Category: Wine Review

Luxurious but Terroir-Driven Oregon Pinot Noir

Today’s Story: North Valley Vineyards (Soter Vineyards)

North Valley Vineyards is a partnership between Tony & Michelle Soter, winemaker James Cahill, and Director of Sales & Marketing Brian Sypher. Though the wines are produced and bottled by Soter Vineyards, North Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Rosé are in a sense the “regional” wines coming from sustainably-farmed vineyards in the Willamette Valley rather than Mineral Springs Ranch, Soter’s estate vineyard. Diving a bit deeper, the team sources their fruit from the Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carolton, and McMinnville viticultural areas with vineyards including Roe & Roe, Beacon Hill, Momtazi, and Zena Crown. Though Tony and James are highly involved in the farming of these vineyards (affectionately referred to as “satellite estate vineyards”) and they could certainly yield exceptional single vineyard bottlings, North Valley Vineyards carefully blends the wines from each site into the finished product. Tony and James produce their North Valley wines with gentle, traditional winemaking practices and age them in French oak typically only 5-15% new.

Today’s Wine: 2017 North Valley Reserve Pinot Noir

100% Pinot Noir; 13.8% ABV

The 2017 North Valley Reserve Pinot Noir is moderately opaque pale ruby/purple in color. This needs an hour to breathe, but once it does the nose showcases aromas of black cherry, dried blueberry, blood orange peel, leather, rocky soil, wet slate, pine, and cola. There is some slight heat but I think it’s due to the young age. On the palate, I get notes of black raspberry, baked cherry, juicy blackberry, blue florals, silt, mushroom, eucalyptus, allspice, and stony mineral. This is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (-) tannins, and a long finish.

Price: $60 from the winery (though I paid $42 retail). I think this is somewhere between fairly priced and a good value at $60, but if you can find a deal like I did it is an absolute steal. This has all the characteristics of great Oregon Pinot Noir and, while it has that luxurious feel to it, doesn’t seem too heavy handed by the winemaker. Pair with duck breast, herb roasted pork, or dark chocolate.

Mouthwatering Village Level Chablis

Today’s Story: Domaine Moreau-Naudet

Domaine Moreau-Naudet is a small estate located in the Chablis region of northern Burgundy. Though Moreau-Naudet has been a family-run domaine for quite some time, it was 1999 when Stéphane Moreau joined his father and drastically shifted the winemaking practices. Stéphane transitioned to fully organic viticulture alongside biodynamic practices, started harvesting his vineyards completely by hand, and practiced a minimal intervention winemaking style that includes natural yeast fermentation, slow élevage in large oak barrels, and minimal added sulphur. Stéphane was a nonconformist for Chablis in this sense, and took significant inspiration from Vincent Dauvissat, Didier Dagueneau, and Nadi Foucault. Sadly, Stéphane passed away incredibly too young (in his upper 40s) in 2016 and the future of the domaine fell to questioning. Shortly thereafter, however, Stéphane’s wife Virginie and his assistant winemaker displayed great adeptness by stepping in and remaining steadfast to Stéphane’s philosophy and style then and to this day.

Today’s Wine: 2017 Chablis

100% Chardonnay; 12.5% ABV

The 2017 Chablis is medium gold in color with water white variation near the rim. Give this 30 minutes to an hour to open up and you will be handsomely rewarded. The nose showcases aromas of white peach, lemon peel, stone fruit, summer melon, honeysuckle, and chalky mineral. On the palate, I get notes of lemon zest, baked pineapple, quince, green apple skins, white florals, flint, and saline mineral. This is medium-bodied with vibrant high acidity and a well-rounded mouthfeel into a long, mouthwatering finish. While the wine doesn’t have as much depth as I was hoping for, its precision makes up for that and makes me excited to try it again in a few years.

Price: $35 (though you can find this cheaper, especially in Europe). This is a great value and it’s hard to believe this is a village wine thanks to its finesse and precision. Would love to try this again in a few years. Pair with oysters, snails with garlic butter, or gougères.

