 El Dorado County is the heart of the California Gold Rush, one of the major historical influences to westward expansion and European immigration in the mid-1800s. It was also an important home to the early days of Californian wine as many families brought vine cuttings from their native lands to create their own vineyards. Several of the first wine companies in the state developed here and along the Sierra Foothills range, but faded in importance as the population shifted to San Francisco area and the surrounding vineyards. The Skinner family established one of the first wineries and distilleries in 1861 and ran a fairly large operation for many years, but faded into an obscure fragment of history until 2006 when a branch of the family picked up the rights to the name and 'rediscovered' the vineyards. Their vineyards focus on Rhone varieties, capitalizing on the dramatic elevation changes along the Sierra Foothills to grow grapes in a variety of conditions to develop great complexity and subtlety in their many blends.
The winery's Smithereens series pays tribute to the miners of the Gold Rush using dynamite to blast out gold deposits (not the 80s band of the same name), and is built to be their more basic Cotes du Rhone style wines. Primarily Grenache with Mourvedre in support, the aromas are warm and forward with lots of spicy red berries with hints of forest floor and dark spices. The palate is where the character of the region truly shines through, with lots of acidity and texture born from the variety of elevations and soil types in the vineyard sources. It brings out more bright red fruits, even some cranberry-like tartness that keeps the fruit tones from feeling too sweet or heavy on the finish. Super polished flavors, modern and juicy, this is an exciting addition to the 'Rhone Ranger' selection in the store, great for food or easy drinking enjoyment.
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 Beaujolais has had a streak of excellent quality over the last few vintages, continuing its reputation as one of the great sources of value for its best wines, at least for those that are fans of the style. 2017 may put a momentary blip in that streak, as several hailstorms caused substantial damage to stretches of prime vineyards, some of which were victimized for the second year in a row. The timing of the storms reduced volume by as much as 80% for some producers, which is causing many wines to jump sharply in price just to stay in business. Fortunately the fruit that survived was still of high quality, so even with price increases the wines are still worthwhile and exciting. Those lucky enough to have dodged the hail are truly blessed to have yet another strong vintage under their belts, and like Chateau Cambon don't have to see their prices budge. This house has roots back to the late Marcel Lapierre, one of the most important names in modern Beaujolais and organic/Biodynamic winemaking, and continue their tenets of minimal intervention, low sulfur usage, and general 'hands off' winemaking.
Beaujolais is never a wine that expects to be judged based on the tremendous weight or size, so for this to be described as light and pretty is exactly where they set out for it to be. Classic spot-on Gamay aromas of cherry skins and purple flowers pop from the glass, not as juicy or sweetly fruited as the warmer 2015 vintage. On the palate the unfiltered texture gives the fine tannins a little something extra to grip onto behind the savory cherry fruit, and the bright acidity brings out the dark iodine tones, almost reminiscent of tasting blood in your mouth (but in a food flavor way, not 'I just got punched in the lip' way). That is the aspect of good Beaujolais that makes them such a great match with thinly cut cured meats, one of the great lunch time/snacking wines around.  The towns of Novara and Vercelli are the 'major' population points for what is referred to as the 'Alto Piemonte' region, close in distance to the famous cities of Milan, Turin, and Asti, but vastly different cultures. The history is largely agricultural until after World War II when there was a massive push towards industrialization. Aside from some crops like rice, most agricultural industries shrank to virtually nothing; vineyards had once been the equal in volume to those around Barolo and Barbaresco, but at its lowest point were reduced to less than 1,500 total acres. In recent years there has been a rural renaissance evolving where more people are rediscovering their roots and exploring many pursuits once abandoned, which includes redeveloping many vineyard sites. Inovaters like Gianluca Zanetta are leading the charge, developing the small La Capuccina resort and curating the Alto Piemonte specific cuisine and ambiance. Over time his love for the region's wines pushed him to purchase small parcels in the Fara DOC to make his own bottlings. Normally a winery of such limited production would have little need or desire to export, but fortunately for us we have importers in Virginia with the passion (and strong persuasive skills) to pry free a small amount for us.
