Search results for: 'romagna cuvee'

Dominique Gruhier is oneof the greatest red winemakers in Epineuil, an area 10 miles north of Chablis that has traditionally been suited exclusively to Chardonnay! But climate change has provided Gruhier a 'helping hand' and now his reds from old vines on these steep kimmeridigian soil slopes produce some of the most compelling Pinot Noir north of the Cote d'Or. Amazing value here...

The vines for Cuvée Juliette were planted in 1978 on the Côte de Grisey, on a steep southeast-facing slope (45% grade), shallow clay-limestone Kimmeridgian soil.

100% whole cluster, ambient yeast fermentation with pump-overs, aged for 12 months in barrels (30% new), SO2 added a few months before bottling, approx. 25-30 ppm total at bottling.

94 Points! Showing apricots, peaches and sage, this is layered and savory. On the palate, it’s vibrant and refined with silky texture, crisp acidity and a long finish. From organically and biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

99 Points! This amazing Morgon has incredibly deep roots, but is also a flower reaching out towards the sun. Breathtaking mineral brilliance and energy on the medium-bodied palate. This embodies the spirit of Beaujolais in an extraordinary, uplifting way. Pristine and precise finish that’s so long and so pure. Matured sur lie in oak casks. Bottled unfiltered. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! At once juicy, concentrated and refined, this is stunning wine that is intended for more or less everyday drinking. A wealth of stone fruit and fresh almond aromas, plus a touch of mandarin oranges. Stunning balance and finesse at the very long, silky finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

This cuvée comes from the 2nd harvest of riper fruit selected at the end of September from their 10 acre estate. The riper grapes are harvested then vininfied in a dry, yet ample style. The sandstone terroir brings a density to the wine whilst preserving tension. 

1/3 Grenache, 1/3 Mourvèdre, 1/3 Syrah

This cuvée is the result of a partnership with half a dozen winemakers from neighboring villages who also
practice organic agriculture like Olivier, or who are transitioning to organic. All native yeats, all concrete tank...ethereal, transparent, pure, delicious!

93 Points! Absurdly concentrated for an entry-level wine. Deep blueberry and black-cherry fruit fills out the compact and structured medium-bodied palate. Generous fine tannins and notes of licorice and baking-spice aromas. Long, powdery and fresh finish. This is a unique solera-type blend of several vintages from 2022 to 2012. Blaufrankisch plus pinot noir, merlot and zweigelt. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

99 Points! Forget the world and fly into this incredibly concentrated and subtle recreation of a Chateauneuf from two centuries ago. A cornucopia of gingerbread, dried cherries, bitter chocolate and wild herbs on the nose. The quality of the tannins is as unique as the aromas. Endless layers of flavor in the super-refined finish. A cuvee of 23% grenache, 22% syrah, 20% counoise, 20% mourvedre, 7% cinsault, 3% clairette, 2% clairette rose and 1% each of bourbelenc, picpoul and roussanne. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Lastly, the 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude checks in as 25% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre, 20% Counoise, 7% Cinsault, 2% Clairette Rose, and the rest a mix of varieties. It has a more medium-bodied, elegant, silky profile as well as remarkable complexity in its savory red fruits, pressed flowers, savory garrigue, and spicy nuances. I love its overall balance, and it has fine yet building tannins and a great finish. As always, this cuvée is more about complexity and elegance than power. - Jeb Dunnuck

From the importer: Nicoletta Bocca is known as a maverick for her ultra-long aged Langhe cuvées, among the finest in the entire region. “Valdibà” is her youthful expression of the Dogliani DOCG, made all in steel cuve, which shows in the fresh brightness of the wine. Nicoletta considers this to be classical Dolcetto, striking all of the notes one would expect from the variety, with a confident tannic backbone. From southeast and northwest-facing vines in the Barracone and San Fereolo vineyards in the Valdibà subsection of Dogliani.

