140 year old Pre-phylloxera vines of Clos Canarelli

We have a tiny amount of Clos Canarelli’s rare bottlings made from field blends of native Corsican grape varieties. Read more about this special vineyard garden here. Because these old vines have such a tiny yield, the concentration and complexity of the wines are truly extraordinary.

Yves Canarelli’s vines are located in the granite and red alluvial soil near the tiny, remote village of Tarabucetta, on the southern tip of Corsica in the appellation of Corse Figari. The ever-constant wind from the Gulf of Figari makes for challenging growing conditions, perhaps explaining why Yves Canarelli is one of only a handful of plucky producers there. Indeed, those ferocious winds help to keep the vines free from excess moisture and pests. Yves utilizes both organic and biodynamic viticulture. In the cellar, he prefers deliberate fermentations using indigenous yeasts. These wines not only advertise Corse Figari’s terroir, they exhibit the intrigue of world-class wine.

2013 Tarra d’Orasi White

$130/bottle

Yves Canarelli’s nickname is “Le Roi du Vermentinu.”  70% Vermentinu, 30% field blend of Genovese, Carcaghjolu Biancu, Paga Debiti, and Barbarossa from just a little over half an acre of 140 year old pre-phylloxera vines in sandy, granite soils. The wine is fermented in tank then aged 24 months on lees in barrel.

2012 Tarra d’Orasi Red

$130/bottle SOLD OUT

A field Blend of Sciaccarellu, Minustellu, and Cinsault from just a little over half an acre of 140 year old pre-phylloxera vines in sandy, granite soils. The wine is Fermented and vinified in large foudres for 14 to 18 months.

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Posted on 2015.09.11 in France, Corsica  |  Read more...

Pure Meursault

Domaine Lafouge “Les Meix-Chavaux” (Meursault, 2013)
~$44/bottle

Meursault is one the most famous vineyard regions in the world for good reason. It offers a combination of flavors found in few chardonnay wines anywhere. When we can find a wine that truly expresses the terroir of Meursault we stock up. When we’re able to source it directly and offer it at such a great price we buy everything we can.

The vineyard Les Meix-Chavaux lies just outside the village of Meursault. The vineyard name roughly translates into “house uphill from the valley.” But while the name might be uneventful, the wines are most certainly not. The Lafouge holdings are mid-slope, facing east-northeast, and comprised of vines over 80 years old. The celebrated Domaine Roulot (which Lafouge is often compared with) also has a small plot of old vines in the same vineyard, and their wine demands close to $200 a bottle.

Gilles Lafouge is the sixth generation winemaker in his family. Like a good Burgundian farmer, his father, Jean, can still be found working the vineyards. But it’s Gilles that’s in charge of making the wine. Domaine Lafouge is based in Auxey-Duresses, the commune just north of Meursault, and they are frequently cited as one of the top producers there. Yet there is clearly no disconnect from Meursault. Gilles married the daughter of Michel Bouzereau, former President of the Burgundy Growers Union and renowned producer of traditional Meursault. This is a family steeped in Burgundy.

Lafouge’s vineyards are meticulously cultivated using organic techniques. The grapes are harvested completely by hand and sorting is severe to ensure only the best fruit makes it into the fermentation barrels. It’s all laid bare in a glass. Complex and vibrant, the 2013 Lafouge “Les Meix-Chavaux” offers aromas of apples, citrus, spring flowers and raw almonds. On the palate the wine is full of pure fruit and chewy minerals. It has both grip and finesse. It’s a natural pairing with everything from sweet sea flesh to roast chicken in a mushroom cream sauce. While it drinks well now, this is a wine that will continue to develop in the cellar for another decade.

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Posted on 2015.09.09 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

Groundbreaking Sauvignon Blanc from the Pyrenees

Castell d’Encus “Taleia” (Costers del Segre, 2013)
~$40/bottle

Raül Bobet has a long list of achievements: He has a masters degree in chemical engineering and a doctorate in oenology. He has 18 years of experience at Bodegas Torres, Spain’s largest producer of DO wines under its own label, where he served as chief oenologist. He is currently proprietor and chief oenologist at both Castell d’Encus and Ferrer Bobet. There is no question that Raül Bobet knows how to make wine.

But Raül Bobet doesn’t merely make wine. With a Zen-like belief in the unity of art and science, he makes world-class, soulful wines that express a purity of fruit and concentrated intensity balanced by fresh acidity and elegance.

