February 16th Newsletter 2022

Domaine Huet, founded in 1928, makes one of the longest-lived, most balanced and expressive Chenin Blanc wines in all of France. Generations of commitment, biodynamic farming, and a traditional winemaking style result in a monument to Vouvray. The Huet Moelleux has become a classic of the style. Its botrytis sweetness seductively displays the Chenin Blanc’s sublime ageability and complexity. Huet grows grapes in three different parcels with Le Haut-Lieu vineyard producing the most straight-forward expressions of Chenin while still transmitting the house style. After years of working with the producer we were able to secure limited quantities of the delightfully tropical 2018 vintage at a cut-rate!

Haut Lieu wines arriving Friday, February 18th: 

Domaine Huet Vouvray ‘Le Haut Lieu’ Demi-Sec Loire 2018 750ML ($49.95) $29 pre-arrival special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Wine Spectator 93 points “Round and expressive, with great balance between the sweetness of orchard fruit and bracing acidity reminiscent of clementine. Jasmine and sweet spice notes emerge midpalate, while ground ginger details mark the velvety finish. Drink now through 2034. 2,100 cases made.  –AZ”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2018 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec is clear, bright and fresh on the chalky/spicy nose. Round and lush on the palate, the 2018 is a dense, refined and charmingly sweet Haut-Lieu with accessible fruit and a stimulatingly salty finish that reveals very fine tannins and lovely sur-lie texture. This is a delicious Chenin from Vouvray but still young. Tasted in May 2019.”
Antonio Galloni 93 points “The 2018 Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu offers up a beguiling mix of candied lemon peel, passion fruit, jasmine, ginger and marzipan. Medium in body and intensely perfumed, the Demi-Sec is so harmonious. Bright saline underpinnings add a lovely counterpoint to the wine’s natural richness.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Domaine Huet Vouvray ‘Le Haut Lieu’ Moelleux Loire 2018 750ML ($54.95) $29 special, 36+bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni 94 points “The 2018 Moelleux Le Haut-Lieu is a gorgeous, exotic wine. Jasmine, lemon oil and ginger lead into a core of green orchard fruit as the 2018 shows off its considerable charms. A wine of absolutely exquisite beauty, the 2018 is precise and sculpted, with its sweetness very nicely integrated.”
Jason Wilson-Vinous 94 points “A perfect example of how 2018 wanted to be sweet and not dry. Harvested late, this sweet wine has 48 grams per liter of residual sugar. Beautiful pear and quince, as well as white blossoms on the nose. Pretty and complex on the palate, with lots of finesse and verve, this is a shapely, stunning sweet wine.”
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2018 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux is clear and seductively ripe on the elegant, still yeasty nose with a mineral backbone and its chalky background. Sweet and lush but fine and filigreed on the palate, this is a salty, frisky, elegant, densely woven and well-structured Haut-Lieu with fine tannins and a long, complex finish that is rich and finessed at the same time, with lingering piquancy and stimulating salinity. This 2018 is a very charming but also serious Chenin Blanc with fine tannins, good tension and aging potential. Tasted in May 2019.”
Wine Spectator 93 points “Round and harmonious, with a suave texture and notes of ripe Bosc pear, white peach and elderflower. Shows hints of brioche and glaze, while the acidity cuts through, giving this balance and vibrancy. Drink now through 2033. 3,800 cases made.  –AZ”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Looking to sample the legendary Barolo Cru Ravera but don’t want to spend a king’s ransom on the experience? Consider Elvio Cogno’s Montegrilli which is sourced from their holdings inside the cru, at a fraction of what you’d expect to pay. This is on account of Cogno using the Montegrilli for their younger vines, offering a budget friendly snapshot into the site’s reputation.  We carry two vintages of the bottling, each punching far above their weight class in terms of quality. 