Vespolina is the workhorse grape in the region, with Nebbiolo usually featured in the more famous and expensive wines, but is increasingly important as the need for affordable wines increases as the reputation grows. This is about as high as the quality gets for the varietal, especially at this price. Smoky red cherry aromas with a huge flavor wheel's worth of complimentary savory notes on the nose; dark flowers, wild game, blacker fruits and spices. The palate gets drier and darker with lots of plum skin, black pepper and tart red fruit flavors, and a very fine earthy texture to the finish from the tannins. This is a wine that shows its wild side, less fruit forward and 'crowd-pleasing' than a Barbera, but more accessible than a Nebbiolo that may need 4-6+ years in the cellar to loosen up. This craves gamey meats to pair with it, lentil soup, or hearty stews with lots of beans and rustic flavors.  After spending most of Wednesday living inside a Slushee machine, I'm sure folks in central Virginia dipped into their stock of wines and need to replenish today. A nice warming Spanish red like this should do the trick for many of you. This wine is part of a project by noted winemaker Isaac Fernandez, who has about 25 years worth of experience working in the Ribera del Duero for many wineries. His own work focuses on recognizing single properties that can reflect the diversity in the region that often isn't observed in larger production wines. Finca la Mata is the name of the 60 year old vineyard planted in gravely/sandy soil overlying clay. The photo on the label shows off the gnarled bush-trained vines, but it also shows how finite the property is, showing approximately 2/3 of the property. This wine IS this place, and nothing more, and even if it became world famous they can't make more. Which is fine by us, as undiscovered wines are the best deals.
A lovely aroma of blueberry skins and graphite on the nose, as well as a touch of vanilla tones from the oak aging, but nowhere near overdone, actually fading well into to background with some time open. The mouthfeel is rich which pulls out lots of the dark red fruit intensity as well as some cocoa tones, but also has surprising minerality thanks to the soils, which pulls out the blueberry skin notes on the finish. While a big wine full of flavor, it keeps its balance and poise, even a hint of elegance behind the intensity. A fun wine with lots of time ahead of it to evolve.  In need of a little 'pink drink' for your Valentine's Day plans today or this weekend? Hope you haven't made your purchase plans just yet, as we have a trio of bubbles that are sure to scratch your itch one way or another. Even within the three bottles there is a diversity of character and style due to the grapes used and the way the rose color is achieved. All three wines use the 'methode champenoise' procedure to get the carbonation in to the wine, using a second fermentation in the bottle to trap the gas versus injecting the gas into the wine en masse. The second way is faster and cheaper, but also far less complex and refined, as well as much more likely to give you a headache.
All three wines use Pinot Noir to some extent. Wolfberger is a 100% Pinot Noir wine that spends about 15 months on the lees for secondary fermentation before disgorgement, which is significantly longer than required for a Cremant d'Alsace. It shows through in the flavor, with extra weight on the palate behind the strawberry and savory herb tones. While it won't be confused with the true Champagnes, it provides loads of pleasure and is an exceptional value for those looking to celebrate a little more simply. Both the small grower house Champagnes are built from the three predominant grapes of the region; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, and are aged for at least 3 years before disgorgement. Roland Champion creates the rose color by blending equal portions of pressed juice with no color from all three varieties (color comes from the grape skins, and only gets into the juice when allowed to soak for a period of time) and vinified together, then blended before bottling with a small portion of fully red colored Pinot Noir. The Pinot is also aged longer than the rest of the blend before being used, which brings a more complex and nuanced flavor to the fruit. Trouillard blends equal part of the three varietals together, all with similar color components to achieve a younger, fresher red fruit character, but adds a reserve of about 35% of the juice from the previous year before bottling to give a bit more consistency to the wine from vintage to vintage. Which will be YOUR favorite?  Sometimes a run of success for a wine can be a bit of a burden. The two previous vintages for this bottling were wildly successful, receiving strong press from multiple sources and selling like gangbusters, especially for the price point. As all good vintages are finite and must come to an end, the distributor moved quickly from one to the next, and now has the newest vintage in house and ready to go. We tasted on it, enjoyed it just as much as the previous two, and brought it in as soon as the last of the 2016 sold through. The problem for some seems to be that the wine has arrived ahead of its press, and have had a bit of 'wait and see' approach to trying the 2017. We are equally excited with it as we were when we first tasted the 2015 and 2016, so we think we are ahead of the hype in getting behind the newest vintage, and think you will agree once you taste it.
