d most likely be happy with this wine’s performance at twice the asking price, so stock up Chianti fans. This is a wine that transports me back to Italy and my first experiences in Tuscany and I cannot wait to return and explore it all again, see those picturesque vines, charming hilltop towns, castles and smell the harvest as it happens. In the rolling hills, not far from Siena, just to the to the southwes,t sits Castelnuovo Berardenga, one of Chianti Classico’s most unique growing zones that for thousands of years was known for the quality of olive oils more than wine, until wineries like Fèlsina turned this area into one of the best terroirs for Sangiovese. Fèlsina’s 100% Sangiovese Fontalloro is one of the most iconic wines in all of Italy, proving Sangiovese, can all by itself, can rival to top red wines in the world and the full collection here are elegant offerings that will impress almost every palate.

The Fèlsina Castelnuovo Berardenga estate, in an area that was cherished during Roman times, was once the farm of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, back then Fèlsina was mostly known for its sense of peace and its olive groves, with, as the winery notes, just a few hectares dedicated to viticulture before the nineteenth century. The original wine cellar was small, but in the early 1900s had already begun bottling on site and Fèlsina’s slow and historic march toward greatness in Italian wine began, with the present generation of care takers here committed to holistic and sustainable farming and the Sangiovese grape, including preserving a selection old special clones of this classic Tuscan varietal. The rolling hills of Castelnuovo are covered with chalky, rocky calcareous soils, with primarily marl, a common characteristics in Chianti, along with layers of sandstone and clay, along with ancient marine sediments rich in minerals all facing the path of the sun that allows for ripe fruit, concentration and refined tannins, while retaining energy with natural acidity. This Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico Riserva was a special selection of top sites, carefully sorted with de-stemmed grapes that were fermented and macerated in temperature controlled stainless steel vats with gentle punchdowns and pump overs to ensure perfect extraction after which the wine was aged in a combination of large Slovenian oak casks and twice and three time filled French oak barriques for between 12 to 16 months before the final blend was assembled to taste in the cellar. This dark crimson/garnet, textural and delicately perfumed Chianti Classico Riserva matches robust cuisine and or aged Pecorino (hard) cheeses and gains an extra dimension with air, this is everything you’d want from a 100% Sangiovese! I’m again thrilled with Fèlsina’s basic Riserva and I can’t wait to try the next set of releases.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Morgan Winery, Pinot Noir, Dijon Clones, Double L Estate Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The beautifully ripe, aromatic and brightly exciting in the glass, this dark ruby Dijon Clones Double L Pinot Noir from Morgan is a special 3 barrel cuvée made from clones 777 and 667, hence the name, and made with about 25% whole cluster, making it a standout in the latest set of wines from this famous Monterey winery. The palate is bursting with racy red fruits, with spiced raspberry, black cherry, wild plum, pomegranate and red currant leading the way along with briar peppery notes, sweet toast oak, crushed florals, orange tea, cola bean, porcini earthiness and vanilla accents, all wrapped in a silky textured medium body, but with a nice sense of fine acidity. The Dijon clones, originally selected by the University of Dijon in Burgundy, and certified by UC Davis, became hugely popular in the 1990s and 2000s, as the Morgan Winery explains, due to their early ripening, disease resistance, and balanced yields. Going on, winegrower Dan Lee says, that in general, their Double L Estate version of clone 667 tends to show lots of dark fruit, while their 777 tends to be a bit redder in fruit tone. As per normal in the SLH and noted by Lee both clones and Pinot in general have lots of deep fruit concentration, brambly spice, with beautiful rose and violet floral aromatics and texture, as this wine shows. The inner energy and exotic nature of this wine definitely sets it apart and it is an awesome example of terroir driven Pinot that will go great with an array of cuisine choices from salmon to dust breast.

Coming from all organic vines set on what Morgan calls clayey Chualar Loam, granitic based sandy soils in one of the coolest zones in the breezy Santa Lucia Highlands, the 2022 Dijon Clones Pinot Noir was crafted by owner Dan Lee and winemaker Sam Smith with the mentioned 25% whole bunches and was aged for close to 11 months in French oak barriques with close to 40% new wood used to allow transparency of flavors, while still maintaining the luxurious style of the winery. The Double L Estate Vineyard, one of the most intriguing sites in the region, has, as Lee explains been conscientiously farmed since the original plantings were out in back in 1997, adding that today the Double L Estate Vineyard is the only certified organic vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The estate vines are located at the colder northern end of the AVA, the vineyard’s north-south row orientation provides optimal wind and sun exposure and sees an interesting selection of varietals and clonal material with some proprietary Burgundy clone Pinot selections, some beautiful Chardonnay, with their clone 96 being a personal favorite, and some seriously good Riesling, which is done in dry and off-dry styles and rivals the best in the state. Being a local to the Monterey region and very proud of our local history, it’s great to see Morgan reach new levels of quality and their latest releases are thrilling wines and I’m very excited to see their soon to be bottled 2023 Rieslings, Albariño and Rosé, which I hear are going to be some of the best yet, and later in the year the Chards and Pinots, again which look to be outstanding!
($75 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2018 Dr. Loosen, Riesling Spätlese, Ürziger Würzgarten, Mosel Germany.
Like the Kabinett version, this lush Spatlese, by Dr. Loosen, from the famous Ürziger Würzgatren comes from vines that average well over 60 years old and set on that smoky red slate and red volcanic sandstone that give this wine its iconic terroir distinction. Loosen’s Spätlese is produced with grapes that have a week or two extra hang time, but still without any botrytis, making for a richly flavored, slightly exotic and expressive Riesling with this 2018 starting to gain a rounded maturity and creaminess, but still with freshness and nice acidity holding it together beautifully. There’s brilliant yellow fruit, peach, apricot, lemon curd, pineapple, crisp apple and tangy quince, slate driven mineral tones, a dusting of spices, delicate chamomile, lime flowers, orange sorbet, caramel and wet flint accents. The “Spice Garden” is as Dr. Loosen notes, a blazing red, with a vain of iron rich volcanic soils over weathered slate and insanely steep, the Ürziger Würzgarten Cru vineyard sits the picturesque amphitheater formed by this dramatic bend in the river, forming a natural sun basket that helps ripen the Riesling grapes and gives these wines their signature profile, with some of Dr. Loosen’s oldest vines clinging to this famous hillside. Ürziger Würzgarten’s wines are completely unique, complex and lavishly tropical by nature and Loosen’s example is compelling and tasty, going great with spicy dishes with some heat, ginger beef, Thai curries and super with grilled prawns and or chili crab!

As mentioned many times here, the Weingut Dr. Loosen has been in the same family for over 200 years and with mostly un-grafted old vines that average around 50 years old, in some of the best sites in Mosel, giving Ernst Loosen an awesome selection of grapes to work with. Loosen always seems to produce stunningly intense, world-class wines that not only show terroir, but also a sense of purity wrapped in a luxurious package. With crop yields, according to the winery, almost half of what is permitted by law, only moderate use of organic fertilizers, and old-fashioned cellar practices these wines deliver exceptional quality, quite remarkable for such a large company, showing its commitment and respect for its core mission. The medium sweet Spätlese is made from all sustainable grapes, carefully hand tended and sees a cool fermentation in a combination of stainless steel tanks and traditional Fuder barrels known as Stuckfass. The fermentation stopped by chilling the juice, keeping about 67 grams per liter of residual sugar and finishing up with between 7.5 and 8.5 percent natural alcohol, (8.5% as seen here) in Dr. Loosen’s 2018 version. The Spätlese gets a short period of fine lees contact that adds to the complexity sand depth here, but is bottled fairly quickly to promote vibrancy, clarity and terroir nuance, which adds to the enjoyment of this wine, both young and with some age, as this one shows. I hear the 2022 vintage, which is just coming out now, is one of the best ever Ürziger Würzgarten years, so I’m excited to try it soon, but I highly recommend this classic 2018, which was showing great last night as our tasting group celebrated Riesling’s 589th Birthday.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Freemark Abbey, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley.
The Freemark Abbey, Napa’s first winery to be woman owned, is a great way to celebrate Women’s History Month, especially with their tasty Sauvignon Blanc which comes from three separate vineyards, including the Freemark Abbey Wilson Ranch, Oakville Vineyard and Yount Mill Vineyard, that adds to the complexity, varietal character and range of bright citrusy and aromatic flavors. The vintage, while being hot at times and the wine being ripe, there’s a lovely refreshing balance, making for an expressive Sauvignon Blanc with zesty lemon/lime, passion fruit, honeydew melon and vibrant gooseberry fruits along with snappy herbs, loam, kiwi, leafy notes and a touch of a mineral stony essences. The texture is subtlety rounded, comforting and medium bodied, but still crisp in detail and lively enough to be a nice Summer sipper, while still providing substance to go with an array of cuisine options. Freemark Abbey’s winemaker Kristy Melton crafted this wine from 97% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Sémillon that was gently pressed and cool fermented to preserve heightened aromas, and after fermentation the wine was blended from separate pick dates and aged in mainly used French oak barrels for close to 4 months on the fine lees. Melton, as the winery notes is the eighth winemaker in Freemark Abbey’s more than 130-year history and its second female winemaker since Josephine Tychson in 1886, is already credited with raising the game here throughout the range of Freemark Abbey’s collection and I cannot wait to try more of her wines.

The historic Freemark Abbey winery, in St. Helena, which was first founded in 1886, as noted by the winery, by Josephine Tychson, a Victorian widow, built and operated the original redwood cellar on our estate, cultivated the land, and became the first female winemaker on record in Napa Valley. This was short lived, as in 1898, Antonio Forni, a good friend of Josephine’s, purchased the winery and renamed it as Lombarda Cellars, after his birthplace in Italy, he also build the winery structure which still survives today. Just before the US entered WWII, in 1939 three southern California businessmen purchased Lombarda Cellars, combining their names, Charles Freeman, Marquand Foster and Albert “Abbey” Ahern into the name, we know today, Freemark Abbey. Interestingly, Freemark Abbey was one of the first wineries in Napa to open a tasting room and visitors center back in 1949, and in 1967 a new partnership took over and into the 1970s they focused almost exclusively on Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, plus a few Bordeaux blends, including their Bosché Vineyard Cabernet, their signature wine, and one of the first single vineyard labeled bottlings in California. Freemark Abbey, one of the original twelve wineries to be included in the Judgement of Paris tastings, along with the likes of Chateau Montelena, Ridge Vineyards and others. I most recently reviewed Freemark Abbey’s 1972 Petite Sirah, a wine that was still was absolutely perfect and drinking exceptionally well at 50 years old, and I have enjoyed the signature Bosché Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon over the decades I’ve been a wine professional and even before as an enthusiast and look forward to doing so in the future.
($35 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Theopolis Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Cortada Alta Vineyard, Santa Lucía Highlands.
The ripe, luxurious and satiny dark fruited Cortada Alta Pinot from Theodora Lee at Theopolis Vineyards shows off the best qualities of this unique high elevation vineyard and the vintage with a compelling array of smoothly layered Pinot fruits, a light dusting of spice, pretty florals, hints of earth and a subtle toasty oak nuance. Lee’s version, also helped by Pinot maestro Ed Kurtzman, the ex Roar man who has a long relationship with the Santa Lucia Highlands and close ties to this vineyard, delivers a rich bouquet of crushed berries, rose petals and candy caps that leads to a medium/full body on the palate that gives black cherry, raspberry, Summer plum and grilled orange fruits, along with a touch of vanilla, dried herbs, sandalwood, cinnamon and tea spices. This dark ruby/garnet wine is an impressive addition to the Theopolis lineup, who’s most known for their signature estate grown Yorkville Highlands Petite Sirah, and an exciting Pinot to enjoy over the next 3 to 5 years. Typically, these Theopolis Pinots see carefully sorted grapes that are all hand harvested and then gently cold macerated them in small bins with daily hand punch-downs before maturing the wine in mostly used French oak for between 8 and 14 months.

The Cortada Alta Vineyard, planted in 2014, which is one of the most distinct in the region, it’s the highest site in the Santa Lucia Highlands and has already made a name for itself in the form of outstanding wines, like this Theopolis version, as well as those by Mansfield-Dunne, Ed Kurtzman’s own August West label, Wrath, Loring and Testarossa, to name a few. The story of Cortada Alta, the highest vineyard site in the Santa Lucia Highlands, starts in 2009 with the Peterson family finding 300 acres of rugged scrub land that was a dream come true and this property would become one of the most unique in the region with plantings of Calera, Pommard, Swan, 2A, 23, 667, 828, and 943 Pinot clones. Again as mentioned before, Cortada Alta has some pretty steep slopes, with some at a 44% grade, at close to or above 1,500 feet up, and it’s set on the SLH’s sandy loams with clay and decomposed granite. This site gets a constant cold blast of sea air and loads of sun, making for intense conditions and lots of fruit density, while still enjoying natural acidity, making for balanced and compelling wines, such as this one. For this 2022, Theopolis fermented their Cortada Alta Pinot with de-stemmed whole berries in a three-ton open top, stainless steel fermenter and used just 27% of new French Oak barrels, and gave it 10 months to mature, before bottling it unfined and unfiltered. I’ve been following Theopolis for any years now and the wines here are getting better and ore interesting with every set of releases and I highly recommend them.
($50 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2018 Chesebro, La Montagne Sauvage Rouge, CM Ranch Estate Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
The incredible dark fruited and powerful 2018 Chesebro La Montagne Sauvage red blend, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, is an old school mountain wine with serious presence and grip in the glass with black raspberry, damson plum, currant and brambly mulberry fruits, along with briar, crushed violet, loamy black olive, cigar wrapper, sage and old cedar accents. This medium/full bodied is still remarkably fresh, wound tight and taut, much more old world in style than a modern California wine, such is the skin to juice ratio and the natural climate here, I was blown away, especially with the length of the finish, which seemed to be held in suspended animation with the long firm tannin. Winemaker and vigneron Mark Chesebro employed nothing fancy, just old fashioned, traditional methods to produce this outstanding wine, preferring to showcase the raw nature of the place, the vintage and the grapes, and the results speak for them selves. These rocky hillsides and ancient seabed soils that are sun kissed durning the long Summer days also get chilly nights, from the Pacific Ocean, making for thick skins, less fruity ripeness, and good acidity, which gives these wines an austerity, chewy tannin and a bright core of energy. This wine, which was, again, shown to me by Will Chesebro, Mark’s son, who says this will be released soon and I highly recommend chasing some bottles down and be sure to decant and have with a hearty meal, I would guess it has another 10 to 15 years of excitement to give.

This special late release mountain wine from Chesebro, the La Montagne Sauvage red, is made from a tiny hillside parcel at their CM Ranch in Carmel Valley and is comprised of about 66% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 4% Mourvèdre grapes that are 100% de-stemmed and crushed with care, as tannin management is an important issue with the intensity of this unique site. Extended barrel aging and bottle aging is a necessity for this Rhône blend, it typically sees close to 24 months in mainly used French oak and a few Gamba Italian barrels, that the Chesebro family fee suits this powerful wine, after which it rests in bottle for another 4 years. Mark Chesebro, the ex Bernardus winemaker, who started his own label back in about 2005 around his small Carmel Valley estate, which has a collection of Rhône varietals and the Cedar Lane Vineyard in Arroyo Seco that has an interesting mix of grapes, including Albariño, Vermentino, Pinot Noir and most famously musque clone Sauvignon Blanc. The Chesebro wines are honest workman like offerings that are authentic, as mentioned raw and pure, with the whites mostly being clean stainless steel raised and the reds aged exclusively in well used barrels. Chesebro, along with his sons, does a series of value priced wines including Syrah, Grenache, Roussanne, Gamay, Albariño, Pinot Noir, the Musque clone Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino and a set of white and red Rhône blends, all coming from mostly estate grown fruit from, as noted, Cedar Lane (which has a new artist label) along with their partner’s Mission Ranch Vineyard, and the home vines at the CM Ranch in Carmel Valley. This small lot, handcrafted wines are definitely worth checking out, mostly sold through their tasting room in the Carmel Valley Village.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Kabinett, Oberhäuser Leistenberg, Nahe, Germany.
The flinty mineral driven and stone fruited slightly off-dry Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett starts with its usual subtle bouquet of white flowers, steely/flinty tones, faint tropical notes, a hint of earthy/saly brine and clove spice with tangerine, lime, peach and crisp green apple, in a lighter steely framed wonderfully detailed wine. Delicately spicy, floral, with a saline element and a wet shale note, this Kabinett is refreshing and lovely in the glass, as is per normal for a Dönnhoff. Coming from Dönnhoff’s terraced vineyards, with their picturesque steep slopes above the Nahe River this slate driven and distinctive Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett, one of my favorite wines, is an elegant off-dry Riesling, made with expert precision. These carbon-laced decomposed argillaceous slate soils and steep terraced hillsides provide ideal conditions for Riesling, according to the the winery, the cooler afternoon conditions here at the Oberhäuser Leistenberg vineyard allow for long hang times and lower natural alcohol, making for sophisticated versions of this Riesling grape. This is also the original Dönnhoff vineyard site, so for the family it holds a very special place in their hearts, and I can feel the pride in this wine. Made from organic grapes, all grown in this VDP Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) vineyard and certified Fair’n Green, this Riesling, widely admired by the grape’s biggest fans, not just me is pleasing to the palate and made with great respect to the local environment and the planet. The Riesling vines here are old clones sourced from Dönnhoff’s sites in Niederhausen and Schlossböckelheim. As I was reminded of by Wines of Germany USA, who are in full celebration of Rieslings 589th birthday and who gifted me this bottle of the beautiful 2022 vintage to get the word out, knowing I have long been a fan of Riesling and of Dönnhoff, a winery I have been drinking for more than 25 years.

On March 13, 2024 the noble Riesling grape turns 589 years old, but, as Wines of Germany USA says, the variety is fresher and more innovative than ever, especially Rieslings from Cornelius Dönnhoff which are some of the best in the world, from this delicious Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett to majestic collection of dry Grosses Gewachs. From its roots as a sweet wine, fit for kings and queens of Europe, to its modern dry, off-dry and sparkling iterations, again as Wines of Germany USA notes, Riesling doesn’t look a day over 500. Riesling’s story, as explained to me, begins historically with Count Katzenelnbogen, German wine extraordinaire, logged the first evidence of the Riesling grape near the Rheingau region on March 13, 1435, hence the birthday. One of his administrators bought a new white grape variety from a vineyard in Rüsselsheim for 22 shillings, and it caused a stir, as this grape variety, now know as Riesling, was much better in terms of quality than was typical for the time with its later ripening and its being more resistant to frost, and with a much more expressive aromatically. Thus, the Riesling legend was born and soon it was transported to other parts of Germany, maybe most notably the Mosel where it gained favor with Roman Catholic controlled vineyards in the region, while plantings all over flourished as well, as seen in here in the small Name region. The Dönnhoff’s, one of the greatest German winemaking families, first came to the Nahe region over 200 years ago, and after establishing a modest farm, they now have some of the world’s most renown vineyards and make some of the world’s best white wines. Cornelius Dönnhoff’s slate influenced Oberhäuser Leistenberg Kabinett, fermented and matured in stainless steel vats and large Germany oak stuckfass, should not be overlooked in Dönnhoff’s stellar collection of Rieslings, as mentioned many times, it always performs in classic and stylish way with its terroir driven purity in the glass.
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Tablas Creek Vineyard, Patelin de Tablas Rouge, Paso Robles.
One of the best values in the Tablas Creek lineup is the Syrah based Patelin de Tablas Rhône blend, which is 54% Syrah, 29% Grenache, 13% Mourvèdre, 3% Counoise and 1% of the ultra rare Chateauneuf du Pape grape Terret Noir in this vintage, making for a savvy almost Gigondas style offering with a bit less natural alcohol and a cool toned dark berry flavor profile with snappy spices, delicate florals and crushed stones. The medium full palate revolves around boysenberry, bramble berry, cherry, plum and strawberry fruits, along with wild fennel, a touch of cured meat, sandalwood, pepper, voilette, chalk dust and blood orange. This 2022 feels nice and fleshy, textural and ripe, with supple tannin structure and a youthful cut of acidity and a nice mineral note with just a touch of earthy character, maybe thanks to the dose of Mourvèdre here, but overall it’s a very pleasing version. All varietals, the winery says, for the Patelin de Tablas were fermented separately and de-stemmed with natural yeasts in a mix of upright oak fermenters and stainless steel tanks and aged in used (neutral) 1500-gallon oak upright tanks for close to six months before bottling.

The Patelin de Tablas Rouge, as the winery explains, incorporates fruit from several of the top Rhône vineyards and districts in Paso Robles, nearby, most of which are organic, with each vineyard selected for its quality and because most were planted with the originally Tablas sourced cuttings. The name Patelin translates to neighborhood and the grapes come from the mainly surrounding Westside communes, including the Adelaida District, Templeton Gap, Estrella District, El Pomar, Geneseo District and a tiny amount of Grenache and Terret Rouge from the Tablas Creek Estate Vineyard. Tablas goes on the say, the sites include vines in the limestone-rich, warmer, higher-elevation Adelaida District near Tablas Creek, the cool, coastal-influenced Templeton Gap to the south, and the moderate, hilly El Pomar to the south-east. These regions provide a core of structured, mineral-laced fruit and some excellent acidity, while others from the warmer heartland of the Paso Robles AVA, in the Estrella and Geneseo Districts, whose mixed sandy loam soils produce juicy, denser and vibrant Syrah. Tablas, thanks to the commitment of the Haas and Perrin families, continues to thrill us with a stunning array of authentically Rhône styled Red, White and Rosé offerings.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Ingrid Groiss, Riesling, Braitenpuechtorff, Niederosterreich, Weinviertel DAC, Austria.
Ingrid Groiss, as noted here, has established herself as one of Austria’s newest stars, is based North of Vienna, in the Weinviertel region, which is a historic region that is really seeing a modern revival. As mentioned in prior reviews, Groiss makes wines that showcase (a) crystalline purity and this latest 2022 Riesling is crisply focused with a taut medium bodied palate, it is an impressive effort again and a perfect way to continue my celebration of Riesling, which has its 589 birthday on March 13. Groiss’ hometown of Breitenwaida is host to an impressive terroir with loess, sand and gravel soils and there’s plenty transmitted into her wines, as is the case (again) here with a fine loamy stony quality and mineral tones to go with the wine’s lightness and energy. The pale greenish gold Braitenpuechtorff Riesling gives lime led citrus, green apple, muskmelon, white peach, quince and kiwi fruits, along with distinctive almond, verbena and tea spices, in a precise and sharply detailed style. Ingrid has been in charge of her family’s vines and making her own wines since 2012, and quickly gained attention for the quality of her wines and helped put the Weinviertel DAC region back on the map, the oldest in Austria.

I love Austrian Riesling, with the likes of Hirsch, Knoll, Brundlmeyer, Alzinger, Veyder Malberg and Groiss being some of my favorites, they are ultra compelling wines and as authentic as it gets. That said, I also love Ingrid’s Gruner Veltliner and her signature wine, the Gemischter Satz, which is a field blend white made from Chardonnay, Frühroter Veltliner, Grauburgunder, Grauer Vöslauer, Grüner Veltliner, Hietl Rote, Müller Thurgau, Neuberger, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Roter Veltliner, Rotgipfler, Sämling, Silberweisse, Welchriesling, Wiesse Vöslauer, Zierfandler. The Gemischter Satz comes from a single parcel planted by Ingrid’s grandmother in Braitenpuechtorff, just north of Vienna not far from the Czech border. These 50 year old vines produce one of the world’s most unique traditional bone dry white wines, which I highly recommend. The single varietal offerings here, especially this bright and acid driven Riesling, are well worth chasing down. The Riesling grapes were gently pressed without the stems, but did see 12 hours of maceration on skins and was fermented with vineyard native yeasts exclusively in stainless steel. After fermentation it was then it was aged on its full lees for 7 months before bottling, all to promote freshness and clarity. Again, I highly recommend these Grioss wines, with this vintage being a standout year and If you get a chance, don’t miss the mentioned Groiss Gemischter Satz, the GruVee (Grüner), the Rosé and this Riesling.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Leonard Kreusch, Riesling Feinherb, Estate Label, Mosel, Germany.
As we head towards the Riesling grape’s 589 birthday on March 13, it’s a great time to explore the full range of varietal offers from this noble grape, including the simple pleasure of a regional slightly off dry and fresh version like this one from Leonard Kreusch, a fourth generation producer with a few properties in the Rheinhessen and the Mosel, as seen here. This breezy and fruity Mosel Riesling is nicely balanced and lemon citrusy with crisp acidity, a light mineral tone and a floral bouquet, with enough residual sugar to go with spicy Asian cuisine, but not too much to be overtly sweet. This wine compares well with Dr. Loosen’s “Dr. L” basic regional bottling and is much more fun than the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and or a generic Pinot Grigio in this price category, this wine would just fine at your local Chinese joint and or Sushi bar. This wine that is sourced from daily steep vineyards that have some red loam/sandstone and Devonian slate soils along the Mosel River, giving this wine a bit more character, wet flinty notes and a ripe peachy note. Produced wholly from the Kreusch family’s Schweicher Annaberg and Schweicher Herrenberg vineyards, both classified back in during thePrussian monarchy in 1868.

