January 2018

TASTY, WELL-PRICED and (shhh) KOSHER RED

Every time we are presented something from a Kosher winery here in the states, or from Israel, the first thing out of the vender’s mouth is, ‘but don’t make a point of it being kosher’. First off, what’s wrong with it being Kosher? Does that pidgeonhole it for buyers, the practicing kosher ones thinking it is only for holidays and everyone else presuming it tastes like the mass produced, sweet reds whose names you all know.

We have a hard time believing it is that cut and dried for most people. But maybe it is. Still it is our belief that if you have a wine that plays on the ‘celebratory’ table, that will afford it a built-in audience from which you move forward. If it happens to be a well made, dry red, the potential followers pool should be even larger because it should make an interesting proposition for folks who are merely looking for something red and tasty without concern for any holiday/holy day applications. If it happens to sell for a really good price as well, that would appear to be some sort of trifecta. In other words, this is first a candidate for a versatile everyday drinking red. Everything else is a bonus. The Golan Heights Winery Mount Hermon Red Galilee 2016 is such a wine.

Golan Heights Winery/Yarden makes a lot of different bottlings under its various labels. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle. But in a recent tasting we zeroed in on this one simply because it was dark, tasty, and engaging and sold for a song. The 2016 Mount Hermon Red exhibits notes of berries and cherries, along with nuances of Mediterranean herbs, chocolate, earth and a little minerality. Made from all five Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec), with Cabernet as the lead player, the grapes come mainly from the Golan Heights, a raised volcanic plateau going from 1300 to 3900 feet in elevation that is the coolest wine region in Israel. A small portion comes from vineyards in Galilee.

We have tasted examples of this before but this one made an impression. We didn’t have our Israel vintage chart handy but apparently 2016 was a superior vintage in the region (a warm spring and the earliest harvest in nearly a quarter century). Wine Enthusiast noted, “A nose of cassis and vanilla sets the scene for flavors of black cherry, blackberry, butterscotch, juniper and violet. It’s easy on entry, offering smooth tannins that slowly reveal themselves, culminating in a floral and cranberry finish. ..92 points.” Tasty, well-priced and, yes, kosher, but you don’t reason need a ‘reason’ to open this. In the end it’s simply a tasty red.

THE NEXT RIOJA ‘LEGEND’

How do you follow up a legend? The Faustino I Gran Reserva 2001 was one of the highest volume wines in our 35-year history, it got a 97-point score from Decanter Magazine as well as being named their Wine-of-the-Year for 2013. What the press did was create a scenario where exponentially more people tried the wine and, subsequently, bought It on a regular basis. On top of that, we had been selling Faustino’s Gran Reserva consistently since the 1994 vintage, pretty much when no one heard of it. The 2001 vintage was an outstanding one in Rioja, and the wine already had more than a decade of bottle age on it when we started to sell it. It was the perfect storm.

The funny thing is that it almost seemed like we were the only ones buying it (as well as a cadre of older library vintages) as we were able to continually restock the wine for nearly four years! Given the accolades, bottle age, price, etc., how were there not others involved? In any case, as happens with wine, all good things come to an end. We are well aware that any time a current wine has to compete for attention with a ‘memory’, it is at a disadvantage. Still, knowing that, we’re going to tell all of the folks that have been buying Faustino over the years from us, and all of you who just discovered this stylish Rioja with the 2001, the new release 2005 Faustino I Rioja Gran Reserva is the next up in this series.

The story is relatively straightforward. After selling so many of the prior vintages, and silly amounts of the 2001, we were presented with the option of buying either the 2004 or 2005 (both outstanding vintages) as the follow-up to the 2001 campaign. We’ll tell you up front that the 2004 got a 94 from James Suckling and a 90 from Luis Gutierrez, and the 2005 got 93s from both Wine Spectator and Decanter Magazine. Side by side it was an easy call for us. The Faustino I Rioja Gran Reserva 2005 had more structure and power, plenty of palate authority as 10+-year-old reds go, and a classic Rioja profile of cassis, red fruits, spice, earth, vanilla and some fresh herb undercurrents.

