Domaine Françoise & Denis Clair: Pure and Seductive Chardonnay from Burgundy’s Côtes de Beaune

Domaine Françoise & Denis Clair was created in 1986 when Denis set out to bottle his own wine – The Clair family had owned parcels in the Santenay area for generations but sold most of their production to négociants. Initially stretching over only 12 acres of Pinot Noir, today the domaine has expanded to 37 acres, mainly with the acquisition of Chardonnay plots from the best terroirs in Saint-Aubin, where Françoise was born and where the winery is located.

Denis built the domaine’s reputation through seductive red wines. Their son, Jean-Baptiste Clair, joined the family business in 2000 and quickly elevated the production of white wines to the highest levels of quality. The domaine takes great effort to work as organically as possible. The fruit is hand-picked and the wines are fermented by indigenous yeasts. Sulfite addition is minimal. Like most winemakers at the highest level, the aim is to produce wines that speak of the land they are from.

2014 is a fantastic vintage for white Burgundy and the Clair family have executed their wines as well as any producer in the region.

Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune (2014)
~$21/bottle

From chalk and clay parcels facing south-east in the Maranges hills just south of the commune of Santenay. Vinified in 50% barrel of an average age of four years and 50% in a stainless steel tank. The barrels and the tank are blended after ten months. Crisp, clean, full of fruit, and versatile enough to pair with fancy seafood dishes or friends on the patio. 3,000 bottles annual production.

Saint-Aubin “Les Champlots” (Premier Cru 2014)
~$33/bottle

From a chalky, southwest facing Premier Cru parcel located above the village of Gamay. Vinified and aged entirely in oak barrels (20% new). The wine is aged for about 10 months before bottling. The result is a wine that shows the potential richness of fruit and walnut aromatics of Saint-Aubin. Ideal pairing for everything from seafood to pork loin. 1,500 bottles annual production.

Saint-Aubin “En Remilly” (Premier Cru, 2014)
~$44/bottle

One of the top Premier Cru sites of Saint-Aubin situated directly behind the Grand Cru hill of Montrachet and below Les Murgers des Dents de Chien, another top vineyard of Saint-Aubin. The plot is very chalky and faces due southwest. Vinified and aged entirely in oak barrels (20% new). The wine is aged for 10-15 months before bottling, depending on the vintage characteristics. This is the height of Saint-Aubin terroir, opulent and complex with the potential of developing in a cellar over the next 5+ years. 1,500 bottles annual production.

Puligny-Montrachet “La Garenne” (Premier Cru 2014)
~$71/bottle

60+ year old vines from Puligny-Montrachet’s highest elevated Premier Cru parcel touching the northern edge of Saint-Aubin’s Les Murgers des Dents de Chien. South facing exposure with very chalky soils. Vinified and aged entirely in oak barrels (20% new) for 15 months. This wind-swept parcel produces wines of freshness and elegance, capable of developing in a proper cellar for a decade. 1,200 bottles annual production.

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Posted on 2016.08.12 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

A Rising Star in Italy’s Coastal Adriatic Region of Abruzzo

Join us for a tasting of three wines that are some of the finest representations of the climate and traditions of the Abruzzo region of Italy. Azienda Agricola Tiberio wines are hard to come by so quantities are limited.

The reality of Abruzzo is that many farmers find it convenient to join cooperatives and force production well beyond the limits of quality rather than make their own wine. The shame of it is that the region’s sunny hills are more than capable of producing outstanding wines, and a new generation of grower/producers aims to show the world what’s possible when the focus is on creating wines that speak of place.

While the Abruzzo estates of Emidio Pepe and Valentini have long been recognized as two of Italy’s top producers, a handful of winemakers are rising to prominence behind them with Tiberio leading the way. Tiberio holds near 74 acres in the Cugnoli area of Pescarese (one of the four zones of Abruzzo), a far cooler microclimate than the neighboring coastal areas. Wider diurnal temperature variations are the norm in Cugnoli so its white wines tend toward freshness with the potential for development in the cellar, while its Montepulciano wines are some of Abruzzo’s most refined.

It was there that Riccardo Tiberio discovered a plot of old Trebbiano Abruzzese vines around 1,200 feet elevation and decided to swap a career in wine export for running a family winery. In 2008, he handed over the reins to his daughter Cristiana and son Antonio. The role of viticulturalist goes to Antonio while Cristiana handles the winemaking duties. She is a chemistry graduate with training stints in Champagne and Australia backed by repeated visits to the Mosel and Chablis. She took over all the winemaking duties in 2011 and is now solely responsible for the wines made at the estate.