Outstanding Value From the Tuscan New Wave

Today’s Story: Montepeloso

Montepeloso is a small, 15 acre estate located in the Tuscan comune of Suvereto. Current owner and winemaker Fabio Chiarelotto purchased the estate in 1998, though Montepeloso was already producing world class wines under original owners Willi and Doris Neukom. When Fabio took the helm, he undertook an immense overhaul of the vineyards, reshaping them over the course of 8 years by retraining, pruning, and regrafting a significant number of vines. Fabio loved the wines of Montepeloso before this drastic feat, however he rightfully assumed that the terroir had so much more to offer in producing elegant and finessed wines rather than concentrated examples easy to make in the hot climate. Fabio’s wines are proclaimed as some of the greatest examples of Tuscany’s “new wave,” characterized as “beautiful, profound, and expressive.” Fabio practices biodynamic viticultural methods, relatively short macerations, fermentation using only native yeasts, and bottles his wines without filtration.

Today’s Wine: 2016 Eneo

45% Sangiovese, 35% Montepulciano, 15% Alicante, 5% Marselan; 14.5% ABV

The 2016 Eneo is opaque medium ruby in color with some purple hues. This needs at least 1-2 hours to really open up, but once it does the nose showcases aromas of plum, blueberry, black cherry, anise, lavender, cigar box, dry chalky soil, dried green herbs, light baking spice, milk chocolate, and light oak. Once in the mouth, this beauty displays notes of brambleberry, black raspberry, black plum, mild tobacco, scorched earth, slate, savory herbs, black pepper, and espresso. This is full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, fine-grained medium (+) tannins, and a long finish dominated by black fruit and purple/blue florals.

Price: $45. This is an outstanding value, and certainly one of the greatest out of Tuscany I’ve had in a long, long time. The finesse and depth this shows at such a young age is breathtaking, and I would love to stick this into a blind tasting lineup with wines twice it’s price. Pair with Bistecca alla Fiorentina, hearty red sauce pastas, or charcuterie and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Chacra’s Experimental Pinot Noir

Today’s Story: Bodega Chacra

I was so thoroughly impressed with the 2018 Chacra Mainqué Chardonnay that I reviewed almost two weeks ago (Beautiful Union of Burgundy and Patagonia) that I decided to try another wine from them today.

To review, Bodega Chacra is a small winery established in the Río Negro region of Patagonia in 2004 by Piero Incisa della Rocchetta. Piero’s goal is to create transparent, honest wines that showcase his unique terroir through organic and biodynamic viticulture, so he eschews the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Instead, Piero uses vegetable and mineral preparations in his compost alongside a range of biodynamic practices ranging from the horn manure preparation and horn silica preparation to the German chamomile preparation and oak bark preparation. Detailed explanations of each biodynamic preparation can be found here. Chacra’s vineyards produce low yields and fruit selection is incredibly rigorous come harvest, so only the best and healthiest grapes make the wine. Maceration and fermentation occur in small tanks with an emphasis on skin contact, and the wines age in extra fine grain French oak barrels. All of the Pinot Noir is bottled 100% natural and unfiltered.

Today’s Wine: 2018 Sin Azufre Pinot Noir

100% Pinot Noir; 12.5% ABV

The 2018 Sin Azufre Pinot Noir is opaque pale purple in color. Once this opens up, the nose showcases aromas of dusty red cherry, brambleberry, violet, leather, tilled rocky soil, slight barnyard, crushed rock, graphite, and a hint of oak. There was some olive on the nose but that blew off after an hour. On the palate, I get notes of dried tart cherry, dusty raspberry, brambly blueberry, rose petal, sweet tobacco, black tea leaf, dried earth with finely crushed rock minerality, green underbrush, and clove. This is light- to medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (-) tannins, and a medium (+) length finish.

Price: $35. This is a difficult one for me on a value perspective. When it comes to the majority of today’s wine drinkers, this would not be a good value simply because I don’t think the average consumer would like it. When it comes to the explorers or those who want to liven up their palate and are familiar with “natural” wines, I think this is a great value. Pair this with rosemary and thyme chicken, roasted duck breast, or charcuterie with Brie or Gruyère cheese.

