2021

TASTY CABERNET BUY HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

One of the important things a wine merchant can do is show the way. A number of folks are constantly looking for delicious deals on Cabernet. But where do they have to look? At some chain operation that’s going to tell you that whatever they have is the best deal anywhere? At the wine media where by the time you get by all of the 92-point $200 boutique Cabernets your eyes are tired? It’s tough, we know. So it’s our due diligence to mention things that should be on every Cab drinkers radar so you can’t say we didn’t tell you. The Katherine Goldschmidt Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Stonemason Hill 2021, while a little long, is definitely a must.

Kiwi Nick Golgschmidt has been around for a long time and we have sent out a few email offers on some of his exceptional value bottlings. Starting back in 1991 as the assistant winemaker at then ‘big deal’ Simi winery, he has been and still is involved in projects all over the place (California, New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, and Spain). His own family brand is also a priority.

As the winery explains about this site, “Made in tandem by Nick and his middle daughter, Katherine, this very popular Cabernet Sauvignon has become a close family tradition over the years. The 2018 vintage marked a transition to an incredible new vineyard called Stonemason Hill. Located in Alexander Valley, this aptly-named site has large rocks leading up to a stone-walled terrace… This vineyard’s beautiful gravel loam soil with mature vines—many over thirty years old (rather rare in California thanks to phylloxera)—is ideally suited for the discerning tasters looking for an elegant drop with loads of personality and style.”

This has all of that personality with a pleasing core of black cherry, other dark fruits, and notes of spice, toffee, and a little underlying, balancing savory. It’s a straight forward, delicious mouthful of Cab with round, broad, honest fruit and pure Cabernet flavors. This is the wine all Cabernet fans should be looking for as it is everything you could ask and $21.98. How much delicious, honest Cabernet is out there for that kind of fare? Not much.

The Katherine Goldschmidt Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Stonemason Hill 202 is the answer to a lot of Cabernet questions. Yet if we don’t mention stuff like this, who will? Most of the high profile writers aren’t going to even bother with a wine like this, even though it is a personality filled, single-vineyard bottling. It’s not a ‘hot’ producer (though it’s an accomplished one), and Alexander Valley isn’t a glamor locale (except for maybe Silver Oak). If they do review it, it is upper 80s or low 90s at best because you have to save the big scores for the big boys. Now if you spend your time with a bunch of folks that have oil wells or tech companies, this might not have the cache for you. But if you like a really good bottle of Cabernet that doesn’t cost a fortune, this is that!

Here are a couple of reviews that tell the story. From James Suckling, “Coffee candies, black cherries, olives and blackberries. Quite rich and obvious, with a degree of sweetness in the full-bodied palate. Chewy, fine-grained structure. Flattering and easy to understand. Drink in 2023…90 points.”

And from Wne Enthusaist, “Tasty cocoa, blueberry and maple flavors ride a velvety texture of smooth tannins in this full-bodied, rich and lavishly oaked wine. Cedar, vanilla, clove and slight wood-char accents give it a spicy, soft allure…91 points.”

You don’t drink ‘cache’ or ‘numbers’ and this very likeable Cab, from an excellent vintage, hits all the notes for not a lot of money. That is the point.

CHABLIS TRIPLE PLAY FROM COLLET

It may appear to some that we write disproportionately about Chablis. Well, to be honest, we’ve long been fans of the region. But, perhaps more to the point, it has been increasingly difficult to find things to get excited about. First off, pricing in Burgundy overall has become even more expensive even to those of us that have been around it for quite some time. Add to that the dual effect of global warming, and the success rate seems to have been greatly reduced.

First off, these days, it seems they have some sort of weather disaster on a regular basis. There have been a few untimely frosts over the last few years that have decimated the size of the crop almost to the point where you wonder how these folks can make ends meet. Farming in Chablis these days would hardly be a proposition that would invite outside investment given the variability in the crop size.

Perhaps more consistently problematic is the increasingly warm growing seasons threaten the mojo of Chablis itself. As we have also said of Sancerre, the riper vintages and lower acidity presented by global warming make far to many examples from the region today taste fat and flabby, definitely not the crisp, flinty profile that makes Chablis, well, Chablis. So when we do run across something that gives us a wine that is crisp, linear, vibrant, truly terroir driven and packed with nuances of the marine soils that define the region, these days that is newsworthy.

