TROIS CHENES TOURAINE IS BACK

More than a decade ago, long before Loire Sauvignon Blancs like Sancerre became the white hot item they are today, we discovered this new producer from Touraine that was making wine on the level of top flight Loire Sauvignons from much more famous appellations but charging the appropriately modest prices for something from the broader region. Vincent Richard was a solid commodity at the old location with three different efforts at different price points that delivered some of the best values for Sauv. Blanc in the store.

Among them, our favorite was the Vincent Ricard Touraine Sauvignon Les Trois Chenes 2020 (les trois chenes means ‘the three oaks’ as artfully portrayed on the label). Clean fruit, loads of energy, fruit notes from lime to peach with some richness but also the kind of tension and pop that defines the best efforts of this varietal, Ricard’s wines became go-tos for a 3-4 year stretch.

Like all winemakers sometimes do, he got the urge to tinker a little bit and a couple of subsequent vintages didn’t have the delineation or clarity that we had come to expect from this surprise source. As happens, other things came along that replaced what had been a steady part of the lineup. For a variety of reasons which we won’t get into here, we simply didn’t see anything from Vincent Ricard for a few years.

Recently retasted, it appears that Vincent Ricard has gone back to that driving, focused, fruit-driven style that made us big fans of his back in the day and we welcome his wines back to the fold. The estate is about 45 minutes from Tours and 20 kilometers east of famous Chenonceaux Castle. The Ricards have been growers for five generations and decided to bottle their own in 1998.

Les Trois Chenes is 100% Sauvignon Blanc from old vines (the oldest planted in 1947) on a gentle slope near the top of the hill. The vineyards face directly south, and the soil is clay and limestone. The grapes are hand-harvested and pass through a sorting table. The wine is barrel-fermented for 3 months, then aged in barrel for 8 months, with lees-stirring every 4 days or so which gives it a broader more substantial texture.

Simply a delicious mouthful of Sauvignon Blanc that overachieves for its modest appellation but also offers an excellent value option to fight the high cost of Sancerre. Great texture particularly for Sauv. Blanc, with that lime and bright white peach fruit and good underlying acidity, this is an absolute pleasure to drink at a price ($17.98) that Sancerre was about a decade ago.

FINE BUBBLY BUY: CHARLES LE BEL 1818 FROM BILLECART-SALMON

Where has this been all our lives?  We have been selling Billecart Salmon wines for a very long time but never got a whiff of this one until several months ago.  One curiosity was that this was coming through a different wholesale source than the folks that have been Billecart’s market representative for well over a decade.  Still, the prospect of a Champagne this good for the kind of price we were going to be able to sell it for with a connection to an elite and well-respected house was an exciting development.  You can imagine our disappointment when the anticipated rollout of this wine didn’t happen because there were only a couple of cases at the wholesaler that vaporized instantly at kickoff time. 

We never forgot about it though, and the first load of Champagne Charles Le Bel “Inspiration 1818” has finally arrived.  The story is that this is the ‘second label’ of Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve NV.  Billecart-Salmon vinifies base wines from a greater number of parcels than it actually needs for the production of its core cuvees. The winery has very specific ideas about the style and consistency of the sparklers that bear their label.  The tasting committee tastes each of these base wines and selects only the ones that match the house palate to go into the Billecart bottlings.  Those cuvees that don’t make the Billecart cut are then eligible for second wine.  Bear in mind that they were grown and produced to Billecart’s standards, so this is not second tier juice. 

Again according to testimony (we couldn’t find any mention of Charles Le Bec on the Billecart website though 1818 was the year that Billecart was founded) the vinification is done at Billecart’s facility in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.  The grapes come from vineyards with younger vines. The entire operation from start to finish takes place in the Billecart-Salmon cellars. That makes it a surety with respect to originality and character.  The cepage is 37% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier with 70% of the blend originating from reserve wines.

