2018 – Page 3

GLOBAL WARMING, FRIENDLIER GRUNER?

Global warming has had some positive effect on cooler climes like Austria. We’ve long been fans of their Gruner Veltliner as brisk, terroir conveying, beautifully ‘naked’ wines. There are a lot of folks that have tried previous versions of Gruner and found them a bit too tightly wound and edgy. That’s why it is important for a lot of wine drinkers to take another look at the new ‘kinder, gentler versions’ coming out now. Simply put, just a little more ripeness in the mix makes a big difference in what is in the glass.

‘Today’s’ Gruner still has the varietal specific green pea and white pepper notes that one associates with the genre, and the minerality reflective of the various sites . But the addition of a little white and yellow stone fruit to the mix gives the Gruner experience greater reach. Most folks wouldn’t consider just hauling off and drinking a Gruner as a solo aperitif. But the suppler midpalate and fruit elements, when they still have sufficient support from clean acidity, makes a completely different statement. Is it us, or do Gruners seem friendlier these days? This one is.

Kamptal is a touch warmer, drier appellation anyway, and Weixelbaum is located in a warmer subsection of varied terrains including loess (a fine sedimentary silt), gravel, and some volcanic elements formed during the Parmea Period some 270 million years ago. The soils themselves are responsible for this wine’s insistent, subtle, saline minerality and the snappy acidity supports the lively but supple midpalate. White peach, apple and apricot, and a touch of honey are a gift from the riper fruit, and combine beautifully with those Gruner-specific notes of white pepper, fresh peas, and fennel.

Weixelbaum Grüner Veltliner Ried Wechselberg Kamptal 2018, from a fruit-forward vintage for the region in general, has a mouth-filling, glossy palate entry that gives it a bit more than the expected tenderness, then cuts nicely clean at the finish. If you need a score, we have a Wine Enthusiast 92 (Austrian wines don’t get a lot of media attention these days for whatever reason). But, rather than scores, it’s more about something tasty and bright from a category you may not have considered in a while, at a great price ($19.98)!

CUILLERON: VIOGNIER AND FRIENDS

We are huge fans of Viognier, and consider Condrieu (and Ch. Grillet, the small monopole, of course) to be the unrivaled source for great examples of the varietal. We have also told the story many times about how difficult this grape can be. There is a narrow band of success where all of the components work in harmony. Harvest too early and the wines are lean and lack varietal definition, the aromatics that are an important part of the Viognier experience aren’t there, and neither is the required midpalate. Harvest too late and the acids fall back and the wine is dull and flabby. Harvest at the perfect time and you’ll be dealing with voracious birds and hornets that also have a deep love of this enticing, aromatic varietal.

So if it’s that hard, if the margin of error is so slim, why does anyone bother? Because when it hits the mark Condrieu is a singular experience. Of course for most of us it can be cost prohibitive too, which merely piles on to an already difficult success rate. Yet, with few exceptions, there’s no place like Condrieu. What is a lover of Viognier to do? Our solution has been to pay close attention to the ‘smaller’ efforts from some of the top vignerons in the region. One of our favorite sources over the years has been Yves Cuilleron.

He makes great Condrieus on a consistent basis (no small feat) and excellent examples from other villages in the northern Rhone with Marsanne and Roussane. But what has been a repeat performer in our minds is his Viognier Vin de Pays Collines Rhodannienes Les Vignes d’a Coté 2018. Yeah, tough name for the non-French but we’ll boil the words down so you get a feel. By Vin de Pays, the bottle is telling you that some or all of the juice comes from vines not in official designated appellations. In the upper reaches of the hills in the northern Rhone they give it those ‘outside the boundary’ efforts the catchy name Collines Rhodannienes (there are both white and red versions from various ‘no man’s land’ parcel all about the north).

The Viognier for this cuvée is sourced from vineyards planted in granite-infused soil in the village of Chavanay. The grapes are fermented with their natural yeasts and done in stainless steel to protect the wine’s freshness. It then sees 6 months in a combination of steel and neutral oak barrels to round out. The result is usually pretty engaging, but in 2018 they absolutely nailed it. Perfectly proportioned, this 14% alcohol white sits comfortably atop the right touch of uplifting acidity. Everything is fresh and expressive, with the subtly meshed peach, honeysuckle and mineral nose a perfect invitation to the peach, pear, spice and faintly honeyed palate.

Rich, yet at the same time light on its feet, it achieves just the right balance. This one could probably pass for Condrieu in most circles yet it can be had for a touch over $20, well under the usual $50-80 that most Condrieus, both great and small, command. How does it compare to the domestic versions one sees for this kind of price? It’s not even close. The harmony and expressiveness puts is in a league of its own. If you like Condrieu, buy this. If you like Viognier, buy this. If you want to know what Viognier is supposed to taste like, this will show you. A supremely pleasing effort.

