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.

A CUBILLO FOR THE AGES

What a difference a year makes!  As the majority of you who read us regularly are aware, there are likely no greater fans of Rioja, with the possible exception of some of the Riojanos themselves, than we are.   One of the rewards of doing this kind of thing, for us, is to get paid for doing something we would do anyway.  Today’s exercise gives us the opportunity to talk about a few of our favorite things, specifically one of the revered houses located in Rioja’s ‘holy city’ (Haro), Lopez de Heredia, and one of the greatest vintages we have had the good fortune to experience from the region, 2010.

As to Lopez de Heredia, there is little we need to say about this icon of traditional Spanish winemaking founded in 1892.  We have tasted virtually every level of wine they produce, including some historic older bottlings, and have never been disappointed even given pretty high expectations.  They do all the right things to create the wines they want to make and charge very attractive prices for the various levels offered.  Granted prices have edged up a bit as the world continues to discover the wonders of Rioja, but they are still pretty sensational given the other choices of equal caliber.

As to 2010, it has been a while since we have talked about the vintage.  It is a sensational harvest with purity of fruit, ripe tannins, classic lines and fine structure.  They are wines that will age decades yet can deliver a glassful of joy next weekend.  The Riojanos have definitely been surprisingly low-keyed about the exceptional year, but the rest of the wine world has been unanimous in its praise. 

Simply put, releases in Rioja come sort of in waves.  For the most part crianzas come out first, followed by reservas and finally gran reservas, all titles very specifically defined by Spanish law based on barrel age and time in bottle. Each winery has their own schedule as to how the wines roll out, though they mostly follow the same level by level pattern we described.  Most of the 2010 crianzas and reservas are long gone and we have even moved through a number of the gran reservas.  But the top older houses run on a much slower cycle.  So we will be seeing a number of the ‘big dogs’ from this great vintage coming out over the next several months.  Hallelujah!

As for Lopez de Heredia, they are just beginning on their efforts in 2010 starting with the Lopez de Heredia Rioja Vina Cubillo Crianza 2010, their entry-level bottling.  This is where we must make the point again, one of the best houses in one of the best vintages.  We have faithfully followed Lopez for years and enjoyed virtually every vintage of Cubillo along the way.  This is the best version we have ever tasted by a good bit.  Made from 65% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha, and the rest Mazuelo and Graciano all from estate vineyards, this saw three years in barrel (like a gran reserva) after which it is bottled unfiltered. 

Sure it has all of the accustomed sweet cherry and plum fruit, dusty/spicy classic Rioja accents and underpinning of vanilla and balsamic.  But there is more weight, power and richness in the midpalate, impeccable balance between the fruit and tannins and a remarkable but refined presence in the glass.  Over the course of several hours it evolved glacially, so packed and structured, yet it never ceased to impress.  We dare say it is better than some of their Tondonia and Bosconia bottlings we have had in the past, yet this surprising beverage can be had for under $25.  Amazing? You bet!

But that’s Rioja, that’s Lopez, and the greatness of 2010.

We were not alone in our praise.  Luis Gutierrez of robertparker.com wrote, “The 2010 Viña Cubillo Tinto Crianza is superb and shows great depth and nuance, with great freshness, and the red cherries are complemented by notes of blood oranges, nutmeg and other spices. It has a soft and harmonious palate, with great balance and very good freshness. – 93 Points!”

Given James Suckling’s usual brevity of comments, this is a virtual tome, “Cubillo is a very focused and quite crisp style of red that has spent three years in barrique and then in larger cask to wait for bottling, which happens two years before the expected release. The richness and depth of complex dried wood and spice here is seamlessly sewn into the dried red and dark cherries. The palate is pinned around a fresh-blackberry core that marries still sweet fruit to more savory style. Long and balanced. The tannins are fine yet assertive. It freshens into the finish nicely. Drink or hold…95 Points!”

Great house, great vintage, great price, this one checks all the boxes!  This is not to be missed.

