A LITTLE BIT OF LIQUID HISTORY from DOWN UNDER

This is a quick note to call your attention to a number of morsels that arrived from the iconic Australian producer Greenock Creek. We were heavily involved with these wines when they were first imported by Grateful Palate right around the ‘turn of the millenneum’. Greenock Creek was an established entity that really vaulted to fame as the wines received huge initial press from Wine Advocate as they came to the U.S. market. We’d go so far as to say that Greenock was a notable catalyst in the whole Aussie boutique movement that was exploding at the time.

The short story was that Dan Phillips was advised on certain labels to seek out on his first buying trip to Australia. One of the recommendations was Rockford Winery and, in pursuing that label, Dan met winemaking superstar Chris Ringland who was at the time also the winemaker for Greenock Creek wines that were being produced at Rockford. The rest is history.

In any case, these wines came from the Grateful Palate library and were all made under Ringland’s tenure. The reviews are consistently spectacular and the wines are are excellent representatives of their genre. A lot of the knock on Australian wines after the ‘golden era’ of the first decade after they established a strong beachhead here was that they don’t age. We beg to differ.

In all fairness, a lot of the bad rap on Aussie wines was based on a second wave of less established labels that benefited from the goodwill established by proven producers like Greenock Creek, Rockford, Clarenden Hills, and Kay Brothers. A number of them were from growers who wanted to have labels and may not have been ready for ‘prime time’.

The Greenock wines are a testament to the fact that the truly exceptional Aussie reds age very well, thank you. Have a look at this little slice of Australian wine history when the wines were made by an Aussie winemaking legend who has his own label now that sells for $400+ per bottle. Quantities, as you might imagine of library bottlings, are limited. There weren’t huge quantities in the first place. Good hunting. These are very rare.

SEE THE GREENOCK CREEK OLDIES

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.

WE ♥ ASSYRTKO

Even though we have run through some of the best buys of the Greek white from Santorini called Assyrtiko on the planet, we couldn’t resist another, near-perfect example of what the grape can be.  There may have been an assist from the 2019 vintage as several white wine regions in Europe have delivered outstanding results from the vintage. But there aren’t a lot of (any?) ‘vintage charts’ to consult on the matter of Santorini.  Nor can one presume to make comparisons between the Loire, Alto Adige, or Germany and a windswept island in the Mediterranean.  Maybe we just have a thing for Assyrtiko.

We are pretty familiar with this unique varietal having stumbled across it well over a decade ago.  Given the amount we have sold, clearly so are a lot of other folks.  But in the interest of ‘continuing education,’ a brief recap is in order.  Santorini is an island southeast of the Greek mainland.  It is a place like no other and they have been cultivating grapes here since the 17th Century, B.C.!  The vines here, as a result of the windswept terroir and volcanic soils, are almost in a ‘basket’ configuration with the canes literally woven together.  The basket-like way of pruning and “winding” the vines, called “kouloura,” is due to the weather conditions that have always existed on Santorini. 

Argyros is the largest vineyard holder on the island, with an average vine age of 70 years and some vines nearing two centuries which, on Santorini, isn’t that unusual.  Founded in 1903, the current owners of Argyros (the fourth generation) control over 120 hectares.  The winery calls this ‘the most important bottling of the estate, the essence of what Estate Argyros stands for. Meticulously selected parcels, with ages exceeding a century, from top quality areas of the island, mainly Messaria, Karterados, Pyrgos, Megalochori and Akrotiri. Fermented in stainless steel at cool temperatures and aged for two months in stainless steel tanks on fine lees.”

Consider the Argyros Assyrtiko Santorini 2019 a premium version of the grape, even though you can pay much more (the Karamolegos reserves list at $55 and $85 respectively).  The nose shows fresh, restrained pineapple and pear fruit and insistent salty minerality.  In the mouth there is surprising weight and substance yet with enough lift to not sit heavy on the palate.  Intense and expressive, this is a full-throttle version.

