Author: Steve Zanotti

PAGO DE LOS CAPELLANES RIBERA DEL DUERO JOVEN 2015

PAGO DE LOS CAPELLANES RIBERA DEL DUERO JOVEN 2015

Darned if a couple of days before the Jan 31-Feb 28 Wine Spectator showed up, the latest version of the Tinto Joven from Pago de los Capellanes (2015) hit the floor.  What was interesting was that, in an article titled “Editor’s Picks: 30 Wineries to Trust”, one of the 30 was Capellanes.  Actually we, and you, learned to ‘trust’ these guys a long time ago.  If memory serves we started what has been a long relationship with this bodega with the 1998 Joven, and sold their wines for years before Spectator, or anybody else, talked about them at all.

There have been some grand versions over the years, particularly at the Crianza and Reserva levels.  But we can’t wait to see what those are like in 2015 because this Joven is more exciting than any of this Joven series that we have tasted since the beginning.  It’s that darned 2015 vintage again we suspect.  The gushing fruit, telltale juiciness, and gregarious flavors really put this rendition on another level.

The ‘jovens’, for those not familiar with the nomenclature, are a wineries entry level bottling, usually the first to market with a minimum of barrel time  (or in some cases ‘none’).  This one is 100% Tempranillo from the winery’s proerty in the Pederosa del Duero subsection.  The soils here are chalk and clay which infuses all of their wines with a distinctive underpinning of minerality.  The fruit component usually ranges from dark cherry to plum and, only in very special vintages, reaches into the blue fruit profiles.  Sometimes these can be a little reticent out of the gate, typical of Tempranillo in its youth.  But this one already has a juicy demeanor and shows off a surprisingly lush fruit core.  It’s only going to get better.

They polish this one in new French oak for five months to smooth the edges and infuse a little vanilla highlight.  This is way too easy to drink and one heck of an all-purpose mouthful for this kind of tab.  This Joven will be a real eye-opener for those that are trying Capellanes for the first time, like that ’98 was for us so many years ago, only better.  A lot of you already know the house, and the 2015 is mas delicioso. . . $16.98

THILLARDON CHENAS VIBRATIONS 2015

THILLARDON CHENAS VIBRATIONS 2015

This is one of the most exciting new faces in Beaujolais that you probably haven’t heard of.  The brothers Thillardon, Paul-Henri and Charles, are emerging stars in the region that are hitting their stride at just the right time. They are the ‘poster boys’ for the ‘young and the restless’ natural wine movement in Beaujolais and champions of the forgotten Chenas ‘cru’. Since the domaine was founded way back in 2008, the brothers have accumulated several small parcels throughout Chenas through either leasing or outright purchase and made the decision to move toward the natural winemaking movement after meeting with Fleurie natural wine guru Jean-Louis Dutraive (Domaine de la Grand Cour). From there they have continued to work their way into the natural wine ‘brotherhood’ in Beaujolais.

Dutraive was eco-certified in 2009, and the Thillarons website (all in French) also bears the seal. According to a lengthy article we read in the appetizingly named blog ‘Notdrinkingpoison’ (See complete article), 2015 was the first year that Paul-Henri claimed he got to do everything he wanted from a winemaking perspective. He refrigerated the fermentation for the first time, inducing s long, cool, semi-carbonic process and vinified entirely whole cluster. His timing couldn’t have been better. We certainly can’t remember having something this compelling from Chenas recently. A certain amount of the credit goes to the vintage, but there is a growing buzz about Paul-Henri as well.

His mode is to bottle small parcels individually. One of the things the article pointed out was that a number of the parcels they work with aren’t as exposed, which served to preserve the freshness of the cuvees in the warm 2015 vintage. The first whiff of the Thillardon Chenas Vibrations 2015 makes a big impression. Spices, flowers, chalky minerality are all nicely proportioned within vibrant red fruits that jump out of the glass. It has the wild expressiveness that well-made natural wines exhibit, and there’s little or no sulfer. So we’d recommend this vinous joy-ride be taken sooner rather than later for its gregarious personality. The lads only make small cuvees of 500 cases or less from their various parcels, so there’s not a lot of this out there. Don’t miss it!..$29.98

KALLESKE GSM CLARY’S 2015

KALLESKE GSM CLARY’S 2015

The ‘Land Down Under’ is still a ‘place of wonder’ when it comes to intriguing value reds. You just have to know where to look. Besides all of the widely distributed corporate beverages (Penfolds, Hardys, etc.), there are a number of small, passionate, under the radar producers with old vines and long histories that are doing some exceptional work for pretty easy-to-swallow prices. We sold some of the first Kalleske wines to come into the country back in the mid-00s and have been a fan of Troy Kalleske’s rich-but-sleek style ever since.

