New 2016 Vintage Burgundy from A Rising Star in the Côte de Beaune

Over the past few years we have become fully enamored with the wines of Rodolphe Demougeot. The 2016 vintage wines have arrived and they are tasting great. It’s always difficult to summarize vintage characteristics, especially in a land of such diverse microclimates like Burgundy; nonetheless generalizations can be made. The 2016 vintage is almost like an ideal marriage of the fresh structure of 2014 and the phenolic ripeness of 2015 without quite as much accumulation of sugars. In short: exceptionally well-balanced and drinking well early with excellent potential for long term development.

Based out of Meursault since 1992, Rodolphe has assembled nearly 20 acres of vines in distinguished village and Premier Cru vineyards of Meursault, Pommard, Beaune, Auxey-Duresses, Savigny-lès-Beaune, and Monthélie. Although one of the most respected French wine publications, Le Guide des Vins Bettane & Desseauve, consistently praises his wines for their elegance and finesse, somehow Rodolphe’s work still escapes the notice of most wine pundits – making his wines some of the most significant values in Burgundy.

As with all the best winemakers, Rodolphe believes that wine is made in the vineyard. No chemical herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers are applied. He follows the rhythm of the lunar cycle when moving his wines and making picking decisions. He plows his vineyards by horse to aerate the soils. All wines are fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeast and are bottled by gravity. Everything is done by hand and it shows in the ultimate quality of his wines.

Domaine Demougeot “Les Clous” (Auxey-Duresses 2016) RED
$264/6-pack (~$44/bottle)

100% Pinot Noir from a limestone and clay parcel of less than an acre adjacent to the village of Petit Auxey and just west of the Premier Cru plots on the hill of La Montagne du Burdon. The fruit was manually harvested in small crates to preserve the berries. After passage on a sorting table the grapes are fermented in vats for a period of 12 to 20 days. The wine is then matured in oak barrels for 14 to 16 months (15% new oak), and three months in tank. Bottling is done by gravity. The nose is classic Côte de Beaune with perfumed and herbal cherry fruit along with some minor notes of moist earth. The vintage personality is clear with rich and ripe fruit balanced by a fresh acidity. It is drinking so well right now that it could easily be the highlight of a spring dinner party.

More 2016 Vintage Wines from Rodolphe Demougeot

All prices based on 6-pack purchase (mix-and-match)

~$31 Bourgogne Blanc 
100% Chardonnay from a 1.5 acre parcel on a plot named “Murger de Limozin” with deep calcerous clay in the commune of Meursault. The vines were planted in 1967, 1986, and 2003. The grapes are manually harvested in small, 600-liter bins. The wine is matured in barrels for one year (10% new oak) and for four to five months in tank.

~$67 Meursault
An assemblage of two lieux-dits, Les Chaumes (planted in 1957) and Les Pellans (planted in 1999), totaling about one acre. The wine is matured in barrels for one year (10% new) and for four to five months in tank.

~$31 Bourgogne Rouge
100% Pinot Noir from a 4.8 acre parcel of sandy clay and limestone in the commune of Chassagne-Montrachet.  The vines were planted in 1961. The grapes are manually harvested in small crates to preserve the berries. The wine is matured in barrels for one year (10% new oak) and for two months in tank. Bottling is done by gravity.

~$89 Pommard “Les Vignots” 
From a half-acre parcel planted in 1983 and located on the northern edge of the commune abutting the Premier Cru vineyard of La Chanière. The wine is aged in barrels for 16 months (30% new) and then three months in tank.

~$89 Pommard Premier Cru “Le Cœur des Dames – Charmots” 
From a three-quarter-acre parcel on a heart-shaped, enclosed plot planted in 2001 (Le Cœur des Dames means The Ladies’ Heart). The wine is aged in barrels for 14 months (30% new) and then three months in tank.

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Posted on 2019.04.11 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

Taste the Great Catalan Sparkling Wines of Raventós i Blanc with Pepe Raventós

Join us this Saturday to taste the stunning wines of Raventós i Blanc. Pepe Raventós will be with us from 1:00 to 3:00, providing details and insight into one of the finest sparkling wine operations in the world. If you can’t make it between 1:00 to 3:00, stop by any time on Saturday. We will be tasting all day.