Of course, it’s ultimately about the juice and the Charles Le Bel Inspiration “1818” Brut NV is a delicious, classic Champagne with fine bead, aromas of baked bread, almond skins, apples, berries and pears. It is clear the winemaking aspect was done by talented cellar masters, with a refined, creamy palate feel, round mid-palate and a crisp but metered finish with touches of minerality and citrus.   It’s arrival is perfect timing as, in a market where a number of Champagne producers are pushing up prices even as the euro is at a historic low, we are presenting a new value Champagne option from an unimpeachable source at a great price. 

LUCA STRIKES AGAIN-ANOTHER VALUE MOUTHFUL FROM ITALIA


You’ve gotta love Luca Maroni, a somewhat obscure Italian wine critic that publishes only in Italian as far as we have seen. His reviews have set the standard for ‘over the top’ numbers and exotic commentary on relatively inexpensive wines. You could take it at face value and laugh. But it is more relevant that, while he seems to pass out 98s and 99s like Halloween candy, the rare occasions when we have seen a review from him, he has picked winners.

All those years of Montalba’s Ruche wines first came to our attention via a Luca Maroni review (a ‘99’) years ago, and he has consistently supported that label. Masso Antico (another Luca 99) is another find that had a great run and sold well for as long as we had it. Truly the people have spoken and Luca definitely has an audience here. He seems to favor plush, jammy reds at what are surprisingly modest prices and what’s wrong with that?

The Lupo Meraviglia Puglia IGT Tre di Tre 2019 is another juicy number right in Luca’s wheelhouse. A somewhat unusual blend of Primitivo, Aglianico, and Negroamaro from terroirs in Salento that are vinified together and pressed to maximum extraction. It’s that deep extraction, dense fruit, and plush palate feel that it has in common with the other wildly successful recommendations we have sold from Maroni. It appears there is a definite fruit driven style that seem to ring Maroni’s bell and, if our experience is any indication, that profile has a lot of fans out there.

Luca, who was formerly a major contributor to the Tre Bicchieri organization before going his own way and starting his own ratings publication, laid a 98 point score on the Lupo Meraviglia Tre di Tre 2019, . He focuses exclusively on Italian wines, and a score this high define the wine as a quintessential expression of the wine within the context of the varietal and region.

The comments, presumably translated, were presented as this, “Tre di Tre is a blend of Negroamaro, Aglianico, and Primitivo from Puglia. Intense red color. On the nose, aromas of red fruit and jam which merge with sweet and spicy notes of wood. On the palate it shows a great structure and persistence with a pleasant tannic finish.”

Our translation is that the round, jammy style that Luca likes is in full array here and we suspect it should play well with a lot of buyers because of its hedonistic, open style, particularly at its $11.98 price! We did an email on this not long ago but we wanted to remind folks of this tasty, quirky little find because we believe it will be ongoing for a while.

TORRES GRAN CORONAS CABERNET 2017

Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better in the wine world, but that does not mean they should be ignored.  Take the Torres label in Spain.  They make a lot of wine, and a good bit of it is solid, but rarely much beyond that.  They do however make the Gran Coronas Mas la Plana Cabernet which is consistently a serious bottle of red wine, and do occasionally hit home with one of their regular bottlings.  We had no expectations from this out-of-towner, Pinedes-centric producer with respect to a Rioja Crianza that we had not seen previously, but the Torres Rioja Crianza Altos Ibéricos 2017 is one of those exceptions.

We’ll be the first to admit that if we saw this wine on someone’s shelf, we likely wouldn’t have given it much thought other than acknowledging it existed.  That would not have been fair to the tasty juice in the bottle.  Darker fruit and a riper style than typical Riojas in this price range, it gives you a good blast of cassis and black plum fruit with accents of spice, vanilla and damp earth.  Soft and easy going, it’s a great pop-and-serve red wine choice given its demeanor and very modest price ($12.98) and a considerably more interesting drink than you will typically find in a red in this kind of price range including, most ‘value’ Cabernets.