EPIC, ‘ALMOST PERFECT’ RWT

We have been on the Penfolds trail for a very long time, going back to the 1980s when few people in this market even knew what it was or paid attention to Australian wine at all.   We bought closeouts of Bin 389, 407, and even Grange  back in the day at our first location.  Tasting them back then, we became fans pretty quickly.  How could you not?  At the time the wines had plenty of pure, in-your-face fruit, supple tannins and honest flavors.   They not only had charm, but they delivered value. 

A lot has happened since those days.  There were years of following Grange in the same way we followed top Bordeaux (the 1998 was a particular benchmark for us and before the prices got anywhere near where they are today).  There was a period where the wines began to take on a very commercial demeanor and showed signs of excessive acidification.  There was another period where the prices on what you might call the bread-and-butter mid-range wines increased 3 to 4 fold as they became white-hot in the Asian market.  There was also a period where the direction of the winery, and its corporate owners, was a little sketchy based on financials.

Fast forward to today.  Prices on some items still seem a little out of sync with the marketplace, and the current distribution scenario, in California anyway, is not exactly what we would expect for mega-volume premium players like Penfolds, Berigner, and BV.   But with respect to the juice itself, Penfolds is all systems go under the steady hand of winemaker Peter Gago. 

Given that, our mission today is to explain why this brilliant effort of Penfolds Shiraz RWT is not only a great wine that belongs in everyone’s cellar who can pay the freight, but is actually something of a deal at its $139.98 price.  First, the company spiel that RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz presents an admirable alternative to the multi-regional sourcing and American oak maturation that are hallmarks of Grange.  It is intended to express the best of a single region, Barossa Valley, and is done entirely in French oak. 

From Penfolds, “The initials RWT stand for ‘Red Winemaking Trial’, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995. Naturally, now no longer a ‘Trial’, RWT Shiraz was launched in May 2000 with the 1997 vintage. Its style is opulent and fleshy, contrasting with Grange, which is more muscular and assertive. RWT is made from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and lush texture. The result is a wine that helps to redefine Barossa Shiraz at the highest quality level…”

The standards for this wine are high, and the 2016 vintage offered the opportunity to shoot for the stars qualitatively. In a recent visit, Barossa winemaking dignitary Dave Powell (founder of Torbreck, and recently his own Powell label) said of the vintage ‘I didn’t have to do anything…the fruit was so outstanding.’  Aged in French oak (72% new), RWT offers hints of vanilla and cedar, but more than anything, it showcases the region’s bold berry and plum fruit.  The sleek, rich oak veneer is a fine backdrop to this powerful but polished fruit, and from first whiff, you know this is a special wine. 

Don’t just take our word.  Jeb Dunnuck made quite the case for the 2016 RWT in his own publication, “The 2016 Shiraz RWT is a brilliant, brilliant wine, and I suspect the finest version of this cuvee ever produced. Thrilling notes of black raspberries, crème de cassis, toasted spice, mint, and espresso all emerge from this deep, rich, powerful Shiraz. With massive concentration, it still glides across the palate with no sensation of heaviness or rusticity, building, perfectly ripe tannins, and incredible opulence and intensity. It shows more grilled meat notes with time in the glass and is a monumental Barossa Shiraz that flirts with perfection… 99 Points.”

It is all of that, as well as one of the greatest wines we have tasted this year.  As to the price, these days that kind of money will get you a good Bordeaux (but not a First or super Second Growth), a competent small production Napa Cabernet (but not any of the elite names), or one of the best Shiraz wines on the planet at one-fifth the price of its more famous stable-mate.  The choice seems clear.  It is a mouth-filling, legend-in-the-making must for those who relish big, bold, stylish reds.

BOISTEROUS BARBERA 2017

We weren’t sure how to title this one. The reference to Barbera is a murky one for some people. In Piedmont, Barbera is considered one of the ‘little’ wines, something of an everyday beverage with the grapes usually relegated to the lesser terroirs.

Barbera also has an image problem of a sort. What is it? There are so many variations. You’ve got something decidedly utilitarian and unadorned from a number of the larger producers in Piedmont all the way to someone like Braida who is shooting for the stars with carefully tended vineyards and an upscale oak regimen.

