2016 Bordeaux: Tristen’s Overview

Marathon Negociant Tasting

For the past two weeks, I was in France spending four days in Burgundy (I’ll get to that part of the trip later) and the rest of the time in Bordeaux hunting for deals as well as tasting the 2016’s which is the topic of this article…

Over the years, I’ve been traveling to Bordeaux for the annual En-Primeurs tasting and have experienced some of the greatest vintages ever produced in the region. As much as many will try and deny it, Bordeaux is the undisputed King of wine with a rich history going back to Roman times. There is nowhere in the world that can produce a wine that tastes quite like it. While we here at the Exchange love wines from the many regions of the world, Bordeaux has been and continues to be at or near our top selling category over our 35+ years in business.

No matter how long I’ve been going to En-Primeur, it’s always exciting to taste the wines at this early stage of their evolution.  Over the years, the bar for Bordeaux keeps getting higher and higher as investment continues to pour into the region.  Today, Bordeaux lovers are blessed. There are so many great wines being produced at all price points that there is something special for everyone willing to look. The problem is that there is so much happening, it’s getting harder to keep a finger on the pulse and on top of who’s the new up-and-coming estate.

For Bordeaux 2016… what can I say that you haven’t heard from previous great vintages… “It’s a vintage of a lifetime”!   As much as I hate to admit, I must say it surely is one of the greatest vintages I’ve ever tasted at this stage of the game.  When it comes to having your cake and eating it too, 2016 has it all.  The wines are striking with rich, intense fruit, incredible structure, silky texture, great freshness and acidity and big but velvety tannins that are sweet and seamless and finish on an up-note.  There was no specific regional winner.  From Right Bank to Left, there were estates that made some of the best wines they have ever produced.  In fact, they’re so good and so balanced, you can drink many of them now!

The 2015s are also great and I can’t’ say at this point which one I prefer as a vintage.  That’s a good problem to have.  I can say that the wines from the Northern Medoc in 2016 are uniformly sublime which was not the case in the more erratic 2015 vintage. But for the Right Bank, Pessac Leognan and Margaux, 2015 is great!  It’s the Cabernets, both Sauvignon and Franc, that make this vintage special. That in combination with great Merlot and Petit Verdot made for some spectacular wines.

So, for now, with two outstanding vintages in the chai (not to mention the very good 2014s coming to market), the city of Bordeaux is bustling and every major chateau owner has a big grin on their face.  But what does this all mean for prices in the coming months?  We’ll see.

As a retailer, we of course are excited and will participate in this campaign.  But it’s going to be tricky.   For the moment, we can’t emphasize enough that, again, Bordeaux has a chance to win the hearts of Americans.  We have a strong U.S. Dollar versus most of the world currencies, including Great Britain, one of Bordeaux’s most important markets.  However, the old saying “sound as the Pound” has a little resonance thanks to Brexit (United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union).

Given that, imagine if the chateaux raise their prices 15%.  That would translate to the Brits, given the currency, as receiving nearly a 30-40% rise in the costs over the 2015s.  So the Bordelaise have to be extremely careful.  Europe, America and Great Britain are the biggest buyers of En-Primeur (China still isn’t into buying ‘paper’).  Who knows… that may change in 2016 but nobody in Bordeaux is counting on it as far as I’ve heard …we all know what happened with the 2010 vintage.

C’mon Bordeaux! Let’s make En-Primeur fun and interesting again, both to the trade and consumers.  We say that knowing that a lot of folks in the Bordeaux trade pay attention to what we say (if not always heed it).  En-Premieur may never be what it was in the mid-2000s, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to try and give people a reason to play.  Okay, maybe that’s wishful thinking.  But the opportunity is there to potentially make Bordeaux as relevant in the marketplace as it used to be prior to 2010.  It just matters how bad the chateaux owners want it.   Time will tell…

In the coming weeks, we will dissect the vintage by appellation starting with the Satellites as they’re most likely the first to release.

So in typical Wine Exchange fashion… Let the Games Begin!

-Tristen

VIDAL Y VIDAL VERDEJO 2015

The Vidal y Vidal Verdejo 2015 is a unique situation that presents this rather ubiquitous (in Spain) and often undistinguished varietal as a legitimate contender for your house white.  There are a lot of examples that are just plain and one-dimensional and others that, while they have fruit, can take on a rather ‘sweaty’ character.  Then there’s this one, which has fruit, complexity and vigor, a prototype Spanish white perfectly poised to sip along with a variety of foods.

What’s their secret?  How do they make something that stands above the crowd?  Well we’re going to take a wild guess that location has something to do with it.  The property is located in the area of Rueda in northern Spain called La Seca, outside the village of the same name.  ‘La Seca’, as a lot of Southern California natives who live among a lot of things with Spanish names, means ‘the dry’, an apt description for this high, arid plain next to Toro.