The Kalleske Clary’s GSM was a little later to the party but is the best we have tasted from them (though they weren’t in the market for a while). ‘Clarry’, for whom the cuvee is named, was Troy’s grandfather who tended these old vineyards (established in 1838…no that’s not a misprint). Clarry’s is a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro with old vine Grenache from the 1940s and 1960s. The wine is fermented in open-top fermenters and basket pressed. To preserve the superb fresh fruit flavors, it only sees one year in very old oak hogsheads (300 liter barrels) .

Who uses grapes from 40-60 year old vines for an under-$20 go-to red? Well, it’s a short list but that’s the deal here. A 91 from the sometimes stingy Lisa Perotti-Brown with commentary, “…redolent of baked raspberries, kirsch and red currant jelly (we’d add boysenberry, too, but we grew up SoCal… Knotts Berry Farm) with Indian spices, dried oregano and peppercorn hints. Full-bodied, ripe and opulent in the mouth, it coats the palate with plush, velvety tannins and spicy flavors, finishing long.” Does that sound like something that could be had for under a Jackson? We think not…$19.98

GRIMALDI BARBERA 2015

GIACOMO GRIMALDI  BARBERA PISTIN 2015

If you are already sensing a recurring theme in a majority of our writings this year, we fully admit we have an agenda.  That agenda isn’t necessarily oriented toward selling some sort of program that we have created.  We haven’t created anything, merely observed.  The observation is that, in the many years we have been doing this, we have a hard time recalling any vintage that has been juicier and more appealing out of the gate than 2015.  France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, everyone is rolling out remarkable juice.

Giacomo Grimaldi’s Barbera Pistin 2015 is simply another tool we can use to prove our point.  We have sold Grimaldi’s wine off and on over the years.  If this were baseball, you’d call Grimaldi a solid player with a good average that occasionally gets the big hit.  This Barbera, surely thanks in part to the vintage, is the ‘home run’.  You couldn’t ask for more out of a modestly priced Barbera.

The wine is packed with fruit, with an unusual density for the genre and price point.  What is more unique is that this Barbera shows not only the typical deep red fruits of the varietal, but as it opens starts to show boysenberry and blackberry tones as well, the hallmarks of a perfectly ripened crop. There’s bright acidity that is well tucked-in underneath so it is sensed only in a supporting role, spice notes laced throughout, and just a hint of the classic ‘almond skin’ to the finish.  Bring on the pasta, a steak, or whatever you want as this wine’s gregarious fruit will take on all comers and definitely perform in a much broader role than just a foil for Italian food.

The hard part of 2015 with wines like this, after two not particularly stellar vintages for Barbera and Dolcetto (2013, 2014), will be showing some restraint.  There are going to be many beautiful efforts.  But this one hits the high notes and is definitely a poster child for exactly what we are talking about…plenty of accessible, gregarious, engaging fruit. . .$19.98

 

MEURSAULT MAGIC: BOYER-MARTENOT MEURSAULT LES TILLETS 2014

BOYER-MARTENOT MEURSAULT LES TILLETS 2014

There’s something about Meursault. There are always comparisons made between Chardonnays made all over the world against the ‘motherland’ of white Burgundy, and an occasional case can be made that something might loosely resemble a Puligny or Chassagne. But the distinct, specific streak of toasty, resiny minerality combined with an insistent grilled nut character, is pretty unique. Nothing tastes like Meursault.

We did not know this small estate when it was presented to us though we were familiar with the top-of-the-hill lieu dit ‘les Tillets’ from Guy Roulot bottlings we had years ago (Roulot has since become a Meurault superstar a la Coche Dury, so we don’t see much of any of it these days). Boyer Martenot owns land in several Meursault climates and a couple in Puligny. The family estate is over 100 years old and Vincent Boyer is the fourth generation of winemakers and definitely something of a ‘Meursault whisperer’.