There are many personalities from firm and fruit forward to stern and acidic, and all of them perform better if the is food involved. Most recently in the 2013 and 2014 vintages, very difficult for the earlier harvest, ‘lesser’ grapes in particular, they mostly ranged from uninspired to awful. The 2015s and 2016s were at the other end of the spectrum, generally very good and often outstanding. Given the variations in style and dramatic swings in vintages, we couldn’t begin to guess what most folks think about Barbera.

The 2017 vintage isn’t going to answer the question of what Barbera should be. But it is a unique and joyful look at something the grape can be but rarely is. The short story of the vintage is crops reduced by weather quirks in the spring, low yields, warm dry summer, phenolic ripeness and an early harvest. The result is possibly the juiciest, tenderest, most engaging examples of Barbera we can recall tasting…ever!

Hey it’s early in the game, but there’s no reason to expect that the freakishly friendly 2017 Barberas we have tasted thus far aren’t a proper vanguard for what is coming (the 2017 Nebbiolos have been remarkably precocious as well).

Our poster child for what we have seen thus far is the Revello Barbera d’Alba 2017 . Billowing nose of spicy dark red fruits, supple palate with tender edges, gregarious and juicy every step of the way, the profile hardly says Barbera given the history of the grape here, though the flavors are varietally correct.

Also, at $15, it’s a lot of wine for the fare and, even though it is an uncommonly friendly version of the genre, it is just as food friendly as it should be as, under all of that fruit, there’s enough cut to get the job done.

RHONE 2016: AN IMPORTANT NEW/OLD FACE

At this point we’ll presume that you have heard us wax poetic about the 2016 vintage in the southern Rhone on multiple occasions, so we’ll cut right to the main story.  Even in a place with the long history of the Rhone, there are new stories and exciting new things to discover.  The land, of course, has always been here, and farmhouse from which the property takes its name, St. Antonin, has been in references back to the time of Napoleon and was built in the 17th Century.  What made the big change at this property, and likely the reason you re hearing about it today is the new ownership circa 2014.

A number of serious Rhone domaines have looked to this area, called Plan de Dieu, as a place that provided terroir that is not unlike Chateauneuf itself and offers the opportunity for expansion.   But here estates with contiguous holdings of clay, galet, and sand soils, don’t come up very often.  When this one did, the Sabon family was on it.  Now there are a few Sabons in the Rhone.  But this particular family of Sabons are the folks that own the iconic Domaine de la Janasse in Chateauneuf.

This new domaine of 15 hectares, plus a couple of hectares of Chateauneuf transferred from Janasse to the Clos St. Antonin estate, are under the control of daughter Isabelle along with her father Aime.  Certainly the succession of vineyard land (Napoleonic law and all of that) had a part in the creation of this project, but we are only focused on the juice itself.  On that score, Clos St. Antonin is off to a whale of a start.  These are only their second releases and, while the timing couldn’t have been better with respect to vintages, it is clear that Isabelle Sabon has quite the touch. 

As we tasted through the lineup, we mused that her wines showed a deft hand and a certain refinement yet still delivered a substantial mouthful of rich, savory fruit.  Brother beware, the lady has skills.  The Clos St. Antonin Cotes du Rhone 2016 is a polished bargain at its price point and, as we have said on a few occasions with specialty Cotes du Rhone in 2016, her Clos St. Antonin Cotes du Rhone Villages Plan de Dieu 2016 could hang with the ‘bigger fish’ and outscored a number of Chateauneufs.  The proof is in the glass.

Made from 80% Grenache, the balance Mourvedre and Syrah, all from 30-50 year old vines, it is raised in concrete tanks, foudres and neutral French oak demi-muids.  We’ll let Jeb Dunnuck do the play-by-play, “…the 2016 Côtes du Rhône should be sought out by savvy buyers. Ripe, rounded, and incredibly sexy, with lots of kirsch and blackberry fruits, garrigue, and mineral notes, it has impeccable balance as well as purity of fruit. It’s a knockout Côtes du Rhône to drink over the coming 3-4 years.

