We’ve been telling the Raul Perez story for a while now. If you haven’t heard it, think of it as one of those ‘local guy makes good’ as long as that locale is northwestern Spain. The Raul Perez ‘legend’ has grown over the years and, thanks to some ‘market changes’, the prices have come down a bit. Meanwhile Raul is making some of the best wines he has ever made. If it all sounds like a pretty advantageous situation for consumers, it is!
While his portfolio is chock full of stunning examples made from the native grape of Bierzo, Mencia, some difficult to tell apart because the label nomenclature is so similar, we have chosen to focus on his entry-level bottling called Ultreia. Why? Well it might be one of the most amazing red wine values in Spain, if not the world.
Raul has been working at a high level for quite a while now and certainly the raw materials play a part in the wine’s success. The Mencia grapes for this cuvee are grown in clay soils in the village of Valtuille de Abajo and were harvested from vines that were planted between 1900 and 1940. The Raul Perez Bierzo Ultreia St. Jacques 2015, which we sold last year, was the wine that gave Raul a spotlight like none of his previous, brilliant efforts ever had.
The 2015 vintage was perfect for Raul’s style. The flavors ranged from ripe cranberry to dark cherry. Weight-wise this Mencia plays like a hefty Pinot from the Santa Lucia Highlands flavor-wise, but with more florality to the nose, more lift and freshness to the palate, and striking harmony. Sometimes Mencia can be a little inward and unyielding at first, but there is none of that here! This is a beautifully proportioned and surprisingly sophisticated red for the fare.
It got plenty of attention from the critics including 93 points from Luis Gutierrez of Wine Advocate with comments, “…The 2015 Ultreia St Jacques …is amazingly good for the price. Produced from old vines, this is a serious wine, with juicy fruit, a fine palate and good freshness…”. James Suckling tossed a 91 on that ’15 saying, ” …Cherry and floral accents sing through the finish. Energetic…”
We finished our comments on that at the time by saying, “We are sure there are more reviews to come but we suspect they will arrive a little late.” Sure enough, the Wine Spectator came along and not only gave it a 91 point score but included it in the Wine Spectator Top 100 (#51) for 2017.
We’re reminding you of all of that to tell you this. The Raul Perez Bierzo Ultreia St. Jacques 2016 just hit the floor and it is another striking effort. Plenty of explosive red and black fruits in the mid-palate, maybe a touch less fleshy at the moment but with tremendous drive through the back palate, this is quite aristocratic for something in this price range. We’re finding that 2016 is making its own mark in Spain as a vintage.
Once again the wine features mostly Mencia, with touches of other indigenous varietals Bastardo (Trousseau) and Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet). This wine was done via 80% whole cluster fermentation in large oak vats then aged in a variety of vessels from 225L and 500L barrels to upright vats to cement. It is bottled unfiltered and unfined. Expressive and attention-getting, with a slightly cooler edge, it is once again an incredibly impressive beverage for a modest fare comfortably under $20 ($17.98).
We haven’t seen any press yet (3/12/2018) but given the performance here, and Raul’s recent track record, we are pretty confident there will be plenty. We love the stuff. Meanwhile we have ours, get yours.
One thinks typically of the Ribera del Duero as a more ‘serious’, what with the neighborhood harboring such heavyweights as Vega Sicilia, Hacienda del Monasterio, Pingus, and Pesquera. The term ‘Picaro’, the brainchild of Dominio di Aguila, refers to someone who is a rascal, or a rogue. The question posed by Picaro is, can a Ribera be, well, fun? The answer apparently is…yes!
Dominio del Aguila Picaro Ribera del Duero 2015 definitely operates outside the box for an area like the Ribera. Sure you’ve got your Tempranillo here, the backbone grape of the region, but Aguila co-ferments it with an unusual mixture of Garnacha, Bobal (a grape we associate with climes further south), and Albillo (the rare, indigenous white of the Ribera). So what do you get? Well, let’s call it a rogue within the typical confines of the region, but more accurately it is Ribera with its ‘party hat’ on.
There’s plenty of richness here, but there is also a lift to the flavors that is unlike anything else we have tasted from the area. Gushing berry and cassis flavors but also a streak that is like a marinated black cherry to let you know that this is no ordinary Ribera.
