Category: Uncategorized

WALKIN’ THE FLOOR-WHY ARE THESE STILL HERE?

A lot of different wines are consistently rolling in and out of here. For most of you keeping track of as many SKUs as we have online is a difficult task. Heck we can barely do it and we’re here all the time. So every so often we like to physically stroll the floor and see if there are little bits that we haven’t talked about yet or possibly stumble over the remnants of something that should have been gone long ago.

* While pulling a few things for the home stocks, I ran across a few boxes of the Maucoil Cotes du Rhone Villages Vieilles Vignes 1895 2017. The story of the vineyard source for this wine is pretty unique and does a lot to explain this wine’s expansive, lush, layered fruit. The ‘1895’ in the wine’s title is when this vineyard was planted! Talk about old vines! The estate has been farmed organically and was ‘certified’ in 2014.

There’s plenty of vibrant kirsch fruit, superb balance, and layered flavors. Jeb Dunnuck’s notes, “…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.” Beautiful Grenache, with a depth and harmony that only comes from old vines, it’s a superb buy. It’s not often you can find something with the kind of pedigree and polish this one shows for under $20. Just had a bottle recently and it made us wonder why a wine like this for this kind of price was still here.

*We have more than made our case about the quality of Tuscan reds in 2016, and Chiantis specifically. We have sold a lot of Chianti over the last 18 months. For the most part, most of the value-priced bottlings have passed now through the market. For no particular reason that we can think of, we still have a pretty fair supply of one of the most appealing, user-friendly versions we have offered, the Canonica i Ceretto Chianti Classico 2016.

The wine has 92-point touts from three major critical sources (Vinous Media, Wine Spectator, and James Suckling) and we’re selling it for under $20, which is essentially half price! We took another bottle home to make sure nothing had gone awry with the wine since our last bit of ‘research’. The bottle didn’t last very long as a testament to what we have been saying about this wine all along. It’s a supple, fruit-driven, honest, easy-to-like version of the genre.

We could reprint all of the reviews but Vinous’ Antonio Galloni covers all the bases, ” The 2016 Chianti Classico is soft, forward and absolutely delicious. Super-ripe red cherry, spice, wild flowers and licorice give the 2015 lovely juiciness and texture. This is an especially forward, ripe style, and yet there is plenty of lift as well as energy to balance things out. I especially like the wine’s immediacy. This is a terrific wine in its peer group.”

We realize sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. But the price and performance and agreeable style of this pair of reds make them definitely worthy of another look. As it is, we are surprised that they are still here at all.

ANOTHER WEAPON AGAINST THE ‘RONA

We are still in the middle of a serious battle with COVID19. On the plus side you got a ‘shot’ at shots, though that has been kind of a mess so far. You also have a lot more information about what to do to take care of yourself than you did a year ago. It also seems that there is a bit more optimism out there. Ultimately we must all fight the fight.

While we don’t take any of this lightly, something did come our way the other day that kind of put a smile on our faces. Something new that can be added to you anti-covid regimen based on a recent study in Taiwan. Now we swear we didn’t make any of this up though the findings do seem to put a bit of ammunition in the hands of wine merchants. No, we aren’t talking about injecting cleaning solution or any such thing. But the study seems to indicate that the ‘Rona doesn’t like tannin.

Now we aren’t medical types and aren’t armed with the jargon to offer a complete scientific explanation. But the gist of the results is that tannic acid found in grapes, bananas, persimmons, tea leaves and, of course, red wine did a couple of things to combat Cornona Virus. We quote Hung Mien-chie, China Medical University president, ” We discovered that tannic acid can inhibit the coronavirus in two ways. One is it can prevent it from entering cells and inhibit its reproduction. It can also inhibit proteases in the human body. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

We aren’t saying that red wine can wipe out the disease. But there appears to be medical evidence that red wine, like any other immune system booster, can create a less desirable environment for the virus’ development. Amen to that. The only caveat to the finding was mentioned at the end of the piece. They could not specifically determine exactly how much tannin it took to have the desired effect. We don’t know either but we’re making sure we don’t shortchange ourselves!