The Spectator verbiage paints a pretty clear picture as well, “Fresh and lively, this red shows bright fruit and spice flavors, with cherry, berry, vanilla and anise notes that mingle over light tannins and orange peel acidity. Harmonious and graceful, expressive and alluring…93 points.”

That whole ‘graceful, expressive, and alluring’ thing is what Rioja is about, and has been a big part of our love affair with Faustino over the years. We aren’t going to tell you that this wine is just like the 2001. The vintages are different, the profiles accordingly different, but the 2005 is the next delicious episode of a Faustino saga that has had more versions here than there have been Star Wars films. Some of you will like the 2005 better, some of you equally as much and a few of you less so, but it is indeed at the same incredible level of quality as that legend 2001.

An aged, polished, complex, pop-and-serve-or-hold Rioja for under $30 never goes out of style and this lovely 2005 is simply the next up in a series that has provided a lot of pleasure over the last two decades. Thanks to that 2001, a lot more folks have ‘seen the light’. But for those of us that have had more than a dozen vintages, this classy 2005 simply steps into the program without a ripple. It’s another example of what Faustino does on a regular basis. Simply put, a wine with this kind of quality, bottle age, and at this kind of price, would seem an imperative for any cellar. Great Rioja ages, but it never ‘gets old’. You need some of this.

THE ‘SUD’ ALSO RISES

Back in the early-to-mid-90s there was something of a ‘modest’ period for potentially great vintages of red Rhone wines. Perhaps coincidentally, we started seeing a ‘new breed’ of wine emerging from the South of France. About that time a number of vignerons came to the realization that, with the warm climate, Mediterranean breezes and old vines, they had a shot at making some pretty serious juice if they employed more meticulous viticultural and winemaking practices. In our minds, that was when the ‘Sud’ as we affectionately call it (the south of France) was born.

In the latter part of the 90s, the Rhone went on an unprecedented run of vintages and people didn’t pay as much attention to the ‘new wave’ of producers emerging down south. It was tough getting the spotlight away from the more established appellations like Chateauneuf and Gigondas. Still, certain estates in the south persisted and grabbed a piece of the marketplace by virtue of a number of distinctive, full flavored wines that delivered remarkable value. The labels you have become accustomed to for both great value like Bila Haut and Lafage and elite performance like Gilles Troullier simply weren’t visible or didn’t exist yet back in those early days. But they are pretty darned important now.

Domaine des Aires Hautes was one of the early players we saw back in those ‘pioneer’ days. We remember selling a breakthrough bottling called Clos l’Escandil from them over two decades ago. But we really hadn’t seen much of them since until one day this little jewel rolled into the office.

Meet the new Aires Hautes, same as the old Aires Hautes, only better. For those who aren’t familiar with the region, Minervois is a sub-region of the Languedoc, and La Liviniere is a more specific ‘sweet spot’ of the Minervois, sitting on a chalky plateau facing the Mediterranean and protected from the Atlantic weather influences by the Massif Central. The Chabbert family owns 28 hectares in this lovely spot and Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre are the components in this wine, pretty much in that order. Hand-harvesting, destemming, concrete tanks and used oak are the practices, and the vineyards are farmed at a low 28 hl/ha.

While our memories are still fond of those breakout efforts so long ago, the Domane des Air Hautes Minervois la Liviniere 2015 is clearly a serious step up and a fantastic beverage for its sub-$20 tab. While it has the classic pepper, garrigue, lavender and floral notes one associates with this very distinctive village, they play a complex but subtle role in support of a big rush of glossy blackberry fruit that is rich and polished but never ponderous. It can play to a much wider audience than most Languedocs you have likely tasted. The 2015 vintage clearly dealt the family Chabbert a winning hand and they brought it home in style.

While the tasting notes from Jeb Dunnuck, writing for the Wine Advocate at the time, were based on the barrel tasting, it is clear to us this wine got into the bottle exactly as it should have. His prose was enthusiastic, “It’s a textbook, perfumed, full-bodied and incredibly sexy 2015 that offers notes of blueberries, flowers, lavender and jammy blackberries. It could be a true superstar and is loaded with potential…92-94 points.”

From our perspective, as you may have guessed, ‘potential’ achieved and this truly is one of the best efforts from the ‘south’ we have tasted this year. We’d dare say if Jeb went back to score the finished wine another time, it would rate at the higher end of the range. It is a ‘beaut’ and we bought every last box. Sadly, it was only 50 cases.