Wine Advocate is one of the few reviewers that devotes much ink to Assyrtiko and they had good things to say about this one, “The 2019 Assyrtiko, the regular Santorini is unoaked, dry (four grams of residual sugar, 7.01 of total acidity) and comes in at 14% alcohol…This is more along the lines of an upscale Santorini in style these days (although at a more reasonable price)—richer, full of flavor and nicely ripe. ..It certainly shows better today, as its bigger fruit is up front and delectable. .. For the moment, this 2019 finishes with authority—and that extra flavor…92 points.”

Assyrtiko has many faces, certainly more than we envisioned when we first experienced the grape all those years ago.  But this unique varietal has proven it can play at a high level and this version is here because it was simply too good not to be!

NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S SOAVE

Soave has come a long way since 1970s when the market was saturated with versions from large industrial producers. A few dedicated vintners paid attention to detail, lowered yields, and today’s Soave bears no resemblance to the innocuous versions of the genre from yesteryear. One of our consistent favorites from what one might call the new age Soave is from Inama.

They have been growing grapes in the region since Roman times, with the DOC being established here in 1968. Garganega is the principal grape but the appellation allows for Trebbiano di Soave as well as Chardonnay to be grown. The secret to the best Soaves is using only Garganega, farming modest yields, and having prime vineyards in the Classico zone. Giusseppe Inama realized this early on and starting pruchasing small plot within the designated area in the 1960s.

The 2019 Inama Soave is one of the most compelling versions we have had from a producer that has been a staple around here. It simply has more of everything. Floral notes, pear, and white stone fruits invite you in via the very attractive nose. The same flavors, plus a subtle streak of minerality (the soils are red clay and volcanic tufo) present themselves on the palate. There is weight, substance, and freshness, the type character that can only be achieved through careful farming and meticulous winemaking.

No tricks here. This is a clean, naked wine at a sensational price ($12.98). It also has an enthusiastic review from James Suckling, “Dried-apple and pureed-pear aromas follow through to a dense, full body with layers of fruit and intense flavors. Such focus and purity. Benchmark, classic Soave. …93 Points.” Fire this up with some white wine fare and they will sing together.

A VERY SPECIAL CHIANTI

We have come through a very special period in Tuscany in general and Chianti in particular.  But we are still on the lookout for more examples of 2016, arguably the best and most complete vintage we can recall in all of our years doing this.  We are thrilled to run across regular Chianti bottlings from the vintage but, for the most part, the market has absorbed those wines.  There should still be occasional appearances from Riserva and Gran Selezione bottlings from this exceptional vintage that should prove to be memorable high points.

We had great expectations, given what we have tasted from 2016, when a purveyor pulled one of the late arriving  2016 Chiantis out of their bags and the Caparsa Chianti Classico Riserva Caparsino 2016 did not disappoint.  In fact it was arguably one of the most impressive examples of the vintage we have tasted thus far.  Since we don’t have a long experience with this producer (or any prior to 2016), we can’t really say with any authority if how much of this wine is courtesy of the vintage, or if Paolo Cianferoni is some sort of winemaking genius.  In any case, even among the sensational array of outstanding Chiantis we have tasted from 2016, this one is special.

Located in Radda in Chianti, there is a distinct mineral undertone that makes a first impression here and is part of the whole experience front to back.  The flavors and profile are definitely Tuscan, the insistent stony underpinnings definitely something we associate with Radda (a relatively small designation), but the density and richness of the fruit component and mid-palate elevate this wine to another level.  Given the performance here, we couldn’t even balk at the price, certainly at the upper end of the riserva classification though relatively modest by comparison to many of the Gran Selezione bottlings.

In the notes from the winery, this wine is 100% Sangiovese (hand harvested, of course) from an elevated site (about 1450 feet) that is spontaneously fermented with natural yeasts and then sees one year in large barrels.   The color is impressively dark for Sangiovese, the aromas show powerful fruit tones and well as that stony minerality.  The weight on the palate surprises for Sangiovese as well, the flavors deceptively rich and yet distinctively Tuscan, the tannins and acidity well tucked in as is the standard in 2016, this is a head turner. 