A recent visit with Cristiana at her vineyards and cellar confirm what we’ve already tasted in her wines. The main goal of the estate is producing wines that clearly express the characteristics of the land they come from and the specific varieties that have adapted there. In Cristiana’s words: “One of the most important things for me in being a vigneron and making wines is to work just with massal selections. What is so unique in my wines are my biotypes, because they are the historical and authentic clones for each variety that I saved and propagated in order to express and respect the original flavors and aromas. These biotypes are unique and belong just to me, so they today represent the identity of my wines.”

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (2013)
~$19/bottle SOLD OUT

From a plot of 52 year old Montepulciano vines grown in clay-calcareous soil. Intense aromas of cherry and flint before dense, sappy fruit with a snappy finish. It’s a versatile red wine that won’t become ponderous in the heat of summer. The most respected and influential Italian wine guide, Gambero Rosso, has bestowed Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses, their highest rating) for this vintage. This is Abruzzo’s Montepulciano grape at its most pure.

Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo (2015)
~$21/bottle  SOLD OUT

“Fonte Canale” (Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2014)
~$41/bottle

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Posted on 2016.08.03 in Saturday Sips Wines, Italy, Abruzzo  |  Read more...

The Champagne Society – August 2016 Selection: Champagne D. Henriet-Bazin

Champagne D. Henriet-Bazin “Millésime 2006” (Verzenay, Verzy, Grand Cru)

Champagne Henriet-Bazin has deep roots in the Montagne de Reims. Towards the end of the 19th century, Gaston Henriet began making his own Champagne instead of just providing fruit to big Champagne houses — a gutsy move at a time when very few independent Champagne producers existed in the region. Today, the family business is run by 5th generation winemaker Marie-Noëlle Henriet-Rainon and her husband Nicolas Rainon, upholding the ideals of the small grower/producer with total control over the winemaking process and dedicated to making wines with sense of place.

The domaine totals just over 15 acres in the three villages of Villers-Marmery, Verzy and Verzenay in Montage de Reims known for its powerful Pinot Noir. They own and cultivate 10 plots for a total of 5.86 acres in the Grand Cru of Verzenay and seven plots for a total of 2.30 acres in Verzy. Just a little over 20% of the Grand Cru plots are planted to Chardonnay. The domaine itself is based in Villers-Marmery, which has the distinction of being recognized as the sole Montagne de Reims village dominated by Chardonnay.

Cuvée “Millésime 2006” is a blend of 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay all from the 2006 vintage. The fruit was harvested from two plots, Hauts Pisse Renard (planted in 1963) and Les Vignes de l’Espérance (planted in 1983) from the Grand Cru villages of Verzy and Verzenay. Fermentation was completed in enameled steel tank before bottling in March of 2007 where it spent around seven years before disgorgement. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Only 8,779 bottles were produced.

The result is a full-bodied, creamy Champagne balanced by an electric minerality. It’s aromatically complex with a grocery basket of scents like orange, honeysuckle, shortbread cookies, caramel apples, almonds, and spice before a sip leads to red berry and orchard fruit flavors with a finish that persists into the sunset.

2006 Vintage Notes: The summer started well with plenty of heat in June and July. August, however, came with low temperatures and twice as much rain. September brought more sun and heat, and a protracted harvest unfolded under the ideal conditions of sunny days and cool nights. In general, the vintage produced well-structured wines of intensity, grand aromatics, and great potential development in the cellar.

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Posted on 2016.08.01 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne  |  Read more...

2012 Grange des Pères – Cult Wine from Languedoc

$117/bottle

If we ever questioned why Laurent Vaillé‘s Domaine de la Grange des Pères Rouge has attained cult status, a recent tasting of an early 2000s vintage presented us the answer. It was near perfection. Layers of earthy, herbal complexity balanced by sweet, joyous, mature dark fruits and all the hallmark aromatics of the Languedoc terroir including garrigue, olive, and spice, to name just a few. It was truly one of the most complex yet exuberant wines ever to pass our lips.