Within that context, 2021 was a cooler, closer to normal (from a weather standpoint anyway) vintage for fans of traditional Chablis. The producer in this case was Jean Collet, a domaine we have featured a few times of late because they are, unlike a lot of other sources in the region, are still making Chablis that tastes like Chablis, really good Chablis as a matter of fact.

The aromas all centered on the happy scents of crisp apples, ripe limes, and seashells, with a fine underpinning of acidity to support a fruit component that was giving but with the proper amount of tension. In other words, delicious Chablis bottlings that were well made, terroir driven examples of what they were supposed to be. We tasted four and bought three because each one was such a spot-on, focused expression of their distinct Crus. Thrillingly ‘real’ Chablis…tasting notes from Burghound and quite good scores for him.

Domaine Jean Collet Chablis Les Forêts 2021 (90-93 ♥)-“A slightly riper nose features nose of white peach, sea breeze, citrus confit and quinine. There is again fine volume and intensity to the relatively powerful, even muscular, medium-weight flavors that flash ample minerality on the youthfully austere, balanced and more complex finale.”

Domaine Jean Collet Chablis Montmains 2021 (90-92)-“A much more floral nose expresses nuances of citrus confit and spice if more moderate amounts of Chablis character. There is however both better volume and refinement to the medium-bodied flavors that offer a lovely minerality on the lingering, balanced and delicious finale. If this can add depth with a few years in bottle it could be excellent.”

Jean Collet et Fils Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre 2021 (90-93 ♥)-“Discreet but still noticeable wood easily allows the elegant floral-suffused aromas of mineral reduction, lemon rind and sea breeze. The racy, wonderfully refined and beautifully detailed flavors exude a bracing minerality on the youthfully austere and impressively long finale. This too needs more depth but appears to have the necessary stuffing to develop it.”

ANTHONY THEVENET MORGON LES CLOS 2021

The name is familiar. There are lots of folks named Thevenet in southern Burgundy. But they are typically white wine producers. Associating the name Thevenet with Beaujolais is, however, something fairly new for most folks. The domaine itself has only been around since 2013, and Anthony Thevenet has had to learn on the fly given the wide variations in vintages since the domaine’s inception.

Anthony is a member of Beaujolais new wave of young, passionate vignerons that hold as ideal the purity and legacy in Cru Beaujolais. In 2010, Thévenet inherited his grandfather’s vineyard in Villié-Morgon, with vines ranging from 40-150 years old. That same year he began working alongside Beaujolais icons Jean Foillard and George Descombes in the field and in the cellar. He honed his skills with these established producers and, based on this wine, he learned well. The vintage 2021 was no slam dunk but this is a gem by any standard.

All the wines are vinified with a carbonic maceration without any sulfur added until just before bottling, and they ferment at temperatures no lower than 16°C. There are no added yeasts, and the fermentations are done in a gentle, infusion style, and can last between eight to thirty days, with the latter rarer and only employed for the top wines. There is no fining or filtration, and the total sulfite levels are under 15mg/L (15ppm…extremely low). The purity and clarity of each wine’s terroir expression is due to Thevenet’s ultra-low sulfite content and his undivided attention to detail.

This is the first bottling of this cuvee, Anthony Thevenet Morgon Le Clos 2021, is from 20-year-old vines situated in granitic bedrock and sand. Even though it is done with carbonic, it has none of the cursory, simple fruitiness of a lot of commercial Beaujolais. It is, instead, more in the Burgundian, ‘old school’ style of mentor Foillard, but with a more focused style. There is weight and richness, complex aromatics, and a refined palate authority. Rather than blend it into other Morgon bottlings, Thevenet felt this cuvee made its own statement. There’s an abundance of red fruits (cherry, plum, mulberry) with subtle underpinnings of mineral as you expect from such a site, and an augmenting savory backbone. Precise and delicious, this is one of those wines that performs well above most people’s perception of its appellation.

Apparently Neal martin of Vinous, one of the few to deliver early words on the 2021s, was also in our camp,” The 2021 Morgon le Clos is the maiden release from vines just in front of the winery on soils of clay with a little sand. it undergoes a 10-day maceration. This is sprightly on the nose with rose petal infused transparent red fruit. Very elegant. The palate is medium-bodied with a life affirming mineral-driven entry. Vivid and refined with a precise tart finish that is simply one of the best you will come across in this vintage. Brilliant… 94 points.”

