New Reviews

Grapelive.com Wine Reviews

October 2025

2023 Brooks Wines, Pinot Noir “Janus” Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The 2023 vintage collection looks set to be a brilliant set of wines from Brooks, with both the Rieslings and Pinots being fabulous and lifted efforts, especially this lovely, dark garnet/ruby hued and structured Janus Pinot Noir with its nose lifting from the glass with rose petal, dark berries and truffle notes with a palate of deep black cherry, juicy plums, raspberry and currant fruits with marvelous textural silkiness, mineral notes and a light sense of toasty French oak. This is beautiful and serious Oregon Pinot Noir, opulent, but with fine balance and an incredible long finish, it is a wine with huge potential and pleasure. There is lots of excitement at Brooks Winery these days with Janie Brooks Heuk, who runs this innovative Oregon winery that specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling, after promoting her long time assistant winemaker, Claire Jarreau, to the lead role here. I mentioned this transition in my prior reviews and I was really looking forward to see what Jarreau could do here and, as noted, was very impressed. Janus, one of the Brooks wines, is named for the God for new beginnings, as well as endings, the future, the past and doorways in Roman mythology, which founder Jimi Brooks was into. The 2023 vintage included some drama, with many diverse pick dates some before and some after a big rain dump in September, but the combination has actually made for an exciting and complex wine that is really blossoming in the bottle and the glass. This multi-vineyard Janus, just 1000 cases produced, finished with 13.5% natural alcohol, good acidity and good ripe depth, that should allow a long life ahead.

The Janus Pinot Noir, sourced from top organic sites, including the Brooks Estate, Crannell, Muska, Sunny Mountain, Temperance Hill, Eola Springs, Muska-Bement and Fayetta, was hand picked and 100% de-stemmed with a native yeast fermentation and cool maceration to preserve aromatics. This vintage saw 11 Months in mostly used French oak barrels, allowing for nice integration of flavors and transparency. I remember tasting some of the first Brooks Pinot with the late Jimi Brooks, the founding winemaker, looking back it was a very special moment in time, and though sad he isn’t around now, you can still feel his presence and influence in these wines and certainly within his family, these wines truly possess his soul. Jimi liked lean and energy filled wines, and as I have said before, If you admire Pinot Noir, no matter where from, be it Burgundy or the new world, this wine will please and seduce you, it has a core of vibrant acid and silky ripe tannins holding the fruit in place, but allowing everything to shine in graceful fashion, for me it is one of the best all round quality offerings out there, and again one of the finest in the Brooks lineup. The Brooks winery is an inspirational story, starting with passion, leading to heartbreaking loss and then to love of family and rise to an American dream come true. Brooks is a big advocate for sustainable practices and has certified the estate to biodynamics, and focuses on organic grapes from non-estate sources here in the Willamette Valley. I look forward to re-visiting this Janus in a few years and highly recommend putting a few bottles down for 5 to 7 years, drink over the next 15 years.
($55 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive

nv. Denis Salomon, Histoire de Famille, Meunier, Extra Brut Champagne, France.
All new to me, Denis Salomon’s 100% Meunier (Blanc de Noirs) Histoire de Famille Extra Brut Champagne, a savvy blend of vintages and reserve base, is wonderfully expressive, vibrantly brisk and exciting in the glass with racy citrus, quince, apple, white cherry and tart peach fruits, as well as steely mineral, leesy hazelnut, bread dough, chalky stone, white flowers and a hint of herbs. The lively nature of of this beautiful Champagne is very compelling and I couldn’t get enough of it, making this label one I plan to follow, especially with the value on offer and the distinction of this wine in particular. The estate has 4.9 ha under vine, which are separated into 22 plots across 6 imported villages, including Vandières, Damery, Verneuil, Venteuil, Boursault and Mareuil-le-Port, with (the vines) ranging in age from 30 to 60 years, adding to the complexity in the wines. 100% Meunier Champagnes, once very obscure, have seen a huge rise in popularity in recent times, with versions like this delivering depth of fruit, richness and snappy crunchiness. This low dosage bottling has a fine elegant mousse that is a touch electric and creamy, making for wine of balance and sexy tension.

The Champagne Denis Salomon house has its roots going back to 1875 when Albert Salomon, originally from the Savoie, settled in the Marne Valley in the Champagne region and started integrating into the local wine growing culture. Most notably to us modern drinkers of Champagne, Nicolas Salomon, the 5th generation in the family, has run the estate since 2004 and has overseen the biggest rise in critical attention and quality here, with his focus on sustainable grapes, traditional vinification and mature vines. Nicolas is passionate in his approach to winemaking, noting that he is committed to vinifying each plot separately, pressing whole bunches in a traditional Coquard basket press and utilizing small stainless-steel tanks along with old French oak for the fermentation and élevage of his wines. Since 2012 he has blocked malolactic fermentation producing fresh and structured or chiseled Champagnes, as this Extra Brut Meunier shows brilliantly. I look forward to trying the rare vintage bottlings here, as well as the 100% Rosé de Meunier at Denis Salomon, and I recommend this one of real Champagne enthusiasts, it drinks beautifully on its own, but even better with food, it went nicely indeed with a caviar bliny as well as fresh briny oysters.
($60 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2018 Domaine Tempier, Bandol Cuvée Classique, Provence, France.
As per normal the Domaine Tempier Bandol Rouge expresses lots of pure earthy/spicy dark berry fruit, stony elements as well as ground pepper, fresh cut lavender, iron, tertiary elements and dried flowers. The nose gives red currant, tar and minty herbs before leading to an evolved palate of huckleberry, plum, black cherry, plus the mentioned berry and currant fruits, along with mixed spices, licorice, savory umami and cedary wood notes. Quite polished, full bodied and velvety once opened, this 2018 isn’t as tannic as some prior vintages and it is already drinking very well, it may not go for two more decades, but it is really delicious now and especially with meaty dishes. Typically the Cuvée Classique Rouge a blend of about 75% Mourvèdre, 14% Grenache, 9% Cinsault, 2% Carignan, (no Syrah added here) and is all organic and the vines are all over 40 years old, set in Provence’s rocky clay and limestone soils. The 2018 shows the dominate Mourvedre throughout and has a deep purple/garnet hue in the glass, it is an old world charmer, graced with subtlety and a raw seductive nature and I couldn’t help but go back a few times to admire it durning an evening filled with a collection of fine wine offerings. The winery says, after 100% de-stemming, the grapes are fermented with natural yeast and vinified for 2 to 3 weeks in stainless steel, the after maceration is finished and must is pressed to used large oak foudres for malolactic fermentation and matured for close to 20 months. I’ve been lucky in my wine life to have had many, many bottles of Tempier and I highly recommend trying to catch up, and please don’t overlook their Bandol Blanc, which is fabulous, as it definitely gets over shadowed by the Rouge and Rosé!

The late Lulu Peyraud, as I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, (who) was the matriarch of Domaine Tempier, a legendary figure in the world of food and wine, who’s estate has long crafted red wines can easily age with the elite Bordeaux, they are Mourvèdre led wines that litter the top cellars of the rich and famous. I was first introduced to Tempier by importer Kermit Lynch, who almost singlehandedly brought the world’s attention to this estate and Provence. It was Lulu’s husband, Lucien, who help push through the AOC status for this unique terroir back in the late thirties and early forties, and Tempier championed Mourvèdre here, helping making it the main grape of Bandol. Lulu herself, was a renown chef and sought to bring Provencal cuisine to the world, she has entertained the likes of Alice Waters and Julia Child, inspiring everyone she met and being one of France’s great ambassadors of culture. Tempier is now farmed all biodynamic, the vines have a great view of this spectacularly picturesque sea side region of France’s Provence. The Domaine Tempier reds and the famous Rosé are made from mostly Mourvèdre of course, grown on these clay and limestone soils, overlooking the blue Mediterranean Sea, all overseen by the talented Daniel Ravier, the long time consulting winemaker here at Tempier, who now has Lulu’s sons, Jean-Marie and François taking care of the estate’s management and working in the vineyards. A big thank you to Chef Jerome Viel, who is a big fan of Tempier and who put a few cases of this vintage away in his cellar, and blessed us by opening this bottle at a recent industry tasting. The top bottlings, it must be said, at Tempier, La Migoua, La Tourtine and Cabassaou are as age worthy as, as noted above, any top Bordeaux, or Burgundy and Rhône, and should not be missed.
($72 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Cazes “Samsó” Cinsault Nature, IGP Côtes Catalanes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France.
Cinsault is riding high at the moment and this ancient varietal is being allowed to itself in its most honest and transparent form in wines from both the old world, as seen here, and in the new world, with many California versions, like Turley’s, from old vines being highly sought after. This 2023 Domaine Cazes “Samsó” 100% natural and organic Cinsault shows off an array of bright and earthy red berry fruit, spice, delicate florals and mineral notes in a medium bodied version of this grape, which is also found in the Rhône Valley and one of the famous Châteauneuf du Pape varietals, with this wine being supple in tannin and nicely fresh on the palate. Coming from chalky limestone and mineral rich clay soils in the Côtes Catalanes area, closer to the Spanish border, this wine with dusty raspberry, plum, tart cherry and fig fruits, along with hints of leather, loam, dried lilacs, minty licorice and snappy herbs is ripe and smooth, making it easy to enjoy and ready to go. Done in a natural and non pretentious way without much in the way of oak, this is a wine that is even better with a slight chill and enjoyed with simple foods and lots of smiling friends.

The Langueduc’s Cazes winery and domaine is located in the heart of Roussillon area, in the South of France, with vines situated throughout the area and all as the winery puts it, within an amphitheater that faces the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by the Pyrenees mountains, perfect for sun kissed wines. There is a wide range of offerings here at Cazes, from tasty bone dry whites to luscious sweet wines from Banyuls (Grenache) and Rivesaltes (Muscat), as we’ll as well as this lighter framed red made from Cinsault, and even an orange wine. Cazes’ importer Massanois says that since 1895, three generations of winemakers here have been working with the same love of their craft and were pioneers and leaders in the French biodynamic winemaking movement. Maison Cazes focuses on total harmony between grape varieties, climate, fauna and flora, environment, the land, and the men and women working on it, trying to achieve a balance and to find the best expression of their terroirs. Cinsault, also known as Samsó in Spain, with cloudy origins, might be a native of Provence, and usually used in blends with Rosé being a favorite place to add this varietal, that holds acidity even in hot climates, but does a tasty solo job, as seen here.
($17 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Thomas Labille, Chablis, White Burgundy, France.
The steely, zippy and lighter framed Labille village Chablis is a bright and pure Chardonnay with loads of terroir character, electric acidity, vivid lemony tones and green apple fruit, wet stone and clove spice on the palate. This estate, formed in the late 1980s now has some 35 hectares in the Petit Chablis, Chablis and Chablis 1er Cru appellations with most being hillside parcels set on the classic limestone. As this pale gold and lime scented wine opens in the glass, you get more roundness from the barrel fermentation and extended lees aging with hints of peach, vanilla and hazelnut coming through here. Everything is well judged here and the 2023 shows a fine restraint and a lively nature, making it lovely with food, especially sea food, soft farm cheeses and poultry dishes.

The Thomas Labille winery, which was all new to me, crafts some delicious Chablis and Petit Chablis wines, and is known for their bottlings purity, mineral character, and vibrant crisp acidity. The estate, I understand, practices all sustainable and organic farming, focusing on wines that express the distinctive Chablis terroir, and particularly its chalky Kimmeridgian soil, resulting in a minerally, citrus-driven and, non overly oaky, barrel fermented efforts, like this one. For the Labille Chablis, the winery does a whole cluster press and a short settlement period before the wine is racked to barrel for spontaneous fermentation, after which the wine continues to mature in the used barrels for between 15 to 18 months with very little disruption of the lees, depending on the vintage. This wine, which is very appealing, has a bit of extra dimension when compared to the mainly tank raised village Chablis, makes it a compelling choice.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine des Sables Verts par Caroline et Hervé Malinge, Saumur-Champigny Rouge “Les Poyeux” Loire Valley, France.
The 2022 Domaine des Sables Verts Les Poyeux Saumur-Champigny is absolutely pure Cabernet Franc art its best with beautiful violets, hay, dark currant, red berry, plum, hints of bell pepper, chalky stones, anise and cedar notes in a stunning medium full bodied palate. Silken in feel, there’s a wonderful structure and balance here in this dark inky Cabernet Franc, this is a brilliant varietal wine right up there with the region’s legends and a great value too. The name, Sables Verts, or “green sand”, comes from the greenish sand present in many of the top vineyards of Saumur-Champigny, that is mixed with Clay-Limestone and Limestone-Silica in the topsoil which ultimately sits atop a bedrock of of the white and chalky limestone rich tuffeaux, which gives these wines their terroir distinction, as seen here. The Domaine des Sables Verts is converting the estate to full organic certification and, as noted by the winey, all grapes are hand harvested and vatted by gravity into their old underground cellar dug deep into the limestone tuffeaux bedrock. All the fermentations are native yeast and spontaneous, and apart from a few milligrams of sulfur before bottling, no additives are used in the vinification process here at Sables Verts. Notable also, the basic wines mostly undergo a short aging in stainless steel and used oak of 6-9 months, but for the parcellaire or cru wines here like Les Rouères Blanc, this Les Poyeux, and Les Clos Forènes, are all aged a minimum of 12 months before bottling. Les Rouères Blanc in a combination of 400L oak barrels and a 12hl wooden vat, while the Les Poyeux, and Les Clos Forènes, are raised in a combination of used oak barrels of various sizes, sandstone amphora, and stainless steel, which allow for soulful terroir transparency to shine though.

Certainly brand new to me, the Domaine des Sables Verts, which I understand is a relatively new winery run by a young couple of vignerons, Caroline (Meurée) and her husband, Hervé Maligne based in the village of Varrains in the Saumur area of the Loire Valley. According to the winery, Hervé and Caroline Maligne met while studying in Bordeaux, and despite having no family connections to the wine trade, they’ve (both) built impressive resumes in a relatively short time, to bring to their own project here in the Loire. After her studies, Caroline spent several years working at Chateau Lamothe in Bordeaux, while Hervé has made wine in Saint-Emillion (Chateau Jean-Faure), Burgundy (Domaine Decelle & Fils), and the Roussillon (Mas Amiel) under the tutelage of Olivier Decelle. This exciting winery has a 16 hectare Domaine, with 15 hectares of Cab Franc and 1 hectares of Chenin, that has its vines that are spread over 33 individual plots, with an average vine age of 40 years. Their neighbors are a veritable who’s who of the greatest vignerons in the region, including Antoine Sanzay, Thierry Germain, and most famously Clos Rougeard, who, as mentioned above, they share part of this Les Poyeux cru with. Interestingly, as they get started, to help finance the purchase of the Domaine, roughly half of the annual Cabernet Franc production by Caroline and Hervé is sold to the local co-operative. I need to thank my friend Alex Lallos again for turning me on to Domaine des Sables Verts and especially this wine, which completely left me spellbound and gave me a whole evening of pleasure and excitement. Arguably the crown jewel of the estate is the single-vineyard wine of Cab Franc from the famed “Poyeux” cru and its a stellar bargain, and has the potential to just get better and better, for now, and I highly recommend grabbing some before the word gets out!
($32 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine du Terme, Gigondas, Rhône Valley, France.
This purple/ruby 2022 Domaine du Terme Gigondas is ripe and silky with opulent pleasures on the full bodied palate showing dark boysenberry, plum, pomegranate and candied cherry fruits, along with delicate florals, sagey garrigue, peppery spices, anise, sticky lavender and a cooler toned mineral note. This is pure Rhône goodness in the glass, heady in alcohol, but seductive, easy to love and great with simple meaty dishes and or hard cheeses. The classic old school Gigondas, coming from sustainable mature vines that don’t ever see any pesticides or herbicides and is aged in enamel-coated (concrete) vats for three years before bottling. This vintage, 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, was 90% de-stemmed grapes, with 10% while cluster, saw daily punch downs of the cap, a long fermentation in vats with careful temperature control, using only natural indigenous yeasts, and saw no filtration or fining before its bottling. Grown in the shadow of the Dentelles, the cooler elevation here in Gogondas gives the wines a unique character, and set on limestone and clay with diverse exposures helping add balance. The Domaine du Terme’s 45 year old vines add to the concentration and complexity of their Gigondas, which is incredibly rich, nicely structured and supple in tannin.

Domaine du Terme has roots that go back to 1900 and has vineyards in the Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Sablet areas of the Rhône Valley’ and located in the foothills of the Montmirail Mountains. The Domaine du Terme is managed by Anne-Marie Gaudin and her father Rolland, who, as they note, purchased their first vines in Sablet some forty years ago. Anne-Marie herself began making the wines in 1987 here after earning her oenology degree in Mâcon region of Burgundy. He father Rolland, who is also was the mayor of Gigondas for over a decade, still consults in the vinification and viticulture process at the family property. Anne-Marie says that one must be “flexible, pragmatic, and intuitive” to make quality wine here in Rhône, and have a good connection to the earth, especially with the changing climate and modern challenges facing vignerons here. The Gigondas bottling here is clean and leans into its deep Grenache ripe nature, coming in at close to 15% natural alcohol, but feels remarkably fresh and balanced, especially with food, never feeling pruny or flabby, in fact it was easy to enjoy an extra class with cheese after the meal without any feeling of too much. I really was grateful to open this bottle on a slightly chilly Fall evening and I can recommend this for Grenache fans and Rhône lovers, it is good value, and fun, for the pedigree in the bottle.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

n.v. Bruno Paillard, Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs, Grand Cru Champagne, Reims, France.
The 100% Pinot Noir based and multi-vintage blended Bruno Paillard Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Champagne is a brilliantly detailed, mineral toned and elegant bubbly with white peachy stone fruit, lemony citrus, golden fig, apple skin and quince fruits, along with chalky wet stones, hazelnut brioche, yeasty bread dough and delicate white blossoms. The palate is crisply dry, brisk and racy, just the way I like my Champagne with an ultra low dosage, but still luxurious and with an excellent mousse that is lively and creamy. It was a thrill to taste through the latest disgorgements of the Bruno Paillard lineup, including the Premiere Cuvée, this beautiful Blanc de Noirs, which saw three years on the lees, and (my favorite) the tension filled and extremely dry Zero Dosage bottling. Champagne Bruno Paillard, with their Réserve Perpétuelle, that dates back 40 years to 1985, is a true enthusiast house and an insiders Champagne that focuses on terroirs and structure, with this one a blend of mostly cooler, limestone influenced Pinot Noir Grand Cru sites.

The Bruno Paillard Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru, as the winery explains, was born from the desire to show, through the blending of diverse vintages, a rich and precise expression of Pinot Noir from the northern crus of Champagne. Going on Paillard says this wine is entirely composed of first pressing Pinot Noir from four elite Grands Crus, these being Verzenay, Mailly, Verzy and the famous Bouzy. The first three of them, the winery adds, have a predominantly northern orientation, a bit cooler, and these historic, chalky terroirs bring together the elegance and distinctive depth of Pinot Noir. The Blanc de Noirs is mostly vinified in stainless steel, with only a small proportion of oak is used, between15 to 20%, depending on the year to enrich the blend. The Pinot cuvée then spends three years on the lees, giving it time to mature and integrate completely. After disgorgement the Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru rests for a minimum of six months in the cellar and like all the Maison Bruno Paillard Champagnes, as noted above, it is an Extra-Brut, with that low dosage, which is just 3g/l. These are dynamic and complex Champagnes, very much made for enjoying with cuisine and or pairing with a dish, and this Blanc de Noirs is especially a gastronomic friendly bottling.
($124 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

September 2025

2024 Rottensteiner, Schiava, Alto Adige DOC, Italy.
The delicate ruby hued and light bodied Rottensteiner Schiava is a more subtle version of this varietal without too much juicy punch like fruitiness, showing a fine mineral tone, rose petal aromatics and a strawberry, cherry and plum fruited palate, along with a hint of each, spice and fennel notes. Schiava, a bit like Frappato in Sicily and Freisa in Piedmonte, is native to the Alto Adige in the Sudtirol, where it usually is made as a single varietal wine. Schiava though is a permitted variety in several Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)s including the Santa Maddalena DOC located east of the city of Bolzano in the South Tyrol/Alto Adige region, which actually might be the best expression of Schiava, where it is usually 90% of the blend, with a little bit of the very dark Lagrein and or Pinot Noir. As this Rottensteiner Schiava, sourced from pergola trained vines set on sandy porphyry soils, opens up you get burnt orange, mountain herbs and framboise notes and it gets more texturally pleasing. The Rottensteiner winery near the city of Bolzano is all new to me and looks focused on approachable wines that show off the Alto Adige’s history, terroir and purity of native varietals, which includes Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanco, Müller Thurgau, Sylvaner, Lagrein and this Schiava.

Schiava is an Italian name used to refer to several grape varieties common to the Trentino and Alto Adige regions of northern Italy. It is said that while the grape is likely northern Italian in origin, the synonym Schiava is closely related to the Italian word for “Slave” and may hint to the type of vine plant in Roman times (forced by pruning) like being Pergola trained. Old records show that the grape has been growing in the Trentino-Alto Adige region since at least the 13th century. Schiva, also known as Trollinger or Vernatsch, is a red German/Italian wine grape variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino in the Alto Adige, high up in the Dolomites, but today it is mostly grown in Germany, and mainly in the Württemberg wine region of Baden-Württemberg. Madeline Puckette of the Wine Folly says Schiava is a light-bodied red wine (like Pinot Noir) with aromas of cotton candy, strawberry, bubblegum, and lemonhead candy. Interestingly, old plantings of Schiava in California were called Black Hamburg, but because of the lighter color and lack of complexity, it never saw much success in table wine here. This stainless steel fermented and aged Shiava is great as a starter wine and is like Gamay, good served slightly chilled.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2024 Doris by Gail Wines, Picpoul, Sonoma Valley AVA, Sonoma County.
I am grateful to Alexis Carr of Revel Wine, who showed me some of Gail Wines, a label from Sonoma I had never had before, and especially this exciting, steely and zingy fresh Picpoul Blanc that showed off a lip smacking lime sweet tart led lighter framed palate. This is delicious stuff with delicate white blossom aromas, wet stone, white peach, a touch of tropical fruit and lemon zest. This refreshing ultra pale green/straw hued, low alcohol, only 10.9%, and organic white wine is faithful to the varietal and reminds me of some of my favorite Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet versions of this grape, which is also one of the original Châteauneuf-du-Pape white grapes in the Rhône Valley of France. Lighter and more true to its French cousins, this Doris, is a fun wine and less weighty than most American examples I’ve had, even some I really admire like those by Tablas Creek in Paso Robles, where the grape is quite popular and Gramercy’s Washington State’s tasty version, which is a bit more textural in style. I really liked the Doris Picpoul and I also enjoyed the Doris Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon by Gail Wines, both of which are good values for handcrafted small batch wines and I am excited to try the Barbera in the future as well. The upper end Gail offerings are all single varietal and single vineyard wines with a Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay and a limited Chenin Blanc, plus a Monte Rosso Sangiovese offering, being some interesting wines that I plan to explore. The Gail wines are the brainchild of Dan O’Brien, a Rhode Island native, who originally was self taught, but who spent stints at the famous Larkmead Cellars in Napa Valley, Cultivar and Long Meadow Ranch, which has given him some top notch mentoring and experience.

Dan O’Brien says that in 2013, with no formal education in winemaking, I made a few barrels of wine. I bottled them separately and named them after two women who shaped my life: my mother, Gail, and my great-aunt, Doris, hence the name of his label and wines. O’Brien makes a tight selection of small lot wines from all organic sites within the Sonoma Valley with a focus on pure single varietal bottlings that capture, vintage, place and the essence of the grape. Dan explains that his Sonoma Valley White Table Wine is all about energy and drinkability. Adding that this 2024 vintage is a dry, Mediterranean-style white wine, made exclusive from 100% Picpoul Blanc, and sourced from right in town, in Sonoma. Known for its crisp acidity and bright citrus character, this wine, he notes, is perfect for the table and its low alcohol makes it a wonderful quaffer or Summer beach sipper. Just about 110 cases were made of the Doris White, making it a rare treat and none too easy to find. The fermentations, according to O’Brien, an ex-Sommelier, for both the Gail and Doris wines are natural, (done) in neutral oak, and are aged on the lees for a period of time before bottling, and everything is bottled unfiltered. As for the Picpoul grapes, which can be used in blends, is found most famously as a single varietal in the Picpoul de Pinet AOC in the Languedoc, is a rarity in California and found in the noted Paso Robles region, as well as having small plantings in Monterey County, as well as in Sonoma County and well worth checking out. Again, thanks to Alexis Carr for taking the time to show off these Doris by Gail Wines wines and her efforts to promote small family, organic and authentic wineries in California.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 Maculan, Brentino Rosso, Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon, Breganze DOC, Veneto, Italy.
The dark garnet and ruby edged Maculan Brentino Breganze DOC Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious Bordeaux blend from the Veneto, and a long time value favorite, with ripe berry, plum, currant and black cherry fruits on the medium/full palate, along with a kiss of sweet oak, smooth tannin, a touch of lilac, anise, cigar wrapper and delicate spice notes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc have long been part of the make it in the Veneto and Maculan has mastered especially Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with this blend being a tasty way to explore these Bordeaux varietals here in this part of Italy. This wine, coming from a complex terroir with cool air flowing through the vines from the alpine heights above and long warm summer days that leads to ripe and rich layering in the wines. As in other parts of Veneto, the soils are predominantly volcanic here, adding depth, spice and mineral detail to the wines, as subtly displayed here to nice effect. I must also note, Maculan also has a top end bottling called Fratta, made from Cab and Merlot as well, but much more serious and powerful, it can in certain vintages rival top Bordeaux Châteaux and the more famous Bolgheri (Super Tuscan) wines! I have been a long time fan of wines here at Maculan and this Brentino is a very consistent pleasure and great with a meal and or hard cheeses.

Cantina Maculan, a small third generation family winery, was founded in 1947 in Breganze, a small town in the Province of Vicenza, at the foothills of the famous Dolomites in the Northwest of the Veneto region, is widely known for its luscious golden hued Torcolato Vespaiola Passito sweet wine, but the reds are serious here too. Maculan makes wines from both native and “international” varieties, which have been introduced by the French and the Austrians in 1800, with long time plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being part of the winemaking traditions here. Fausto Maculan, who took over in the 1970s and made Maculan a benchmark producer in Italy, especially during the late 1990s and early 2000s, has now passed the baton to his daughters, with Angela and Maria Vittoria Maculan continuing his legacy of world class wines. This Brentino Bordeaux-inspired blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, typically 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon sees hand harvested grapes from all estate vineyards, 100% de-stemmed and fermented in temp-controlled stain-less steel with regular punch-downs. After which the wine is aged 12 months, with each varietal matured separately, with 50% in stainless steel tank and 50% in small French barriques. The wine is then blended and aged in bottle for several months before its release. I highly recommend Maculan, which still remains under the radar, with their entry level wines, both white and red being exceptional values that are really worth looking for.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2024 Jean-Max Roger, Sancerre Blanc “Cuvée Les Caillottes” Loire Valley, France.
I recently tried the Jean-Max Les Caillottes Sancerre Blanc, which is a tasty Sauvignon Blanc with a bright profile of lemon/lime, gooseberry, white peach and grapefruit fruits, as well as a light herbal tangy edge, wet stone, steely mineral tones and loads of zippy acidity. This pale greenish/gold hued Sauvignon Blanc is vibrant and light framed on the palate with a delicate textural quality. The Cuvée Les Caillottes is a blend of grapes, as the winery notes, sourced from a selection of plots in the villages of AmIgny, Sancerre and Vinon, which they say fully expresses the stony calcareous “caillottes” terroir it hails from, that clearly comes through in this 2024 version. For this wine, the grapes are whole cluster juiced, with an immediate gentle pneumatic pressing and a cold settlement for between 48 and 72 hours to drop out phenolics and solids before fermentation. The fermentation was done by all natural yeasts with temperature control in stainless steel to add to development of the complexity of aromas and promote freshness. The wine matures on the heavy lees of fermentation until the first racking which occurred between February and April, without malos, with the wine seeing a light finning and filtration, as well as cold stabilization to keep everything crisp and vibrant. The Sancerre bottlings are then rested a few months in bottle and tasted before release to be sure each cuvée is ready to go.

The Sancerre Blanc (region) was one of France’s original AOCs being awarded in 1936, with the same area being designated for red wines later in the year 1959. The Loire Valley’s Sancerre region is also part of an outcroping of the ancient chalk that runs from the White Cliffs of Dover all the way down through Champagne and Chablis! The Jean-Max Roger estate the village of Bué was founded in the early 1970s, when Jean-Max Roger took over the 4 hectares of Sancerre vineyards left to him by his parents, which he operated with his wife, Nicole until now, with his sons Thibault and Etienne having truly defined the style here since taking control in 2005. The winery says that this cuvée may be enjoyed on its own as an aperitif, though it is (best) showcased when matched with all types of seafood, including crustaceans, shellfish, and raw or cooked fish. It may also be paired with white meats (poultry, veal) and cheeses, with the classic goat’s milk “chevre” and or blue cheeses in particular. I like the authentic nature of these Jean-Max Roger wines, especially this rewarding Sancerre Cuvée Les Caillottes, which I enjoyed with some Hog Island oysters and some farm cheeses recently. The terroir is highlighted by these Sancerre vineyards, Saint Martin, L’Epée and other famous crus within Bué, Amigny and Sancerre, which see a southern and southwest exposure and the classic limestone called ‘caillottes’ here. I love the purity and subtle austere style here, there’s noflash or pretense in this transparent Sancerre, and look forward to following this estate and trying more from their lineup soon.
($35 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2023 Bruna Grimaldi, Nebbiolo d’Alba “Bonurei” Piemonte, Italy.
This bright ruby, expressive fruited and nicely floral wine by Bruna Grimaldil is a 100% Nebbiolo gem sourced from vineyards on the border of the Barolo area, set on classic marl, fossilized rock, sand and mineral rich clay soils, which contribute to complexity, elegance and terroir distinction here. The youthful, but smooth full bodied palate shows off red currant, damson plum, strawberry and bramble berry fruits, along with crunchy, minty herbs and spices, delicate wilted roses, mineral, sweet cedar, a light earthiness and lingering anise. This easy to love Nebbiolo is a quite quaffable and has a good cut of acidity to lift everything up and it doesn’t feel as hefty as the 14.5% alcohol would suggest and it was excellent with range of hard cheeses and a grilled mushroom tart. This wine saw all sustainable grapes, with organic farming, crushed and de-stemmed into stainless steel vats where it was macerated and fermented for almost 20 days, after which it was pressed off to used large casks for close to 15 months, with botti and tonneaux oak being used.

The well respected Cantina Bruna Grimaldi is a small family-owned winery that has since the early 60s produced traditional, authentic and terroir-driven wines in Barolo’s Serralunga d’Alba area, though the modern estate has really become notable in the the late 1999s. The story here is that Bruna’s late uncle Giacomo Grimaldi started to sell his grapes in 1957, then her dad Giovanni Grimaldi produced their first wine in the 1960s, selling it by the liter. More recently Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fiorino have turned the old school family business into an elite label, since bottling their first wine in 1999. They have added significant vineyards and cru parcels to the collection and including a parcel in the coveted Bricco Ambrogio vineyard in Roddi, an exceptional, somewhat under the radar site. They now have ten hectares, which produces approximately 50,000 bottles a year, that all express the typical essence of the Langhe terroir, with Barolo, Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo d’Alba being the main focus. I got a chance to try this tasty Nebbiolo d’Alba, as well as the Camilla Barolo, which was outstanding as well, so I highly recommend these really solid Bruna Grimaldi, which I had only a limited experience with, offerings.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2024 Farm Cottage, Chardonnay, Trout Gulch Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains.
I got a chance recently to taste through the latest set of Farm Cottage releases from the 2024 vintage, which is looking to be a fantastic year for cool climate varietals, especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with beautiful aromatics, high energy, crisp detailing and generosity on the palate, as seen in these exceptional wines. My friend Alexis Carr of Revel Wines, who is the local rep in the Monterey and Santa Cruz area, showed me Ryan Alfaro’s Farm Cottage offerings and gave me even greater insight into these wines, which are some of the most sought after, especially this Trout Gulch Chardonnay. The 2024 version is even better than the outstanding 2023, which I rated at 94 Points, it delivers a stunning performance in the glass with lemony citrus, white peach and crisp apple fruits, and again has a steely core of mineral, a touch of saline or sea shore, clove spice, verbena and a smooth rounded mouth feel, while still having Chablis like vitality. The Farm Cottage Trout Gulch Chardonnay, as winemaker Ryan Alfaro notes, was pressed directly to stainless steel tank to settle for 24 hours before the wine was racked off solids and into stainless steel tank where natural fermentation occurred. The primary fermentation to dryness took 11 days then the wine was racked into neutral French oak for malolactic fermentation and aging. Ryan, who worked his dad in the cellar at the family estate, after doing a stint with California legend Adam Tolmach at Ojai Vineyards, studied wine in New Zealand originally and is now one of the most exciting winemakers in the Santa Cruz Mountains region. This Tout Gulch Chard just got better and better as it aired out and gained depth and complexity, making it one of the best young Chardonnays I’ve tried from California this year.

The Trout Gulch Vineyard, 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. The Alfaro’s, father and now son, who have been leasing the Trout Gulch site for many years, making small lot bottlings and selling grapes to top producers, and finally purchasing this vineyard outright a few years back and this wine is a fantastic way to celebrate that achievement. The Alfaro Family Vineyards, as noted here before many times, was 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. I was thrilled by what Alexis shared with me, of these Farm Cottage wines, and I can say, while this Trout Gulch Chardonnay is a real standout bottle, all of the lineup is worth checking out with notable efforts being the Farm Cottage Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir, a blended cuvée from estate and non estate grapes, the Trout Gulch Vineyard Pinot Noir, which I will do a full review of soon, and an all new Cabernet Sauvignon from a secret vineyard site higher up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which is just beginning to show some potential, as it is very young and deserves some time to come together. As I have said, since Ryan started this label, these are not wines to miss out on and I highly recommend getting on the Farm Cottage mailing list as soon as possible!
($42 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Cerbaia, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG, Tuscany, Italy.
The gorgeous, dark garnet, delicately aromatic and opulent 2019 Cerbaia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is finely structured and everything one could ever want from a Sangiovese wine with complex layers of blackberry, plum, currant, mission fig and balsamic dipped strawberry fruits, along with spicy cut tobacco, orange tea, minty anise, cedar, loam and crushed floral incense. This full bodied effort is a wow factor effort that has smooth tannin, rounded acidity and carries an incredible long finish that stay with you, making for a wine that rewards for hours. I don’t get that many chances to drink Cerbaia, and almost never a Riserva, so this was real treat and I’m grateful to Cerbaia’s importer Massanois for giving me this rare opportunity. Cerbaia’s owner Fabio Pellegrini, a local legend, has now been joined by his daughter Elena, who has brought a new energy to this prestigious estate and is carrying on the traditions here, focusing on a more authentic and transplant collection of Brunello and Rosso offerings. The grayish, chalky, clay and sandy soils that under pin the Cerbaia vines along with the elevation, helps curb the Mediterranean warm here and gives a distinctive micro climate influence on the wines, which are absolutely delicious, especially this Riserva.

Cerbaia, one of most sought after Brunello producers, was founded in 1978, is a 12 hectare estate in the heart of Montalcino, with 4.5 hectares of vines on the hill of Montosoli, one of the most famous and prized crus in the region. This Cerbaia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, 100% Sangiovese Grosso (Brunello Clone), comes from vines up at 400 meters and set on what the winery calls marly (limestone) soils composed of clay schistose, which allows for the deep fruit core to shine though in this wine. The grapes were all de-stemmed and cool temperature controlled fermented in 50 HL stainless steel tank with about 15 days of maceration with daily cap management and pump overs. The Brunello Riserva then gets pressed to barrel for aging, with Cerbaia choosing to use traditional large Slavonian oak barrels, where it matured for 48 months before bottling. The wine rested a further 8 or so months in bottle before being released, allowing the wine to really develop its own nuance, terroir influence and elegant form. Even in hot and riper years, Cerbaia, with its higher vineyards and northern/western facings, getting cooler breezes, make a more balanced wine, as seen here, and one that can age well for many decades. I, as noted, don’t get a lot of chances to try Cerbaia, but I’m a huge fan and look forward to following Elena’s efforts in the future here and I highly recommend chasing this lovely and exceptional Riserva!
($105 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Maison Jean-Pierre Maldant, Saint-Romain “L’Argillat” White Burgundy, France.
The majestic and serious L’Argillat Saint-Romain Blanc from Maison Jean-Piere Maldant is one of the best white Burgundies under a hundred bucks I’ve tried in recent yeas with incredible depth, precise detail, length, mineral tones and nobility of form, showing off classic layering of concentrated apple, pear, lemon and golden fig fruits, along with a hint of reductive matchstick, clove spice, chalky wet stone, subtle white blossom, leesy brioche and lingering vanilla. This pale straw/gold captivating Chardonnay is pure class and joy in the glass, exceptional stuff and on level with some elite bottles three or four times the price here, Burg fans will want to take notice of Maldant, a domaine I’d never seen or heard of before, making the experience of discovery even more of a thrill. The historic Saint-Romain, one of the first cultivated areas in Burgundy, is situated in the Côte de Beaune and sits at the foot of a high cliff but at an elevation which enables it to look out over a wide stretch of countryside and sees classic clay and limestone soils and noted especially for white wines. The L’Argillat Lieux-Dit, set on those ancient Jurassic soils at between 300 and 400 meters gets good exposure for dense ripeness and retains plenty of acidity, which clearly comes through on Maldant’s 2022.

The Domaine Jean-Pierre Maldant, now run by Pierre-François Maldant, who succeeded his dad Jean-Pierre at the head of the family Domaine, has has been making the wine here since 2010 and is considered a talent to watch, and after tasting this Saint-Romain Blanc, I’ll be following this label way more closely! Located in the Côte de Beaune, near Ladoix-Serrigny and in sight of the Corton hill, Maldant, like other coveted producers here is getting a big reputation for the quality of the white wines in the collection. Pierre-François says his father stopped taking care of the Hospice de Beaune vineyards in 1998, in order to be able to focus fully on the domaine and improve the quality and fortunes of this 5th generation property. It was just five-six hectares at the time, but now Maldant have ten full hectares of top parcels, with a prime collection of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay plots in some big name crus, including Grand Cru Corton and Corton-Charlemagne. The whites here are quite rich and full bodied, but wonderfully balanced and structured, and look to be carefully made with well judged batonage and wood use, with this brilliant Saint-Romain showing off the best of its terroir and should drink well for another decade. Maldant is imported to the States by Massanois and I highly recommend chasing down this wine, which again, is an outstanding under the radar effort.
($80 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Vignobles Pueyo “La Fleur Garderose” Red Bordeaux, France.
The La Fleur Garderose is quite serious stuff for the price with this 2021 a dark purple/garnet in the glass and full bodied on the palate, showing off blackberry, currant, plum and black cherry fruits, along with hints of stony/loamy earth, green spice, cigar box and anise accents. Though 2021 was a less concentrated vintage, this wine proved nicely ripe and complex, making it impressive for the price and delicious with food. The Pueyo family, who own this label, works close to three hectares of vineyards on the outskirts of the historic Saint-Émilion in the village Julliac to produce La Fleur Garderose. The vineyards here, and the wine, are a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, which shows up on the palate with that hint of bell pepper, almost like some fine Anjou (Loire Valley) offerings. The elevage for the La Fleur Garderobe Bordeaux Rouge is done entirely in cement tanks and then bottled after one year, to promote this fine transparency and raw, non pretense nature, all of which appeals to me.

The “La Fleur Garderose” label, which was new to me, is a Bordeaux is a wine produced by Vignobles Pueyo, and known for its red Bordeaux, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as wells a a dry white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Rosenthal Wine Merchant imports some very intriguing Bordeaux wines and Vignobles Pueyo looks to be a great find for value, and I look forward to trying a few more vintages, it would be interesting to see how a riper year shows in this La Fleur Garderose, so I’ll look around for the 2020 and see what the upcoming 2022 are like. The terroir here is “Right Bank” with mostly clay and some limestone, which is favored for these Merlot based wines, allowing for a deeper ripe richness in the grapes, and in this case no wood aging is needed to soften tannins. This wine will please and is best served with meaty dishes, though was pretty tasty with a selection of hard cheeses and would be a fun entry level Bordeaux to show off to wine friends that are not familiar with the region. I would recommend this wine for Bistro by the glass pours and would be very happy myself to see this by the glass at my own favorite places, especially as a Fall/Winter option, with the seasonal fare.
($25 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

1981 Ridge Vineyards, Claret, Howell Mountain, Napa County.
Wow, even though I didn’t get to try this wine until it had been open for 24 hours, it was still very much alive and delicious with full evolved maturity, in an old Bordeaux way with lightly stewed earthy dark berry and plum fruits on the medium/full palate with a touch of sous bois, dried flowers and dusty spices. Still lively and nicely balanced this unique Ridge Claret from Howell Mountain was made from 68% Zinfandel, 24% Petite Sirah and 8% Carignane, a classical California field mix, sourced from high up on Howell Mountain on iron rich, partly volcanic soils, it’s a terroir that promotes deep color, depth and tannic structure, which has kept this wine together 44 years. This wine, dark garnet with brick edges, is more like an old Cabernet, shows black raspberry, currant, pipe tobacco, incense, loamy notes, a hint of leather, old cedar, anise, spicy sage and black tea, all unfolding smoothly with the feel of falling autumn leaves and fading glories. This wine traditionally made with 100% de-stemmed grapes, was naturally fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in small barrels (barriques) for a full 21 months. It is amazing how interesting old Zin blends can be and while losing the expressive fruit after 15 years in the cellar, they still offer so much and can be wonderfully elegant, as this wine shows, even past its best drinking window. Thank you to Michael Cohen of Nielsen Bros Market in Carmel by the Sea, who has a few of these from a private cellar and who shared this with me, when we were trying the latest Ridge Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from the historic Monte Bello Vineyard, which also was a huge treat.

I’ve been lucky over the years to try some cellared, well aged, Ridge Vineyard wines, with my favorites in recent years included a majestic 1978 Estate Cabernet, Monte Bello Vineyard, 1991-1993 Monte Bello(s), a rare1995 Dry creek Carignane and a 1993 Lytton Springs, and now this unique 1981 Howell Mountain Claret joining those. Paul Drapper, who founded Ridge with some friends from Stanford, in the early 1960s, with the first Cabernet coming from the 1962 vintage and taking over the historic Monte Bello Santa Cruz Mountains estate, above Cupertino, in around 1966. Then things really took off for Ridge and by the mid ’70s it had gained world wide fame and was fast becoming one of California’s greatest wineries, being included in the famous Paris Tastings as well. Early on Drapper turned to Zinfandel from Sonoma and Napa counties to fill out his lineup, with many vineyards having vines planted in the late 1800s and early 1900s, like Lytton Springs and Pagani Vineyard. In the Napa Area, Ridge was fond of using grapes from York Mountain and they got some grapes from here on Howell Mountain for a short period. I have loved Zinfandel from Howell Mountain for many years, with the early 1990s Rocking Horse and then later Lamborn and Turley versions, so it was incredible to get a chance to try this 1981 Ridge. Drapper, who also wanted to express California wine through purely American lens, early on tried to use exclusively American oak barrels, and experiments led to longer air drying to promote transparency and elegance, which have proved very successful. While, not an easy bottle to find now, this 1981 Howell Mountain Claret Zinfandel field blend from old vines, then, at Park-Muscatine Vineyard, some have showed up at actions and prices vary greatly.
($ N/A ) 92 Points, grapelive

2024 Domaine Gavoty, La Cigale Rosé, Vin de Pays du Var, Provence, France.
Sometimes, it is the little wine that really shines and pleases, and this 2024 Govoty La Cigale Rosé is just that kind of wine and while I do enjoy Clos Cibonne and Domaine Tempier, both located none too far away, this Provence Rosé is a beauty with crisp mineral tones, complex flavors and a briskly bone dry palate that is highly refreshing. This pretty salmon/pink hued Rosé is bright in nature, but has nice depth and shows off a mix of ruby grapefruit, strawberry, tart peach, sour cherry and watermelon fruits, along with a dusty spiciness, delicate florals, earthy loam, wet stone, lip smacking saline and aromatic shrubs. Winemaker Roselyne Gavoty makes this one from vines that are humbly classified as Vin de Pays du Var, as they are situated on flatter land than the slopes used for their more prestigious Côtes de Provence cuvées. That said, this wine is right up there with much more expensive offerings and is crafted using good doses of Grenache and Cinsault, with a small amount of Carignan and a splash of Syrah too, with this vintage seeing more Cinsault. The “La Cigale” (named for the ubiquitous cicadas that populate the region) is done with typically a direct press and tank aging with a short lees elevage that allows freshness and textural quality, as seen here. This 2024 version will drink nicely for another couple of years, but of course I suggest drinking it up as soon as possible, especially at the price.

The Domaine Gavoty, located in Cabasse, Côtes de Provence, is an organic polycultural farm that is comprised of 110 hectares, which the family has worked without synthetic chemicals for decades, but only obtaining certification recently, and run by the talented vigneron Roselyne Gavoty, who’s wines have now reached international star status. Gavoty’s Importer, Neal Rosenthal, says that Roselyne Gavoty, who has helmed her family’s over two hundred year old domaine since around 1985, though her ancestor Philémon acquired it in 1806, oversees 50 hectares of vines on a Roman-era farm in the commune of Cabasse called Campdumy(“harvest fields” in old Provençal), situated along the snaking Issole River in the northwestern sector of the Côtes de Provence appellation and is surrounded by oak and pine forests. The classic limestone and clay soils and close Mediterranean Sea make for some serious, but fun wines with impeccable balance and ripe complexity. I found it interesting too, that Gavoty has mainly Vermentino (also known as Rolle in these parts) for their whites, that see a combination of cement and stainless fermentation, which are maybe the signature wines of the estate, rather than Marsanne and Clairette. I really loved this La Cigale Rosé and look forward to exploring the full and latest collection of wines here at Domaine Gavoty, which include almost exclusively whites and rosé offerings that are build for the local Mediterranean climate and cuisine. Again, this bottling is an outstanding value and I recommend greedily stocking up on the La Cigale!
($16 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Brooks Winery, Riesling, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
I have a soft spot for Riesling and Brooks Winery, so I was thrilled to taste through a few new releases and their classic mineral driven Willamette Valley Riesling bottling, with this 2023 vintage being an elevated version of this bone dry and energy filled example that leads with piercing acidity, lots of lime, green apple, unripe apricot and quince fruit, along with saline, wet rock, snappy herbs, delicate white blossoms and lip smacking spice. The light framed palate and fresh tension here make for a eye popping Riesling that shines in the glass with true varietal character and compares well with some of Germany’s top trockens, it is one of America’s best Rieslings. The all stainless steel fermented and aged Willamette Valley Riesling comes from a selection of vineyard sites across the valley and a complex mix of mineral rich, volcanic based and marine sediment soils, including mature vines at the Hyland Vineyard, which certainly adds some pedigree here, even in small doses. Brooks is a big advocate for sustainable practices and has certified the estate to biodynamics, and focuses on organic grapes from non-estate sources, as seen here This zesty Willamette Valley Riesling, which saw a short period of lees contact and bottled quickly to preserve transparency, verve and freshness, is exciting stuff and should drink well for many years to come and I suggest paring it with Asian cuisine, Sushi and or briny oysters.

There is lots of excitement at Brooks Winery these days with Janie Brooks Heuk, who runs this innovative Oregon winery that specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling, after promoting her long time assistant winemaker, Claire Jarreau, to the lead role here. I mentioned this transition in my prior reviews and I was really looking forward to see what Jarreau could do here and was very impressed. She comes into this with tons of passion, experience and precision and Claire looks to raise the bar here at Brooks after finishing her first harvest in charge with these 2023s, and things look very promising, as this wine shows, plus her Pinots are are stunners too, with the Janus 2023 being one of the finest efforts I’ve tasted from Brooks. The Brooks Winery, founded by the late Jimi Brooks, in the late 1990s, 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, when I met Jimi in around 2002 and tasted some of his first Brooks wines, which were standouts and part of a new generation of Oregon wine. I highly recommend de-discovering Brooks as soon as possible and especially check out their 2023s, and don’t miss a chance to visit the winery when visiting the Willamette Valley.
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

n.v. Domaine Brazilier, Méthode Trad Brut Rosé, Cremant de Loire, Sparkling Wine, Loire Valley, France.
The unique, vibrant and tasty all organic méthode traditionnelle Crémant de Loire Rosé “Méthode Trad” by Domaine Brazilier is made of 100% Pineau d’Aunis, a rare local varietal, and showing off a fine mousse and bright flavors on the bone dry palate. Generous and fruit driven, the pale ruby/salmon hued Méthode Trad Rosé has a mineral and stony essence to back up the red peach, apple, sour cherry, citrus and strawberry fruits, as well as some leesy notes and spice that adds complexity. For this wine, Domaine Brazilier did a natural yeast fermentation, with gently pressed organic grapes, in steel tanks, and then aged it for 12 months on its lees before a traditional Champagne disgorgement, with a secondary cultured yeast and with a very low dosage. This sparkler went nicely with a rage of starter plates and briny caviar, making it a welcome and refreshing discovery, and I recommend keeping an eye out for this Loire rarity.

The Domaine Brazilier, based in the Côteaux du Vendômois of France’s Loire Valley, is run by the 6th and 7th generation of Braziliers with father and son Jean and Benoît working the vineyards and running the cellars here, with small parcels of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Gamay, along with Chenin Blanc, Pineau d’Aunis, Cabernet Franc and a tiny bit of Pinot Noir. The wines range from Vin de Pays to appellation Coteaux du Vendômois offerings, as well as their unique versions of Cremant de Loire, including this Rosé, which is all Pineau d’Aunis, and a Blanc with Chenin Blanc and no skin contact Pineau d’Aunis. The Méthode Trad Rosé comes from 25 year old vines set on chalky soil and limestone soils, which are now all biodynamically farmed and are hand tended and harvested. This Rosé bubbly is fun and distinctive stuff and a nice value, it goes great with food and can be enjoyed all on its own and I look forward to trying more of the Brazilier’s wines soon.
($25 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Jean-Charles Fagot, Rully Blanc, White Burgundy, France.
The second wine I tried from Jean-Charles Fagot, after their lovely Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge, was this precise, cool toned, mineral driven and pure Rully Blanc, which is an impressive dry, crisp and medium bodied Chardonnay with classic lemon, apple and Bosc pear fruits, along with delicate floral aromas, wet stones, clove spice and hazelnut notes. This pale gold/straw hued steely 2021 Rully is a more than a solid value and, with the prices of Burgundy these days, delivers a performance way beyond expectations in this price point. Rully, with grapes grown in the communes of Rully and Chagny, is in the Côte Chalonnaise subregion of Burgundy and a great place for bargain hunters, I’ve long been a fan of this AOC. Rully was originally granted its AOC back in 1939 and now includes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with both appellations having Village wines, as seen here, and Premier Crus. This wine was native yeast fermented in a combination of used large foudres and small barriques and rest up to 18 months before bottling, promoting transparency and freshness, as well as more depth and evolution on release. I found this tasty wine, with its stony/chalky underlying nature, sits somewhere between a Chablis and a Chassagne-Montrachet in style and almost in quality.

The Domaine Jean Charles Fagot, as noted before in my prior reviews, run by Restaurant owner and Vigneron Jean-Charles, who started making wine in 1989, has just about 3 hectares of estate owned vines, but though his contracts or leases, the range of wines he produces is rather wide. Lovers and fans the Côte d’Or may even know his restaurant Auberge du Vieux Vigneron which is noted for having a good range of wines on the list, sourced from all over the Burgundy region. Jean-Chales, who is actually the fifth generation to own vineyards and grow grapes, but the first to make wines under a domaine label and he has grown the operation to about 3,000 cases annually. The wines are made traditionally and not to be overt or showy, more to be enjoyed as part of a meal, but are still terroir driven and pedigreed, drinking with a non pretense nobility of form, as seen in Jean-Charles’ Rully Blanc and as mentioned in this rare Chassagne Rouge. The winery, just outside Chassagne-Montrachet, is located near some of the most prestigious vineyards. Jean-Charles Fagot’s collection of wide ranging vine parcels give this domaine many diverse terroirs to show off and flavors to offer, which gives a lot of choices and I look forward to exploring more of the lineup, and I recommend chasing some down.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Guiberteau, Saumur Rouge, Les Moulins, Loire Valley, France.
The tight, austere and firm dark garnet/ruby Les Moulins Saumur Rouge by Romain Guiberteau takes its time unwinding and opening up, but when it finally comes around it is is a beautiful and structured 100% Cabernet Franc with blackberry, dark currant, plum and cherry fruits, as well as delicate violet florals, woodsy truffle, subtle bell pepper, chalky stones, anise and pipe tobacco. This concentrated wine is an ager in progress and is just giving a hint at the true potential with a medium body, gripping tannin, which is not aggressive, but powerful, and a nice cut of natural acidity, this Cab Franc should be left alone for another 5 to 10 years for full evolution. Coming from multiple sites in Berrie, Brézé, and Montreuil-Bellay with a complex mix of clay-sand soil over Turonian limestone, sandy-clay soils over Turonian limestone, clay-sand soil over Jurassic limestone, with an array of elevation and facings to provide the depth and balance here. The winemaking is precise with the Guiberteau Saumur Rouge bottlings, 100% Cabernet Franc, are carefully hand sorted and picked in the vineyard and 100% de-stemmed, then see an indigenous yeast fermentation with a cool maceration period before a shorter elevage. The wines are bottled quickly after being aged for just 4 to 6 months in tank, without any oak, with Guiberteau typically raising his reds in both stainless and concrete. This bottling has become a greeting card for the winery, allowing fans of the Loire Valley to get to know Guiberteau’s style in a totally transparency way without paying too much.

The Domaine Guiberteau, discovered and brought to the American market by the late Becky Wasserman, who’s life has been celebrated this last month since her passing, mostly regarding her excellent collection of Burgundy producers, though it shouldn’t go unnoticed that her company was savvy enough to find gems, like Guiberteau, in the Loire. Guiberteau, which has become one of the most sought after domaines in Saumur, with their wines already stringently allocated, and found in some of the best restaurants in France, as well as here, has a very limited production. The rise of this small estate has been meteoric since its founding around 2000, with it becoming all organic by 2003, with Romain Guiberteau, who took over the management of his family’s vineyards back in 1996, running this estate which has top notch holdings, with most in the legendary terroir of Brézé, with hillside plots on chalky soils planted to Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. As I’ve mentioned before, Guiberteau’s hill of Brézé wines in Saumur are rare gems and highly sought after, especially the intensely mineral driven Chenins, but I also love the basic Saumur Rouge here and the upper end cuvées, with this Les Moulins being a terrific terroir driven Cabernet Franc. The organic vines at this estate, and leased plots, grown within the Saumur zone, many of which that were planted between 1955 and 1957 sit on the classic ancient silt and sandy soils over the limestone bedrock that gives this wine its class, mineral tones, crisp detail and lively acidity, while allowing beautiful ripe fruit to shine through, as seen here.
($30 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive

2021 Maison Lou Dumont, Bourgogne Rouge, Red Burgundy, France.
One of the most interesting new discoveries in recent years, especially in regards to Burgundy, has been Koji Nakada and Jae Hwa Park’s Maison Lou Dumont, based in Gevrey-Chambertin and I really loved their basic savvy, lovely and lingering Bourgogne Rouge, which a friend turned me on to recently. Even in a less than heralded vintage like 2021, this Lou Dumont Bourgogne shows off a deep garnet/ruby hue in the glass and a full range of flavors on the medium bodied palate with a pure and silky layering of black cherry, dusty raspberry, tart plum, cranapple and earthy strawberry fruits, as well as cola bean, wilted roses, cinnamon, beet root, mineral and tea spices. This wine gives a lot for price and humble labelling with solid, but velvety structuring, nice depth and pretty length, all of which you more expect from a wine twice the price. Winemaker Koji Nakada uses all organic grapes and takes a minimal approach to his wines, limiting pump overs and punch downs, being very gentle with his macerations and musts. He, as his importer notes, vinifies all of his wines with natural yeasts and adds low doses of sulfites during vinification, with this Bourgogne Rouge seeing 3-5 days of cold maceration and approximately 15 days of cuvaison before being pressed to most used barrels. The wine spends close to 17 months in the wood, with about 20% new French oak and then one month in stainless steel tanks before bottling.

I learned that, with a true passion for Burgundy and the dream of making wine, ex-Japanese Sommelier Koji Nakada left Tokyo, Japan in 1996 and moved to Beaune to study oenology at the prestigious CFPPA. To really succeed in France he thought it best that he better learn French, so he enrolled in language class in Dijon, which changed his life, since his teacher was Jae Hwa Park, originally Korean, who he ended up marrying. During Koji’s studies in Beaune, and during his subsequent internships at Chateau Kirwan in Bordeaux, and at small houses in Champagne and Alsace, the two had dated and, as noted, then married and then established their Maison Lou Dumont, an artisanal micro-negociant label in 2000. lmported by Shiverick Imports, the Lou Dumont wines already have a cult following and are snapped up quickly when the small batches arrive in the States, lucky for me, my friend Alex Lallos, who is a partner in No Limits Fine Wines, was an early admirer of Koji’s wines and got a selection of his efforts and I got a chance to enjoy this one. This wine is sourced from organic sites in Haute Côtes de Nuits, Raisins Bio de Mercurey and Declasse St. Romain, on classic clay and chalky limestone soils that add to the complexity and balance here. I understand that the name Lou Dumont is a combination of their goddaughter’s name, Lou, and the French for mountain, paying homage to the areas in Japan and Korea where Koji and Jae Hwa grew up. The Kanji symbol on the label—sky, earth and man, refer to the basic elements which make wine possible and the concept of terroir.
($45 ESt.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Casa de Rodas, Alvarinho, Symington Family Estates, Monção and Melgaço, Portugal.
This bright and complex pale gold Alvarinho by Anselmo Mendes at Casa de Rodas is brilliant lighter framed version of this grape, most associated with the Rias Baixas region in Spain, but one that has long been a part of this Vinho Verde region, and it shows off purity of fruit, mineral and fine aromatics. Crisp apple, racy citrus, delicate tropical fruit and peachy stone fruit lead the way on the vibrant and salty light palate, along with lime blossom, resiny herbs and wet stone. Symington Family Estates’ Casa de Rodas, is a historic vineyard estate in Monção and Melgaço, originally founded in the 1800s and the first property in Portugal the varietal label a Alvarinho (Albariño) back in the 1930s. It was acquired by Symington in 2022 and their first harvest at the old estate was in 2023, again with Anselmo Mendes as the winemaker. I got a preview taste of this new wine and my own notes will follow soon, but I can say now that it was a fabulous effort that easily compares with the more famous Rias Baixas (Spanish) versions and I recommend searching it out. The Monção and Melgaço sub-region of the Vinho Verde DOC in northern Portugal is one of the best white wine growing areas in the country and the value here is outstanding, with Alvarinho, Arinto and Loureiro grape varietals being the stars here, and this wine is an elevated and structured example.

The Vinho Verde region, sometimes mistaken for a type of grape or a singular style, is a cool climate zone in Northern Portugal with a wet Atlantic influence and granite based sandy soils, which brings out the mine mineral tones and loads of natural acidity, as seen here. The estate Casa de Rodas vines as used on this Alvarinho are all organic and the grapes were 100% de-stemmed, cold soaked on the skins, maybe a few hours, fermented cool and then vat aged on the lees for 3 or so months with some batonage (stirring) before being bottled quickly to preserve its vibrancy. The Symington family decided, as they note, to strengthen their long-running relationship with the legendary Vinho Verde producer Anselmo Mendes by forming the Mendes & Symington partnership in 2023. This joint venture between the two families aims to develop premium wines from the prestigious Monção and Melgaço sub-region of the Vinho Verde DOC in northern Portugal, especially important in this is the Symington’s marketing power and worldwide reach to customers.The company first acquired the renowned Alvarinho wine, Contacto, (produced by Anselmo Mendes) which has seen remarkable success in Portugal and now internationally, and which both families believe has great potential for further development, which can be seen with the new addition of the Loureiro version. Mendes & Symington has also just launched a range of premium wines from Casa de Rodas, like the wine seen, here and they are beautiful offerings that I highly recommend.
($34 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Agricola LaLu, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
My very first taste of Lara and Luisa Sala’s LaLu wines came with this absolutely enticing and seductive Langhe Nebbiolo, which I was convinced to give a try, without knowing anything at all about the winery and wow, I am so grateful I went for it, as this is lovely pure and pedigreed stuff with fine aromatics, exciting freshness and excellent depth. Opened as part of a week long celebration of my mom’s 89th birthday with family, but day old pizza, I was awed by the LaLu audits pretty mix of florals and savory elements, it shows a deep ruby/garnet color in the glass and has energized medium full palate of youthful, bright and zesty red currant, damson plum, cherry, guava and blood orange fruits, along with a subtle earthiness, minty herbs, a hint of sandalwood, black licorice and a light peppery note. Transparent and polished, you’d not expect too more from a Langhe Nebbiolo, in fact even so young it is joyous expression of grape and terroir, I can’t wait to explore the rest of the LaLu collection. I’m told, if you like this one, which I love, you’ll go crazy for the LaLu Barolo Le Coste Monforte, which is their signature bottling and a collectors dream of an effort that marries the power of Barolo with the stylish elegance of a Grand Cru Burgundy, all of which intrigues me even more…

My friend Alex Lallos, an expert on most things Barolo, turned me on to Agricola LaLu, which, as mentioned, was completely new to me and I was extra pleased with this discovery and especially this gorgeous Langhe Nebbiolo, which is pure, complex and compelling from start to finish. He told me for the Langhe Nebbiolo, by the Côte d’Or trained winemaker, it is fermented with native yeast and about 30% whole cluster, a rarity in Nebbiolo wines, in concrete, with a submerged cap maceration period to preserve aromatics and vivid detail, It’s then aged in large Austrian oak casks and bottled without fining or filtration. Lallos goes on to say that LaLu is one of the most important new producers in Barolo in recent years – with experience locally and at renowned addresses in Burgundy, Lara and Luisa Sala of Lalu are contributing to an evolving conversation around viticulture, winemaking, and the identity of Barolo. This Langhe Nebbiolo comes mostly from a younger vine plot in the excellent Roncaglie La Morra cru on southwest facing slopes up at just under 300 meters and with classic Calcareous, clay-rich soils. Farming he explains is organic/natural with a focus on vineyard biodiversity. Cellar work is minimalist and blends local tradition with the extremely delicate handling of fruit, more common in Burgundy. I like what I tried and will be happy knowing I grabbed a few bottles of this little gem.
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Jean-Charles Fagot, Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge “Vieilles-Vignes” Red Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, France.
The fresh, pretty ruby hued and elegant Jean-Charles Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles-Vignes is absolutely delicious and an incredible value, yes there are still some fabulous bargains to be found in Burgundy, and was a great find recently. A friend told me I had to try these wines and his advice was spot on with both the Rully Blanc and this beautiful old vine Chassagne-Montrachet Pinot Noir were very impressive with distinctive depth, even in a mediocre year and I can’t wait to try more of the lineup here. This 2021 Red Burgundy has a heavenly silken medium bodied palate with bright cherry, earthy plum, strawberry and red fruits, along with hints of sassafras, mineral, delicate smoky wood toast, tea spices and bergamot. Maybe not concentrated like 2020 or 2022, this wine is rewarding and maturing nicely with a fine balance, it drink well for 3 to 5 years with no great patience needed here. I highly recommend these wines, which haven’t see the huge price rises we’ve seen in recent years and still are flying under the radar, they are brought to the States by small importer Shiverick, so you’ll have to do some searching to find them all, but I think will be well worth the chase.

The Domaine Jean Charles Fagot, run by Restaurant owner and Vigneron Jean-Charles, who started making wine in 1989, has just about 3 hectares of estate owned vines, but though his contracts or leases, the range of wines he produces is rather wide. Lovers and fans the Côte d’Or may even know his restaurant Auberge du Vieux Vigneron which is noted for having a good range of wines on the list, sourced from all over the Burgundy region. Jean-Chales, who is actually the fifth generation to own vineyards and grow grapes, but the first to make wines under a domaine label and he has grown the operation to about 3,000 cases annually. The wines are made traditionally and not to be overt or showy, more to be enjoyed as part of a meal, but are still terroir driven and pedigreed, drinking with a non pretense nobility of form, as seen in Jean-Charles’ Rully Blanc and as mentioned in this rare Chassagne Rouge. The winery, just outside Chassagne-Montrachet, is located near some of the most prestigious vineyards in the Côte de Beaune on chalky clay and limestone soils with all vines, including these mature 55 year old vines, seeing sustainable farming. The wines are vinified naturally, utilizing oak large foudres instead of barriques and see at least 12-14 months of aging, which shows in the transparency and smooth texture here. The Rully Blanc is under $40 and this one is just a little more, but I suggest looking for both, especially if you like classic Burgundy.
($65 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

1993 Durney Vineyards, Cachagua Cabernet, Carmel Valley.
The Bordeaux style and nicely drinking old Durney 1993 Cachagua Cabernet (Sauvignon) may have peaked, but still is offering up a brilliant performance with dark and earthy mulberry, currant, plum and dusty cherry fruits, only slightly showing stewed elements, sous bois and autnum decay of normal aging, along with anise, cedar, sage and coffee grounds. The flavors are pure old Cabernet and everything is balanced and velvety in tannic structure with a nice lift of acidity in a medium bodied and complex wine. This was one of the last years the wines were labeled under the original Durney Vineyards, before turning into the Heller’s Organic Estate, after the Durney family sold it to the Hellers. The Durney’s originally planted this 100 acre property, now known as the Massa Estate, back in 1968 making this the oldest in the Carmel Valley region, with many of the old vines still producing here, including the Cabernet Sauvignon parcels, along with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Pinot Noir, as well as some incredible Chenin Blanc, plus some Chardonnay. The Cachagua part of Carmel Valley is secluded, but still ifluenced by the Pacific, and set on gravelly soils and well-drained loams derived from decomposing shale, which with long sunny days make it a quality home to Bordeaux varitals.

The Hellers brought their organic vision for the ranch to life in 1993 and Rich Tanguay, who was winemaker at Heller until 2016, cut his teeth on wines like this 1993 Cachagua Cabernet, which is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, but surely included a good dose Franc and some small amounts of the other Bordeaux varietals. The Heller’s got full organic certified in 1996 and the estate has remained that way until now, even though the Massa family have now themselves sold the property in 2025 and the future is uncertain. That all has made this wine a fantastic piece of Carmel Valley history that shined in the glass and was delicous with a range of cuisine, including lamb and beef. I had brought this bottle to a restaurant to share with friends, to get a perspsctive on older Carmel Valley wines, and like a bottle of Durney 1990, a non Heller example, this wine was very good and drinking beautifully. These old Cabernets were all traditionally made and quite old school in style with robust tannins and a bit higher acidity, compared to Napa Valley, needing more bottle age to come together, decades in some! This was probably aged in soley French oak low toast Bordeaux barrels with mostly used wood, since the Hellers were shy on spending money. Since the Massa’s sold off the property the old library wines have since turned up online and I highly recommend grabbing the early ninities Cabernet.
($40-60 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2024 Hippolyte Reverdy, Sancerre Blanc, Loire Valley, France.
One of my favorite Loire wines, Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre never fails to meet the moment and this 2024 Blanc really hit the bullseye with brilliant freshness, purity, terroir driven character and complexity with its crisp steely palate. Served with a varity of starter courses and a perfect warm evening this vintage of Hippolyte Reverdy perfectly satified the needs of the table with vivid gooseberry, grapefruit, lemon/lime, wild tangy peach and melon fruits, along with mineral, wet stone, a light herbacious edge and delicate lime blossom notes. Zingy, chalky and tartly dry, this was exactly what I wanted and there was no doubt where this fine effort was from. While you can pay lots more for Sancerre, there’s not many that can compare to Hippolyte Reverdy for quality and value, it is a wine that I always recommend. The domaine’s rare Sancerre Rosé, 100% Pinot Noir, and the Rouge, also 100% Pinot Noir are also special treats at Hippolyte Reverdy and though tough to find and allocatted, they are well worth the chase, as is this wine that comes off mature, 30 year old vines set on the legenday clay and chalky Kimmeridgian Limestone soils that gives it its soulful, old world and authentic character.

Julie Guiard’s Hippolyte Reverdy is one of Sancerre’s most prized and consistant producers and I first started enjoying their wines in the early 2000s, when they became my go to Sancerre, with the Rosé, Rouge and especially the classic Sauvignon Blanc always impressing me. The Reverdy family is a big name in the Loire Valley and in paricular in the Sancerre region and this estate started gaining notarity in the early 1970s and really took over with the arrival of importer Kermit Lynch in the 1980s, he really made this domaine a must have Sancerre with Michel Reverdy producing lovely traditional wines. The family had a sad tragic loss of Michel’s dad and two brothers, but he and his mom have endured and continued to turn out top notch efforts, and this 2024 version shows they are not slwing down in any way. For the Sancerre Blanc, 100% Sauvignon Blanc, the grapes are gently pressed by pneumatic press immediately following the harvest and the must settles for 36 hours before the clear juice is racked and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel cuves. Kermit says the wine rests on its lees for 2-3 months, getting stirred 3 or 4 times to keep lees suspended throughout the liquid and then bottled, quickly to preserve freshness, in the Spring. It is great to re-visit the Hippolyte Reverdy label again and get my Sancerre fix!
($36 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Odonata, Blanc de Blanc, Brut Sparkling Wine, Escolle Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The vivacious and luxurious Odonata Blanc de Blancri Escolle Champagne Method bubbly shines brilliantly in the glass and shows off classic leesy/yeasty character and minerally crisp detail with lemony citrus, pineapple, honeysuckle, brioche, wet stones, clove spice and quince in a precise, dry and delicous sparkling wine. This excellent bubbly is 100% Chardonnay, vintage 2021, and done in 100% Stainless Steel with just 140 cases made and done all Methode Champenoise. Odonata says there was a slow pressing and no skin contact, picked and immediately put to stainless steel tank. It was cold fermented in stainless steel and matured for a full 38 months on yeast. Hoey notes this batch was tirage bottled on January 2022 and was disgorged in March of 2025 with a very low Dosage of 4 g/L. This wine was great on its own, but it gets even better with matching cuisine, with sea food and poultry good options, and or enjoyed with oysters and or caviar.

Odonata, the brainchild of winemaker Denis Hoey, who released his first commercial vintage when he was just 21, is one of Monterey’s most fun and exciting wineries located on River Road on the cool northern edge of the Santa Lucia Highlands and does a wide and unique range of wines from Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara regions. Hoey says he now blends old world methods with new world techniques to make nouveau-style wines, serious, but approachable, as seen here with his Champagne style sparkler. He adds that he strives to produce wines that are rich, textured, and balanced, and that respect terroir and varietal character, which is clearly delivered in his latest wines, in particular his Viognier, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Chardonnay and Syrah offerings. California sparkling wines are now reaching incrediable levels of thrill and quality, as seen in the wines by Caraccioli Cellars, Poe Wines and here with Odonata, especially the ones that are done in this time consuming hand crafted Champagne way and I recommend getting to know these stylish efforts.
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Vietti, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Trevìe, Piemonte, Italy.
The opulent and ripe Vietti Trevìe Barbera d’Alba 2022 has a deep garnet,crimson color, delicate florals, hints of spice and has a lushfull bodied palate of crushed black raspberry, plum, red currant and cherry fruits, as well as background elements of anise, a touch of cedar, tangy herbs, lilacs and chakly stone. When you are looking for Barbera, La Spinetta and Vietti are always great and reliable choices, both come from pedigreed vineyard sites, with Vietti’s sourced from main vines in the Castiglione Falletto zone on classic limestine and clay marl soils. Barbera is noted for having silky tannins and bright acidity, which gives balance in warm years, though we’ve been seeing lately in the Piemonte region. Like the Barbera d’Asti Tre Vigne version, the Tevìe Barbera d’Alba is crafted with a cold maceration in stainless steel tank, then fermented, wth the skins in the musts for approximately 2 weeks, with gentile daily pumping over. After it goes dry Vietti typically leaves the wine for an extra week of maceration, then it is racked over to oak for malolactic conversation and raised in a combination of large cask, barriques and stainless barrels for a full 18 months to allow for depth, richness and balance. It is almost impossible not to love the Vietti Barbera bottlings and this one really impressed at a recent Piemonte blind tasting, being easily one of the favorites on the night.

As I’ve mentioned before, Vietti is a storied winery that dates back to the early years of the 20th Century when it was founded by Mario Vietti, who started bottling wines for himself and focused the family business on the grapes of the region. The biggest rise at Vietti was after World War II when Alfredo Currado, who married into the Vietti family by way of Luciana Vietti, in 1952 starting making wines from single vineyard sources, this was a new idea in Piedmonte’s Barolo zone, he was one of the first to vinify from Cru plots in famous sites such as as Brunate, Rocche and Villero, and he “cru-designated” the wines, also he helped save the local Roero white grape Arneis from extinction, and was later known as the “Father of Arneis”! And for the last few decades Vietti has had Luca Currado, who has now left to make his own wines with his wife Elena Penna and his children, making the wines and his super star status brought Vietti world wide fame. The Vietti wines come, as noted above, mostly from the Castiglione Falletto vineyards, in the heart of the Barolo zone, these are soulful and remarkable wines that show their terroir and character of sandy-calcareous soil that highlight this area and that gives them unique tannic spine, but with beauty in the nose and lovely elegant details. Vietti owners seem t be continuing the style that Luca has stamped on the lineup here and so far everything has remained as tasty as ever!
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 McIntyre, Dornfelder, Estate, Santa Lucia Highlands.
One of my recent discoveries, thanks to Kristen McIntyre, who brought this local rarity out to an industry tasting, was her dad’s unique, deeply colored and full bodied Dornfelder, which was grown on Steve McIntyre’s Estate in the Santa Lucia Highlands. My own Dornfelder experience, includes a few German exports and some tried at wine fairs and tastings in Germany, during trips there in 2009 and 2016, but none has been all that memberal and most of my German winemaking friends don’t rate this grape, so I was happily surprised by the quality found here in Steve McIntyre’s example. A dark purple/garnet in the glass this 2021 Estate Dornfelder shows of heady lilac florals and grapey ripe blackberry, currant, candied cherry, plum and blueberry fruits, along with subtle toasty, cedary wood notes, sagey herbs, mint/chocolate, pepper and a delicate loamy earthiness. Dornfelder, found almost exclusively in German, was a lab crossing in the 1950s and saw some success in blends and single varietal wines, though not as favored in recent times, it continues to be a grape used for its very dark color and big crops to produce cheaper red wines. This interesting Monterey version benefits from the long growing season, sunny breezy days and the sandy loam soils found here in the Santa Lucia Highlands, which has given an extra dimension to this grape and giving this wine velvety tannins and smooth acidity, adding to pleasure andbalanced structure. Traditionally fermented with 100% de-stemmed grapes and aged like their Pinot Noir in mostly used French barriques, the 2021 McIntye Dornfelder has a nice freshness and drinkability.

Dornfelder, as noted above, I learned, is a German black grape variety which is notable for producing deeply colored, full-bodied red wines, as seen even here with this unique California version, with rich fruit flavors like blackberry and plum, and good acidity. This lesser known varietal was created in 1955 by August Herold, who lived from1902–1973 at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg, in the Württemberg region, in 1955 by crossing Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe, the latter which bears his name. Dornfelder, more of a curiosity these days, rather than a serious red, turned out to be a hardy, high-yielding grape that thrives in Germany’s continental climate, particularly in the Rheinhessen and Pfalz regions, though I saw it myself in the Rheingau and in the Nahe during my own visits to Germany. When Dornfelder was made, Germany was looking to revive and monitize its wine industry post WWII and needed a dark cheap, easy to grow, red grape to fill the gap, so Dornfelder became popular, but with climate change and the introduction of noble varietals it has lost its luster in recent times. Dornfelder, as mentioned, is easier to grow than Spätburgunder, has better resistance to rot than Blauer Portugieser, another rarity, as well as having that deeper color, more powerful flavours and more tannin, has stronger stalks than Trollinger, ripens earlier than Lemberger (Blaufrankisch), and achieves higher must weights and higher natural alcohol levels than most of these varieties. While in Germany, lots of Dornfelder has a slightly off dry fruity quality, this McIntyre is more appealingly dry and sits between Gamay and Syrah in style, making it tasty with meaty dishes and or with hard cheeses.
($36 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2016 Conterno-Nervi, Gattinara DOCG, Alta Langhe, Piedmonte, Italy.
The 2016 Conterno-Nervi Gattinara is surprisingly shy and mineral toned, much less expressive at this point than I had expected, and at first a real disappointment, but slowly it woke up and gave a pretty performance, though no where near what the 2013 gave me a few years back. I am hoping I got a somewhat less than perfect bottle, because this vintage should have been much more concentrated and complex, even if in the end this was a pleasing wine, once it finally came alive. The garnet/brick hued 100% Nebbiolo was medium bodied and slightly muted on the nose with wilted rose petals, crushed stone, red berries and minty herbs leading to a palate of flinty black cherry, strawberry, damson plum and burnt orange fruits, along with dried lavender, leather, tarry licorice, cedar and balsamic notes. Tasting blind in a lineup of Piedmonte wines, including some heavy hitter Barolo, this Nervi kind of got lost and failed to meet my hopes and expectation, but I bet if I had it solo with a meal it would have pleased much more. Gattinara, as mentioned before, is a high quality DOCG zone in the northern reaches of Piedmonte, with a long history of wine growing and has become hotspot in recent with outstanding wines and vintages in this region, which needs to be about 90% Nebbiolo (or Spanna, as the locals call it) along with tiny amounts of Barbera and Vespolina being allowed in the DOCG wines.

Nervi is Gattinara’s oldest winery, originally founded in 1906 by Luigi Nervi and recently bought and run by Robert Conterno who is part of the famous Barolo family, comes from vines in the Vercelli hills on the west bank of the Sesia River and Novara hills, rivals many top names in the well known Barolo. Gattinara is a high quality DOCG zone in the northern reaches of Piedmonte, with a long history of wine growing and has become hotspot in recent with outstanding wines and vintages in this region. The winery once focused on three Gattinara bottlings including a basic normale Gattinara DOCG, the Gattinara Molsino and the Gattinara Valferana, while now Conterno has turned attention to make the 100% Nebbiolo Gattinara the center of project and raise the quality. I really loved the 2013 vintage here and I hope the next bottling of Conterno-Nervi I have is more to my liking, especially as the prices have gone up significantly in recent years, because sadly this 2016 under performed, again I am hoping the bottle wasn’t the best in the batch and maybe if I get another that it lives up to what it certainly should be. Conterno’s influence here definitely ultimately bring great things to these Nervi Nebbiolo(s) and while the price per bottle has gone up, they still are somewhat reasonable for what you can get. These northern Piedmonte communes, including Gattinara, Gheme, Lessona, Bramaterra and Boca, are well worth discovering and exploring.
($65 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Hirsch, Grüner Veltliner, Hirschvergnügen, Kamptal DAC, Austria.
The pale gold 2023 Hirschvergnügen Grüner by Hirsch is racy, quaffable and shows off a simple and direct lighter framed palate with lemon/lime, white peach, muskmelon and unripe pear fruits, along with white pepper, bitter almond, delicate florals, clove and wet stone. This very easy Grüner was a nice aperitif or Summer sipper and its low alcohol feel makes it refreshing and a good choice with lighter cuisine, especially oysters, white fish, salads and poultry. Hirsch, all organic and practicing biodynamic, sources this Grüner Veltliner from its Kamptal sites, some ancient plots included with a mix of calcareous and loamy soils, which is derived from the underlying loess. The spontaneous fermentation and elevage was done with a slow and gentle whole bunch pressing, with the vinification and nine months lees aging in exclusively stainless steel tank. Hirsch went to all screw cap in 2002 and winemaker Johannes Hirsch says his wines take a while to evolve and this wine seems to show that. These wines can be slightly reductive and they see no malos, so they are very lively and acid driven, but with salty and mineral notes, as seen here.

Hirsch, run by Johannes Hirsch, who has gained much attention for his vibrant Riesling and Grüner since the mid 2000s, uses biodynamic preparations and follows the lunar cycle for his vineyard work. Most all of Johannes’ of holdings are on the slopes in the villages of Zöbing and Kammern, which his importer Skurnik notes are home to the famous Heiligenstein and Gaisberg Riesling vineyards as well as Lamm, Grub, Renner and Kammerner Gaisberg for Grüner Veltliner. I got a chance to meet Hirsch in 2015 or 2016 and admired the tension and energy in the wines here and it was cool to rediscover his wines with this 2023 vintage Hirschvergnügen Grüner Veltliner recently, which was available at my local favorite Bear and Flag Roadside deli by the glass. It even went well with their Roadside Ripper hotdog and spicy fries on the warm sunny patio, perfect on a lazy afternoon and a no pretense meal. The upper end cru Erste Lage wines see some oak aging depending on vintage and are deeper in style and while under the radar, rival some of the greats here, near the Danube, west of Vienna in the Wachau, Kamptal and Krems area. I highly recommend this one for earlier drinking and simplicity and I also would suggest checking out the Lamm Grüner and the Ried Gaisberg Riesling.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Arnaud Lambert, Chenin Blanc, Les Parcelles, Loire Valley, France.
The pale gold/straw colored Les Parcelles is Lambert’s declassified Saumur Blanc that shows off a crisp and dry palate of tart peach, lemon/lime, quince and green apple fruits, along with salty wet stone, chalk, unsweetened honey, minty herbs, delicate florals, clove spice and pecan nuttiness. The 100% Chenin is grown in diverse sections of vines around the Lambert estate in the Saumur region that include an upper portion that has calcareous sandy soils and a lower plot that has a higher percentage of clay, along with the classic tuffeau limestone that plays a huge part in the terroir driven character here, with both parts providing a nice ying and yang effect that gives an excellent overall balance and complexity. Arnaud uses a combination of concrete, stainless and various sized wood barrels to make his different offerings and in this case mostly stainless was employed, but he chose to use some lees stirring (Batonage) to give the desired textural quality. This value priced Les Parcelles is a nice entry level Chenin and will pair well with soft cheeses and lighter poultry dishes, which I suggest drinking over the next year or so.

As mentioned, the Domaine Arnaud Lambert, based in Saint Cyr en Bourg – Brézé, is making some of the finest Chenin Blancs in the region, began as part of a father and son team with his dad Yves, made a name for himself when he took over at the historic estate of the Château de Brézé, one of France’s great properties and one that the French royals, as noted by the winery, used to exchange wines of Brézé annually for Château d’Yquem Sauternes. I have had a few outstanding wines from Château de Brézé over the years, so it was exciting to see Lambert’s personal offerings and get insight to his direction as a vigneron. With his own label now gaining notoriety Lambert is push the appellations of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny to invest in quality and focus on individual terroirs and lieu-dit sites, as he does, with the goal being to re-discover the regions premier vineyards and exploit its full potential through organic viticulture. For those who want to explore authentic and organic Loire Valley wines would be greatly served by searching out Lambert’s delicious offerings, especially the elevated and top quality, terroir driven individual cru Saumur and Brézé bottlings.
($25 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Anthony Thevenet, Beaujolais Villages, France.
Anthony Thevenet, who’s wines have really elevated over the last 4 or 5 vintages, has made some absolutely delicious Gamay offerings from 2023, including his basic Beaujolais Villages that shows off an authentic purity, terroir character and a seductive array of dark fruit, spice, delicate florals and mineral tones in the glass. This bright, medium bodied, dark purple/garnet hued and peppery Gamay delivers plenty of whole cluster thrill on the palate with blackberry, strawberry, plum and cranberry fruits, along with spicy cinnamon, minty herbs, hints of gravelly stones, walnut, blood orange, forrest floor and anise notes. The savory elements add complexity, but does take away from the joyous fruit core and the violet/lilac aromatics, making for a lovely wine and a value in the category. I’ve been really excited by the latest stuff from Anthony Thevenet, who got his start with Beaujolais legends, Georges Descombes and Jean Foillard, especially his Morgon bottlings, as reviewed here in my prior wine of the day articles. The vines are all tended with organic methods with biodynamic practices and most are mature plots on classic granite soils, but with some on sand and Brocken limestone and clay as well, that softens the tannin and adds a fruit ripeness to this wine, which is intended for early drinking pleasures.