It seems Yves had a fine season in 2018 overall, for the whites anyway. Everything we were presented showed uniformly tender up front, with bright, lifted fruit and freshness. While the Viognier is our go-to, his Collines Rhodannienes (‘outside the lines’) efforts with Marsanne and Roussanne were extremely successful as well.

So often, Roussanne can be kind of clumsy and oxidative. But the Cuilleron Roussanne Vin de Pays Collines Rhodannienes Les Vignes d’a Coté 2018 is none of that. To be honest, it was such a fresh, tender effort, we didn’t necessarily think Roussanne at first. What a pleasing effort this was, a mélange of citrus, pear and stone fruit with a wisp of earth and mineral to speak of its origins.

Their delightful Cuilleron Marsanne Vin de Pays Collines Rhodannienes Les Vignes d’a Coté 2018 presents yellow melon, pear, and yellow apple flavors punctuated with a bit of dusty minerality that plays only as a nuance to the fruit component. It’s rare to find Marsanne with this much personality and lift

If you want to step up to a ‘real’ Condrieu, Cuilleron’s Condrieu La Petite Cote 2018 is an ‘A-game’ performance for a rather modest buy-in for the genre, and demonstrates the expressive floral and honey notes admirably. Saint-Peray is an insiders’ appellation and not widely known but Cuilleron has a deft touch and his Les Potier 2018 is a blend of Marsanne and Roussanne that flashes layered pear fruit with a lot of nuance underneath. A charmer.

White northern Rhones aren’t necessarily the first whites people think of. But this lineup is so expressive it could do a lot to change all of that.

WHERE THERE’S A “WILL”…NEW FROM ANDREW WILL

We been following the Washington wine scene for a long time (we started selling Leonetti for example with the 1987 vintage) and have watched as a number of new labels (Quiceda Creek, Chaleur Estate, Cadence, L’Ecole #41, and the subject of today’s offering Andrew Will) were born and flourished. It wasn’t always easy, and it took a while for much of the wine world outside of Washington to pay attention.

Andrew Will has long been one of our favorites from the northwest and we have done a number of offers over the years, particularly with their Sorella bottling. Owner Chris Camarda was one of the early pioneers at the premium end, opening up shop way back in 1989 and then moving to Vachon Island, the winery’s current location, in 1994. They have always focused on terroir driven wines that expressed the vineyard (rather than a specific varietal) and have honed their craft over the decades. Chris was also pretty bold bottling non-varietal, vineyard-designated wines from a relatively new wine region back then. The whole ‘premium red wine’ thing, a la Opus, was still not widely accepted back then.

A recent tasting with Will Camarda (the ‘Will’ in Andrew Will, Andrew is his cousin) showed these guys are at the top of their game. In truth, however, as much as we have always loved what they do here, we probably haven’t been as active as we could have been because their outstanding vineyard bottlings were ‘priced accordingly’. We can’t blame them because the wines typically are worthy of the fare, impeccably produced with native yeasts and minimal intervention, well reviewed, and muy delicioso. But not everybody can swing at $50-80 wines which lead to more ‘measured’ opportunities from our marketing perspective. That, however, is part of what makes this offering very exciting.

Will returned to the vineyard full time in 2013, and is now winemaker and Sales Director, as well as the guy who might deliver their wine to stores and restaurants in Washington. It’s a family operation that produces about 5500 cases per year. Our aforementioned meeting with Will, besides showing off the ‘usual suspects’, also entailed things we had never seen before from Andrew Will…varietal bottings in black labels with lower prices and a value blend call ‘Involuntary Commitment’. Egads, what madness is this?! Well, as Will explained, they wanted to create bottlings at better price points that might find their way into more people’s hands and create more fans. Remarkably sensible.

To us, it is the perfect move. It’s a classic play on our theme of ‘little wines from top players’ which works in other parts of the world. Why not Washington? Our philosophy is that serious, committed producers have higher standards, and it will show in everything they do. That is definitely the case here. These new wines had the same dark chocolate and savory underpinnings, polished lines and honest, no-nonsense fruit impressions as the ‘big dogs’. The oak influence was understandably less, but it was clear the winery took them seriously.

The first wine we tasted in the lineup was the Involuntary Commitment 2018, a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc, 29.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 17.5% Merlot that spent 11 months in neutral barrels and was bottled unfiltered and unfined.

It made an immediate impression. So many times these days when we taste a value bottling, we pick up residual sugar and/or ‘doctoring’ notes. This tasted like…fine wine. Imagine that! Dark garnet color, elements in the nose of dark fruit, savory herbs, fresh tobacco (likely from the Cab Franc) and sweet earth, the fruit components spoke of cherry and red currant with evident notes of spice. Kind of Bordeaux-like in feel, but better made and with more personality than you will usually find at this kind of price.