A blend of Biodnamic farmed Grenach, Syrah, and Carignan aged in tank and bottle give the wine plenty of accessible fruit even being fairly young, with lots of black fruits, currants and cocoa tones with hints of savory earth. The texture is fairly full with a noticeable dusty texture to the red fruits due to the unfiltered texture, which brings out the cocoa tones on the palate as well. The juicier fruit notes aren't quite as pronounced in some ways as the previous vintages, but they do start to show through more as the wine is opened up, so it may just be as much about the newness of the wine to the bottle as it is vintage variation. The wine certainly doesn't lack for anything, and can stand on its own merits as a high quality value. Make your own call and get this into your drinking rotation before the rest of the world catches on!  When winemakers are looking to experiment and push the boundaries of their artistic medium, they almost always have to do so with excess or unwanted fruit. It's one of the reasons so many of the wines being produced in the 'naturalist' style are using grapes you may never have heard of or done in odd or non-traditional combinations. This is even harder in places like Virginia where there are barely enough good vines to go around for the full-time regular projects, much less having something left on the bone for experimentation. Lightwell Survey is a VERY small side project for Early Mountain winemaker Ben Jordan in collaboration with several friends within various parts of the wine industry, created with a mission to explore the less championed parts of the state and experiment with some of the minimalist winemaking styles that don't translate well to the more mass marketed wine styles. With some wines being made in less than 50 case lots, you may never see what they do get 'scores' or 'awards', because there just isn't enough to spare sending out free samples for evaluation. Taste them for yourself, see how unique and extraordinary they are, and let your own palate decide.
Inspired by the Northern Rhone tradition of co-fermenting Syrah and Viognier harvested at the same time from the same vineyards, this unique combination of Syrah and Riesling comes from a vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley. A transparent ruby color in the glass, which comes from the diluting effect of the 40% Riesling in the Syrah, the aromatics are absolutely outrageous. Alternating black cherry and cola notes with white wildflowers, cassis and peaches, constantly back and forth. The contrast of red and white aromas are very similar to those found in the Italian red grape called Ruche, or even Blaufrankisch from Austria/Eastern Europe. The palate is even more intriguing, picking up the acidity from the Riesling in the tart red cherry and ruby grapefruit notes, white the tannins provide structure and dryness to the peach and grapeskin flavors. The act of co-fermenting versus just blending the finished fruit integrates the two grapes so elegantly and seamlessly, it's a wonder more people don't try this idea. This is not making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, it's delicious and innovative winemaking at it's best.  Throughout most of winemaking history, vineyards developed where the growing conditions are the easiest vintage to vintage. Without technology, grape growing is a hard enough task without throwing in any extra degrees of difficulty. It's why even the greatest minds of the 18th and 19th centuries couldn't get the industry off the ground here in Virginia. With the vest improvements in every phase of vine development, vineyards can be planted in increasingly marginal conditions as winemakers look to be the first to find an undiscovered great terroir to mine. Even within well established growing areas like Valpolicella near Verona in Italy, there are new heights to reach. Stefano Accordini and their family started planting vineyards at increasingly higher altitudes around the mountain town of Cavalo in 1975 in an effort to exploit conditions they believed would naturally restrict the vigor and control the yields of the vines, helping to intensify the flavors, yet still provide ripe healthy fruit. In addition to their success and recognition among other wineries in Valpolicella, they have received international acclaim by winning awards in the Mondial des Vins Extremes competition, reserved for wines grown in what they call 'heroic vine growing areas'.