James Suckling seemed to take a liking to it as well writing, “Dark cherry, plum, cedar and tobacco on the nose. Full-bodied with chewy tannins. Nicely structured with lively acidity that provides freshness. Chalky and soft texture with a flavorful finish. Drink or hold…92 points.”

Like we said, bigger isn’t necessarily better in wine as a rule.  But when they do hit one, those ‘economies of scale’ and established distribution systems can get things on the shelf for surprising prices.  A great buy most folks probably wouldn’t give a second look.

PATRICIA GREEN

The recent lineup from Patti Green’s label crosse our table recently and both made a great impression and gave us a bit of more a feel for the 2021 vintage in Oregon, which is looking good.  Founded back in 2000, this has been an insider’s winery for the most part as Patti, who passed in 2017, was always more focused on the natural synergy between vineyard and wine than the politics of the wine business.  We tasted her stuff early on and liked this winery’s focus on purity and honesty of terroir. 

These days a lot of folks talk terroir and geology in Oregon but, as partner Jim Anderson who now runs the show described, Patti was one of the first to really focus on those aspects 15-20 years ago before it became the anthem it is today.  In his words, she didn’t always know the terminology, much of which hadn’t even been created yet, but she had an innate feel for what that meant in practice.  The goal was to make wines naturally, which is not to say they were making ‘natural wine’ as that is defined today.  One interesting quote from Anderson’s tribute to Patti is this, “If you go in with the idea that you know how to ‘make’ the wine or even really have a conception of what you want that wine to be like stylistically then you aren’t going about things the correct way to begin with.” It adheres to the philosophy of many great Burgundy domaines.

From three choices presented we picked this one as the best representative of the spirit of the vineyard, though they all delivered what a lot of winemakers don’t seem be as concerned with as we would like…joy.  This is a bright, gushing, expressive show of spicy red cherries with subtle undercurrents of forest floor and savory as nuance.  Medium weight with tender, delicate but juicy fruit, the Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountain Vineyard 2021 seduces one with the style that Pinot drinkers will respond to.  It’s sort of an ‘essence of Pinot’ feel to this bottling. 

The vineyard itself has a story of its own.  The first planting of the vineyard was 1968, ancient history in Oregon.  This bottling comes from the second planting in 1978, which is still very old vine material around these parts.  Originally planted by Oregon pioneer/nurseryman  Dick Erath, and located on the border between the now delineated Ribbon Ridge and Chahalem AVAs, it has been referred to as the ‘Erath clone’ block but the cuttings for this parcel are believed to have come from Clos Vougeot in the mid-70s.  A delightful, pure expression of Pinot.

SIGNIFICANT NEW CHIANTI DISCOVERY:

It’s hard for us to believe that there is a Chianti out there that we haven’t seen before, but the Bucciarelli Chianti Classico 2016 is just that.  Apparently the property dates back a long ways, having been acquired by one Michelangelo Buonarroti (yes, that Michelangelo) on June 18, 1549. It stayed in the family until 1863.  The Buciarelli family, former sharecroppers on the property, acquired it in 1982 and sold their first wine in 1986.  The wine is 100% Sangiovese produced certified organic and spontaneously fermented aged in a combination of cement and cask.

We aren’t going to play the Michelanglo thing too hard because the wine really deserves its own spotlight.  Located in Castellina in Chianti, it hails from southeast facing vineyards situated 1350 to 1600 feet above sea level with mostly galestro soils with some clay and alberese in the mix.  There are elements to this wine that are rather unique and thoroughly captivating.  The nose shows a ton of ripe, sweet mulberry fruit along with some forest floor, leather, and  some rose notes that one might associate more with Nebbiolo.  Plush and very expressive, the mulberry is joined by black cherry in the mouth with a spice and a stony minerality cutting in at the finish.  It’s fruit and profile are very different from your typical Chianti but absolutely delicious. 