Now we aren’t suggesting that having a few glasses of Cabernet will give you the blanket immunity to go out to a sports bar, political rally, rock concert, or any of the other things that are highly restricted. But it certainly can’t hurt.

As a public service, we are reminding folks of some simple facts. Tannins in wine can come from wine skins and oak barrels. The highest tannin levels are in grapes like Tannat (see Madiran) and Sagrantino (mostly grown in Umbria). There’s a good bit of tannins in any young red, however, so there are many options you can employ to keep those tannin levels up. Sure you could eat a lot of persimmons or bananas, but we think the red wine method is a bit more fun and can work into one’s lifestyle a little more seamlessly. Then again we are a little biased.

Stay safe out there. Watch the video

BRIEFS 7-14-2020

  • We did a bigger piece on this talented Priorat winemaker’s family winery, Clos Mogador, and their brilliant 2017 version from this historic estate in a separate article. But Rene Barbier III is involved in other projects, including one in Montsant with the also well respected Sara Perez. Their work at Venus la Universal is definitely trending steeply upward and this Montsant Venus de La Figuera 2016 is one showy bottle of Grenache. It got a very enthusiastic review from Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez and a 94 point score. Rene has serious chops and this effort, with the help of a substantial price break from the importer (from $79.98 down to $44.98), is definitely something to be experienced for its screaming, boisterous fruit. There’s not a huge quantity here so hurry.
  • You will be hearing a lot about the 2019 vintage in Germany. It will certainly be called one of the best vintages of the new millennium and expect comparisons to vintages like 2001 and 2015. We just tasted our first arrival from the vintage, the Dr. Hermann Riesling Kabinett Urziger Wurzgarten 2019, and it pretty much lit us up. There have been a number of good vintages since 2000, but precious few that have the evident fruit, clear terroir notes, and structural ‘zing’ that this one showed. This is a must-try not only on its own merit but as a vanguard for what’s coming. As a warning, the import/wholesale end of the German wine purveyors has greatly downsized since the last ‘great’ vintage. So overall selection and the acquisition of some labels may be much more difficult this time around.
  • Some five vintages ago we did a piece on an intriguing California wine. In it we posed the question, ‘What if you make California’s best Tannat?’ In a Cabernet world, it doesn’t mean a lot. Well, we hadn’t seen anything from Yannick Rousseau since that 2012 varietal Tannat we spoke of back then until just last week. Yannick is no stranger to this varietal having grown up in Madiran where he worked with the icons of the region in Montus and Bouscasse. Clearly the man has it down. The Y. Rousseau Tannat 2017 comes from a sustainably farmed single vineyard in Clarksburg (the 2012 was from Sonoma) and is a blend of 90% Tannat and 10% Syrah that saw 18 months in 35% new 500 liter barrels (a little more than double the size of a typical barrique). This bottling has all the good parts of Tannat and none of the bad! There’s the telltale blue/black color, a broad feel of black fruits on the palate with flecks of pepper and wild herbs and a touch of earth. True to form, there is plenty of structure but the tannins here are ripe and tame. The price has crept up a bit over the years (list is $45), but we were able to get it down to a more manageable $29.98. Wines like this could make Tannat ‘mainstream’.
  • We tasted the 2016 lineup from Scavino pre-COVID (February?) and found it to be possibly the best show we have ever had with their wines going back at least a couple of decades. They exhibited all of the telltale trappings of the 2016 vintage…tender, engaging fruit core, pleasing varietal purity, beautiful lift to the midpalate, and uncanny freshness and seamlessness. It was no surprise when Antonio Galloni rolled out huge scores on the group, with one exception. His mark for the Scavino Barolo 2016 was the dreaded ’89’. We have to wonder what happened even though we are fully aware that, on any given day, something might not show as well. We immediately cracked another bottle just to see if maybe we missed something. Don’t think so. Our descriptors for this bottling fall perfectly in line with our comments on the lineup as a whole. This Barolo normale was anything but. Almost ethereal harmony from front to back, beautiful, supple, engaging, classic Nebbiolo fruit, refined tannins, it was one lovely bottle of Barolo and, at $36.98, a pretty sensational deal for a producer of this caliber from an epic vintage. We can’t know the particulars of the Galloni tasting, but we vehemently disagree with the ‘number’. This is a beauty.
  • Yes, one more blip on rosé. A couple of very late arrivals that were huge favorites last year are back even better than. The Nebbiolo based Nervi-Conterno Il Rosato Piedmont 2019 (Vinous 92) from the Gattinara region, now owned by the estimable Barolo virtuoso Roberto Conterno, is a beautiful expression of the region in pink form. Bright, fresh, lifted, with lovely, mineral-laced strawberry fruit, it is an absolute delight and food-friendly in a way few are. Also better late than never for one of our longer running hit in the pink section, the Chateau Saint Pierre Cotes de Provence Tradition 2019. A delicate blend of 60% Cinsault and 40% Grenache, pale salmon in the tall curved bottle, it’s crisp, fruit-driven and imminently likeable. Berries upfront with a little bit of citrus in the finish, and subtle flecks of herbs, at a modest $14.98, it is definitely a wine for the people.