Laurent’s 25 acre property is sited near the village of Aniane, next to the late Aimé Guibert’s Mas de Daumas Gassac (another superstar of the region). Many believe that Laurent has eclipsed his neighbor in wine terms. Indeed, it took dynamite and bulldozing to clear twice the amount of limestone, boulders, and glacial scree that is found in neighboring vineyards to reveal Laurent’s exceptional terroir. This is an area of the Languedoc that is known to produce some of the greatest wines in the region. Laurent’s vineyards are technically within the rising appellation of Terrasses du Larzac but since he uses a portion of grape varieties that are not allowed he has declassified the wine to Vin de Pays de l’Hérault.

The path to glory started with training under such masters as Jean-François Coche-Dury (Meursault), Gérard Chave (Hermitage), and Eloi Dürrbach (Domaine Trévallon, Provence). This background in wine-craftmanship is evident in every bottle that comes from his cellar. It also helps that he sourced his Syrah cuttings from Chave and his Cabernet Sauvignon from Domaine Trévallon.

Laurent employs organic practices in the vineyard and his south-facing vines yield small amounts of fruit, making for highly concentrated wines. The blend is generally around 40% Syrah, 40% Mourvedre, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Counoise. All varieties are harvested and vinified and then aged in 228 liter barrels separately. Laurent will then master the blend in a proportion that satisfies him before bottling. The simultaneous restraint and power of his wines makes them ideal for aging yet the 2012 is certainly accessible now.

With an annual production of less than 3,000 cases Laurent’s wines are highly allocated so we have a very limited supply. And if you’re interested in picking up a bottle with some age we have a couple of the 2004 vintage available.

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Posted on 2016.07.27 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Languedoc-Roussillon  |  Read more...

Old-Vine Spanish Mountain Garnacha Showdown

Widely planted throughout Spain and much of the Mediterranean the Garnacha grape in the right hands and right place has the ability to express the distinct characteristics of the soil and climate where it grows.

Join us this Saturday for a comparative tasting of two Spanish wines from regions capable of expressing the pinnacle of old-vine Garnacha. “La Movida Granito” is pure, joyous fruit from the granite soils of Ávila, in one of the coolest areas of the Sierra de Gredos that’s otherwise a roasty continental climate. “El Terroir” shows the clay, calcareous soils and the even cooler, wetter, Navarra sub-zone of Baja Montaña, with harmony of ripeness and freshness, and all the precision of its oceanic influence.

Maldivinas “La Movida Granito” (Viño de la Tierra de Castilla y León 2012)
Special Price: $35/bottle

Maldivinas is a partnership between childhood friends Juan arlos Arenas and Guillermo Fernandez Santos established in 2006 from plots of old vine Garnacha around the town of Cebreros some 50 miles due west of Madrid. This is traditional winemaking territory, where the slopes of the Sierra de Gredos range are recognized for the production of balanced Garnacha-based wines in a landscape that is otherwise scorching and dry. Indeed, the grape harvest there is typically earlier in the season than Navarra but the broad diurnal temperature swings allow for wines to maintain the acidity to balance all that ripe fruit.

“La Movida Granito” is a tribute to the decomposing granite soil from an organically cultivated, 4.5 acre vineyard of 90 year old vines at roughly 2,600 feet elevation. The wine is fermented by native yeasts in one concrete tank, with a percentage of whole clusters to highlight the characteristics of the fruit, and then aged in neutral oak barrels before bottling. Aromatically complex with layers of floral, berry, and spice, a sip is anything but jammy and practically begs another in short measure.

Domaines Lupier “El Terroir” (Navarra 2011)
Special Price: $35/bottle

The husband and wife team of Enrique Basarte and Elisa Úcar launched Domaines Lupier at roughly the same time as Maldivinas and have been garnering international accolades since their first release. Enrique has over fifteen years experience in vineyards all over Spain and an academic background in agronomic engineering and oenology. From the outset the two decided take the biodynamic approach to viticulture to improve and maintain the health of the vines using natural and sustainable practices with the ultimate goal of expressing the terroir of Navarra through wines of superb balance.

That goal was undeniably achieved with “El Terroir”. From 27 separate plots, with vines ranging from 68 years old to over 100 years old (the oldest vineyard planted in 1903) at 1,200 to 1,800 feet of elevation, around the village of San Martin de Unx. It is a deeply colored wine with a crystal clear purity of fruit rarely found in Garnacha-based wines. The result is a wine exuding aromas of dark cherries, herbs, and wildflowers. A sip is succulent dark fruit with a lengthy, elegant finish.

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Posted on 2016.07.20 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Navarra  |  Read more...

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