Big Little Bordeaux

As you know, we spend a fair bit of time looking for value Bordeaux. There has been ample proof over the years that such things do exist, and we are tickled when we can find enough quantity to do an email. Sometimes there are only ‘bits’ that can’t be emailed because there isn’t enough juice, so we’ll occasionally drop some notes in this space.

As we have mentioned on many occasions, one of the beauties of a great vintage is the quality ‘trickle down’ to the less famous estates. Chateau de Macard 2009 defines the kind of sleeper that exemplified the vintage. On a plateau overlooking the Dordogne River, this Bordeaux Superior sits on a south facing plot comprised of clay and limestone. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet with the vines averaging 45 years of age (one plot of Franc vines is a century old).

Hand harvested, aged entirely in tank, this is the antithesis of Bordeaux’s broad image. It is an honest, fruit-driven, delightful and unpretentious wine at what is certainly an easy to swallow price ($13.99). It’s a ’90’ from Wine Spectator with comments, “Ripe and dense, but fresh, with silky-textured plum, blackberry and blueberry fruit carried by sweet spice and maduro tobacco notes. The fleshy finish shows nice drive. Should open up more with brief cellaring. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.”

Fronsac is one of Bordeaux’s most historic terroirs and the usually solid Chateau Rousselle turned in an exceptional performance in 2009. Robert Parker’s notes tell the story well enough, “An absolutely stunning sleeper of the vintage, this blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc has produced an uncommonly rich, concentrated wine that is one of the very best wines of Fronsac. Opaque ruby/purple in color, the aromatics offer up notes of blueberry liqueur intermixed with kirsch, blackberries, licorice and crushed rock. The wine hits the palate with some serious thunder and lightning (14.5% natural alcohol) and lots of depth, richness and mouth-filling intensity. Consultant Stephane Derenoncourt has made the best wine I have ever tasted from La Rousselle, and it should continue to drink well for at least a decade…92 points.”

The Return of Grey Stack: Sauvignon Blanc like no other…

If you go through and read enough winery websites, you will see a similar thread where the producer is selling the proposition that there is no place like their site for whatever it is that they make. In the absolute sense that is true, but in the reality of tasting as many wines as we do, the differences are generally not all that dramatic. But the Bennett Valley in Sonoma is one of those places where the claim has exceptional merit. We recall some of the early examples of Sauvignon Blanc from Matanzas Creek when it was still run by the original owners. The fruit component was distinctive, unique and quite delicious.

As we have tasted through California Sauvignon Blancs through the years, there have been many fine examples, but only a handful that have set the bar. The most memorable was one called Grey Stack Sauvignon Blanc Rosemary’s Block that pretty much set us on our collective ear and got more attention from the media at that point than any Sauvignon of its time.

This was a dynamic mouthful, notably rich and palate stimulating, with a brilliant beam of acidity and tight focus, but at the same time juicily textured flavors of fig, apricot, grapefruit, and honeydew melon along with some floral notes and Loire-like notes of flint. Long, pure, and remarkably expressive, tasting this 2016, which is apparently the first release by a newly formed partnership, we were immediately transported back to those remarkable efforts that were pulling down 92-94 point reviews back around 2010.

We hadn’t seen the label for a while, nor had there been any reviews save some pretty tepid ones from Wine Spectator in the interim, but we are thrilled to have something back that is truly definitive for a genre. Where does the magic come from? Well we have, as we said, always noticed the uniqueness of the Bennet Valley going back a long ways. There are those that point to the particular clone used here, said to come from Collio in northeastern Italy near the Slavonian border. The winery website says it’s ‘the people’.

Our guess is some combination of ‘all of the above’. But whatever the reason, this Sauvignon is special in the way the Eric Kent we sold a while back was (half of the grapes for that wine came from this vineyard, incidentally). Special juice here, Spectator’s 90-point tout does not do this wine justice.

ROUSSET CROZES HERMITAGE PICAUDIERES 2015

As hard-core Rhonies know, the 2015 vintage in the northern Rhone was something special…a vintage to be placed along with the icon vintages of the last quarter-century (1989, 1990, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2010). Some might make an argument that this could be the best given the fleshy ripeness, bright lift and freshness, and the fact that winemaking has come a long way in the last 25 years.