Perhaps as telling was, when we finished the lineup with the high scoring Sorella bottling, we went back to retaste the Involuntary Commitment. It held its own. In the ‘blurb’ on the winery tech sheet we were presented it said, “We believe that with such great fruit coming out of our vineyards it would be shame not to spread the wealth.” Amen to that! Here’s a well priced wine you can have on a Wednesday and serve in a decanter on Sunday and it will play both roles. And at PRICE, you don’t have to take it seriously. But you can. A real surprise and striking value.

PINK WINE TIME: PART 2

Muga Rioja Rosado 2018 -This one just rolled in, making it a little late to the ‘party’ but the distinctive styling and lifted freshness make this a fine summer quaff and the pricing has made it a consistent favorite over the last few seasons. This is made as a rose (as opposed to being the result of a saignee or bleeding of red grapes) and the blend is 60% Garnacha,
30% Viura and 10% Tempranillo. The usage of the white Viura gives this rose some impressions of white stone fruits like white peach to go along with the more traditional berry flavors. Lifted, fresh, and very food-friendly, this is another value performer.

Terrebrune Bandol Rosé 2018 –As we spoke about the Pradeaux in part 1 of this rosé focused piece, we mentioned that the 2017 may have been our favorite of the lot for that vintage. In the 2018 lineup, this could well be the MVP (Most Valuable Pink). These folks have been doing great work for a while but the 2018 just seems to have a little bit more ‘pop’ and vigorous yet engaging fruit. As is the norm, Mourvedre (50%) is the star of this show with the other half of the wine is split roughly equally between Grenache and Cinsault. Half of the juice is saignee (bled from the red grapes) while the other half is made directly into rosé. Limestone and organic farming are key elements in this story, with this pink as the happy ending. Equal impressions of both berries and yellow stone fruits like peach and apricot, that cool, funky little twist is the Mourvedre speaking its piece, and there’s a nice touch of minerality to the finish.

La Mordoree Cotes du Rhone Rosé 2018-This family winery has been a Winex favorite for a long time and this is the entry-level bottling among 4-5 different rosés that can range up to $50. We like this one because it gives the Mordoree experience at the most attractive price, and this 2018 is the most engaging we have had in some time. Their pinks have a huge following and for good reason. This version is made up of 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 15% Cinsault, 10% Carignan, and 5% Mourvedre. In the glass the Grenache appears to be the lead singer, delivering a broad, juicy blast of decidedly red berry fruit. It’s rounder in the mouth than some but still maintains plenty of freshness and finishes with a touch of garrigue. Far too easy to drink and a strong choice for under $20.

Leoube Rosé Cotes De Provence 2018 –Our lineup of pinks changes every year based on our tastings, so it is important to note that Leoube has been on the roster five of the last six vintages since we first discovered it. Though it doesn’t make much of a point of it, the folks that bought the Chateau in 1997 made their money in organic groceries. Also the property is located next to one of the top sites for the famous Domaine Ott. As a matter of fact, Jean-Jacques Ott of Domaine Ott wanted to sell his property but still wanted to stay in the business. The new owners of Leoube just so happened to be looking for a winemaker at the exact same moment. So, Jean-Jacques and his son Romain head over to Leoube after selling their eponymous property to Roederer Champagne and boom, magic. Now, father and son Ott work the vineyards and make the wine at their next-door neighbor. A crisper and more delicate style with a pale salmon hue, it is mainly Grenache and Cinsault with bits of Syrah and Mourvedre. Light, dry, fresh, berries, apricot, and citrus, and a touch of salinity in the finish, it is quite civilized.

Nervi Conterno Il Rosato Piedmont 2018-You can make rose out of anything, as the market continues to prove. But not all of those efforts are compelling. But there are a few cases where a non-mainstream example shines brightly. We have seen rose of Nebbiolo before, but not very many and not very often. The way this one came out, there might be a lot more folks trying their hand at it, though hitting this mark will be no picnic. The grapes come from the Nervi estate in Gattinara that was acquired by the Giacomo Conterno estate, hand-harvested with the intent to make a pink wine, fermented in stainless steel and then exposed to the lies for four months. Made from 90% Nebbiolo and 10% Uva Rara, this has an inviting nose of melon, berry, wild herbs and that perfumy floral aspect that is Nebbiolo. Deceptively broad on the palate, with plenty of energy underneath, this delivers in an aperitif scenario but has enough substance to play with some meat and sausage dishes. A 91 score from vinous. A cool diversion in pinks.