The winemaking is more than serious with the vine age here somewhere north of 50-years-old, farmed organically/biodynamically, trodden by foot before being put in French oak for malo-lactic fermentation and a sojourn of 12-20 months in wood (though there is no obvious wood in the flavors). The vineyards here are north-facing, which give the wine a little cooler profile to begin with. It all sounds formal enough yet the wine’s wild fruit notes, more lifted personality, and outgoing spiciness can only be described as tasty and, yes, fun.
Jorge Monzon and Elizabeth Rodero founded the winery only in 2010 after Jorge spent years selling his produce to ‘several high profile neighbors’. They have definitely separated themselves from the pack in a very good way and we can only marvel at their successful new approach and how Aguila takes such a stylistic diversion and makes you wonder why more people haven’t done this.
We aren’t the only fans either. This juicy, unique red got high marks from two very different palates, James Suckling (95 points) and Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez (92+ points). Suckling’s words were concise, if jubilant, “This has impressive fragrance and aromatic detailing with bright cherry and red plum fruits, cinnamon and sappy notes. The palate has vivid fleshy fruit that floats amid filigree tannins, anchoring it precisely in place. A great wine.”
Among Luis’ extensive comments, “…This is a fresh interpretation of 2015. I wish more Crianzas from Ribera del Duero had this joviality and approachability while keeping the balance and the serious quality profile.” Sadly, there isn’t enough of the 2015 to have too much market impact as yet. Get yours while you can.
They make a very cool ‘rogue’ rosé as well called Dominio di Aguila Picaro Clarete 2014 as well, intended to be released with bottle age. A blend of red and white wine (rather than a saignee), this is an attention getter.
The more we find out about this Sud-Tirol producer, the more impressed we are. We are big fans of the whites from these pristine sites nestled near the Alps, which we lovingly refer to as the German part of Italy. Sparkling high valleys, clean air, unique ad varied soils, we dare say that when Nature cooperates, these are some of the most riveting whites anywhere. Margreid has been one of the standard bearers for the region since we first ran across his precise wines maybe three vintages back. The rest, as they say, is history, though this latest set of releases kind of border on ‘historic from the standpoint of excelling true to the region.
If you like big, buttery Chardonnays, these will not be your muse. But if you fancy driving fruit delivered atop vigorous, fresh acidity, clean, pure flavors and superb integration, your Schiff has com in. We were recently presented with this lineup from Margrein, featuring efforts from the 2016 vintage (which has been enormously exciting in this region) and we couldn’t help buy everything we were presented. This ‘triple play’ was quite a show!
The thing is that these perform nearly perfectly for what they are intended to be. It isn’t a genre that gets a lot of attention, nor are these the kind of wines that will play to the typical media palate. But the execution for our tastes is so impressive, we find talking them up an imperative even if it is for a small, select audience. How excited can we get about Kerner, Pinot Grigio and Schiava? If they taste like this, pretty darned excited! And the prices are very modest for wines this good.
Nals Margreid Kerner Sudtirol Alto Adige 2016– While this aromatic white grape, first created in Germany in 1929 as a hybrid between Schiava and Riesling, is something of an also-ran in its native country, on this side of the hills it hits remarkable heights. The exotic fruit component flashes tropical notes, candied citrus, dried peach and honey, yet is bone dry with a trace of salinity. The tension between the fruit and well-integrated acid keeps the flavors lifted and vigorous but there is plenty here to make an impression. Even though it is crisp and nervy, it is packed with flavor.
Nals Margreid Pinot Grigio Sudtirol Alto Adige 2016– One of the most unique and interesting examples of this varietal we can recall. There’s a persistent florality to the nose that grabs you immediately, followed by impressions of pear and apricot that avail themselves as the wine unfolds. Plenty of flesh to make an impression up front followed almost immediately by a fresh underpinning of acidity that drives the fruit through the back-palate. Yes we know that there is a lot of insipid Pinot Grigio on the market. The people who drink those probably wouldn’t like this one because it has waayyy too much character. This is an elite performance because it is loaded with character yet still plays on the racy side as it should.
Nals Margreid Galea Schiava Sudtirol Alto Adige 2016– Schiava anyone? Yes this fresh red is virtually unknown to most folks, mostly functioning as a cool, go-to red in this mountain country. But with a little more ripeness’ the possibilities expand greatly. Here we have the insistent spice of the varietal augmenting a somewhat riper and more tender version of red fruits that lean a little blue. Schiava from a cooler vintage can have a bit of an edge. But somehow, in Goldilocks speak, this one is ‘just right’. Roses, fresh outdoor spiciness, a touch of earth, bright flavors., from century-old vines, it is medium weight and dangerously quaffable. Serve with a slight chill.