Gorgeous Amarone With Great QPR

Today’s Story: Tenuta Santa Maria

Tenuta Santa Maria was established by the Bertani Family, a family with deep roots in the Valpolicella region of Veneto. Documents place the family in Valpolicella as early as the mid-1500s, though it was brothers Gaetano and Giovan Battista Bertani during the mid to late 1800s who ventured to create a new standard for their family’s wines. After being exiled to France, Gaetano Bertani returned and brought back an appreciation for the Guyot Method and the brothers practiced it when planting their vineyards with high vine density to reduce yields and create more concentrated fruit. Though Santa Maria follows traditional winemaking methods for the Veneto region passed down through generations of vintners, they also appreciate technological advancement and utilize modern techniques to produce the highest quality wines possible. Today Tenuta Santa Maria is guided by Gaetano Bertani, the great-grandson of founding brother Gaetano, and his sons with utmost respect for their history and fact that they are one of the oldest Italian winemaking families still in operation.

Today’s Wine: 2013 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva

75% Corvina, 15% Corvinone, 10% Rondinella; 16% ABV

The 2013 Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva is medium to deep garnet with ruby hues. I decanted this for around 3 hours which greatly helped the wine blossom, however right out of the bottle this was a beauty. On the nose, I get aromas of cherry liqueur, sweet plum, fig, anise, purple florals, dried leather, crushed rock, cinnamon, and spice. Once in the mouth, this wine displays notes of sweet cherry, boysenberry, prune, licorice, dried rose, tobacco, dried rocky earth, brown sugar, nutmeg, and chocolate. This is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, velvety medium tannins, and a long finish. It’s amazing how incredibly well-balanced this wine is, particularly given the 16% ABV which you would never guess.

Price: $74. Great QPR on this bottle, especially when compared to Quintarelli or Dal Forno Amarone that sells for $300+ (and more for the Riservas). Now I’m not saying this is the same calibre as Quintarelli or Dal Forno, but its elegance, balance, and quality are enough to make me think of them. Pair this with Wagyu filet mignon, wild boar, or parmigiano reggiano.

Stunning California Chardonnay – for Half the Price it Should Be

Today’s Story: Chanin Wine Co.

I recently wrote about Chanin when I reviewed the 2014 Duvarita Vineyard Pinot Noir in Elegant Pinot Noir From Santa Barbara County, though if you missed it I recreated the winery’s background below.

Chanin Wine Co. was established in 2007 by winemaker Gavin Chanin, and his goal is to produce single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Santa Barbara County. Gavin selected the vineyards to source his fruit based on their organic (or at minimum sustainable) farming practices while also seeking older vines. The current vineyard selections include Sanford & Benedict in the Sta. Rita Hills, Los Alamos between the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valleys, Bien Nacido in the Santa Maria Valley, and Duvarita just west of the Sta. Rita Hills. Gavin eschews higher alcohol levels in his wines to foster balance and finesse, while practicing gentle winemaking methods and avoiding additives such as commercial yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes. All of Chanin’s wines are bottled unfiltered.

Today’s Wine: 2015 Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay; 12.5% ABV

The 2015 Bien Nacido Chardonnay is gorgeous deep gold in color and transparent. This was beautiful out of the bottle, but really opened up after an hour in the glass and continued to change with the nose showcasing aromas of lemon zest, white peach, golden pear, stone fruit, white florals and honeysuckle, dry/dusty gravel, brioche, faint dried vanilla bean, spice, and stone minerality. On the palate, I get notes of golden apple skins, baked pear, peach, lemon and lime citrus, white lily, crushed rock, hazelnut, exotic spice, saline minerality, and very light toasted oak. This is full-bodied with beautiful medium (+) acidity and a remarkably well-rounded mouthfeel into a long, lingering finish that makes you yearn for another sip. 23 barrels produced.

Price: $39. This wine is a ridiculous value. Not only are the complexity, precision, and depth something to write home about, this stands up to a significant amount of high-quality white Burgundy I’ve enjoyed over the years. I truly must applaud Gavin Chanin for this exceptional bottling. Pair with hazelnut-crusted roast chicken, smoked whitefish, or lobster.