ANOTHER RISING STAR IN CHABLIS

We’ll start with what is essentially the importer’s notes. Sebastien Christophe is a budding superstar from Chablis but is the ultimate underdog. While known for its stolid rigidity, France’s wine culture still allows for a lot of mobility. That’s how a young kid gifted just a couple of acres of average vineyard land in Chablis could rise up seemingly out of nowhere to make brilliant wine from the three most heralded Premier Crus in the region. That happened because he was also gifted with a good bit of moxie and a cranking work ethic, which will you get far anywhere.

What makes Sebastien’s wines so great? Well, as is the case in Chablis, it’s not the winemaking, which is pretty standard for the region, as the goal here is never to showcase cellar prowess, but rather the nature of the vineyard itself. Sebastien vinifies and ages wine overwhelmingly in stainless steel, as is the general practice of the region. Less than 10% of the wines see cellar aging in neutral oak barrels, providing a little textural and structural contrast to the bristly energy of stainless steel.
He started with a small half hectare parcel of Petit Chablis from his family and made a run for it. After winemaking school he started to vinify this tiny parcel and has slowly acquired small parcels of village vineyards and a lot of Petit Chablis land. He also rents parcels that he farms entirely himself. Today, he has three premier crus on the right bank of the Serein river, Fourchaume, Mont de Milieu and Montée de Tonnerre. Except for the wines designated for Paris hotspots, almost all of his wines are exported.

Chablis itself is a place that is changing. Obviously the soils and exposures remain the same. But the warming climate and consequential erratic weather have had impact. There have been unpredictable frosts that have devastated some harvest. Plus the heat can have a negative effect on acidity. But there are some plusses. You don’t get searing acidity as much these days. The problem is actually maintaining adequate acidity to support the fruit and keep the mineral laced, brisk backbone that is an important part of the region’s identity. The best winemakers like Sebastien know what to do, and Mont de Milieu is a vineyard has many faces stylistically depending on the producer, but is a perfect ‘centrist’ for today’s Chablis.

The grapes are picked by hand, pressed, settled in tank overnight, then racked off the heavy sediments after one day before beginning its low temperature fermentation. The spontaneous wild yeast fermentation lasts between 1-2 months and takes place in stainless steel (80%) and the remainder in 228-liter oak barrels (new, 1-, 2- and 3-year-old, the total new wood is approximately 7%). Battonage (lees stirring) is sometimes made, but only in the steel tanks and the frequency depends on the vintage—warm years nothing and in colder ones no more than two times.

This Christophe Chablis Mont de Milieu 2021 shows the perfect combination of the more tender fruit of these warmer times but with perfectly proportioned minerality and acidity to stay true to its origins. Apple, apricot, and lime alongside chalky minerality and some salinity, it is clean and insistent but with just the right volume. It is for Chablis drinkers to enjoy and not designed to overpower. In other words, perfectly engaging. None of the media has caught up to this vintage as yet (many are several vintages behind with this producer) so there is nothing else to add to our own enthusiastic recommendation. Well priced for the performance and pedigree.

A PLAYFUL VALUE NAPA CAB FROM A MULTI-100 PT. WINEMAKER

Our intent here is to talk about an excellent value with respect to Napa Cabernet. Bear in mind that, given the typical price of Napa Cab, you can make a pretty good case for the $60-70 range as a legitimate value given that most Cabernets of this quality start above $90 and go up from there. The Teeter Totter label has behind it winemaker/owner Benoit Touquette who worked alongside Andy Erickson on iconic labels like Arietta, Favia, Hartwell, Ovid, and Screaming Eagle, as well as Chateau La Louviere and Chateau Couhins-Lurton in his native Bordeaux, and is currently the winemaker for Napa super-boutique Realm. The guy knows what good wine is supposed to taste like (he has made, thus far, 28 wines that have received 100 point scores) and that is an important perspective with any project. His name gives Teeter Totter gravitas and credibility, even though the label is quite playful.

Teeter-Totter is Benoit’s affordable Cabernet (again, by Napa standards…most of what Benoit makes has three-digit prices) but clearly the grape sourcing and winemaking speak of a higher plane. The blend for the Teeter Totter Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 is a little quirky, in this case 85% Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 5% Zinfandel, 5% Charbono and 5% Petite Sirah. You get the power and elegance of classic Napa Cab but with a somewhat boisterous fruit note courtesy of the ‘other’ varietals in this blend.