What some people tend to forget is that, in such vintages, a whole lot of producers have uncommon success. The wine media will go out of their way to fawn over the acknowledged great ones like Chave, Ogier, and Chapoutier. Those folks have earned their stripes, no question there. But demand for these limited production gems will be fierce, quantities will be low, and prices, if you can find the stuff to buy, will be scary. Our take on the 2015 northern Rhones is much like the 2015 Burgundies…find the hidden gems that you can drink and enjoy without the severe prices. In such vintages, you can find some very cool stuff if you know where to look.

The story goes that the importer found Rousset by asking the locals, including already famous Jean and Pierre Gonon. This was one of the names that kept coming up and, even though this family had been in these parts some eleven generations, they were still under the radar. The press we found only went back a couple of vintages prior to 2015, including some nice notes on the 2014s from Vinous’ Josh Raynolds. We haven’t seen any reviews on this one yet, but we didn’t need them in this case (though we’re sure they will come).

We tasted three wines from Stephane and Robert Rousset, all possessing pure, bright, succulent fruit, and those layered, nuanced, full throttle yet refined flavors that exemplify the best vintages from this part of the Rhone. Since they were all relatively similar in price, we settled on our favorite, the Rousset Crozes Hermitage Picaudieres 2015 . This is a single vineyard that is located on the hillside of Crozes with terraced, granite rows of vines facing south. Some notes made comparisons to Hermitage with respect to the soils and exposure.

To be sure this is certainly no ordinary Crozes. The Roussets own about a half-hectare here (about an acre and a quarter) of densely planted vines, many of which are quite old and date back to the 1930s. It is said to be one of the best parcels of the appellation. They plow by horse where they can, make the wine in the traditional way with only the wild yeasts and this particular bottlings sees a touch of new oak.

The result is a pretty thrilling bottle of Syrah with plenty of well-woven-in minerality and polished notes of the classic meat/smoke element that defines the region, all in a supporting role to a pure, juicy blast of perfectly ripened blackberries and black cherries. This is Crozes that reaches to a higher plane and, with apologies to all of the Rhone Rangers everywhere else, is the kind of wine that can only happen here, when conditions are exceptional, and when the winemaker doesn’t get in the way.

The problem with Crozes is that the appellation has so many variables, with killer vineyards high on the hill and more ordinary stuff along the autoroute. Picaudieres is top dirt and the wine costs way less than anything that says Cote Rotie or Hermitage on it, but it plays at that level. A dark, expressive beauty. These folks are still pretty ‘under the radar’, but we see that changing real soon. Beat the crowds.

SCORE WARS

It wasn’t that long ago, in a place not so far away, that we expressed concern about what would happen to the wine world as the media continued to expand. This was pretty much back when James Suckling left the Wine Spectator to set up his own shop, and our fear at the time was that there might be a certain rise in ‘numbers’ as this new entity tried to garner a readership. After all, it is axiomatic that consumers do not concern themselves with wines that get a B+ (89 point scores), so one of the ways to get your name in front of a new audience was to become more quotable. How does one achieve that? One way is to issue ‘enthusiastic’ scores on certain wines that would surely be quoted by those of us trying to sell said wine.

Selling by third party endorsement became a growing industry tool back in the late 1980s as certain wine media sources, mainly the Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator, made inroads into consumer wine awareness by virtue of their easy to digest 100 point scales. Yes there were words, too. But there was good familiarity with the general populace when it comes to number grading because most experienced it in school, and the quick evaluation a consumer could make just by looking up a number embedded the system into the collective wine psyche.

It didn’t help that most merchants were lazy and quick to adapt to someone else providing sales avenues via published reviews. Using third-party press relieved them of the responsibility of actually doing their own work and removed their liability in actually giving their customers their own opinions. This indemnification made the retail trade the writers’ biggest fans and the constant attention that the majority of retailers gave to third party reviews gave the media tremendous power.