The vineyards of Castell d’Encus lie in the northeast Spanish DO of Costers del Segre, at the high altitude sub-zone of Pallars Jussà around 3,000 feet in the sub-Pyrenees. Vines were cultivated there by Hospitalier monks between the 12th and 18th centuries. Raül was drawn to the site in part due to the seven fermentation pools (lagares) that were carved out of stone centuries ago and that he still uses today. Raül also believes that Costers del Segre has the ideal climate for producing the type of wines that he wants to make. Wines with “…freshness, wines which can last, wines that aren’t explosive, more reflexive, with a more feminine and sensitive feel and less alcohol”.

The name “Taleia” comes from the Catalan word for obsessive commitment. Combining organic farming and ultra-modern vinification alongside the most ancient techniques, Taleia was intended to be something like a French Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. It is produced from vines planted on chalky soils that fermented with natural yeasts in a combination of new French oak barrels, stainless steel and the lagares. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc with a little Semillon, the wine is simultaneously rich and crisp with heady aromatics of ripe white fruits and blossoming orchards.

Raül likes to say that Castell d’Encus is less a winery and more of an experimental project. However you define it, it’s an estate as dynamic and exciting as you’ll find from any winemaking region in the world.

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Posted on 2015.09.03 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Costers del Segre  |  Read more...

An Italian White of Fruit & Sunshine

Pievalta (Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC Classico Superiore, 2014)
~$17/bottle

Elie Wine Company specializes in wines with specific characteristics unique to the place that they come from — what the French call terroir. Wines with that extra something special that’s impossible to describe yet somehow connects you with a land you may never have traveled to and people you may never have met. It’s rare indeed to find a wine that has these characteristics and even rarer still to be able to offer it for $15 a bottle.

Born into a working-class neighborhood in the outskirts of Milan, Pievalta winemaker Alessandro Fenino’s rise to celebrated winemaker was improbable. In 1995 he took a “leap into the unknown” when he decided to enroll in the department of Enology and Viticulture at the State University in Milan. After an internship at the revered La Stoppa estate in Piacenza, and a full-time job at Barone Pizzini in Franciacorta, he help found the Pievalta winery in Castelli di Jesi in 2002. In 2008 he was joined by his life partner, Silvia Loschi, who manages sales and hospitality at the winery.

The 65 acres of estate-owned vineyards are comprised of two principal growing sites on either end of the Esina Valley where the climate and soils are ideal for the sometimes fussy Verdicchio vines. The vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically and Pievalta was the first Demeter-certified biodynamic winery in Castelli de Jesi (they’re also certified vegan). Nearly all of the work carried out in the vineyards is done by hand, this approach aimed at achieving the highest level of quality. “We don’t transform grapes into wine,” says Fenino, “we simply accompany the fruit as it becomes wine. We always stay one step behind and we don’t intervene or use shortcuts that would interrupt its harmony with the place where it is made. Instead, we let the grapes express themselves freely. Anyone who travels through these hills will see and taste this.”

You will see and taste this.

This is a wine of fruit and sunshine and lime peels and Adriatic breezes. A brassy wine. A wine with aromas that defy cliché. Aromas that are best expressed on the palate, or as the Italians might say, “aroma di bocca.” This is most certainly a wine you want to drink for the rest of the summer. Serve it at 50º-55º with seafood, mild cheeses, finocchio salad, or simply while hanging on the back patio, surrounded by friends, with the evening sun hanging orange behind the trees.

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Posted on 2015.08.20 in Saturday Sips Wines, Marche, Italy  |  Read more...

Limited Offer Pre-arrival Prices 2012 & 2013 Burgundy

The upward spiral of Burgundy prices continues. In the four harvests of 2010-2013 many producers lost the equivalent of an entire vintage production, or more.

We were able to source these wines directly so you will not find Burgundy of this quality at lower prices than what we are able to offer here.

Quantities are limited (they always are with good Burgundy) so please place your order quickly. Offer expires Thursday August 20 at noon. Mix and match as you please, minimum 12 bottle order.

Domaine Claudie Jobard: Winemaker Claudie Jobard holds 23 acres of old vines in Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise. She’s the daughter of Laurence Jobard, Joseph Drouhin’s winemaker/enologist for 30 years. Her family has been propagating and selling vines in Rully for the last 60 years. Clearly, wine is in her blood.