INSIDER TRADE: CLOS NOLY

Marie-Pierre Manciat was born into a family of vignerons that have been making wine since 1871. From a very young age, she spent her school vacations in the cellars and vineyards, soaking up knowledge and experience, all of which helped her when she took over the reins of her family’s estate in 2002 and became a sixth-generation winemaker. Her family has instilled in her a strong sense of tradition, time-honored winemaking practices, and the value of quality over quantity.

Her father, Claude Manciat, was one of the top producers in the Maconnais area. Up until the early 1980s when he took over, the Manciat wines were mainly sold in bulk to local negociants.  But Claude decided that he wanted to focus on making and bottling his own wines. As the result of his meticulous viticulture and vinification techniques, he has been able to attain a high level of quality, translating into exceptional purity and texture apparent in the wines produced. In addition to practicing sustainable agriculture, the Manciats are among the few remaining vignerons in the Macon that still harvest by hand.

Marie Pierre is a ‘chip off the old block’, created riveting whites that perform far above the crowd by virtue of her attention to detail in the vineyard and the cellar.  That purity of fruit and touch is particularly visible in this effort. The yields at this domaine are routinely 20-30 percent lower than what is allowed in each given appellation allowing Marie-Pierre to craft wines that are rich and powerful while remaining focused with an emphasis on the calcaire rich soils of each terroir.  The goal is to harvest fruit as near to ‘perfect’ as possible and that definitely happened here.

Clos Noly is named after the oldest vineyard at Domaine Manciat-Poncet which is based in Chaintré. There are 23 total hectares spread out among 5 villages but this particular site, which touches the far better-known appellation of Pouilly Fuisse, is only .28 hectare (7/10 of an acre).  There are only 15 domaines in the entire Pouilly Vinzelles appellation.  The Clos Noly Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Longeays 2017 comes from a 40-year-old Chardonnay vineyard composed of clay and limestone soils with a western exposure.

Marie-Pierre lets each area express itself according to its personality, and each of her wines are aged differently, in either stainless steel tanks or oak barrels. In the end, she believes that wine is above all else, a refreshing drink. This is why she strives to create a harmony between depth, complexity, minerality, and drinkability in all of her wines.  This Les Longeays got our attention at first sip and the description is going to sound like we are trying to say all the right words.

There’s weight and substance on the entry, and deceptive but clearly very polished richness to the fruit component of apple, citrus, and peach mingled with subtle streaks of stony minerality and a faint tinge of honey.  The mesh of fruit, texture, and bright acidity harmonize in a way few wines do, and the wine glides over the tongue and finishes with a near-perfect cut.    It sees 10% new oak with the balance in neutral barrels.  To borrow a phrase from the Army of ‘be all that you can be’, we can’t imagine that this wine, from this place, could have been any better than it is.  Bravo!