We had him in the store for the video but he is clearly a man of few words who lets his juice do the talking. He is a terroirist, choosing to sit back and gently facilitate the dirt doing the talking. What’s his secret? He’s not saying. His approach in the vineyard is ‘hands on’ lutte raisonée (the short explanation being ‘failsafe’ organic), all the fermentations are done with the indigenous yeast, and the majority of the bottlings from the single parcels. The wines are, across the board, bright, precise, intensely expressive of the terroir but delicate and refined in every other way.

Our attraction to the Tillet among his stellar lineup is the very ‘Meursault’ profile from predominantly thinner, chalkier soils at the top of the hill, and the price performance. This is Meursault in its purest, most native, “less-is-more” sense with the subtle perfume of nuts, mineral, oyster shell, and stone fruits wafting from the glass, a bright, vigorous palate with plenty of verve, and a long, unmistakably classic finish for this particular village. We have had $80 wines from big time names that are considerably less pure and compelling, which kind of makes this one a bargain for the genre as well…$52.98

KAPARA CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2012

KAPARA CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2012

Sometimes good things come in small packages.  Sometimes great things come in kind of homely packages, but the Kapara Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley 2012 excels where it really matters.  How about a Cabernet that is all Pritchard Hill juice and costs under $35? Say, what?  Now this is made by a winery located in Clarksberg that buys fruit, but we would make the point that Pritchard Hill is the most exclusive of Napa appellations and is host to a very small but super elite group including Bryant, Brands, Colgin, Ovid, Continuum, Chappellet, all of which have logged hefty scores and even heftier price tags.

So where did this juice come from?  We cannot say, but all of the possibilities are pretty spectacular, and this wine won a ‘double-gold’ medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Competition on its own.  Salient point, this is stellar juice from an elite source that is simply loaded with deep, dark cassis and blueberries that clearly hint at a much more noble pedigree than its price would suggest.  You’ll have a hard time finding a better value in Napa Cabernet than this tiny, 150-case production gem from Kapara. . . . . . .$34.98

 

BRIEFS

  • This is why you taste. One would have expected the highly touted Cune Imperial Reserva 2010 to stand as something of a monument to a seminal vintage. Most people will presume the 2010 will be the play with a Parker 92 and comments like, “…a textbook Reserva”. Hey, it’s a great drink, don’t get us wrong. But we wondered if James Suckling, who isn’t known for Spanish wines, was a little overzealous when he gave the 2011 a ’96’.  Turns out the 2011 Cune Imperial, from a less touted, warmer vintage, exceeds its sibling in deliciousness, so maybe James was onto somethiing.   Ripe, creamy, tender and fruit forward, it is a pretty irresistible beverage.
  • We try not to repeat ourselves often, but after opening a bottle of the Vina Santurnia Rioja Gran Reserva 2004, we are and wondering why this stuff isn’t flying off the shelves. There aren’t any reviews that we could point to, but this plush, velvety, spicy, plummy red has a lovely texture and tender edges. In our minds this lush, smooth, tasty Rioja with substance and without any ‘bite’ would be the profile of what a lot of folks would describe as ‘the perfect red’.
  • We just tasted it, so consider this an early warning. Be on the lookout for the Cristom Pinot Noir Jefferson Cuvee 2014, one of the most complete under $30 Pinots we have tasted thus far from this spectacular Oregon vintage. The wine has a beautifully dense core of sappy cherry fruit with a precise savory underpinning of forest floor and minerality. It makes us really wonder just how good Steve Doerner’s vineyard bottlings are going to be. We also feel a little sorry for a lot of Oregon vintners that are going to try to get $50-60 for their ‘double-secret-reserve’ bottling when a wine like this can be had for half that price.
  • Just a quick note, as the boats are beginning to land. As an overall guideline to 2015, the little reds like Dolcetto and Barbera in Piedmont, Loire Reds, Beaujolais, and ‘entry level’ Burgundies and Rhones promise to be the best in years. Our job is easy when there are just a few diamonds in the rough. When virtually everything is this tasty, it’s a lot harder to pick and choose, though it’s also hard to make a mistake. Great time to stock up over the next year.