Antonio Galloni was suitably impressed as well, “The 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva Caparsino is the more refined of the estate’s two Riservas. Aromatic, silky and also plush, the 2016 is fabulous. Mint, pine, lavender, espresso and macerated dark cherry all open up in the glass, but more than anything else, the 2016 is a wine that gracefully marries power with richness. The 2016 is a total knock-out. Don’t miss it… 96 Points.”

We understand that for some of you, $45 for something that says Chianti might be a little difficult.  But this is one of those wines that rises above the appellation and bests most of the much pricier Gran Selezione wines we have tasted.

Like Galloni says, don’t miss it. He’s right.

EXCITING ‘INSIDER’ FIND IN CHABLIS

There are always new things to discover with wine.  As odd as it may sound, the other day we ran across a designation we had never seen before.  Now that, in and of itself, isn’t necessarily shocking.  There are lots of new things coming to light in wine as new areas and producers are appearing as the world becomes smaller and more connected.  But we are talking about Chablis, a place that has existed as a wine appellation for centuries within the same boundaries more or less, and our buying team that, combined, is approaching a century of experience.  

The producer is one that is pretty familiar around here, Chateau des Malandes in Chablis. Founded in 1949 by the grand parents of the current owners, it was run until 2018 by their daughter, Lyne Marchive.  We have sold the wines for years and they have always had a very appealing, some might say ‘feminine’ style.  Malandes Chablis, while portraying the various terroirs from which they came, always had in common a tender, fruit-driven palate feel and rather gentle demeanor.  Thus far not much has changed under the guidance of son Richard and daughter Amandine, and that’s a good thing.

The estate has holdings in a number of Premier Cru climats including Vau de Vey, Lechets, Montmains, Fourchaume and Mont de Milieu, as well as Grand Crus Vaudesir and Le Clos.  But the subject of this piece is, as we said, something we had never seen until this bottling, the Domaine de Malandes Chablis ‘Envers de Valmur’ 2019.    This is what they call a ‘lieu dit’ or ‘named vineyard’ in Burgundy.  Essentially they are naming the vineyard on the bottle even though it does not have an official designation, something not that unusual in in the Cote d’Or but not all that common in Chablis. 

As we all know about Burgundy, location is everything.  We have talked many times about relatively unknown parcels that exist in close proximity to famous ones, and how the potential can far exceed the price commanded.  That is the case here.  This 1.6 ha parcel exists on the backside of the hill of Grand Cru vineyard Valmur (envers de Valmur literally means ‘behind Valmur’), and face west looking out at Grand Cru Vaudesir.  The vines were planted in 1967 and typically deliver small, concentrated berries that give the wine plenty of punch and acidity as well as well-woven minerality.

The vineyard is farmed organically and the fruit sees time in oak vessels from one to seven years old with the purpose of rounding the wine and giving it a creamy texture while not letting pronounced wood notes get in the way of the vineyard terroir.  The plush, inviting, somewhat gentle texture and palate feel has been a consistent feature of Malandes wines for as long as we have known them.  Given this wine and the location, one has to wonder why this vineyard was never given any ‘official’ standing. 

Like we said, we had not seen this designation before and there isn’t a lot of it anyway (about 900 cases produced).  But it didn’t slip past the folks at Decanter Magazine who wrote, “Domaine des Malandes is a 29ha estate with the ‘Envers de Valmur’ an intriguing ‘insiders’ choice from vineyards abutting Grand Cru Vaudésir. Classic in colour, aroma and flavour profile on the palate, this is a fine Chablis with great potential for further ageing. Bright, focussed and mineral with a lovely balance between freshness, bright acidity and ripe fruit flavours. Long and precise on the finish… 94 Points!

This would have been an email but there really wasn’t enough juice to support that.  We bought everything there was anyway because it is simply a lovely, well-priced example of the genre from a vintage that looks like it is going to get some attention.

