2012

A ‘THROWBACK’ PINOT AT A SPECIAL PRICE

This is a story we have told many times. Only the characters change. There are a couple of new twists here though. First, perhaps not as surprising, owner/winemaker T.J. Rodgers came from the tech world, hence the name we presume, as the retired 34-year CEO of a company called Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. The story goes that a passion for wine lead them to a trip through Burgundy which apparently changed everything.

These folks are trained in science, and hard-core hands-on types, with a little help from technology. They own all of their vineyards, which are all evidently difficult-to-farm, sloping locations in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with the highest, Domaine Valeta, getting snow. Why Santa Cruz Moutains? Well, the inference was that it was close to Silicon Valley where they lived and worked. But we’d also point out that the Santa Cruz Mountains were something of a cradle of Pinot in California. Some of the earliest iconic efforts (Mt. Eden, Santa Cruz Mountain Vyd.) were from there. Pioneer Martin Ray worked this region from the 40s to the early 70s.

This has been a total, almost maniacal commitment to Burgundian concepts. The winery was established in 1994. They planted all of the vineyards densely with anywhere from three to ten times the normal vines per acre. They dug three caves into a descending hillside four feet at a time and cemented each section before building the next. It serves as the ‘gravity flow’ winery. They thin clusters. To farm the steep hillsides they worked with a German company to create a special tractor (because it is pulled up the hill by cables, it needs no motor, steering wheel or brake; control is achieved by a joystick, just like a video game).

Finally, and this may be the most fanatic of all, they perform something called ‘tipping’. In tipping, the tendril and top two small leaves on each cane are manually pinched off after just 10% of the grape flowers have bloomed, causing the vine to abruptly dump a spurt of carbohydrate energy into the flowering grape clusters. It’s an expensive, laborious process that results in a darker, more perfumed wine according to their notes. That’s commitment! It’s a funny name, but they are doing everything else right.

So what are the results of such an intense program. Well, we have to say that this is one unique bottle of Pinot Noir. The Clos de la Tech Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountain Estates 2012 kind of remind us for some of the best versions of the old Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot with a deep plum/mulberry/ black cherry fruit core and waves of dark spice, damp earth, and purple flowers and some fine-grained tannins supporting everything. It has a lot in common with legit ‘old school’ Burgundy from the 50s and 60s thanks to the surprising underlying power and structure. A fascinating ‘throwback’ that, particularly given the intense hand-work in the vineyards, is arguably well worth its $49 list price. There’s even a bonus ‘chip’ (semiconductor) on the bottle.

Wine Spectator’s notes, “Starts out juicy and lively, featuring black cherry and raspberry notes at the core. This is defined by fine-grained tannins that give the flavors traction. Ends long and clean, with anise and fresh earth scents. Drink now through 2023. 91 points.

Antonio Galloni wrote, “91 Points! The 2012 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains Estates, is the most complete and balanced of the four wines I tasted from Clos de la Tech. Dark cherry, plum spice, menthol, licorice and violet notes abound. Pliant supple and intense, yet also nicely balanced, the SCM Estates makes for a terrific introduction to these racy, fruit-forward Pinots. Specifically, there is a bit more freshness and less oak-inflected heaviness than in the other wines in the range…91 points.”

Wine Enthusiast was quite excited, Though much lower in price than the single vineyard offerings—and without the microchip on the label—this bottling carries all of the earthy aspects that characterize this iconoclastic winery. Umami aromas of nori wrap meet with dried purple flowers and blackberry on the nose. The mouthfeel is soft and full, with flavors full of loam, beet juice, incense and crushed boysenberry…94 points.”

This bold Pinot isn’t necessarily for everyone. If you are used to typical commercial Pinots that are medium weight and probably have a little leftover sugar in them, this will be too big, bold and authentic for you. On the other hand, for some it will be a revelation. It caught us by surprise as we didn’t know the label even though it is over two decades old.

In the end, that may have been the issue. It’s great to make exceptional wine. But you must also sell it, and you need to have an audience for that. Given the bottle age, and the price we worked out ($19.98) theirs is likely to grow quite a bit.

TARDIEU LAURENT CDP AT NEARLY HALF OFF? BON!

Things can happen for any number of reasons. We have to presume this curious opportunity is one of those that is simply a function of a variety of events. We could likely figure out the scenarios that led to this striking value, but in the end doesn’t really matter. It all starts with Tardieu-Laurent, the Rhone focused partnership between former patissier/ Burgundy virtuoso Dominique Laurent and Rhone native/insider Michel Tardieu. We have been following Laurent since the mid-90s when he became a sensation in Burgundy and were all-over this Rhone project from the get go.

It has been a remarkable source of exciting wines, Laurent’s talent in the cellar matched with Tardieu’s savvy and intimate knowledge of the Rhone teroirs. The only issue early on is that the prices were a bit above the market for the various appellation bottlings. Given the performance, the higher fares were more than justified. But also, for no doubt several reasons, they didn’t necessarily always have distribution in this market. They changed horses a time or two, and sometimes weren’t available at all. It took a little extra effort to sell the wines because of the elevated pricing, but we were always on board because the wines always performed at very high levels. Great old vine fruit, careful, polished winemaking, they never disappointed in the glass.

After one fairly long period of absence, the wines reappeared. The match of importer and vigneron was not, however, ‘made in heaven’. Not sure how it came together, but a producer that was never shy about pricing hooking up with an importer that took predictably high margins didn’t seem like the best fit. Not surprisingly, it didn’t work. The house now has a new, more ‘down-to-earth’ distribution scenario who, besides reintroducing the wines to the market in earnest, is in the process of cleaning up a few ‘odds and ends’. The Tardieu Laurent Chateau-du-Pape Vielles Vignes 2012 was quite the surprise in that process.