The basic Valpolicella Classico for most houses is their softest and most approachable bottling, but even this has a little extra edge thanks to the higher altitudes. Dark raspberry cherry tones on the nose are given some iron and cocoa tones from the cooler climate, as well as an almost Bordeaux-like dark currant fruit. The palate is quite soft on the tannins as a Valpolicella is expected to be, with only the slightest of dusty tones coming through on the finish, but still has plenty of structure thanks to the firm spine of acidity that brightens up all the flavors on the palate, even inviting a tang of blood orange and darker citrus flavors. As it opens up the fruits get a bit juicier and more generous, but always stays a step above the usual everyday bistro wine. This deserves a nice roast or other savory slow cooked 'comfort foods' to warm you on snowy weekends like the one approaching.  Certain grape varieties are harder to make into an 'everyday' wine than others. The things you do to lower the cost of farming the grapes (yield per vine, care in the vineyard, labor and selection during harvest) are also where flavor flaws develop, and some grapes have flaws that show up more readily than others. Nebbiolo is definitely one of those grapes, as it has a harder or high toned edge that needs time in the bottle to soften, so it is usually planted in the better ripening sites and made into nicer wines. If it appears in a more approachable wine it is usually part of a blend with Barbera and Dolcetto to soften Nebbiolo's edges. The Albino Rocca winery does things a little differently with this wine to tame Nebbiolo into a more serviceable role, extracting the juice and aging it in tank in a manner similar to the way Beaujolais is made, which makes a 'softer' wine than Nebbiolo usually creates. There is also a small percentage of Cabernet Franc blended in, just enough to bring a touch more fruit and savory aromatics.
From the start this will not be a wine anyone will confuse with a Barolo or Barbaresco (the most famous wines made from Nebbiolo) but the earmark characteristics are definitely there with loads of violets and bright red fruit aromas, as well as a savory smoky perfume lingering in the background. The palate is at first soft and generous showing off the darker flavors from the aroma, but the tannins are sneaky and appear the longer the wine is kept in the mouth, light and dusty but persistent and delivering a tart lengthy finish. Extremely food friendly thanks to the absence of oak, and only needing a little bit of time open to really hit it's full stride.  For our pre-New Years Eve edition of the Insider's Pick, we are looking to answer the question at least 75% of our customers will have in mind before they come in over the next few days: 'What's the best sparkling wine to take to a party that will make everyone think I spent a lot of money, even though I didn't?' Sound like you? Then you should definitely get by to try this before you get your party plans finalized. While Tasmania isn't a Mecca for winemaking, the cool climate provides the opportunity to make wines far different than those on mainland Australia, or even New Zealand. The persistent ocean breezes from the nearby Bass Straight moderates the temperature in all seasons which allow a cool, extended growth range which brings consistent ripeness and necessarily high acidity. The sparkling wine potential here was first tapped by the Louis Roederer family in 1986, and the excellence continues to this day, and in recent years even moved to sustainable and organic farming practices.
Built from the classic Champagne grapes of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Premium Cuvee seeks to achieve a similar character and consistency of the base labels from the famous Champagne houses, and it absolutely nails it. Pouring with a fairly significant mousse at the start, the aromas are of bright apple and white citrus fruits, with a little bit melon and creamier fruits as the carbonation softens. While it does see a fair amount of time on the lees before disgorgement, there is very little of the biscuit-y, yeasty tone some sparkling wines can get. Instead it just adds a bit of roundness to the palate that carries loads of the fresh citrus from the nose that shows great length on the palate, lingering longer than the acidity on the finish. A delicious celebratory bottle that will put a smile on every party-goer's face. |
The Best of the Best.We offering free tastings on these wines in the store every Thursday and Friday, and a 10% discount off the retail price through the duration of the day. Come on by and give them a try! Archives
February 2019
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