October 2019

Y MAS RIOJA BUENA

Had it been another time, this wine might well have gotten a much bigger presentation. But this seems to be a particularly fortuitous period for the genre as a whole. As those who know us well know, we firmly believe there can never be too much great Rioja. But there are only so many major features we can do in a certain time period, even in one of our favorite categories, lest we change our name to “Rioja Exchange”. Still with back-to-back excellent vintages in 2015 and 2016 hitting the market, plus some late-arriving specialty 2010s, our copa runneth over.

The wines of the Marquis de Murrieta have been a pretty consistent favorite around here because they hit all the key aspects in a couple of categories. We are particular fans of their reserve bottlings for all the right reasons. When they are on (which is most of the time), the style presents plenty of engaging, spicy black fruits like plum and cassis with a rather modern forward nature, but plenty of the supple edges and surprising complexity that makes Rioja what it is.

Knowing that we had been long-time supporters of the brand, the purveyor presented us with the 2014 version of the Marquis de Murrieta Rioja Reserva on three (or was it four?) separate occasions. It was adequate, but just not at the level that we know that it can be. When the 2015 came along we were again back on board. This is a pretty, round, engaging red with supple edges, plenty of character, and the kind of price that allows it to be more than just a ‘special occasion’ bottling.

This Marquis de Murrieta Rioja Reserva 2015, granted from a very successful vintage overall, shows the kind of sweet fruit core, spice and toast elements, and front to back harmony that will win more friends for the genre. This is just a lush, versatile and pleasing bottle of Rioja that is exciting in and of itself. But if you are concerned about reviews, it also equaled the highest score given in the series by Wine Advocate (along with the 2010 and, curiously, the 2014), a 93.

The Advocate commentary provides some technical data also aligns with our own thoughts, “The red blend 2015 Rioja Reserva is 80% Tempranillo with 12% Graciano, 6% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha, a little more Graciano and Mazuelo, something logical in ripe and warm years like 2015. It’s produced with grapes from a diversity of the 30 different plots within the estate, to represent the character of if. It fermented in stainless steel and matured in American oak barrels for 18 months. It’s spicy and somewhat balsamic, with some dusty tannins. It’s a ripe and powerful vintage…”

Good stuff, good price, and once again a ‘go-to’ performer.

LIQUID FARM’S NEW ‘SISTER’

We’ll be the first to admit that we probably don’t spend proportionately enough time talking about California Chardonnay. We do sell a bit of it. But a lot of it is formulaic and geared to fitting certain flavor profiles, while other (which you won’t read about here) are trying, but not quite achieving, some sort of stylistic ideal. Frankly, for such reasons, we find very few California Chardonnays to get excited about. So, if nothing else, this a rare situation where we ran across something that we thought had some ‘sizzle’ and the kind of character that deserves attention.

As we have no shame in saying, our personal preferences run a bit ‘Euro’. Big, fat, sappy styles of Chardonnay are not ‘our jam’ and rather limited in food applications besides. There are, however, ‘local’ alternatives that do strike a chord. One of the more consistent sources is a small Central Coast producer called Liquid Farm. These folks ‘get it’ and we have dabbled over the years with a number of different releases from them.

Perhaps there is a bit of a ‘kindred spirit’ vibe here as we knew owner Jeff Nelson from back in the days where he worked with both Champagne and Burgundy entities on the wholesale market. In the beginning of the project (2009 to be specific), the winery slated a first release that consisted of four barrels of wine with the idea to make a singular bottling. As they tell the story, the juice itself had other ideas with the various component barrels evolving into distinctively different wines that had their own story to tell. Since then the game has been to listen to the grapes and take it from there.

The main focus of the winery had been the Santa Rita Hills but they refer to the Liquid Farm Chardonnay La Hermana Santa Maria Valley 2017 as the first “sister”(La Hermana is Spanish for ‘sister’) to their Santa Rita Hills Chardonnays. The grapes for ‘Sister’ come from the neighboring Santa Maria Valley, roughly equal parts Bien Nacido Vineyard and Solomon Hills Vineyard. The juice goes through 100% neutral barrel fermentation and subsequently sees an additional 10 months in barrel.