Thevenet, who as mentioned spent five years as the right hand man of Jean Foillard, one of the true luminaries of the Beaujolais region, started on his own in 2013, creating his own label and securing prime vineyards and impressive results came right away. As per normal with the best producers, the wines at Thevenet’s cellar are vinified by whole bunch (partial) carbonic fermentation using only native yeast and the wines are aged in a combination of neutral (old) oak casks, including 600L barrels, as well as used smaller 228L barriques, usually bought from quality Burgundy domaines, and the wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. Thevenet’s family domaine vines are located in Morgon, which is just to the south of Fleurie and Chiroubles on granite based soils that brings out a fine mineral note in the wines and even though the climate is fairly warm, the elevation and the natural acidity of the Gamay grape makes for balanced and complex wines here. Of Anthony Thevenet’s wines, again as noted above, I recommend the Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine) Cuvée, his lovely Chénas, the Cuvée Julia Côte du Py Morgon, to name a few. In 2016 and 2017 Thevenet leased some Beaujolais Village and those Chénas vineyards, adding more depth and range to his mostly Morgon parcels, and giving us a great entry level bottling, as seen here with this 2023 Beaujolais Village.
($25 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2023 Lieu Dit Winery, Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley.
The 2023 Lieu Dit Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best vintages I’ve tasted to date here, grabbing the best of this cool year and long hang time to make a vivid and complex version of this grape with zesty lemon/lime, bitter melon, peach and tangy quince fruits, along with delicate white flowers, wet stone, lemon grass, subtle jalapeño, shaved grapefruit and tomato leaf on the medium bodied palate. This pale gold and straw hued Sauvignon Blanc is bright and crisply dry example of California SB and is a cool and refreshing Summer sipper to drink over the next few years. The Lieu Dit Sauvignon Blanc is crafted from three vineyards in the far eastern reaches of Santa Ynez Valley, which has warmer days and cool nights that help ripen the grapes. Here, the winery says soils share the tectonic history of the nearby mountains and add to the distinctive terroir influence imparted the wines from this part of the Santa Barbara wine country. Lieu Dit uses all sustainable grapes and the wines are clearly French and old world influenced in style, but proudly Californian in nature.

The Lieu Dit 100% Sauvignon Blanc comes from vines in the Happy Canyon and Santa Ynez Valley area of the Santa Barbara County wine region and in particular the McGinley Vineyard, China Blue Vineyard and Santa Ynez Vineyard set on sandy loam, river cobbles and Serpentine soils. To make this wine, the winery says that they gently press the grapes before fermenting the juice in both stainless steel tanks and in old oak barrels. Rather than making the wine in just one vessel, or by diversifying their fermentation techniques highlights the layers of nuance that the different vineyards provide them and adds a bit of depth in my own opinion. After fermentation, the wine is then aged in the stainless steel tanks and the old neutral French oak barrels for about six months, with just the right amount of lees contact and to capture the vintage’s energy. These critically acclaimed Lieu Dit wines, made by famed local son and noted wiinemaker Justin Willet, of Tyler Winery, include Loire inspired Cabernet Franc, Rosé of Cab Franc, Chenin Blanc, definitely worth searching out, and this Sauvignon Blanc, plus the single vineyard offerings are a big step up here and I highly recommend the full range of offerings.
($25 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup, Pic Saint-Loup Rouge “Tour de Pierres” Languedoc, France.
The latest Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup is a beautiful dark Rhône style wine made from all biodynamic 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvèdre that shows off an impactful and full bodied palate with boysenberry, black plum, blueberry and candied cherry fruits, along with white pepper, wild sage, crushed violets, crunchy umami, mineral tones, tarry licorice, sweet cedar wood and creme de cassis notes. This wine presents itself in fine fashion and truly not far off quality examples of Gigondas, Vinsorbes or Vaqueyras with a cooler tone to the fruit, being led by the Syrah and nicely balanced, making it a fabulous value for you find in the glass. Pic Saint-Loup, which flies under the radar, is a remote wine appellation in the Languedoc, located north of Montpellier, and is known for its dramatic limestone peaks and diverse soils, with a cooler Mediterranean climate and mountain breezes. These conditions, which show clearly here in this beautiful wine by Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup, allow for heightened aromatics, lovely richness or ripeness of fruit, crisp detailing and balance. Importer, Kermit Lynch has a tight and excellent set of wines from Pic Saint-Loup and they have been long time favorites of mine, especially La Roque and Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup. The Pic Saint-Loup region’s claim to fame are the red blends, mainly similar to this, with mostly Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre included, though you’ll find some tasty whites and Rosé offerings here and Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup has those too, and of particular interest is their 50% Roussanne, 30% Grenache Blanc and Gris, 15% Marsanne and 5% Clairette Cuvée Saint Agnès blanc.

The Héritage du Pic Saint Loup winery (formerly known as Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup, in case you thought it sounded familiar.) run by the brothers, Xavier, Pierre, and Jean-Marc Ravaille, is named after the hermitage (memorial) that dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was the former home of the bishops of Maguelone. The limestone peak or “pic” perched above the vineyards, the namesake landmark to the area and this very notable wine region in the Languedoc, was named for the legendary Saint Thieri Loup, one of the local legends and crusaders. This label was born in 1992 when the brothers planted some higher slopes that were once used for grazing sheep that were used for cheese production with a unique set of soils, with the parcel used here in the Tour de Pieres having iron rich red clay, giving it a distinctive micro terroir character. There’s an array of certified organic plots of vines here at Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup , as noted by Kermit Lynch, with the classic marly limestone and dolomite, as well as the red and white clay, along with some sand, and round galets, (stones) like found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. For this bottling the Ravaille used carefully selected grapes, mostly de-stemmed, which they cool ferment with native yeasts in vat with a long maceration before being racked to barrels. The wine is blended from the rocky red clay single Tour de Pierres parcel and aged in a combination of small barriques and larger foudres with just about 20% new oak employed, which perfectly soften the tannins, but allow for purity to shine through. I highly recommend chasing down this wine, and the whole Héritage du Pic Saint-Loup collection of reds, plus, the mentioned above, Châteauneuf style white blend too, they are all delicious examples of what you can here in the Pic Saint Loup appellation.
($23 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

August 2025

2022 Forteresse de Berrye, Saumur Rouge “Clos de Berrie” Loire Valley, France.
The 2022 Saumur Rouge Clos de Berrie by the Forteresse de Berrye estate is a delicious lighter framed Cabernet Franc with classic chalky terroir influence and pretty aromatics, a delicate earthiness and spice notes added to the core of blackberry, plum and dusty dry cherry fruits. Medium bodied and fresh in the glass with a deep garnet hue, this wine is an excellent value and a very natural and rewarding effort to enjoy over the next 3 to 5 years.The Forteresse de Berrye winery, a historical French castle from the twelfth century, began organic viticulture in 2021 and they expect full certification by 2024, this along with planting better clones within their hillside vines look to really raise the quality here. It’s noted that Saumur is one of the driest areas of the Loire Valley with lower humidity overall due to the rain shadow of the Armorican Massif to the west, which makes the organic farming easier here. Forteresse de Berrye took over an old property with neglected vineyards and deeply quarried tuffeau limestone caves and are at an early stage as a label, but the potential and promise is looking good, especially for those Loire enthusiasts that like old school Cabernet Franc and Chenins with a more rustic character. Forteresse de Berrye has some interplanted Cabernet Sauvignon too, which does go into their Saumur Rouge bottlings, but this feels purely Franc in style and the winemaking is simple with mainly tank raised wines to promote transparency. You can still find the 2020 Forteresse de Berrye Saumur Rouge, which is a little more elevated and concentrated, but this one is lovely too.

Forteresse de Berrye’s expressive and terroir-focused wines are crafted in a simple and direct way by its new owner, Gilles Colinet, who had to agree to rejuvenate the old historic castle on the property before his purchase could be finalized, and his efforts, especially the wines, are widely admired by his peers in the region and this is a label to follow. The Loire Valley, as I’ve said before, is still filled with undiscovered treasures and historically sites with unique vineyard areas still being found, like this newly resurrected estate in Saumur, which is just beginning to ship wines to the United States and of which I was able to taste recently at a low key mini portfolio tasting by The Source Imports, who bring in many cool under the radar producers from this ancient French wine growing area. The Forteresse de Berrye, near Berry (hence the name), in Saumur is set on a high elevation site with complex soils that includes silt, sandy and clay over classic yellowish tuffeau limestone, which is awesome for Chenin Blanc and Cab Franc, like in this wine. The terroir really comes through here, and as The Source suggests, the tuffeau, which was formed about 90 million years ago, is one of the wine world’s great terroir enhancers with its chalky sandstone being naturally high in calcium carbonate content which keeps the vines cool during the heat and adds intensity to the wine’s aromatics, to name a few benefits. I also, must mention, Forteresse de Berrye does an excellent Crémant de Loire sparkler made from Chenin Blanc exclusively that sees cement vat fermentation, and I highly recommend it
($21 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Courbet, Trousseau de la Vallée, AOC Côtes du Jura, France.
Just slightly deeper than the Poulsard, which I reviewed earlier, the Domaine Courbet Trousseau is still delicately pale ruby and a bit cloudy in the glass with a subtle floral and spicy nose and a heavenly light and lingering palate of bright cherry, plum, huckleberry, strawberry and red currant fruits, as well as mineral tones, snappy spices, rose petal and wild fennel notes. Again like the Courbet’s tasty Poulsard, this Trousseau is classic old school earthy Jura wine comes from ancient seabed and limestone soils, all organic vines, that are hand tended and harvested, seeing a natural indigenous yeast fermentation and almost no sulfur. Again as noted in my previous review of the wine here, Courbet’s red grapes are de-stemmed and the Trousseau sees a 24 hour cold soak and then is fermented and then is typically aged a full year exclusively in stainless steel vat, all to produce a wine of purity and crisp detail, as this 2023 vintage perfectly and transparently shows. If you were looking to explore this remote alpine region, between Burgundy and the Savoie, Domaine Courbet would be an informative and delicious place to start.

The all biodynamic Domaine Courbet estate, as mentioned in my last review, flies under the radar, but is one of the oldest and most traditionally natural family estates in the Jura and Château Chalon, which was originally founded in 1869 with vineyards, livestock and grains. Over generations Domaine Courbet gradually evolved to grow only grapes and make wine here for the last 50 years and is now run by the father and son tram of Jean-Marie and Damie Courbet. Their estate is tiny by modern standards at just about 7.5 hectares of vineyards, but with prime parcels in the famed Château-Chalon, as well as plots around Domblans and Menétru. Courbet’s US West Coast importer Beaune Imports says the reds, all farmed Biodynamic since 2005, like their Poulsard, this Trousseau, as well as the Pinot Noir, are grown in light marne soils with some limestone, which contribute to the wines having distinct terroir. I was thrilled to taste through the current releases here at Courbet, courtesy of Beaune Imports and I was very impressed with the whole lineup, with the reds, especially the Trousseau and the Poulsard being standouts. I would recommend Courbet for long time fans of the Jura, as well as the new and curious of this mysterious old world region.
($40 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Huet, Vouvray Pétillant Brut, Dry Loire Valley Sparkling Wine, France.
The latest disgorgement release from Huet is a delicate moussed dry Pét-Nat sparkler with the domaine’s personality showing in the glass with pure Chenin peachy, honey and chalky notes shining in the glass with just the right amount of leesy brioche, luxuriousness and nuttiness. This golden hued bubbly is finely balanced and one of the most stylish in the Pétillant category of sparkling wines with the Huet version finished with Champagne cork and cage, rather than the pop top and it was refined with its disgorgement so the wine is not foamy, but has good beading of the mousse. The Huet Pétillant, as the winery notes, was bottled before primary fermentation is finished, resulting in a lower pressure sparkling wine, or pétillant, because only a portion of the fermentation occurs inside the bottle. Then yeast was added to ensure the fermentation progressed smoothly. Once finished and dry, the wine is disgorged. This process saw a moderate Dosage, which was made up of pure cane sugar and slightly sweet or sweeter demi-sec or moelleux wines from a previous vintage, but resulted in a Brut, making it perfectly dry and elegant, as this latest release shows. While not cheap for a Pét-Nat, Huet’s example is delicious and goes nicely with food, especially poultry, white fish and soft farm cheese and I recommend maybe not instead of Champagne, but for its Chenin soulfulness.

One of the Loire Valley’s top estates and biodynamic pioneers, the Domaine Huet does some of the best Chenin Blanc wines on earth with lush richness, mineral tones and stony character from their elite Cru estate vineyards on Vouvray’s classic clay-limestone hillsides. The legendary Huet winemaker Noel Pinguet was one of the first French vignerons to adopt biodynamic viticulture and credited the biodynamic practices with enhancing the personalities of each of Huet’s individual terroir driven lieu-dit sites, which are some of the most sought after wines in the world. The Pétillant Brut is a fun addition to Huet’s very serious, but expressive lineup, which includes a range of Vouvray wines from crisply dry, off-dry and lush sweeter styles, including Huet’s fabled Cuvée Constance, which rivals the best from Sauternes and Tokay. Founded in 1928 by Victor Huet, Vouvray’s Domaine Huet quickly became the place for great, age-worthy Chenin Blanc, but it was under Victor’s son Gaston who led the estate to the very top of the wine world over his 55 years in charge here. Huet’s success came from Gaston’s understanding clearly that quality must come first and because he invested in top vine sites within Vouvray, which include Le Haut-Lieu, Le Mont and Clos du Bourg, these are considered Grand Cru quality vineyards in this part of the Loire. If you want to truly understand Chenin, you’ll want to explore these Huet wines. I’ve been lucky enough to have tried everything in the Domaine Huet collection over the years and some that were well aged, these are incredible offerings.
($38 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2024 Guido Porro, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Vigna Santa Caterina, Piemonte, Italy.
A very under the radar producer, Guido Porro quietly does some fantastic Barolo, Barbera, as seen here, Langhe Nebbiolo and Dolcetto from some fabulous vineyard parcels around Serralunga d’Alba, making some exceptional values, with this dark fruited and brightly fresh 2024 Barbera d’Alba Vigna S. Caterina being a wonderful expression of grape and place. This 2024 vintage shows off a deep purple/garnet hue in the glass, with a heady red berry, spicy and floral nose leading the way to a zesty/juicy medium bodied palate of crushed blackberry, Bing cherry, wild plum and cranberry fruits, all backed up with chalky stones, briar notes, sweet and tarry licorice and snappy herbs with adore of silky tannin and vivid acidity. I am very fond of Dolcetto and Barbera, especially quality examples like this one from Porro, a fourth generation estate that was originally founded in 1900. In recent years Porro changed the label to a much more attractive retro design, based on Guido’s grandfathers original, and that cosmetic update has given this winery more gravitas on the wine store shelves and gives a sense of the true quality and style in the bottle, much more than the previous one.

The Porro Barbera d’Alba is sourced from a highly prized Barolo vineyard with mature 25 to 30 year old vines, set on classic Barolo marl, limestone and clay soils, which helps this easy to love, no pretense wine an extra degree of pedigree and complexity. For this wine the winery does a 100% de-stemming of the grapes and a cool tank fermentation, after which the wine sees about 6 months in large Botti and then an extra 6 months in stainless steel tank before bottling. While ready to go right now and highly enjoyable, especially with simple pasta and meat dishes, these Barbera’s by Porro do age well, in my own experience, I’ve liked them with 5 to 7 years, but Anthony Lynch of Kermit Lynch says the 2003, a wildly hot vintage, is still drinking well even now. Kermit Lynch now has a top notch collection of Piemonte wineries these days, they have really upped their game here, adding new stars like Giulia Negri and Camillo Favaro, which are outstanding and highly coveted producers. I got to also try Porro’s Barolo from the parcel in the famed Lazzarito (Grand) Cru, which was awesome and it should be noted that they also have a plot in the fabled Vigna Rionda, which is maybe the most sought after wine in the lineup. These wines are well worth searching out and I recommend stocking up on this Barbera to drink over the next 3 or so years, while I might suggest also grabbing a few Barolo to age in the cellar.
($28) 92 Points, grapelive

2024 Domaine Lionel Faury, Syrah “Les Hautes Ribaudes” Collines Rhodaniennes, Northern Rhone Red, France.
This bottling is remarkably poised and delicious with loads of dark fruits, florals, spice and subtle earthiness, which really shines here in this 2024 vintage with boysenberry, blueberry, plum and black cherry fruits, as well as some fresh acidity bring lots of lift and vibrancy, making for an exciting youthful Syrah. There is a classic pure Syrah essence on display and this Collines Rhodaniennes delivers pleasure and complexity beyond its humble labelling, very Crozes-Hermitage like, without any oak influence, the fruit here gives everything you need and doesn’t lack for anything. This deep garnet/purple Syrah, laced with violets is beautiful and balanced in the glass and background has subtle mineral, white pepper, lavender, kirsch, chalky earth and just a hint of licorice. This lightly savory, crunchy young Syrah has ripe tannins that hold things together, but they are not aggressive in this medium bodied wine, which allows for joyous early drinking pleasures. This wine, with grapes sourced from vineyards situated on exposed plateaus higher in altitude than Saint Joseph, just above the hamlet of La Ribaudy, and from vines on granite soils that were planted between 1995 and 2007, is a must have for northern Rhône fans and bargain hunters. For special occasions, this label, imported by the famed Kermit Lynch, makes a don’t miss and beautiful Condrieu, one of my own guilty pleasures, and the mentioned Saint-Joseph, maybe Faury’s signature wine.

The Domaine Faury, founded in 1979, now run by Lionel Faury, makes, as I’ve said in my reviews here for more than a decade now, some classic and wonderful wines from the Northern Rhone, I have raved about about their Condrieu and am very impressed by the Domaine’s St. Joseph wines, but this wine is just plain fantastic and one of the best values in Syrah that I have come across yet. This wine, a new companion to other Collines Rhodaniennes bottling known as Domaine Philippe Faury’s, Syrah “L’ Art Zele” Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes, under Lionel’s dad, that was always a favorite of mine and it was great to discover this “Les Hautes Ribaudes” under Lionel’s own label and see that it is even better! Mostly known for the classic Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu and especially Saint-Joseph bottlings, the Faury’s have long been a presence in the northern Rhône, but only truly gained attention in the States because of Kermit Lynch, who brought Philippe’s wines over to America, joining his elite group of Rhône legends, like Auguste Clape and cult hero Thierry Allemand. This Les Hautes Ribaudes was fermented with just about 20% whole cluster and saw, what the winery says was a 10 day maceration in temperature-controlled cuves with daily punch-downs and pump-overs to keep the cap wet and under the juice. After primary was completed the wine was pressed to demi-muids for the competition of malos, after which it was aged about 6 months in these larger oak casks and bottled to preserve freshness and detail, as seen here! Lionel Faury has really matured into a star here in the northern Rhône and I highly recommend his wines, they are wonderfully crafted gems and stellar values still and surprising under the radar.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Benoît Cantin, Irancy, Red Burgundy, France.
Once called the red Chablis, Irancy, very near by, is as I leaned from famous importer Kermit Lynch, a remote picturesque canvas of vineyards planted on hillsides and amphitheaters, all favorably facing south for maximal sun exposure, which helps explain the ripe and dark pigments in the wines here. Going on, Kermit explains, while it shares the Kimmeridgian limestone soil also found in the classic Chablis crus, the majority of the vineyards here are planted exclusively to red grapes and mainly Pinot Noir, along with Gamay and César, that were traditionally interplanted here. In modern times, the other grapes have largely been forgotten and the focus is exclusively Pinot Noir, with this seductively earthy, deep and very dark garnet 2022 Cantin Irancy being 100% Pinot that, grown with non-certified organic methods, excites the palate with rustic old world charm. Benoît Cantin, who joined his dad in the family domaine in 1991, was completely new to me, so it was a thrill to see this wine in Kermit’s portfolio and I couldn’t pass by it on the shelf, obviously he’s a talent and this wine didn’t disappoint with silken layers of black cherry, wild plum, cranberry and red currant fruit, along with subtle spice, chalky stone, dark florals, loamy wet earth, a light leathery note, truffle, black tea and cedar details in the background. This wine, impressive in the glass and finely balanced, shows the vintage’s concentration and richness, but is best enjoyed with hearty dishes to bring out its best qualities. I highly recommend this one for old school Burgundy bargain hunters, I will definitely be following this label going forward and excited to try the rest of the offerings here.

My own journey of discovery with the wines of Irancy didn’t really start until around 2015 with the wines from Thierry Richoux, maybe my favorite in the region, and Athenaise de Beru of Chateau de Beru, a revolutionary natural winemaker in the very north of Burgundy and Chablis area. As noted in my prior reviews, the Irancy AC is located just southwest of the fan shell of Chablis, in an area that is also known for it’s cherry trees, it is mainly set on Kimmeridgian marls, along with some clay, loose gravel and brown limestone soils. The unique Irancy region is home to Pinot Noir mostly, though close by Saint-Bris that has Burgundy’s only Sauvignon Blanc zone, plus there is some César (a local red grape), thought to be French Barbera, of which 10% is allowed in the Irancy reds, making it the only area to allow other varietals to be in the ‘Red Burgundy’ labeled bottlings, with the exception of Gamay in the Passetoutgrains. Cantin’s importer Kermit Lynch notes that there are less than fifty active viticulteurs in the relatively small northern Burgundy Appellation of Irancy, only twelve of which are situated in the commune of Irancy, so these wines are pretty rare, especially in the States. This wonderfully transparent Benoît Cantin Irancy was, as the winery notes, fermented using 100% de-stemmed grapes with all natural yeasts in temperature-controlled underground cement tanks for close to 10-15 days before being gently pressed off the skins and racked to cask. Interesting to, is that all of the Cantin wines are aged in 228L oak barrels, with just 15% new, for one year, with the oak coming from the family’s own land and from the Les Bertranges forest that surrounds to vines.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Henri Costal, Chablis Premier Cru, Vaillons, White Burgundy, France.
The latest Henri Costal 2023 release of Vaillons Chablis follows earlier bottlings, as I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, being a vigorous, impactful and racy Premier Cru that fills out on the palate, but stays nice and tension filled with balance and an appealingly pure throughout. It is graced with classic Chablis terroir markers, like flinty spice, medium bodied layers of green apple, subtle peach and lemon, along with wet stone, tangy lime infused crisp chalky detail, light clove, fig, oyster shell and hazelnut play in the background. This well crafted steely white has control and finesse to really please the hardcore Chablis nuts, it is an alluring wine with a hint of austerity and old fashioned charm, less concentrated or fruity in style. Made by Gilles and Romain Collet, these Costal wines have a lot of talent behind them and some awesome cru parcels of vines, all grown with organic methods on the legendary Kimmeridgian limestone soils, provide the substance, as seen here in this fabulous Vaillons. The Vaillons was fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel and then the wine goes through malolactic fermentation and aging in a combination of stainless tank, neutral barrel 228L barriques, and used 600L demi-muid barrels, all helping promote transparency and terroir transmission.

This small estate a collaboration between famous Chablis producer Domaine Jean Collet and Kermit Lynch, which I first tasted back in 2016, with their 2014 version of this Vaillons bottling, burst on the scene with the famous Collet and Raveneau families consulting, the Domaine Costal Chablis, originally founded in 1932, had a lot of talent going into the wines, and of course the savvy of Kermit Lynch, as an importer, behind the project put it over the top! Kermit adds that in 2018, owner Romain Collet was digging through his family’s archives and found the original label that his great-grandfather, Henri Costal designed and used when he founded the domaine, which is now used again.This label, now under Henri Costal, delivers exceptional quality and pure terroir driven offerings, especially for the price, these are wines to search out. This Vaillons, in particular, is a beauty with good depth of flavor and, as noted above, a heightened mineral steely character. As explained by Kermit Lynch, this project began with a simple barrel tasting with Kermit and led to a custom label, custom vinification, and bottling process exclusively for his American market. The end result of this first tasting was a terroir-driven Chablis from a single vineyard site called Truffières which sung a siren’s song and was a huge hit with those in the know and now the Henri Costal label offers a thrilling lineup of Chablis, including the mentioned basic Chablis Les Truffières, along with Premier Cru bottlings like Mont de Milieu, Butteaux, Montée de Tonnerre, my usual favorite, and this Vaillons, which I recommend.
($52 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Agricola Brandini, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC “Filari Corti” Piemonte, Italy.
The bright ruby, velvety fruited and freshly layered Langhe Nebbiolo from Brandini is an absolutely delicious version, of what is now a serious and important calling card category for Piemonte wines and is an outstanding value, going this winery’s stellar lineup, which includes an amazing set of cru Barolo offerings. Sourced from numerous organic Nebbiolo parcels with an average age of fifteen years from Alba, Monforte d’Alba, and La Morra, all between an altitude range of 270m to almost 500m, which allows for the balance, complexity and fabulous early drinkability, with this vintage offering up a depth of flavors led by black cherry, damson plum, lots fresh strawberry, tangy red currant and zesty orange fruits, along with geranium florals, wilted rose, minty herbs, sassafras, mineral tones and anise. While made in a way that would suggest a more tannic and austere offering, this beautiful Langhe Nebbiolo is very easy to love, expressive and silken on the medium full body, making it a ready to go anytime wine that will happily go with almost any cuisine options you could imagine, from simple burgers to pasta dishes, as well as being sipped with some hard cheeses. This has been a good release of wines from Brandini, all of which are top quality and shows off great individual personalizes, with Nebbiolo lovers being especially grateful for their Barolo efforts and reasonable prices.

Rising stars, the Agricola Brandini La Morra Estate, as noted in my prior review, is owned by Piero Bagnasco and run by his daughters, Giovanna and Serena, it is a new producer for me and in fact they are a pretty recent venture, just starting back in 2007, they have a tiny collection of prime Barolo vines and I found the wines to be beautifully made and very exciting. It was nice to meet Giovanna, a few years back, at a Slow Wine tasting event in San Francisco and learn about her wines, especially her cru Annunziata Barolo and the R56 Barolo, which made my top ten Nebbiolo(s) list of the Slow Wine tour in the City (SF) and of which I really admired for it’s elegance and exceptional length. Agricola Brandini La Morra uses the phrase “Organic Human Barolo” to describe its wines, as all of their vineyards are certified organic, hand tended and their wines are traditionally hand crafted, with their Barolo being aged in large, used oak casks with minimal intervention and only minimal amounts of added sulfur at bottling. The juicy, almost Freisa like, Filari Corti Langhe Nebbiolo DOC is ultra clean, seeing a natural fermentation and cool maceration in vat before being raised for close to a year in traditional large old oak casks, which is close to what the upper end Barolo bottlings get, but sees an earlier release and saw slightly earlier picks to bring out the vibrancy seen in the bottle. Brandini, along with GD Vajra, are now firmly go to wines from the region and this one, plus their Dolcetto are tasty values I highly recommend.
($32 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2024 Maxime François Laurent, iL Fait Soif, Côtes du Rhône Rouge, Rhône Valley, France.
I’ve been enjoying this wine since 2007, when I first reviews a young Maxime François Laurent of Domaine Gramenon fame, and this dark, youthful and juicy fresh Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault 2024 il Fait Soif Côtes du Rhône Rouge is again a joy in the glass, very much the same as I reported back in 2009, with this ripe and perfumed all organic and natural Côtes-du-Rhône showing the Syrah’s intensity and depth with lush textures and a medium/full body. The nose is pretty with violets, white flowers, mixed spices, cassis and berry compote notes that lead to a bright purple/ruby hued wine and a palate of boysenberry, plum, grenadine, blueberry, cherry liqueur and tangy pomegranate. This is a wonderful, lightly savory and quaffable wine that has flashes of lavender, dusty stone, mineral tones, earth, peppercorns and finishes lifted and lively with a good cut of acidity. Maxime’s father, Philippe, who was sadly lost in a car accident, bottled the family’s first vintage of Domaine Gramenon in 1990, in the far northern-eastern stretches of the southern Rhône, becoming an instant talent, some the son has inherited with the labels here always being impeccable quality and delicious, with all of them being some of my own must have offerings, like this one. The terroir and mature vines, around 30 plus years old, here make for very compelling wines, similar to the Vinsobres bottlings of Château de Saint Cosme, with a more nuanced style and biodynamic energy.

The Maxime François Laurent il Fait Soif Côtes du Rhône Rouge, coming from good elevation vines se on clay and limestone soils, is made from organically grown 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault with partial whole cluster and interestingly the Syrah is done completely with carbonic maceration, with an all natural native yeast fermentation in cement vat, which lasts about 10 or so days. After the wine goes dry in vat, it is pressed over to stainless steel tank, with the wine resting just about 6 months. As I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, I’m a big fan of Maxime François Laurent’s wine, here under his own label, as well as at Gramenon, where he’s continuing the traditions of the family estate, founded by his late father and his mom Michèle Aubèry-Laurent, who is still very much involved, and bringing a global spotlight to this exceptional Rhône estate. Gramenon, based in the northern zone of the southern Rhône around the new hotspot of the region Vinsobres, was originally established in 1979, and is not an old property, but the wines are very serious and impeccably made in a very natural style. As areLaurent’s own wines from purchased grapes, as seen here with this il Fait Soif. The quality here was so good in the beginning at Gramenon that famous importer Kermit Lynch, in Berkeley California took them on and has brought the humble hardworking vignerons no small about of fame and gaining them an enthusiast following in America, like me. This latest Grenache based il Fait Soif is very tasty stuff and I highly recommend it as a great starting point in the Laurent family lineup!
($33 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Vignoble De Boisseyt, Viognier, En Amont, IGP Collines Rhodaniennes, Northern Rhône, France.
Coming from vines, south of Côte Rôtie, on granite based soils, near the commune de Chavanay in what labelling laws calls part of the Collines Rhodaniennes, this gorgeous, exotic and expressive En Amont Viognier by Vignoble De Boisseyt, which I hadn’t had before, is a beauty of a dry white wine and an exceptional value. The nose, on this pale gold Viognier, is wonderfully pure with honeysuckle, mineral tones, citrus and heady pêche liqueur, leading to a fuller palate of fresh apricot, lemony citrus, pineapple and melon fruits, along with clove spice, wet stone, hazelnut, bitter herbs, acacia flowers and honey notes in a crisply focused and elegantly presented dry wine. From what I gather, this wine saw a 24 hour cold soak on the skins, gently whole cluster pressed and fermented in tank with a lees aging of 8 months, making for a transparent, freshly vibrant and easy to love varietal Viognier.

The Domaine Vignoble de Boisseyt, which has rots dating back to 1343, is mostly known for their set of red wines and first became noted modern winery in 1988 when Agnès and Didier Chol took over this historic small 11 hectare estate, in diverse parceled vineyards, set in and the Saint-Joseph, Condrieu, Côte-Rôtie and Côtes du Rhône zones, but really burst on the scene recently with the addition of Romain Decelle and his Olivier Decelle of Bourgogne de Decelle & Fils and the famous Mas Amiel in the Languedoc. Romain Decelle took the reins here in 2017 and has brought a lot of new attention and I can see why with this absolutely delicious and pure Viognier, which is worthy of the “Baby” Condrieu nickname and I can’t wait to explore more of the De Boisseyt offerings! It isn’t often, that a non full Condrieu impresses me to this degree and had to go back a few times while trying this one to be sure it was as good as it was on the night! This stylish and excellent ready to drink Viognier will be great with a range of cuisine, including roast poultry, white fish, and soft cheeses.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Mauro Sebaste, Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Valdevani, Piemonte, Italy.
The ripe, dark garnet and delicious all tank raised 2023 Valdevani Barbera d’Asti from Mauro Sebaste, comes from vines in the municipality of Vinchio in the locality of Valdevani and Boglietto, showing off a rich and minerallly palate of blackberry, plum, cherry and currant fruits, along with a light dusting of spice, wild herbs, anise, subtle earthiness and dark florals in a silky and brightly focused medium/full bodied wine. This wine, an outstanding value, unpretentious in style reminds me why I fell in love with this classic Piemonte grape in the first place, making for a great companion to any pasta dishes you might find and or simple meat dishes. This is a Barbera to enjoy soon and often, its natural acidity cutting into the heady 14.5% alcohol nicely and softer mouth feel and refined tannins make it easy to love as is. Asti’s calcareous soils, rich in clay, limestone, sand and silt brings out a bit less flab as Alba and adds to a more chiseled detailing in the wines, maybe giving a slightly more elegant profile.

The Mauro Sebaste Barbera d’Asti DOCG Valdevani grapes are sustainably grown and carefully sorted in the vineyards and in the cellar with 100% de-stemmed berries getting fermented and aged in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks with the Barbera seeing about 8 days of skin maceration and fermentation before being racked off the skins. After the wine goes dry, it was allowed to go through natural secondary (Malos) fermentation and aged another 6 months in vat before bottling. Everything is traditional, clean and simple here with this version of Barbera, once thought of as a working class or peasant wine. The quality of Barbera saw a huge upswing in the late 1990s and earned a full DOCG in Alba and Asti, plus includes a higher destination with a Superiore also seen, with some great stuff available that can compete against the noble Nebbiolo offerings of Barbaresco and Barolo. So now is a great time to rediscover Barbera and its complete range of offerings from the basic stuff, more like what is seen here, more serious efforts, like Vietti’s, and the top cru bottlings, like La Spinetta’s Gallina!
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2018 Daniele Ricci, Timorasso San Leto, Costa Vescovado, Colli Tortonesi, Italy.
One of the most interesting wines I tasted recently at a blind Piemonte tasting was the Ricci Timorasso, a rare native white varietal that has made a huge impact in the region over the last 10 years and where it has now a full DOC, known as Derthona in the Colli Tortonesi zone of Piemonte. Timorasso, which was almost used exclusively for Grappa production, which almost went extinct in the 70s and 80s, and its modern-day existence and success is down to one man Walter Massa, who singlehandedly brought it back. This deep golden hued Daniele Ricci San Leto Timorasso version comes from all organic vines that were planted in 1989 and 1992 has a medium full bodied palate with surprising freshness and slightly reductive with loads of mineral tones, phenolic grip, layers of lemony citrus, peach/apricot, quince and green apple fruits. Uniquely, the winery says, the Ricci San Leto undergoes three days of skin maceration and natural fermentation in cool stainless steel without any pump-overs so not to extract any bitterness from the skins. The wine is then aged in non toasted 700L acacia barrels for a minimum of twelve months, allowing richness of texture without oak getting in the way of the purity of terroir and varietal character. Timorasso has plenty of acidity, stony/flinty notes and iodine which has keep things vibrant here and age has given, as the winery notes as well, secondary and tertiary evolution with it now showing nutty almonds, orange peel, chamomile, herbs and delicate florals. By the way, the area was first noted for quality wine by the Romans, hence the use of the Derthona name, which the town was called during those ancient times, with the DOC being officially granted in 2020.

The Ricci winery, which I was first introduced to 10 years ago with their intriguing Barbera, is based, as mentioned above, in the Costa Vescovado area of the Colli Tortonesi, known historically as Cascina San Leto, before the Ricci family became involved. It was originally purchased in 1929 by Damiele Ricci’s grandmother Clementina and Grandfather Carlo, as an agricultural farm, where alongside cattle and wheat, they planted the farm with local grapes, mostly Timorasso with smaller amounts of Barbera and Croatina. Timorasso had, as noted before, all but been abandoned since it was nearly wiped by phylloxera, which devastated most of the area’s vines in late 1800s and never truly replanted. Daniele and his father did not grow up on the farm but rediscovered it years later and began the journey to becoming one of the main proponents of Timorasso, after being inspired by the efforts of Massa, reinvigorating and reinterpreting it in their way, as seen here with the skin fermentation and acacia wood aging. For both his Timorasso and Cortese white grapes, Daniele has employed these macerations on the skins, with some even seeing underground amphorae, similar to Georgian techniques, which the winey explains, eliminating the use of selected yeasts, added sulfur and not having to clarify the wine. While now widely admired for his various expressions of Timorasso, Ricci, as I said, has also gotten attention for their red wines, made mostly from Barbera, but also including the rare and native Croatina grape. The terroir here includes ideal ripening conditions with southern exposures and the Tortonian marl based soils, that are mineral rich adding a complex additional influence here, making for wonderful distinctive wines, as seen here. I really was thrilled by this wine, thankful that my friend Germaine Esquivel, sommelier at the famous Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, bright this wine to our tasting!
($70 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Roar Wines, Grenache, Sierra Mar Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
I recently got a chance for a quick tasting with Nick Franscioni of Roar and catch up a bit with his family’s adventures and wines, and I finally got a chance to try their very limited 100% estate grown Sierra Mar Grenache, which was a thrill of spicy and savory elements in the glass. This dark ruby wine was born from one of the smallest blocks on the Franscioni estate, this high-elevation Grenache captures that unique spiced, savory depth of Sierra Mar’s dramatic terroir with the Santa Lucia Highlands cool Pacific breezes and decomposed granite sandy loams, all helping create a medium bodied and elegant version of this grape. The palate is peppery with a core of strawberry, wild plum, brambly raspberry and candied cherry fruits, along with hints juniper berry, cinnamon, bay leaf, anise, wilted rose petals, minty herb and sagey notes, with a touch of cedary sweet wood. The structure is refined, but a touch raw in a good way and the vintage’s acidity gives an inner brightness, making for a Grenache that excites the palate in an old world way and less overtly fruity. Nick also showed off the amazing 2023 Garys’ Pinot, which is one of the best versions of this legendary wine and a bottled aged 2018 Chardonnay, which was also a thrill and full evolved, truly excellent.

Roar’s Sierra Mar Vineyard, which Gary Franscioni planted around 2006 about a decade after his famous Garys’ and Rosella’s, rises up to nearly 1,200 feet, with, what the winery calls, island-like blocks sitting above the fog line across some of the most dramatic terrain in their estate and the Santa Lucia Highlands region of Monterey County. While the vineyard is primarily planted mainly to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it also includes small, carefully placed blocks of Grenache and Viognier that are made exclusively for Roar’s small mailing list, making it a priority to get your name on it, especially for the tiny lot bottlings like this three barrel release of Grenache. The vines here are all farmed with certified sustainable methods and impeccably cared for by Mark Pisoni and his team, along with the Franscioni family, probably the most respected growers in the region, who produce some of California’s most desirable grapes. Roar and winemaker Scott Shapely, again only made three barrels of the Grenache, which sees 100% de-stemmed maceration and fermentation with daily punch-downs and pump-overs in vat. After the must goes dry, the wine is pressed off the skins and goes to French oak, which I assume was two used barrels and one new, where the Grenache completed malos and matured for about 14 months. Of course you’ll not want to miss the Pinots and Chardonnays here, but this delicious Grenache (Thanks Nick) and the awesome Syrah are wines I wouldn’t miss!
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Oliver Moragues, Giró Ros, IGP Mallorca Blanco, Spain.
One of the coolest, unique and pleasing white wines I’ve had this Summer is this beautifully crisp, mineral driven and refreshing Giró Ros by Oliver Maragues on the main Balearic Island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to Robert Morrison of Authentic Wine Selections, who searched out and imported this tiny producer to the States and who shared this rarity with me recently. This delicately golden hued and subtle aromatic white has zesty range of citrus and stone fruits on the lighter framed medium bodied palate with a bone dry layering of tangerine, lemon, white peach, a touch of green apple, mango and quince, along with salty wet stone, bitter almond, leesy flinty notes, light florals and verbena. There’s fine definition here and air brings a nice rounded mouth feel without weight and lots of underlying acidity that keeps things bright, making this a great companion with a range of cuisine, but best with sea food, as would be expected considering its origins. Oliver Moragues, who’s family started in wine back in 1511, is one of the oldest and most respected wine estates in Mallorca, has a 500 year history and is focused on organic farming and native grape varietals, like Giró Ros in this wine. Giró Ros, a native pre-phylloxera variety from Mallorca is a very difficult grape to grow and produces very low yields, which almost led to its demise, but can make for outstanding wines, as seen here. Moragues does two picks, one early to preserve freshness and vitality and one late pick to add dimension, ripe tropical notes, and cut out green phenolics. This biodynamic wine, coming from the island’s, red tinted mineral rich limestone and clay soils, saw a slow whole cluster pressing of the carefully sorted grapes and was at low temperature fermented and lees rested just 6 weeks in newer large French oak barrels and then transferred to tank to get bottled quickly.

The Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, the biggest and most populated, Menorca, the least known, and Ibiza, the legendary party island, are an island group or archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, a considerable boat ride from Barcelona. This archipelago, I note from research, forms a province and autonomous community of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca (on Mallorca) being its capital and largest city, which is the main port and commercial hub. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Mallorca, the islands were made a province in the 19th century and which in 1983 received a Statute of Autonomy that later was reformed in 2007, that included a Statute that designates the Balearic Islands as one of the nationalities of Spain. The official languages of the Balearic Islands, which is a hugely popular tourist destination, are Catalan and Spanish, with the main towns having enough English speakers to make a visit there easy for most visitors. It’s noted that Mallorca produces some distinctive wines, particularly known for their red wines, which I’ve enjoyed a few times in the past, made from local grape varieties like Callet, Mantonegro, and some very rare indigenous white varieties like Moll (Prensal Blanc) and Giró Ros. Though not widely exported, mainly locally consumed, these Mallorcan wines are started to get noticed and appreciated for their unique character, influenced by the island’s Mediterranean climate and diverse terroirs. Once a very humble and rustic property, the winery notes that In the middle of the 20th century, Gabriel Oliver Ribas de Pina consolidated and modernized this old bodega, greatly improving the winery and began bottling wines under the Oliver Moragues label, becoming one of the top estates in Mallorca. More recently, under Joana Oliver Moragues, the commitment to organic farming and conversion to biodynamics have lifted the quality here, which is clearly on display in the wines, especially this one.
($28 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Margherita Otto, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The expressive and delicious Langhe Nebbiolo from ex pat American winemaker Alan Manley at Margherita Otto is a great new find from Piemonte and I loved the complexity and purity of form here with a classic Nebbiolo balsamic and earthy edge and layered berry, damson plum, reduced strawberry, cherry and burnt orange fruits, along with tar, minty herbs, leather, black licorice, incense and dried porcini. This label, Margherita Otto, all new to me, was founded by Manley in 2015 and his first release came out in May of 2019 with the 2015 vintage Barolo. His entry level Langhe Nebbiolo, which is all tank raised, is now only on the third vintage, but includes some serious fruit sources and while not cheap, is a worthy find and seductive effort. Margherita Otto is imported by Rare Wine Company, who are good talent spotters here in the Langhe, so I was intrigued when I got my chance to try this one and will definitely drink more of this stuff.

This Langhe Nebbiolo, according to the winery was made from a small part of vines in the Vignane zone, part of the Langhe Nebbiolo DOC as well as some declassified fruit from the Barolo parcels the winery has, including their new Coste di Rose cru, making for an elevated and pedigreed wine. Manley, mentored at Sandrone, also gained experience, as he says, in the cellars of Elio Altare, Cantina Mascarello, Alfio and Giuseppe Cavallotto and Marco Marengo, which clearly set him on his way to good things. The Margherita Otto Langhe Nebbiolo was picked by hand, carefully sorted and fermented in a stainless steel tank with twice-daily pump-overs during its primary fermentation with temperature control to preserve aromatics and clarity. After that wine was racked off the skins, after close to 9 days when the sugars came down to near zero, then it completed malolactic and finished maturing, close to 9 months total, in the stainless before bottling and resting in the cellar prior to release. I look forward to following Manley’s work and especially the Barolo offerings, but this is a very nice way to get started with his wines and I recommend looking for it.
($38-45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Château Pontet-Canet, Grand Vin, Pauillac, Red Bordeaux, France.
I have loved Pontet-Canet since I first tried it with the 2000 vintage, and the 2001 and 2010 versions remain some of my favorite modern Bordeaux bottlings, and this 2019, not the most critically acclaimed year, is a lovely and powerful “Left Bank”wine of pedigree and class with depth, complexity and structure. If they ever reclassify the 1855 list of Bordeaux estates, Pontet-Canet would certainly merit an upgrade to first growth, as in my opinion, it is on par if not ahead of the classic five, depending on vintage. Pontet-Canet’s owners the Tesseron’s, as noted in previous reviews, have gone all biodyaminc, are using cement vats or concrete amphorae with clay/dirt that comes from the estate, and use less new wood than their neighbors to achieve a pureness and a style that allows their wines to stand out. The youthful and gripping 2019 is very dark in the glass, needing a good long decaying, showing off layers of opulence, richness and terroir detail with blackberry, dark currant, plum and black cherry fruits as well as loamy earth notes, mineral tones, licorice, sweet tobacco leaf and black olive along with crushed violet/lilac florals and cinnamony spice, finishing with toasty sandalwood/cedar, creme de cassis and subtle mineral. The tannins are firm and chewy, but they really carry on the finish and secure age worth potential here, but that said, with time and food there’s loads of pleasure here. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy Pontet-Canet many times and it really does sit nicely with Latour, Lafitte, Mouton, Margaux and Haut-Brion, and it typically is available for much less per bottle.

AsI’ve said before, the Tesseron’s Château Pontet-Ca net is truly amongst the best wines of the world and unique, since they took over this estate in 1975 the family has led the quality of this Pauillac to it’s greatest heights, and it has always been a wine I’ve admired for it’s sense of place, power and presence. The key changes they made here in this Pauillac estate was to embrace organic and biodynamic farming, something that very few Bordeaux properties did at the time and even experiment with fermentation vessels, which eventually led to making their own clay amphoras sourced from the property itself. They now do some of primary fermentations in the clay vessels, along with old school cement vats, while aging is traditionally done in French oak barrels. As noted in my prior reviews, the make up at Château Pontet-Canet follows the actual planted vines, which is about 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, that all go into the blend here, though Cabernet Sauvignon is the main thrust and focus, and it obviously takes center stage in this Pauillac wine, much in the same way as Chateau Latour. This wine, I bought on pre-arrival, and it was nicely priced even with a lengthy wait to get it, I really should have got many more bottles, and I opened it recently, tasted it blind at a Bordeaux varietal tasting, where it clearly won out for impact and could have never been anything else, but a great Pauillac expression. I also recently was invited to taste five Napa Bordeaux varietal and Cabernet based wines, all priced between $200 and $300 and getting sky high reviews, and none could compare with Pontet-Canet, so I highly recommend this Château for its exceptional quality and value.
($175 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Dureuil-Janthial, Rully Premier Cru “La Fosse” Red Burgundy, France.
The dark ruby/garnet hued Dureuil-Janthial Rully 1er Cru La Fosse starts with dark berry fruit, smoky/toasty notes, deep florals and subtle truffle earthiness in a medium bodied red Burgundy that has a lovely silken mouth feel and classic black cherry, plum and red currant fruits, as well as cedary wood, tea spice, grilled orange, fig and flinty mineral notes. For winemaker Vincent Dureuil, as he explains, the magic starts in the vineyards and ever since he took over at this 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 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. I usually go for the Rully Rouge and Blanc Village bottlings for personal use, but these Premier Cru offerings are definitely step ups, with this one drinking more like a Gevry-Chambertin in style and or reminds me of Meo-Camuzet’s Fixin and Mercurey offerings.

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 quality Burgundy, some of which offer outstanding value, especially the Village level wines. As mentioned in my prior reviews, 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, Côte Chalonnaise, has some stellar crus, like St. Aubin, Santenay or Saint Romain, and Rully makes for some tasty Chardonnays that deliver some of the best bargains in White Burgundy. The 2019 vintage La Fosse is a bit lighter in feel and the oak seems slightly overbearing, but with air everything came around and there was a lot to enjoy here and secondary evolution has added some depth and complexity, though maybe this won’t be one to age too long, especially with 2020 and 2022s showing much more sex appeal, richness and structure. As I’ve said before, this is a domaine to follow and I recommend chasing down these Rully reds and whites, for serious and rewarding Burgundy efforts.
($115 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Morgan Winery, Chardonnay, Double L Estate Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The regular Double L Chardonnay 2022 bottling, which is a stunning wine, feels a bit weightier and is more flamboyant than the ’21, maybe due t the warmer year, but this expressive and exotic Chardonnay is still energy filled and has a nice mineral crispness. The full bodied palate of this pale golden hued Double L Estate has a luxurious layering of apple, pear, peach, lemon curd and golden fig fruits, along with vivid tropical fruits, including pineapple and mango, as well as clove spice, vanilla, lime blossoms, wet stone and a rounded creamy mouth feel. The acidity keeps things lively and lifts the finish, making this vintage great with fleshier cuisine, with roast poultry, salmon and swordfish steaks being good choices, as well as double and triple cream farm cheeses. The Double L Chardonnays, which I highly recommend, are typically fermented and aged in 25% to 35% new French oak, where they mature for close to 9 months, seeing between 90%-100% full malo-lactic conversion, depending on the year, with 2022 getting 33% new wood and 100% malo, and see some lees stirring to help round out the feel with a focus on balance, a bt of tension and richness of texture.

The Morgan Winery, led by Dan Lee and his family, is on a roll with a top notch collection of estate and non estate wines in the lineup, but especially with their awesome organic estate bottlings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with wines like the classic Double L Estate Chardonnay. Morgan Winery founder Dan Lee’s Double L Estate Vineyard was originally planted back in 1997, today Morgan’s and is the only fully certified organic vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, which has proven itself to be one of the top sites in the region with its cool climate and quality small yields producing exceptional grapes. This cru is located at the northern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, and as Lee notes, the vineyard’s north-south row orientation provides optimal wind and sun exposure here, with the sandy loamy soils giving good drainage and promotes deep roots for added concentration and complexity in the wines. I must say, this 2022, which I wasn’t expecting to capture my attention, due to the year’s heat spikes, really impressed me and shows off the quality of this terroir, vineyard and the winemaking team here at Morgan and while I may end up liking the upcoming 2023s more, I can wholeheartedly recommend this one for mid term drinking pleasure.
($48 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Agricola Brandini, Langhe Arneis ‘Le Margherite’ Piedmonte White, Italy.
This new release of Le Margherite Arneis by Brandiini is a gorgeous wine and a great value for what you get in the glass, it is fast becoming a favorite of mine from the Langhe and there’s a beautiful purity and dry, crisp and mineral focus with bright citrus and stone fruits leading the way on the vivid medium bodied palate. This vintage again, like the 2021, impressed me, with its fresh intensity with lemon/lime, white peach and melon fruits along with bitter almond, chalky stones, star anise, delicate jasmine and a faint herbal element in a fine tuned dry white wine with a salty zip on the finish, making it excellent with sea food and or creamy cheeses. The Bagnasco sisters, Serena and Giovanna, have really turned Brandini into a must have label in the region and while most of the attention is on their fabulous set of Barolo offerings, they have a quality throughout their lineup, with the Arneis and Dolcetto being outstanding efforts and great wines for the price, and they also have added Alta Langhe sparkling wines, inspired by grower producer Champagne, which have gained a following too. The Le Margherite vineyard sits on an exposed slope in the Canale zone, in Roero, getting a firm wind at about 350 meters up and has sandy calcareous soils, prime terroir for Arneis that provides exceptional fruit, as seen here.

Arneis, a native Piemonte grape, born in the Langhe area, that not too long ago almost went extinct before making an astonishing comeback with local legends, Giacosa and Vietti being leaders in the Arneis revival and who still craft fine versions of this grape. Now there are many other producers that are now doing fabulous things with Arneis, and I think Brandini’s version, which I’ve mentioned before, is one of the best I’ve had in recent years. The excellent draining calcareous in the Roero zone sandy soils are, as the Brandini’s note, part of what part of the puzzle that allows their Arneis to do so well and showcase its best attributes, saying the grape actually struggles in heavy clay soils. So much attention is payed to small yields and organic methods in the vines, while in the cellar Brandini is intent on purity of form and terroir transmission, especially on the Arneis, which is fermented and aged exclusively in stainless steel. The perfectly ripened golden Arneis berries are whole cluster pressed and fermented with spontaneous yeasts with temperature control, starting cool, warmed slightly to finish primary and chilled down to prevent Malo (malolactic conversion) from happening, all to preserve vitality and verve in the wine. After that non malolactic fermentation, the Arneis is kept cold and the lees are stirred a few times, as they say, to bring a little more texture to the body and highlight the floral elements, then the wine is gently fined and filtered just prior to its bottling. Repeating myself, you should ge to know these Brandini wines as soon as possible.
($27 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2024 Conde Valdemar, Rioja Blanco, DOCa Rioja, Spain.
The pale and crisply dry Conde Valdemar Rioja Blanco, which is made from 77% Viura, 10% Malvasía, 7% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% Garnacha Blanca grown in the higher and cooler Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta areas, is a lovely fresh, lighter framed wine with lemon/lime, peach and Bosc pear fruits, a light herbal note, tropical essences, wet stone and white flowers. Zesty and with delicate mineral tones, the Conde Valdemar Rioja Blanco is a fine and simple Summer sipper and would be a solid companion with ceviche, sardines and shell fish dishes. The fermentation was done in temperature controlled cool stainless steel tank which lasted about two weeks, after which the wine saw a short aging period on the lees before bottling, with a focus on freshness and vibrancy. I also recently had the chance to review the Conde Valdemar Rosé, which was like this white, easy and enjoyable, and both would be nice choices as Bistro pours, they are non pretense clean and transparent wines.

Conde Valdemar is a fifth generation family winery with expansive Rioja holdings, mostly within the higher Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta zones, which explains the the balanced nature of their wines and they have put a recent effort into their white and Rosé of Rosado wines, like this one, for the export market and to fill a value niche. The Rioja Blanco, looks like a fun wine as well, made from a combination of Viura, the main white Rioja grape, along with Malvasia, a long time Mediterranean varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, obviously a French transplant, and Garnacha Blanca. The Valdemar family, as mentioned in prior reviews, with their signature Bodegas Valdemar, dates back to 1889, and are known to be innovators in the region, creating Rioja’s first ever barrel fermented white and other unique rare single varietal offerings as well as having vineyards in Walla Walla Valley in Washington State. Conde Valdemar, using their higher elevation sites, also has introduced Rioja to the sparkling wine world, with the release of their sparkling Gran Añada, along many other treats that will intrigue the adventurous wine lovers, that want to see Rioja beyond the classic Tempranillo offerings.
($18 Est.) 87 Points, grapelive

2023 Orixe Sotelo, Godello “Soto” Sonoma Valley.
The 2023 Orixe Sotelo Godello, a rare Spanish white varietal originally from Galicia, is a very serious and exciting offering that delivers a fresh, mineral intense and vibrant zesty palate of racy citrus, tart peach, quince, green apple and melon fruits, along with wet stones, subtle white blossom, verbena, sweet and sour herbs, bitter almond and a touch of flinty, leesy notes. This tension filled white wine really shows off the crisp details and quality of this grape’s character, it is wine that will be especially brilliant with a range of sea food dishes, not unlike Albariño, another Galician ex-pat, but slightly richer and rounder as it opens up in the glass. Winemaker Gustavo Sotelo says Godello is the variety that several regions in Galicia are hanging their hat on, including places like Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra, and Monterrei, as well as being one of the best white grapes in the Bierzo region, where the legendary Raul Perez and Veronica Ortega make outstanding versions of Godello. We can thank Michael Heavens, and later on Morgan Twain-Peterson, for bringing both Albariño and Godello to California and the wine world’s attention, and now Sotelo, for giving us this beauty! I’m thrilled to have tried this Soto and look forward to exploring some of the other Orixe Sotelo ultra small lot efforts, including their Arinto, Mencia, unique Rioja inspired Rosé and Tempranillo, which all sound extremely inviting, coming from some diverse terroirs within California.

Gustavo and Jackie Sotelo are the winemakers behind the Orixe Sotelo label founded in 2019, dedicated to Spanish varietals, creating what they call Vinos singulares de Alta California, which are getting a lot of attention these days, with a focus on Tempranillo, Garnacha and Mencia reds. The Setelo’s say the Orixe (o-REE-shay) name comes from a Galician word from Latin “origo” meaning: “beginning, source, birth, origin”. Their last name, Sotelo, originates in the coastal mountains of Galicia, Spain and gives them their lens from which to view a new vision of California wine and I must say the results are delicious and intriguing, especially this Godello. Gustavo, who has an impressive CV, has apprenticed with some of the top wineries in Napa, Sonoma, and Spain before becoming the head winemaker for Scribe Winery in Sonoma, where he has gained a great deal of respect from his peers. Sotelo is also graduate of Boston University, the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology program, and has received additional certifications from Bordeaux Agro Sciences Université and the Institut de la Vigne et du Vin de l’Université de Bourgogne, which proves his world wide understanding of wine. This lively and pale gold hued Soto bottling is 100% Godello that sourced from Birdland vineyard, which is located at the northeastern base of Sonoma Mountain just outside of the town of Glen Ellen, a slightly cooler zone, with a mix of Sonoma volcanic soils, which gives this wine its vitality and complexity, and I recommend chasing a few bottles down and joining the Orixe Sotelo mailing list.
($40 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Drew Family Cellars, Pinot Noir, The Fog Eater, Anderson Valley, Mendocino County.
One of California’s most distinctive and delicious Pinot Noir wines, the Drew “The Fog Eater” Anderson Valley Pinot reminds me of classic Côte de Nuits Burgundy, somewhere between a Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny, with a dark and earthy fruit profile and heightened violet/floral aromatics, which have again showed up here in this gorgeous 2023 vintage, making for a Pinot lovers dream. I’ve been drinking and highlighting Jason Drew’s wines since around 2005, but his move to the Anderson Valley a few years later was a huge turning point and his 2013s were monumental achievements and since then his Pinots have, in my opinion, been maybe the finest available in California and this 2023 The Fog Eater is the latest proof of the excellence found in these wines. The medium full palate is still very youthful and juicy fresh, but the potential is clearly on display with a fabulous array of black cherry, raspberry, wild plum, tart currant, pomegranate and blueberry fruits, along with briar laced spices, woodsy earth, minty herb, candied orange peel, a touch of vanilla, cinnamon and very subtle oak notes. There’s plenty of vivid acidity, silken or velvety tannin and mineral tones, making for an elegantly presented, low alcohol and seductive Pinot Noir that delivers everything you could ask for, drink this one over the next 5 to 10 years. This bottling is always a bit under the radar, as it isn’t a single vineyard offering, but as I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews, this is an exceptional value and wonderfully age worthy compelling and complex Pinot.

The Drew ”The Fog Eater”, as noted before, is an appellation blend Pinot Noir, from several sites from both bench and hillside locales along with outer western rim vineyards in the Anderson Valley which winemaker Jason Drew uses to create, as he puts it, a classic expression of (the) Anderson Valley. The term Fog-eater, as Drew notes, is a Boontling term, from the local dialect in the area, that is used to describe those who live out on the coastal margins, as the Drew family does and the outliers in the fog. Very fitting for this Pacific Ocean influenced area near the Mendocino coast, which delivers its signature on these wines, giving balance, low alcohol and long hang-time concentration. As with most all of the Drew wines, Jason used 100% native yeasts during the fermentation on this lovely and authentic Pinot Noir and he employs between 20% to 50% whole clusters (in the Pinots) that he says brings additional structure and spice into The Fog Eater. The charm and form of this great wines is also due to the complex Franciscan Series soils, with vines on the alluvial, gravel, loam and ancient seafloor uplift elements, as well as the special clonal selections of Pinot Noir used here, that in this vintage includes the Dijon Clones, 115, 667, 828 as well as heritage Mt. Eden and Rochioli clones. As per normal, The Fog Eater, as typically the case, saw just 10% new French oak and was aged just about a year in the barrel with just two gentle rackings, highlighting, as I’ve mentioned many times now, Drew’s graceful touch and desire to present wines of elegance, substance and transparency. I highly recommend Drew’s wines, any year, though I suggest not missing these ultra cool and exciting 2023s and this The Fog Eater is a great way to discover Jason Drew’s wines.
($55 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2024 Domaine de Fontsainte, Corbières Rosé Gris de Gris, Languedoc-Roussillon, France.
One of the most interesting, delicious and fun values in the wine world is Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris Rosé, a wine that is a saignée rosé made from mainly Grenache Gris, a unique French mutation of Grenache with a paler skin pigment, like Pinot Gris. The 2024 version is slightly reductive, medium bodied and vibrant in the glass with a delicate light salmon/pink hue and shows a crisp dry palate of sour cherry, ruby grapefruit, watermelon and spiced raspberry fruits, along with subtle mineral, rosewater and summer sage notes. Corbières, in the south of France, is kissed by sea breezes from the Mediterranean and is warmly sun soaked, it is a terroir that largely overlooked, but can make for some incredible wines, especially the reds made from old vine Carignan, along with a mix of other Rhône varietals, and Domaine de Fontsainte is one of the best estates to start a journey into these wines. I’ve been drinking the Fontsainte Gris de Gris since the early 2000s and a Summer season is not complete without going through a few bottles. This vintage is rewarding and remains a top value in quality Rosé, great in the normal 750ml bottle, but even better in the magnum, if you can find them! Fontsainte’s red wines are wonderful efforts as well, and while this wine gets most of the attention, their old vine Corbières Rouge “Réserve La Demoiselle” is awesome stuff.

Producer Bruno Laboucarié’s Domaine de Fontsainte was originally founded back in 1971 and started with a collection of ancient vines and with a family winemaking history that dates back to the 17th century in the region. Importer Kermit Lynch says the first vineyards at Domaine de Fontsainte, in the Corbières appellation of the Languedoc-Roussillon, were in fact originally planted by the Romans. He adds that artifacts found in these vineyards, such as an old coin dating from the time of Marcus Agrippa in 25 A.D., are a testament to its antiquity. The original domaine was built around a thermal spring, which was later named for the local, twelfth-century patron saint, Saint Siméon, hence the Fontsainte name. The Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris is crafted from 90% Grenache Gris, 5% Carignan and 5% Mourvèdre, that comes from southeastern facing slopes set on silica, clay, limestone and gravelly soils with large galets (round stones), not unlike Châteauneuf du Pape, is all stainless steel fermented. The hand harvested grapes are cool soaked on the skins for about 24 hours with as the winery calls débourbage, or settling of the must, then the alcoholic fermentation takes place at cool temperatures for 35 days without malolactic conversion. Then the wine settles for just about a month before being bottled to preserve absolute freshness and transparency. Brilliant with food, especially mussels in spicy broth, this Summer sipper brings loads of smiles and is a non guilty pleasure, so I would suggest stocking up on this Gris de Gris.
($18 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2024 Odonata, Viognier, Chiara Estate Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
I just got to try the new 2024 Estate Viognier from Dennis Hoey at Odonata and it was absolutely stunning, one of the finest California versions of this varietal that I’ve tried to date, with beautiful aromatics, purity of form, depth and length, fans of Condrieu will be impressed! Like Hoey’s 2021, another exceptional vintage for this wine, this 2024 has a crystalline medium bodied palate with a range of stone fruit and citrus fruits, there’s fleshy apricot, bright tangerine and lime notes that feel layered, rounded and lively, which is enhanced by the seductive honeysuckle aromatics, salty wet stones, bitter almond, clove spice and a hint of creaminess on the finish. Made from vines set on sandy loams right next to the winery itself, with loose stones with decomposed granite soils that see the coolest ocean effect in the SLH region with chilly breezes, this Viognier again retains natural acidity and the long growing season adds to the concentration and complexity. The Odonata whites typically see whole cluster pressing and native yeast fermentation(s) with aging done in mainly neutral French oak barrels with some lees maturing that allows for a pleasing mouth feel and textural quality, as seen here. Hoey’s Odonata Winery, as I’ve said before, has really made a name for itself over the last few years with a tasty array of eclectic and stylish small lot bottlings, these are well crafted and authentic wines that deserve your attention.

The current set of Odonata includes some exciting stuff, with the Syrah from Soberanes and Escolle vineyards being some of my personal favorites, along with the very stylish Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne method sparking wine, which also really impressed me with its grower producer super, almost Extra brit racy profile. As I have noted previously, I’ve been a fan of Dennis Hoey’s wines for quite awhile and they seem to be getting better and better, especially his Santa Cruz Mountains sourced Cabernet Sauvignon offerings, the mentioned Syrahs and Sangiovese bottlings, but his whites, like this Viognier and his sparkling wines are also brilliant and delicious efforts. Hoey, who has said that only high quality grapes make high quality wines and is focused on organic and sustainable farming. Odonata with three estate vineyards, including Falcon Hill, in the Santa Cruz Mountains where Hoey grows Pinot Noir, Machado Creek near Morgan Hill in the southern Santa Clara Valley, is planted to 10 acres of Petite Syrah, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Sangiovese grapes, and his home Estate Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands, surrounding his home and winery where the Viognier thrives. There’s a lot to enjoy here at Odonata, which came into being here in 2014 when they moved into the old Marilyn Remark Winery property in the Santa Lucia Highlands, right on River Road, which has become one of the best places to visit on the whole SLH wine trail. Also, it should be mentioned that Hoey now has small batch collection of Cognac style Brandy, which can be sampled and bought directly at the winery tasting room, but don’t miss this Viognier!
($38 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Anthony Thevenet, Morgon “Village” Cru Beaujolais, France.
In recent years, I’ve really fallen in love with Anthony Thevenet’s wines, which are wonderfully expressive and show off loads of terroir, depth and authentic natural character, as this new 2023 Village Morgon release delivers with verve and vitality. This seductive 100% whole cluster Gamay, coming from all organic 60 plus year old vines on granite based sandy soils, including a parcel in the famed Corcelette Lieu-Dit, is bursting with ripe flavors, spice, stony notes and crushed flowers with black raspberry, plum, strawberry and cherry fruits leading the way along with pepper, cinnamon stick, violet/geranium florals, walnut, licorice and orange zest. The tannin is supple and the acidity perfectly lifts the wine in the glass, giving structure and refined balance here, this dark ruby/magenta Gamay is absolutely delicious and very rewarding. With air this wine gains pedigree and textural pleasure, I highly recommend searching out these Anthony Thevenet 2023s, especially the cru Morgon offerings, with this one being a great place to start, and I wouldn’t miss the old vine Morgon either.

Winemaker Anthony Thevenet, as mentioned in my prior reviews, began his career in the cellars of Georges Descombes, one of the local veterans of natural winemaking, then after, (and) as his importer The Source notes, followed by five years as the right hand man of Jean Foillard, one of the true luminaries of Beaujolais. He went out on his own ten years ago, back in 2013, creating his own label and securing prime vineyards and impressive results came right away, making him one of the hottest names in the region. As per normal, the wines at Thevenet’s cellar are vinified by whole bunch carbonic fermentation using only native yeast and the wines are aged in a combination of neutral (old) oak casks, including 600L barrels, as well as used smaller 228L barriques, usually bought from quality Burgundy domaines, and the wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. Thevenet’s family domaine vines are located in Morgon, which is just to the south of Fleurie and Chiroubles on granite based soils that brings out a fine mineral note in the wines and even though the climate is fairly warm, the elevation and the natural acidity of the Gamay grape makes for balanced and complex wines here, as clearly see in this tasty Village Morgon bottling.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Tornatore, Etna Rosso DOC, Sicily, Italy.
The dark ruby/brick hued 2021 Etna Rosso from Tornatore is made from Nerello Mascalese, about 90% and Nerello Cappuccio, about 10%, from vines on the northern slopes of the volcano, which promotes elegance and balance, as seen in this supple and refined example with a medium body of black cherry, spiced plum, guava, burnt orange and strawberry fruits, along with flinty mineral smokiness, wild sage, rose petals, anise and subtle earthiness. When they tell Etna reds drink like Burgundy, this is one to prove that point, its silky and lively in the mouth and has lovely length and goes wonderfully with a range of cuisine choices, including a spicy pasta dish that I accompanied it with. While a fan of Nerello Mascalese and the region, my experience with Tornatore reds is quite limited, so I was excited to try this one and I wasn’t disappointed and I can wholeheartedly recommend it, especially for the price.

Tornatore, led now by Francesco Tornatore, was originally founded back four generations ago in 1865, with vineyards based close to the municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia on Etna, has been on my radar for a few years now and many friends have sung the praises of this winery. For the Etna Rosso, the grapes were harvested by hand in small crates are brought quickly to the winery and are all de-stemmed, but not totally crushed, and going into concrete vats, where they macerate for about 12 days at cool temperatures. The winery says that once fermentation is finished, the grapes are left to macerate for a few more days after which they are racked and pressed using a traditional vertical press to used large oak casks, where the wine matures for about six months. The volcanic ash soils and cooler elevation and exposures on the northern side of the Etna region really give the wines a terroir character, in both the whites and reds, as seen here. Like I mentioned I hadn’t enjoyed too many of the Tornatore wines, except for the Carriante based Etna Bianco, which I loved, but I again am nicely impressed.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Leo Steen, Casa Verde, Red Wine, Redwood Valley, Mendocino County.
Very much in keeping with previous vintages, but more lifted and aromatic from the cooler vintage the dark purple/ruby 2023 Casa Verde Red Blend is absolutely delicious with lovely red fruit layers, along with spice, delicate florals, earth and supple tannin, in this medium bodied wine. The zesty fresh palate is Côtes du Rhône like with Grenache led boysenberry, strawberry, plum and cherry notes, as well as pepper, mineral, cedar and anise. As noted in prior reviews, the Casa Verde Red Wine is a Redwood Valley (Mendocino) sourced blend of mainly Grenache and Carignan, but with some Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon and even some French Colombard white grapes, which is generous and delicious stuff that feels fresh, fruit forward and quaffable. The carbonic like style makes for a smooth medium bodied wine that comes from all organic and dry farmed 70 year old vines with sandy loams and clay based soils, which sees warm days and cool nights that delivers concentration and nice lively acidity. For this wine Hansen used a native yeast fermentation and a short maceration period with a very gentle extraction before racking it to a combination of stainless steel and used French oak barrels where the Casa Verde red wine saw 16 months.

The Leo Steen label, mostly known for a series of top quality Chenin Blancs, getting grapes from a range of vineyards spanning most of California’s regions, but there’s some really good reds in the lineup from this Rhône style red to Cabernet Franc, which comes from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Leo Hansen, of Leo Steen Winery, formerly a sommelier from Copenhagen Denmark, who has a well rounded background, having done stints in Alsace, Loire, Champagne and Burgundy to Spain and Italy. As noted before here at grape live.com Hansen, who moved to California in 1999 to, as he notes, immerse himself in winemaking, finally landing at Alexander Valley’s Stuhlmuller Vineyards, where he became the winemaker. At that time, in 2004, Leo also started his own label, Leo Steen wines, which allowed him to make wines more to his personal tastes, leaning on his old world palate. Hansen, to achieve his goals, uses a variety of fermentation methods and a combination of aging vessels in his wines to showcase each vineyard and terroir with transparency in his wines, this, he has done very successfully in his latest set of wines, especially in his Grenache and Cab Franc single varietal bottlings and the mentioned collection of Chenin Blanc offerings, which are his main focus.
($26 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Anselmo Mendes, Alvarinho “Contacto” Mendes-Symington, Monção and Melgaço, Vinho Verde DOC, Portugal.
The Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho “Contacto” is a delicious and bone dry white that a big step up on most Vinho Verde offerings with expressive green apple, mixed citrus, white peach and subtle tropical fruit, along with a touch herb, wet stones, sea shore notes, delicate florals and almond.This is mineral intense and zesty stuff that is best enjoyed with sea foods and lots of sunshine. Contacto, which stands for the short skin contact Mendes employs here that adds to the depth, complexity and texture inThe Contacto whites, coming from all organic vines, see the grapes being 100% de-stemmed, cold soaked on the skins, maybe a few hours, fermented cool and then vat aged on the lees for 3 or so months with some batonage (stirring) before being bottled, adding depth, but preserving the wine’s vibrancy. Again, a big thank you to Eric Fountain, who works for the Symington family here in California, who showed this wine, and a tasty new set of Blandy’s Madeira(s), to a small gathering of wine industry professionals here in Carmel.

The Symington family, as noted in my prior reviews, decided, as they note, to strengthen their long-running relationship with the legendary Vinho Verde producer Anselmo Mendes by forming the Mendes & Symington partnership in 2023. This joint venture between the two families aims to develop premium wines from the prestigious Monção and Melgaço sub-region of the Vinho Verde DOC in northern Portugal, especially important in this is the Symington’s marketing power and worldwide reach to customers.The company first acquired the renowned Alvarinho wine, Contacto, (produced by Anselmo Mendes), seen here, which has seen remarkable success in Portugal and now internationally, and which both families believe has great potential for further development, which can be seen with the new addition of the Loureiro, that I reviewed recently. The Vinho Verde region, sometimes mistaken for a type of grape or a singular style, is a cool climate zone in Northern Portugal with a wet Atlantic influence and granite based sandy soils, which brings out the mine mineral tones and loads of natural acidity, as seen here. I highly recommend searching out these Contacto offerings, in particular this nicely balanced and exciting Alvarinho.
($22 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Jean-Louis Dutraive – Domaine de la Grand”Cour, Fleurie “Clos de la Grand’Cour” Cru Beaujolais, France.
There’s always a brilliant clarity, inner brightness, supple texture and pure Gamay quality in these Dutraive Fleurie wines, there’s dark almost violet like nose here and seamless layers of plum, wild strawberry and black cherry fruits, along with flinty mineral, red peppery spices, subtle herbs, anise and a hint of walnut and sweet framboise. Jean-Louis Dutraive, as mentioned in my prior reviews, is one of the legends of Beaujolais region and his Fleurie wines are some of the best Gamay you’ll ever tasteOne of my favorite wines, when I get my hands on it, is this Domaine de la Grand’Cour Fleurie Cru Beaujolais from the Gamay maestros, Jean-Louis Dutraive, who like Jean Foillard and the late Marcel Lapierre employ 100% whole-cluster fermentation and natural winemaking methods, with Dutraive’s wines having incredible (perfumed) aromatics and length. All of Jean-Louis’ wines are made with whole clusters, zero extraction and natural fermentations. They are made from a combination of nearly perfect farming and zen-like observation. The elevage (aging) of this wine is 40% in classic foudre and 60% in futs de chene or large cask. The commitment to perfection and passion put into the Dutraive wines starts in the vineyards and with the holistic, almost zen like approach to their vines, everything has been converted to organics and using many biodynamic practices that has paid off in the delicious and heightened flavors in the wines. This dark ruby/garnet hued, youthful and vibrant 2023 vintage is already showing nicely and I highly recommend chasing it down, this wine is a prize for Gamay lovers in any year, but this one you’ll not want to miss.

The Clos de la Grand’Cour (or Grand Coeur) parcel is part of Dutraive’s historic estate located on a true plateau in Fleurie with mineral rich acidic soil that is nearly 100% decomposed granite. The vines of Dutraive, as the winery notes, are just a short walk from the town center, which sits around 300 meters up, in a good spot to catch cooling breezes. The climate of Beaujolais is semi-continental and is warmer than the rest of Burgundy, In fact, it is notably one of the warmest places in France during the summer months, which suits the high acid Gamay grape. Though, again as the winery explains, thankfully, they are on the eastern foothills of the Massif Central which helps the vineyards cool down at night following those hot days, which allows for the remarkable elegance and pleasure in these wines. The Clos de la Grand’Cour is the largest bottling on from Dutraive’s famous estate, making up more than a third of the production here under the Grand’Cour label. Funny enough, even at over 40 years of average age, Jean-Louis considers these his young vines and bottles them separately from the really old parcels, like his Le Clos Vieilles Vignes. Again as noted before, the Dutraive family have adopted the approach espoused by Jules Chauvet, who railed against industrial farming and inspired the top Beaujolais producers to embrace old traditional and natural methods from the vines to bottle, which led to these wines being some of the most sought after in the world. Now with his talented son Justin working with him, and doing his own personal label too, Jean-Louis and the Family Dutraive are well prepared for the generational transition and there is the promise of great things to come in the future, and the present isn’t bad either, it is a fantastic time to explore the collection here.
($51 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Arnaud Lambert, Saumur Blanc, Midi Craie Sablo-Argileuse, Brézé, Loire Valley, France.
The Domaine Arnaud Lambert based in Saint Cyr en Bourg – Brézé is fast becoming a favorite Loire producer for me and this pale straw/gold hued 2023 Midi is just another confirmation, it is again a beautiful, bright and energy filled chalky Chenin Blanc that shows mineral driven intensity and a medium bodied palate with classic white peach, citrus and green apple fruits, wet stones, delicate herb and spice with just a hint of honeycomb and melon. This terroir wine, coming from mostly 4 hectares of vines planted in 1970, shows off its dry nature and chalky salty element that makes it excellent with food, especially lighter poultry dishes and soft cheeses. As mentioned, after tasting the 2020 version, this is an exceptional value for what you get in the glass, compared to some of the other names that do Brézé whites, like Clos Rougeard. The talents of Lambert don’t stop at fine Chenin Blanc, the Cabernet Franc here is exceptional too, plus he also does sparkling Crémant de Loire Blanc, which has 75% Chenin and 25% Chardonnay in the blend to add richness and depth and a Cabernet Rosé bubbly that also uses fruit from the Clos de Midi. The wines here in Saumur are drier in feel than Vouvray or Montluis and can be quite austere, but Lambert’s find a way to be brisk and bone dry, but still very pleasing on the palate.

The Domaine Arnaud Lambert is a namesake winery that originally began as part of a father and son team with his dad Yves, made a name for himself when he took over at the historic estate of the Château de Brézé, one of France’s great properties and one that the French royals, as noted by the winery, used to exchange wines of Brézé annually for Château d’Yquem Sauternes. I have had a few outstanding wines from Château de Brézé over the years, so it was exciting to see Lambert’s personal offerings and get insight to his direction as a vigneron. I understand that Lambert is pushing the appellations of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny to invest in quality and focus on individual terroirs and lieu-dit sites, as he does, like in this wine. The goal is to re-discover the regions premier vineyards and exploit its full potential through organic viticulture and less-is-more, precise winemaking, which he himself adheres to. Brézé is a unique site due to its relatively high elevation and Tuffeau, the chalky limestone soils, here that gives these wines their distinct character. If you are in the need of fine Chenin Blanc, this is a top place to start exploring, Arnaud ferments with natural yeasts at very cold temperatures with this Midi bottling seeing 90% stainless steel and 10% old French oak barrels, usually with no malos completed and 6 to 8 months on the fine lees, adding some nice texture, as seen here. Lambert’s wines have gained a solid following in the States, but still remain good values and while not easy to find, they can still be chased down, which I recommend.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Agricola Brandini, Barolo DOCG, Del Comune di La Morra, Piemonte, Italy.
The beautifully elegant and authentic 2020 Brandini La Morra Barolo shows natural Nebbiolo purity, something that seems to a highlight of winemakers Giovanna and Serena Bagnasco’s wines, with a delicate ruby/brick hue and subtle floral aromas, this Barolo drinks like a fine Burgundy, though with a nice rustic charm and medium/full bodied layers of black cherry, damson plum, bramble berry and blood orange fruit, along with amaro herbs, briar spice, chalky stone, tarry licorice, loamy earth and cedar notes. The structure and underlying grip are well integrated, velvety in tannin, but still present enough to tell you clearly what you are drinking and this carries the finish a long way, this is excellent and rewarding stuff. The Bagnascos estate-owned vineyards that Agricole Brandini la Morra farm are all in the Barolo DOCG area and cover an area of just about 20 hectares now, in mainly in the municipality of La Morra and set on sandy calcareous clay based soils and up in elevation, preserving acidity and terroir impact here. These four La Morra parcels with vines the are all in the 15 year old range face south, southwest and southeast and are fermented separately with native yeasts then all joined during maceration seeing daily punch-downs and pour overs with a submerged cap lasting over two weeks. The wine then is matured in used large Slavonian oak Botti for close to 24 months before bottling and resting further in the cellar. I highly recommend getting to know this producer, which is imported to the States by The Source, there is top quality throughout the lineup, though I would certainly focus on the Barolo offerings!

The Agricola Brandini La Morra Estate, as I noted when I first tried their in 2022, owned by Piero Bagnasco and run by his daughters, Giovanna and Serena, was a new producer for me then and in fact they are a pretty recent venture, starting back in 2007, they have a tiny collection of prime Barolo vines and I found the wines to be beautifully made and very exciting. It was nice to meet Giovanna at the Slow Wine tasting event in San Francisco and learn about her wines, especially her cru Annunziata Barolo, which made my top ten Nebbiolos list of the 2017 vintage, and of which I really admired for it’s elegance and exceptional length.The sisters took over completely in 2015 and Agricola Brandini La Morra, who uses the phrase “Organic Human Barolo” to describe its wines, as all of their vineyards, under their control, are now certified organic, hand tended and their wines are traditionally hand crafted, with their Barolo being aged in large, used oak casks with minimal intervention and only minimal amounts of added sulfur at bottling. The grapes come from mostly high elevation parcels, 450 meters up in some sites, which is amongst the highest-altitude vines in the Barolo zone all set on the classic clay and limestone marl soils, which all contribute to the wines quality, elegance, balance and distinctive character, as seen here. Bradini, as I’ve noted before, does a number of other tasty wines from Barbera, Arneis, Dolcetto and Moscato, including a series of Champagne style Alta Langhe sparkling wines that I look forward to trying in the future. I was deeply impressed with Brandini’s 2017s, and now this 2020, everything I’ve tried has been inviting and very enchanting indeed, making especially for seriously seductive Barolos!
($66 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

July 2025

2023 Domaine M. & C. Lapierre, Morgon, Cru Beaujolais, France.
The dark ruby/magenta 2023 Lapierre Morgon (Cuvée N) is a beautiful Gamay with dark berry, plum, cherry and candied guava fruits on the supple, but youthfully vibrant full bodied palate, along with bright snappy spices, mineral tones, minty herbs, geranium flowers and a touch of earthy truffle. Not as ripe as 2020 or 2022, but fuller and more complex than the 2021, this vintage has sweet fruit, a touch of savory whole cluster crunchiness and should continue to evolve nicely over the next 3 to 5 years. Continuing his late father and legend Marcel Lapierre’s traditions and faithfully following the teachings of Jules Chauvet’s natural wine practices, Mathieu Lapierre makes some of the best Gamay wines you can find. The Cuvée N or Sans Soufre is made exclusively for importer Kermit Lynch (for the United States) and is made without the addition of sulphur, which Marcel promoted, since Gamay is perfectly suited to allow this practice. Coming from organic head trained old vines set on granite based soils in the Cru Morgon region of Beaujolais, these Lapierre wines, as I’ve said many times before, are all about hedonism and pleasure, they are incredibly well crafted, but still has a raw playful quality, impossible to resist.

The famous Lapierre domaine, as mentioned in my prior reviews, was always organic the sister and brother team of Mathieu and Camille have converted to biodynamic. Marcel Lapierre took over the family domaine from his father in 1973, and according to Kermit Lynch, he was already on the road to becoming a legend, but In 1981, his path would be forever changed by Jules Chauvet, a man whom many now call his spiritual godfather (and the godfather of natural wine). Chauvet was a winemaker, a researcher, a chemist, and a viticultural prophet, in much the same way Nicholas Joly was with biodynamics in the Loire Valley. It was he who, upon the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the 1950s, first spoke out for “natural wine,” harkening back to the traditional methods of the Beaujolais. This wine, coming from mature 70 plus year old vines in sandy decomposed granite soils was made with 100% whole cluster fermentation, as Kermit puts it, à l’ancienne, with only native yeasts, mostly in conical wood tanks, with what the Lapierre’s call careful low temperature maintenance, and then age their wines on fine lees for at least nine months in old used oak, which are a combination of ex-Burgundy barrels, and neutral foudres and fûts, all ranging from three to thirteen years old, to promote transparency. Again, I’m a big fan of Lapierre and I highly recommend all of their wines, especially this Cuvée N bottling, it is really a joy in the glass and worth chasing down.
($40 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Filipa Pato & William Wouters, Bical & Arinto “Dinamico” Vinho Branco, Bairrada DOC, Portugal.
The slightly reductive and flinty Dinamico Vinho Branco, by the talented Filipa Pato, made from the rare and native Bical grape and Arinto, another fabulous little known Portuguese varietal, shows off loads of flinty mineral intensity, vibrant citrus, green apple and peachy fruits, along with subtle florals, zesty spice, wet stones and bitter almond notes in a bone dry medium bodied white wine. The “Dinamico” lineup is sourced partially from Filipa and William’s estate vineyards in Ois do Bairro, and partially from other growers in various villages in the Bairrada zone on clay and limestone soils. Pato uses, as noted in previous write-ups, only handpicked and fully de-stemmed (reds) all organic grapes here, with a native yeast fermentation employed and then typically raised entirely in tank. Filipa, who is intensely passionate about her region and the local varietals here, like this Bical and of course her beloved Baga, and she is widely admired in the natural wine community and beyond for her talents and authentic offerings. These Pato wines highlight the cooler Atlantic influenced, but sunny continental climate and region’s unique terroir exceptionally well, they are transparent, almost raw and stylish efforts, that are nice values as well.

As mentioned in my prior reviews, 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, as well as crisp, mineral driven whites, like this one. 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’. Again, while known for her reds, Pato does these incredible white wines, as well as a special bottling 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.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2016 Quinta do Soito, Jaen Reserva, Dão DOC, Portugal.
Soito’s nicely mature 2016 Jaen, also known as Mencia, is a dark and austere wine with blackberry, plum, cranberry and currant fruits leading the way on the medium bodied palate, as well as snappy minty herbs, dried flowers, bay leaf, subtle spice, mineral notes, leather and earthy tones. This rounded and supple red has a bright core of acidity, as you’d expect from a cooler climate varietal like Mencia (Jaen) and it gets much more expressive with food and this one was made much better and more interesting with a range of hard cheeses, I recommend that you have this Soito with roast poultry, lighter meat dishes and or mushroom pasta. Grown on sandy granite based soils in the cooler Dão region, the Jaen shows off its best qualities, not unlike the more famous Ribeira Sacra versions in Spain’s Galicia region, which is not that far away. For this Reserva, winemaker Carlos Silva, de-stems all the carefully sorted grapes and cool ferments and macerates it for between 6 to 10 days days before pressing to Barriques, small 225L French oak, where the wine rests for close to 8 months. As hinted at, this wine took a while to open up and grow on me, and I am now interested in the latest releases from Soito.