This up and coming superstar of an estate was created by Isabelle and Christophe Sabon (of Domaine de Janasse) in 2015. The estate is located in the Plan de Dieu, northeast of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, yet they have access to some prime terroirs in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the La Crau and Font du Loup lieux-dits. These are legit, awesome wines, and savvy readers need to get on board!... 91 Points “

Of the Plan de Dieu, “Even better, the 2016 Côtes du Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu has to be one of the great wines from this appellation, which comes from an ocean of vines located on the valley floor between Vacqueyras and Cairanne. Made from 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, and 20% Syrah brought up in foudre and demi-muids, it offers awesome notes of cassis, blackberries, spice box, and licorice. Ripe, full-bodied, and powerful, yet also balanced and pure, do your best to latch onto a few bottles…94 Points.”

Yes the field is crowded right now.  But even in this current (though diminishing) sea of glorious southern Rhones, these are significant efforts.  They are lush, engaging, pure and hedonistic, yet at the same time are beautifully aligned and somehow more precise than most.  Like the man said, “savvy readers need to get on board.”

DREAM SWEETS: Part 2

Global warming has changed a lot of things about German wines. So have the changing tastes of some markets that have put an emphasis on dry/trocken versions of German wine (for better or worse), particularly from elite ‘grand cru’ sites from which the great dessert bottlings used to come. When we go to German tasting these days, we are typically forced to slog through 30% (or more) skeletal dry Rieslings among the offerings while there are only a handful of true Auslesen in the room.

Maybe tastes really have changed and the demand for the higher pradikat wines has waned in recent years. Our objection with Germany is that the traditional fruity style is what these vineyards do like nowhere else in the world, yet we are fighting Nature by superimposing a current winemaking ‘fad’ on vineyard sites who are best served doing what they have been doing for centuries. Those are fighting words to some of the ‘New Age’ wine types but, frankly, we don’t care. We love a great auslese and the Selbach-Oster Riesling Zeltinger Schlossberg ‘Schmitt’ 2016 is a fine example of why.

Selabch-Oster is a top flight producer that owns parcels in several of the best sites on the Mosel, and he makes a lot of different bottlings. His ‘benchmark’ wines are from three very old plots high on the slopes within specific, high profile vineyards. One of these is Schmitt from the Zeltiner Himmelreich. Schmitt has a perfect southern exposure, but a deeper subsoil of crumbly, broken slate mixed with organic matter and loam. Importer Terry Thiesse likens the vineyard’s orientation further from the river and above the town where the human element creates additional warmth to that of Bernkasteler Doktor.

It is also made in a singular style. Whereas most Auslese are the result of several passes through the vineyard, Selbach harvests the whole block at once, fermenting the grapes of varied degrees of ripeness together to reflect not only the terroir, but the ‘moment’. The grapes are fermented with only their natural yeasts and allowed to determine their own fate, be that trocken or a knockout auslese like we have here.

Stephan Reinhardt wrote a love poem that covers all the bases succinctly, “The 2016 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Auslese “Schmitt” is a very clear, fresh and precise on the nose, with very fine mineral aromas of crunchy slate. This reminds me a bit of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr in its finesse, perfectly ripe fruit and the finest possible expression of minerals in wine. This is the finest Schmitt I have ever had and surely one of the greatest 2016s from the Mosel. Its finesse and elegance are mind-blowing…97 points“–

Great now and for a couple of decades hence.

DREAM ‘SWEETS’: Part 1

First off, thanks for clicking. It never ceases to amaze us that when you say something is a dessert style, people (the same ones that drink Chardonnays with 2% residual sugar and love those sweets when they are poured in their glass) scurry away. It is not a sin to like fruitier wines, nor does it mean you aren’t ‘cool’, in spite of what the populace at large might do to suggest otherwise. Far too many people act like drinking dessert wines is akin to drinking pancake syrup. But in fact the sizzling acidity that supports the great ones make them brighter and more versatile than a lot of wines out there.

Anyway, we are still fans of the genre and appreciate their place in the wine spectrum. Also, in spite of all of the negative attitude out there, we sell a lot of them…often providing we don’t say the ‘S’ word. For the moment we have a couple of gems that deserve a word. First up is the Felsina Vin Santo 2007, a fascinating and complex wine that is the result of an equally fascinating process.