 Not only is it a poised, delicious, beautiful bottle of Chardonnay, it is remarkably under-priced given the performance.  This is an ‘insiders’ play simply because we don’t have enough to support a full-blown email.  You probably guessed that from the size of the vineyard. But the value here is off the charts, and it is not only super tasty but lifted and refreshing.  You can bet some of this will be going to our houses.

BRIEFS: Quick Highlights from Italy and California

  • Pandemics aren’t much good to anyone but the current situation has indirectly or directly caused a few interesting things to come our way and a few old friends to reappear. We haven’t had any of the David Sterza wines in the shop since the 2012 Ripasso even though we started buying the stuff nearly a decade earlier. We are thrilled to have them back and the 2017 Valpolicella Ripasso and 2015 Amarone are outstanding efforts for this small but very conscientious producer.
  • Just a heads up, the 2016 Felsina Rancia Chianti was something of a legend from an outstanding vintage carrying among other scores a 96+ from Antoinio Galloni. It is long gone. We tasted the 2017 Rancia the other day, alongside its elite stablemate Fontalloro, and it was no contest. The 2017 Felsina Chianti Classico Rancia is another home run, perhaps more filigreed and refined than the powerhouse 2016, but with plenty of punch and authoritative fruit. As it slides across the palate, it almost feels like it is kicking into another gear as it rolls to an impressive finish. No scores yet, but this should get plenty of love. Get an early look because you’re going to want some.
  • It’s party time in the Italian section as bottlings from the highly anticipated 2015 (Brunello, Barolo) and 2016 (Barbaresco) are beginnng to show up. What we have tasted (quite a few actually) more than justifies the fuss. We are doing emails on a few things but not everything came in big quantities. Use the links to check out these important categories for yourself. These are vintages you want to have (a few are still pre-arrivals): 2015 Brunello di Montalcino, 2015 Barolo and 2016 Barbaresco.
  • For long time followers of Winex, we just recently got reacquainted with the Rutz label. You might recall we sold a lot of their juice back in the day (the Rutz Chardonnay Monterey 1997 was our front page wine in February, 2000) but then they were off our radar for well over a decade. Given the quality and the current prices we were offered, it looks like happy days are here again with this label. Coming soon, stay tuned.

KILLER CAB BUY ‘HECHO EN MEXICO’

There’s a lot to digest here, starting with the fact that this is America’s oldest winery, founded in 1597! The land was granted by King Felipe II for the planting of grapes in that year, establishing Bodegas San Lorenzo, now Casa Madero, as a wine-producing estate.  There has been a buzz about the emerging wine culture in the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California, but these folks have a few centuries on them. 

Located in the Parras Valley, in north-central Mexico, in the state of Coahuila, the vineyards lie above 4500 feet with sunny days and cool nights during the season.   The Casa Madero Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Parras 2017 was a real surprise to us, not only from a historical perspective but because it was an excellent option for that difficult ‘good Cabernet under $20′ niche.

The grapes were hand-harvested and then sorted. This 100% Cabernet saw 24 months in new French oak and then was bottled unfiltered.  Plenty of stuffing here with the alcohols still registering under 14%, both red and black fruits are part of the mix with notes of earth, toast, and a whiff of mint.  Closer to the weight of a red Bordeaux than a California Cab, with plenty of ripe character, this got our attention and we suspect it will surprise a lot of you simply on the basis of being a tasty, well-made Cab for a good price.  The history is a bonus.

A WORD ON THE BIRD

We realize there are folks that have the Thanksgiving holiday all planned with wines from their own cellar stock.  But there are folks who treat this family holiday differently than they would a dinner or event with their ‘wine and food’ friends. Ours is neither to judge, nor comment on prices, because that is up to everyone’s discretion and based on their individual needs.  Truth be told some people don’t think about it at all and simply serve things that they like, food pairing notwithstanding.  Nothing wrong with that.  We are merely here to comment on some categories that we think work well with that Thanksgiving bird from a symbiotic food and wine perspective. 