There are a lot of reasons we like this wine. Most important, it beautifully embraces the European model while still providing fruit and flavor interest. There is both flesh and verve. There’s volume to the floral, apple, pear, mineral fruit, and a fine underpinning of acidity underneath so that everything hums along nicely across the palate. That combination seems to be difficult to achieve in California and makes this wine stand out because it can play to many stylistic camps. Also, among the Liquid Farm lineup, this is the bargain. It give you a great show of the style and quality of the house, but at half the price of their SRH bottlings.

Antonio Galloni found a lot to like here as well, “The 2017 Chardonnay La Hermana is the one Santa Maria Chardonnay in this lineup. Orchard fruit, white flowers, mint, slate and chalk add layers of complexity to a bright, enticing Chardonnay that oozes class. Impeccable in its balance, La Hermana is bright, layered and incredibly appealing…93 points.”

DELICIOUS HOMMAGE TO PARENTS FROM BOOKER

So if you are old enough to think this name is familiar, you might be thinking of the old TV show Ozzie and Harriet. This is a completely different thing courtesy of Booker vineyards and the intense and focused ‘mind behind’ the project, Eric Jensen. His Syrah bottlings have achieved legend status but this bottling is virtually unknown because, well, it’s brand new.

Imagine a ‘Super Paso’ kind of blend that is a fine extension of the big volume, rich, creamy style that has been the hallmark of the Booker Syrahs infused into this sexy blend. Jensen’s own parents serve as the inspiration for Harvey & Harriet, represented in two hand-holding silhouettes always balancing on the tightrope of life, adorned with the inscription “Everyone’s favorite neighbors. Or not.”

This is a fabulous showpiece for the ‘Paso style’…super plush palate bordering on sur-maturite fruit but with just the right lift to make it pleasingly juicy and palate-caressing. There is richness, plush character, surprising freshness to the layered, ripe fruit. This is pure Paso at its most compelling. Booker is uber famous in some circles, as we said earlier, for it’s Syrah based wines. But this new assemblage tends to reach into a different realm.

The blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, and 4% Malbec could have easily been labeled as Cabernet as it would be virtually impossible to detect that one percent missing in the blend. It would certainly have been easier to sell the wine as a new “Cabernet” from Booker. But, to their credit, that is not how these folks roll. They put all of their effort into perfectly ripe fruit and called it as it was.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this as you would a Cabernet. The touch of blackberry and smoked meats in the finish comes from the Syrah but adds dimension to the wine. The rest plays like an elite, polished Cabrnet from Paso with primarily dark cherry fruit laced with subtle minerality. We have been surprised how many California Cabernet producers have been routinely slipping a little Syrah into the mix. The ‘official’ name of the wine is Booker ‘My Favorite Neighbor’ Harvey & Harriet Paso Robles Red Blend 2017. The name is a little hard to digest and one would be understandably hard-pressed to dive into this with such a non-descript ‘handle’. But this is, in fact, a greatly engaging ‘Cabernet’ and Paso experience all rolled into one.

You can pay more for something like Daou, which gets pretty rave reviews from the press. But to us this wine has more soul, depth, and a very comfortable flavor and style profile. There is a little bit of confusion as the winery has made wines carrying the ‘My Favorite Neighbor’ label for a while (we have Advocate reviews dating back to 2006). But Harvey & Harriet, specifically dedicated to Eric Jensen’s parents, is a new chapter in the series.

There’s not a lot of ink on this newcomer, but clearly Jeb Dunnuck shared our enthusiasm in a barrel review he posted on the wine in November, 2018, “Named after Eric Jenson’s parents, the 2017 Harvey and Harriet is another outstanding wine in the making…It boasts lots of blue fruits, graphite, violets, and classy oak as well as a big, full-bodied yet rockingly balanced style on the palate. It has classic Jenson style and is going to drink nicely right out of the gate…92-94 points.” That it does.