One of My Favorite Rioja Producers Does It Again

Today’s Story: R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia

López de Heredia Viña Tondonia is a family-run winery established in 1877 by Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta after he fell in love with the Rioja Alta region, particularly the area of its capital Haro. Don Rafael began designing and constructing his winery in 1877, and today it exists as the oldest in Haro and one of the first three in Rioja. Knowing he needed to own his own vineyards to ensure higher quality wines, Don Rafael added his namesake Tondonia vineyard to his holdings in 1913-1914 and it consists of 100 hectares on the right bank of the Ebro River. Since, the winery grew to encompass three more vineyards named Viña Cubillo, Viña Bosconia, and Viña Zaconia. The estate is noted for its buildings as well, since the López de Heredia family expanded them with each passing generation. The estate spans 53,076 sq m, with 19,718 sq m of buildings including underground cellars up to 200m long and 15m deep which help store around 14,000 oak barrels for aging. When it comes to winemaking, all harvesting is accomplished solely by hand and the fruit is treated very delicately in baskets made at the winery’s cooperage. In the cellar, the López de Heredia family follows traditional winemaking methods passed down from generation to generation.

For more information as well as pictures and an overview of the López de Heredia portfolio of wines, check out their very detailed website here.

Today’s Wine: 2006 Viña Tondonia Reserva

75% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, 5% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo; 13% ABV

The 2006 Viña Tondonia Reserva is mostly opaque medium ruby in color. After reading recent commentary on this, I decided to decant the wine for 9 hours with little tastes along the way. At hour 5 this was starting to show nicely, but at hour 9 this thing is singing. The nose showcases aromas of black cherry, brambleberry, black raspberry, licorice, leather, forest floor, truffle, ground herbs, cardamom, black pepper, and oak. On the palate, I get notes of ripe cherry, red plum, stewed strawberry, tobacco, scorched earth, truffle, graphite, dried green herbs, chocolate, and slight oaky spice. This is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) tannins, and a long finish.

Price: $40 (cheaper in Europe). LdH is always an incredible value, and this bottle is no different. The wine is beautifully complex and textbook Rioja, while being remarkably age-worthy. I’d say give this another 5 years or so in the cellar and drink it over the following 2 decades. Pair this with herb-roasted lamb, roasted pheasant, or Manchego cheese.

Incredibly Versatile Trousseau Gris

Today’s Story: Jolie-Laide

Jolie-Laide is a small, boutique winery established by Scott Schultz in Forestville, California, though he sources his fruit from various California winegrowing regions and appellations. I previously wrote about Jolie-Laide’s history and reviewed their 2016 Provisor Vineyard Grenache in A Journey for the Mind and Palate, and I highly encourage you to read this post if you haven’t already. For now, let’s get onto the tasting notes of today’s remarkably fun wine.

Today’s Wine: 2019 Trousseau Gris

100% Trousseau Gris; 12.4% ABV

The 2019 Trousseau Gris is transparent peach/salmon in color. The nose showcases aromas of tangerine, melon, stone fruit, white florals, cream, white peppery spice, and saline mineral. On the palate, I get notes of white peach, nectarine, melon, pink rose, honeysuckle, white tea leaf, and crushed stone minerality. This is medium-bodied with crisp medium (+) acidity and plush mouthfeel into a fully rounded and long finish.

Price: $30 direct from winery. This is a great value for several major reasons. Its quality and precision are impeccable, it is very fun (drinks like a cross between a rosé and white wine), and the versatility is profound. Pair this with lobster, herb-grilled chicken, or a turkey sandwich.

A Fun, Nearly Extinct Abouriou

Today’s Story: Absentee Winery

Absentee Winery is a boutique winery established in 2016 by Avi Deixler in Point Reyes, California and is situated in a barn of a working dairy farm. Avi had to fight tooth and nail with the Marin County Planning Commission to establish his winery, but ultimately he prevailed and is the only registered winery in the North Marin Wine District. Before starting Absentee, Avi worked at wineries in California, Oregon, Australia, and France and ultimately gained an appreciation for natural wines and wanted to produce his own with ONLY grapes. Avi sources his fruit from the organic-certified Poor Ranch in Hopland, and his wines are produced using whole cluster fermentation and carbonic maceration with no additional yeasts, temperature control, or SO2 and sulfites. Also interesting is the fact that Avi “refurbishes” his own barrels by purchasing used barrels and hand sanding the interior to remove any residue, blemishes, and chemicals. Avi’s wines are produced in a hands-off style and bottled unfined and unfiltered, with the results embodying true expression of fruit unhindered by modern additives.