Remembering back however, what was different then was that the scores themselves seemed to have honest intention on the part of the media to give the consumer the appropriate perspective. Back in the day, a 93 point score was a pretty enthusiastic endorsement, a 95 was a ‘must have’, and ‘88’ and ‘89’ were still viewed as positive prose for wines that were value priced. There were shock-waves in the industry when Robert Parker issues his first ‘100-point’ score for a domestic wine, the 1985 Groth Cabernet Reserve. Such scores were quite rare and special then.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and the value of individual scores gradually depreciated. Sadly after the turn of the century, no matter how glowing the prose, a 90 point score barely elicited a response from buyers and ‘92’ became the new ‘90’ for value wines. Giving a wine ‘89’ these days is like putting it in a witness protection program…no one will find the it because they won’t look. All kidding aside, this is what we have observed behaviorally for a while now. But the worst, it seems, is not over.

Part of it has been predictable given the way the James Suckling site established itself. Purveyors and retailers aren’t out there quoting the guys who give ’89’ to sell wine. It also seems, as we sit across the table from a steady stream of suppliers presenting us with wine and information, the ‘number’ itself is more important than the source who issued it and often becomes disassociated with the actual source of the review.

Suddenly, however, there are a lot more ‘players’ competing for consumer attention. Antonio Galloni once worked for Wine Advocate, then left to set up shop on his own, subsequently purchasing Stephan Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar and incorporating that writing team into the fold. Most recently he hired away the Advocate Bordeaux specialist Neal Martin.

Jeb Dunnuck was brought on to Wine Advocate to focus on Rhones and then got other responsibilities on the domestic front. Jeb, too, recently left to set up his own service (or more correctly re-setup as he had his own service before), knowing full well that the new enterprise would benefit from his exposure with Wine Advocate. He just recently kicked off this program. Given the ‘defections’ and the fact that Robert Parker himself has greatly scaled back on his post-sale involvement, Advocate editor Lisa Perotti-Brown, MW expanded her role in the Wine Advocate review writing.

So where are we now? Well it is fair to say that previously there were two main review services being widely followed, 2.5 if you count the respected but not always ‘quotable’ Tanzer publication. Now there are five that directly resulted from the initial two and a number of others that are at varied stages of ‘market penetration’ but arguably have lesser clout. There are likely some ‘startups’ we haven’t even run across yet that are U.S. based. All of them have plans to become, or in some cases retain a powerful voice with wine consumers. Sadly, it appears that another dangerous score escalation may be in the offing. It has been coming for a while and it appears to be heating up.

A few years back, after the sale of the Advocate, Robert Parker did a ‘second look piece’ on 2002s from Napa Valley. Now here was one of the most powerful critics of any kind, someone who had been generally judicious in handing out triple digit reviews (with the possible exception of elite Bordeaux and Guigal and Chapoutier specialty items). But in this particular issue in June, 2012, in one section, ‘The Bob’ handed out nineteen 100 point scores! Now granted, one could argue that this was the beginning of Parker’s ‘farewell tour’ after a storied career and he was making friends. One could also point to the lineup (Abreu, Harlan, Sloan, Schrader) as the Cabernet version of the ’27 Yankees so what’s a few ‘100s’ among friends. That was unprecedented at the time and we saw it as a departure from the conscientiousness of Advocate’s prior history.

But it is what has been happening recently, with reviewers operating in new positions or trying to establish new services, really has us concerned. Lisa Perotti-Brown’s first significant foray into the Napa Valley generated fifteen 100-point final scores and 32 that were either 99 or a range score that touched perfection (98-100). Perhaps a little surprising to some is that there were three Chardonnays that were awarded triple digits. Pretty rarified stuff.

Not to be outdone, there was plenty of firepower to Jeb Dunnuck’s opening report of the Napa Valley. Now one of Robert Parker’s strengths was his enthusiasm which he could convey through the written word. Jeb showed plenty of excitement in his inaugural work, handing out no less than 31 ‘100s’ and a good slug of ‘99s’ (21 actually). Thirty one ‘perfect’ wines? In a single category? Really? Someone used the term ‘jumping the shark’ for this opening salvo/love fest. More important, if the perfect score becomes commonplace, it also will seem less special and have less impact, not to mention how it undermines all of those poor souls that only got ‘96’ which, back in the day, was a very good review.