The Mosel Riesling by Leonard Kreusch, coming from a selection of estate owned sites, sees a temperature-controlled, cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks using a combination of natural and cultured yeast. After the primary fermentation is complete and first racking process, the winery says, this Riesling remains on the fine lees for a short period of time to gain depth, texture and complexity before bottling. A touch more body and drier than a Kabinett Riesling, the Kreusch Mosel Estate Label comes in at 11% natural alcohol that allows for the zingy vibrant feel and just a touch slight creaminess on the finish. After time in the glass, there’s classic lime, green apple and apricot fruits, along with bitter almond, herb, spice and saline accents that makes this one easy to like. This is a wine that reminds me of what you’d see at most local restaurants in the small villages along Germany’s famous rivers, by the glass or at wine fairs, it won’t blow you away, but nicely refreshing to sip on its own and or with simple foods. Honestly, being a real Riesling enthusiast, I might not search this wine out, but I certainly would love to have this as an option at my Indian bistro instead of some awful boxed wine or sickly sweet Moscato that they seem to think is a good idea to carry. Thanks to Wines of Germany USA for this happy little pale gold and value priced Riesling to start my Riesling celebrations this week!
($14 Est.) 87 Points, grapelive

2019 Accendo Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley.
The Araujo family’s comeback to the ultra prestigious top end of Napa wine is complete with their new Accendo Cellars label and this 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, which I was fortunate enough to get to sample recently, bringing back memories of the1990s Cult Cabernets of which the Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard featured heavily along with the likes of Dalla Valle, Harlan, Screaming Eagle and Bryant! This lush, deep and beautifully detailed 2019 Accendo Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from a few selected vineyards, including some family owned vines, within the prime Napa Valley sweet spots, shows off an opaque purple/garnet color in the glass and a dense layering of black currant, blackberry, plum, blueberry and black cherry fruits that is accented with toasty sandalwood, vanilla, creme de cassis, dark chocolate, minty menthol, anise, sweet tobacco leaf, liquid violets along with a hint of pencil lead and dusty loam. There’s a powerful sense of structure, but the tannin is ripe and opulent, the texture is luxurious, very much in keeping with the vintage, but you can sense a bit of grip, which should allow for a good long life here and there is a touch of restraint here that keeps it from being syrupy or dulled by the oak. Accendo Cellars is led by Jaime Araujo and Greg Araujo daughter and son of founders Daphne and Bart Araujo, who grew up in the business, along with longtime winemaker Françoise Peschon, who’s been with the Araujo’s since 1993 and who brings a legendary amount of experience and talent to the Accendo project. Peschon’s thirty-year career, including stints at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Araujo Estate Wines, Viader Vineyards and Vine Hill Ranch, as well as Bordeaux’s Haut-Brion, has been hugely successful, as witnessed by the SF Chronicle naming her “Winemaker of the Year” recently and her resume of great wines. Peschon and team used grapes sourced from Vine Hill Ranch, Sleeping Lady, Eco Tone and a site on Diamond Mountain formerly known as Reverie, all elite sustainable vineyards.

Back in 2013, Bart and Daphne Araujo sold their historic Araujo Estate and Eisele Vineyard in Calistoga to First Growth Bordeaux Chateau Latour’s owner, who have carried on the tradition of excellence with their Eisele Estate label with plans to create a new adventure called Accendo Cellars, which run by the Araujo’s next generation. Accendo is committed to producing a top level Cabernet, in the mold of the mentioned original cult lineage that started in the early 1990s with, as they say, an ‘uber’ blend of Napa Valley fruit, sourced from estate vineyards, along with exceptional vineyard sites owned by close family friends. The style of these wines, they continue is modeled after the famous blends from the mid-20th century Napa Valley, maybe inspired by the legendary Inglenook and then Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve bottlings, as well as the later the Mondavi Reserves, where diversity of the Valley’s terroir is harmonized by the winemaker into an outstanding bottle of wine. The Araujo’s say the wine, a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, was fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged close to 24 months sur lie in new and used French oak barrels to promote the quality of their Cabernet. The Araujo’s own vineyards are located in Oakville and St. Helena forth core for the Accendo Cellars, with other elite grapes sourced from small sites in Rutherford and Oak Knoll, which adds to the complexity and depth in the wines, such as seen here in their fabulous 2019 release. It should be noted, that Accendo Cellars has a new home at Wheeler Farms, which they call a unique and special place that allows them to continue to make their wines at the very highest level, and to welcome very select guests to taste the wines in an exclusive farm-to-table and exclusive setting. which I doubt I can afford to try, even though I loved the wine. The collective force here at Accendo is impressive, with Françoise Peschon and Nigel Kinsman winemakers, Michel Rolland, their consulting enologist, along with Steve Matthiasson, noted viticulturist, and Jeff Dawson, a Biodynamic consultant, all make this a serious project to follow.
($395 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2021 Chiussuma, Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG “Pajarin” Alto Piemonte, Italy.
The Chiussuma Erbaluce di Caluso “Pajarin” by Matteo Ravera Chion, a winery and winemaker I’ve not tried before, was fermented and aged exclusively in steel, after which it was rested for about a year in the bottle, that all allows this beautiful dry white to be expressive and transparent. Even without oak aging, there is a round and textural, leesy, mouth feel, while staying vibrant, minerally and crisply focused showing off white peach, quince, melon and racy citrus fruits, as well as hints of hazelnut, dry straw, wet flinty stones, tangy herbs, white flowers and saline notes. As this wine, grown on sandy glacial morainic soils, opens, it takes on a presence on the medium bodied palate that is not dissimilar to white Burgundy meets Muscadet, but unique to its self and making for a very distinctive wine, proving why this rare varietal is gaining fans in the wine world. Like some other Piemonte white grapes, Erbaluce was close to extinction less than a generation ago, but now enjoys an enthusiast following, and we are lucky to have the wines made from this grape available to us in the States, and I recommend searching for this alternative white, with this golden Chiussuma Pajarin being a super place to start.

Erbaluce, an indigenous grape, with a long history in the region, dating back at least to the 1600’s, when it was documented in print, was recently given full DOCG status, due to the quality of the varietal in the area known as Erbaluce di Caluso in northern Piemonte. I’ve been following this grape for close to a decade, even if I’ve not had this Chiussuma Erbaluce di Caluso before, I’ve really enjoyed wines of Camillo Favaro and the most famous Erbaluce by Ferrando, a winery that was instrumental in reviving this grape’s fortune and years of being nothing more than an obscure curiosity and almost never seen outside of northern Italy. Matteo Ravera Chion’s version of Erbaluce is a real gem and is sublime food wine, it should please especially with sea foods and was great with raw oysters, when I had it recently, but has enough depth to handle an array of cuisine choices. Found almost exclusively in the Canavese area, the Alpine like northwesterly most part of Piedmont, sitting on the western flank of the Alto Piemonte before the transition to the Vallé d’Aosta. Erbaluce produces the sole white wines of this region that has DOCG status, with Erbaluce di Caluso, as seen here, as well as the sparkling Erbaluce di Caluso Spumante and the sweet Erbaluce di Caluso Passito.
($34 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

1998 Domaine Brusset – Les Hauts de Montmirail, Gigondas AOC Rouge, Vin des Côtes du Rhône, France.
The absolutely gorgeous and perfectly mature Domaine Brusset Gigondas is one of the year’s best surprises so far, drinking with far more life and clarity than one would expect from a 26 year old country wine, in fact, this is in better shape than many far more expensive Châteauneuf du Pape wines I’ve tried, with beautiful aromatics, lovely dark red fruits, delicate earthiness, dusty stones, dried flowers, briar spices and a hint of beefy sous bois. The pleasure filled and old world styled 1998 Les Hauts de Montmirail Gigondas has a medium bodied and mature palate that is wonderfully rounded and textural at this stage with a seamless layering of boysenberry, brandied cherry, plum, dried red currant and balsamic dipped strawberry fruits, along with autumn leaves, sticky lavender, chalky earth, a faint meaty leathery element, candied but tangy orange peel and a light peppery note. As this remarkably clear garnet/crimson hued Gogondas, made from maybe around 60% Grenache plus a good dose of Mourvèdre and Syrah, opened up in the glass it just got better and better with hints of violets and Mission fig making appearances and the length and lingering fruit were impressive, lifted by a fine cut of acidity. This is a peak performance by Brusset’s Les Hauts de Montmirail, though I can see it going another few years, though there’s no reason on earth to wait, I’m glad I found a few bottles which I plan to open sooner versus later. I’m a huge Rhône fan and Gigondas enthusiast, which I find have a cool toned, with a mineral essence and higher elevation character that I love, which is nicely expressed here, even with the age on it.

The Domaine Brusset was founded just after WWII in 1947 by the late André Brusset (1910-1999), who was followed by his son Daniel, and now run by his grand-son Laurent, that has kept the best of the family traditions, but also added organic certification and focused on true terroir driven wines. The Brusset family grows, as they explain, quite a few noble grape varieties on their 70 hectares, which covers five prestigious appellations in the Côtes du Rhone area, including Gigondas, Cairanne, Rasteau, basic Côtes-du-Rhône and the Ventoux. For their red wines and Rosés, they have Grenache, the main grape obviously, as well as Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Carignan all which feature supporting roles and add complexity. And while the reds make up 90% of the production, the Brusset’s do have some serious white wine, made from Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne and Clairette Blanche. If you were to put two of the Brusset wines on your wish lists, I’d suggest grabbing their top two bottlings, the Cairanne, where the winery itself is based and their fantastic Gigondas, especially this Les Hauts de Montmirail version, as this well aged 1998 shows, it is a rustic charmer and killer value. The Brusset Les Hauts de Montmirail Gigondas, which vines are located just below the great Jurassic calcareous ridge of the famous Dentelles de Montmirail on small terraces with rocky soils over clay and limestone, was 100% de-stemmed and cold macerated with a 30 day pilage on the skins and fermentation in temperature controlled tanks. The grapes are fermented separately and blended after with this Gigondas seeing a combination of vat and wood aging, about 50% each, with some new French oak used, in more recent years, depending on the vintage. I can’t wait to try the current releases, while I covet the couple of 1998s I still have!
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Ludovic Engelvin, Gard IGP Rouge “Clausus” Languedoc, France.
One of the under the radar discoveries of the last year, winemaker Ludovic Engelvin, who crafted this pure and outstanding 100% Grenache “Clausus” red, a wine that has serious depth of fruit, but with delicacy and finesse of some of the modern Sierra de Gredos Garnachas, that are benchmarks for the varietal these days, with beautiful aromatics, spice, earth and layers of smooth red berry led flavors. As I noted in the previous reviews, Ludovic was mentored by Didier Barral, one of the regions stars, also imported by Kermit Lynch, whom he befriended during his sommelier days, according to Kermit, and remains close to still, and that time cemented his belief in low-impact farming and natural winemaking, which he has obviously put to good use. Engelvin is working towards biodynamics and zero additives, except for a very minimal amount of sulfur, he uses, as he notes, no mechanical intervention in vineyards so as not to compact soils and lets sheep do the grass and weed trimming. This Clausus has bright intensity with a bouquet of crushed lilacs, wild fennel and earthy macerated raspberry that leads to a medium/full palate of boysenberry, plum, Bing cherry and dusty red currant fruits as well as garrigue, gravelly stone, pepper and blood orange accents. This, no wood, Clausus was selected from a single parcel of organic vines set on grey marl, clay and limestone soils and was aged close to a year in tank, to promote freshness and transparency. I got a brief chance to meet Ludovic at the Kermit Lynch 50th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting in San Francisco and was impressed by his lineup of Languedoc wines.

Young vigneron Ludovic Engelvin, as mentioned in my prior reviews, who has traveled far and wide even at such a young age and even worked with the legendary Didier Dagueneau in Pouilly-Fume, makes his wines in the village of Vic-le-Fesq, an almost unknown place between the Pic Saint Loup and Tavel regions, an area known as the Languedoc Gardois. Discovered by Kermit Lynch Imports, who are some of the world’s best talent scouts, Engelvin has just released his first set of wines, which I have tasted, all made with organic grapes and crafted to promote purity and terroir, he doesn’t yet use any oak, preferring to use stainless steel and fiberglass vats, as employed here with this 100% Grenache Gard Rouge. To make his wines, which are fermented with all natural or native yeasts and gently crushed without de-stemming, Ludovic does not do rigorous macerations, he has a light touch with his wine looking for nuance and allowing the terroir to lead the flavor in bottle. I understand, Ludovic is going to release a more powerful 50% Mourvèdre and 50% Grenache, that was aged in wood, which I look forward to trying in the future, as well. This part of the Languedoc has lots of history in wine, though mostly forgotten in modern times, but as Kermit explains, the Languedoc Gardois has long been a viticultural hotspot: the Romans, who made the nearby city of Nîmes an important hub, established a thriving winemaking industry here centuries ago. It’s these new generation winegrowers, like Ludovic, who are bringing these places back to our attention.I was captivated with Ludovic’s Cinsault based “Cru-elles” Vin de France, as well as his unique no sulfur 100% Mourvèdre “Oasis” Rosé and this “Clausus” red, all of which I recommend.
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2017 Sesti – Castello di Argiano, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany, Italy.
It’s always a treat to drink and or taste these Sesti wines, especially their Brunello offerings, and this 2017 is lovely with the classic brooding dark fruits, dried roses, tobacco leaf, minty herb accents to a deep expression of blackberry, plum, cherry and balsamic strawberry fruits along with subtle leathery/earth, cedar, coco powder and anise, which makes it a touch fresher than the Riserva that I reviewed previously. Sesti, like left bank Bordeaux, makes a full bodied, but not heavy version of Brunello, with this wine having structural tannin and acidity, but delivered with a sense of grace and rustic charm.The winemaking, according to Kermit Lynch, who imports these wines, is done in old school fashion, with 100% de-stemmed grapes being macerated and fermented in stainless steel and then aged in large oak (30 HL ) botti (cask) for over three years and another year in or so in the cellar bottled, before release. Siesta’s terroir is distinctive, being higher elevation, with the Brunello coming from 20 plus year old vines, up at around 350 meters above sea level, set on marine or oceanic sediment, rather than volcanic or limestone, seen in other parts of the zone. While the collector world scramble for the just released 2019 Brunello di Montalcinos and prepare to wait decades, this tasty deep garnet hued 2017 is showing well now and has tons of personality and character to be enjoyed now and for the next 5 to 7 years with ease, though serious enough to age much further.

I tasted the current wines, with Elisa Sesti, who I had met with on a couple occasions while she toured the States, at importer Kermit Lynch’s 50th Anniversary portfolio tasting in November of 2023, which included the Riserva Phenomena and this vintage Brunello di Montalcino. Also, since 2010. I have also loved the Sesti Monteleccio Rosso and the Rosso di Montalcino DOC, which are both savvy values and can be enjoyed young. In 1975, Giuseppe Maria “Giugi” Sesti, according to importer Kermit Lynch, moved his family to Tuscany and bought the Castello di Argiano, a historic ruins and began to form ideas of a planting a vineyard there within the Montalcino commune and starting a winery, that he founded in 1987, which didn’t realize much of anything until around 1991, when his first Sangiovese (Grosso) vines were in the ground around the old castle. In fact, Giugi really didn’t get much done until his talented daughter Elisa put herself in charge of things at Sesti in around 1999, though he did believe that the potential to produce great wines was there, and only if they farmed organic and that the wines were made with natural methods, which he pursued from the beginning here. After Elisa Sesti, joined the family estate full time, she was active in all aspects of the vineyard management, promotional work and the winemaking, which has taken this lesser known property to international fame and these traditional styled wines are now some of the region’s best and most coveted offerings. I really enjoyed this regular Sesti Brunello di Montalcino, which was in the large wood for 39 months, almost a year less than the Riserva, and I would recommend to Brunello fans.
($120 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

Grapelive Wine Reviews – February 2024

2022 August West, Pinot Noir, 20th Anniversary, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County.
The pretty and lush fruited 20th Anniversary SLH Pinot by August West and winemaker Ed Kurtzman (formerly of Roar) is a perfect celebration of his long standing relationship with the region and his talents with the grapes grown here with satiny layers of black cherry, plum, bramble berry and burnt orange fruits, briar spice, vanilla, sweet rose petal, loam and mint tea. This wine, August West’s dark ruby/garnet 2022 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Cortada Alta Vineyard, that is set high above the Salinas Valley on decomposed granite, ancient marine sediments and loam. The vines at Cortada Alta are way up between 1,200 and 1,700 feet in elevation, the highest in the region, which puts them above the fog on most summer days. This, as Ed says, is unusual for the Santa Lucia Highlands, as most of the appellation sits below the fog level and resulting wine is quite a bit fuller and more intense, with a bit more tannin than the typical SLH Pinot. In years like 2022 you can really feel the extra degree of richness, while the cool nights help retain fresh acidity, making for a very compelling Pinot Noir.

The August West wines, which are all hand crafted in small lots, are produced in San Francisco in their urban winery with a focus on Russian River and Santa Lucia Highlands grapes with winemaker Ed Kurtzman having ties to both regions. Kurtzman, who got his start with Monterey’s Bernardus Winery under local legend Don Blackburn before moving over to Chalone to work with Michael Michaud getting tons of experience with grapes of the Monterey Bay durning the mid 1990s. After that, Kurtzman became a much in demand consulting winemaker for some top notch estates, like Testarossa, Fort Ross, Freeman, as noted above and the mentioned Roar, where Ed really excelled with the Santa Lucia Highland’s most prized vineyards. The wines made by Kurtzman, here at August West and the offerings he does for Mansfield-Dunne are very expressive and textural efforts, both the Chardonnays and Pinots, as seen here, are wines I highly recommend. For this 2022 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Kurtzman used 100% de-stemmed grapes and fermented in small open top bins, employing a cool maceration and primary fermentation, after which the SLH Pinot was aged exclusively in neutral French oak barriques, allowing for a nicely balanced profile and purity of flavors.
($39 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Audeant Wines, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The dark ruby hued 2019 Audeant Pinot Noir, an all new producer and wine for me, is an impressive wine that is bursting with personality and classic Oregon character with a low alcohol freshness, showing off vivid dark cherry, plum, raspberry and tart cranberry fruits, some spicy pop, earthy notes and subtle French oak, all working together in a smooth, medium bodied and elegant Pinot. There’s the sub 13% alcohol and lightness to admire, but as it opens this satiny textural Audeant Pinot Noir fills out on the palate and you get the sense of expansion and concentrating without weight, much like a Burgundy sometime does, making for a very elegant wine that I found kept my attention and excited the senses. Those that like the old school, less ripe and earthy Oregon Pinots will want to latch on to the 2019s, which proved difficult for winemakers and while results were uneven, there are some lovely efforts, like this one. Still very much under the radar, especially outside the region, Audeant looks set to blow up as their new releases get a wider audience.

Audeant Wines, a newer winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, was started by recruiting a young and talented winemaker Andrew Riechers, who’s relationships with farmers and vineyard owners throughout the valley helped get this label off the ground with some impressive results, as this Pinot shows. The winery explains that this small project was formed around a handful of rows, in a few of the most challenging and compelling vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley, where they sourced grapes from some older own rooted vines, un-irrigated and organically farmed at high elevation, believing that these vines, in the margins, are intense terroir driven sites that capture time and place. Oregon has so much diversity in style and terroir driven character these days, it is always a thrill of discovery tasting through the latest releases and vintages, with Audeant being a winery I will be following, in a new generation of Pinot makers that have impressed me with Vincent, Violin along with my favs like Hundred Suns to name a few. But classics, such as The Eyrie, Brick House, Cameron, Beaux Freres and St. Innocent still great ambassadors of the Willamette Valley, so it is exciting times here and a wonderful time to explore the region.
($60 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Bucklin, Anne’s Field Blend, Upper 5th Vineyard, Old Hill Ranch, Sonoma Valley.
The deeply hued 2019 Anne’s Upper 5th Vineyard Zinfandel based red field blend from Will Bucklin’s historic Old Hill Ranch, originally planted with Zinfandel in the 1880s, is a unique 3 barrel bottling of 67% Zinfandel, 19% Peloursin, 8% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane and 3% Colombard (white) that is all skin macerated, co-fermented together and then raised in used French oak. As with the 2018, there’s tons of personality on display and this is distinctive stuff with lush ripe Zinfandel led black raspberry, wild plum, Italian cherry and tangy currant fruits, but with some savory and earthy elements, taut tannin, a nice cut of acidity, mineral tones, beautiful floral aromas, snappy/resiny sage (sweet and sour herbs), along with a hint of coco, anise, cedar and loam. This dark purple/garnet Zin blend is an expressively pure California wine coming from vines firmly root in Sonoma Valley history with old vine concentration, fruit density, unfussy pragmatic winemaking to allow raw and rustic transparent flavors to shine through. This 2019 is full bodied, coming in at 14.8% natural alcohol, but doesn’t feel heavy or hot at all with an inner brightness, clarity of detail and firmly structured, making for a wine that is best enjoyed with a hearty and meaty meal. This Upper 5th Vineyard, named after winegrower Will Bucklin’s mom, Anne Teller, who’s been farming grapes here in the Sonoma Valley for many decades, starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s when she and her husband Otto purchased the Old Hill Ranch property, that is one of California’s most historic vineyards. With its century old vines, Upper 5th plot is its own micro-terroir and produces this tasty rare wine, with only 75 cases made, that is almost exclusively sold through Bucklin’s mailing list and website, which I highly recommend, along with Bucklin’s classic Ancient Zinfandel and the old vine Grenache.

Bucklin Anne’s Upper 5th red is an unique co-ferment field blend of five grapes, mainly old vine Zinfandel, Pelousin, a French variety, thought to be from the Rhône-Alpes region, best known its crossing with Syrah resulting in Durif (aka Petite Sirah), Petite Sirah, Carignane and French Colombard, a white grape used in Cognac, that come from a 100 year old plot. This separate parcel at Old Hill Ranch is all inter-planted with a collection of fruit and nut trees and is farmed with great care, naturally and with only sustainable and holistic methods. Named after Will Bucklin’s mom, Anne Teller, who’s been farming grapes here in the Sonoma Valley for many decades, starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s when she and her husband Otto purchased the Old Hill Ranch property, one of California’s most historic vineyards that was the first site to be planted to Zinfandel in the 1880s. As mentioned before here, known mostly for the Ancient Zin blend and the Bambino young vine Zinfandel from the original Old Hill Vineyard, Bucklin does a small lot collection of bottlings that wine enthusiasts should really take note of, like this Anne’s Field Blend as well as the Rosé, the Mixed Whites, the Ancient Grenache, the Otto’s Grenache and Bucklin’s delicious Cabernet Sauvignon. All of these wines are available on their website and remain some of the best under the radar Sonoma Valley wines out there and I highly recommend checking them out. Will Bucklin’s Zin based wines are right up there with some of the greats of Zinfandel, so lovers of Turley, Biale, Ridge, Sandlands, Brown Estate and Bedrock, to name a few, will want to get these incredibly well made and outstanding value wines all from one of the state’s great heritage vineyards. The Bucklin wines, which are fairly priced, are hand crafted using traditional methods with exceptional care and treatment of the grapes from the vines to the bottle with the wines seeing about a year in mostly used French oak barrels to allow the vineyard to show through in the wine.
($32 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Desire Lines Wine Co., Cabernet Sauvignon, Lichau Hill Vineyard, Petaluma Gap AVA, Sonoma County.
As I’ve been saying, Cody Rasmussen’s Desire Lines Wines Co. label is certainly one of the coolest and best new wineries to emerge in the last few years and his latest set of wines are absolute gems with his Syrah bottlings being some of the best in the state. This Lichau Hill Cabernet is pretty exciting too, especially this 2021 version. This wine follows the taste profile of the 2018 version, which I reviewed here, with a deeply saturated with an almost opaque black/purple and garnet tinted color which is ultra compelling and the nose is a classic mix of black and red fruit, floral notes, a light wood toast and chaparral that leads to an elegant and lightly spiced full bodied palate. A bit more natural acidity is here, but it doesn’t take away from Lichau’s opulent dense layering of blackberries, creme de cassis, plum and cherry fruits along with licorice, cedar, minty herb, a touch of vanilla and with some earthy loam, tannic firmness. For the Lichau Cab, winemaker Rasmussen fully de-stems the Cab clusters, but he uniquely doesn’t crush the berries, fermenting them on the skins for thirty days in tank, to get a semi-carbonic juiciness and smooth textures, and then he ages the Lichau for about 15 months in smoky/toasty 225L French oak barriques with about 40% new oak, depending on the vintage. As I’ve noted in prior reviews, Rasmussen, is the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Company, where he works under the guidance of Morgan Twain-Peterson MW, one of the great wine minds of California, and who has a fantastic selection of top vineyard sites from which great grapes come from, found in these excellently crafted small lot wines.