Since we have no prior experience with this label, we can’t compare  it to past efforts.  We have to presume that coming from one of the greatest vintages in Tuscany (2016) in our lifetime probably didn’t hurt.  As to press, we found nothing except a few very old reviews from Wine Spectator prior to 2005.  They only produce 1000-1500 cases per year so we don’t think you’ll see it at your local grocery store, either.  You’ll have to trust us on this one, but this is quite a find!

WELCOME BACK WEINBACH

We’ve been fans of Alsace for a long time, though we’ll also note that media coverage of the category has dwindled over the years. In any case, one of our favorites back in the day was Domaine Weinbach. A number of things happened to upset the proverbial ‘applecart’ roughly a decade ago. The untimely passing of Laurence Faller who was running the estate, and mother Colette, kind of put things in a bit of disarray. Laurence’s sister Catherine took the reins, and was later joined by her sons.

There was also a marketing decision to increase pricing to the upper levels of the category within that time frame. On top of that, we were presented the wine hardly at all. So when someone brought by examples of new releases from this esteemed house, we were pleased and kind of felt like you feel when an old friend you haven’t seen in a long time shows up for a visit.

While the quality is still top flight, a few things had changed. The prices, which at one time seemed a bit of a leap, now are fair market because the rest of the crowd has caught up. There were some new items, too, including a ‘house blend’ (called edelzwicker in this part of the world) that was a real real find.

Called Domaine Weinbach Alsace Les Vignes du Prêcheur 2020 (suckling 91, $24.98), this is a co-fermented blend of 40% Riesling, 30% Auxerrois, 20% Pinot Gris, 5% Muscat, and 5% Sylvaner from the “Prediger” (“the Preacher”) vineyard, located beneath the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf on sandy and clay stilts, that sees 8 months in neutral barrels. It delivers a surprisingly complex, extremely versatile new option in the Alsace.

Classic Weinbach in style with a broad, expressive palate of flowers, apricot and peach fruit, a pleasing touch of sweetness and acidity that cuts gently and decisively to the finish. Delightful, moderately priced for the Weinbach stable, and very versatile with all manner of foods from German/Alsace, to traditional grilled fish, to Asian dishes, though it is always interesting by itself.

We also have a couple upper cuvees from this esteemed house. The Domaine Weinbach Pinot Gris Cuvée Ste. Catherine 2020 (Suckling 97, $47.98) is rich in the midpalate but light on its feet with a touch of sweetness and a nice cut of acidity at the finish. Biodynamically farmed from old vines in granite soils from both monople Clos des Capucins and Cru Schlossberg.

The Domaine Weinbach Gewurztraminer Altenbourg 2020 (Suckling 98, $49.98) is everything one could want in a Gewurz perfectly proportioned. Altenberg is a lieu dit just below Grand Cru Furstentum and the southeast facing site has great sun exposure. Complex nose of flowers, honeysuckle, and nutmeg among other things, unctuous in the mouth but plenty lively.

Finally, the Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvée Colette 2020 is a cuvee named for mom from a plot of 40-year-old vines at the base of Schlossberg. Brown soils and granite rock yield a dry Riesling with both size and power, with floral, citrus, and the ever present, subtle streak of mineral.

We are thrilled to have these gems back in the house. Thai anyone?

BRIEF: 10/3/2022

**TASTY BUBBLES

We are always looking for good Champagne at a good price and this sleek, delicious Blancde B;anc fits the profile very nicely.  Composed of all Grand Cru fruit (like the label says), Voirin-Jumel Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs can trace its origins to the 1970s.  René Jumel had a transport business and his wife’s family had some vines that they cultivated. As the champagne market grew, René began selling some of his trucks and buying vineyards around the Côte des Blancs, which his wife, Paulette Richomme, worked and oversaw. Between 1950 and 1970, all the grapes were sold in bulk.  Rene’s daughter Francoise Jumel and her husband Gilles Voirin created this label and started to build a brand.

