2017 – Page 3

‘HOUSE RED’ CANIDATE

We’ll take the opportunity to make a couple of points. First is the vintage, 2017. In short, it’s a really smart vintage with plenty of bright fruit and great freshness. If it had come in the middle of the 70s, 80s, or 90s, it would have been hailed as a special vintage. These days, with global warming and following one of the best vintages of modern times in 2016, it likely won’t ever get the respect it is due. That will likely have a greater impact on the higher end, but there will be a consistent source of opportunities in the more moderate price ranges on things like Cotes du Rhones, Rasteaus, et. al..

Moving forward, that discussion is a preface to us talking about a wine that has been something of a staple here since Eric Solomon hooked up with Jean-Francois Nicq at Les Vignerons d’Estézargues to create the Domaine de Andezon label back in 1995. This is one of those rare cooperatives that is dialed into the growers and has the resources and the flexibility to create some very interesting juice. Ten growers in this network vinify their best lots from which the coop creates the d’Andezon blend using no cultured yeasts, no filtering, no fining and no enzymes during vinification or aging and only add a small amount of SO2 at bottling.

The track record for this wine is pretty remarkable, garnering 90 points or greater many times since its inception, no easy feat for a wine that has never exceeded $12 on our shelves. What is perhaps somewhat kitchy about Andezon is that, even though the cooperative is near Avignon in the south, and sources grapes from the surrounding areas, the majority of the wine is Syrah (writers says 100% Syrah, importer notes say there is a m=small amount of Grenache). Ripe, substantial and character-filled, as always, the 2017 Domaine d’Andezon Cotes du Rhone 2017 also has a lift and brightness befitting the vintage. As always, it’s the consummate value at $10.98.

Jeb Dunnuck, former Wine Advocate ‘Rhone guy’ now on his own, confirms, “Deeply colored, the 100% Syrah 2017 Côtes du Rhône Domaine D’Andézon (brought up all in concrete) reminds me of a Côtes du Rhône from Pierre-Marie Clape with its iron, violets, plums, white pepper, and sappy aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, supple, and elegant on the palate, it’s a fleshy, delicious Syrah well worth seeking out. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years… 91 Points.”

DELICIOUS HOMMAGE TO PARENTS FROM BOOKER

So if you are old enough to think this name is familiar, you might be thinking of the old TV show Ozzie and Harriet. This is a completely different thing courtesy of Booker vineyards and the intense and focused ‘mind behind’ the project, Eric Jensen. His Syrah bottlings have achieved legend status but this bottling is virtually unknown because, well, it’s brand new.

Imagine a ‘Super Paso’ kind of blend that is a fine extension of the big volume, rich, creamy style that has been the hallmark of the Booker Syrahs infused into this sexy blend. Jensen’s own parents serve as the inspiration for Harvey & Harriet, represented in two hand-holding silhouettes always balancing on the tightrope of life, adorned with the inscription “Everyone’s favorite neighbors. Or not.”

This is a fabulous showpiece for the ‘Paso style’…super plush palate bordering on sur-maturite fruit but with just the right lift to make it pleasingly juicy and palate-caressing. There is richness, plush character, surprising freshness to the layered, ripe fruit. This is pure Paso at its most compelling. Booker is uber famous in some circles, as we said earlier, for it’s Syrah based wines. But this new assemblage tends to reach into a different realm.

The blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, and 4% Malbec could have easily been labeled as Cabernet as it would be virtually impossible to detect that one percent missing in the blend. It would certainly have been easier to sell the wine as a new “Cabernet” from Booker. But, to their credit, that is not how these folks roll. They put all of their effort into perfectly ripe fruit and called it as it was.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this as you would a Cabernet. The touch of blackberry and smoked meats in the finish comes from the Syrah but adds dimension to the wine. The rest plays like an elite, polished Cabrnet from Paso with primarily dark cherry fruit laced with subtle minerality. We have been surprised how many California Cabernet producers have been routinely slipping a little Syrah into the mix. The ‘official’ name of the wine is Booker ‘My Favorite Neighbor’ Harvey & Harriet Paso Robles Red Blend 2017. The name is a little hard to digest and one would be understandably hard-pressed to dive into this with such a non-descript ‘handle’. But this is, in fact, a greatly engaging ‘Cabernet’ and Paso experience all rolled into one.