Champ Divin’s cuvée of chardonnay is fresh and delicate; notes of pear, along with hints of yellow peaches and biscuit on a finely tuned finish. A delicious and very approachable example of Jurassien chardonnay.

VINEYARDS / SOILS: Clay-limestone of shallow depth over limestone /silica bedrock
FARMING: Biodynamic
WINEMAKING: Light sulphuring after picking, followed by gentle pressing (3h1/2) of grapes.
Fermentation with indigenous yeasts at temperatures maintained between 20 - 25 °C.
Malolactic fermentation followed by a light kieselguhr filtration.
AGING: Short period of barrel aging in neutral vessel with malolactic fermentation completed; low sulfur
at bottling (2 g/hl). Bottled un-fined and unfiltered.

55% Malbec, 45% Merlot. "According to our organic and biodynamic practices, our wines are fermented with the indigenous yeasts from the vineyard. Our goal for this Cuvée Nature is to produce a natural wine, fruit-forward and easy to drink. We achieve it through an earlier harvest, shorter maceration and aging in steel tanks as well as an early bottling to preserve fruit aromas. To better reveal the quality and beauty of our Terroir, no additives nor oenological products nor sulphites are added throughout the whole wine-making process. At the bottling, we only add 30 ppm of sulphites to ensure that this beauty is delivered to your glass."

From the importer: What strikes many as an unusual blend is fairly common in Penedes – aromatic whites made from a mix of “northern” and indigenous varieties. In the case of Gessami, it is a blend of the native Muscat (both Frontignan 35%, and de Alexandria 15%, which are grown by Gramona) and the non-native but heat-tolerant Gewürztraminer 15%, and Sauvignon Blanc 35%. Over a third of the cuvée is Sauvignon Blanc, which provides a fresh herbal lift and vibrant acidity. To ensure a balanced wine, the grapes are picked just as they reach ripeness to ensure plenty of acidity to balance the 6g/L of residual sugar that is retained. Depending on the vintage, either one or both Muscat varieties are used in addition to a small proportion of Gewürztraminer to boost the aromatics. Such a floral and alluring wine is fittingly named Gessami, which in English means Jasmine.

From the importer: A south-southwest facing parcel located in Clos du Château de Chanzeaux, all from Coteaux du Layon. Thisparcel used to be part of the cuvee for their Cremant d'Loire, but was identified as worth a single-parcel bottling. Vinified dry, so must be classified as Anjou Blanc. The average age of the vines is 50+ years. Ground coverage alternates yearly between grass and herbs every other row for the health of the vines and nutrients. Schist and red clay soils.

All white wines are pressed whole cluster, which helps to protect the grapes from oxygenation and acts as a natural filter. The grapes are macerated for eight hours, after which the must is lightly filtered. Native yeast fermentation for 2.5 months, with malolactic in barrel. Matured in sandstone amphora for 12 months, and then two months in stainless steel before bottling.

97 Points! Dense licorice and forest berry aromas mask the deep tannin structure of this Chateauneuf-du-Pape masterpiece. Full-bodied but with a lightness of touch. Then the power and stony intensity pour over you in a giant wave. The freshness is extraordinary for this hot and dry vintage. Serious tannins in the very long, compact and refined finish. From organically grown grapes. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The estate lost some Grenache due to shatter, so the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape is based on 40% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 10% Syrah, and the rest a mix of permitted varieties. It was all destemmed except for the Syrah and brought up in foudre. The higher Mourvèdre component gives it a more serious, focused style than most in the vintage, and it has darker blackberry fruits intermixed with roasted herbs, spring flowers, violets, and some meaty nuances on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a deep, pure, layered mouthfeel, it has ripe, velvety, yet building tannins and a great finish. Another beautiful vintage for this cuvée, it has the approachable style of the vintage yet brings more than enough density and concentration to evolve for 30 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

Les Moutons comes from Laurent’s favorite Malbec plot at the top of the hill on its poorest rocky topsoil on Jurassic limestone bedrock. This is where les moutons (the sheep) like to hang out the most, eating and fertilizing—“a sort of organic doping of the vineyards,” Laurent says.