The Lichau Hill Vineyard, which is set on Sonoma Mountain’s western side with a southwest facing and a mix of rocky soils, is graced with a slightly cooler coastal influence, giving a more Bordeaux like character. The Lichau Vineyard, as Cody notes is thoroughly singular, it has the only Cabernet Sauvignon planted within the Petaluma Gap AVA, and at a good elevation, it misses most of fog and gets warm enough to fully ripenCody Rasmussen and his wife Emily started this micro (family) winery, Desire Lines Wine Co. in 2014 when they made their first wine, a Mendocino Syrah from the Eagle Point Vineyard, before creating a more wide set of wines over the next few vintages, which include a fabulous Griffin’s Lair Syrah, an expressive dry Riesling from Cole Ranch, a juicy Carignan blend from old wines in Contra Costa County, a pure Mourvedre and another gorgeous and opulent Syrah from the much heralded Shake Rigde Vineyard in the Amador County, as well as this impressive single vineyard Cabernet offering. Rasmussen, who is the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Company under the guidance of Morgan Twain-Peterson MW and one of the great wine minds of California, and has a fantastic selection of top vineyard sites to work from. His own label wines have the quality and refinement that you see in the highly regarded Bedrock wines, but still have a unique distinction and show his own personality as well as the individual terroir characteristics, which is clearly on display on this wine. Rasmussen says he didn’t intend to make a Cabernet when we started Desire Lines, but just by chance along a hiking trail, the Lichau Hill appeared to him and he was intrigued by this remote vineyard, and the results so far are impressive, I look forward to following this wine into the next decade. Desire Lines has stellar lineup, including the fabulous selection of Riesling and Syrah wines, I highly recommend all of the wines.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 La Ca’ Növa, Barbaresco DOCG, Piedmonte, Italy.
Like the basic 2019 La Ca’ Növa Barbaresco, which I reviewed earlier, the Cru Montestefano, is a pure Nebbiolo that delivers a lovely and rustically charming palate of bright red fruits, spice, mineral tones and dried flowers that all fold together nicely, drinking fabulously well in its youth with no harsh bite, but with a stylish structure and complexity, but with added depth and grip. The color is typical garnet with ruby/brick hues and this Montestefano Barbaresco has an aromatic intensity that is elevated with rose oil sticky mint, a hint saddle leather, crushed berries and subtle spicy cedary wood. This is seductive stuff, firmer and more expanded on the full bodied palate with reduced cherry, damson plum, earthy mulberry and bramble berry fruits, as well as dried herbs, tarry licorice, chalky stones, forest floor and grilled orange peel. Again, like the last three or four vintages, it s hard to agree that for the money it is a no brainer and should drink well for 5 to 10 years. Luxurious texturally, the Montestefano, delivers a nicely balanced wine from this warm and ripe vintage. These La Ca’ Növa Barbarescos really got my attention with their 2016s, and their 2019s, while more fruit forward, are attractive Nebbiolos that are, as noted, impress greatly, and are very easy on the wallet. The La Ca’ Növa Montestefano was fermented traditionally 100% de-stemmed with native yeasts with everything done by hand using smaller sized open top barrels, as was done in older and simpler times. The maceration, as noted previously, is interestingly done with a large wooden spoon used to stir the musts, which the winery notes, is very difficult and time consuming work that helps extract a much richer color as well as more polyphenols. Before becoming a winery they were growers, even selling grapes to Gaja, until they began bottling under their own label. They prefer to age their Barbaresco in Austrian, rather than the classic Slavonian oak botti and the owners don’t have much in the way of modern technology.

The La Ca’ Nova estate, is a little family winery set in a farmhouse from 19th century, in the center of Barbaresco, it was founded in the ’70s, and is run by the Rocca brothers who split between themselves the different roles needed, from the cellar and vines to public relations and admin work. This estate, as mentioned in my prior reviews, has winemaker Marco Rocca guiding the wines here, with the property located just outside of the historic village of Barbaresco, producing authentically styled wines that way over deliver for the price, especially this famed Montestefano cru version. Marco’s main passion is his Nebbiolo parcels and his trio of Barbaresco wines, but he also does Dolcetto, Barbera, as well as a entry level Langhe Nebbiolo. All of which should be searched for, but especially the Barbaresco DOCG, Montefico and Cru Montestefano, as they way over deliver, they are fantastic at their price point. The winery has prized parcels, set on marl, clay and limestone soils, mostly within in the Montefico and Montestefano crus, as well as nice sites within the Barbaresco DOCG zone. La Ca’ Növa is a set up in an old farmhouse from 19th century, it is situated in the center of Barbaresco. The vineyards themselves are treated in full respect of the environment and farmed sustainably allowing for the natural vegetative cycle of the vines, with those at the Montefico and Montestefano crus being their joint signature wines and most coveted vines. This latest offering set from La Ca’ Növa is one that enthusiasts should stock up on, and at what they cost, can be enjoyed anytime, including for more casual meals, as they go well with a range of cuisine choices, even though best with rustic country or meaty dishes with proteins. Sometimes I get a bottle from La Ca’ Növa that is shy and needs time to unfold or comes off a bit Bretty, but mostly they have been absolutely brilliant and show off tons of personality, fruit, Burgundy like finesse along with savory elements and mineral charms, as this 2019 Montestefano has done with my bottles.
($40 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Alma de Cattleya, Pinot Noir, Sonoma County.
Bibiana Gonzàlez Rave-Pisoni’s second label Alma de Cattleya, as mentioned here in my prior reviews, is a rewarding, regional and value packed collection of wines, especially good is this beautiful Sonoma County Pinot Noir. The sultry and ripe 2022 is silky on the palate with expressive pomegranate, strawberry and deep rose petals coming from the glass, with black cherry, red berry and plum fruits forming the core here in this medium bodied Pinot. As I have found before, there is a precise quality to Bibianna’s wines and her well judged use of smoky/toasty French oak, allows for beautiful purity and transparency. It is a wine that goes great with food and as it opens it gains spicy/savory accents with cinnamon, orange tea, a touch of shaved vanilla and some earthy loamy charm in the background, much the same as the brilliant 2019 delivered. As noted before, this wine is an awesome value from one of California’s top winemakers and makes for delicious Pinot that is easy on the wallet and exceptional for any occasion or meal. Bibiana Gonzàlez Rave-Pisoni, known for her work with Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, has a great touch with Pinot Noir and this wine is very compelling stuff, just the kind of quality for the price everyone is looking for. In recent years, I’ve focused primarily on Gonzàlez Rave-Pisoni’s Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah bottlings under her Cattleya label, which coming from her husband’s family at the famous Pisoni Estate and their Soberanes Vineyard, which flirt with absolute perfection and are bucket list wines for Northern Rhône style, cool climate, Syrah enthusiasts.

The Alma de Cattleya (soul of the orchid) line is, as I’ve mentioned, the more regional bottlings, just below of Bibiana’s signature Cattleya offerings, which are mostly single vineyard limited small lot wines. They all are handcrafted wines from top vineyard sites, like the Pisoni family owned Soberanes Vineyard I highlighted above, where she gets that amazing Syrah. Bibiana Gonzàlez Rave-Pisoni, originally from Colombia, has an impressive resume to look back on, she’s made wine from Bordeaux (First Growth) to Cote-Rotie (Ogier) and from Burgundy to Champagne, as well as some impressive California estate, including Pahlmeyer’s Wayfarer. The Alma de Cattleya lineup includes, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux varietals, Chardonnay and this Pinot Noir, all of which offer a big bang for the buck. For this wine, Bibiana sources the grapes from selected vineyards in the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley AVAs and she ferments them in open top stainless after a cold soak to extract the beautiful dark ruby color, as always, the must saw gentle hand punch downs and a soft pressing before the Pinot was barreled down for about 16 months. Favoring vines close to the ocean with its cooling influences allowing long growing seasons and good fruit concentration, but with plenty of bright acidity for sublime balance. The Alma de Cattleya Pinot sees primarily Dijon clones 114, 115, 667, 777 and 828 along with some Pommard and Wadensvil old clones, for added structure and complexity. Bibiana Gonzàlez Rave-Pisoni also partners her husband, Jeff Pisoni (Pisoni Estate & Lucia), making a thrilling set of Sauvignon Blancs for their Shared Notes label, all of her wines are incredible, and I highly recommend checking them all out as soon as possible, with this one being a great place to start.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Bedrock Wine Company, Zinfandel, Beeson Ranch Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County.
The utterly gorgeous and perfumy Bedrock Beeson Ranch Zinfandel, with its hundred year old vines, concentrated dark fruit core and spicy note, is very impressive and really hits the spot for me, I find it one of Morgan Twain-Peterson’s most distinctive efforts, a sleeper in his awesome lineup and a pure Zinfandel that really shines on its own, but also balanced enough to be fine companion to many cuisine options. This vintage, much like the 2021, which I was thrilled with as well, has a weighted aromatic quality and the bouquet lifts from the glass with cut wild flowers and a striking incense note that really intrigues me and the palate, while full bodied and ripe is not heavy or ponderous in any way with pretty supple tannins holding things together and a surprising burst of natural acidity given the heat spikes that seem to mark the vintage in certain regions. The mouth is lush, seamless and juicy with black raspberry, wild plum, red currant jelly, kirsch, along with some brambly, lightly peppery spices, minty sage and dried herbs de Provence and a hint of loamy and dusty earth. The wood usage is on the subtle side too, again much more to my taste and this wine is really quaffable and comforting. The Beeson Ranch, as noted here, is located in the Dry Creek Valley AVA, is a steep western site that was planted well over a century ago on the quartz laced marine sediment soils, it sees those hot Summer days, but gets a nice night time cooling influence that provides fabulous overall balance, as this vintage shows. This stony old vine vineyard, with its mix of igneous and metamorphic rock makes for a Zinfandel, that winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson says, has both luscious and hedonistic weight and fine elegance, all of which again, I find very compelling and seductive.

The Beeson Zin saw a combination of oak aging vessels, with Bedrock having favorite barrels for Zinfandel, as well as their Grenache and even lighter weight Syrahs, which see 500 and 600 liter puncheons and demi-muids, with the winery noting, that these larger barrels retain freshness with a limited oak and oxygen impact, feeling that this helps preserve the fingerprint of origin in the wine better. Again as mentioned in prior reviews, the winemaking at Bedrock, and under Morgan Twain-Peterson, relies less on dogma and more about what the vintage and vineyard needs to best show itself and with Zinfandel, it was once thought you’d always de-stem the grapes, but Twain-Peterson has used some whole cluster to great effect here. Typically Bedrock have never used whole-cluster on Zinfandel, Morgan says, and that like most things thought to be verboten, it turns out that whole-cluster, used during fermentation, can be delicious and fun in Zinfandel too! As anyone who’s enjoyed these Bedrock wines can attest to, and when done well, as Morgan continues, whole-cluster can amplify perfume, increase structural complexity, lower alcohol in the finished wine (stems absorb some ethanol), improve fermentation health by controlling temps, and increasing a wine’s overall character. Twain-Peterson warns that this doesn’t always make sense and the drawbacks can include stem bittiness, leading to green flavors, adding too, if used for pure carbonic maceration, the whole cluster can, he says, potentially overwhelm the wine with the bubble gum/banana Runts character. The Zins, like this Beeson, which sees mostly neutral oak to promote transparency and fruit density are wonderfully expressive, as Bedrock continues to experiment with whole bunches in the maceration(s) to make the wines even more thrilling! Bedrock keeps getting better and better and I am enjoying watching them explore more historic vineyards and these wines are continuing the evolution of California wine.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Lioco, Chardonnay, Sonoma County.
Lioco’s brilliant, almost Chablis like crisp, Sonoma County Chardonnay, made by the husband and wife team of Matt & Sara Licklider, is one of best deals in California Chardonnay with its subtle oak use, bright acidity and mineral intense personality. This vivid and steely effort from Lioco shows off everything you’d expect from the Lickliders, with vibrant lemon, apple, pear and tangy peach fruits on the racy medium bodied palate, along with saline rich wet stone, clove spice, citrus blossom and just the right amount of delicate flinty and hazelnut reductive charm, that is Burgundy inspired. The pale gold Sonoma Coast shows off a different and more restrained style to most mainstream California Chards and is highly entertaining in the glass and goes great with a verity of cuisine choices, especially though with sea foods. Matt and Sara, and their small team, strive as they says to produce low intervention wines from special vineyards spanning 400-miles and five counties, including terroirs in Sonoma, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Yolo, with a fine set of Chardonnays, like this one, as well as Pinot Noirs. Licklider adds, this Sonoma County Chard is defined by its mouth watering, steely freshness ala the Louis Michel Chablis that inspired it, but the barrel fermented additions have added complexity and mouth feel, which I can attest to, this 2022 is a thrill!

One of California’s new generation of wineries, Lioco, owned by, as mentioned above, the husband and wife duo of Matt and Sara Licklider, they focus on natural style wines from cool climate sites, mostly extreme coastal ones in western Sonoma (Coast), Mendocino and the Santa Cruz Mountains, with a special focus on cool climate Chardonnay, like this one, and Pinot Noir, as well as a set of very cool and serious Carignan based wines, one Rosé, the pure 100% Carignan Sativa and the “Indica” version, which I reviewed recently, which has a small dose of Valdiguié included in some years. Lioco’s collection of wines is full of energy and crispness of detail, this quality is expressed especially vividly in their Sonoma County Chardonnay, the Estero Russian River Chardonnay, the Saveria Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Dijon clone Laguna Pinot from the Sonoma Coast and their very appealing La Marisma Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, all of which I highly recommend. This one sees early picks and whole cluster cool pressed grapes with most lots seeing full barrel fermentation and aging in used French oak. This cuvée, usually about 12.5% natural alcohol is mostly from Sonoma Coast and Russian River sites typically and is a blend of barrels that don’t make the cut into Lioco’s single vineyard wines, but don’t let that give you pause as this Sonoma County Chard is seriously delicious!
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Florence Vineyard, Zinfandel Reserve, Rockpile AVA, Sonoma County.
John “Jack” Florence Jr. is, as I mentioned in a recent review, was the original Rockpile AVA grower that helped create a whole new Zinfandel terroir in California, west of the Dry Creek Valley, near Lake Sonoma and his latest set of Zins are hedonistic pleasures, especially this 2020 Reserve. This 2020 is very jammy with dark fruit and ripe supple tannins, it is a wine in the style of Biale, Gamba and Bella with raspberry compote, chocolate covered cherry, plum and blueberry fruits leading the way along with a luxurious, creamy and polished ultra full bodied mouth-feel. There’s a subtle array of spice, sage, grilled herbs, wild fennel and savory/earthy notes, as well as a sweet toasty oak framing that includes vanilla, a hint of coconut, cedar in this thickly textured Zin and lingering creme de cassis rounds it out. Jack Florence made just 250 cases of this 2020 Reserve Zinfandel, which includes about 9% Petit Sirah, and it was raised in all French oak with a high percentage of new wood in this powerfully ripe vintage, perfectly matching what nature gave in this year, it will go great with robust and meaty cuisine. Now after trying the two current Zin offerings, I might personally prefer the 2021 which includes an extra dose of Petite Sirah and a bit more acidity, but both are are well crafted and will thrill those that love bigger and richer style versions of the grape.

The Rockpile AVA which I first heard about from Rosenblum Cellars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were the first winery to put in on a label and on the map with a series of thrilling Zinfandel wines. In 1994, Jack Florence Jr. planted Zinfandel in the remote hills west of Dry Creek Valley and Healdsburg (Sonoma County), not far from Lake Sonoma, an area that would eight years later become that new Rockpile AVA, bringing cuttings from the one hundred old plus St. Peters’ Church vineyard, which he farmed at the time, and for close to 20 years he sold grapes, before creating his own winery based around his small estate focusing on his beloved Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. He has loads of experience, and has since 2016, as he notes, worked with Wilson Artisan Wines, producing small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah for Wilson Winery, Mazzocco Sonoma, Pezzi King Vineyards, Rockpile Vineyard, in addition to Carol Shelton Wines, Bella Wine Caves, Calafia, and the Hess Collection. Rockpile, now with about 160 acres of vines, became an official AVA and appellation in 2002, and recognized for its unique terroir that is all above 800 feet of elevation and has mineral rich, sandstone and shale over clay based red (iron) very rocky soils, and seeing warm days and cool nights. All of which gives these distinctive wines their deep color, dense fruit, subtle lift and age-worthy tannic intensity, as seen here in Florence’s Zin efforts. There’s also a very limited Petite Sirah at Florence Vineyard too, and it is on my list to try soon, I recommend getting on their mailing list and checking these wines out.
($55 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2018 Jaimee Motely, Cabernet Sauvignon, Massa Estate Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
Jaimee Motely’s second wine coming from the old and historic vines at the Massa Organic Estate in Carmel Valley, is her very Bordeaux like Cabernet Sauvignon and is a much more deep and complex effort than her quaffable Claret bottling with mountain fruit character, wild herbs, spice, forest floor, a light leathery/earthy note and woodsy feel, making for a compelling lower alcohol and old world or throw back wine. This impressive, breezy and charming Cabernet Sauvignon shows off a cool climate, almost Loire like style in the glass with a dark purple/garnet color, a delicate floral array and a raw transparency that you don’t often see in modern California Cabernets with blackberry, blueberry, currant, plum and cherry layers, as well as hints of crushed gravel, loam, cedar, minty licorice, tobacco leaf and a very faint graphite and savory Umami element. The 2018 Massa Estate Cabernet continues to change and open up with air gaining in mouth feel and presence, while staying taut, with good lifting acidity and the vintage’s velvet covered tannin structure, this is a wine that is best enjoyed with a hearty and robust meal, reminding me of an outer Medoc wine meets Anjou Rouge, in the mode of that lighter framed style, especially as this wine is just 12.5% natural alcohol. Motely’s Chenin Blancs are very cool whites and she was drawn to this property, mainly, because of the original old vine Chenin vines here and I highly recommend them, especially the 2021 Massa Chenin, which should be really coming into its own.

Winemaker Jaimee Motely, who, as I’ve mentioned before, has enjoy a fast rise in the wine world, mostly known for her work with the rare Savoie region Mondeuse grape and Chenin Blanc, gained her experience by working in both the northern and southern hemispheres in the cellar and in the vineyards as well, she also spent time traveling to Europe to walk the classic vineyards and spoke with vignerons who have a coveted history in the field of viticulture and that inspired her passions for wine and its culture. Jaimee, who has been an assistant winemaker at legendary Syrah producer Pax Wines, is most known for her work with Mondeuse, a rare Savoie grape and her work at Pax Mahle’s facility in Sebastopol, California. Motely, who was introduced to this rustic old Carmel Valley site by winemaker Ian Brand, was clearly moved by what see saw here, noting that from the moment she first laid eyes on the place, Massa Vineyard, she felt an electric energy (from the vines) coursing through her veins. The Massa Estate sits at about 1,400 feet above see level in the mountainous Cachagua area in the deep end of Carmel Valley, where the pioneering Durney family originally, heroically planted 80 acres here in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, an area that was almost without any wine grape production and is still little known today. The wines from this site have a surprising quality to age and sometimes don’t fulfill their potential for more than a decade, or longer, in the bottle, but this one with its elegant and generous nature is drinking nicely already. Motely, who hopes to own her vineyard in the future, typically makes her her wines with a gentle natural touch with her Cabernets seeing some Stockinger (Austrian oak) puncheons and neutral barrels to promote freshness and transparency.
($65 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine de Fa, Fleurie “Roche Guillon” Cru Beaujolais, France.
Deeply purple/ruby in the glass and heavenly aromatic, richly layered with ripe dark fruits, but with a burst of fresh acidity, savory pop and elegant mineral focus, this gorgeous 2020 Domaine de Fa Fleurie captures the vintage and region to near perfect and is absolutely delicous! Much like the En Busset Beaujolais I reviewed, this Roche Guillon shows off a hedonistic vinous and lush palate with concentrated fruit density and smooth tannins, this Fleurie is impressive for its depth, complexity and raw sex appeal, making Domaine de Fa, made by Antoine Grallot, a new favorite of mine. Antoine’s dad Alain, who’s Crozes-Hermitage wines were always must haves for me, has really taken to the Beaujolais region and is crafting some thrilling wines, especially this one with its soulful and authentic terroir expression and slightly exotic whole cluster excitement. The palate is silken, a highlight of the 2020 vintage, supple and sultry with black cherry, strawberry, wild plum and crushed raspberry fruits, an array of mixed spices, heady violets, fennel, loamy stones, dark sandalwood and a light earthy/savory sense in the background, this is exceptionally posed and pure Gamay at its quaffable best. The all organic Roche Guillon Lieu-Dit, with 30 plus year old vines, at almost 400 meters up, according to Graillot’s importer Chambers & Chambers (West Coast), is a single vineyard, one of the highest in elevation in the Fleurie appellation that is very steep with a cooler west facing exposure and uniquely set on a mix of crushed granite, clay and limestone soils, all of which gives this wine its own distinctive quality.

The famous Graillot family of the northern Rhone, the owners and winemakers, Maxime and Antoine Graillot, son’s of the late Alain Graillot, a legend in the Rhône, for both Domaine des Lises and Domaine Alain Graillot, the fabled Crozes-Hermitage producer, have teamed up to produce these outstanding Domaine de Fa Beaujolais wines. These Gamay offerings are mainly from quality parcels of organic vines set in Fleurie and Saint Amour crus, like this Fleurie Roche Guillon. With Antoine, who is an obvious talent, leading the efforts here at de Fa, since the Graillot’s bought land here back in 2013, there’s a lot to get excited about with the wines so far, with these 2020 offerings being very serious Gamay wines and breakout hits for naturally styled Beaujolais enthusiasts. As mentioned in my prior review of Domaine de Fa, Antoine Graillot employs a traditional approach in the cellar, much the same way as some of the regional stars, like Foillard, Lapierre and Dutraive, using 100% whole cluster, semi carbonic maceration, and native yeast fermentation, with the wines seeing a combination of cement and old wood for aging. Typically the wines see about a year in the concrete vat and lager demi-muid(s), all to promote purity and show off a sense of place. The Graillot’s Domaine de Fa should be on your radar, they a studied collection of reasonably priced wines, that include a Fleurie, a Saint-Amour, this one, and a Saint-Veran cru Chardonnay, all of which I highly recommend chasing down as soon as possible, and while the 2020s are going to be hard to find now, I’m sure the 2021 and 2022 wines will be excellent as well, if not as ripe or plush. The winery is certified organic, but has started the process of conversion to full biodynamic farming that is the norm for the top estates and I look forward to following their efforts for many years to come.
($35 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Carlisle, Zinfandel, Papera Ranch, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County.
Mike Officer’s 2020 Papera Ranch Zin is deeply concentrated, full bodied and comforting on the palate with black raspberry, candied cherry, brambly currant and plummy fruits that smoothly flow in the mouth, along with hints of briar spice, sage brush, toasty wood, anise, lilacs and vanilla. I wasn’t sure about the vintage, which is marked by the fires throughout the state, but Officer, who like Turley, specialize in Zinfandel, seemed to have been highly selective and lucky to have missed the presence of smoke taint and this wine is a ripe and darkly beautiful Zinfandel in the glass, perfect for these cool winter nights. While truly, unapologeticly and expressively Californian in style this Carlisle Papera Ranch Zinfandel has the impact of a big and robust Chateauneuf du Pape and with be a fine pairing with lamb roast, grilled meat and or terrific with hard Basque cheeses, all of which will melt away any tannin and youthful firmness and allow the purity of the old vine fruit to shine. Carlisle says the Papera Ranch was planted in 1934 by Celestino (Charlie) Papera, and is an old-vine vineyards that contains plenty of mixed black varieties, most of the blocks here are 95+% Zinfandel, but one block has a significant amount of Carignan, with tiny amounts of Syrah, Petite Sirah and even some Valdiguié, once known as Napa Gamay. This site, Officer adds, is in a cool location, making it one of his last Zinfandel vineyards to be picked, all of which adds to the complexity and depth in the wines.