We could make a few, albeit less sensational examples to illustrate what we are talking about with respect to the current round of ‘score wars’, but it’s the overall impact that is the problem. With more publications slinging around more ‘100s’ and other lofty marks, perspective goes out the window. The consumer will start getting confused or numbed (a number of the trade already have), and sensationalism will rule the day. With so many more items pushed up against that finite ceiling (since you can’t have more than 100 points) separation becomes much less clear and it all starts to lose meaning.

In the end, if this proliferation of over-the-moon scoring continues, where does it end? People thinking the only way to get a decent bottle of wine is to pay $300-500 on somebody’s mailing list? Does ‘95’ become the new ‘89’? Is there really that much perfection in the world or are all these writers trying to win friends and influence the marketplace for their own agenda? It’s hard to say but it is clear we are entering dangerous territory.

These publications are supposedly designed to help consumers sort through the myriad of wine choices out there. Passing out big scores like Halloween candy might get the writer ‘in big’ with the wine elite. It might help Andy Beckstoffer charge even more for his grapes. But we fail to see how it helps the consumer very much, and they, my dear writers, are the ones that pay your bills. If your audience stops listening, it’s nearly impossible to get them back. Cuidado.

WELCOME BACK, DONABAUM (GREAT GRUNER)

It’s always about the wine, but sometimes it is also about the connection. Without going into detail about the cottage industry of wine brokerages that exists in a place like California, sometimes we don’t see certain labels for a period of time simply because the representative of some small entity simply can’t be bothered to make the trip down the freeway. This is our life as it exists in the wine industry. But we deal with all manner of folks because that is what you have to do to see all that is out there.

Johann Donabaum’s Austrian wines were an immediate favorite when we started working with them about a decade ago. We liked his stuff for a couple of reasons. Clearly the guy had good vineyards, and clearly a unique touch where his Gruners and Rieslings were very typical of the personality one expected from vineyards like Spitzer Point and Setzberg in the Wachau. These wines had all the terroir and minerality one could expect, but still a certain accessibility that offered some hedonistic appeal as opposed to just “rocks and acidity’. Second, for as good as the wines were, there was a certain rational sense to the pricing.

The Johann Donabaum Gruner Veltliner Spitzer Point Federspiel 2015, the first Donabaum we have seen in a while was a perfect example of what we mean. Clean and beautifully executed as always, it is particularly gratifying to have the stuff come back in one of the best vintages we can ever recall for Austrian wines. This Federspiel (the Austrian equivalent of a kabinett in must weight) has the weight and roundness of a lot of Smaragd, with the well infused minerality one expects with a yellow stone fruit character that this particular vintage brings.

From classic gneiss (typically coarse-grained earth consisting mainly of feldspar, quartz, and mica) soils, these 30-year-old vines sit in an east facing vineyard sitting at 1000 ft. elevation. This wine sees nothing but exposure to its own lees in the cellar in an effort to express the site in its purest form. Plumper yet still crisp, this is an appealing Gruner in a great vintage from a talented source for under $20. That’s the meat of it.

BRIEFS (OK, maybe not quite so brief this time)

*If you’ll recall some of our ranting a few months back about how spectacular the 2016 vintage was in the southern Rhone, and our subsequent sellout of one of the first examples to hits the market in the Pere Caboche Cotes du Rhone, here’s another early warning release. The Delas Cotes du Rhone Saint Esprit has been a reliable go-to in solid vintage for a long time, but the 2016 version just pulled a 95 from Decanter Magazine and some rather enthusiastic prose for a wine that will set you back a mere $10 a bottle. They said, “95 Points! 60% Syrah, 40% Grenache. Lovely rich opulent and floral, black berry and plum nose, the palate is big with well layered fruit, attractively firm but soft tannin and hints of oak, a big wine with a lovely finish.” (July, 2017) We say that’s a lot of Rhone for the d’argent.