The grapes in Felsina’s case are Trebbiano, Malvasia and Sangiovese that are harvested by hand and put through a rigorous sorting before the grapes are placed on mats until January/February. They are then de-stemmed and pressed, and the must is transferred to sealed, 100-litre oak casks containing the “mother” (a thick substance remaining from previous vintages).

After 7 years in storage, the cask is opened and the wine is bottle-aged for a minimum of 6 months. It’s a little bit ‘life on the edge’ because anything can happen in that closed environment for such a long period of time. When the stars align, it is magic, and this complex peach, dried apricot, carmel and spices elixir is one of those engaging examples.

Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner went off on this one saying, “The 2007 Vin Santo del Chianti Classico (375-milliliters) is a gorgeous wine with so many descriptors that apply to the ever-evolving and complex bouquet. This golden dessert wine offers distinct aromas of dried apricot, honey and saffron. But give it a few moments and earthy or autumnal tones of wild mushroom, forest floor and aged cheese also rise to the top. The effect is almost savory and definitely very sophisticated. The wine glides smoothly over the palate with creamy richness and viscous smoothness. ..94+.”

Simply a stunning way to end an evening and, if you don’t finish it, it will hold up for a few days. (Go to ‘Dream Sweets: Part 2’)

ALT WHITES: PART 3

Over the years we have told a lot of tales.  More than a few of them have been about a new star coming to market that was going to have a significant impact.  This one is more of a rebirth of sorts that has the potential to have greater impact as time passes in the rather specific area of Austrian whites.  For the time being, it is important to understand the ‘players’, and as importantly the dirt, or the stones as this elevated site is a bit light on topsoil.

Without going into a whole Mitchneresque reach back to the formation of the earth, Atzberg and Singgeriegel are virtually identical in their composition of red stones, slate and gneiss with little topsoil.  Eventually they were separated by a stream called Mieslingbach.   Singgeriegel went on to become recognized as one of, if not the top vineyard in the Wachau.  Atzberg can trace its history back to the 13th Century and the building called Mauritiushof was used by the monks to collect grapes.  The Gritsch family bought the property in 1799, and used the building for wine production. 

In recent times the Atzberg Vineyard itself was not cultivated.  It’s terraced vineyards high on the hill were unplanted until winemaker Franz-Josef Gritsch and his partners Hans Schmid and Robert Wutzl decided that the spot was too special and important a site to be ignored.  They dove in and ‘recultivated’ this historic site with the idea of restoring it to its formal elite status that was mentioned in records as far back as 1382.

Everything is ‘old school’. This 100% Gruner Veltliner vineyard is labor-intensive, with the grapes handpicked and carried in small tubs down to the lower valley. The thinking was that, given the history, if Singgeriegel is such an iconic vineyard, so too should Atzberg be among the stars of the region. If the Atzberg Gruner Veltliner Steilterrassen 2016 (Steilterrassen literally means ‘steep terraces’) is any indication, the ‘reclamation’ project is going quite swimmingly. The juice in the glass definitely gets one’s attention. It begins with a harmonious succession of aromas such as red berries, earthy minerality, apple, pear, wild herbs and spices.

In the mouth, all of this reveals itself in a palate that has not only the anticipated lift but a fairly broad, ample, and tender feel.  Some Gruners sting, this one does a lot more caressing while still delivering the kind of bright, energetic experience one expects from this varietal when done right.  Somewhat kinder and gentler, it delivers loads of character and finishing salinity.  While it should please established fans of the genre, it is capable of winning some new friends for Gruner by virtue of its friendlier texture.  The breeding and complexity of the site in the glass support the effort Gritsch and friends have put into it. 

We don’t have any flashy reviews.  We didn’t find any on this specific vintage, but didn’t really need them to validate that this was exciting stuff.  Also, given the laborious nature of the site, we found the price to be more than fair, particularly when compared to an ‘upper cuvee’ from the site called Obere that literally costs more than twice as much.  Delicious Gruner that can play with serious food should you choose, this is an early look into what we expect to be recognized as one of the superstar sites of the region soon enough.