We have been preaching the gospel about the southern Rhones in 2016, a vintage that thus far has not ceased to surprise and amaze us from the big gun Chateauneufs (tasted recently in Europe) to the littlest Cotes du Rhone. The ongoing problem, however, is that the wines are concentrated thanks to super low yield. So you have very compelling wines, just much less of them.
Think of this knockout little Cotes du Rhone, from one of the Rhone’s grand old families, as something you would have seen an email offer on except for that one, small issue. As we often do when we run across something this compelling, we try to corral as much of it as we possibly can. Sadly this time there simply wasn’t much to be had. Hence this modest, if no less enthusiastic piece.
Looking at the facts, you have an estate that isn’t very big in the first place (they only produces around 500 cases each of three different wines in a good year) and you have a vintage that was woefully short anyway thanks to Mother Nature. The fact that it is brought in by a small, relatively new importer may have also come into play, but probably not.
As to the wine, the Domaine Burle Cotes du Rhone 2016 might be the most impressive thing we have yet had from the Burle domaine. Like some of the other 2016 Cotes du Rhones we have featured, this wine has an uncommon power and grace. The vintage was very successful overall, with the wines showing deep, almost glowing mulberry color and unprecedented power thanks in particular to the Grenache (the wine is 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah from 40-50 year-old vines).
What makes 2016 special is not only the size and concentration of the wines, but the harmony and fine tuning they show from top to bottom. Enter Burle, an estate that typically makes muscular, if sometimes a little rustic wines, here showing like it is dressed in its Sunday best. Organic farming, bottled unfiltered and unfined, we suspect in this case they aren’t just going with the current trend. They have always done it this way.
Rich, lifted, uncommon verve and balance, you’ve likely had Chateauneufs that aren’t this compelling, and you certainly paid more than $15 for them. A must while it lasts, the ‘little’ wines in the southern Rhone in 2016 are special, even if the label here looks like it is some sort of ‘sun’ vision from the 70’s. The media hasn’t really picked up on it in a big way and the ‘buzz’ hasn’t started…yet. Take advantage while you can, but with 2016s you’ll likely need to move a little faster.
This marks the third vintage we have carried from Pascal Aufranc, one of the most distinctive Beaujolais producers we have run across. It all started with four acres of vines in the now emerging village of Chenas (the estate is now up to 10 ha.). The old vines for this cuvee sit at the top of a granite hill called En Remont topped with sand at a little over 1000 feet elevation.
Besides the extreme vine age (yes, they were planted in 1939) and unique exposure (south and south-west on the hill-top), these particular vines have a rather different story. They are surrounded by forest and, therefore, are removed from being influenced by any of the other farming concerns around them. So these old vines pretty much exist in a world of their own. That does much to explain why the vintages we have sold are so distinct from each other. Each year the vines develop in harmony with that year’s weather and not much else gets in the way. As such they seem really reflect the unique nuances of each vintage.
The results we have tasted from Aufranc have been spectacular for a variety of reasons, certainly not the least of which are the really old vines sitting in a place unlike any other. Each effort has been a poster child for the best of what the particular vintage has to offer. The 2014 was cool, elegant and pretty, the 2015 more packed with accessible, flashy fruit though in a way that panders to hedonists that might be considered atypical (however delicious) to Beaujolais purists.
The Pascal Aufranc Chenas Vignes de 1939 2016 displays the best elements of what might be called classic Beaujolais. There is plenty of fruit, but the fruit has verve and a cooler edge. Lovely notes of expressive dark cherry and plum act as the central theme to a purely rendered Chenas that also demonstrates smoke, mineral, fresh herbs and exotic spice. Plenty of fruit here, but there’s a lifted, more polished, more aristocratic bent to the flavors.
There’s plenty to like here for the hedonists still, though it’s less overtly sweet and fleshy. As for the traditionalist, we can’t imagine a more complete rendition of the genre than this although, sadly, this one’s focus and concentration has as much to do with the small vintage crop as anything. Grab some while you can.