The Quinta do Soito, located in the region of Dão in Portugal, was all new to me and I was impressed by this Jaen, near the Serra da Estrela and Serra do Caramulo mountain ranges, and looks surrounded by picturesque vineyards in one of the oldest wine regions in Portugal. Soito is owned by Sandra Soares who, along with her husband José Carlos, established their winery in 2013, making it a newcomer on the scene, but one that is gaining attention for the quality of their bottlings. Soito’s main 7 hectares of planted vines, most planted 20 plus years ago, have varieties that the Dão region is known for, including Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Alfrocheiro, Malvasia-Fina and Jaen, (Mencia) which is one of my favorite grapes. While doing mainly still wines, interestingly I learned that Quinta do Soito also produces a Port. The Jaen Reserva is riper and more heady than the Ribeira Sacra, and maybe more like Bierzo, but still well balanced and not overtly fruity, especially with the extra bottle age this 2016 has. The Dão region, once only seeing co-ops, was first officially recognized as a Região Demarcada (DOC) in 1908, but lost its identity between the 1940s and the late 1970s, when Portugal joined the EU and rules were changed to allow the region’s true personality to shine, and we are just beginning to see its re-birth.
($40 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Olek Bondonio, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The dark ruby/garnet hued and brick edged 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo from Olek Bondonio, beautiful in purity and structure, is a baby Barbaresco like offering that excites the medium bodied and firm palate with black cherry, damson plum, bramble berry and blood orange fruit, along with earthy savory notes, a light sense of cedar, ball leaf, black licorice, crushed flowers, minty herbs and loamy stone. Olek Bondonio, now famous for his Barbaresco, was late getting into wine, despite his noted ancestry with 200 years of grape growing and highly-regarded vines, including his holding of Roncagliette cru parcels in Barbaresco, which is just down his driveway, immediately abutting Gaja’s famous Sorì Tildin! Olek only began his foray into wine in 2005 with the encouragement of his Polish mother, hence his first name, who told him if he was interested in making wine off the family vineyards, he should do it. Bondonio is not ego driven and relies on natural, minimum intervention winemaking, based in the family’s 200 year-old farmhouse called ‘La Berchialla,’ where keeps his botti wine barrels, once where cattle were kept. It’s noted that one of Olek’s ancestors of the farm La Berchialla, a General Guglielmo Como, was a key founder of the famous Produttori del Barbaresco. Influenced by limestone and Barbaresco’s elite terroir, this basic Langhe Nebbiolo offers big bang for the buck and should be on your radar.

Olek Bondonio’s estate, La Berchialla, as noted in my prior reviews, 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! Also as noted, one of my favorite Barbaresco makers, Olek Bondonio, who has become 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, so I was thrilled to get ahold of a few bottles of this Langhe Nebbiolo. The wines here are typically fermented in large cement tanks with native yeasts and aged in large Botti, with Slavonian Gamba and Stockinger (Austrian oak) used. Everything at Bondonio is raw and transparent in style and every grape is organic and there’s only the very minimum use of sulfur, with the wines being vastly different to his legendary neighbor. While best known for the Barbarescos, like his Starderi and signature Roncagiette, Bondonio also does a set of Barbera, Dolcetto, a few other native rarities and Nebbiolo offerings, like this one, which is always a huge treat and can be enjoyed in its youth, as seen here, as well as aged.
($38 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

Blandy’s, 10 year, Verdelho, Medium Dry, Madeira, Portugal.
The beautifully balanced amber hued drier style or medium dry 10 year Blandy’s Verdelho Madeira is part of a new series of varietal Madeiras which look to make these old school unique wines more approachable to a younger audience, and I was highly impressed with them, especially this one that has richness on the palate and an ease of use. In the past Blandy’s, which was formed in 1811, has been a solid performer and has always offered a good quality to price ratio and this new set is a step up in this regard. The 10 Year Verdelho has a delicious freshness and very flavorful profile with honeyed orange, dried quince, apricot, a light sense of hazelnut, tropical notes, saline, baking spice and mineral tones. Madeira is a great alternative to either Tawny Port or Sherry. Madeira, which was originally a historic and tasty mistake, is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese island of Madeira, in the North Atlantic Ocean, where mainly British ships traditionally stopped to stock up before a voyage to the new world, which literary cooked (known now as being Madeirized) as they sailed across the Equator. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines, like Rainwater, which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet luxurious wines that are usually consumed with dessert. Madeira’s wine industry dates back to the 16th century and the Age of Exploration, when Madeira was a regular port of call for ships traveling to the East Indies, with the earliest examples of Madeira that were unfortified tended to spoil before reaching their destination, making the producers start adding distilled cane sugar alcohol, which created a whole new wine segment. The classic Madeira or noble grape varieties include Sercial, Verdelho, as seen here, Terrantez, Bual, Bastardo, Moscatel and Malvasia, as well as the workhorse Tinta Negra Mole grape.

So many times, as I’ve mentioned before, Madeira, Port, Marsala and Sherry get overlooked as wine, or thought of as an old persons tipple, so it is nice to see some real excitement coming out of these areas, especially as a new generation emerges from the shadows, both as producers and drinkers of unique styles of wine. Not that there is a huge youth movement in Madeira, but there does seem to be a new vigor and life coming forth, and now there are well established series of 10 year Madeira(s) from Broadbent, Rare Wine Co. and Blandy’s that are hugely responsible for invigorating to this seemingly dusty or old school wine segment. As explained in many texts, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which always involves oxidizing the wine through heat, which stabilizes the wine, and usually solera aging. The younger blends (three and five years old) are now produced with the aid of artificial application of heat to accelerate the aging process. The older blends, or Colheitas (single harvest) and Frasqueiras, are produced by the canteiro method with fortification with grape spirit. Madeira’s mountainous volcanic island terrain and oceanic climate is notoriously difficult to cultivate, so vineyards are planted on man-made terraces or poios of red and brown basaltic bedrock. Because of the way these wines are aged, Madeira can be very long-lived in the bottle, and those produced by the canteiro method will survive for decades and even centuries, even after being opened. The four main types of Madeira wine in the modern era are Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, and Malmsey. Typically Sercial and Verdelho, as seen here, which are drier and lighter, havie an alcohol content generally around 18% to 19%, with Bual, slightly sweeter, hovers around 19% to 20% alcohol and Malvasia, called Malmsey, can reach 20% to 22%. It is a great time to re-discover Madeira and Blandy’s is an affordable and exciting way to start that adventure.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2002 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Riesling, Rangen De Thann “Clos Saint Urbain” Grand Cru d’Alsace, France.
The lovely deep golden/amber hued 2002 Grand Cru Rangen de Thann Riesling “Clos Saint Urbain” Riesling has added full mature and honeyed, waxy, complexity, secondary tertiary elements and wilted flowers to the still vibrant palate of lemon curd, dried pineapple, golden fig, baked apple, apricot and quince fruit, along with clove spice, leafy notes, wet stone, crystalized ginger, verbena and smoky mineral. The acidity is holding up well, but there’s a beautiful mouth feel and seriousness of textural development here in this gorgeously drinking Alsace classic. There’s a feeling of off dry sweetness, but at this point in the maturing it is perfectly integrated and will allow this Riesling to go on being excellent for another half a decade at least, and this wine still offers up flexibility in cuisine choices from roast poultry, ham and other pork dishes to semi-hot Asian dishes and or cracked crab. As noted in previously, the hugely talented Olivier Humbrecht MW, who was the first Frenchman to qualify as Master of Wine, and who led Zind-Humbrecht to its modern elite status with a well documented push toward dry but ripe concentrated wines that can very rich, have some residual sugar, age worthy and flamboyant in style, as this wine shows clearly. It’s widely noted that, as a domaine, Zind-Humbrecht only produces wines from its own vineyards, with total vineyard holdings of accounting for around 100 acres, these include some incredible Grand Cru parcels, with the mineral rich Rangen, where this wine is from, Hengst, and the legendary Brand, which normally is my favorite of all. While I highlight the Rieslings here, the Pinot Gris especially shines in the collection and there’s quality throughout the lineup here, and it’s a good time to explore this region.

The famed Domaine Zind-Humbrecht is located in Turckheim, Alsace and was founded originally in 1959, following the marriage of Léonard Humbrecht to Geneviève Zind, with the flowing generation helping to make it one of the most desirable labels in Europe. The Humbrecht family though, has a much longer history of winegrowing, that goes back to about 1620 and while following traditions for centuries this winery is known for innovation and the wines have become luxurious stars in the region, with a focus on Riesling. As mentioned in my prior reviews, The “Clos Saint Urbain” that is a unique parcel in the famous Rangen Grand Cru Vineyard with a volcanic soil underpinning, is sourced from small yielding biodynamic vines that are hand tended and carefully sorted grapes, the best of which are used here to make a dense and remarkably well balanced wine, as seen here. Interestingly most of the top cuvées here at Zind-Humbrecht could have been labeled as Vendange Tardive, but Olivier Humbrecht has elected not to do so, because of the house style, which promotes boldly fruit driven, impactful/rewarding and textural wines throughout his lineup. The cellar regiment here at Zind-Humbrecht leans heavily toward native yeasts and long fermentations, with the wines being rested on the lees in oak barrels, which is what this powerful Riesling saw. The winery says, the Rangen De Thann “Clos Saint Urbain” Grand Cru Riesling is aged 18 months in well used and seasoned 40-year-old French barrels to allow purity and transparent terroir character. These Zind wines really are thrilling and opulent wines, joining my favorites in Alsace, alongside the Grand Cru offerings from Marcel Deiss, Trimbach and Weinbach, and I highly recommend them fresh and well aged!
($125 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2024 Anselmo Mendes, Loureiro “Contacto” Mendes-Symington, Vinho Verde DOC, Portugal.
The expressive, mineral intense and exciting 100% Loureiro from winemaker Anselmo Mendes at Mendes-Symington, a new project and program by one of Portugal’s most successful wine and Port families, comes from the Lima sub-zone in the classic Vinho Verde region. This 2024 Contacto, which stands for the short skin contact Mendes employs here that adds to the depth, complexity and texture in this wine, along with a sister Alvarinho (Albariño) version, is bright yellow in the glass and has heightened aromatics with a crisp, very dry medium bodied palate that gives an array of white peach, tangerine laced citrus, quince and mango fruits, along with wet salty stones, subtle herbs and jasmine notes. This is not your light and fizzy Vinho Verde, this is a more serious and stylish white wine made from an ancient native varietal that is a wonderful grape and capable of absolute brilliance, even though it gets largely overlooked when compared to the Alvarinho or Albariño, which has more world wide recognition. The Vinho Verde region, sometimes mistaken for a type of grape or a singular style, is a cool climate zone in Northern Portugal with a wet Atlantic influence and granite based sandy soils, which brings out the mine mineral tones and loads of natural acidity, as seen here. The vines used on this Loureiro are all organic and the grapes were 100% de-stemmed, cold soaked on the skins, maybe a few hours, fermented cool and then vat aged on the lees for 3 or so months with some batonage (stirring) before being bottled quickly to preserve its vibrancy.

The Symington family decided, as they note, to strengthen their long-running relationship with the legendary Vinho Verde producer Anselmo Mendes by forming the Mendes & Symington partnership in 2023. This joint venture between the two families aims to develop premium wines from the prestigious Monção and Melgaço sub-region of the Vinho Verde DOC in northern Portugal, especially important in this is the Symington’s marketing power and worldwide reach to customers.The company first acquired the renowned Alvarinho wine, Contacto, (produced by Anselmo Mendes) which has seen remarkable success in Portugal and now internationally, and which both families believe has great potential for further development, which can be seen with the new addition of the Loureiro version. Mendes & Symington has also just launched a range of premium wines from Casa de Rodas, that is a historic vineyard estate in Monção and Melgaço, originally founded in the 1800s and the first property in Portugal the varietal label a Alvarinho (Albariño) back in the 1930s. It was acquired by Symingtonin 2022 and their first harvest at the old estate was in 2023, again with Anselmo Mendes as the winemaker. I got a preview taste of this new wine and my own notes will follow soon, but I can say now that it was a fabulous effort that easily compares with the more famous Rias Baixas (Spanish) versions and I recommend searching it out, along with this excellent delicately floral Loureiro “Contacto” that has just arrived in the States. A big thank you to Eric Fountain, who works for the Symington family here in California, who showed this wine, and a tasty new set of Blandy’s Madeira(s), to a small gathering of wine industry professionals here in Carmel.
($25 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

1997 Clarendon Hills, Old Vines Grenache, Kangarilla Vineyard, Clarendon, McLaren Vale, South Australia.
Roman Bratasiuk’s Clarendon Hills, an unlikely success story, is one of Australia’s great labels, doing a selection of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and outstanding Grenache wines, like this gorgeous and wonderfully mature old Vine version from the 1997 vintage and one of McLaren Vale’s storied or cru vineyards Kangarilla. I’ve long been a fan of Clarendon Hills, and interestingly, this vintage was one of the first I was able to taste, so re-visiting it was an amazing experience, these are truly great wines and Bratasiuk’s Astralis (Syrah) is one of the absolutely best wines of Australia! It should be noted that 1997 wasn’t as concentrated as typically found here and wasn’t as highly rated originally, but wow, this dark garnet, burnt orange and ruby hued wine has aged beautifully with loads of character and depth, it shows of slightly reduced red berry, plum, red currant, candied cherry and dried fig fruits, along with some mature notes of bay leaf, cigar box, sous bois, dried roses, leather and loamy earth, as well as classic pepper spice, anise and lavender elements. Lush and supple in the mouth, this1997 Kangarilla Old Vine Grenache, drinking like a cellared Châteauneuf du Pape, is performing way beyond anyone’s expectations, it is at its peak, though I think it could go another few years, but there’s no rewards for waiting any longer, in fact this wine competed nicely with some much younger and top notch Barolo and Barbaresco on the night.

Clarendon Hills, one of my favorite Australian wineries, was originally established back in 1990 in the McLaren Vale region, located in South Australia, by Roman Bratasiuk, the Ukrainian born immigrant who had a passion for French wine, and especially the Rhône’s top Grenache producers that inspired his more important bottlings, like this one. As I learned over 25 plus years of drinking Clarendon Hills, the wines all come from single-vineyard sites rather than being blending from multiple vineyards, as is the more common practice in Australia. Claredon Hills, as mentioned above does Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, all of which have their origins in France of course, though Grenache is most likely from Sardinia and been long before France more common in Spain.The vineyards are situated at higher elevation than most here in the McLaren Vale and have pre-phylloxera vines which are, in some cases, over 100 years old, as seen here with Kangarilla. These vines are mostly exclusively dry-farmed vineyards and hand-tended, with Clarendon Hills bringing carefully sorted grapes to the winery cool picked where the grapes are fermented in open-topped stainless steel tanks with the using indigenous yeasts. The wine, post primary fermentation, spends around 18 months in oak before it is hand-bottled at the winery, without filtering or fining. These are full bodied and opulent efforts, but show a natural balance and elegance, especially with the kind of bottle age seen here, what an exceptional wine and a rare treat! Thanks to my friend Erik Lateshaw, of the famed Sierra Mar Restaurant at Post Ranch in Big Sur, for bringing this beauty to a friends dinner recently and bringing back some fond memories.
($75 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Farm Cottage, Syrah, Ryan Spencer Vineyard, Alfaro Estate, Corralitos, Santa Cruz Mountains.
Ryan Alfaro is on a roll with his Farm Cottage wines, and his latest Syrah release from the ultra cool and long 2023 vintage is a beautifully fresh and pretty wine with dark berries, deep floral aromatics and is delicately spiced with supple medium body. This wine is vibrant, clean and quaffable, showing off boysenberry, blueberry, tart currant and black cherry fruits, along with crushed lilacs, cinnamon, white pepper, subtle fennel, mineral and faint cedar notes.The Syrah grapes were all hand harvested early in November, winemaker Ryan Alfaro says, allowing for an extra 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. There’s such an easiness here that kind of hides the true complexity, but with time I’m sure this Northern Rhône inspired Syrah will get deeper and more savory, patience will be rewarded here.

From vines named after him by his dad, Ryan Alfaro’s Farm Cottage Ryan Spencer Vineyard, as the winery notes, is a Syrah plot that 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. Again as mentioned before, 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. There’s a lot to admire in these Farm Cottage wines, with this youthful Syrah being a very fine effort, and one that will certainly gain in complexity in the bottle, and the Trout Gulch Chardonnay, maybe my favorite, plus the Pinots, which are the main focus, witch should be on your watch list!
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2017 La Spinetta, Barbaresco DOCG, Vursu Vigneto Valeirano, Piemonte, Italy.
It’s always a pleasure to enjoy a bottle of the La Spinetta cru Barbarescos, so this dark garnet/brick red hued 2017 Valeirano was a hugely welcome wine at a recent wine dinner and it was stunning with luxurious layering of fruit, classic Nebbiolo flavors and a beautiful seamless velvety texture. The rich palate shows of nicely evolved black raspberry, damson plum, candied cherry, black fig and grilled orange fruits, along with subtle truffle, black licorice, sweet smokiness, cedar, mineral tones, tobacco leaf, saddle leather, delicate herbal essence and floral incense. The Valeirano cru, only 6 hectares, with calcareous soils and a southwestern exposure, is located in the municipality of Treiso and interestingly, as the winery notes, the vineyard’s soil is mainly of marine origin, similar to of those in the Serralunga d’Alba area in the Barolo zone, making this a very distinctive, structured and elegant example of Barbaresco. This sandy, limestone and clay Cru has mature vines which average over 55 years old, which adds to the depth and complexity of this very desirable Nebbiolo that sees all sustainable farming methods and very careful vineyard selections of the grapes. The maceration and alcoholic fermentation of the Valeirano is done in temperature-controlled vats for an average period of 14-15 days. After which the must is pressed and racked over to wood casks where malolactic fermentation is completed. La Spinetta matures its cru Barbarescos in French oak barrels, of which it says 20% are new and the balance is aged in used, usually 2nd passage barrels, with the wine getting between 20-22 months of aging. Finally, the Valeirano is bottle-aged for about 6 months before being allowed out of the cellars to the waiting world. I count myself lucky to have had the opportunity to taste with Giorgio Rivetti on numerous occasions and he remains one of my favorite personalities in the wine world and I’ve a huge fan of his wines, and I could never live without his Barbera Ca’ di Pian!

One of my favorite producers in Piemonte, La Spinetta was originally formed in the beginning of the 1960s by Giuseppe Rivetti, nicknamed ‘Pin’, and his wife, Lidia, who were mostly known as dedicated farmers and Moscato was their main grape, but after Pin’s three sons and daughter, Carlo, Bruno, Giorgio, and Giovanna, took over the winery reins in 1977 they started producing their own labeled wines and the world began to take notice. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that they started making red wines, led by their fabulous Barbera, which is one of my all time go to wines, after which, in the mid 1990s they added their Cru Barbaresco vineyards, which La Spinetta is best known for. Their first Barbaresco, Gallina was created in 1995, it was followed by Starderi in 1996 and finally Valeirano in 1997. The three Barbaresco crus are each made exactly the same way in the cellar, but are clearly and uniquely individual in nature. Now with Giorgio at the helm, La Spinetta has quality vines throughout the Langhe, as well as in Tuscany (Casanova della Spinetta), like Gaja does. Plus Giorgio added a top Barolo parcel, Campè, which debuted with the 2000 vintage, which I got a chance to taste with Giorgio in cask sample form in around 2003. Both the Gallina and Valeirano are wonderful wines, but it is always that Starderi that moves me just that bit extra, and it remains one of my guilty pleasures when I can afford it. I was a little concerned by the ripe and warm 2017 vintage, which was difficult in Piemonte, but my fears were wiped away by the class and seductive qualities of this wine. Andrea Rivetti, Giogio’s son has thrived at La Spinetta’s cellars, especially after impressing his father with a heavenly Sauternes style and quality sweet wine, which is seriously delicious stuff. La Spinetta has thrills throughout the collection, but certainly collectors will be well served by chasing down the cru Barbarescos and the Campè Barolo, while enthusiasts on a more realistic budget will be excited by the Langhe Nebbiolo (from Starderi), the mentioned Ca’ di Pian Barbera d’Asti Superiore DOCG and the Nebbiolo and Barbera Blend Monferrato Rosso “Pin” DOC, all of which are outstanding wines.
($125 to 175 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Capiaux, Pinot Noir, Garys’ Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Sean Capiaux’s beautiful and deeply flavored 2023 Garys’ Vineyard is a perfect celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Garys’ Vineyard, which Sean has made wine from since he started doing Santa Lucia Highlands Pinots and his fans wouldn’t want to miss it. Dark garnet/ruby in the glass, this 2023 is wonderfully aromatic, complex and has tremendous length with silken layers of blackberry, dark Italian cherry, plum and blood orange fruits, along with a light briar spiciness, vanilla, cinnamon and bergamot notes in this supple medium/fully bodied Pinot. These days Capiaux uses between 10 and 20% whole cluster, a 4-day cold soak and a natural fermentation in open top tanks. The maceration is uniquely done with what Capiaux says is Pulsair (cap management using compressed air) and traditional punch downs. The wine is then pressed to barriques for its secondary malolactic fermentation with the wine aging sur lie 11 months until he does the bottling. The approach has evolved nicely here and the wines, which I’ve followed for almost three decades, have never been better and as rewarding as they are now, especially Sean’s Garys’ and Pisoni Pinots, which are on par with the SLH region’s best producers. I tasted through the 2023s from Capiaux at the big Santa Lucia Highlands tasting this last May and was very impressed with the depth and quality of these Pinots, which, along with Roar, Pisoni’s Lucia and others, showed off the brilliance of the vintage here.

I have been a fan of winemaker Sean Capiaux a long time now, and have reviewed his wines and bought his wines for 20 plus years, who does a great lineup of Pinots under his own label, as seen here, and is the winemaker at O’Shaughnessy, on Howell Mountain in the Napa Valley. Sean Capiaux founded his Capiaux Cellars in 1994, with a focus of producing single vineyard bottlings of Pinot Noir from an array of top sites throughout California, including the famous Garys’ and Pisoni vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands. As mentioned many, many times, the Pisoni and Francsioni family’s vineyards are some of the best sources for Pinot Noir in California and the cool Pacific Ocean influenced terroir, with deep sandy loamy soils, makes for serious concentration, while retaining great acidity. This makes these Capiaux efforts very age worthy wines, in fact I just had a 2009 version of the Pisoni and it was absolutely fabulous and still had plenty of life left. I really think 2023, with its long cold growing season, is going to be one of the star vintages to cellar and Capiaux’s are good choices to put down. Sean, who has made wine in the past at Peter Michael, Jordan and Pine Ridge, uses an array of modern equipment, but follows a classic approach to his wines here, which are naturally fermented, get long elevage and are bottled unfined and unfiltered. These techniques, as noted by Capiaux, allows the character of the grapes and terroir of the Pinots to shine though, as well as the Cabernet Sauvignon of Howell Mountain’s picturesque and fantastic O’Shaughnessy Estate, which I also highly recommend.
($65 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Jouves & Croisille, Malbec de Soif, Cahors, France.
Bright, dark purple/garnet and juicy Jouves & Croisille Malbec de Soif, that was fermented and aged in concrete vats, shows off tobacco laced blueberry, plum, cherry and currant fruits that come across in style of a Cru Beaujolais with supple, quaffable roundness of texture, along with a mix of crunchy mineral, spices, coco, dark florals, subtle leather notes and anise. Winemaker Fabien Jouves over the last decade has elevated the image of Cahors with a series of unique Malbec bottlings that have brought attention to this ancient region. Cahors, a former Roman town, was a center of commerce during the Middle Ages, which is seen as a remote and hard edged country wine region, though as mentioned, actually has highly entertaining and serious (wine) history, the area dates back to Celtic times when it was known as Divona, but really became famous during Roman times, in fact it was one of the most import wine producing treasures of their empire. Cahors supplied the Roman armies with dark and powerful black wines, which legend has it aided in their conquest and was a reward for their many victories! Little known and remembered, is that it was the shipping of these Cahors wines, that made Bordeaux a thriving port and have have been instrumental in giving the locals there the idea of commercial wine production of their own, cutting out the long distance hauling of barrels overland to Bordeaux. Before Argentina’s rise and use of the Malbec grape, Cahors was synonyms with this varietal, which can also be known as Côt, and it is good to be reminded of that and see such a fun array of offerings from this historic region.

The new Jouves & Croisille label is the creation of longtime friends Fabien Jouves, Germain Croisille and his brother Simon, who have 30 hectares of all biodynamically farmed Malbec that is a cool side project for the talented Jouves. Fabian Jouves, who as mentioned in my prior reviews, is redefining what we think of as French Malbec, in fact his Cahors, especially from his Mas Del Perie stable, is one of the most interesting wines from the region and his natural winemaking practices are highlighting this varietal in a way we couldn’t have imagined. Most of his wines are fermented and raised in a combination of cement and neutral oak barrels, making for pure and delicious Malbec that shows wonderful vitality and balance with dark fruits, good acidity and superb length. Some whole cluster and native yeasts add to the natural feel, plus an extra bit of complexity, and the low sulphur gives this wine the same kind of personality that you find in wines like Lapierre’s Morgon, these natural wines are beautifully made, clear and focused with great attention to detail. The terroir here includes the alluvial terraces of the Lot Valley that are rich in siliceous, with clay, and limestone soils and plenty of Southwestern sunshine. Cahors, an ancient almost forgotten region in France’s almost feral Southwest, mostly known for rustic old school Malbecs, is seeing a Renaissance with many amazing new generation winemakers and wines that have taken this historic area to new levels of quality and excitement. If you want to see what Cahors can be, I suggest exploring Mas Del Perie, this Jouves & Croisille label, and the rare and exotic wines of Emmanuel Rybinski’s lineup of Clos Troteligotte, they are quite revolutionary, joyfully proud and delicious!
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2010 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Auslese, Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle, Gold Capsule, Nahe, Germany.
As I’ve said before, while I usually drink and review Dönnhoff’s drier wines, I would be crazy not to highlight the outstanding fruity and sweet wines made here, and this very special golden/yellow hued and nicely evolved Niedrerhäuser Hermannshöhle Gold Capsule Auslese, which was mostly stainless steel fermented and aged, with some large oak casks used, to preserve transparency and purity, was an outstanding way to finish off a great meal. The 2010 vintage was a ripper year for acidity and this sweet honeyed Auslese still has plenty of fresh energy, making this drink wonderfully balanced with vivid layers of apricot, lemon curd, baked apple, creme brûlée, tropical dried pineapple, orange marmalade, peaches in syrup, along with some crystalized ginger, clove spice, wet flint, bitter almond and rosewater notes. While opulently sweet, this Auslese still has that zingy acidity, mineral tones, a touch of earthy loam and underlying stoniness that keeps the residual sugar in check, in fact this wine was even delicious with the last of my grilled steak, as well as with the cheese board after dinner. The vintage’s tension shines now and will allow this age a long time into the future, again the sweeter Dönnhoff wines showing off extreme class and elegance. Everything coming out of Dönnhoff’s cellar is top notch and I love them all, but favorites include the slately Leistenberg Kabinett, the crisp/smoky Tonschieffer Trocken, Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese, great with hot/spicy Asian cuisine, and of course the GGs, that rival any white wine period.

The Grand Cru Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle is set on a combination of slate, sandstone and limestone soils with a good slope above the Nahe River, which, as the winery notes, has for over 100 years, the Hermannshöhle vineyard has been revered as the Nahe’s top-ranked site and the benchmark by which all other vineyards in the region are judged. Dönnhoff explains It takes its name 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, and the name likely hints at an ancient place of worship once located here. This VDP Grosse Lage site faces due south and lies 130 –175 m above sea level and has the mentioned blackish gray slate, along with some extrusive igneous rock, porphyry (volcanic) and limestone, with loads of expressive minerals. For generations, again as the winery says, this marvelous site has shaped the world’s expectations for what fine wines from the Nahe can achieve, this is especially true of Dönnhoff’s legendary Hermannshöhle GG, a wine that is definitely one of the worlds great dry whites. It almost seems redundant to mention just how fantastic the wines of Dönnhoff are and how immensely talented Cornelius Dönnhoff is, but it just must be said and the current vintages are absolutely stunning with stunners throughout the collection, from the basic Trocken and Kabinett Rieslings to the majestic set of Grosses Gewächs. I can’t recommend Dönnhoff more highly, again don’t overlook any bottling here, even if you prefer the drier wines, as the Spätlese and Auslese efforts are sublime.
($60 Est. 375ml) 94 Points, grapelive

N.V. Suenen Champagne, Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs, Extra Brut Champagne, Oiry, France.
Aurelien Suenen, based in the famed Côtes des Blancs area of Champagne, has been helped along the way by amazing people, and was truly inspired by Anselme Selosse, since his father died in 2009, and he was left as the heir to his family’s legacy and history, which has led to his own success in making some excellent and individual Champagne bottlings like this one. This bright yellow/gold hued w Oiry Extra Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs is lovely, luxurious and extremely dry in style, which I really enjoy, with a nice tension of tension, chalky notes and is finely aromatic, showing off green apple, lemon, dried pineapple, golden fig fruit, along with loads of brioche, hazelnut, crystallized ginger, clove and mineral tones. I learned that Suenen has started working with foudre and demi-muids from the highly sought after Austrian cooper, Stockinger, used for both fermentations and aging now and allows the wine to age about 9 months on the lees before bottling, where it matures over two years on the yeast. That allowed to a richer mouth feel, toast and more complexity, than some earlier offerings, as seen here in this Oiry Extra Brut that has some serious and impressive presence on the palate and make these Extra Bruts sublime with a full meal.

Aurelien Suenen, as I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, is a rising star in grower and terroir driven Champagne, he is really crafting some magnificent estate sparkling wines, his small family house in the village of Cramant, all in Grand Cru sites with vines set in ancient chalky limestone. All of the Suenen plots are farmed with great care by hand and 100% organically, I understand, also he in fact practices all biodynamic methods now. Like some of the modern stars of estate grown Champagne he believes the Champagne is made in the vineyard and he wants to showcase its unique character and make terroir Champagne. The achieve his goals, Suenen uses native yeasts in some lots, has small yields in the vineyards, and his base wines spends at least 36 months on it’s lees, and he does use some wood and enameled tuns, instead of all stainless to allow more layers and texture. Suenen currently is only bottling Blanc des Blancs Champagne, all Extra Bruts with very low low dosage, however he does have small amounts of Pinot Noir and Meunier that he farms as well, and the Meunier looks to be part of the future plans here. This Meunier is from the La Grande Vigne vineyard, a 65 year old plot of ungrafted Pinot Meunier that is located in the village of Montigny-sur-Vesle, which looks likely to be a star single varietal bottling to keep an eye out for. I highly recommend the Suenen Champagne bubbly now and I look forward to following this serious grower producer over the long term.
($70 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2017 G.B. Burlotto, Barolo DOCG, Piemonte, Italy.
The bright ruby/garnet 2017 G.B. Burlotto Barolo normale is a spectacular wine, one of my favorites of the vintage I’ve tried, with lovely definition of flavors, supple tannins and depth of complexity in the glass, showing off a classic array of pure Nebbiolo red fruits, savory notes and sublime long finish. These Burlotto Barolo offerings are getting pretty scarce and I’m thrilled and grateful to have been able to enjoy this fabulous bottle, thanks to my friend Alex Lallos, a long time Burlotto fan himself, who shared this from his personal collection. The full bodied palate delivers red currant, damson plum, cherry and reduced strawberry fruits, along with dried herbs, meaty notes, tar, black licorice, sandalwood, delicate floral incense and forest floor. While polished, lushly drinkable and ripe in tannin, there’s still grip and fine structure that should allow this beauty to age another decade with ease, I was very impressed with the balance and length on display. Burlotto’s regular Barolo is crafted from various parcels with different micro terroirs, resulting in a fuller and more complete wine with all hand picked 100% de-stemmed grapes crushed and the must moved by gravity into open French oak vats for fermentation. The winery says that during the maceration period, delicate pumping over and punch-downs are carried out daily to extract flavor, color and structure. Temperature control is key to preserve crisp detail and aromatics here and the wine is aged in large well used French casks for a minimum of 20 to 23 months before bottling, after which the wine is rested another 9 to 12 months prior to release. Burlotto is considered a very old school and traditional producer, even though they prefer French oak, and the wines typically show a stylish rustic charm, and this 2017, a warmer year, is very sultry and seductive.

I’ve long admired the Burlotto wines, especially their Freisa, Barbera, Dolcetto and the very rare Pelaverga, a lesser known native varietal, a wine that is a highlight of the Veduno area, especially Burlotto’s. The historic Comm. G.B. Burlotto, founded in 1850, is maybe the most important and most desirable winery from Barolo’s Verduno area and capable of producing some of Piemonte’s greatest wines. It’s noted that during his almost three quarters of a century as a winemaker (1850-1927), G.B. Burlotto pioneered bottling Barolo and selling it from the estate and his importer Rare Wine Co. says his accomplishments were rivaled only by those of Biondi-Santi and Vega Sicilia, as G.B. Burlotto achieved superstardom in his own era, at a time the wine world was dominated by French wines. Today, the Burlotto label has re-emerged as one of Piemonte’s great small producers, thanks to the brilliant traditional winemaking of Burlotto’s great-great-grandson, Fabio Alessandria, who wines are now highly coveted by collectors, making them hard to get, especially the Barolo. Coming from calcareous soils, which were formed between the Tortonian and the Messinian geological eras, with, as the winery notes, a balanced presence of clay, sand and silt that allows for good water retention, the Barolo sees plots at different elevation and exposures to capture the whole vintage, and this helps fill out the wine, even in difficult years, as this 2017 shows to near perfection. It’s been a long while since I wrote a review of Burlotto, as it has not been easy to get my hands on many of the offerings here in California, but I’ve enjoyed a few of the mentioned Freisa and Pelaverga, which I highly recommend. Like Burgundy, sadly top Barolo producers are getting nose bleed prices these days, especially the single Crus, and there’s some sticker shock on bottles like this one.
($105 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Château Haut-Bages Libéral, Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac, Red Bordeaux, France.
The beautifully drinking dark garnet medium bodied 2018 Château Haut-Bages Libébal, a blend of close to 70% Cabernet and 30% Merlot, has a classic Pauillac style structure with an underlying power and depth of fruit showing off smoky dark currant, blackberry, plum and cherry fruits, as well as cedary wood, stony loam, tobacco leaf, delicate florals, minty anise and tapenade. This wine, a very nice surprise, tasted blind, has lots of velvety texture with supple tannins and a terrific finish, making it a gem and a value effort, especially considering Château Haut-Bages Libébal’s fabulous Pauillac location and terroir. At this stage the wine has developed well and should be rewarding for another 10 years easy, which makes it a very compelling buy right now. This luxurious Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux is particularly delicious with a full meal or an array of meaty dishes, including a thick steak, although it would also go well with roast poultry and or wild mushrooms. I hadn’t had a bottle of Château Haut-Bages Libébal in a very long time, in fact if I’m not mistaken, my last experience with this wine was a bottle of their 1975 vintage, which also was a joyous surprise at the time, but, after having this 2018, I don’t think I’ll let so much time go by until my next bottle!

The Château Haut-Bages-Libéral is a classic Fifth Growth Bordeaux property that was established by the Libéral family that settled on the estate in the 1700s and was part of the original World Fair 1855 Classification that is now run by the Lurton family, led by Claire Villars-Lurton, manager of Château Ferrière and Château La Gurge, and wife of Gonzague Lurton. The Lurton ownership has solidified the quality of wines and provided consistent results in this Château, which is set on a high plateau, which gives it its name in the high rent district of Pauillac, maybe the greatest single terroir in the Medoc, or Left Bank. I learned that the Château Haut-Bages Libéral estate, between Pauillac and Saint-Julien, has three main vineyards with the largest being next door to Château Latour, with a smaller plot down the road close to Château Pichon-Lalande, with these plots close to the Gironde River, while the third further inland, right by Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste. The soils here are mainly gravelly over an underpinning of limestone allowing good drainage. The estate has a total area of 30 hectares (74 acres), with an average vine age of 40 years with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, as of 2009, and typically the final blend of the Grand Vin is close to the same, or 68% Cabernet, 32% Merlot. The Grand Vin, with all the grapes being hand-harvested, is traditionally fermented in temperature controlled steel tanks with cool extended maceration, after which the wine sees a barrel aging for over 16 months in 40% new oak. This Haut-Bages Libéral impressed in the glass and I would certainly recommend it to Bordeaux novices and enthusiasts alike.
($55 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 I. Brand & Family Winery, Cabernet Franc, DeRose Vineyard, Cienega Valley AVA, San Benito County.
The incredible dark garnet hued and 2023 DeRose Vineyard Cabernet Franc by Ian Brand is highly perfumed and exotically spiced with a sultry earthy seduction on the Loire inspired full bodied palate with blackberry, red currant, juicy plum and cherry fruits, along with geranium and violet florals, Asian spices, light herbal notes, chalky stone, fennel, frankincense and truffle notes. Planted near a Dolomite quarry, in the Cienega Valley, not far from Mount Harlan in the wilds of San Benito County, this DeRose Vineyard, has a limestone influenced terroir which sees some cool Ocean air that allows for hot days and cool nights that gives nice ripe flavors and retains good acidity. In recent years Brand added this vineyard to his lineup, which was mostly known for their rare Negrette grapes, and this vintage takes it to the next level, Cab Franc fans will not want to miss this wine. The ultra cool 2023 vintage, with its long hang time, really brings out the best in this Cab Franc, which gave it loads of depth, heightened aromatics and plenty of fresh acidity, it has expressive California fruit, but old world class, that perfectly mold together here. This wine, that reminds me of some fine Saumur-Champigny pure Cabernet Francs, is a brilliant offering that is best with matching cuisine, from duck breast to seared steak.

As mentioned in prior reviews, for his Cabernet wines, Brand, like this wine from the DeRose Vineyard in Cienega Valley and his Bates Vineyard old vine site in the southeastern zone of the Santa Cruz Mountains, employs a traditional cool fermentation and maceration, with careful sorting and de-stemming of the grapes, daily punch-downs, and an elevage in mostly used French barrels, though in recent years he’s also used some larger Austrian oak too, with just enough new wood to do the job. While being known for his Rhône inspired stuff, especially the Mourvèdre and Grenache, I am loving what the I. Brand & Family is doing with the Bordeaux varietals and it is a good time to check them out. Ian’s Cab Francs display very different characteristics with the Bates Ranch being more Bordeaux like, while his San Benito versions have been more Loire in style with the earthy tones and hints of bell pepper, as seen in subtle form here with his latest DeRose release. There’s a bunch of tasty rarities in the I. Brand & Family Winery collection, including a Cabernet Pfeffer, an incoming all new Zinfandel, Carignan, Melon de Bourgogne, Arneis, Gamay Noir and a skin contact “Ramato” Pinot Gris, that are all worthy of chasing down. Along with those, I would also not miss the Fox Creek Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which are exceptional efforts, along with noted Grenache.
($38 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2018 Tenuta San Leonardo, Terre di San Leonardo, Vigneti Delle Dolomitti IGT Rosso, Italy.
The second wine of the famous San Leonardo, in Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige region and is a similar to the Grand Vin here with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Carmenère in the blend, making a very unique and distinctive Bordeaux style wine, with this 2018 being very outer Medoc like in the glass, showing off a medium/full palate of dark fruit, mixed spices, delicate flowers, earthy notes and smoky wood notes. This dark garnet Terre bottling, coming from younger vines on a mix of sandy soils and clay from these high elevation vineyards, is wonderfully value packed, delivering a very rewarding performance in the glass with blackberry, plum, dark currant and cherry fruits, along with loamy earth, tobacco leaf, allspice, charred cedar, creme de cassis, anise, black olive, bell pepper and mineral tones. The more approachable Terre was made 100% de-stemmed grapes with a spontaneous fermentation and maceration, lasting between 12-15 days in small concrete vats with daily punch-downs before being racked off to age 12 months in 50% concrete vats and 50% in twice used French oak barriques and tonneaux, with medium toast. For best results here, definitely have this lovely San Leonardo Terre with a hearty meal, though pleasurable by itself, it becomes richer, smoother and complex with food.

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, which is highly coveted by wine enthusiasts and a very rewarding treat. 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. Though younger, the vines that go into Terre di San Leonardo, are all located within the ancient walls of the estate’s monastery, with the winery noting that the soils are light and sandy for Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenère, while the more clayey soils with excellent drainage are exclusively reserved for Merlot, all of which are carefully tended to produce this beautiful wine. I am becoming a huge fan of this winery and I highly recommend San Leonardo, and in particular this stellar bargain.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 PSI (by Dominio de Pingus) Ribera del Duero DO, Spain.
The PSI is an old vine cuvée (mostly all Tinto Fino-Tempranillo) from Ribera del Duero’s legendary Pingus and local growers made to preserve old vine plots and heritage clones in the region, it is crafted by Peter Sisseck (Pingus) who loves these head trained historic clone vines. This deeply hued wine is more rustic and less woody than the current normal for the Ribera del Duero region, it’s a throw back and soulful version that shows old vine concentration, tannin structure and a raw character with dark vine picked berry, plum, fig, black cherry and currant fruits leading the way on the full bodied palate, along with hints of spice, minty, anise, cedar, loamy stones and delicate florals. Earlier editions saw mostly concrete vat fermentation and aging, but over time Sisseck has moved to large French oak barrel to mature the PSI, which I can see the appeal of, but I loved earlier bottlings, especially the 2010, that seemed a little brighter in style. That said, this 2022 is a lovely wine and drinking nicely, interestingly it includes 10% Garnacha, maybe inter-planted, which I don’t remember being listed in the varietal make up in the early editions. Peter Sisseck’s Pingus is a more Bordeaux like wine that requires long cellar times to be at it’s very best, so it is great that his talents are on display in this PSI, a wine that can be drunk young and that is remarkable affordable. Only 100% organic grapes, from those old head trained vines, are used here with Sisseck doing a cool vat fermentation with carefully de-stemmed fruit and aging the PSI for 16 months in the puncheon size barrels.

Once the mighty and high rent district of Spain with the legendary Vega Sicilia and of course the iconic Pingus, the Ribera del Duero, as I’ve said here before, seems like a region ready to embrace a new world, at least a new generation, while still being an area that likes to think of itself as Spain’s answer to France’s “Left Bank” of Bordeaux, and while comparison does flatter the Ribera del Duero in some ways, the region offers much more and should aim for more. Much like Rioja, heritage properties still merit attention, but a newer generation has brought some more approachable wines, which is bringing a renewed interest here. With Pingus and Vega Sicilla making wines that surpass the First Growths in quality and price in most vintages, things will not change too quickly at these addresses, but even Peter Sissack of Dominio de Pingus is making subtle changes at his famed estate where he plans to pursue the use of less new French oak. I read an interesting critical overview of Ribera del Duero by Neal Martin, formally of the Wine Journal and the Wine Advocate, in which he puts forth the idea to challenge the old ways and go for a unique identity allowing the terroir to show more than the winemaking, and while I agree it surly is going to be a painful exercise and will be difficult to say the least. But there is a new young generation there that is ready to make this happen, as there is in most of Spain’s regions, and this is a good thing. The Ribera del Duero does have some appealing values, with Alfredo Maestro Tejero, Finca Villacreces, Bodegas Y Vinedos Aalto, Emilio Moro and the famous Tinto Pesquera, maybe the wine that brought the modern era to the region, being good ways to start your journey of discovery of the wines here, along with this PSI.
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2017 Drew Family Cellars, Pinot Noir, Joshua’s Vineyard, Anderson Valley.
The earthy and nicely evolved Joshua’s Vineyard 2017 Pinot by Jason Drew is really coming into its own and delivers a distinctive performance in the glass with a silken medium bodied palate that features black cherry, brambly raspberry, reduced strawberry, guava and burnt orange fruits, along with the noted early tones, leather, wilted roses, backed spices, mineral and tea notes. As mentioned, maybe a million times in the last few years, these Drew wines are some of the greatest being made in California, they are in an elite league, in fact I would put these Pinots up against the best of Burgundy and this effort is very old world in style. This Joshua’s, debuting in this vintage, comes from a tiny one acre vineyard, that Josan says was planted on its own roots during the early 1970’s to a mystery clone of Pinot Noir, adding that it is one of the oldest Pinot Noir vineyards in Anderson Valley. The maturity of these vines coupled with this deep end locale Drew explains have helped produced a very complex and elegant example of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, which I can only agree with. A tricky vintage didn’t deter Drew from making an amazing set of offerings from his ultra cool Mendocino Ridge estate, which sits just 3.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the cool end, in fact it’s outside the of Anderson Valley boundary, and set on unique soils, including sandstone based Franciscan Series shale, along with sandy loams. This dark garnet/ruby and sensually textured wine comes alive with cuisine and adds exotic spice, stony notes, forest herbs and deeper sense of fruit and I’m glad to have plucked this one from my personal collection to drink, as it is in a good place.

One of California’s best winemakers, and as mentioned here, Jason Drew, who along with his wife Molly started Drew Family Cellars in 2000, has years of experience making great Pinots, with them from cool climate sites in the western end of Anderson Valley and beyond to the west, as he puts it, he honed his skills in vineyard farming and winemaking, having studied in both the northern and southern hemispheres, plus achieving degrees in Agroecology, Viticulture and Enology from the University of Adelaide, in Australia. His attention to detail and work ethic has seen him work for and with some industry icons and wineries in California including at St. Supery alongside Kirk Grace as well as at Joseph Phelps with Craig Williams, at Luna with John Kongsgaard, at Carmenet with Jeff Baker, along with one of my all time favorites Corison with Cathy Corison and at Babcock Vineyards with Brian Babcock, which makes a total of more than 28 years in the business. With this 2017 vintage, which saw an unwelcome heat spike around Labor Day has been decidedly different from some other years here at Drew, but the results have proven to be excellent as this Joshua’s shows, having developed fabulously well in bottle, which I have cellared since release. This wine saw a cool maceration and fermentation in open top bins with 100% native yeasts, with Jason employing about 40% Whole Cluster here, after primary finished the wine was racked to French oak for 11 months, with 25% new wood. The alcohols are always low here at Drew, and even with the warmer year, this one ended at 13.5%, making for Pinots that are best enjoyed with a meal. The Drew estate is currently in the Mendocino Ridge AVA area, but are in the final approval stages of changing to Mendocino Coast AVA, which will better define the region. I recommend getting on the mailing list here and exploring the set of Pinots, Syrahs and the fine Chardonnays, which have come on strong in recent vintages and shouldn’t be overlooked!
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2024 Lady of the Sunshine, Sauvignon Blanc, Stolpman Vineyard, Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley.
Made like a classic Loire version of Pouilly-Fumé, a-la Dagueneau, the beautiful 2024 Lady of the Sunshine Stolpman Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, by Gina Giugni, shows off a richly textured palate, but with bright acidity and a nice sense of tension at its core and delivers a racy array of lemon/lime, white peach, tropical fruit and subtle jalapeño notes. The dry extract, delicate florals and crisp nature here makes for some palate impact and while easily quaffable, it certainly gets better with food. This was my first experience with Lady of the Sunshine wines, and I was left pretty impressed and thirsty for more, but there’s been a buzz about these wines for a number of years, being an underground favorite on the Central Coast. This light golden hued 100% Sauvignon Blanc from the Stolpman vineyard, in the Ballard Canyon AVA in Los Olivos, Santa Ynez, comes from vines planted to own-rooted ‘Clone 1’ Sauvignon Blanc set on a limestone outcropping. Gina says that helps the grapes retain naturally high acidity levels during the warm ripening season. Hand harvested in two separate picks, one before the Labor Day heatwave of 2024 and a second pass two days later saw deeply flavorful grapes that were foot-trodded at the winery, soaked on skins overnight, then whole-bunch pressed the next morning. Giugni adds that the juice then went into neutral French oak barrels for an all native ferment, after which wine aged on the full lees for about eight months, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The California native Gina Louise Giugni (Hildebrand) started her label Lady of the Sunshine in 2017 and has focused on organic farming and naturally styled elegant wines. This second generation biodynamic farmer and winemaker has captured the attention and the heart of her peers and makes a fine collection of offerings from the Santa Barbara County area of the central coast, including the Stolpman Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc seen here. Having grown up on her family’s eighty-six acre biodynamic-certified farm in the Sierra Foothills, says has said it was always the influence of her family that set her on her course to pursue biodynamic farming herself and she developed an early interest in making terroir-driven wines. So after getting her degree in Wine and Viticulture she was mentored for several years with different winemakers who focused on responsible farming including in France, New Zealand, Oregon, and Napa. With that experience in hand Gina , now part of a power couple with Mikey Giugni, of Scar of the Sea, she now calls the Central Coast of California her home, enjoying the cool maritime climats and the welcoming community of like minded winemakers. In 2024, Gina and Mikey were able to purchase the notable Bassi Vineyard, which is a 29-acre site in Avila Beach, on the chilly San Luis Obispo Coast that will form the core of a new series of estate wines. So it is exciting times at both Scar of the Sea and Lady of the Sunshine labels and I highly recommend getting to know these wines as soon as possible. Of particular interest to me me is what the future holds for this youthful label, though I am curious about the intriguing Nero d’Avola/Pinot Noir blend and the unique Sierra Foothills Gamay that comes from Gina’s family’s Narrow Gate vineyard!
($37 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Ermes Pavese, Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, Valle d’Aoste, Italy.
The geeky cool and mineral driven Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, which comes from one of the highest vineyard sites in Europe on the slopes just below the summit of Mont Blanc, in the alpine region of the Val d’Aoste in Italy’s northwestern region, a stone’s throw from France. This wine is made from the rare Prié Blanc grape, only found here, and this 2023 version, pretty much ideal, shows off varietal purity with hints of lime blossom, lemony citrus, saline infused rock, tart stone fruits and a touch of reductive hazelnut in a medium bodied white that is steely, austere and bracing with loads of acidity. This wine has become a Sommelier favorite in the last decade and is a wonderful talking point aperitif or starter wine with a meal, going well with lighter cuisine and cheeses. The Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, or Valle d’Aoste, is a mountainous region, as mentioned, in northwestern Italy and is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, to the west, then by Valais, Switzerland, to the north and above Piedmont, that sits to the south and east. The Val d’Aoste sees soils that are influenced by granite, gneiss, and schist with some calcareous and rocky areas at higher elevations, like what is found here, adding to the terroir character in Pavese’s wines.

Winegrower Ermes Pavese, who began this label in 1999 from family vineyards, is located in the hamlet of La Ruine, between Morgex and La Salle, and has about 6 hectares of vines, mainly all Prié Blanc, which are all up tt about 1,200 meters above sea level, making these, as noted, some of the highest vineyards in Europe. Interestingly, I understand that Prié (Blanc) is the oldest documented cultivar in the Val d’Aoste, and is among the oldest in all of Italy and because of the high elevation they can be, as seen here, all own-rooted, as Phylloxera is not a problem up here. The remote and independently minded Valle d’Aoste, Italy’s smallest region by area has been fought over for ages, but gets its name from its Roman conquerors, Valley of Augustus, is home to mainly white wines. Pavese’s vines, trained in the area’s traditional Pergola Bassa system, which allows better air flow through the cluster area of the plants that helps keep everything free of rot during the long growing season. Pavese exclusively uses stainless steel for fermenting and aging of his Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, with it seeing 9 months on the lees in tank before bottling, which allows for the subtle textural nuance, clarity of form and plenty of zesty freshness in the bottle, as seen here. Again, as noted above, these wines are highly coveted by Sommeliers and wine geeks, making them pretty hard to find, but are worth some chasing for the curious wine enthusiasts and this vintage in particular is one of my favorites to date.
($41 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

1966 Château Franc Mayne, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Émilion, Red Bordeaux.
One of the great surprises of a recent blind Bordeaux wine tasting, this 1966 Franc Mayne showed fabulously well, it is certainly at the end of its life, but still had remarkable pleasure to deliver in the glass with a nice garnet/brick color, fine aromatics and a delicate medium bodied palate of dried cherries, vine berries, stewed plum, wild strawberry, Turkish fig and currant fruits, along with autumn leaves, old pipe tobacco, sous bois, incense, dusty spices, cedar, stone and minty notes. This fading and lightly earthy Saint-Émilion bottle, which Sommelier Ryan Cooley (ex-Aubergine Carmel-by-the-Sea) brought, says it performed very similar to other bottles within the case he has been drinking, very impressive for the age and vintage. Château Franc Mayne’s fine diverse terroir is just 1KM to the west of Saint-Émilion, and is now planted with mainly Merlot (90%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) vines that are deeply rooted in sandy clay and limestone soils. These days the Grand Vin here at Franc Mayne, overseen by Sophie Mage, who is responsible for the vineyard and winery, is now about the 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, as planted, and sees maceration and fermentation in vats, after which it is matured in French oak barrel, with 50 new wood, for 18 months, allowing current versions to be more approachable in their youth, while still structured to age. Of course, the 1966, was done without the more modern precision and certainly less oak, rustic now, but done in the style of the era.

The Château Franc Mayne is little seven-hectare jewel in the heart of Saint-Émilion with its classic 18th century mansion was originally built near an under ground quarry, and has largely been a very under the radar estate, unlike its neighbors Cheval Blanc and Grand Mayne. The current owners have worked together for over 10 years have taken great care of the property and have seen a big uptick in quality, having adding new cellars with wooden vats and stainless steel that are similar to its mentioned neighbors. Franc Mayne has classic Saint-Émilion hillside limestone based slopes, some of the most coveted in all of “Right Bank” if not all Bordeaux. Again with its historic make up 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc these wines have great complexity, structure and big flavors. In recent times, the perfume and spiciness, the winery says help lift it above almost anything in the “Right Bank” crus price range, in both Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, and the lush and full body make it very approachable to more modern wine drinkers. I hadn’t had much experience with Franc Mayne, in fact I did get it confused with Grand Mayne, but this 1966 certainly makes me want to explore the wines here with vintages 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010, being ones I would be most interested in, with most selling for less than $50, though I can easily recommend this old vintage Château to Bordeaux enthusiasts. A big thank you to Ryan Cooley, who is planning to open a new winebar in Santa Cruz, California, soon, for sharing this fabulous wine. Drinking old wine is a privilege and catching a wine in the window, as we did with this one, is pretty special and rare, it is not something to take for granted!
($100-150 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine du Bagnol, Cassis Blanc, Provence, France.
The fresh, light golden hued and bracing Bagnol Cassis Blanc shows a surprising grippy structure, zesty acidity and has good depth of fruit with a firm medium bodied palate of white peach, apple, mixed citrus, earthy muskmelon, quince and waxy pear fruits, along with fine stony and mineral core, hints of tropical fruits, verbena, delicate herbs and white flowers. This wine got more rounded and finessed with air and as it warmed a tad in the glass and became even more compelling, adding a textural presence and still having crisp detailing, making it excellent, especially with a sea food meal. The Domaine du Bagnol Cassis Blanc is made from mostly Marsanne at about 50% complemented by Clairette Blanche at 35% and with a good dose of Ugni Blanc 15%, in this 2023 vintage, which is all de-stemmed and cold pressed and fermented totally dry with no malos to preserve the intensity and clarity of form, the fermentation continues for three weeks in cement cuves and with temperature controlled cooling jackets. Bagnol’s importer Rosenthal/Mad Rose Group, who specializes in old world properties, adds, that the vineyards to produce the white wine at Domaine du Bagnol cover a bit less than 9 hectares and are planted on a gentle slope on clay and limestone soils with a north by northwest exposure, all of which adds to the cool and crisp feel on the marvelous palate and gives this wine its terroir complexity, along with the cellar work making this wine incredibly pure and vivid. As I’ve said before these exciting wines of the Cassis AOC and should never be overlooked, especially on long Summer days and enjoyed with Mediterranean or Marseille style cuisine, especially their famed bouillabaisse.

Cassis, as I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, is one of the most under the radar wine regions in the world, but makes some of the very best whites in Southern France, from this historic tiny picturesque fishing village in Provence, not far from both Bandol and Marseille. Usually crafted from Clairette Blanche along with Ugni Blanc and Marsanne, with Domaine du Bagnol being one of the finest available, along with Clos Ste. Magdaleine, always favorite too, these Blancs are great with all types of sea food. Cassis, which was first planted to the vine in the 12th century and the vineyards were developed on the north, east and southeast slopes that surround the village which sits immediately on a little bay on the Mediterranean, in unimaginable beauty and perfectly placed to supply the tables of ocean front bistros. While like most of Europe, Phylloxera wiped out the vineyards almost completely in 1870, but by 1892 Cassis had re-established their vineyards and began swing up in quality as well, which continues today. Domaine du Bagnol has going through many up and downs, but under currant owner Jean-Louis Genovesi, a native of Cassis, and his son, Sébastien, they have revived the domaine. The estate’s wines, both, the Blanc and Rosé, are more rewarding than ever. The domaine sits just beneath the imposing limestone outcropping of Cap Canaille and is a mere 200 meters distance from the shores of the Mediterranean. Thus situated, the Domaine du Bagnol is the beneficiary of the cooling winds from the north, northwest and northeast including Tramontane, as well as the famous Mistral and the Grégal along with the natural gentle sea breezes that come ashore daily during the growing season in this ideal and glorious setting. I highly recommend checking out any Cassis Blanc you come across, but definitely keep an eye out for this one.
($34 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Saint Cosme, Côtes du Rhône Rouge, Rhone Valley, France.
As always, this deeply purple/garnet hued Côtes du Rhône red is fabulous, pure, spicy and delicious, it is an outstanding value, with this 2023 again being as good as many wines that are three or four times the price. Usually Côtes du Rhône reds include a mix of varietals, but this Saint Cosme is 100% Syrah lacks for nothing, and has plenty to offer with a clean full bodied palate and excellent complexity showing boysenberry, damson plum, black cherry, dark currant and fig fruits, along with wild sage, peppercorn, black licorice and mocha notes. There’s loads of pleasure and silken tannin with an almost creamy mouth feel and balancing acidity and savory crunch, adding a nice aromatic floral array in the glass. Again, it’s hard to imagine a more tasty Rhône for the money than this violet and geranium laced Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône. The fabulous basic Saint Cosme Cotes du Rhone is made, as mentioned, from 100% Syrah, comes from what Barruol calls top vineyard parcels, saying he is no magician, knowing only great sites made great wines. Saint Cosme mostly sources grapes for this little beauty from plots in Vinsobres, now a full AOC, which is a special area of the southern Rhone that is sublimely suited to Syrah.

Louis Barruol’s historic and legendary Château de Saint Cosme, as noted here in my prior reviews, is located north to the village of Gigondas, a place and a wine which he is most famous for, is the oldest estate in the region being on the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman villa which dates back to 1416. It is very probable that it already had its own vineyard back then, as well as having cellars carved from the natural limestone walls, with the Barruol family acquiring it back in 1570, and who, in my opinion, have made it into one the Rhone’s greatest estates. Uniquely, this Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône saw a very short vatting period, in cement, a technique pioneered by Louis Barruol’s father, as he notes, in fact, back in the 1970s and 1980s, typically this wine only gets about 15 days in vats! After which the wine is bottled and matured for just a few months before being shipped out, surprisingly the wine shows off depth and structure that allows both early drinking rewards and can age up to 5 or so years, though it doesn’t usually get that kind of time in anyone’s cellar. This, as mentioned before, allows really fresh details, expressive fruitiness and without any oaky notes, making for a wine that is great with a range of cuisine options and especially meaty dishes, pizza and or roast chicken over bitter greens. I highly recommend all of the Château de Saint Cosme wines, especially all the Gigondas offerings, as well as the Vinsobres, and the different Côtes du Rhône bottlings.
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Equipo Navazos, Palomino Fino “Ovni” Blanco Seco, Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain.
The unique Ovni Palomino Blanco Seco is a non fortified dry sherry style wine, reclaimed from a old version that was lost back in the 1930s, with no Flor during fermentation, that shows off a bight citrus, zesty and peachy lighter framed palate that is lightly oxidized, but still juicy fresh and great with Tapas and or briny sea foods. Equipo Navazos, one of the most exciting and adventurous wineries in southern Spain, is most known for their small lot and single barrel Sherry offerings, which are some of my absolute favorites, especially their speciality bottlings of aged creamy/nutty Palo Cortado and the crisply dry, but lightly oily En Rama. That said Equipo Navazos does some other non mainstream, non Sherry still wines, like this one, plus a collaboration sparkling project, which keeps some attention on this sleepy region that often gets overlooked by the wine world. This Palomino Fino, coming from very old vines, just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean in the Jerez area of Miraflores la Baja, Sanlucar de Barrameda, and set on the white chalky Albariza soils, is fermented and aged like a base for Fino Sherry in exclusively stainless steel tanks, again without the classic Flor yeasts developing and without being fortified with spirit. The dark golden hue and salty zing, remind you of a crisp nutty Fino Sherry, but there’s a freshness too that makes it more appealing to non Sherry drinkers, with hints of pecan, iodine, green apple, clove spice, wet saline infused stones, delicate florals and a touch of orange. Equipo Navazos has a full collection of Sherry wines from Fino Seco to luxuriously and exotic sweet Pedro Ximenez, with top notch fortified and Flor yeast aged selections of Manzanilla, including the textural version known as En Rama and richer, nuttier and longer aged Amontillado, all of which I highly recommend.

Equipo Navazos, as I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, is almost single handedly making Sherry great again, they are sourcing and putting out some absolutely amazing bottings, if it ever was a time to re-discover this region and explore the many different style, it’s now! According to Sherry Notes, the Equipo Navazos started as a group of Spanish sherry lovers led by wine writer Jesús Barquín, a professor of criminology and Andalusian wine expert/ writer, and Eduardo Ojeda, the technical director of Grupo Estévez. It all began In 2005 when this private group found 65 butts of exceptionally fine 20+ year old Amontillado hidden away in the bodega Sánchez Ayala in Sanlúcar, they just knew they had to share their good fortune. They realized that it was a shame that so many brilliant sherry butts were lying around in large Sherry bodegas, often with low volumes that were commercially not interesting to be bottled separately, but too good to be part of a large-scale solera blend, and that is how they discovered their mission. Together with 30 or so friends and professionals, they selected one cask, bottled it and split the bottles titled La Bota de Amontillado / Navazos n°1, then later on it became their business and passion to share the love to the world and find Sherry enthusiasts that would rejoice in being able to get ultra small lot special Sherry that showed unique characteristics with exceptional quality. Again as noted before, Equipo Navazos is now a world class firm with a cult like following, and while staying true to their core mission of finding and releasing single Bota(s) they have also pushed the envelope of Sherry, putting out a dry white and doing a Sherry infused Cava Sparkling just to name a few intriguing extras. While discovering Sherry, a Spanish region just north of Cadiz in Andalucia and part of the Jerez de la Frontera, can be rather daunting for the novice, Equipo Navazos is providing a stylish gateway into this world of wine weirdness.
($24 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Samuel Billaud, Chablis Premier Cru, Montée de Tonnerre, White Burgundy, France.
The subtle and elegant Samuel Billaud Montée de Tonnerre Premier Cru Chablis is an ultra delicious and finely detailed Chardonnay from one of the great vineyards in the region with flinty mineral tones, wet stones and a pure cool toned apple, pear, lemon and white peach fruits leading the way on the well rounded palate, along with delicate white flowers, clove spice, oyster shell, a light sense of bread dough, hazelnut, dry honeycomb, and lingering chalkiness. This well balanced and crisp Chablis is not as tension filled and bracing as a young Raveneau Montée, but still still nicely racy and a great example of a terroir driven wine. Formerly the the winemaker at Domaine Billaud-Simon, his family’s well pedigreed old school Chablis estate, Samuel went his own way in 2009 and created his own domaine, which has really taken off in recent years, putting him into elite company in the region, with Raveneau and Vincent Dauvissat. Coming from organic vines planted between 1976 and 1986, the Montée de Tonnerre saw a gentle pneumatic pressing, along with a cold settling period with 75% alcoholic and malolactic fermentation done in small thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks and 25% in large 600 liter casks. The aging on fine lees lasted close to 15 months, adding textural pleasure and I think there’s a lot more complexity and depth to come in the future, this is excellent stuff from a top producer.

The prestigious Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre vineyard, one of my absolute favorite sites for Chardonnay, and as mentioned in my prior reviews, is close to the Grand Cru hill and on the classic chalky Kimmeridgian Limestone soils, with Billaud’s and the legendaryRaveneau’s parcels (vines) being mature vines, with he later’s being over 50 years old, that coupled with a cool climate makes for bracing wines with incredible depth and intensity. Billaud, since 2015, has a new winery I learned and has recently purchased outstanding plots in the Grand and Premier Crus including the famed Les Clos, Vaudésir, Montée de Tonnerre, as seen here, Mont de Milieu, Séchet, and in the village level vineyards Les Pargues and Chapelot, as well as a Petit Chablis parcel directly to the north of Les Clos. Samuel is also sourcing fruit from the grand crus Blanchots, Valmur, and Bougros, so there’s an awesome lineup here and the wines are getting better and even more coveted, this is now a bucket list address in Chablis. The Montée de Tonnerre Premier Cru Chablis, on MdT, is definitely a prized wine and while a 1er Cru, there’s Grand Cru class and character, making it a not cheap by any means, but still a great value with all things considered and Billaud’s is very desirable and worthy. Interesting for me, after all the hype about Samuel’s wines, this was my first time with his Premier Cru offering, which I tasted blind, and it was a perfect way to see his wines without prejudice, leaving me very impressed. Thanks to my friend and Chablis enthusiast Alex Lallos, who’s No Limits Fine Wines (company) sells this domaine, for sourcing this beauty for our tasting.
($89 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Guimaro, Mencia, Ribeira Sacra DO, Galicia, Spain.
Pedro Rodriquez’s Guimaro Mencia 2023 is an dark, earthy and seductive wine which agains reminds me of Crozes-Hermitage, like Graillot, meets Cru Beaujolais, like Clos de la Rolette Fleurie, with briar laced black raspberry, plum, currant and cherry fruits, along with hints of leather, anise, flinty mineral, forest floor, delicate florals and amaro notes. This medium bodied, slightly rustic, quaffable red wine from the Ribeira Sacra, is always a favorite and an exceptional value. Pedro Rodriguez’s family cool climate vineyards, above the Sil River, which for many generations were used to just grow grapes for a co-op, started bottling wine under the Guimaro, which means rebel in local dialect, back in 1991 and they were one of the first wineries to join the Ribeira Sacra DO in 1996, but the Guimaro label really got into gear when Pedro was mentored by the legendary Raul Perez, the godfather of the Mencia grape and well known for his Bierzo versions. Guimaro farms with all organic methods and careful to maintain small yields to craft remarkable collection Mencia based wines, as well as a Godello based white, which is also a rare and rewarding wine in the mold of a steely Chablis. Pedro is one of my favorite wine people and winemakers (not just from Spain) and I’m grateful to have met and tasted with him a few times and always recommend his wines, and in particular this one.

The Ribeira Sacra, or the Sacred Blanks in the native Gallego tongue, as mentioned in my prior reviews, has very hard to work vines looking down on the Sil River, which looks intriguingly like the Mosel with in fact similar soils, which are a combination of slate, schist, granite and sand with a cool climate that is heavily influenced by the Atlantic Ocean.The Guimaro Ribeira Sacra Tinto comes from several plots in the Amandi zone, which is mostly planted to Mencia, but also includes small amounts of other local varietals including Caiño, Merenzao (Trousseau) and Souson, which are hand harvested and sees about 35% whole cluster, native yeast fermentation and was raised with tank aging for 6 or so months with no oak being used. The region was been, as the winery notes, cultivated since Roman times, with Ribeira Sacra’s steep terraced vineyards, as mentioned above, are some of the most picturesque and treacherous to work vines in the world of wine, making this Guimaro bottling one of the best values around and it is really a gateway to understanding the wines of this special place. Pedro employs an old-fashioned winemaking method, that was reclaimed and adopted thanks to Perez’s guidance. The wines are made with a wild yeast fermentation(s), gentle extractions with foot treading in open-top vessels, plus limited raspón (stems) inclusion and working with ultra low sulfur, and while this wine was done in stainless, enhancing the purity of form and allow a raw authentic Mencia to shine through.
($24 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2024 Casa Setaro, Falanghina “Campanelle” IGT, Campania, Italy.
I was highly impressed by this 2024 Casa Setaro Campanelle Falanghina Campania IGT with its beautiful fresh detailing, mineral driven core of white peach, lemon/lime, quince and earthy muskmelon fruits, brisk, spicy, stony and complex palate and bitter almond finish. This is pure as pure gets and a delicious volcanic soil influenced, Southern Italian white wine that offers a lot of charm, personality and authentic character in the glass. This brilliant, dry, crisp and Summery lightly golden hued Falanghina will be joyous over the next few warm months and great with lighter meals, especially sea food dishes. For this wine, all organic grapes from own-rooted vines set on volcanic ash soils, Casa Setaro employed an all stainless steel fermentation and aging program with a gentle pressing and about 6 months on the lees, which all turned out with some excellent results, as seen in the bottle.

This was my first experience with Casa Setaro, run by Massimo Setaro, which is located in Trecase, in the province of Naples, within the Vesuvius National Park, that since 1995 has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with a collection of organic vines. Planted between 200 and 400 meters above sea level, Casa Setaro’s vineyards, all ungrafted vines, set on the region’s volcanic soils, are certified organic and farmed with biodynamic practices. Casa Setaro does a unique selection of wines led by Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, Falanghina, seen here and Piedirosso, plus they have been working to revive local native vines at risk of extinction, such as Caprettone. Interestingly, Massimo has decided for personal reasons not to work with maybe the region’s most famous grape, Aglianico, which seems strange, but I guess there’s a story there. I liked this wine so much, I’m now itching to try the rest of the lineup here, especially the rare native varietals and the Piedirosso Vesuvio DOC Rosso, which is not often seen here in the States.
($27 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Etienne Bécheras – Le Prieuré d’Arras, Crozes-Hermitage Rouge, Northern Rhône, France.
The deep purple/garnet hued 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Rouge by Etienne Bécheras is an absolutely brilliant effort that can be enjoyed now, and can be aged, that shows off delicious classic savory Northern Rhône character and a heightened aromatic profile with a medium body of spicy dark fruits. This excellent pure Syrah, coming from gravelly soils, delivers loads of Umami, meaty notes, crushed violets, peppercorns and a core of boysenberry, damson plum, blueberry, tart cherry and cranberry fruits, along with black olives, sage, tarry black licorice and bacon notes. I don’t feel or taste any oak here and there’s a nice youthful lift of acidity and mineral crunch that adds to the overall thrill here, this is serious, but quaffable stuff that will bring a real smile to Syrah lovers faces. Bécheras lets grapes cold-macerate for three or so days, after which he de-stems everything and the grapes get crushed, the spontaneous fermentation lasts three to four weeks in vats. For his reds, typically Etienne ages in oak casks of varying sizes with mostly all used, including 225L, 400L and 600L barrels, though some non oak vat aging also can be employed before the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. For those that like Alain Graillot and other legends, I think that Bécheras is a producer to follow and this bottling is priced extremely well, if not insanely low for the quality!

The domaine of Etienne Bécheras, like Neal Rosenthal, who imports these wines, says with organic vineyards, principally situated in the Saint-Joseph appellation, along with some well-placed parcels in Crozes-Hermitage, as seen here, Bécheras’s wines are an excellent examples of this mid-section of the Northern Rhône and offer compelling value, which I couldn’t agree more, especially this dynamic Crozes. I understand that Etienne Becheras’s domaine is polycultural, with many other crops, including fruit trees all principally within the confines of the village of Arras which borders and overlooks the Rhône River on the western side on limestone and gravel soils with many very steep plots. Bécheras also has an additional one hectare of vines further south in the village of Mercurol, where a small amount of Crozes Hermitage Rouge is produced, as seen here, from a meager collection of Syrah vines. I’ve not had the Bécheras wines in a while, and this 2023 Crozes really impressed me, making me want to grab some of the higher end Saint-Joseph made here, I honestly had my head turned by this lovely effort and I’ll be looking to get a few more bottles for personal use. Rosenthal has a tidy collection of fabulous Northern Rhône properties to discover with Etienne Bécheras joining a list of favorites that includes Guillaume Gilles, Xavier Gérard, Domaine Lionnet and Bernard Levet, all of which are must try domaines, and I highly recommend chasing them down as fast as possible.
($29 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Peter Lauer, Riesling Trocken, Neuenberg No. 17, VDP Grosse Lage, Saar, Germany.
Coming from the historic Grand Cru Ayler Neuenberg, this beautiful and textural dry Riesling from Weingut Peter Lauer, this No. 17 Neuenberg Trocken, basically a GG, shows off a full range of classic Riesling flavors, aromatics, concentration and has a youthful intensity, giving an idea of the long rewarding future this wine surely has, very impressive. This steely 2022 is beautifully fresh golden in the glass and performs impeccably on the palate with a thrill of acidity and layers of white peach, apple, pineapple, lime and quince fruits, along with smoky mineral, crystalized ginger, clove tea, bitter almond and citrus blossom. Florian Lauer is known mostly his drier wines that are in stark contrast to his famous Saar neighbors Egon Müller and Hanno Zilliken, and at Lauer, as noted by their importer Vom Boden, the focus here is on the dry-tasting Rieslings, as opposed to the higher residual sugar wines of the mentioned more traditional Egon Mueller and Zillken. I learned that this Neuenberg, Fass 17, or No. 17, is made from carefully sorted grapes in this prime Lieu-Dit terroir forming the south-southwest facing slops on slate based soils, on the central part of the original Kupp hill, one of the most famous sites in the Saar.

The Peter Lauer estate, as noted here in previous reviews, in the Saar, with winemaker Florian Lauer is one of best in this region just off the Mosel in and the wines all show a terroir dominant profile with crystalline purity, mineral intensity with lots of dry extract, tension and vinous texture, but with a divine sense of lightness to them. The vines are old here, at Peter Lauer, are well over 70-years-old with mostly slate intense soils with subtle changes in soil composition, exposition, altitude, and micro-climate as well as vine age all play influential roles, giving each wine their own soulful expression. Coming into the winery the golden Riesling grapes are whole-cluster pressed directly in a gentle pneumatic press, with the juice occasionally pumped back in for a short maceration with the skins. Florian Lauer does his Riesling fermentations with native yeasts and is committed to very natural style with no fining agents or any other additions are ever added, except a touch of SO2. The Lauer wines see a fairly short aging period with elevage in a combination of vessels, with the majority done in stainless steel, but also fiberglass vats and with most of the Cru trocken(s), like this one, going into traditional Fuder oak casks for 1-6 months. There’s so much to love here at Lauer, with the Grosses Gewachs leading Lauer’s lineup, which includes the Barrel X, a fresh off dry Riesling that has its own cult like following and it is the appellation-level or regional expression that is Lauer’s Platonic ideal of what a Saar Riesling should be.
($58 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

June 2025

2021 Domaine Saint Amant, Grangeneuve, Beaumes de Venise AOC Rouge, Rhône Valley, France.
I was asked to take a look at the Beaumes de Venise region in France’s greater Southern Rhône area near Provence and the Luberon that has been famous since ancient philosopher Pliny the Elder first praised the wines here, especially the famous sweet Muscat, but now there’s plenty of fine red wines to enjoy, such as this Domaine Saint Amant AOC Beaumes de Venise Rouge, which I had not had before. This deep purple/garnet hued 2021 Grangeneuve, which is a unique blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Viognier, is full bodied, expressive, ripely smooth and very Gigondas like with loads of boysenberry, plum, cherry and blueberry fruits, as well as an exotic array of pepper spices, violets, mocha, sagey garrique, fig paste, mineral tones, warm stones, minty anise and a touch of creme de cassis. Coming from some of the highest elevation vines in the Rhône, some 500 meters up, on clay, limestone and mineral rich Trias soils. The Mistral winds, altitude and mineral rich soils, plus being on a picturesque plateau in the Vaucluse, sheltered by the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range, just above the village of Beaumes-de-Venise, make for ripe wines, but with finesse and balance. This vintage of Grangeneuve, which included 50% 90 year old vine Grenache, plus 30% Syrah, 10% Carignan and 10% Viognier, all 50 year old vines, was all de-stemmed and fermented in vat with natural wild yeasts with a maceration that lasted around two weeks. After alcoholic fermentation the wine was racked to large old wood vat, neutral 20 year old French oak, where it was aged a full 12 months to mature.

The Beaumes-de-Venise is an ancient wine region, most famous for golden sweet Muscat wines, is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. The word “beaumes” as I learned, comes from the Provençal word bauma meaning “cave” or “grotto” and Beaumes de Venise has surrounding hills have many of these caves that were inhabited long ago during the Iron Age. This area, part of the greater Rhône, and in the shadow of the famous Mount Ventoux, is often over looked in modern times, but has a lot to offer, with some fabulous Grenache based red wines being made here, some of which have been brought to the world’s attention by Kermit Lynch, who imports a fine selection from the Domaine de Durban, that I’ve had many, many times and gives me a good reference point here. The Beaumes de Venise village, as mentioned, gives its name to a sweet wine appellation, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, which are a great value and alternative to he more expensive sweet wines of Sauternes or Tokaji, but It also gives its name to a drier red wine, which until recently called Côtes du Rhone Villages Beaumes-de-Venise, which are now Beaumes de Venise AOC, as seen here with his delicious Saint Amant version,after receiving its own quality appellation control. The impressive Domaine Saint Amant Grangeneuve’s grapes are sourced from windy swept vines, above the village of Suzette, as mentioned, very high up, on 10 acres of small terraces, which has added to the intensity and depth here and has allowed the Syrah to shine, providing some savory crunch in contrast to the Grenache’s opulence and fruit density, it’s a wine I hope to get more of and highly recommend looking for.
($29 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, La Crau, Rhone Red, France.
The youthful, cool mineral toned, spicy and fresh ’18 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf Rouge, a blend of 65% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 15% Syrah, 5% Cinsault and tiny amounts of Clairette Blanche, is largely shy still, but with excellent potential, which just began to show itself after a lengthy period in the glass, eventually revealing the true depth and rewards on offer here. Feeling light n its feet, this vintage is a sleeper that will impress with time, I’m certain, and while not as expressive as one would expect from a Chateauneuf, there’s still plenty to enjoy here and it was sublime with food, especially a rustic beef dish. The medium/full palate of this dark garnet Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe delivers black raspberry, dark plum, earthy currant and subtle candied cherry fruits, along with raw peppercorns, crushed lavender, wild sage, anise, loamy stones, floral incense, truffle, coco and cedary notes. This wine is born from the layers of soils here, including alluvial deposits, limestone, silica, and a robust red clay (known as molasse) that has come to, says VT’s famous importer Kermit Lynch, characterize this high elevation vineyard. Going on, Lynch notes that sitting on the surface of the soil, are the galets (large stones) that hold important functions, insulating the vines from both the cold and the heat, and they provide ideal drainage for the roots, giving just the right amount of stress to increase depth and complexity in the grapes and the resulting wines. For their top Chateauneuf, Vieux Telegraphe and Brunier’s use partial whole bunches, though mostly de-stemmed, with fermentation and skin maceration in a combination of temperature-controlled wood cuves and stainless steel vats lasting about a month before being racked to cement for 10 months. After that the wine is transferred to large foudres for about 12 months, for a total aging time of close to 22 months before bottling.

The history of Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe begins humbly with the Brunier family story, which importer Kermit Lynch says begins in 1898 with Hippolyte Brunier, who was a modest farmer who lived off the land, Hippolyte kept less than a hectare of vines to make his own wines. His small vineyard, which one day would become legendary, was at one of the highest points in between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bédarrides, a stony plateau called La Crau, with its own unique terroir. The elevation of this terrain had prompted the construction of a communication tower in the late 18th century to transmit telegraph messages between Marseille and Paris, hence the future name of Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe. Continuing, Kermit explains this barren landscape is not immediately discernable—there is nothing but galets roulés, or the now famous rounded stones of Chateauneuf du Pape, as far as the eye can see. Up so high, the vineyards are exposed to all kinds of elements—rain, hail, scorching sunshine, and especially the unruly Mistral. This was unwelcome terrain where only the toughest vigneron dare plant, although the notorious Mistral works wonderfully to prevent rot. Over time this has become one of the region’s most celebrated Crus and I am a huge fan of Vieux Telegraphe, which I find awesome of the best in off years, and I still consider the 1999 VT, not a classic vintage in the Rhône, one of my all time favorite wines. This 2018 has the early signs of what I loved about the 1999 and I look forward to seeing what develops here in the next 10 to 15 years. I have been lucky to have tasted Vieux Telegraphe with Daniel Brunier on a few occasions, as well as with Kermit Lynch over the years and each has been been an incredible experience, for which I’m incredibly grateful and have made me an even bigger fan of the wines here, especially the Chateauneuf Rouge, but the Blanc should not be overlooked either. Again, I’ve seen the transformation of young versions of VT to exceptional mature examples, and witnessed the birth of greatness, so I’m confident there’s a lot of pleasure in this 2018s future, patience will be required.
($100 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet, Vieilles Vignes, White Burgundy, France.
While I loved the 2020 version of Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey’s old vine Chassagne, this pale gold/straw hued 2022 might even be better and it feels just that just bit livelier at the same stage I tried the ’20, with a gorgeous purity, depth and striking mineral tones leading the way. The Vieilles Vignes shows off the classic modern reductive style at its best with bracing acidity and tension on the medium full palate that revolves around lemon, apple, pear and golden fig fruits, along with clove spice, leesy hazelnut, wet stones, a touch of orange blossom and subtle wood toast. This PYCM Vieilles Vignes Chassagne bottling which is from high limestone set mature vines, as I always note, is always a special treat and even though not cheap it offers almost Grand Cru excitement and depth, with this vintage being especially impactful. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, one of Burgundy’s biggest stars, follows a strict protocol and method, using all sustainable and hand tended vineyards, with mostly organic practices in the vineyards, while in the cellar he 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 these days instead of the classic 228L barriques, with his Lieu-Dit and Premier Crus seeing about 30% new wood if not more, especially in the more intense years, adding just the right amount of toasty accents. I don’t really need to tell you, these are sexy Chardonnays from Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, which never need too much patience to enjoy as this 2022 proves, making it worth every penny!

The coveted critically acclaimed Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, as I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews, is led by the huge talents of Pierre-Yves Colin, who is the eldest son of the famed Marc Colin, is based in Chassagne-Montrachet in their new cellars there that he shaves with his wife’s label Caroline Colin-Morey. Maker of some of Burgundy’s most sought out white wines, Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, as mentioned here in prior reviews, has made a brilliant career in Chardonnay. Pierre-Yves worked aside his dad and brothers as the winemaker at his father’s domaine from 1994 to 2005, then stepped out on his own founding his own domaine, starting it from family vineyards he inherited from his family and his wife’s side too, also famous and with good parcels of vines in the region. Since that time, he rapidly rose in the wine world, especially with his Saint-Aubin and Chassagne White Burgundies, he has really is a star in the Cote de Beaune and these wines set the gold standard for quality. He and his wife Caroline, join Jean-Marc Roulot and Alix de Montille as one of Burgundy’s elite power couple, and while his top bottlings are spectacular, I am always thrilled with his less pricey offerings, especially his Saint-Aubin lieu-dit whites. 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 and to the Côte Chalonnaise, with great success, with Pierre-Yves doing a lovely set of Rully Blancs, which I tend to look for value.
($150 Est.) 95+ Points, grapelive

2016 Cameron Winery, Pinot Noir “Cuvée Julia” Abbey Ridge, Dundee Hills AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The rare Cuvée Julia Pinot Noir from John Paul’s iconic Cameron Winery is one of Oregon’s most coveted wines and this dark garnet 2016 version is absolutely stunning right now, almost 8 years after I managed to get it, and it shows off loads of Volnay or Côte de Beaune character with powerful, maturing and earthy red fruits filling out the elegant medium bodied palate. The nose is seducing with wilted roses, brambly berries, mixed spices, incense and delicate truffle notes, all of which seamlessly fold into the palate along with black cherry, plum and tart currant fruits, as well as amaro herbs, cedary wood, orange tea and light leathery notes. The Julia Pinot Noir is vinified from 40 year old vines located in a small block of Martin Ray Massale clonal selections in the Abbey Ridge vineyard. It is aged for two years in barrique, with only a small percentage of newer oak, along with one additional year of rest in bottle. Winemaker John Paul, one of Oregon’s legends, says the label represents a native Madrone tree which grows next to the vineyard. Named in honor of Julia Wayne of Abbey Ridge, who also drew the illustration for the label. Cameron’s oldest vineyard is Abbey Ridge, which located high in the Dundee Hills at an elevation range of 500-700 feet on the classic red Jory soils, that are volcanic in nature. The first vines, the winery notes, were planted here in 1976 and, as some of the oldest vines in Oregon, they produce some of Cameron’s finest wines, like this one. Slightly younger blocks of Pinot noir was planted in 1984 and again in1990 on hillsides above the original vines.