RANDOM NOTES: PHILIPPE MILAN MARSANNAY 2018

The trouble with Burgundy is that it’s confusing enough on the surface and then there are a whole bunch of folks fighting over a few hallowed labels. The critics don’t help a lot in that they are fighting to post scores on rare, pricey things like Romanee Conti and Roumier, and virtually everything falls in line with established historic hierarchies as far as reviews go. Who’s looking out for the guy that just wants a tasty bottle of Pinot without sacrificing a couple of house payments? We are! We’re with you and get pretty thrilled when we find something plush and tasty for under $30.

If you rush to your review books, you aren’t likely to find anything on Domaine Philippe Milan, even though the domaine was founded in 1950 by Philippe Milan, grandfather of the current proprietor Karl Milan. They farm 27 acres in southern end of Burgundy, the Cote Chalonnaise, an area that we always look to in warm vintages for sneaky value. Why? As we have explained many times, these typically cooler areas don’t hit the ‘high notes’ every year and, for that reason, can’t get top dollar for their wares because they aren’t necessarily consistent year in and year out.

However in warmer vintages, the grapes get a little riper in these places and the wines become richer and more plush. But the prices are still modest thanks to their history. With global warming, places like Maranges, Givry, and at the other end of the Cote d’Or, Marsannay, will be treasure troves of delicious, moderately priced red Burgundies.

Most of Milan’s production is sold in France. Only about 10% is exported. But in a warm, ripe vintage like 2018, the Philippe Milan Marsannay 2018 shines. Plenty of engaging cherry fruit to be the focus, hints of spice and minerality to add interest, and enough weight and richness to keep you coming back for more, this has all the requisites. Medium weight, sweet middle, tender edges, this is quite the satisfying beverage. At $21.98, it’s a bargain for even this modest neighborhood. A Burgundy for the people.

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

A LATE LOOK AHEAD

Typically at the start of the year we put out a little piece telling consumers what to be on the lookout for the coming months wine-wise. We hadn’t gotten to it yet, and not because we were remiss or lazy, but simply because the factors that will affect how this year plays out don’t actually have all that much to do specifically with wine itself and they’re kind of unpredictable in how they will play out.

The first issue didn’t exist when we wrote the last piece like this. That would be COVID. The pandemic hasn’t affected wine specifically. But it has impacted everything involved with getting wine harvested, made, shipped and delivered. It completely altered the the way wine was sold, had a huge negative impact on the restaurant industry, and greatly changed the fortunes of almost everyone in the distribution end of the business as a function of everything else that went on.

The second non-wine issue, combined with the first, dealt a serious blow to players at every level of the industry. That would be the levying of tariffs on agricultural products (like wine) from Europe in response to a flap about Airbus subsidies. By dropping immediate 25% price increases (due to tariffs) onto importers, price points on certain items became considerably less attractive, and huge, unexpected cash outlays were forced upon those who were unfortunate enough to have wines ‘on the water’ (in shipping containers) when it was decided to initiate the whole tariff program. Unexpected levies of six-figure sums can ruin your whole day, or your livelihood, but that didn’t seem to matter in the international poker game of the time.

For all of good things in the works from the wine world this year, everything we talk about depends on those two factors in terms of`how they will sort out. You’ve got to have people drive the trucks, load and unload the boat, and all of the other physical things it takes to move goods through the system.

Perhaps more significant is the tariff issue and removal thereof. Nobody wants to bring in imports that are going to be 25% higher priced than they should be, or even worse have tariffed inventory on hand when the levies (hopefully) come off. This whole situation stagnates the flow of the market until everything is resolved. We could go into a whole tirade about how taxing wine imports hurt American wine importers and merchants considerably more than anyone else, but the point now is to get it fixed.

Speaking of imports, there is a lot to like when they do arrive. As we have alluded to in other pieces, the 2019s from Germany and Austria are special based on the reviews and the few things we have tasted thus far. The 2019s from northeast Italy and Galicia have been consistently impressive, too. White from Burgundy and the Rhone, while not necessarily ‘epic’, are quite serviceable.