This particular spot is an old river bed strewn with the round stones similar to the gallet of the southern Rhone.  The underlying soils are sand and this 21-acre Finca El Alto sits at 2300 feet elevation.  The continental climate provides warm days and chilly nights, which helps maintain the brisk acidity that makes this wine ‘hum’.   So you’ve got the weather which proved long agoas uniquely suitable for this varietal and a very special, rocky spot within that micro-climate.  But then so do a lot of other bodegas.

It is our guess that what gives the Vidal y Vidal a couple of ‘extra gears’ over the rank and file, and kind of puts it in a class by itself relative to the genre, are the vines themselves.  These thick-trunked bush vines are over 80 years old and the yields are about 2-3 kilos per vine (that’s really low).  They are farmed sustainably and harvested by hand  in the early morning so the bunches get into the winery while they are still cool.  This provides the the opportunity for freshest flavors possible, brought forward by fermenting in small stainless steel tanks using only native yeasts.  The whole idea is to present a wine with soul and plenty of verve, and that they do like few others.

We liked last year’s version, a success given the general difficulty of the 2014 vintage.  But this 2015, from a ripe, very successful consecha for Spanish whites, has more flesh and evident fruit on top of its insistent verve.  Quince, apricot, maybe a little whiff of toasted grain, sleekly infused minerality and a brisk finish, this one can play alone but really comes alive with food.  A great warm weather choice and a deceptively attention-getting effort for this usually utilitarian genre….$16.98

TENUTA TRINORO: ‘The Best or Nothing’

As many of you will recall, one of our mantras is to always be aware of the ‘little’ wines from elite producers.

The idea is that the best winemakers are considered the best because they continuously succeed.  That success is largely due to their attention to detail and commitment to excellence.  Such producers don’t even have the capacity to ‘coast’ or ‘phone it in’.  It’s not in their DNA.  Their expectations as to what is acceptable are simply on another plane.  Imagine Thomas Keller or Joel Robuchon cooking your breakfast eggs.  Sure, they’re just eggs, but those guys have standards for eggs, and they will be cooked and seasoned perfectly.  It’s like that.

We know a lot of such meticulous folks in the wine industry and these are the folks that make the great wines.  We know of no one that is more passionate or more of a quality fanatic than Andrea Franchetti.  He is also not afraid to go where few have gone before.  Tenuta di Trinoro’s location in southeast Tuscany is a far cry from the traditional wine road (heck it’s almost Umbria).  But Andrea liked the soil composition for the Bordeaux varietals he was intent on growing so in the vines went.

He ‘runs with the big dogs’ counting as close friends Jean-Luc Thunevin of Valandraud in St. Emilion and Peter Sisseck of Pingus in the Ribera del Duero.  Imagine what ‘show and tell’ is in that crowd.  Though Franchetti operates on the same level both here in Tuscany as well as at his Etna property, Passopisciaro, he is probably less ‘famous’ than he should be because of this off-the-beaten-path location.

Now, no matter how good you are, you still have to deal with Mother Nature, and the 2014 vintage was a formidable foe for even some of Tuscany’s top addresses.  But Franchetti was not going to allow Nature to beat him.  Andrea hired more people to work the vineyards and drop one-third of the crop.  Because of the extra vineyard work and the overall health of the vineyard, the grapes ripened slowly if a little unevenly.  No problem, there were 36 separate pickings from 29 September until 28 October for this wine, making sure all the blocks were at their best when harvested.  You can expect that kind of commitment from an estate charging $80, $100, or more for all of their wines.  But to push this hard for something selling for under $30?  For Tenuta di Trinoro there is no other way.

The Tenuta di Trinoro Rosso Toscana IGT Le Cupole 2014 is a sensational success.  This Bordeaux-inspired blend of mostly equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot with a dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon got glowing reviews from Wine Spectator’s Bruce Sanderson, with a 93-point score and comments, “Alluring scents of ripe cherry, mulberry and fresh herbs complement concentrated flavors of cherry and sweet spice in this red. Offers a backbone of mouthcoating tannins and remains integrated as the finish lingers.”

It also placed #29 in the Wine Spectator Top 100 2016. That’s a pretty big deal, especially for the price.

Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner was no less impressed, offering “Andrea Franchetti is a perfectionist when it comes to fruit selection. This Bordeaux-inspired Tuscan blend opens to dark concentration and a full bouquet that is redolent of dark fruit, spice and tobacco. The aromas are delivered in seamless fashion and with noteworthy intensity. Those are the qualities that ultimately distinguish this wine among the many choices you have from Tuscany today. One thing Tenuta di Trinoro always delivers is distinct personality…”.

This is an exciting example of one man’s plain sheer will, and that’s the kind of story one can tell about Andrea Franchetti and those like him.  That’s why we tell people to look at everything producers like Andrea craft.  Delicious wine for the money?  Distinctive and character-filled?  Yes, and yes.