As I’ve noted before many times in my reviews, these Cameron wines never fail to excite Pinot Noir fans, especially Oregon and Burgundy enthusiasts. John Paul believes the best grapes come from dry farmed vineyards and he likes to have his wine aged longer in barrel with most his top Pinots, as noted above, seeing an elevage of close to 24 months. For his barrels, he chooses a small cooper who lives in the village of Saint Romain in Burgundy. His name is Claude Gillet and together with his children and several master coopers they turn out some of the most exquisite wine barrels to be found, and almost Every year Claude and his son, Laurent, visit Paul’s winery, to taste the wines in barrels and make recommendations for choice of forest, toast level and all of the other minutia that go into crafting an oak barrel. Since Paul believes that barrels reach their perfection only after a couple vintages, he prefers to utilize cooperage which is 1-3 years old for his most precious cuvées, like this Julia Pinot Noir. Paul explains that his old sections are typically some of the very last Pinot Noir to be harvested in the Dundee Hills and have loads of energy and earthy tones, slightly less ripe than other prime spots. The resulting wines, Paul continues, which are quite reductive when young, therefore are relatively high in natural acidity and display old world aromatics, certainly as this one does, with a dark pigment, stoniness and lifted by red spices. Set on the red dirt and Jory volcanic soils of the Dundee Hills, there is always a unique sense of the exotic too, though well contrasted by the raw and rustic personality of the house style, wines like this are bucket list quality efforts and I highly recommend buying a few and age them at least 3 to 5 years for best results.
($105 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Schloss Lieser, Riesling Trocken “Schiefer” Mosel, Germany.
The bright tangy fresh 2023 Riesling Schiefer, by Schloss Lieser and Thomas Haag, was sourced mainly from vines in the Kestener Paulinshofberg, not too far from the legendary Brauneberger Juffer and set on classic blue Devonian weathered slate soils, hence the name, and delivers a value packed performance on the racy lighter framed palate. This vintage is nicely aromatic and vividly crisp with plenty of tension and nice complexity with green apple, grapefruit, tart peach, mango and quince fruits, along with smoky mineral flinty notes, crystalized ginger, spearmint and delicate florals. This pale hued and dry Riesling is a great way to start exploring the collection at Schloss Lieser, which is pretty exceptional from their basic dry wines to the Grand Cru GGs, as well as their medium to fully sweet versions. Fast becoming one of the top go to estates in the Mosel, Schloss Lieser is putting out some fantastic and elegant Rieslings, which I got to taste last Summer with the winery’s newest generation winemaker Lara Haag, who studied at Geisenheim University in the Rheingau.

Schloss Lieser, under Thomas Haag, who is really bringing these wines to the attention of the wine world, is beautiful Neo-Renaissance castle that was built in 1875 and was little known for wine until the Haag’s got here, especially Oliver and Thomas, who took over in 1992. In the cellar, the fermentations at Schloss Leiser are always spontaneous, with Thomas saying that is how he likes their Mosel Rieslings and he feels employing native yeast fermentations are an important part of house style. As I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews Schloss Lieser almost always use stainless steel exclusively in their Riesling wines, which shows off the terroir and adds to the crystalline purity you find in these wines, as seen here. This Schiefer Trocken, with the grapes getting a cool, gentle pressing as to not allow for bitter phenolics, saw a spontaneous fermentation and lees aging in tank and was bottled in the early spring of 2024, making for a wine to be enjoyed in its youth, though it should mature nicely for a decade at least, and I recommend grabbing it for the Summer months ahead.
($27 ESt.) 91 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine S et JP Agisson, Pouilly-Fume “La Belle Endormie” Loire Valley, France.
The elegant and mineral driven 2020 Domaine S et JP Agisson, Pouilly-Fume, which is the inaugural vintage of “La Belle Endormie,” which means Sleeping Beauty, highlighting the winemaker’s belief that Pouilly-Fume is overlooked, but offers some of the most outstanding wines in the Loire, and this one just might prove that. This medium bodied and delicately complex 100% Sauvignon Blanc shows off layers of crisp lemon/lime, white peach, quince and gooseberry fruits, along with wet chalk, steely/flinty mineral, white flowers, ginger spice, oyster shell soft leesy notes and smooth acidity. The grapes come from a tiny plot of organically farmed vines that was purchased in 2019, with this 35-year-old vineyard being located in Tracy-sur-Loire and the “Les Champs Billards” parcel here has a distinctive terroir with large pebbles over ancient limestone soils. This well crafted Sauvignon Blanc is really seductive, restrained with subtle concentration and will drink nicely for a decade or so.

Domaine S et JP Agisson’s winemaker Jean-Philippe Agisson, who worked as the cellar master at Domaine de la Moussière, under Alphonse Mellot and the iconic Domaine Didier Dagueneau in the past, is considered one of the big talents in the Loire Valley, focused on dry Sauvignon Blanc wines, in particular the Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume regions. Jean-Philippe still works for Dagueneau, under Didier’s son Louis-Benjamin, and only makes a small amount of wine under his own label, including this one, plus a Sancerre. Jean-Philippe tends his vines organically, employing biodynamic practices and treatments, he harvests all by hand, does a whole cluster direct press, and the wines see aging on lees in older neutral French oak barrels. The wines are also bottled unfined and unfiltered, all with the mission to promote terroir, authentic flavors and provide textural pleasure, while capturing loads of energy, as seen here. Agisson’s wine is super rare and limited with US importer Martine’s Wines getting a scarce few bottles, but they are certainly worth chasing down.
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine Agnès & Xavier Amirault Vignerons, Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil, Les Clos des Quarterons, Vieilles Vignes, Loire Valley, France.
The beautifully elegant dark garnet medium bodied 100% old vine Cabernet Franc Les Clos des Quarterons by Agnes and Xavier Amirault in the Loire’s Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil region shows off lovely purity and silken tannins with classic blackberry, plum, red currant and black cherry fruits, along with hints of violets, minty herb, bell pepper, loamy earth, sweet sandalwood and a delicate chalky element. The Domaine Amirault has been in the family for six generations and is now overseen by Xavier Amirault and his wife, Agnès, who have converted the estate to 100% certified organic by Ecocert and even certified all biodynamic by Demeter. Every time I try these Amirault wines, I am more and more impressed with the quality, complexity and their rewarding nature in the glass, and this 2019 version drinking wonderfully well right now. Imported by Vineyard Brands to the States, Amirault, is not overly hard to find and I highly recommend chasing this particular bottling down, with this 2019 be ready to please, though I might grab some 2020 too, as it was a more concentrated vintage, especially if you plan to let it mature in the bottle.

Located in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil in the Loire Valley, Domaine Amirault’s Clos des Quarterons is a big 92-acre vineyard, and as mentioned, farmed biodynamically and certified globally by Demeter, in what is a unique and different terroir than Bourgueil itself. It’s noted that the soils of Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil are sandier than the soils of Cabernet Franc strongholds like Chinon or Saumur-Champigny with mainly gravel and silty clay, with some limestone, so, as the winery notes, the wines from Saint-Nicolas tend to display a distinctly velvety mouth feel and a seemingly lighter frame. That said, I can see the gracefulness, but there’s a depth here that is compelling and an age worthy core structure that will make wines like this even more appealing with extended cellaring. The grapes are carefully selected from plots at least 55 years old and 100% de-stemmed, after coming into the cellars cool they are crushed and macerated in cement vats for 3 to 5 weeks to fully extract the color and flavor. When primary fermentation is complete the wine is racked to French 500L demi-muids, with 25% new oak, where it was aged for close to 18 months, all of which makes for a refined Loire Valley Cab Franc to drink over the decade to come.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Vignerons de Buxy, Montagny, Buissonnier, Bourgogne Blanc, France.
This pretty, steely, pale gold and chalky Chardonnay shows off a medium body of lemon, peach, pear and golden fig fruits, along with wet stone, clove spice, almond paste and clarified creme notes with a subtle white blossoms aroma. This wine comes from vines set on clay and limestone soils sourced from small family vineyards around Montagny in Burgundy’s Cote Chalonnaise region. The co-op Vignerons de Buxy was one of the first wineries in Burgundy to be certified sustainable and now partnered with Caves Bailly-Lapierre, there’s some better distribution and marketing, catching up either the quality found here, and this 2023 Montagny Blanc is a lovely effort that offers a lot of value for the money. Nicely balanced between crisp detailing and round textural pleasure, this Vignerons de Buxy white Burgundy is solid on its own, but even better with food. This wine saw a careful cluster selection and all the grapes were de-stemmed, after which it was fermented and lees aged in all stainless steel tank, all to promote freshness and clarity.

I learned that the Vignerons de Buxy was founded originally back in Cote Chalonnaise in 1931 by a community of 98 vine growers, who, in the face of the Great Depression, sought to pool resources and formed this cooperative to survive this devastating period in Europe. Buxy says the grouping of the many little family plantings, all inspired by the same values of solidarity, sharing and conviviality, resulted in a brand that represents a human and social endeavor stretching back over 89 years. In1977, the Cave de Saint Gengoux le National merged with the Cave des Vignerons de Buxy and from then on to now, the Cave des Vignerons de Buxy’s production area expanded to include both the original Côte Chalonnaise as well as new vineyards the Mâconnais region. This meant, Buxy was able to offer a wider range of wines, with offerings from Santenay to Cluny, including the appellations of Montagny, seen here, Mercurey, Givry, Rully, Macon Village and Mâcon Saint Gengoux. Interestingly too, It made Vignerons de Buxy Burgundy’s leading supplier for Bourgogne Aligoté, which I hope to try soon. Thanks to Cella Restaurant in Monterey for pouring this one by the glass and sharing with me, during a wonderful meal with friends.
($20 Est.) 89 Points, grapelive

2007 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, Hermitage “La Petite Chapelle” Northern Rhône, France.
One of the first wines made under the Frey ownership of Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, the 2007 vintage, of the legendary Hermitage vineyard, has become a beautifully elegant wine of delicacy and finesse with almost Pinot Noir like silken texture and has full maturity of fruit at this point. The lighter palate of this old Syrah revolves around faded earthy dried cherries, figs, blueberries and spiced raspberries, with dusty pepper, cedar, bay leaf, incense, minty herbs, anise and leathery notes. The Hermitage appellation, in the Northern Rhône, is a single 650 ft hill above the Rhône River. It is part of the ancient Massif Central and Hermitage hill has a diversity of soil types from four geological eras that have merged here with granite from the primary era, fragments of limestone from the secondary era, hills from the tertiary era, and glaciations from the ice ages. These 45 to 100 year old vines are grown on steep slopes and see the cooling influences of the La Mistral wind, which help give this area its long hang time, depth of flavors and richness, with ripe fruit and seductive savory notes This all has allowed this place to become the varied and complex terroir that has made Hermitage so legendary, as seen in the wines like this one. The more approachable styled La Petite Chapelle Hermitage, of this era, was sourced from a mix of parcels, all de-stemmed and aged 15-18 months in French oak with about 20% new. This aging, but graceful 2007 was a treat and I’m grateful to my friend Tom Hlasny, who shared this from his personal cellar.

The Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine, which dates back to 1834, as mentioned in my prior reviews, is now owned by the Frey family, led by the talented Caroline Frey, has been an iconic estate in the Northern Rhone and one of the big three in the region along with Guigal and Chapoutier, most known for their fabled La Chapelle vineyard in Hermitage, Syrah’s most holy site! There’s been wines made here since pre-Roman times, but it was Antoine Jaboulet’s plantings in 1834 and focus on quality which really started to establish the area as one of the major wine producing appellations of the world, after he past the land was passed on to his two sons Henri and Paul, who’s name became company label. The Frey family, who bought the fade glory Jaboulet in 2006, have become big time players in premium French wine production having serious quality properties in Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, which includes Chateau La Lagune in Haut-Medoc and Château de Corton André in the Cote de Beaune. Caroline Frey, who studied in Bordeaux is one of France’s stars and has her hand in many projects, with even a biodynamic high elevation vineyard in Switzerland, of which I am excited to try the wines from. The Jaboulet lineup is full of quality efforts, but without question Frey’s La Chapelle, which is now its own separate label (winery) and singular wine, is the top priority and it continues to be one of the most coveted wines in the world, while wines like this one, is a more affordable and easy to drink young version. The 2007 vintage wasn’t a classic or powerful vintage and this wine displays the year’s character and it should be drunk up sooner v. later, to best enjoy the life it has left.
($99 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Apostolos Thymiopoulos, Xinomavro, Young Vines, Makeoania IGP, Greece.
The beautiful and distinctive 100% Xinimavro young vine ruby red from Apostolos Thymiopoulos delivers a wonderful palate of wild plum, brandied cherry, raspberry and blood orange fruits, again reminding me that Xinomavro is very Nebbiolo like, especially here with subtle earthiness, black licorice, seeped rose petals and Amaro notes. This exceptional value, shows off a medium body and a fine tannic structure, as well as a brisk cut of natural acidity making it fabulous with a robust meal, and or hard cheeses. This wine, from the Macedonia area in Northern part of the mainland in the foothills of high mountains, which sees warm days and cool nights, sourced from both high elevation and lower plots of vines set on schist, granite and limestone soils, really highlights the unique terroir of this less traveled part of Greece. Greece’s new generation of winemakers have transformed our understanding of Greek wines, especially in the red wines, which were never nearly this delicious and compelling, it is the best time ever to explore them.

Apostolos Thymiopoulos, based near Naoussa, one of Northern Greece’s best growing regions, is all new to me and I am now an instant fan after tasting this wine and look forward to checking out the winery’s offer offerings. I understand that he Thymiopoulos family has been growing Xinomavro grapes in the village of Trilofos for the better part of a century, but Apostolos Thymiopoulos was the first of the family to make wine for himself commercially, doing so while studying oenology back in 2005. Apostolos is committed to sustainable viticulture and minimum intervention during the whole winemaking process, and completely focused on the native Xinomavro grape, of which he typically does 10 different expressions of each vintage. For this wine, the grapes are 75% de-stemmed, with 25% whole bunches, saw a long cool maceration and native yeast fermentation in stainless steel tank, after completing malos, the wine is then racked over to cement vats for 8 months of aging. This wine’s transparency and quality really shines, and makes me wonder why I’m not drinking more Xinomavro, which I highly recommend doing so in the near future!
($20 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 By Farr ‘Irrewarra’ Pinot Noir, Geelong, Australia.
I’d heard of By Farr, but this was my first experience with their wines, and I found this 2020 Irrewarra Pinot Noir nicely charming, balanced and entertaining, especially after some time in the glass with a range of red fruits, delicate florals, a loamy earthiness, mineral tones and a bright spicy character. This wine, traditionally made with all de-stemmed grapes, a gentle maceration and aged in mainly used French oak, shows off a pretty ruby/garnet hue and aromas of geranium and rose petals, red berries, brambles, cola bean and forest floor with a silky cherry led silky medium bodied palate. By Farr Wines, as they note, is a family-owned and operated winery that has been producing wines since 1994. The winery is located in the heart of the Moorabool Valley, where the cool climate and unique terroir, they add, provide the perfect conditions for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. The By Farr winemaking philosophy is focused on minimal intervention, allowing the grapes to express a sense of place that is a true reflection of the land and the vintage. An extra dimension of fruit reveals itself with food, but it also needs a less spicy meal to show off its best side. I always love exploring new wines and ever curious, so this By Farr fulfilled an itch to try something different.

The Irrewarra (which means long spear throw in Australia’s ancient Aboriginal language) Vineyard in Geelong is located in the heart of the Western District Farming country, approximately 150 kilometers south-west of Melbourne, in a cool climate region. Irrewarra is surrounded by in land lakes and volcanic plains, with what is said to be a diverse and beautiful landscape that relies on a high amount of natural rainfall throughout the year. The Western plains are quite exposed to the elements which contributes to the vineyard sites mystic, with some chilly breezes that helps make for balanced Pinot Noir.The soils, Farr says, across the slope of the site are a mixture of grey sandy clay loams at the south end to dark brown loams with fragments of buckshot and quartz gravels towards the north, all with underlying brown to yellow clays, which adds to the complexity. The growing season in Southern Australia in 2020 was not an easy one, with lots of areas affected by smoke taint from the every present bush fires, but I didn’t see anything here in this By Far Irrewarra to signal any such problem and day two brought even more pleasure. This wine has lots to admire, even though the price is somewhat high, especially with the quality of wines you find in this price point. I maybe not buy another bottle of this exact wine and vintage, but I will keep an eye out for some other of Br Farr offerings in the future.
($49 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Rustiqué Wines, Riesling, Tondre Grapefield, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The latest set releases from Chad Silacci at Rustiqué Wines, located on the northwestern edge of the Santa Lucia Highlands, are all lovely quality efforts, especially the Pinot Noir and this bright dry Tondre Grapefield Riesling which shows off crisp detail, lime blossom, zesty apple, citrus and tart peach fruits, with racy acidity. The Santa Lucia Highlands’ cool climate, loamy decomposed granite soils and breezy conditions allow the Riesling grapes to ripen perfectly and retain classic acidity and Rustiqué got it all captured in the bottle in this extra cool vintage. The 2023 is a true Trocken style and delivers exceptional purity with loads of tension on the lighter framed palate, making this one, with its hints of tropical fruit, wet stones, ginger spice and almond notes, will appeal to those that like the more severely dry versions of this grape. This Riesling is a micro batch and a limited offering from Rustiqué, definitely an under the radar wine in the collection, but certainly worth the extra efforts to find it.

The Silacci Vineyards, first planted vines in 1999 and became an instant hit with their Pinot Noir grapes, which went into some very successful and highly rated wines from some top producers, but now have their own label Rustiqué Wines, originally founded in 2006, and are crafting some excellent wines on their own. Chad Silacci, who’s one of the new and young winemakers in the Monterey region, mentored under the gifted hands of Denis Hoey at Odonata, is showing lots of potential and I really enjoyed both of the vintages of Riesling, this 2023, which is bone dry, and the more Kabinett level off dry and fruitier 2024, plus the SLH Chard, Syrah and Pinot offerings, in particular the KW Ranch. For the Riesling, Silacci employed a gentle approach with a soft pressing of the grape clusters and was careful to settle the juice as to not allow for green, bitter phenolics and used a combination of stainless steel and neutral French oak with a short period of lees aging. This 2023, a worthy addition to the California Riesling scene, will be excellent with sushi and or fresh oysters, while the upcoming 2024 will be better with spicier dishes, with its well judged amount of residual sugar cutting into the heat of Asian dishes.
($44 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 Mont-Redon Reserve, Côtes du Rhône Rouge, Rhône Valley, France.
The very dark and enjoyable Château Mont-Redon made Reserve Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2022, coming from vines set on stony calcareous soils around the towns of Orange and Roquemaure, is made up of mostly Grenache, with a good dose of Syrah, giving it a deep extracted hue, a juicy black fruited profile and full of savory tones and spices. Heady at over 14% natural alcohol, this Côtes du Rhône doesn’t feel heavy or hot in the glass, in fact it has a cooler tone and vibrant, going well with food. The palate possesses loads of boysenberry, red currant, plum and bramble berry fruits, a light dusting of pepper, lavender, a hint of violets, grilled herbs and chalky notes. The vines have rounded pebbles and the exposures that allow ripe grapes, which all all de-stemmed when brought into the deep underground cellar for a cool 15 day maceration, after that the wine ages about 8 months in vat before bottling.

The famed Château Mont-Redon, based in the Northwestern part of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape zone, is owned by the Plantin family, heirs Abeille-Fabre, and is currently run by the 4th generation, including winemaker Pierre Fabre. There’s a lot of history at Mont-Redon, who are proud of being the largest estate in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, though maybe don’t get the acclaim of others. In 1980, the estate expanded with the acquisition of a 15-hectare vineyard in the Côtes-du-Rhône Appellation, where they get the grapes for this Mont-Redon Reserve Côtes du Rhône, then they added another of 35 hectares in the Lirac Appellation in 1997, that easily fits in between the top wines and he more basic ones. They, also have similar terroirs, as they are both located on the commune of Roquemaure. Sometimes simple is better, and this approachable and not hard to find wine provides a good performance, if not overly exciting and should be drunk over the next few years, no patience needed here, as is he case with most everyday Côtes du Rhônes.
($18 Est.) 88 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine du Vieux Chateau-Daniel-Etienne Defaix, Chablis, Vieilles Vignes, White Burgundy, France.
This Old Vine Chablis is a unique wine, with a slightly oxidative maturity, while still being vibrant and steely to its core, it shows off a pure chalky terroir character in the glass and a depth not typically seen in non cru versions. This 2020 is ripe and concentrated, with a leesy texture, medium body, as per normal for the vintage with orange blossoms, lemon curd, apple, pear, oyster shell, hazelnut, clove spice, wet stone and a fine salinity. Daniel Defaix ferments, 100% de-stemmed grapes, in stainless steel tank, using 100% natural yeasts, at cold temps, which takes close to three weeks and then the wine is rested almost three years on the lees, again in stainless (only) and goes through natural malos, then racked again back to stainless tanks to aged, which usually lasts between 4 years, in this bottling, to 10 years, in the Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines before bottling! This bottle got better and better as it opened up and is a very rewarding Chablis, and I am glad a bought a few to enjoy over the next few years.

Daniel-Etienne Defaix, who uniquely cellar ages his wines before release, as mentioned in my prior reviews, continues this long family tradition of wine growing, which has been working the vines around Chablis since the 1500s, and now he manages 26 hectares planted exclusively to Chardonnay, which most all there vines in a selection of Premier Crus. Defaix, a natural minded vigneron, who’s family is from Avallon, not far from Chablis, with his ancestor Etienne-Paul Defaix moving the family into Chablis during the eighteenth century, he uses largely self taught methods to craft his wines with ideas passed down and learned from his own experiences. His severe selections of grapes and his long fermentations highlight his deft and gentile touch in the cellar. I’ve been following vintages here at Defaix, since having his 2005s, and have become a big fan of these lovely Chablis offerings, and this 2020 Vieilles Vignes bottling shows maybe the most personality and overt flavors, with a delicate tropical note, but still is faithful in style and full of old school charm.
($49 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2012 Roar, Pinot Noir, Rosella’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
I’ve been blessed to have met up with the Roar team twice in the last month or so, and was incredibly impressed by the latest offerings from this famous Santa Lucia Highlands winery, but I also got a chance to enjoy a special library selection of their 2012 Rosella’s Pinot Noir, which was showing wonderfully well and proves the aging potential here. The gorgeous ruby/garnet Rosella’s 2012 Pinot Noir shows off a exceptional silken palate with richly smooth layers of black cherry, raspberry, strawberry and Mission fig fruits, along with subtle secondary flavors, a delicate earthiness, dried roses, briery spices, black tea, grilled orange, cola, smoky vanilla and a nice wood shading. This wine, tasted from magnum, gets prettier and prettier in the glass with a graceful medium bodied texture and a stunningly long finish, with the youthful fruit giving way to a refined, perfectly aged, class, making this a seriously rewarding experience. Roar’s current set of 2023 vintage offerings look to be elevated wines, with the Santa Lucia Highlands cuvée Chardonnay, which I reviewed last month, and the Rosella’s Pinot being favorites of mine, along with the Garys’ Pinot Noir, all being wines that have age worthy structures and depth. The Rosella’s Pinot grapes, from vines originally planted in 1996, were all de-stemmed and got a bit of a cold soak before a traditional maceration and fermentation using a carefully selected yeast culture, after which the wine aged for 10 months in French oak with about 65% new wood being employed, as per normal in these single vineyard Pinots.

During a recent tour of the Santa Lucia Highlands I was able to visit the Soberanes and Garys’ with Gary and Adam Franscioni, the owners of Roar, and got a chance to hear about the farming of these Grand Cru sites which are set on sandy loam soils and see cooling Monterey Bay breezes, that gives these wines their distinctive personalities. Roar, founded by the Francsioni family and one of the famous Garys, after the release of their 2000 vintage, who are best known for Pinot Noir, also do a fine selection of Chardonnay snd Rhônes, including Syrah, Viognier and even a micro batch of Grenache. The Roar winery say the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, in Monterey County, benefits from a rare combination of abundant sunshine and a powerful cooling influence from the Monterey Bay’s deep submarine canyon. The daily afternoon winds, reaching up to 25 mph, slow down ripening, enhance phenolic development, and create wines with exceptional depth, balance, and aging potential. Winemaker Scott Shapley has done a fantastic job here over the last decade, but these 2023s are some of my favorites of all time at Roar, as mentioned, with huge potential. The long growing season, free from the threat of fall rains, allows winemakers to achieve optimal ripeness and concentration, while preserving vibrant acidity. All of which have proven true for Roar over the quarter of a century they’ve been making wines, some of the region’s most sought after, and the future looks just as bright for them, as this 2012 demonstrates too, especially after tasting a few of their latest releases.
($75-100 Est. 750ml) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Messier, Chardonnay, Carmel Coast AVA, Monterey County.
Domaine Messier is an exciting new project here in Carmel Valley, situated in the western zone of what is now known as the Carmel Coast AVA, which is set on loamy soil layered upon weathered shale and sees lots of cooling fog, perfect for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as seen here with this beautiful estate Chardonnay. This delicately tropical, mineral driven and pale gold 2023 Chardonnay shows off a pristine, Burgundy like character and the cool vintage freshness, while still being deep in complexity and length with a smooth layering of golden apple, Bosc pear, lemon and fig fruits, along with clove spice, chalky stone, a tough of hazelnut, baking spice and white flower notes. This is a fine effort that gets better with air, filling out nicely on the medium bodied palate, gaining richness and depth of complexity, while staying focused and with just the right amount of brisk acidity, as well as well judged oak framing here, making for a serious Chardonnay that really captures a sense of place. Domaine Messier, with the talents of Chris and Greg Vita in cellar and Todd Kenyon (a local legend) in the vineyard, along with Etienne Grivot, of the famous Domaine Jean Grivot domaine in Burgundy, who is consulting on the Pinot Noir, has all the right stuff to succeed and I’m excited to see what happens here, especially after trying this Messier Chardonnay. Domaine Messier, is almost exclusively sold on their mailing list and website, does a Rosé of Pinot Noir, this Chardonnay and two Pinot Noir cuvées.

It was great to finally meet Luc Messier of Domaine Messier, who released their first efforts in the 2022 vintage, recently and hear about his exciting cool climate Carmel Valley vineyard in the new Carmel Coast AVA, west of Albatross Ridge and above Pelio on marine layer kissed slopes. Messier, who is from Montreal Canada, fell in love with Carmel Valley and was inspired by the efforts of the late Peter Figge, of Figgie Cellars that was instrumental in the first plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay here in this tiny AVA. Luc’s commitment to the land and environment, which he says commit to its care starts with organic farming practices and that he seeks to make wines which is the ultimate expression of its terroir and growing season. Messier has about 20 acres planted so far, almost evenly split between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, planted with a unique selection of genetic material including clones 38, 70, 72 and 80 for the Chardonnay, and clones 72, 143, 828 and 943 for the Pinot Noir. Messier explains that with a location just about seven miles from the Pacific Ocean, the cool coastal climate is distinctly suited for Burgundian varietals. For his Chardonnay Messier employs a cool stainless steel primary fermentation before racking the wine to French oak barriques where it matures on the fine lees for 7 months with about 40% new wood employed. All of which promotes crisp detailing, but offering up a wonderful balance, texture and a lovely vitality that should allowing for good aging potential too, drink this one over the next 5 to 7 years.
($58 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Clos Canarelli, Tarra di Sognu, Bonifacio Rouge, Vin de France, Corsica.
This dark garnet and leathery Tarra di Sognu, by Yves Canarelli, one of my all time favorite producers, has a full bodied and robust palate of brambly red fruits, including black raspberry, wild plum, tangy red currant and strawberry fruit, along with lavender, forest floor, stony loam, peppery spice, minty herb and cedary notes. Best enjoyed with meaty cuisine, this wine benefits from air and protein to refine the raw tannin and lift the prettier side of this nicely textural wine.The most authentically Corsican red in the Clos Canarelli lineup is a intriguing Tarra di Sognu, made from a mainly indigenous varietal blend of 50% Carcaghjolu Neru, 40% Sciaccarellu and 10% MinustelluIn, which makes for a unique and impactful, almost like an old school Chateauneuf du Pape. 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, in their red wines, as seen here, with wineries like Abbatucci, Leccia and Clos Canarelli being highly coveted. According to Kermit Lynch, Yves Canarelli, since taking over the family domaine in 1993, he has championed the restoration of native Corsican 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. Though Figari is regarded as the most ancient growing region of Corsica, it has still taken pioneers like Yves having the courage to rip out entire vineyards of foreign varietals before Corsican wines have finally received the recognition they deserve. I’ve long followed Clos Canarelli and have tried most all of the wines many, many times, but this was my first chance to sample this Tarra di Sognu and it did not disappoint, it is majestic and earthy, mysterious just like the Island of Corsica itself, and totally seductive.

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. This wine, is from a biodynamic plot on chalky limestone in the Bonifacio area, completely different from the granite based soils usually forming the underpinning of the Clos Canarelli wines, setting it apart, along with the set of varietals. For the Tarra di Sognu Bonifacio Rouge, which doesn’t fall into the AOC rules, hence the Vin de France on the label, Canarelli harvests all the grapes cool and does a 100% de-stemming before a lengthy maceration and a natural yeast fermentation in wooden vats. This wine then is pressed and matured for 18 months in large French oak foudres and demi-muids, that allow taming of tannins, but providing transparency of form, as clearly on display in this beautiful and rustically charming Tarra di Sognu Rouge. The two main grapes in this wine, Carcaghjolu Neru, which is a native of the Mediterranean, specifically Corsica and Sardinia, is exceptionally rare, and Sciaccarellu, an ancient Etruscan (Tuscan) varietal, also known as Mammolo and sometimes found in Chianti, came to Corsica thousands of years ago, making this wine the thrill it is! If you’ve not had Clos Canarelli, I highly recommend changing that as soon as possible, I suggest starting with Yves’ classic set of Figari White, Rosé and Red offerings, and then move on to the more exotic stuff, like the Amphora aged Rouge and this one.
($105 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2023 Bruno Giacosa, Dolcetto d’Alba, Piemonte, Italy.
The lovely, pure and deep purple/garnet 2023 Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d’Alba is nicely aromatic, bright in fruit intensity with a layering of blackberry, plum, black cherry and tangy currant fruits, along with snappy herbs, spices, including cinnamon and allspice, anise and delicate stony loam. Perfect with rustic meaty dishes, this Giacosa Dolcetto has just the right amount of raw tannin, a lifting sense of acidity and a medium bodied palate that will be delicious with classic sausage and pasta dishes. Somethings are best kept simple, as Dolcetto thrives without being over done and Giacosa employs a fermentation, maceration, lasting about 8 days, and aging in stainless steel vats. The malolactic fermentation and maturing occurs also in the stainless vat, typically about just 6 months, plus another month of resting in the bottle before release. The grapes, coming from vines set on clay, marl and sand, with vineyards in the various villages of Neive, Neviglie, Treiso and Alba, with mainly ripe exposures, facing south and east, proving the quality seen here. Giacosa, a historic Piemonte label, famous for collectable Barolo and Barbaresco, is always a bottle that stands out and I am Dolcetto fan, so I was completely thrilled to try this vintage and highly recommend it.

The late Bruno Giacosa, one of Italy’s greatest ever producers, as mentioned in my prior reviews, was an Italian wine hero who was from the village Neive in the Langhe region, most famous for his Nebbiolo(s) and more so for Barolo especially. This days his daughter Bruna, who has taken over, produces a number of coveted Barbaresco and Barolo wines, as well as bottlings of Arneis, Barbera, Dolcetto, as seen here, and even a sparkling wine. The Nebbiolo efforts all lead up to the legendary Rocche del Falletto Barolo and the equally famous Santo Stefano(s) Barbaresco. Bruna, working with his longtime enologist and protegé, Dante Scaglione, has continued her father’s tradition of excellence and it is always a pleasure to taste these Giacosa wines. The Giacosa name on a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco denotes both the highest quality and true vineyard expression, as I’ve said before, that I myself think of Giacosa in the same way as I do with the likes of the Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé in Burgundy, with their Barolo and Barbaresco comparing well with Vogüé’s Musigny and Bonnes Mares Grand Cru! I consider myself lucky to have tasted with Bruna at a tasting in San Francisco, and enjoyed the Tre Bicchieri (winning) 2004 Riserva Santo Stefano, it was an experience I won’t forget. While the Barolo and Barbaresco offerings here are some of Italy’s best and most expensive rarities, the Arneis, Barbera and Dolcetto remain sold values.
($36 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Laurent Barth, Pinots, Vin d’Alsace, France.
Made from a unique combination of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois, the Laurent Barth Pinots is a bright pale gold hued and crisply dry Alsace white with subtle and stony aromatics and a citrus and stone fruited lighter framed wine. Barth does a Pinot d’Alsace too, which is mostly Pinot Auxerrois with tiny amounts of Gris and Pinot Noir, depending on vintage, but this one usually contains all the different Pinots, hence the name and it is a more curious and all organic wine with tangy dry extract and apple, lemon, peach and fleshy melon fruits, a touch of spice, mineral, bitter almond, wet stone and a light dusting of wild herbs. Alsace has a warm and sunny Continental climate, sheltered from rain by Vosges mountains and vineyards are set on a complex set of soils, including clay and marl, alluvial soil, marl and limestone, sandstone, quartz and some granite. Barth has mostly preferred hillside vineyards up at around 250-300m above sea level. I’ve only tried a few things so far from the talented Laurent Barth, including this one most recently, but I’ve been impressed and I look forward to exploring more of his collection, especially his Grand Cru Rieslings, which are supposed to be outstanding. This fun white show more concentration in this vintage than might be expected, but remains fresh and best enjoyed sooner v. later. Imported by Louis/Dressner, Lauent Barth’s wines are still hard to find rarities, but they are well worth searching out, especially as they haven’t gotten out of hand price wise and are lovely efforts.

Laurent Barth’s estate in Bennwhir, north of Colmar, has around 4ha planted with the seven traditional varietals, on 25 different plots out of which he makes 10 to 14 different cuvées each year.Taking over his father’s vines in 1999 Laurent had to wait for 5 years and the end of the coop’s contract for the grapes to make the first wine under his name. He did a full organic conversion of the domaine as well as its reorganization, and he sold some vineyards on flat lands to focus on his best sites including the Grand Cru Marckrain. He now follows biodynamic principles, and also acquired a splendid parcel in the prestigious Schlossberg Grand Cru, where he devotes a lot of his time working the steep and granitic slope. After winemaking in Lebanon, India, South Africa, Australia and California, Barh returned home to his family’s estate and is making a name for himself. In the cellar, the wines are crafted with natural processes with the grapes cooled down before being processed, with indigenous yeast fermentation and aging occuring in a mix of stainless steel, old barrels and stunning traditional foudres (made in 1935 with oak from the near by Vosges forest). The secondary malo-lactic fermentation happens naturally, and a very low bit of sulphur is added at bottling, making for authentic and transparent wines, as seen here. Alsace is seeing a complete reimagining with a new focus on field blended wines, a new push into deeper Pinot Noir reds, while not forgetting classics, like Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and the likes, it is a good time to take a new look at the region.
($28 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2019 Domaine de Pallus, Chinon Rouge, Le Clos de Pallus, Loire Valley, France.
This 2019 Chinon Le Clos de Pallus by vigneron Bertrand Sourdais at Domaine de Pallus is very pretty and evolving beautifully in the bottle, giving a deep and pure Cab Franc with aromatic and extra rewards in the glass and should continue on a rewarding path for another decade. The palate is full of blackberry, wild plum, earthy black cherry and lingering red currant fruits, along with violets, bell pepper, minty anise, truffle, chalky stones, cedar and a light leathery note. The Le Clos de Pallus, or The Clos, is made from an enclosed section of vines planted back in 1962 and it is located close to the Sourdais family home on siliceous clay over calcareous soils. All the grapes are grown with biodynamic methods, certified organic in 2009, which get 100% de-stemming and natural fermentation in open top wood vat with more than three weeks of maceration before being aged in old Burgundy barrels for at least 18 months. There’s a lot to admire here and this 2019, not the most acclaimed year, rises above the normal and is really drinking fabulously well and I highly recommend it to Cab Franc enthusiasts.

The Domaine de Pallus, a fifth generation estate, is located in the village of Cravant-le-Côteaux, situated in the heart of the appellation, and has a collection of some of Chinon’s most coveted vineyards. In fact Domaine de Pallus has 12 out of the 70 hectares hat are prime hillside sites that are considered grand cru quality parcels, including the Le Clos de Pallus plot. From 2005 Bertrand Sourdais has been in charge here and has made quite name for himself and the winery for the excellence of the Domaine de Pallus wines, both Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, as seen here. While somewhat under the radar, Loire fans are making these wines scarce and highly prized. Interestingly Bertrand, who grew up at Pallus, first found fame in Spain after completing his enology studies in Bordeaux, and though achieving that stardom in Spain, Sourdais still had his heart in Chinon. He had passion for its emblematic variety, Cabernet Franc, so, it was inevitable that he would someday return to his family’s estate. Every time I’ve tried these Domaine de Pallus wines I’ve been impressed, but this 2019, which is a real deal, is a step above what I had before and I am really excited for the 2020 and 2022 versions, from top vintages.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine François Crochet, Sancerre “Le Chêne Marchand” Loire Valley, France.
The Cru Le Chêne Marchand Sancerre by François Crochet, who is highly regarded in the region, and that graduated from the famous enology school in Beaune and after school stayed in Burgundy working at Domaine Bruno Clair, is a top notch, complex and structured Loire Sauvignon Blanc with this 2022 version being an elite white wine. The racy medium bodied palate is driven by mineral intensity, lifted citrus fruit, subtle depth and rewarding textural dimension, showing off aromatic gooseberry, lime blossom, lemon oil, tart peach, wet stones and a long chalky finish. This outstanding stuff, with loads of terroir character and age worthy substance, coming from classic Silex soils and fermented after a whole cluster pressing, with this wine seeing close to a year of lees maturing in an old forty-hectoliter tron-conic French oak vat.

The Sancerre region, as noted by The Source Imports, Crochet’s importer in California, sits on top of a series of hills and small valleys that were once under the ocean which deposited all sorts of calcium rich shells from ancient sea-life. Going on they add, In the case of Sancerre, the most famous rock here is called Kimmeridgian, which is made primarily of an ancient tiny sea creature that closely resembles today’s oyster. The rest of the vineyard land in Sancerre is a mixture of limestone marl, chalk and flint, as well as quite a lot of red and brown clay soils that are clearly marked with a good dose of iron. The conditions here are perfect for mineral intense and chalky wines, with Crochet making some sublime versions of red and white Sancerre offerings, with François’s cru Sancerre Blanc(s) being one of my favorites. I was a great pleasure getting a chance to try this special and more concentrated vintage of crochet’s Le Chêne Marchand Sancerre earlier this year and it will be a thrilling wine to enjoy over the next 5 to 7 years.
($69 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Spreitzer, Riesling, Wisselbrunnen, VDP Grosses Gewächs, Rheingau, Germany.
Again, I love the Speitzer Wisselbrunnen Grand Cru Riesling, which is powerful, earthy, enchanting and mysterious with it’s mainly loam and loess soils showing through with restrained fruit, spice, phenolic grip and its regal lengthy finish. As per normal here, since I first reviewed the 2013 version, there’s an intriguing array of persimmon, kumquat, green apple, white tea, chalky stones and a steely core of lime and white peach. The leesy richness in this Wisselbrunne GG is matched nicely by firm acidity and tension, this is always a fantastic Riesling and without question a great value in the this league of wines, with this 2021 just beginning to come out of its shell and giving hints of secondary complexity, gaining some smoky mineral flinty notes, rosewater, burnt orange and dried apricot. It’s funny, but I sometimes overlook the Wisselbrunnen GG in the reviews of Spreitzer’s wines, not because it doesn’t deserve mention, it is just that it is so obviously an exceptional dry Riesling every time I try it that I think people would get bored hearing just how good it is! The Spreitzer estate, as I’ve noted, is vastly different to other areas of the Rheingau, with a totally proprietary mix of exposures and soils, this is why the two Grand Crus, the Wisselbrunnen and Rosengarten, as so contrasting with the Rosengarten being the more overt and fruity/flirty and the Wisselbrunnen the more reserved, austere and complex in style, as seen here.

The Weingut Josef Spreitzer, as I’ve explained in my prior reviews, now run by the brothers, Andreas and Bernd Spreitzer, was originally founded back in 1641, making it one of the oldest family wineries in the Rheingau, is located not far from the Rhein villages of Hattenheim, Oestrich-Winkel and Etville, where the Rhein river is at its widest point, it creates an almost lake effect and the terroir is quite unique here with less slate than just down the river in Rudesheim and the soils here vary, as mentioned above, with areas of loess, clay, shell limestone, gravel, a bit of slates, quartzite, iron-rich stones and sand, all of which forms the individual characteristics and complexities in Spreitzer’s diverse offerings. As mentioned in my prior reviews, Weingut Spreitzer strives to maintain fruit intensity, vibrancy and freshness, looking for finesse, so they settle the must (juice) by gravity for 24 hours after a whole-cluster pressing, they then allow the wines to rest on their gross lees and only filter the wine once during the fermentation and aging period. They employ a long cool fermentation, and extended lees elevage to protect the juice from oxidation, using mostly ambient (natural) yeasts for fermentation in both temperature controlled stainless steel and their old wood. They used the classic 1,200 liter casks, made of German oak, which are called Stückfass, in which this Grosses Gewachs was matured for close to 9 months before bottling, after which the wine is held almost a year before release. The whole collection at Spreitzer is full of quality efforts, and I’m excited to see what the next set of wines looks like next month, but in the meantime, be sure to look for the outstanding GG wines from 2021, 2022 and 2023!
($60 ESt.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Lucia by Pisoni, Syrah, Soberanes Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Just when I thought the Lucia Syrahs couldn’t get any better, this 2023 Soberanes takes into a totally new realm of greatness and completely destroys the gap between old world and new world versions of this grape! This cool vintage and the terroir here form a perfect marriage providing the Pisoni’s some of the most fantastic Syrah grapes ever, not that it was easy or without severe cropping choices, but in the end something incredibly emerged after fermentation, a majestic and gorgeous wine. Powerful, aromatic and loaded with deep fruit and a glorious savory crunch of flavors, this Soberanes shows off boysenberry, damson plum, blueberry compote and black cherry fruits, along with creme de cassis, bitter coco, wild sage, crushed rock, peppercorn, smoky vanilla, sandalwood and licorice. Again this wine is full bodied, with elegant tannins, natural acidity 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 family. I have said, to some laughter at times, since the 2004 vintage, that Syrah (which is great of granite soils) is the best varietal in the Santa Lucia highlands, and I gotta say this purply/garnet hued and violet laced wine just might prove me right, it is already heavenly in the glass and has decades of pleasure ahead of it, do not miss this vintage.

The other day, I walked the dirt of Garys’ Vineyard and the Soberanes Vineyard, in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, with the winegrowers, Gary and Adam Franscioni and Mark Pisoni, who are some of the best grape farmers in California, and the experience reminded me of just how special these vines are. The Soberness Vineyard, cooled by Monterey’s deep underwater canyon that heighten the fierce cold breezes here, 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 (decomposed granite) 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 combination of Gary Pisoni, a visionary and passionate wine lover, who brought the attention of the world to the Santa Lucia Highlands, his sons Jeff, the winemaker and Mark, who as mentioned is the quiet man behind the unbelievable quality of the grapes, make one of the great teams in California wine and their wines are getting better and better! I highly recommend chasing down the 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions of this Soberanes, they are all exceptional Syrahs, but this 2023 stands above, close to perfect, and will age majestically in the cellars.
($70 Est.) 98 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Dönnhoff, Dry Riesling, Nahe, Germany.
One of the best deals in the world of wine, Dönnhoff’s estate driven Dry Riesling (Trocken) is full of steely personality and precise focus of fruit with crisp green apple, lime, white peach and tart quince layers, brisk acidity, fine white blossoms on the nose, smoky mineral mineral notes, bitter almond, tea spice and lip smacking saline. Sublime clarity of detail and tension make this fabulous chiseled Riesling, again this 2023 version over delivers in the glass and I look forward to checking out the upcoming 2024, which is just released. Made to be a gateway to Donnhoff’s awesome collection of GGs, this thrilling bargain estate Trocken Riesling over delivers in quality and highlights the diverse terroirs that the Donnhoff vineyard sites have, which are set a complex combination of soils that goes from classic slate to volcanic, with löss, quartzite, gravelly loams, limestone and sandstones. These soils, again as mentioned in prior reviews, give each wine their own personality and charm, with the Estate Trocken seeing a mix of sites to showcase the overall quality of the Donnhoff’s holdings. A few years of age can add some secondary elements to this Riesling, and a maybe a slightly deeper hue in the glass, and any vintage you find is worth stocking up on, while staying being full of vibrancy, great with shellfish and briny foods. When enjoyed fresh and young these Dry Dönnhoff are outstanding and rewarding from the start, with this one, especially so.

The legendary Dönnhoff estate, as I’ve mentioned, based in Oberhäusen on the Nahe, is, as mentioned many times here, one of my favorite wineries in the world and this basic Trocken is always impeccably made and pure in character and style. Helmut Dönnhoff, the figure head here, was the first to bring international fame to this prestigious winery and making wine since 1966, and now Cornelius, his son who is the 4th generation to run this historic property, is stamping his own signature on these exceptional offerings. They have an amazing set of VDP Grosse Lagen (Grand Cru) vineyards, including Hermannshohle, Felsenberg, Dellchen and Brucke. Cornelius is one of top vignerons in Europe and his wines, which range from briskly dry, like this bone dry Estate Trocken, all the way up to the Grosses Gewachs, to the heavenly luscious, from Spatlese, Aulese, and to Eiswein, which is otherworldly and on parr with the greatest sweet wines ever made from Sauternes to Tokaj! The Dry Riesling or Estate Trocken sees exclusively stainless steel and is done with a 100% spontaneous fermentation(s) and then it is aged on the lees for a short time before being bottled quickly to preserve freshness and purity of the flavors, and while made to be enjoyed young, has superb midterm drinkability and can be cellared for a decade. I absolutely recommend this exceptional value Riesling from Dönnhoff, it’s guaranteed to please!
($24 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Pieropan, Soave Classico DOC “La Rocca” Veneto, Italy.
It was great to taste through the oldest family-owned estate’s in Soave wines, Pieropan, which was founded back in 1880, oversees some of the most acclaimed and coveted vineyards in the region that sits between Lake Garda and the Veneto’s main hillside area, including this La Rocco cru that makes an exceptional white wine, as this 2022 version shows. In recent years I’ve been rediscovering Soave and am blown away with the quality here, in particular De Bruno, Inama, Prá and Pieropan, who’s last few year’s wines are excellent, with this La Rocca being one of the stars, showing a depth of texture, aromatics and mineral notes that make it extra compelling. This 2022 is a brilliant pale gold in the glass and starts with white blossoms, crushed rock, white peach and feels nice and balanced on the medium bodied palate, which adds a core of citrus, apple and melon fruit, a delicate spice, crisp acidity and a touch of wood plushness.The Pieropan legacy began, as the winery itself notes, in the late 1800s when their visionary winemaker Leonildo Pieropan purchased the historic Palazzo Pallucci in the medieval village of Soave and searching out top hillside vineyards. Today, the traditions carry on with Leonildo’s great-grandsons, Andrea and Dario, the winemaker, carry on the family’s patriarch’s vision making top quality Soave wines from all organically grown grapes. The family’s persistence in releasing single-vineyard Soave Classicos from select hillsides makes them leaders here, but honestly their base regional blend Soave Classico bottling is pretty darn good and tasty stuff too

The La Rocca, which, as mentioned in my prior reviews, is the richest Soave in the Pieropan portfolio, and crafted exclusively from 100% Garganega grapes. La Rocca sits below a medieval castle on the Monte Rocchetta hill and is notably characterized by its calcareous like hardened clay soils, it’s at between 200-300 meters above sea level and, as Pieropan explains, encompassing several long, narrow terraces facing southwest, picking up the sun, but also getting a balancing cooling influence. The soil and climate at La Rocca, together with its other singular or distinct qualities, gives the wines a unique jasmine and or orange blossom perfume and the mentioned mineral tones. The aromatic and lengthy La Rocca Soave Classico DOC comes from 10 to 50 year old vines, set on those chalky clay soils that allows that richer dimension to show through, and it was indigenous yeast fermented and then aged 12 months on lees in a combination of larger format 500-2000L Slavonian oak barrels. Like I’ve mentioned before wineries like Pieropan have shown the world the true potential of the Garganega grape, crafting outstanding versions throughout their range. Historically, Soave has been a flexible food friendly wine, it goes fabulously well with many pasta dishes, soft cheeses, lighter poultry fare, with linguini and clams being an excellent pairing, while this more exotic and denser version being able to handle more robust cuisine. I got to run through this fabulous collection of Pieropan Soave wines at the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting event in San Francisco, all recognized as fantastic efforts and I was left wanting to visit the region as soon as possible!
($39 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Odonata, Syrah, Soberanes Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The gorgeous 2021 Soberanes Syrah from Denis Honey at Odonata is drinking great with full integration of flavors and textures, it showcases this cru vineyard site nicely and is aromatic, deep and lengthy on the full bodied palate. Uniquely, as Soberanes doesn’t have any Viognier, Odonata, taking a cue from Côte-Roie, co-fermented about 3% Viognier with this Alban clone Syrah and that has added a tiny extra dimension here and the wine is complex and complete with its brambly blackberry, currant, damson plum and blueberry core of fruit, along with crushed peppercorns, violet florals, sprigs of rosemary, black olive, minty sage and anise notes. This vineyard always reminds of just how impactful and great Syrah is here in the Santa Lucia Highlands and this wine has loads of charm and its own distinctive personality, it is an exceptional value and a sleeper in the lineup of quality Odonata offerings. Odonata Wines was founded in Santa Cruz back in 2005, but really has become a full fledged estate winery, after relocating to Monterey’s wine country in 2014 when they moved into the old Marilyn Remark Winery property. There’s always a lot to like at Odonata, based on River Road on the edge of the Santa Lucia Highlands, and while I usually am drawn to their Syrah, Pinot Noir and Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon here, I really liked the new 2021 Malbec and the Grenache Rouge Sparkler.

The Soberanes Vineyard, as noted before, owned and farmed by the Pisoni team led by Mark Pisoni, is set on decomposed granite and sandy loams, high up in the Santa Lucia Highlands with good warm exposures and a long growing season captures the essence of the region with its cool Pacific Ocean breezes and chilly nights allowing for the long hang time, benefiting the grapes, giving deep ripe flavors and a lift of natural acidity. Odonata does this version, along with an Escolle and a Hook Vineyard bottling, but this one is truly a stand out. As I’ve said many times and in my prior reviews, Soberanes is without a doubt one of the most important sites for Syrah in the state, as seen here clearly it excels, along with the supernatural efforts of Cattleya and with the Pisoni family’s own Lucia version. Made from 97% Syrah and 3% Viognier, the Odonata Soberanes Syrah, fermented with naive yeasts and partial whole cluster is rich and ripely plush on the palate, coming in at close to 14.7% natural alcohol, but still remaining a cool climate feel and Norther Rhône attitude in the glass. The wine macerated for a lengthy period before being pressed to barrel, with 40% new wood and aged 18 months in a 500L French oak Puncheon. Be sure to get out to Odonata, not a far drive down River Road, to taste the latest limited offerings, enjoy the Santa Lucia Highlands setting and or check them out online sat their website, there’s a lot to like in the new releases, not this wonderful Syah.
($42 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 I. Brand & Family Winery, Pinot Noir, Fox Creek Vineyard, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
Ian Brand added a Fox Creek Carmel Valley Pinot Noir to his signature lineup for the 2023 vintage, joining the outstanding Chardonnay from this newer vineyard, and it’s a beauty with a unique almost Cru Beaujolais (Gamay) like carbonic, whole bunch, character at this stage reminding of Hundred Suns, an Oregon favorite, with loads of expressive rounded silky cool toned red fruits. I’d not had the Pinot yet from this exclusive ranch vineyard site, so this was an all new experience from my own region and I was very impressed by Ian’s efforts here, making a very distinctive wine that stands out in a crowd without being overstated, it shows off crushed red berries, delicate florals, a hint of mineral, chalk stone, subtle sage and spice, with a core of Bing cherry, strawberry, cranberry and wild plum fruits, along with a faint bit of toast, vanilla, rosewater and orange tea. This cool vintage has given loads of crisp detail and freshness, but the acidity is wonderfully soft and the dark ruby Fox Creek Pinot has a real textual pleasure in the glass, it is a wine that excites my curiosity and I look forward to see how it develops over the next 3 to 5 years. Typically Brand does native yeast fermentation and uses a good percentage of whole cluster, when possible, with mostly used French oak employed for maturing of his wines, all to allow natural, but a clean transparent focus to shine, as it does here. Ian has some rarities in his collection, and has dialed in his alternative whites in recent years, adding Arneis and Arinto varietals to his set of cool stuff, to go along with his skin contact Pinot Gris, Melon de Bourgogne and in demand Albariño.

The Fox Creek Vineyard, as I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, (is) 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, as Ian’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from this vineyard is getting now. The 2023s from here are stunning, as noted before the Chardonnay has had a mixed past here in the deep end of Carmel Valley, but Ian Brand’s Fox Creek Chardonnay is an outstanding effort, which I also highly recommend, along with this Pinot. It’s 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. Both wines are lovely efforts, but this more limited bottling of Fox Creek Pinot might be the one I’d suggest to get sooner v. later as it will sell out fast. The latest set of the I. Brand wines were just set free into the wild, through their mailing list and wine club, and some of the limited bottlings are only available through in person sales in their tasting room in the Carmel Valley Village, and you might have to ask about this one, but try the website asap!
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

N.V. Julien Prélat, Extra Brut Champagne “Les Côtes Blanc de Gris” Celles sur Ource, Côte des Bar, France.
There’s an amazing array of new generation of grower fizz Champagne producers and I’ve not even been able to scratch the surface of them, including the bubbly of Julien Prélat, who is gaining a fine reputation for single vineyard cuvées, such as this wildly different and distinctive 100% Pinot Gris Champagne Les Côtes Blanc de Gris, which I recently tried with my friend Alex Lallos, who sells, or drinks, this wine. Lallos, who is himself a wine professional, has in the last ten or so years developed a passion for these modern grower producers, as well as the classic Grand Marques, is a big talent spotter so I was thrilled to taste through a few of his latest finds, with this one being a stand out. The pale gold and delicately aromatic Les Côtes Blanc de Gris is mineral laden and dry on the palate, with some chalky notes, but impresses for the rich impact with layers of golden apple, fig, lemon curd, quince and tart pear fruits, along with leesy brioche, creme de brûlée, wet stone, hazelnut and flinty notes. This bubbly, with soft acidity, is best enjoyed with food and it was impactful with a range of cuisine, though I’d suggest shellfish and poultry dishes.

The unique Julien Prélat grower producer Champagne Les Côtes Blanc de Gris is made from sustainable all young vine Pinot Gris coming from the 2021 vintage, from a parcel he grafted over in 2017, making it a regional rarity not made from the classic Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Meunier. The wine grapes were harvested at good phenolic and ripeness levels to allow for a lower dosage (Extra Brut) and adds to the richness and depth here, with the vinification, both primary and malo-lactic fermentation done in small stainless steel tanks, where it saw a year or so aging period on the lees, with most of the maturing done under cork after disgorgement, which was done March of 2024. Prélat says he is aware that he’s simply borrowing the lands he’s have inherited; and is faithful to this principle of gratitude and cultivates his vines and developing his wines for durably with true sustainably, hoping to protect them for future generations. These wines, imported by Thatcher Imports, have been discovered and the price has reached more serious enthusiast levels, maybe having put them a little out of reach for the curious, but fair for the quality in the wines. I might not stock up on this particular bottle, as I typically like racier styles, I am thrilled that I got a chance to try it and admire the unique 100% Pinot Gris nature and look forward to trying other of the Prélat sparklers.
($90 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2014 Roagna, Barbaresco DOCG “Pajè” Piemonte, Italy.
The glorious, dusty ruby/brick hued, earthy and delicate 2014 Pajè cru Barbaresco by Roagna provided a thinking person’s reward in the glass after a few hours in the decanter and honestly drank as beautifully and silken as the best of Burgundies do, but there’s no doubt about what grape and where this wine was born, with lovely savory red fruited Nebbiolo shining through on the textural medium bodied palate. These Roagna wines are rare treats, I haven’t even had many, and especially not one that I could spend an evening studying, so I’m very grateful to my friend Alex Lallos, who visited the Langhe in April and recently shared some of his favorites, including this Pajè, which even in a lighter vintage was absolutely joyous and sublime on the night. This wine lifted from the glass with incense, dried rose, leather, pipe tobacco and reduced and briery red berries that all transferred smoothly to the palate, adding there a core of cherry fruit, hints of grilled herbs, burnt orange, mineral detail, cedar and tarry licorice. Again, there’s an elegance and delicacy that is heavenly, that could only be a Barbaresco. The Pajè cru, in the Roagna family since 1953, enjoys, what Luca Roagna says is a southerly, south-westerly exposure, (a) natural amphitheater that situated at 230 meters above sea level, and it is characterized by its calcareous marl soil with a unique higher content of active limestone. The Pajè, produces perfect balance and ripeness of grapes, due to its location, on hillsides open to the Tanaro river valley, which mitigates of the cold winters and especially the heat of the increasingly hot summers, which explains the quality found here in this exceptional 2014. This experience came with real time comparison of other Barbaresco and Barolo offerings, which were serious and delicious in their own right, but it helped define the quality of this Roagna Pajè and I look forward to exploring more from this highly coveted producer.

Luca and Alfredo Roagna winemakers, at Roagna, have reached what corners of the wine press calls “Cult” status and make some of the most sought after Nebbiolo wines, which are noted for being authentic and traditional, these are wines of no pretense soulful charm, non flashy and wonderful age worthy. All the Roagna offerings are true Piedmontese wines, coming from only native varieties, and are interesting, as they have succeed in both Barbaresco and Barolo, but making each place their own, similar tho the legendary Bruno Giacosa. Roagna has prime parcels in Barbaresco and Castiglione Falletto, with separate Cantinas in both spots, which shows the commitment to the individual environment of these regions, even though the close proximity to each other. Roagna is fiercely proud of their historic and old vineyard sites and focus on these massale selection vines, which they farm with sustainable and organic methods to keep these special plots in fine health, to allow them to show off their best character from the soil to the glass. For the winemaking, the Roagna’s are passionate about this classic single cru bottling and only around 600 cases are made from this vineyard each year and they want to to be terroir expressive, relying on non intervention methods while handing these grapes. The Roagna’s employ a a de-stemmed fermentation which takes place exclusively in wooden vats using a pied de cuve (from the Pajè vineyard itself) made from the indigenous yeasts. Primary continues for about ten days and then the ancient, submerged cap (of skins and solids) maceration technique is applied, that lasts close to 3 months. Then the wine is matured a long time in neutral oak and concrete vats for about five years before bottling and eventual release. Nebbiolo lovers need to put Roagna on their bucket list and especially this Pajè Barbaresco, though I wouldn’t overlook anything in the lineup here!
($169 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Nanclares y Prieto, Albariño “Pergola Dandelion” Ollando a Terra, Salnés, Rias Baixas DO, Galicia, Spain.
Always a favorite of mine, the entry level, all stainless steel fermented and aged, Dandelion cuvée Albariño from Nanclares y Prieto is one of the great values in old world white wines, and is a pure and terroir driven offering capturing the essences of place in a fresh and stylish way. This 2023 is brightly fresh, showing off classic sea shore and salty goodness, with lime blossoms, crisp green apple, bitter peach, lemon/lime citrus, as well as a touch of fleshy melon, along with flinty mineral, iodine, almond and wet stone. This wine is typically sourced from 15 distinct parcels within 6 vineyards in the Salnés region around the village of Cambados, where Nanclares y Prieto is based, with old school traditional pergola trained vines that are influenced by the cool Atlantic Ocean and the decomposed granite sandy soils, which all highlights the mineral and saline character in the wine. Coming from various exposures, unique plots and vines ranging from 20 to 45 years old, this Pergola Dandelion sees the unique high training system that allows for air to circulate, reducing mildew pressure here near the cool Atlantic Ocean. The Nanclares y Prieto Pergola Dandelion makes for a great Summer sipper and is more impressive with the native cuisine, going great to wash down steamed claims or mussels in white wine and scallion broth, fresh oysters, as I had it with recently, and or rosemary accented grilled sardines.

The Viticultores Nanclares y Prieto, led by Alberto Nanclares, as mentioned in my prior reviews, who started this small winery, was convinced of and passion about holistic and organic farming, which with the closeness to the Ocean and the humid conditions make very difficult, but has been proven it can be done and that the wine is much better for it, even incorporating biodynamic methods in recent years, along with innovative natural seaweed composting. The winemaking, with the addition of the youthful talents of Silvia Prieto, has taken on a highly detailed though low intervention style to promote transparency and a sense of place. For the Pergola Dandelion things are kept simple and precise with a slow whole cluster pressing of the grapes in a soft pneumatic press and fermented using native yeast in stainless tanks with temperature control with extremely low SO2 employed. The steely dry Albariño here, interestingly saw one month of batonage, the stirring of the lees, before resting on the lees for another 7 months before being bottled without cold stabilization and unfined and unfiltered, which allows for every nuance of the vintage to shine through, as seen here. As noted before, I have been seriously following Alberto Nanclares and his wines since they were first imported to the States and with Silvia Prieto, who joined him in 2014 as a dynamic new generation winemaker, these are some of my favorite Spanish wines, and I highly recommend looking for them, especially the Albariño.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

May 2025

2022 La Manarine, Côtes du Rhône, Red Wine, Rhône Valley, France.
The La Manarine Côtes du Rhône Rouge, close to 100% Grenache, is an old world charmer and this 2022 is very pure with a dark garnet/ruby color and an expansive array of red fruit, spice, stony notes and includes subtle earthiness and a light rustic feel, while being very easy to love. The medium full palate is nicely fresh with bright red raspberry, sweet plum, red currant jam, tangy strawberry and cherry fruits, along with brambles, white pepper, wild minty sage, lilac, anise and a touch of leather. The La Manarine used Grenache Noir, that was from all de-stemmed grapes, from 40 plus year old vines, saw a fermentation in cool stainless vats with a cuvaison (macerated on the skins) of about 20 days, after which it is then raised for a year on the lees in stainless steel and enamel lined tanks before a racking to clarify, then aged another 6 to 8 months. Thanks to Monica at the Oystertown USA restaurant in Monterey for sharing this fun old world selection, who has it on her well curated by the glass list, not to mention the fantastic raw selection of Oysters and the incredible sea food chowder I had with it!

Domaine la Manarine, as mentioned in prior reviews, was established back in 2001 by Gilles Gasq, who was the long serving assistant winemaker at the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Domaine Monpertuis, and he has a wonderful collection of vines as well as his cellar in the tiny village of Travaillan, in the southern Rhone just northeast of Orange, not too far from Chateauneuf. The soils here are mostly marl (limestone) and is also littered with Galets, the smooth round stones and pebbles that are famous in Chateauneuf and Gasq has mainly Genache planted here, though he does have a parcel of Syrah and recently added a vineyard of Carignan, which he plans on bottling as a single varietal wine along with a smattering of various white grapes that form his Cotes du Rhone Blanc. The warm and dry Mediterranean climate leads to small yields of concentrated grapes making for wines of complex and dense in flavor. There is so much going for this wine, especially at the price, it’s easy to quaff, but has been built with solid structure, and it is great with food, this is a wine to drink over the next 3 to 5 years, I love this vintage again, in particular its fresh detail and length. Imported by Rosenthal, La Manarine, which is a limited bottling, is available in select markets, but with chasing down, particularly if you’re a Rhône lover.
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 St. Innocent, Pinot Blanc, Freedom Hill Vineyard, Mount Pisgah-Polk County AVA, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
I always enjoy the wines of St. Innocent, and especially the efforts from Freedom Hill Vineyard, like this lovely Pinot Blanc, which marries the best of Burgundy and Alsace into one complete and rewarding dry white wine with a textured and layered palate of crisp, but nicely rounded orchard fruit, with mineral notes, a touch of spice, saline and leesy notes. I love this vineyard, which is set on marine sedimentary soils of the western Willamette’s valley’s Coastal Range, now called Mount Pisgah-Polk County AVA, with this site being just about 10 miles southwest of Salem in the foothills up at around 550 feet, with warm days and cool nights it provides excellent conditions for Burgundian varietals, which over the years has produced some monumental wines. 20-25 years ago, we all talked about Pinot Gris being the es Oregon white grape, but now there’s maybe a dozen other ones we hype, but I have the opinion that Pinot Blanc thrives here and I’ve really been impressed by the efforts by Ken Wright, Kelley Fox and this St. Innocent in recent years. A big thank you to Roxanne and Tamara at Lady Somm in Carmel for sharing this golden hued gem with me on a recent visit to their awesome shop in the Barnyard Shopping center, which has a nice range of unique small producer wines from around the world, including some favorites from Oregon, like this one, and Germany, which I am addicted too.

One of Oregon’s classic wines, St. Innocent makes profound and age worthy Pinot Noirs that remain some of the greatest values in American wine! Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent, is one of the state’s best winemakers with many outstanding vintages under his belt, and is of one of the Willamette Valley’s legendary generations that includes the greats like Ken Wright, Doug Tunnell (Brick House) Mike Etzel (Beaux Freres) and John Paul of Cameron Winery to name a few, who all set the world a light with their early to mid nineties wines, especially with the 1994 and 1998 vintages, which were wines that cemented the region’s place as one of the world’s great Pinot Noir terroirs. Vlossak employs old school methods to craft his wines, and while we typically think of his Pinot Noirs, he does this beauty too, with this Pinot Blanc seeing 76% stainless and 24% wood fermentation and aging. The Pinot Blanc grapes, coming from vines were planted in 1993 and 2008 on well-drained very old sedimentary clay loam at an elevation of 475 feet, are picked ripe and cold pressed, with most seeing the stainless tank, and instead of oak, the other 24% saw Acacia barrel, with the wine maturing on the lees for about 8 months. All of this makes for a rich and transparent white wine, with lemony tones, apple and white peach fruits, that goes fabulously well with sea food, cheeses and poultry dishes, and I highly recommend checking Lady Somm out, if you are in the Carmel area, plus all of the St. Innocent wines!
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2015 Azelia, Barolo DOCG “San Rocco” Piemonte, Italy.
The brilliant and still youthfully forceful, the Azelia San Rocco cru Barolo, from the 2015 vintage shows off a full range of classic Nebbiolo flavors and has excellent depth and clarity with a full bodied palate of underlying power, but still elegant and incredibly lengthy, special stuff here. A dark flowers, macerated red berries, earth, balsamic, spiced and minty nose lifts from the glass and leads to a firm layering of brandied cherry, damson plum, red currant and briery raspberry fruits, along with Asian spices, black licorice, seeped rose, chalky stones, leather, burnt orange and cedary notes. Beautiful complete, ripe and merged at this point, the 2015 San Rocco, by Luigi Sacvino, who made some legendary and traditional Barolo over the years, and team at Azelia, has made another robustly structured wine, with rustic charm and is a wine that couldn’t be any other than it is, with an outspoken terroir presence from start to finish. One of the most outstanding wines I’ve tasted from this vintage, which was over shadowed by 2016, and a wine full of personality and loaded with rewarding pleasures. This wine, from mature 65 year old vines, saw an indigenous yeast fermentation and 100% de-stemming, with grapes macerated on the skins for close to 60 days with a submerged cap, after which the juice was pressed to large used casks for a full 24 months in oak. The single crus are highly collectable here, but don’t over look the regular Barolo bottling either, it always over performs and is a sublime value, especially in the best years.

The small, but highly regarded San Rocco cru, in the Serralunga d’Alba appellation, is high up, north of Castiglione Falletto, with steep sunny facing eastern slope, on clay and calcareous soils, almost guaranteed to produce powerful Barolo expressions, and Azelia has truly captured that here with this 2015 version. Lorenzo Scavino, Luigi’s son, the current generation at the helm of Azelia, says of San Rocco, the wine (to him) is a cuirassier… Fleshy, extremely focused. Here (the zone of) Serralunga d’Alba is present with signs of licorice, spices and dark fruits. Going on he adds that San Rocco presents, as seen here, cherry, currant and blueberry that melt harmoniously together with the usual velvety and sweetly ripe, with splendidly integrated tannins. San Rocco typically gives an impression of great power, austerity, with an incredible aging potential, something that I find in most all of the Azelia Barolo offerings, certainly as I’ve seen over last 20 plus years I have followed the winery and previously sold as a former wine merchant and wine buyer. This San Rocco, is a great reminder of the impact and awe you can see in a classic style Barolo, and this wine easily took on two top notch Barbarescos on the night I had it with friends, and it was impeccable with a range of cuisine and the cheese course, with just added to the wine’s appeal and depth on display. A big thank you again, to Alex Lallos, who just visited the Scavino’s at Azelia, while taking in Vinitaly 2025, and brought this one home to share.
($95 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2024 Conde Valdemar, Rosé, Rioja DOCa, Spain.
The delightfully fresh and dry Rioja Rosé of Garnacha by Conde Valdemar, all from family owned vines, is bright vidid pink in the glass and nicely crisp on the palate, especially as this is a saignée, making for a refreshing light bodied, tart fruited and mineral toned wine that is perfect for Summer with sour cherry, unripe strawberry, ruby citrus and rosewater leading the way. With food there’s a bit more interest and you get spice and crushed raspberry coming through, which adds to the pleasure and ease of use here with this no pretense and clearly focused version of Rioja Rosé, which certainly will do the trick on a hot day and any picnic you could want. There’s lots of diversity in Rioja these days, with a huge range of non Tempranillo offerings gaining traction, with white Rioja Blanco and Rosé being a more serious category these days. For those curious, beyond the traditional Rioja reds, now is a great time to explore this multifaceted Spanish region with long and storied history. Conde Valdemar, using their higher elevation sites, also has introduced Rioja to the sparkling wine world, with the release of their sparkling Gran Añada, along many other treats that will intrigue the adventurous wine lovers, that want to see Rioja beyond the classic Tempranillo offerings.

Conde Valdemar is a fifth generation family winery with expansive Rioja holdings, mostly within the higher Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta zones, which explains the the balanced nature of their wines and they have put a recent effort into their white and Rosé of Rosado wines, like this one, for the export market and to fill a value niche. The Rioja Blanco, looks like a fun wine as well, made from a combination of Viura, the main white Rioja grape, along with Malvasia, a long time Mediterranean varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, obviously a French transplant, and Garnacha Blanca. This zesty Rosé was made using 80% Garnacha and 20% Viura ( the white varietal noted above) and done in the Saignée (Bleed) style from ripe grapes, seeing a cold tank fermentation that lasted about two weeks with a short lees contact before a quick bottling. The addition of the Viura, by winemaker Antonio Orte, really adds life here and retains the energy and acidity, white the Garnacha gives the generous fruit, rounded mouth feel and phenolic structure. The Valdemar family, with their signature Bodegas Valdemar, dates back to 1889, and are known to be innovators in the region, creating Rioja’s first ever barrel fermented white and other unique rare single varietal offerings as well as having vineyards in Walla Walla Valley in Washington State.
($18 Est.) 88 Points, grapelive

N.V. Champagne Cazé-Thibaut, Brut Nature Champagne “Crayère” Châtillon Sur Marne, France.
New to me, the all organic and nature, Cazé-Thibaut’s gorgeous Meunier driven, vividly dry and luxuriously elegant Crayère is a sexy grower producer style Champagne that delivers complexity and pleasure in the glass, with this impressive effort rivaling some of my favorites! The near perfect vibrant small beading creamy mousse carries the just right amount of lift and still carries an impactful rich and chalky palate of baked apple, Bosc pear, quince, earthy melon, brioche, hazelnut, lemon curd, pineapple, wet stones and minty herbs. This Brut Nature opens nicely and allows for a lot of textural roundness, while staying crisply focused and vigorous, it will be a clear winner with those that love the new generation of Meunier lovers and especially those that go for super dry Extra Brut styles of Champagne. This bottling will thrill for many years to come, but it is fabulous now and great with food, it is wonderfully expressive and flexible with cuisine options, easily going with a variety of dishes on the night I tried it. Still under the radar, winemaker Fabien Cazé is a recent inductee into the progressive group of Champenois known as Terre et Vins and is fast developing a serious following.

I am really excited about Champagne Cazé-Thibaut and can’t wait to discover more from Fabien Cazé, who’s a ten generation vigneron that committed to sustainable farming with full organic methods and, as he says, a hands-off approach in the cellar. Cazé has isolated 2.66 hectares in small plots, of his family’s holdings, for his own label, going for sublime quality and ripeness of fruit. The Champagnes are hand-crafted in his underground cave with slow and cold native yeast fermentations, with Fabien looking to produce precise, terroir-transparent wines from vines in the villages of Châtillon-sur-Marne and Vandières on the western side of the Vallée de la Marne. This 2023 disgorgement of the Cazé-Thibaut, Brut Nature Champagne “Crayère” came from 2018 and 2019 vintages, along with a proportion, about 40% of Vins de Réserve that adds complexity and depth, as seen here, and was fermented naturally in old casks, Fût de Chéne, from 55% Meunier and 45% Chardonnay. This non dosage cuvée is from prime parcels in Vallée de Mame, Rive droite, Chatillon sur Marne and Reuil, capturing some distinctive mineral and chalky driven flavors. A big thank you to my friend and wine professional Alex Lallos, who is a huge talent spotter of small production Champagnes, for introducing me to Fabien’s absolutely excellent wine, that I highly recommend, especially at this incredible price point for such an effort.
($60 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Sarreau-Martin, Tradition Red Bordeaux, Castillon, Côtes de Bordeaux, France.
The beautifully pure, dark fruited and easy to love cuvée Tradition from Château Sarreau-Martin was made from 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc and shows off classic Right Bank character. This deep garnet wine gives you blackberry, plum, currant and cherry fruit on the medium bodied palate, along with hints of dark florals, black olive, anise, cedar and brambly spice. Over the course of an evening and the next day this value price Bordeaux held steady and was delightfully rewarding, at under $20, it over delivered in terms of pleasure and quality for the price. The grapes coming from 35 year plus old vines in the mostly clay based soils of the Castillon were fermented with temperature control in tank, with twice-daily pump-overs, a maceration that lasted for 3 weeks before aging in the cellar for 16-24 months in mainly used oak. While not overly complex, the pretty Sarreau-Martin Tradition, with its lingering creme de cassis notes, is well worth looking for as a no pretense example of Bordeaux, which I would easily recommend.

The Château Sarreau-Martin, located just under five miles from the the UNESCO heritage site and the famous wine Right Blank commune of Saint Emilion, and in Saint Philippe d’Aiguilhe, was built in the 1880s, with the original Château being typical of the Gironde region. This property which once served as a refuge during World War II, was recently purchased by Eric Stauffenegger, who has began rejuvenating the estate, but wanted to continue its traditions with an experienced hand, so he kept the winemaker and vineyard manager Denis Lubiato, who’s father had been here for almost half a century. The vineyards on this side of Gironde River are typically clay with limestone and some gravelly areas, making it prime for Merlot, which really loves these conditions, as seen in both, the legendary Pomerol and Saint-Emilion wines, but some Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon also adds some extra dimension here. I was nicely surprised by this Sarreau-Martin Tradition Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2022, which was much more rewarding than many wines in this price point, it certainly would be an excellent bistro by the glass pour and a great way for novices to start exploring Bordeaux wines.
($19 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Roar Wines, Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Beautifully pale and bright gold in the glass, the 2023 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay from Roar perfectly captures the vintage and region in the glass with depth of flavors, concentration and vibrant tension, all highlighted from this cool year and long hang time, making for a classic and rewarding wine. The nose is aromatic, with white flowers, stone fruit and subtle oak toast, leading to a ful bodied palate of apple, pear, lemon curd, golden fig, pineapple and peach fruits, along with a hint of lime zest, clove spice, wet stones, a touch of leesy hazelnut and a delicately creamy mouth feel. There’s just enough tropical notes to let you know it is a SLH Chardonnay, this vintage has produced stunning stuff that has California impact, but with Burgundy class, I highly recommend them, especially these Roar bottlings. This cuvée is blended from Roar’s estate Rosella’s Vineyard, along with the Soberanes and Sierra Mar vineyards, which they farm with the Pisoni family. This vintage, quite powerful and nicely textured, without flabby weight, was fermented and aged in French oak, with 32% new, and was matured for 15 months, allowing the full extent of its deep character to come through.

Roar, founded the Francsioni family and one of the famous Garys, after the release of their 2000 vintage, who are best known for Pinot Noir, also do a fine selection of Chardonnay snd Rhônes, including Syrah, Viognier and even a micro batch of Grenache. The Roar winery say the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, in Monterey County, benefits from a rare combination of abundant sunshine and a powerful cooling influence from the Monterey Bay’s deep submarine canyon. The daily afternoon winds, reaching up to 25 mph, slow down ripening, enhance phenolic development, and create wines with exceptional depth, balance, and aging potential. The long growing season, free from the threat of fall rains, allows winemakers to achieve optimal ripeness while preserving vibrant acidity. All of which have proven true for Roar over the quarter of a century they’ve been making wines, some of the region’s most sought after, and the future looks just as bright for them, especially after tasting a few of their latest releases. I was able to taste this limited release at the Santa Lucia Highlands gala in May of 2025, and I also was blessed to try a library bottle of 2012 Rosella’s Pinot, which was absolutely gorgeous and easily could age another 10 years with ease! These wines are tough to find and I suggest getting on their mailing list to get at least a small selection of these iconic efforts!
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Vincent Vines, Merlot, Estate Grown, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
A new label and wine, just hitting the local Carmel Valley wine scene is this Vincent Vines Merlot from the cool 2023 vintage which I got to sample earlier this month and found to be an attractive medium bodied wine that delivers smooth and bright layers of dark berries, hints of loam, spice, cedar and mocha notes with subtle oak and floral elements. The year’s very cool season seems to have given this wine a vibrant juiciness that has somewhat hidden the deeper personality here, as this Merlot got 20 times better and more compelling on day two, letting in more depth and richness of detail, without any harsh tannin, and it was more entertaining with a meaty meal. This is a wine that first impressions might just fool you, it is not as simple as its first sip would suggest and I will find it interesting to see how a few years of bottle age does to this tiny production Merlot, from vines in the deeper end of Carmel Valley, where wine growing first took hold in the late 1960s. Merlot is one of the favored varietals of Carmel Valley, with Georis, the Château Christina (Joyce) and the original Durney Vineyard doing classic versions of this grape, which gained a solid fan base.

The Carmel Valley Vintners Collective winery and the Vincent Vines Merlot began as a garagistes project, with grapes from the tiny parcel of vines that were planted in May 2016. The winery says that the label pays homage to the great impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh’s iconic self portrait, Vincent Vines is an abstract wordplay for “wine of a hundred vines” and the estate’s small size. This Cachagua vineyard has just 257 vines that are, as the winery adds, all sustainably and organically farmed, with all work from tending to harvesting done by hand. They also explain that initial three vintages, benefiting from Cachagua’s Bordeaux-like climate are old world inspired efforts, which definitely shows in this dark garnet Merlot that comes in at 13.4% natural alcohol. The winemaking here was minimalist in nature and saw traditional de-stemming, a cool maceration and fermentation, after which the wine was pressed to Bordeaux style, mostly used, French oak where it aged about 12 months before bottling, all to give the wine its terroir influence and transparency. The Vincent Vines lineup also includes a Cabernet Sauvignon that was sourced from their neighbors property, Joullian Vineyards, that I hope to try soon.
($55 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 4 Monos, Tinto GR-10, Vinos de la Sierra de Gredos, Spain.
This pretty Grenache (Garnacha) based GR-10 Tinto is 4 Monos’ outrageously good basic cuvée, again its a wine that seduces the senses, with a delicacy of perfume, a beautiful ruby color and is generous on the perfectly balanced medium bodied palate with vinous red fruits, subtle spice, mineral tones and lingering florals. Over the last three or four vintages, this GR-10 has really excelled and this 2022, joins 2018 in being one of the best to date, again with its heavenly nose of red berry and liquid flowers that leads to a silken layering of bright plum, pomegranate, strawberry and crushed raspberry fruits, as well as having an array of sweet and savory herbs, briar notes and lavender. Coming from mostly decomposed granite and vines that range from 15 to 100 years old, this all organic and natural red was hand crafted using about 88% Garnacha, 10% Cariñena and 2% Syrah, which was cold macerated, 100% wild yeast fermented with at least 50% whole cluster depending on vintage. The juice is left on the skins for close to three weeks before being gently pressed and racked to used barrels where it aged nearly seven months in the oak, after which the wine was blended then rested another 2 months in concrete and steel vats. 4 Monos, which was founded by four friends back in 2010, all native to the Sierra de Gredos wine region in the mountains above Madrid and famous for rugged old vine Garnacha, consists of winemakers Javier García (formerly the head winemaker at iconic Bodegas Jiménez-Landi), Laura García, wine-lover David Velasco and local vineyard owner David Moreno, who make beautifully translucent and perfumed wines, like this Tinto GR-10, which shows off Grenache in a very distinctive fashion, and I highly recommend chasing their wines down.

In recent years, as I’ve mentioned here at Grapelive, the Sierra de Gredos has become one of the wine world’s hot spots with top producers, like Comando G and the mentioned Bodegas Jiménez-Landi, led by Dani Landi who is maybe the best known of the superstars here that crafts Garnachas in the same league as Chateau Rayas of Chateauneuf du Pape fame, and 4 Monos, all being ones to look for, especially if you’ve not explored the wines from this special place. The Sierra de Gredos DO appellation, with its dry Mediterranean/Continental climate is set in a mountain range that spreads over parts of three distinct terroirs, all being extreme making working these ancient vines incredibly hard, these subzones include Méntrida, Vinos de Madrid and Castilla y León, which sit between 600 and 1200 meters in elevation, a climate that sees huge changes of temperature between day and night allowing for fantastic ripe flavor development, but with good acidity retention and restrained character. The old bush vines are planted on complex soils that are made up of sand, granite and schist which share this arid, sleepy and remote location with smattering of olive, evergreen, almond, and chestnut trees along with aromatic scrub brush, chamomile, and wildflowers, that all seem to influence the wines and make them the beguiling lovelies there are, as this stellar vintage of 4 Monos displays with a flourish of expression, subtle earthiness and fabulous length. This GR-10 Tinto really delivers for the price, I am always amazed at the depth and clarity in this wine, it is always a guilt free treat to open this bottling, the quality for the price ratio here is absurdly good with this vintage in particular performing beyond my already high expectations. There’s a lot to love from this region and I will be continuing to explore the wines from here in the mountainous Sierra de Gredos, as well as keeping an ye on these fabulous 4 Monos offerings.
($28 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2024 Impromptu “Imperium Kaos” Bìnjia S’ Anèi, Vino Bianco di Sardegna, Sardinia, Italy.
The beautifully golden hued crisply dry Impromptu Imperium Kaos Bianco, which is winemaker Giuseppi Cossu’s first white wine, shows off a very unique, medium bodied and complex array of flavors with white flowers, mineral tones, spice and a mix of sone and citrus fruits. Giuseppi brought this tank sample, pre-bottling, back with him from Sardinia this Spring and shared it with me, and I was really impressed, this is very rewarding stuff and I can’t wait to get a few bottles when it is in its finished form. Just 600 bottles will be available of this tiny production wine from Cossu’s 90 plus year old vineyard in S’ Anèi, South Sardinia, which is set on sandy soils and all organically cared for. There’s loads of peach, pear, lemony citrus oil, wild herbs, bitter almond, verbena and wet stone notes. This excellent white, made from co-fermented Nuragus, Tittiacca and Monica Bianca, lesser known grapes, will go great with soft cheeses, sea food and poultry dishes, and I highly recommend joining the Impromptu mailing list to see when the new wines land here.

Giuseppi Cossu’s first white wine comes from an old vine site that was planted on the first half of the 1900’s as a field blend of authoctonous (native) grapes, including white varietals, Nuragus 70%, Tittiacca (Cornichon Blanc) 20% and Monica Bianca 10%. Making it a wine made from un-grafted ancient vines, with a traditional Whole-cluster gentle pressed; spontaneous fermentation with all indigenous yeast in stainless steel tank. The capture freshness and purity, the Impromptu “Imperium Kaos” Bìnjia S’ Anèi, Vino Bianco di Sardegna, saw 6 months in stainless steel tank without baronage (stirring the lees) and bottled unfined. Giuseppi, a jazz musician, ex-Sommelier, and winemaker, started his Impromptu Wines after his first vintage in 2019, focused his attention on Cannonau (Grenache), but has now added a couple of other varietals to his lineup, including this white field blend that includes Nuragus, Tittiacca (Cornichon Blanc) and Monica Bianca, plus Bovale (Muristellu), and Monica. I’ve enjoyed each of the releases I’ve tried, especially the Impromptu Cannonau di Sardegna and Iscusòlzu Nepente di Oliena bottlings, which are available here in California with a very limited number of bottles finding homes on some wine lists and at a few wine merchants.
($N/A) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Terres Falmet, Cinsault, Vin de France, Languedoc, France.
The lighter framed, bright, juicy, spicy and delicately perfumed 100% Cinsault from vigneron Yves Falmet at Domaine Terres Falmet is a high quaffable Languedoc red from the Saint Chinian AOC, but because it is all Cinsault it is simply labeled as a Vin de France, and it is a nice value and a solid example of varietal and place. The medium bodied palate shows a lovely freshness and is smooth in the mouth with brambly raspberry, plum, cherry, strawberry and tart cranberry fruits, along with hints of pepper, anise, grilled herbs, orange zest and chalky stones. Falmet picks all of his grapes by hand and are carefully sorted, de-stemmed then lightly crushed into tank for fermentation, then he employs a 4 -week’maceration with twice daily pump-overs. After fermentation the Cinsault is exclusively tank-matured for about 12 months, then bottled with no fining and light filtration with no oak used. Cinsault is an ancient varietal here in the Languedoc and has seen a revival in recent years, and is used in Rosé and Red wines, as it retains good acidity and plays a important role, even as a minor part of these wines.