Today’s Wine: 2018 Flaws

100% Abouriou; 14.5% ABV

The 2018 Flaws is deep opaque purple in color, nearly black at its core. Once this opens up, which doesn’t take too long, the nose showcases aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black raspberry, violet, dried leather, loamy earth, vanilla, and slight woody spice. On the palate, I get notes of black plum, blackberry jam, tart cherry, anise, black pepper, baking spice, and underbrush. This is full-bodied with medium acidity, medium (+) tannins, and a long finish.

Note: Not sure what happened to the label of my bottle, it’s supposed to show half of a bear on roller skates. Looks like this guy got flipped upside down and printed both ways!

Price: $40. On a value perspective, this is a bit pricey. Particularly if natural wines are your style or you want to explore the arena, there are much better options when it comes to your wallet. However, this was purely a fun wine to try because I’d never before heard of Abouriou, the nearly extinct variety, and it was highly enjoyable. Pair this with barbecue pork ribs, grilled sausage, or roasted duck.

Unbelievably Youthful Bordeaux From the 1966 Vintage

Today’s Story: Chateau Pichon Lalande

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is a historic estate that traces its routes to the late 1600s and ranks as a Second Growth (Deuxième Cru) based on the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. I previously wrote about Pichon Lalande when reviewing their 1986 vintage in Bordeaux Battle and the 2003 vintage in Decidedly Opulent Pauillac. To save myself (and yours as a reader) the hassle of reproducing (or reading) such a detailed and lengthy history, I will copy my short previous write-up below.

Pichon Lalande is considered by many to be a classic example of Pauillac, known for its deep, concentrated layers of ripe fruit accompanied by notes of cassis, tobacco, and earth.

With nothing short of a somewhat tumultuous history, Pichon Lalande’s ownership changed hands over the years and earned its name when the founder’s daughter Therese received it as a dowry for her marriage to Jacques de Pichon Longueville. During the 18th century, the estate was dominated by women (Therese de Rauzan, Germaine de Lajus, and Marie Branda de Terrefort) throughout the winemaking process until Baron Joseph de Pichon Longueville took over for his mother. In 1850, with his death, the estate split between his two sons and three daughters and ultimately resulted in the division of Comtesse de Lalande and Pichon Baron.

With no familial heirs, Edouard Miailhe and Louis Miailhe purchased Pichon Lalande following WWI. Edouard’s daughter, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, took over management in 1978 and became a prominent ambassador for Bordeaux wines while dramatically increasing quality of her estate. One of her major endeavors, and possibly most famous, was growing the size of Pichon Lalande from 40 hectares of vines to 89. In 2007, however, May-Eliane sold a majority stake of the estate to the Rouzaud family, owners of Roederer Champagne, and management changes as well as renovations took place.

Today’s Wine: 1966 Chateau Pichon Lalande

45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot; 13% ABV

The 1966 Pichon Lalande is medium garnet in color and moderately transparent. This wine is singing as a pop-and-pour, with the nose showcasing aromas of graphite, cigar box, forest floor, truffle, and peppercorn followed by faint redcurrant, cranberry, dried violet, and green herbs in the background. On the palate, I get notes of pencil shavings, dried tobacco leaf, leather, black tea leaf, underbrush, gravel, and mushroom with cassis and redcurrant poking through. This is still medium-bodied with lively medium acidity, medium (-) dusty tannins, and a medium (+) length finish. Best during the first 1-1.5 hours, but honestly didn’t fall apart too much slightly beyond hour 2 (when it was gone).

Price: $350. Provenance is key here, but if proven and you can find this for sale it is absolutely worth the tag. My bottle threw almost zero sediment, the color and structure were both profound, and this drank incredibly youthful given its age. I would’ve pegged this as 1980s if I tasted it blind. Pair this with wagyu filet mignon, earthy mushrooms and/or truffle, or mild cheese.