Isn’t it the same stuff every year?  To a point, yes.  Same bird, same wine categories to choose from.  The ‘basics’ still apply.  No matter how the turkey is cooked, our agenda is to provide our ‘best bets’ for the wine service.  Turkey is still generally a fowl that tolerates a wide range of wine choices.  As we see it, choices are less about the bird itself and more about the stuffing and other accouterments in determining which wine choices might prove most complimentary.

Every year is different wine-wise as well.  There are some categories hitting a high note this year, and others that are at a nadir.  For the most part this year offers more potential choices in what we feel are the ‘right’ categories.  Our rule of thumb is that, given the varied goodies that will be on the holiday table, whites should have good acidity, bright flavors, and little or no oak.  Again, given the ‘fixins’, it is a fine spot for something with a little residual sugar like a German Riesling, Vouvray, or Pinot Gris from Alsace. 

As for reds, bright fruit, light to medium body, and not a lot of tannin or obvious wood work best.  A bit of underlying acidity and lift is a good thing.  Large framed, oaky, high alcohol wines can get tiresome over the course of the meal and can overwhelm the various dishes.  Those ‘big reds’(Cabernet, Bordeaux, Syrah, etc.), should be saved for hearty beef or lamb roasts.  Acidity is good, wood and tannins not so much with roast fowl.  As a general rule, we aren’t dogmatic.  But, if asked, we see turkeys that are roasted, fried or smoked as all being best with lighter red wine.  Here are our favorite red plays with the bird from a broad perspective, and a couple of specific suggestions. 

Pinot Noir-The fruit-driven, bright fruit of a Pinot marries beautifully with roast, smoked, or fried bird.  These are wonderful times for Pinot fans as California has been rolling out the hits and there are plenty of 2016 and 2017 examples on the shelves, with a few 2015s now in the mix.  Most current vintages have an elegant, tender edge that makes them pretty serviceable.  Oregon has plenty of good stuff, too.  Burgundy?  Of course, if the budget allows. Suggestions: Grochau Pinot Noir 2015, Sostener Pinot Noir, Belle Pente Pinot Noir Belle Pente Vineyard Yamhill-Carlton 2015 , Walter Hansel Estate Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2017, Edmond Cornu Ladoix Vielles Vignes 2015, Charles Noellat Nuits St. Georges 2009,

Beaujolais-This is also the ‘near-perfect’ choice always and one we have been recommending for ages.  Nouveau Beaujolais is not the play anymore. They arrive with travel shock and bottle shock under the best of circumstances.  This year add to that the cost of tariffs that will make a passé option even less viable. On the other hand,  Beaujolais has had a nice run of vintages, and we have outstanding Beaujolais and Cru wine (Morgon, Moulin-A-Vent, Fleurie, etc.). Suggestions: Maison L’Envoye Fleurie Chateau Vivier 2016, Maison L’Envoye Morgon Cote du Py Vieilles Vignes 2016, Pavillon de Chavannes Cote de Brouilly Cuvee des Ambassades 2017, Clos de la Roilette Fleurie Cuvee Tardive 2017, Joseph Drouhin Fleurie Hospices de Belleville 2015

Rioja-Somehow you knew we’d get to Rioja, but the elegance, versatility, and the bottle age of reservas and gran reservas make them crowd-pleasing choices.  Spanish wine for an American holiday?  Claro que si. Suggestions: Lealtanza Rioja Gran Reserva 2010, Viña Santurnia Rioja Gran Reserva 2008, Faustino I Rioja Gran Reserva 1996 (open with Ah So or Durand corkscrew)

Chianti- Sangiovese works nicely particularly on tables where the food choices have a more savory bent.  The 2016s, as a vintage, are some of the best we have tasted in quite a while.  The 2015s are also very appealing and have an extra year of bottle time.  The classic cherry fruit, crisp acidity, and modest tannin match well with roast bird, particularly with savory sides. Suggestions: San Felice Chianti Classico Il Grigio Riserva 2015, Felsina Chianti Classico 2016, Castell’in Villa Chianti Classico 2015



TASTY, SUB-$15 CABERNET

Wines like this really test our communication skills. So many times whether or not someone might be interested in a wine we are offering can hinge on a single word. As merchants, it is to our advantage to be as honest as we can and convey as much information about a wine’s profile and value to consumers and explain what we saw in it to bring it in. This wine came in primarily because it answered one of the great dilemmas on our time…delicious Cabernet for under $20.