Suave, chocolaty, with abundant creamy cassis and plum fruit with notes of tobacco and cedar, this has been a 92-and-up consistently itself (94 for the 2019) through the 2019 vintage from Jeb Dunnuck, The 2021 (like many Napa producers, they didn’t make a 2020 version) reflects another excellent vintage in Napa that is more elegant but still with abundant sleek fruit. Put this in your ‘white tablecloth’ scenario and no one would guess you paid a mere $64.98.

PORTUGAL TODAY

Portugal has a curious history in the U.S.. In the early 70’s, Portuguese roses were all the rage. There have been brief periods where certain labels achieved a finite standing in the marketplace, but the category for whatever reason hasn’t really kept any kind of momentum. Often tasty and well-priced, if at times rough and tumble, we rarely (never?) have anyone come in and ask where our Portuguese wine section is. Sure we have done things extensive things with dry Duoro reds and have a fairly consistent audiences for good vinho verdes. But typically, like we said, the category only gets occasional attention.

As in all of the significant wine growing areas in Europe, however, fresh ideas are emerging that may give Portuguese wines an identity in the broader market. Mateus Nicolau de Almeida might be the one to light the torch for the category. First of all, they go out of their way to be authentic, emph.asizing indigenous varietals grown organically (certified) in specific subregions. The intent is to create wines that reflect the character of their specific subregions. To make a generalization, they all have in common a great purity of fruit, little in the way of the hand of the ‘winemaker’ to distract from the expression of the fruit, and a common denominator of a bright, fruit-driven, juicy demeanor and drinkability.

Mateus and wife Teresa come from technical backgrounds but have dove into country life with a passion. They raise their own crops and livestock, make full-flavored vinegars in one shed on the property, make olive oil and gin-like distillates. They also speak four languages. Their stated concept for their wines is that they want them to express the unique characteristics of the area from which they are sourced “even if your are drinking them on Venice Beach.”

Mateus’ father and grandfather were winemaking legends in their own right and they are connected by blood to the family that own Porto house Ramos Pinto. Clearly, the wine life was a calling and he was ambitious in learning the arts from experience in several wine producing regions and, more specifically at places like Domaine Trevallon in the south of France and Josmeyer in Alsace. Mateus met Teresa, whose father had worked at La Rioja Alta, at Chateau Cantenac Brown. This project is Duoro-specific, highlighting sub-regions within the appellation.

They chose to call the wines MNA (for Mateus Nicolau de Almeida) Trans-Duoro-Express Baixo Corgo Tinto 2021 and MNA Trans-Duoro-Express Duoro Superior 2021, put them in distinctive bottles that would be more associated with Alsace or Germany, with a very official looking seal/stamp over the cork and a fish on the label. All the wines are made the same way, destemmed, fermented and held in 4000L concrete vats for eight months with low sulphite levels. While the climate of the three subzones (we bought two of the three) is distinctly different, the soils share a commonality of shist bedrock with varying degrees of clay and sand in the loam topsoils.

The grapes are primarily from estate and rented vineyards with a small portion purchased. The main grape varieties are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Roriz, though many of the vineyards will contain a number of other varietals mixed into the field blend. There are typically ten different varietals in the blend.

The MNA Trans-Duoro-Express Baixo Corgo Tinto 2021 is from the coolest, furthest west of the three subzones. What the winery does is take the best aspect of Portuguese reds, a juicy, expressive, but light on its feet, and elevate the experience with clean winemaking and purity of fruit. The terroir shines through. The Baixo is a crisper red with an inviting nose of mulberry and red currant and a tonic like minerality. The red fruit profile comes through on the palate with fleck of the aforementioned minerality and spice notes kicking in on the finish. Medium weight and imminently quaffable, it can play casual but has the nuance reward more focused contemplation. The alcohol is a modest 12%. Only 7000 bottles produced.

The MNA Trans-Duoro-Express Duoro Superior 2021 comes from the furthest east of the subzones abutting Spain. The difference in rainfall alone is significant, with the Douro Superior getting less than one-third of the rain of Baixo. It’s a little warmer here and this one comes across a little bit weightier and more open-knit, with the fruit component a bit darker and more fleshy than the Baixo and the mineral component a bit more ‘scorched earth’ than rock. It has that same bright, quaffable demeanor that is the style of the house, and the same modest alcohols (12%).

These are kind of ‘party reds’, fresh, fruit driven, vibrant and easy to drink. They can play solo but have the versatility to play with a wide range of dishes from poultry to fish to finger foods, but with enough backbone to stand up to grilled meats, a classic plate of cured meats or linguisa. You can throw a little chill on them when the weather gets a little warmer. Like we said, this takes that juicy demeanor that we associate with Portuguese reds and elevates the experience through cleaner, more precise and terroir focused winemaking. They didn’t reinvent the wheel, they just a great job of taking the definitive Portugal ‘style’ to a higher level by “being what they are…better.”