One would be well advised to start stocking up on the ‘little’ wines as those will be the first to come and go from this very special vintage. Also in-house, as well as later restocks of the afore-mentioned Pere Caboche and Saint Prefert Cotes Du Rhone Clos Beatus Ille 2016, are notable efforts from serious ‘players’ like Domaine de Marcoux, Domaine Giraud Cotes du Rhone Les Sables d’Arene 2016, and Mordoree Cotes Du Rhone La Dame Rousse 2016, all under $20. The press hasn’t hit most of these yet, but they will. Early bird and all of that…

*We had been warned ahead of time that a group of newer producers from the ancient region of Tierra de Castillo y Leon around Madrid were going to be the next big thing. We’ve tasted several examples from this emerging, highly touted group in the past and had been left a little cold by wines that were perhaps a bit too introspective and frankly at times reduced and standoffish. We kind of wondered what the fuss was. But recently, maybe it was a ‘special day’, maybe this band of iconoclasts have turned the corner, or maybe it was just that whole 2015 vintage thing, but we found religion in a number of uniquely expressive Grenache-based wines we tasted. You will be hearing about Daniel Landi’s Las Iruelas 2014, Commando G’s La Bruja de Rozas 2015, and, in particular, the Bodega Marañones 30.000 Maravedíes 2015. Like we said, Grenache (Garnacha if you will) plays the starring role in each of these wines but in a way that is unique from anything else we have ever tasted. The flavors lean a little more mulberry than your traditional kirsch profile of the southern Rhone, but they also have a purity, lift, and freshness that is indescribable within most people’s context of the varietal. This is exciting, breakthrough stuff!

*Yeah, we know it’s January but the trio of delightful Gosset Champagnes arrived literally at the last minutes of the holiday and they deserve a word. The Gosset Grand Reserve Brut NV (WA 90, JS 92) is a ‘biscuity’ charmer when the lines are clean as they are in this cuvee and the Gosset Grand Rose Brut NV (WA 93) is consistent winner and one we usually grab whenever we see it. The Gosset Extra Brut Celebris 2002 (WA 95, VM 96) is not only a remarkable example of the top tier ‘extra brut’ genre but one of the few 2002s left in the marketplace. Champagne ‘season’ lasts 365 days around here.

A LOOK AHEAD AT 2018: TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF

As we usually do this time of year, we like to offer up a buyer’s perspective for the coming months. It’s something we do not only as passionate wine drinkers but, well, it’s our business to know this stuff. After all there is only so much money, manpower and space, so allocating those things and anticipating needs ahead of time is one of the reasons we have been around as long as we have. Sure, we still wake up every day with that sense of wonder about what exciting new things might roll in the door. But, for the reasons we have mentioned, things are not as ‘free form’ as they sometimes might appear.

As we look at what we can expect to see in 2018, we are struck by the breadth and depth of what will hit the market. There have been few times we can recall in our three-decades-plus where so many areas had spectacular harvests that were here or due to arrive in the next twelve months. For a lot of you, it’s about one or two of your favorite wine regions but for us it is almost overwhelming because we deal in everything. It would literally be easier to talk about the parts of the wine world that weren’t successful, but we can’t really think of that many.

In recent memory, there certainly hasn’t been a buying window like this since the 2010s from France and Italy (and later Spain) rolled out some 5-6 years ago. Even then, while vintages in California were certainly solid, they weren’t necessarily what most aficionados would call ‘classic’ in today’s terms. This time around there was definitely a broader participation in the success by, well, almost every place. In short, if you can’t find something to drink this year, you probably don’t like wine very much. That said, here are what we see as the highlights.

USA: We can’t recall a string of vintages (2014, 2015, 2016) this successful up and down the coast. California, Oregon, and Washington are rolling out one hit after another. If these are your muse, your ship has definitely arrived…it’s actually been here for a little while and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The ‘issues’, if there are any, have nothing to do with the grapes. It is more about pricing. The market is flush with great $40-60 single-vineyard Pinots and nearly everything outside of broad commercial labels that says Napa on it is $50 (and up). The beauty is that, with so much quality juice, there will be some ‘trickling down’ and it should be good times for value shoppers.

As a matter of fact, we are hoping this is a banner year for Pinot as wineries dial back the single vineyard stuff that doesn’t seem to have as enthusiastic a market as 5-6 years ago and put better juice in the ‘entry level’ bottlings. Here’s hoping anyway. Zins, Syrahs, et. al. are all delivering and, as we have pointed out in the past, a great vintage elevates all wines great and small. Rising tide lifting all boats etc etc… The burning question for a lot of folks (OK maybe like 6) is whether Merlot is ‘back’. As far as we can tell from our experiences, not quite yet.