By the way, we have a smidgen remaining of some of Trinoro’s ‘partners’ from the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list, including last call on the Maurodos San Roman Toro and Felsina Chianti Classico 2013.

 

 

RONCHI DI CIALLA-“…FASCINATING, INSPIRING WINES”

“These are fascinating, inspiring wines”-Monica Larner, Wine Advocate

Sometimes we wish our ‘geek’ side didn’t get in the way of our business ‘side’. But when you truly love wine for it’s diversity of expression, it can be tough to pass up something like Ronchi di Cialla. It would be smarter to politely decline wines like this and look for the next high-scoring Cabernet that we could sell pallets of. But that’s not who we are, and wines this brilliant and unique deserve an audience. As Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner correctly states above, these truly are ‘fascinating and inspiring wines’.

Ronchi Di Cialla, meaning “hills of Cialla”, is located in a small valley surrounded by chestnut, oak and wild cherry woods in the DOC Friuli Colli Orientali in the foothills of the mountains near the Slovenian border. Founded in 1970 by Paolo and Dina Rapuzzi, Ronchi di Cialla has played an important role in reaffirming the territorial identity of this part of the world by reviving centuries-old grape varieties and featuring only ‘local’ grapes. They are credited with the rebirth of the Schioppettino (also known as Ribolla Nera for you uber geeks out there) from less than 100 vines, and their Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso (the superior clone of Refosco, named for its distinctive red stem) is considered one of Italy’s finest.

These are soulful, impactful, terroir-riddled wines. So much so that they have their own sottozona, or sub-zone, within Friuli Colli Orientali. The Cialla sub-zone is the only one in Friuli we know of geared towards the particular place, as opposed to the other four sub-zones in the region which are geared to a particular grape in a particular place.

What does that mean? Even the Italian wine bureaucrats, who can’t agree on anything, can all agree that Cialla is a special place, and Ronchi di Cialla certainly one of the most unique producers working in Italy today.

The estate follows natural and organic winemaking functions with ambient yeasts and slow, steady macerations. They do the same for both whites and reds. Their whites achieve a unique textural density while still having lift and freshness. You’d almost describe them as Burgundian in a sense, with a riveting mid-palate crescendo. The reds are pure and expressive, with a natural generosity, surprising color and soft, plush tannin.

Frankly, we look at these wines the same way we do wines like Quintarelli, Paolo Bea, Miani, Paolo Caciorgna’s Etna Rosso N’Anticchia 2012, the Mascarello’s and few other Italian artisans working at this level.

At the heart of today’s offer, the Ronchi Di Cialla Ciallabianco 2013 is one of Italy’s special white wines. It’s 60% Ribolla Gialla, 30% Verduzzo Friulano, 10% Picolit, fermented in oak barrels then aged in French oak (25% new) for up to a year before bottling. Weird thing? The wine’s not the least bit oaky. Instead, the wood generates a richly-appointed framework for all the citrus, mineral, flower, honey and toast flavors to do their thing. Oily yet vibrant, shimmering yet dense, this gorgeous white has it all, and can age a decade…easy. Trust us, we know. The recently consumed, youthful 1997 and 2001 vintages providing us two wonderful cases in point.

The Ronchi Di Cialla Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso di Cialla 2009 spends a whopping four years in the cellars, including 14-18 months’ maturation in French oak (50% new) and 30-36 months’ ageing in bottles, prior to release. Notes of licorice, stones, black cherry, and fresh earth all wrapped up in super-suave tannins, give this wine a gravitas not usually associated with this grape. Drinking perfectly now, the wine will also continue to improve with another decade of careful cellaring. Have your Refosco and drink it too!

Same goes for Ronchi Di Cialla’s Schioppettino di Cialla 2011, sourced from a tiny (though large for this once-forgotten grape) two-acre patch. Same techniques here in the cellar, resulting in a deep, dark, brooding wine that is all blackberry, white pepper, sweet herb, along with a cocoa-y rush. The wine is easily capable of 15-20 years’ ageing in the cellar with ‘special’ vintages reaching that “crescendo” after two decades in the cellar.

Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner referred to this as an ‘under-the-radar’ estate. No kidding! Although, throughout Europe they enjoy a fanatical cult following who treasure grabbing a bottle or two from their extensive library of older vintages.

Fabulous, unique, distinctive, just plain flat-out cool, these wines are why we do this.

THE BURGUNDY PARADOX (Steve’s Burgundy rant)

‘You are SO going to want these’
-Stephan Tanzer on the 2015 red Burgundies

It’s that time again, the bane of all wine merchants…a great vintage in Burgundy.