AN EARLY LOOK AT 2021 BURGUNDY WITH GERARD RAPHET

This wine represents a couple of things. It is the newest release from Gerard Raphet, highly respected vigneron based in Morey-Saint-Denis who produces from a variety of parcels in the Cotes de Nuits (Morey, Gevrey, and Vougeot). It is also a good indication of what expect from 2021. Somebody like Raphet is a good touchstone for the vintage. He has been a consistent source of engaging Burgundy for a long time and his style is supple, gentle and quite user friendly. If there is something to work with, it will show.

The 2021 vintage in Burgundy was not easy. You had to know your business. There were weather patterns early on that made this something of a vintage of perils from heat that caused the vines to sprout early and then a late frost that undid everything. Yields were greatly curtailed but what remained was good enough for those that knew how to farm and when to harvest. There’s the rub. If you want a blanket statement about the vintage, there isn’t one that is going to be accurate because there were so many bumps in the road and not everyone has the same skills.

We have access to reports describing the whole season, but in the end it’s all about what ends up in the glass. The constants are consistent quirks in the weather and dismal yields because of the early season freeze. As Frederic Mugnier is quoted as saying, “I like it when it’s difficult. It’s like the good old days…” The crazy weather tested the talents of the vintners. But there were many successes from proven performers, the difference being they were the firmer, more delicate profiles of the ‘days of old’ than the opulent examples post global warming. If you have been into Burgundy for a long time, this will be nostalgic and you’ll be right at home.

The Gerard Raphet Bourgogne Grands Champs 2021 comes from a lieu-dit that abuts villages Gevrey vineyards on three sides. It looks on a map like there was some gerrymandering around the vineyard. The vines here are 40+ years old and the soils are red clay and silt. The grapes were hand harvested and fermented via indigenous yeasts. They spent 18 months in older barrels and were bottled unfiltered and unfined.

The nose is an expressive mix of high-toned red fruits accented with some dusty minerality and emerging spice tones. There is weight and ripeness in the mouth in the form of expressive red fruits and deceptive nuance. It is decidedly and delightfully Old World with its lift and delineation and, while it isn’t necessarily going to last decades, it is a classy, elegant, more complex choice for a Pinot Noir in this price range.

YET ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE EFFORT FROM A THEVENET

The name Thevenet is pretty common in Burgundy, including the proprietors of a couple of our favorites from the Maconnais in Domaine de la Bongran and Emilian Gillet, and a Beaujolais producer of some repute (Jean-Paul Thevenet) as well as rising star Anthony. It’s hard to keep track of all the Thevenets without a program. Today’s subject is one we have sold only one other time (a sparkling wine) and, for whatever reason, gets little attention from the press (we did find a couple of WIne Advocate reviews…from the mid-90s. But the Thévenet & Fils Saint Véran Clos de l’Ermitage Saint Claude Vieilles Vignes 2021 was such an impressive effort at such an attractive fare, it merited adding yet another Thevenet to the mix.

Asto the estate, Jean-Claude Thevenet took the reins for this family domaine in 1971 from his father, Raymond. At the time, their holdings were a mere three 3 hectares. Jean Claude proceeded to build the domaine to its current size of 30 hectares with vineyards centered on their village of Pierreclos at the heart of the Maconnais. In addition to working their own vineyards, the Thévenet family, for three generations, has also conducted a successful nursery business producing fine quality grape vines for many family-owned domaines in Burgundy and also in the Champagne district. Now his three sons (Benjamin, Jonathan and Aurélien) are part of the team.

This prestige cuvée is produced from the oldest vines in a five-hectare parcel (Clos de l’Ermitage Saint Claude ) exploited entirely as a “monopole”by the Thevenet family. The average age of the south-facing Chardonnay vines located in Prissé are seventy years old, certainly validating the nomenclature vieilles vignes. The production of this cuvee is rather limited at roughly 1000 cases per year, and it sees no oak aging.

This is an unexpectedly broad-shouldered Chardonnay particularly given its origins. Sizeable, well packed, with a firm backbone of fine acidity and big fruit to match. Pear and citrus are the main themes with floral elements to the nose and a sleek underpinning of acidity. Impressive, particularly for the fare.