2016 MÁQUINA & TABLA PÁRAMOS DE NICASIA BLANCO CASTILLA Y LEON 2016

If ever a wine needed subtitles, this would be it. But there are a lot of fun, esoteric things emerging from the wine world today simply because they are there and someone was convinced enough of the wine to bring it to market. The label is very ‘camp’, the red waxed tip closure visually appealing, and the appellation Castilla y Leon reasonably familiar to fans of Spanish wines as a broad area containing other more delineated regions within it like Ribera del Duero. This particular wine is labeled 2016 Máquina & Tabla Páramos de Nicasia Blanco Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon, a rather wordy delineation that essentially means ‘freedom’ because the wines bearing the “vino de la tierra” nomenclature operate outside the strict guidelines of more specific Dos like Ribera and Rueda.

Most of the examples we have seen bearing this banner, probably the most famous of which is Mauro, are red. Though with the dark glass and red cap might give one an impression otherwise, this is pink wine, though one with a personality all its own. The stated goal here is to produce wines with a connection to centuries-old tradition, in this case making a ‘Clarete’. The wine is made by blending the free-run juice of Garnacha, Tempranillo, and Malvasia which here creates a wine that isn’t very pink and has more in common with a white wine from Savennierres or a dry version of a still ‘blanc de noir’. They use the term ‘Clarete’ rather than Rosato because they feel it suggests a wine that is more substantial and serious than your garden variety pink wine.

This juice comes from 8 hectare vineyard located outside Villaester within the D.O. of Toro. Called Pasiego, this site is a mix of 50-60 year old, ungrafted vines of Tinta del País (the local clone of Tempranillo), Garnacha and Malvasía on sandy soil over a clay/limestone subsoil. The color of this wine comes from the natural hue of the free-run juice of the blend, which is roughly equal parts of the three varietals. It has volume, texture, and verve, and can hang with more serious dishes. It sees 8 months in four-year-old barrels.

Luis Gutierrez of Wine Advocate took a walk on the wild side as well, saying of this unique juice “…It has a serious profile, especially on the palate, where it’s somewhere in between a light red and a full-bodied white, with serious chalky tannins and consistency to stand up to food and a few years of aging in bottle. It’s tasty and supple, serious and not banal…91 points.” Definitely not banal, this is also the type of distinctive effort that the broad marketplace doesn’t even know exists. It’s definitely something that has a place on the table and makes a great foil for a surprising array of dishes. A must try.

A NEW CHATEAUNEUF STAR IS BORN

The wine business might seem ‘cool’ and even somewhat glamorous to some. But ultimately it is a business with all of the politics, broken promises, and disappointments that can be a part of any business. There were a lot of reasons we could have passed on this wine. The purveyor had presented us the hugely reviewed 2016 vintage but somehow it all disappeared before we got any.

The 2017s, while very good, followed a vintage-of-a-lifetime in the southern Rhone in 2016 where we had sold (and continue to sell) huge quantities. There was no hurry to get engaged in 2017s for a number of adjunct reasons. Their time will come but the marketplace still contains a fair bit of available wines that had superb reviews from a highly touted vintage.

Given all of that, and the fact that the quantities were not sufficient to support a full blown email offer, it would have been very easy to pass this one by. It’s not like we needed another Chateauneuf. But we couldn’t say no. The Clos St. Antonin Chateauneuf 2017 was, very simply, too good! The nose of cured cherries and spice soared from the glass and pretty much announced the wine the way a herald would announce royalty entering a room. In the mouth, the wine was vigorous, persistent, engaging, and complete presenting a broad swath of vibrant red fruits with all of the inlaid nuance one could ask for.

You may not know the name. The Clos St. Antonin as it exists today only started with the 2015 vintage. Put together by Aime Sabon and his daughter Isabelle, from a contiguous parcel of old vines purchased in the Cotes du Rhone, plus some property from Domaine de la Janasse’s Chateauneuf holdings where this wine originated, this is a new and clearly estimable player to hit the market.