Why is that a problem? Why would an outstanding vintage in one of one of the world’s most revered wine areas be an issue at all? Wouldn’t that just make for more exciting wines for us to sell? Well, on the surface, yes it would be, if you only consider the positive sales aspect of having more good things to offer. The problem is the nature of Burgundy itself. From the production side, other than a few large negociants, the majority of the landscape is small producers making limited bits of variety of different wines based on small holdings in the region. Production of each individual wine is limited because the holdings are small. All-too-often these various little wines are offered as a ‘package’ (the operative word is parcel) in not particularly advantageous (from a sales perspective) assortments. For that reason, they are rather difficult to market profitably (or succeed in breaking even for that matter).

So why does anybody do it? Sadly, if you ask most long time wine folks what their most memorable vinous experience was, there would be a disproportionate large percentage who would count Burgundy experiences as their most treasured memories. As those who have been around wine for a long time will also tell you, Burgundy is the cruelest of mistresses. It can provide ethereal moments. But you can spend a lot of time and money trying to recreate the experience again, usually being disappointed most of the time because the wine is in a funny place developmentally or simply doesn’t live up to lofty expectations. That is simply taking it from the ‘drinking’ perspective.

The problem is, when you ‘hit’ one, all of the past travails are forgotten. All those disappointments fade from view and you are lost in the moment. Thus the process starts again. It is almost narcotic in how those experiences can haunt you, and we understand how someone can get swept up in the pursuit of Burgundy because the good times are so good. It drives rational people to consider things they would not otherwise. There are those who will tell you can get some of the greatest Burgundies in existence for $300-400 dollars a bottle even now with world wide demand at an all-time high, whereas top vintages of Bordeaux (Lafite, Petrus, La Pin) cost a lot more.

Point taken, but we’d rebut that you won’t likely get the actual wine for those prices as quantities are small, demand is well beyond supply, and there is usually a requirement to perform something else to secure those gems. The actual importer will only dribble out the ‘cherries’ to their very top customers, usually as a reward for exceptional past support, and even then there is usually a hitch. You can find things on the open market in Europe, but usually bundled in such a way with other wines from a producer’s portfolio (either lesser wines from the same vintage or remnants of past vintages) that even with the most creative math don’t make business sense.

So is this a new problem? Not at all. It is merely a worse manifestation of something that has existed for a very long time, exacerbated by that increasing world-wide demand for Burgundy and the physical limitations of the region. You cannot make Burgundy bigger. If you did, it wouldn’t be the same. Therefore a greater pool of folks clamoring for a piece of a fixed production asset only drives the price up and the creativity of those who broker these wines increasing the cost of making that mistake.

The whole growing demand for a limited production wine is not the end of the problem either. The typical affirmed Burgundy buyer is the most finicky in all of the wine world. He usually has the money to buy the best, and the temerity to expect restrained pricing as he moves in on the crème-de-la-crème. On the other side, most Burgundy producers expect their importers to buy everything they are offered, every year, regardless of proportions. As an estate’s popularity rises, so do their prices because the estate can always seem to find another buyer somewhere in the world. The ‘parcel’, as we called it previously, is typically a mix of a fair bit of the entry level (Bourgogne) and ‘Village’ wine, a few crumbs of the tippy-top Grand Cru cuvees, with a disproportionate chunk more-than-you-would-ever-buy-on-your-own Premier Cru bottlings at or near prices that the Grand Crus were just a few years ago.

In the olden times, Burgundy was sold the same way, in parcels. However, back then, the pricing was conducive to selling the different prestige levels to different tiers of the marketplace. The prices were moderate enough that buyers for the ‘entry’ and ‘village level’ wine that you could market the wine to people as an alternative to domestic Pinot Noir. You would have to wait a bit on the Premier Crus until their time had come, but they still went head-to-head with top Caifornia bottlings price-wise so their would eventually be an opportunity. Their top-notch Grand Crus eventually found a buyers. But as prices escalated on Burgundy overall, the prices went up on the higher end things to where even the most affluent Burgundy fans had to think about it, if in fact they could even find the wine for sale.

At that point, most collectors were still ‘ in’ for the top 2-3% at the higher prices for the top tier. But they had no interest in anything else. One could develop interest in moderately priced Bourgogne and ‘village’ level juice in a great vintage vis-à-vis Pinot alternatives. But with the rising prices overall, it was the ‘middle’ that killed the market, or at least the sanity of playing at all. In a world where lieu dits (village vineyards marketed under the vineyard name…typically a cut above the ‘standard’ bottlings) are now in the $50-60 range and Premier Crus from top guys had three figure prices, value was out the window. The pricees left them out of the reach of most buyers, and, since they were not the top, of considerable less interest to those elite buyers who could pay the freight.

At the low end, there were folks that were interested in the value Burgundy section provided the prices weren’t scary high. You could find buyers that were interested in Bourgognes and village ‘Vosne Romanee, though they have been a much tougher sell for those that have escalated price-wise. Usually Bourgognes that were in or near the price of domestic Pinot value versions ($15-30) still found buyers as long as the tabs didn’t stray too far away from the price ‘comfort zone’.