In the 90s, Francoise’s children, Patrick and Alice, along with Patrick’s wife Valerie, began running the domaine. Today it is a true family affair, and they own 11 hectares of vines in 11 different villages (broken down to approximately 10% Cramant, 20% Chouilly, 10% Avize, 5% Oiry, 10% Oger, 10% Mareuil-sur-Ay, 10% Vertus, 15% Verneuil and the remaining 10% in 3 other villages).  Fine, tight, creamy mousse, apple and pear fruit, butter and toast with clean lines, this is a classic Blanc de Blanc with a distinct touch of minerality.  Low dosage, the acids aren’t aggressive and it’s also very well priced for a Champagne with that kind of pedigreed terroir.

**BEAUJOLAIS RULES

There’s a lot of new faces in Beaujolais these days, but that doesn’t make us forget some of the dependable favorites we have come to know over the years.  Colette is a producer that does dependable work on a consistent basis in a lush, likeable, drink me style.  We have liked what we have seen in the region from the 2020s and the 2020 Colette Moulin à Vent is a great representative of why.  Great color, plush texture but with even a bit more substance than usual thanks to the vintage, ripe berries, a little rose in the nose, and subtle but insistent minerality throughout.  From a south-southeast oriented vineyard with granitic soils and 70-year-old vines, it is round and juicy as a Beaujolais should be but has the size to play with red meat.  Well-priced as always.

**ANOTHER BURGUNDY BARGAIN

As we have been saying pretty consistently, global warming has done wonders for the less famous parts of Burgundy.  Here in Givry, south of the Cote d’Or in the Cote Chalonnais, that little extra degree of ripeness changes the whole dynamic.  The 2019 vintage was charming enough on its own, but that ripeness really elevates the wines from this part of the world.   The Ragot family was here long before the increased sunshine gave Givry a new perspective.  They can trace their involvement with viticulture back to around 1760. Back then they farmed all sorts of things and raised livestock as well.  But by the 1970s, they committed exclusively to grape growing and making wine.

The region still isn’t famous by Burgundy standards.  But if things keep up like this, their star is on the rise.  The 2019 Ragot Givry Vielles Vignes comes from a 1.25 hectare parcel of 50 year-old vines grown on clay and limestone soils. The wine sees 12 months in oak, 20% of which is new.  Givry has always had an insistent minerality, but in the past the fruit component was often a little meager making in a little astringent on the palate.  Not these days.  That stony minerality is still there but plush, ample cassis, blackberry, and raspberry fruit fills in all of the cracks.  There are notes of vanilla and spice as well. In the end it’s a whole lot of Burgundy for not a lot of money, and there’s an almost New World weight to it while still plenty of expression of its origins.

ENCORE DU GALOPIERE-KILLER BURGS AT LITTLE PRICES

We’ll make our basic case right up front.  As we have explained many times, ‘value’ is a relative term. In no place is that harder to define than Burgundy but we think we have a pretty good formula. Simply, find a talented producer that hasn’t been discovered yet, and get them to the back door as cheaply as possible. If you are looking for labels that will impress your friends, notoriety costs. If you are looking for delicious Burgundy, our method works pretty well.

We introduced this new (to us) label, Galopiere, a few weeks ago with a blockbuster Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St. Jean 2020 for a price less than what you’d pay for a villages bottling from some high profile producer. Burgundy is packed with small, unknown, high quality producers. The trick is finding them. Galopiere was quite the find.

The Fournier family, who own and produce Galopiere, have been in the wine trade for over a century starting with Eusebe Fournier in 1882.  A century later, in 1982, Gilbert Fournier’s parents gave him a plot of Bourgogne Rouge.  Since that time Gilbert has been expanding the domaine, adding plots in Meursault, Ladoix, Aloxe Corton, Savigny-les-Beaune, and Pommard.  He added this plot of Chassagne Clos St. Jean in 2010 and a parcel of Chassagne Morgeot in 2016.  The estate now totals 11 hectares (about 27 acres).