There hasn’t been much said about this wine other than an enthusiastic piece from Jeb Dunnuck, “The same mix of La Crau, Font de Loup, and Saint Georges lieux-dits brought up in a foudre, the 2017 Châteauneuf Du Pape has a Rayas-like bouquet of kirsch liqueur, candied rose petal, orange zest, and spice. It’s incredibly polished, elegant and layered on the palate, with fine tannins, terrific balance, and a great finish. This is a brilliant wine I’d be thrilled to have in the cellar…94+”

He went on to say, “I continue to love these wines from Clos St Antonin… Along with Chapelle Saint Theodoric, they’re the closest thing to Rayas out there.” The ‘plus’ after the 94 suggests that the wine could well merit a higher review later. The comparison to Rayas is ‘next level’.

Isabelle has quite the touch and her wines deliver a mouthful of fruit while still retaining poise and elegance. Back in the old days we’d probably say it was a ‘woman’s touch’, but it is unclear if one can make that kind of statement any more. Clearly her Janasse pedigree is evident, but the wines have a personality all their own. This is a brilliant effort and an important new label (her 94 point 2016 Cotes du Rhone Plan de Dieu is ‘aces’ as well). Too bad there isn’t more.

FIRST THE CAB, THEN THE CAUSE

For virtually as long as we have been in the wine business, we have been exposed to what we call ‘cause’ wines. It isn’t a brand new idea to create a product, in this case a fermented beverage, where some or all of the proceeds go to some worthy charity. Believe us we tell you we have seen every conceivable presentation of wines like that. But no matter how worthy the cause, we are wine merchants and our first allegiance is to our customers. Over the last three decades plus, we have abided by one simple rule…if we pitch a wine to you, it’s because we believe in the quality of the wine and the price charged.

This is where virtually every ‘cause’ wine fails…the wine itself. The folks creating these labels, passionate crusaders that they might be, don’t seem to give enough thought to the fact that, eventually, someone will drink the wine that they had been induced to purchase. In virtually every case where we have tasted, the wine is ordinary. Our job isn’t to sell people ordinary juice under the banner of some noble cause. In fact, in our history, we have never done that because we’re simply no good at saying “buy this forgettable juice to support (insert worthwhile charity here)”.

That is what makes this one of the most unique offers we have ever done. Why? Because Cristie Kerr created the ultimate ‘everybody wins’ scenario. Cristie is one of the most accomplished athletes in women’s golf, with 19 LPGA Tour wins, seven Solheim Cup wins and her first European title at the French Open. What, as Wine Spectator queried in an article published in October, 2017, is her “celebratory drink of choice?” Wine. She also had a desire to call attention and raise money for a cause that was important to her, breast cancer research.

She figured that, somehow, as many have done before, the wine and the cause could be combined in some meaningful way. Only unlike so many before her, Cristie didn’t just go to some ‘tank farm’ to buy some random juice to put in the bottle and slap a label on it. Instead, she connected with accomplished stars, Napa elite Suzanne Pride and winemaker Sally Johnson of Pride Vineyards. Together, under the Kerr banner, they created the Curvature wine label with the 2006 vintage. All of the proceeds to go breast cancer research, already to the tune of $3.5M at the time of the article mentioned previously.

What’s gets us involved in this particular instance is the fact that we can actually recommend the wine that this project is offering as wine, specifically this Kerr Curvature Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2014. Made by Sally Johnson at Pride, this wine is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Merlot and sees time in French oak barrels that are 60% new. The grapes are all from the prestigious Oakville appellation sourced from a specific vineyard that ‘can’t be revealed’.

Does that sound like some afterthought ‘charity wine’? Of course not, and it doesn’t taste like it either. There’s a very seductive nose of dark chocolate, black cherries and plum layered with subtle licorice, savory herbs, and toast. It is velvety and round in the mouth with ripe, palate-coating tannin and flavors reminiscent blackberry jam and coffee, with a spicy and long finish.