One of California’s brightest stars, especially for wines like this, winemaker Mike Officer, who’s Carlisle Winery, based in Sonoma County, is focused on old-vine, vineyard designated Zinfandels mostly, as well as red Rhône varieties, including Syrah, which I recently reviewed and loved, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah. Officer also produce three white wines, two of which, as he says, are blends from historic, old-vine vineyards plus Sonoma County’s first ever Grüner Veltliner, which is already a geeky treat. Carlisle, while widely admired for the Zinfandels, which are right up there with the best in the state, sitting easily along side with the mentioned Turley, Biale, Ridge and Bedrock, does, as noted, a fabulous set of Syrah offerings, including from the Rosella’s and Sierra Mar vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands, both of which I really enjoy personally with their more cool climate or Northern Rhône character. Officer explains that 2020 was a low yielding year, but that Papera Ranch was a bit of a bright spot for him with a production of 2.4 tons to the acre, not bad for such old vines. Going on he says that Papera was picked in four passes over a total of nine days, with the goal being to create as broad a palette of flavors and aromas as possible for blending the final wine, which I say he achieved to great effect. Mike reveals, that like many of his wines in this 2020 vintage, very little new oak was used, in fact only 10% percent was employed here in the Papera Zin, and the wine which was aged over a year in French barrels, was bottled unfined and unfiltered. If you have some of these, lucky you, go ahead and start drinking them, if not I highly recommend searching out the 2021s from Carlisle, an outstanding and age worthy vintage.
($54 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2015 Saxon Brown, Chardonnay, Hyde Vineyard, Carneros AVA, Napa Valley.
The beautifully mature, deep golden hued and voluptuously concentrated Hyde Vineyard 2015 Saxon Brown Chardonnay is a rewarding treat from one of California’s great Chardonnay vineyards with rich layers of apple, pear, lemon curd and baked peach leading the way on the full bodied and creamy palate that still has a nice sense of acidity, spice and saline, adding leesy almond paste, golden fig, clove spice, wet stones and luxurious wood framing. Those that like bigger framed and textural Chardonnay will really enjoy this Hyde, especially fans of the classics like Mount Eden, Kistler, Joseph Swan and Hanzell. The prestigious Hyde Vineyard, that was founded by Larry Hyde in 1979, produces some of the most coveted grapes in Napa Valley and. consists over 200 planted acres in Carneros, with a diverse terrain and unique micro-climates. The Hyde family sells fruit to over 35 different wineries, with Saxon Brown get a small batch of ultra high quality Chardonnay grapes for this wine. Located in the heart of Carneros, on hardened clay like soils, the Hyde Vineyards is located in the coolest region of Napa Valley, rather than the Sonoma side, influenced by the cooling effect of the Petaluma Gap and the San Pablo bay, making for long hang time and deep flavors, while retaining vivid acidity. It’s always great to dig into winemaker Jeff Gaffner’s Saxon Brown wines, as well as the wines he helps make on the side, in addition to his Saxon Brown, Jeff is the consulting winemaker for artisan labels including Stephanie by Hestan (Napa Valley), Black Kite Cellars (Anderson Valley), Vincent Christopher (Sonoma Coast), Modicum (Napa Valley), and Etre Wines (Sonoma Coast).

Jeff Gaffner’s Saxon Brown winery based in Santa Rosa specializes in hand crafted small lot wines from outstanding vineyard sites throughout the north and central coast of California and well known for there Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel and Chardonnay, which should not be overlooked. Gaffner says he focused on creating a wine that was built to age and have classic white Burgundy like characteristics. The Chardonnay grapes, Gaffner explains, are picked cold in the early morning hours, and he transferred the grapes immediately to the winery, then they were whole (cluster) fruit pressed. The juice typically, he adds, gets cold settled for three days at 40F before being racked to 40% new French oak barrels and inoculated with select Burgundian (Montrachet) yeast. Then after 90 days of cold fermentation, the Chardonnay saw sur lie (on the Lees) aging in the barrel for an additional 9 months with a delayed and lengthy 100% malolactic fermentation. To preserve purity and freshness the wine was soon there after bottled, unfined and unfiltered, with some cases being held in the library for a late release, as this one was. Gaffner, who started with Chateau St. Jean under the legendary Richard Arrowood, launched his own Saxon Brown label in 1997 to focus on small single vineyard botttlings reflecting, as he says to make elegantly structured, well balanced and age worthy wines. Jeff expanded Saxon Brown’s production over the years, and now includes some awesome vineyards like Durell, Gap’s Crown and Roberts Road (Sonoma Coast), Hyde (Carneros-Napa), as seen here, Green Acres (Carneros-Sonoma), Ferrington (Anderson Valley) and Rosella’s (Santa Lucia Highlands) vineyards, all of which are exciting, tiny production and search worthy bottlings.
($49 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Jolie-Laide, Gamay Noir, Barsotti Vineyard, El Dorado County, Sierra Foothills.
The bright ruby garnet 2019 Barsotti Gamay by Jolie-Laide is showing fabulously right now, it is a super California expression of true Gamay Noir that reminds me somewhat of Domaine de la Roilette Fleurie, which I just had recently with a nice earthy character and granite influenced mineral notes, along with a fine wild flower aromatic quality. When open, this lighter medium bodied Gamay has good acidity and a spicy pop adding some shaved cinnamon, a hint of dried herbs, pepper and burnt orange to a core of juicy strawberry, plum, cherry and red currant fruits. A touch of forest floor, subtle wood and anise fill out the flavors and there’s a delicate sense of tannin, but everything is pretty seamless and makes for an easy to love version of this grape and it pairs well with a wide range of cuisine choices, as well as being perfectly enjoyable all on its own. The Sierra Foothills, interestingly was one of the first places planted to true Gamay and this Barsotti Ranch vineyard is situated East and a bit North of Placerville, at just under 3,000 feet in elevation and set on classic decomposed granite soils, all of which gives the wine a Beaujolais like personality, but with California’s sunny ripeness. One of California’s best young winemakers, Scott Schultz, who cut his teeth with Ryme Cellars, Pax Wines and Arnot-Roberts, has a stellar collection of small lot wines sourced from sustainable vineyards throughout California and now made in his own purpose built winery near Sebastopol in Sonoma County.

Winemaker Scott Schultz says for his Gamay wines that the grape clusters are left whole as fermentation is started by carbonic maceration then crushed by foot where it finishes whole cluster for skin contact and extraction. The aim, he says, here is to ballast the fruity high tone aromatics of carbonic maceration with the intensity and structure of whole cluster fermentation, that results a wine that is light and fresh but with an underlying seriousness and complexity, which in this case works extremely well in my opinion. The post fermentation wine was then pressed to neutral barrique(s) for a 6 month élevage and bottled young to preserve freshness and delicate aromatics, also allowing for purity of flavors and transparency. While made to be enjoyed young and crunchy, this 2019 is still beautiful and has developed an extra degree of complexity and nice secondary elements, as described above, this is a brilliant wine that should keep going for another 3 to 5 years, though there’s no reason to wait. Sierra Foothills Gamay is capable of serious stuff and has been a favorite for years, especially as seen in Gamay Pioneer Edmunds St. John winery’s delicious Bone-Jolly Gamay Noir, which also comes from this Barsotti Ranch Vineyard, and in more modern times by Arnot-Roberts, another wine I reviewed not so long ago. As mentioned here, the Jolie-Laide label is Scott Schultz’s almost one-man operation based in a Sebastopol, as noted here, has gained a reputation for well made and geeky cool wines in recent years, his Syrah wines being nothing but exceptional, crafted using old school traditional methods. The Jolie-Laide wines are truly authentic efforts and they offer loads of class, value and distinction, I highly recommend them.
($36 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Drew, Pinot Noir, Morning Dew Ranch Vineyard, Anderson Valley.
The 2019 Morning Dew Ranch Pinot from winemaker Jason Drew, is again, a stunning effort with gorgeous aromatics, a deep ruby/garnet hue and is a thrill for the senses with a more approachable supple palate of black cherry, wild plum, pomegranate and briar laced raspberry fruits, as well as having partial whole cluster intensity, spiciness and bright cool climate acidity making it one of my absolute favorite wines. The late great Burt Williams planted this site in the Anderson Valley post his long and successful California wine hall of fame career at Williams Seylem and now under Drew’s talent in the vineyard and the cellar it is producing one of the state’s most desirable Pinots. Subtle oak, dark floral aromas and a sultry savory earthiness add to the deep pleasure found on this vintage’s graceful Burgundy like (textured) medium bodied palate, along with its 13.4% natural alcohol, highlighting an old world charm. Drew, who studied viticulture and got a Graduate Degree in Enology at the University of Adelaide in Australia has worked for several important northern and central California wineries and winemakers that includes St Supery, alongside Kirk Grace, at Joseph Phelps with Craig Williams, Luna with John Kongsgaard, Carmenet with Jeff Baker, Corison with Cathy Corison and Babcock Vineyards with Brian Babcock, giving him the experience to venture out on his own, which he has done with great success. Jason and his wife Molly started the Drew label in 2000 and now own their Faîte De Mer Farm, in the Mendocino Ridge area of the Anderson Valley, where they produce an amazing collection of estate grown wines.

I’ve been saying for years now that Jason Drew is making some of California’s greatest wines, especially his collection of Pinots, and he should be considered one of the best winemakers in the state with this wine again, being one I’d put up as proof positive. The Morning Dew Ranch Vineyard sits in the deep end of Anderson Valley, being located on a southwest facing hillside at elevation that helps keep things cool, originally planted by, as mentioned, the legendary Burt Williams, the eponymous founder of Williams Seylem, with a selection of California heritage clones and suitcase Burgundy selections. Drew, as the winery notes, sources both a Rochioli clone and an 828 or La Tache clone from two separate blocks at Morning Dew, which gives this wine its unique character. The Morning Dew Ranch Vineyard sits up at between 600-800 feet and is set on Franciscan series and gravelly loam soils with the region’s cool climate all playing key roles in the Drew’s depth, complexity and character. The rare and delicious Morning Dew Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir usually sees close to 40% whole clusters, that gives it a nice crunchy Umami bite and is fermented with 100% native yeasts. The wines gets a cool maceration and gentle extraction on the skins, including the stem inclusion, then after primary fermentation this Pinot was put into barrel to mature. After it finishes Malo-lactic fermentation in the wood it was gently gravity racked (twice) during its elevage to clarify. Most of Drew’s Pinots see just 10% to 25% new French Oak, to promote transparency and purity, with them getting about 11 months in barrel total. These Drew Pinots, and this one in particular, are spectacular wines and I highly recommend them, and I also love Jason’s Syrah and Chardonnay bottlings, both of which should be on your radar and wish list!
($70 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2021 Puccioni, Petite Sirah, Puccioni Ranch, Dry Creek Valley AVA, Sonoma County.
While the Zinfandel vines here at Puccioni were first planted back in 1904, this younger vine, inky dark and brooding Petite Sirah is sourced from all estate Petite Sirah vines planted at Puccioni Ranch in Dry Creek on a steep hillside block they call (the) Wild Bull, because of the tough terrain where it is growing, which fits with the personality in the wine almost perfectly. This 2021 is vividly purple/black and completely opaque in the glass and there’s tons of chewy dark fruit, rustic tannins, subtle earthiness and bright florals, it takes a while for the Puccioni Petite Sirah to fully open up, mainly as it is still so youthfully tight, but also due the the grape’s nature in general, which is a little wild and gripping. Once open, things turn more polished and charming with blackberry, blueberry, currant and candied cherry fruits leading the way and the tannins, especially with food, smooth out beautifully allowing incredible length and pleasure of texture to unfold. There’s a hint of smoky sweet oak, minty herb, coco and loamy notes too, all of which add to the appeal here, this is a lot of wine for the money and was highly enjoyable over the course of a chilly winter’s night with some rustic Italian cuisine and hard cheeses. The Puccioni family came to the Dry Creek Valley from Lucca, Italy, in Tuscany, back in 1889 and first purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1904, later, over the course of seven years, cleared close to 40 acres by hand and with the help of a mule, which became a fixture of estate, planted it mostly to Zinfandel, later adding this tiny parcel of Petite Sirah, from which this limited batch of wine comes from.

I first tried the Old Vine Zinfandel from winemaker Glenn Proctor at Puccioni Vineyards, a tiny estate producer based in the Dry Creek Valley, and now this sister wine, both of which are fabulous dark full bodied efforts that are compelling examples of their varietals and expressions of place. As noted before, I am a big fan of the Dry Creek Valley, where I tend to visit whenever I’m in the Sonoma region, though I’d not heard of Puccioni Vineyards before, so it was exciting to taste the Zinfandel and this lovely Petite Sirah, its definitely a winery to follow. A fourth generation winegrower, Proctor says, Puccioni Vineyards is one of the original family vineyards in Dry Creek, located not far from the town of Healdsburg, and is committed to sustainable farming and their hand crafted small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Proctor’s great grandfather came from Italy in the late 1800s and founded the Puccioni Ranch in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County in 1904, employing the traditions of the old world and planting Zinfandel on his hillside property. The Puccioni wines, as noted in my prior review, are made using their all estate grown grapes, with the Zin coming from their 100-year-old plus vines, and made to show off the distinctive terroir, California sunshine, and allow some of the rustic charm to shine through, with their 2021s perfectly capturing the year and place in the bottle. Proctor himself sports an impressive resume, he attended C.S.U. Fresno for his Bachelors in Viticulture and then U.C. Davis for his Master’s Degree in Viticulture, he went on to work at Glen Ellen Winery and Benziger Family Winery in the late 80’s, before going on to Napa’s famous BV and Sterling, where he became Vice President of Winegrowing. The wines here are well priced for the price and structured to reward some cellaring as well, especially this Petite Sirah, I’d suggest looking for it and or visiting the winery as soon as possible.
($38 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet, Bouzeron AC, White Burgundy, Cote Chalonnaise, France.
Ramonet, one of the most iconic and classic producers in Burgundy, mostly known for their whites, is never a wine to miss and this fantastic Bouzeron, 100% Aligoté, is a stunner that most people will mistake for one of their famous Chassagne bottlings, showcases just how good this grape can be! This 2019 is quite fresh, steely/flinty and reductive, even on day two with loads of matchstick and hazelnut, but still pure with lemon, white peach and subtle green apple and Bosc pear fruits, along with wet stones, white flowers, verbena, leesy/yeasty bread dough, tangy sour grass and delicate wood notes. The historic Domaine Ramonet produces close to two dozen Appellation wines from their prime 40 Acres of vine plots, that are located mostly around Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, though this one comes from Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise, where this grape, rather than Chardonnay, thrives. Ramonet, who’s signature wine, the Premier Cru Chassagne-Montrachet Abbaye de Morgeot, that I’ve had from older vintages, goes for close to $600, never mind the unicorn Montrachet or Batard-Montrachet Grand Crus, wines I doubt I will ever have a chance to try, makes some of the most collectable and most coveted white wines in the world, but this one flies under the radar and is an exceptional value, once you get over the fact that it is Aligoté!

In the last decade, Aligote has gotten really good, the other white Burgundy grape, which usually gets quickly forgotten and while sometime pleasant has rarely been given much attention, but that has changed and you’ll find some amazing versions these days! The ones that have caught my eye and palate are wines like the Francois Carillon Aligote, that is one of the best and most interesting versions of this varietal I’ve come across, right up there with this much more old school, but brilliant Ramonet, and Domaine de Villiane, which is the standard of the industry these days, plus Pataille, Philippe Chavy, another gem, Domaine Dureuil-Janthial and last but not least, another favorite Benoit Ente. The village of Bouzeron, that became an AOC in 1997, in the Côte Chalonnaise, boasts the best Aligoté in Burgundy, and according to Kermit Lynch, has the preferred Aligoté Doré, (instead of the lesser clone, Aligoté Vert) which he says gives smaller yields, in the vineyards, to produce wines with more expressive aromatics and added complexity. The cooler climate and the clay, limestone and stony marl soils here also play a part in the driving mineral intensity, vibrancy and saline oyster shell note. This excellent pale straw/gold wine, which has a distinctive melon note that might give it away that it is Aligote, a grape that is found in almost all of Burgundy, from near Chablis to even further in the south as far as the Mâconnais, was crafted much the same as Jean-Claude and Noël Ramonet’s traditional bottlings, with very high end, but used barrels employed, giving the wine its class, full array of flavors and its pleasing medium bodied texture.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel, Judge Bell, Amador County.
The Turley Judge Bell Amador County Zinfandel comes from vines planted back in 1907 in the Shenandoah Valley region and set on granitic material and volcanic based soils up at about 1,500 feet and makes for an outstanding and distinctive version, as this beautifully sensuous 2019 shows, with a cool toned expression of black fruits, mineral notes, spice and subtle wood usage. I have really become a huge admirer of Turley’s Sierra Foothills Zins, especially in recent years, with the 2018, 2019 and 2021 vintages being exceptional and this Judge Bell, named after the road where the Turley Amador County winery is located, which in turn is a tribute to Judge Bell, who presided over the nearby town of Plymouth during its Gold Rush heyday. This is a fantastic wine, luxurious, ripe and dense on the palate, it still has a lively nature and is less heavy than per normal, which appeals to me. The mouth is rich with black raspberry, thick plum, fig and brandied cherry fruits, along with mocha, forest floor, framboise and baking spice accents, all melded together for an expressive and seamless experience, adding a touch of savory crunch and dusty dried herbs de Provence note. For the Judge Bell Zinfandel, similar to the whole lineup here at Turley, everything begins with organic and sustainable grapes, all from own-rooted, head-trained, dry-farmed and hand harvested vines, seeing a native yeast fermentation and cool maceration. After fermentation, as Turley notes, the wines ages in 80% used oak with just 20% new, of which 80% is matured French oak with 20% being American oak, that works perfectly to provide a lush feel and just enough of toasty/smoky sweetness.

The iconic Turley Wine Cellars, as I’ve mentioned many times here, is one of California’s most desirable labels and one of the top Zinfandel producers in the state, it was founded in 1993 in Napa Valley by Larry Turley, the ex emergency room doctor and flying enthusiast, who grew up on farms in the south, where he gained a huge respect for the land and wanted to produce authentic Californian wines. Now, with winemaker Tegan Passalacqua leading the efforts, Turley hand crafts about 50 different wines each vintage from more than 50 unique sites across California, with some vineyards in the collection dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, making them well over a hundred years old. Passalacqua has raised the game here at Turley and they really respect the history of these vines, putting a lot of effort into the care of these old vines, relying on organic farming and preserving these old vine vineyards with California’s classic varieties, asTurley says, they aim to both create and preserve California’s unique winemaking culture and traditions. Turley, looking to the future has put together an impressive team, with Larry’s daughter, Christina Turley, who joined the winery full time in 2010 leading the sales and marketing efforts from the Napa headquarters in Saint Helena. Turley, a visionary, brought a few lesser known properties in California’s Zin locations over the last couple of decades, like their Pesenti site in Paso Robles and more recently the Karly winery in Amador County, both of which have huge benefits in terms of access (for customers) and quality to the lineup, like this Amador County Zinfandel shows! The Judge Bell Zin joined the Turley collection in 2011, and now is regular or full member of the elite collection, and it is part of an ongoing history told and carried on by Turley and one to look for!
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Lail Vineyards “Blueprint” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley.
I hadn’t had the Lail wines in a while, but have always enjoyed them in the past, so it was great to catch up with this latest release, with the second label Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon offering up loads of dark fruit, floral tones, minty herb, spicy wood and gravelly loam notes leading the way here on the full bodied, but youthfully fresh palate. As this 2021 opens, you get classic Napa Valley blackberry, currant, dusty plum and blueberry fruits, along with mocha, pencil lead, acacia flowers, tobacco, shaved vanilla and lingering creme de cassis. The Lail Vineyards 2021 Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon, as the winery explains, comes from a selection of top sites across Napa, but mainly within the Rutherford bench. These separate lots are fermented separately and then blended after close to 12 months in barrel, and depending on the year Lail adds a small percentage of other Bordeaux varietals to fill the profile out and make the Blueprint approachable young, which is certainly the case here. The ’21 is a touch more lively and in my opinion less overtly fruity or oaky, which is right up my alley, and while concentrated and lush, there is a bit more 2014 like coolness and balance, making it a pleasure in the glass and great with a hearty meal.

The Napa Valley based Lail Vineyards, mostly known for their signature J. Daniel Cuvée, also does a negociant series of bottlings under the Blueprint label that the winery says are made to be modern California or Napa specific interpretation of the most classical Bordeaux varieties, attempting to capture a new world wine of old world elegance. Lail wants to use the ever-shining sunlight of the Napa Valley to transform the region’s grapes into robustly flavorful wines, with smooth ripe tannins, that can be drunk beautifully upon release, but still serious enough to age, as this 2021 clearly demonstrates with its polished structure. The winery says term ‘crowd pleaser’ comes to mind when you taste their “Blueprint” Cabernet Sauvignon, which is named after Jon Lail’s highly regarded architectural design achievements. The Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon, as noted, but with additions of Merlot and Petit Verdot to add a touch of grace, depth and spice. The grapes are sourced from vines all throughout the Napa Valley, but have a real Rutherford character, a the wine is traditionally fermented and it is aged for almost a total of 18 months in smoky/sweet French oak, of which the barrels are 55% new wood. This wine is right on the mark of what you’d want and expect from a well made Napa Valley Cabernet and offers up solid value at the price point.
($100 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Morgan Winery, Pinot Noir, Rosella’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Ever since Morgan hired winemaker Sam Smith and from the 2018 vintage, Dan Lee’s famous Monterey winery has taken off with an outstanding series of wines, especially the Pinot and Chardonnays, which have reached a whole new level of quality, with these 2021 taking it even further. This 2021 Morgan Rosella’s Vineyard is deeply hued and wonderfully lush on the opulent palate with classic Santa Lucia Highlands dark fruit, intense color and brambly spice, it shows off black cherry, raspberry, plum and black fig, along with cola bean, vanilla, tea spice and candied orange peel. From vines located in the well-drained sandy loamy foothills above the Salinas Valley, the Santa Lucia Highlands allows for deeply flavored, but vibrant wines with the stuffing to age. The cool afternoon breezes and coastal fog sucking into the valley from the Monterey Bay results, as the winery and locals know, in the region having one of the longest growing seasons in North America, adding to the complexity and concentration, especially here at Rosella’s. The steady growing season in 2021 really played into the hands of the winemakers here in the SLH and Morgan made the most of it, I highly recommend this one, as well as all the thrilling Double L versions, including the rare single clone RC and LT bottlings.

Rosella’s Vineyard was planted by Gary and Rosella Franscioni, of Roar, back in 1996 and is now absolutely one of the most renowned estates in the appellation, along with all of Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni vineyards, with the Pisoni Estate being the ultimate within the SLH. This special vineyard, as Dan Lee, who has the Morgan Estate Double L Vineyard just down the road, notes, benefits from eastern exposure, strong marine influence, and sandy loam soil that allows good drainage that has encouraged the deep vine root system here, giving intensity and complexity of fruit. This famed terroir, Lee adds, produces wine with expressive aromatics and (a) supple texture on the palate, as this brilliant 2021 vintage shows. The winery says that the grapes, 100% Pisoni clone, were 100% de-stemmed after a careful hand sorting, both in the vineyard and in the cellar, and fermented with native yeast in open top tanks. After the primary fermentation, they pressed and racked the Rosella’s Vineyard Pinot Noir to medium plus toast French wood, using about 40% new Burgundy oak barrels, for malo-lactic fermentation and close to 11 months of aging before bottling. Smith and Lee, here at Morgan, have a awesome set of Pinots to show off from 2021, I suggest not missing any and all of them! Morgan is one of Monterey’s leading lights and the current lineup is rocking, with the outstanding Pinots, the Chards, the Syrahs and the Tempranillo, there is tasty treats to be found.
($75 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Dame Jeanne, Prémices, Methode Traditionelle Sparkling Wine, Vin de France.
This racy, mineral driven and dry bubbly by Domaine Dame Jeanne is a 100% Pinot Noir Methode Traditionelle sparkling wine that shows off a grower Champagne style palate with leesy opulence, subtle citrus, wet stones and a reductive nuttiness on the lighter framed medium bodied palate. The Burgundy based Domaine Dame Jeanne was all new to me, thanks to importer Pepite Wines for introducing me to this exciting producer and especially this delicately golden Prémices bottling that I really loved when I tried it recently. There’s an array of lemon, peach, quince and hazelnut in the mouth along with chalky, saline, faint florals and doughy yeasty accents that are kept lively by the energetic small bubbles in the wine’s mousse, making for brilliant almost extra Brut style sparkler that will go great with oysters and other briny sea foods. Coming from Chatillonais, a cool climate terroir most famous for Crémant de Bourgogne, is in the northernmost part of Bourgogne sits on a stony, clay-limestone soil that dates from the Jurassic period.