Their vineyard philosophy involves taking things backward.  They have spent great effort to recreate the flora and fauna of an earlier time with the idea that this natural, historic harmony is important for the vine’s performance.  Like a lot of vintners, their intent is to reflect and express the terroir.  They aren’t interested in talking about oak regimens.  In their words, “our wines offer a journey on the original typicity of the terroirs and not on an excessive oakiness which hides everything, even what is missing.”  They harvest by hand and perform several ‘sorts’ and ferment with natural yeasts. 

Naturally, given the success of that Chassagne, we went back to our purveyor to inquire what other little gems they might have from this promising source. Their response was this pair of wines, though quantities precluded a broad email offer.

The Domaine de la Galopiere Savigny-les-Beaune 2019 is sources from three different vineyards, contiguous Aux Fourches and Les Pimentiers and Dessus des Vermot at the western end of the appellation. The harvest is manual, fermentation is done in traditional open vats and the finished wine sees 12 months in barrels ranging from 10-20% new.

Clean, pure, and expressive, this has loads of bouyant dark cherry fruit as a main thrust with tender edges and an efficient but not intrusive lift of acidity. Subtle notes of forest floor and fresh tobacco punctuate the fruit tones but it is a bright display of that hedonistic fruit aspect that has been a consistent theme of the 2019s. Delicious red Burgundy for under $30? Yes please.

The Domaine de la Galopiere Ladoix Blanc 2020 is a bit of a different proposition in that is from the best white wine vintage in Burgundy since 2014, but with perhaps a little more flesh than the typical ’14. From a single climat more or less in the middle of the hill (Le Clou) with classic clay-limestone and marl soils. If you recall some of the unique Ladoix bottlings we have featured from further up the hill that have profiles that remind one of Corton-Charlemagne, this one has a little of that almond and white flower note as well. The nose is delicate with spice, orange, and white stone fruit elements as well. In the mouth it’s quite flavorful, fresh and focused yet elegant and light on its feet. Very pretty Chardonnay in a style that can only be done here, and nicely priced under $35.

As we said before, since this is our first go-round with Galopiere we have no feel for how much two excellent vintages contributed to the outcomes here. We know that our sourcing had a lot to do with the great prices. But given what we’ve seen so far, you can bet we are gong to keep an eye on these folks moving forward and enjoy these for now.

RIDGE GRENACHE BLANC? A NEW STAR FROM A VAUNTED ‘OLD DOG’

You kind of have expectations from a producer like Ridge who has achieved great success with historic lineup of traditional California bottlings from grapes like Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Petit Sirah. Probably as a result of their constant experimentation with all kinds of ideas in their Advanced Tasting Program, they seem to have quickly mastered white Rhone varietals if this bottling is any indication.

Though this was our first look at this particular bottling, it looks like the program goes at least back to the 2018 vintage. The 2021 is a blend of 90% Grenache Blanc, 6% Roussanne and 4% Picpoul from the Adelaida Vineyard in Paso Robles (it’s right on the bottle). Fairly deep, healthy yellow color, it’s an energetic display of apricot, yellow melon, spice and floral notes.

There’s deceptive richness which the vibrant acidity keeps perfectly lifted and in line and an almost European sleekness to it’s definitely California body. We kept going back to it during the presentation to verify that it was really that good. It is! It probably isn’t unreasonable to compare it to other distinctive domestic whites like the old vine Chenin Blancs from Foxen and Chalone in that it is beautifully expressive and unique unto itself.

Another serious example of why we taste everything. A great match for white fish, shellfish, lighter handed chicken dishes and German styled pork roast. It can play all by itself as well.