Pepe Raventós joined Raventós i Blanc in 2001 but his life has always been associated with the grapevine. He gained experience producing wine with Didier Dagueneau in the Loire Valley, Nicolas Chiquet in Champagne, and Jean-Patrick Merignac in Saint Philippe d’Aiguille in Bordeaux.

The Raventós family has lived on their estate since 1497. Pepe is the 21st generation to work the land, today comprised of 220 acres of vines, forest, and water, with a specific microclimate influenced by the Anoia River, a lake, two streams, and a hill known as the Turó del Serral. Their calcareous soils, filled with marine fossils, were formed over 16 million years ago and provide the ideal conditions for producing wines with a potent mineral expression. Pepe views the estate as a living organism. Cultivation is strictly biodynamic with an aim to create biosynergies whereby the land, the plants, the animals, and man all work together to form a single agricultural unit.

Raventos i Blanc left the Cava DO at the end of 2012 out of frustration at the tarnished international image of Cava. Pepe’s dream is for the Raventós i Blanc wines to have their own designation of Conca del Riu Anoia, the name of the geographical area centered around the River Anoia Basin, between the Catalan pre-Coastal and coastal ranges.

The name Raventós i Blanc has become synonymous with great sparkling wines. They are one of the few producers of Spanish sparkling wine that grows, tends, and harvests their grapes from their own property, ferments and vinifies their wines, and then sells them under their label. To borrow a phrase from Champagne, one can truly consider them a Récoltant Manipulant (Grower Producer). Raventós i Blanc is Champagne know-how and innovation imbued with Catalan spirit and terroir. Only cane sugar is used in the liqueur de tirage. A pneumatic press is used to gently extract the juice. The wines spend a disproportionate amount of time on the lees to add richness and complexity. Each of these techniques can be found in the very best of Champagne producers, but only a few in Spain.

Discount prices based on the purchase of a 6-pack (mix-and-match)

~$22 Raventós i Blanc “Blanc de Blancs” 2016, cru – Conca del Riu Anoia  

A structured, fresh and complex blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada from the Vinya del Llac vineyard with vines over 40 years old. Vinya del Llac faces north and has clay soils that release water slowly throughout the vegetative cycle. Deep beneath the surface lies calcareous bedrock with encrusted stone. This limits water reserve, giving the grapes in this flagship plot more structure. The influence of the lake moderates the climatic conditions, avoids heatwaves, and favors long ripening. Aged for at least 18 months on the lees before release.

$27 Raventós i Blanc Rosé “de Nit” 2015, cru – Conca del Riu Anoia

A blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada with the addition of a small amount of red Monastrell for complexity and to give the wine its pale pink color. From vines in the Barbera, Plana, and Viader plots that have deep soil with a clay loam texture, which provides freshness and elegance. The Monastrell plot, situated on the terraces of the Serral hill, marks the De Nit sparkling wine with its personality. Aged for at least 18 months on the lees before release.

$162 Raventós i Blanc “Mas del Serral” 2007, cru –  Conca del Riu Anoia SOLD OUT

The truly special 2007 “Mas del Serral” is the very first release of this single vineyard wine. Pepe realized in 2005 that Clos del Serral — a northwest facing vineyard planted in 1954 — was ideally suited to create an exceptional sparkling wine. Co-planted Xarel-lo and Bastarda Negre comprise the blend. The fruit for this spectacular cuvée was harvested methodically and sorted grape by grape. The wine spent nine months in tank before being transferred to bottles in June of 2008. It spent nearly 10 years on the lees before disgorgement in February of 2018. Only 2,735 bottles were produced.

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Posted on 2019.04.04 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Catalunya, Cava  |  Read more...