You can pay more for something like Daou, which gets pretty rave reviews from the press. But to us this wine has more soul, depth, and a very comfortable flavor and style profile. There is a little bit of confusion as the winery has made wines carrying the ‘My Favorite Neighbor’ label for a while (we have Advocate reviews dating back to 2006). But Harvey & Harriet, specifically dedicated to Eric Jensen’s parents, is a new chapter in the series.

There’s not a lot of ink on this newcomer, but clearly Jeb Dunnuck shared our enthusiasm in a barrel review he posted on the wine in November, 2018, “Named after Eric Jenson’s parents, the 2017 Harvey and Harriet is another outstanding wine in the making…It boasts lots of blue fruits, graphite, violets, and classy oak as well as a big, full-bodied yet rockingly balanced style on the palate. It has classic Jenson style and is going to drink nicely right out of the gate…92-94 points.” That it does.

BOISTEROUS BARBERA 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HARTFORD HITS A HOMER

New World Pinot Noir is an interesting topic these days. The wine world is constantly in a state of change as people’s tastes, economics, and world-wide competition alters the playing field on a constant basis. We talk with distributors, winery owners, and winemakers on pretty much a daily basis and the subject of Pinot Noir is a recurrent one. Our message over the last couple of years in particular has not necessarily been what the industry wants to hear. While it is still a very popular practice among wineries to make multiple single-vineyard Pinot Noir bottlings, usually at rather premium prices, the people have shown a declining interest in the category over the last few years in recent times.

People still like Pinot Noir. A lot. We aren’t predicting some sort of Pinot Armageddon. But it is clear that, in the part of the world we see, people are considerably less interested in those small production offerings in the $50-100 range. Oh sure there are a few mailing list types that claim that business is great for that sort of thing. But our view of the marketplace would seem to suggest otherwise. If we were to extrapolate our observations and project what market message is, it would seem to be this. A lush, engaging, fruit-driven Pinot always has a place, but a price under $30 would be greatly appreciated. Well, whether inadvertently or not, someone has created the perfect Pinot for the times.

It comes from the Jackson Family stable, a company that achieved wine-world domination by giving people what they wanted. They became a major player from nowhere with a Chardonnay that pleased a wide audience, and built on that success. Later on, it seemed Jess Jackson was concerned about his ‘legacy’, and much energy was spent creating brands that were intended to become iconic like Cardinale, Verite, and the like. Hartford Court estate was the part of the family that focused primarily on individual bottlings of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Old Vine Zinfandel .

Hartford achieved great notoriety with these stylish, distinct bottlings, but pricing was a little bit of a hindrance on some of the upper-end offerings. They always made solid, expressive wines at every level, with the occasional home run. But the current Pinot program has to be a little intimidating for consumers because there were so many specialty bottlings at $50-80, it had to difficult to make a choice.

As we did the research for this piece, we noticed Hartford Court was offering 14 different designated bottlings on their website. That’s fine from a winery perspective we guess. The team here has always had ‘chops’. But in the process, whether they wanted to or not, they made one of the best ‘regular’ bottlings in their history in 2017, as if they had once again perfectly read the needs of the market and created this wine to fulfill them, just like those early days.

The 2017 Hartford Court Russian River Valley Pinot Noir does everything right. Deep, saturated color as Pinot goes, classic Russian River spice in the nose along with dark red leaning to black fruits, seamless palate feel, and sufficient weight and tenderness to please just about anyone, Pinotfile or not. It checks all of the boxes and, if it errs, it does so on the side of hedonism.

We could go on but Jeb Dunnuck did a pretty good job of cheerleading here, “A crazy good value, the 2017 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is the appellation release from this team, and it comes from all of the estate vineyards across the Green Valley, Laguna Ridge, and Sebastopol regions. Complex notes of strawberries, cranberries, violets, pine forest, and flowers all flow to a medium-bodied Pinot Noir that has a kiss of salinity and marine notes, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This beautiful wine competes with wines costing 2-3 times the price…95 Points.”

It checks all of the boxes and, for our part, we’re able to get it to you for under $30. Like the song says, “You can’t always get what you want…”. Only sometimes, you can.

MONTEPARONI: CHIANTI FOR MATURE AUDIENCES

As we see it, our job is to find the good stuff. Period. If there is widespread success, and lots of good stuff, so be it. If there is a concentration of standouts in one region as opposed to others, that’s OK, too. Tuscany has had their share of good fortune of late, though 2017 was a bit more difficult from a farming perspective, though mostly from an economic standpoint (early weather quirks curtailed a lot of cropload). We aren’t going to tell you the vintage was like 2016. There haven’t been many at that level. But there certainly was a good enough vintage canvas for talented artists and this small estate is one of the under the radar stars.

