Author: JB

Deep-Rooted Presence in Nuits-Saint-Georges

Today’s Story: Domaine Henri Gouges

Though the Gouges family has deep-rooted history in grape farming going back 400 years, Henri Gouges didn’t form his domaine until 1920. When he no longer liked the idea of selling his fruit to négociants, Henri started producing, bottling, and selling his own wine in an effort to make higher quality wines. By 1933 this transition was fully complete and the domaine existed in similar fashion to its current status. A family endeavor throughout its history, Domaine Henri Gouges passed from Henri to his sons Marcel and Michel, then to Pierre and Christian, and finally to cousins Gregory and Antoine Gouges who manage the domaine today.

Undivided since its founding as a domaine, Henri Gouges today sits at roughly 36 acres of vineyards. Several of their holdings include Nuits St. Georges 1er Crus, though Henri Gouges does produce village wines as well. Though the winery and vineyards have been updated over time (including the use of organic viticulture and transition to a gravity flow winery), the domaine’s goal is to produce wines that truly represent and express the terroir. The harvest is carefully inspected and all fruit is completely destemmed, while vinification occurs in lined cement vats for approximately 15 days depending on wine and vintage. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred to small oak barrels (typically 25% new) and each is fined with egg whites before light filtration and into the bottle.

Today’s Wine: 2012 Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

Pale to medium ruby in color and moderately transparent. Though visiting family for the holidays without my Zalto Burgundy glasses, the nose on this is still expressive with notes of black cherry, black and blue fruit, strawberry, forest floor, tobacco, tar, red and purple florals, and pepper. Once in the mouth, I get flavors of black plum, cherry, cranberry, cola, damp soil, licorice, clove, and slight green vegetation (though not a fault). This wine is medium-bodied with high acidity, medium tannins, and a medium (+) length finish.

Price: $160. Henri Gouges makes some great Burgundy for the price, and I’d suggest giving the wines a shot. While not necessarily easy to find, your local wine store with a good Burgundy selection should have some Henri Gouges. Pair this with lean beef, grilled or roast pork, or game birds.

Profound (Yet Elegant) Burgundy

Today’s Story: Domaine G. Roumier

Domaine Georges Roumier originated in 1924, however most of their production at that time sold to wine merchants. This changed though, in 1945, when Georges Roumier started bottling wine at the domaine. I’m thankful Roumier made this change, as I’m sure many throughout the wine world are, because the reputation of this domaine has soared higher and Roumier sits as one of the upper-echelon producers in Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis, and Corton-Charlemagne.

Christophe Roumier and his father Jean-Marie became partners in 1981 to manage the domaine, which as it currently stands covers 11.52 hectares in some of Burgundy’s premier appellations. Christophe has been instrumental in the continued rise of Roumier’s wines, immeasurably due to his very strict and dedicated care for the vines and winemaking process. Christophe produces 11 different bottlings ranging from the village level to Grand Cru, each wine made with this same rigor to produce high-quality, luxurious, profound, and always delicious wines.

All of Roumier’s fruit is hand-harvested and sorted, the village wines are typically made with destemmed fruit (the rest of the wines vary), punchdowns occur during fermentation, all yeasts are natural, and minimal new oak is used for aging (Christophe says he never goes above 30%). I’d love to dive deeper into the farming and winemaking practices, but I believe this Decanter article does an incredible job and suggest you read it if you’re interested in learning more.

Today’s Wine: 2014 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos de la Bussière

100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV

This wine is medium ruby in color and is fairly transparent. I recommend decanting the wine due to its youth, and once the wine opens up I get aromas of cherry, cranberry, asphalt, smoke, charred green herbs, red florals, crushed rock, and forest floor. Once in the mouth, this showcases notes of black cherry, cranberry, redcurrant, red licorice, sous bois, tobacco, green underbrush, and black tar. The 2014 Clos de la Bussière is medium-bodied with high acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish. A gorgeous wine now with some air, though I’d cellar this for another 10 years and it’ll last for decades beyond that.

Price: $200. It might be seen as tough calling a bottle of this price great value, but Roumier produces exquisite wines that are relative value to many estates whose prices have exploded the last several years. Roumier consistently makes some of my favorite wines ranging from entry-level to the absurd (their Musigny Grand Cru of this vintage goes for $13,000+ per bottle). Pair this with beef, lamb, or chicken.

Decidedly Opulent Pauillac

Today’s Story: Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Another easy one today so I can get off to my Thanksgiving festivities here in the US (and hopefully a short read if you celebrate too). I wrote about Pichon Lalande back on October 28 in my post Bordeaux Battle, which I’d suggest checking out for a 1986 vintage comparison to Leoville Las Cases.

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a Second Growth (Deuxième Cru) estate based on the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Pichon Lalande is considered by many to be a classic example of Pauillac, known for its deep, concentrated layers of ripe fruit accompanied by notes of cassis, tobacco, and earth. For more, check out my prior post!

Today’s Wine: 2003 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot; 13% ABV

The 2003 Pichon Lalande is deep purple/ruby in color and moderately opaque. This certainly needed a decant, though the wine came right out of the bottle singing. Once this opened up and warmed from cellar temperature, the wine offered aromas of plum, blackcurrant, slight barnyard, forest floor, cigar box, pencil shavings, rosemary, truffle, and a hint of oak. On the palate this showcases notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, pomegranate, graphite, smokey earth, tobacco, dried underbrush, and limestone. Full-bodied and powerful, this wine has high acidity and velvety medium (+) tannins into a long, lingering finish. Overall this is very ripe and opulent, and probably one of my favorite Pichon Lalande bottlings to date. Though drinking magnificently now, I’d cellar this another 10 years and it’ll live on even decades beyond that.

Price: $180. Though not an inexpensive bottle of wine, Pichon Lalande offers incredible value next to the First Growths and is a wonderful representation of Pauillac. Give this wine a try and you will not go wrong. Pair this with veal, pork, steak, or red game meats (and any mushroom/truffle sauce is a plus).

Killer Single Vineyard Barolo

Today’s Story: Oddero

After my lengthy post on Cos d’Estournel two days ago and yesterday’s fresh Frank Cornelissen, I have an easy post today on Oddero since I wrote about their history in King of Wines on October 11. Long story short, Oddero is one of the great historic wineries producing Barolo and Barbaresco and they date back to the 18th century. Considered a traditionalist producer, Oddero releases some of my favorite wines.

Without further ado…

Today’s Wine: 2012 Barolo Riserva Bussia Vigna Mondoca

100% Nebbiolo; 15% ABV

This wine comes from the Mondoca vineyard, an estate vineyard of Oddero, located in Monforte d’Alba within the menzione geografica Bussia. The vineyard exemplifies some of the most difficult conditions in Piedmont, including dusty white soil poor in nutrients and the highest temperatures for any vineyard in the Barolo area.

The 2012 Riserva is bright ruby red in color and fairly transparent. Once this opens up, the nose showcases aromas of cherry, raspberry, licorice, red rose petal, tobacco leaf, tar, white pepper, and a hint of cinnamon. In the mouth, this classic Barolo shows notes of black cherry, dried cranberry, cola, underbrush, dusty dried earth, tobacco, mild chocolate, and sandstone. The wine is medium- to full-bodied with high acidity, medium (+) tannins, and a long finish. Plenty of gas left in the tank with this bottling, as I’d suggest letting it age another 7-10 years.

Price: $115. Great value for high-quality traditional Barolo. Overshadowed by the 2010 and 2013 vintages in Piedmont, I’ve realized lately there are some great values in 2012 which is still a solid vintage. Pair this with game birds, pork, or even steak.

Wonderful Etna Rosso

Today’s Story: Frank Cornelissen

Frank Cornelissen established his winery on Mount Etna in 2001 with vineyards located on the Northern Valley of the active volcano. While the winery is relatively new, Etna was still largely undiscovered as a wine region at that time. The estate currently encompasses 24 hectares, 13 being old vines in the alberello training system, 9 being old vines in modern rows, and 2 being olive orchards. To me, this is remarkable because Frank produced his first wine in 2001 with only 0.40 hectares of vines.

Viewing himself as a steward of the land, Frank adopted a farming philosophy that natural interactions in the vineyards are complex and we should allow the earth to steer farming of grapes rather than laying a heavy hand. To this end, Frank seeks to avoid all treatments on the land such as chemical or pesticide use. The farming is organic (certified in 2010), while some practices of homeopathic or biodynamic farming are also used. Buckwheat is added to soils low in organic material instead of industrial compost, soil-tilling is avoided as much as possible, and local fruits are interplanted in the vineyards to foster bee colonies. Nonetheless, Frank will use treatments such as copper sulphate and sulphur if he absolutely must to keep the vines from dying (this occurred in 2013 and 2015, both very tough vintages).

Today’s Wine: 2016 Munjebel PA

100% Nerello Mascalese; 15% ABV

The Munjebel PA is produced from the Porcaria cru in the contrada Feudo di Mezzo. Situated at 640m above sea level, the vineyard is challenging to farm and harvest though the average age of the vines is 60+ years. This wine is made with destemmed fruit that is lightly crushed, and fermentation is accomplished using only indigenous yeasts. The wine sees skin contact for 60 days during fermentation, is aged in neutral epoxy tanks, and is unfined but filtered before bottling with cartridges of 5 micron. They add as little sulfur as possible, typically ranging from 5-30 mg/l.

The 2016 is pale to medium ruby in color and fairly transparent. This benefits from a little decanting, and I’d suggest serving it in an aroma collector glass such as a Zalto Burgundy. Once this opens up, the nose offers aromas of ripe raspberry, strawberry, red rose, green herbs, tar, smoke, and volcanic soil. In the mouth, the wine showcases flavors of strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, green cooking herbs, scorched earth, and mineral. There is also a prominent rocky component to the wine as well. This is light-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium tannins, and a medium length finish. Roughly 166 cases produced.

Price: $65. Etna wines are starting to jump in price (and justifiably so). While this bottle is on the pricier end, I’d suggest trying some of Frank Cornelissen’s other bottlings to gain exposure to the magnificent wines being produced there. You can typically find the standard Munjebel Rosso for $40 or less. Pair this with meatballs, steak, pork, or tuna.

Timeless Passion in Saint-Estèphe

Today’s Story: Cos d’Estournel

Cos d’Estournel is a historic winery located in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of Bordeaux. The estate is also one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) noted in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. Its founder, Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, inherited Cos in 1791 and became immediately convinced that the hill of Cos consisted of exceptional terroir. Without wasting any time, d’Estournel started purchasing neighboring vineyard land to expand his estate from 14 hectares to 45 and implemented many innovative processes to produce magnificent wines. In 1810, the estate received its current name of Cos d’Estournel.

Louis Gaspard d’Estournel was a nonconformist when it came to his vineyards and marketing his wine. For instance, he would typically travel broadly to faraway and unknown places with his wines to introduce them to the world. He even used to sign every bottle by hand to portray not only his dedication but his belief that his wines were some of the best in the world. Interestingly, any wine he didn’t sell while traveling would come back to the estate to be opened and tasted, with these bottles labeled “R” for “Retour des Indes” or “Returned from India.”

Though ownership changed multiple times over the years, the current steward of the estate shares a similar drive for innovation and dedication to d’Estournel. Michel Reybier purchased Cos d’Estournel in 2000 and I believe (based on some of his commentary) this decision was largely due to the emotional attachment he felt to the history and physical presence of the estate. Much like d’Estournel, Michel’s passion for Cos is extreme and he is incredibly active year-round at the estate and in its business dealings. Further, Michel seeks to strike a balance between innovation and tradition, many times in nonconformist manners yet again. Under his ownership, the estate invested dramatically in a complete overhaul of the winery and château by introducing state-of-the-art facilities and equipment while transitioning to a gravity flow winery. The wine I am reviewing today is the first vintage (2008) produced in the brand new winery.

Geography and production facts: Cos d’Estournel today consists of 100 hectares, though vineyard land accounts for only 70 hectares. The vineyards are broken into 30 parcels with 60% planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% to Merlot with small areas of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Annual production is typically about 32,000 cases.

Fun fact: Cos d’Estournel’s neighbor just to the south is the famous Château Lafite Rothschild, one of the original First Growths. Lafite, of course, is in the Pauillac appellation.

Today’s Wine: 2008 Cos d’Estournel

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc; 13.8% ABV

I’ve enjoyed several vintages of Cos d’Estournel over the years, each of them being delightful, though this is my first time trying the 2008. Cos typically blends with more Merlot, so this vintage is interesting particularly due to its high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is deep, opaque ruby in color. I let this decant because it is still quite young and certainly needed time to open up. The nose showcases aromas of black plum, blackcurrant, black cherry, graphite, pencil shaving, tobacco, black pepper, and a hint of vanilla. Once in the mouth, I get notes of blackberry, plum, granite, iron, green herbs, smoke, sweet tobacco, and oak. This Cos is full-bodied with high acidity, high yet still refined tannins, and a long finish. An interesting note is that this is the first vintage produced in the new winery facilities at Cos.

Price: $160. Compared to First Growths I think Cos consistently delivers great value if you’re looking at Bordeaux. Definitely give this one a try if you haven’t already. Pair this with steak, a burger, or an assortment of charcuterie and cheeses.

Tear-Jerking Syrah

Today’s Story: Thierry Allemand

Founded in 1982, Thierry Allemand’s winery originated as one member of a small bastion of producers in Cornas who sought to revitalize what was the “red-headed stepchild” of Northern Rhône. Though the wines of Cornas were once adored, the terraced vineyards fell into great disrepair during the early 20th century and many large négociants churned out harsh wines with heavy tannins that drove consumers away. During the 1980s, Thierry Allemand worked for Domaine Robert Michel when he started assembling (and more so rescuing) abandoned vineyards that needed clearing and restructuring of terraced walls. The process of building his own domaine took 15 years and he utilized many things he learned at Domaine Robert Michel (including terrace farming and noninterventionist winemaking) during construction and onward.

Allemand’s vineyards total less than 5 hectares and his annual production is about 650 cases of wine. While all fruit is farmed organically, Allemand takes this a step further and does everything by hand (not even a tractor is used in the vineyards). All of his wines are fermented in stainless steel and open-top wood vats, stems are left on cluster, punch-downs are by foot, and each wine is vinified separately. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, while very little (and sometimes none at all) sulfur is added. Allemand produces the “Les Chaillots” from vines 5-40 years old in limestone and granite, as well as the “Reynard” with vines 34-90 years old in decomposed granite.

Today’s Wine: 2011 Cornas Reynard Vineyard

100% Syrah; 13.5% ABV

My first (and long overdue) bottle of Allemand and I must say I am incredibly impressed. The wine is medium to deep ruby in color and we let this decant due to its young age. Once the wine opens up, the nose showcases aromas of plum, black cherry, blueberry, crunchy cranberry, smoked red meat, fresh leather, purple florals, black peppercorn, cedar, and mint. Right out of the bottle, the nose showed aromas of barnyard and forest floor that mostly blew off after decanting. In the mouth this beauty shows notes of blackberry, blueberry, violet, damp loamy soil, cigar box, slate, crushed stone, and spicy minerality. Medium- to full-bodied with high acidity and dusty medium (+) tannins, this incredible Syrah finishes long with dominating notes of black fruit, crushed rock, and spicy pepper.

Price: $300. Not an everyday wine, though great for a celebration or nice dinner (I drank this at Spago Beverly Hills). Pair this with beef (like Spago’s Snake River Farms Wagyu), duck, pheasant, or even roast chicken and rabbit (like my fellow diners).

A Vanguard on Howell Mountain

Today’s Story: CADE Estate Winery

CADE, the brainchild of Gavin Newsom (governor of California), Gordon Getty (son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty), and John Conover, blossomed into reality in 2005 with the trio’s need to expand upon PlumpJack, their winery in Oakville. The winery encompasses 54 acres at an elevation of 1,800 feet on Howell Mountain and took roughly four years to complete, with arguably its crowning achievement being that it is the first LEED Gold certified winery in Napa Valley. Two years of planning went into the winery before construction started in 2007, though many of the changes originated in the vineyards where the team converted to organic farming. Like many wineries nowadays, the organic farming approach came about at CADE as a desire to protect the land while growing fruit free from harsh chemicals in an effort to produce higher-quality, truer wines.

The architecture of the winery demands particular attention, as it is quite modern and is a stark contrast to the surrounding views, vineyards, and forests. Made largely of concrete, recycled steel, and glass (and no wood), the winery displays captivating variation between both gentle lines and aggressive rectangular angles. Sticking to their goal of attaining LEED Gold certification, the team utilized recycled products (including blue jeans) for insulation in the tasting room and situated solar panels on the roof to provide electricity. Both the fermentation room and caves are naturally insulated to help reduce production materials and environmental impact. Definitely check out pictures of the winery here on their website.

Fun fact: The CADE name is a tribute to Shakespeare, who referred to wine casks shipped from Bordeaux to England as “cades.”

Today’s Wine: 2009 Napa Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot; 15.2% ABV

The 2009 Napa Cuvée is deep purple/ruby in color and almost entirely opaque. I let this decant for about 30 minutes, however the wine seemed to blossom right out of the gates. The nose showcases aromas of blackberry, blueberry, mixed wild red berries, cigar box, graphite, black pepper, chocolate, and oak. This does still show a little heat on the nose as well, but it does blow off. Once in the mouth, the wine displays notes of black plum, blackcurrant, crushed blueberry, tobacco, damp rocky soil, ground green herbs, mocha, and a hint of vanilla. This is full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium dusty tannins, and a long finish.

Price: $70. This is a good price-point, as I think the complexity this wine shows helps make it a fairly solid value play (especially next to their Howell Mountain bottling). Pair this with steak or a good burger.

My Favorite Riesling Thus Far

Today’s Story: Bioweingut Johannes Zillinger

Bioweingut Johannes Zillinger is a roughly 350 year old winery located in Niederösterreich, Austria. Though Johannes took over the winery in 2013 from his father Hans, he started learning about winemaking at a very young age and grew an early appreciation for organic winemaking. Somewhat of a pioneer in Austrian winemaking, Hans turned organic in 1983 and this helped lay the foundation of Johannes’ view of the vineyards as a habitat that should not be “poisoned” with chemicals. In 2013, Johannes also turned to biodynamic farming which is much more strict than organic farming. For instance, all of his wines are spontaneously fermented, lightly filtered or unfiltered, and little or no sulfur is added only at bottling if needed.

Johannes Zillinger produces a broad range of natural wines, with annual production numbers coming in right around 100,000 bottles. With vineyards covering 18 hectares, Johannes makes everything from Cabernet Sauvignon to Riesling to Zweigelt with several blends and NV bottlings in between.

Today’s Wine: 2017 Numen Riesling

100% Riesling; 13% ABV

This Riesling, like all of Johannes’ wines, is spontaneously fermented. Further, the Numen Riesling is unfined, unfiltered, and there are no added sulfites. Though many people seem to be unfamiliar with natural wines, anything from Johannes Zillinger seems to be a great place to start.

The Numen Riesling is medium to deep gold in color, which kind of surprised me as most that I’ve tried are lighter. The nose is incredibly aromatic with aromas of peach, golden pear, yellow apple, meyer lemon, white florals, white pepper, petrol, and cream. Overall the nose provides a very exotic, slightly spicy and complex experience. Once in the mouth, the wine showcases notes of apricot, peach, lemon citrus, green apple, white spice, jasmine, and mineral. The wine is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity and a long, dry finish.

Price: $50. This is quite possibly my favorite Riesling to date and I highly recommend trying it. Pair this with Chinese or Thai food, roasted pork, or Cajun food.

Easy-Drinking Cab

Today’s Story: Davies Vineyards

I am apparently loving the easy posts lately, as I previously wrote about Davies Vineyards back on October 9 in Who Wants Pie? Davies is a very historic winery with its roots dating back to 1862, while one of their more prominent fun facts is that Chinese laborers dug what became the first hillside caves in Napa Valley in 1870. I dive a bit more into the history, changes in ownership, and “dumb phase” during Prohibition in my previous post, so check it out!

Onto the (more) fun part…

Today’s Wine: 2012 JD Cabernet Sauvignon

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 4% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot; 13.5% ABV

The 2012 JD is medium to deep ruby in color, though it is moderately transparent. I used the Coravin system to snag a quick glass with lunch and let this breathe in the glass. On the nose, this wine showcases aromas of bright red cherry, redcurrant, blackberry jam, wild blueberry, graphite, cedar, slight baking spice, and a hint of vanilla. Once in the mouth, I get notes of plum, boysenberry, green herbs, asian spice, slate, cinnamon, and oak. This Cab is medium- to full-bodied and feels somewhat airy in the mouth while showing medium acidity, silky and almost fully integrated medium tannins, and a medium length finish. 925 cases produced.

Price: $45. This is a good value wine and an entry-level offering from the historic Davies Vineyards. Its bright fruit and easy drinking should make for a wine any Cab lover would enjoy. Pair this with lamb, steak, or even some bbq ribs or pork.