In summary, you could find buyers for the top tier as long as you didn’t charge too much.  You’d have a tough time selling those entry level wines at fair prices from bigger named domaines.  And there was n0 one to buy those Premier Crus, which often made up 30% of the dollar value of a parcel, except at a sometimes substantial loss though you could simply think of them as ornaments. Does that make any sense from a business perspective in a great vintage? Of course not, and that is without even considering having to buy other, less economically feasible vintages previously (and having them as ornaments, too) to establish your place in the pecking order. Even then, some Swiss guy could drive to the domaine with cash and likely get a portion of ‘your’ prime allocation cellar door (see also Napa Valley). Are we conflicted? Burgundy does that because, in the end, when it is right, it is magic.  Otherwise no one would bother.

A $30 Bourgogne from a top producer in a great vintage? Just think of it as top flight Pinot and it is competitive. A $200-300 Grand Cru? Hey, if you have the funds, they are the best of the best. But who buys the ‘middle’? The guy buying at the top wants the ‘top’. The prices of the middle are 2-3 times (or more) greater than the entry level stuff, and beyond the financial reach of most folks. So those expensive Premier Crus have no market these days, and will essentially collect dust long after the others are gone.

We are pretty creative, but the Burgundians are in the driver’s seat in a vintage like 2015. Someone will buy these wines somewhere at whatever price the market will bear, but at that point it is far beyond what makes sense as a ‘business proposition’. We have seen a number of stores and distributors get crushed from within by the Burgundy mistress. We feel particularly sorry for them. Like we said, they have to play the game or get kicked out of the queue in a vintage like this, no matter how bad the proportion is within the offer. Even worse, they would have to have bought the prior two vintages, one that was kind of crummy (2013) and one that was quite good but no one cared (2014) because the ‘good’ vintage was on the horizon. So two vintages that weren’t going to sell to anyone for the right to buy a third that was only 40-60% viable? Do the math. Even the government can’t make that make sense, yet people still do it.

Is it sour grapes (no pun intended) on our parts? Nope, just reality. This is the most difficult region for consumers (and most of the wine trade) to understand, and easily the most difficult financially from a return-on-investment (or even rational?) perspective. We have spent a number of seasons on the sidelines over the years, simply not buying anything of note because the cost is too much. We do it with our eyes open with the understanding that it might hurt our chance to get the kind of crummy, overpriced ‘bundles’ that will be the ‘main course’ of the high demand vintage that 2015 promises to be. Hey, if we don’t buy 20 cases of wine we will probably have to sell at cost or below to move through to get three bottle of some kitchy Grand Cru that we could never charge enough for, the upside is that we have a much better chance of being here when the next ‘vintage of the century’ comes along.

So if you want to know where the waiting list for the 2015 Roumier Musigny is, it’s right next to the unicorn registry.
We have tasted enough of the 2015s to tell you that these wines are epic. They bring back memories of our favorite vintages of all time like 1985 and 1990 in that they have great stuffing, sufficient structure, and are at the same time oh so sexy. These are the kinds of wine that can make smart people do dumb things (we could make the appropriate comparison to romance but we won’t).

For our part, we’re going to fight to get everything we can, but don’t feel like we have to sell our souls. In a juicy vintage like 2015, where areas that don’t usually get as warm had unparalleled success, a few new faces will appear on the scene, and a few new importers will try their hand at selling Burgundy, we will (and already have) found some delicious things to sell without mortgaging the farm. We have tasted great vintages of Romanee Conti, for which we are thankful. But we have also seen an angel or two in a Marsannay from a right vintage at the perfect point in its development. For us, Burgundy is our desert island wine. There are a number of pain-averse ways to approach the subject in 2015 if the goal is simply to find great wine to drink. We wish it was easier. But that’s Burgundy.

CHATEAU DES TOURS BROUILLY 2015

CHATEAU DES TOURS BROUILLY 2015

It’s probably reasonable for us to go easy on the prologue here.  After all, we (and everybody else it seems) has generated a ton of prose about just how good the 2015s in Beaujolais are, how top flight producers are reaching back to 1947 for a reasonable comparison, and how Beaujolais is still one of the most underpriced regions in the wine world.  Based on those strong ‘bullet points’ those of you that ‘get’ Beaujolais and/or appreciate a great value will take a good look at this one.

First off, we know it gets a little confusing when it comes to names.  Aren’t there a lot of different properties containing the name ‘Tours’, which is simply French for ‘towers’?  You bet, but there are a heck of a lot of towers out in the French countryside, from little one man-lookouts to the more expected turret on a large fortified castle.  This is the only Brouilly we know of with that moniker, and it is also the first time we have brought in this small and, in this case, enormously successful effort.