We’re not presuming to make an airtight case here. People’s expectations as to what truly defines great Chablis varies greatly with some leaning to the steely, taste-of-the-sea dominance to the flavors to those preferring that character be an aspect to a vigorous fruit component. There’s no right or wrong answer, simply a question of experiences. In our experience, there is a lot to like about the Roland Lavantureux Chablis 2016 as it hits on all of the major themes and does so at a very tasty price.
Lavantureux isn’t the most famous guy in Chablis, nor even in importer Kermit Lynch’s Chablis portfolio. But we have come to appreciate his consistent, rock solid performance in making wines that are precise and true to type, yet show a little flair to the fruit. We have been following this house, which was founded in 1978, for only a few vintages but are convinced this is one of the as yet undiscovered gems. The basics are all here… Kimmeridgian soils, 30-year-old vines, and the domaine is in the hands of Roland’s sons, Arnaud and David, who have demonstrated the desire to hone their skills to produce even more compelling wines.
This one, however, really hits the target in every way. You like ‘classic’ Chablis, there’s plenty of that salinity and insistent minerality to give an excellent accounting of the region. Yet at the same time, there’s an energetic fruit component of sour apple, citrus and pear to give the impression of a coiled-yet-round mid-palate that slides cleanly into a mineral laced finish that still showcases the fruit. It checks all the boxes flavor-wise and was ‘love-at-first-sip’ for us, particularly given the modest fare.
We dare say this is the most compelling ‘regular’ bottling we have tasted from Lavantureux, possibly as the natural progression of increasing quality every vintage, or perhaps kicked up by the lovely (if sadly limited) 2016 vintage. Too early to make the call on that, but we can assure you that we will be partaking of this one on a few occasions moving forward. The style, the typicite, the fruit, and the price make this a must for Chablis lovers of any persuasion.
As soon as this one came out of the purveyor’s bag, we started to chuckle. It was part of a new line from Penfolds, a winery that, through their armada of “bin” designated wines, would seem to already have every conceivable wine scenario covered with plenty left over. Yet here was something dressed in an ‘artsy’ composite coating, the inaugural release it states, of a line dedicated to the memory of Max Schubert, Penfold’s historic winemaker who would have been 100 years old in 2015.
Even the most creative of corporate spin doctors would be challenged to generate a viable yarn about how a (literally) red bottle that sells for under $20 commemorates the guy that created Grange and put Penfolds on the map. But we have seen some pretty far-fetched approaches over the years for ‘stimulating’ interest in a new line of wines. We were ready to bag on this one as yet another soulless corporate effort in a gimmicky package trying to push its way into the market…that is until we tasted it.
The Penfolds Max’s Shiraz Cabernet South Australia 2015 is legit juice, boysenberry and black cherry with flecks of spice, iron and vanilla, engaging supple texture, well tucked away acidity and ripe tannins. It brought back memories of some of our early experience with their now coveted (and priced at nearly $60) Bin 389. The blend on the ‘Max’ is 77% Shiraz and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon (there’s more Cab in the Bin 389) and mostly neutral oak in the process. The fruit feels a little ‘redder’, but this is a delicious drink that offers quite the pleasing tipple both texturally and flavor-wise for its modest fare, serving much the same purpose as those early Bin 389s.
Sure there are a lot of questions, not the least of which is how will this wine play moving forward over future vintages (‘corporates’ are notorious for over-delivering on brand rollouts, and slacking off later). As to this wine specifically, there are no concerns thus far. This wine is one of the tasty surprises of the year thus far. It was good enough to overcome our doubts and then some, even bringing us to endorsing it. Max Shiraz/Cabernet 2015 is a perfectly engaging and honest red. James Suckling seems to agree with a 92 point review and comments, “Perfumed and delicious with blackberry, blueberry and orange peel character. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a flavorful finish. I like the acid energy to this that gives the wine clarity and tension…” As to the next vintage, we’ll worry about that when the time comes.
If you look at our product listings, you will note that we post ‘third party’ reviews on the wines offered just like most everyone else. What’s different about our approach is that you will also note we write a number of original pieces. We taste a lot of wine over the course of the year and will make the point that context makes a huge difference in how a wine comes across. So we give ourselves the opportunity to use our own voice to point out exceptional efforts that may not get that big score when judged in some sort of rapid fire tasting but sure hits the right notes for us ‘one-on-one’. That is, incidentally how most of you will be consuming your wines.