The search for Cabernet values can take us some pretty far-flung locales, in this case the Gilgal Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 comes from the Upper Galilee mountain range. Sitting atop the mountain range, the innovatively designed winery is committed to revitalizing the region’s rich history of winemaking. Over 2,000 years ago, these mountains, among Israel’s highest at more than 1,000 meters above sea level, was a choice location for the cultivation of quality grapevines.

Gilgal has an American winemaker, California-born and UC Davis educated Victor Schoenfeld, who has occupied the post as head winemaker for Golan Heights Winery, makers of Yarden and Mount Herman as well, for some 28 years. The area is warm enough to ripen grapes, but also has the cooler evenings to help preserve a wine’ freshness. This is a generally competent producer that makes a lot of solid wines but has the occasional hits. This Cabernet is one of those that stood out of the lineup.

If you want to profile the flavors, think ripe blackcurrant and a plush texture reminiscent of a warmer vintage in California, with a round mouthfeel and just enough acidity for brightness. We sure as heck can’t do a Cabernet like this for this kind of price here at home, so in that regard this is potentially an important find. Apparently, 2016 in the Golan Heights was one of the shortest harvests on record and there were no weather ‘events’ during the growing season to create issues. Maybe next year won’t be as easy, but we concern ourselves with the here and now with respect to go-to Cabernet candidates.

In the end, the only question was the winery telling us we shouldn’t say the ‘K’ word (kosher). Why not? We have been told that before but we don’t see the argument. We bought the Gilgal because we thought it was quite a performer for the fare and good value Cab isn’t easy to find. We wouldn’t buy something we didn’t like because it was ‘kosher’ any more than we would do that because something was ‘organic’ or ‘natural’. Quite the contrary, we see that fact that it serves the Kosher need as an added utility bonus for a tasty, low-priced, 100% varietal Cab that saw 12 months in oak and sells for under $15.

SOLANERA’S BEST YET, AND UNDER $10

We never stop looking out for the rare, amazing deal.  These can come at any time, from anywhere, and we have turned more than our share of these kinds of opportunities over the years.  But, frankly, given what is currently available in the marketplace, something has to be pretty spectacular to get our attention.  This one is.

Yes we know we have gone to the well with Solanera  number of times in the past, but the darn wine just keeps delivering, consistently improving and presenting one of the best bang-for-the-buck options out there.

It all starts with Eric Solomon, a consistent source for some of the best wine deals on the planet and his massive portfolio of wines.  Simply put, when you are trying to market some 300+ wines in the marketplace, and transitioning through various configurations of purveyors to accommodate distribution of so many brands, there are times a wine or two can get lost in the shuffle. 

It’s nobody’s fault, but opportunities get created all the same and, when the wine is already a pretty sensational value with a long proven track record, an aggressive deal can make the offer almost laughable.  We have told this story more than once with Solanera, and here we go again with the latest and greatest, the Castano Solanera Vinas Viejas 2015. 

Over the years a lot of Solanera has passed through our doors.  Why wouldn’t it?  You’ve got Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and Garnacha from 40-100 year-old vines in clay/limestone soils at nearly 3000 feet elevation.  It’s ‘always sunny’ in Yecla, and the altitude keeps everything in perspective as the nights cool to preserve sufficient freshness in the wine.  You get a rich, substantial, character-filled red year in and year out and, because the real estate isn’t as famous here in southeastern Spain, you don’t pay a lot of money for the quality of juice you are getting. 