The vineyards themselves consisted of an average of 45-year-old vines situated in a natural amphitheatre around the Château.  The vines are planted in sandy soils resulting from the
disintegration of the granite bedrock. In other words, nutrient poor, thin, acidic soils where are still projections of the underlying rock.  While this certainly wouldn’t be a happy place for most crops, the Gamay grape thrives here and these soils help keep the yields down.

We have been buying Beaujolais like maniacs of late because they have been everything they were reported to be…full flavored, round, packed with fruit and straight up delicious.  We took a hard look at this one because we had already put together a lineup that was formidable.  But when we tasted it, it was one of the most tawdry, shamelessly pandering examples we have had this year of any kind of red. When we heard the price, we would have been ashamed of ourselves if we didn’t buy it.

Sure there are bigger examples, more structured efforts, and certainly more famous names.  But on the hedonist scale, this was a huge scorer.  The black and red fruit component showed near perfect ripeness, it was lush and still light of its feet, and the texture was absolutely charming.  You will have a hard time finding something sexier for this kind of fare.

Josh Raynolds of Vinous took a shine to it as well, writing “Bright violet. Spicy and sharply focused on the nose, displaying vibrant red berry, cherry and spicecake aromas and a hint of blood orange. Taut, juicy and energetic in style, offering zesty raspberry and bitter cherry flavors that flesh out slowly and turn sweeter with air. Closes long and juicy, featuring resonating spiciness and a late jolt of smoky minerality. ”  Simply a lovely drink, and that is the point…$15.98

Double Down on this aged cab!

If you have ever driven on Alamo Pintado Road between Solvang and Los Olivos, you pass right by Blackjack Ranch Vineyards. If the name strikes you as a little curious, proprietor Roger Wisted essentially made his bones by inventing a game called ‘California Aces’, a variation on traditional Blackjack that essentially made it possible for gaming interests to circumvent an 1873 law banning the game of Blackjack in California.

In any case, many of the large retailers in Southern California knew Roger as a consumer with a penchant for big time Bordeaux some two decades ago. Surely, we weren’t the only ones surprised when we heard about Roger going into the winery business. But the surprise was less because he did it and more that he chose the Solvang area to feature a winery whose reputation was based on Bordeaux varietals. From a historical perspective at the time, this was rather outside the box in an area best known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Roger made a bet and he won. The winery has stood the test of time and has spent nearly two decades as one of Robert Parker’s favorite wineries, including over 40 wines that have scored 90+. That’s some serious consistency considering his first vintage was in the mid-90’s!

This is a very personal, ‘hands on’ operation with respect to running the place. Roger is not some absentee owner running his winery from a mansion or boardroom in another part of the country. He is invested. One can also make the point that there is a definite ‘house style’. “Blackjack reds are demur, elegant, and restrained’ said no one, ever. The reds here are dark, extracted and packed with dense, weighty fruit, somewhat the antithesis of the typical profiles of the region. The old Ravenswood motto of ‘no wimpy wines’ definitely applies here.

The winery has changed horses from a distribution standpoint a few times, which may have resulted in the wines being less visible than they might otherwise have been. But when they do turn up again, as they did a few weeks ago, their distinctive stylings are unmistakable.

A selection of reds that was presented to us recently were true to form…dark, mouth filling, and substantial. But, one really jumped out. As we have tasted Blackjack over the years, we’ve occasionally wondered how they might age. We got the opportunity to find out with the Blackjack Harmonie 2005. The answer, at least in this case, was ‘very well’. Harmonie is the flagship red, in this vintage made from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Cabernet Franc that was aged in 100% sexy, new Taransaud French oak, arguably the Prada of the genre.

The Cabernet itself was harvested via five separate passes through the vineyard to select only the fruit that was optimally ripe. The Cab Franc came from a parcel on the steep Suicide Hill, adding aromatic highlights and complexity. The resulting wine, now over a decade old, is in a beautiful groove with blackcurrant, mocha, fresh tobacco, and a pleasing tinge of sweet herb. All those great Bordeaux that Roger had experienced over the years certainly helped create the blueprint for this little gem.

Interestingly, Wine Advocate’s Jeb Dunnuck tasted this wine as recently as 2015 and wrote, “I had never tasted the wines, but Robert Parker loved the older releases and I was thrilled to be able to taste them this go around. I came away more than impressed. These are concentrated, rich, and full-throttle beauties that deliver tons of fruit and texture while remaining balanced and thrillingly drinkable.

Of the 2005 Harmonie, he offered, “… classic cassis, lead pencil shavings, bay leaf and tobacco notes in a full-bodied, ripe, layered, yet elegant style on the palate…a beautiful Bordeaux blend that’s still fresh and lively. Feel free to drink this beauty anytime over the coming decade…92 points”

Tons of fruit, texture, balanced, with time in the bottle and at an appealing price? For Cabernet drinkers that’s the holy grail. And who wouldn’t enjoy popping the cork on something that’s ‘thrillingly drinkable’?