Youthfully confident and talented vigneron Jeanne Piollot, who is the daughter of two Champagne winemakers, Roland Piollot and Dominique Moreau started doing her own wines in 2017, when she took over a small winery in Chatillonais, not far from Chablis, as mentioned above, is a little known Northern Burgundy region, noted for bubbly. This pretty, but slightly austere Prémices Methode Traditionelle bubbly, crafted from sustainably grown Pinot Noir, set on limestone and clay soils, with direct pressed white juice was fermented exclusively in stainless steel tank. The wine, as Piollot notes, was then aged for 2 years sur lattes before disgorgement without any dosage, which explains the contrast of supple richness and dry restraint found here. This is a naturally balanced and compelling sparkling wine and whets the imagination for future releases and I look forward to following Jeanne Piollot’s efforts. The Domaine Dame Jeanne wines are rare and geeky cool, so they will be hard to find in your local wine merchants, so I suggest following Pepite Wines in the States to learn more about the latest releases and or buying them directly trough them. Pepite has an interesting portfolio of small wineries from France, mostly that do limited bottlings and natural/organic wines.
($44 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2015 Chesebro, Brut Rosé, Méthode Champenoise Sparkling Wine, Mission Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County.
Chesebro’s artisan small batch Brut Rosé Méthode Champenoise Sparkling Wine is 100% Pinot Noir Saignée and was fermented with a touch of skin contact and aged on the yeast for about 7 years, making for a bright and fruit driven bubbly with a leesy richness and depth that is elegant and pleasing. Only about 50 cases were produced of this labor of love and rare, maybe one time only offering by the father and son team of Mark and Will Chesebro, proud Carmel Valley and Arroyo Seco winegrowers. Saignée means “to bleed,” and it also describes a method of Rosé winemaking that involves “bleeding” off a portion of red wine juice, with this one seeing an early pick to retain fresh acidity, allowing for the beautiful pink/salmon color seen here, without the addition of still red wine after the fact, as seen in most Champagne style wines. The extended yeast maturity here delivers an opulent mouthfeel and luxuriousness to go along with stony and mineral natural elements that the grapes brought to the table, along with the light strawberry, cherry and ruby citrus fruits. There’s subtle rosewater, brioche, baking spice and peach accents helping fill out the array of flavors here and the creamy vibrant beading mousse is very stylish, I highly recommend grabbing a few bottles before it is all sold out. The latest set of current releases here at Chesebro are tasty and this limited release bubbly is just one of many that have impressed me, and I look forward to all the upcoming bottlings, I usually never miss their zingy Vermentino, also known as Rolle in France, which might be the Central Coast’s first 100% varietal version of this grape, commonly found in Sardinia, and has long been a local favorite in the Monterey region, and great with the local cuisine.

Chesebro, an under the radar Monterey winery, is led by Mark Chesebro, owner and winemaker, who was a winemaker at well known Bernardus Winery for many years, is a straight up and no nonsense winegrower, who along with his son Willl, focuses most of the attention on the vines, in Carmel Valley at their estate farm and in Arroyo Seco, with Cedar Lane, their main source of fruit and the Mission Ranch Vineyard, and employs traditional methods in the cellar. The Chesebro label, with more input from Will, is seeing an upgrade and evolution, with a new artist series under the Cedar Lane Vineyard label that is just now about to be introduced with his mom’s artwork on display, which looks great on the bottle, keep an eye out for them, especially the Pinot Noir with a woodblock print of swallows. The Sparkling Pinot won’t be around long, but I also recommend searching out their unique set of whites, including their Albarino, Vermentino, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc especially, as well as their musque clone 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, which is due out this spring with the new label, that I recent got a chance to try from a tank sample. In the reds, Chesebro does, the mentioned Pinot Noir, along with a solid collection of Rhone blends, like the Grenache and Syrah Las Arenas, which has plenty of old world charm in the mold of a Sablet Cotes du Rhone Villages and or a Vacqueyras. They also do a very limited bottling of Carmel Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux inspired effort that offers a more restrained style than most California versions of this grape with a compelling old world charm and grip. It’s a great time to discover these Chesebro wines, all of which offer a lot of value, in particular the briskly vibrant whites.
($50 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Château de Parnay Le Blason – Régis Vincenot et Fils, Saumur-Champigny “Le Blason de Parnay” Loire Valley, France.
The raw and earthy Saumur-Champigny from Château de Parnay Le Blason shows off a pure and retrained palate of classic or old school Cab Franc flavors with wild plum, dark cherry, currant and red berry fruits along with earthy/leathery accents, bell pepper, minty herb, anise, chalky stones, forest floor and delicate violet florals. This exclusively vat raised Cabernet Franc has ripe personality and a nicely weighted old vine medium bodied mouth feel with soft tannins, that provide structure without aggressive bite, making for a very food friendly wine. Coming from vines grown on yellowish-cream colored, chalky, and sandy limestone soils, which is widely known as tuffeau, a soil type that is, as the winery notes, unique to the Loire Valley, contributing to the personality and authenticity of these wines. This was my first experience with Château de Parnay, that is in the Saumur-Champigny area, and I tasted this wine blind, and I was at first not overly impressed, but as it opened up I found more and more to enjoy here, it went from a mediocre wine into one with rustic charm, again it deserves time and food to show off its full character.

This historic property was taken over by Mathias Levron & Régis Vincenot back in 2006 with the aim, the say, of restoring the property to its former glory and produce true terroir and authentic wines, which they accomplished over the years and now they are getting their rewards for that hard work. The Château de Parnay, which was certified organic in 2013, is a notable estate of the AOC Saumur Champigny region that is located right along the Loire River. The tuffeau limestone influences the wines and was used to build the châteaux itself, and the caves were cut out of it too, it is in the soul of the place! The Cab Franc grapes for Le Blason were carefully selected and hand harvested for this wine and it saw a cold soak and maceration on the skins for three days, after which it was fermented for 12 days with a gentle extraction. This pure and earthy 100% Cabernet Franc saw no oak, exclusively aging in tank to highlight the sense of place and it is wine that will appeal to those that like austere and classic versions of Loire Valley Franc, with this one being much more compelling with food. Again, this wine took some time to reveal its best and range of complexity and overcome the green or the natural pyrazines here, and in the end I admired the depth and transparency in this Saumur-Champigny “Le Blason de Parnay” rouge.
($24 Est.) 89 Points, grapelive

2022 Herència Altés, Garnatxa Negra Rosat, Rosé of Grenache “La Tarentina” Terra Alta D.O., Catalunya, Spain.
One of the great secret Rosé wines of the world and an outstanding deal, is the 100% organic Herència Altés, Garnatxa Rosat, that is as the name suggests a Rosé of Grenache done in the dry or Provence style with a pale hue, lightly fruity and steely vibrancy. Made with the local Garnatxa Peluda clone of Grenache and named after the Myrtus Tarentina, a Mediterranean scrub or mountain herb found in the coastal ranges, it is a plant that has ancient healing powers, the Herència Altés is inspired by it and it is meant to enhance every occasion. This vintage has a sense of wild herb and crushed stones to go along with strawberry, sour cherry and distilled plum water, seeped roses and ruby citrus notes, making it great Summer wine, but I really enjoyed it with my pasta and sardines recently, even on a chilly night this Rosé performed well. This light salmon hued wine s a special edition dry pink and has a beautiful artist label and a wax capsule, setting it apart, be sure to look for it in your Spanish wine section.

The winery says that their Herència Altés Garnatxa Rosat comes from younger estate vines, all certified organic, of Garnatxa planted in the calcareous and sandy soils in the village of Batea. As with their Garnatxa Blanca, this wine is picked early to provide a refreshing balance to the sweet, red-fruit, and peppery character of Garnatxa Negra. The winemaking team of proprietor Nuria Altés and Gerard Mercadé explain that when the clusters arrive at the cellar, they are pressed gently and directly to achieve a very pale pink color. This ensures, as Nuria notes, a Rosé with floral and pepper aromas, made entirely from the free-run juice, with crisp delicacy. This wine is exclusively fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, which is only a short period on the lees to add just the right amount of texture and retaining a brisk sense of acidity and freshness. I’ve been a long time fan of this winery, with their Terra Alta Garnatxa whites and reds being favorites, they are stunning values and easily compare with much more pricy Rhône offerings and are pure, easy to love and authentic wines crafted by a talented woman led team and I highly recommend them, and this Rosé, which was all new to me!
($18 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Theopolis Vineyards, Petite Sirah, Estate Grown, Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino County.
Theodora Lee’s latest Theopolis Vineyards Estate Petite Sirah is out of this world, already a favorite of mine, this inky purple/black 2021 version is on another level with gorgeous depth of black fruits, wild spice, opulent body and savory complexity, making it one of California’s best and most distinctive Petite Sirahs. There’s a heady array of aromatics and flavors that rush at you from the glass with peppered violets, subtle oak toast, blueberry pie and a touch of meaty goodness that leads to well proportioned and youthfully exciting palate of crushed blackberry, damson plum, dark currants, chocolate covered cherry fruits, as well as sandalwood, anise, dried lavender, bacon, peppercorns, graphite and delicate vanilla cream. The tannins play a critical role here and while firm and dry, they are well integrated and almost velvety plush and the cool vintage allowed for incredible ripening, the alcohol is moderate, making for seriously powerful wine, but with exquisite balance and stunning length. The Theopolis Petite Sirah, a true terroir driven wine, again has a thrill ride for the senses and an almost Northern Rhône quality from the mountain fruit, schist like soils and terraces vines, absolutely exceptional. I was completely seduced by this exotic 2021 Petite Sirah, and I recommend decanting and having it with a robust meal, Theodora suggests smoked brisket, BBQ ribs and wild game dishes, all of which, along with lamb, sound great to pair with this one.

As mentioned in my prior reviews, Theodora Lee’s Theopolis Vineyards, one of a hand of black owned wineries, is one of the top sites for Petite Sirah in California, her vines hug steep terraces in the Yorkville Highlands and have received amazing critical acclaim since being established in 2003, with her success first coming from the wines made by Mike Officer at Carlisle, and more recently with Paul Gordon’s Halcon version. Her own wines, which I first started tasting with her 2013 vintage have just got better and better as the vines come into full maturity. Theodora Lee, who has had the help of long time Roar winemaker and Santa Lucia Highlands specialist Ed Kurtzman, has created something remarkably special and their full collection of offerings, which include some small Pinots and more recently some red blended wines, as well as her unique Petite Sirah Rosé and an off dry white made from a rare grape called Symphony, a crossing of, as Theodora notes, Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache Gris. Most recently Lee has added a brilliant cool climate mineral toned stainless Chardonnay to her lineup that looks to impress white Burgundy lovers. The signature Petite Sirah sees about 34% whole cluster and stems in the fermentation, which is done in open top five ton stainless steel vats and gets a cool and lengthy maceration on the skins before being pressed to barrel. The 2021 vintage, only 347 cases made, matured in French oak for close to 22 months with about 29% new wood used and the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
($42 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2021 Florence Vineyard, Zinfandel Reserve, Rockpile AVA, Sonoma County.
The incredibly textured, rich and ripe, and with an opaque purple/black hue, Florence Reserve Zinfandel shows off loads of concentration and as a thick full bodied palate of black raspberry, blueberry compote, candied Italian cherry, mission black fig and plum jam fruit, as well as brambly spices, menthol/anise, dark florals and sweet toasty wood notes leading the way in the glass. I hadn’t had a Rockpile AVA wine in quite a while, though I was introduced to this small region more than twenty years, with Kent Rosenblum’s early efforts (from there) first gripping my attention in around 2001 or so, but now almost all of the serious Zin makers get grapes from this appellation. This Florence 2021 Reserve Zinfandel, a wine in the mold of Biale, Gamba and older Turley bottlings is going to really impress those that love the rich and jammy versions, it has a powerful palate impact and a luxurious, creamy, chocately mouth-feel and dry Port like character that begs for a hearty meal to go along with it. Winegrower, John Florence Jr., who made modern history with his planting of Zinfandel in the Rockpile area, helped get the region its own AVA, and is now making his own label wines, including this Zin Reserve bottling, as well as a Petite Sirah, which I can’t wait to open. Only 235 cases of this French oak aged 2021 Zinfandel Reserve, which was 80% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah in this vintage, were made, and I recommend this brand new release, it will go fantastically well with rustic cuisine, especially BBQ and grilled meats.

John “Jack” Florence Jr. is the first or original Rockpile grower helping create a whole new Zinfandel terroir in California, which I first heard about from Rosenblum Cellars, as mentioned above, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, who were the first to put in on a label and on the map with a series of thrilling wines. In 1994, Jack Jr. planted Zinfandel in the remote hills west of Dry Creek Valley and Healdsburg (Sonoma County), not far from Lake Sonoma, an area that would eight years later become that new Rockpile AVA, bringing cuttings from the one hundred old plus St. Peters’ Church vineyard, which he farmed at the time, and for close to 20 years he sold grapes, before creating his own winery based around his small estate focusing on his beloved Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. He has loads of experience, and has since 2016, as he notes, worked with Wilson Artisan Wines, producing small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah for Wilson Winery, Mazzocco Sonoma, Pezzi King Vineyards, Rockpile Vineyard, in addition to Carol Shelton Wines, Bella Wine Caves, Calafia, and the Hess Collection. Rockpile, now with about 160 acres of vines, became an official AVA and appellation in 2002, and recognized for its unique terroir that is all above 800 feet of elevation and has mineral rich, sandstone and shale over clay based red (iron) very rocky soils, and seeing warm days and cool nights. All of which gives these distinctive wines their deep color, dense fruit, subtle lift and age-worthy tannic intensity, as seen here in Florence’s delicious effort, it’s perfect for Zinfandel, along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah.
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Raúl Pérez – La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo Blanco, Godello, La del Vivo, Lomas de Valtuille, Spain.
I first tasted this Godello based Bierzo Blanco with Raúl Pérez, one of Spain’s greatest winemakers, back in 2017, with his 2014 vintage and loved it, but this 2021 is even better and it is truly a fantastic wine, with elements that remind me of Premier Cru Chablis, it shows off steely mineral tones, chalky stones and crystal clear crisp apple, lemon and white peach fruit along with reductive and leesy hazelnut, seashore salinity, tangy herb, white blossoms, verbena and bitter almond. The mouth feel is excellent, with a lovely and elegant medium bodied presence on the palate, making for an exceptional white wine that thrills the senses and goes great with a variety of cuisine choices. For the money here, you get a huge bang for the buck, this is a label to chase down. Light gold in the glass, the La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo Blanco, Godello, La del Vivo, which includes a little bit of Doña Blanca, opens nicely and impresses for its depth and class, highlighting the quality of the varietal and the terroir here in Spain’s Castilla y Leon region, not too far away from Galicia. This remote place has a complex mix of soils with slate, clay, sand and some limestone and home to the Mencia red grape, famous here since Roman times, as well as Godello, which is capable of wines on par with the great wines of Burgundy, as seen here with Raúl’s offerings.

One of Raúl Pérez’s newer projects, La Vizcaina de Vinos, is a label to explore the vines of his hometown Vatuille de Abajo in Beirzo and his intriguing La del Vivo Bierzo Blanco is a stunning white wine made from two individual parcels, the La Poulosa, planted in 1940, and the Las Villegas, planted in 1925, which are a mix of clay and sand and planted mainly to Godello and the rare native varietal Doña Blanca. The gifted talent of Pérez is on full display again in this amazing white, which I first tasted with the man himself a few years ago in San Francisco, it is always textured, lively and complex with dusty dry crisp detail, with the Godello grapes seeing about 80% fermented in 500L puncheon sized barrels, with about 20% of the grapes being fermented on the skins and aged in open top clay amphorae that is protected by flor yeasts. This unique process adds to the slightly savory tones almost tannic structure to balance the lush and creamy Godello mouthfeel. This Godello, which is also found in and around the Ribeira Sarca, would be great with lobster, crab and poultry dishes, as well with soft creamy farm cheeses. Pérez, as I’ve mentioned, is the Godfather of Mencia, which is the main red grape of the Beirzo appellation and you should never miss a chance to try his versions, they are the iconic wines of the region. I highly recommend the La Vitoriana Mencia Beirzo DO Tinto (red) and also the wines under the separate Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez label too.
($40 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2016 Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz, Riesling Sekt, Extra Brut Sparkling Wine, Pfalz, Germany.
The extended lees bottle aged Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Riesling Sekt Extra Brut, made in the traditional Champagne method is delicious and elegant bubbly, coming from all organic grapes and chalky soil sites in the Pfalz with apple, citrusy notes, brioche, fig and mineral notes leading the way on the impressive richly flavored, but absolutely bone dry palate. This is yeasty and yummy stuff with a touch of reductive smokiness, hazelnut, delicate florals and dried apricot, adding complexity, all supported by its fine beading effervescent mousse, it is lovely on its own, but serious enough to rival grower producer Champagne. German sparkling wines have really become the it thing and the latest generation are outstanding, with Sekt houses like Raumland, who helped here with this Rebholz Riesling Sekt, being highly sought after. The Rebholz family’s connection to viticulture in Germany dates back historically to the 16th century and were important recently in promoting dry styles of wine, especially with there cru Rieslings. Located In the “South-Pfalz”, where the limestone terroir rules, the main estate all biodynamic vineyard Im Sonnenschein has Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc mainly as well as some Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Muskateller planted, all of which are tasty dry versions mostly.

Germany’s Pfalz region, one of the biggest and most diverse, with the region’s terroir varring from sandy (multi-colored sandstone) soils to classic limestone and some slate helps contribute to wines that range from crisp and refreshing to rich and structured, with everything from Chardonnay to heavy reds now found here, though most people tend to look for Riesling and Pinot Noir. The Pfalz enjoys a temperate climate with warm summers, allowing for grape ripening and flavor development, and in recent years we’ve seen Sauvignon Blanc rise in quality to rival anything from France, plus Muskateller (Muscat) trocken can also be exceptional, which Rebholz does. Rebholz has been an important Pfalz estate for years and the name Rebholz translates to “wood of the vine” and owner Hansjörg Rebholz was chosen Winemaker of the Year in 2002 and since has been awarded five grapes by Gault-Millau, its highest rating. The most notable wine at Rebholz, might be its Grand Cru Riesling from the Kastanienbusch vineyard with its rocky, rusty-red soil, which is red and grey slate, making for a monumental and singular wine. It is widely known that Hansjörg Rebholz was one of the movers and shakers, or leading lights in the Grosses Gewächs movement in Germany, becoming a VDP Pfalz estate in 1991, with Hansjörg even being president in 1999, so be sure to check out the Gas here. Hansjörg has twin sons, Hans and Valentin who are the next generation here and look set to further the winery’s glorious reputation.
($39 ESt.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Arnot-Roberts, Syrah, Sonoma Coast.
The latest wine, I opened, from my set of 2021 releases from Arnot-Roberts, was this thrilling and spicy Sonoma Coast Syrah, a wine unmistakably Northern Rhône inspired with a whole cluster savory kick, also shows off some gripping red fruits and a semi-carbonic sensation on the medium bodied palate with vine picked berries, damson plum, pomegranate and currant fruits, snappy herbs, peppery spice and fresh anise. This wine is still electric and wildly youthful, taking some time to open up and gather its varietal character, adding floral tones, mineral, loamy earth and camphor, with a nice lingering contrast between plush fruit with a touch of creme de cassis and umami crunchiness, best decanted and served with hearty cuisine, like lamb kabobs. There’s a drying feel that is a bit like a Chinon and a roundness and bright intensity, more like a Cru Beaujolais, of which gives this unique Syrah an extra degree of complexity, I wish I another bottle to put away for 5 to 7 years, as I think there’s way more to come and rewarding nuances that only time can deliver. Winemakers, Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts, along assistant winemaker Caitlin Quinn, who’s passion for Syrah brought to the winery, work with vineyards throughout Northern California and now the list includes incredible sites in Napa Valley, the Sonoma Coast, a variety in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Santa Rita Hills near Santa Barbera, Clearlake, where they get some rare Trousseau, and the Sierra Foothills.

The Sonoma Coast Syrah is sourced from extreme cool climate vineyards, which can include Baker Lane, Clary Ranch, Que Syrah Vineyard and Solas, all top sites for producing exciting and stylish Northern Rhône like wines. Along with Clary Ranch, the mainstay of the Arnot-Roberts Syrah program is the Que Syrah Vineyard, which as the winery says, is a true gem on the most western side of the Sonoma Coast. These vines were planted above the town of Occidental in back 1994 by Al and Virginia Rago, and are just about three miles from the Pacific at 850 or so feet up in elevation. This organic vineyard, set on Goldridge Series soils, including Sedimentary Schist, Shale and fractured mudstone, is the oldest planting of Syrah on the Sonoma Coast, and Arnot-Roberts says credit goes to both the Ragos family and to Ehren Jordan (former winemaker at Turley and maker of Failla) for being true mavericks in cool-climate farming of this grape variety in California. Arnot-Roberts, one of most heralded wineries in the last 20 years, was founded in Healdsburg in 2001 by childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts, and is known for what they call their distinctive, site-driven wines that highlight the nature of the unique California terroirs where they get the grapes. Pioneers in alternative varietals, like Trousseau, Gamay, Gruner Veltliner and Ribolla Gialla, to name a few, Arnot-Roberts also does an excellent set of Chardonnays, Pinots, Cabernets and Syrah, as seen here. These 2021s from Arnot-Roberts have been brilliant wines, especially this one, made for Syrah enthusiasts, and I highly recommend chasing them down and or get on their mailing list!
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

Grapelive Wine Reviews – January 2024

2021 Bedrock Wine Co., Old Vine Zinfandel, Katushas’ Vineyard, Lodi, California.
The 2021 Katushas’ Old Vine Lodi Zinfandel is ripe, but shows off a transparent and fresh personality with detailed layers of raspberry, wild plum, red peach and tangy currant fruits leading the way on the medium/full palate that also accented by dried herbs, zesty spices, stony notes, subtle wood and lingering kirsch. With air this vintage shows a touch of earth, prune and fig, making for a wine that is best enjoyed with BBQ and or meaty dishes. Morgan Twain-Peterson MW, winemaker and winegrower, farms and owns this old vine vineyard in Lodi and has helped preserve and rejuvenate these historic California vines. The Bedrock team has really done some exceptional offerings, in recent vintages especially, and this Katushas’ Zin is one of many outstanding wines in their collection. Bedrock’s three main estate vineyards, the namesake Bedrock Vineyard in the heart of Sonoma, the Evangelho Vineyard in the deep sands of Contra Costa County and this Katushas’ which is on the Mokelumne River in Lodi, all offer distinct terroir influence.

Bedrock is very proud of their estate vineyard in eastern Lodi, which they purchased in 2014, and the note that Katushas’ has made enormous strides in quality commensurate with the tender care that Bedrock’s crew have done repairing the vine structure, the soils, and the biological diversity that grows within it. The vines here have responded beautifully, according to the winery they are looking healthy even with with the heat stress they have had. The results of Bedrock’s TLC is a wonderfully fresh and balanced version of Zinfandel, they say, and I can confirm, making for an accessible early drinking effort. The terroir here, with its sandy soils, captures the natural character of the area, concentration being a given and ripe flavors, but fresh and retaining acidity thanks to healthy vines and the cool afternoon breeze that pushes up from the Sacramento River delta and the Mokelumne River. This wine was aged in mainly neutral wood foudres and large format barrels, with this 2021 Katushas’ seeing only a minimal amount of new oak. Like Turley, there’s fabulous set of Zins here at Bedrock, most of which are old vine heritage field blends, but I also love Rosé, Ode to Lulu, that is faithfully made in the Bandol Mourvedre based style, and the whites here too.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Turley Wine Cellars, Old Vine Zinfandel, California.
The ripe and lively Old Vine Zin from Turley is an old and rewarding friend, deeply hued and layered, this 2021 vintage looks to be a classic with black raspberry, plum, prune, fig and blueberry fruits on the full bodied palate, along with hints of sweet coco, allspice, anise, creme de cassis and creamy wood accents. This wine is perfect for chilly winter nights and hearty meals, and or great with rustic hard cheeses and meat dishes. This dark purple and magenta vintage has concentrated flavors, luxurious mouth feel and a bit of lift from natural acidity, allowing for it to not get overtly heavy or port like. I’ve mentioned before, the famous Turley Wine Cellars, one of America’s great wineries, was founded in Napa Valley by former emergency room physician Larry Turley and now hand crafts about 50 different small lot wines sourced from mostly historic old vine vineyards throughout California. As seen here in their Old Vine Zin, along with Turley’s own estate sites in the Napa Valley, in St. Helena, as well as their Paso Robles and Amador County properties. Winemaker and vineyard manager Tegan Passalacqua, who is a keeper of old California traditions, is one of America’s great talents and heroically manages the vast collection of vineyards! Turley’s Old Vine Zinfandel continues to be a testament to how these old vines produce a naturally more complex, balanced, and sustainable wine.