Hey, it might seem like unfair competition, but it’s just the way it is.  It is no wonder that we have sold so much Solanera in our history, and why all thirteen vintages of the stuff that were reviewed in Wine Advocate have scored 90 points or better.  Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez was pretty high on this one  again, handing it a 92 point score with lengthy comments, “The 2015 Solanera used to wear the ultimate Spanglish label, which said “Viñas Viejas of Monastrell” even if it was always a blend (in this vintage, the blend includes 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Garnacha Tintorera)…

“… they used part of full clusters and sourced the grapes from Casa Marta, a nine-hectare, head-pruned, dry-farmed plot on very stony soils in the north of Yecla at the foot of the Mount Arabí. It fermented in concrete vats and open-top barrels and matured in barrique, each variety separately, for some ten months, after which it was blended and bottled. This is the vintage of the big change in this wine, where, as with the majority of its siblings, there is better balance and more integrated oak, more freshness and better balance.

“The nose is quite captivating, especially after some time in the glass, when it starts developing some floral aromas, perfect ripeness, no warmth or alcohol and a powerful, yet terribly balanced palate with concentration and elegance, fine-grained tannins and clean, focused flavors. This is my favorite Solanera to date.” 

Like we said, ours, too.  This is a more refined effort that definitely plays above its category in the glass even more than past efforts.  This jump in quality may have had something to do with the vintage and most assuredly reflects the touch of Jean-Marc Lafage who consulted on this vintage for the first time.  It’s a kinder, gentler, more polished and more engaging bottle of Solanera and for under $10 (the best price in the country), it’s almost like stealing.  Good hunting.

BRIEFS 5-28-19

~~They grow Sauvignon Blanc in a lot of places world-wide, from the Loire to Australia, South Africa and the Americas.  But some of the most intriguing come from the high country of northeast Italy.  There’s a distinctive take on the varietal with aromas of tomato leaf, grapefruit, wild herbs, and yellow stone fruits.  The flavors are hauntingly insistent but also delicate.  When it’s on, it is a lovely and unique take on Sauvignon Blanc, pretty unlike anything else from this varietal.  Some of our favorites are Vie de Romans, Venica, and Venica, and Terlano’s Quarz.   In that vein of elite level, captivating, almost haunting ‘high country’ Sauvignons, add the Tiare Sauvignon Collio 2017, a beautiful example of exactly what we are talking about and a “tre bicchierre” selection from Gambero Rosso.

~~Not all Pinot Grigios are created equal, and some of them are even pink.  As many of you know, Pinot Grigio grapes actually have a pinkish tint.  Through a process called ramato, the Pinot Grigio grapes spend some extra time in contact with the skins which changes the phenolic feel of the wine in the mouth, adds a little punch to the mid palate and, depending on the length of the contact, imparts a pinkish hue to the wine itself.  There aren’t a lot of folks that do it this way and it takes a certain level of talent to pull it off.  But done right, it is a delicious, distinctive take on the varietal that most folks haven’t tried.   Definitely for adults, the Specogna Pinot Grigio Ramato Friuli Colli Orientali 2017 ($22.99) is a marvelous example of this style.  Who knew Pinot Grigio could be this interesting?

~~Vintages play an important part in most of what we do.  A new vintage of something is news in itself.  Not so for sparkling and fortified wines that are non-vintage.  So unless there is some sort of seasonal or event-related relevance, things like the Mikulski Cremant de Bourgogne, which we highlighted this year, the Perez Barquero Gran Barquero Amontillado Sherry that we highlighted last year, and the Lustau Palo Cortado Peninsula (that we highlighted a long time ago) or the Drusian Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene Extra Dry, a house favorite that we have been selling for more than a decade, will be forgotten.  We’re going to use things like the ‘Briefs’ section to mention products like these again because the whole way wine is being marketed has changed.  In the past, there were conversations where walk-in consumers would ask about products and categories from people on the floor.  Buying online with a mouse click is a completely different dynamic.  Items like these were exciting enough for us to buy them initially, and still are.  No reason not to remind people about them once in a while and possibly introduce a few new folks that missed it the first time in the process.