Originally $70 at the winery, Roger has an aggressive library program (his love of older Bordeaux certainly the inspiration) and has allowed us to secure a reasonable quantity of this wine at a terrific price. Only $39.98 for a recently-tasted 92-point Cabernet with bottle age from a terrific vintage.

How often does that happen?

Blackjack Ranch Harmonie Proprietary Red Wine 2005

Winex Launches New Sale Site!

UPDATE: THE SITE IS NOW LIVE – CHECK IT OUT AND SUBSCRIBE!

Wine Exchange is excited to announce to you, our amazing friends and customers, that we are launching a brand new website dedicated to offering even more incredible wine deals! Don’t worry, our daily offers from Winex aren’t going to disappear. In fact we are launching this new brand as an outlet for all of the amazing offers that we just don’t have the means to send you the traditional Winex way.

As loyal customers of Wine Exchange we’re giving you the opportunity to get a sneak preview of how our new site will work and to sign up to be among the first to take advantage of the deals once the site goes live in a few short weeks. Think of it as an exciting new flash deal site with a few other fun bells and whistles. You’re going to see some of the best deals that the buying team at Wine Exchange has ever come across, but you’ll have to be fast. Check out the look of the new site below and sign up at the bottom of the page to be on the email list for sale notifications. As an extra incentive we’ll send you 20% off your first order!

 

 

 

THE THREE TIER SYSTEM, PART DEUX

So last week we talked about the three tier system where importers and producers use a distributor to sell their wines, and whose function it was to buy the wine, pay the winery or importer and make his nut by selling to retailers and restaurants.  This is the way it is in most states and is the time honored system for keeping order in the marketplace.  While there are plenty of folks that would have that middleman function excised from the market, it is a fact that most wineries would function poorly handling that aspect of the business themselves, nor do they necessarily want to.  But there are a lot of things that the consumer doesn’t necessarily see that threaten to undermine the system.

First it should be said that most smaller operations (stores and eateries) would have a hard time functioning without the distribution system as it is.  Most stores and restaurants aren’t going to buy multiple cases of a single item for discount for either space or money reasons, many couldn’t even make shipping minimums with just one item .  So the distributor serves their needs by carrying multiple product lines under one roof and delivering them on one truck.  Those outlets would likely not survive in the fiercely competitive California market without a classic distribution scenario.  Such outlets are a dying breed as it is under the current system.

That being said, the distributors and the wineries are playing dangerous games with each other trying to have it all their way, and it is clear that two particular practices in particular, if they continue unabated, will eventually cause cracks in the dam.  The first one is something that has become common place in the market…’the prearrival’.  Yes stores offer prearrivals, basically taking orders on merchandise they have yet to order in many cases, and simply ordering n  what they sell.

Big stores do it, though usually with the understanding that they have a certain allocation to work with that they should not exceed.  Little stores do it so they appear like big stores, without necessarily having a guarantee of the goods actually being earmarked.  This regrettable practice still goes on some places even in the wake of the whole Premier Cru scandal.  This is not the same as actually buying the items in another market, as we do, and selling merchandise that while own while it is transit. The naked prearrival is a whole different discussion but contributes to what can be a rather tenuous situation in the market.

You see the wholesalers are kind of doing the same thing with a lot of lines these days.  The distributors often don’t order in wines from a new vintage without offering it to the customers first, taking orders and then placing their orders with the importers.  Smart you, say?  Keeps inventory down, you say?  OK, sure, but then are they really representing the lines if they offer only a list with scores as their sales campaign.  Granted, that’s all some retailers do to, but it’s different (and not just because we’re retailers).  A single, or even multiple retailers don’t necessarily represent the only access to the product.  There are multiple retailers that can have a particular wine.

The distributor, however, is the only avenue for that wine to get into the market.  So basically if they just pass around a sheet with no promotion, tasting, or other opportunities for buyers to evaluate the wines, are they actually ‘distributing’?  If all they are going to do is order what we order from an importer back east, and ship it to us, have they really done enough for the brand to deserve the exclusivity that comes along the the distribution rights, which is usually one entity for an entire state?  Are they performing enough of a distribution function to be entitled to the markup?  We say no, but that is becoming more and more of a modus operendi among distributors.

While the practice of prearrivals in more prolific now, a few aspects have improved.  Previously the wholesale would present the ‘prearrival’ to a store and not even tell them what they were going to get from their order or when it would arrive.  Whatever it turned out to be would simply show up one day unannounced and at that moment the clock began ticking on your buying terms.  The issue is that the wholesaler is supposed to function as a ‘stockist’ (as the Brits call them), delivery facilitator, and financier.  There’s not a lot of ‘stocking’ going on.