For our part, we negotiated this solid $59 Cabernet into a barnburner of a $35 Cabernet with the intent to ‘spread the message’ as far as we can with a limited production Cabernet. Not only is this the first time we have actually gotten excited about any kind of ‘cause’ wine, it is the ultimate ‘win, win, win’. Kerr gets her name and wine out among serious aficionados. You get a lovely, well made, serious Napa Cabernet made by an accomplished winemaker at a steeply discounted price and critical research gets some needed funds.

This is not some innocuous ‘token’ bottle as a participation gift. These ladies did it right and this is legit juice to be enjoyed. Buy it for the wine. Buy it for the deal. Buy it for an important cause. There is no ‘down side’.

A COTES DU RHONE TO LIVE WITH

‘Every picture tells a story’ they say. We would suggest you could say the same thing about a wine. For each glassful of finished juice there are lands, grapes, and people that contribute to that end result. If the site, or the winemakers have their own unique history, all the better. We have been telling those stories for a long time, but every so often one comes along that is truly one of a kind.

As we started to do the research for this piece about the remarkable Chateau Maucoil Cotes du Rhone ‘1895’ 2017, we looked to see if the property had a website. While such endeavors can be frustrating for technical, language and content reasons to name a few, we feel the best place to get relevant information is from the source. It started, “The history of Château Maucoil began several centuries ago. Ancient documents state that its first occupants were Romans and that they set up a base there for Caesar’s legions…”

“Later, Joseph de La Pise, Lord of Maucoil and archivist of the House of Orange-Nassau, the Dutch royal family, inherited the estate and the castle which was built in 1624. From then on, winegrowing became an intrinsic part of the history of Château Maucoil.” It’s all good stuff, to be sure, establishing a long history for this particular property. But even the story of this particular wine, from one specific piece of dirt, stretches across three centuries.

The first reported case of the dreaded root louse phylloxera in France was in 1865, and it hit hard in Chateaueuf in 1866. Two thirds of the Châteauneuf du Pape vineyards were destroyed over the next ten years. Fortunately, with the introduction of what was at the time phylloxera-resistant American rootstock, the vineyards were replanted and ‘the bug’ gradually disappeared over the following years. This vineyard of 100% Grenache was planted in 1895!

We have spoken time and again about the special character of old vines. Deep root stocks that reach down several meters and the naturally low yields of such ancient vines produce fruit of surprising harmony and layered complexity. The current owners of the property have taken the vines and worked it organically, receiving certification in 2014. They also recognize this plot as something special and treat it as such even though it is a ‘mere’ Cote du Rhone. Of course we see it as a Cotes du Rhone more like Fonsalette for Chateau Rayas or Clavin for Vieille Jullienne, which means not ‘mere’ at all. Destemming, sorting, native yeasts, and 18 months in barrel, the result in an excellent and decidedly outgoing vintage like 2017 is clearly an enviably juicy, seamless, engaging bottle of Grenache.

Of course now many of you are waiting for us to regale you with scores. Again, as we have said often, wines like this are tasted generally alongside wines with higher pedigrees (Maucoil, for example, makes three Chateauneufs including two ‘special cuvees’). Two reports we read didn’t mention this wine at all. This one isn’t jammy and over the top. It isn’t going to stick out at some megatasting by virtue of its balance and harmony. We tasted it one on one and the impression was immediate, love at first sip.

There are wines to win tastings, there are wines with stories to impress the table, and there are wines to live with. While this one could conceivably be one of the first two, it is definitely the third and most important…a wine whose elegance, complexity, harmony and versatility never get old. In a barrel review from last year, Jeb Dunnuck did give it some deserved love, “Not yet bottled, the 2017 Côtes du Rhône Villages 1895 is a beauty! Deeply colored, concentrated, full-bodied and layered, it has a modern style but terrific purity and depth of fruit.” It is all of that, and we think a little more, and it’s a rare find to get something with this kind of polish and presence for under $20. We suggest a case. It’s only going to get better.