At face value, the vintage itself was not any kind of indicator. While a ripe and warm vintage that the critics seemed to like a little more than we did, there were a number of notable releases that were the best following 2010 until 2015. They were generally ripe, jammy and broad on the palate, but all too often bordered on too ripe. On the plus side they had weight and plenty of fruit, but lacked the kind of freshness a truly grand vintage possessed to give the wines drive. Based on our extensive tasting, we had kind of the same expectations for this wine. That turned out to be completely wrong.

This might well be the best effort we have tasted from the 2012 vintage, with the rich, expressive dark red fruit in abundance but also a purity to the flavors and a great tension and freshness on the palate. Now under the control of the Tardieu family, from Grenache vines that were 80 years old, it is broad, lifted and gregarious across the palate, with the kind of energy atypical for the 2012 vintage. Intense dark red fruits, layered elements to the flavors, this wine plays above even its exalted station for a 2012.

We loved the wine ‘straight up’ but weren’t surprised to find some nice words about it when we went looking. Josh Raynolds of Vinous Media offered, “Dark ruby. Deeply pitched cherry, black raspberry and Indian spice aromas are lifted by a sexy floral oil quality. Juicy and densely packed, showing excellent depth to its red and dark berry liqueur, cherry-cola and spicecake flavors. Stains the palate while coming across as energetic and precise. Closes with very good vivacity and length, with silky tannins adding structure and grip…93 Points.”

Even more from Wine Advocate, “Superb and with loads of potential, the 2012 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes (90% Grenache and 10% Syrah, with the Grenache aged in older barrel and the Syrah in new barrels) is more deep and layered than the Cuvee Speciale. Offering up impressive notes of mineral, new leather and smoky black fruits, this full-bodied, layered and textured 2012 has superb mid-palate depth, fine tannin and an all-around concentrated, backwards feel. It will require 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for 15 years or more…93-95+ (barrel score).”

The most recent of the two reviews was nearly five years ago, and clearly this Chateauneuf has gotten its 3-4 years of bottle age and has evolved marvelously. Given our negotiated ‘closeout’ price is substantially less than the lower of the only two prices we saw online, all is as it should be. This is a spectacular performer, particularly for the vintage, that is in peak form for current ‘applications’. A rare treat.

RIGHTEOUS RIOJA

Over the years A LOT of La Rioja Alta juice has passed through these doors. But, for reasons we can’t really put our finger on, not a lot of this particular bottling. Part of that is that it isn’t bottled every year. In this case, this is also the first Vina Arana (2012) to have a Gran Reserva designation, making definitely worth highlighting even as we have an epic version of the Vina Ardanza (2010) on the floor.

As the winery tells it, “A vintage marked by drought, resulting in very heterogeneous grapes. Late September rains had a very positive effect on vine development, resulting in perfect ripening. The grapes arrived in perfect condition with a great balance between alcoholic strength and polyphenols, leading to wines of superb quality, with good polyphenolic structure and magnificent aromatic tipicity, key traits for making aged wines and determinant in our decision to make our first ever Viña Arana Gran Reserva.” In simple terms, this Rioja rocks!

The star of the show is Tempranillo (95%) from 40-year-old vines from Las Cuevas, El Palo and Las Monjas vineyards in Rodezno complemented with 5% Graciano from the Montecillo estate in Fuenmayor. This is everything you could ask from a Rioja in the classic sense. There’s plenty of round, supple-yet-lifted and energetic plum and blackcurrant fruit with flecks of spice, tobacco, damp earth, and dried orange. Impressive from start to finish, harmonious, and textbook Rioja, this is one where the bottle just doesn’t seem quite big enough. Super deliciosa!

James Suckling clearly ‘got it’, commenting, “Brambleberries, licorice, dried blueberries, cedar, tobacco, smoke, vanilla, dried citrus and even a hint of grapefruit. The laser-sharp acidity evinces a real sense of purity, and the tannins are really edgy and structured. Full-bodied but very elegant and stylish. The finish goes on and on, thanks to the shimmering acidity. Beautiful now…95 points.”

ONE OF A KIND BARBERA SOURCE

Our subject here is the Cantine Valpane Barbera del Monferrato Perlydia 2012. What’s special about it? Well, we have presented wines from Valpane before and they are delicious examples of the breed. But what makes this house unique is that this 2012 is the current release! What kind of vintner holds on to his Barbera this long before going to market, sometimes for more than a decade? One who follows his own heart.

Clearly Pietro Arditi, the ‘Barbera whisperer’, listens to the wine and not the ‘metrics’ of 21st Century marketing. Now this didn’t happen completely by accident, mind you. The land gave him some juicy, vibrant fruit to work with, then he decided to keep the wine in botti (large neutral barrels) or cement until he deems it ready. What does six-year-old Barbara taste like? This particular effort is loaded with red berry fruit, but the spice and terroir notes are more expressive and better meshed because the lower acidity from bottle age lets them be.

Don’t worry though, there is surprising freshness and life to the fruit. Bottled unfiltered and unfined, fermented entirely with native yeasts, there is a gregarious, fruit-forward element to Valpane’s wines as well as great purity of flavor.

The Perlydia is 100% Barbera harvested from vines planted only in 2000, but it delivers the same joyous mouthful of fruit as do all of the Valpane wines. That little bit of bottle age really helps the wine to get into gear quickly and the ripe, somewhat resolved tannins and lower acidity make for an uncommonly delicious drink without a lot of fuss. To do all of this careful raising of the wines for this kind of price is an added bonus and makes Valpane a rather unique wine to offer.