Turley’s classic dark purple and inky Old Vine Zinfandel, as I’ve mentioned quite a few times here, comes from vines that are anywhere from 41 to 129 years old, and gives a true representation of, as the winery notes, what California old vine Zinfandel should be. This wine uses sustainable grown grapes from vineyards, some too small to name and others that are heritage gems in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lodi, Contra Costa, Amador and Paso Robles. Almost all the grapes here are from certified organic vines that are hand tended, and the wine is naturally native yeast fermented, in small lots, then pressed and aged for a year in mainly neutral oak, with 80% being French and 20% being American barrels, with only a small percentage of new wood. Turley first produced this “Old Vine” cuvée twenty some years ago, back in 2000, and it remains one of the most important and authentic wines they make today, and this 2021 continues to be a delicious part of California history in the glass. It should also be noted that lots of California’s history is told through these ancient Zinfandel vines, most originally planted, as Turley explains as a result of the California Gold Rush in 1849. Indeed, and interestingly, immigration patterns within California can often be traced through the names of many of these old vineyards, as well as, to the way and which varietals they planted, from the Germans of Lodi (Kirschenmann, Bechtoldt, Schmeid) to the Portuguese of Contra Costa (Evangelho, Salvador, Mori) to the many Italians of Sonoma and Paso Robles (Pesenti, Martinelli, Dusi), all of contribute to the soul of this wine.
($33 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 I. Brand & Family Winery, Chenin Blanc, Massa Estate Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
The new vintage of Ian Brand’s old vine Chenin from the historic organic Durney Vineyard, now called the Massa Estate in the deeper end of Carmel Valley, which was planted back in the late 1960s, is even better than last year’s debut release with outstanding stony character, clarity and perfect ripeness and fresh acidity, one of the best alternative whites of the 2022 harvest in the central coast. Similar to last year, this I. Brand & Family Massa Chenin Blanc, coming from rejuvenated vines originally own rooted back min about 1968, on a unique set of California shale soils was fermented and aged exclusively in neutral, well used, French oak for the better part of 18 months, making for textural wine that still retains a elegant, mineral driven personality and lively precision. The fruit is radiant with sunny lemon, white peach, apple and earthy muskmelon leading the way on the medium bodied palate along with subtle accents of wet chalk, mountain herbs, loam, a very faint leesy note and a nice seashore and oyster shell salinity. This is a pure California wine, but definitely with old world Loire Valley, Saumur like austerity and charm, I rank this one right up with the newer generation of Chenin champions in California including Leo Hansen of Leo Steen, Ted Lemon of Littorai, Pax Mahle, Chris Brockway of Broc Cellars, Justin Willett of Lieu-Dit, Andrew Jones of Field Recordings, Combe by Raj Parr and Stolpman Vineyards, Tegan Passalacqua of Sandlands and Jaimee Motley.

Chenin Blanc, as I’ve noted before, is found in most of the New World wine regions, and in fact during the early 1980s, California actually had more acreage of Chenin Blanc planted than France! Though the number of Chenin plantings later steadily declined and the grape fell into obscurity until the last 10 years or so. The grape’s popularity in the state is still reserved for a select few but there are some absolutely awesome offerings, like this one that deserve wider attention. The Loire Valley still sets the standard worldwide, but interestingly, Chenin is the most widely planted variety in South Africa, where it is also known as Steen, and like California, there are some amazing versions there too, such as Sadie Family, Reyneke and Mullineux to name a few. Chenin has been on the west coast for a long time, in fact it grows from the Baja Peninsula to Oregon’s Willamette Valley to great effect, again as mentioned, there is some serious plantings in Santa Barbara County, the west side of Paso Robles, Monterey County, in particular Chalone, where it has been since 1919, and Carmel Valley as seen here, the Sierra Foothills, Lodi, Clarksberg, Sonoma County, Napa Valley and Mendocino County, and there are a number of vineyards that date back to the middle of the last century. There’s a few classics, of note too, still made by Casa Nuestra in St. Helena, Chalone, as noted and Chappellet, with its old vine mountain grapes. Ian Brand, who is mostly known for his reds, like Grenache and Cabernet Franc, told me recently that he’s getting really excited with the white wine grapes in the greater Monterey region and his latest set of wines reflects that, with his Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Albarino, Melon de Bourgogne and rare Arneis all being distinctive and delicious!
($36 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

n.v. André Clouet, Brut Rosé, Grand Cru Champagne “Rosé No. 3” A Bouzy, France.
I really enjoyed the latest disgorgement of Clouet’s Grand Cru Brut Rosé (No. 3) with its bright strawberry, racy citrus and yeasty rich palate that captures some chalky elements, mineral tones and delicate rose petal aromatics in a bone dry sparkler, making it easy to enjoy both by itself and with a meal. Excellent again from Jean-François Clouet, the winegrower and cellar master here, who specializes in mainly Pinot Noir led cuvées and has a serious collection of Grand Cru sites to draw from, allowing him to produce his elegant and age worthy Champagne(s). This Brut Rosé saw 75% 2018, 10% 2017, 11% 2015 and 2016, along with about 4% Bouzy Rouge still wine, also from 2018 vintage and it was made and aged in exclusively in stainless steel tank, adding to the purity and precision. The winery says that the Clouet N°3 was inspired by Coco Chanel, the number introduced to denote the style, noting the color is slightly different each year, with the number 3 representing a light, elegant apéritif style, which you can see in this elegant edition. I usually go for Extra Brut grower fizz, the drier the better, but this Clouet Brut Rosé really hit the spot on the night I had it and was especially wonderful with a selection of small bites, easily handling an array of flavors and being a gracious companion to all, adding some distilled raspberry and pomegranate notes with food.

The André Clouet Champagne house, as noted before in my reviews, was originally founded back in 1741, is run by the noted Jean-François Clouet, who was born and raised in a Bouzy and still lives in the family’s 18th century village house built by his ancestors. Again as mentioned before, this house is a grower producer that strives to continue the regions tradition, but still is driven to elevate the quality levels here. The Clouet family farms some incredible Grand Cru plots around their home village of a Bouzy, as well as in the famous and very coveted middle slopes of Ambonnay, with vines in the very best lieux-dits in the Champagne region. I have always been impressed by Clouet’s lineup of Champagne(s), but especially so, of the zero dosage Silver label all Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs, as well as this fresher Brut Rosé and their Grande Réserve, all of which which I highly recommend! The story goes that André Clouet in 1770 entertained France’s nobility, including Marie Antoinette, with his white sparkling wine, causing a sensation by adding small drops of his Bouzy rouge to their glasses, making them glisten with a salmon/pink hue, which caused a craze for his Rosé. A Bouzy is one of the most famous Pinot Noir terroirs in Champagne and such, the wines seem to have an extra degree of power, structure and depth, this is true in the Clouet wines, which show a fine tannin poise and this rewarding and generous Brut Rosé carries it with grace and style. The prices have risen in the last few years, but Clouet still remains a go to house for value.
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!, Old Vine Carignane, Mendocino County, California.
The dark, concentrated and complex Old Vine Carignane was one of the highlights when I was catching up with Hardy Wallace, the madman behind Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! winery and formerly of Dirty & Rowdy, in person was one of years highlights in wine. His latest set, as mentioned in my most recent reviews of his wines, are a fabulous collection, with this 2022 Old Vine Carignane being exceptional, it truly elevates this grape to new levels. This is one of three or four varietal bottlings of Carignane in California that are must tries for fans of this lesser known Châteaueuf du Pape grape. A deep and seductive purple/ruby hue in the glass invites you in to this Old Vine Carignane, as done that sweet and savory nose with wild flowers, earth and loam leading to a medium bodied youthful palate of blackberry, plum, blueberry and Italian cherry fruits, crunchy herbs, peppery spices, hillside sage, dusty earth, mineral and lingering lavender. Wallace, who is a Mourvèdre freak, has done some exciting work with alternative grapes over the years, with Barbera and Carignane being good examples, but he is best known maybe for his experimentation, as seen in his crazy blends, like his wildly tasty Family Band red that has Zinfandel, Grenache and Skin fermented Chardonnay! Then there is Wallace’s deep dive into orange wines, with his 2021 Close Encounters being a phenomenon all its own, skin contact Chenin, Chardonnay and Viognier, that rivals anything I’ve ever had in the weird and wacky world of orange wines. The Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Tasting room in downtown Sonoma, just off the historic plaza, is fantastic place to try these wines and get some insight into winemaker Hardy Wallace’s sense of purpose with his collection and his unique style that leans into natural winemaking, whole cluster fermentation and very subtle oak use.

As I’ve said before, Hardy Wallace is one of the most gentle, flamboyant and intriguing personalities in the world of California wine and his Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! is an awesome label that marries old world traditions with way out there experimentation, as seen in his crazy blends, like his Family Band red that has Zinfandel, Grenache and Skin fermented Chardonnay! Then there is Wallace’s deep dive into orange wines, with his 2021 Close Encounters being a phenomenon all its own, skin contact Chenin, Chardonnay and Viognier, that rivals anything I’ve ever had in the weird and wacky world of orange wines. The more standard stuff now includes a set of Bordeaux varietals, of which I was the most in impressed with his Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Franc, that I wrote about last month, but the quality of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon will surprise fans of these grapes as well! This all new Carignane was another outstanding effort, and like the Grenache here, I loved its soulful transparency, lively nature and its pleasure on the palate. Getting this far into talking about Hardy and not gush about his Mourvèdre bottlings, all of which come from outstanding and historic sources seems like an oversight, but this wine is that good. Coming from organic vines well over 90 years old, set on alluvial and gravelly loamy soils in Mendocino, this vintage saw 90% Carignane and 10% Zinfandel in the final mix and it reminds me of my favorite Corbieres. Fermented with natural yeasts and whole bunches, the Old Vine Carignane was deeply macerated to allow all of the complexity to shine through, it was ripe, but finished with old world levels of alcohol at just 12.5%. After pressing Hardy put it into neutral wood for close to 8 months, preferring to bottle his wines fresh and preserve the wine’s vibrant personality. I see that Wallace is just about to release a whole new set of wines and I can’t wait to try them, now is a great time to get on the mailing list here.
($42 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Massican, Gemina, White Wine, California.
The latest Massican wine lineup, by winemaker Dan Petroski, includes some really interesting stuff, with his Annia Friuli style white being a stand out, which I reviewed earlier, and this Gemina which is made from Southern Italian varietals Greco di Tufo and Falanghina that is unique California beauty. Petroski explains that Gemina is the name of an ancient Roman grape planted in the region around the Massican hills of southern Italy, hence the name he chose for the winery and this wine. The Greco grape, who’s history it is believed originates in ancient Greece, and which according to Dan, dates back to the first century when it was first called Aminea Gemina. The 2022 Gemina and is a mouth watering crisp wine, showing tart apple, bright lemon zest, white peach and Summer melon, with mineral tones, fresh salinity, some bitter almond, clove, wet stones and verbena notes adding complexity. Petrosky says his Gemina has a familial character to the wines in the south of Italy and shows his passion for the fresh white wines of the Mediterranean, like those of some of my favorites such as Marisa Cuomo on the Amalfi Coast, and or legends Mastroberardino and Feudi di San Gregorio.

Dan Petroski, who is the winemaker at Napa’s historic Larkmead Winery, is also well known for his own Massican label, which focuses on the bright style of Mediterranean white wines and Italian varietals, using an intriguing selection of grapes like Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Falanghina and Greco di Trufo, along with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, as seen in this Annia. His work has many fans, especially Gallo, who have invested in a big way here to build the Massican Winery into a leader in producing a new future of California, in particular Napa Valley, white wines. This will allow Petroski to focus on what he does best, make wine and give him a solid base from which to succeed with his plans to create a consistent elevated set of wines, as well as help secure top vineyard sites to up the quality. The pale gold and lightly spicy 2022 Gemina was made from Greco di Tufo 62% and Falanghina 38%, sourced from from organically farmed vineyards in Dunnigan in Yolo County, Russian River, and Lodi, with ripe grapes, but modest sugars. Fermented separately, mainly in stainless steel and a short lees aging, it retained plenty of acidity and came in at just about 12% natural alcohol, allowing for a very nicely balanced wine that goes great with lighter cuisine and especially sea foods.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Occidental, Pinot Noir, Freestone-Occidental, Sonoma Coast.
It was great to taste the latest Occidental Pinot, made by Steve Kistler, one of California’s visionary and great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay winemakers, who is most well-known for his eponymous, Kistler Vineyards wines and who has been making world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from California’s north coast for over 30 years now, and an inspiring figure in the wine world. This beautiful and fresh ruby hued Pinot is gorgeously aromatic, pure and lively, while also delivering a rich core of black cherry, plum, raspberry and blood orange fruits on a supple medium bodied palate along with subtle wood framing, tea spice, rosewater, cinnamon, mineral tones and delicate earthy/briery elements. This is compelling and seductive stuff, previously called ‘Sonoma Coast’, this wine, now is labeled Freestone-Occidental to, as Kistler notes, more accurately reflect its place of origin. The fruit he says for this Pinot Noir is from his Bodega Headlands, Occidental Station, and Bodega Ridge vineyards, all mainly special Burgundy clonal selections. This vintage is outstanding, even for what is considered one of the entry level offerings, and I highly recommend stocking up on it, if you are lucky enough to find it, it is textured, elegant and excellent from start to finish.

The Occidental label, Steve Kistler’s personal wines, is based around his estate near the little town of Occidental. This property is located just 4 miles from the Ocean in ultra western Sonoma Coast, in the Bodega Headlands, with 85 acres of primarily Pinot Noir planted to a proprietary selection of unique Grand Cru Vosne-Romanée clones. Planted with Riparia Gloire and 101‐14 rootstocks and on marine sediment, these vines see an ideal south-facing as well as the Petaluma Gap’s breezy (cool) climate. This cool terroir rarely sees temperatures over 80 degrees and is what Steve calls a Pinot Noir wonderland. For Kistler’s Freestone-Occidental Pinot Noir he employs a careful, multi-sorting and mostly all de-stemming of the grapes with, as he explains, each vineyard block being fermented separately in two to four ton increments in order to capture as much individual site character as possible. These lots see a classic native yeast primary fermentation as well as native malolactic fermentation, before being rack to mainly used French oak barriques. The wine, Kistler continues goes into bottle after 14 months in the barrels with ultra low SO2 and the wine is unfined and unfiltered, and this helps promote the every nuance of the vintage and transparent flavors, which I found very alluring here in this distinctive, perfumed and joyous 2021 wine.
($68 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2017 Domaine Francois Raveneau, Chablis 1er Cru “Montée de Tonnerre” White Burgundy, France.
The Raveneau Montée de Tonnerre is my favorite Chablis, so the opportunity to taste it again recently was rare treat, especially as hard as it is to get a bottle, a big thank you to the nice people at Kermit Lynch, who were celebrating their and his 50th Anniversary as an importer and had the Raveneau’s pouring a selection of wines, including this gorgeous 2017 Montée de Tonnerre, which was stunning on the day. Raveneau is is one of world’s great white wine producers and makes some of the most sought after, and sadly some of the most expensive, wines, that enthusiasts and collectors clammer to get their hands and palates on. So, these days, it is beyond rare for me to taste these wines, let along get a bottle, but wow, it was fabulous to sample this one, with enough age on it to allow for its full rewards to show. I was lucky enough to try a few prior vintages, from 2010 to 2014, and even poured the 2011 Montée de Tonnerre for a special La Paulee Burgundy themed tasting in San Francisco, which was fabulous. This 2017 is still racy, citrus and mineral intense, but has gained a beautiful textural quality and added secondary elements, with clove spice, golden fig, white peach and a subtle butter cream note to go with steely wet stone, lemon, leesy hazelnut, chalky oyster shell and apple, all lifted by a soft framing of acidity and mouth watering salinity. This wine is renown for its bracing personality, intensity and taut firm structure, especially when young, but this vintage has just the right amount of residual tension and it is deliciously creamy, again without losing its vigor and sense of flinty terroir.

The Domaine Francois Raveneau, founded in 1948, in the post war boom years, but it was under Francois’ sons, Bernard and Jean-Marie who brought international fame and fortune to this small estate, utilizing small prime plots of vines, including three Grand Cru vineyards (Blanchot, Les Clos, and Valmur) and six Premier Crus (Montée de Tonnerre, Les Vaillons, Butteaux, Chapelot, Mont-Mains, and Forêt). Now, the next generation is getting their feet wet here at Raveneau, though nothing is changing, as Bernard’s daughter, Isabelle, has joined in the running of the property, and it was her, who was at Kermit’s awesome 50th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting, though she had a huge crowd and I wasn’t able to get her even for a moment to express her opinions on the wines. Well, the wine did the talking and it was glorious, even so, I hope I get a chance to meet her again and hear her thoughts. The Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre vineyard is close to the Grand Cru hill and on the classic Kimmeridgian Limestone soils, with Raveneau’s parcels (vines) being over 50 years old, that coupled with a cool climate makes for bracing wines, which Raveneau does to perfection. The winemaking is fairly strict and traditional, the grapes are gently pressed with a pneumatic press and settled, then the juice is racked off its lees into cuve to ferment cool, lasting about two weeks. After which the wine goes through malolactic fermentation in barrel and aged for 18 months in mainly older oak wood and almost exclusively from barrel-maker Chassin, with only a tiny percentage of new oak employed. Again, what a pleasure and a treat it was to have a chance to savory one of my all time favorite wines, especially with the scarcity and cost these days, I don’t know how many more times I’ll be able to sip on a mature Raveneau!
($300 to $549 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Chappellet, Cabernet Sauvignon “Donn Chappellet Signature” Napa Valley.
Chappellet, based on the famed Pitchard Hill and originally founded back in 1967, is one of Napa’s historic wineries with a gorgeous collection of distinctive wines, with this Signature Cabernet and the Pitchard Hill Cabernet Franc being favorites of mine, as well as their dry Chenin Blanc. This 2021 Donn Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon is deeply hued and displays a rich full bodied palate of blackberry, currant, plum and black cherry fruit, along with a smoky/toasty sweet kiss of cedary French oak, hints of cassis, wild sage, mocha, anise and pipe tobacco. The tannins are smooth, but obviously taut and youthful at this stage, but there is a fine lush mouthfeel and a rich finish to enjoy, especially when the wine has time to open up and with food. There’s a lot of intensity from the mountain fruit here, and as the winery notes, the dry, rocky soils of Pritchard Hill produce small, intensely flavorful grapes, and the climate sees cool nights, that add to the over all balance and elegance, as the 2021 shows. I recently tasted this 2021 against many Napa wines from 2020 and 2019, I would avoid the 2020 vintage for serious collecting, as the fires did give a ton of smoke taint, but both the 2019 and this 2021 are years to stock up on, with this wine showing a bit more restraint and energy, while the 2019s seem a touch softer and more luxurious, in my own experiences.

Chappellet’s current lineup is full of winners, including their Chenin Blanc, as I have mentioned the Chappellet old vine Chenin is a dry and dusty Savennieres style wine that thrills the Loire Valley fans and is one of the great wine geeks white of Napa Valley, but also this latest Donn Chappellet Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, just released, which as noted above is a wonderful Napa Valley expression, pure and full bodied with a dazzling palate, right up there with wines twice the price, If you’ve not had Chappellet or not lately, you’ll want to sample this latest set as soon as possible. The final breakdown for the Signature Cabernet usually comes out to be around 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Merlot, with a small percentage Cab Franc and or Malbec a possibility as well. The founders, Donn and Molly Chappelllet, who convinced they could make First Growth quality reds, followed the advice of legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff (BV) and settled on the rocky eastern slopes of the Napa Valley, in the spot that would become Pitchard Hill. The winery has also had some serious winemakers in the past with Phillip Togni and the great Cathy Corison help making the reputation at this property, and long time winemaker Phillip Corallo-Titus continues the tradition here. The Cab is a barrel selection of different parcels and lots that see separate fermentation(s) and blended later, with the wine getting anywhere fro 18 to 24 months in barrel, with this 2021 already showing great cellar potential.
($108 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Desire Lines Wine Co. Syrah, Griffin’s Lair, Petaluma Gap AVA, Sonoma County.
The heady, deeply purple and dark fruited 2019 Griffin’s Lair Syrah, from the talented Cody Rasmussen at Desire Lines, really hits the spot with a profound palate impact, loads of Umami, and Northern Rhône style in the glass with pure aromatics, structured concentration and fabulous length. Griffin’s Lair, set on gravel and clay loamy soils always gets those “Gap” chilly breezes and cooling influences which allows deep ripe flavors, but with vivid detail and good acidity. I’ve been a fan of Rasmussen’s stuff since I first tasted his wines, especially his Syrah and Riesling wines, both of which are right up there with the very best in the state. The full bodied 2019 is packed with boysenberry, damson plum, black cherry and blueberry (compote) fruits, along with crushed violets, a punch of savory, almost meaty, earthy elements, wild herbs, anise, peppercorns, a hint of tapenade and subtle cedary wood. This vintage is wonderfully rounded, ripe and generous, but still firm and youthful, so while it was excellent, in particular with food, last night, it has even more potential and promise for another 7 to 10 years in bottle. Desire Lines does a sublime collection of small lot wines, all from unique vineyards and terroirs, that offer up incredible value for the quality, I especially love their 2018 and 2019 reds, including this one, that way over delivers for the price, it’s a wine that is well worth searching out, I wish I had bought more.

Cody and Emily Rasmussen’s Desire Line Wine Co., as I’ve mentioned, is one of the most exciting new(er) California labels, and their Syrah bottlings are simply outstanding, especially this one and the Shake Ridge version, which I reviewed most recently. Cody, the winemaker, who along with his childhood sweetheart Emily moved from Iowa to Sonoma in 2011 hit the ground running, starting as an harvest intern that fall and by next harvest he was drafted into the assistant winemaker’s position at Morgan Twain-Peterson’s (MW) Bedrock Wine Co., one of the state’s best producers. That is an epic rise and shows the passion and work ethic on Rasmussen’s part. After the better part of a decade now at Bedrock and working with great vineyards, Cody started sourcing grapes for his own lineup, all top notch sites for the varietals he loves, which are a savvy Rhone mix with mostly Syrah, but working with Mourvèdre and Carignan, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, and an exceptional set Rieslings, some of the best yet from California. This Griffin’s Lair Syrah, according to Rasmussen, which is usually fermented with about 50% whole cluster, with a submerged cap, like Domaine Jamet, for the first half of fermentation, after which it got raised in neutral large format barrels, with 500L puncheons, for 15 months before bottling without fining or filtration. Again, I highly recommend getting on the mailing list here, as these very limited offerings sell out fast, and don’t miss the Syrah(s), the Evangelho Vineyard red wine, the Cole Ranch Riesling and the serious old vine Mourvèdre based Fred’s Home Block.
($42 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Florian Roblin, Côteaux du Giennois “Champ Gibault” Loire Valley, France.
The pretty, aromatic and fairly rich Sauvignon Blanc comes from classic marl, Kimmeridgian limestone and silex soils in the Côteaux du Giennois region of the Loire Valley and it is drinking with varietal character and terroir distinction, showing off racy lemon/lime, white peach, gooseberry and quince fruits, along with wet stones, leesy texture and fine herbal notes. I have enjoyed winemaker Florian Roblin’s wines in the past, especially his unique Champ Gibault Côteaux du Giennois Rouge, which is a blend of 80%Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay, so it was exciting to catch up on his latest release, that is sporting a new label, as seen in the photo above. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc Champ Gibault captures the vintage density and ripeness, making for a more smooth and expressive wine that has impressive mouth feel and length for an all stainless steel raised wine, while maintaining stony and vibrant personality.