The Champagne Society April 2019 Selection: Champagne Bonnaire

Champagne Bonnaire “Rosé” or “Ver Sacrum”
Price for The Champagne Society members: $50

Since 1932 Champagne Bonnaire has been a family-run winery based in the village of Cramant in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. This grower estate really hit its stride in the early 1990s with third-generation winemaker Jean-Louis Bonnaire at the helm. Besides elevating the wines of Bonnaire, he helped boost his wife’s property (Clouet) in the Grand Gru of Bouzy. Now, Champagne Bonnaire, and the elegant, Pinot Noir-based grower wines of Champagne Paul Clouet, are both internationally known.

Today it is the sons of Jean-Louis, Jean-Etienne and Jean-Emmanuel Bonnaire, that are leading the way for Champagne Bonnaire. The estate consists of a little over 50 acres, the majority of which is located in the Côte des Blancs where the Chardonnay vine thrives. Their vineyard parcels lie mainly in the Grand Cru village of Cramant but some plots are located in the neighboring villages of Chouilly and Oiry, both Grand Cru, as well as the Premier Cru villages of Cuis and Bergeres-Les-Vertus. The source of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier come from part of the estate that extends into the Marne Valley.

Given the small production of Champagne Bonnaire we do not have enough of one single cuvée for all of our Champagne Society Members but we still wanted to share these exciting wines with you. You will have a choice of either the “Rosé” or “Ver Sacrum” as long as both are available.

Champagne Bonnaire “Rosé”

Bonnaire’s “Rosé” is an assemblage of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. A portion of the Pinot Noir (12%) is added in the form of Coteaux Champenois, a still, red wine. The fruit comes from four villages: Cramant, Cuis, Bergère-les-Vertus, and Fossoy. The wine ages on the lees for a minimum of three years and sees a dosage of 8 grams/liter. Berries, flowers and minerals are woven together seamlessly. The light tannin from the Coteaux Champenois provides the structure to pair nicely with almost any food.

Champagne Bonnaire “Ver Sacrum”

“Ver Sacrum” is a 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs. The fruit comes from the Grand Cru village of Cramant and the Premier Cru village of Bergère-les-Vertus, both recognized for the highest quality of Chardonnay. The wine ages on the lees for a minimum of five years and sees a dosage of 6 grams/liter. A richer, more ample Blanc de Blancs, it harmonizes finesse and generosity with a low dosage that reinforces its sense of purity. “Ver Sacrum” (The Sacred Spring) is a nod to the Viennese youth movement of the early 1900s that breathed new life into the artistic and cultural world of its time without ignoring the legacy of the past. The Vienna Secession, as it was called, was led by notable artists like Gustav Klimt and Rainer Maria Rilke.

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Posted on 2019.04.01 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne  |  Read more...

Old Vines, Deep Roots in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Domaine La Barroche “Signature” (Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016)
Special 6-pack Price: $297 (~$49/bottle)

It was back in 1703 when the Barrot family first purchased plots of land in the village of Châteauneuf du Pape and that land has been handed down ever since. For most of the family’s existence as winemakers, the wine had been sold in bulk to négociants. That all changed when the young and incredibly talented Julien Barrot, with his sister Laetitia alongside, took over winemaking at Domaine La Barroche during the disastrous 2002 vintage. Despite this trial by fire, Julien has since produced one magnificent vintage after another.

With 36 acres of vines, Domaine La Barroche features a variety of terroirs in the northern and northeastern segments of the appellation, many of them planted with Grenache vines that are now over 100 years old. In the words of the domaine, Grenache is “the soloist that provides focus to the entire symphony” but Mourvèdre, Syrah, Cinsault, Clairette Blanche, and Vaccarèse are also grown on the estate, as well as a few forgotten varieties (mostly Terret Noir and Clairette Rose) growing among the oldest vines.

Roughly 80% of all plots of the domaine have sandy topsoil with deep limestone. The rest consist of red clay, river stones, and red sandstone. This varying terroir allows the different grape varieties to express themselves in ways that give depth and subtlety to the wine and create a Châteauneuf du Pape that truly represents the type.

The 2016 vintage cuvée “Signature” is composed of 62% Grenache, 18% Mourvèdre, 13% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, 1% Vacarrese, and 1% other grape varieties — depending on who you ask, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC allows anywhere between 13 and 18 grape varieties as part of the blend. The grapes come from several well-known plots with vines on average more than 70 years old, including Le Grand Pierre, a legendary plot located on the Rayas slope near the sandy plots where the vines of the famed Château Rayas reside.