This will be our third straight vintage with Monteraponi. Yes, for some folks, Chianti comes in those little, woven fiasco bottles. But this is on a completely different plane. Value is a relative thing and means delivering for the fare. This estate makes one of the more serious Chiantis you’ll taste, though it isn’t all gussied up with wood. It can go toe-to-toe with Gran Seleziones, a new, and still rather nebulous ‘reserve plus’ designation.

Monteraponi is in Radda and the vineyards are at high altitude (from 1300-1500 feet above sea level). The wines are carefully made in a very natural way, which is to say no added yeast, nutrients, or malolactic bacteria are used, fermentation takes place in cement tanks, followed by long macerations (even the Chianti Classico is kept on the skins for at least 25 days), the wines are aged in large neutral oak only, and they are not fined or filtered.

Plenty of complex, terroir-driven fruit, this ‘regular’ bottling somehow has more gravitas than most Chiantis we encounter, price notwithstanding.
The deep core of dark red fruit comes to the fore, with accents of earth, menthol, pepper, cedar, sandalwood, and violets. But it also has another gear that carries more through the back of the palate and length to the flavors. It gets pretty consistent accolades from the press (93 for both the 2015 and 2016 from Vinous for example) and we expect the same here. It has plenty of fruit and, if you had the 2016, this one will be a little higher toned and lighter on its feet by virtue of the vintage. Delicious and very soulful, a little air time will allow it strut its stuff.

Monteraponi is in Radda and the vineyards are at high altitude (from 1300-1500 feet above sea level). and the wines are carefully made in a very natural way, which is to say no added yeast, nutrients, or malolactic bacteria are used, fermentation takes place in cement tanks, followed by long macerations (even the Chianti Classico is kept on the skins for at least 25 days), the wines are aged in large oak only, and they are not fined or filtered.

NEW PINOT FROM AVERAEN

Every day is a winding road, and you never know what is going to roll in the door. This was a good case for this particular wine as the buyer on call that day had never seen this particular wine before. Came to find out that the store had sold the 2016 version of Averaen Pinot Noir and the other buyer, who had not seen the label previously, thought it was pretty cool juice and bought the 2017. Can’t think of a lot better testimony for the wine’s quality than that.

The short story on this label was as follows. The folks that made Banshee wines, and their value label Rickshaw, were at the INPC (International Pinot Noir Conference) and just ‘sittin’ round the campfire’ when they had a revelation that this appellation that they were in, located in McMinnville, was remarkably similar to where they were working in California’s Sonoma Coast. Cold Marine wind funneling through low-lying gaps in the coastal mountain ranges and soils of a mixed volcanic and marine sedimentary soils played off of each other to create a very advantageous environment to grow Pinot Noir. Clearly it was kismet.

Not only did the Banshee boys sense that this would be a good environment for premium Pinot Noir, but they had just completed a partnership deal with William Foley that took a lot of stress out of taking the Banshee/Rickshaw label to the next level, but they ran across one Adam Smith, a talented winemaker who had bolted to the Northwest after making the first vintage of Banshee in 2010. It was ‘kismet’ and Averaen was born.

The 2017 Averaen Pinot Noir reflects both their desire to make high-toned, cool climate Pinot Noir, and the distinctive element s of the 2017 vintage that made this a very successful but very unique expression of Oregon Pinot. This was the fourth straight successful vintage in this part of the world (global warming?), but one that differed from the previous three harvests in its personality. While the 2014-2016 run showcased the riper side of Oregon Pinot, the 2017s showed plenty of ripeness but also a higher pitched, fresher, more lifted profile.

The nose showed urgent but high-toned ripe red, spicy fruit from the get-go. In the mouth, this expressive, lifted, almost ‘crunchy’ Pinot had plenty of well-defined, vivid red fruits that sat higher of the palate and delivered a wave of energetic flavors. We were taken with the wine immediately and bought it. Some two weeks later as we sat down to write these notes, Vinous Media put their comments on this wine on the front of their website. Apparently we are not alone.

Josh Raynolds comments in that feature reflected our impressions of both performance and value here, “Displays abundant berry and floral character, with vibrant spice accents adding verve. Seamless in texture and appealingly sweet, the 2017 finishes with impressive, juicy persistence and resonating florality. This is textbook Willamette Valley Pinot Noir at a great price. ..91 points (an even better score than he gave the 2016).”