Vigneron Florian Roblin’s Champ Gibault parcel, which he planted in 2006, as his importer Floraison Selections in California’s Bay Area explains, enjoys a southern exposure and gentle slope with a soil mix of clay and flint over a chalky base. This is a superb mix, obviously, for producing wines, especially Sauvignon Blanc, with mineral purity, structure, and precision, as the winery notes, which is pretty close in character to the more well known Sancerre region near by. The winemaking is simple and transparent with Roblin fermented with indigenous yeasts, lasting for about one month, after which this Champ Gibault Blanc was then aged on fine lees in the stainless steel tanks for close to seven months. This 2020 is a slightly exotic vintage and the concentration makes it have an extra degree of palate impact, though still poised and fresh in the glass, making it a lovely choice as a starter wine and very nice with a wide range of cuisine choices, though in particular superb with creamy goat cheeses, fleshy white fish and or clam dishes.
($24 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine de Bellivière, Chenin Blanc “L’Effraie” Coteaux-du-Loir Blanc, Loire Valley, France.
The “L’Effraie” Coteaux-du-Loir Blanc by the Nicolas family, Eric, Christine and son Clement at Domaine de Bellivière is a luxurious, ripe and decedent Loire Valley 100% Chenin Blanc with an off dry feel, almost like the famous Domaine Huet Demi-Sec Vouvrays, showing golden apple, peach, quince paste and lemony citrus with subtle earthiness, a touch of raw honeycomb, wet chalky stones, crystallized ginger and a hint of herbal tea. The little bit of sweetness made it great with a Scallop Wellington (baked in brioche) and a Salmon Terrine with Caviar, dishes that had a sweet, briny and savory elements, and enough acidity to not feel heavy. I have had the Domaine de Bellivière wines a few times before, just not this “L’Effraie” (owl) bottling, usually their drier and more austere sélection massale Jasnières offerings, which I really enjoyed. The winery, interestingly also does a couple rare single varietal Pineau d’Aunis reds, a blend of 50% Gamay Noir and 50% Pineau d’Aunis, as well as two Rhône blends, Vin de France wines, from grapes grown in the Ventoux, which I have not tasted yet. The 100% Pineau d’Aunis bottlings, the Coteaux-du-Loir “Le Rouge Gorge” and the Coteaux du Loir “Hommage à Louis Derré” have a cult like following and are hard to get.

This Domaine de Bellivière Coteaux-du-Loir Chenin Blanc comes from biodynamic younger vines, under 50 years old, that are planted on a mix of clay and flint over classic tuffeau limestone. It is a blend of six different parcels spread through three communes, hence the Coteaux-du-Loir labelling. Each parcel has various types of clay and stony material that the winery says vary in size, from larger pebbles to fine sand, adding to the depth, concentration and mineral charm in this wine. The ripe Chenin Blanc grapes were direct-pressed and barrel-fermented with native yeasts and minimal sulfur, after which the wine is then aged in one to three year old 350L barrels with a small proportion of new oak for 8 to 10 months. The winery explains that each parcel is vinified and aged separately, then blended, lightly filtered and settled before bottling. Interestingly, the winemaker adds that, while fermentation is allowed to finish as dry as possible, this wine usually retains some residual sugar, as is the case here with this vintage, adding a hint of sweetness and a weighty texture with a finish at 14% natural alcohol, there’s loads of richness on the palate. The Bellivière owns and farms 60 small parcels in 5 villages across the Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir areas, and importer Louis/Dressner brings in a limited selection of cuvées, including a Chenin Blanc sparkler, all of which are unique Loire Valley wines, with the Jasnières “Les Rosiers” and this “L’Effraie” being ones I have liked best so far.
($38 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 I. Brand & Family Winery, Chardonnay, Fox Creek Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
Chardonnay has had a mixed past here in the deep end of Carmel Valley, but Ian Brand’s new Fox Creek Chardonnay is an outstanding effort with loads of stony and mineral character and vitality, making it a very unique, slightly austere version of this grape with bright lemon, apple, pear and subtle pineapple fruits and nicely judge oak use, saline infused rock, clove spice, leesy texture, delicate florals and good vigorous acidity. Tasted twice now, this I. Brand & Family Winery Fox Creek Chardonnay has really added some depth and density now and is drinking fabulously well, especially for those that are fans of Chardonnay with restraint and old world inspiration. As it opens up, this pale gold wine certainly gains in all areas, but stays energetic, bright and poised, making it a terrific food wine with a subtle creamy element and purity, enjoy it with local catch sea foods and or poultry dishes.

The Fox Creek Vineyard, owned by a famous App maker who doesn’t want any publicity, is located in Carmel Valley’s deep end about five miles east of the Carmel Valley Village, and part of the Fox Creek organic farm. Winemaker Ian Brand explains, that he can’t say much more about it because he had to sign an NDA before he could even enter the property, and buy the grapes! This small high site set on ancient marine sediment and granitic loam also supplies the famed Arnot-Roberts with Pinot Noir grapes, which is getting a lot of attention by their fans. The winemaking for Ian’s 2022 Fox Creek Carmel Valley Chardonnay was a simple, mostly hands off approach to allow for terroir distinction and transparency, he employed a whole cluster pressing of the grapes and it was all barrel fermented in French oak with, what Ian calls, endemic yeasts, and then it was aged 9 months on lees, but without batonage (stirring). This vintage saw just about 20% new wood and come out with 12.9% natural alcohol, which adds to the balanced feel in this outstanding wine, which is an under the radar offering in Brand’s lineup.
($36 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Quinta do Javali, Clos Fonte do Santo, Cherry Tree Vineyard, Douro Tinto, Portugal.
The brightly fresh and lightly hued Douro Tinto Clos Fonte do Santo “Cherry Tree Vineyard by Quinta do Javali is a naturally styled and handcrafted wine with tangy strawberry, red currant, cherry and plum fruits, along with a core of mineral tones, delicate florals, racy acidity and lots of spicy kick. There’s hints of wild herbs, mint, cinnamon and peppery notes, crushed geraniums and dried orange peel as well here, but almost no oak influence and a bit of sultry earthiness that makes it polar opposite some more dense and oak driven wines that come from the region, plus it should be noted that even Javali’s 10 Year Tawny Port is fresh, with a lighter ruby hue and sublime delicacy. I had not had any of the Qunta do Javali prior to this wine and the mentioned Tawny, which I had to try after dinner, and I was left very impressed, those teaching for unique natural wines should definitely look for this one. The grapes for this wine were hand tended and harvested, after which they undergoes a spontaneous fermentation in inox tanks, stainless steel with around 50% whole bunch (cluster) fermentation, allowing for the semi-carbonic juiciness and pop. Following a gentle press, the winery says, that wine is aged in used (neutral) 500L French oak puncheons, which explains the clarity and authentic character here.

The winery says, the “cherry tree vineyard” is the highest altitude plot of vines at their “Clos fonte do Santo” lieu-dit with maybe 33 different grape varietals co-planted within the site. The vines here, they continue, are approximately 90 years old and the vineyard is located in the village of Ervedosa do Douro. As with all of the Quinta do Javali vineyards, it is farmed using all sustainable and organic/biodynamic practices, and in keeping with traditional methods, in the Douro Valley, this vineyard features a field blend of only native Portuguese indigenous grape varieties, but leaning heavily on the classic Port grapes, and Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Franca. This steep hillside location vineyard is set on schist soils, is up at between 600 to 750 meters and faces northeast, which provides bring swings in day and night temps and adds to the cooling influences that make for retaining good freshness, acidity and balance, as this Clos Fonte do Santo shows. So with low sulfur and meant to be drunk young, it is best to get at this wine in short order as you can already see a light hint of oxidization, though it won’t stop you from enjoying this intriguing Douro Tinto and I loved it with food, including A Scallop Wellington and ultra fresh beef Tartare with lemon, capers and fingerling potato chips. I must thank the team at Cella Restaurant in old town Monterey and especially Bernie de Luna, who found this wine and surprised us with it and the taste of the Quinta do Javali Ten Year Tawny, which was a thrill too!
($32 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Snowden, Cabernet Sauvignon “The Ranch” Napa Valley.
I really loved this “The Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon bottling from the hugely talented Diana Snowden-Seysses at Snowden, which is beautifully balanced, dark fruited and heavenly in length and unlike a high percentage of Napa wines, it is nicely restrained and moderate in natural alcohol. Coming from all sustainable and organic vines on on the Perlite, sandy soils of the Snowden property, this Cabernet also contains some Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, which adds to the complexity, texture, spice and aromatics, making for a very compelling wine. Fantastically layered with a full bodied, but not heavy, palate with graceful tannins, good acidity and a subtle touch of wood, The Ranch shows blackberry, dark currant, plum and cherry fruits, along with a hint of loam, cigar box, anise, acacia/lilac florals, graphite and mocha notes. The Snowden Family, who’s own wines began in 1993, have for over fifty years have been farming top quality Bordeaux red varietals, plus Sauvignon Blanc, on their eastern-sloped, Napa Valley ranch, which the winery says touches both the Rutherford and St. Helena appellations. The Snowden family ranch property itself was originally purchased back in the 1950s, but beginning in the 1990s, grapes from the property went some well known labels, including Silver Oak Wine Cellars, Frank Family Vineyard, David Ramey, who also helped out here with the winemaking, Viader, and Caymus Vineyards.

Diana Snowden-Seysses, the 3rd generation of the Snowden family, began running the cellar in 2005 with help from consulting winemaker Dave Ramey, but took the reins here solo, as winemaker in 2012 herself and the wines continue to impress. She’s got an awesome CV, having worked at Robert Mondavi Winery, Araujo, La Fleur de Bouard in Bordeaux and Domaine Leflaive in Puligny Montrachet, as well as having her hand in one of Burgundy’s greatest estates. Diana is also the oenologist and cellar master for the famed Domaine Dujac, where she lives part-time with husband Jeremey Seysses (managing director of Dujac) and their kids, talk about a power couple! She’s brought a new sense of grace and elegance to her latest Snowden wines, and I loved what she has achieved here in the 2021 vintage, with this lovely Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2021 The Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon was made using transparent methods, with the grapes picked by hand and fermented in separate lots, all 100% de-stemmed and cool macerated with fermentation done in stainless steel with native yeasts to promote purity and authentic character in the wine. After primary fermentation the wine is pressed to exclusively French oak barrels for an elevage of close to 19 months with a well judged combination of new and used wood, that especially here in the 2021 vintage feels almost perfect, with a touch of sweet smoke, vanilla and softened mouth feel, allow for just the right amount of luxuriousness to shine through. The 2021 vintage in Napa, like 2014, is my kind of year and I highly recommend stocking up on them, they are drinking great young, best to decant, but have the stuffing to aged too!
($70 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc, White Burgundy, France.
One of the entry level wines of Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, the Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc (Chardonnay) is absolutely delicious, almost gilt free and stylish stuff with this label’s signature leesy and reductive elements and crystalline precision. The palate has a classic array of yellow fruits and mineral core with bright lemon, apple, Bosc pear and quince fruits perfectly accented by wet stones, hazelnut, bread dough, clove and subtle oak toastiness. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, or PYCM, as noted before, is one of famous Colin clan with his father and his brothers all being highly regarded vignerons, but these days Pierre-Yves is probably the most revered and along with his wife Caroline Morey of the equally famous Morey family are a true power couple in the Cote d’Or. Now they are based in their new modern winery in Chassagne where they turn out some of the most sought after wines in the Cote de Beaune. The Colin family has some fabulous plots in some of the Cote de Beaune’s best vineyards, from Chassagne to Batard (Montrachet), and Pierre-Yves added some high quality vineyards to his own portfolio, expanding into the Cote de Nuits, with a fine standout parcel in Vosne-Romanée, and father north to the Côte Chalonnaise, where he gets Rully fruit. The Au Bout du Monde (HCdB) is from a high elevation and steep Chardonnay vineyard, one of the cooler sites in all pf Burgundy, up at close to 450 meters, with 20 year old vines with a southwest exposure.

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, as mentioned many times here since 2010 or so, is one of Burgundy’s biggest stars, he follows a strict protocol and method, using all sustainable and hand tended vineyards, with mostly organic practices in the vineyards, which includes some fabulous terroirs and sites, from Grand Cru to special Lieu-Dit(s) from Montrachet to St. Aubin. In the cellar Pierre-Yves ferments and ages his wines in barrel, with early picks being the norm, using indigenous yeasts and somewhat notably, he prefers larger format 350L French oak demi-muids instead of the classic 228L barriques, with his Village Lieu-Dit wines getting 10-20% new oak and Premier Crus and Grand Crus seeing close to 30% new if not more, depending on the vintage, adding just the right amount of toasty accents. This year saw 10% new oak and was aged for 14 months, plus an additional 3 months in stainless steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. The grapes come from that parcel of vines in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune on clay and limestone soils and (a) climate that promotes mineral intensity and vivid acidity, giving the wine its charm and cool toned personality, which the 2021 vintage highlighted in a more traditional way, than warm years like 2020. These PYCM wines are some of my favorite go to Burgundies, especially the whites, with the Rully and St. Aubin bottlings being exceptionally savvy choices for bargain hunters, though in recent years as they have been more scarce, I have been loving the basic Bourgogne offerings, like this one and recommend them highly. This one was even by the glass, at a local restaurant and paired wonderfully with house specialty raw Salmon Terrine with caviar and crème fraîche!
($65 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Ramey Wine Cellars, Claret, North Coast, California.
The wonderfully expressive and smoothly delicious Bordeaux inspired Ramay Claret, has a California twist and uniqueness, being that this 2019 vintage was comprised of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 9% Malbec, 8% Petit Verdot, 6% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc that saw eighteen months in 20% new French & American oak barrels, which allowed a deep currant, plum and dark berry led full bodied palate to develop, and background notes of vanilla, coco, tobacco, dried sage, anise, smoky graphite and cedar. This Dave Ramey made Claret, he says, describing its textural quality was given a monthly bâtonnage, Ramay adds, to coat the tannins, and helping to produce a luscious, cushioned mouthfeel, which is cleanly evident and very welcome, though the underlying structure should make it age well too. This still youthfully purple/garnet and soft tannin laced Cabernet Sauvignon based Claret was lightly fined with egg whites, but was bottled without filtration in the quest to provide all the nuance and flavors to be had here. I would suggest a robust meal to go along with this wine, best decanted, with prime rib, steak and wild mushroom dishes being good choices.

Famous for his set of Bordeaux and Burgundy varietal offerings, Dave Ramey, one of California’s hall of fame winemakers with a stellar history of top notch Napa Valley Cabernets, along with his beautifully crafted Carneros and Sonoma Coast Chardonnays, as well as his Syrahs, which I usually talk about. Ramey, I understand is now focusing exclusively on Sonoma County fruit sources, for all of the wines, moving away from some of the Napa sources, going forward and tightening his fabulous collection of stylish wines that I recently tasted through, with his latest Fort Ross – Seaview Chardonnay, this Claret and this awesome 2016 Northern Rhône inspired Rodgers Creek Syrah, reviewed last year, being favorites on the day. Ramey says he assembled the final blend early on, to elevate the finished wine and to ave all the parts meld smoothly together, and I don’t honestly know if it made a difference, but it is a lovely wine and with the price of top California wines, this one seems like a tremendous value, especially on a wine list where you’d be hard pressed to find a better wine for the price these days. I have been a good long fan of Ramey’s stuff and his latest are highly enjoyable offerings that I can easily recommend and treat myself to.
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Follin-Arbelet, Corton, Grand Cru, Red Burgundy, France.
Some of my favorite wines from the Kermit Lynch 50th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting in San Francisco was Domaine Follin-Arbelet’s gorgeous set of 2020 Red Burgundies, and led by this spectacular and beautifully aromatic Corton Grand Cru, a wine of depth, class and transparency. As I’ve mentioned before, my experience with Follin-Arbelet was mostly with their impressive collection of whites, but at this Kermit Lynch celebration, their reds were out of this world, again especially this Corton and the Aloxe-Corton Premier Cru “Clos du Chapitre”, I reviewed first, plus the 2021 Aloxe-Corton, that was a delight even in a lighter vintage. The Corton, coming from, as Kermit Lynch notes, vines planted in 1988 on clay and limestone on the Corton Hill is dark and densely fruited Pinot Noir with loads of mineral, earthy intensity, a touch of smoky wood and an array of spices, led by a core of black cherry fruit and floral accents. This wine stands out for its mouth feel and generosity of texture and lingering elegance with crushed rose petal, a hint of graphite, orange tea and red currant, it is an elegantly styled Burgundy that hits all the right notes, but doesn’t over do it. The winemaking was subtle, 100% de-stemmed grapes, a five day cold soak and 10 day fermentation and maceration, after which the wine was aged in about 20% new French oak barriques for close to 12 months, all of which promotes that purity and clarity of focus.

The Domaine Follin-Arbelet, as mentioned in prior reviews, is run by Franck and Christine Follin-Arbelet since 1993, is focused mainly around the vineyards of Aloxe-Corton (their hometown) and the Côte de Beaune, but they also have a small parcel in the famous Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru, which is their unicorn bottling. With a great collection of plots, with lots of old vines, including in Aloxe-Corton, Pernand-Vergelesses, Corton Grand Cru, as seen here, Corton Bressandes Grand Cru, Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru and the mentioned Romanée Saint Vivant Grand Cru, Follin-Arbelet makes a stellar set of wines, interestingly of which I previously mostly enjoyed their whites, especially the Pernand-Vergelesses offerings. The terroirs are classic with clay and limestone soils and all the vines are grown using sustainable methods and, as Kermit Lynch notes, without synthetic fertilizers or weed killers, working the soils regularly to aerate them and keep them healthy. Going on Berkeley’s famous importer and talent spotter says the vinifications, at Follin-Arbelet, are in the old-school style, fermenting slowly in open-top wooden vats, using only indigenous yeasts, and the wines are bottled in, he adds, all of their unadultered glory, unfined and unfiltered. This 2020 vintage, a richer and deeper year than most, is fabulous for Domaine Follin-Arbelet, allowing for some profound wines, such as this one, and while not a bargain, it still is a very savvy buy for a Grand Cru of such quality!
($208 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Willems-Willems, Riesling Kabinett Feinherb, Saar River, Germany.
The pale greenish gold and aromatic 2021 Saar Riesling Kabinett Feinherb from Willems-Willems is slightly drier and more crisp than the regular Kabinett I tried most recently and shows of a bright peachy and lime fruit character along with loads of mineral, slate driven accents, wet stone and a hint of tropical fruit, chamomile and ginger spice. This light framed Riesling is slightly fruity and has a touch of earthiness, drinking pure and nicely, with that tiny amount of residual sugar helping fill out the racy palate and adding refreshment, making it a great choice with sushi and less hot Asian cuisine. I don’t have a ton of experience with this winery, but have very much enjoyed what I’ve tried so far from this Saar estate. As I found out last time I had their wines, five generations of women have managed and run this Saar estate with Carolin (Willems-Willems) Hofmann now firmly in charge here and taking care of all the business aspects of the winery with General Manager Peter Thelen looking after the grapes and the cellar. Today the property is a dedicated wine growing estate, but similar to other family wineries in the region it wasn’t until 1971 that it stopped being a mixed or multi-purpose farm. That was also the year the matriarch of the Willems estate, Maria Willems married Karl, who in a strange twist of fate shared a distant ancestor and thus the same last name, hence the Willems-Willems label.

The Willens-Willens estate, as I mention in my previous reviews, in the Saar region, not far from the Mosel, is a small family affair, making just about 4,500 cases a year, with some serious wines, like their beautifully expressive and crystalline Oberemmel Altenberg Kabinett, I had below, and this Kabinett Feinherb, which as noted, a slightly off dry Riesling that is driven by the slate underpinnings of this uniq

2023 Vitivinicolo Antichi Poderi Jerzu, Cannonau Novello, IGT Ogliastra, Sardinia, Italy.
Sardinian Nouveau, or new wine, is called Novello and made from 100% Cannonau (Grenache) that it is quickly macerated and fermented in vat and bottled, similar to how Beaujolais Nouveau is done, though this one, while juicy and fruit forward, has taut structure and a bit more serious and savory in style. Bright and spicy in the background the, the garnet and ruby hued Antichi Poderi Jerzu Novello IGT Ogliastra, that comes from high elevation vines, shows earthy dark berry and plummy fruit with hints of pepper, dried herbs, orange rind, mineral and a touch of jolly rancher candy.

The Antichi Poderi Jerzu is a co-operative winery, specializing in Cannonau di Sardegna (Grenache) with more than 400 small growers, located in the small village of Jerzu, in the historical Ogliastra region, which is on the eastern coast of Island. Jerzu is a remote town, known for its adherence to very old tradition and has lots of citizens over 100 years old. This wine was macerated and fermented with carbonic techniques and vat raised for about a month or so before bottling, but still shows really good varietal character, structure and nice complexity for this Nouveau or Novello wine. Thanks to my winemaker friend from Sardinia, Giussepi Cossu, who does his Impromptu wines in Sardinia, for bringing this fun wine to share with me.
($15-20 Est.) 87 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine M. & C. Lapierre, Morgon, Marcel Lapierre Cuvée MMXXII, Cru Beaujolais, France.
One of the world’s great wines, the Lapierre Cuvée Marcel comes from 100 year old Gamay vines set on Morgon’s sandy decomposed granite soils, and always shows power, concentration and exotic ripe fruit, and this 2022 is no exception with gorgeous layers of candied cherry, plum and dark berry fruits on the beautifully textured full bodied palate along with a touches of savory and earthy elements, anise, walnut and framboise leading the way. The Lapierre Marcel Cuvée is only produced in exceptional vintages from the domaine’s oldest vines, as importer Kermit Lynch explains, are in the Côte du Py area and the special lieu-dit of “Le Douby” located near the border of the Fleurie appellation. Brother and sister Mathieu, who I just met for the first time at Kermit Lynch’s 50th Anniversary tasting, and Camille Lapierre run this historic estate, that was first established back in 1909, that is known for its natural style all organic 100% Gamay old vine wines, with grapes picked late, all of which are made using traditional “semi-carbonic” whole cluster method.

As noted before in my reviews, the late and legendary Marcel Lapierre, who was a champion of this style natural wine, proved that Gamay can be monumental, age worthy and thrilling wines and the domaine continues to be a leader of this category. The wines show an intense attention to detail and quality, as I’ve noted before, always are striving for elegance and terroir clarity, which these latest Lapierre Beaujolais, like this one deliver in spades. In the cellar, Mathieu, who took over from his father, employs 100% whole cluster and native yeast fermentation, or methode à l’ancienne, all of which is done at low temperatures with primary ferments lasting for between ten to twenty days, before racking the wine to well seasoned oak foudres and fûts (large casks) for aging, which usually is close to 9 months before bottling. For this wine, Lapierre did the noted semi-carbonic maceration, with the must protected from oxygen by CO2, without SO2, which lasted for between 15-36 days in closed vat, typically conical wood, and then aged in used Burgundy (228L) barrels for the 9 months. Like all the wines here at Lapierre, this one was bottled unfined and unfiltered to promote transparency and capturing all the terroir nuances in the finished wine. These wines are always wonderfully expressive and this one in particular is as good as Gamay gets, I highly recommend them.
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Lajibe – Jean-Baptiste Semmartin – Mansengs et Compagnie, Mansengs, Dry White Wine, Vin de France.
The intensely dry, crisp and reductive, tension filled white is a thriller from the Jurancon region, in France’s remote Pyrenees area, made from the two local varietals, Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, it shows racy citrus, white peach and quince fruits, along with minerally flint and wet stones, as well as hazelnut, clove/ginger spice, a hint dried pineapple, lemon zest and wild herb. This medium bodied wine is a very unique version of a Jurancon Sec, and is brilliantly balanced with loads of acidity and brightness, but still allows for a pleasing sense of textural feel and makes for a great food wine, especially with artisan country cheeses and or oysters. For this vintage, 2021, the winemaker Jean-Baptiste Semmartin chose to use zero added SO2 and the all organic grapes were direct pressed to used barrels for fermentation, with spontaneous natural yeasts, and aging, to promote freshness and transparency. This region is best known for the sweet wines, usually using these grapes, but efforts like this one from Semmartin shows just how good dry wines can be. Those that like Saumur Blanc (Chenin Blanc), Jura Savagnin (non oxidized) and or old school white Burgundy will find a lot to like here.