Only organic fertilizers are used and the harvest is entirely by hand, with sorting both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Vinification is very traditional with the wine being vinified in underground concrete vats and moved by gravity. The wine is aged in old oak casks and foudre. Minimal sulfites are used at bottling and the wine is bottled unfiltered.

The result is a concentrated, seamless wine of great generosity. Potent aromatics of dried flowers and Provençale herbs rise above a rich cherry liqueur. A sip is stuffed with full-bodied fruit, a lavish mid-palate, and an exceptionally long and earthy finish. Drink it now and through the next two decades.

From the Cellar: 2011 Domaine La Barroche

Domaine La Barroche “Signature” (Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011)
$89/bottle

We have a very limited number of Domaine La Barroche wines from the 2011 vintage available. Try a bottle to taste the mature complexity and character of well-cellared Châteauneuf-du-Pape with several years of age. The 2011 vintage is a very similar blend to the 2016 vintage. It will make a good study of what the 2016 is capable of expressing with some development.

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Posted on 2019.03.28 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

Crowd-Pleasing Italian White from the Shores of Lake Garda

Ottella “Molceo” (Lugana Riserva 2015) White
Special 6-pack Price: $145 (~$24/bottle) SOLD OUT

Comprehending Italian grape varieties and regions can sometimes be a bit of a puzzle, but it’s usually entertaining. Lugana is one of the few Italian appellations that crosses a regional border. Partly in Veneto, but mostly in Lombardy, it lies on the southern edge of the stunning (and temperature moderating) Lake Garda, just a few miles southeast of the city of Brescia. Glacial in origin, the Lugana basin is a relatively flat amphitheater surrounded by morainic hills formed by the southern push of the great Alpine glaciers of the last Ice Age. The soil is composed of thin strata of loamy clay. All of these factors create a distinct terroir ideal for the cultivation of the local grape variety Turbiana.

Although you may have never heard of Turbiana (also known as Trebbiano di Lugana) you might already be familiar with its character. Studies have concluded that it is genetically similar to Verdicchio from the Marche region, yet it stands apart in most aspects of cultivation and expression.

Ottella‘s top white, “Molceo,” is an ideal illustration of the marriage of soil and vine. The fruit comes from vineyards with a high content of white clay in San Benedetto di Lugana. Harvest is done in late October, after the grapes have hung on the vine longer than Ottella’s regular Lugana wines. Both the harvesting and selection of the grapes are done strictly by hand and the fruit is placed in small boxes to preserve its integrity. In the cellar, the fruit is handled just as delicately, with soft pressing and gentle destemming before vinification and aging for 16 months on the fine lees, mainly in steel but also some wood tonneaux and barriques.

While the grape and place might be a tad obscure, the wine itself drinks like a champ. Fans of Sancerre will appreciate this Lugana’s graceful personality that appeals to novices and connoisseurs alike. A glassful exudes potent aromas of smoke, citrus peel, straw, ocean spray, and wet slate. A sip is penetrating herbaceous fruit salad of fresh grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, pineapple, and plum. Yet it refuses to be defined as a fruity wine. The finish is mineral in texture, with a hint of green almond, and perfect longevity. There’s truly a lot of wine packed into a bottle.

“Molceo” is new to our shop but no newcomer to the ranks of world-class Italian whites. The leading authority on Italian wine, Gambero Rosso, consistently awards it their highest rating of Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses) year after year. This recognition is in large part due to the efforts of the winemakers, and brothers, Francesco and Michele Montresor. Over the past couple of decades the pair have transformed the small estate into one of the most interesting and quality-driven producers in the region. They work diligently to introduce the thrilling wines of Lugana to a broader audience.

Just in time for a change of weather, “Molceo” can be a bright and energetic wine to fuel a backyard gathering with friends or an elegant wine to pair with everything from raw oysters to pork shoulder. However you serve it, it is easily one of the most expressive white wines available for the price.

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Posted on 2019.03.20 in Saturday Sips Wines, Italy, Lombardy  |  Read more...

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