If there was ever a prime example of how we see things quite a bit differently than the wine media, it is with Benovia winery. We have been big fans of winemaker Mike Sullivan since back in his early Zin days with Deloach, and through an impressive group of Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels as he got the Hartford Court project going. We have been quite pleased with his work since becoming the mind behind Benovia and have recommended a number of things from there over the years.
We’ll be the first to admit that the Benovia wines aren’t the kind of blowsy monsters that get easily noticed by the media. They are, rather, succinct, pure and harmonious with well-woven flavors and nothing sticking out. These are the kinds of wines to drink because they are outstanding examples of California classics of the type that were prevalent back in California’s more ‘formative’ years. They are made to ‘seduce’ rather than ‘bludgeon’.
Not a lot of evident wood here, the style of this Chardonnay is an exploration of the terroir of the Russian River. You’ve got finely meshed apple and citrus fruit with hints of almond and spice notes, the result of night harvesting, indigenous yeast and whole cluster fermentation and a sojourn of 12 months in oak.
The flavors are clean, persistent, and engaging while always fresh and vibrant. The Benovia Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2015comes mainly from the winery’s Martaella estate and relies on a layered, nuanced, rather impressive demonstration of the vivid house style for its impression. It will probably again get modest reviews from the press because it isn’t overtly big (though don’t get us wrong there is plenty of character). But this one impresses where it counts, in the glass. That is where this Chardonnay is made to perform, and we’d rather drink this than a lot of the other, higher- scoring (often oaky and flabby) options we have.
It would be easier for us to simply point to a Chardonnay that got a big review, and we have those, too. But this is one we believe in and the 2015 is a fine example to make new friends for what we feel is one of the more under-rated wineries around simply because the wines are balanced and made to drink rather than to go after ‘numbers’.
At times I am sure we sound a little like malcontents complaining about how silly the mechanics and protocols of this unique industry might seem to the theoretical ‘rational man’. I remember multiple attempts to try to explain the ‘nuances’ of the wine business to my father-in-law (who owned pharmacies) and getting understandable looks of utter bewilderment. Most folks who read our stuff would probably prefer that we focus only on the positive aspects of the wine industry. Hey, there are many, which is why we do what we do. But there are ongoing issues, beliefs, and practices among wine ‘professionals’ that are silly enough when viewed from our perspective within the industry. We suspect some of the things that are routine in the biz would be perceived as absolutely ludicrous by those who might casually look in from the ‘normal’ world outside.
Just for the heck of it, we thought we’d relay a situation that occurred not long ago that demonstrates what we are talking about. In this case perhaps a little history might help in terms of helping you appreciate the kind of nonsense we have to deal with to be able to do what we love to do on an ongoing basis. For a lot of folks, the fact that the theme centers on Australian wine makes it less relevant since OZ isn’t currently a particularly hot wine topic. But trust us this kind of silliness is not confined to any particular genre or category. It is simply how twisted things are.
It really starts back in the 1980s as Winex was expanding in all directions categorically with no restraints other than the wine had to be good and the price had to make sense (kind of the same as it is now). As a result of open-minded experimentation, Winex was an early player with labels like Rosemount and Penfolds, showcasing them as viable value reds and worthy of consideration. We even found opportunities to buy closeouts from a purveyor on Penfolds 389 and even higher end fare like Grange Hermitage.
A few years later, we decided to expand and become more involved in a number of different avenues with respect to Aussie wine. It stemmed from Kyle’s inspiration from a book called Rhone Renaissance written by Remington Norman. Besides detailing a “who’s who” list of producers in the Rhone Valley, Norman went on to talk about emerging producers here in America and spent a good bit of print talking about boutique producers in Australia, few of which were known here in the states. On his way back from the London Wine Fair one year, Kyle spied a bottle of Charles Melton’s ‘Chateauneuf’ blend called Nine Popes in the duty-free store. This was one of the legends that Norman had spoke of in the work, and Kyle grabbed a bottle to bring back to taste.
Think of the movie The Jerk when Navin Johnson heard the big band music on the radio and exclaimed “if this is out there, what else is out there!?”. That’s how we dove into a program of pioneering ‘boutique’ Australian wines, being among the first in the U.S. to proffer such labels as Clarendon Hills, Torbreck, Rockford, and Three Rivers. There were multiple trips to Australia over the next decade including to Penfolds. As a matter of fact, Kyle visited Penfolds again last year as a member of a small, select group of retailers and restaurants sponsored by Wine Australia. Wine Exchange was recognized as a major catalyst in the development of Australian wines in the USA, and the purpose of the trip was to ascertain what the climate was for Australian wines at present in our domestic market.