$20 Rully – Montagne La Folie (2013) White
$20 Rully – La Chaume (2013) Red
$36 Pommard – Les Vaumuriens (Premier Cru, 2012) Red

Domaine Masse: Fabrice Masse is the nephew of Roland Masse, the winemaker and manager of Hospices de Beaune for the past 15 years. Fabrice makes the wine with his father at their 26 acre family estate in Givry (Côte Chalonnaise).  Maturation takes place in oak barrels (30% new and many stamped Hospices de Beaune) to create a wine of concentration from a four acre plot of 65-year-old vines.

$23 Givry – En Veau “Vielles Vignes” (Premier Cru, 2013) Red

Domaine Parent: One of the great names in Pommard, the 25 acre Domaine Parent is headed by sisters Anne & Catherine Parent. Meticulous winemaker Anne Parent is the matriarch of Pommard, passionate not only about her wines but about the role of female vignerons in Burgundy. Around 150 cases of Les Argillières and 300 cases of Les Chaponnières are produced each year.

$44 Ladoix – La Corvée (Premier Cru, 2013) Red
$88 Pommard – Les Chaponnières (Premier Cru, 2012) Red
$79 Pommard – Les Argillières (Premier Cru, 2012) Red

Domaine Paul Pernot: Domaine Paul Pernot cultivates vines in some of the top vineyard sites in Puligny. The Domaine is now run by Paul’s sons, Paul and Michel, and grandson (also Paul). Over the past couple of decades, the sons have improved the estate with acquisitions of even more Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. Historically, 60-80% of production went to Maison Joseph Drouhin. Critic Matt Kramer believes Pernot could rival Leflaive as the greatest Puligny Domaine.

$184 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet (Grand Cru, 2013) White

Domaine Pernot-Belicard: Another grandson of Paul Pernot who has worked the Pernot estate before breaking out on his own. Philippe Pernot married into about 15 acres of vines in some of Côte de Beaune’s best vineyards. Although Philippe’s first vintage bottling was 2009 he’s already gained notoriety for the quality of his wines. Only around 300 cases of Puligny-Montrachet – Les Perrières are produced.

$63 Puligny-Montrachet – Les Perrières (Premier Cru, 2012) White
$68 Meursault – Perrières Premier Cru (Premier Cru, 2013) White

Domaine Rapet: Domaine Rapet is considered one of the leading domaines in Pernand Vergelesses. They own 31 acres of vines, with impressive holdings in the Grand Crus of Corton-Charlemagne and Corton. After Vincent Rapet took over from his father, Roland, what were already top quality wines are getting even better. Production of the Grand Cru wines are less than 100 cases for each.

$96 Corton-Charlemagne (Grand Cru, 2013) White
$71 Corton (Grand Cru, 2013) Red
$44 Beaune – Bressandes (Premier Cru, 2013) Red

Domaine Gallois: Dominique Gallois took over the family vineyards from his father in 1989. The domaine is less than 10 acres, the bulk of which is centered in Gevrey-Chambertin. Dominique’s cellar is one of the deepest and coldest in Burgundy, which helps to create wines of great depth and longevity. Vines of La Combe aux Moines parcel were planted in 1954.

$71 Gevrey-Chambertin – La Combes Aux Moines (Premier Cru, 2012) Red

Domaine Bart: Pierre Bart is the sixth generation at Domaine Bart. His grandmother comes from the same family as Domaine Bruno Clair so a portion of the vines come from that side of the family. Since 2009 he’s been running the 54 acre domaine along with his uncle and mother. Pierre’s wines are balanced and classic Burgundy.

$39 Fixin – Les Hervelets (Premier Cru, 2013) Red
$144 Bonnes Mares (Grand Cru, 2013) Red

Domaine Lafouge: The Lafouge parcel in the Meix-Chavaux vineyard of Meursault consists of vines planted over 80 years ago. Gilles Lafouge now heads the winemaking operation but his father and mentor, Jean, still helps in the vineyards. Lafouge’s white wines have been favorably compared to the legendary Domaine Roulot, which also has vines in the Meix-Chavaux vineyard.

$39 Meursault – Les Meix-Chavaux (2013) White

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Posted on 2015.08.15 in France, Burgundy  |  Read more...

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