“Les Moutons is destined to be my grand cuvée,” Laurent says

This 0.45ha upper plot in the vineyard always produces extraordinary wine from its 45-year-old vines, which he partially attributes to the plot’s spare soils and the regularity of sheep contributions. But perhaps the most significant factor is that it’s not made every year. Laurent’s vision for this wine is to have something serious and precise, and when the year doesn’t line up the way he wants it to, like 2021 and 2023, he blends it into Les Calades. 

Once the grapes arrive, half are destemmed and layered, “millefeuille style,” with the whole bunch clusters in a 30hl tronconic wood vat for around three weeks of natural fermentation with a control of between 12-14°C. The must is pumped over once per day until pressing.

Despite the notable beauty and class of the wine each year that it’s made, Laurent says that he’s still finding his way to fully realize his vision for this wine. In 2019, it was aged for 13 months in equal parts amphora, foudre and barrel. All of this 2020 was aged in 8hl Italian terracotta amphoras, and in 2022 it was four-year-old French oak barrels (at least from October 2022 to October 2023). As with the other reds, Les Moutons is not fined but passes through a light filtration, and has no added sulfites at any time.

97 Points! The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Trois Sources comes from a terroir similar to the Reserve and is based on 70% Grenache, 10% Cinsault, 5% each Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Counoise, and the rest a mix of varieties. Ripe blackberries, roasted garrigue, loamy soil, licorice, and a kiss of graphite all emerge on the nose, and this beauty hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, beautiful yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's slightly more open and expressive than the Les Hauts-Lieux, yet I suspect both of these cuvées will cruise for two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! A towering effort, the 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes soars from the glass with pristine crème de cassis, raspberry jam, black plum, scorched earth, incense, mint, exotic spice and white pepper aromas. The precision of the individual perfumes has a laser-like quality rarely seen in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Full-bodied and framed by ever-so-velvety tannins, it reaches a spherical dimension in the mouth. The recent adoption of 3,000-liter Austrian oak barrels beautifully contributed to the shape of this wine, giving it terrific poise and tension. - Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous Media

97 Points! One of the world’s greatest expressions of Grenache year-in and year-out, the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes is all varietal that was brought up in larger foudre. This cuvée comes from the Charbonnieres and Les Esqueirons lieux-dits, which are mostly more sandy soils. Its deeper purple color is followed by a concentrated, medium to full-bodied, powerful yet elegant Grenache offering ripe cherry and darker berry fruits, notes of ground pepper, garrigue, and licorice, ripe yet certainly present tannins, and a great finish. Reminding me slightly of the 2006, which is drinking brilliantly today, it’s going to offer incredible pleasure over its lengthy life. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Impressive depth of colour for the vintage, this is extremely round, fresh, clear and well-defined. Tannins are present and fairly strict in style, but they're ripe, and all in all this is exceptionally promising. Not huge in fruit or body, but well-balanced and precise. from 120-year-old vines planted on north-facing clay and sand lieux-dits of Charbonnières and Esquières. Fermented in concrete, aged in foudre. - Matt Walls, Decanter Magazine

94 Points! The 2022 Imaginador collects the fruit that doesn't go into the five single-vineyard bottlings and presents them with the clarity and precision many producers strive for in their top cuvées. It leads with a spice-driven nose, adding flourishes of dried flowers and smoke with time. The palate embodies the weightlessly saturated profile that defines the entire portfolio, concluding with ultra-refined tannins and stony persistence. This is a superb introduction to a world-class set of wines. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

93 Points! Reductive notes of racy bramble berries, pomegranates, rose hips and white pepper funk. Nice fruit on the palate, but kept nicely bone-dry, with tense, firm tannins and a fresh finish. Very slightly metallic. 100% whole clusters fermented in open steel tanks, 60% to 80% aged in foudres.- JamesSuckling.com