Yves Falmet is based in the Saint Chinian AOC, region of the Languedoc and his Domaine Terres Falmet was built from the ground up in 2001 with what says was an old abandoned, steeply sloping vineyard site. Having himself growing up working very steep hillside vineyards, Yves was maybe naturally drawn to ecology, and he later completed a Master’s degree in Biochemistry, then explored the world, working in wineries in different parts of France, the USA, Australia and New Zealand before founding his winery. These Terre Falmet wines are very much terroir driven and the estate with the contiguous hillside vineyard of stony limestone is entirely within the classified Saint Chinian AOC, well regarded for Rhône style red wines. The vines are grown in a traditional bush-vine style, facing a cooler north, helping provide finesse, fostering good aeriation and excellent exposure which ensure, as Yves explains, healthy grapes for peak ripening, which is highlighted here with his latest delightful ruby hued Vin de France Cinsault. Falmet also does a single varietal Mourvèdre and Carignan, which I hope to try soon, as well as traditional Saint-Chinian AOC Rouge, all of which are worth looking for.
($19 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2021 Corral Wines, Pinot Noir, Reserve Clone 115-777, Canyon Springs Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
A deep garnet and ruby color and a dark floral, spicy and berry nose greets you in this impactful Pinot Noir by Corral Wines with a rich and firmly structural medium bodied palate that shows off classic Santa Lucia Highlands depth of fruit and length. There’s loads of black cherry, bramble berry, plum and blood orange fruits and while holding some grip, there’s a long silky mouth feel that comes through with air, along with background elements that include well judged toasty French oak, tea spices, mineral tones, rose petals, briar spice and cola bean. This is going to be a huge fan favorite with Corral’s wine club and mailing list, it was a small lot wine, so it won’t be easy to get otherwise, but I would ask the winery directly about getting some. Hand made and fermented in open top fermenter bins and aged in a mix of used and new French barriques, this Reserve saw a combination of 115 and 777 clones, making it a bigger and more muscular style of Pinot Noir that is just beginning its evolution, drink over the next 3 to 5 years.

The Corral Wine, as I’ve mentioned in prior reviews. label is a an artisan winery started by Larry Bell of Bell Family Vineyards and based in Monterey County and primarily known for their estate Pinot Noir, which began in 2017, in their barn in Corral de Tierra, in the hills between Carmel Valley and Salinas. That year Corral barreled the first batch of estate Pinot Noir, and while in the same barn, they’ve added an array wines made with even more varietals, all sourced from, as Bell notes, some of the best grapes on the Central Coast including in the Santa Lucia Highlands and west side Paso Robles, as seen here with this unique Tres Amigos red wine. As mentioned before in my prior reviews, Corral’s winemaker Adrien Valenzuela, a Salinas and Monterey County native, is one of a talented youthful new set of home grown local winemakers in the region. The lineup at Corral is well worth checking out, from their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé to their set of Pinots, as well as deeply colored and full bodied Petite Sirah and Cabernet bottlings. Corral just moved into a new and beautiful tasting room location in the Carmel Valley Village and have just released a new set of exciting wines, so it is a great time to discover this small label, with this Reserve being a great way to start!
($N/A) 94 Points, grapelive

2015 Gravner, Ribolla, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.
Gravner is the holy grail of Italian orange wines and the Ribolla bottling is one of the most sought after of the collection and I was thrilled to feature this 2015 version in a recent blind tasting of skin macerated white wines, in which it proved to be a intriguing curiosity with its amber hue in the glass and its earthy, rounded, but structured palate. Made from 100% Ribolla Gialla grapes, this wine has rich layers of dried apricot, grilled orange, mango and golden fig fruits, along with truffle, iodine, loam, chalky stone and the presence of phenolic grip and a little nail polish. All of the are grapes are fermented separately, each picked when ripe, Gravner picks later and this wine is typically around 14.5% which I believe adds to the textural pleasure and impactful character, with the fermentation done in amphora on the skins and finishes malos, with maceration going on for months, after which it is then aged a further six years in old casks before bottling. These wines, obviously are only appealing only to a tiny niche of the wine market and while I am a real admirer of Gravner, this one didn’t find much applause on the night from a majority of the tasters. Orange wines have gained a new generation of fans though and have an important place, so Gravner will keep providing inspiration and excitement in the category, I think it should be on all winelovers bucket list of experiences. I was first truly introduced to Gravner by Mateja Gravner, Josko’s daughter, who wowed me with the history of Gravner, the region, which still is haunted by the two World Wars, and her own passion, which was infectious and made the experience that much more meaningful, these are wines that expand the senses and are worthy of exploration.

The wines of Josko Gravner, as mentioned in my prior reviews, are legendary and some of the most intriguing wines in Italy, coming from the borderlands of Venezia Giulia where the vineyards sweep into Slovenia, and where the wines seem to dip into then ancient past, this is the home of the modern Italian Orange wine. These long aging skin contact wines, sometimes considered or called hipster juice, are unique expressions of an ancient craft, very natural and savory in flavor, they can be either gloriously textured and beguiling, or the they can be bizarre or seriously flawed with funky/stinky volatile. The Gravner skin contact wines are beautifully made and seriously lovely, now fermented in Amphora exclusively on the skins, his Amphorae come from Georgia and are the big beeswax lined vessels that are sunk into the earth, Josko was one of the first modern area winemakers to employ them in the region. The Gravner estate extends about 60% into Slovenia, this allowed him to more easily travel to Georgia back in Soviet times to investigate the use of Amphora, it wasn’t easy to get these big clay/terracotta vessels to Italy safely, in fact it was a decade of trying and heartbreak before a enough of them could be used to make the wines he envisioned. Gravner’s wines take 7 years from harvest to market at least, white or red, he believes this is the perfect amount of time for his wines to mature and be what he wants them to show upon release. Other Italian orange wine producers to look for, include Damijan Podversic, Benjamin Zidarich and Sandi Skerk, which are made from unique varietals like Vitovska, Malvasia, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Ribolla, as seen here.
($129 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2017 Paolo Scavino, Barolo DOCG, Monviglero Cru, Piemonte, Italy.
The Monviglero 2017 is full of savory crunch, tannic and old world character with a nose full of balsamic notes, bay leaf, brandied cherry, dried roses and licorice which are all echoed on the firm and edgy palate. Quite impressive and rustic in style this Cru Monviglero shows off a chalky core of red fruits, including the cherry, damson plum, strawberry and currant, along with minty herbs, sandalwood, a touch of meatiness and spicy accents. Maybe not the best of years to collect, 2017 can surprise and are usually good value for the money at this point and this one has plenty to offer, with a ripe sense and can be drunk young. These days, as mentioned in prior reviews, Scavino vinifies in stainless steel tanks using native yeasts, all with temperature control and cool with about 12 days of maceration and a 25 day or so primary ferment before a 10 month spell in mostly neutral French oak, then rested another 12 months in large Slavonian casks before returning to stainless for another 10 months prior to bottling. The results are remarkably consistent and Scavino is always one of the elite wines of the vintage, they are wonderfully refined, but with a real sense of power and structure, even in warm vintages, like this 2017 Monviglero shows. Scavino again is always a treat in the glass and this rusty/ruby red Barolo is drinking pretty delightfully right now, though best to decant and have with a hearty meal.

The famous Paolo Scavino Barolo house, now run by Enrico, the late Paolo’s son, as well as his two daughters Enrica and Elisa, who have stepped up to become the new face of this legendary producer that was founded back in 1921. Ever the perfectionist, Enrico continues to experiment with small lots and single parcel fermentation of his Nebbiolo to make the best wines possible from his great vineyard holdings in the Castiglione zone, where they have their famous Cru on Fiasco Hill, the renown Bric del Fiasc. Scavino also has prime spots in Cannubi, Rocche Annunziata, Bricco Ambrogio and most recently a piece of Verduno’s Cru Monviglero, see here, all which provide great material for their lineup. The winery is one of the most modern, humble, as my friend Alex Lallos discovered on his visit there recently, and clear in the region, though they use some small French barriques they have re-focused their winemaking to use less new oak and craft a more traditional Barolo. The collection here at Paulo Scavino has lots of individual effects that transparently show off some very distinctive terroir qualities, with this one being quite unique, when compared to their signature bottlings from Bric del Fiasc, Cannubi and Rocche Annunziata, one of my favorites. I also recommend the Carobric Barolo, that comes from three of Scavino’s best terroirs, it’s mainly sourced from Rocche di Castiglione vineyard, in Falletto, as well as having smaller percentages of Cannubi and the Fiasco vineyard, all which highlight the house style and make for a elegant version of Barolo, but with classic form and balance.
($80 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Kellerei Cantina Terlan, Cuvée Terlaner, Alto Adige DOC, Italy.
It was great to catch up with Terlan/Terlano, at this year’s Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting, as it does some fantastic stuff, so, as I’ve always recommended, please take time to discover some of their more rare offerings, look for their Quarz (Sauvignon Blanc), the Kreuth (Chardonnay), the Lunare (Gewürztraminer), the Vorberg (Pinot Blanc) plus the two blended cuvées Nova Domus and this gorgeous crisply focused Terlaner, both of which are outrageously good and great value for the money! This 2023 Teraner, which is a blend of Terlano’s three most traditional white varieties, namely (and mostly) Pinot Bianco, as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon, and the winery says, this old cuvée, was one of the original wines produced when the winery was founded in the late 1800s, is a mineral intense and beautifully elegant white wine that excels in its subtlety. With 60% Pinot Bianco, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Sauvignon Blanc this wine shows off loads of charm and energy with a medium bodied palate of lemony citrus, green melon, honeyed peach, apple and Bosc pear fruits, along with steely wet rock, mountain herbs, almond paste, delicate florals and a hint of kiwi and pithy lime zest. Coming from the Alto Adige “Terlano” zone with a variety of South and Southwest facing parcels, set on a volcanic quartz porphyry bedrock and sandy-loamy soils, with between 5 and 60% slopes, catching plenty of Alpine sunshine and giving ripe complexity and plenty of structure.

The Terlan/Terlano winery, one of my favorite Alto Adige producers, especially for white wines like this one, but also they make one of the finest Sauvignon Blancs in the world and many others, was founded back in 1893 in this mainly German speaking region of Italian’s far north Dolomite Mountains, an area known as the South Tyrol, connected to Austria by traditions and culture. Terlan/Terlano is a cooperative in function with some 143 small artisan growers providing grapes with a total focus on high quality over quantity, pushing for organics and sustainable practices, and their track record on wines is legendary, and these wines are amazingly age worthy bottlings, I have on many occasions tasted 20 to 30 year old whites, in particular their Chardonnay, that were incredible and exceptionally fresh. Most of the vines used by Terlan/Terlano are on red porphyry, the stone that gives the wines in the area their typical character and a dusting of sand and a thin top soil, which allows a striking minerallity and a crystalline personality, along with south facing exposures that give lots of sunshine in this Alpine and pristine high elevation zone. This wine, that comes in at 13.5% natural alcohol, saw a slow fermentation with temperature control in stainless steel tanks, after which it is aged on the lees for 6 – 7 months in a combination of stainless steel tanks (80%) and partly in big old oak barrels (20%). This makes for a lovely, textural and serious wine that can be enjoyed over the next 3 to 10 years, it will I’m sure evolve nicely and be highly rewarding over that time, excellent again from Terlan.
($30 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2018 Paulo da Silva, Casal de Azenha Tinto, Lisboa Region, Portugal.
This beautiful old school red wine is made from a collection of old indigenous grapes, including Ramisco, the chief red grape of Colares, along with other local varietals such as Castelão Nacional, Trincadeira, and Tinta Miuda, all grown in Lisbon-area Atlantic influenced coastal sandy sites. A dark ruby color and a nose of berries, violets and spices greets you in a way that will seduce the palate with rustic charm and layers of dark cherry, black brambly raspberry, plum and currant fruits, along with cinnamon, pepper, dried sage, minty herbs, anise and just a hint of leather. This was a gem in the rough at a recent trade tasting, with its natural cork label standing out, and I would highly recommend this cool climate style fresh, medium bodied red wine from Portugal that will be best enjoyed with a meal to smooth out the fine tannins and nice acidity.

This little known winery is owned by the 90 plus-year-old António Bernardino Paulo da Silva, who continues his family’s tradition of winemaking that dates back to 1898 in this coastal area, not far from Lisbon, and crafts his wines with historical and native varietals only. Da Silva works with organic farmers and small plots to produce this wine and his commitment to these old varietals make this wine even more pleasing. This region is seeing lots of development and many old vineyards on the coast have been put at risk, if not already ripped out, so supporting wineries and people like this is hugely important to preserve the local history and culture. These wines are handmade with clean and natural techniques, with cool fermentations, with very little oak, if ever, to heighten the aromatics and allow for transparency. This very cool and quaffable 2018 Casal de Azenha, which reminds me of a lighter style Nebbiolo meats Gamay, and there’s a Mencia like brightness and spicy character, adding a fine savory note on this finish.
($25 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 COS, Ramí, Insolia/Grillo, Terre Siciliane Bianco IGP, Sicily, Italy.
A lovely golden hue in the glass hints to skin maceration and a dry extract grip on the palate confirms this impression and this Ramí by Giusto Occhipinti’s COS winery takes off in the mouth with a complex and intriguing away of pithy citrus, apricot, quince and green apple fruits, along with chalky phenolics, saline, exotic spices, mineral tones, lemon grass, verbena and orange marmalade. This “Orange wine” comes from the Vittoria region of Sicily and vines set on a combination of sedimentary clay, red sandstone and chalky limestone soils and is raised in amphora, with local varietals Insolia (50%) and Grillo (50%) used to make this unique Ramí Bianco. Like the COS Pithos white that is made in the large terra-cotta pots as done in ancient times in the Republic of Georgia, where Orange wines were first born and where COS got the inspiration. The grapes usually macerated for close to two weeks with whole berries and aged on the skins, but this Ramí fermented and aged in cement. This makes for an incredible dry wine shows a unique structure, intensity of flavor and a long finish. It’s been well documented that Sicily has a long history of winemaking, which dates back to the 8th century BC when the Greeks first planted grapes in the eastern part of the Island, with a renewed interest in recent times of the native varietals and made without oak influences and fresher profiles, with lower alcohol, that go better with the local cuisine.

The winery explains that the long skin contact and amphora (or cement), which allows movement of the lees, provides an additional level of complexity that can be seen clearly in their exotic white wines. Mostly acclaimed for their red wines, made from local varietals, COS is probably best known for their Cerasuolo di Vittorio as well as the Pithos Rosso, a Cerasuolo di Vittoria aged exclusively in amphora instead of oak, made with the Frappato and Nero d’Avola grapes. That said, COS does a beautiful selection of whites that are made from Zibbibo (the local Muscat), Grillo and Insolia, that are sometimes blended with the Grecanico too, with the Zibbibo, a highly aromatic grape, also getting the Pithos treatment, made in Amphora. I have really enjoyed discovering all of the COS wines, with this one being a fun version of Orange wine. As mentioned before, Azienda Agricola COS was founded back in 1980 by three friends, Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti, and Cirino Strano, but is led by the dynamic personality of Giusto Occhipinti, uncle to superstar Arianna Occhipinti, who was pushed COS towards natural winemaking and all organic with all of their vineyards being certified Biodynamic and has gone away from small oak barrels and stainless steel, now concentrating on cement vats, as seen here, large neural botti and the 440-liter, Spanish made, terra-cotta amphora. I have enjoyed the wines here at COS for over a decade and they seem to get better with each vintage, I highly recommend exploring their range, especially the Nero di Lupo (Nero d’Avola) and the Frappato bottlings.
($29 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Pala, Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva DOC, Sardinia, Italy.
The beautifully textural and brilliantly ruby hued Pala Cannonau Riserva shines in the glass and delivers a full bodied and rich palate of dark red berry, plum, red currant and candied cherry fruits, along with snappy herbs, peppery spices, loamy earth, lilac florals, sandalwood and salted licorice notes. The Pala Cannonau has been a standard barer for Sardinian wines for many years and is usually a top value, with the single vineyard Riserva being a step up in elegance and complexity, and regularly being award winning stuff, as this vintage was, earning a Tre Bicchieri from Gambero Rosso. The Pala family’s wines date back to 1950, with the winery being founded by Salvatore Pala, and is based in the small town Serdiana, in the southwest of the island. In recent years the world has re-discovered Sardinian’s signature red wine, Cannonau, and there’s many excellent examples available, with Pala’s being good way to start exploring this historic version of Grenache.

The Pala Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva Denominazione di Origine Controllata is 100% Cannonau (Grenache) from, as mentioned, a single vineyard, Crabilis (Ussana), which sits up at between 150-180 Meters above sea level on Calcareous soils with vines that average 45 years old. At harvest the grapes are hand picked and see 100% de-stemming, but put whole berries into stainless steel tanks for maceration and fermentation. This primary fermentation is done at controlled temperatures for close to 40 days, with, as the winery notes, some punch downs and pump overs, with the frequency depending on the vintage. After alcoholic fermentation, the malolactic fermentation is also completed in tank where the wine rested for close to 3 months, after which the refinement continued in large used 3,000L oak barrels for 12 months. As I’ve noted in past reviews of Cannonau wines, Grenache has been here on Sardinia since ancient times and recent discoveries seem to conclude that it may in fact have originated here, instead of Spain, as once thought, but regardless it’s a great time to enjoy these wines and I recommend this one highly.
($29 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Nals Margreid, Sauvignon Blanc “Stein” Südtirol Alto Adige DOC, Italy.
The brilliant, crystalline and mineral driven Stein Sauvignon from Nals Margreid, a producer I had never tasted before, is an impressive wine with loads of alpine character and terroir influence that is very compelling in the glass and on the vibrant crisply detailed medium bodied palate. Zesty, steely and aromatic this pale greenish/gold hued Stein Sauvignon has plenty of lemon/lime, gooseberry and tangy tart peach stone fruit to make an impact, along with hints of spicy green herbs, wet stone, citrus blossoms and sour grass. A exotic touch of mango and pithy grapefruit linger on with this Alto Adige white and its natural complexity makes it a good choice with soft cheeses and lighter cuisine, especially delicate white fish and or shellfish. Formed in 1932, by the joining of Nals Winery with Margreid, this is now a very modern, critically acclaimed winery and looks to show off art, architecture and local traditions with its spectacular facility and visitors center.

This wine, 100% Sauvignon Blanc, comes from vines that the winery says are situated in Nalles, in a 150-metre-deep alluvial fan carved out by the Sirmian and Nalles streams at about 400 meters of elevation, with as the name “Stein” suggests lots of stony soils. The Alto Adige has an interesting climate that ranges from continental to sub-Mediterranean, and it is characterized by warm days and cool nights, that allows for wonderful ripeness and fresh acidity. The grapes are all harvested by hand with a careful selection of the bunches and the wine is made to capture the purity of place and vintage. After a direct whole cluster pressing, the clarified must is fermented for around three weeks in stainless steel tanks and it is aged on the lees for a further five months before bottling. Again, this wine was tasted at the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, where it was a popular choice for the award winning whites. Nothing fancy need here and I can’t wait to sample some of the other offerings from this winery in the future and I highly recommend chasing this one down, it is a very rewarding Sauvignon Blanc.
($20 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Poliziano, Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG “La Caggiole” Tuscany, Italy.
In recent years I have been really enjoying the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano offerings I’ve tried more than ever and I was already a fan of this part of Tuscany and of Sangiovese in particular, with the wines by Poliziano being favorites and this La Caggiole is very impressive for purity and elegance. This 2020 version shows off beautiful fruit density and complexity with an inviting deep garnet hue in the glass and a heady mix of aromatics, along with a dark fruited full bodied palate. Tasted at the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri event, this serious Nobile has blackberry, black cherry, dusty plum and red currant fruits leading the way along with cedary framing, a mix of earth and spice, subtle florals, anise and cigar wrapper. The 14-hectare Le Caggiole vineyard, according to the winery, is located at an altitude of 350 m above sea level, on the road from Montepulciano to Gracciano. Not far from Poliziano’s famous Asinone vineyard, which they add, it has a completely different microclimate and geological profile with soils ithat are decidedly more sandy, of marine origin. The “Le Caggiole” vineyard that, after being studied, cared for, and re-planted to 100% Sangiovese, has allowed the production of a great, elegant and refined Sangiovese, as seen here. This wine, hand picked, de-stemmed and fermented in stainless steel and then saw 16-18 months in larger 500/600 litre French oak tonneaux. Now Poliziano is led by Dino’s son Federico Carletti and his children, Francesco and Maria Stella about to become the third generation to run this historic estate. Obviously the main focus at Poliziano is Prugnolo Gentile, the most prestigious clone of Sangiovese (the same as Sangiovese Grosso in Brunello di Montalcino), but they also have Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot vines, along with native rarities Canaiolo Nero and Colorino. Federico is the former president of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, leading the group from 2008 to 2013 and led producers to make 100% Prugnolo Gentile (Sangiovese) wines, like Brunello, instead of only being 70% as the rules dictate, and from the 2015 vintage on, as seen here, these pure Sangiovese wines will feature the word “Nobile” in larger type on their label and they must be from single vineyards.

Poliziano Vino Nobile, as mentioned many times in my prior reviews, is as it always seems to be, a benchmark wine for this region and delivers a classic tour de force of Tuscan goodness. The Poliziano winery in Montepulciano, as noted before, was named after Agnolo Ambrogini, who was more commonly known by his nickname “Poliziano” (born in 1454 and died in 1494), the famous Italian poet and humanist and considered the foremost classical scholar of the Renaissance period, he was also a friend and protege of legendary Lorenzo de’ Medici, of the ruling family of Florence. It was because of his ties to Montepulciano and his work as a humanist that make him one of the town’s most cherished sons, who’s name was derived from the Latin name of his birthplace, Montepulciano (Mons Politianus). He was poisoned at the age of 40 by followers of Piero de’ Medici who worried he might lay claim to the seat of power in the aftermath of Lorenzo’s death. His life was full of controversy and makes for fantastic reading, as does the history of the de’ Medici family, these were intriguing times to say the least! The Poliziano winery has storied past and was founded in 1961 by Dino Carletti, who was a visionary in the region and helped it gain its status as one of Tuscany’s premier DOCGs. As I’ve told before, I will always remember my first visit to Montepulciano, the rustic and beautiful hilltop town, once prized for the healing power of its spring waters that have long been used for local spa treatments, I got to witness this remote village bring in its grapes in late September and the air was filled with the glorious smell of fermentation, making the experience extra special. This wine brought back memories of a chaotic comedy, that could only happen in Italy with an ancient truck overloaded with grapes struggling to make it up a steep grade to the co-op in the old town and men rushing over to help push it up the final stretch, me included, with all of us, the old diesel included sliding dangerously on rain slick pavement! Oh man, I laughed, though I was worried I might be seriously injured or even be run over, happily we all, grapes included survived. It’s a place I look forward to seeing again and I highly recommend a visit and the wines, especially these Poliziano Nobile bottlings, like this brilliant La Caggiole.
($89 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Somlói Apátsági Pince, Hárslevelű, Nagy-Somló, Hungary.
A lovely rich, spicy and mineral driven white wine from the Somló, with its unique ancient volcanic terroir, region in Hungary, this Hárslevelű from Somlói Apátsági Pince delivers a crisp palate of honeyed pear, lemony citrus and golden apple fruits, along with orange blossom, almond paste, minty herbs, dried pineapple, wet flint, and a light waxy note. This fun deep golden hued Hungarian wine is quite mature in feel and very old world in style, maybe not as fresh as one would like, but full of charm, personality and is quite interesting as a whole, and pleasing, not funky, especially with lighter cuisine. This wine sees a hand picked and carefully sorted grapes, which are then whole cluster pressed with fermentation and aging done in well used oak barrels, giving the Hárslevelű its textural quality and slightly oxidative notes. The Somlói Apátsági Pince winery, which was established in 2001, uses native yeasts and old Hungarian oak barrels on this Hárslevelű, that was crafted in their ancient cellars, that they says, was once home to a Benedictines abbey. The basalt and mineral rich soils really makes for intriguing complexity and these wines are nicely balanced, steely and generous, while retaining vital acidity.

Most people think of Hungary as a country that produces sweet wines, like the famous Tokaji, which inspired the great Sauternes, and or cheap rustic reds, but in reality there’s some frantic dry white wines made here, like wines made with historic native varietals like Furmint, Juhfark and Hárslevelű, as seen in this wine. The greater Balaton wine region, including Somló, is located in western Hungary, near Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe. The region, as I learned, has a long history of wine growing that dates back to at least Roman times, and maybe longer still, though Hungary’s history is something we’re barley starting the surface of in regards to wine. The terroir here has mild climate, but with long sunny days, and is influenced by the lake, and the volcanic soils provide ideal conditions for growing a variety of grapes. In many ways, this region is not unlike Soave in the Veneto region of Italy, and there are a few common traits, especially with oak matured cru versions, though the native grapes like Hárslevelű and Juhfark are very distinctive in their own right. These brilliant Somló whites are well worth searching out and I highly recommend looking for Fekete Bela, who was the grand old man of Somló and these Somlói Apátsági Pince offerings.
($30 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2011 Vignalta, Cabernet Riserva, Colli Euganei, Italy.
Lucio Gomiero’s Vignalta Cabernet Riserva from the 2011 vintage is drinking beautifully, with Bordeaux like class and depth, it was a real under the radar star at the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, earlier this year and at 14 years old it is really hitting its stride. Inspired by Bordeaux, Vignalta was founded in 1980 by Lucio Gomiero, in Colli Euganei (the Venetian Hills) of Northern Italy, who believed he could make wines of equal quality in his home region, and this wine is proof! The 2011 Riserva, leaned heavily on Cabernet Sauvignon and the structure shines through here with a full bodied palate of blackberry, wild plum, dark cherry and earthy currant fruits, with exceptional mouth feel and mature tannin, along with spicy cedary wood, truffle, minty herbs, tobacco, hints of dried flowers and violets, coffee grounds and licorice. This wine is only made in top years and while not flashy, it was certainly one of the most impressive wines to drink at the Tre Bicchieri event and I can only imagine how great this wine would be with a full and robust meal. The Vignalta offerings are all wines I recommend, especially the basic Cabernet/Merlot Rosso, which is always a top value at around twenty-five dollars.

The unique Colli Euganei terroir includes a moderate temperate climate with high alkaline limestone soils, that Gomiero says creates high acid grapes, which is one reason for giving them extra hang time and picking ultra ripe fruit. This wine, he says, and to me, having had more than a decade of Vignalta wines, is maybe the perfect expression of this specific terroir in the Colli Euganei area, and giving this wine its distinction. Coming from 50 year old vines in the Euganean Hills, near Arquà Petrarca, set on the classic limestone, this 2011 vintage saw hand picked 100% de-stemmed grapes and fermentation and maceration was done in stainless steel tanks. The wine must received 6 pump overs a day at a controlled temperatures to extract the maximum from the Cabernet grapes. After which the wine was pressed to oak and aged in French oak barrels for 24 months, with a further aging in bottles for at least 4 years before release. The Riserva Cabernet can be, depending on the year’s grapes, 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, but in this region they don’t usually distinguish between the two on the label, but it seems the Franc didn’t pay much of a part in the 2011 version. This dark garnet wine is lovely in the glass, and it should go another 10 years with ease, and if you can find it, I’d suggest a short decant and enjoy it with some meaty dishes, it’s a brilliant effort!
($69 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Chesebro, Las Arenas, Grenache/Syrah, Cedar Lane Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County.
Made by the father and son team of Mark and Will Chesebro, this exciting Rhône inspired Las Arenas Cedar Lane Vineyard is a fabulous vintage influenced wine with deep fruit concentration and bright vitality, showing of loads of spicy character and any array of dark berry flavors. This is like and Monterey version of Gigondas with a medium bodied palate of boysenberry, plum, cherry and tart blueberry fruits, along with a white pepper kick, briar, mountain sage, fennel, mocha and dark floral notes supporting the core fruit perfectly. The year was long and cool, developing lots of complexity, supple tannin, savory tones and retaining good acidity, with this Las Arenas coming at a moderate 14.2% natural alcohol, making it a finely balanced and quaffable wine. The Chesebro family Cedar Lane label is a serious collection of quality offerings, including crisp Albarino, Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino whites, as well as Pinot Noir and Rosé, plus this well crafted blend. In recent years, there has been a few surprises too, like a Gamay and a impressive Cabernet Sauvignon, from their Carmel Valley estate, so it is a great time to discover and explore these wines.

The Chesebro’s Cedar Lane Vineyard is located in the Arroyo Seco River drainage area on the eastern side of the Santa Lucia Range, just to the west of the town of Greenfield in Steinbeck country in the Salinas Valley. The soils here, as the Chesebro’s explain, are predominately sandy with prominent amounts of granite cobble stones dotting the rows and this cool breezy vineyard has a strong diurnal shift that encourages ripening while maintaining acidity and freshness. The grapes are all hand harvested and fruit is fully de-stemmed and left to start fermentation naturally, but with a selected culture added to ensure an easy fermentation completion. Will Chesebro adds that after an approximately 10 day maceration the wine is pressed off to barrel, mostly neural French oak with approximately 20% new. This Las Arenas Grenache/Syrah, after the best part of 12 months of barrel aging, was bottled unfined and unfiltered, all to promote clarity and allow for all the terroir and vintage nuances to show through. There’s a lot to admire in the current set of releases from Chesebro and while the single varietal bottlings are very popular locally, I do suggest checking out this Las Arenas, which really showed nicely in a blind tasting of old world and new world Rhône wines!
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Intent Wines, Dry Riesling, Coral Vineyard, Sonoma Coast.
Coming from a tiny vineyard north of Petaluma, the Intent Wines Dry Riesling, which comes in at a true “Trocken” level of dryness, is bright and vibrantly fresh in the glass with loads of steely mineral intensity, tight layers of green apple, Keffir lime, tart peach and subtle mango fruits, along with fine floral aromatics, zingy herbs, bitter almond, lemongrass and a salty stoniness. The pure Intent light framed Riesling reflects the vintage and opens nicely, bursting with acidity, but adds a good rounded textural mouth feel and lingers on the finish, making this a brilliant offering from Patrick Callagy, who made this using indigenous yeasts and aged it 5 months on the lees, mainly relying on neutral used barrels and stainless tank to promote transparency. Coral Vineyard sits on a bench in the breezy cool Petaluma Gap AVA of the Sonoma Coast with sandy clay loams and paralithic rock soils. This is an exciting wine and will be fabulous over the next 3 to 5 years and looks to be a stylish pairing with poultry, pork dishes and sea foods.

Winemaker Patrick Callagy, a California Culinary Academy trained chef, as I have mentioned in my prior reviews, launched his personal project Intent Wines label with a solid set of initial offerings including a Pinot Gris, a Syrah and a lovely Home Block Pommard Clone Pinot Noir, along with this new Riesling. Patrick met winemaker Eric Sussman in 2002, post graduation, when Sussman started his now famous Radio Coteau winery, helping out with that harvest and after a few years of extremely long hours, Callagy’s curiosity/persistence paid off when he became Radio Coteau’s first employee, gaining loads of wine growing and winemaking experience. Fast forward a few years, Patrick started the Intent brand with the 2017 vintage, bravely starting his own label in 2020, considering the difficulty of getting stuff done in the middle of the COVID pandemic, which Callagy says, it’s been challenge, but he’s made it through and has continued to produce very elegant wines. The focus here is to source from, organically grown, or as Patrick explains, correctly farmed sites, which is where his Intent name comes from and I highly recommend getting on the mailing list here.
($39 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2018 Bodegas Ondarre, Rioja Gran Reserva, Spain.
Made in traditional fashion, the beautifully textured and supple 2018 Bodegas Ondarre Gran Reserva is a classic joy in the glass with a dark garnet hue and deep Tempranillo fruit on mature and silken full bodied palate with touches of sweet cedary wood, tobacco leaf, anise, dried roses and loamy earth. The mouth is very lush, but not over the top and the layers of black raspberry, cherry and currant meld perfectly with the spicy American oak and everything comes together to provide a seriously delicious Rioja that will appeal to Rioja traditionalists and generations that cut their teeth on the classics. I had never had Ondarre before this bottle at a recent trade tasting, where it was a real sleeper in the maze of wines, and it really impressed me and coming back to it a second time brought home that this is quality stuff that needs to be on my list of follows. The grapes, all grown within the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja, with south-facing vineyards at a height of over 500 metres are low-yielding bush vines which are over 30 years old. For the Gran Reserva, which must age 5 years before release, each varietal, 85% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo and 5% Garnacha, and vine are chosen to produce a complex and terroir influenced wine, but still honoring traditions. These parcels are set in key soils, which allows for the depth and balance found in the wine. The Ondarre Gran Reserva usually sees the better part of two years in cask and the rest of the maturing in bottle, making it pretty ready on release to drink, but can age decades, as this 2018 seems to prove, the best I can tell. This Bodega, owned by the Olarra group, which has been around since 1971, with Luis Limousin Ucín, together with winemaker Javier Martínez de Salinas running the show now.

Rioja is going through a massive revolutionary change and a newer generation here is bringing this region and the wines into the modern world, with many more single vineyard and terroir driven offerings coming out and much less old school Reserva and Gran Reserva getting the headlines here. As a reference point, I think this Ondarre, which was founded in1986 isn’t very old, but is more like La Rioja Alta in style. Based in Viana, the Bodega is marked by the diversity of soils and ancient vineyard plots on slopes climbing up towards the Sierra de Codés, with the name a tribute to the family home that dates back to 1450. The Bodegas Ondarre Gran Reserva sees ultra careful berry selection, it is 100% de-stemmed and macerated in tank with loads of extraction and after fermentation, in stainless and cement, the wine is pressed to barrel, mostly new, with 75% American Missouri-oak barrels and 25% Allier French oak. The new kids stuff, including Artuke, Cuentaviñas, Alberto Orte and Villota are grabbing attention for their old vine and mostly higher elevation Rioja vineyard sites and the transparency of their efforts, making a more Burgundy like wine, while the classics are more oak driven and Bordeaux like. Then there are wineries, like Muga, San Vicente, Lopez de Heredia and Remelluri that are singularly iconic and mainly estate driven in personality. So there’s a vast array of fabulous Rioja to discover, even if the region’s identity is in flux, shaking off a pigeon hole and giving us so much more to explore and enjoy. The category of Rioja Reserva and Rioja Gran Reserva wines are for the most part really under priced for lovers of fine age worthy wines and there are plenty of great values out there, which this Ondarre certainly is one of, and I highly recommend it.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Lucia by Pisoni, Chardonnay, Soberanes Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Tasted with Mark Pisoni at the Sun, Wind & Wine Santa Lucia Highlands celebration, this 2023 Lucia Soberanes Chardonnay absolutely stunned me, in fact it may have been the best wine I tasted during this event and shows just how great this 2023 vintage was in the region. The richly textured Soberanes Chardonnay, made from old Wente clone and a special Montrachet selection, is light gold and shines beautifully in the glass, it builds wonderfully on the palate with fresh lemony tones, apple, pear and golden fig fruits leading the way, along with clove spice, orange flowers, hazelnut, a touch of toasty wood, wet stones and very subtle tropical essences. 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, usually, 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. Big thanks to Mark Pisoni for sharing this one, a gorgeous Garys’ Pinot and a special library bottle of 2012 Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir in magnum!

The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, as I’ve mentioned many times, arguably was 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. Coming from grapes grown exclusively from their Pisoni, Garys’ and Soberanes vineyards, the Lucia wines are an amazing collection of terroir driven offerings. As part of their wine growing process, overseen by Mark Pisoni, they select certain vineyard blocks for their 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. The 2023 vintage was extra long and cool, giving the wines, especially this one, a longer hang time, retaining loads of fresh acidity, making for wines of complexity, vibrancy, depth and balance, as this one shows to perfection, it is hard to imagine it getting better than this. The Soberanes Vineyard has really matured nicely and is a top site in the SLH region, it provides some outstanding fruit to customers and the Pisoni family, in particular Pinot Noir, Syrah, maybe my favorite, and Chardonnay, as seen here.
($60 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2022 Pi Winery, Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane “Akura” Dry White Qvevri Wine, Kakheti, Republic of Georgia.
The beautifully clear and mineral driven Akura by Teko “Teona” Omarashvili of Pi Winery shows off an elegant version of Qvevri skin macerated Georgian wine with its golden hue and a medium bodied palate of lemony citrus, apricot, quince and green apple fruits, along with a touch of phenolic grip, a light savory note, as well as wet stone, bitter almond, lime blossom and lip smacking salinity. As the wine gets air the textural nature comes through and this is a serious wine that needs food to see its best quality and true personality to shine through, which smooths out the range of flavors and allows a more pleasing experience here. Thanks to Lisa Granik MW, I learned Georgian wines and especially the Qvervi, a clay vessel used to ferment and store wine, which is a Georgian invention that is now on the UNESCO World heritage list of cultural items and is an iconic symbol of ancient winemaking. Not just in the past, but it is now finding a home in Western and modern winemaking from Europe to Oregon and California along with it’s little brother the terracotta Amphora, though in Georgia the Amphora is used only to transport the finished wine, not make it, the Qvervi, which is buried in the earth, is Georgia’s tool of choice. Also, Granik notes that for a long time we thought of Georgia as a red wine making country, though in fact, something that I learned at a brilliant seminar she gave, back in 2016 in San Francisco, it is white wine which is most made/grown in Georgia, with grapes like this Kisi, and Mtsvane, as well as the most widely planted varietal Rkatsiteli, seen here. Currently these Pi Winery offerings are not imported to North America, so I was very grateful that this talented winemaker shared her own wine with me and I give her views on the future of Georgian wines!

The Pi Winery, based in Tbilisi, as mentioned in my prior review, is really new on the scene starting with the 2019 vintage, but Omarashvili is already waking waves and her tiny production is in demand, so it was great to taste her set of wines and hear her story of getting started. Her family had been farming vines for generations and she has taken over a few plots and created her label, looking to craft natural, terroir, single vineyard wines, which she has done to good effect with her Saperavi and this “Akura” Qvervi fermented dry white wine. Omarashvili’s version of Qvervi wine is made from 80% Rkatsiteli and 20% Mtsvane grown in a single parcel on clay and carbonate alkaline rich soils and fermented together with 70% clear run and 30% skin fermented with all natural yeasts and no additives, with this vintage seeing somewhere close to 4 months to achieve the wines beautiful balance before being bottled. After bottling, Pi Winery matures the wine in the cellar for a year or so, this helps tame the phenolic bite, but has not taken away any vitality and this 2022 is just starting to reveal its potential, and I think it should only get better over the next 3 to 5 years. Again, I owe most of my own knowledge of Georgia to Lisa and I highly recommend reading her work and especially the latest edition of her book! “The Wines of Georgia” by Lisa Granik, available on Amazon and other fine book sellers. Her detailed work, from many dozens of trips to Georgia, really help paint a picture of this mysterious ancient wine region, which is now believed to be the oldest wine region in the world. Dating back 8,000 years, the Caucasus region, or the Republic of Georgia, is believed the most likely birth place of wine and Omarashvili is fiercely proud of her heritage and her wines are fantastic tributes her country’s history, I highly recommend them and I hope they become available here in the States.
($N/A) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Filomena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Massa Estate, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
The beautifully aromatic, dark purple/garnet and deep 2021 Massa Cabernet Sauvignon from old historic organic vines in the deeper end of Carmel Valley, formerly the Durney vineyard originally planted in 1968, is richly flavored and nicely balanced. The full bodied palate captures the classic essence of this property with a core of blackberry, plum, currant and dark cherry fruits that are supported by fine grained tannins, along with background notes of loamy earth, black olive, a touch of green spice, cedar, minty sage, lilac florals, a hint of leather and lingering creme de cassis. Only 6 barrels were made by Luke Nio of this rarity bottling and it’s priced remarkably well for the quality and nature of this wine, and I love the transparency and low 13.4% alcohol form, which is what I appreciate in modern Cabernet Sauvignon these days. Nio, as he notes, harvested the second week of October, fermented this Massa Cabernet all indigenously and aged it for 30 months in neutral and once-used French oak. I have followed Filomena for many vintages now and highly recommend all of their wines and urge everyone to get on their mailing list, and as a Carmel Valley native I also suggest getting this top notch and age worthy Cabernet!

As I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, Filomena is a small newer label founded by Luke Nio in 2014 and produces small lot wines from unique vineyard sites throughout Northern and Central California, including this vineyard in the Cachagua part of Carmel Valley. Luke, as the winery notes, is a Bay Area native who spent his formative years in Petaluma, CA. He graduated from Davis in 2011 with a BS in Viticulture and Enology and began working for Kaz Winery in Kenwood, who was making natural wine before it gained the popularity it has today. After working a few harvests domestically and one in New Zealand at Trinity Hill in Hawkes Bay, he settled in as the Cellar Master for Bedrock Wine Co, where he spent close to 7 years. Currently, Nio is the winemaker at Sonoma’s Kivelstadt Cellars and does these small batch offerings with his wife Kat, who is the brains behind the label and is responsable for sales and marketing here at Filomena. Interestingly, Nio also grabbed a block of 100% Malbec from the Massa Estate for a very rare Cahors style wine, instead of blending it in with the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is available direct from Filomena’s website. I really love these wines, especially the unique Saint Laurent red from the Ricci Vineyard in Carneros and Nio’s crisply focused Vermentino from Dry Creek. In recent years, there has been some great stuff coming out of this old Carmel Valley vineyard, but the future is uncertain and hopefully they won’t be the last.
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Vigne del Malina, Pinot Grigio, IGT Venezia Giulia, Italy.
One of the most intriguing winery discoveries at the 2025 Tre Bicchieri (Gambero Rosso) Tasting, was the Bacchetti family’s “Vigne del Malina” label, and especially their surprising set of whites, including the pristine Chardonnay and this exceptional pale gold and crisply focused Pinot Grigio. As mentioned in my prior reviews, Vigne del Malina is set between two ancient streams, the Malina and the Ellero, with tons of alluvial stones scattered throughout the vines, which seem to be infused into the wines, as seen here in this lovely, almost Alsace style example of Pinot Grigio (Gris), it delivers a complex depth of flavors and displays apple, white peach, lemony citrus, subtle tropical notes and fig fruits, a touch of lychee, tangy herbs, mineral tones, wet stones, almond and delicate white flowers. The steely medium body feels wonderfully judged in mouth and there’s a nice lift and acidity which keeps a fine tension, while allowing an impressive textural quality to shine throughout, these Vigne del Malina really are under the radar gems and I highly recommend chasing them down.

I tasted through the Vigne del Malina estate offerings, again as noted, at the San Francisco stop of the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tour, and It was a great pleasure to taste the wines with Erica Bacchetti, of Vigne del Malina, who is now the international face of the winery and part of a talented young generation in Italian wine. The terroir here, in this part of the Venezia Giulia region of Northeast Italy, is distinct with its soil composed of alluvial gravels and large stones, along with a unique micro-climate with what the winery calls high thermal excursions, that are constantly ventilated by the wind channelled by the pre-alpine valleys. All these conditions make for perfect ripening of the grapes and retention of acidity, important for grapes like Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio, which is quite special as this bottling shows, along with the Refosco red grape, indigenous to this area and a delight in the hands of the Bacchettis. This Pinot Grigio wine, like their non malo-lactic Chardonnay, was whole cluster pressed to tank for fermentation and aging, lasting about 10 months before seeing four years of bottle maturing in the winery’s cellar. This is a winery I plan to follow and maybe someday visit when I get back to Italy!
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Tira Nanza, Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Grown, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
One of Monterey’s youngest family estates, Carmel Valley’s Tira Nanza is a small organic winery that is located on the old Galante Ranch in the historic Cachagua area, and I was excited to try their first Estate Cabernet Sauvignon at their just opened tasting room in Carmel by the Sea. This 2021 vintage is a stellar debut effort with ripe and structured fruit with a refined tannic core and a deep layering of blackberry, plum, cherry and blueberry fruits, subtle cedary wood framing and a nice background of dark florals, minty sage, tobacco, a delicate loamy note and lingering creme de cassis. There’s a classic Carmel Valley hint of old school rustic charm here, almost Medoc Bordeaux like in style with a touch of black olive, herb and a more moderate level of alcohol, making for a beautifully crafted wine that looks set for a long life, easily built for another decade or more. That said, this dark garnet/purple wine is already very pleasing in the glass and will impress with a hearty meal in the near term, bravo to Tire Nanza.

As a Carmel Valley native, I was thrilled with what I saw from Greg and Sydney, who’ve put their heart and soul into restoring and replanting many blocks here, which wasn’t an easy chore, but the results are beyond what I had imagined and this wine is a must have for us local wine enthusiasts. Tira Nanza’s inaugural vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, was harvested from the oldest vines on the ranch, this all dry farmed and organic fruit was fermented in cool stainless steel to preserve fresh details, aromatics and allowed for full extraction without harsh tannins. After the maceration and primary fermentation was completed the wine was pressed off and racked to 100% French oak oak barrels with 75% new and 25% neutral wood, which has integrated exceptionally well and doesn’t intrude on the purity of fruit sand add a lovely supple mouth feel. The natural alcohol, unlike some warmer regions comes in at about 14% and that is near perfect in terms of balancing ripeness of fruit and a feeling of elegance with a nice acidity that lifts the flavors and carries them long into the finish. The Tira Nanza collection is well worth checking out, including Carmel Valley rarity bottlings like their Rosé of Malbec and their Estate Viognier.
($85 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Quinta da Lixa, Escolha, Alvarinho, Loureiro and Trajadura, Vinho Verde DOC, Portugal.
Quinta da Lixa makes a wide range of Vinho Verde wines, sourced from different vineyards and combinations of native varietals, but leans heavily on the Alvarinho (Albarino) grape, as seen here in their brilliant and mineral crisp Escolha Branco Vinho Verde DOC bottling. This 2023 is lightly spritzy with vibrant acidity and precise detailing, it shows off a classic saline infused bone dry light framed palate of racy citrus, tart peach and apple fruits, bitter almond, a light sense of herbs, lime blossom and wet stones. This about 11% natural alcohol zingy white wine really should be bottled in magnums and quaffed all day long during the Summer months, so good, the blend of Alvarinho, Loureiro and Trajadura of this Lixa Vinho Verde Escolha makes for an elevated example of this regional wine. This all stainless steel Quinta da Lix estate grown Vinho Verde is a wine I highly recommend with beach picnics, lightly briny dishes and or oysters fresh from the sea!

It is said that Quinta da Lixa is a living embodiment of the Meireles family’s passion for their Vinho Verde (green wine), located in the Sousa subregion, near to Lixa, which is just a small village in the cooler northern area of Portugal, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. The main production facility was completed in 1994 and is all stainless steel tanks inside and is responsible for an astonishing amount and array of Vinho Verde wines, all crafted to provide joy and value to the world, Quinta da Lixa is definitely a go to for quality and freshness. Usually simple and non pretentious these Vinho Verde wines are fabulous as Summer sippers and excellent with sea foods, especially lighter meals and long relaxed meals, they are best fresh, but this 2023 Lixa version is still absolutely delightful. The 2024 should be arriving soon, but it is worth it to find this 2023 and stock up for the coming warm months ahead. These wines are almost always 100% stainless steel fermented and aged with the capture of small amounts of CO2, hence the delicate spritz you find, adding to the fresh, lively and fun personality.
($13 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

April 2025

2022 Pi Winery, Saperavi, Kakheti, Republic of Georgia.
Georgia is he oldest wine growing region in the world, dating back some 8,000 years, but In modern times there’s a lot to be excited about too and I am looking forward to exploring Georgian wines in the future, and was especially thrilled to taste with rising star Teko “Teona” Omarashvili, of Pi Winery. She is one of Georgia’s new generation who is mixing tradition with innovative ideas to craft a more elegant and refined line of small production natural wines, like this brilliant 100% Saperavi. Her award winning Saperavi is deeply hued with an opaque purple/garnet color in the glass with a nose that reminds me of Northern Rhône Syrah as it gives dark berries and violets, while the palate is full bodied, ripe, delicately earthy, spicy and firmly tannic. Saperavi, as Lisa Granik MW notes is the ancient varietal here, is an acidic, teinturier-type grape variety, with red flesh and red juice, and is the main red grape native to the Republic of Georgia, and interesting, she adds has now more than 17 distinct clonal mutations. Omarashvili’s grapes, from a small vineyard set on complex mixed top soils over limestone in the Kakheti region, is small berried and very dark in pigment. This vintage delivers boysenberry, blueberry and black currants in the mouth, adding a range of florals, tobacco leaf, dried herbs, Summer mint, a hint of anise and woodsy loam and is structured to go with robust cuisine, like lamb or or meaty dishes. At time of this writing, Pi Winery doesn’t have a US importer, but the wines are available in select European countries, but as good as these wines are, I’m sure they will find a way to get here. Also, I tried the Akura white, made from Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane in classic Qvervi, which is buried in the earth, and will review it soon.

The Pi Winery, based in Tbilisi, is really new on the scene starting with the 2019 vintage, but Omarashvili is already waking waves and her tiny production is in demand, so it was great to taste her set of wines and hear her story of getting started. Her family had been farming vines for generations and she has taken over a few plots and created her label, looking to craft natural, terroir, single vineyard wines, which she has done to good effect with her Saperavi. The winery is small with mainly stainless steel tanks, though she’s doing some traditional Qvervi fermented and aged whites too, which are excellent as well. The Saperavi is 100% de-stemmed and crushed into the stainless steel tanks, where it sees about 15 to 20 days of maceration with spontaneous (natural) yeast and daily punch downs and pump overs. She does something to soften the tannic attack, by removing some of the must as she goes and filling the tank with juice, which with the intensity of pigments and extraction of the grape helps achieve a remarkable sense of elegance. The wine is gentle racked back into tank, seeing no oak, to mature for a period decided by Omarashvili before bottling, after which the wine rests in the bottle about a year. She really pay attention in the vineyard and severely limits the yields to achieve full phenolic ripeness, with a green harvest done if the vintage demands. The sugars need to be pretty high in Saperavi to soften the rustic and fierce nature of the grape and Pi Winery sees around 14.5% or more natural alcohol, making for a rich and powerful wine, as this wonderful 2022, which I highly recommend, shows. A big thank you to Teko “Teona” Omarashvili and her husband George for sharing their wines with me and a small group of wine enthusiasts.
($N/A) 94 Points, grapelive

2013 Château Musar, Rouge, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.
The 2013 Château Musar red is a beautiful vintage of classic Musar with its own personality, rustic charm and depth, showing off mature dusty red currant, plum, briar laced raspberry and tart blueberry fruits in the glass with a heady mix of spices, dried flowers, a touch leather, grilled fennel, cedar, earthy black olive and tobacco leaf notes. Musar wines are always quite distinctive and this dark opaque garnet hued 2013 is evolving well, shedding its robust chewy tannins and filling out out with a good mix of ripe fruit density, body and crunchy savory tones, but it needs food to show off its best qualities. This wine brings back good memories of meeting the iconic Serge Hochar and his larger than life style and his special presence, you couldn’t help be inspired by what he did for wine, not just his own from Lebanon. He once told me not to chill his white, a blend of ancient grape varieties Obaideh and Merwah, maybe related to Semillon, and serve it after his reds, saying it was the star of the show, especially on the day we had it, even if the customers came for his red. The Musar Rouge is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from vineyards near the Bekaa Valley in the villages of Aana and Kefraya on gravelly soils over limestone. The cool fermentations are very long and done in cement vats, lasting 6 months before being moved to French oak barrels where the wine matured for 12 months. The Musar wines are all organic and vegan, with the red seeing low sulfur and bottled unfined and unfiltered. After 48 months of bottle maturation, the winery notes, resting in the cold deep stone cellars of Chateau Musar, the wines are released a full seven years after the harvest.

Château Musar, which dates back to 1930, but became a worldwide legend under the late Serge Hochar after he took over the winery in 1959, and more recently under Gaston, Serge’s son, was the first producer in Lebanon to achieve organic certification for its own vineyards in 2006. Musar, based in Ghazir has vineyards that are mostly are located in the Bekaa Valley, as they say are cradled between two mountain ranges running parallel to Lebanon’s Mediterranean coastline. Musar adds that vines have been cultivated here for at least 6,000 years and the Phoenicians the seafaring ancestors of the modern Lebanese people were instrumental in bringing vines and wines from Byblos to areas far and wide around the Mediterranean. The terroir is very intriguing here, with good elevation and cooling effects of the snow-covered mountains 3,000 feet above sea level, the Bekaa Valley sees about 300 days of sunshine a year, along with hot Summers make for ripe and balanced wines. The Hochar’s have always said that their remote and unspoilt vineyards were ‘organic’ by default before the term was even coined and they’ve always respected the environment and faiths of all the native peoples here, earning the trust and respect of everyone here in this tragically challenging part of the world. I remember hearing with awe that Musar hires Christians, Jews and Muslims without prejudice and has never missed a harvest, even with all the wars and having tanks racing through the vineyards! This Musar Rouge, roughly equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault, should be on every wine lovers bucket list, it is not the greatest wine in the world, but certainly fascinating and historic enough to bring joy to a meal with friends and to celebrate peace in this world. The flagship Musar offering include this Red, along with a Rosé and the mentioned white, which I also highly recommend.
($79 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

1993 E. Guigal, Hermitage Rouge, Northern Rhône, France.
In what was thought of as a weak vintage, this négociant Hermitage bottling from Guigal proved to be a lovely and nicely drinking wine with a surprisingly delicious array of fruit still holding on here in this mature medium bodied wine. The palate is obviously fading with dusty red fruits, dried flowers, grilled orange, fig, cedar, delicate spice and leathery notes leading the way here, but this is clearly terroir driven and shows of varietal Syrah purity. Tasted blind, this Guigal 1993 Hermitage was widely admired and it certainly impressed me, which is hardy novel as I really like old Rhône reds and this wine held on well after opening and gained some savory complexity with air. During the 1990s Guigal was king of the Rhône and their cru Côte-Rôtie wines, known as the La La(s), were some of the most expensive and most sought after wines in the world, and the wines were noted for their deep fruit, power and age worthiness, even their non-estate wines like this one were collector items. This wine comes from sloping vineyard sites within the Hermitage zone on gravelly, depleted silt and sandy soils over clay and limestone, which adds to the sense of place and character here. Current vintages of this wine are well worth chasing down and I suggest putting a bottle or two away for 5 to 10 years, which will let the wine all come together and be highly rewarding.

The E. Guigal Hermitage Rouge, 100% Syrah, was temperature controlled macerated with all de-stemmed berries for about 4 weeks in vat, after which the wine saw close to 36 months in barrel with about 50% new oak to tame the serious ripe nature of the fruit and the backbone tannins. These days Guigal’s top wines, especially the Côte-Rôtie efforts, are still highly coveted and their négociant line appeals for the value they offer, with the Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and even the basic Côtes du Rhône being wines that I always look for. The pedigree definitely shines through on this Hermitage bottling and while quite luxurious and polished when young, this wine cellars very nicely, as this 1993 shows. At this stage the oak has fully integrated and this wine, from mostly younger vines with some that average 30 years old, while at the very end of its drinking window, was a joyous experience with a brick/garnet hue in the glass, adding hints of pipe tobacco, licorice, incense and lingering currant fruit. Etienne Guigal really took this winery to the top of the world, but now his grandson Philippe is continuing that tradition of excellence here at the iconic E. Guigal and the future looks bright for this legendary property. I highly recommend the step up level Ex-Voto Ermitage wines from Guigal too, these are great wines, slightly under the radar and rival the elite Côte-Rôtie bottlings.
($60-140 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Odonata, Grenache Rouge, Sparkling Wine, Hook Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Again I was impressed and thrilled by the new set of releases from Odonata, and I especially loved the latest Grenache Rouge Fizz, which shows off a dark ruby hue and a Champagne style mousse with a dry, but expressive palate of strawberry, plum and tart cherry fruits, a touch of lees brioche, wet stones, mineral notes, a light sense of anise and candied orange and subtle florals. The Odonata Sparkling Grenache Rouge by winemaker Denis Hoey, sourced from the Hook Vineyard that is all Tablas Creek clone Grenache set on sandy loams, is a macerated on the skins to be a red Methode Champenoise bubbly. Made from these old vines in the Santa Lucia Highlands, this unique bubbly is exciting and lively on the palate, but with an elegant mousse and a depth of flavors. Hoey employed, as noted in prior reviews, a full skin maceration and primary fermentation in stainless steel, exactly as a normal red wine would have, before going through its patient journey of lees aging and riddling in bottle to become this ruby colored and crisply dry bubbly that was lovingly hand crafted to thrill the senses. Odonata Wines was founded in Santa Cruz back in 2005, but really has become a full fledged estate winery, after relocating to Monterey’s wine country in 2014 when they moved into the old Marilyn Remark Winery property.

There’s always a lot to like at Odonata, based on River Road on the edge of the Santa Lucia Highlands, and while I usually am drawn to their Syrah, Pinot Noir and Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon here, I really liked the new 2021 Malbec and the Grenache Rouge Sparkler. As noted in my prior review of Odonata’s Sparkling Riesling, Hoey has a real talent for these fun bubbly wines, in the past I’ve enjoyed the Chardonnay, a more traditional Champagne inspired bubbly and even a Sangiovese version, and of course there is a lot to excited about from this winery, with new releases, including the 2022 SLH Pinot Noir, the Hook Vineyard Syrah, a Brunello style Sangiovese and as mentioned, the brilliant set of Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon(s). This sparkler, as per normal with Odonata, saw the grapes picked a couple of days early to keep freshness in the wine and once the primary fermentation was completed, which was on the skins for about two weeks, I believe, the wine was then transferred to a stainless tank for a short period before the complex and lengthy bottle aging began for this Grenache Rouge. Denis and team then “en tirage” bottled the wine with added yeast and sugar that start process of creating the luxurious beading small bubbles in the bottles. Be sure to get out to Odonata to taste the latest limited offerings and or check them out online sat their website.
($46 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Terre Stregate, Aglianico “Manent” Sannio DOP, Campania, Italy.
I found Terre Stregate at the Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, it’s a winery from Campania that I hadn’t seen before and I really enjoyed their elegant example of Aglianico del Sannio, which caressed the palate with loads of supple richness of red berry fruit, wild dusty spices, minty herbs, delicate earthiness and licorice notes. Not overly complicated or build for aging, this is drinking lovely right now and much less rustic or tannic than old school version, which is not a fault and it will be a good start point for exploring wines from this region and the Aglianico grape. The plum, cherry and red currant fruits almost become creamy in the mouth, but there’s more complexity than meets the eye and the wine is much better with food, even a bit of hard sheep cheese will bring out this wine’s personality. The Campania region, once almost forgotten, has regained its Roman era fame and is really turning out some remarkable wines, and some are absolutely lovely values as this Terre Stregate Aglianico proves, and while not always easy to find, they merit some chasing down.

The Terre Stregate, which means “Land of the Bewitched”, was originally established back in 1898, but was abandoned as a winery for the better part of 200 years before being restored in 2004 and is now making waves under the Iacobucci family and their winemaker Nicola Trabucco. Located in the Sannitic Hills, Terre Srtegate has sloping vineyards in Matese that sit above the Telesina Valley and the Calore River in the remote Campania region in Italy’s southern reaches. Terre Stregate is mostly known for organic olive oils, but have been getting praise for their Aglianico, as seen here, and a fine Falanghina white, a Tre Bicchieri winner, which I hope to try soon. For their Manent Aglianico del Sannio, Terre Stregate does a care sorting of the grapes and de-stems the berries, fermenting in cool tanks before pressing the wine to small barriques for about 6 months of aging. This has produced fine, almost silky tannins and a very round mouth feel, while preserving a good amount of acidity. The clay and calcareous soils and organic farming in this very Mediterranean warm terroir helps retain freshness and balance, with the wines of Terre Stregate offering up a clean sense of place, as this dark garnet and lightly floral one delivers.
($20 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Haart, Riesling Estate, Mosel, Germany.
Haart’s slightly off dry Estate Riesling is nicely generous and fresh in the mouth with hint of sweetness on the light framed palate, it shows off bright slate driven details and is an easy quaffable style that is very flexible with cuisine options. The main attack gives racy lime citrus, juicy apple, peach and quince fruits, along with crystalized ginger spice, smoky flint stony notes and delicate florals. I tasted this delicious Riesling at Carmel’s Toro Sushi Restaurant, which has an exciting menu and a great German and Austrian wine list, and it was brilliant with some spicy selections and an array of shell fish and raw fish options. This wine saw a slow fermentation in stainless steel tanks as well as some old oak barrels, and as the winery notes, the wine was lightly filtered and bottled 5 months after harvest, to provide vibrancy and purity of form, as seen clearly here in the finished product.

The Mosel’s Haart winery, who’s family’s viticultural tradition dates back to 1337, lies only a few meters from the Mosel river, on, as the winery notes, the romantic, peaceful Ausonius riverbank where the famous Piesporter Goldtröpfchen vineyard begins its uphill climb with classic slate soils and a great Riesling terroir. In 2015 owner Karl-Theo Haart’s sons Johannes and Marcus Haart took over the family business and are continuing their long tradition of ultra steep sloped Riesling wines, creating wines that are expressive, age-worthy and mineral intense. The winery explains that their cool fermentation(s) with natural yeasts, and allowing for some residual sugars, make for wines that are extraordinarily fresh, fruity and balanced even after many years in bottle. It is also notable that Haart employs biodynamic and full organic farming with the vines, on very steep hillsides, all being hand tended and picked, which adds to the energy and quality found in the wines, again, as witnessed here in their basic estate bottling.
($27 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2019 Château de Beaucastel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Rhône Valley, France.
This 2019 vintage of Château de Beaucastel’s classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is drinking well right now and was a star bottle at a recent blind Rhône tasting with a rich and complex palate that shows of a finely balanced array of mineral, fruit, spice and textural presence in the glass and is nicely lively, making it an impressive effort again from one of France’s great estates. Light gold and straw colored in the glass with delicate florals and orchard fruit on the nose that leads to a full mouth of apricot, lemon curd, tangerine, golden fig fruits, as well as clove spice, a touch of oily creaminess, wet stones, almond, citron and soft wood notes. The beautiful Châteauneuf-du-Pape white wine at Beaucastel is very limited as they only have about 7 hectares of white vines planted with Roussanne playing the lead role here, as the winery notes, representing 80% of the blend. For the 2019, there’s Roussanne 80%, Grenache Blanc 15%, along with a small amount of Picardan, Clairette, and Bourboulenc. Even under heat stress and little moisture, this 2019 is way more pleasing than would be expected and I can highly recommend this wine to those that love these top notch Rhône whites, it is a terroir driven class act and thrills the senses.

Château de Beaucastel’s history dates back to 1549, when Pierre de Beaucastel purchased the land and built a manor house, which gave the property its Château, but it largely didn’t interesting here until In 1909, when, as the winery says, another Pierre “Pierre Traminer” purchased the estate, which he later transferred to his son-in-law Pierre Perrin. Today, the fourth and fifth generation of Perrins run this famed Rhône icon, all of who pioneered a biodynamic culture as a philosophy here. Their innovative approach to organic farming in 1950 and then biodynamic farming in 1974, Famille Perrin has committed to full sustainable wine growing, which many other Rhône stars have followed. The vineyards of Château de Beaucastel are located on historic land where each of the 13 approved grapes varietals of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation are planted. The Châteauneuf Blanc vines are set on what the winery calls Molasse seabed of the Miocene period and covered by diluvial alpine deposits, including the famous galets (rounded stones) and the mix of varietals are all hand picked. For this wine Beaucastel gently presses the grapes to 70% tank and 30% to barrel for fermentation and aging, after which, the wine is bottled after 8 months, keeping a degree of freshness, as seen here. I recently also enjoyed the 100% Roussanne Old Vine version, which was absolutely incredible, so it is best not to overlook the whites here.
($125 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Whitcraft, Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Santa Barbara County.
The light ruby hue in the glass belies the depth, complexity and elegance found on the silken medium bodied palate here in Whitcraft’s beautiful appellation bottling from the Sta. Rita Hills with layers of pure and stony Pinot fruits, delicate spices, ultra pretty rose petal and lilac florals, a subtle earthy note, along with low alcohol freshness and a long finish make this wine very compelling. This vintage saw a who’s who of elite Pinot Noir sites within the Sta. Rita Hills, including Pence, Donnachadh, Fiddlestix, Sanford & Benedict, La Rinconada, and Radian vineyards, all of which combine to enhance the soulful and top quality nature of this brilliant native yeast fermented, unfined and unfiltered California Pinot Noir, which was aged about a year in used French oak. Even with some spiky heat and difficult conditions, winemaker Drake Whitcraft did his usual magic here, this 2022 comes in just about 13% and is very well balanced, adding some wild strawberry, pomegranate, chalky notes and stemmy cinnamon to the core of crushed raspberry and dark cherry fruits.

The Whitcraft Winery, as mentioned before in my prior reviews, (was) founded back in 1985 by Chris Whitcraft, who had hosted a local wine radio program in Santa Barbara County for more than a decade helping him get to know the famous local and California winemakers of the time. It is noted, by the winery, that Whitcraft learned his craft from some of the best winemakers in California, including legends like Joe Heitz (Heitz Cellars), Dick Graff (Founder of Chalone Winery and its AVA), and Burt Williams (Williams Selyem & Morning Dew Ranch) to name a few. Sadly and too young Chris passed away in 2014, but his son Drake, a talent in his own right, continues to carry on and is making seriously good and age worthy wines, with a non intervention and more natural approach, such as this one. These 22’s are showing fantastic, like this one, and the already reviewed single vineyard Radian, so I’m really excited to see how Drake’s 2023s turn out, as it was such a perfect cool vintage for Chardonnay and especially Pinot Noir! The Sta. Rita Hills, with its windy and well drained sandy soils, continues to be one of the state’s hot spots for cool climate wines and Whitcraft’s efforts are not to be missed!
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Cartaux-Bougaud, L’Étoile, Chardonnay, La Côte des Vents, Jura, France.
Sébastien Cartaux and his wife, Sandrine’s Domaine Cartaux-Bougaud is a recent discovery for me, and I wrote about their beautiful Pinot Noir in my previous review of their wines, and this L’Étoile, Chardonnay, La Côte des Vents is distinctive and expressive Jura white that leans more on reductive Burgundy like character, though it has a subtle regional quality that reminds of where it’s from. The color is an evolved golden/yellow in the glass and it is really mineral toned and starts with lemon, apple and pear fruits, with a touch of hazelnut, wet chalk, verbena and clove spice in a medium bodied and textural wine. Made without the non topped traditional Jura under flor methods, this La Côte des Vents, from old vines in the L’Étoile zone still feels very Jura and there is a delicate oxidative, dried fig, waxy and burnt orange element that adds a rustic complexity that is not big distraction from the quality here. The 20-hectare estate, which was organic-certified in 2022 produces a couple of Chardonnays and Savagnin from AOC L’Étoile, as well as reds made from Poulsard, Trousseau, and Pinot Noir, as mentioned, from the Côtes du Jura. While this La Côte des Vents is an enthusiast offering, I highly recommend it for Jura fans.

This intriguing Jura Chardonnay La Côte des Vents (“the slope of winds”) comes from vines planted in 1973 on steep slopes with thinner and stony topsoils with that ancient limestone underneath, and because of this serve terroir, the Cartaux-Bougaud team treats it special, giving it a noticeable different treatment than the most traditional Chardonnay bottling with a much less oxidative style and allowing more transparent detailing. The winery says that this La Côte des Vents spends its life entirely in more inert vessels (steel and concrete) for a year to build on its finely etched lines, instead of living under flor in barrels as the regular almost sherry like bottling does, making this a bit more Chablis like with purity of form, chalky and steely, while still being a bit Jura in the glass, as noted above. The Jura’s Domaine Cartaux Bougaud, run by Sébastien and his wife Sandrine Cartaux who took over from their parents, Anne-Marie Bougaud and Guy Cartaux in 1993, is a small family estate that is relatively young for the region, with their first harvest done back in 1973 on a small parcel in L’Étoile area. This remote mountains region has many exciting producers that are just beginning to be stars as a generational change takes hold here in the Jura and it is exciting times, with Cartaux-Bougaud being a label to search out.
($41 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Filomena Wine Company, Cabernet Pfeffer Rosé, Sileto Vineyard, San Benito County.
The bright orange/salmon hued Filomena Cabernet Pfeffer Rosé, handcrafted by Luke Nio, who is formerly winemaker at Morgan Twain-Peterson’s Bedrock Wine Company and Green & Red Vineyard, is zesty, mineral crisp, and shows off cool toned, but expressive fruit layers including tart plum water, sour cherry, currant, orangey citrus, along with a touch of dried lavender, saline infused wet rock, Asian spice and extremely delicate seeped floral notes. Cabernet Pfeffer, also known as Mourtou, is a distinct grape varietal that is believed to be a late 19th-century crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and an as of yet unknown vitis vinifera vine and was often confused with Gros Verdot, though it is now known to be an unrelated grape. Cabernet Pfeffer, known as either Cab Pfeffer or just Pfeffer, is almost entirely found on the central coast, especially in San Benito County, though a few vines are still in some heritage vineyards in the Sonoma and Napa valleys. Nio’s Filomena Rosé, with an extra year on it, reminds me a bit of Clos Cibonne, with a sense of depth and maturity, one of world’s most interesting Rosé offerings and I think it has another year or so to fully evolve, which is pretty impressive. I recently tried a few new releases from Filomena and they were exceptional, I highly recommend checking them out, with the Vermentino and Massa Estate Cabernet being real gems.

Filomena Wine Company, founded by winemaker Luke Nio in 2014, is celebrating a decade of releases, has a tiny production with a focus on beautifully crafted small lot wines, with some unique varietals getting a spotlight, like one of my new favorite Filomena wines made from the rare Austrian varietal Saint Laurent, which I have reviewed here at grapelive.com and this Rosé made from the rare Cabernet Pfeffer. Nio used grapes cool from a night time pick and he did a gentle foot-trod, allowing for skin contact to last overnight and getting some structural extraction, adding to the complexity, which has benefited this long cool vintage. Then the Cabernet Pfeffer was whole cluster pressed to stainless steel where is saw an indigenous yeast fermentation and a short lees aging. The results are again as impressive and they are refreshingly tasty, putting this Cabernet Pfeffer dry Rosé into the same league as some of my must have California examples, right up there with Arnot-Roberts Touriga Nacional Rosé and the Bedrock Ode to Lulu, the Mourvedre based pink that is a Bandol style Rosé and tribute to the matriarch of Domaine Tempier. As mentioned California is doing some thrilling Rosé wines and this one is a standout. Sadly, I understand that the Sileto family have called it quits on this vineyard, with some exotic and rare varietals now getting the axe, but Nio has found another few vineyards from which to get Pfeffer, so we hope there with continue to be wines like this.
($25 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Lioco, Carignan, Sativa, Mendocino County.
The dark purple/garnet hued Mendocino Sativa Carignan, which Lioco gets from 70 year-old, dry farmed Carignan vines, with a tiny bit of Valdiguie, all organically farmed, is perfectly capturing the ripe and chewy nature of vintage with good fruit density, supple tannins, pretty aromatics and a nice spiciness. Pretty full bodied and thickly layered with blackberry, sweet plum, currant and Italian cherry fruits leading the way, along with sage, lavender, anise, violets and a touch of sandalwood, making for a very satisfying red wine that showcases the best features of this varietal. In recent years I’ve really enjoyed Ridge’s, Desire Lines and Sandlands Carignane or Carignan offerings, all of which prove this grape has a place and a future in California wine and Lioco is right up there. The Sativa, the winery says, is sourced from vines planted on south-facing exposures at 2200-2400 feet on a mix of hard shale and clay soil. Uniquely, this Carignan was fermented with 100% whole cluster and got some extra elevage to all come together, it is a very expressive and joyous wine that is best enjoyed with a hearty meal. Lioco is widely admired for their terroir driven California wines which are old world inspired, with this one paying tribute to our own winemaking traditions in the state.

One of my favorite wines in the Lioco lineup year after year, their Carignan, sourced from a few historic Mendocino County ranches, with some vineyards on the valley floor, though some sites were at high elevation, but all were what the winery calls “Heritage” dry-farmed and head-trained vines, set on a combination of soils ranging from red clay to hard rocky soils. All of which makes for a tasty and complex version of pure Carignan, a grape with deep California roots and unfairly always over shadowed by Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, and historical presence in Languedoc, as seen in some fabulous Corbieres wines, as well as being a minor player in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This version is typically fermented, as the winery notes, in a mix of open-top tanks with (a) submerged cap during maceration and saw good extraction, as the mission here was to make a more serious version that the juicy and more quaffable version. After primary fermentation is complete, the top Carignan usually is matured for about 18 months in neutral oak puncheons, as to allow the wine to show off its natural character, and that was highly successful here with this edition that I highly recommend. Lioco, founded in 2005 by the husband and wife team of Matt & Sara Licklider, does some fabulous Chardonnay too, so don’t overlook anything here.
($44 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Casale del Giglio, Bellone, Anthium, Lazio IGT Bianco, Italy.
I’ve been following Casale del Giglio for more than 15 vintages now, and these wines are always a treat, especially their Bellone white, made from this ancient and rare varietal that has been at home to the Lazio region for many hundreds of years and makes for a mineral driven, though richly textured white with medium/full palate and ripe orchard fruits. This 2023, tasted at this year’s Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, is a beauty with a lovely and inviting golden bright hue in the glass and layers of peach, lemony citrus, fig and melon fruits, as well as having a a mix of spices, white flowers, a touch of almond, exotic tropical mango notes and subtle creaminess. This wine is pure and elegant, but with a nice lively cut of acidity that lifts the flavors and provides just the right amount of tension to make this wine very attractive with a range of cuisine options. This wine, elevated from the basic version by its old vine, 60 plus years, concentration and richness and well worth the search in finding it, this Anthium and the Cesanese red are iconic Lazio offerings.

The highly regarded Casale del Giglio, as noted in prior reviews, was founded in 1967 by Dino Santarelli in virgin territory, after falling for the Agro Pontino valley in Lazio’s south called Latina near the ancient city of Satricum. He found a perfect place for viticultural exploration and Casale del Giglio has never looked back, making some of the most interesting wines from a vast selection of native and non-native varietals, like Cesanese and this Bellone as well as Viognier, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Casale del Giglio makes an eclectic array of whites and reds all of which are worth checking out, and all are fabulous values. The thick skinned and heat resistant Bellone grape, mentioned in literature by the likes of Pliny the Elder, has been in the Latium region since Roman times and enjoys this micro climate which has sandy soils, sea breezes from the Anzio coast and loads of hot Summer days that allows good ripening of these unique elongated plumb berries. After a brief skin maceration, the Bellone Anthium was gently and slow pressed and allowed to go through a natural fermentation and short lees aging in tank to promote transparency and keep its mineral nature. Again this was a fine showing of Casale del Giglio and I highly recommend these wines.
($30 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Sordo, Barolo DOCG, Piemonte, Italy.
As I mentioned in my prior review, the San Francisco stop of Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri tour was where I got a chance to experience these outstanding Sordo wines and meet Sordo’s next generation, Paola Sordo, who was pouring her family’s latest Barolo efforts, including the beautiful and firmly structured 2020 Barolo “Normale” that is stuffed with top pedigreed fruit from some of the region’s best crus. I was thrilled by the vintage here, it was impressive for depth, balance and backbone, making for a very serious Nebbiolo wine with classic layers of brandied cherry, damson plum, huckleberry and orange fruits, along with earthy truffle, minty herbs, cedary wood notes, crushed flowers, chalky stones and salted black licorice. This dark brick/ruby red Barolo is taut and has a full bodied palate with fine grained, but slightly rustic tannin and a nice lift of acidity, it drinks well, but should age too, best to enjoy with a hearty meal. Interestingly, I found the Cru Perno bottling more silky and delicate at this stage, with this basic, well priced, bottling having more grip and more presence, though I loved the Perno for its haunting length and elegance. The individual plots, mostly around La Morra, all have distinctive terroir elements, adding to the complexity to this effort, with a mix of elevation and soils, including classic calcareous Marls, mineral rich clay and sandy patches.

The Sordo estate was originally established in 1912 when Giuseppe Sordo began to cultivate vineyards and make wine in the small village of Garbelletto in the Castigione Falletto zone of Barolo. Now Sordo is run by Giorgio Sordo, who took over from his late father Giovanni in 2001, and the wines were overseen by oenologist Armando Cordero, who has also passed, who helped raise the quality here and was a traditionalist in the making of winery’s classic Barolo wines. Sordo does eight bottlings of Barolo and estate has a total of 53 hectares under vines, spread over the townships of Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, Barolo, Novello, La Morra, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour, Vezza d’Alba and Volpeglino, all top sites for Nebbiolo. The lineup includes a Barolo normale that is blend of multiple crus and villages, plus efforts from the single cru vineyards of Rocche di Castiglione, Parussi, Villero, Monprivato, Gabutti, Monvigiero, Ravera and this Perno. The winemaking here is traditional with 100% Nebbiolo (Barolo) grapes that were all de-stemmed with a stainless steel temperature controled fermentation, with the submerged cap maceration lasting 4 to 7 weeks, and the juice was allowed to go through natural malo-lactic in tank. After that the Barolo was aged for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, then put back in stainless vats for another 6 months and bottle for 6 months before release.
($40 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Pieropan, Soave Classico DOC “Calvarino” Veneto, Italy.
I got a chance to re-visit the glorious Pieropan Soave offerings, which again prove that region and the Garganega grape found in this Calvarino cru example are capable of great things, with this 2022 showing outstanding form. Tasted at the San Francisco Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting, this Pieropan Calvarino is again a charmer with bright and energetic character with a delicate white blossom nose and stony detail showing off lemon/lime, peach and a hint of green apple fruit. It has a complex background that gives snappy herbs, almond oil, leesy notes and lingering mineral and orange blossom. This dry and precise Calvarino, a bit more subtle than the 2019 I last tasted, but still has a nice mouth watering saline, refreshing acidity and a steely presence, to go with a medium bodied and elegant palate. The winery notes that, Calvarino, that was first bottled as a single vineyard wine in 1971, is situated in the heart of the Soave Classico zone and is a cornerstone of the Pieropan’s family vineyards, who bought this cru site back in 1901. The name, they say, was derived from ‘Little Calvary’ referring to the difficulties in working the land here and the tortuously winding path that takes you from top to bottom. The winery notes that, Calvarino, with its unique volcanic influence, was first bottled as a single vineyard wine in 1971 and is situated in the heart of the Soave Classico zone and is a cornerstone of the Pieropan’s family vineyards, who bought this cru site back in 1901. The name, they say, was derived from ‘Little Calvary’ referring to the difficulties in working the land here and the tortuously winding path that takes you from top to bottom, but it is a labor of love at Pieropan.

The Pieropan Calvarino Soave Classic is a distinct and beautiful with crisp detail and surprising depth, it highlights Pieropan’s commitment to quality and this wine’s unique terroir character, but it also, as I have been mentioning for a few years now, puts a spotlight on incredible rise in greatness of Italian white wines in general and in Soave in particular. The Catina Pieropan, originally founded in 1880, continues to lead the way in this region and this Calvarino is one of stars, and I highly recommend this bottle and exploring Soave wines. The Pieropan winery, like Inama and Prà, makes a stellar Soave and were one of the first to do single vineyard wines, like this Calvarino, up at close to 300 meters, which comes from 30 to 60 year old organic vines set on a hillside in the Classico zone on complex volcanic soils with tufaceous elements and basalt, which gives this wine its soul and terroir flavor profile. The Calvarino is made from 70% Garganega and 30% Trebbiano di Soave, which is another name for Ugni Blanc, and crafted using hand-picked fruit, usually in two harvests to select only the best and the ripest grapes. The winemaking focuses on purity with the grapes getting a gentle de-stemming and crushed with the free run juice being fermented separately at cool temps in glass-lined cement tanks, where the wine is also aged for a year with lees contact before bottling. As always, Pieropan has done a masterful job with the latest lineup and this wine is a superb meal wine with enough depth and substance to go with many cuisine choices, though it is exceptionally good with Linguini and Clam pasta, as well as a nice pairing with roast poultry. I sampled the Pieropan Classico, the cru La Rocca, which is equally outstanding and a distinctive alternative version, and this Calvarino, which maybe was my favorite on the day.
($30 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Pietradolce, Vigna Barbagalli, Etna Rosso DOC, Sicily, Italy.
The gorgeous Pietradolce Barbagalli Etna Rosso shows off terroir and high elevation depth, aromatics and structure in one of the world’s most unique wines with a rich layering of dark cherry, brambly raspberry, balsamic strawberry and blood orange fruits, smoky iron like mineral spices, dried flowers, a touch of vanilla, anise and roasted herbs. This 100% Nerello Mascalese old vine and high elevation sourced wine shows off the concentration, elegance and complexity you’d expect from a Grand Cru Burgundy and feels wonderfully silken on the medium/full palate and the finish is distinctively long and lingering, making for an exceptional example of grape and place. The Northern Etna micro-climate of this Contrada, the winery says, is characterized by strong temperature variations, and the sandy soil, rich in volcanic rock, contributes to its uniqueness. I’ve loved the more basic Pietradoilce, which means “Sweet Rock”, offerings, but this Vigna Barbagalli is rare stuff indeed and a thrilling experience in the glass, which I was lucky enough to taste at this year’s Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri event in San Francisco. Etna has become one of the old world’s most prized regions, for both white and red wines, with vines on the high slopes of Europe’s most active volcano!

Pietradolce, as mentioned in my prior reviews, is owned by Michele & Mario Faro and was founded in 2005 on the Northern slopes of Mount Etna and based in Solicchiata, Castiglione di Sicilia, in the province of Catania, all their wines are 100% estate grown and bottled with only the native grapes to Etna, which are bush vine, or head trained to reduce the need of irrigation in the volcanic sandy loams that also have abundance mineral elements. While the basic Pietradolce Rosso, also a single vineyard wine, is the winery’s entry level offering mostly from their younger vines, with a range 40 to 50 year vines, it’s 100% Nerello Mascalese that is grown at close to 2,000 feet above sea level, the Barbagalli is from older vines and much deeper in concentration. These 100 to 120 year vines are what forms the Barbagalli Etna Rosso, Pietradolce’s purest expression of Etna, comes from a very small pre-phylloxera plot in Contrada Rampante up at 900 meters above sea level. Mount Etna has a special micro-climate that is cooler than other areas in Sicily with big swings in day to night temps in the shadow of the volcano, which helps retain the vibrant acidity. This Etna Rosso, all hand harvested and macerated on the skins for about 20 days and fermented in raw cement “tulip” vats before being raised for 20 months in lightly toasted French oak Burgundy style barrels, which seems perfectly judged and allows for transparency and textural excellence.
($169 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Cume do Avia, Arraiano Branco, Galicia, Spain.
The Cume do Avia wines come from East of Spain’s Rías Baixas, where lies the Ribeiro D.O., which is one of Spain’s most historic wine regions where they makes thrilling, natural and fresh modern low alcohol offerings, such as this delicious Arraiano Branco blend. The winery notes that both red and white wines have been made here in the Ribeiro region for nearly a thousand years, and while incredibly popular with Sommeliers and insiders, they remain under the radar to the mainstream. This bright, delicately aromatic and vibrant wine, which is light bodied and racy with a fine saline and mineral quality is a mix of 53% Treixadura, 17% Albariño, 14%, Loureira 13%, Lado and 3% Caíño Branco, all native varietals here. The palate shows off tangerine, green apple, crisp peach and green melon fruit, along with lime blossom, minty herbs, bitter almond and wet stone, making it great with sardines, clams, oysters, mussels and or Summer cuisine. This cool region really retains good acidity and the mix of clay, igneous rocks and metamorphic soils add to the mineral tones and complexity here, giving a depth of flavor, but low alcohol, with this one coming in just under 11%. This Arraiano Branco, which is a little deeper than a Vinho Verde wine from across the border in Portugal, but similar in style, was native yeast fermented and aged in stainless steel, for about 6 months, which promotes that freshness and transparency. Treixadura is very underrated grape, capable of producing steely wines on par with Premier Cru Chablis, and you can see that core here in this one, with the other grapes providing a nice background voice and complexity.

Cume do Avia, as I’ve stated in prior reviews, is one of Spain’s most interesting newer producers and led by Diego Collarte and his brother Álvaro, who both grew up in Vigo, makes some beautifully crafted terroir driven Galician wines from very close to the Portuguese border, made all from native varietals grown with organic methods. I have been following the wines of this region for more than 15 years and I’m still discovering so many intriguing new treasures that has been producing wines since pre-Roman times, and Cume do Avia is a great find, mostly known for their collection of reds, which include a mix of rare grapes such as Caiño Longo, Souson and Brancellao. Though, that said, I’m really impressed with the whites too, like this one. These Atlantic influenced wines, as this one shows, are great alternative whites for the warm days of summer ahead and is sublime with shellfish and briny sea foods, as well as soft cheeses, its salty brightness makes it compelling for those that like bone dry lighter framed wines. The vineyards, which were planted in 2008, are set on wide terraces with good exposures and inter-planted with more than a dozen indigenous grapes. Cume do Avia’s lineup is filled with low alcohol and rawly transparent offerings that have a natural feel to them, those that like other new stars from Galicia, like Laura Lorenzo, Luis Rodriguez, Guimaro and Nanclares will instantly feel comfortable with these lovely wines. I recommend Cume do Avia’s Dos Canotos Tinto, their Colleita 9 Tinto (red) and their white wines, and the Colleita 9 Branco (white) especially, along with this unique one too.
($25 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Clos de la Bonnette, Vieilles Vignes Syrah, IGP Collines Rhodaniennes, France.
One of the surprise wines of the night, during a recent blind Rhône varietal tasting, this gorgeously pure Domaine Clos de la Bonnette old vine Syrah way over performed its price point and you can tell it has a more serious pedigree that the label would suggest. This dark opaque purple/garnet hued wine comes from all organic vines above of the Tupin-Semons area in Ampuis, which is just bordering Côte-Rôtie AOC and has a very terroir influenced medium bodied palate of boysenberry, damson plum, blueberry and cherry fruits, along with a pretty sense of violets on the nose, as well as savory tones, delicate earthiness, grilled herbs, graphite, anise, black olives and peppercorns. The tannic structure is firm, but supple in the mouth and nice acidity heightens the experience here and the finish is lingering with hints of mocha, cedar and creme de cassis coming through, it will impress any Syrah fan and is best enjoyed with a hearty meaty meal. I absolutely loved this wine and I am looking forward to trying more from this winery in the future, I also highly recommend chasing down this under the radar IGP Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah that is sourced from vines planted between 1950 and 1972.

I don’t remember having Domaine Clos de la Bonnette before, but this wine really has peaked my interest in this winery which was established in 1992 by wife and husband team, Isabelle Guiller and Henri Montabonnet and is best known for their Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie bottlings, as well as restoring some ancient terraces and long lost vineyards, obviously to good effect, as seen in their wines. The Guiller-Montabonnet family, who had grown organic fruits and vegetables since 1970 have deep roots in the Rhône and have done lots to revive old traditions and promote historic ways of life and culture here. The complex terroir here includes the harsh Mistral wines and cool nights, even with the warm Summer days and the soils are, just outside of Côte-Rôtie, clay based schist, alluvial stones and have depleted silt, which leads to the balance and depth of fruit. For this wine, Domaine Clos de la Bonnette uses all carefully hand picked grapes, 100% Syrah, with 90% de-stemmed berries and 10% whole cluster, that sees a 20 day maceration. The primary fermentation is done with natural indigenous yeasts and saw daily pump overs and punch downs, after which the wine is racked to used French oak 228L barriques where is was matured for 12 months. Clos de La Bonnette is very much an estate to follow, I’m thrilled this wine was included in the tasting, and tasted blend, as it proved without prejudice that it was a fabulous example of varietal and place, along being a terrific value!
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Lyndon Fog, Pinot Noir “Chillable Red” Monterey County.
The all new Lyndon Fog Cellars has a fun and easy to drink set of releases to enjoy, each being clean and straight forward, including this joyous Chillable Red, a lighter framed and limpid Pinot Noir based wine that is a bit more structured and filling than a Rosé and as the name suggests is best served on the cooler side. The palate is medium bodied with Pinot fruit leading the way with bright cherry, red peach, blood orange and brambly raspberry, along with subtle florals, a hint of watermelon, mineral tones, a touch of heirloom tomato, herb tea and rosewater. This wine, when chilled is nicely crisp and will bring smiles to picnics, beach parties and warm outdoor meals. The other wine in the Lyndon Fog set I liked, was their dark hued, cool climate and spicy Syrah, which comes from the stony Zabala Vineyard in Arroyo Seco.

Lyndon Fog is a new label coming out of Monterey, founded with these debut 2023 releases, by winemakers Glen Caughell, of Constellation Brands and Laurel Livingston, formerly of Wild Horse and Tablas Creek, who is now on the winemaking team at the I. Brand and Family Winery. Glen and Laurel say that their 2023 Chillable Red Wine was made from Pinot Noir grapes sourced here in Monterey County and that the grapes were only on skins for 3 days, giving the wine its vibrant ruby color. The juice, they add, was fermented in stainless steal, producing a wine that sits in between a rosé and a light, dry, but fruit pleasing red wine that is highly quaffable, without pretense or too cool for school. This was my first tasting with Lyndon Fog and there’s a lot to like about these value priced small production project, with their Grenache, and especially their Syrah, as noted, being more serious efforts, and I look forward to following them in the future.
($17 Est.) 86 Points, grapelive

2021 Whitcraft Winery, Grenache, Stolpman Vineyard, Ballard Canyon AVA, Santa Ynez Valley.
The limpid light ruby hued Stolpman Grenache by Drake Whitcraft is again a beautifully desirable example of elegant, lighter framed and sexy Grenache in California with a palate that echos past version that shows off Italian cherry, plum, red currant, pomegranate and wild raspberry fruits that are silky and feel very Pinot like. Whitcraft, while maybe best known for stylish and individual Pinot Noirs and classy Chardonnays, also does Grenache, as seen here, as well as some other rare varietals, including Trousseau and Gamay Noir, which he does in a lighter and transparent fashion, like this Grenache and as this vintage shows. In the background, as it opens up this Grenache firms up with some velvety tannin, but allows a loads full of florals and spices to emerge with geranium, cinnamon, pepper, anise and a subtle sultry earthiness to balance the fruit, making for a lovely wine that embraces its style and sense of place. Drake Whitcraft, as I’ve mentioned before, who is one of California’s bright stars, has honed his methods and this wine is now crafted with the whole bunches that are typically gently foot-trodden and then see a semi-carbonic maceration that is kicked off by a pied de cuvée (vineyard yeasts) and mainly all free run juice to avoid bitter phenolics and tannins. This is very quaffable stuff and highlights the quality fruit coming off the Stolpman vines, which have a top notch pedigree. The Stolpman vineyard in the Ballard Canyon AVA, set on sandy limestone hillsides, is farmed with organic techniques and regenerative viticulture, which Drake says, involves building the soil by adding organic matter to promote a healthy ecosystem. I was grateful to taste this Grenache recently along with Whitcraft’s excellent 2022 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, which has some incredible fruit sources listed here and should be on Pinot lovers watch lists, and the brilliant and very serious Zotovich Chardonnay, it is an enthusiast effort with classic white Burgundy reduction and mineral charms.

Whitcraft Winery, as noted here in past reviews, has been handcrafting and, as the winery notes, unadulterated wines in Santa Barbara, California since 1985, originally with Chris Whitcraft as the winemaker and now with his son Drake making the wines, after his dad passed unexpectedly in June of 2014, just before the harvest of this wine. Chris himself was influenced by some legends, with the winery explaining that he learned his craft from some of the best winemakers in California, including Joe Heitz (Heitz Cellars), Dick Graff (Founded Chalone Winery and its AVA), and Burt Williams (Williams Selyem & Morning Dew Ranch) to name a few. Since Drake took over he has made a name for himself, being part of awesome generation of winemakers in the state that are doing honest and authentic wines, in much the same mold of Jason Drew, who also cut his teeth in the Santa Barbara area before moving his Drew Family Cellars to the Anderson Valley. Drake who got a great education from his father, as well as some of the big stars of the Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez and Sta. Rita Hills regions, like the late Jim Clendenen of ABC, but has adopted his own winemaking style and stamped his name as one of the biggest talents in the area. His winemaking regime, as mentioned, sees a lot of whole cluster fermentations with stem inclusion, sustainable and organic grapes and mostly neutral wood aging, which is old world influenced, looking to retain energy and allow for purity in the wines. Whitcraft says that his signature varietals are Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah, but I gotta say his Gamay and Grenache are always charming, low alcohol, treats (under 13%) when I can my hands on these very limited bottlings! The Grenache, which was hand bottled, was matured in well seasoned barrels for around 11 months, with just a tiny amount of SO2 and was unfined and unfiltered, its clarification was through gentle racking. Again, I highly recommend these Whitcraft wines, they really deliver in the bottle and age well, especially their single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir offerings.
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2012 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, Hermitage “La Chapelle” Northern Rhône, France.
The gorgeous 2012 La Chapelle Hermitage, drinking incredibly well and with extreme purity, is obviously highly pedigreed stuff in the glass, this wine was tasted blind, but you could absolute not mistake where it was from and the noble class it delivered. As always, the La Chapelle, 100% Syrah, classically portioned with a full body, heightened aromatic perfume and an inviting deep inky color that leads to a remarkably pure cascade of flavors in the mouth, giving layers of boysenberry, damson plum, kirsch, blueberry compote and creme de cassis as well as gorgeous crushed violets, a touch of graphite, lightly toasty cedary wood, delicate anise, earthy camphor, peppercorns, fig paste, roasted herbs, bacon and black olives. The structural elements are mature and elegant, highlighting the reserved nature of the vintage, it almost caresses the palate with the grace of a Grand Cru Burgundy, though with all the complexity and impact you’d expect from such an iconic wine. In modern versions of La Chapelle, the grapes (mostly from the Meal cru in 2012) are all de-stemmed, fermented with native yeasts and macerated with punchdowns and pumpovers with the wine allowed to stay on the skins for close to two weeks post dryness. The wine now is aged 12 months, mostly in used French barrels with just about 15% to 20% new and with a portion that is aged solely in concrete eggs, which is to allow for exceptional transparency and structural detail here. The latest releases are now known as Domaine de La Chapelle Hermitage, paying tribute to its history, which dates back to the 13th century, and its future with the Frey family certifying all of these vines organic in 2016 and elevating this wine to new heights. The winery notes that in 1224, a knight named Henri-Gaspard de Sterimberg returned from the Crusades and sought solace on the hill now known as Hermitage, where he built the Saint Christophe chapel and began cultivating vines. He was deemed a hermit and was the inspiration behind the name of the Hermitage appellation. The 65-acre La Chapelle vineyard, named for the Saint Christophe chapel, captures some of the best terroir of the world and has been the inspiration of Syrah producers around the world. A big thank you to Monterey winemaker, Russell Joyce, who brought this beauty to a recent blind tasting of Rhône inspired wines, making for a glorious “AH HA” experience!

The Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine, as mentioned in my prior reviews, now owned by the Frey family, led by the talented Caroline Frey, has been an iconic estate in the Northern Rhone and one of the big three in the region along with Guigal and Chapoutier, most known for their fabled La Chapelle vineyard in Hermitage, Syrah’s most holy site! There’s been wines made here since pre-Roman times, but it was Antoine Jaboulet’s plantings in 1834 and focus on quality which really started to establish the area as one of the major wine producing appellations of the world, after he past the land was passed on to his two sons Henri and Paul, who’s name became company label. The Frey family, who bought the fade glory Jaboulet in 2006, have become big time players in premium French wine production having serious quality properties in Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, which includes Chateau La Lagune in Haut-Medoc and Château de Corton André in the Cote de Beaune. Caroline Frey, who studied in Bordeaux is one of France’s stars and has her hand in many projects, with even a biodynamic high elevation vineyard in Switzerland, of which I am excited to try the wines from. The Jaboulet lineup is full of quality efforts, but without question Frey’s La Chapelle, which is now its own separate label (winery) and singular wine, is the top priority and it continues to be one of the most coveted wines in the world. As the winery states, the Hermitage appellation, in the Northern Rhône, is a single 650 ft hill above the Rhône River. It is part of the ancient Massif Central and Hermitage hill has a diversity of soil types from four geological eras that have merged here with granite from the primary era, fragments of limestone from the secondary era, hills from the tertiary era, and glaciations from the ice ages. These 45 to 100 year old vines are grown on steep slopes and see the cooling influences of the La Mistral wind, which help give this area its long hang time, depth of flavors and richness, with ripe fruit and seductive savory notes This all has allowed this place to become the varied and complex terroir that has made Hermitage so legendary, as seen in the wines like this one, which, no matter how hard we try, cannot be replicated. I have said many times, I love the Syrahs of Caroline Frey, especially the Crozes-Hermintage Rouge “Domaine de Thalabert”, which is much more in my budget, but this one does standout and its a wine that should be on any Syrah enthusiast’s bucket list.
($149-300 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Filomena, St. Laurent, Ricci Vineyard, Carneros AVA, Sonoma County.
It was great to catch up with Luke Nio’s Filomena lineup, all of which again was impressive, especially my favorite St. Laurent red that always just hits right with its dark violet/purple color, light florals, snappy spices and plummy fresh dark fruits on the medium bodied palate. As I’ve said before, this has to be one of the best new wines to emerge in the last few years, made from this rare Austrian grape by Luke Nio, who was winemaker at Morgan Twain-Peterson MW’s Bedrock Wine Company and Green & Red Winery, the Filomena St. Laurent is a ridiculously good red wine with Cru Beaujolais like personality, pretty aromatics and some whole bunches vibrancy and lift, this is such tasty medium bodied stuff I can’t imagine not have a few bottles around now! This 2021 leads with black cherry, wild plum, blackberry and a little blood orange fruits, along with shaved cinnamon stick, lilacs, a touch of leafy herbs and wonderfully supple tannins and underlying acidity, making it an easy quaffer and also seriously good with simple cuisine, like burgers and or pasta dishes. Nio, as noted here in my prior reviews, has been into wine throughout his life, being brought up near some 100 year old Alicante Bouschet vines in Sonoma and going to UC Davis, he’s been a wine traveller doing harvests in New Zealand, at Hawkes Bay, where he gained a love and insight into cool climate Syrah as well as doing stints throughout Sonoma, including being mentored by Richard Kasmier of Kaz Winery, who was doing natural wines before it was cool to do so, all of which has paid off now he has his own micro label and hand crafting his delicious Filomena offerings, which he founded in 2014.

The St. Laurent grape, as noted before, is extremely rare here in California with only a few acres planted, but has deep roots in Austria, though it is also found in Germany and in the Czech Republic, it is a highly aromatic dark-skinned variety that has a slightly earthy almost Cabernet Franc like profile at home, Its origins are still uncertain though it is widely believed to be a crossing of Pinot Noir and so far an unknown second parent (grape). In Austria, St. Laurent is the third most popular red grape variety after Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt and is primarily grown in Lower Austria and Burgenland, while in Germany, where it is known as Sankt Laurent, it is extremely rare as a single varietal wine and is commonly used as a blender and or in Rosé. Also, St. Laurent was crossed with Blaufrankisch to create Zweigelt, which has gone on to become much more popular than its parent, though St. Laurent has been making a comeback with a few serious versions turning some heads, like Brundlmayer’s excellent example. Luke has really made St. Laurent his own, it was fermented with about a third whole cluster, using native yeasts with a semi carbonic primary in tank before a gentle foot trod and a a pressing at dryness, after which the wine was racked to a combination of stainless barrels and large French 400L puncheons. The St. Laurent was raised for nine months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered without any additions or as Nio says, no shenanigans, with ultra low sulfites to preserve all of the wine’s natural flavors and freshness. Nic does some other interesting stuff too, including a Rosé of Cabernet Pfeffer, plus a chillable red version, a fine dry Vermentino from Dry Creek Valley, plus a new and deeply flavored Cabernet Sauvignon with Bordeaux like character coming off the historic old Durney Vineyard, AKA the Massa Estate, in Carmel Valley, a wine that has good vibes for a Carmel Valley native like me!
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Kintari, Vermentino di Gallura Superiore DOCG, Saraja, Sardinia, Italy.
The bright, light gold hued and mineral toned Kintari Saraja builds nicely on the medium bodied palate and has a good textural mouth feel with green apple, peach and zesty citrus fruits and is a solid example of Sardinia’s only DOCG wine. There’s everything you’d expect from a Vermentino di Gallura with steely notes, wet stone and subtle tropical essences with a dry and crisp vitality that makes it great with classic Sardinian sea foods.

As noted, Vermentino di Gallura is Sardinia’s only DOCG appellation, and it covers only 100% Vermentino-based wines from an area at the northern end of the island with the DOCG including a range of dry and sweet versions, along with sparkling wine. These Vermentino di Gallura wines, from vines set on mainly granite and sandy soils, done dry like this one, are typically fermented and lees aged in stainless steel, using riper grapes to promote body and richness. They also have a good acidic backbone and a fine tension with saline, light herbal notes, as well as delicate florals, which allows for a surprisingly good aging potential, as this one shows.
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Mauro Marengo, Dolcetto d’Alba DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The wines of Mauro Marengo are exciting offerings and it looks like Daniele Marengo is a rising super star in Piemonte, and Barolo in particular, with an excellent set of new releases now hitting the shelves, including his valued priced Langhe Nebbiolo and this beautifully crafted garnet hued Dolcetto d’Alba, which is drinking seriously delicious. Dark berry, mixed spice and floral notes lead the way on the nose and leading on the medium bodied and nicely firm palate with brambly crushed blackberry, plum, currant and cherry fruits, along with supple tannin, mountain herbs, violets, dusty peppery spice and grilled fennel notes. Daniele Marengo’s Dolcetto sees a fermentation that lasts between 8-10 days with a couple of daily pump-overs depending on the vintage. After pressing, it checks into 25hl steel tanks for hibernation until the following spring. Depending on each vat’s level of reductive elements, they may be racked three to four times during élevage and then again once or twice prior to bottling, all of which creates a wine of aromatic intensity and purity of form that is ready to drink right away, as this one shows. I really enjoyed this Dolcetto and suggest searching it out and enjoy it with a traditional Italian meal.

The US importer The Source Imports says the Marengo family’s technical direction, as mentioned in my first review of Marengo’s Nebbiolo, was given to Daniele, the latest generation here, at age twenty-two, his personal taste and style of wines led him to pursue freshness over power and ripeness, and to highlight their Novello-based high-altitude vineyards, which you can see here. He also turned their attention to soil health and the incorporation organic farming in their vineyards. The cellar work, as the importer adds is gentler now, and new techniques have been employed, but the traditional style didn’t disappear in the profile, it was just complimented. In recent years, to down play ripeness, Marengo harvests a little earlier, have even considered doing whole cluster and submerged cap fermentation(s) when those traditional methods need a boost. Daniele gently extracts tannin and tries to retain acidity, and ages his varietal wines in a combination of concrete vats and medium-sized oak botti, or in this case stainless steel. These younger, no pretense offerings from Marengo are studied examples that thrive on their purity of form with clean lines and structures. This approach, which is a success to me, promotes transparency and authenticy of terroir and varietal character, in this case that’s all good!
($22 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Chandra Kurt Collection “Glou Glou” Chasselas, Valais, Switzerland.
This bright and fresh Glou Glou (highly quaffable) Chasselas from vineyards near Geneva, Switzerland, is all from sustainable grown grapes that are hand harvested, that see a slow, cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks, with a short aging period lasting two months in tank under cold temperatures and bottled quickly with a small amount of trapped CO2 from the primary fermentation, giving a heightened almost Txakolina like feel. At its age now the spritz is very subtle and there’s a sense of roundness, which is not a bad thing and the palate retains plenty of acidity and mineral driven flavors with tangerine, peach and green apple fruits along with wet stone, verbena, almond and a light herbal note. Drink now and be sure to keep an eye out for a new vintage of this fun lighter framed white. Chasselas, which is also found in Alpine French regions, can over chop, making very generic wine, but done with some yields and handled well can be very lovely wines, and Valais is very capable of producing outstanding examples, with the best versions, like those of Cave Caloz and Caroline Frey, being highly prized and sought after.

It is said that Chandra Kurt is the queen of Chasselas, having written the book on this fascinating and quintessential Swiss variety “Chasselas – from Féchy to Dézaley” A journey to discover the treasures of the Vaud vineyards, and she has created with various winemakers a great way to start exploring this grape. One of the most refreshing styles of Chasselas, according to her importer Eric Solomon of European Cellars, are the first wines of spring bottled with just a touch of trapped CO2 and made in a manner that capture this variety’s racy minerality, citrus, and floral notes which Chandra has captured perfectly with her Glou Glou Chasselas. The Valais region produces some fabulously serious wines, both white and red, and this area deserves much more attention, it sits up between 300 to 800 meters above see level and sees lots of Alpine sunshine on an interesting set of soils, including Alluvial clay and gravel, as seen here, allowing for perfect ripening of the grapes. This Chandra Kurt offering is a basic and fun version to start a journey into Swiss wines, which I recommend, but for more serious stuff, also look for Sandrine Caloz’s organic wines at Cave Caloz, especially her version of Chasselas (also known as Fendant) and her unique Cornalin, a native red grape.
($28 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 Pont de Gassac, Pays d’Herault IGP Rouge, Languedoc-Roussillon, France.
This Pont de Gassac Rouge, a unique blend of 30% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Grenache, made by the famous vignoble du Mas de Daumas Gassac as part of their Moulin de Gassac label is a juicy, distinctive and enjoyable wine with deep fruit, spice and subtle earthy rustic charms. The wine-making amphitheater here in the Herault has ancient terraces, a mix of grapes and steep hills close the Mediterranean Sea, in the South of France in the Languedoc that provides for excellent ripening and had long been overlooked for quality wines, until the Guibert family started the famous Mas de Daumas. I had not had this Pont de Gassac Rouge before, so I was excited to try it, and it didn’t disappoint with a medium/full palate of boysenberry, currant, blueberry, plum and candied cherry fruits, along with hints of peppercorns, sweet fig, minty sage, anise, a touch of earth, dried lavender, crushed violets and savory tobacco notes. The slightly tannic and earthy background helps cut into the supple fruitiness, ripe grapey youthfulness in the mouth and this wine is best with simple meaty dishes and or hard cheeses. The Mas de Daumas estate, as noted here before, founded in 1971, by the legendary Aimé Guibert, first produced their Cabernet Sauvignon based red in 1978 with the help of Professor Emile Peynaud, a renowned œnologue, who had famously been an advisor to the Chateaux Margaux, Haut Brion, and Mission Haut Brion, who was a believer in the site and who helped Guibert make the wines, even by phone when needed. Peynaud was a leading light in French wine and at the time of the first Daumas Gassac vintage in 1978 he noted “I’ve advised the greatest producers in France, but never before been lucky enough to be present at the birth of a Grand Cru”, as Mas de Daumas Gassac calls itself.

The Herault area of the Languedoc is blessed with sea breezes from the near by Mediterranean Sea and complex terroir influences with a combination of schist in hilly slopes, classic limestone soils in the main wine-growing plateaus and plains, and some pebbly alluvial terraces, all of which allows for a vast array of grape varietals to flourish here. The are 32 different grapes allowed in the IGP Pays d’Herault zone and while known for their focus on the noble Bordeaux red grapes, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, the Guibert family, who’s Grand Vin Mas de Daumas is an iconic wine, has also embraced some other varietals and makes a tasty set of table wines under their second label, Moulin de Gassac, all value priced offerings. These include highly quaffable Rosé, White and Red versions, but on the more serious side they added this Pont de Gassac, which fits nicely between the basic bootlegs and the Grand Vin. This Pont de Gassac was 100% stainless steel fermented and aged, seeing a traditional maceration and matured for about 9 months before bottling. The main red varietals found here include Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Pinot Nor and Syrah, which this wine being a well put together mix of the Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Grenache. The Guibert family’s Mas de Daumas Gassac Grand Vin Rouge is a unique Bordeaux driven blend made from about 80% Cabernet Sauvignon along with about 20% of other grapes which could include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Tannat, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Pinot Noir, with later vintages having some Dolcetto and even some Nebbiolo. The main Mas de Daumas Gassac estate is set on iron rich red soils in a glacial formed valley in the Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert – Cité d’Aniane area of the L’Herault region of the Languedoc, and the wines, including the white, a blend of Chenin, Gros Manseng, Viognier and Chardonnay, should be on your wish list.
($20 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Andreola, Dirupo, Brut, Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, Sparkling Wine, Italy.
I can’t believe I’ve not mentioned Andreola Prosecco in my reviews, as it is the one I drink the most and especially their crystalline, ultra pale and crisp Dirupo Brut, my favorite of the offerings. I got a chance to revisit the Andreola collection at this year’s Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting in San Francisco, all of which are award winning wines and again I found the Dirupo Brut to impress with its fine creamy, but vibrant mousse, purity of flavors, lemony citrus, peach, green apple and melon fruits, subtle luxurious yeasty notes, white blossoms, delicate savory elements, vivid acidity and fresh mineral tones. This is a wonderful expression of terroir and tradition in the bottle and its dry precision is perfect for any occasion, sublime with starter courses and easy to love as a sipper too. I highly recommend these Andreola Valdobbiadene Prosecco offerings, they are heightened efforts the rise above the sea of generic versions.

The Andreola says that their Dirupo Brut is a Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco that best expresses the hilly terroir from which it originates, made from indigenous varietals, with the blend including 90% Glera, also known as Prosecco, 5% Bianchetta and 5% Perera grown in the steep slopes up between 200 and 500 meters. This dry example is soft pressed and sees a cool temperature controlled fermentation, to preserve fresh details and the pretty aromatics. The Dirupo is aged on the yeast 6 months in stainless steel tanks and gets its soft persistent mousse through the traditional Charmat method in large vat over 30 to 40 days, adding the bubbly energy to the wine, unlike the ancient forms of bottle fermentation, as seen in Champagne or Cava. Winemaker and owner Stefano Pola continues to set high standards here at Andreola and he transmits the layers of minerals, calcareous marl, sandstone and conglomerate rock soils and terroir in this beautifully crafted Prossecos. These Andreoa will be great to celebrate Prosecco Week in May!
($24 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 A. Rafanelli, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County.
The latest Rafanelli Cabernet Sauvignon, made by Shelly Rafanelli, is a gem and a sumptuous dark fruited and deep wine with classic Rafanelli expressiveness and dimension, showing off polished tannins, a fine balance and finessed use of new oak. The full bodied palate is fresh and youthful with loads of blackberry, currant, plum and black cherry fruits, hints of anise, acacia flowers, sage and tobacco, as well as smoky French oak framing and lingering creme de cassis. This purple/garnet Cab, which has a tiny bit of Merlot added, really impresses in the glass, adding a subtle loam, graphite and spice background details, and I think it will only get better with bottle age. The A. Rafenelli winery, as I’ve said before, became a cult hit with California wine lovers in the 1990s, especially under David A. Rafanelli, Shelly’s dad, who certainly brought this little known winery to the world’s attention with a series of outstanding wines, that rivaled all the top Zin producers, most notability the likes of Ridge, Turley and Biale, putting Dry Creek in the spotlight. The younger Rafanelli, Shelly has employed fermentations in small open top tanks with full extraction and a cool maceration period, after which the wines, like this one, then see between 18 and 22 months in exclusively French wood with about a third new, and the rest in 1 and 2 times filled barrels.

The A. Rafanelli Winery and Vineyards, as I’ve noted in prior reviews, was founded by Alberto and Letizia Rafanelli, both Italian immigrants, back in the early 1900’s when they settled in the Healdsburg area with their family, as the winery notes, and started growing grapes and making wine. Things didn’t really get going until after prohibition, but after which their son Americo Rafanelli took over the family business and then moved the winery to its Dry Creek Valley location in the early 1950s, where he focused on premium grape growing. Most of the grapes and or wines were sold off until the early 1970s when he started his iconic A. Rafanelli label with mainly Zinfandel offerings, along this very limited bottling of Cabernet Sauvignon. David, who got his degree in Viticulture from UC Davis, really brought quality and direction to Rafanelli, with his mid to late 1990s bottlings being absolute stars and that has continued to current releases, with his daughter Shelly making the wines. She came to the winery after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with their excellent enology program, and worked side-by-side with her father until becoming the head winemaker in 2000. She and her husband Craig Fehlman, who manages all of their vineyards, are carrying on the family tradition, and taking the wines to the next level, which is no mean feat. There’s a lot to admire here at Rafanelli, they are making soulful wines that are faithful to their traditions, but still will appeal to those new to their wines.
($75 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Bortolomiol, Bandarossa, Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, Millesimato Extra Dry, Sparkling Wine, Italy.
I usually like the drier style sparkling wines, with Extra Brut and Brut Nature being my absolute favorites, but that said this Bortolomiol “Bandarossa” Extra Dry Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is wonderfully expressive, rather than sweet in the glass and is delicious with crisp detailing and a fine mousse. I tasted through the excellent lineup at Bortolomiol at the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri Tasting in San Francsico earlier this year and I was impressed by the purity and distinctive quality in the collection with this one a surprise standout and it is easy to love and even better with food. The palate is lightly yeasty, clean and flows smoothly with lemon/lime, creamy peach, wet stones, a delicate hint of tropical essences and rosewater. This is delightful and would be great for picnics, as an aperitif at a celebration and good with lighter style desserts, like lemon tarts or apple pie. I certainly would have this with sushi, especially the spicier rolls and or enjoy this one with a lazy brunch.

The Bortolomiol Extra Dry Prosecco “Bandarossa” (red band) is a traditional style sparkling that the winery says was crafted with selected and ancient yeasts, already used by Giuliano Bortolomiol in the 70s, making this sparkling wine extremely unique, adding that it gives it the most elegant and refined aspects of these grapes, even with the overt fruity palate. The 100% Glera (Prosecco) grapes are slowly and gently pressed off the skins and fermented cool, at very low controlled temperatures, which brings out the aromatics, keeps everything vibrant and the flavors exceptionally pure. Bortolomiol, founded by the late Giuliano Bortolomiol, is run entirely by women, with Ottavia as the Matriarch and her daughters Maria Elena, Elvira, Luisa and Giuliana all playing key roles here. The vines, all sustainably grown are set on steep hillsides and terraces, as they’ve been fsince the 17th century and the climate with dramatic differences between day and night temps perfectly ripen the grapes and produces a fine balance. I highly recommend this crowd pleasing, softly sweeter bubbly and I suggest exploring the collection here.
($19 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Casale del Giglio, Cesanese, Lazio IGT Rosso, Italy.
The dark garnet hued 2022 Casale del Giglio Cesanese is a beauty and full of rustic charm, it shows off a supple full bodied palate of dusty plum, cherry, brambly spiced wild berry and earthy currant fruits, along with dried flowers, a touch of truffle, leather, anise, raw cedar, thyme, and minty herbs. I have long been a fan of this winery and this grape with this edition being one of the most complex and rewarding to date. The rare Cesanese Comune grape, which is more commonly known as just Cesanese, has been around since Roman times, it is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown and is mostly likely native to the Lazio region, just outside Rome. Cesanese has three Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regions dedicated to it, these are Cesanese di Affile DOC, which habits own distinctive clone similar to wha you see in Brunello with Sangiovese, Cesanese di Olevano DOC and Cesanese di Piglio DOC, by Casale’s version is labeled just as an IGT Rosso. The organic vines, up to 30 years old here, are well above 300 meters up and set on a complex mix of volcanic soils and limestone, which adds to the mineral note, lift and spicy notes here.

As I said in my first reviews of this estate more than 15 years ago, the winery Casale del Giglio was founded in 1967 by Dino Santarelli in virgin territory, after falling for the Agro Pontino valley in Lazio’s south called Latina near the ancient city of Satricum. He found a perfect place for viticultural exploration and Casale del Giglio has never looked back, making some of the most interesting wines from a vast selection of native and non-native varietals, like Cesanese and Bellone as well as Viognier, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Casale del Giglio makes an eclectic array of whites and reds all of which are worth checking out, and all are fabulous values. The Cesanese, which has been around since 385 B.C. at least, grown on quite hilly slopes, is late ripening and soaks up the Roman sunshine and keeps healthy acidity, it has small clusters, but medium sized berries that are slightly elongated or oval shaped. For vinification, Casale del Giglio does a native yeast fermentation with a submerged cap, giving the Cesanese up to 30 days of maceration on the skin in total and uniquely matured in a combination of cherry wood tonneaux and oak barrels. This is a fine effort, focused on authentic character and again, is a killer bottle for the price
($24 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Kühling-Gillot, Nierstein Riesling, Rheinhessen, Germany.
The beautiful, almost classically style dry Nierstein Riesling by Kühling-Gillot is all from organic VDP Erste Lage (Premier Cru) vines and was fermented with native yeasts and aged in old Stück and Doppelstück barrels on the fine lees for about 7 months. The chiseled mineral driven Trocken Nierstein Riesling is bright gold in the glass and shows off the slate and clay soils of the vineyard to near perfection with flinty spicy notes and zesty firm citrus and orchard fruits on the racy, but vinous palate including green apple, bitter peach, lemon and quince. This is quite serious stuff, not austere, but clearly a thinking person’s wine and its steely details, lip smacking acidity and varietal purity is what Riesling enthusiasts crave. The riper years are more generous and open, so this one will appeal to those that admire delicacy and finesse over fruit density. I recently tasted through a selection of the Kühling-Gillot offerings, all of which were lovely, in a small trade tasting, and this one, was a wine I came back to a few times, I was highly impressed by the focus and subtly.

The Kühling-Gillot estate in the Rheinhessen is owned by Carolin Spanier-Gillot and H.O. Spanier, a power couple, making an awesome selection of small production wines from unique terroirs that allow for expressive examples of many varietals, not just Riesling, which they are best known for, including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Scheurebe and Gewürztraminer. Carolin, who’s family has made wine for hundreds of years here, says she’s proud to continue the family’s legacy and to cultivate biodynamic Riesling and Pinot Noir on organic-certified sites in the dry-farmed landscape between Bodenheim and Oppenheim. She took over the property in 2006 and has turned into a world renowned winery, with the Rieslings here earning top marks, especially the dry versions from Cru sites, like this one, along with the more famous GG bottlings. Oliver Spanier and his team makes the wines, which employ spontaneous natural fermentation with a range of vessels used for maturing the wines, with Stainless steel tanks, Burgundy barrels, along with traditional German Halbstück (600L) Stück (1200L) and Dopplestück (2400L) oak casks used. There’s a well of riches within the Kühling-Gillot lineup and I highly recommend exploring them as soon as possible.
($56 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

March 2025

2021 Weathereye Vineyards, Syrah, Estate Vines, Red Mountain AVA, Washington State.
The dark black/purple Syrah from Weathereye and the talented Todd Alexander, who seems to have the magic touch, is a deep, hedonistic and complex wine that reminds me of Guigal’s Château d’Ampuis Côte-Rôtie with its rush of dense black fruits, violets, creme de cassis and earthy fig notes leading the way. The full bodied palate is powerful and layered with boysenberry, blueberry compote, sandalwood, graphite, licorice and bitter coco, as well as having a background of peppercorns, umami, tapenade and smoky vanilla. The tannins provide ample grip and structure, but feel lush and ripe, making this wine rich and velvety with a long finish, best to enjoy this Syrah with roasts, lamb, grilled beef and or hard cheeses. These tiny production reds and whites, include this Syrah, Grenache, Clairette and Marsanne, as well as a Tempranillo and a Bordeaux blend to name a few. I believe the grapes here were all or mostly de-stemmed and carefully sorted with intense maceration for maximum pigment and extraction with close to two years of barrel aging in luxurious new French oak. These Weathereye also remind me of Sine Qua Non and Saxum in mouth feel and exclusivity, and I can imagine the same following.

The Weathereye Vineyards estate is high atop of the famed Red Mountain was purchased by Washington State wine advocate Cameron Myhrvold in 2004. His then hired Ryan Johnson, viticulture guru, to plant the vineyard and hired Todd Alexander, probably the hottest name in Washington winemaking circles, to make the wines here, all of which was a masterstroke. These wines first broke on the scene with the 2018 vintages that were received to critical acclaim and created a cult like following, with the mailing list now having a big wait to get on, especially for the reds, like this Syrah and the Grenache. While rewarding now, especially with meaty dishes, this Syrah looks like a wine that will age nicely too, maybe if you are lucky enough to have some I might suggest holding it for 3 to 5 years. I am so grateful, for a friend on the mailing list, who shared this one with me and I have the Grenache to try soon, as well. Alexander, who also makes the famed Force Majeure wines, captures the terroir here with very opulent wines, as this one displays to near perfection. This 2021 actually was even better and more investing on day two and I am excited to follow Weathereye in the future, especially as the vines come into full maturity and the production levels rise enough to be a bit easier to get!
($85 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Elderton, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley, Australia.
The deep, dark purple/garnet and complex 2021 Elderton Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon is made from grapes sourced at their Nuriootpa and Craneford estate vineyards, making for a rich full bodied effort with a wonderful depth of fruit and nice balanced mouth feel and long finish pushed on and on by polished tannins. This Cab has a distinctive array of blackberry, blueberry, currant, plum and dark cherry fruit on the luxurious palate along with hints of violets, creme de cassis, licorice, dried rosemary, mocha/vanilla, menthol and cedary wood notes. What I really am impressed with is the low heat impact, acidity and the subtle loam and savory undertones that keep things from being too much, allowing this wine to be a nicely behaved company with a meal. Elderton has a fine collection of clonal material and vineyards, including some higher elevation parcels, as well as soil diversity with sandy loams, red and brown clay and black cracking clay, all of which infused their wines with complexity, lift and Barossa’s powerful concentration of fruit. I have followed Elderton bottlings since some late 1990s efforts, in particular the Shiraz, which a sexy and robust and I highly recommend them for those exploring Barossa Valley wines

Winemakers Jules Ashmead and Brock Harrison at Elderton did a masterful job of taming the tannins, while also delivering loads of extraction, they carefully managed the cap and cool fermented the Cabernet Sauvignon fully dry on the skins before pressing to a combination of used and new French oak barrels where the wine finished malos. After maturing in barrel, almost until bottling, the lots were blended to best capture the vintage and and provide for that balance of flavors and form, which in this case was exceptional, as the wine feels perfectly proportioned and full of character. I have always enjoyed Elderton, especially their Shiraz offerings, and the wines are very fairly priced for the quality seen in the bottle. The Elderton estate was, as the winery notes, was first planted on the banks of the North Para River in Nuriootpa in 1894 by early German settlers, the Scholz family. In 1916, it was purchased by Samuel Elderton Tolley who named the Estate Elderton, but eventually the property was left almost lost and in ruins until the Ashmead family took over and created the Elderton label in 1982 and since then things have been on the right track, as the current wines show. The highlights at Elderton include their single vineyard and signature Command Shiraz, one of Australia’s elite wines, along with Penfold’s Grange and Henschke’s Hill of Grace!
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Fattoria di Bacchereto – Rosella Bencini Tesi, Terre A Mano, Carmignano DOCG, Tuscany, Italy.
Rosella Bencini’s Carmignano DOCG is a rare bottling and is beautiful authentic and complex wine with a structured core of Sangiovese, making for a natural and nicely rustic wine deep in flavor and great with a hearty meal. Dark garnet in the glass and sultry on the full bodied palate with blackberry, mulberry, currant, plum and strawberry fruits, along with cedar, minty herbs, earthy truffle, leather, spicy tobacco leaf, dried flowers and hint of mocha. This wine sees maceration and fermentation in concrete tanks with native yeasts only, then matured in French 350L Tonneaux barrels for 28 months, after which another 6 months in bottle before release. Carmignano, a unique Tuscan region, only a short distance west of Florence is largely under the radar, but is a high quality terroir. Carmignano, as I’ve mentioned before my reviews, 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.

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 and 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, again not too far from Florence, indeed, it was the preferred hunting grounds for the noble Medici family when they resided there during the season. In most vintages this wine is 75% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and around 10% Canaiolo, with this smoothly textured 2018 really developing nicely, it should go another decade easily and provide rewarding pleasures all the way. Fattoria di Bacchereto’s main interest is this Carmignano DOCG Rosso, but their non DOC or DOCG bottlings, including their IGT Bianco, a super limited bottling, and a 100% Sangiovese IGT Rosso are very much worth checking out too.
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Weingut Wittmann, Riesling Trocken, Aulerde VDP Grosses Gewächs, Rheinhessen, Germany.
A friend opened this fantastic GG from Wittmann with a casual dinner the other night and as no stranger to Wittmann it was no surprise just how good his bright golden hued 2019 Aulerde Grosses Gewächs was, drinking on similar terms as a Les Clos Grand Cru Chabis with exceptional stony character and energy. That said, there’s an added dimension here that sets these GGs apart with this one revolving around lime, white peach, green apple and quince fruits, along with mineral intensity, lemon verbena, orange oil, chamomile, yeasty notes and lingering wet chalk. The GG’s usually see the organic Riesling grapes being all hand picked and carefully sorted before seeing a gentle pressing to fuder to age. The fermentation was “Sponti” using native yeasts and the Westhofener saw a full 10 months on the lees, in the large neutral oak casks, which explains the beautiful play between dynamic energy and luxurious roundness. Wittmann is known especially for the Grand Cru fruit from the legendary Morsteiner and the Brunnenhäuschen Crus, but Aulerde is awesome too, a warmer site, adds subtle tropical notes, with a pure nose, depth and vibrancy due to fruit coming from old vines that were planted in 1949 and 1959.

The Wittmann family estate, as mentioned in prior reviews, based in Westhofen, under the direction of Philipp Wittmann, one of Germany’s finest winemakers, has been certified organic since 1990 and biodynamic since 2004, but the Wittmann family has a long history here and has been growing grapes and producing wine in the Rheinhessen village since 1663. Today, according to the winery, Wittmann cultivates 62 acres of vines in the rolling limestone hills found in the southern part of the Rheinhessen region, just to west of the Rhein river valley. They have been pioneers in developing the full-bodied, well-balanced style of dry wines, of which Philippe with his talents, has gained a huge following for, especially for his GGs and Premier Cru offerings like this one. Of course, Riesling is the dominant grape variety here at Wittman, as the winery adds, accounting for 65% of the estate’s vineyard area, but they also produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, as well as Silvaner, plus small amounts of Scheurebe, Chardonnay and a few other things, like St Laurent I believe. If you’ve not experienced Wittmann’s wines, now is the time, especially the Erste Gewächs and Grosses Gewächs, like this one. A big thank you to my friend and wine professional Alex Lallos, who again, showed off tremendous generosity by sharing this wine with me, which was stunning on the night and should continue to develop over the next 5 to 10 years.
($70-100 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2021 Mauro Marengo, Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
This is seriously delicious dark ruby/garnet and aromatic Langhe Nebbiolo is from the youthful talents and insightful winemaker Daniele Marengo at Mauro Marengo, who’s wines I just tried recently for the first time, and makes for a Nebbiolo with true varietal character and structure on the palate, while being easy to enjoy even its youthful form. There’s a lot to admire here and this wine delivers what some people would say is a “Baby Barolo” performance in the glass, showing off classic dark berry, red currant, brandied cherry, damson plum and blood orange fruits, along with mineral tones, delicate rose petal and violet florals, minty herbs, savory earthiness, black licorice and chalky notes. This bottling is sourced from various plots high on the plateau inside the località of San Grato and Zora, and at the top of the famous Barolo crus of Ravera and Terlo, with high elevation vines that are set on red clay, calcareous sand and marl, that add to the freshness, depth and tension here. The sense of place is very obvious here and the fine grained tannins make this wine a good companion with some robust cuisine and or rustic country inspired meals, in particular meat and or wild mushroom dishes. This was first experience tasting this label and I was thrilled by what I tried and I do look forward to sampling the Barolo efforts from Mauro Marengo in the future, especially after finding such quality in this Langhe Nebbiolo.

The US importer The Source Imports says the Marengo family’s technical direction was given to Daniele, the latest generation here, at age twenty-two, his personal taste and style of wines led him to pursue freshness over power and ripeness, and to highlight their Novello-based high-altitude vineyards, which you can see here. He also turned their attention to soil health and the incorporation organic farming in their vineyards. The cellar work, as the importer adds is gentler now, and new techniques have been employed, but the traditional style didn’t disappear in the profile, it was just complimented. In recent years, to down play ripeness, Marengo harvests a little earlier, have even considered doing whole cluster and submerged cap fermentation(s) when those traditional methods need a boost. Daniele gently extracts tannin and tries to retain acidity, and ages his varietal wines in a combination of concrete vats and medium-sized oak botte. This Langhe Nebbiolo was fermented naturally with native yeasts in both stainless steel and concrete, with the maceration lasting about 25-27 days with daily pump-overs, after which it saw large cement vat and bigger wood cask for under 6 months before blending to tank. This 100% Nebbiolo wine is impressive, especially for the price, in terms of mouth feel and substance, it offers loads of purity and bang for the buck, and I will be following Mauro Marengo closely and I recommend look for this effort and their tasty Dolcetto as well.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Quinta do Ameal, Loureiro, Vinho Verde, Portugal.
The ultra pale gold 100% Loureiro Vinho Verde by Quinta do Ameal, which comes in super dry, low alcohol (just about 11%) and brisk, has a light steely body and a fine salty character with zesty lemon/lime, white peach, tart melon, almond, white flowers, delicate herbs and wet stone. This organic and lovely white wine really shines in the glass and is a fabulous Summer wine, great as a aperitif and refresher, but is best with a mix of fresh sea foods, especially oysters, clams, squid and or mussels. Vinho Verde, a region between Lisbon and Porto, is home to many affordable wines, usually a mix of varietals that include Alvarinho (Albarino) and Loureiro, as seen here in this fine and exciting example. The winemaking here is clean and employs exclusively stainless steel tank to promote terroir and varietal purity with absolute transparency and to deliver fresh details. These wines traditionally are drunk young and are highly quaffable no pretense wines, with this Quinta do Ameal providing drinking pleasure, I highly recommend searching it out and enjoying it over the next two to three years.

One of Portugal’s most enjoyable and vibrant white wines, the wines of the Vinho Verde region are outrageously good values and Quinta do Ameal is maybe the best one, year after year, it always delivers a clean, crisp and easy to love wine that any bistro and or sea food place would be happy to have on the wine list. Ameal’s US importer, The Source Imports, notes that José Roquette, the owner of Esporão, Portugal’s largest organic wine company, purchased Quinta do Ameal in 2019 from the recently retired Pedro Araujo. The Quinto do Ameal is located in the heart of the Lima Valley, within Vinho Verde DOC, the most northwesterly zone which borders the Atlantic Ocean, not too far from Lisbon, to the west and separated from Spain by the Minho River to the north. Ameal has 14 organically farmed hectares of Loureiro, with the vines grown on the vineyard’s igneous granite bedrock and sandy topsoil with cool Atlantic breezes that give these wines there mineral notes and vibrancy. The Loureiro grapes are all hand-harvested, whole cluster pressed, naturally fermented over 12-15 days at low temperatures, as the winery notes, and then shortly aged sur-lie in steel to make this classic bottling.
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2016 Vigne del Malina, Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.
The Vigne del Malina lineup is absolutely stunning and shows off the quality of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia terroir, with their Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, which I reviewed already, and this exceptional Refosco being an elevated example of this rare, to us in the States, native grape, all impressing me. This dark garnet 2016 Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, which saw 36 months in large Slavonian oak Botti and then 48 months in bottle, has a purity and refinement of tannin, making it wonderfully developed and mature with a lovely velvety mouthfeel showing off a medium/full palate of dusty plum, dried cherry, red currant and earthy red berry fruits, along with savory tones, tobacco leaf, cedar, roasted herbs, subtle Asian spices, delicate floral and truffle notes. While I was initially really intrigued by the Chardonnay by Vigne del Malina, this Refosco, with its unique and distinctive character, grew on me and the lingering aftertaste reminded of experiences I’ve had with nicely mid term aged Bordeaux and obviously the attention to detail and care in the grape growing here has really paid off. Refosco, also known as Teran in Coatia, has minor plantings in California, has a red stem and a deep pigmented skins, with chewy tannins and phenolic bitterness, which have been tamed well here by Vigne del Malina. The 2016 vintage in Italy was a top red wine year across the country and this wine shows that off with depth, ripeness and structure.

One of the most intriguing winery discoveries at the 2025 Tre Bicchieri (Gambero Rosso) Tasting, was the Bacchetti family’s “Vigne del Malina” label, with a top notch set of Venezia Giulia regional wines. As mentioned in my first review, the Vigne del Malina estate is set between two ancient streams, the Malina and the Ellero, with tons of alluvial stones scattered throughout the vines. Again it was a great pleasure to taste the wines with Erica Bacchetti, of Vigne del Malina, who is the international face of the winery and part of a talented young generation in Italian wine, which is an impressive group of vignerons that are leading the country forward into a new golden era. The terroir here in this part of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia is distinct with its soil composed of alluvial gravels and large stones, along with a unique micro-climate, with what the winery calls high thermal excursions, that are constantly ventilated by the wind channeled by the pre-alpine valleys. All allowing for perfect ripening and retention of acidity, perfect for grapes like Chardonnay, as I reviewed earlier, plus Pinot Grigio, which I also tried and loved, along with the Refosco red grape, indigenous to this area of Northeastern Italy like Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and of which is, as seen here, put into bottle with a great sense of grace and purity. The Vigne del Malina label, imported by H. Mercer Imports, which has a selection of older vintages, like the 2009, is a winery to watch for and these wines are well worth chasing down, as this wine proves. Again a big thank you to Erica Bacchetti for showing me her wines and giving me a greater insight into this region.
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Wagner Stempel, Weissburgunder, Reserve, Rheinhessen, Germany.
The Wagner Stempel lineup is a compelling set of wines and I was grateful to taste through a good sampling of Daniel Wagner’s latest offerings, especially this Reserve Weiussburgunder (Pinot Blanc), a grape that has dramatically been elevated in terms of quality and popularity in Germany, with a beautiful and textured profile of elegance in the glass with a light golden hue and a mineral driven medium bodied dry palate. The steely Reserve Pinot Blanc start begins with a lovely mix of apple, honeyed peach, lemony citrus and golden fig fruit, along with flinty wet stones, subtle white flowers, tangy herbs, a touch of bread dough, oyster shell, saline and almond nutty notes. There’s plenty of energy in this wine and it’s impeccable in terms of balance and detail, this would go wonderfully with a wide selection of cuisine choices from fleshy fish, poultry, pork and creamy farm cheeses. Wagner Stempel has some very intriguing high elevation vineyards, with Heerkretz or Höllberg, which are visible from afar, offering up very distinctive terroir influences. These steep areas, which are some 250 million years ago, are set on ancient magmatic rock that have formed the mountains here like, as Wagner Stempel’s importer The German Wine Collection notes, balconies of an antique amphitheater, which see great exposures and provide complex flavors. This wine is sourced, exclusively from old vines and parcels around Siefersheim, with extremely stony sand, gravel and clay soils, including a high level of shell calcium, and a sub- soil of porphyry rock that is volcanic in origin, adding to the mineral and spicy tones to the wine. For the Reserve Weissburgunder, Wagner Stempel did a slow pressing to medium sized traditional German oak casks for fermentation and lees aging, providing the roundness and depth here.

The rise of Weingut Wagner Stempel has been steady and with precision, these wines are truly a study in quality and terroir, highlighting also the elevation in status of the Rheinhessen beyond a few cult heroes such as Wittmann and Keller and there are some outstanding under the radar producers doing great stuff, not just with Riesling, but with a wide range of grapes. So, there’s a lot of excitement here, though the Rheinhessen is the biggest wine-region in Germany, it has array of soil types, climates and grape varieties with some fabulous unique terroirs. Not that long ago the region was maybe best known for the production of Liebfraumilch, mass produced low quality off-dry wines, like Blue Nun and other forgettable labels. The historic and famous vineyards around the villages Westhofen, Flörsheim-Dalsheim or Siefersheim have now become coveted sites, producing some of Germany’s most sought after and expressive wines and the region’s pioneers have created a dynamic must visit region with many top notch and affordable wines being made here, like these by Daniel Wagner at Wagner Stempel. The Wagner family has owned the winery since 1845, but the vineyards were part of a mixed farm and until recently under Daniel, they were producing just those dreaded bulk-wines. While doing some fabulous Riesling, Wagner calls himself a “grapevariety hoarder”, loving to play around with Silvaner, Pinot Blanc, as seen here, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc to name a few, all of which are well worth searching out. As of now, the Wagner’s have a mix of 50% Riesling, 20% Pinot Blanc, 14% Pinot Noir and St. Laurent (reds), 12% Silvaner and about 4% Scheurebe. All of vines here are certified organic and the estate has been a full VDP member since 2004, making 99% dry wines, like this tasty Pinot Blanc. In my recent tasting of Wagner Stempel I really enjoyed their Rosé and their basic estate bottling of Riesling, but this Reserve Weissburgunder was the standout.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Castello di Perno, Dolcetto, Ciama N’Aut Rosso, Piemonte, Italy.
The dark colored and floral Ciama N’Aut semi-carbonic whole cluster fermented Dolcetto is a juicy, but dry almost Beaujolais like style red from Barolo producer Castello di Perno, who are fast becoming a go to winery in the Alba area, and this compelling easily quaffable wine is delicious. The bright and crunchy Ciama D’Aut Rosso, 100% Dolcetto was old school whole cluster, foot trodded and quickly fermented and raised to be a fun and rustic wine that shows off blackberry, currant, cherry and tree picked ripe plum fruit, along with a bright array of spice and herb notes, as well as orange rind and minty zesty details. There’s hints of tannin, earth and chalky stones, but the fruit and low alcohol make this a wine to enjoy now and is best with simple cuisine choices, like picnic or beach lunches, burgers, pasta and or hard cheeses.

The estate, 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. I absolutely fell in love with the 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, and I also enjoyed this Dolcetto and the rare Nascetta white too. While, so far I’ve really only mentioned Perno’s extra wines, there Barolo offerings are very serious efforts and still are top notch values for the money and I highly recommend digging into the full collection of wines here. The Barolos see aging in large Austrian Botti and then are cellar matured in bottle for up to 4 years and are tightly wound classics that deserve your attention. That said, I love ready to go reds, especially the Langhe Nebbiolo, this Ciama D”Aut Dolcetto and the mentioned Barbera.
($20 Est.) 88 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut K. Wechsler, Scheurebe Trocken, Rheinessen, Germany.
I am a big fan of Scheurebe, a rare German varietal and especially the versions made by Müller-Catoir and Kruger-Rumpf, so tasting this new to me example by the talented Katharina Wechsler at Weingut Wechsler in the Rheinhessen was a nice highlight of my week and this is definitely a wine I’ll be getting for personal use this Summer! This steely dry version is wonderfully balanced and expressive in the glass with a glowing gold hue in the glass with fine stony aromatics and a medium bodied palate with layers of wild peach, lemon/lime, passionfruit, muskmelon and grapefruit, along with subtle candied pineapple, ginger/clove spice, wet stones, saline and a touch spearmint tea and bitter almond. Coming from highly regarded Rheinhessen cru sites, Wechlser’s Scheurebe Trocken, like their fantastic Rieslings, is sourced from organic and biodynamic vines that are at good elevation that allows for this wine’s excellent intensity and tension on the palate. The Weingut K. Wechlser, based in Westhofen, the same rarified area as made famous by Philippe Wittmann and Klaus-Peter Keller, is led by the youthful talent of Katharina Wechsler, who is crafting her exciting wines from highly regarded parcels in the Rheinhessen’s most legendary vineyards, including the VDP Grosse Lage Morstein and Kirchspiel crus, with this basic Trocken seeing some Kirchspiel and Benn grapes. I must say, after tasting Katharina’s 2020 Trocken and her Kirchspiel single cru bottling, I was left spellbound by her wines and I had looked forward to following her efforts and this mineral intense Scheurebe is exciting stuff! This compelling and unique bone dry Scheurebe, was a wine that I didn’t want to move on from at a recent tasting by their importer The Source Imports, it is really impressive.

Scheurebe, one of my favorite under the radar varietals, is an unique grape found primarily in Germany, but also in Austria where it can also be called Sämling 88, Scheurebe was created by German viticulturalist Dr. Georg Scheu, (hence the name, which was made official in 1945) in 1916, when he was working as director of a grape-breeding institute in Alzey in the Rheinhessen region, by crossing Riesling with an unknown wild vine, though not confirmed and according to official Austrian sources it is in fact a cross between Riesling and Bouquet Blanc. Scheurebe, while not well known in America, is an expressive white grape and the wines do have a Riesling like personality, but far more overt and sometimes with a dense flamboyant nature with a cloying tropical side, but elevated dry examples are fabulous, as this Wechsler shows. The Scheurebe Trocken I believe was 100% stainless steel fermented and aged without any stirring from vines that are set on a combination of different soils including clay marls, limestone and loess that adds to the transparency and personality of Wechlser’s wines. Katharina uses low SO2 and the wines don’t feel muted, they are expressive and rewarding, with this one being a great way to discover this grape and producer. The twist here was Wechsler, who is experimenting with skin fermentation(s) or orange wines and some interesting cloudy wines, did allow for some skin maceration on this wine, giving an extra dimension of complexity, aromatics and phenolic structure, though this wine is clear, without overt pigment and sublimely balanced. This Scheurebe has a soulful personality that seems to slowly unwind and seduce with time in the glass and will be perfect when pairing it with food, I really want to try it with pure Sushi, like Toro and or Saba, but I can also see it go nicely with baked ham and or lemon chicken dishes.
($25 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Christophe et Fils, Chablis, White Burgundy, France.
Again and Again I’m thrilled by these Christophe et Fils Chablis wines, and this 2023 is maybe the best yet with a gorgeous tension between concentration and steely mineral intensity, it rises above its regional label, in fact I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was presented as a Premier Cru, such was the quality and complexity it shows in the glass. Brilliant pale gold and aromatic, the crisp and precision crafted 2023 Christophe Chablis shows off lime, apple, bitter peach and hints of lemon curd fruits, along with clove spice, flinty notes, subtle yeasty notes and loads of wet stones and classic chalky detail. There’s terroir purity here that absolutely never waivers throughout and a lingering oyster shell, saline and citrus that makes this wine great with food, it easily pairs with poultry, white fish and or soft cheeses. The Christophe et Fils Chablis is made with minimal intervention in the cellar, the hand picked Chardonnay grapes were pressed and then settled for 24 hours before being racked into another tank where it went through a natural yeast fermentation in stainless steel tanks for 1-2 months. The juice typically sees a single stirring of the lees (batonnage), which is usually employed only in cold vintages to add texture and then the wine, which went through malolactic (fermentation) was then aged about 8 months, again solely in stainless steel vats, before bottling with low SO2.

As I’ve said before, even the Christophe et Fils Petite Chablis, from the family’s original vines, is absolutely gorgeous as well, but this regular Chablis AC is at another level, on par with many much more expensive Premier Crus, even by some famous names, such is the precision and quality here. As noted, with a holistic view to farming and a very gentile touch in the cellar these Christophe et Fils Chablis bottlings are true terroir driven wines, they are vibrant and expressive in a way that really captures the essence of the region and winemaker Sebastien Christophe is a star. His story is awesome and there is a lot more to come, but as a young kid with just a couple of acres of average vineyard land at best, plus a small half hectare parcel of Petit Chablis, he has risen fast, seemingly out of nowhere to become of of the region’s brightest and most gifted talents, with now three of the most heralded Premier Cru parcels in the region, Fourchaume, Mont de Milieu and my all time favorite Montée de Tonnerre! In recent years Sebastien even added a few rows of Blanchots, of which is now his most rare offering. Christophe has vines set on Chablis’ classic soils, with a combination of the legendary Kimmeridgian limestone marls and Portlandian limestone scree with various topsoil mixtures of clay and rocks, all of which give these distinct Chardonnay wines their unique and coveted personalities. I am grateful to have tried many vintages of Christophe, and I highly recommend exploring their full collection of offerings, but this regular bottling of Chablis should be the must grab first wine.
($34 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Rivetti & Lauro, Sotamà, IGT Rosso, Valtellina, Italy.
The Sotamà IGT Rosso is a unique Valtellina blend of Nebbioilo and Syrah grown on sandy clay dominated soils at high elevations in this remote area in Lambardy in one of Italy’s Alpine regions that sees some fantastic Nebbiolo offerings. This vintage of Rivetti & Lauro’s Sotamà is made up of 90% Nebbiolo and what the winery says 10% Shiraz (Syrah) that gives this wine its charm, distinction and singular personality with a full bodied palate of brandied cherry, damson plum, strawberry and blueberry fruits, as well as some Umami savory elements, wild herbs, licorice, a touch of cedar, baking spices, mocha, earthy truffle and dried flowers. This wine was created from hand harvested grapes, 100% de-stemmed, that were fermented and macerated in small stainless steel tanks with gentle extraction, after which it was aged 12 months in one time filled French oak barrels. In recent years I’ve become a fan of these Rivetti & Lauro wines, especially the cru Valtellina Superiore, especially the gorgeous Sassella bottling. The Nebbiolo dominates here, but the Syrah plays a nice role, adding blue fruits, a meaty note and the vanilla scented and toasty oak frame this wine with a sense of grace and this wine is a tasty value, making it an easy to recommend effort. 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). These vineyards of Valtellina 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.

As I’ve said before, 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, and today it is one of the most respected wine regions. The Rivetti & Lauro Uì Sassella Valtellina Superiore DOCG, as mentioned is one of my favorites here, but this Sotamà is really delicious and easy on the wallet and will go great with a variety of cuisine and dishes, with meat and hard cheeses being good options to bring out its best.
($23 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Ancien, Pinot Noir, Jouissance, Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma County.
Coming from a small family vineyard in the Russian River Valley, Ancien’s Jouillence Pinot Noir is a gorgeous, ripe and silky dark garnet/ruby wine with beautiful depth of fruit including rich black cherry, wild plum, raspberry and strawberry on the medium/full palate, along with well judged oak framing, rose petals, cinnamon, Earl Grey tea, briar spice and subtle blood orange. This wine is very much in the same vein as top Sonoma Coast and Russian River producers, with a similar feel to labels made by Peay, Cattleya, Peter Michael, Aubert and Occidental (Steve Kistler) to name a few. Winemaker Ken Bernards fermented this Jouissance Pinot Noir in one ton, open-top tanks after filling by gravity and employed, what the winery says was a warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts that produced they add what was an excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, with about 40% new, and it was racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Only 151 cases were made of the Ancien Jouissance Pinot Noir

Ken Bernards started Ancien Wines in 1992, it is a small boutique, mainly Pinot Noir producer, hand crafting around 5,000 cases a year, once based at the historic Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville, east of the city of Napa, that sources grapes from top sites throughout California. Ken grew up in Oregon, and says he was impressed by the handful of pioneers who embraced the challenging and romanticized Pinot Noir grape even while very little wine culture existed at the time. Bernards says an evolving interest in wine led him to work his first harvest in Napa Valley in 1986, while still pursuing his degree in chemistry at Oregon State University. Bernards explains that his Jouissence Pinot was sourced from vines in a single vineyard established and farmed by Mark Lingenfelder at his home estate with primary clones 667 and Pommard used in this vintage. Ken makes note that Mark’s decades of experience as a vineyard manager and consulting viticulturalist have provided him the depth of experience to reach the pinnacle of grape growing at his own property, which he pretty much farms by himself. Even though difficult, the small yielding 2022 vintage shows off loads of concentration and structure in the glass, with this Pinot Noir being highly expressive and it should develop nicely over the next 3 to 5 years.
($58 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Bodegas Muga, Rioja Reserva, Rioja Alta, Spain.
The deeply saturated dark garnet and ruby edged 2020 Muga Reserva is wonderfully polished and pure Rioja with a lush full bodied palate of blackberry, black cherry, plum, mulberry and Mission fig fruit layers along with a elegant sandalwood element, long smooth tannins, a touch of loamy earth, anise, creme de cassis and delicate dark floral notes. As per normal, the 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 vintage follows Muga’s recent form of impressive mouthfeel and impeccable balance, making this one very rewarding even in its youthful form and offers serious drinking for an exceptional price, when compared to Bordeaux and or California offerings. The bit of American oak used here adds to the luxurious nature of this wine, giving hints of cedary spice and toasted coconut, as found in top traditionally styled Rioja wines, with the French oak proving a touch of smoke, supple creaminess and graphite to this beautiful Tempranillo based effort, it’s a wine that will best enjoyed with a full and robust meal, especially lamb, steak and or duck breast.

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. There’s a lot to admire in Muga’s collection, as seen here and as well as the delightful Rosé that I just reviewed.
($36 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Mauro Veglio, Barbera d’Alba DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The dark ruby/garnet 2022 Mauro Veglio Barbera d’Alba is tangy fresh and bright with a crunchy array of red fruits, these include Bing cherry, plum, red currant and tart blackberry, along with hints of spice, minty herbs, anise and blood orange. This is pure as pure gets and without any oak it makes for a very fresh quaffable red wine that really needs to be enjoyed with food. While I love the upper end Barolo offerings here, I am liking these more everyday varietal bottlings, which are great with pasta, pizza and simple meat dishes. Alessandro Veglio, who took over the winery recently, and brought along his inheritance parcels, from some prime crus, 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, make for some serious and complex wines, especially the Nebbiolo efforts.

As I’ve noted in prior reviews, 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 Nebbiolo, Barbera, like this one, and Dolcetto wines, with the exceptional value “Angelo” Langhe Nebbiolo, that is a new go to. Mauro Veglio, a traditional winery, has a long family history going back generations in the Piemonte region, with the varietal wines typically getting a maceration on the skins in stainless steel tanks before the grapes are pressed with fermentation and aging in stainless tanks as well. These tank fermentations, with the Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo, lasts about 6 days, with its malolactic fermentation also taking place in the tanks to preserve aromatics and fresh details, as this one shows. Clear, juicy and transparent this Barbera is fun and drinks without pretense, drink it for the next 2 to 3 years, but no waiting needed.
($25 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

n.v. Domaine de Marzilly – Champagne Ullens “L.P.M.” Meunier Extra Brut, France.
The 100% Meunier Le Petite Montagne cuvée by Champagne Ullens at Domaine de Marzilly is a gorgeous Extra Brut Champagne, which was a wonderful early birthday treat for me, with brilliant mineral tones, luxurious texture and depth, it shows off lemony citrus, golden fig, crisp apple, yeasty brioche, white blossoms, wet stone and hazelnut. This wine and winery were totally new to me, I learned that it was founded by Max Ullens de Schooten, an architect from Brussels, who was doing historical renovations and he was told about a stately building in ruins near Hermonville, in the Massif de Saint-Thierry, the most northerly part of Champagne, which sparked his passion for Champagne. This pale golden La Petite Montagne is pure Pinot Meunier, mostly from the Massif de St-Thierry, a subregion that covers the lieu-dit of Marzilly, which again a new area for me, but an exciting one that I plan to re-visit as much as possible, as it was exceptional and complex in the glass.

Domaine de Marzilly – Champagne Ullens was created by Belgian-born architect Maxime Ullens in 2012 making a new label and turning out some brilliant hand crafted wines, like this all Meunier bottling, which saw two years on the lees with this one being disgorged in August 2020. In an effort to restore his domaine in Hermonville Max turned to Claude and Lydia Bourguignon to provide a micro-biological analysis of the soils. The Bourguignons, who have a great reputation, are well-known in wine circles for their soil analyses in the Burgundy vineyards, discovered old ungrafted vines In the forest on sandy soils that had survived years of neglect, as phylloxera does not like sand. Examination of local records showed that this part of the domaine had indeed been a vineyard before the first world war and is a truly historic site, but was never put on the regional map of classified Champagne vineyards. The winery says the L.P.M. Meunier, as noted above, comes from a single Lieu-Dit and was vinified and aged 11 months in specially coopered used French oak barrels before getting another 24 months in bottle. Thank you to my friend Alex Lallos, who always seems to find new and thrilling Champagnes, and shares them!
($65 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 La Ca’ Növa, Barbaresco DOCG, Montefico Cru, Vigna Bric Mentina, Piemonte, Italy.
Brilliant stuff, this Montefico Barbaresco by La Ca’ Növa, is pure and deep Nebbiolo that while still firm and youthful is already singing and rewarding in the glass, even without decanting, showing off beautiful floral aromatics and a classic profile of brandied cherry, damson plum, mulberry/currant and dark berry fruits, along with cinnamon spice, light cedar, tilled earth, minty herb and black licorice. The tannins are velvety and ripe, but they are there and give this dark garnet wine a serious presence and I’m sure it will age fabulously well, though it will be impeccable throughout its life, I should have bought more on pre-arrival. In the last five years, La Ca’ Növa has become a real go to for top quality Barbaresco that is not a huge hit on the wallet and I highly recommend chasing down their current releases, especially this one. This single cru Barbaresco, like all the wines here at La Ca’ Növa 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 Montefico Cru is located in the northwest part of Barbaresco, where there is a good presence of marl in the calcareous clay subsoil and while under the radar supplies some fantastic grapes to some very coveted estates.

The La Ca’ Nova estate, as noted in previous reviews, 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. These La Ca’ Növa Barbarescos really got my attention with their 2016s, and I usually grab a couple of each of their offerings, including the Barbaresco “Normale”, this Montefico, and in particular their Montestefano, which typically is the most desirable in the lineup, though this 2020 Montefico is absolutely outstanding. It should be said, the Barbaresco Montefico Vigna Bric Mentina is a wine that if tasted blind and told it was a $150 bottle, you’d say it was worth every penny!
($50 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Muga, Rosado, Rioja, Spain.
The tasty and quaffable Muga Rosé (Rosado) 2023 from this famous Rioja producer is made from a blend of Garnacha (Grenache Noir) and Viura, an indigenous white varietal, is beautifully pale pink in the glass with a fresh, mineral toned and dry palate with sour cherry, ruby grapefruit, red apple skin, a mix of spice, wet stone, tangy herbs and delicate rosewater notes. Crisp and steely to start with bright acidity the Muga Rosado adds some textural pleasing elements making this wine a joyous Summer offering and even with an extra year of age it is showing extremely well and is a great value.

Muga says that the vineyards, used to make their Rioja Rosé are located in two distinct zones and their geology has a direct influence on the expression of the varieties grown in them. The first, they add, vines in the Valle del Oja, are characterized by its calcareous clay soils, typical of cool zones, which provides the wine with good structure, balance and acidity. The second zone, the Valle del Najerilla, has ferrous clay soils which give the wine a more mineral character and complexity. All of which are on display in this vintage’s version. Tank raised and aged, the Muga Rosé continues to be must have wine that goes great with or without food and is lovely as an aperitif, an afternoon sipper or beach wine.
($16 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Mönchhof, Spätlese Riesling “Mosel Slate” Mosel, Germany.
One of the best ways to celebrate Riesling’s 590th birthday is with this wine from Mönchhof, a producer with records dating back to the 12th century it is one of the oldest estates in the Mosel, dedicated exclusively to the cultivation of Riesling. This 2021 vintage full-bodied and slatey Spätlese is a prime example of pure, sweet, but balanced high quality terroir driven Riesling, offering what Wines of Germany USA says, exquisite fruit, mineral intensity and heightened aromatics, all with excellent aging potential, all of which is certainly proved with one taste of this wine. I’m a long time and big fan of Robert Eymael’s wines, both at J. J. Christoffel and his historic Mönchhof estate here in the Mosel, and this Mosel Slate Spätlese delivers a rich layering of smoky sweet peach, apricot, quince, candied lemon, pineapple and crisp green apple fruits, along with hints of wet flint, red spices, honey, subtle rose hips, white flowers and bitter almond notes. The mouth feel is still youthfully lively and tangy enough to cut into the creamy sugar and really helps balance this Riesling out, making it great with a range of cuisine choices. So today we celebrate Riesling, on its birthday, and the life of Rudi Wiest, formerly of The German Wine Collection, who has sadly passed away after a glorious life promoting and selling German wines, he introduced me to Mönchhof and I will always be grateful for that

The Mönchhof Estate, formerly owned by the Cistercian abbey of Himmerod, and founded back in 1177 is, as mentioned above, one of the oldest wineries on the Mosel with its modern cellars dating back to the 1500s and famous for its select plots in the fabled Ürziger Würzgarten and Erdener Prälat. The Eymael family in 1804 purchased the estate after secularization, when the Church was forced to give up much of its lands throughout northern Europe from Napoleon at an auction in Paris. The estates top vineyards are comprised of the very steep parcels mainly in the Erdener Treppchen area set on blue slate along with veins of volcanic and iron rich soils that add an exotic spicy quality to the wines. All of Eymael’s vineyards, as I’ve mentioned in prior reviews, are planted 100% to Riesling with original rootstocks, which are old clones and farmed sustainable and hand tended, as required by the serve slopes the vines hang on to. This estate is on the level of more flamboyant and well known and traditional addresses, like Dr. Loosen, Schäfer, Selbach and Prüm, but has somehow remained under the radar and the wines are wonderful values, especially the Prädikat collection of Kabinett and Spätlese offerings, in particular the Ürzig Wurzgarten bottlings. Mönchhof, as noted previously, produces primarily fruity style, off dry Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese wines, though rumor has it Eymael and Volker Besch, his right hand man winemaker, are going to maker a serious lineup of Trockens in the coming years, which is very exciting. Thanks to Wines of Germany USA and The German Wine Collection for sharing this bottle with me to enjoy Riesling and share my experiences!
($29 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Flanagan Wines, Viognier, Bennett Valley, Sonoma County.
This 2023 Flanagan Bennett Valley Viognier is absolutely stunning in the glass with crystalline purity, mineral intensity, textured form and beautiful aromatics with a seductive layering of apricot, gooseberry, lemony citrus and subtle tropical fruits, along with bitter almonds, honeysuckle, orange blossom, wet stone and soft wood creaminess. This was a hugely pleasant surprise on a recent trip to wine country and stumbled across this very limited wine at the Napa Valley Vintner’s Collective, which hosts some small family wineries and rare labels, with Flanagan being one of the featured producers. I had not had their Viognier before and wow, this vintage is a beauty, showing off steely precision, zesty acidity and deep richness in a wine that clearly takes its inspiration from Condrieu, the holy grail of Viognier, in the northern Rhône. Flanagan’s original vineyard, planted to Syrah and just a tiny bit of Viognier, in Bennett Valley, which, sits up at close to 1,200 feet of elevation on the southwest facing slopes of Bennett Mountain in Sonoma County has meager rocky soils and with volcanic cobbles with excellent drainage. The Flanagan Viognier is rarity with only about 5 barrels made, but not particularly cheap, on the upper end for this varietal in California, though that said, not many versions get this good and Viognier fans will find it wonderfully rewarding stuff.

For the Flanagan Viognier, the winery says that the fermentation was done in neutral barrels which they add is more directed at texture development than at an oak flavor profile, after which it was then aged in Atelier and Millarf French oak barrels with a light toast with 40% new wood used. The Bennett Valley, tucked west of Sonoma Mountain, is a cool climate Sonoma terroir that benefits from ocean breezes from the Petaluma Gap, San Pablo Bay to the south, as well as Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean to the west, but with a sunny exposure that perfectly ripens Rhone and Loire varietals, especially well suited in this case Viognier that has brilliant mineral tones and fresh acidity. The 2023 vintage which was exceptionally cool, saw the grapes get extra hang time, allowing for ripe intensity, but lower alcohol levels, all helping this Viognier shine and show off its best character. Flanagan, which does some exciting single vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and a Bennett Valley Syrah, as well as a set of Bordeaux style wines, is definitely a winery to check out. I am excited to try some more of the collection here, my previous experiences with Flanagan had been positive, but limited to their Syrah. The Viognier, from the 2023 vintage, really is a home run, sublimely balanced and a tasty expression of this varietal, and with only about 124 cases available it be a bit harder to find.
($65 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Masca del Tacco, Ru Rappaio, Primitivo di Manduria DOC, Puglia, Italy.
An under the radar, value priced and tasty red wine at the recent Tre Bicchieri tasting by Gambero Rosso in San Francisco was this dark berry fruited Primitivo from Masca del Tacco in Puglia, a brand new discovery to me and one I’ll be keeping an eye on! This deep garnet Ru Rappaio Primitivo di Manduria is lush on the palate and lively, lightly floral with a dusty spicy background, much like an old vine Zinfandel, showing off a full bodied mouth of black raspberry, plum, candied cherry and huckleberry fruits, along with chocolatey tannins, lavender, minty herbs, anise and sandalwood notes. Great packaging with the stubby bottle and quality inside to match, it is a fine example of this varietal and I highly recommend chasing it down. Those that like the classic California Zinfandels will really be impressed here with this offerings.

The highly praised Masca del Tacco’s Lu Rappaio, that in Apulian dialact means “the bunch” is almost 100% DOC Primitivo di Manduria with traditional Apulian bush vines in the vineyard, which is on mineral rich red soils that has ancient organic matter infused. The winery says the processing of the grapes is done with a low-frequency de-stemmer, designed to preserve the integrity of the berries. Maceration and fermentation in steel at cool controlled temperatures, then maturation and refinement on the lees. After which the wine is typically rested in traditional used wood casks for close to a year before bottling. Primitivo, also known by its Croatian name Tribidrag and more famously Zinfandel in California is a mainstay in this part of Puglia and is great way to explore Italy’s South, and Masca del Tacco is a producer to look for, as this delicious vintage shows.
($20 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Leitz, Riesling Spätlese, Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz, Rheingau Germany.
The Leitz Magdalenenkreuz Spatlese, as I’ve said before, is a happy place wine for me, is always expressive and pure, the name of this vineyard, translates to “the cross of Mary Magdalene,” and named after a red sandstone cross that can be found amongst the vines here. Johannes Leitz, one of the Rheingau’s best producers, nicknamed this wine his “Maggie” and it has always been a traditional favorite of his and mine, so for many reasons it was the perfect wine to celebrate with at a recent visit to The Slanted Door restaurant in Napa Valley. The celebration included the life of the late Charles Phan, founder and chef of The Slanted Door, who I’ve followed from the Mission in San Francisco to here in Napa, as well as Riesling’s 590th birthday which is on March 13, along with my own birthday that comes up next weekend. This absolutely spot on, bright pale gold and delicious 2023 Leitz “Maggie” Spätlese flows across the slightly sweet palate with fleshy peach, apricot, green apple, tangerine and tropical fruits, as well as slatey flint, petrol, wet stones, white flowers, chamomile and dried spicy ginger notes. This youthful Riesling easily played along with all the courses, Vietnamese inspired, refreshingly cleansing the palate and provided a serious engagement of the flavors. The mineral intensity and nice acidity cuts into the residual sugar and I couldn’t imagine a more pleasing way to enjoy a traditional Riesling.

The Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz vineyard, a highly regarded VDP site, is located east of the village of Rüdesheim and is influenced by the wider part of the Rhein and the soils here are comprised of mainly sandy loam, loess, a touch of clay and with much less slate than down Rhein, in the Rüdesheimer Berg crus.The climate here makes for fatter less edgy hedonistic wines, I mean, as mentioned before in my reviews, it is better suited to producing richer Rieslings, that has more mouth feel and more fruity presence, and it is an ideal site, as Leitz notes, for a riper expression of Riesling that is perfect for Spätlese. To highlight the terroir and to express transparency, this Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz is precision made with 100% stainless steel and it is wine of ultra clarity that is always rewarding, concentrated and complex even in its youth, though it should drink fantastical well for a decade or longer too. I am always so pleased with this wine and even though I usually drink Leitz’s Trockens, I do try not to miss this bottling that also goes fabulous with hotter Asian cuisine and spicy foods in general, as seen here with Leitz’s 2023 version. The Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz, or Maggie, Spätlese usually comes in between 7.5% to 8.5%, but drinks well balanced and highlights the single vineyard terroir here, which it should be noted, really being a perfect transmission of place into the bottle. Again, this is one of my go to wines, it is a great way to celebrate Riesling’s upcoming birthday, especially since it was originally born in the vines of the Rheingau, not too fa from where Leitz is located and this vineyard sits.
($30 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2021 Weingut Karthäuserhof, Riesling Trocken, Schieferkristall, Ruwer-Mosel, Germany.
The steely, zesty and racy bone dry 2021 Schieferkristall Trocken by the famous Karthäuserhof winery based in the Ruwer Valley, off the Mosel, is full of energy and shows off pithy lime, earthy melon, peach, green apple and tart quince fruits, along with smoky slate, wet flint, bitter almond, citron oil, rosewater and orange blossom in a fine lighter framed Riesling. It’s always a treat to sample these wines and this was no exception with its vivid purity and terroir driven flavors, though it truly is at its best with food, I really enjoyed it with a combination of sushi offerings, especially a fatty toro tuna roll. Karthäuserhof, one of the top ten oldest wineries in the world, a founding member of the VDP, also does some monumental dry Grosses Gewächs, which are highly coveted, slate intense and age worthy collectors items. While almost entirely known for Riesling, Karthäuserhof does a few other varietals, including Pinot Blanc, a grape that is showing a lot of promise throughout the Mosel region. The dry Trockens, like this one, off dry, fruity and nobly sweet Prädikat wines at Karthäuserhof, show off the many facets of the rich history and terroir influence here and I’ve always enjoyed the Kabinett and Spälese level wines here, as I’ve said many times before. A big thank you to Karthäuserhof’s importer The German Wine Collection for showing off a range of estate grown efforts from Karthäuserhof and their Bruno line, where I tasted this wine.

Originally founded in 1335 and run by Carthusian monks, Karthäuserhof has close to 700 years of history making wine from a small estate on the Ruwer, an offshoot of the Mosel and is one of the most iconic wines of the region, with the same family running the winery since Napoleon’s time and the secularization of Europe’s vineyards. The 19 hectare vineyard of Karthäuserhofberg, long recognized for its outstanding quality, is a Grand Cru site and has different exposures that allows Karthäuserhof the flexibility to make both outstanding dry and sweet wines, all set on iron-rich grey and blue slate, very typical of the Ruwer Valley, giving the wines here their distinctive terroir character, The Ruwer Valley which is one of Germany’s smallest winemaking regions, doesn’t get much attention, but these Karthäuserhof wines are ones to search out. All sustainable and traditionally made from hand picked grapes, Karthäuserhof uses a hands off approach in the cellar with a combination of stainless steel and old fuder (oak) being used for fermentation and aging. The Schieferkristall Trocken, a baby cru style bottling, typically sees exclusively stainless steel fermentation and elevage with some lees maturing to add some roundness to this vibrant and vigorous Riesling. This was another serious Riesling to help celebrate the upcoming 590th birthday of the Riesling grape on March 13, 2025 and I highly recommend Karthäuserhof and their second label Bruno offerings, which are exceptional values.
($48 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2017 Capanna, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany, Italy.
The 2017 Capanna Brunello is a wonderful surprise in a weaker vintage for the region and shows off a beautiful and complex full bodied palate of mulberry, currant, plum, cherry and strawberry fruits, along with cigar wrapper, mocha, minty herbs, cedar and anise. This dark garnet Sangiovese is nicely balanced and has very pretty florals on the nose and finishes very persistent and the tannins are well integrated at this point making it easy to love now. The Capanna winery, owned by the Cencioni family since 1957, was founded by Giuseppe Cencioni, together with his sons Benito and Franco, is located in the Montosoli area, north of Montalcino, one of the most prized area in this famous Tuscan region. Today Capanna is run by the third and fourth generation team of Patrizio and Amedeo Cencioni who farm and make the wines here with respect to the past with their traditional Brunello bottlings. Capanna’s Brunello is, of course, de-stemmed 100% Sangiovese that is carefully selected in their oldest vineyards that sees fermentation with maceration of the skins for close to three weeks at a controlled temperature and spontaneous malolactic fermentation, both in truncated cone-shaped Slavonian oak vats. After which, as winery notes, the wine is racked to large Slavonian oak barrels from 10HL to 32HL for about 36 months, then aged further in the bottle for at least 6 months before release.

The historic hilltop town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, closer to Siena, and notably has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti, with a complex mix of soils from volcanic to limestone and with rocks and shale as well. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Sangiovese Grosso Brunello clone and has many unique individual terroirs. The Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (normale) wines by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including a minimum of two years in barrels or wood casks before release. The Capanna vineyards, some of which date back to the 1960s, are all located in the Montosoli area, as mentioned, in the Northern zone, which is considered one of the best in the Brunello, producing wines of depth, power and age-ability. The winery adds that this particular micro-climate is characterized by an optimal thermal excursion between day and night, getting cool air coming from the Mediterranean Sea even in the hottest months, combined with the favorable characteristics of the soils composed of galestro, all delivering wines with great structure, good acidity, elegant and fruity, as seen here. This 2017 might not be the vintage to lay down for long, but there is loads to admire here and I’d say it is already entering a good window, no patience required for a rewarding experience, but it should go another 5 to 7 years with ease. I’ve personally had great luck with Capanna Brunellos and highly recommend them for savvy Brunello di Montalcino, as they still offer a lot of value for the money.
($60 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2020 Bindi Sergardi – Tenuta I Colli, Chianti Classico DOCG “Ser Gardo” Tuscany, Italy.
A new discovery for me, this 2020 Bindi Sergardi – Tenuta I Colli Chianti Classico, 100% Sangiovese, was drinking beautifully with a purity and transparency of form that I really admire with a medium/full bodied palate of classic flavors that include dusty plum, dark berry, red currant, brandied cherry and strawberry fruits, as well as earthy tones, tobacco leaf, anise, cedar and minty herbs. A touch of mineral (graphite) and leathery savory notes come through in the glass, but there’s a nice ripe feel and smooth tannins, allowing this dark garnet, lightly spicy and delicately floral Chianti Classico to shine throughout and linger on and on. For best enjoyment, as per normal with traditionally styled Chianti Classico, you’ll want to have this fine effort with food, in particular I’d say wild bore ragu pasta, earthy mushroom dishes, hard sheep cheeses or rustic meaty county cuisine. The Ser Gardo is dedicated to Niccolò Sergardi, who was the Governor of the city of Siena back in 1530) and called “Ser Gardo”, which translates to Sir Guardian of the city. The Bindi Sergardi winery, with a variety of vineyards throughout Tuscany, is now run by the dynamic Alessandra Casini Bindi Sergardi, who says she is grateful to live in close contact with nature and relishes the challenges of grape growing with the weight of history on her shoulders and Maddalena Casini Bindi Sergardi, who also feels connected to her linage and to this unique terroir.