If they are not doing those things, they are not performing their function, and cannot justify a significant finger in the pie.   We could regale you with stories of how many times importers have come to us with offers based on a price understanding, and then their distributor wants to charge a full margin for doing nothing more than passing it through.  Must have run it by the ‘anti-sales’ department.

The other catch is the wineries undermining their own distributors and outlets by offering better pricing to consumers than the distribution system can offer.  A recent example illustrates our point. We won’t name names, but a winery with a rather well-known reserve bottling got some good recent press.  As we explored the options for an offer, we noticed the standard markup based on the wholesale cost (not that we go by that price) was substantially higher than it should be based on the reviews.

We went on-line to the winery site and noted that any consumer could call the winery and join their club (at no cost), get and additional discount, and take home the wine for about $205 per bottle.  The matrixed cost under the traditional distribution understanding extrapolated to about $269 and, even offering a 20% discount we could not get close because the wholesale price was set to high for the actual retail.  Also note that we are a lot more aggressive than most of the market price-wise, so we can only guess how the ‘full markup’ people feel about this sort of thing.

This undercutting the market by the wineries is a growing practice as they try to expand their direct-to-consumer programs.  Not seemingly a good long-term practice in that it could undermine the overall market, anger customers, and lose placements.  It is especially annoying that this practice is coming from Napa Valley types that have spent the last three decades yelling at us because we were too aggressive.

We have another very popular Cabernet that not only allows a far below standard margin based on their wholesale and retail prices, but they insist you buy other items from their portfolio and maintain high prices on those for the ‘privilege’ of selling their Cabernet.  Pot/kettle? Hey, we’ll be saving a lot on Christmas cards this year, and good luck selling those not-so-in-demand items yourselves.

Meanwhile, the point is that the ‘system’ either works for everyone, or no one.  If everyone wants to have their cake and eat it, especially on such fundamental points, the ‘tiers’ are a little too fluid, and there really is no system at all.

SAVOIE: STILL AN UNDISCOVERED TREASURE

JEAN MASSON SAVOIE VIEILLES VIGNES TRADITIONNELLE APREMONT 2015

Savoie is still one of France’s great undiscovered treasures.  These alpine valleys, pristine landscape, sleepy hamlets, and unique history make for a one of a kind wine growing region.  Add to that, in this particular case, Jean-Claude Masson, described as one of the best winemakers in the region and but also a guy who might ‘party’ at the drop of a hat (or race cars, take out his jet ski or play rock and roll music).  There is apparently a body of evidence to support the latter rumor but there is no doubt about generally jovial Jean Claude being as serious as a surgeon when it comes to his vineyards and winemaking.

The description of Masson’s art is intensely focused wine from impeccable organic vineyards.  He is the fourth generation to run this 9 hectare estate and one who loves to explore his terroirs (he makes 10 different cuvees from his various parcels to showcase the subtle differences in character that emerge from plot to plot).   The soils here are classic limestone which makes for great white wine.

For those that aren’t familiar with the tragic but remarkable story of this appellation, it’s worth a quick read.  As it was succinctly described in an internet piece from ‘Down to Earth Wines,’

“The only sound to be heard is the nocturnal chorus of the wind and insects, playing their timeless tune.  Out of this familiar calm and quiet explodes an unearthly rumbling. Quite literally, the heavens are falling!! Massive limestone boulders tumble and squash the majority of the homes; a panicked and bewildered crush of humanity and livestock scurry to seek shelter, helpless in the face of such elemental force.  After only a few minutes of apocolyptic horror, the rumbling is done.  Several thousand souls are killed beneath a 3 mile long flow of stone and earth……

This unimaginable nightmare is exactly what happened one fateful evening in 1248 in Apremont, France of the Savoie region of the Alps.  The iconic limestone Mount Granier had collapsed, crushing everything in its path.  The traumatic event was of such deeply scarring suffering to the valley’s inhabitants that the area forever more takes its name from this tragedy: “bitter mountain” or Apremont….As a direct result of this geological shift, the limestone debris radically changed the landscape and its agricultural usefulness.”

Tough story, but the layer of limestone that spread itself across the valley paved very special turf for growing wine, particularly the kind of zingy whites that are the hallmark of this part of France.  Jacquere,  Roussanne and Altesse are the stars of the region.  There are similarities to Muscadet in the respect that these wines can sometimes be on the leaner side.  But they always have bright acidity, plenty of verve and insistent streaks of minerality. They will usually work very nicely to quaff some lake fish or other local delicacy.

However, in the right hands, in riper vintages, Savoie whites can have a lovely core of yellow stone fruits, delicate florality to the nose, and a little richer texture, which along with the usual components makes for some pretty delicious drinking.   Not big but precise, clean, fresh and persistent flavors of white peach, stones, floral notes, and white tea.  This little gem is from 100% Jacquere, farmed organically, from old vines.