Winemaker, ex-fencing star, Jean-Baptiste Semmartin employs a natural winemaking style to his wines, including a long fermentation(s), favoring extended lees aging in neutral French oak barrels, and he does minimal filtration or additions, if any, with ultra low doses sulphur at bottling. Semmartin started his winemaking journey in 2005 and began working in Bordeaux, and in Collioure, but really found his influence after working with Emmanuel Giboulout in Burgundy, who works with biodynamic methods, which Jean-Baptiste brought along with him to the Jurancon. His first wines, bottled under the Domaine Lajibe and Mansengs et Compagnie label were in 2015 and he really has created a buzz with them and they are now very geeky cool, making them rare and hard to find offerings, with this Mansengs being the best value and easiest to find. Confusingly, this 2021 is not labelled Domaine Lajibe, but rather just Mansengs et Compagnie on the back and with his Jean-Baptiste Semmartin name on the front label. Semmartin, who represented France in the national fencing team, is committed to his region’s indigenous (main) grapes of the Jurancon, including Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng, as found here in this wine, along with Petit Courbu and the exceptionally rare Claverie. Imported to California by Petite Wines, this is a winemaker to watch, and I look forward to trying some of his other bottlings as they become available here.
($48 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2017 Sesti – Castello di Argiano, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Riserva “Phenomena” Tuscany, Italy.
The 2017 Brunello Riserva Phenomena from Sesti is a gorgeous, layered and transparent wine with a luxurious mouth feel and beautiful structure, this rarity bottling, which I hadn’t had the opportunity to taste of spend time with before, shows classic Sangiovese personality with dried roses, tobacco leaf, minty herb accents to a deep expression of blackberry, plum, cherry and balsamic strawberry fruits along with subtle leathery/earth, cedar, coco powder and anise. Full bodied, but not heavy, this wine has tannin and acidity still in evidence, though perfectly meshed within this exceptional wine, which I had originally though wouldn’t live up to expectations, especially coming after the much heralded 2016 vintage, so it was a stunning surprise on just how fabulous this wine was in the glass. Tasted with Elisa Sesti, who I had met with on a couple occasions while she toured the States, at importer Kermit Lynch’s 50th Anniversary portfolio tasting in November of 2023, this Phenomena Brunello impressed. The Phenomena Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, which is required to be 6 years before release, plus a minimum of two years in oak, though this one always gets over 4 years, comes from 20 plus year old vines, up at around 350 meters, set on marine or oceanic sediment, rather than volcanic or limestone, seen in other parts of the terroir. With a southern facing site, allowing for its own distinct personality and perfectly ripened grapes, this vineyard has proven to deliver quality stuff, I also must note that since 2010 I have loved the Sesti Monteleccio Rosso and the Rosso di Montalcino DOC, which are both savvy values and drink as well assume much more expressive Brunellos.

In 1975, Giuseppe Maria “Giugi” Sesti, according to importer Kermit Lynch, moved his family to Tuscany and bought the Castello di Argiano, a historic ruins and began to form ideas of a planting a vineyard there within the Montalcino commune and starting a winery, that he founded in 1987, which didn’t realize much of anything until around 1991, when his first Sangiovese (Grosso) vines were in the ground around the old castle. In fact, Giugi really didn’t get much done until his talented daughter Elisa put herself in charge of things at Sesti in around 1999, though he did believe that the potential to produce great wines was there, and only if they farmed organic and that the wines were made with natural methods, which he pursued from the beginning here. After Elisa Sesti, joined the family estate full time, she was active in all aspects of the vineyard management, promotional work and the winemaking, which has taken this lesser known property to international fame and these traditional styled wines are now some of the region’s best and most coveted offerings. The winemaking is done in old school fashion, with 100% de-stemmed grapes being macerated and fermented in stainless steel and then aged in large oak (30 HL ) botti (cask) for 51 months, after which it spent another year maturing in bottle the cellar, and was unfined and unfiltered. I can imagine the Sesti Phenomena Brunello di Montalcino aging extremely well, I tried a decanted bottle, which helped reduce the tannic shock and to allow for the touch of funk, which I tend to find here, to fully blow off, it definitely is a wine that will reward with a hearty meal, I bet 7 to 10 years brings even more magic. I also very much enjoyed the regular Sesti Brunello di Montalcino, which was in the large wood for 39 months, and I would recommend to Brunello fans as well, it is oh so close to this one and a bit less money.
($166 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2022 Olek Bondonio, Langhe Rosso “Giulietta” Piemonte, Italy.
One of my favorite Barbaresco makers, Olek Bondonio, a cult like figure here, has become one of the most sought after winemakers with Barbaresco and Nebbiolo enthusiasts and it is incredibly hard to get them, though some of his alternative wines are a little more easy to find, like this exceptionally rare and pale red Giulietta Langhe Rosso, made from the Pelaverga grape. This light colored wine, reminds me of Poulsard and or Trousseau, from the Jura, with strawberry and tart herbal flavors leading the way on the crisp, mineral laced, lighter palate, along with anise, truffle and orange peel notes. Bondonio’s estate, La Berchialla is located near to the Tre Stelle frazione of Barbaresco, and is planted to Nebbiolo, of course, along with small parcels of Grignolino, Pelaverga, as seen here, Dolcetto, and Barbera, which is another of Bondonio’s wines I highly recommend. The signature wine here is the Olek Bondonio La Berchialla Roncagliette Cru, Barbaresco DOCG, a wine a mystical allure and sensuality, no Nebbiolo fan should ever pass up a chance to experience it, trust me, especially in a good vintage! While not so grand as that, this bright, earthy and savory lighter framed Pelaverga is a quaffable treat that goes best with food and enjoys a slight chill, it’s a no pretense kind of wine, but certainly unique. Most of the grapes come from Bondonio’s plots in the Roncagliette vineyard in Barbaresco with a southern exposure and classic hard clay and limestone soils, making for a pedigreed terroir.

Pelaverga is a native grape to Piemonte, where it is found in the Verduno DOC mainly, and is super rare anywhere else, I have only had it a dozen times in 20 years and only of a handful of producers actually make solo varietals wines from it. A bit of research has found that it was most commonly used as a light semi fizzy red wine or as a table grape, but Castello di Verduno and G..B. Burlotto’s Verduno Pelaverga(s) started turning heads in the last decade or so, leading the grape to be planted outside of Verduno, as seen here. Interesting, writer Ian D’Agata, notes that Pelaverga has two distinct clones, he goes as far as saying “Pelaverga” doesn’t exist: it is neither a grape nor a wine, and that you need to be more clear that there are, in fact, two different Pelaverga grape varieties: the Pelaverga Grosso, which is not the favored clone or strain, and the Pelaverga Piccolo, that is, and originally at home in the Barolo commune of Verduno and is called Verduno Pelaverga, where the cuttings came from that Olek Bondonio has in Barbaresco, where it can’t be called Pelaverga, hence the Langhe Rosso DOC on the label. For his Giulietta, Bondonio does this wine with 100% de-stemmed berries, with fermentation done in a mix of stainless steel and concrete, which depends on ripeness and the vintage. After a a couple of weeks on skins, being careful not to try to extract too much tannin, the wine sees short élevage in very old neutral barrels and bottled with ultra low sulfur, as well as unfined and unfiltered. This freshly focused and spicy Pelaverga adds hints of florals, sour cherry and mint, it has a nice rustic charm that is compelling in its own way and made for a fine and thoughtful companion with my not so complicated pasta dish.
($45 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux, Vacqueyras AOC Blanc, Un Sang Blanc, Rhône Valley, France.
An absolute stunner in the glass, this Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux Un Sang Blanc is a gorgeous and richly flavored Vacqueyras Rhone white, very similar to a Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc with a blend of Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Roussanne and Marsanne (which isn’t found in Châteauneufs) grapes, all organic, that are fermented in a combination of vessels from young vine plots set on classic clay and limestone with an overlay of galets roulés, round river stones. Famous for the Vacqueyras Rouge wines, this was the first time I’d seen or tasted their Un Sang Blanc and I was blown away, this is a thrilling wine with a beautiful layering of minerally fruits, including dense peach/apricot stone fruit, racy tangerine, a touch of crisp apple, along with almond paste, butter creme, saline infused wet stone, white flowers, verbena, citron oil and a sensual texture that hints at wood and wax, but with plenty of zesty freshness to keep things balanced. If you’ve had Vieux Telegraphe Blanc, Beaucastel Blanc or Pegau Reserve Blanc, you’ll see a lot of the same characteristics and quality here in this Domaine La Sang des Cailloux Blanc and savvy enthusiasts of white Rhônes will want to chase this utterly delicious rarity down as soon as possible. Winemaker Serge Férigoule’s Vacqueyras Blanc “Un Sang Blanc” a relatively new addition to Domaine La Sang des Cailloux’s lineup it is actually his most rare and expensive offering and well worth it, in my humble opinion, it is now on my must follow list.

As mentioned, in my latest reviews, it was a thrill for me to meet and taste with Serge Férigoule of Le Sang des Cailloux, a legend in the Southern Rhône region and synonymous with the Vacqueyras region, these wines are incredible and soulful efforts that sit somewhere between the famous Chateauneuf du Pape and, the higher (up) in the Dentelles, Gigondas, but with their own distinction and sultry depth. Férigoule, who is almost as well known for his barbell mustache as his fantastic wines recent held court at importer Kermit Lynch’s 50th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting in San Francisco and showed off his latest releases, which was a huge highlight for me, as I’ve long admired his wines. For The Blanc, all from 10 year old vines, farmed certified biodynamic, Férigoule did a care selection in the vineyards and fermented different varietal lots in a mix of tonneaux, larger foudre and even some in sandstone amphora, after which the wine was blended and aged on the lees in 1 to 3 year old barrels for close to 12 months. As much as I love the rustic and powerful reds here at Domaine La Sang des Cailloux, like the Lopy Vacqueyras Rouge, this Un Sang Blanc really impressed me and I would love to re-visit it in another 5 to 7 years, though that may not ever be possible. Serge Férigoule, Mr. Vacqueyras, and his Domaine le Sang des Cailloux, founded in 1990, which means “the blood of the stones” are legends of the Southern Rhône. The wines are as authentic as is Serge’s much loved exquisite mustache and wry smile, this is a man who lives and breathes the terroir here and all of his being and soul go into these wines, I highly recommend them, and in particular this one!
($66 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Giulia Negri, Barolo DOCG “Marassio” Serradenari Cru, La Morra, Piemonte, Italy.
A truly monumental effort and with incredible structure, the Giulia Negri Marassio Barolo is a highly wound Nebbiolo that is built for aging, though with an inner beauty and grace clearly woven into the fabric here, this wine is one of the best I tried in 2023 and potential perfect. While more taut and austere than the La Tartufaia and the regular Serradenari bottlings, there’s no doubt which wine rules the roost here in the talented Negri’s lineup, you’ll just have to wait a while for your rewards here. The palate takes time to open and its gripping with true Nebbiolo rustic charm, giving macerated cherry, damson plum, red currant and dark mulberry fruits, along with earthy truffle, balsamic strawberry, cedar, stony essences, minty herb and anise notes. Giulia’s graceful textural signature does come trough, even with the firm tannin here and the decanting proved highly successful in coaxing out the aromatics with rose petal and wild flowers coming alive and helping seduce the senses in a profound way, there’s no obvious mark downs and the length and lingering finish is otherworldly, this Marassio is worth every penny. The Marassio comes from, as importer Kermit Lynch explains, a Western exposition sub-parcel at 520 meters (1,706 feet) above sea level, a selection from the Marassio, set on clay, loam and limestone at the very highest part of the Serradenari cru, which sees a cooler influence and exceptional long hang times, that helps build depth and tannin.

Giulia Negri, who took over her family’s winery at just 24, is a rising star in the Langhe and deserves some healthy respect for what she’s achieved so far, but she’s far from done yet and the potential is off the charts for her label, especially after tasting her latest set of Barolo bottlings. It was great to meet Giulia Negri and taste her wines at the Kermit Lynch 50th Anniversary Portfolio tasting in San Francisco late last year, with her talents really showing in her set of Nebbiolo wines, especially her gorgeous 2019 Barolo offerings, which I have mentioned in my earlier reviews. As noted, the vineyards are practicing organic since 2014, and now certified, with Negri putting a lot attention to her vines, which are mostly at high elevation within La Morra, the highest point in Barolo, and the Serradenari cru with this parcel planted in 2004 and 2006. The Barolo’s grapes saw a long, 40 day maceration and fermentation in large conical wood vats. After fermentation, the wine was pressed off and racked to big Slavonian oak barrels where it was matured for 30 months, after which it was bottled unfiltered and rested in cellar before release. I was incredibly impressed, as mentioned, with the set of new releases from Negri from her Langhe Nebbiolo to her single parcel Marassio Barolo, and I highly recommend this very gifted winegrower to the serious Nebbiolo enthusiasts and I would add there is that something extra here with her wines that give me that same thrill I experience when having a top notch Grand Cru Burgundy, like Rousseau’s Clos de la Roche! Kermit Lynch adds, there’s a devout respect for tradition that already places her wines among the region’s classics, which is high praise indeed, and I agree completely.
($165 Est.) 98 Points, grapelive

2021 Goodfellow Family Cellars, Whistling Ridge Blanc, Ribbon Ridge AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The beautifully crisp and aromatic co-fermented Alsatian style white blend by Goodfellow is made from 54% Riesling, 20% Pinot Nor (without skin contact), 20% Pinot Blanc and 6% Gewürztraminer from vines set on the marine sedimentary soils of Ribbon Ridge, making for a brightly intense wine that shows off tangy citrus and stone fruits, a spicy undertone, mineral notes and fresh cut flowers. Dry, vigorously fresh and stony on the lighter palate this Whistling Ridge Blanc makes for a super cleansing aperitif and or a fabulous raw oyster and or clam linguini wine that is bristling with vivid acidity and saline, with just enough complexity and evocative florals to keep you sipping until empty. Winemaker Richard Goodfellow calls the Whistling Ridge Blanc, a wine of the vineyard, with just four rows of interplanted Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Gewurtztraminer and Pinot Noir, which are picked together, pressed, and fermented together in neutral French oak barrels and some (larger) neutral Acacia wood foudre, with 8 months of lees aging before bottling. These field blend whites have become much more common in Alsace in recent times, like Diess, Weinbach and Tempe, and really are exciting, and here too in Oregon, where Riesling and Pinot Blanc are doing really well.

The Burgundy inspired Goodfellow Family Cellars, founded in 2002, honors the old world and the local traditions here in the Willamette Valley, like those pioneered by Eyrie Vineyards, Cameron, Beaux Freres and Brick House, using non irrigated and sustainably farmed old vines, like their estate Whistling Ridge Vineyard, that was first planted in 1990. This 14 acre vineyard in Ribbon Ridge sits on the ridge top, the winery says, with a slight south-east aspect, catching the evening breeze from the northwest year round, which provides balance in the wines, especially the Pinot Noirs. Going on the winery continues that the shallow soils force roots deep, adding concentration as well as getting moisture even in Oregon’s drought summer conditions, allowing ripe flavors, but elegance and age worthy structure. There’s a combination of mixed clonal plantings of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay mainly, but with small interplanted blocks of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Gewürz and the Riesling, that make up some of this wine. Goodfellow is a member of the Deep Roots Coalition, a group of wineries committed to sustainable farming and non-irrigated vines. Only 50 cases were made in this vintage, so it is an exceptionally rare offering and won’t be easy to find at this point sadly, but feel lucky if you get some and be sure to check out their Pinots and Chards, which I recommend and have enjoyed in past vintages.
($28 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Reichsrat von Bühl, Riesling Kabinett “Armand” Pfalz, Germany.
The Weingut Reichsrat von Bühl in the Pfalz is a historic premier estate with a collection of traditional wines and more modern dry style stuff too with top notch full VDP Grosses Gewachs leading the way, but I recently tried their Armand line Kabinett, which is named for their von Bühl ancestor that helped built the Suez Canal and who served a Riesling much like this at the opening ceremony! The lightly off-dry and fruity Armand Kabinett is bright and expressive with white blossoms, fresh picked apricot, tangerine, green apple and tropical notes to start along with crystalized ginger spice, steely mineral, wet stones and delicate rosewater. Very easy to quaff, this vintage may not have the concentration of other years, but still complex and pleasing to the palate with a fine salinity and clean acidity that helps with refreshing the senses, it is wonderful with spicy cuisine, especially hot Asian dishes, like chili pork dumplings. The von Bühl vineyard sites are where some of Germany’s best and greatest Rieslings come from and I always enjoy the lineup here. The winery, as noted previously, hired and put the talented Matthieu Kaufmann in charge of the cellar and winemaking in 2013 and the results have been impressive, as seen throughout the set of wines here.

The Armand Kabinett was all hand picked and carefully sorted with the grapes seeing a moderate amount of residual sugars, which convert to a finished 8.5 to 9% natural alcohol, and fermented in stainless steel tank exclusively, where the wine saw a short 16 weeks of lees aging before being bottled unfined or filtered to preserve freshness and purity. The Armand comes from plots of Riesling planted on the Pfalz’s classic sandstone soils with what the winery calls white and yellow variegated sandstone underpinning the vines here, which are grown all sustainable and meticulously cared for. As mentioned in previous reviews, the historic Reichsrat Von Bühl, one of my favorites, which was originally founded in 1849, is as noted one of Germany’s most famous family owned wine estates. Now owned by Achim Niederberger, von Bühl has assembled an amazing team to keep this winery at the highest level of quality in the region and (in) the country. Von Bühl’s collection of cru vineyards, in my opinion, rivals any estate in Europe, like neighbors Von Winning, including some of the best vineyard sites in Deidesheim and Forst, such as “Grossen Lagen” Forster Kirchenstück, Pechstein, Jesuitengarten, Freundstück and the Deidesheim sites Leinhöhle, Herrgottsacker, Kiesleberg and Paradiesgarten. I typically go for the Trocken offerings here, with some of less prestigious bottlings delivering savvy value, like the Trocken Forster especially, though I am a fan of the bargain Kabinett bottlings too.
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Union Sacré, Syrah “Virtuose” Slide Hill Vineyard, Edna Valley AVA, San Luis Obispo County.
The deep and dark fruited Virtuose Syrah by Union Sacré, who are well admired for their Alsatian styled whites, especially the dry set of Rieslings, is quite a surprise, coming from Edna Valley’s Slide Hill Vineyard it is a very Côte Rôtie in style with beautiful violets, toasty oak and opulent layers of blackberry, blueberry and plum fruits leading the way, along with classic cool climate black olives, subtle meaty elements, mineral tones, creme de cassis, salted licorice and raw peppercorns. At first, I found it easy and juicy with youthful acidity, supple tannins and low alcohol, but it gains a more structured nature with time in the glass and its true personality starts to reveal itself, interestingly this Syrah can be thrilling and drinkable now, but will certainly get much better with another few years of both age. There’s a lot to like here, especially the Northern Rhône character it shows and the richness of its California fruit and savory contrast that lingers behind the youthful expression on the surface, patience looks to have its rewards here. This wine, only about 150 or so cases made, shows off almost everything we Syrah lovers want in a wine and while not cheap, its certainly deserves following!

Union Sacré, A tiny micro winery owned by Philip Muzzy and French winemaker Xavier Arnaudin, from the Rhone, who formed in 2014, calls Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties home, and again as mentioned they are known for their Alsace styled whites, which I first tried with their 2016 “Fraulein” Riven Rock Vineyard Riesling. I was somewhat amazed to find out that for their Slide Hill Vineyard Virtuose Syrah, the Union Sacré pair went with 100% de-stemmed fruit and 100% new oak, almost in the mold of Guigal, rather than the more modern approach of whole cluster and large neutral casks, especially as I could have been easily fooled into believed they actually did the later, such is the subtle accents of the wood and the vibrant and lifted personality is here, impressive results. Winery explains the great care and attention it paid to this wine, with the 100% de-stemmed grapes seeing a cold soaked for 4 days, native yeast fermentation, with full pumpovers twice daily, to get total extraction and grab all the aromatics, until they pressed it to barrel. The Syrah saw battonnage daily for 5 months, then it was aged 10 months in the 100% new French Oak barrels, with 7 new Cadus and Sylvan barrels employed, all of which nicely compliment the vintage’s bounty of ripe fruit, great acidity and the lower to moderate alcohol. I can’t wait to try some of the new releases by Union Sacré, such was the positive impression this wine left on me, after tasting it blind in a Rhône tasting not too long ago.
($70 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive

2019 Monte Rio Cellars, Zinfandel, Grist Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley AVA, Sonoma County.
Famous Sommelier Patrick Cappiello’s Monte Rio Cellars makes some cheerful, bright and crunchy throwback wines, quaffable and fun stuff, like this Grist Vineyard Zinfandel from a historic 100 year old property in the Dry Creek Valley with all sustainable mature vines, it shows a different side of this grape with a lighter and dry herbal palate with crushed raspberry, tart cherry, strawberry and plum fruits leading the way. With savory and earthy notes, some wild sage and bitter spice adding to the old school feel, the Monte Rio Grist Zin is best paired with pizza and pasta dishes. These wines, made in partnership with Pax Mahle at Pax Cellars and are notable by their lack of pretense or snobby appeal, which is exactly what Cappiello was looking to do, which may surprise even his fans. As mentioned before, Patrick has been one of America’s top sommeliers since 2002 since he took over the cellar at NYC’s famous TriBeCa Grill. His lists have all got Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award” including TriBeCa Grill, Veritas, GILT, and Pearl & Ash. He was also named “Sommelier of the Year 2014” by Food & Wine Magazine, “Wine Person of the Year 2014” by Imbibe Magazine, and “Sommelier of the Year 2015” by Eater National. Pax and Patrick have found a distinctive path and style here at Monte Rio Cellars, more on the geeky cool edge, rather than mainstream, these are not going to be crowd pleasers, but joyful non the less.

Monte Rio Cellars, which utilizes historic, mainly Lodi Vineyard sites, made this wine from Zinfandel grapes is sourced from 45 year old vines in Dry Creek’s Grist Vineyard, which is farmed all organically and set on rocky soils with some volcanic influences and with warm days and cool nights, makes for prime Zin. This, like most of Monte Rio’s red is 100% whole cluster and carbonic maceration, after which it is pressed into stainless steel tanks for 12 days, to finish going dry. Then the Grist Zinfandel was matured for close to 10 months in old wood barrels, which allow for freshness and raw transparency. The winery adds, there was no sulphur is used in the winemaking process and that there was just 60 cases of this vintage produced, that means there is not much left at this point, and maybe that’s not a bad thing as it was intended to be drunk young. I have a few vintages of Monte Rio wines, various things and am finding bottles from time to time, that I probably should have opened years ago, but i still am enjoying them, as was the case here with the Grist Zin, a wine that isn’t your sweet fruited and over the top style, and they so far had no worrying faults show up. Of the Monte Rio lineup, there are ones I particularly follow and drink myself, including the Skull Red, the Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel, the Sangiovese, which done this way is really delicious and the Mission grape red from ancient vines in Lodi, that is a real taste of California history!
($29 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2019 Montefiorito, Grignolino, Piemonte DOC, Italy.
The debut release of the Montefiorito Piemonte DOC Grignolino (2019) is translucent, limpid and whisper light colored in the glass, looking like squeezed strawberries, with a delicate floral nose and snappy spices with a light/medium bodied palate, which is a bit riper than expected, via the hot vintage and a crisp minerally note adds to the complexity here with tart cherry, an echo of strawberry, brambly raspberry and a touch of guava fruits, bitter herbs, a touch rose petal, celery root and a hint of smokiness. There is taut edginess and raw character that gives a crunchy feel and at 14% natural alcohol, it’s not as delicate as it would appear on first sip, the chill (on the bottle) helps make things more playful and fun, best to have this with food as well. Definitely on the more serious side for the Grignolino grape, which makes this one a touch more interesting and merits attention, it continued to evolve during the evening and over the next day quite nicely and I found myself enjoying far more than I thought, and I am curious to how other vintages of Montefiorito Piemonte DOC Grignolino might compare, especially a cooler year. The Grignolino grapes were de-stemmed and fermented in steel on the skins, with a gentle maceration, for close to 2 weeks, then interestingly the wine is aged for 6-8 months in 750 liter amphorae, which explains the textural quality, purity and clarity in the wine.

The Grignolino grape, commonly grown here in the Piemonte region, who’s name Grignolino was derived from the local Piedmontese dialect word grignole that translates to “many pips” in the Asti region, and originally is native to the Monferrato hills located between the towns of Asti and Casale, where it makes for light reds and rosé wines. While not as popular as it once was, many enjoyed Grignolino for its bright freshness and served slightly chilled, like Beaujolais and wines like the Jura’s Poulsard, also very light in color, it makes for a nice Summer time red and can even be paired with fish and poultry dishes. My own first experiences with Grignolino, interestingly came via Napa’s famous Heitz Wine Cellars, who had a rare plot of this grape and make a tasty and exceptionally rare version, which contrasts greatly with their iconic powerful Cabernet Sauvignons! Grignolino, again, is really not too popular or common outside of Piemonte and is quite difficult to grow too as it is finicky like Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, though doesn’t get that kind of return in monetary terms. Again like Pinot, Grignolino is highly prone to mutation, creating a significant amount of clonal variation and is terroir driven, maybe best suited on the marl (limestone) and sandy soils here near Asti. These different clones of Grignolino, which are know identified in the vines, can influence the aromas and flavors greatly, with some seeing green herbal/leafy character, a bit like here, or more bubble gum fruity. Montefiorito also make Nebbiolo, Barbera and Arneis, all that see Amphora, and are certainly worth checking out.
($30 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive