Mullineux Wines is a family owned and operated winery established in 2007 by husband and wife Chris and Andrea Mullineux. Situated in the Swartland wine region of South Africa, Mullineux sources fruit from trusted growers while growing some of their own vines in the Roundstone Farm property they own. Chris and Andrea are dedicated primary to Syrah, though they also grow and source Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, and Viognier. While all of these varieties grow quite well in the Swartland wine region, they also allude to both Chris’ and Andrea’s experiences working harvests in the Rhône Valley and other parts of France prior to establishing their namesake venture.
In the vineyards, Mullineux follows a minimally invasive philosophy which is aided by South Africa’s climate and weather being not very conducive to viruses and diseases. Their winemaking philosophy in the cellar is also centered in minimally invasive techniques, based largely in the desire to produce wines that express a true sense of place. Andrea does not add any yeasts, acids, enzymes, or other chemicals to the wines during fermentation and she practices gentle extraction given the structure naturally provided by the terroir. Following primary fermentation, the wines are pressed directly into French oak barrels of varying new percentages based on site and wine where they complete malolactic fermentation and aging. The wines are not racked unless necessary, and are bottled only when deemed ready without fining or filtration and minimal SO2 adds.
The 2017 Syrah is medium purple in color with shades of deep ruby. Given some time to open up in the decanter, this wine blossoms with aromas of medium (+) intensity and a classic nose of plum, blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, violet, sweet tobacco, black pepper, a hint of smoke, and mild baking spice. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers up notes of blackberry, blueberry, plum, black raspberry, cherry, licorice, violet, black pepper, and chocolate. This dry red is medium- to full-bodied with medium acidity, medium tannins, high alcohol, and a medium length finish. Good quality and a very solid bottle for the price.
Price: $35. This offers pretty decent value, as the wine has solid intensity and decent depth. It’s a little hot as the alcohol comes into better balance, and while the finish could be longer this is still a very solid bottle for its price-point.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Domaine Ghislaine Barthod is a highly regarded but relatively small wine estate located in the Chambolle-Musigny appellation of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. The domain was initially established by Marcel Noëllat in the late 1920s, though it became a partnership of the Noëllat and Barthod families when Gaston Barthod, an officer in the French Army stationed in Dijon, married Marcel’s daughter. Following his military service, Gaston took over the domain during the 1950s and bottled all of his wines under the Chambolle-Musigny designation. Gaston’s daughter Ghislaine joined the domain during the 1980s, working alongside her father to study the winemaking practices and traditions of the family. She officially took over Domaine Barthod in 1999 with her father’s passing, though was effectively running the domain for the decade or so prior.
Today the domain consists of about six hectares (15 acres) of vineyards situated largely in Chambolle-Musigny but crossing over slightly into the neighboring Gilly-les-Citeaux. Of these holdings, many are in some of the greatest vineyards of Chambolle-Musigny including the highly regarded 1er Cru sites of Les Cras, Les Fuées, and Les Charmes. Domaine Barthod has been practicing organic viticulture since 2002, with their only treatment copper sulfate to help fight mildew. Their vines average 30 years of age, and yields are greatly limited with severe pruning, debudding, and green harvesting if necessary. All harvest activity is accomplished by hand, with sorting done in the vineyards before the fruit is taken to the winery in small baskets.
In the cellar, Ghislaine practices pretty traditional vinification methods for the region. After a three to four day cold soak with partially destemmed fruit, the wines begin fermentation spontaneously and with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. She practices pump overs and occasional punch downs for color and tannin extraction, while primary fermentation lasts for roughly three weeks. Next, the wines are barreled down into 20-30% new oak barrels and aging lasts for about 20 months. Malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in barrel during the spring, and the wines are only racked following malolactic fermentation and prior to assemblage. Bottling is accomplished with no fining or filtration, unless absolutely necessary.
The 2011 Chambolle-Musigny is medium garnet in color. Still shy upon opening, I let this evolve in the glass for about an hour and drank it over the following hour or so. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of black cherry, dried strawberry, plum, red rose, dried tobacco leaf, forest floor, green olive, eucalyptus, menthol, clove, and a hint of smoke. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers notes of cherry, plum, black raspberry, blueberry, green olive, charred green herbs, crushed rock, and mild allspice. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (-) tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality and a solid wine for the vintage. This is still more masculine than I would expect.
Price: $120. I think this is a pretty fair price given the producer and how well this bottling performs given a tough vintage. While showcasing some of the 2011 green notes for sure, this is still very well balanced while offering solid complexity and good length.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Walter Scott Wines was established in 2008 by husband and wife Ken Pahlow and Erica Landon in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Ken comes from a background in wine, which began in 1994 in production, sales, and harvests at St. Innocent Winery. He later moved to Patricia Green Cellars in 2009, coinciding with the first vintage of Walter Scott La Combe Verte Pinot Noir in exchange for harvest labor. Erica, on the other hand, has a background in the restaurant industry and wine education. Her impressive resume includes sommelier and GM for the Ponzi Family’s Dundee Bistro, wine director at one of Portland’s best restaurants Ten 01, and wine director for Bruce Carey Restaurants. Erica has also taught classes for Wine & Spirits Archive, WSET, and the International Sommelier Guild. Lastly I would be remiss if I forgot to mention the youngest member of the Walter Scott team, Lucille who is the daughter of Ken and Erica. She “joined the team” in 2014, the same year Ken and Erica quit their main jobs to focus 100% on Walter Scott.
Walter Scott sources their fruit from a number of growers in the Willamette Valley AVA, with many in the Eola-Amity Hills area around their “home base.” All of the growers are friends of Ken and Erica, who in their words are people they like to sit around a table with while enjoying a glass of wine. All of these vineyard partners practice dry farming without the use of herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides, while some are also organic or biodynamic. This meshes well with Walter Scott’s goal of producing single vineyard and blended bottlings from old vines that offer clonal diversity from expressive terroir.
In the cellar, Ken practices a more “dynamic” winemaking style in that he never follows a recipe and adapts vintage to vintage. The end goal is to purely let the wines speak for themselves and showcase each unique vineyard site with freshness and purity. Ken only ferments with native or ambient yeasts, minimizes punch-downs or extractive techniques, and remains committed in his attention to detail vintage to vintage in order to seek constant improvement. All of the wines age in French oak barrels, with each barrel a small part of the larger whole.
I previously wrote about the Walter Scott 2018 X Novo Vineyard Chardonnay. To learn more about Walter Scott Wines, view pictures of the team and vineyards, or purchase some bottles of your own, check out their website here.
Today’s Wine: 2020 Bois-Moi Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay; 13% ABV
The 2020 Bois-Moi Chardonnay is pale gold in color. Given some time to open up in the glass, the wine blossoms with aromas of medium (+) intensity and a nose of lemon zest, white peach, crisp pear, nectarine, flint, oyster shell, saline mineral, and mild oaky spice. Meanwhile the flavors are of medium intensity, with the palate showcasing notes of Meyer lemon, nectarine, underripe pear, green apple, limestone, sage, and raw almond. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish. Quality is good, and this is much rounder and more plush than the typical Walter Scott Chardonnay bottlings I’ve had in the past. I do wish the intensity on the palate was more pronounced and the finish a bit longer, but this is still quite enjoyable.
Price: $28. This is a really solid price-point for this wine and I’ve gone ahead and purchased more already. While it’s not the most intense or complex and seems ready for earlier drinking, I think that could be due to the vintage conditions and this offers a great fix of Walter Scott while you wait on the 2021s.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, I encourage you to purchase directly from the winery here since it’s still available at the time of this writing. Otherwise, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Blankiet’s roots start with Claude and Katherine Blankiet, a couple who spent years searching for land conducive to grape growing on the western foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains. Finally, in early 1996, an agent working with the Blankiet family showed them an undeveloped property above the famous Napanook vineyard (and Dominus Estate) and they purchased the land on sight. From the onset of their search, Claude and Katherine desired to create world-class, high-quality, and small production Bordeaux style wines and then, with ownership of the land, set right to work. During development of the vineyards, the Blankiet family brought in famed viticulturist David Abreu and winemaker Helen Turley for their expertise. The terroir of Blankiet consists of three volcanic knolls with alluvial deposits between them, thanks to water flowing down from the mountains. The vineyards are broken into four sections, each with a unique subsoil and microclimate, and they planted root stocks from First Growth Bordeaux estates to get the ball rolling. Today, they produce 5 wines from the Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
Blankiet farms their vineyards utilizing organic methods (they are Napa Green Certified) and their position on the hillsides in depleted soils requires a great deal of manual work but results in intensely flavored fruit. During the winter, Blankiet Spur prunes their vines and later thin out buds, flowers, leaves, and grape clusters throughout the spring and summer to reduce yields and enhance the wines’ concentration. During harvest, Blankiet completes up to 32 “mini-harvests” thanks to their array of soils and microclimates between and amongst the four varieties they grow. Though the estate examines sugar levels, acidity, and pH to help in their picking assessments, most of the fruit is harvested by taste tests of the berries and any deemed ready are de-leafed and trimmed of damaged clusters that afternoon. Harvest begins at 4am the following morning so workers can pick fruit in cooler temperatures and avoid the 50+ degree temperature swings common in Blankiet’s vineyards from day to night, as well as fruit flies that are inactive at night. All fruit is carried to the winery in small baskets before being destemmed by a gentle machine and sorted by two state-of-the-art optical sorters. A few employees manually check and sort the fruit at the end of the process. After sorting, Blankiet adds carbon dioxide ice which maintains the fruit at a cold temperature while displacing oxygen and this is then gravity loaded into small fermentation tanks to begin cold maceration.
During the actual winemaking process, each pick is fermented separately and cold maceration lasts generally a week which allows enzymes to soften the fruit’s cellular structure but inhibit alcoholic fermentation due to the temperature. Once cold maceration is complete, Blankiet slowly warms the temperature of the fruit mass so alcoholic fermentation can begin and they closely monitor temperatures to help the yeasts thrive. The winemaking team checks each tank two times each day, with pump-overs a result according to taste. When the wines are ready for malolactic fermentation, they are moved to new French oak barrels in a warm cave for several months until they are ultimately moved into the cold aging caves where they call home for the next couple of years. Unlike many wineries today, Blankiet steers clear of adding sulphur dioxide (SO2) to their wine barrels when natural evaporation eventually takes place, instead refilling this open space with more wine. When the wine is ready to be bottled, it is done so on-site without fining or filtration.
81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; 14% ABV
The 2011 Proprietary Red is medium to deep ruby in color. I decanted this for an hour and drank it over the following two hours. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of blackberry, blueberry, red plum, redcurrant, orange rind, rose petal, licorice, leather, gravel, menthol, green olive, charred green herbs, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and toasted oak (of which I can tell is of very high quality). Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the palate offering notes of blueberry, blackberry, redcurrant, black cherry, licorice, violet, pipe tobacco, tilled earth, green pepper, savory garden herbs, cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla, and cedar. This dry red is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) but super velvety tannins, high alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality here, and the wine is rather youthful and fairly robust given the vintage conditions.
Price: $200 (but I found it for $130). I like this wine a lot at the $130 mark which seems fairly accessible in the secondary market. I’m a huge fan of well-made 2011s because they are often more “Bordeaux-like,” and this bottling from Blankiet offers exceptional balance with great intensity and complexity.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Niklas is a family owned and operated wine estate situated in the village of St. Nikolaus within the Alto Adige region of Northeastern Italy. Originally established in 1969, Weingut Niklas now encompasses three generations of passionate family winemaking and today the estate is under guide of Dieter Sölva. The property consists of about 17 acres of vineyards spread across the winegrowing region of Kaltern, including the sites of Prutznai, Galgenwiese, Schweigeregg, Barleit, Muttergarten, Kardatsch, Lavardi, Lavason, Salt, Vial, Trifall, and St. Georgen. Dieter specializes in Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Kerner, Schiava, and Lagrein, however he has small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well. From a winemaking perspective, Dieter ferments the wines in a combination of large oak barrels and stainless steel followed by barrel aging and lees contact. This process varies by wine and vintage, however the ultimate goal is to produce wines that demonstrate a sense of place in the most transparent way possible.
Today’s Wine: 2019 Kerner
100% Kerner; 13.5% ABV
The 2019 Kerner is medium yellow in color. Aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of crisp yellow apple, lemon zest, mango, honeysuckle, grass, a hint of petrol, and crushed stone. Meanwhile the flavors are of medium (+) intensity, while the palate displays notes of yellow apple, grapefruit, lime, mango, white florals, mild green herbs, and mineral. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish. Good quality and fun to try, though nothing mind-blowing to write home about on this summer sipper.
Price: $22. While it might not be the most exciting wine I’ve had, this is pretty well-priced considering the intensity and complexity. I wish the finish was longer, which is mainly my biggest mark against the wine. This is my first time trying a Kerner, so I’ll definitely seek out more.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Orma is a relatively young wine estate, established in 2004 when it was purchased by Tenuta Sette Ponti owner Dr. Antonio Moretti. Situated in the district of Castagneto Carducci of Bolgheri DOC in the Italian region of Tuscany, Orma consists of 5.5 hectares (13.6 acres) of vineyards planted to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. The first vintage was released in 2005 and received immediate praise, with some comparing it to the property’s neighbors of Sassicaia and Ornellaia. Orma has continued to increase in quality and reception over the years, and they released their second wine, Passi di Orma, during the exceptional 2015 vintage. Both wines are typically Merlot dominant, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and ultimately Cabernet Franc.
The 2018 Passi di Orma is medium ruby in color with hints of deep garnet at the rim. I decanted this for an hour and drank it over the following two hours. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the rather complex nose showcasing notes of blackberry, black plum, black cherry, strawberry rhubarb, blood orange rind, licorice, dried tobacco, smoked game, charred green herbs, coffee grounds, cedar, vanilla, and a pinch of cinnamon. There’s a slight funky aspect to the nose as well. Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity and the palate offers up notes of blackberry, blueberry, spiced plum, black cherry, violet, licorice, sweet tobacco, charred green herbs, mocha, vanilla, baking spice, iron, and charred oak. This dry red blend is full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) but velvety tannins, high alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality and quite surprisingly complex for a “second” wine.
Price: $30. This is an outstanding value in my opinion. Though it’s still young and needs the time in a decanter now, this offers great intensity, length, and complexity for its price-point. Balance is pretty solid as well already, though it will improve with a couple more years of bottle age.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Mullineux Wines is a family owned and operated winery established in 2007 by husband and wife Chris and Andrea Mullineux. Situated in the Swartland wine region of South Africa, Mullineux sources fruit from trusted growers while growing some of their own vines in the Roundstone Farm property they own. Chris and Andrea are dedicated primary to Syrah, though they also grow and source Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, and Viognier. While all of these varieties grow quite well in the Swartland wine region, they also allude to both Chris’ and Andrea’s experiences working harvests in the Rhône Valley and other parts of France prior to establishing their namesake venture.
In the vineyards, Mullineux follows a minimally invasive philosophy which is aided by South Africa’s climate and weather being not very conducive to viruses and diseases. Their winemaking philosophy in the cellar is also centered in minimally invasive techniques, based largely in the desire to produce wines that express a true sense of place. Andrea does not add any yeasts, acids, enzymes, or other chemicals to the wines during fermentation and she practices gentle extraction given the structure naturally provided by the terroir. Following primary fermentation, the wines are pressed directly into French oak barrels of varying new percentages based on site and wine where they complete malolactic fermentation and aging. The wines are not racked unless necessary, and are bottled only when deemed ready without fining or filtration and minimal SO2 adds.
The 2017 Old Vines White is pale to medium gold in color. Given some time in the glass, the nose blossoms into aromas of pronounced intensity with notes of yellow peach, pear, lime zest, green apple, lemon pith, quince, chamomile, white lily, crushed gravel, beeswax, mild smoke, and toasted brioche. The flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the palate showcasing notes of peach, tangerine, mango, kiwi, honeydew melon, honeysuckle, rose water, beeswax, saline, wet river stone, and dried green herbs. This dry white blend is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish. Very good quality, though I wished the finish lingered slightly longer.
Price: $30. I think this offers pretty decent value, thanks largely to its balance, complexity, and intensity. While the finish could be longer to really knock this out of the park, it’s still a very good quality wine and drinks very well.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Dr. Loosen is a storied wine producer located just outside Bernkastel in the Mosel region of Germany. The winery has been in the Loosen family for over 200 years, making them one of the most well-known producers of Riesling not only throughout Germany but throughout the world. The winery and vineyards came to Ernst “Erni” Loosen in 1988, and he immediately set about improving the quality of wines that ungrafted 60+ year-old vines in some of the Mosel’s best vineyards can produce. Erni believes that great wine should be both a sensual and intellectual pleasure, with each bottle showcasing the unique terroir, passion of the winemaker, and a snapshot of history. This philosophy feeds through to his winemaking style, where Erni strives to balance traditional and family-honed winemaking practices with experimental studies (such as time on lees) to make the best and most transparent wine possible. Nonetheless, all the Dr. Loosen wines ferment spontaneously in wooden barrels and see a minimum of 12 months on lees with no racking and no bâttonnage so as to not add excess weight or cover any nuances provided by the variety or site.
Dr. Loosen has been part of Germany’s VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) since 1993, showcasing the incredible pedigree of their vineyards. What’s more, seven of the Dr. Loosen vineyards are designated VDP Grosse Lage (Grand Cru) and these wines are bottled as single vineyard bottlings since 1988. Any other wines produced by Dr. Loosen are labeled Estate or Village Rieslings. The vineyard sites under the Dr. Loosen umbrella include Bernkasteler Lay, Bernkasteler Johannisbrünnchen, Graacher Himmelreich, Graacher Domprobst, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Ürziger Würzgarten, Erdener Treppchen, and Erdener Prälat. As a whole, the variety breakdown is 98% Riesling and 2% Pinot Blanc.
The 2019 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese is medium straw in color with mild greenish hues. Once this opens up in the glass, the aromas are of medium (+) intensity with the nose showcasing notes of underripe pear, nectarine, apricot, lemon pith, lime, jasmine, mint, pine, and wet slate. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers up notes of green apple skins, lime zest, mango, ripe pear, honeysuckle, slate, dried green herbs, and stony mineral. This medium-sweet Riesling is medium-bodied with high acidity, low alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Good quality and should only improve with another few years in the bottle.
Price: $33. This is a pretty fair price given the wine’s great quality, balance, and depth at this young age. What’s more, this was pretty unique for me as I haven’t really had a Riesling that throws off notes of mint and pine so that made it kind of fun.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Château Gloria is a “relatively” young Bordeaux wine estate, established piecemeal during the mid-1900s by Bordeaux native Henri Martin. Situated in the Left Bank appellation of Saint-Julien, Château Gloria today consists of 50 hectares (124 acres) and is planted to roughly 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Henri purchased his first six hectares (15 acres) in 1942, and expanded the estate over time by purchasing holdings from the likes of Beychevelle, Léoville-Poyferré, Gruaud-Larose, Léoville-Barton, and Ducru-Beaucaillou amongst others. Though Château Gloria is an unclassed estate thanks to its founding roughly a century after the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, it is widely considered to be on par with classed growths today thanks to its quality and representation of the Saint-Julien appellation.
From a winemaking perspective, all fruit at Château Gloria is harvested by hand. Vinification occurs in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, which range in size from 50hl to 178hl. Once primary fermentation is complete, the wines are barreled down into French oak barrels of which 40% are new and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. After 14 months of aging, the wines are bottled and production of the Grand Vin is typically around 20,000 cases per vintage. Château Gloria also produces a second wine named Esprit de Gloria, which was previously known as Peymartin.
The 2014 Château Gloria is deep garnet in color, almost deep ruby. I decanted this for about three hours though sampled it along the way. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of redcurrant, muddled strawberry, black cherry, blackcurrant, anise, rose, cigar box, forest floor, truffle, graphite, gravel, cedar spill, and vanilla. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, with a palate of blackberry, plum, blackcurrant, black cherry, licorice, tobacco, violet, charred green herbs, chocolate, vanilla, and baking spice. This dry red blend is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Pretty good quality and a solid wine for the 2014 Bordeaux vintage.
Price: $50. This is a pretty fair price-point and offers decent value for dipping one’s toes into Bordeaux. I’ve been a huge fan of the 2014 Bordeaux vintage lately and this is no different, offering great balance and solid complexity after a bit of a decant. Should age nicely as well for at least another 5-7 years.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Peter Lauer is a very highly regarded producer of German Riesling in the Mosel’s Saar region, and it has been in the Lauer family since 1830. Today the estate is run by fifth generation Florian Lauer who took over in 2006, but his father Peter remains involved in the cellars to this day. The estate consists of 8 hectares (19 acres) of vineyards situated across some of the Saar’s greatest sites, and the Lauer family holdings are planted to 100% Riesling. Many of their vines are very old, with some of them at 100 years of age. Weingut Peter Lauer is known for their dry Rieslings, particularly from the Grosse Lage sites of Kupp, Feils (sometimes referred to as Saarfeilser), and Schonfels, however they do make wines in the off-dry and sweet styles as well when the vintage conditions are perfect for them.
From a winemaking perspective, all viticulture is organic in nature and nearly all of the work is done entirely by hand thanks to the incredibly steep grades of the vineyards. After the fruit is hand-harvested, it arrives at the winery where fermentation is completely spontaneous and free of any non-native yeasts. What’s more, Weingut Peter Lauer maintains the practice of fermenting the same sites in the same barrel (fass/faß) vintage after vintage so that the same native yeasts can ferment the same point of origin (fruit) in a similar style. Each label is then labeled accordingly, such as the Faß 18 (Barrel 18) I am reviewing today. Lauer prefers slow fermentations with extended lees contact and bâtonnage (lees stirring) to add structure, while also eliminating their need for fining. The resulting wines are incredible representations of their terroir, and truly some of the finest being produced in the Saar.
Fun Fact: You can tell quite a bit from the Peter Lauer labels, perhaps in a much more unique manner than what’s typical. For instance, the circle in the center of each label can impart knowledge of quality, as the “village level” wines have a green circle and the Grand Cru wines a gold circle. Of course, the GG (Großes Gewächs) designation on the Grand Cru labels helps as well. You can also tell the sweetness level of the wine in a rather inconspicuous manner compared to how many producers may just put “Trocken” or “Spätlese” on their labels. For instance, the tiny circled “T” in the bottom center of my label today tells me this is a Trocken (dry) style. Peter Lauer will also show TF for Trocken to Feinherb (dry to off-dry) or simply F for Feinherb (off-dry). Any bottling without one of these designations can be presumed “fruity” or noble sweet.
The 2019 Kern Riesling Faß 9 is pale straw yellow in color. Given time to open up in the glass, the wine blossoms with aromas of pronounced intensity and a nose of ripe pear, white peach, Meyer lemon, lime zest, green apple skins, honeysuckle, rubber, petrol, slate, crushed gravel, and cheese rind. The flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the palate showcasing notes of white peach, canned pear, lemon zest, lime peel, dried apricot, honey, ginger, dried green herbs, crushed gravel, and vanilla cream. This off-dry Riesling is medium-bodied with high acidity, low alcohol, and a long finish. Outstanding quality and one of my favorite Peter Lauer wines so far. Long life ahead, but hard to resist right now.
Price: $49. I think this offers pretty solid value, particularly for cellaring. This is already incredibly intense, concentrated, and complex with great length on the finish. Only room to improve in the bottle for the foreseeable future.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Fritz Haag is a historic family-owned wine estate established by the Haag family in 1605 in Brauneberg of the Mosel winegrowing region of Germany. In its more recent “modern” history, Fritz Haag was under the leadership of Wilhelm Haag beginning in 1957 when he returned to help his ill father. An expected one-harvest stay turned into full-time winemaking for Wilhelm, ultimately resulting in exceptional quality wines being produced by the estate which garnered international acclaim and earned Wilhelm the German Winemaker of the Year title in 1994 by Gault Millau’s Guide to German Wines. Wilhelm passed the reins onto his son Oliver in 2005, and he runs the estate to this day with his wife Jessica.
The Fritz Haag estate consists of 19.5 hectares, with the vineyards planted entirely to the Riesling variety on very steep slopes along the Mosel River. As part of their holdings, Fritz Haag owns substantial holdings in the highly regarded Brauneberger Juffer and Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr vineyards which produce their highest quality fruit for the Grosses Gewächs wines and Prädikatswein. Fritz Haag produces a range of Rieslings, going from dry all the way to sweet wines made with botrytis-affected grapes but they keep production to around 5,500 cases per year with mild fluctuations due to vintage conditions.
To preserve the pronounced aroma and flavor characteristics of their wines, Fritz Haag utilizes stainless steel and some old oak during the winemaking process. Fermentations occur only with indigenous yeasts, and the name of the game is to produce exceptionally pure wines that show true sense of place.
To explore Weingut Fritz Haag further, you can check out their website here. I also previously reviewed their 2019 Riesling.
Today’s Wine: 2020 Juffer Riesling Spätlese
100% Riesling; 8% ABV
The 2020 Juffer Riesling Spätlese is pale straw in color. This is super young, so I gave it quite a bit of time to open up in the glass and it no doubt needs more time in the cellar to reach its full potential. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of white peach, lime pith, nectarine, pear, white lily, flint, a hint of petrol, and saline mineral. Flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, with the palate offering up notes of pear, white peach, green apple, lime zest, underripe pineapple, honeysuckle, wet slate, and a hint of green herbs. This medium sweet Riesling is light- to medium-bodied with high acidity, low alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Good quality, and very well-balanced.
Price: $30 (though you might be able to find it a few dollars cheaper). I think this is very well-priced and even offers a solid value proposition. I know this is insanely young, though the balance and depth are both already very promising. The acid is very high right now but balances well with the sweetness, so this should have a long life ahead.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Shelter Winery is a fairly small family-owned winery, established in 2003 by husband and wife duo Hans-Bert Espe and Silke Wolf. Situated in the Baden region of Germany on the eastern side of the Rhine River, Shelter holds vineyards in the villages of Kenzingen and Malterdingen and they are dedicated to the production of Spätburgunder/Pinot Noir. Today their vineyard holdings consist of five hectares (12 acres) and Shelter is dedicated to organic viticulture with zero use of herbicides or pesticides. Harvest is accomplished fully by hand, and the fruit is destemmed at the winery prior to a cold soak and delicate pressing. Fermentation occurs in open top vessels using only native yeasts, and the wine is then transferred to oak barrels of which the majority are used. The end result is a Spätburgunder that is both true to variety and place, while the cooler climate of their vineyards generally yield lower alcohol and higher natural acidity.
Today’s Wine: 2018 Spätburgunder
100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV
The 2018 Spätburgunder is medium ruby in color. Given some time to open up in the glass, this blossoms beautifully with aromas of medium (+) intensity and a nose of cherry, black raspberry, wild strawberry, blood orange rind, rose petal, anise, leather, a hint of barnyard, charred green herbs, white pepper, and mild baking spice. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, and the palate showcases notes of black cherry, black raspberry, red plum, muddled strawberry, licorice, cola, dried tobacco leaf, green pepper, underbrush, and cocoa powder. This dry red is light- to medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, low tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality, particularly given the price-point.
Price: $27. I think this is pretty solid value, particularly given how expressive and complex this is after a little air time. It’s also well-balanced and is a fun yet serious representation of German Spätburgunder/Pinot Noir.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Clos des Lunes is a relatively new venture, established in 2011 by Olivier Bernard and the team behind Domaine de Chevalier. The 2012 vintage was their first at this property. Clos des Lunes is situated on ancient terroir in the Sauternes appellation of Bordeaux, and its neighbors include the likes of Château d’Yquem and Château Guiraud. Contrary to their neighbors who are known for sweet wines, however, Clos des Lunes focuses on making dry white wines from about 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc. The estate today consists of about 45 hectares (111 acres) on sloping hills composed of coarse gravel over a bed of clay and limestone, and the vines average about 30 years old. Winemaking here follows the practices of Domaine de Chevalier, and all harvesting is accomplished by hand with multiple passes through the vineyards. Vinification occurs in small thermo-regulated 50 hectoliter vats or in barrels following a light and gentle pressing, with vessel type, new oak percentage, lees exposure, and aging timeline specifically designed for each wine. The Clos des Lunes portfolio consists of three wines, including its entry-level Lune Blanche, flagship Lune d’Argent, and top-end Lune d’Or.
Today’s Wine: 2016 Lune Blanche
70% Sémillon, 30% Sauvignon Blanc; 12.5% ABV
The 2016 Lune Blanche is pale yellow in color and completely transparent. Aromas are of medium intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of lemon peel, white peach, white lily, grass, gravel, a hint of petrol (interesting), and saline minerality. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium intensity, while the palate offers up notes of lemon pith, peach, chamomile, chopped grass, beeswax, wet stone, and saline. This dry white blend is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish. Quality level is good, with this providing excellent drinkability and enjoyment.
Price: $19. I think this is a great value wine, especially since I found my bottle for less than the average for $17.50. While it’s not the most intense or complex wine, it offers up a delicious and delicate profile while the acid bodes well for its lifetime. This bottling is meant to be consumed young, and I think it’s in a great spot right now.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Château Marsau is a family owned and operated wine estate located in Bordeaux’s Côtes de Francs, purchased by the Chadronnier family (who are principals in the large négociant CVGB) in 1994. Today the property consists of 14 hectares (34 acres) on red and grey clay soils, with the vineyards planted to Merlot which excels here. Anne-Laurence and Mathieu Chadronnier run the estate today, with Ann-Laurence spearheading winemaking and Mathieu overseeing sales. Meticulous attention to detail is the name of the game in both vineyards and cellar, with each vine and plot carefully managed individually throughout the growing season. In the cellar, each plot receives its own attention and ages in French oak separately, ensuring the identity of each unique plot is maintained. New oak percentage varies by vintage, though often hovers around the 25% mark, and a small percentage of the vintage matures in amphora for a year before bottling. The Château Marsau portfolio consists of three wines, the Grand Vin which I am reviewing today, their second wine named Prélude, and an additional bottling named Prairie.
Today’s Wine: 2018 Château Marsau
100% Merlot; 14.5% ABV
The 2018 Château Marsau is deep ruby in color. I decanted this for two hours and drank it over the following two hours or so. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, offering up gorgeous notes of blackberry, redcurrant, cherry, red plum, blueberry, licorice, clay, charred green herbs, cedar spill, chocolate, and coffee beans. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, with the palate showcasing notes of black cherry, blackcurrant, blueberry, redcurrant, sweet tobacco, anise, fennel, iron, charred green peppercorn, mocha, and mild baking spice. This dry red is medium- to full-bodied with medium acidity, medium (+) and grippy tannins, high alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality and has the structure to age well for another five to ten years.
Price: $36. This is a great value for Bordeaux, particularly given its balance and complexity at such a young age. Château Marsau also only produced 20% of their normal yield during 2018, unfortunately due to disease as they shifted to organic farming.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it. If you’re lucky, you could even find this closer to $30.
Illahe Vineyards is a family owned and operated wine estate located in Dallas, Oregon within the Willamette Valley winegrowing region. The vineyards on the property trace back to 1983 when Lowell and Pauline Ford planted an acre of Müller-Thurgau, though they have since evolved into a concentration on Pinot Noir with 22 initial acres in 2001. Their son Brad joined the family business in 2004, and runs the property today as grower and winemaker alongside his wife Bethany who heads up sales. The Illahe holdings today consist of 80 acres, though only 60 acres are planted with about 50 of those planted to Pinot Noir. The remaining 10 acres of vineyards are planted to Pinot Gris, Grüner Veltliner, Tempranillo, Viognier, and very small quantities of Lagrein, Schioppettino, and Teroldego.
From a viticultural perspective, Illahe is mainly focused on the preservation of the land. They use cover crops throughout the vineyards to maintain the soils and provide an excellent environment for biodiversity, while refraining to irrigate more mature vines. Pruning and harvest are both accomplished exclusively by hand, and they only use Sulfur spray to combat mildew and botrytis. Taking tradition from some vineyards in Burgundy and throughout France, Illahe also uses two horses, Doc and Bea, to mow and bring all harvested fruit to the winery.
When it comes to winemaking itself, the name of the game is traditional and minimally invasive vinification. After being hand harvested and delivered to the winery by horse in small buckets, the fruit is hand sorted and either destemmed or left whole cluster depending on cuvée and variety. Following a two to six day cold soak, fermentation begins using only native yeasts and Brad uses up to 40 fermentation vessels ranging from oak to clay to stainless steel. The finished wines are meant to be a pure representation of place and variety, which one might gather from the overarching love for tradition in every facet of Illahe.
Today’s Wine: 2020 Estate Grüner Veltliner
100% Grüner Veltliner; 13% ABV
The 2020 Estate Grüner Veltliner is pale straw yellow in color and completely transparent in the glass. The aromas are of medium intensity and the nose rather delicate, offering up notes of green apple, cucumber, lime zest, white florals, wet stone, and white pepper. Flavor intensity is also medium, while the palate showcases notes of green apple, ripe pear, kiwi, lime, crushed gravel, grass, and white pepper. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Pretty good quality here, and fun to try a domestic Grüner.
Price: $22. Given the very good quality level here, I think this is a very fair price for the wine. While the intensity could be better, overall this is a very easy-going wine for a hot day and it’s a great representation of Grüner with some classic notes.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Stony Hill Vineyard is a highly regarded winery located on Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley, and contrary to many properties in Napa they are known for their white wines. The history of Stony Hill begins in 1943 when Fred and Eleanor McCrea purchased 168 acres of land tucked into the slopes of Spring Mountain. The McCrea’s loved French white wines, particularly white Burgundy, so they established their winery in 1951 and released their first wines in 1952 with a focus on Chardonnay. As time went on, Fred and Eleanor planted additional white varieties of Pinot Blanc, Johannisberg Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Semillon. Until 2009 the estate was fully dedicated to white wines and they released their first estate red wine with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, a sign that Cabernet truly is king in the Napa Valley.
With Fred’s passing in 1977, Mike Chelini who had been assistant winemaker since 1972 took over the reins as head winemaker of Stony Hill. Mike was a dedicated winemaker here for four decades, continuing the philosophy and practices he learned from Fred while maintaining Stony Hill as a premium Napa producer who sold mainly to select clients. The property was purchased by the Lawrence Family (who also own Brendel Wines, Burgess Cellars, Heitz Cellar, and various vineyards) in 2020 and they brought along a new winemaker named Jaimee Motley. Jaimee seeks to maintain the history and winemaking style present at Stony Hill since its founding, though certainly with a new emphasis on the red wine portfolio.
The Stony Hill vineyards are set on steep terraces in the Spring Mountain AVA, and they total about 30 acres. Ranging in elevation of 800 and 1,550 feet, the vineyards receive a plethora of moderating influences and sit on a bed of volcanic mountain soils with limestone underneath. Stony Hill has been certified organic since 2019, and they have plans over the years to come to include more regenerative farming techniques like the inclusion of livestock. The property also has about 15 acres of fallow land, which will someday see more plantings of Merlot and Syrah with new plantings of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Gamay, Petit Verdot, and Chenin Blanc.
A quick note on Stony Hill’s Chardonnay… The Chardonnay here is produced today the same way it was in 1952, with an emphasis on blocking malolactic fermentation and aging exclusively in neutral oak which is often ten years old. This produces a very linear and mineral-driven Chardonnay with good acid that bodes well for long aging in the cellar.
Today’s Wine: 2015 Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay; 13% ABV
The 2015 Chardonnay is medium gold in color and transparent in the glass. After about 30 minutes in the glass, this blossoms with aromas of medium (+) intensity and a nose of crisp yellow apple, lemon zest, white peach, stone fruit, white lily, flint, saline, and brioche. The flavors on the palate are also of medium (+) intensity, showcasing notes of lime zest, white peach, apricot, honey, white florals, lemongrass, stony mineral, and hazelnut. This dry white is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality and in a pretty nice spot right now.
Price: $77. From a pure “value” perspective, these are becoming quite stretched as prices rose over the years. While there’s no denying this is a great Chardonnay with good balance, intensity, and complexity, you can find similar quality for $50 or sometimes less.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it. Unfortunately purchasing options are limited and the best bet may be ordering directly from the winery.
Andremily Wines is a relatively young but very highly regarded producer established in 2012 by winemaker Jim Binns and his wife Rachel. Jim fell in love with winemaking while studying at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, also developing his passion for Rhône varieties by working with a number of small producers in California’s Central Coast. After he graduated, Jim joined the incredibly talented Manfred Kankl of cult producer Sine Qua Non. Jim spent twelve vintages with Sine Qua Non, honing his craft as one of Manfred’s prodigies as cellar master, before he and Rachel ultimately followed through on their dream by starting Andremily. Andremily is named as a combination of Andrew and Emily, their children, and Jim focuses on Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Viognier sourced from incredible sites including Bien Nacido, Alta Mesa, Larner, and White Hawk Vineyards. With low yields and insane attention to detail in all aspects of winemaking, Jim produces a flagship Syrah, a Mourvèdre, a Grenache, and a Rhône blend named EABA under the Andremily label.
Today’s Wine: 2013 Syrah No. 2
85% Syrah, 11% Mourvèdre, 4% Viognier; 15.2% ABV
The 2013 Syrah No. 2 is deep ruby in color and nearly black at its core. I decanted this for an hour and drank it over the following 2-3 hours. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of blackberry compote, blueberry, black plum, black cherry, black licorice, violet, sweet tobacco, incense, smoked meat, gingerbread, cracked black pepper, black olive, graphite, vanilla, and baking spice. Flavors are also of pronounced intensity, and the palate displays notes of crème de cassis, rich black plum, wild blueberry, blackberry purée, black raspberry, black cherry, sweet tobacco, anise, violet, smoked game, green peppercorn, cinnamon, gunsmoke, sandalwood, chocolate, and coffee grounds. This dry red is full-bodied with medium acidity, medium but well-integrated tannins, high alcohol, and a long finish. Outstanding quality and insanely concentrated and rich. Still drinking pretty youthful but very well-balanced, especially given the ABV. While a tad rich for my personal palate, I still won’t be able to refrain from purchasing more.
Price: $250 (I paid $200 and allocation is closer to $100 I think). Market pricing on a value perspective is a little steep on these wines, I think thanks largely to their incredible reception by the press and consumers coupled with rather small production. I am patiently waiting on the waiting list, though, because at release pricing this is pretty solid value.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Clemens Busch is a highly regarded family-owned wine estate under the guide of fifth generation winemaker Clemens Busch and his wife Rita. Clemens began working with his father on the family’s two hectares (five acres) of vineyards during the mid-1970s, however he and Rita inherited the estate themselves in 1984. The winery is located in the town of Pünderich along the Mosel River in Germany, and the majority of their vineyards sit across the way on the iconic hillside known as Marienburg. Over time Clemens and Rita have adeptly added to their vineyard holdings while their neighbors moved elsewhere to focus on Pinot Noir during the 1980s, so today the family property consists of about 16 hectares (39 acres) of vineyards planted to 99% Riesling and 1% Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). The “house specials,” if you will, are Rieslings made in a dry style though they also produce some noble sweet Riesling as well which many consider some of the finest in the Mosel.
Not one to follow the norms of the region, Clemens believes wholeheartedly that organic and biodynamic viticulture, alongside minimal intervention in the cellar, produces the greatest wines. Clemens and Rita were early adopters of organic farming when they converted in 1984, and they are also early adopters of biodynamics which they fully converted to in 2005 with certification. Clemens also goes against the grain when it comes to his bottlings. The hill of Marienburg became “one site” thanks to a government ruling in 1971 that combined all the individual sites of this 23 hectare (57 acre) hillside into a 90 hectare (222 acre) area. While this was initially supposed to “help” its recognition, Clemens knew that all the different soil types and historic vineyard names are important to maintain so he vinifies, bottles, and labels all the wines by their historic, pre-combined names.
In the cellar specifically, Clemens practices minimal intervention winemaking in an attempt to best showcase the unique terroir of each bottling. This includes fermentation with only native and spontaneous yeasts and aging the wines in very old 1,000 liter barrels (some of which are over 40 years old). Amazingly, most of their fermentation take eight to ten months due to this method! Clemens does not like adding sulfur to his wines either, so to minimize this he only adds a small dose prior to bottling. These wines are never fined as well, again in an effort to show the variety and terroir in the most honest way possible.
Fun Fact: The color of the capsule on each bottle of Clemens Busch tells the consumer what color slate the fruit for the wine grows in. A grey capsule represents grey slate, a blue capsule blue slate, and a red capsule red slate.
The 2019 Riesling Kabinett is pale straw in color. Given some time to blossom in the glass, the wine showcases a nose of pronounced intensity and aromas of white peach, green apple, lime pith, honeysuckle, petrol, and slate. It’s very floral overall, and fairly delicate. Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the palate displaying notes of green apple, lime zest, kiwi, jasmine, wet slate, and mineral. There’s an interesting note of fennel on the finish as well. This off-dry Riesling is medium-bodied with high acidity, low alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. No doubt this is too young and perhaps slightly closed off now, but it’s already showing beautiful balance.
Price: $30. This is a great value, even though you should be patient with it and let these rest for a few more years. It has great intensity and acid, and while it’s not the most complex wine right now I think this will improve tremendously.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Kumeu River Wines is a highly regarded family-owned winery located near the town of Kumeu about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from central Auckland, New Zealand. The estate was established in 1944 by Mick and Katé Brajkovich, who immigrated to New Zealand from the small Croatian village of Živogošće in 1937. The Brajkovich family had practice tending to vines and making wine in Croatia, so they used this experience along with their son Maté by working vineyards and orchards in West Auckland until they could purchase their own small vineyard in Kumeu. Though Mick unfortunately passed away in 1949, Katé and Maté continued working their family property known as San Marino Vineyards and produced wines which they also sold. Maté and his wife Melba, whom he met during the late 1950s, had four children named Michael, Marijana, Milan, and Paul and they grew up amongst the vines on the family’s property. This instilled in them a passion for the family business, and they are all involved to this day.
During the 1980s, Kumeu River Wines really started to get its name and justifiable great reputation. Maté moved away from the hybrid varieties that produced rather basic fortified or still wines and shifted toward Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc which were uncommon in the region at the time. Following the 1983 vintage which Michael spent in France, the family business rebranded as Kumeu River Wines and started focusing extensively on an Old World (or “Burgundy”) style Chardonnay. The family started producing their Chardonnay with indigenous yeasts and whole cluster pressing, with the wines seeing extended aging on the lees as well. Accolades came pouring in, and to this day Kumeu River Wines is most famous for this Chardonnay which strikes up there with some of the White Burgundy greats in blind tastings.
Today, the Kumeu River Wines estate consists of 30 hectares (74 acres) though the family sources fruit from trusted growers on another 10 hectares (25 acres). Soil here is dominated by clay with a sandstone base, which makes water holding capabilities fairly strong and eliminates the need for irrigation. All the grapes are harvested by hand as well, ensuring only the highest-quality fruit makes it into the end product. At the end of the day, Kumeu River Wines produces about 21,000 cases per vintage with the bulk of the portfolio made up of exceptional Old World styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Today’s Wine: 2017 Estate Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay; 13.5% ABV
The 2017 Estate Chardonnay is pale gold in color. This really starts to sing given about 45 minutes to open up in the glass. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the rather deep nose showcasing notes of Meyer lemon, yellow apple, underripe pear, white lily, flint, popcorn kernel, seashell, mild smoke, and saline mineral. This comes across fairly reductive overall. Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the palate displaying notes of peach, lemon zest, green apple, mango, dried pineapple, crushed stone, wet flint, mild green herbs, and a hint of brine. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Certainly has a few years left, but this is very enjoyable now.
Price: $33. This offers great value, and you might be able to find it even cheaper depending on location. The intensity, complexity, and length here are all great which culminates into a very rewarding wine.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
00 Wines is a relative newcomer to the Willamette Valley, Oregon wine scene, established in 2015 and run by Chris and Kathryn Hermann. The name for this venture, “Double-Zero,” is based on numerology since 0 is the number of potential. Chris and Kathryn view 00 Wines as a push-forward for the potential of the noble varieties of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with each variety contributing one “zero” to the name. Chris is a wine industry veteran, though not in the way you might expect, as he worked for nearly 40 years as a legal advisor to many wine brands focusing on land use and water rights under environmental law. Kathryn, on the other hand, comes from a background in marketing, product management, and software development in the startup space and she guides the creative side of 00 Wines.
00 sources their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from some of the Willamette Valley’s greatest vineyard sites, including Chehalem Mountain, The Eyrie, Eola Springs, Shea, Hyland, and Seven Springs. Though they make exceptional wines from both varieties, 00 is most widely known and respected for their Chardonnay. Modeled after the winemaking methods of white Burgundy legends Coche-Dury and Roulot, 00 practices the “Black Chardonnay” method wherein the Chardonnay must is freely exposed to oxygen during the press cycle without protection from SO2 or dry ice. The Chardonnay sits on its skins and is pressed into the press pan as a dark brown or sometimes black liquid, then it is barreled down without any settling or filtration. As fermentation progresses, the oxygenated dark colors drop out and they are left with maximum phenolic extraction and beautifully clear Chardonnay. The Pinot Noir is nothing to sleep on, however, as incredible attention to detail exists here too. The Pinot clusters are destemmed by hand with shears, allowing the berries to remain perfectly intact while introducing mild stem characteristics into the wine. The Pinot also ferments in 500 liter terracotta amphorae, which is rather unique for the region.
With a philosophy of blending modern with traditional winemaking practices, 00 Wines seeks to produce distinct and high-quality wines that offer as truest a sense of place as possible. Long-time proponents of Willamette Valley winemaking, Chris and Kathryn are off to an incredible start in their own venture.
Today’s Story: 2018 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir; 13.1% ABV
The 2018 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir is medium ruby in color. This is fairly dark for a Pinot, though it’s very young. I gave this about an hour to open up, revealing aromas of medium (+) intensity and a complex nose of ripe bing cherry, red plum, black raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, dried tobacco leaf, violet, underbrush, crushed rock, a hint of vanilla, mild nutmeg, and cedar. The flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, with the palate showcasing notes of tart red cherry, cranberry, muddled strawberry, blueberry, licorice, leather, charred green herbs, pine, baking spice, white pepper, and mild vanilla. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (-) fine-grained tannins, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Very good quality and insanely concentrated, this just needs a few more years in the bottle to evolve and come into perfect balance.
Price: $95. While the intensity, length, and complexity of this wine are profound I struggle at this price-point from a “value” perspective. There’s no doubt this needs time to balance all the components and it is a great wine, however other Willamette Valley Pinots $60 or less pack a heftier punch for now. If you worry less about price and want an ultra-premium Pinot, however, this could be for you.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Peter Lauer is a very highly regarded producer of German Riesling in the Mosel’s Saar region, and it has been in the Lauer family since 1830. Today the estate is run by fifth generation Florian Lauer who took over in 2006, but his father Peter remains involved in the cellars to this day. The estate consists of 8 hectares (19 acres) of vineyards situated across some of the Saar’s greatest sites, and the Lauer family holdings are planted to 100% Riesling. Many of their vines are very old, with some of them at 100 years of age. Weingut Peter Lauer is known for their dry Rieslings, particularly from the Grosse Lage sites of Kupp, Feils (sometimes referred to as Saarfeilser), and Schonfels, however they do make wines in the off-dry and sweet styles as well when the vintage conditions are perfect for them.
From a winemaking perspective, all viticulture is organic in nature and nearly all of the work is done entirely by hand thanks to the incredibly steep grades of the vineyards. After the fruit is hand-harvested, it arrives at the winery where fermentation is completely spontaneous and free of any non-native yeasts. What’s more, Weingut Peter Lauer maintains the practice of fermenting the same sites in the same barrel (fass/faß) vintage after vintage so that the same native yeasts can ferment the same point of origin (fruit) in a similar style. Each label is then labeled accordingly, such as the Faß 13 (Barrel 13) I am reviewing today. Lauer prefers slow fermentations with extended lees contact and bâtonnage (lees stirring) to add structure, while also eliminating their need for fining. The resulting wines are incredible representations of their terroir, and truly some of the finest being produced in the Saar.
Fun Fact: You can tell quite a bit from the Peter Lauer labels, perhaps in a much more unique manner than what’s typical. For instance, the circle in the center of each label can impart knowledge of quality, as the “village level” wines have a green circle and the Grand Cru wines a gold circle. Of course, the GG (Großes Gewächs) designation on the Grand Cru labels helps as well. You can also tell the sweetness level of the wine in a rather inconspicuous manner compared to how many producers may just put “Trocken” or “Spätlese” on their labels. For instance, the tiny circled “T” in the bottom center of my label today tells me this is a Trocken (dry) style. Peter Lauer will also show TF for Trocken to Feinherb (dry to off-dry) or simply F for Feinherb (off-dry). Any bottling without one of these designations can be presumed “fruity” or noble sweet.
The 2015 Saarfeilser Riesling Faß 13 Großes Gewächs is medium gold in color. This took a couple hours to open up in the glass, and the last glass I saved for day two was even better. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of white peach, apricot, lime zest, honeysuckle, wet slate, a hint of petrol, melted caramel, and crushed stone minerality. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate displays notes of yellow apple, white peach, lemon peel, dried pineapple, dried apricot, white lily, slate, and saline mineral. This dry Riesling is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Very good quality and a bit riper than I expected. This is incredibly shy right now and took a lot of air to come out of its shell. Needs time.
Price: $60. I think this is pretty good value, though you need to be patient with this one. It’s got great depth, balance, and length even if it does seem shy and slightly closed off at this stage. But this is why I open young wines; to get an understanding of how they progress and to tell myself I need to buy more while I still can.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Mayacamas Vineyards was established in 1889 by German immigrant John Henry Fisher and is located in the Mt. Veeder AVA of the Napa Valley. Fisher went bankrupt in the early 1900s, however, and the winery ceased production with the onset of Prohibition (although bootleggers are said to have made wine in the cellars during the early years). Mayacamas was owned by the Brandlin family during the 1920s and 1930s, before being purchased by Jack and Mary Taylor in 1941 when the estate received its current name. Mayacamas changed hands yet again in 1968 when Robert and Elinor Travers purchased it, with the couple quickly setting about expanding the aging facilities and vineyard holdings while planting and replanting vines. Charles and Ali Banks purchased Mayacamas in 2007, though the winery has since changed hands again to the Schottenstein family.
Though the history of Mayacamas is long and inclusive of many ownership changes, the one constant is the traditional style of winemaking they practice. Mayacamas was one of the wines in the 1976 Judgment of Paris (they poured their 1971 Cabernet Sauvignon) which showed the estate can stand up with the greatest Californian and French wines of the world. Mayacamas dry farms their vineyards and transitioned a large portion to organic viticulture in 2013, further enhancing the quality of fruit. Very traditional in style, they age the wines in neutral oak to not mask any of the true expressions of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety or the terroir. The Mayacamas portfolio also includes classically-made Chardonnay and Merlot.
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color, still rather youthful in appearance. I decanted this for two hours, as it’s still a very fresh, lively, and youthful wine. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of redcurrant, dried blueberry, brambly blackberry, red plum, anise, violet, cigar box, graphite, pencil shavings, forest floor, charred green bell pepper, eucalyptus, clay, and cedar. Flavors meanwhile are of medium (+) intensity, though the complex palate offers notes of black cherry, redcurrant and blackcurrant, blueberry, crushed violet, licorice, dried tobacco, black truffle, charcoal, cedar spill, and mild baking spice. This dry red is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) but fine-grained tannins, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Superb wine for the vintage, and I look forward to trying it again in 3 to 5 years.
Price: $150. Given the outstanding quality, balance, length, intensity, and complexity of this wine I think this is a very fair price. The 2011s released from Mayacamas last year and finding this with the age and provenance makes for a great buy.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Werlitsch is a relatively small family-owned and operated wine estate and farm located in southern Styria in Austria. Viticulture and winemaking are spearheaded by Ewald Tscheppe, who took over this family property at the age of 26. Though the Tscheppe family had been involved in winemaking and farming for generations, Ewald is part of a newer generation making exciting, complex, and long-lived wines while advocating for biodynamic viticulture and minimally invasive winemaking.
The estate consists of about 18 hectares (44 acres) with roughly 12.5 hectares (31 acres) planted to vineyards and the balance dedicated to the winery, forests, pastures, and gardens. Weingut Werlitsch is certified biodynamic, and practically all of the vineyard work is done by hand thanks to the very steep slopes that make up the property. The vineyards are planted predominantly to Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon (a biotype of Chardonnay), though Ewald also grows Welschriesling. All fruit is hand-harvested, experiences slow pressing, and goes through fermentation only with native yeasts. Élevage is in large barrels and Austrian foudres, and the wines typically age for a minimum of 18 months but may see as long as 36 months. Bottling is accomplished with the wines unfiltered, and no SO2 is added unless absolutely necessary.
The 2017 Ex Vero III S is pale gold in color. The effervescence is very delicate and dissipates rather quickly. Aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of yellow apple, fresh pear, peach, honeysuckle, popcorn kernel, finely crushed rock, smoke, oyster shell, saline, and brioche. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers up notes of lemon zest, yellow apple, grapefruit, dried pineapple, lemongrass, SweeTarts candy, sea salt mineral, and crushed stone. This dry white blend is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish.
Price: $60. While this is very good and is a fun wine, the value proposition at this price-point seems a little stretched. The intensity, balance, and complexity are great, though I do wish the finish lingered a bit longer. That being said, I’d probably buy this again on an enjoyment basis rather than a value basis.
Though I’ve been including links in my posts recently for where to purchase the wines, this is an incredibly rare bottling and doesn’t have much of an online presence. It’s just one of those wines to be lucky to stumble across in the wild.
Domaine Xavier Gérard is an exciting and relatively young Northern Rhône wine producer that, as a rising star, seems to have gone cult over the past few years. In 2013, Xavier Gérard who is now in his 30s took over top-notch parcels from his family’s domain in the Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu appellations. Today his holdings include three hectares (seven acres) of estate-owned vineyards in Condrieu and 2.2 hectares (five acres) of estate-owned vineyards in Côte-Rôtie. He also sources an additional 0.5 hectares (one acre) in Condrieu and one hectare (two acres) in Côte-Rôtie. A small parcel in Saint-Joseph completes the portfolio, resulting in the production of four Viognier bottlings (Condrieu) and two Syrah bottlings (Côte-Rôtie and the single-vineyard designate Côte-Rôtie La Landonne).
From a winemaking standpoint, Xavier has shifted his viticultural practices to organic with a hope of receiving certification in the near future. To this end, he only uses copper sulfate in the vineyards as a treatment for mildew when necessary. Like his neighbors, all vineyard work is done completely by hand thanks to the incredibly steep vineyard sites of the appellations. Additionally, Xavier’s yields are kept rather small thanks to severe pruning, debudding, and green harvesting if necessary, with a typical yield of 35-40 hl/ha.
In the cellar, Xavier follows pretty traditional winemaking practices with minimal intervention the goal. All wines, white and red, go through spontaneous primary fermentation using only native yeasts and see either neutral oak, stainless steel, concrete, or a combination based on cuvée. During aging, the wines enter an oak or stainless steel program based on cuvée (for example the Côte-Rôtie sees 24 months in neutral oak while the Côte-Rôtie La Landonne sees 30 months in 50% new oak) and malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in barrel. The wines are only racked off their gross lees following primary fermentation, then off the fine lees not until assemblage. Reds are bottled unfined and unfiltered, while the whites are bottled unfined but plate filtered.
Today’s Wine: 2016 Côte-Rôtie
93% Syrah, 7% Viognier; 13% ABV
The 2016 Côte-Rôtie is medium purple in color. I decanted this for two hours and drank it over the following two hours. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, but the nose is incredibly complex showcasing notes of blackberry, red plum, blueberry, dried black licorice, violet, candied bacon, sun-dried loam, dried rosemary, olive, charred underbrush, cracked black pepper, and a hint of iron. There’s mild oak influence there as well. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate is equally complex, offering up notes of blueberry, spiced plum, blackberry purée, black cherry, licorice, black olive, violet, sweet tobacco, crushed rock, charred green herbs, ground green peppercorn, cocoa powder, and a hint of baking spice. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium but vibrant acidity, medium tannins, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Outstanding quality.
Price: $65. This is a screaming value and I’d be shocked if it stays this way for long. While the intensity is great, the complexity and balance in this wine already at a relatively young age are profound. This kept changing and changing.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Red Cap Vineyards’ story begins in 1998 with Tom and Desiree Altemus when they purchased a 10.5 acre property on Howell Mountain. Though Tom’s background is originally in finance working for IBM, he grew an appreciation for fine wine during business trips and ultimately quit to pursue a career as a chef in 1991. After graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Tom worked for famed chefs and restauranteurs including Michel Richard and Bradley Ogden before settling in at Brava Terrace in St. Helena. With the birth of the couple’s first child, Tom left the restaurant industry and the birth of their second child created the need to expand from Napa to Howell Mountain.
Having purchased their property, the Altemus family started planning their vineyards in 2000 with viability studies and archeological, biological, and botanical surveys. Due to seemingly endless regulations, the land was finally cleared and prepped in 2003 and the first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon released in 2005 with 50 cases. Having personally visited the property, I can attest that the land is not only beautiful but the vineyard rows are stunning to look at. The vineyards are planted on iron-rich volcanic soil that in person is very red and rocky, while all fruit is grown organically and hand-farmed.
The 2019 Sauvignon Blanc is pale straw in color. The aromas are of medium intensity, with the somewhat delicate nose offering up notes of ripe pear, white peach, tropical citrus, honeysuckle, lemongrass, white pepper, and white chocolate. The flavors are also of medium intensity, and the palate showcases notes of white peach, underripe pear, lemon pith, kiwi, straw, wet river stone, macadamia nut, and vanilla bean. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, high alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. This is a good quality Sauvignon Blanc, and it comes across creamier and a bit fuller than a typical example.
Price: $35. This is a very reasonable price given the elevated quality level and solid depth to the wine. As I typically say in my Red Cap posts, Tom and Rudy are producing some of the great wines of the Napa Valley. And they offer incredible value too.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, while it is sold out on the Red Cap website purchasing direct from the winery here will be your best bet at securing future releases.
Weingut Clemens Busch is a highly regarded family-owned wine estate under the guide of fifth generation winemaker Clemens Busch and his wife Rita. Clemens began working with his father on the family’s two hectares (five acres) of vineyards during the mid-1970s, however he and Rita inherited the estate themselves in 1984. The winery is located in the town of Pünderich along the Mosel River in Germany, and the majority of their vineyards sit across the way on the iconic hillside known as Marienburg. Over time Clemens and Rita have adeptly added to their vineyard holdings while their neighbors moved elsewhere to focus on Pinot Noir during the 1980s, so today the family property consists of about 16 hectares (39 acres) of vineyards planted to 99% Riesling and 1% Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). The “house specials,” if you will, are Rieslings made in a dry style though they also produce some noble sweet Riesling as well which many consider some of the finest in the Mosel.
Not one to follow the norms of the region, Clemens believes wholeheartedly that organic and biodynamic viticulture, alongside minimal intervention in the cellar, produces the greatest wines. Clemens and Rita were early adopters of organic farming when they converted in 1984, and they are also early adopters of biodynamics which they fully converted to in 2005 with certification. Clemens also goes against the grain when it comes to his bottlings. The hill of Marienburg became “one site” thanks to a government ruling in 1971 that combined all the individual sites of this 23 hectare (57 acre) hillside into a 90 hectare (222 acre) area. While this was initially supposed to “help” its recognition, Clemens knew that all the different soil types and historic vineyard names are important to maintain so he vinifies, bottles, and labels all the wines by their historic, pre-combined names.
In the cellar specifically, Clemens practices minimal intervention winemaking in an attempt to best showcase the unique terroir of each bottling. This includes fermentation with only native and spontaneous yeasts and aging the wines in very old 1,000 liter barrels (some of which are over 40 years old). Amazingly, most of their fermentation take eight to ten months due to this method! Clemens does not like adding sulfur to his wines either, so to minimize this he only adds a small dose prior to bottling. These wines are never fined as well, again in an effort to show the variety and terroir in the most honest way possible.
Fun Fact: The color of the capsule on each bottle of Clemens Busch tells the consumer what color slate the fruit for the wine grows in. A grey capsule represents grey slate, a blue capsule blue slate, and a red capsule red slate.
Today’s Wine: 2019 Riesling Trocken
100% Riesling; 10.5% ABV
The 2019 Riesling Trocken is medium yellow in color. This takes a couple hours to really open up thanks to its youth, but once it does the aromas are of pronounced intensity and the nose showcases notes of white peach, lemon and lime zest, green apple, honeysuckle, petrol, smoke, wet slate, and stony mineral. The flavors are also of pronounced intensity, while the palate offers up notes of lime peel, green apple, dried apricot, white peach, jasmine, a hint of smoke, slate, and mineral. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, low alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Good quality for this entry-level bottling.
Price: $23. This is pretty well-priced for its quality level as an entry-level bottling. While it takes some coaxing at this stage to come out of its shell, there’s great intensity and depth to this wine for its price-point. Not a bad one to have while you wait on the higher-end bottlings to mature.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Larkmead Vineyards is a very historic Napa Valley winery, established in 1895 in Calistoga. It’s also one of the longest-standing family-owned wineries in the valley, though ownership has changed hands over the course of time. Though the Larkmead property had been home to cellars and a winery decades prior to 1895, it got its name thanks to Lillie Hitchcock Coit whose family owned the property at that time. Lillie, the daughter of Army surgeon Charles Hitchcock and his wife Martha, was a bit of a wild card for the times and took lovingly to the city of San Francisco. Known for drinking Bourbon, smoking cigars, and gambling, Lillie’s social prowess was of much chagrin to her parents so they sent her to live on their Napa Valley estate “to learn to quiet down.” Lillie named the property Larkmead and spent a great deal entertaining and gardening there, including the vineyards she cultivated to Zinfandel and Riesling which brought her into the wine community of early Napa Valley with the likes of Schram, Tubbs, Krug, and Beringer.
The next family of great importance to Larkmead’s history is the Salmina family who leased the winery in 1895 before purchasing it completely in 1903. Larkmead received its name from Lillie Hitchcock, while the Salmina family can be thanked for the “official” beginning of the estate’s winemaking. Though the Larkmead wines and grapes themselves sold quite successfully in those early years, like many of their neighbors they were not immune to the detriments of Prohibition. Similar to other benchmark producers in the region, however, Larkmead sold fruit and made sacramental wine to stay alive before releasing wine under their own label once again after the repeal of Prohibition. Shortly thereafter, Larkmead was considered one of the greatest wine producers in the Napa Valley alongside Inglenook, Beaulieu Vineyard, and Beringer.
Years later, the patriarch of the Salmina family, Felix, passed away in 1940 and set about a few years of “turmoil” for Larkmead. The family sold the estate to Bragno & Co, a Chicago-based bottling company, in 1943 however this ownership was relatively short-lived and they sold to National Distillers during the following years. In 1948, though, the Solari family purchased the Larkmead estate and they continue to own and operate it to this day.
It was Larry and Polly Solari who purchased the winery in 1948, with Larry a titan of the winemaking industry and Polly an incredibly adept manager of Larkmead while Larry commuted to San Francisco during the week. Larry was a sales manager for Italian Swiss Colony at this time, with his primary goal to make sure American family’s adopted the need for wine on the dinner table. Polly ran Larkmead when Larry was away, becoming one of the first and most important female leads in winemaking at a time when it was unheard of. Larry later became CEO of United Vintners which owned Italian Swiss Colony, Inglenook, and Beaulieu Vineyard, however the next roots of the Solari family were well planted when Larry and Polly’s daughter Kate took over Larkmead in 1992.
Kate Solari Baker and her husband Cam started running the winery in 1992 and maintain a steady hand to this day. During their first decade at the helm, Kate and Cam replanted the vineyards in an incredibly thoughtful manner such that varieties, clones, and rootstock were perfectly-matched to each block. They also constructed state of the art winemaking and tasting facilities designed by renowned architect Howard Backen, which helped bring the estate into the new millenium. While the quality of Larkmead’s wines continues to rise under the stewardship of Kate and Cam, their own children and grandchildren became involved in the estate and odds are looking quite good for this historic property to run through the third and fourth generations of the Solari family at the very least.
As an estate, Larkmead today consists of 110 acres of vineyards planted predominantly to Cabernet Sauvignon. While roughly 1/3 of this production is focused on the Larkmead wines themselves, the rest of the fruit sells to other highly-regarded producers in the Napa Valley. It’s no wonder why the fruit from Larkmead is in such high demand, though, as their sites are some of the rarest and most unique on the valley floor. Situated in one of the narrowest parts of Napa Valley, Larkmead has benefited over the centuries from a diversity of soils coalescing under their feet. From the surrounding mountains, years and years of erosion and change in the earth itself has brought soil characteristics of mountain vineyards to Larkmead on the valley floor. Here, this meeting of colluvial and alluvial fans creates an exceptionally broad range for the wines possible from Larkmead’s terroir.
From a winemaking perspective as it pertains to Larkmead itself, the portfolio is at minimum about 90% dedicated to red wines. The portfolio as a whole is split up into two groups, the Vineyard Wines and the Larkmead Wines. The Vineyard Wines consist primarily of blends and “entry-level” bottlings, including the Cabernet Sauvignon, Firebelle (Merlot heavy), LMV Salon (Cabernet Franc heavy), and Lillie (Sauvignon Blanc). The Larkmead Wines, meanwhile, consist of the single-variety bottlings of Dr. Olmo, Salari, and The Lark dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon and denoted by their black labels. Larkmead also produces a highly limited Tocai Friulano (rare for the region) and a 125th Anniversary Cuvée red blend in the 2020 vintage alone.
Today’s Wine: 2012 The Lark
100% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14.9% ABV
The 2012 The Lark is deep ruby in color, though almost inky black at its core. I decanted this for two hours and drank it over the following two hours. The aromas are of pronounced intensity and incredibly concentrated, with the nose showcasing notes of blackberry compote, crème de cassis, muddled cherry, blueberry, licorice, lavender, cigar box, wet gravel, black olive, dried green cooking herbs, clove, and cedar. Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity and the palate displays notes of redcurrant, black cherry, blackberry, muddled blueberry, graphite, tobacco, scorched earth, dark chocolate, coffee grounds, a hint of pyrazine, mild vanilla, and a touch of smoke. This dry red is full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) but silky and refined tannin, high alcohol, and a long, long finish. The incredible intensity and concentration in this wine all while remaining very well-balanced is something to write home about. 290 cases produced.
Price: $350. While this may be a tough sell purely on its value perspective, there is no denying this is an outstanding wine. With its balance, intensity, complexity, and length of the finish all superb this is an incredibly concentrated wine and there’s no rush to drink these. Definitely very thankful to have been gifted this bottle by a friend.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Weingut Peter Lauer is a very highly regarded producer of German Riesling in the Mosel’s Saar region, and it has been in the Lauer family since 1830. Today the estate is run by fifth generation Florian Lauer who took over in 2006, but his father Peter remains involved in the cellars to this day. The estate consists of 8 hectares (19 acres) of vineyards situated across some of the Saar’s greatest sites, and the Lauer family holdings are planted to 100% Riesling. Many of their vines are very old, with some of them at 100 years of age. Weingut Peter Lauer is known for their dry Rieslings, particularly from the Grosse Lage sites of Kupp, Feils (sometimes referred to as Saarfeilser), and Schonfels, however they do make wines in the off-dry and sweet styles as well when the vintage conditions are perfect for them.
From a winemaking perspective, all viticulture is organic in nature and nearly all of the work is done entirely by hand thanks to the incredibly steep grades of the vineyards. After the fruit is hand-harvested, it arrives at the winery where fermentation is completely spontaneous and free of any non-native yeasts. What’s more, Weingut Peter Lauer maintains the practice of fermenting the same sites in the same barrel (fass/faß) vintage after vintage so that the same native yeasts can ferment the same point of origin (fruit) in a similar style. Each label is then labeled accordingly, such as the Faß 18 (Barrel 18) I am reviewing today. Lauer prefers slow fermentations with extended lees contact and bâtonnage (lees stirring) to add structure, while also eliminating their need for fining. The resulting wines are incredible representations of their terroir, and truly some of the finest being produced in the Saar.
Fun Fact: You can tell quite a bit from the Peter Lauer labels, perhaps in a much more unique manner than what’s typical. For instance, the circle in the center of each label can impart knowledge of quality, as the “village level” wines have a green circle and the Grand Cru wines a gold circle. Of course, the GG (Großes Gewächs) designation on the Grand Cru labels helps as well. You can also tell the sweetness level of the wine in a rather inconspicuous manner compared to how many producers may just put “Trocken” or “Spätlese” on their labels. For instance, the tiny circled “T” in the bottom center of my label today tells me this is a Trocken (dry) style. Peter Lauer will also show TF for Trocken to Feinherb (dry to off-dry) or simply F for Feinherb (off-dry). Any bottling without one of these designations can be presumed “fruity” or noble sweet.
The 1992 Réserve Brut is deep gold in color with delicate effervescence. This is absolutely singing right out of the gates, with the aromas of pronounced intensity and the incredibly layered nose showcasing notes of apricot, banana, yellow peach, orange peel, tobacco leaf, green olive, peat, graphite, smoke, seashell, almond, and stony mineral. Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the equally complex palate offering notes of baked pear, golden apple, dried apricot, honeysuckle, peat, bacon, charred green herbs, smoke, toasted almond, melted caramel, sea salt, and white pepper. There’s a fairly bright mineral element on the palate as well. This dry sparkling wine is medium-bodied and creamy with medium (+) acidity, low alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality and an incredibly exciting wine to try. This continued to evolve throughout the bottle, but I’d suggest drinking these up in the next year or two. Méthode Traditionnelle and hand-riddled. Disgorged after 28 years with zero dosage.
Price: $65. I think this offers great value, though it’s very important to note this wine will not be for everyone. This is very peaty and smoky (almost reminiscent of some Scotch notes) and it’s a highly unusual wine. For me though, I love this. The balance, intensity, and complexity all speak to the high quality as well.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it. Unfortunately, this bottle seems difficult to find.
Castro Candaz is a relatively new but exciting joint venture established by Spanish winemakers Raúl Pérez and Rodrigo Méndez in the Ribeira Sacra region of Spain. Raúl is a legend in Spanish winemaking in his own right, particularly for his La Penitencia and El Pecado bottlings from the Amandi appellation of Ribeira Sacra. He also consults for a number of wineries and has forged partnerships with many of the world’s most important winemaking families, for example like the Graillot family of Crozes-Hermitage. Rodrigo, on the other hand, is well-known for producing exceptional Albariño from Rías Baixas and he has worked with Raúl previously. This new Castro Candaz project is centered in the cooler Chantada appellation of Ribeira Sacra where the Sil River widens and vineyards are less steep. The wines are meant to be restrained examples focused on the Mencía variety, produced with whole cluster fermentation in large oak vats with an aim of sticking around 13% ABV or lower. These are delicate but complex wines meant to showcase the purity of the variety and deliver a sense of place.
Today’s Wine: 2019 Mencía
Field blend of Mencía, Domingo Pérez (Trousseau), Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet), Mouratón, Caiño, and Brancellao; 13% ABV
The 2019 Mencía is medium ruby in color. Given some time to open up in the glass, this wine offers up aromas of medium (+) with the nose showcasing cherry, black raspberry, pomegranate, rose petal, crushed rock, volcanic earth, and rosemary. There’s a strong mineral backbone here as well. Meanwhile on the palate the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, offering up notes of blackberry, cherry, pomegranate, peppered red meat, chopped green cooking herbs, crushed gravel, and mild smoke. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish.
Price: $20 (closer to $12 in Spain). This wine offers pretty stellar value, especially over in Europe where it’s nearly half the price of US retail. It’s a gorgeous wine of very good quality thanks to great balance, solid intensity, and sense of place.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Enfield Wine Co. is a relatively small family-owned and operated winery established by John Lockwood and Amy Seese in 2010. John started working in the wine industry in 2004 at Heron Lake Vineyard, followed by harvests at Littorai, Bodega Melipal in Argentina, and Failla Wines. John remained with Failla for five years managing and farming their Sonoma Coast and Russian River estate vineyards, ultimately starting Enfield as a small passion project. In 2013, John left Failla and devoted his time entirely to Enfield.
Enfield focuses primarily on terroir as a starting point, working with small independent growers across a range of regions to source their fruit. John and Amy purchase fruit from Antle Vineyard and Brosseau Vineyard in the Chalone AVA, Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville, Heron Lake Vineyard in Wild Horse Valley, Jesus & Patricia’s Vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview, and Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador County. From these sites they acquire a range of varieties including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo amongst others, all with varying vine age as well. John’s philosophy is to harvest his fruit for balance and ferment the wines naturally in order to showcase each unique terroir, eschewing a heavy-handed winemaking style. The wines are often fresh, lively, and mineral-driven, though John does enjoy exploring esoteric bottlings as well.
Today’s Wine: 2018 Haynes Vineyard Old Vine Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay; 13.2% ABV
The 2018 Haynes Vineyard Old Vine Chardonnay is medium gold in color. This really hits its stride after 30-45 minutes in the glass. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of mango, dried pineapple, lemon zest, yellow apple, flint, seashell, dried vanilla, dill, and saline mineral. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers up notes of Meyer lemon, Asian pear, green apple, dried pineapple, limestone, oyster shell, mild green herbs, and white pepper. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality with a beautifully linear presentation.
Price: $50. I think this offers great value, particularly if you can find it slightly cheaper like I did at $42. The intensity here is good but the depth and linearity are excellent for such a young Chardonnay. This is also beautifully balanced. I continue to be impressed by the wines from Enfield.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Domaine Ghislaine Barthod is a highly regarded but relatively small wine estate located in the Chambolle-Musigny appellation of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. The domain was initially established by Marcel Noëllat in the late 1920s, though it became a partnership of the Noëllat and Barthod families when Gaston Barthod, an officer in the French Army stationed in Dijon, married Marcel’s daughter. Following his military service, Gaston took over the domain during the 1950s and bottled all of his wines under the Chambolle-Musigny designation. Gaston’s daughter Ghislaine joined the domain during the 1980s, working alongside her father to study the winemaking practices and traditions of the family. She officially took over Domaine Barthod in 1999 with her father’s passing, though was effectively running the domain for the decade or so prior.
Today the domain consists of about six hectares (15 acres) of vineyards situated largely in Chambolle-Musigny but crossing over slightly into the neighboring Gilly-les-Citeaux. Of these holdings, many are in some of the greatest vineyards of Chambolle-Musigny including the highly regarded 1er Cru sites of Les Cras, Les Fuées, and Les Charmes. Domaine Barthod has been practicing organic viticulture since 2002, with their only treatment copper sulfate to help fight mildew. Their vines average 30 years of age, and yields are greatly limited with severe pruning, debudding, and green harvesting if necessary. All harvest activity is accomplished by hand, with sorting done in the vineyards before the fruit is taken to the winery in small baskets.
In the cellar, Ghislaine practices pretty traditional vinification methods for the region. After a three to four day cold soak with partially destemmed fruit, the wines begin fermentation spontaneously and with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. She practices pump overs and occasional punch downs for color and tannin extraction, while primary fermentation lasts for roughly three weeks. Next, the wines are barreled down into 20-30% new oak barrels and aging lasts for about 20 months. Malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously in barrel during the spring, and the wines are only racked following malolactic fermentation and prior to assemblage. Bottling is accomplished with no fining or filtration, unless absolutely necessary.
Today’s Wine: 2016 Bourgogne Rouge Les Bons Bâtons
100% Pinot Noir; 13% ABV
The 2016 Bourgogne Rouge Les Bons Bâtons is medium ruby in color, almost even deep garnet. I gave this a slow ox in the bottle for an hour and then another hour in the glass to open up, as it’s rather tight at this stage. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of tart red cherry, blueberry, raspberry pastry, strawberry licorice, violet, black tea, fresh leather, delicate limestone, and mineral. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate offers up notes of red and black cherry, red plum, raspberry, licorice, violet, pipe tobacco, charred green herbs, finely crushed rock, and a very mild touch of baking spice. This dry red is medium-bodied with high acidity, medium tannins that are firm but not out of balance, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Very good quality and incredibly concentrated for a Bourgogne Rouge. Need to revisit this in probably two to three years.
Price: $55. This wine offers great value, performing as one of the best Bourgogne Rouge bottlings I’ve had around this price-point. The intensity, complexity, and length of the wine are fantastic while the tannin and acid structure bode quite well for aging. I look forward to purchasing a few more bottles to lay down in the cellar.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Joh. Jos. Prüm, situated in the village of Wehlen on the banks of the Mosel in Germany, is one of the most highly-regarded wine estates in the region and perhaps all of Germany. Though the Prüm family lived in Wehlen back to the year 1156, the estate as we know it today started to take shape during the 1800s under Sebastian Alois Prüm. Joh. Jos. Prüm itself, however, was established in 1911 when Johann Josef Prüm received part of the family estate which was split between him and his siblings. Joh. Jos. Prüm wasn’t in the greatest of health when his son Sebastian took over in 1920, and it again passed to Sebastian’s son Dr. Manfred Prüm in 1969. Joh. Jos. Prüm remains a family estate to this day, as Manfred’s oldest daughter Katharina now runs the show with minimal but ready input from her father.
The Joh. Jos. Prüm estate consists of about 14 hectares (35 acres) of vineyards, with important holdings in Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, and Bernkasteler Badstube. The Prüms exclusively produce Riesling in a range of styles, and an amazing 70% of their vines are ungrafted. The winemaking style here is rather traditional and harvest occurs on the later-end, ultimately resulting in wines that are delicate and restrained yet incredibly long-lived. Annual production typically hovers around 13,000 cases, and these are highly prized and collectible wines once they hit substantial levels of bottle age.
The 2008 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese is medium yellow in color. Given some time in the glass, the aromas blossom with pronounced intensity and the nose showcases notes of peach, golden pear, dried apricot, a pinch of lime zest, honeysuckle, a hint of petrol, mild underbrush, clay, and flint. Meanwhile the flavors are also of pronounced intensity and the palate displays notes of ripe pear, peach, nectarine, dried apricot, dried pineapple, white florals, slight petrol, and wet slate. There’s also a very interesting note of caramel at the very end that caught me by surprise. This medium-sweet Riesling is medium bodied with high acidity, low alcohol, and a long finish. Outstanding quality and incredibly well-balanced with the acidity and sweetness in perfect harmony.
Price: $70. This offers fairly decent value, particularly at this age. The wine is intense, solidly complex, and supremely balanced which makes for an incredible drinking experience. Will have to get more of this.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Antica Terra was established in 2005 by Scott Adelson, John Mavredakis, and Michael Kramer, three friends and partners who had collaborated before and dreamed of owning a vineyard together. This being said, vines were first planted in 1989 on the property, an 11 acre vineyard on pre-historic seabed in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Having taken ownership of their new vineyard, Scott, John, and Michael started seeking a winemaker and their crosshairs quickly fell upon Maggie Harrison.
Maggie began her winemaking career at Sine Qua Non (known for $200-$1,000+ bottles of cult Rhone variety wines) working for Manfred Krankl and her expertise was quickly realized. In 2004, Manfred encouraged her to begin her own Syrah project on the side, and Lillian was born (I reviewed two of these Syrahs previously). Maggie worked tirelessly on her passion project wines while still tending to barrels at Sine Qua Non, demonstrating her pure passion for the craft. When Scott, John, and Michael asked Maggie to become their winemaker, she refused profusely though the three friends ultimately convinced her to simply visit the property to offer her opinions of the vineyard. 26 seconds after Maggie stepped foot into the vineyards and observed the fossils, oaks, and vines, “she found herself hunched beneath one of the trees, phone in hand, explaining to her husband that they would be moving to Oregon.”
The vineyard of Antica Terra is rather intense, both in appearance above the earth and underground for the vines. The vines find home amongst fossilized oyster shells and sandstone with no topsoil, leaving them to struggle for nutrients and in turn producing incredibly unique fruit. Aboveground, the vineyard is strewn with boulders, steep grades, and vines that (due to the soil) appear spindly and frail. Fruit for Antica Terra wines forms in tiny clusters with thick-skinned grapes that are half the size that is typical for their varieties and the canopy of these plants is incredibly sensitive. Maggie provides immense care and attention to these delicate vines, which culminates into unique and immeasurably profound wines. Antica Terra produces four Pinot Noir bottlings, two Chardonnays, and one Rosé. In the 2018 vintage, they also produced their first-ever and incredibly limited ice wine.
I wrote about Antica Terra a few times previously, first on the 2017 Botanica Pinot Noir, then on the 2018 Aurata Chardonnay, and most recently on the 2018 Paraselene Ice Wine. I’m excited to review another wine from Antica Terra today, as it’s the oldest vintage I’ve ever had the opportunity to purchase.
Today’s Wine: 2008 Botanica Pinot Noir
100% Pinot Noir; 13.6% ABV
The 2008 Botanica Pinot Noir is deep garnet in color, showing beautifully with its age. I served this as a pop-and-pour, as it was firing on all cylinders right out of the gates. The aromas are of pronounced intensity, with the insanely complex nose showcasing notes of dried black cherry, stewed black plum, muddled strawberry with stems, black olive, lavender, smoked meat, worn leather, tobacco, forest floor, morel mushroom, wet gravel, basil, eucalyptus, and a touch of cedar. Flavors are also of pronounced intensity, with the equally complex palate displaying notes of black cherry, blueberry, stewed black plum, black raspberry, leather, sweet tobacco, lavender, scorched earth, truffle, crushed rock, charred green herbs, pine, smoke, and a hint of baking spice. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, low and incredibly silky tannins, medium (+) alcohol, and a long finish that lingers for at least 45 seconds. This silky, elegant, and captivating Pinot is perhaps the greatest I’ve had from the US.
Price: $125. This bottling is practically impossible to find nowadays, however it is absolutely worth the price if you find it. I’d even go so far as to say it’s a very strong value at $125. The complexity, depth, balance, intensity, and length in this wine are all truly mind-boggling.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it. Unfortunately for this wine, availability is incredibly limited.
To say Pierre-Yves Colin was a rising star turned legend in Chassagne-Montrachet over the last decade or so might be an understatement. Pierre-Yves started working with his father Marc Colin (the Burgundian legend in his own right) in 1994 and became winemaker until the 2005 vintage when he decided to branch out into his own venture. Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey was established by Pierre-Yves and his wife Caroline Morey (daughter of Jean-Marc Morey) and spawned out of a negociant business the couple started in 2001. Pierre-Yves inherited 6 hectares from his family and purchases fruit from carefully selected growers, but there is no question he knows all of this terroir like the back of his hand. When making his wines, Pierre-Yves presses the fruit very slowly and at higher pressures than normal, racks directly into 350L barrels for natural fermentation, never stirs the lees, and diverts his wine by gravity into his cellar. Pierre-Yves’ wines spend two winters aging in the cellar before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Whether it be thanks to the intense attention to terroir, his winemaking practices, or any minute decision he makes throughout the year, there is no question that Pierre-Yves’ wines are something special.
The 2019 Bourgogne Blanc is pale straw yellow in color with hints of green. I decanted this for two hours but tasted it along the way, since when I had this a few months back it took quite some time to open up in the glass. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of lemon zest, Asian pear, crisp green apple, white lily, flint, matchstick, oyster shell, and raw almond. Meanwhile the flavors are of pronounced intensity, and the palate offers up notes of lemon citrus, ripe green apple, a pinch of lime zest, underripe pear, white florals, flint, sea salt, crushed stone minerality, and a hint of white pepper. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a long finish. Very good quality and a good one to revisit in a couple years.
Price: $47. This is great value for top-notch Chardonnay. Intensity, balance, complexity, and length are all quite solid here for the price level and this seems like a good one to have in the cellar. PYCM shows his prowess once again.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
Ciavolich is a historic winery situated in the town of Miglianico in Italy’s Chieti provence, and they are dedicated to the indigenous varieties of Passerina, Cococciola, Pecorino, Trebbiano, and Montepulciano. The Ciavolich family traces their roots back to about 1500 when they were wool merchants of Bulgarian origin, though they migrated to Miglianico around 1560 to escape the Saracen invasion in their homeland. The family’s history with wine, however, came much later in 1853 when Francesco Ciavolich built the winery and cellars near his home. Though this winery still stands today as a testament to some of the earliest winemaking in Abruzzo, the family was forced out of their home in 1943 during an occupation by German soldiers just after harvest. Therefore, the 1943 harvest was the last by the family at their historic property. During the 1960s, though, the Ciavolich family inherited the 50 hectare (123 acre) estate of Loreto Aprutino in the province of Pescara from Donna Ernestina and they resumed winemaking. Giuseppe Ciavolich planted his vineyards here to Montepulciano, Trebbiano, and Cococciola. The estate remained in the family ever since, and beginning 2004 is under the guide of Chiara Ciavolich and her husband Gianluca.
Today the Ciavolich estate consists of two main vineyard sites in the towns of Loreto Aprutino and Pianella. In Loreto Aprutino, Chiara has 35 hectares (86 acres) of vineyards with additional land dedicated to olive groves and arable land. This makes up the heart of the estate and its production. In Pianella, she has 15 hectares (37 acres) with six hectares planted to Montepulciano and one hectare planted to Pecorino. The rest is planted to olive groves. Chiara practices a modern take on the traditional winemaking practices of the region, working with a range of vessels that include stainless steel, oak, concrete, and terracotta amphorae. Her main line of wines goes through what she calls contemporary vinification, though Chiara makes sure to pay respect and transparency to the variety. Her Fosso Cancelli wines, on the other hand, follow more traditional practices such as spontaneous fermentation in the ancient vessels made of terracotta, oak, and concrete.
Today’s Wine: 2020 Aries Pecorino
100% Pecorino; 13% ABV
The 2020 Aries Pecorino is pale gold in color. After this opens up in the glass and comes up in temperature, the medium intense aromas on the nose include lemon zest, white peach, pear, mango, ginger, chamomile, mild green herbs, and crushed rock minerality. Meanwhile on the palate, the flavors are also of medium intensity while showcasing notes of pineapple, peach, tangerine, lemon zest, white floral, chopped grass, and marine mineral. This dry white is light- to medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish. Good quality, as this is fairly delicate but it offers decent depth in a crisp and enjoyable wine.
Price: $20 (though this can be found for $15 depending on location). This offers decent QPR if you can find it at the $15, though I do also feel $20 is pretty fair. This is the first time I’ve tried Pecorino, and I look forward to giving more bottlings a try.
If this wine seems like something you might enjoy, you may find this link helpful in locating it.
JB's Wine Talk 