Actually Kyle interviewed Peter Gago, Penfold’s esteemed head winemaker, for one of our ‘Extract’ videos as well. Given the relationship of Winex with Australian wine in general, and the fact that Kyle had been with Peter Gago on more than one occasion, it made perfect sense from the importer’s point of view to put a familiar face in front of the visiting dignitary. Not to boast but we were on a very short list.
Without sounding too much like a native Angeleno, the Winex principals were one of two entities invited to slug it up the freeway on a weekday to have a special ‘sitdown’ with Mr. Gago during his visit (the 101 Freeway is lovely that time of day). As an incentive for doing this, Winex was ‘promised’ the option to purchase Penfolds Grange by the ‘powers that be’, which would currently sell for over $750 per bottle at a very aggressive retail price.
Grange has been a bit of a scramble to obtain because the Penfolds label in general has caught fire in the Asian market, causing a healthy grey market. Many of the serious Penfolds bottlings that come here actually go right out the back door of a receiving establishment and onto a container to the Far East. This has pushed prices up several fold and changed the face of the brand in the marketplace, though none of the purveyors are particularly keen to admit that any of this is happening. In the end, however, none of that is our problem.
Our only concern was to get the bottles we were promised so that we could offer them out to interested customers (which we have in part thanks to our long-standing history with the Penfolds wines dating back nearly three decades).
What happened next was sadly predictable. Our sales rep for the company noted that some Penfolds Grange had arrived in inventory and asked us if we would like our order. We said, “Sure.” Two days later we asked the rep where the Penfolds Grange was as it had not arrived as yet and the company was literally just up the road. We were summarily informed that someone in the ‘chain of command’ killed the order because that particular shipment was earmarked for restaurants.
So here we are, offering to buy the wine that we were promised, with the wine itself showing as available and in stock, and us blowing an afternoon in Hollywood complete with a two hour ‘tour’ home and they wouldn’t sell us the wine because…
…it was saved for restaurants? Which restaurants? Italian restaurants that usually feature Italian wines? French restaurants that typically feature French wines? Spanish? Asian? Mexican? Maybe some kind of theme place…buy a hideously expensive bottle of Shiraz (probably at $2000 on a list) and get a free ‘bloomin’ onion’?
It is pretty hard to figure what kind of restaurant operation would be actively searching for a wine that would hit their list at that kind of pricing and from a genre that is currently not en vogue in American circles. It was also made clear to us that the taco stand down the street with a restaurant license could order and receive said wine even though no one from that establishment had ever bought any Australian wine. Ever.
We don’t blame Peter Gago. He is a heck of a winemaker and we’re pretty sure it wasn’t his idea to schlep around the U.S. to have these meetings. We suspect it was some ill-forged corporate marketing scheme, putting him on the road to press the flesh and then incentivizing us to make the drive so he got the impression the trip was worthwhile. Ya gotta love corporate thinking. But in the end, after all this has happened, why not just sell us the wine so everyone can get on with their lives? Why go through this pointless dance of saying that pile of wine that is sitting there is for as yet to be determined ‘restaurant accounts’ and we have to wait for our wine that is coming in the next pile?
Is this an isolated incident? Sadly, no. As a matter of fact this kind of thing, particularly the whole ‘restaurants get first dibs thing’, happens with painful regularity. Meanwhile, we see that the ‘saved inventories’ hardly deplete at all over time. It is harder to get things done than it should be far too often in the wine business. The people who perpetrate this kind of nonsense usually do so in anonymity or from a safe distance so they don’t have to explain the ‘logic’ of their actions to potentially hostile customers. They send the reps in to face the music.
The thing is that these unidentified people, who routinely engage in some of the most indefensible and idiotic practices on the planet, eventually leave their cubicles and go home. They walk among you. They could be sitting next to you in a restaurant or at your kid’s soccer game. You have to be concerned that such people might be forced to make some sort of decision in your proximity that might affect you in some way, though typically it is pointless corporate posturing. If they can accept the kind of nonsense we just described, or maybe even buy into it, what else might they be capable of?