The 2017 Averaen Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is appealing, well-priced effort from a label that shows a lot of promise going forward from a group that was already quite successful further south (Sonoma Coast). This juicy, little number plays nicely in the here and now in a higher-toned, ‘Burgundy’ sort of way .

TASTY ‘HOUSE’ RHONES FROM FERRATION

We sell all manner of wines great and small, and everything we present here we believe has a good reason to be here. We can launch a treatise on virtually any vinous subject, but don’t think we always should. A quiet word or two should be sufficient for some wines, and just because we didn’t generate a tome doesn’t mean we didn’t like it. If we didn’t like it, we wouldn’t buy it at all. With that in mind here are a few words on the newly released Cotes du Rhones from Ferraton.

There are two key things to know. First, Ferraton is an accomplished house with a long history dating back to 1946. Second is Michel Chapoutier, who started working with the property to convert to organic and ultimately biodynamic viticulture starting in 1998, and buying the place outright in 2004. With Chapoutier at the helm, things are definitely on the upswing. These are both outstanding value performers at their modest fares and both come from excellent vintages for their respective hues.

The Ferraton Cotes du Rhone Samorens Rouge 2016, a half and half blend of Grenache and Syrah that is brought up in concrete, shows an ample, supple core of berry fruit laced with spice and floral notes. Jeb Dunnuck calls it “… Rounded, sexy and even voluptuous, with terrific purity in its black raspberry, violet and incense aromatics, this medium to full-bodied beauty has no hard edges, silky tannin and a great finish…90-92 points’

Perhaps even more of a surprise, because the southern Rhone isn’t necessarily known for crisp, engaging whites, is the Ferraton Cotes du Rhone Samorens Blanc 2017. A blend of Roussanne, Viognier and Clairette, all done in stainless steel to retain the freshness, it shows lovely, subtle tones of citrus and yellow stone fruits. Again from Dunnuck, “…It’s fresh, vibrant, and crisp, yet has plenty of heft in its peach, tangerine, and citrus aromas and flavors. With bright acidity, outstanding balance, and a great finish, drink it over the coming 2-3 years…91 points.” Both play well for their $10.98 tabs and are in a likeable, easy drinking style for the category.

AN EXCITING ‘REFUGE’ FROM HIGH PINOT NOIR PRICES

We said back in January, 2016, “We expect Chile to continue its breakout ways and surprise us with more ‘wait, that’s from Chile?’ type stuff…” The progress has been coming slowly, progressively, and unimpeded for a few years now. But it seemed like we started seeing some really ambitious new things coming along through the latter part of 2015. It was clear then that the Chileans are going through an ‘awakening’ of historic proportion. They are finding new terroirs and creating new projects, as well as rediscovering and reenergizing some of their longtime producing areas.

Definitely the biggest surprise in Chile has been Pinot Noir. Who knew? With over 2600 miles of coastline, it makes perfect sense that there would exist some unique spots in coastal valleys with mediating ocean influence in which Pinot would thrive. Folks think of Chile as Cabernet country, but the real excitement has been producers figuring out what to do with other varietals. Some of these breakout Chilean Pinot Noirs have been very compelling stories, though we still haven’t run across a more interesting tale than Montsecano.

The cast of characters is small, but interesting. Julio Donoso, who founded this estate, is a world famous photographer who had a passion to create a wine project from scratch. This he did by researching a number of different terroirs not far inland from the Chilean coast. He settled on a rather wild, unspoiled spot located near the town of Las These, in the commune of Casablanca. The narrow, winding road leading to the cellar speaks volumes about his Cordillera de la Costa. Here, 10 kilometers from the sea, there’s no power, steep slopes and poor granitic soils, an unattractive place to establish ‘conventional’ viticulture, but Montsecano is anything but.

Of course, by nature, photographers see things a little differently. Hence, against the advice of the locals, the not-particularly-conventional Donoso planted six hectares (about 15 acres) of Pinot Noir on steep, rocky hillsides in the Chilean version of ‘the middle-of-nowhere’. Who was going to make this Pinot? Well, Julio took the next ‘logical’ step by enlisting the services of one of Alsace’s greatest talents, Andre Ostertag, who is typically not as busy in France during Chile’s (opposite) growing season. The idea of working with reds intrigued Ostertag. Thus, a label was born.