My friend and winemaker Giuseppi Cossu was excited that I got to try the latest from Bindi Sergardi and sent a note saying that they have a hugely talented female proprietors with the wine coming from vineyards around the Chianti Classico zone of Castenuovo Berardegna, with high hillside vines, set mostly on chalky calcareous soils. He calls these Bindi Sergardi offerings very natural and traditional Old School wines. Bindi Sergardi, which dates back to 1349, makes their Chianti Classico with 100% Sangiovese, grown on hillside plots, on “Alberese” limestone soils, that are close to 350 meters above sea level, making for a high-elevation site that sees warm days and cool nights. The winery notes that their Tenuta I Colli estate has been in the family for 23 generations – as it was the family that built the village surrounding the estate back in the 1400s, in the historic townships of Monteriggioni and Vagliagli north of Siena. The winemakers, Stefano di Blasi and Federico Cerelli say that fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats where maceration lasts 18 days at a controlled temperature of 28/30° C. After the alcoholic fermentation the wine is transferred into large oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and where it remains for more than a year for further refinement. The finished bottled wine is then stored close to another year in the cellar prior to its release, all done to preserve terroir and give the wine time to show off its best features as seen here with the 2020 vintage. This is a prime example of Chianti Classico to look for that I highly recommend to drink over the next 5 to 7 years.
($35 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

n.v. Broadbent Selections, Madeira, Verdelho, 10 Year Old, Portugal.
The latest release of Broadbent’s Verdelho 10 Year Madeira is lovely and vinous on the palate with vibrant with zesty burnt orange citrus, dried apricots, crystalized mango with a delicate nuttiness, hints of toffee and a tangerine aftertaste. This very balanced Madeira that can go with many after dinner options and with a subtle sweetness and great focus makes for a highly enjoyable experience. This amber nectar is a truly a joy in the glass, with its subtle maderized molasses and fruity nature, goes beautifully with cheese plates and or creme brûlée, Madeira is a great alternative to either Tawny Port or Sherry. Madeira, which was originally a historic and tasty mistake, is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese island of Madeira, in the North Atlantic Ocean, where mainly British ships traditionally stopped to stock up before a voyage to the new world, which literary cooked as they sailed across the Equator. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines, like Rainwater, which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet luxurious wines that are usually consumed with dessert. Madeira’s wine industry dates back to the 16th century and the Age of Exploration, when Madeira was a regular port of call for ships traveling to the East Indies, with the earliest examples of Madeira that were unfortified tended to spoil before reaching their destination, making the producers start adding distilled cane sugar alcohol, which created a whole new wine segment. The classic Madeira or noble grape varieties include Sercial, Verdelho, as seen here, Terrantez, Bual, Bastardo, Moscatel and Malvasia, as well as the workhorse Tinta Negra Mole grape, now known officially as just Tinta Negra. The four main types of Madeira wine in the modern era are Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, and Malmsey. Typically Sercial and Verdelho, which are drier and lighter, havie an alcohol content generally around 18% to 19%, with Bual, slightly sweeter, hovers around 19% to 20% alcohol and Malvasia, called Malmsey, can reach 20% to 22%.

So many times, as I’ve mentioned before, Madeira, Port, Marsala and Sherry get overlooked as wine, or thought of as an old persons tipple, so it is nice to see some real excitement coming out of these areas, especially as a new generation emerges from the shadows, both as producers and drinkers of unique styles of wine. Not that there is a huge youth movement in Madeira, but there does seem to be a new vigor and life coming forth, and this now well established series of 10 year Madeira(s) from Broadbent are hugely responsible for invigorating to this seemingly dusty or old school wine segment. As explained in many texts, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which always involves oxidizing the wine through heat, which stabilizes the wine, and usually solera aging. The younger blends (three and five years old) are now produced with the aid of artificial application of heat to accelerate the aging process. The older blends, or Colheitas (single harvest) and Frasqueiras, are produced by the canteiro method with fortification with grape spirit. Madeira’s mountainous volcanic island terrain and oceanic climate is notoriously difficult to cultivate, so vineyards are planted on man-made terraces or poios of red and brown basaltic bedrock. Because of the way these wines are aged, Madeira can be very long-lived in the bottle, and those produced by the canteiro method will survive for decades and even centuries, even after being opened. I really enjoyed these Broadbent Madeira over the years and they’ve become a welcome addition to the fine lineup of quality and affordable Madeiras, and compete well with the Rare Wine Company series of older Madeiras, giving customers lots of choices. The single grape series of 10 Year Madeira(s) in this Broadbent Selections lineup includes from drier to sweeter, Sercial, Boal and Verdelho, as well as the classic 10 Year Malmsey, which has always been most people’s favorite. In the late 1980s, the Symington family of Portugal invested in the Madeira Wine Company and contracted Broadbent to promote and create a market in the United States for Madeira, which helped see a successful reawakening of this style of wine.
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2017 Weingut Rings, Riesling Trocken, Saumagen VDP Grosses Gewächs, Pfalz, Germany.
The gorgeous, bright golden hued and wonderfully evolving 2017 Rings GG, which comes from the chalky limestone single vineyard Kallstadter Saumagen a highly respected VDP Grosse Lagen in the Pfalz, shows off loads of yellow fruits, powerful dry extract, well integrated acidity, a saline stony element, exotic tropical notes, spice and sublime mouth feel. The palate has impact with density and complexity with vigorous lemony citrus, green apple, apricot and quince fruits, along with clove, almond, lychee, verbena, chamomile, plus that chalky stone and mineral intensity. The Rieslings are spontaneously fermented and see a long time on lees and are partly aged in traditional, big wooden barrels with some getting a little stainless depending on the vintage if needed to preserve purity and energy. Rings, though actually founded in 2001, things didn’t really came together fully until 2008, when Steffen and his brother Andreas got together here, at their Freinsheim winery, and these mostly self taught winegrowers have now become rock stars within their region and in Germany, as well as building a cult like following here in the States! Those that are fans of the Pfalz region will want to get to know this winery and soon!

As we get closer to Riesling’s 590th birthday on March 13, 2025 I am focusing on some really incredible versions of this grape, and Rings has provided an outstanding dry example to celebrate with. Once the Riesling party is done for another year I will follow up with the rest of the Rings collection, I have reviewed Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, but there’s some reds to talk about. I was really thrilled again to try the latest releases from winemakers Steffen and Andreas Rings, who have Weingut Rings in the Pfalz, because they are now one of the superstars of Germany and are doing some innovative wines that are on the cutting edge, like their fantastic “Kalk & Stein” a unique Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc blend, a unique Bordeaux style red blend, a set of Burgundy like Pinot Noirs and their top notch Rieslings, like this Kallstadter Saumagen GG. The winery, as I noted before, employs certified organic methods in the vineyards, using things like buckwheat, radish and clover as cover crops to help aerate the soil and attract useful animals, along with using horse dung to fertilize the soil naturally. They also do rigorous sorting during take off leaves selectively and work with low yields. Importer German Wine Collection in California is getting a small allocation of Rings, so while not easy to get, I suggest searching for their wines.
($108 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2022 Sadie Family Wines, Cinsault “Pofadder” Swartland, South Africa.
As I’ve said before, South Africa has some of the best Cinsault wines in the wold and Sadie’s Pofadder Cinsault is maybe the most sought after there is, and this 2022 vintage proves why with exceptional balance and complexity. Beautifully dark ruby in the glass and filled with red fruits, pretty florals, spices, licorice and subtle savory tones in a medium bodied wines that delivers wild plum, cherry, bramble berry and earthy currant fruits. Sadie says he basically fill the concrete tanks whole cluster to about 50% and then de-stem 50% to get some juice in the tank to have the initiation of fermentation, which starts natural. The maceration/fermentation lasts for about 30 days on the skins and then he presses the grapes in an old basket press. Post fermentation, Sadie adds that the wine is then transferred into some 28 year old conical wooden casks that do not impart any wooden flavors and the age and the saturation of the wooden staves also make for a very slow reaction of the resultant wine with oxygen. The Pofadder Cinsault is left on the lees for 11 months and then racked to another concrete tank for an additional month to settle clean, with stellar results ending up in bottle. As this wine opens up in the glass it gets deeper, but with velvety tannins, and more expressive, making for an elevated experience and I suggest letting it take its time and enjoy it with a meal.

Eben Sadie, the winemaker, is a legend and no one in the wine industry has anything but admiration for him and his wines, and while largely South African wines remain a mystery to most of the public, Sadie’s wines, as I’ve said before, are nothing short of world class brilliant. These wines have helped redefine my opinion of top end South African wines, along with Baadenhorst, Hamilton-Russell and old school Kannonkop. While the Columella Rhône inspired blend is a wine enthusiast and serious collectors wine, Sadie does a few bottlings that don’t pain the wallet as much, these that I recommend are, this beautiful 100% Cinsault Pofadder, the 100% Tinta Barocca Treinspoor, the 100% Chenin Blanc (called Steen locally) Skerpioen, the Palladius white blend, which sees a combination of Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Verdelho, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon Gris, Semillon Blanc, Palomino and Colombard, making it the white version of the Columella and the 100% Grenache Noir Soldaat. The 2022 Pofadder Cinsault really is an exciting example of this varietal which is most commonly found in the Languedoc, like Corbieres, the Rhône, where it is one of the minor Châteauneuf du Pape grapes and Provence, but is also has long times homes in South Africa, Australia and California. While usually blended Cinsault can be fabulous as a solo varietal wines, as seen here, and I highly recommend chasing some down.
($99 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Sordo, Barolo DOCG “Perno” Piemonte, Italy.
The gorgeous Tre Bicchieri winning 2020 Perno Cru Barolo from Sordo drinks like a Burgundy with a velvety tannic backbone, beautiful aromatics and deep layers of black cherry, damson plum, earthy red currant and mulberry fruits, along with mineral notes, truffle, cedar, minty herbs and salted black licorice. This elegant full bodied Barolo, which came from Perno Cru in the Monforte d’Alba zone which has, as the winery notes, chalky Tufaceous soils, it’s primarily made up of iron rich stones and detrital rock, along with sandy and clayey elements from the Langhian Stage of the Miocene Epoch, making it a unique terroir. This Perno saw a classic stainless steel fermentation using 100% Nebbiolo grapes that were all de-stemmed with temperature control with the submerged cap maceration lasting 4 to 7 weeks and was allowed to go through natural malo-lactic in tank. After that the Barolo was aged for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, then put back in stainless vats for another 6 months and bottle for 6 months before release. Everything looks to have been done right here, and the Perno delivers in the glass, while still youthful, it really is an elegant and rewarding wine already, I love the transparency and the excellent lingering finish.

The Sordo estate was originally established in 1912 when Giuseppe Sordo began to cultivate vineyards and make wine in the small village of Garbelletto in the Castigione Falletto zone of Barolo. Now Sordo is run by Giorgio Sordo, who took over from his late father Giovanni in 2001, and the wines were overseen by oenologist Armando Cordero, who has also passed, who helped raise the quality here and was a traditionalist in the making of winery’s classic Barolo wines. Sordo does eight bottlings of Barolo and estate has a total of 53 hectares under vines, spread over the townships of Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba, Monforte d’Alba, Barolo, Novello, La Morra, Verduno, Grinzane Cavour, Vezza d’Alba and Volpeglino, all top sites for Nebbiolo. The lineup includes a Barolo normale that is blend of multiple crus and villages, plus efforts from the single cru vineyards of Rocche di Castiglione, Parussi, Villero, Monprivato, Gabutti, Monvigiero, Ravera and this Perno. The San Francisco stop of Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri tour was where I got a chance to experience these Sordo wines and meet Sordo’s next generation, Paola Sordo, who was pouring her family’s latest Barolo efforts, and I was left very impressed by what I tried, especially this beautiful Perno bottling and I highly recommend searching it out.
($65 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Vigne Del Malina, Chardonnay, IGT Venezia Giulia, Italy.
One of the most intriguing winery discoveries at the 2025 Tre Bicchieri (Gambero Rosso) Tasting, was the Bacchetti family’s “Vigne del Malina” label, and their stunning no oak and no malo 2019 Chardonnay, which was mind-blowingly pure, stony, aromatic and elegant, like Chablis, but unapologetically Italian. The estate in Vigne del Malina is set between two ancient streams, the Malina and the Ellero, with tons of alluvial stones scattered throughout has produced a wine of style, subtlety and grace with a medium bodied steely palate and a beautiful pale golden hue in the glass, it delivers an array citrus and apple fruits with delicate orange blossoms, lemony tones, wet rock, a touch of peach, clove, hazelnut and lemon oil. Because of the maturity through bottle aging there’s a lovely play of texture and tension making for an exceptional and exciting wine. Imported by H. Mercer Imports, this wine is going be a tough get with the outstanding reviews, but well worth the chase and it will be best with food and allowed to open up fully, I’d suggest a poultry dish and or soft farm cheeses.

The Chardonnay, grown on stony alluvial soils was hand harvested and saw a soft whole cluster pressing with what the winery calls a static sedimentation clarification and a non malo-lactic fermentation in tank. Then the wine was matured with 10 months aging in stainless steel tank, after which another full 48 months of aging in bottle before release. The terroir here is distinct with its soil composed of alluvial gravels and large stones, along with a unique micro-climate with what the winery calls high thermal excursions, that are constantly ventilated by the wind channelled by the pre-alpine valleys. All allowing for perfect ripening and retention of acidity, perfect for grapes like Chardonnay, as seen here, plus Pinot Grigio, which I also tried and loved, along with the Refosco red grape, indigenous to this area of Northeastern Italy, and I to tree the Refosco and was really impressed. It was a great pleasure to taste the wines with Erica Bacchetti, of Vigne del Malina, who is the international face of the winery and part of a talented young generation in Italian wine and look forward to following these wines!
($35 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Spreitzer, Riesling Spätlese, Lenchen Eisenberg “303” Rheingau, Germany.
Tasted from a barrel sample, the 2023 “303” Lenten Eisenberg Spätlese is a show stopper and a great way to start celebrating Riesling’s 590th Birthday on March 13, with beautiful lush fruit and texture, but with a fine elegant balance. The medium bodied palate is layered with apricot, apple, mango, pineapple and tangerine fruits, along with flinty stone, clove spices, citrus oil, white blossom and lime sorbet notes. A sublime sweet table wine that will thrill with adventurous cuisine, but an excellent choice with some heat and Asian chili dishes or ginger beef. The “303” is in honor of a historic moment in Riesling history when the Spreitzer’s grandfather picked his Riesling grapes at the highest recorded sugars of all time. This wine comes from that same sub-parcel called Eisenberg (iron-hill) from which a TBA was picked in 1921 with the then-record must-weight of 303o Oechsle. The winery also notes that (the) Eisenberg can be found on the 1867 Royal Prussian quality map as the highest quality category in the Rheingau. The Lenchen parcels, part of the VDP Grosse Lage, overlook the widest part of the Rhein and this area gets an almost lake effect climate, warmer allowing for high sugars and early ripening grapes, so the Spreitzer’s can make a wide array of styles. Old fuder (German oak cask) was used to ferment and lees age this one, which is a signature Spätlese. 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.

The historic Riesling story, as explained to me and that I’ve reported on here in the past, 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. So happy 590th birthday to Riesling and bravo to Bernd and Andreas Spreitzer for producing such gorgeous version of Riesling from not very away from where the grape was born! 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 this last Summer and taste through his upcoming releases, including this one. In the current lineup, I can honestly say there wasn’t a dude and I highly recommend any of their wines, and while these 2023s are fantastic, the 2021s and 2022s shouldn’t be overlooked, especially the GGs.
($54 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

February 2025

2023 Domaine François Crochet, Sancerre Rosé, Loire Valley, France.
One of Sancerre’s most exciting vignerons François Crochet, most known for his Sauvignon Blancs, does a fabulous and mineral toned dry Pinot Noir Rosé and this 2023 version is drinking beautifully right now and should for another year with ease. The Crochet Rosé shows off a crisp and refreshing light palate with loads of stony goodness and delicate details with sour cherry, strawberry and ruby grapefruit leading the way, along with pretty rosewater, chalky notes, wild herbs and florals. François Crochet, who is highly regarded in the region, graduated from the famous enology school in Beaune and after school, he stayed in Burgundy working at Domaine Bruno Clair. A short maceration on the skins to get that gorgeous pale pink hue and tank fermentation was employed here and it was briefly matured before bottling to keep this wine as fresh and focused as possible.

The Sancerre region, as noted by The Source Imports, Crochet’s importer in California, sits on top of a series of hills and small valleys that were once under the ocean which deposited all sorts of calcium rich shells from ancient sea-life. Going on they add, In the case of Sancerre, the most famous rock here is called Kimmeridgian, which is made primarily of an ancient tiny sea creature that closely resembles today’s oyster. The rest of the vineyard land in Sancerre is a mixture of limestone marl, chalk and flint, as well as quite a lot of red and brown clay soils that are clearly marked with a good dose of iron. The conditions here are perfect for mineral intense and chalky wines, with Crochet making some sublime versions of red and white Sancerre offerings, with François’s cru Sancerre Blanc being one of my favorites, with Rosé being a tasty bonus in the collection. The exceptionally tasty treat, 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir, will be great with Spring cuisine and is an elevated version of Loire pink that is well worth searching out.
($34 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Arnaud Lambert, Saumur-Champigny Rouge “Moleton” Saint-Cyr-En-Bourg, Loire Valley, France.
Dark garnet, aromatic and richly flavored 2020 Saumur-Champigny Moleton Cabernet Franc is a powerful and beautifully structured with a classic profile that shows off blackberry, plum, currant and black cherry fruits, as well as stony chalk, bell pepper, crushed violets, earthy truffle, cedary spice, delicate leather and minty anise. This wine, made by the talented Arnaud Lambert, is full bodied, gripping and has long and elegant finish, it is absolutely outstanding and should age for decades! Lambert farms more than 40 hectares of organic vineyards in Saumur’s continental climate with unusually dry conditions due to the rain shadow effect of the Massif Armoricain. In this part of the Loire, near Anjou, the vineyards are set on Tuffeau limestone bedrock with topsoil variations of clay and sand, with that chalky influence being clearly on display in the wines. Still wines from Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc are vinified and aged in variations of steel, concrete, and small and large wooden vats without added sulfites until bottling. This Moleton was fully de-stemmed and macerated for 3 weeks in cement usually with winemaker Arnaud Lambert employing a unique infusion technique with the first 3-4 days of pumping overs and the remaining 16-18 days with only wet the cap maceration. The winery says the wine was then racked to barrel where it aged 24 months 20% new and 80% in one and two year old French oak 225-liter barrels. Lambert adds that was only racked once after Malo-lactic fermentation and after being in the barrel the wine saw an extra 5 to 6 months in stainless steel tank before bottling. This vintage is elevated with a more concentrated and ripe nature throughout the region and I especially find the Cabernet Francs benefiting, as this gorgeous Moleton delivers with a polished tannic backbone.

The Domaine Arnaud Lambert, based in Saint Cyr en Bourg – Brézé, is making some of the finest Chenin Blancs and Cabernet Francs in the region, as I’ve mentioned in my prior reviews, this is an exciting producer I’m always thrilled try. Arnaud Lambert, who began as part of a father and son team with his late father Yves, made a name for himself when he took over at the historic estate of the Château de Brézé, one of France’s great properties and one that the French royals, as noted by the winery, used to exchange wines of Brézé annually for Château d’Yquem Sauternes. I have had a few outstanding wines from Château de Brézé over the years, so it was exciting to see Lambert’s personal offerings and get insight to his direction as a vigneron. I understand that Lambert is pushing the appellations of Saumur and Saumur-Champigny to invest in quality and focus on individual terroirs and lieu-dit sites, as he does, like in this wine. The goal is to re-discover the regions premier vineyards and exploit its full potential through organic viticulture and less-is-more, precise winemaking, which he himself adheres to. Over the last few years, I’ve become a huge fan of Arnaud’s and this special cru Moleton is a real standout in the collection and I highly recommend it to all Cab Franc lovers and Loire enthusiasts, but don’t miss any of his offerings, many of which I’ve reviewed here at grapelive.com, with both the Franc based wines and the Chenin being equally excellent. In particular, I should say, you’ll want to look for Lambert’s Brézé Chenin, which is a sublime terroir driven wine. The Brézé cru is a unique site due to its relatively high elevation and Tuffeau, the chalky limestone, soils here that gives these wines their distinct stony, saline rich and oyster shell character. While still under the radar, Lambert’s wines are right up there with some of the legends, like Clos Rougeard, these are serious efforts that demand attention and are great with food.
($68 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Desire Lines Wine Co., Sauvignon Blanc, Kick Ranch, Fountaingrove AVA, Sonoma County.
If you are looking for very distinctive, limited and highly quality Sauvignon Blanc at a great price, look no further than the latest Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc from Cody Rasmussen at Desire Lines Wine Co. and enjoy a burst of cool vintage intensity. This wine is aromatic and full of beautiful tension on the palate, while also having a lovely textural quality with layers of gooseberry, grapefruit, white peach, melon, lime/lime and quince fruits, along with sour herb, guava, mineral tones, almond paste and wet stones. In 2023, Rasmussen de-stemmed a small portion of the grapes and soaked them on skins overnight, before pressing the following morning. He adds that The inclusion of this little bit in the blend, with the usual direct press wine, has pushed the citrus and tropical fruit aromatics forward and added a density and richness to the palate that really suits the racy 2023 vintage character, and I agree completely. After spending ten months on fine lees in barrel, including one new barrel from the illustrious Fassbinderei Stockinger in Austria, Cody notes, I found some really depth and complexity, not typical for this varietal in California, making this a real sleeper in the lineup, and a killer wine. I usually, sadly, miss talking about the Sauvignon Blanc, but this time it is too good not to mention and I highly recommend it, and all of Rasmussen’s collection, this is a mailing list to join, no question.

As mentioned here many times in recent years, Cody Rasmussen, who along with his wife Emily started Desire Lines Wine Co in 2016, has made this label one of the best new wineries in California, with some stellar releases, especially his Syrah and Riesling bottlings, which I really love and have reviewed often here. Rasmussen has an amazing touch with these wines and California wine enthusiasts really should get on his list, and check out his new releases. As already noted, Cody has great experience already under his belt, having been the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Co and being mentored by Morgan Twain-Peterson MW, who is one of America’s great winegrowers and a Master of Wine. Desire Lines Wine Co. says that the 2023s’ stunning beauty was the result from an exceptionally wet winter that recharged drought-stressed vines, and an unusually cold growing season that kept acids high with plenty of hang-time on the vine for flavors to ripen and concentrate, all while phenolics resolved. Rasmussen explains that everything we’ve learned about California Riesling, own-rooted old-vine Carignan, and coastal mountain Sauvignon Blanc came to fruition in 2023 thanks to these historically unusual weather conditions. So, I can confirm, throughout California the 2023 wines are elevated and are not to be missed, especially the Desire Lines offerings, from the incredible Riesling bottlings to the Syrahs, these are excellent small lot wines and unreal values too. I have loved every wine here, though I absolutely have to have the Shake Rigde Syrah and the Cole Ranch Riesling every year, and the Carignan based Evangelho Red is a Favorite too.
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

n.v. Rosavica Benotti, Bruno Chinato, Roero, Piemonte, Italy.
The dark ruby and brick edged Nebbiolo Roero fueled Bruno Chinato by Rosavica Benotti is wildly aromatic stuff with loads of vivid and bitter mountain herbs, crushed flowers, grilled orange, sour rhubarb, cardamom, cinnamon, cola and a background of tart cherry, damson plum, truffle and licorice. This speciality liqueur is a Piemonte rarity and most famously made with Barolo in the best versions and is a noted health digestive, but would be brilliant in a Negroni! Rosavica Benotti, who make one of my new favorite Nebbiolo wines, uses a proprietary blend of Nebbiolo wine, fortified spirt, sweetener, a blend of selected herbs and spices, including gentian, cinchona (china) bark, orange peel, vanilla, cloves, and other local botanicals. This edition of Bruno Chinato NV was made using a base of 2017 vintage Roero Nebbiolo, which adds a certain pedigree and gives depth and complexity that is highly appreciated by lovers of this lovely after dinner treat. Chinato can be used for cocktails, or as an aperitif, with soda and lemon slice, but traditionally it is a digestif or paired with a dark chocolate dessert.

Rosavica Menotti’s winemaker, Ermanno Cordero, as I understand it, like many Piemontese, has long been an admirer of traditional Chinato, an Amaro like fusion of wine, sweetener, herbs and spirt, especially the one by legendary Barolo producer Augusto Capellano, whose grandfather is believed to have been the originator of the recipe for Barolo Chinato. In my long experience in wine, only a few Chinatos have made me go mmmmmm, one of those was the legendary Capellano Barolo Chinato and more recently G.D. Vajra’s own Barolo Chinato, so I was intrigued by this one from Rosavica Benotti, which is more vividly expressive than the other two mentioned, but one I would go again. The very limited Rosavica Benotti Bruno Chinato is finished at a local distillery in nearby Calamandana, where some top quality local Vermouth is made. Chinato, less sweet than vermouth, bitter and herbal, will not appeal to the masses, but luckily, Rosavica Benotti does an exquisite selection of Roero Nebbiolo, a fine Langhe Nebbiolo, Langhe Dolcetto and Barbera d’Alba, all of which I highly recommend. This winery is a fabulous new discovery for me, it dates back to the mid 1950s, though didn’t start bottling their own wine until 2015, and is now a label to watch!
($68 Est. – 750ML) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Au Bon Climat, 60% Pinot Gris & 40% Pinot Blanc, Santa Barbara County.
The zesty, steely and crisp Au Bon Climat white blend, which this vintage is 60% Pinot Gris and 40% Pinot Blanc, is bright pale gold in the glass and bone dry and zingy on the lighter framed palate that shows off racy lemon, tat pear, quince and Granny Smith apple fruits. There’s plenty of lip smacking acidity and some delicate florals, along with hints of sea shore, wet stone, bitter almond and herb notes, making this Alsatian inspired white a refreshing spring and Summer wine that will pair nicely with briny sea foods. While obviously known for outstanding and legendary Piont Noir and Chardonnay, Au Bon Climat has a long history of doing fantastic blended whites, especially their famous Hildegard, a blend typically 55% Pinot Gris, 40% Pinot Blanc and 5% Aligoté. A few years on now from the loss of the legendary Jim Clandenen, Au Bon Climat continues to be a force in the wine world and produces a brilliant array of coastal marine climate wines. I always can count on the ABC Santa Barbara Pinot, it’s always a delightful bottle and a super value, but again don’t overlook the whites here!

The Au Bon Climat Winery says that the grapes here were harvested with low sugar and high acidity, the crisp Pinot Gris portion of the blend supplies the energy, while the Pinot Blanc delivers minerality and depth. The majority of Pinot Gris is harvested from Sierra Madre Vineyard and the Pinot Blanc portion is from the famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, the jewel of the Santa Maria Valley appellation. The 2023 vintage experienced a prolonged and cool growing season, which helped give extra hang time with exceptional acidity, as seen here in this exceptionally brisk and zingy white. The winemaking started with the Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc grapes being carefully harvested by hand, whole-cluster pressed and barrel-fermented in neutral French oak. This vintage, the winery notes, saw full Malolactic fermentation being allowed to complete in barrel and the wine is rested on the fine lees for 6 to 8 months, blended and racked back to barrel for a couple of months before bottling. Jim’s kids Isabelle Clendenen and Knox Alexander Clendenen have done a great job of continuing the quality, style and personality of Au Bon Climat and I recommend checking out the current collection of wines.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Bechtold, Pinot Gris “Nef des Folles” Vin d’Alsace, France.
Alsace has seen some changes and there has even been a number of wineries exploring skin maceration whites, and one that really caught my attention for complexity and balance was this brilliant Bechtold version with a lovely cooper/pink hue in the glass and a dry vibrant palate. This “Nef des Folles” (Pinot Gris), which translates to “the nave of the mad” an ode to this unique skin contact and no sulfur natural and organic wine, is a compelling effort with bright citrus, red apple, strawberry and quince fruits, a subtle savory tone, a light touch of spice, saline, minty herbs, florals, wet stone and delicate orange tea notes. The Pinot Gris grapes, according to the winery, come from the Obere Hund vineyard and are macerated for twelve days on its skins and aged in a single old foudre, making for more textural pleasure, while retaining crisp mineral detailing, as seen here. With air you get more leesy elements and a long finish, this wine will show its best with food, especially soft cheeses and ham dishes.

The Domaine Bechtold, with some impressive vineyard sites in Alsace, is run by Jean-Marie Bechtold, who is the fourth generation to lead here and has an outstanding reputation for producing top notch classically styled wines. The winery notes that Jean-Marie began working with his father in 1980 and took the reins in 1995 and now works with about 12 hectares of vines, with parcels in the Grand Cru Engelberg being his most prized. The estate itself is located in Dahlenheim, west of Strasbourg in the slopes of the “Couronne d’Or”, a region of Alsace with 2000 years of viticultural history. Bechtold is conceded a traditional Alsace estate and has long embraced organic farming and now Jean-Marie Bechtold, as the winery adds, is currently making the conversion to full biodynamic viticulture. To be true to each terroir and family style, Bechtold’s fermentations are mainly all done in stainless steel tanks with the objective of capturing the fresh acidity and typical dry style of the region, along with an elegant personality and a lighter feel, while this one is an outliner, but still delivering the core style. Bechtold, whose wines I’ve enjoyed for many years, does an excellent set of varietal offerings and an outstanding Crément bubbly, all of which I recommend.
($28 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2022 Arianna Occhipinti, Il Frappato, Terre SiciIiane I.G.T. Rosso, Sicily, Italy.
The newest release of Arianna Occhipinti’s Il Frappato is quite reserved and is best with food to bring out its shy fruit, but really blossoms in the glass as it fully unwinds revealing a vibrant array of red fruits, mineral tones, a transparent earthiness, exotic spice and minty herbs. I was thrilled by how good this wine was on day two and three, as I followed its progress, which brought out the full palate of flavors and richness. There’s a bright sense of natural acidity and silky tannins, weighted like a Pinot Noir or Cru Beaujolais, but with interesting lingonberry, tart huckleberry leading the way here, along with a classic core strawberry, hints of truffle, fennel, walnut, delicate lilac florals and loam. One of Sicily’s most coveted wines, Arianna Occhipinti’s Il Frappato is a natural wine icon and her signature wine made from her estate vines in the Vittoria region in southeast of the island, the native home to Frappato. The Occhipinti family, Arianna and her uncle Guisto Ochhipinti of COS Winery has almost single handedly brought fame and attention to this region and Frappato!

The Frappato grapes, as noted before in my previous reviews, are organically grown on the red sandstone and chalky (limestone) soils that are the hallmark on this side of the Island at just under 900 feet of elevation with an average vine age of 40 years, which shows in the subtle concentration of flavors and the energy of holistic farming approach that Arianna employs. According to her cellar notes the Il Frappato sees a long maceration with 50 days of skin maceration, with 100% indigenous yeasts for fermentation with absolutely no additions or manipulation and very low sulfur if any. The is always a sultry, raw charm and personality that mirrors Occhipinti in her wines, they are singular and authentic without flashy adornment, like this dark ruby/garnet Il Frappato that shows ultra transparency, coming from traditional aging, it saw 14 months in large neutral Slovenian Oak barrels. The latest unfiltered and all organic Il Frappato, that comes in at 12.5% natural alcohol, is fresh, ultra dry and highly quaffable, it shows off a flexible personally that makes it great with a range of cuisine choices and should drink nicely for 3 to 5 years. I hadn’t had the Il Frappato in a couple of vintages and it shows that Occhipinti is evolving as a winemaker and I am exciting to try the rest of her current releases in the near future.
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Cantina Luca Leggero Villareggia, Langhe Dolcetto DOC “Retro” Canavese, Piemonte, Italy.
A very new discovery, Luca Ledger’s beautiful and transparent dark garnet/ruby Langhe Dolcetto DOC “Retro” from the Alta Langhe’s Canavese area in Piemonte is a tasty red wine with dark fruits, floral tones, a light dusting of spices, fine tannins and sweet and sour herbal notes. This medium bodied Dolcetto, which saw 7 months in stainless steel tank, has a mix of huckleberry, black cherry, currant and brambly blackberry fruits on the slightly earthy, nicely dry and mineral palate. The winemaking at Cantina Luca Leggero is, as winery notes, natural, diverse and carefully tailored to each wine, utilizing amphorae and large oak barrels. Terracotta (clay) Amphorae, as Luca notes is an ancient method of winemaking, is a vessel which allows the wines to mature gradually while preserving the distinctive grape aromas. Large oak barrels, used exclusively for red wines, impart depth and complexity, softening tannins and harmonizing flavors, while the Dolcetto, as mentioned above, saw exclusively the stainless steel. This 2021 Retro Dolcetto was a joy to experience and reminded me again of how much I like this grape, in fact the very first case of wine I ever ordered and bought was an old school Dolcetto d’Alba in the early 1980s.

The Luca Leggero Winery, based in the small Piemonte village of Villareggia, specializes in organic and sustainable winemaking, with a signature collection of red and white wines, led by their Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG. The winery says Luca’s journey into winemaking began at the young age of sixteen when he started experimenting in his home cellar, learning the intricacies of grape pressing, fermentation, and refinement. Going on a few years, Leggero planted his first vineyards in 2011, after which Luca established his winery with a focus on Nebbiolo, as well as Docetto, as seen here, along with the mentioned Erbaluce. Everything is done with a respect for nature and Leggero is committed to environmental sustainability, working with organic principles and making wines that show off terroir influences. The “morenic” soil of Villareggia, in the Canavese zone of the Alta Langhe, where the Leggero vineyards are located, is rich in sand and rock fragments from the movements of ancient glaciers. This unique soil composition, the winery explains, forces the vine roots to grow deep in search of nutrients, resulting in concentrated grapes that produce mineral-rich wines. This producer was a happy new discovery, imported to California by Tanaro River Imports, and I’m excited to try the whole lineup of Luca’s wines, especially the Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG white and the Amphora raised Nebbiolo, both of which sound like very interesting offerings.
($27 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Sylvain Bailly, Sancerre Blanc “Terroirs” Loire Valley, France.
Super bright, steely and crystalline pure this Bailly Terroirs Sancerre shows off loads of gooseberry, lemon/lime, tart white peach and muskmelon fruits along with zingy and saline rich acidity, wet stone, tangy herbs and a lingering pithy note. Delightfully fresh, with subtle aromatics and vivid in the glass, begging for some briny shellfish, creamy cheese and or sunny day, this wine delivers everything you’d want of Sauvignon Blanc and is extremely quaffable, but seriously focused and terroir driven. Domaine Sylvain Bailly’s terroirs, according to their importer Beaune Imports, have sustainably farmed vines and composed of roughly 60% chalky soils and 40% clay-based soils, which adds to the balance and complexity in the wine, as seen here. These days, with so many generic and or boring whites, Bailly is a top option in this price point, it is happy with being an aperitif and or with a full meal, drink over the next couple years.

The Domaine Sylvain Bailly Sancerre estate, which has roots that go back to around 1700, has close to 12 hectares and is made up of 23 independent parcels, with most of their vineyards located near to the small village of Bué with mostly Sauvignon Blanc vines in both Sancerre AOC and the near by Quincy AOC. Today Jacques Bailly, son of Sylvain Bailly, runs the estate with the help of daughter Sonia, who joined the domaine as winemaker in 2007. For the Terroirs cuvée Bailly employes all inox fermentation and aging here to highlight purity and deliver the clear expression of the chalky limestone and capturing all the energy and every fresh detail of the Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown in this part of the Loire Valley. This is a wine that I always feel gives a perfect reflection of vintage and is wonderfully quaffable and guilt free. This estate is a reliable go to for quality and a little bit extra dimension, whether it’s this bottling of Sancerre or their under the radar Quincy, which I like almost as much and I highly recommend them.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2006 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Spätlese, Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg, Nahe, Germany.
One of the last all Helmut Dönnhoff wines, before turning the the winery over to his hugely talented son Cornelius, is this golden nectar, which is a beautifully mature Spätlese from a difficult year and shows just how good this producer is and how good the terroir here in the Nahe is! Young or well aged, these Dönnhoff wines are always treats for which I am always grateful for, especially when they are surprises, and this Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg Spätlese was a perfect way to start countdown to Riesling’s birthday on March 13, when it turns a spritely 590 years old. It’s also only a few days from my own birthday, which usually also involves celebrating this grape. The 2006 Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg, which is a deep golden/amber in the glass, has a rich palate of apricot compote, quince jam, lemon marmalade, lychee, honeyed apple and dried pineapple fruits and the sweetness has tamed significantly and it is coming nicely into full balance and in a lovely window, with hints of clove, wet stone, smoky mineral, petrol fumes, a mix of spices, bitter almond, rosewater and chamomile. Typically the Dönnhoff Spätlese offerings are done exclusively in stainless steel with between 6 to 9 months of lees contact, allowing for distinctive elements from each vineyard to shine through and they do develop wonderfully in the bottle for those that are patient. Still very lively with a good vein of acidity, this 2006 should go a bit more, but is complex and texturally rewarding right now. I was lucky enough to taste through some of the 2023s and they are looking like brilliant vintage to stock up on, and while the dry efforts, especially the GGs due out this fall, are sublime, don’t forget to grab some of the sweeter wines. This bottling sometimes gets released as a cellar aged “R” or Reserve, currently available in the 2018 vintage, and is one to look for, along with the classic Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese, Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese and my usual favorite Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese.

The VDP Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) Schlossböckelheimer Felsenberg is set on complex mineral rich, volcanic igneous roc kor porphyry soils and is one of Dönnhoff’s most prized vineyards, it is capable of sublime dry and or sweet wines, and in this class a beautiful maturing Spätlese. Cornelius Dönnhoff, who took over from his dad Helmut in 2007 or so, runs the estate with precision and has become one of Germany’s best winemakers. To preserve laser-like focus and clarity in the wines, the grapes are pressed as soon as possible, almost always within a couple of hours of harvest, with each parcel farmed to produce the purest expression of the site. Cornelius ferments both in wood and tank, using traditional German casks, like 1200L stückfass and 2400L doppelstück, as well as stainless steel, all with spontaneous yeasts employed. Donnhoff’s cellar, as Riesling guru Terry Theise was first to tell me, is unique in its capacity to hold all of its production entirely in stainless steel or in cask, allowing for the ideal élevage for any wine at any point during a vintage. The Dönnhoff’s are responsible stewards of the environment and use organic methods in the vineyards, and although the Nahe is a dry region, dry farms the vineyards to encourage deep rooted vines. The winery adds that the soil is covered with organic material like straw and compost to preserve water and to avoid evaporation and erosion in the heavy rains that can hit this region and its steep slopes. Again I’m looking forward to writing more about the current releases here at Dönnhoff, which were fabulous, to celebrate Riesling’s upcoming birthday, so watch this space over the course of the next four weeks or so. Wines of Germany (part of the German Wine Institute) reminded me, Riesling, from its first written mention in Germany’s Rheingau region in 1435 to its continued reign as one of the most loved and versatile white wines, Riesling has proven that it’s not just a wine for history books—but one that fits every modern palate, too. Whether you love it dry, sweet or somewhere in between, there’s a German Riesling, especially here at Dönnhoff, that’s perfect for any wine enthusiast!
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Olek Bondonio “Grignleo” Piemonte Grignolino DOC, Piemonte, Italy.
The absolutely delicious, fun and nicely rounded “Grignleo” Piemonte Grignolino DOC is made at the highly regarded Olek Bondonio winery in Asti by his assistant winemaker Sindi Mandiqi and, as I understand it, named after her dog and in his memory. Lightly garnet/ruby in the glass, this fresh Grignolino is a bit Nebbiolo like with sour cherry, strawberry, burnt orange and tart plum fruits, along with a pop of peppery spice, mineral tones, dried rose petals and a hint of earthy leather. This vibrant red wine can be served with a slight chill and be enjoyed as an aperitif with a meat board. Bondonio, now famous for cult Barbaresco, was late getting into wine, despite his noted ancestry with 200 years of grape growing and highly-regarded vines, including his holding of Roncagliette cru parcels in Barbaresco, which is just down his driveway, immediately abutting Gaja’s famous Sorì Tildin! Olek only began his foray into wine in 2005 with the encouragement of his Polish mother, hence his first name, who told him if he was interested in making wine off the family vineyards, he should do it. Bondonio is not ego driven and relies on natural, minimum intervention winemaking, based in the family’s 200 year-old farmhouse called ‘La Berchialla,’ where keeps his Botti wine barrels, once where cattle were kept. It’s noted that one of Olek’s ancestors of the farm La Berchialla, a General Guglielmo Como, was a key founder of the famous Produttori del Barbaresco. I believe, this 2023 Bondonio Grignolino “Grignleo” is Sindi Mandiqi’s first vintage, and is an admirable effort and a great quaffable wine to enjoy over the next year or two.

The Grignolino grape, which has a mixed reputation, is as most experts believe to native to the Monferrato hills, located between the towns of Asti and Casale, and is a red Italian wine grape variety almost exclusively found in the Piemonte region of northwestern Italy, not to far from Torino. Grignolino makes for typically light colored wines and rosés with very fruity and floral aromas, and it can have strong acidity and rustic tannins, though modern styles have more gentle macerations and show the grape in a more silky way that had been the case in older times. The name Grignolino derives from the word grignole which means “many pips” in the local Piedmontese dialect of the Asti region, which had been the reason for bitterness and harsh flavors. Grignolino has now found its way to the new world, once a curiosity it has found a happy home in California and Australia with even famous Napa producer Heitz Cellars being long time makers of Grignolino. But, the younger generation of Piemonte winemakers has turned up the quality and the number of delicious versions is on the rise, as this wine shows. The Grignolino wine is fermented in large cement tanks with native yeasts and aged in large Botti, with Slavonian Gamba and Stockinger (Austrian oak) used. Everything at Bondonio is raw and transparent in style and every grape is organic and there’s only the very minimum use of sulfur, with the wines being vastly different to his legendary neighbor. While best known for the Barbarescos, like his Starderi and signature Roncagiette, Bondonio does a set of Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo offerings, as well as this Grignolino and the rare Pelaverga, all of which are tasty and I recommend chasing them down.
($26 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2023 Chalone Vineyard, Chenin Blanc, Estate Grown Heritage Vines, Chalone, Monterey County.
As a long time Chalone admirer, it is great to see the label rebound and be taken seriously after a few years in the wilderness and I really liked their latest old vine Chenin, from mainly vines originally planted back in 1919. This unique California version, now under the care of winemaker Greg Freeman, sees a bit different treatment, with 100% stainless steel fermentation and ultra short tank aging, making for a pure, bone dry and electric style wine. The palate is ripe and forward, with lovely concentration and loads of crisp acidity, it shows of honeyed peach, quince, apple and lemony citrus, along with subtle herbs, white blossoms, chalky stones and a hint of verbena. The estate picks were fairly quick but there was some variation of Brix and that gives this bit of sweet and sour accent and it should be structured enough to age, it will be interesting to see how this Loire inspired Chenin Blanc develops, especially since I recently really enjoyed the 2012 and 2014 versions. Chenin Blanc is seeing a wave of enthusiasm in California and there’s a lot of good stuff available wide array of top notch producers from Santa Barbara to Mendocino.

The historic Chalone Estate, as I’ve noted in prior reviews, is mostly known for some classic Pinot Nor and Chardonnay wines, is in the middle of a serious re-birth and I am excited for the newest collection of wines, but the early years in the 1970s were blessed with some classic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Chenin. There’s been a few owners here, especially after the death of Richard Graff, who along with Phil Woodward, made this label one of California’s best, rivaling the likes of contemporaries like Mount Eden, Hanzell and Joseph Swan to name a few. In the past the Chenin had been done in a combination of barrel and tank and then blended, and it some years it was almost off dry, which helped some vintages age, but now done super dry and stainless only it seems less patience will be required. Chalone, as a terroir is chalky with veins of limestone and rolling hills that get cool breezes from the Ocean, but is significantly warmer than in the past, so certain varietals are finding it difficult to be as elegant and focused as they once were, but so far the Chenin is still doing all the right things. It’s plain to see that Pinot Noir and even Syrah are suffering when you get a hot year here, but thankfully 2023 and 2024 were cool vintages and there’s a lot of excitement.
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Clos Canarelli, Corse Figari Blanc, Vermentinu, Coscia, France.
The Clos Canarelli Corse Figari Blanc, 100% Vermentino aka Vermentinu, as locals call it, is a brilliant white wine, one of my absolute favorites of the Mediterranean region with presence, tension and vinous pleasure, it never fails to impress and thrill in the glass. Loaded with zest and mineral intensity this vintage is slight smoky reductive with flinty notes and a medium bodied palate of tart peach, tangerine, earthy melon and crisp apple fruits, a touch of spice, almond bitterness, wet stones, wild herbs, a subtle round wood feel and a fresh salty sea shore element. This bright gold and stony wine, by the legendary Yves Canarelli, is from all organic and biodynamically certified vines planted in 1997, set on pure granite based soils, which helps keep that fresh detail and the mentioned mineral intensity. For this bottling, Canarelli employs a gentle whole cluster pressing and tank fermentation with a small portion of which is barrel fermented and sees partial malolactic, with aging done in mostly in large foudres, along with some older, neutral small barrels. As mentioned before, I love all of these Canarelli wines, and while most are from native grapes, they do have some international varietals still mixed in here with smatterings of Cinsault, Syrah, Muscat and Grenache, to go along with ancient Etruscan imports like Sciaccarellu (Mammolo) and Niellucciu (Sangiovese) which are now considered long time indigenous grapes. Canarelli has also brought back to life grapes like Carcaghjolu Neru, Biancu Gentile and Minustellu, that were almost lost to history.

Clos Canarelli, as importer Kermit Lynch notes, is based near the remote village of Tarabucetta, outside of Figari on the southern tip of Corsica, and along with Abbatucci, is one of Corsica’s leading lights, handcrafting a stunning array of wines based on traditionally native grapes. Yves Canarelli has made quite an impact not only in Corsica, Lynch adds, but in mainland France as well, such are the glories from his cellar. As a former student of economics who turned to enology, Lynch continues, Yves strikes a fascinating balance between thoughtful intellectual and ardent traditionalist. Since taking over the family domaine in 1993, he has championed the restoration of native Corsican varietals, bringing attention to some long forgotten rarities like Carcaghjolu Biancu, Paga Debiti, Barbarossa and Biancu Gentile, to name a few. The appellation Corse Figari lies along a plateau just inland from the coast, where grapes have been farmed since the 5th century B.C. and even though Figari is regarded as the most ancient growing region of Corsica, it still is way under the radar. Kermit Lynch believes it has taken pioneers like Canarelli to bring it to the world’s attention. If you’ve never had Corsican wines, you must try these Clos Canarelli wines, especially their Corse Figari Rouge, made from 80% Niellucciu, 15% Syrah, 5% Sciaccarellu, and this Corse Figari Blanc Vermentinu, both of which are standard bearers of quality and terroir. In recent years, as I’ve written in some of my reviews, Canarelli has done a limited series of white and reds that are Amphora raised, which are really standouts in his lineup ad I highly recommend searching them out, they are worth the extra pennies, or big bills, but the regular bottlings like this are seriously rewarding too.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2019 Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Pagani Ranch, Sonoma Valley.
The glass staining dark purple/garnet Ridge Pagani Zinfandel again shows off a full bodied palate of black raspberries, sweet plum, creme de cassis, sandalwood, Turkish fig, sticky lavender and mocha notes. This 2019 vintage, which saw 90% Zinfandel, 6% Petite Sirah and 4% Alicante Bouschet in the blend, is deep and has lovely aromatics with subtle toasty sweet wood, dark florals, all spice and mineral toned graphite notes and even open 24 hours holds nice acidity and feels perfectly structured in the mouth. Sonoma Valley’s Pagani, like Bedrock and Old Hill Ranch dates back to the late 1800s and is Heritage Vineyard, interplanted traditionally with historic vines led by Zinfandel, which is clearly dominate in this Rigde version. Like their classic Lytton Springs, in Dry Creek, there is a dose of old vine Alicante Bouschet here, which acts like a secret sauce here and adds to magic, while the Petite Sirah adds color, chocolate and a bit of a backbone to the Zinfandel main course. Ridge brought in Shauna Rosenblum, in 2022, who’s family has Zin in their veins, to make the Sonoma wines, following John Olney, Mr Lytton Springs, and she’s done a fabulous job of continuing the excellence we’ve come to expect in these wines. As this 2019 finished up it really filled out adding some savory briar and subtle earthiness which was even more compelling.

The Pagani Ranch, as I’ve mentioned before, was originally planted by Felice Pagani in the 1890s and many of the old vines still provide the base for this wine, even though Ridge’s blocks have seen some re-planting with some young vines coming into production with the 2015 vintage, though overall most of the acreage here consists of 100 plus year old vines, which are, as you’d expect, mostly Zinfandel along with a small percentage of Alicante Bouschet, Mataro (Mourvedre) and Petite Sirah. Ridge, as the winery notes, has produced a Pagani Ranch bottling each year since 1991, adding that the foggy mornings here, on this picturesque site just off Hwy 12 near the town of Kenwood, the gravel, loam and clay soils and the old vines make for small yields and energy filled berries that makes these wines compelling with fruit density and savory complexity with moderate tannins, all of which allows these wines to be enjoyed young, but still have good aging potential. Ridge promotes sustainable and organic methods and makes these Zinfandel wines with low intervention using native or indigenous yeasts and natural malos. The Ridge wines are most all aged in specially extended air dried American oak barrels, with this wine seeing mostly used wood and saw an elevage of about 12 months before bottling. I, as noted many times, am a huge fan of Ridge’s Zin blends and Carignane bottlings and I highly recommend chasing down this Pagani.
($55 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine du Bel Air – Gauthier, AOC Bourgueil Rouge “Grand Mont” Loire Valley, France.
The depth and complexity here in the Gauthier’s 2020 Domaine du Bel Air Grand Mont Bourgueil Rouge is nothing short of exceptional and it should age for an eternity in the bottle, maybe 25 years or more, but it is a gorgeously pure Cabernet France now too. This dark garnet and ruby edged beauty delivers a classic earthy seduction of Loire Franc with medium/full bodied palate of crushed blackberry, wild plum, red currant and black cherry fruits, along with a mix of violets, a light note of herbaceous bell pepper, leather, minty anise, cedar, chalk and truffle. The youthful tannins and acidity are gripping and catch your attention, but they are not harsh, they just remind you of how serious this wine is and the finish is outstanding, you’ll be rewarded for patience and best to enjoy it with a hearty meal. This is a sublime effort, and I tasted this on a day when I had the famed Clos Rougeard, which was glorious but this Bourgueil more than held its own.

Years ago, when importer Beaune Imports, while searching for a producer in the Bourgueil area of the Loire Valley, it was none other than the late legendary Didier Dagueneau who was the first to recommend Pierre Gauthier to them and his wines have been a big part of my own celebration of Bourgueil, along with the Bretons. Pierre Gauthier broke on to the Loire Cab Franc seen in 1979, and now with his son Rodolphe at his side making the wines his estate is one of the best of the region. As Beaune Imports notes, this master of Cabernet Franc farms 18 hectares in the village of Benais—the heart of the Bourgueil AOC, with all natural methods, employing a second late pruning and green harvests to improve quality and concentration. The Gauthier way is to de-stem 100% of their grapes and employ native yeasts for long cuvaisons in cement vats lasting up to three weeks after which the wine is pressed off to larger old barrels to be aged. The cru Grand Mont is one of the regions most prized vineyard sites with the famous Tufa (chalky) limestone very much influencing the wines here, and this deep version is absolutely stunning.
($55 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Courbet, Poulsard, AOC Côtes du Jura, France.
The beautifully delicate and light pale ruby hued Courbet Poulsard is fresh, vivid and slightly savory in the glass with crushed berries and herbaceous aromas and a light framed palate of tart strawberry, sour cherry, orange and red peach fruits, along with stony/mineral tones, peppery spices, minty notes and a lingering earthy element. Coming from ancient seabed and limestone soils, this organic Poulsard, which was hand tended and harvested, saw a natural indigenous yeast fermentation and almost no sulfur. It’s well known that Poulsard has very loose bunches with very thin skins, making sorting very important for the best results. The Courbet’s red grapes are de-stemmed and this Poulsard sees a 24 hour cold soak and then is fermented and then aged a full year exclusively in stainless steel vat, all to produce a wine of purity and crisp detail, as this 2023 vintage perfectly and transparently shows.

Maybe a bit surprising, all biodynamic Domaine Courbet flies under the radar, but is one of the oldest and most traditionally natural family estates in the Jura and Château Chalon, which was originally founded in 1869 with vineyards, livestock and grains. Over generations Domaine Courbet gradually evolved to grow only grapes and make wine here for the last 50 years and is now run by the father and son tram of Jean-Marie and Damie Courbet. Their estate is tiny by modern standards at just about 7.5 hectares of vineyards, but with prime parcels in the famed Château-Chalon, as well as plots around Domblans and Menétru. Courbet’s US West Coast importer Beaune Imports says the reds, all farmed Biodynamic since 2005, like this Poulsard, the Trousseau, and Pinot Noir, are grown in light marne soils with some limestone, which contribute to the wines having distinct terroir. I was thrilled to taste through the current releases here at Courbet, courtesy of Beaune Imports and I was very impressed with the whole lineup, with the reds, especially the Trousseau and this Poulsard being standouts.
($40 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 La Marea by Ian Brand, Grenache, Central Coast.
Again I’ve focused quite a bit of attention on these new releases from Ian Brand, and his La Marea label, especially this exceptional Grenache value coming from his collection of unique and old vine vineyard sites in both San Benito and Monterey Counties, which shows off wonderful purity and varietal character. As seen in prior releases, the La Marea Grenache has an almost Pinot like silky palate with loads of juicy crushed red berries, plum, pomegranate and strawberry fruit(s) that is accented by subtle savory and earthy notes, fresh cut flowers, wild herbs, spice, anise and chalky stoniness. Good acidity, thanks to the cool climate effect of the vintage and the portion of this wine coming from the Ventana Vineyard in Arroyo Seco that provides energy and inner brightness, contrasting nicely with the more fruit density found in the warmer and old vine sites in the mix here. This late release 2021 vintage has really evolved beautifully and is drinking great right now, with this Grenache delivering a performance that goes way beyond the price and is very flexible with food choices, it should go well with all your favorite cuisines, but in particular it shines with grilled meats. Ian Brand has helped define modern Rhône style wines in the Monterey and San Benito area of the Central Coast, making a fresher, low alcohol, and transparent collection of offerings. The newest La Marea wines really are standouts for the price, be sure to check them out as soon as possible, and they are going to sell pretty quickly as Brand’s club members and mailing list usually snap them up fast.

Ian Brand’s La Marea Central Coast Grenache is sourced from multiple sites, including the famous Besson Vineyard, a historic vineyard with vines well over 90 years old, that is set on rocky soils influenced by decomposed granite, limestone and sand. All of which give this wine its concentration and tannic back-bone, was fermented mainly in tank using mostly de-stemmed grapes. The wine was matured for a few months in neutral French oak to allow for transparent nuance and varietal purity, which clearly has worked successfully here in this vintage, especially. This La Marea lineup is Ian Brand’s middle tier collection of Spanish inspired wines, mostly known for the fabulous Albariño, as well as this Garnacha style wine. As I’ve mentioned before, there are some similarities in the La Marea Grenache to the beautifully crafted wines from Spain’s Sierra de Gredos region in the mountains above Madrid. In recent years, as noted previously, we’ve seen some star examples of Grenache in California and not just the nose bleed priceed versions from Sine Qua Non or Saxum, but from producers like Ian Brand here, along with Turley’s Tegan Passalacqua, (Turley Cellars & Sandlands), Angela Osborne, (Tribute to Grace & Folded Hills), Sheldon Wines, Birichino, Randall Grahm, (Language of Yes), Stolpman, Tablas Creek and Whitcraft to name just a few. If you are a Rhône enthusiast, Brand does some must try wines, including his single vineyard series under his signature label with his Besson Vineyard Grenache and his Graff Mourvedre from the Chalone AVA being two I’d recommend, along with this one.
($25 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Domaine Pêcheur, Cuvée des Trois Cépages, AOC Côtes du Jura, France.
The elegant, limpid pale ruby/garnet hued and delicately crafted Côtes du Jura Rouge “Cuvée des Trois Cépages” by Domaine Pêcheur is a pretty equal blend of Poulsard, Pinot Noir and Trousseau that delivers a smooth and fresh palate of bright cherry, strawberry, brambly huckleberry and burnt orange fruits, along with subtle earthiness, a stony element, briar spice, faint rose petal florals minty herbs and a light sense of cedary wood. This wine really captures the soul of the Jura region in the glass, it delivers a classic performance and is definitely a great wine to start exploring this unique winegrowing area. The domaine has many older vine parcels scattered in the slopes of the Côtes du Jura and does a range of small lot handcrafted wines, these include single varietal offerings of Chardonnay, Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir and Savagnin, along with a couple of blends, like this one, as well as a Crémant du Jura, which gets a full three years on the yeast. The whites, mainy done with oxidative complexity, still are vibrant and mineral driven, but will mostly only appeal to the hardcore Jura fans, though the reds are more crowd pleasing, especially this very easy quaffable Cuvée des Trois Cépages (Three Grapes Cuvée) that enjoys a slight chill and rustic cuisine.

The Domaine Pêcheur, founded in 1976, is owned by Christian, who studied at Lycée Viticole in Beaune, and Patricia Pêcheur, started with a tiny parcel of vines in the Darbonnay area of the Jura and now produce a classic selection of regional offerings, including a traditional Château-Chalon Vin Jaune and lighter framed and delicious reds like this one. The Pêcheurs, according to their importer Rosenthal Wine Merchants, currently have eight hectares with vineyards primarily situated on the hillside slopes of the villages of Darbonnay and Passenans with an extension into the fabled town of Voiteur for the production of their Château-Chalon. Rosenthal also notes that their vineyards are planted to the classic Jura mix of grape types, which includes Chardonnay, Savagnin, Ploussard, Trousseau and Pinot Noir. The average age of the vineyards here is between 35 to 50 years, which makes for good concentration and complexity in the Pêcheur wines, and the soils are a stony, pebbly mix of limestone, clay and dolomite that adds to the mineral intensity and terroir influence. The Pêcheur whites, as Rosenthal notes, are all barrel-fermented and barrel-aged with their Chardonnay spending two years in barrel without topping up or “non-ouillé” in the traditional sherry like Jura style, while the reds are gently macerated, mostly all de-stemed and then generally aged in small, older barrels for at least one year. I really like this Cuvée des Trois Cépages and recommend it to Jura fans, as well as those that haven’t yet experienced the region in any meaningful way.
($30 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2021 Terroir Al Limit, Terra de Cuques Negre, Priorat DOQ, Spain.
Coming from different vineyards around Torroja del Priorat, this Terroir Al Limit Terra de Cuques Negre with 50% Carignan and 50% Grenache is a beautiful blend of local varieties, that, as the winery says, perfectly captures the complex soul and soils of the Torroja terroir. The deep color and dark floral aromatics alone captivate and seduce the senses and the full bodied and firmly tannic palate complete the mission with a gorgeous array of boysenberry, black cherry, plum, blueberry coulis and currant compote, as well as mineral crunchiness, savory Umami, wild shrubs, dried herbs, flinty stone and licorice. The Priorat is widely known for areas of black slate and contrasting clay and sparse soils, with the winery explaining that the Llicorella soil grown Carignan establishes the structure, backbone and acidity while clay-born Grenache lends the elegant (and richness) expression of red fruit. The organically and biodynamically farmed vines range from 25 to 40 years old and grow up at 400 meters in elevation, which explains the intensity or fruit and good acidity seen here. The winery goes on to mention that the carefully selected grapes are vinified for about 10 days in whole bunches with wild yeasts in cement and inox tanks before before being pressed off and then the wine sees close to 8 months of further aging, also in cement and inox (stainless tanks), which is a savvy move away from the more oak driven wines of the 90s and early 2000s. The Catalan DO Priorat was formally created in 1954, noted for its black slate and quartz soil known as llicorella, is one of only two wine regions in Spain to qualify as (a) DOCa, the highest qualification level for a wine region, sitting the Priorat alongside Rioja in significance.

The Terroir Al Limit, as noted in prior reviews, has old vines planted mainly 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, as noted above, indigenous yeast, and fermented and aged in concrete or steel 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. The Terroir al Limit label is the flagship range of wines, like this one, deeply inspired by the very old winemaking traditions of Burgundy. Dominik Huber has now fully embraced a biodynamic approach to viticulture, coupled with a gentle, non-intrusive winemaking style that favors whole-bunch fermentation, and concrete or amphora aging as an alternative to oak, which had at times hid the true personality and sense of place. I found this wine to absolutely spot on, reminding me of Saint Cosme Gigondas and Maxime Magnon in Corbières, who Carignan based wines are some of my favorites. Priorat’s history is long one, with grape growing and wine production dating back to the 12th century, when the Carthusian Monastery of Scala Dei was founded in 1194, introducing the art of viticulture here. These carefully selected plots of Garnacha and Carignan, pay tribute to traditions, are individually expressed through this collection of site-specific wines that set Terroir Al Limit apart and make them highly coveted, and I highly recommend them all, especially this one.
($60 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2018 Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny Rouge, Loire Valley, France.
The young and medium bodied 2018 Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny Rouge, 100% Cabernet Franc, starts with an earthy and red fruited nose and its garnet and ruby edged hue in the glass with a palate of red currant, blackberry, dusty cherry and tangy plum fruits, along with hints of anise, leather, wild mushroom, bell pepper and violet flowers. This wine, known as “Le Clos” is made from 15 separate organic clayey-limestone plots in Saumur-Chapigny area of the Loire Valley, which the winery says, preserves the natural crisp purity fruit of the Cabernet Franc grapes and expresses the often delicate and spicy floral notes, as seen here on Clos Rougeard’s gorgeous 2018 vintage. One of the first cult natural wines, the legendary Clos Rougeard, producers of unicorn bottlings of Cab Franc and Chenin Blanc, are not often seen out in the world, so it was a thill to try this bottle recently. It’s a rare occasion to try these highly coveted wines and this was perfect chance to make notes of a current vintage and savor it at my own pace. At Clos Rougeard, the wines evolve and refine over time, as they themselves say, they are best after many years in the cellar, though this 2018 was already showing fabulously well. The finesse and depth here are the results of minimum intervention in cellar, and two full years‘ barrel aging and several years’ bottle aging in the Foucault’s tuffeau stone cellars, seven meters below ground.

The famous Clos Rougeard, pioneers in natural winemaking in the Saumur area and totally organic for close to eight generations, produces some of the world’s greatest Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc in Saumur-Champigny, near the village of Chacé in the Loire Valley. The estate was taken over by brothers Bernard (better known as “Nady”) and the late Charly Foucault in 1969, even though it has been in family hands since 1894. As well documented over the last 20 to 30 years, Clos Rougeard has a cult producer, and collector item for the true enthusiast set, because of the high quality and extremely limited nature of the wines. Clos Rougeard makes around 2500 cases annually, and if you get any, you are very lucky indeed, especially the Brézé (Chenin) and the single cru Francs, led by the Les Poyeux, a wine to rival first growths and Burgundy Grand Crus and the Le Bourg, which the winery feels is the ripest and fleshier of the two. Staying true to their passion, Clos Rougeard has not used chemicals in the vineyard for over a hundred years now. Over the last 20 years I’ve been able to experience Clos Rougeard a handful of times and I’m always blown away with the depth and complexity of the wines, though there was a gap between the last time and this bottle of Saumur-Champigny Rouge, which allowed me to look and sample it from a new perspective, but with no less sense awe, these are iconic Loire Valley wines that should be on your bucket list. The loss of Charly a few years ago now, had been a huge shock to fans of Clos Rougeard, but the wines are still as rewarding and age worthy as ever.
($179 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Barmès-Buecher, Riesling, Rosenberg, Vin d’Alsace, France.
I always love tasting the wines of Barmès-Buecher, who are one of my favorite producers in Alsace, joining Domaine Weinbach and Marcel Deiss, and this Rosenberg cru Riesling is an absolutely beautiful wine with pretty aromatics, a bright straw/gold hue in the glass and a smooth lush medium body on the palate. The nose is full of bright orange blossoms, stony notes and delicate rosewater leading to classic layering of lime, apple, quince and golden fig fruits, along with a striking minerallity, a touch of tropical lychee, clove and cardamom spice, flinty wet stone and spearmint. This dry, but lush and saline infused Riesling begs for food, I’d love to enjoy this one with cracked crab or grilled lobster tail, though it would be lovely too with ham and cheese, such is the flexible nature of this wine. According to the winery, due to its north/northeast orientation of the Rosenberg vineyard Riesling cru gets a more lengthy maturation on the vine, this adds to the brilliance of detail, complexity and elegance, as seen here. The Rosenberg slopes sit on clay, limestone, flint and chalk, which adds to the depth of flavors and very much influence the personalities of the Riesling wines made from here. These Barmès-Buecher bottlings, imported by Sacred Thirst Imports, are extremely well crafted wines that are pretty rare, but well worth the chase to find, adding to the rewarding feeling when you catch one.

The Domaine Barmès Buecher, originally founded in 1985, which is pretty recent history in this region, is a small family owned Alsace estate located in the town of Wettolsheim, which has some 16 hectares across the prime crus of Wettolsheim, Wintzenheim, Turckheim and Eguisheim. This highly regarded domaine is run by Geneviève Barmè, and along with her children Sophie and Maxime, who farm Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois and Chardonnay with all biodynamic practices. Barmès-Buecher has a collection of massale (clones) selections in their organic vines, and along with a careful attention to yields they see a dynamic quality of fruit, and with what the winery says is minimal intervention in the cellar, results in a range of wines that truly transmit the specific terroirs with transparency. For the Rosenberg Riesling, the grapes are all hand harvest with carefully selected clusters in the vineyard and in the winery with a gentile pressing over 12 hours before fermentation exclusively in stainless steel vat. This wine was made without malolactic conversion and was aged 9 to 12 months in a combination of 50% stainless steel and 50% used oak cask, with works well to promote exceptional balance. This winery is most noted for the poise and subtle expression of fruit and this Rosenberg Riesling hits that mark almost perfectly. I highly recommend searching out these Barmès-Buecher wines, with eye for their Rieslings, as well as their Pinot Blanc, which I also tasted, and their Crémant d’Alsace Brut Zero sparkling.
($38 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2022 Domaine Cartaux Bougaud – Château de Quintigny, Pinot Noir, Côtes du Jura, France.
I had not had the wines by Domaine Cartaux Bougaud in the Jura before this brilliant, dark ruby, delicate Pinot Noir AOC Côtes du Jura offering recently, which impressed me with lovely clarity and mineral tones and a medium silky body. The mouth is classic Pinot fruit with black cherry, briar laced raspberry, plum and blood orange layers, a nice mix of tea spices, a touch of truffle, earth, crushed roses and a lingering chalky note. The vineyards of Cartaux-Bougaud, I read, are planted on gentle to relatively steep limestone rock and marl sites with variations of clay, sand and silt topsoil mostly derived from the underlying bedrock, and sit between 250 and 300 meters of altitude. The wines, including the reds, like this Pinot Noir, see cool, mostly natural fermentations and the wine is in aged close to 12 months a combination of vessels including stainless steel, enameled concrete vats and ancient 228-liter French oak. Winemaker Sébastien Cartaux, I understand, is looking for transparency and purity, wanting to impart more savory notes, less fruity in profile, alongside the lifted fruit and flower aromas, which he implies is a more terroir driven personality or profile. I also tasted the AOC L’Étoile Chardonnay, which I liked, but this Pinot Noir stood out for the quality and it is definitely a wine to look out for and one I plan to buy for personal use.

The Jura’s Domaine Cartaux Bougaud, run by Sébastien and his wife Sandrine Cartaux who took over from their parents, Anne-Marie Bougaud and Guy Cartaux in 1993, is a small family estate that is relatively young for the region, with their first harvest done back in 1973 on a small parcel in L’Étoile area. The 20-hectare estate, which was organic-certified in 2022 produces Chardonnay and Savagnin from AOC L’Étoile, as well as reds made from Poulsard, Trousseau, and Pinot Noir, as seen here, from the Côtes du Jura. Their wines, according to the Cartaux’s importer The Source Imports, are crafted in numerous cellars, including the ancient Château de Quintigny, again as seen here with the Pinot Noir, using both traditional “ouillage” method with air space left in the barrel and the region’s unique oxidative aging process, essential for producing the renowned Vin Jaune, as well as topped up barrel wines, which show off a cleaner and fresher profile. The terroir here, as noted above, has the Jurassic era limestone soils, like the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir areas of Burgundy, which allows those varietals to really shine here, as this one does, but there’s also their Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau and Gamay to look forward to, plus Cartaux does some sparkling wines, which I hope to sample in the near future. The Jura is still a mystery and remains a region on the rise with a mix of old school and modern wines, plus a new generation also starting to make their present felt, there’s never been a better time to explore it.
($35 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 Renardat-Fâche, Cerdon, Méthode Ancestrale, Sparkling Rose Wine, AOC Bugey, France.
Made by a small family winery that is now on to their 18th generation, the Renardat-Fâche’s Cerdon Rosé from the Bugey region between Lyon and Geneva, in the Jura’s remote hillsides is a wonderfully expressive disgorged Pet-Nat that is absolutely delicious with a zesty palate garden strawberries, red peach, blood orange and sour red cherries, along with a hint of yeasty brioche, red apple, mineral notes, delicate florals and wild herbs. Fresh and vibrant, with a little kiss of sweetness, this Méthode Ancestrale bubbly is a fun all organic quaffable wine of easy and tasty seriousness, but without pretense, great for any occasion. The Renadat-Fâche winery is based in the small village of Mérignat and they farm a mix of grapes on a clay and limestone terroir, which brings out the complexity of fruit in the wine. The bright ruby Cerdon Bugey Rosé Sparkling Wine is blessed with low alcohol, just about 8%, and It is made from a combination of Gamay Noir and Poulsard, following those ancient traditional techniques.

The Renardat-Fâche Cerdon Bugey bubbly is done Pet-Nat style or “Méthode Ancestrale” which, as the winery notes, is a fermentation technique that makes it possible to obtain a sparkling wine without the adjunction of any yeast nor sugar, like is done in Champagne. The fermentation process here is natural, and uses only the yeasts and sugars contained in the grapes. There’s a first phase at Renardat-Fâche that happens in thermo-regulated tanks, where the fermentation process starts, in this case after a short skin contact to produce the bright Rosé hue. Then after a light filtration, the wine is bottled immediaty, and fermentation process continues, producing the bubbles and or a fine almost creamy foam. The Bugey region got its full AOC in 1958 and the sparkling Rosé here got its Cerdon Vin de Bugey certification in 2009 and Ranadat-Fâche has been at the top of the producers here since the beginning and continue to be the winery to set the standards for quality. Cerdon Sparkling Rosé wines are hand crafted wines that remain a unique rarity in the United States and I highly recommend getting out and discovering them as soon as possible, with this Renardat-Fâche version at the top of my go to versions along with long time classic producer Patrick Bottex, which usually is an easier find thes days.
($26 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2018 Sandlands Vineyards, Mataro, Enz Vineyard, Lime Kiln Valley, San Benito County.
The beautifully pure, dark garnet Sandlands 2018 Mataro, sourced from hundred year old vines in the Enz Vineyard in the San Benito County, shows of vivid layers of blackberry, Concord grape, plum and black cherry fruits, along with dark florals, mineral and earthy elements, cedar, wild sage, fennel and minty herbs. The full bodied palate is lightly tannic and still primary fruited at the start and there’s nice acidity, so everything is still very fresh, but it gets more evolved and richer with air. I have tried to hide away my bottles of Sandlands Mataro and this 2018 is just now showing off the beauty and complexities of this varietal Sandlands Vineyards, as noted here in my reviews, is the personal project of Turley Cellars head winemaker and vineyard manager Tegan and his wife Olivia Passalacqua. The line-up of Sandlands, as the Passalaqua’s add, encompasses many the forgotten classic California varieties, like this Carignane, plus Cinsault, Mataro (Mourvèdre), Zinfandel, Chenin Blanc, which is making a huge comeback and the extremely rare Mission grape, that are primarily grown on California’s decomposed granite (sand), from regions and vineyards that have been farmed for many generations, but have somehow, as Tegan puts it, remained the outliers of California viticulture. These vines are primarily old gnarly head-trained, dry-farmed and own rooted, with the vineyards Sandlands work with being sites that take us back to California’s roots. The wines here highlight the hardworking farmers of yesteryear and the honest and authentic wines of a different era, they pay tribute to the state’s fascinating history of rugged viticulture. Made using classic old school methods with lots of whole bunches, native yeast fermentation(s), with lots of gentle hands and feet being employed and aging or elevage being done in well seasoned (used) oak barrels.

The Enz Vineyard in the Lime Kiln AVA of San Benito County, most of which I learned from winemaker Ian Brand, who had in previous vintages made a great version also, was planted in 1922 on a north facing 5-10 degree slope, set on calcareous and granitic loam soils gets warm/hot days and cool nights that make for top notch Mourvèdre, aka Mataro and or Monastrell. Ian told me that the Enz Mourvèdre budwood was sourced from the original 1860s planting(s) in the Lime Kiln Valley, supposedly brought over by a vigneron when he emigrated from France. Mourvèdre, a grape that was originally from Spain, but maybe best known in France’s Provence as in the great wines of Bandol, like those of Domaine Tempier, as well as in the Rhône, especially in Châteauneuf-du-Pape where it is found in some elite wines like Beaucastel and Vieux Telegraphe. Old vines of Mourvèdre are found in Sonoma Valley and Contra Costa County, along with the Central Coast in places like this, in San Benito and Chalone, with more modern plantings found in Paso Robles and Santa Barbara County. Again, as I’ve suggested, If you are looking to explore this grape in California, I suggest you search out Ridge Vineyards, old releases Dirty & Rowdy, Cline Cellars and Bonny Doon’s Old Telegram, plus modern versions by Sandlands, Tablas Creek, Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!, Desire Lines Wine Co., as well as Ian Brand’s latest stuff to name a few. This Mataro was really entertaining, especially over the course of two days, in fact it was much more enthralling on day two and was great with food, with meaty dishes being the best choice, but hard sheep cheeses also bring out extra depth here. I’m a big admirer of Tegan Passalacqua’s efforts here with his Sandlands Vineyards label, not to mention the Turley wines he oversees in his day job, and I highly recommend getting on his mailing list. The new releases from the 2023 vintage are coming out soon and I wouldn’t miss them, they look to be an elevated set of vines, my favorites include this one, plus his set of Carignane, Cinsault and Zinfandel reds, as well as his new Assyrtiko white, which is an exciting Greek varietal that has found a happy home in California.
($42 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Thibaud Boudignon, Anjou Blanc, Loire Valley, France.
Since I first reviewed this Anjou Blanc, in the 2014 vintage, the wine has almost doubled in price and it is extremely hard to find, but this 2023 is beautiful and excitingly electric in the glass with a crisp mineral driven dry Chenin profile. This aromatic and vigorous medium bodied pure Chenin Blanc has a ice mouth-watering salinity and more expressive fruit than I remember from past vintages, with green apple, melon, pear, tart mango and quince fruits, along with subtle spice, flinty stones, dry honey and wild herbs. The ex-Bordeaux native, Thibaud Boudignon, who’s already a wine geek and Chenin hero, ferments this one, with all de-stemmed grapes from all biodynamic vines on mainly schist and clay soils, in a combination of steel and wood. Prior wines were extremely austere, while this one, maybe because of baby fat, shows a more generous nature, while still being poised and elegant, very impressive stuff and I think it will be a huge hit with Thibaud’s large following and Loire enthusiasts.

These Thibaud Boudignon wines are thrilling, but with a cult like following, and as mentioned in my prior reviews, they are almost impossible to find on wine shop shelves, so it is always exciting to get a chance to try new releases of his Anjou Blanc, which is, as seen before, a wonderfully dry expression of Chenin Blanc from the Loire’s Anjou region. The charismatic and talented Thibaud Boudignon, founded his own label in 2009, as noted previously, is all biodynamic and uses only native (indigenous) yeasts for his whites and no malo, but with this one he does use between 20% and 30% new oak with 228L, 350L and 700L size barrels. The Anjou Blanc is crafted from 100% Chenin Blanc from 35 plus year old vines set on shallow soils comprised of grey schist and rhyolite (volcanic) that give these wines they unique character and profile, which is very different from areas like Vouvray, Saumur, Chinon and or Montlouis. Boudignon also does some more austere and wonderfully balanced, very rare, Savennières too, which I was lucky enough to taste as well, the notes on those will follow in due course.
($58 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2024 Joyce Vineyards, Rosé, Arroyo Seco AVA, Monterey County.
The first American wine of the 2024 vintage for me is the Joyce Rosé, made from Grenache Noir and Gamay Noir grown on stony soils in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County, influenced by the cool Pacific and cool vintage, it is bursting with electric energy and ultra bone dry crispness! Winemaker Russell Joyce, who is one of California’s most committed Gamay producers, loves this combo for his Rosé and it is a fabulous delicately whisper pink hue in the glass and mineral driven on the fresh vibrant light framed palate with ruby grapefruit, sour cherry, strawberry water and crushed brambly raspberry fruits, along with saline, wet stones, wild herbs, a hint of rosewater and tart watermelon. This zest Rosé is loaded with zingy acidity and is great with mussels, claims, oysters and sashimi, it also makes for a low alcohol aperitif and palate refresher. The Gamay and Grenache play a ying and yang balancing act here with the high acid Gamay being tamed slightly by the more fruit and body of the Grenache, making a very unique California dry pink to enjoy young. The latest GSM at Joyce is another under the radar favorite of mine and all of the Joyce wines are exceptionally well priced and easy on the wallet.

Over the years, Joyce has championed the Arroyo Seco zone and from Riesling, Albariño and Sauvignon Blanc to Rhône and Burgundy varietals, he’s shown some of region’s potential, he says, the rocky soils, strong winds and heavy marine influence define the wines here. He adds, that he believes the wines should be a reflection of the terroir and not the cellar. To achieve that goal he is pursuing all organic farming practices and practicing sustainability in all aspects of his production, going on he feels that is imperative the showcase the very best quality and true sense of place. Joyce tries to avoid all additives, again explaining that he thinks that’s the best way to have greatest expression of terroir possible. There’s an exceptional clean and dynamic quality and character to all of the Joyce bottlings, he employed lots of inox primary fermentations, even with his native yeast fermentation, and there’s almost no new wood used here, everything is about purity and vivid flavors, as seen here in this brisk and refreshing Summer quaffer, that is available in magnums too. There’s a bunch of exciting things coming from Joyce and his red Gamay bottlings have a cult like following, but there’s also a very intriguing set of single vineyard, small lot, Pinot Noirs under his Russell Joyce Collection label that are worth searching out too.
($25 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive

2013 Pàcina, Il Secondo, IGT Toscana Rosso, (Castelnuovo Beradenga), (Chianti Classico), Italy.
The pure, dark hued and earthy Il Secondo, or “Donesco” IGT Rosso 2013 by Pàcina is a blend of 95% Sangiovese, 3% Canaiolo and 2% Ciliegiolo that is sourced from younger vines, around ten years of age, and is aged exclusively vat, mainly in cement tanks with some getting inox (stainless) depending on the vintage. A wonderfully mature full bodied palate shows of old school and raw Sangiovese character with brandied cherry, plum, brambleberry and reduced strawberry fruits, along with sous bois, tobacco, bay leaf, truffle, dried rose petals, minty herbs and leathery savory elements. The recent history of Pàcina starts in the 1960s with Enzo Tiezzi, a professor at the University of Siena, started living at the property and helped pioneer sustainable eco friendly wine growing in the region. Pàcina is located on the southern slopes of the Chianti hills where the soil, is what they call, the ‘Tufo di Siena’ which is chalk laced and typical of the area. This soil was deposited from prehistoric seas that covered the landscape during the Pliocene period and were, as the winery says, deposited about 5 million years ago. It is a predominantly sandy terrain of rolling hills with a warm southern exposure, which also contains, not just the mentioned limestone, but clay and small rounded pebbles known locally as “ciottoli” whose characteristic shape was moulded by the oscillation of the sea-waves and the flux of river water running off the hills. This is one of the most distinctive terroirs of the Chianti Classico zone and makes for beautifully age worthy tannic Sangiovese based wines with deep color and richness of palate, while retaining enough natural acidity to stay remarkably fresh in detail. Pàcina’s lineup is mainly native varietals, expressed naturally, though they do have some Syrah planted here as wetland that gets blended into a special bottling of “La Malena” that comprises 80% Ciliegiolo and 20% Syrah from a small parcel that was planted in 1993, making for a very unique wine.

Pàcina, the ancient Etruscan name for the god of wine, is an all natural estate in the Castelnouvo Beradenga area of Chianti Classico set in rolling hills not far from Siena and the site of an ancient Monastery that was founded around 900 A.D. Pàcina is now led by fifth generation winegrower Giovanna Tiezzi and her husband Stefano Borsa who continue the traditions of the Tiezzi family with organic farming and natural winemaking. The 60 hectares of the estate in Chianti Classico sees 10 hectares of cultivated vines, with the remainder being untouched woods, heritage grains, olive groves for pure Tuscan extra virgin oil and orchards. Like some of the other natural wine producers in Chianti Classico, Pàcina is, as the winery says, a story of stubborn passion for the sincerity and purity of their wines, to the point of renouncing, in 2008, of the Chianti Classico DOCG appellation, because their wines did not conform to, at the time, the internationalized standards of the panel. The Pàcina Chianti Classicos were also released a full 5 years after harvest and not the prescribed 2, so they are now labeled as IGT Toscano Rosso(s). The signature wine of the estate is the Pàcina Rosso, from old vines, with much the same make up of this Il Secondo bottling, usually a blend of 95% Sangiovese and small parts Ciliegiolo and Canaiolo, which also get solo varietal bottlings here. This top wine is fermented in cement and then spends 3 full years in a combination of large Slavonian casks, old 500-liter barrels, and cement vats, with no fining or filtering and ultra low sulfur. It’s a wine I look forward to trying soon, but this seductive and sultry Il Secondo is well worth chasing down itself, as this well aged 2013 shows. They, Pàcina, imported by Rosenthal Wine Merchants now, also produce a ripe and dark Rosé or Rosato, that is made from the free-run juice of a single tank of Sangiovese, which ferments naturally in concrete and spends 12 months in well-used 500-liter barrels, an additional wine to look for.
($34 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Dagueneau, par Louis-Benjamin Dagueneau, Pouilly-Fumé “Cuvée XXI” Loire Valley, France.
The Cuvée XXI, maybe a one off, due to a challenging, small-yieldingvintage, which saw only about 40% of a normal crop and a high level of rot toward harvest, meant that Dagueneau in 2021 didn’t do their full collection of wines. Louis-Benjamin ended up blending his various cuvées that would typically be bottled separately into this one wine, so the pedigree here is staggering, as there was no Pur Sang or Silex. I absolutely loved the XXI and found it easier to enjoy in its youth than a more normal vintage, it may never be up to a better vintage, but it is damn good stuff with Dagueneau quality and integrity throughout, showing off intense mineral and stony character and racy lemon/lime, white peach, muskmelon and gooseberry fruit, plus a touch of leesy depth, saline, herbs, wet chalk and tangy acidity. Impressive in the glass, hinting at the Dagueneau grip and aging potential, but just divine as is, and maybe a lack of collector interest will make it easier to find and without the secondary markups being as high, for a producer that is so sought after. The wines at Dagueneau, as widely known, have always been raised in oak barrels and through the1980s which included extensive experimentation, there is always a mix of sizes, shapes and percentage of new wood. Mostly used barrels are employed to allow for complete single site transparency in these awesome Sauvignon Blancs. The winery says the oak use varies in degree depending on vineyard and vintage. The Dagueneaus over the years, it is also noted, have worked with many the world’s great artisan barrel makers to create some uniquely-shaped, cigar like, very low-toast barrels and small foudres to age their wines in. Even in a difficult or off year, such as 2021 proved to be, you can count on Dagueneau to overcome almost any shortcomings

The Dagueneau’s family history and wines is and will always be linked to the soils here with Kimmeridgian, clay-limestone and flinty Silex all playing a role here and tiny yields give age worthy structures and soulful mineral driven character. One of the wine world’s original rebels, the late Didier Dagueneau, who was one of France’s most iconic producers, was a fourth generation winemaker in the Pouilly-Fumé region, famous for his exploits as a motorcycle racer before turning to his historic collection to wine. He is most famous for his outstanding single parcel Sauvignon Blanc wines, which his started making in 1982 with his En Chailloux, were unlike anything else being made in the area, but his masterpieces, the Pur Sang and Silex parcels added in 1985 and 1988 respectively are the bottlings that made him famous. He brought passion and a Burgundy like thought process to his vines, in fact he was even mentored by the legendary Henri Jayer, as well as Sancerre maestro Edmond Vatan. Nothing was was left to chance and the incredible care he put into each of his vines was far beyond what anyone else was doing in his area of the Loire and he was just as precise and innovative in the chilly cellars he worked with. Sadly Didier was killed in a light aircraft crash in 2008 at age 52, and the world mourned, but not all was lost as his son has risen to the moment and has in the next almost two decades since has kept every bit of quality and character in the wines. It has been impressive to witness, with Louis-Benjamin thrown in the deep end with unbelievable expectations, and I’ve been lucky enough to have had many occasions to try just released and cellar aged versions of Didier’s wines as well as Louis-Benjamin’s and I can tell you the younger Dagueneau has now almost eclipsed his father and his quiet confidence and his respect for the traditions have Dagueneau world leaders in Sauvignon Blanc! Daguenau wines are true artworks and must try bucket list masterpieces, don’t miss an opportunity to experience any and all you can.
($139 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

January 2025

2012 Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Vintage Champagne, Côte des Blancs, France.
I’ve been on a roll with top Grand Marque Tête de Cuvée Champagnes lately, recently trying vintage Dom Pérignon, Salon and a couple of contrasting Comtes de Champagne bottles, a rare 1975 Brut Rosé and this 2012 vintage, which was an unexpected treat a friend pulled out of his golf bag during a causal round on the links. So while, it wasn’t a sit down studied tasting, the 2012, at least served up in proper glassware, showed fantastically well and it was joyously rewarding and made up for a pretty sad, no birdies, round of golf. The youthful straw/gold Taittinger Comtes de Champagne was rich, full and beautifully expressive with steely mineral, fine small bubbles, vibrant, but creamy with apple, pear, lemon curd, quite, pineapple and peach fruit, along with toast, chalky stone, hazelnut, saline, honeycomb and doughy/yeast brioche notes. Everything was impeccably layered and balanced, not dull or flabby in any fashion whatsoever, even after getting bounced around this was wonderfully rewarding stuff, in a vintage that maybe isn’t as highly regarded. Interestingly a recent bottle of 2012 Salon, was no where near as poised and enjoyable as this Comtes de Champagne, though at this stage that is not unheard of, but still speaks to the measure found here.