In the end, we (and you) can benefit from this kind of nonsense. Much of the time these entities do such a good job of ‘protecting’ and ‘allocating’ the brand that they don’t actually sell anything. Suddenly they realize they need to stop the nonsense and move things quickly and maybe even cut a deal. That’s where we come in. We like deals. We eventually did get our 15 bottles of Grange. But why did it have to be so difficult in the meantime? Especially since we helped them by showing our faces at their little soiree. That is the question.
If the following saga sounds a bit familiar, it’s because we had a couple of rounds of insane Pinot Noir closeouts from the Knez winery earlier this year. The ‘back story’ itself is one of the more unusual we have told in all of our years of doing this and this ‘Episode 3’ is quite the climax to the Knez trilogy of Pinot Noir tales. We ‘ve already sold a ton but we took down a ton and a half and, really, there’s nothing out there this expensively made for this kind of price
For those of you who don’t recall that Knez story, here’s a refresher. It starts (and ends) with Peter Knez, a math genius who did quite well for himself designing things like algorithms used by Wall Street types. Apparently, around 2007, Peter and his wife decided to move to the Anderson Valley to live the ‘dream’ of a rural life in ‘wine country.’ These were intelligent, highly successful folks turning their attention to the wine business, though that part is not particularly unusual.
Here, these ‘city folk’ wasted no time in getting down to business. They acquired two of Mendocino’s prime Pinot Noir vineyards, Demuth and Cerise, in 2007 and 2008, and planted their own Knez Vineyard in 2009. Winemaker Anthony Filiberti, who was quite familiar with these sites from his work with the respected Anthill Farms, came on board here as winemaker/viticulturist (as well as partner we are told). It wasn’t long before the winery was attracting attention and praise from the media. They were making compelling wines and farming these outstanding vineyards biodynamically. Things went along swimmingly, or so it seemed, and this is where we are supposed to say, ‘and they lived happily ever after.’
As it turned out, we have to presume that these folks didn’t really find the ‘simple life’ to their liking. They have sold their vineyards, finding an enthusiastic buyer in Kosta Browne for their important Knez, Demuth and Cerise holdings. The only other thing to do was sell their supply of highly-reviewed Pinot Noirs. Some folks have money problems, others have family issues. But this just seems to be a case where the Knez folk simply wanted out. Because of the quality of the juice and the dirt, it didn’t appear that the process was going to take very long.
We, and you, have certainly done our parts in making a lot of great Knez Pinot go away.
As they say, success is in the eye of the beholder as well. Knez apparently did not think the sell-off was going fast enough for his tastes. So, he changed horses with respect to his representation and rolled out an even crazier price on his Knez Winery Pinot Noir Anderson Valley 2013! From another epic vintage in California, this bottling is made from approximately 2/3 Cerise and 1/3 Demuth fruit and saw a fair bit of whole clusters in the fermentation.
Antonio Galloni of Vinous Media was succinct in his praise of the Knez Winery Pinot Noir Anderson Valley 2013, “The 2013 Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley) is quite floral, lifted and delicate in style. Raspberry, crushed flowers and mint are some of the notes that grace this pretty, entry-level offering from Knez. Today (January, 2015), the 2013 comes across as a bit ethereal, with plenty of influence from the 50-60% whole clusters. The wine’s mid-weight personality leads me to think it is best enjoyed sooner rather than later…90 points.”
We’d make a couple of points here. The 2013s were much tighter out of the gate than the 2014s, and we think the nearly 3 years of bottle age has greatly benefited this cooler-climate Pinot noir allowing the fruit to expand and take on weight, and the nose to develop complexity. The bottle aging has already been done for you and, thanks to this rather unusual set of events, it’s like a Pinot Noir Black Friday all over again price-wise.
As you’ll possibly recall if you saw the last two offers, the single vineyard wines had original price tags approaching $50, and this one ‘listed’ at the winery for $34, not a bad price for the caliber of juice in this bottle. But thanks to this make-it-go-away offer, we are proffering this seriously intended, estate grown $34 Pinot for $14.98, about what you’d pay for some marginal commercial Pinot that probably isn’t even all Pinot!
Remember, Kosta Browne will be launching wines from these exact same vineyards starting in the 2016 vintage with, presumably, $90 price tags. Needless to reiterate, this is a pretty fantastic, once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity and, based on the new owners of these vineyards, will not be happening again.