Andre also directs the farming, which is done biodynamically, with plowing by horses. The cellar, which is unobtrusively wedged into a hillside, has no corners (it’s oval). The wines are made as naturally as possible in a facility that depends on natural power, and there is no oak involved as everything is done in stainless steel and concrete eggs. We featured this walk-on-the-wild-side project a couple of years ago and they have only improved in that time

These clearly delineated, expressive Pinot Noirs are considered by some among the best wines in South America. They are still not a household word around these parts because they don’t make a lot of wine and are brought in by a small, extremely passionate and knowledgeable importer who hasn’t had much time to ‘network’ yet. But here they are making news again with their Montsecano Pinot Noir Refugio Casablanca Valley 2017. This is a dark, powerful Pinot that, quite honest, takes a little while to open up, but has a remarkable density and purity of fruit to reward a little patience. Full bodied, plush, superbly balanced, this has a seamless, sweet core of mulberry are dark cherry fruit with subtle streaks of minerality. The original bottling we reviewed (2015) was a James Suckling 93, and so is this one.

But the energetic review by wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez kicks it up a notch, “The 2017 Refugio Pinot Noir shows a reductive personality that I love as well as some flinty notes, so decanting in advance could be a good idea… Ostertag’s son, Arthur, is now involved in the winemaking, and as a result, they made a lot of changes in 2017, such as including about 25% full clusters in the fermentation. They use no sulfur and no oak in the production of this wine, and it has some of the character from the full clusters. However, the palate is very relaxed and harmonious and also mineral, with plenty of finesse and perfectly ripe fruit without excess. This is subtle, elegant and simply amazing; it has depth yet is approachable and very drinkable. I love the style of this wine. I believe this is the best vintage they have ever produced. A real bargain. I’d buy this by the case...94 points.”

All of that and under $20? Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Classic Gruner at a sub-$20 fare

We have espoused on our version of the theory of relativity on a number of occasions. The heart of that theory is that one’s perception of a wine is greatly influenced by what else might be on the table. You are likely to have a better impression of a particular wine if it is tasted among lesser efforts, and, conversely, a really great wine’s magnitude might not be fully appreciated if it is tasted solely amongst other great wines.

Given that belief, it would follow that the Vorspannhof Mayr Gruner Veltliner Ried Loiser Weg Kremstal 2017, which we tasted after a knockout lineup of Ott Gruners, should have been swept away. The fact that it held its own in that company speaks volumes. From the northern end of Kremstal, near Kamptal, the soils here are loess and gravel, and the wine’s style and expression is much more ‘traditional’ with in the realm of Gruners.

Classic snap pea and watercress high tones with some white pepper and a little apricot, with a driving minerality and salinity through the middle to make everything sizzle, these folks are bringing it ‘old school’ in a good way. It could hang with the flashier Otts because of its drive. This one slices through food and leaves the palate energized for more, and the price performance in particular was impressive at $18.98.

BILA HAUT: AN UNCOMMON VALUE ONCE AGAIN

Not everything in the wine business makes sense (in fact a lot of it doesn’t). Take for example Michel Chapoutier. Here’s a guy that makes some of the most compelling single vineyard wines in the world from iconic sites on Hermitage. Yet we can’t remember the last time we got really excited about one of the other bottlings he presents under the Chapoutier label. You rarely see these on our shelves as they are serviceable but not compelling.

Enigma? You bet. Yet this guys makes some of the best values in the wine world. He just doesn’t do it in the Rhone. His Bila Haut program in the Roussillon has been an iconic source of value since Michel bought the property in 1999. Yeah they have put out a number of memorable specialty bottlings during that time, but it is their bread-and-butter entry level offerings that amaze the most, vintage in and vintage out.

The beautifully appointed Bila-Haut (Chapoutier) Cotes Du Roussillon Villages Les Vignes de Bila-Haut Rouge 2017 hits that mark again. Since it is one of the first 2017 reds to hit the floor we can’t make any sweeping statements about the vintage. But if this wine is any indication, it’s looking good. The fruit component suggests red and black fruits, some white pepper, tea, and a subtle underpinning of slatey minerality. There’s plenty of energy and urgency to the fruit and an underly lift comparable to the 2016.

While we aren’t necessarily in agreement with Jeb Dunnuck’s suggestion that this is a doppelganger for a Saint Joseph, and see more of the higher toned Grenache in the mix, he got the rest right, “The 2017 Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Vignes de Bila Haut reminds me of an impressive St Joseph (despite having lots of Grenache in the blend) with its black raspberry, white pepper, and leafy herb aromas and flavors. It’s seamless, elegant, and balanced, with both acidity and richness. Put this in a blind lineup of Northern Rhônes and shock your friends. ..92 points.” As always, a fine buy at $12.98.