Taittinger’s Tête de Cuvee the marvelous Comtes de Champagne has long been regarded as one of the finest bubblies, though it doesn’t get as much hype as Dom or Cristal. The 2002 Vintage of Comtes de Champagne is right up there with the best, I have had many legends from this marque including the 1985, 1988 and the 1990, and while the 2012 isn’’t quite up there with those, it is a gorgeous version and with the benefit of being easy to drink young without any guilt! The Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Tête de Cuvée, the very best of Champagne Taittinger, comes from the exceptional terroir conditions found in the Côte des Blancs region, home to some of the world’s greatest Chardonnay vines. The chalky slopes are located south of Epernay and dominate the ancient limestone of the Champagne plain, with 95% of its vineyards planted exclusively to Chardonnay vines, which what Taittinger says, creates Champagne with a light, delicate aroma full of character and vitality. I find them, expressively mineral, rich in detail, elegantly powerful and luxuriously deep, especially the Comtes de Champagne bottlings, which age impressively as well. The hedonistic Comtes de Champagne is still crafted In the underground silence of the cellars dug out of the chalk quarries of Saint-Nicaise and it sees at least ten years of yeast/lees maturing with about 5% of each vintage getting new oak aging, proving just right amount of toasty charm here.
($179 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Combe, Trousseau, Stolpman Vineyards, Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County.
The Jura inspired 2019 Combe Trousseau by Stolpman is deliciously light pale ruby and brick hued in the glass with a seductive earthy red fruit, dried roses and shared cinnamon start along with mineral/fliny notes, minty amaro herbs, bay leaf and persistent brandied cherry, strawberry and sour plum fruits. Smooth tannins, light body, very elegant and Pinot like in feel, this, 13.5% alcohol, natural style Trousseau has nice floral essences and lovely translucent length with a good acidic lift, all in keeping with the grape’s Jura heritage. California Trousseau has been championed by the guys at Arnot-Roberts, Raj Parr, Peter Stolpman, Drake Whitcraft, Tegan Passalacqua at Sandlands Vineyards and Pax Mahle of Pax Wines to great effect over the last decade, making a delightful and quaffable array of lighter style pale ruby red versions, like this Combe bottling, that should be served slightly chilled. The Trousseau grape, as I’ve said before, remains a bit of a mystery in its origins and is thought to have a distant relationship to Petit Verdot, but has been in the remote and high elevation region of France’s Jura for longer than anywhere else that we currently know of, where it is the top red grape and famous in the wines of Tissot, Ganevat (Pein Sud), Labet and Jacques Puffeney to name a few of my favorites. Trousseau is also often blended with Gamay, Poulsard, another rare Jura (pale colored) varietal, and Pinot Noir as well, both in its native home in the Jura as well as here in California. Interestingly Trousseau has been in California more than a hundred years, though it was only used to make a single varietal in the last 20 years, it had just been a mysterious red grape interplanted in heritage vineyards, mostly in the Sonoma Valley. For the Combe Trousseau, Stolpman uses 80% carbonic maceration with whole cluster and stems, along with 20% de-stemmed berries stainless steel tank. After primary fermentation the wine is racked with a gentle pressing to larger format neutral French puncheons 500L made from Vache forest oak.

Pete Stolpman’s most esoteric project is labeled “Combe” which he was spurred on to do with a push from Raj Parr, the famous Sommelier who is based in Santa Barbara, with the name referring to the French word for a small sheltered valley within a vineyard where Stolpman grows tiny parcels of Chenin Blanc, Mondeuse and Trousseau. Raj, who has been a driving force behind Jura and Savoie grapes grown in California, now has now got his Trousseau planted at his Phelan Farm in Cambria. As mentioned before here with some past reviews, Stolpman and Parr decided to make a light red Trousseau, like the classic Jura wines, like those of Ganevat, Puffeney and the legendary Michel Gahier, and a more geeky, a Trousseau Pet’ Nat or “Pétillant Naturel” an ancient method and faster way to make sparkling wine, it is a French term that roughly translates to “naturally sparkling, reviewed a couple of years back. The first vintage for the Combe Trousseau wines was back in 2014, and Pete now have 3.5 acres planted to the varietal, which because of the success of them, hardly seems enough, these are always instant sell outs, especially this bottling. The Stolpman wines are class acts, with their Syrah offerings being exceptional and in recent years they have been adding to their So Fresh lineup that started with their fabulous and playful Love You Bunches -The carbonic whole cluster Sangiovese. Peter Stolpman says, Raj, who started making wines in Lompoc in 2010 with Stolpman, lobbied him to plant Trousseau on the limestone, like many Jura vignerons do, and he believed the sunny warmth and cool breezes in the Ballard Canyon AVA would be ideal for this unique varietal that he was geeky for. Tasted over a few hours, this 2019 vintage kept up the charm and vitality, so considering the simple, low sulfur winemaking, this was a tip top showing for a California version of this grape, the finish even though such a light low alcohol wine was extreme long and pretty. There’s always something new going on at Stolpman and I just learned that Pete has some Jura white on the way, with a small parcel Savagnin bottling set to be released soon, so it is highly recommended to join their mailing list and or visit their tasting rooms in Los Olivios.
($34 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2022 Theopolis Vineyards, Petite Sirah, Estate Grown, Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino County.
The lean, edgy and deeply opaque purple/garnet 2022 Theopolis Yorkville Highlands Petite Sirah is similar, but ripe and fuller than the 2021 version, which was exceptional, showing off a bit less concentrated fruit density than prior versions, loads of spice, some meaty notes and lovely floral notes. The slowly opening and vigorous palate revolves around black fruits, a spicy crunch from the partial whole cluster and stem inclusion with mountain herbs, peppercorns, sticky lavender and feral notes. The mouth fills out with blackberry, damson plum, black cherry and tangy currant fruits, along with smoked meat, truffle, mocha, vanilla, cedar, smoky graphite and framboise. A good cut of acidity and subtle raw tannins make this vintage a nice companion to a robust winter’s meal and or BBQ. Theodora Lee’s The signature Petite Sirah typically in recent years uniquely sees about a third 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 2022 vintage, which saw some heat spikes and a little earlier picks, interestingly enough came in with just about 12% natural alcohol, which is a rare thing in Petite Sirah in the modern era, only 335 cases were made, and it was matured in French oak for close to 22 months with about 30% new wood used and the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. Petite Sirah, which originally came from the southwest of France and is really called Durif, it was a natural crossing of Syrah and Peloursin. The crossing occurred by chance when Syrah pollen ended up germinating a Peloursin vine back in the 1860s where the French botanist François Durif. Durif, hence the name, had kept a nursery of several grape varieties at his home in the commune of Tullins where he most likely had plantings of both Peloursin and Syrah. After coming to California early in the 20th Century the Durif was confused with Syrah and later acquired the names Petite Syrah and Petite Sirah, as it is more as today.

The Theopolis Petite Sirah, as I’ve said many times over the years, is a true terroir driven wine from terraced vines in the Yorkville Highlands, again has a thrill ride for the senses and an almost Northern Rhône, like a Cornas, 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. Again, as mentioned in my previous reviews, Theodora Lee’s Theopolis Vineyards, one of a hand of black owned wineries, is one of the top and most unique 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. This lighter framed 2022 Petite Sirah really grew on me in the glass and should continue to fill out and get more deeply perfumed over the course of a few years and it should go another decade easily, I would advise giving it 3 to 5 years if you can, otherwise decanter and enjoy it with food. The Theopolis full collection of offerings, which include some small lot Pinots and more recently some red blended wines, like Theodora’s new Grenache based Rhône red blend that includes a bit of Petite Sirah, 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. Lee has added a brilliant cool climate mineral toned stainless Chardonnay as well, so there’s a lot of quality choices here. The Theopolis Petite Sirah, still flies under the radar, but it deserves more attention for the terroir and style distinction it delivers and it is a wine that adds to textural tapestry of original California wines. Petite Sirah, which rare in its homeland these days, has become an iconic California varietal, and I highly recommend including these one as must try version.
($42 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2018 Michel Gahier, Trousseau, Le Clousot, Arbois AC, Jura, France.
One of the Jura classics, Gahier’s 2018 Le Clousot Trousseau has a beam of stony red fruits, a light dusting of dried herbs, spice and subtle florals with a light palate of red apple, strawberry, sour cherry, pomegranate and tart huckleberry fruits, as well as leathery notes, tobacco, laurel, chalky tannin and fennel. A spot on example of terroir and varietal, definitely what Jura fan would be looking for, especially from one of the best in the region. Michel Gahier has learned from the best, as neighbor and friend of the now retired Jacques Puffeney, who many consider the grand master of Jura wines. Gahier I understand, harvests and vinifies his wines parcel by parcel. Each wine, his importer says, ultimately is derived exclusively from a single vineyard site. His whites are produced both ouillé (topped-up), more Burgundy like, and old school oxidative “sous voile” (left to form a protective veil of yeast), which is like Flor in sherry, though they all have a minerality that distinguishes them as jurassien. Gahier’s viticulture is all organic, the reds here are 100% de-stemmed, the yields are quite low, obviously making for more intensity. The grapes see a cold maceration followed by a cuvaison of approximately one month with some pigeage done in the initial parts of the process. The wines, both white and red, are bottled without filtration. Rosenthal continues that situated on a southwest-facing slope beneath his Grands Vergers vineyard, Le Clousot is a parcel of the domaine’s younger vines from which Gahier produces a Trousseau in the same fashion as his others, with this wine being a glowingly pale red, but with good persistence, slightly reductive (funky) and notable complexity.

As Neal Rosenthal, Gahier’s importer likes to say, the Gahier family has been resident in the Jura since 1525, and Michel lives right off the main square of Montigny-lès-Arsures, known charmingly as “The Capital of Trousseau. ”The Trousseau grape, as I’ve said before, remains a bit of a mystery in its origins and is thought to have a distant relationship to Petit Verdot, but has been in the remote and high elevation region of France’s Jura for longer than anywhere else that we currently know of, where it is the top red grape and famous in the wines of Tissot, Ganevat (Pein Sud), Labet and Jacques Puffeney to name a few of my favorites, along with Gahier of course, who is a Jura legend. Trousseau is also often blended with Gamay, Poulsard, another rare Jura (pale colored) varietal, and Pinot Noir as well. Gahier top cru it should be noted, “Les Grands Vergers” represents Gahier’s oldest Trousseau vines, planted in the 1940s on a gentle slope with superb exposure to the sun, contiguous with Puffeney’s legendary “Les Berangères” vineyard, and is one of the region’s holy grail wines. Also of intense interest is Gahier’s Chardonnay wines, especially those made from the local clone known as “Melon à Queue Rouge” that has skin color of which bleeds towards a red hue as it approaches the stem. Plus I recommend Gahier’s Côtes du Jura Rouge, “La Vigne de Fort” which is 90% Trousseau and 10% Pinot Noir, as well as his Champagne style Crémant du Jura 100% Chardonnay bubbly and the traditional Vin Jaune made from Savagnin that ages “sous voile” in old oak barrels for around seven years before bottling, it is a classic. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed tasting through the Gahier wines, and especially after Puffeney has now left the scene, though they remain quite rare and hard to get, this bottle was just one of the very few I had got for myself to personally enjoy.
($35 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2012 Salon, Brut Cuvée S, Blanc de Blancs, Le Mesnil, Grand Cru Champagne, France.
With striking aromatics, steely mineral, precise and a poised full bodied mouth feel, there’s not much wrong with the 2012 vintage Salon, except the unbelievably frightening price, making it a wonderful treat to sample, but of which I couldn’t justify buying for myself. I guess, to play in the luxury Champagne House game, the price is the point, which for Salon, you’d understand with its history and pedigree, but not many can throw down the black American Express card for case or two, more power to you if you can. The 2012 vintage maybe only lacks the energy and raw acidity that I remember in young Salon, but over all it is a confident and elegant Champagne with a pale straw/gold hue and a near perfect mousse with gorgeous small beading bubbles and lively impact that leads to a nicely structured palate of lemon, apple, tart peach and quince fruits, along with wet stones, chalky oyster shell verve, a deep sense of mineral, plus hints of clove, honey and lime blossom and a slow build of brioche, toast and hazelnut. The early opulence is a plus for those that dare open a bottle sooner v. later, though this vintage is not as electric as most, and I hear the 2013 is more close to the normal Salon’s of old. How does one explain Salon? Well, I might venture an answer, I have thought of Salon as a sparkling Meursault by an elite producer like Coche or Roulot, or maybe a sparkling Grand Cru Chablis. The Salon Le Mesnil is 100% Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards on the famous chalky white soils of the Côtes de Blancs, which give this rarity its true sense of place and soul with the grapes achieving full ripeness, but retaining striking vitality and steely intensity. Since I’m not wealthy in the league that makes it possible to drink Salon, the sister label Delamotte, sometimes declassified and or non-vintage versions of Salon make up for it and can e had for a fraction of the price seen here.

The Champagne Salon, is a single varietal, a single terroir and a single vintage from the Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru, one of the world’s greatest Chardonnay vineyards, and makes for one of the most sought after Champagnes, marrying the prestige of the Grand Marques with soulful and site distinctive nature of the Grower Producers. Salon, was the mission and inspiration of the legendary Eugène-Aimé Salon, who founded Salon with the 1905 vintage, without question, it (Salon) is a powerful and mineral intense expression of Champagne which can be a terrifyingly disappointing wine when young, typically needed 10 to 15 years extra time in bottle, after disgorgement and release to begin showing its best, but noticeably in recent years has been more open and well mannered while young, as this subtle, rounded and almost delicately natured 2012 presents itself. The winery notes that Champagne Salon comes from the single hectare plot called “the Salon garden” and nineteen other small plots in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger which were originally selected by Eugène-Aimé Salon at the beginning of the 20th century. The wines, slowly pressed and lees aged, are matured in the cellars for an average of ten years, after which, as they finally start to reveal their complexity and finesse desired they are released, the 2012 was only the 43rd edition of Salon in a hundred and twenty years. Eugène-Aimé Salon created his Champagne, that became an unparalleled Blanc de Blancs initially for his personal pleasure only, with winery added that it was not until the 1920s that he was to share his creation with the rest of the world. I first was exposed to Salon with the1988 vintage and then again with the 1992 and 1996, all of which help shape my taste in vibrantly dry style Champagne, and even though I love the exotic nature and richness of Krug and some of exceptional Vilmart offerings, I am tend to be thrilled by Extra Brut single varietal wines, and while listed as Brut, Salon always feels drier to me and I am always grateful for the experience.
($1099 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2016 Domaine Tour Saint Michel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC Rouge “Cuvée du Lion” Rhône Valley, France.
The Domaine Tour Saint Michel, which was completely unknown to me prior to tasting this 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge “Cuvée du Lion” impressed me me and I really enjoyed the mature velvety ripe mouth feel and lovely chocolatey layers of fruit on the full bodied palate, along with this wine’s poise, structure and additional complexity of spicy, earthy and umami elements. Made from blend of mainly Grenache, about 75%, Syrah, 20%, and about 5% Mourvèdre this Châteauneuf delivers ripe brambly boysenberry, sweet plum, fig and candied cherry fruit as well as intense licorice, minty notes, grilled herbs de Provençe, mocha, truffle, leather and delicate florals. This wine saw all hand harvesting, a careful double sorting, both in the cellar and originally in the vineyard. The grapes are 100% de-stemmed and the must went though a long maceration and gentle extraction process to avoid aggressive tannins. Aging was done mostly in concrete vats, for transparency, with only about 20% done in well used French oak cask to add some wood elements without interfering with the direct and pure nature of the wine. The Domaine grown vines, set on the southern are tended with sustainable methods and the picking is done at prime ripeness to ensure smooth and luxurious flavors and textures.

The Domaine Tour Saint Michel has a relatively short history as a producer in Châteauneuf-du-Pape being only a family estate for three generations, stating with Michel Fabre, the founder of the estate in 1930, just one year after the region became France’s first Appellation Control (AOC), who passed on his passion to his son, Henri. Henri, with his wife Eliane, built up the property, extending the estate holdings and today, Domaine Tour Saint Michel has 40 hectares, mostly within the appellation Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Now Mireille, Henri’s daughter, is running of the estate and has done so very successfully since 2007. She says she was inspired by the family tradition but also is noted for bringing a more modern approach to bring up the levels of quality here and promote terroir driven character in the wines. Her daughter, Magali, the next generation here, joined her in 2018 and is now getting her feet wet and looks to help lift this small, under the radar property get to the next level, and this 2016 shows there’s real potential to do just that. Magali has been key to adding a second label La Petite Tour, with some value options, to this estate, with a new range of wines from purchased fruit, with a Cairanne and a Ventoux, along with a Châteauneuf, being new highlights of the collection. The latest vintages of the top wines from Tour Saint Michel has been getting very accomplished ratings and reviews from the American wine press, which I’m sure has brought more attention here and from what I found in this 2016, I’m sure it is very much deserved.
($60 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2016 Domaine François Raveneau, Chablis “Butteaux” Premier Cru, White Burgundy, France.
Run by the brothers, François’ sons, Bernard and Jean-Marie Raveneau, Domaine François Raveneau, is one of the legendary Burgundy estates and arguably the top producer in Chablis, with an outstanding collection of vines, like this Premier Cru Butteaux. Yet, as their importer Kermit Lynch always says, they are humble and stay true to their father’s philosophy in both the vineyards, which is all organic and in the cellar, where a minimal intervention approach is maintained to produce crystalline mineral driven Chardonnays, like this intense flinty 2016 Butteaux. Set on classic clay and chalky limestone of the Kimmeridgian era, with vines that average over 45 years of age the Butteaux, is one of the quieter 1er Cru sites, compared to Vaillons, Montée de Tonnerre and Mont-Mains, but still capable of greatness and purity’s this 2016 version shows. The 2017s are softer and more evolved at this stage, while this 2016 is full of tension, grip and primary character still, quite impressively and I was thrilled with firm steely presence in the glass and its stony nature, it gives clear house style infused performance. The light pale greenish/gold hue is still youthful too, the nose is chalky and subtle with hints of white blossoms and clove spice, while the medium bodied palate possesses flinty lemon, tart peach, green apple, pear and quince fruits, along with racy acidity, ints of reductive hazelnut, matchstick, saline, wet rock, orange oil and more lip-smaking chalk. With air a sense of lees and wood come through, All in moderation and finely tuned balance, this is a wine that needs food. This bottle I sampled at a friend’s birthday party and was able to follow it for an hour or so, and it never toned down or let off the gas, it will need another few years in bottle to give its best, but I absolutely enjoyed it on the night regardless and it was great with ceviche, oysters and soft creamy farm cheese.

The Domaine François Raveneau, as mentioned before, 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 I saw briefly at Kermit’s awesome 50th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting a year ago last November. As you’d expect from a top producer, especially in Chablis, the winemaking is fairly strict, precise and traditional, the grapes are gently pressed with a pneumatic press and settled, then the juice is racked off its lees into cement cuves 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 in these stellar Premier Crus. I’ve been a long time admirer of Raveneau, and have been lucky enough to have tasted them with Kermit Lynch a few occasions and have poured a selection of them at tasting events in the past, these wines are unique and special, even for us long time professionals and industry veterans. Kermit Lynch reminds us always that, the wines of Domaine Raveneau are a rare find—exceptional because the vineyard holdings are almost entirely made of grand cru and premier cru fruit, painfully finite as so few are produced, outstanding because of their tremendous quality and consistency, which I have taken to heart, even if it is hard to see the current prices!
($439 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

1983 Dom Pérignon, Brut Vintage Champagne by Moet et Chandon, France.
One of the world’s most glamorous symbols, the iconic Dom Pérignon luxury Champagne is still a magic force in the wine world, and while many just buy it to be cool at the club, a well aged and cellared bottle is the real treasure, as this gorgeous 1983 showed recently at a surprise birthday party. Tasting Dom, young or old, still is a treat, it is a standard in the Tête Cuvées of the Grand Marques Champagne Houses, and while it is much or hyped and while there is many a fine sparkling wines that rival it, it is a lovely wine that can really shine on the right occasion. The deeply golden hued 1983 Is fully mature and the mousse is finely delicate at this stage, it is showing an obvious stage of old age, but still very much joyous on the medium bodied palate with baked apple, lemony citrus, pie crust, hazelnut, dried orange, autumn leaves, dried figs, toast and wet stone. Not far off what you’d find in an aged white Burgundy, but somehow a bit more lively and this bottle, with perfect fill and a cork that gently hissed as it came out without protest or crumbles, impressed all that tasted it, and it was up against a recent vintage of Salon! Dom Pérignon, a single harvest vintage wine, is always an assemblage of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, although the final composition changes every vintage, it is closer to equal parts than not. The earliest market release of the regular Dom vintage is usually after 8-10 years, with loads of lees aging and refinement in the bottle.

In recent years Dom Pérignon has added many special editions and cuvées to the lineup, including the P or Plénitudes series and the discontinued Œnothèque versions, which are exceptional, plus an artist label every new release, like the colorful Andy Warhal editions with the 2000-2002 vintages and late David Lynch version in 2003. My favorites of the later releases have been the 1990 and 1993 Œnothèque, and the regular bottling of the 1996, so it was very cool to try a privately cellared regular Dom, and it was outstanding. In recent years, I’ve been more in love with Extra Brut Grower Fizz, so this was a good reminder that these old Grand Marques have plenty of rewards to offer and shouldn’t be overlooked, as my friend Julia Macaletti, formerly of San Francisco Wine Trading Company, has always told me, she always stashes her Dom Perignon allocations away for a minimum of 20 years! It’s well reported that Dom Pérignon Champagne is named for a Benedictine monk who was an important historical figure and pioneer for Champagne style wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the Champagne method for making sparkling wines, but his efforts resulted in creating a huge high quality reputation of the Reims village and Champagne as a whole. Interestingly, as I was to learn, the very first vintage of Dom Pérignon was 1921 and was only released for sale in 1936, to those sailing to New York from Europe on the oceanliner Normandie.The Dom Perignon brand, was not well marketed early on and was given by Champagne Mercier to Moët (et Chandon) in 1927 as a gift for a wedding between the two families. After that it fortunes changed dramatically and the legend was born.
($350+ Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Serre Besson, Cru Vinsobres AOC Rouge, Rhône Valley, France.
The Serre Besson Cru Vinsobres, a new wine and producer to me, was a huge hit at a recent Rhône tasting, with this garnet hued and full bodied 2020 vintage showing off deep layers of dark and brambly boysenberry, plum, black currant and candied cherry fruits, along with touches of earth, peppery spice, wild sage (Garrigue), lavender, hints of violet florals and tarry licorice. There’s a sense of purity and energy flowing in this Serre Besson, which is a blend of typically 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 15% mixed with portions of Cinsault, Mourvédre, and Carignan, that all add to the depth and balance. Serre Besson, which was founded in 2016, is owned by Victor Taylor, an American, and his partner Xavier Nyssen, who by chance came across an old selection of old vines with a for sale sign on the road. Since taking over here they have been busy converting the vines to full organic farming and fine tuning the wines in the cellar to show off the potential here, and this vintage is fabulous and delicious effort. The Serre Besson vineyard, which is up at 450 meters and was originally planted in 1961, slopes down from the forested mountain crest with Syrah planted at the highest elevation and the other varieties continuing on down the hill, with a total of 11 individual parcels.

The Vinsobres has, finally, been recognized as its own appellation, a fine terroir Northwest of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, closer to Gigondas, and it is a big upgrade from a generic Côtes du Rhone. I would argue this was long over due, to make this area its own AOC since it has a cooler climate, complex soils and provides for high quality grapes that are some of the best and age worthy in the Rhône region. Vinsobres, which was granted its AOC in 2006, planted mostly to Grenache and Syrah, which sees a higher percentage typically, but also sees some Carignan and Mourvèdre in the mix, deserves to be more widely known, as this wine, and others, like those from Saint Cosme and Gramenon certainly prove. The Serre Besson’s vines sit in hillsides with soils that are a mix of clay, limestone and river stones rich in calcite. Victor and Xavier, of Serre Besson, are fermenting mainly with indigenous yeast and use de-stemmed berries in cement tanks with, they say, a certain proportion of the stems layered back into the tank interspersed with the grapes. The blending of the lots, with most varietals done separately, is done the following spring and the wine is matured in a combination of cement tanks and in 400L oak ovals, about 25% new French oak, which allows for its satiny mouth feel and adds to the wine’s luxurious profile. I look forward to following the Domaine Serre Besson in the future and will definitely enjoy more of the current value packed vintage, which is drinking very nicely right now, but should continue to be rewarding for many years to come.
($25-34 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2015 Les Vins de Vienne, Conrdieu, Les Chambée, Northern Rhône, France.
Like some of Yves Cuilleron’s own efforts, especially his La Petite Côte, the delicately perfumed and stony 2015 Les Vins de Vienne Condrieu Les Chambée is a stylish effort with its own distinctive cascade of layers with a rush of honeysuckle, liquid mineral, crushed stones, peach/apricot and white licorice/fennel leading the way on the smooth refined palate that is almost like clarified cream without being heavy, it possesses graceful leesy mouth feel and has viscosity, but has energy and vigor as well maintaining a steely crisp integrity throughout. A warm vintage lushness is evident with subtle tropical note, but there’s an elegance and finesse here, along with a touch of flinty smoky mineral and saline elements that add complexity to the whole, as well as a natural vitality, that give a lift here. Les Vins de Vienne, a collaboration label between Northern Rhône stars, François Villard, Gaillard and the mentioned Yves Cuilleron, based in Seyssuel, started life by resurrecting ancient Roman vineyard sites that had been forgotten, and I first became aware of their team efforts with the glorious Sotanum (100% Syrah) back in the late 1990s. Across the river from the famous cru sites, most notably Hermitage, Côte Rôtie and Condrieu, on the hillsides north of Condrieu, near Vienne, in the northern part of the Rhône Valley, as mentioned, has Syrah and Viognier varietals mainly planted and Les Vins de Vienne produces three different IGP des Collines Rhodaniennes, including the Sotanum (red), the Taburnum (white) and Heluicum (red) from these vines. I do love the Sotanum 100% Syrah, old clone, Les Vins de Vienne, which is grown on Schist and Quartz soils that delivers a unique and rustic set of meaty flavors and lovely aromatics.

Over the Years the Cuilleron, Villard and Gaillard partnership Les Vins de Vienne added some impressive vineyard sites that didn’t fit their personal domaine labels, these include distinctive parcels spread among the top appellations and are all mostly single “Lieu Dit” bottlings, with micro editions from Côte Rôtie, Saint Joseph, Condrieu, as seen here, Saint Péray and Crozes-Hermitage. I have been a long time fan, as noted above, and I can’t believe they are still flying under the radar, especially with the quality to price ratio they deliver, year after year, and this Condrieu was a wonderful surprise in a lineup of Rhône wines, easily placing first with a bunch of educated wine enthusiasts. The Les Chambée is all Viognier grown on terraced plots with granite and loess soils and gently whole cluster pressed and fermented following tradition with indigenous yeasts in mostly used large French cask or Fûts. The Les Chambée, which sees a nine month elevage in barrel and is bottled typically without harsh filtering, is all hand crafted to promote terroir and varietal purity, which is exactly what is showing in the nicely mature 2015 version. I will note that the aromatics are toned down at this stage and the Les Chambée takes a while to full unwind, but wow, it does so with confidence and poise, this was excellent and expressive Viognier that goes beautifully with a variety of dishes, and soft cheeses, though I might suggest Moroccan lemon chicken, scallops, seared foie gras or pâte. In recent years I’ve gravitated to Yves Cuilleron’s own lineup, and interestingly enough, while I love his Syrahs, it has been his collection of whites that have impressed me most, especially his Saint-Joseph, the 100% Roussanne version called “Digue”, which is absolutely killer stuff, as well as the mentioned La Petite Côte Condrieu. If you’ve not heard of the Les Vins de Vienne label, you are not alone sadly, but you should search these wines out and again they offer a ton of pedigree and value.
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

n.v. Eden Grapes “Gran Marselan” Limited Edition, Cuvée du Centenaire, Vin de France.
This deep garnet 100% Marselan non-vintage red wine starts with a full bodied array of flavors with red currant, plum, earthy cherry and raspberry fruits leading the way with mix of spice, wild herbs, bell pepper, a touch of cedary wood and anise accents. This intriguing wine from the Languedoc, specially crafted at Domaine Mas de Rey is well made and expressive version oof this grape. The brave, audacious and delicious Gran Marselan by Eden Grapes, and founder Christian De Rivel, was crafted to exploit the best individual features of this lesser known varietal, that was originally created by Professor Paul Truel in 1961 in Marseillan. Truel was one of the world’s leading ampelographers in the era, and he was looking to combine the structure and elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon with the disease resistance and rich flavors of Grenache to create Marselan. The quality seemed to be there with Marselan and it goes great in certain climates, but still remains almost unknown in the wine world. This wine is a tribute to Paul Truel and Marselan, also to honor Truel’s 100th birthday, who was born on April 27, 1924, hence the Cuvée du Centenaire on the label and that Eden Grapes decided to make this wine from a range of vintages to give a better representation of the grape. While I, most of the time, am not a fan of multi-vintage wines, I understand what De Rival was trying to do here, to provide a wine that educates as well as pleases the palate, allowing for more dimension and maturity in the glass. To craft this wine, De Rivel sourced the oldest Marselan vineyard in its original location, in the South of France, with 40 year old vines, organically farmed and hand tended, choosing very ripe and carefully sorted grapes. The macerations are done at cool temperatures and the wine each was aged 15 months in used French oak barrels, which were two year old medium toast barriques, with De Rivel painstakingly tasting the barrels to chose the final blend.

The unique French red varietal Marselan, that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache has small berries and was created in 1961 by ampelographer Paul Truel near the French town of Marseillan, where it gets its name. Marselan, which is grown mostly in the Languedoc wine region, as well in the Rhône, plus Israel, it is gaining traction in Italy’s Tuscan Coast, with some plantings now found in the Northern Coast of California. Interestingly, It has also become very popular in China too and I have tried one wine from there that included a percentage of Marselan, which was probably my favorite Asian wine to date. Because of the small berries, Marselan, almost didn’t get to market, but it has made impressive inroads into some regions, where it rarely makes a solo varietal wine, usually it plays a smaller role in blends, which makes this wine even more important, allowing wine lovers a chance to see it purely on its own. The ancient seaport village of Marseillan, which it is believed to have been founded by the Phoenicians, is the oldest village in France, dating back to 600 BC, making it a World Heritage site with many historically significant artifacts and buildings. Located in the Hérault, not far from Marseille, this birthplace of Marselan has a Mediterranean climate and complex soils, making it one of the most interesting under the radar terroirs of the Languedoc, and home to cult favorite Mas de Daumas Gassac, considered the Grand Cru of the Languedoc. De Rivel notes that Marselan was often heralded as the “Grape of the Future” and adds that It thrives where other varietals falter, making it the perfect candidate for organic and sustainable viticulture. He continues that with the challenges posed by climate change, Marselan is a strong contender for the future of winemaking in many places, in fact it is now allowed to be included in areas of Bordeaux, single approval in 2019, though it still cannot be on the label. Just 143 cases were made of this Eden Grapes Gran Marselan bottling and each bottle is individually numbered on the back label, and while this wine may not rock every wine enthusiast, it certainly will appeal to wine geeks that are thrilled with true obscurity in the wine world.
($169 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2019 Bergström, Pinot Noir “Cumberland Reserve” Willamette Valley.
Winemaker Josh Bergström, a Portland native and first generation of his Swedish family to make wine here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, has crafted a beauty from a difficult, but old school Oregon vintage with his 2019 “Cumberland Reserve” Pinot Noir which shows off a very Burgundy like palate of brambly red fruits, spice, mineral tones and a touch of reductive funky earthiness. Named for the road where Josh’s family grew up in Portland, Oregon, the Cumberland Reserve represents, what he says, a blend of some of the finest barrels from five estate-farmed vineyards, all carefully combined to showcase Oregon Pinot Noir at its best. This Cumberland Reserve bottling, Bergström continues, is the epitome of the (his) Bergström style with organic grapes and biodynamic practices in the vineyard and cellar, capturing the expression of a unique vintage’s character combined with a marriage of spice, mineral, and fresh fruit flavors. All of these things flow together here in this elegant Pinot Noir with layers of black cherry, mulberry/blackberry, tart plum, cranberry and bright orange fruits, along with briar, graphite, espresso, cola, delicate dark florals and subtle cedary wood notes. Bergström studied at university in Beaune, France, where he received a postgraduate degree in Viticulture and Enology, which has helped influence his Burgundy like style. There, he also met his Burgundy-native wife, Caroline, so he’s made his experiences last both in wine and in family. I’ve long admired these Bergström wines and I suggest a visit to the winery if you are touring the Willamette Valley.

This Bergström “Cumberland Reserve” Pinot Noir, as I’ve mentioned before starting with the 2010 vintage, is a stunning example of why Oregon continues to intrigue the wine world with this grape, without question it is a wine that seduces the senses and fills the imagination. The earthiness and acidity are remarkably like top Premier Cru Burgundy wines and the intensity and vigor are a welcome surprise considering some the difficulties of the vintage, which saw a damp and cool late season. Bergström, as noted in prior reviews, uses grapes from five estate grown vineyards now as noted above, while before it came from some of his favorite sites to craft this wine and he has in the past sourced some grapes from the famed Shea Vineyard adding some pedigree, while the Estate vines were maturing, and even though Josh Bergstrom is already a star and his wines highly acclaimed and in demand, this label still doesn’t always get the attention it deserves and this wine is an incredible value for the quality on display. This wine reminded of why I have always been a fan of this winery and it got better and more complex over the course of an evening and paired with food, which on the night was a spicy grilled salmon pasta dish. Gentle hand crafted winemaking with indigenous yeasts and lengthy elevage help make these wines very distinctive. The deep garnet/ruby hue in the glass was also very inviting and while I had tucked this bottle away for close to three years, it was beautifully fresh and transparent, making me believe it has plenty of years ahead. Bergström, obviously known for exceptional Pinots, with stunning set of single vineyard wines, also does fabulous Chardonnay wines, as well as a Rosé and a Syrah, all of which I can highly recommend.
($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2017 Cantina Roeno, Riesling “Praecipuus” IGT Riesling Renano TreVenezie, Italy.
This crisply dry and pure straw/gold 100% Riesling from Roeno shows off loads of unique character and has a mineral driven charm with zesty lemon oil, quince, melon, green apple and lime fruits, along with verbena, bitter herbs, flint, wet stone, saline and green almond notes.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 really grew on me over a two day period and was great with an array of cuisines. The soils of Renano (part of theTrentino DOC) wine regions are complex, they include clay, limestone, dolomite granite, sand, and volcanic clay. This Renano Riesling, from true German clones, saw a soft pressing of the grapes and a short maceration before the juice is settled, allowing the green phenolics to drop out before being fermented in cool stainless steel tanks. The clean must is fermented using a carefully selected Geisenheim yeast culture, believed to be from the Mosel, and kept in temperature controlled vats, where this dry wine matured for about twelve months on the fine lees. The winemaking at Roeno, by Giuseppe Fugatti, leans on old German and Austrian traditions, pursuing freshness and transparency, as seen here.

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. The Roeno wines, by the Fugatti family, who’ve lived and worked here for multiple generations have a range of imported options, which is still pretty limited in the States, though they do some Interesting stuff available, including this dry Riesling, that looks like one of their signature wines, along with a Teroldego della Vallagarina I reviewed recently. 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. While Riesling has long been a staple in the Alto Adige, it is not a grape always associated with Italy, but in recent years the varietal has really come into its own here, with some Piemonte versions, especially those by the likes of G.D. Vajra and Germano being outstanding. That said, I have really enjoyed this “Praecipuus” by Roeno and the wines from this remote area that straddles the Veneto and Trentino area and I look forward to exploring the region further in the coming years or vintages. Imported to the United States by Giuseppe LoCascio’s Lucidity Wine Merchants, under the Omniwines banner, Roeno, might not be all that easy to find, but I highly recommend searching out their wines, especially this one, which is a great value too.
($20 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2020 Domaine Etienne Sauzet, Puligny-Montrachet “Les Referts” Premier Cru, White Burgundy, France.
Like all the Sauzet wines I’ve ever had, this beautiful 2020 Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts 1er Cru has intense mineral driven character and loads of youthful acidity, but still has an incredible, maybe vintage influenced, almost Grand Cru like concentration and depth, making for a top notch full bodied white Burgundy. Delicately pale straw/gold in the glass and with a subtle chalky nose, this wine takes a bit of time to unwind, but does so with feline muscle and underlying power, showing off lemon preserves, crisp apple, Bosc pear and zingy gooseberry fruits, along with clove spice, wet chalk, creme brulee, hazelnut and matchstick. A touch of lime, flint/gun metal, rosewater, saline and honey offer a nice contrast when the wine opens up completely. This is certainly one of the most luxurious of Sauzet Pulignys I’ve had, and that’s not a bad thing, it reminds me more of a Batard in terms of impact, while retaining acidity and tension, impressive stuff from start to finish, I really like what current keepers of this domaine are doing here. The Sauzet wines are all now biodynamic and sustainable practicing, with the domaine owned parcels being fully Ecocert certified, plus the winery makes note that they are green and all wines vegan friendly. The winery offers up quite the array of small Grand Cru and Premier Cru whites, which are sadly now only special occasion wines for me, but they do have a couple of values, including a Santenay and Saint-Romain. But compared to others in this quality level, Sauzet remains a solid value for the limited elite nature of the wines. The Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts cru just north of the village, about 13 acres in size total, is notable for its deeper calcareous clay marl and iron rich soils and it sits across the road from Meursault’s Charmes vineyard, which shares some of the same characteristics, though house styles make for very different wines of course.

The legendary Domaine Etienne Sauzet has a history that dates to the beginning of the 20th century, not too long for the region, when Etienne Sauzet inherited and bought several plots of vines in the famed village of Puligny-Montrachet, where this wine was born. These vines passed through the Sauzet family to Jeanine Boillot, Sauzet’s granddaughter. Jeanine and her husband, Gérard Boudot, managed the domaine, making many modernizations that improved the estate’s vinification process and introduced biodynamic farming, which has led to much improved vine health. Today the domaine is run their daughter Emilie and her husband, Benoît Riffault, who have continued making outstanding and electric Chardonnay here, these rarities, like this exceptional Puligny Les Referts, are among the most sought-after in all of Burgundy. My first experiences with the Sauzet wines were from the mid to late nineties and I was always blown away with the intensity and power those wine had, they remind me of what you see now in the wines of Jean-Marc Roulot and Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey with bracing minerality and energy. While Les Referts, which is lower on the slope and can be riper that higher sites it is not flabby here, though opulent in this vintage, which was aged 12 months in barrel on the lees, leading to a wine that is easier liven its youth. I have been lucky enough to have tried the legendary Le Montrachet in the past, but mostly I’ve sampled the Puligny-Montrachet offerings with Sauzet’s Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Hameau de Blagny being a constant favorite, along with the basic village Puligny and the always impressive duo of Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Folatières and Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Champ Gain bottlings. The US importer of Sauzet, Vineyard Brands has long been a source for great Burgundies, with the Haas family doing an amazing job of promoting excellent terroir driven and environment conscious producers, like Sauzet and they can be justifiably proud of their portfolio.
($189 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

2002 Domaine Taupenot-Merme, Charmes-Chambertin, Grand Cru, Red Burgundy, France.
The beautifully mature, dark ruby/garnet hued and silken Charmes-Chambertin, by Romain Taupenot at Domaine Taupenot-Merme, starts with a nose of wilted roses, truffle, a hint of meatiness and evolved red fruits before revealing its Grand Cru force on the medium bodied palate with deep cherry, dried plum, fig and spiced raspberry fruits, along with black tea, cedar, espresso grinds, grilled orange and chalky notes. Taupenot-Merme’s small set of vines in Charmes-CHambertin were planted between 1958, 1968 and 1998 and are farmed all organic, since 2001, and allow for small yield power and complexity, as seen here. This 2002 is reaching maximum pleasure and was absolutely charming, pure and seductive lingering on and on, but it is not a flamboyant wine, and for Chambertin, it is wonderfully subtle, though there’s no doubt of its pedigree. Known for his lighter touch, Romain uses all de-stemmied berries and does the maceration and native yeast fermentation in stainless steel tank with gentle extraction, after which the wines, like this one, saw 15 months in French barriques with a slightly less then usual toast with about 40 % new oak. This fabled site is on classic limestone and clay soils with Taupenot only having a tiny .6 hectare plot, making for an exclusive and very limited bottling of Charmes-Chambertin. My main prior tasting of Taupenot-Merme was their Gevrey-Chambertin, with their 2016 being the last reviewed version, which is in my price range, and a lovely and rewarding Burgundy.

Romain and his sister Virginie Taupenot, of the highly prized Domaine Taupenot-Merme in the village of Morey, are the ninth generation of their family to run the domaine that has some outstanding and historical parcels in mainly the Côte de Nuits, with prime vines in Clos Saint Denis, Chambolle Musigny to the south and Gevrey Chambertin to the north to name a few. The family’s holdings, as importer Kermit Lynch notes, also extend to the Côte de Beaune, centered principally he says around the lovely hilltop village of Saint Romain, plus a special parcel in Corton. Lynch continues, this fabulous, or inspiring collection of top-flight Burgundian vineyards, at Domaine Taupenot-Merme, which a newer addition to his incredible portfolio, was created by the union of the Taupenot family from Saint Romain with the Merme family from Morey Saint Denis in 1963. Romain Taupenot has carried on the house style, which has been described as hauntingly elegant and gently delicate and my own experience with these wines would have me tend to agree and especially with wines such as this pristine and pure Charmes-Chambertin which has a velvety core even with the underlying power of this famed terroir. Reading up, I see that Domaine Taupenot-Merme have close to nine full hectares in the Côte de Nuits side of Burgundy and another 4.5 hectares in the southern zone of Côte de Beaune, so now Romain and Virginie now produce close to 7,000 cases and nineteen different wines, all of which are highly sought after. As mentioned, the village wines here at Taupenot-Merme offer a lot of value for the money, as noted above with the Gevrey-Chambertin, as well as the Chambolle-Musigny, but for something extra special the Grand Crus are very tempting.
($350-450 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2019 Château de Beaucastel, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Roussanne, Vieilles Vignes, Rhône Valley, France.
The Beaucastel old vine Roussanne is one of France’s great white wines, like Grand Cru white Burgundy, is one of the most brilliant and complex single varietal wines you’ll ever try, and the 2019 is an absolute stunner with exceptional layering, intensity and length. The straw/gold hued Roussanne is lovely in the glass, the nose is wonderful with liquid rock, white blossoms, fresh peaches and tropical notes, leading to a luxurious full bodied palate with apricot, golden fig, honeyed citrus and apple butter, along with touches of spice, chalky wet stone, anise, lychee and vanilla. The mouth feel is oily and viscous, but there is a nice cut of acidity and tension too, so everything is sublimely poised and this wine was excellent with a range of foods, though I recommend lobster tail, if given the choice. Over time I’m sure it will develop a more creamy creme brulee richness, as I’ve seen in this wine in prior vintages, but wow, this is perfectly delicious, if not spectacular right now. This wine rivals top Hermitage bottlings and is a must try for any serious wine drinker, especially those who are joyful hedonists.

Château de Beaucastel, one of the most coveted Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers, owned by the Perrin Family, was one of the first to promote all organic farming and are great leaders in preserving old vines and varietals. While obviously widely admired for their epic Châteauneuf-du-Pape reds, including the rare cuvée Jacques Perrin, Beaucastel does fantastic whites, with their classic Blanc, which a full range of white Rhône grapes, and this outrageously opulent 100% Roussanne. The wine is sourced from a plot of very old vines set on ancient seabed known as Molasse, with clay and limestone covered by diluvial alpine deposits, scattered by large pebbles or galets. For this unique Châteauneuf Blanc, Beaucastel carefully hand harvests, selecting ultra ripe fruit with the grapes coming to the cellars, cool, in small cases and then sorted for perfection, after which they were pneumatically soft and gently pressed. There is a settling of the juice to allow for green phenolics to drop out and the fermentation is done in 30% in oak and 70% in stainless steel tanks with the Roussanne getting bottled after a fine lees aging of close to eight months. These top family Perrin Château de Beaucastel wines never fail to impress me, make me grin selfishly, and it is always a treat to pop the corks, as this wine did.
($185-250 Est.) 96 Points, grapelive

1970 Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac, Grand Cru Classé, Médoc, Red Bordeaux, France.
What a great surprise this beautiful and wonderfully drinking 1970 Château Lynch-Bages, which while showing its age, it gave a delicious performance with silky layers of dark fruit still very much leading the way on the soft medium bodied palate. The nose is slightly meat, delicately floral, with hints of autumn leafs, loamy earth and cedary spice, providing a nice gateway to dried cherry, stewed plum, currant and fig fruit. THere’s a fine veil of tannin that helps keep these structured and the dark garnet and brick red color is appealing and the finish is lengthy and lingers with wilted rose, anise and pipe tobacco. Château Lynch-Bages is located just outside the town of Pauillac, with just over 200 acres, set on a gravelly ridge overlooking the Gironde estuary. This well-drained site consists mainly of deep gravel beds over a limestone soils and it is planted mainly with red wine grapes, including 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The winemaking is classic with maceration and full fermentation, primary and Malo-lactic, in stainless steel, after which the wines mature in French oak for close to 15 months, with close to 50% new oak in the Grand Vin.

The Fifth Growth Lynch-Bages Château (1855 Grand Cru Classé), overlooks the Gironde estuary and stretches over a beautiful gravelly hilltop. Ownership of Château Lynch-Bages, however, remains with the Cazes family. It’s widely noted that Château Lynch-Bages original ownerThomas Lynch was a descendant of the Tribes of Galway. His father John Lynch emigrated in 1691 from Galway, Ireland to the Bordeaux area and he inherited an estate in the village of Bages through his wife, Elizabeth, in 1749. The foundation of Château Lynch-Bages, as in that same year, Lynch then later passed it on to his son, Jean-Baptiste, upon his marriage in 1779. Jean-Baptiste handed over the supervision of Lynch-Bages to his brother Michel who maintained responsibility for the Château’s wines until 1824. The Lynch family then sold it to a Swiss wine merchant, whose family controlled the estate for over a hundred years. The Cazes family first took on Lynch-Bages in 1934 and while they have had partnerships with outside companies, they remain the guardians of this famous Château today. It is of interest that In 2017, the Cazes family acquired Château Haut-Batailley, a neighboring 1855 Grand Cru Classé estate in Pauillac, making for a fabulous set from this legendary terroir. I was, as noted above, impressed by this 1970 and it reminds me that well aged wines are prized treasures.
($257 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2023 Les Traverses de Fontanès, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vin de France, Languedoc-Roussillon, France.
The all organic old vine Cabernet Sauvignon, from vines planted in 1970, by Château Fontanès and biodynamic winegrower Cyriaque Rozier is a dark and rustically charming wine from the wilds of the Pic St. Loup area of Languedoc region with layers of black fruits, brambly spice, tobacco and anise notes. The juicy fruit forward full bodied palate is fresh and ripe, not overly tannic, showing a nice purity of form without any wood, giving currant, blackberry and plum fruits along with hints of mint, herbal and aromatic sage, crushed stones, delicate florals and a dry earthiness. The Mediterranean climate and clay/marl limestone soils lead to softer ripe tannins, but still having moderate alcohol, so wine is balanced and lively. I’m a long time fan of Cyriaque Rozier’s wines and while I usually grab his Pic St. Loup bottlings, which are more Rhône like with offerings led by Syrah and Mourvèdre being my favorites, but you can’t beat this for value and it is a perfect winter meal wine. I also should mention the Château La Roque wines Rozier makes, especially the Pic St. Loup Rouge and the Vieilles Vignes Mourvèdre cuvée, both killer values and the new 100% Assyrtiko, which I can’t wait to try soon!

Based in the Languedoc-Roussillon’s Pic St. Loup, Château Fontanès or Les Traverses de Fontanès was started by Cyriaque Rozier in 2003, as his importer Kermit Lynch notes, a highly acclaimed winemaker and vineyard manager at Château La Roque, and makes his own wines here in Pic St-Loup in the remote and ancient Languedoc region. Cabernet Sauvignon has long been in the Languedoc and was made famous in the region by Mas de Daumas Gassac and the Guibert Family in the l’Hérault, where they planted Bordeaux clones, rumored to be from the best selections at Château Margaux. While that wine is about 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, this Les Traverses de Fontanès is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, which isn’t recognized by the AOC here, hence the Vin de France labeling. Rozier’s vines are old and organic/biodynamic, all hand tended, and this wine is 100% de-stemmed and macerated and fermented in cement vats with temperature control with manual punch-downs and pump=overs to get that deep extraction. After fermentation the wine goes into stainless tank for between 6 months to a year before bottling, all to allow for the utmost transparency, as seen in this lovely 2023 version available now. There’s some real quality, authentic charm and charisma to be found in these wines and I highly recommend them
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2023 La Marea by Ian Brand, Albariño “Alternative Cut” Kristy Vineyard, Monterey County.
The 2023 La Marea “Alternative Cut” Albariño, by Ian Brand, is juicy and steely fresh, highlighting the long ultra cool growing season, with pithy lime, green apple, peach and verbena leading the way on the zingy medium bodied palate along with hints of mango, quince and wet stones. This crisp and dry Albariño saw a bit of skin maceration or soaking, which adds a touch of phenolic grip and brings out a lot more personality, making for a unique California expression of this Galician varietal, which loves being close to the ocean, especially in the Rias Baixas region of Spain. Also found in Portugal’s Vinho Verde, Albariño has found a happy home here in the cooler zones of the state after first arriving here, originally in Carneros, in the late nineties when Michael Heavens brought cuttings back from Rias Baixas. In the mid 2000s Albariño came to Monterey County and it has thrived, with some fabulous example now being done here, including Ian Brand’s La Marea versions, as well as those done by Chesebro and Joyce. Brand, known for discovering almost forgotten sites, old vines and varietal rarities, has become one of his generations leading lights and voices, especially on the central coast and on granite, alluvial and ancient seabed based vineyards. Brand does three different labels, the Payson, which is value packed, which includes the awesome Rosé, the La Marea, Iberian inspired wines, where this wine is, and his signature I. Brand label, where you find the most limited and hand crafted efforts, like the 100 year old Grenache from the Besson Vineyard.

One of Monterey’s most satisfying, mineral driven and pure wines, the special edition of Ian Brand’s Albariño from the stony Kristy Vineyard, now called the “Alternitive Cut” sees a little skin contact and was originally done with a special batch of grapes that was vineyard yeast fermented or Pied de Cuve and was whole cluster pressed, giving more distinction and intensity of flavors. This vintage Alt Cut version is wonderfully stylish and, like I’ve mentioned before, is far more true in character with the Spanish Rias Baixas wines that inspired it. Like those wines from Spain, the La Marea Albariño, that is neutral barrel aged, goes well with fresh local sea food, in particular shellfish and briny stuff. As mentioned in prior reviews, Ian Brand has fallen in love with white varietals and sees Monterey County and the central Coast as prime terroir to really create some magical stuff. Most recently with a release of Arinto, a Portuguese varietal, along with his Melon de Bourgogne, Chenin Blanc, Arneis, the skin contact “Ramato” Pinot Gris, an orange wine called Super Toothy with Sauvignon Gris and the two versions of Albariño, including this one, rally expressing that potential, not to mention his outstanding Sauvignon Blanc and unique Chardonnay offerings, one of which is in the nutty almost Sherry like Jura style. In the future, Brand potentially looks to add some more Italian varietals and even some Assyrtiko, the Greek white grape, most commonly found on the island of Santorini, which Ian saw close up on a visit to the Greece last year. Of course, Ian loves his reds too and in the current collection there’s some absolute stunners, including his old vine Grenache, the Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc bottlings, especially the Bates Ranch editions, so I highly recommend getting on the mailing list here.
($32 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

2011 Domaine Ramonet, Chassagne-Montrachet “Les Caillerets” Premier Cru, White Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, France.
Starting to show its age and getting a deep gold hue in the glass and very nutty and flinty on the nose, this 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets Blanc still shows its pedigree and depth, in fact it was really lovely, especially since I tried a 2014 version recently that was totally premoxed and undrinkable. The premature oxidation phenomenon is sadly still affecting white Burgundies, even top names like Ramonet and weirdly somewhat hit and miss, with some older vintages seemingly not affected, and while this 2011 is feeling peaked, it is not a write off like the 2014 I tried was. The 2011 has classic baked apple, pear tart and lemon curd fruits, along with loads of hazelnut, clove spice, a touch of petrol, wet stone and butterscotch notes and was sturdy enough to handle some creamy cheese and a starter course, with a smooth richness on the medium/full bodied palate. For those of my generation, Ramonet was always a special experience, much the way the wines of Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Coche-Dury and Roulot are revered these days. With the prices of Burgundy these days, you’d expect pristine wines that can age 15 to 20 years, but what a huge disappointment it would be to find them premoxed, some collectors are braver than I could ever be.

The Jean-Claude Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets Blanc comes the classic chalky limestone slopes above the village of Chassagne from two parcels of Chardonnay vines planted in 1982 and traditionally made in the signature reductive style of this domaine, one of Burgundy’s most famous names, with close to 60% new wood used. The lees aging in barrique lasts for close to 15 months giving that rich and concentrated mouth feel, while retaining a liquid mineral intensity and vibrancy. The Ramonet wines are made now by the third generation of Ramonets, with Jean-Claude and Noël leading the way here at this legendary winery, following their family’s traditions and house style. The Ramonets hand pick their Premier Crus and cool press the grapes to tank for primary fermentation with natural native yeasts before being racked to barrel to finish up with the wine being rested on the full lees with being settled out. The Ramonets I hear are believers that the wine really benefits from the lees contact and adds depth and character with some stirring employed. The wine matures in the French oak, as noted above, for usually between 12 to 15 months and depending on vintage see anywhere between 35 to 65% new wood. This 2011, a vintage I had lots of joy with 5 to 7 years ago, is not getting any younger or better, but I enjoyed it none the less, but that said I wouldn’t let it go any longer in the cellar.
($350 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive

2017 Kobza Wines, Crémant Riesling, Sparkling Wine, Wirz Vineyard, Cienega Valley AVA, San Benito County.
The bright gold yeasty and nutty Kobza Crémant Riesling from old vines is dry sparkler that makes for a fun and delightful aperitif and or a starter wine to go with oysters or ceviche. This pure ancient method Riesling bubbly has a creamy, but vibrant mousse and loads of mineral intensity, stone fruit, citrus and brioche notes with delicate aromatics, a touch of earthiness, bees wax, verbena and clove spice. There’s a burst of lime, cider apple, minty herb and tart peach in the background along with a hint of rosewater that especially comes out with food, again making it a delicious and unique Sparkling wine, much in the vein of a German Sekt. Bottle lees aged, secondary fermetted, with a low dosage like feel and disgorged at Brut level, this Kobza Crémant was all handmade by winemaker Ryan Kobza, who has been Ian Brand’s right-hand man at his I. Brand & Family Winery for about a decade. Kobza’s own label has a collection of unique offerings, most from this old vine and historic vineyard in the wild’s of San Benito County and includes a set of dry Rieslings, a Rosé, a rare Cabernet Pfeffer (Mourtaou) and a Mourvèdre led field blend. Recently Kobza added a Santa Cruz Mountains dry Riesling that was impressive as well that fits nicely with his small collection of offerings.

The Wirz Vineyard, a heritage vineyard site in San Benito County’s Cienega Valley AVA, was originally planted back in 1903 and bought by the Wirz family in the 1940’s, with Pat Wirz still working this old vine gem. Kobza, as mentioned in my prior reviews of his wines, is enthralled with this place, he notes that, the entire vineyard is dry-farmed, head trained, and own rooted, just as it was done 120 years ago. The Riesling, where this wine, plus a dry still version come from, is a 50 year old parcel that is planted in a single contiguous block along a small creek, with rocky soils, while the reds here are an inter-planted, bush vine field blend of Zinfandel, Mourtaou (known also as Cabernet Pfeffer), Mourvèdre and Carignan with a bit of super rare Rose of Peru (Pais) and Palomino (the Sherry white grape) occasionally interspersed within. Ryan’s wines are all hand crafted with very low intervention in the cellar and mostly neutral wood aged, with the sparklers seeing lots of lees contact and old school love and care in the cellar. This micro winery based in Monterey County, run just by Ryan and his wife Natalie, is a small under the radar label that is sold mostly in local area restaurants and direct on the website. Kobza is a champion of rarities and lesser known varietals, as well as out of the lime-light terroirs, and I recommend checking out his wines.
($28 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2023 Weingut Dönnhoff, Riesling Trocken, Roxheimer Höllenpfad, Nahe, Germany.
The Dönnhoff ’23 vintage, especially the dry Riesling collection, like this gorgeous, crisply dry, spicy, delicately aromatic and crystalline Roxheimer Höllenpfad, is simply stunning and while the GGs will get all the major attention there some outstanding values here, as this one also proves. Honestly, it was incredibly difficult to chose a favorite in the samples of these 2023s from Cornelius Dönnhoff, but if I had to pick I would definitely say that the Hermannshöhle GG and the Felsenberg GG were my tippy top wines, while this Roxheimer Höllenpfad Trocken for the money would be one that would stock up on. The pristine and steely medium bodied palate shows of lime blossom, green apple, tart apricot, quince and tangerine, along with quinine, chamomile, almond, herb, flinty mineral spice, wet rock, lemon oil and saline. Zingy and youthfully energetic this Riesling also has the signature purity and elegance you’d expect of a Dönnhoff and it is complex enough to thrill the most jaded of Riesling lovers. There’s more to come with patience I believe and while I might be hard pressed not to enjoy this one right away, there should be extra rewards for those who wait, it should get another few years in bottle to fully express itself.

As told to me many times by Dönnhoff’s importer and staff, the famous Höllenpfad, is a wildly steeply vineyard in a small side valley of the middle section of the Nahe River and the named Höllenpfad which translates to“Path to Hell” is fitting for those that have to hand tend this dangerous slope of Riesling vines. They say the name is an old one, likely referencing both the vineyard‘s steep slope as well as the unique color of the red sandstone here. They also mentioned that the surrounding landscape is bathed daily in the rich, warm light of the evening sun as it reflects off the hillside‘s distinctive red soil, which makes for a distinctive wine. The unique Roxheimer Höllenpfad parcels, a full VDP Erste Lage or Premier Cru site, sit on limestone with veins of red sandstone, which clearly influence the profile and it is understood that the grapes here are tiny and explosively vibrant and carry that intensity straight through to the wines. Cornelius employs a natural yeast fermentation and used a combination of stainless and used large oak for this Roxheimer Höllenpfad, with about 9 months of lees aging before bottling. I also have to mention that Dönnhoff’s basic Estate Trocken, review coming soon and the Kabinett Oberhäuser Leistenberg, already reviewed here, are wines to search out too, for exceptional value.
($35 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2019 Bucklin, Otto’s Grenache, Old Hill Ranch Vineyard, Sonoma Valley.
This 2019 Otto’s Grenache from Will Bucklin is a dark hued, powerful and brooding vintage, quite different from the 2018, with earthy blackberry, currant and plum fruit leading the way on the robust palate, along with black pepper, cedar, sage, Provençal herbs, porcini, kirsch liqueur and salted black licorice notes. There’s a bit of rustic tannin, camphor, savory elements, good acidity and very delicate florals as well here, it what really started out as a tightly wound and firm wine that needed a good hour to unwind and show off a much more charming personality and pure varietal characteristics. Once fully open, and even better on day two, this Sonoma Valley Bucklin Otto’s Grenache, just pushing 14.3% natural alcohol, from the historic and famous Old Hill Ranch, site of the first Zinfandel vineyard in California back in the 1850s, there was a lot more depth of fruit adding juicy strawberry and boysenberry compote notes. As mentioned in prior reviews, the Bucklin wines typically see native yeasts, fermented and macerated primarily in stainless steel and then aged a year or so in mainly used barrels, which is why you get to see raw authentic flavors, varietal character and sense place all come together in the wines here. Again as written here previously, after graduating from UC Davis in 1986, Bucklin interned at Château Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac (Bordeaux) before heading to Oregon to further his learning experience, after which his took over winemaking at Old Hill Ranch for his family’s efforts, turning it into very celebrated and coveted small production winery under his Bucklin label. Bucklin is trying to make his wines in the vineyard and is as hands off as possible in the cellar, as he notes he is very committed to low intervention, but without any “Natural Winemaker” dogma attached, he does not add nutrients to the fermentations and only adds sulfur dioxide at very minimal levels to eliminate oxidation. I love the Zins here at Bucklin, but this Otto’s Grenache, with its Châteauneuf du Pape like depth and complexity continues to impress and intrigue me.

Bucklin produces only wines coming from their legendary Heritage family vineyard, the Old Hill Ranch planted in the middle of the 1800s, which is a total of 24 acres, broken up into seven different blocks from which Will Bucklin makes his nine different small lot wines, mainly Zinfandel of course, but also including this more recent Grenache Noir. Will Bucklin’s stewardship of Old Hill Ranch, as he says, follows in the footsteps of his stepfather Otto Teller, a renowned conservationist, for who this wine is named, started farming in Sonoma Valley in the late 1950s. Bucklin adds that Otto was an ardent organic farmer decades before the notion caught hold, especially here in the Sonoma Valley. Going on Bucklin notes that Otto was a disciple of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” and he refused to use what he called the treadmill of agricultural chemicals on his vines. He believed in dry farming, as Will does, because he knew it produced better wine, with cellar techniques used now, that as noted above, enhance the sense of place and to compliment the quality of the grapes grown here, which promote transparency and rustic charm naturally. The Bucklin’s have preserved the classic old block, as well as planted in the same method, newer parcels like this Otto’s, and the Bambino (young vine) Zinfandel block that sees many other black grapes inter-planted, including Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Carignane. The elder 1880s vines include many others, as Bucklin explains, that through the use of DNA mapping he has documented three very rare varieties that otherwise only exist in the French Alps, most of which are found in the Savoie, Mollard, Persan, and Etraire de la Dui. There is also a small, but an important amount of white grapes too, such as Chardonnay, French Colombard, Chasselas, Muscat of Alexandria and Clairette Blanche that go into his white blend. It’s clear that Old Hill Ranch offers a special look back to California’s past, as well as a glimpse into the future, I highly recommend getting on the mailing list here! If you are a fan of Turley, Biale, Ridge, Storybook Mountain and or Bedrock, I think you’ll want to try out these Bucklin Old Hill Ranch offerings.
($38 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2022 Weingut Selbach-Oster Riesling “Rotlay” Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Mosel, Germany.
The exotic, deeply rich and thrilling 2022 Rotlay block collection Riesling from Selbach-Oster comes from the cru Zeltlinger Sonnenuhr vineyard set on Devonian slate and vines up to 100 years old, and that were trained on single poles adjacent to the Mosel. I’ve been admiring these limited block selection wines from Johannes Selbach for more than a decade now, and this 2022 vintage is one of the best yet with a pale gold hue and a full luxurious palate of ripe apricot, candied pineapple, lemon curd, apple, lime sorbet and tangerine, along with smoky crushed flint, rosewater, lychee and lingering honey. At around 7.5%, these wine is very Auslese like, but definitely not a dessert wine, as it drinks much drier and mineral intense. than the residual sugar would suggest. I believe, that Selbach, included a high percentage of botrytis grapes, which seems very case when drinking, though there’s a great finesse here and a good cut of natural acidity that tames the sweetness and a complex savory element too, making it a wine that can be paired nicely with spicy Asian cuisine.

Johannes Selbach of Weingut Selbach-Oster does a special series of Rieslings that come from carefully select block in his best cru sites, like this Rotlay, which has an Auslese like richness, texture and feel in the mouth, but with less sweetness, more Spatlese level, if you can relate and the depth and length are exceptional. This wine comes off mainly old vines in the famous Zeltinger Sonnenuhr vineyard that Selbach feels gives the most interesting terroir characteristics and flavors. These special block wines, Bömer (Zeltinger Schlossberg), Schmitt (Zeltinger Schlossberg), Anrecht (Zeltlinger Himmelreich) and the Rotlay (Zeltinger Sonnenuhr) are hand picked everything at once, as Selbach notes, once optimal ripe, but including green berries, yellow berries, and botrytis berries, and he ferments them spontaneously in Fuder. This he says represents a traditional style and a true expression of terroir. The high sugar levels on the Oechsle (must weight) scale, as noted, well up into the Auslese echelon, means these wines, which I discovered in the 2010 vintage, are rich and luscious, as this 2022 Rotlay is, but also wonderfully detailed and elegant, they some of the most interesting and pleasure filled wines of the Mosel.
($65 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

2009 Capiaux, Pinot Noir “Pisoni Vineyard” Santa Lucia Highlands.
The dark crimson/ruby hued 2009 Pisoni Vineyard by Sean Capiaux is aging beautifully and is still remarkably youthful and shows off a bit of reduction, but opens up nicely to reveal a classic medium/full palate of black cherry, plum, blackberry and strawberry fruits, along with bramble and briar, a touch of graphite, orange tea, vanilla, a touch of truffle earliness and wilted rose petals. This wine is mature and silky, but impressively has a lively nature and fine acidity, making it finely balanced and great with food. These days Capiaux uses between 10 and 20% whole cluster, a 4-day cold soak and a natural fermentation in open top tanks. The maceration is uniquely done with what Capiaux says is Pulsair (cap management using compressed air) and traditional punch downs. The wine is then pressed to barriques for its secondary malolactic fermentation with the wine aging sur lie 11 months until he does the bottling. Interestingly these wines, even with Capiaux’s critically acclaimed efforts and Gary Pisoni’s fame, still are under the radar. so the price is reasonable and I highly recommend checking out the current releases.

I have been a fan of Sean Capiaux a long time now, who does a great lineup of Pinots under his own label, as seen here, and is the winemaker at O’Shaughnessy, on Howell Mountain in the Napa Valley. Sean Capiaux founded his Capiaux Cellars in 1994, with a focus of producing single vineyard bottlings of Pinot Noir from an array of top sites throughout California, including the famous Garys’ and Pisoni vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The legendary Pisoni Vineyard, originally planted in 1982 is primarily made up of decomposed granite with large deposits of quartz, with Gary Pisoni claiming to have brought cuttings back from La Tâche himself. Inspired by traditional Burgundy wines, Sean says his winemaking style is a blend of classic and contemporary, utilizing cutting edge fermentation equipment paired with natural hands on winemaking, with an emphasis is on balance. All the wines are naturally fermented, with indigenous yeast with long maceration(s) and elevage before being bottled unfined and unfiltered to preserve innate flavors and aromas. Capiaux adds that he uses minimal new oak and wines like his Pisoni usually sees about 33% new French oak. I see that Capiaux has added a new vineyard in the Russian River to his personal label lineup and I look forward to sampling that one at some point soon.
($65 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2021 Domaine Pierre-Yves Coiln-Morey, Chassagne-Montrachet “Abbaye de Morgeot” Cuvée Clement et Emma, Premier Cru White Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, France.
The extremely rare Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot Cuvée Clement et Emma, which I had not had before, was a stunning and very much in style for Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey with exceptional mineral driven character and purity, while still offering luxurious richness and exuberance in the glass. This 2021 is more classically steely and crisp, than what I hear the more concentrated 2020 version was, and I was thrilled with the less is more feel to this vintage, while enjoying the layers of lemony toned citrus, apple, pear, quince, melon and tart peach fruits, along with the hint of yeasty bread dough, wet stones, white blossoms, clove and toast wood notes. Good acids and incredible tension make this a brilliant and pedigreed medium to full bodied wine, I can imagine this lovely Chassagne gets creamier with age, but the thill as it is now is very compelling. The Colin family has some fabulous plots in some of the Côte 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 Côte de Nuits and to the Côte Chalonnaise, with great success, but is still most famous for his Saint-Aubin and Chassagne-Montrachet bottlings, like this one. The Abbaye de Morgeot is part of two main parcels on chalky limestone and clay with a gravelly topsoil on a southeast facing hillside that surrounds the Abbaye de Morgeot itself, that was once home to an order of Cistercian monks just south of the village of Chassagne. The coveted 21 acres of vines, with both Chard and Pinot here, the “Morgeot” lies above, and “La Chapelle” below, which (both parts) can be labeled Abbaye de Morgeot, overlook the abbey buildings.

Domaine Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is a modern icon of Burgundy with Pierre-Yves and his wife Caroline Morey being one of the region’s power couples, like Jean-Marc Roulot and Alix de Montille, and now with the Colin-Morey sons Mathis and Clément joining the family domaine, the wines continue to be some of the most coveted in the world. This Domaine based in Chassagne, is the holy grail for white Burgundy, especially for the wine industry itself, rather than only the top 1% collectors, with many bottlings being affordable for mere mortals. That said, some of the Premier Cru wines here have truly been discovered and the rarity has sent prices past my wallet’s ability and I doubt I will be drinking PYCM much longer. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, as mentioned here in prior reviews, has made a brilliant career in Chardonnay, having worked along side his dad and brothers as the winemaker at his father’s domaine from 1994 to 2005, then stepped out on his own founding his own domaine in 2006. Pierre-Yves, as noted here, follows a strict protocol and method, using all sustainable and hand tended vineyards, with mostly organic practices in the vineyards, while in the cellar he 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 Lieu-Dit and Premier Crus seeing close to 30% new if not more, adding just the right amount of toasty accents. While the 2021s are less weighted and more subtle, I have been impressed for the quality across the range in these Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey offerings, especially the almost Grand Cru quality like Chassagne-Montrachets, and look forward to trying the 2022s, which I hear blend the opulence and density of the 2020s and the vibrancy of the 2021s to even better effect, not that I am complaining about either or.
($249-300 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive

1999 Clos du Mont-Olivet, Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Cuvée Unique, Rhône Valley, France.
I opened my last bottle of 1999 Châteauneuf du Pape, and with a touch of sadness and a slight disappointment the Clos du Mont-Olivet didn’t live up to my expectations, but there was enough there for a happy good bye to one of my favorite vintages. The color looked good, dark garnet with just a bit of bricky to it, and the palate had some pretty dried flowers, a burst of red fruits and a supple textural feel, but the end is near for this one, with decaying autumn leaves, beef bouillon cube, mushroom and stewy/dusty notes overtaking the fresher vine berry and plum fruits. There was a few minutes of balance and pleasure hinted at what a great wine in the past was here in this vintage of Clos du Mont-Olivet, so I highly recommend sooner v later on any Châteauneufs you might have been hanging on to. I recently has a ’99 Janesse and it was far more in a peak window, though I could see the evolution was heading. The Clos du Mont-Olivet Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge “Cuvée Unique” was a special North Berkeley Imports selection, aged exclusively in older foudre passed down from generation to generation of the Sabon family, who own the estate, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. For this version, the cépage was 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, coming from carefully selected parcels, with some classic galets and limestone soils, including the famous La Crau, and made with partial whole cluster. I may have been hoping for a better end of life performance here, but I will continue to age a few Rhône reds, including Gigondas and Châteauneuf du Pape, as some can be absolutely magic after 20 to 25 years, as seen most recently with a Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe!

The Domaine of Clus du Mont-Olivet was originally founded in the mid-16th century, but was established as a Châteauneuf producer in 1932, three years after the AOC was granted, has seen many historical changes, and now the estate today is run by Thierry Sabon, who has brought back a sense of elegance and traditional character to this famous label. Clos du Mont-Olivet, now imported by Skurnik Wines, encompasses parcels of mainly 60+ year old vines in the heart of the Châteauneuf du Pape AOC, plus some excellent Lirac vines as well. The wines now are considered more in the classical style, with what Skurnik calls heady, complex aromatics, and garrigue-laden fruit that tastes of the stones that comprise the fascinating soils of the area. Thierry’s minimalist approach in the cellar, which highlights terroir and transparency is bit different from some early vintages, that focused on fruit density and richness over finesse. These days, the main Châteauneuf du Pape red blend is close to 78% Grenache, 11% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre and 3% Cinsault, all organic grapes, with 50% whole cluster and natural indigenous yeast fermentation and aged more than 12 months in 65% old foudres, 20% concrete, 8% stainless steel and 7% older barrels. This faded and slightly dried out Cuvée Unique 1999, which deserved to be enjoyed maybe 10 years old, still intrigued with lingering porporri, framboise, earthiness and minty licorice. The winery has a full range of wines these days and I recommend searching out the old vines Côtes du Rhône, which is a killer value, along with the Lirac Rouge and the three separate bottlings of Châteauneuf Rouge and the Blanc, which has 40% Clairette, 30% Roussanne, 14% Bourboulenc, 10% Grenache Blanc, 2% Clairette Rose, 2% Picardan, 1% Picpoul Blanc and 1% Grenache Gris in the bland.
($45 Est.) 86 Points, grapelive

2020 Cantina Fradiles, Muristellu – Bovale Sardo, Bagadìu, Isola dei Nuraghi IGT Rosso, Sardinia, Italy.
Like the impressive 2016, this deep garnet/crimson hued and aromatic 2020 Fradiles Bagadìu shows off a dusty full palate of black cherry, plum, mulberry and fig, slightly rustic, but wonderfully seductive with its earthy old world charm, with hints of cut tobacco, leather, iron and truffle, as well as minty wild herbs, dried flowers, cedar, grilled orange peel and red spices. Maybe a bit deeper and more vividly powerful than the 2016, but pretty similar in the best way possible with lovely mouth feel and tannins structure. This Bagadiu, as noted before, comes from mature 40 to 60 year old Bovale Sardo vines on granite soils, at close to 2,000 feet up that are all hand tended, that are, as mentioned all organic and the wine saw a native yeast fermentation in stainless steel, where it spent 6 months before being racked to large used oak casks for another 10 months. Fradiles, and winemaker Paolo Savoldo, makes just about 200 cases of this wine each year and not much of it gets to our shores, but I highly recommend searching it out. Over the past few years I’ve tried quite a few of these Fradiles wines and all have been delightful and educational, they are also great insight on traditional Sardinian grapes and cuisine, which these wines really excel with, especially this one that wants a meaty dish, like lamb to bring out its full range of flavors. While Cannonau (Grenache) still is Sardinia’s most famous red, wines like this show this island is no one trick pony and there’s always something new to discover here.

The Fradiles winery on Sardinia, as mentioned here is a quality producer and offering an outstanding array of truly authentic wines, including this one made from the distinctive native or indigenous red grape Muristellu also known as Bovale Sardo (which is thought to be related to Graciano), which is very different from Bovale Grande (Carignan). Interesting still to me is this deeply flavored varietal, which is very different to the Rioja Graciano wines I’ve tried, and after tasting this fabulous Bagadìu 100% Muristellu it actually reminds me more of the powerful Aglianico wines of Taurasi in Campania. This wine, oddly not allowed to be labeled under the DOC rules because it is all Muristellu, is just a IGT table wine, even though it delivers terroir and varietal character in spades. There is a lot of confusion about the mysterious native varietals on Sardinia, once though to have been brought here from Spain during the 200 years of Spanish occupation, but carbon dating and recent historic finds tend to point to Sardinian wine growing way before the Spanish came to the island, maybe a thousand years before! My friend and Sardinian born sommelier/winemaker Giuseppe Cossu, Impromptu Wines, has provided me with some incredible information on Sardinia and was kind enough to share this rare wine and varietal with me, first with the 2016 vintage and now with this 2020 vintage, both exceptional years here. Again, this Bagadiu is a compelling wine and complex wine, which retains good natural acidity, great with hard sheep cheeses as well as with grilled meats, wild boar and or the mentioned lamb, enjoy over the next 3 to 5 years.
($45 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2023 Cantina Gallura, Vermentino di Gallura DOCG “Piras” Sardinia, Italy.
The bright and expressive 2023 version of Cantina Gallura Piras Vermentino is fabulous and has more charm and personality that the impressive 2020 I had last year and I highly recommend chasing some of this down, it is a great wine and awesome value. This vintage shows off some exotic tropical notes to go along with its classic vibrant fruit intensity and mineral tones, delivering a medium/full palate of apricot, citrusy tangerine, Kaffir lime along with saline infused stone and orange blossoms. Grown up at elevation with granite soils with a topsoil of coarse granitic sand. Cantina Gallura is llocated in the town of Tempio Pausania on the foothills of Mount Limbara. The picturesque setting in this remote area of Sardinia sees ancient white granite mountains shaped by the North wind, where almost only you find cork-oaks and grape vines, unchanged for hundreds of years. The clarity and precise detailing, as I have remarked on in previous reviews, make this Piras wonderfully compelling and while it only saw a couple of months of aging and lees contact in the cellar. This light straw/gold Vermentino di Gallura gains a pleasing viscosity in the glass and makes for a wine that can deliver flexibility in cuisine choices as well as being a confident Summer sipper. Vermentino di Gallura is Sardinia’s only DOCG appellation, so far, and covers the northern end of the island. It was DOC status from 1975 until September 1996, when it officially was granted the DOCG.

The Cantina Gallura, as noted in prior reviews, a co-op, founded in 1956, is located in Tempio Pausania, that currently has 160 producers contributing their grapes, at the foot of the Limbara Mountain in an area of Sardinia that has some conditions that feel like a continuation of the Dolomite Mountains with ancient granite based, sandy soils. While sunny here there are cool Mistral like breezes that give these wines an extra degree of complexity and balance, as this Piras Vermentino di Gallura shows. Cantina Gallura does quite a series of offerings, all terroir driven and made with traditional methods with stainless steel primary fermentations, in most cases, though some whites see a barrel fermentation, and mostly used barrel or cask aging to promote freshness and transparency. The wines of the Gallura have always been prized and now Vermentino di Gallura has a full DOCG, confirming to the world that this one of Italy’s top sites and guarantees an extra degree of quality. Interestingly Cantina Gallura does a sparkling version too, which I hope to try at some point, especially if I get a chance to visit this mysterious and historic island. The winery is mainly known for their 100% Vermentino bottlings, with this all stainless steel ferreted and aged Piras being a single cru effort, expressing the true nature of the place and the grape. Not a wine that we usually see in the states, sadly, but it is imported by Vinity Wines in California, and it is one that deserves a search for!
($22 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

2020 Turley Wine Cellars, Zinfandel, Kirschenmann Vineyard, Mokelumne River AVA, Lodi.
The dark opaque purple garnet 2020 Turley Kirschenmann Zinfandel is loaded with concentration showing off thick layers of blackberries, raspberries, sweet plums, Mission figs and smoky currant fruits, along with sandalwood, minty herbs, violet florals, camphor, vanilla and liqueur notes. This warm vintage full bodied effort will please the big Zin fans and it has opulent tannins and a dry Port like character with hints of chocolate cherry and prune notes. The Kirschenmann, as Turley notes, is particularly close to their heart as head winemaker, Tegan Passalacqua, owns and farms this renowned vineyard. The un-grafted Hundred year old plus ancient vines here at Kirschenmann are set on the silica-rich sandy soils of the east side of the Mokelumne River AVA. Passalacqua, as noted here in prior reviews, takes full advantage of he river’s cool waters and the delta breezes that keeps this arid and warm terroir in balance, allowing these head-trained, dry-farmed vines some protection from the Summer heat. Turley Wine Cellars makes forty-seven wines from over fifty vineyards, and as they add, the vast majority of which are single vineyard designate Zinfandel(s) and Petite Syrah(s) coming from all organic sites, most of which are certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers. Turley’s Zins are 100% natural or indigenous yeast fermented, see loads of extraction and are aged in a combination of about 80% French and 20% American oak barrels with close to 20% new wood in each vintage, all of which gives these wine’s their signature balancing act between luxurious richness and authentic transparency. The Kirschenmann, which also has small amounts of Mondeuse, Cinsault, and Carignane, is always wonderfully rounded, polished and pure with a surprising degree of crisp detailing, impressive for a bigger wine that clocks in at around 15% alcohol, and while I personally like 2018s and 2021s a bit more, this 2020 is good stuff and goes great with food, especially BBQ and other meaty dishes and or hard cheeses.

Kirschenmann Vineyard Zinfandel comes from a hundred and eight year old vines on the East Side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA, which was was originally planted back in 1915 and is set on silica rich, white sandy soils. Kirschenmann Vineyard is owned by Tegan Passalacqua’s family, and Passalacqua is head winemaker and vineyard manager for the famed Larry Turley, so he has incredible insight into these vines and knows how to get the best out of them. Passalacqua one of California’s great minds, who got his start by working in the lab in Napa Valley, has many talents, both in the cellar and in vines, and he has an impressive CV, having done stints in the cellars of Craggy Range in New Zealand, with Eben Sadie in South Africa and with the late great Alain Graillot in the Northern Rhone Valley. Turley, as I’ve mentioned before, along with Ridge Vineyards, Bedrock Wine Co., Carlisle, Martinelli and Biale are keepers of the faith in the modern Zinfandel, highlighting individual vineyard sites and making wines with bold full bodied character, with many of these from vines that were planted in the late 1800s. These producers, especially Turley, are making Zinfandels that are mouth filling, lush and dense with impressive palate impact, giving loads of hedonistic pleasure in their youth, but are serious wine that can age easily 10 to 15 years. The 2020 vintage was incredibly difficult and heartbreaking for many regions in California with many raging wild fires causing havoc for grape growers, with 80% of the state affected, but Passalacqua with Larry Turley’s blessing, didn’t take any chances with smoke taint and culled production to almost ridiculous levels to make wines they could 100% stand behind. Lucky for Zin fans, lots of vineyards with the heat of the year were picked before the smoke became an issue, as seen here, and so far all the Turley wines I’ve had were delicious and no issues. There will be some good wines from 2020, but you’ll need to be careful, so I recommend producers with high ethically standards like Turley, or else stock up on 2021, 2022 and 2023s all of which are outstanding years in California.
($49 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive

2010 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, Crozes-Hermintage Rouge “Domaine de Thalabert” Northern Rhone, France.
After a fabulous series of successful vintages for this Domaine de Thalabert Crozes, from 2015 to 2021, Caroline Frey’s Domaine Jaboulet has become must have for Northern Rhône lovers, and it was great to see one of her first efforts, this nicely aged 2010 version drinking so well. Still possessing a dark purple/crimson hue in the glass, this 2010 Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, Crozes-Hermintage Rouge “Domaine de Thalabert” shows off a medium/full bodied palate of matured dark fruits, with evolved early elements and hints of bay leaf, fig, wild mushroom beginning to compete with crushed blackberry, wilted violet, blueberry, black currant, damson plum and reduced cherry fruits, as well as olive tapenade, cedar, brambly pepper and dried herbs, anise and tar. This wine has an aged subtlety at this stage, it will not suddenly be a La Chapelle and or a blockbuster, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be disappointed either, it is just that it is comfortable with its age and takes you down an elegant and transparent terroir driven route. I was thrilled with the grace of texture, depth of fruit, delicate wood, the retained acidity and the nice mineral tones that clearly shine here in this vintage of Northern Rhône wines, especially in value packed areas like Cornas and Crozes-Hermitage, making nice treats for budget collectors. As noted previously, the Thalabert parcel, a special terroir, is located in Croze’s pebble-strewn granite soiled lieu-dit of Les Chassis, which has owned by Jaboulet since its founding back in 1834 and is regarded as maybe the greatest set of vines in the Crores-Hermitage AOC, all organic and biodynamic. Frey uses partial whole bunches and well judged use of new wood, really putting the focus on the vintage and trying for authenticity, rather than power or flamboyance.

This famous Thalabert parcel, as I’ve mentioned before in prior reviews, is located in Croze’s pebble-strewn granite soiled lieu-dit of Les Chassis, which has been owned by Jaboulet since its founding back in 1834 and is regarded as maybe the greatest set of vines in the Crores-Hermitage AOC, all organic and biodynamic. The Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine, now owned by the Frey family, led by the talented Caroline Frey, has been an iconic estate in the Northern Rhone and one of the big three in the region along with Guigal and Chapoutier, most known for their fabled La Chapelle vineyard in Hermitage, Syrah’s most holy site! There’s been wines made here since pre-Roman times, but it was Antoine Jaboulet’s plantings in 1834 and focus on quality which really started to establish the area as one of the major wine producing appellations of the world, after he past the land was passed on to his two sons Henri and Paul, who’s name became company label. The Frey family, who bought the faded glory Jaboulet in 2006, have become big time players in premium French wine production having serious quality properties in Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux, which includes Chateau La Lagune in Haut-Medoc and Château de Corton André in the Cote de Beaune. Caroline, who studied in Bordeaux, is one of France’s established stars now and has her hand in many projects, with even a biodynamic high elevation vineyard in Switzerland. The Jaboulet lineup is full of quality efforts, from humble Côtes du Rhône and Village wines to a set of pedigreed Hermitage Rouge bottlings, and I highly recommend exploring all that you can find or afford, with this Domaine Paul Jaboulet Anie, Crozes-Hermintage Rouge “Domaine de Thalabert” being one of my personal favorites, it is a wine that I really enjoy both fresh and youthful and with a bit of age, like I discovered here. When young I would suggest decanting and pairing it with robust cuisine, with meaty dishes like lamb and grilled steak being lovely with it, while mature wines go well with a bit less heavy choices and or a selection of hard cheeses.
($45+ Est.) 93 Points, grapelive