There are lots of happy places in Europe for reds. You’ve got 2018 and 2019 Bordeaux, the 2018s pretty serious though remarkably juicy and friendly for the genre, and 2019s are even more promising, ‘vintage-of-the-century’ type stuff. Rhones (both north and south) are impressive again in 2019 and can hang with prior top vintages from those areas. Beaujolais and Burgundy both hit the mark as well, with 2019s perhaps not with as much fruit packed in as the 2015, but rounder, more open, and often as seductive as that very appealing vintage.

This will be a good run for Cabernet lovers as 2018 and 2019 appear to be back-to-back winners. Antonio Galloni put a good spin on it, saying of 2018, “What the 2018s don’t quite have is the visceral thrill factor of the truly great recent vintages such as 2013 and 2016, but they come very close. Improvements in farming and winemaking elevate many 2018s into the stratosphere. There are so many 2018s that are simply mind-blowing. But what stands out most about the 2018s is their consistency. It is very hard to go wrong with a bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. “

Our observation of 2018 Cabernets, etc. thus far is that they may not be the biggest or most structured, but they are lavish, creamy, and enormously likable as a group. The ‘hit ratio’ has soared above 2017 and the continuity and front-to-back harmony, with supple texture and ripe, well-meshed tannins with the 2018s is impressive even within the context of a pretty serious run of vintages.

We should start seeing 2019s later in the year and the early word is they are maybe even better. We heard happy noises out of Napa not long after the 2019 harvest was completed. A quick take from Galloni. “…the 2019s I have tasted so far are fabulous. The wines feel like they have a little more energy, power and depth than the 2018s. I imagine much of that has to do with smaller berries and higher skin-to-juice ratios. That extra kick of late heat seems to have given the wines just enough added concentration to fill out their frames. Acidities, though, are on the lower side, so the perception is of wines that are both rich and energetic. In some ways, 2019 reminds me of 2010, but not as extreme. Winemakers generally describe the wines as extracting easily, the sign of a vintage that has a lot of natural richness.”

While there are no tariffs here (though one could argue that tariffs on the imports make them less competitive and allow domestic producers to justify higher prices), there’s a caveat to remember. Prices and availability. We don’t know how much the disastrous fires of 2020 in California and Oregon will affect the overall market. Wineries can do a number of things to make up for what is generally considered a missing vintage because so much of the 2020 harvest suffered from smoke taint.

Wineries can raise prices (even more!) to slow down sales or drag out releases to maintain some sort of perceived ‘availability’. Neither of those are consumer-friendly but we are pretty sure that some version of that will occur. Also, as an adjunct, we have heard that large sized wine concerns have been looking up and down the state for quality juice to buy. This will likely put the squeeze on a number of those cool under-the-radar labels that have been finding very good surplus juice to create value labels from.

There are a lot of moving factors that will have an effect on what we see this year. But the point is that there is plenty of good juice to look forward to provided we can get the goods here and people can afford to buy them (the U.S. Dollar is a bit lower against the euro as well). Having plenty of good wine to enjoy should not be a problem!

NEW, FUN BUBBLES FROM AN OLD ‘FRIEND’

One could spend time debating what makes for the best bubbly, but on most days for most of us, something that is clean, interesting, and not prohibitively expensive is never a bad choice. Sometimes you just want some good fizz or even just make a cocktail. With that in mind, we are always looking for some thing new, different, and moderately priced for the selection. A new surprise from a old label handed us one of the more interesting options we have seen in quite a while.

Chateau Moncontour Sparkling Vouvray Cuvee Prediliction 2016 struck a really nice balance between lift, bright flavors, refined bubbles, and palate interest. Made from 100% Chenin Blanc, it manages to show varietal nuance of citrus and peach, with some underlying chalky terroir notes, with fine bubbles, clarity of flavors, and a clean finish.

If you were fortunate enough to have the stunning Huet sparkler we had last year, this one shows a lot of the same nuance at close to half the price. Don’t confuse this one with their non-vintage, regular cuvee as this one much brighter and more focused and only a couple bucks more.  It’s clean, crisp, and dry, and at a perfect tab for much more casual applications. We find it a bit more defined than most similarly priced domestic bubblies. You don’t have to tell folks it wasn’t expensive.