ITALY: Italy is kinds of a mixed bag because the 2014 vintage was difficult in Piedmont (except for Barbaresco!) and Tuscany. So there’s a need to be more specific. The 2015s from these regions that are emerging now are quite delicious and the ‘bigger fish’ that come out later (mostly from Tuscany this year) are definitely important. The whites from the northeast in 2016 are exciting as well.

FRANCE: What has come out of France over the last year, and will over the next is downright gaudy. We’ll start with Burgundy. The 2015s are still out there, though depleted. You want to grab whatever you can of this remarkably sexy vintage, with the only restriction being the ‘freight’. Yes the big dogs are very expensive, but this is a vintage to look for modestly priced appellations from good sources as it’s the sleepers that will surprise with a little bottle time. The 2016s are fine, but not 2015s, and will be scarce. Same goes for Beaujolais.

With the Rhone, there are no bad choices between 2015 and 2016, only degrees. The 2015s from the north are special in a way that few vintages have been, so take the opportunity to give a good home not only to Cote Rotie and Hermitage, but Cornas, Crozes, and St. Joseph. There’s a sexy edge and freshness to these wines that rarely happens even in the best years. As good as the southern Rhones were in 2015, 2016 looks to be one of the best vintages we have ever tasted. They possess both grace and power, and we’ll be surprised if the ‘final numbers’ aren’t epic.

Bordeaux is on a bit of a run after the ‘dark times’ of 2011 and 2013. You’ve got the friendly, juicy, well-priced 2014s and the even richer and well-stuffed 2015s. Red Bordeaux is on a roll and hopefully the ‘big boys’ have learned a lesson after their price excesses with some of the past vintages. If not, Bordeaux is still a big place with literally hundreds of good producers. There will be plenty to consider, with the potential to create a foundation for a great Bordeaux cellar moving forward.

SOUTH AMERICA: We said last year that South America was the rising star with the highest trajectory. More of the same this year as all of the research, quality surge, etc. bears fruit. It’s looking rosy for Argentina and Chile from a wine perspective. In Chile, Pinot Noir in particular will keep surprising as vineyards mature and vintners develop more familiarity with the cooler, ocean-influenced valleys inland from the coast. As for Argentina, there may well come a day where Cabernet Franc is considered their ‘great grape’.

SPAIN: As we have learned over the years, Spain always bears watching, though the staggered way in which the various bodegas release their wines and the different levels of wine that are made (particularly in the case of Rioja) make it hard to issue any kind of sweeping statement. As a ‘heads up’, there should be a number of wines coming from a 2015 vintage that was as successful in Spain as everywhere else in Europe. Also, there should be a number of Gran Reservas emerging from the epic 2010 vintage. Good times.

OTHER: Yeah we didn’t cover all the categories. Briefly, with so many of the big time genres performing so successfully, we don’t expect the media will have a lot of time and space for a lot of the others. Buy 2015 Germans whenever you can. Australia’s return to significance in this market is still in the concept stages except for the occasional screamimg ‘delta’ (95 points and $15, crickey!), South Africa has a lot of exciting things going on but zero momentum here, and except for the occasional stunning Assyrtiko, Greece’s learning curve is still somewhat daunting for most folks (Malagouzia for all my friends). Because the categories they ‘know’ are so chock full of goodies, a lot of folks won’t even look at the more esoteric selections.

This would be an opportune time for someone who was starting a cellar. There are great choices in nearly every ‘important’ category (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Tuscany, etc.) and plenty of potential superstars to highlight a selection that is of generally exceptional quality. The only thing that would make 2018 better is if the market coughs up some of the insane deals we saw last year. That remains to be seen. But, no matter what, there will be plenty of thrilling juice to be had.

For our part we are going to keep doing what we do with a special eye towards pricing. For all of the great wines we bring your way, there are a good number that we don’t simply based on what we feel is excessive, ego-driven pricing. ‘Rarity’ alone does not justify some of the crazy fares we see. We could name a few names, but that really isn’t the point. We’ll simply continue to filter out those kinds of offers, and show you the best deals and the best wines we can get our mitts on when all of the important criteria are met. Happy New Year, it promises to be a good one.