Cogno Montegrilli in stock now: 

Elvio Cogno Montegrilli Langhe Rosso Piedmont 2017 750ML ($34.95) $29 special, 32 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni 91 points “The 2017 Langhe Nebbiolo Montegrilli is a very pretty wine. The warm, dry vintage has give Cogno’s Nebbiolo an extra kick of richness, but without robbing the wine of its personality. Sweet dried cherry, mint, tobacco, crushed flowers and anise all flesh out in an expansive, inviting Nebbiolo that will drink nicely for at least a number of years.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Elvio Cogno Montegrilli Langhe Rosso Piedmont 2019 750ML ($31.95) $28 special, 30 bottles in stock now
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 92+ points “This is a terrific Piedmont red to pair with a classic quiche Lorraine. The Elvio Cogno 2019 Langhe Nebbiolo Montegrilli is a delicate and fragile expression with bright accents of chopped mint and medicinal herb that hover over a core of wild cherry and dried raspberry. The wine delivers soft and smooth aromas that define the character of this pretty wine. Dusty tannins and some lingering mineral notes frame a polished finish. A portion of the wine sees whole-cluster fermentation, and winemaking is straightforward in stainless steel. Some 10,000 bottles were released.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

 

Testamatta, which means “crazy head” in Italian, is a nod to Bibi Graetz’s eccentricity. A creative and passionate man, Graetz crafts some of Italy’s most impressive wines at his self-described Casamatta (“crazy house”). But don’t be fooled by Graetz’s self-deprecating humility, one taste of his wines will shatter any illusions that these are humble plonk. The brilliance of the wine suggests that there surely must be a method to the madness. I f that wasn’t enough we were also able to secure an allotment of the Colore Rosso Toscana, which is sourced from 3 old-vine sites planted at high altitude. The 2019 vintage marks the 20th anniversary of the wines, with a commemorative label to match! 

Bibi Graetz wines arriving May, 2022

Bibi Graetz Colore Toscana IGT Tuscany 2019 750ML ($269.95) $238 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 99 points “This is so perfumed and seductive, with blackberries, cherries, dried flowers and perfume. It’s full-bodied and tight with very fine tannins. Really structured and long. Superb tannin texture. So fine, yet so powerful. This is an incredible combination of fruit and structure. Old-vine magic. Drink after 2026.”
Decanter 98 points “The ‘dream’ in Italian, this is from very old, high-altitude vineyards on stony soils mixed with sand and stone. This is one of the wines of the tasting, a real showstopper that captures your interest and holds it all the way. Red cherries and strawberries dominate the nose with softly-spiced liquorice touches. But it’s the texture that’s so captivating, gripping straight away and holding you there, but in a soft and gentle way. Bright acidity comes in keeping things fresh and welcoming while the structure and length give a lovely roundness. A real success. Grapes for Colore are sourced from three vineyards, with each harvested up to eight times. After the first selection in the vineyards, a second selection occurs at the winery before destemming where grapes are softly pressed and placed in open-top barriques, keeping each plot and parcel separate from the others. The fermentation is conducted naturally by indigenous yeasts without temperature control lasting up to two weeks, with one extra week of maceration on the skins. After the fermentation the wine is moved into new barriques, where the malolactic fermentation happens. Each parcel is aged separately for almost 20 months before the final blend is decided. Drinking Window 2025 – 2045.”
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 96 points “Dressed for a party, the Bibi Graetz 2019 Colore celebrates the estate’s 20th anniversary with a special commemorative (2000-2019) bottle. This vintage of Colore is 100% Sangiovese (the small part of Colorino in the blend we saw last year has been removed) because Bibi thought the Sangiovese elegant enough to stand alone. Fruit comes from three vineyard sites with 70-, 80- and 90-year-old vines, respectively. The wine offers big intensity and beautifully lifted aromas and more textural support than we saw in the slightly thinner 2018 vintage. The bouquet reveals balsam herb, cassis, pressed rose, garden mint and crushed stone. Fruit from the southern-most site, Poggio Matto in Casciano del Murlo (in the province of Siena), was blended in at a greater percentage to help build the structure and momentum of this cellar-worthy wine.”

Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT Tuscany 2019 750ML ($119.95) $95 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 97 points “Very attractive combination of dried fruit and spices with black cherries and plums. Aromas of flowers and sandalwood, too. Full-bodied and very refined, yet intense, with plush, velvety tannins that are wonderfully integrated and intertwined with the fruit. Ripe center palate. Tight at the end, suggesting the need for some serious bottle age. Very structured. Try after 2025.”
Decanter 96 points “The 20th anniversary bottling of Testamatta made, from the 2019 vintage, in brand new winemaking facilities in Florence. This just shines from the moment it’s poured. Layered and complex this is a gem of a wine filled with cherry, raspberry, damson and caramel notes alongside a savoury edge that makes it so moreish. Tannins that support but don’t overwhelm give a nice overall weight to the palate while the flavous linger on the long finish. Made from old vines on stony soils on the Tuscan hilltops. Grapes are selected and sourced from the best five vineyards, which are divided into parcels and harvested up to eight times. Fermentation is in open-top barriques for the smaller parcels and in barrels or stainless steel for the larger ones without any temperature controls. Maceration for 7-10 days then moved into old barriques for 20 months. Drinking Window 2024 – 2045.”
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 94 points “A pure expression of Sangiovese, the Bibi Graetz 2019 Testamatta is a wine in constant evolution. Bibi has added 17 more hectares of vineyard to the program, with 12 hectares in Fiesole (north of Florence) and 5 hectares in San Donato in Colle (south of Florence) with 70-year-old vines. The base of the wine sees fruit from old vines planted in the 1950s in the cool-climate Lamole subzone of Chianti Classico. These new terroirs bring a lot more aromatic nuance and complexity to the wine with perfumed blue flower, candied orange peel, wet earth and plumy black fruit. White Alberese soils add a strong chalky mineral signature to the finish of this elegantly streamlined and linear Tuscan red.”

Bibi Graetz wines in stock now: 

Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana IGT Tuscany 2018 750ML ($17.95) $14 special, 8 bottles in stock now
James Suckling 90 points “A dense yet fresh red with cherry, tile and wet-earth character. Dusty tannins. Medium to full body. Lightly chewy. Juicy finish. Drink now.”

Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT Tuscany 2018 750ML ($99.95) $89 special, 18 bottles in stock now
Bibi Graetz Testamatta Toscana IGT Tuscany 2018 1.5L ($219.95) $199.99, 9 magnums in stock now 
Decanter 100 points “Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savoury, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and white pepper spice, and clear minerality in terms of its scraping texture that makes your mouth water on the finish. Feels light and sculpted and yet has an intensity that skewers you to the spot. This is a great wine, with scope and imagination that doesn’t want to let you go. Genuinely stands out among the wines of this tasting, and these are a fine array of wines. As with Colore, Bibi Graetz selects only old vines, the youngest 50 years old from five different vineyard sites across Tuscany, all farmed organically. Fermentations in open 225l barrels with natural yeasts and manual punch downs. -Jane Anson”
James Suckling 97 points “Very subtle aromas of cherries, bark, black truffles and flowers. Hints of crushed stones. It’s full-bodied, yet very tight and solid with a very tight, minerally structure. Very long and intense. Racy and bright at the end. Powerful, orange-peel and citrus-fruit undertones. Salty and minerally. This needs time to develop in the bottle. Extremely structured. A wine not to touch until after 2023.”

We carry a number of spectacular Tuscan producers in-house including Tenuta Arceno, Isole E Olena, and Fontodi Flaccianello! 
 

Featured Newly Reviewed Wines from Lingua Franca:
 

Lingua Franca has made quite the name for itself in a very short period of time and has spared no expense in pursuit of quality. The wines show this. The Estate Pinot hails from the heart of the Eola-Amity hills (and right next to famed sites like Seven Springs).  Like its neighbors, the vineyard shows classic Eola-Amity structure, perfume and concentration.

“The Pinots made by the team headed by Larry Stone (whose resume I won’t bore you with; it’s pretty well known and available on The Google) and winemaker Thomas Savre (whose own CV is also quite impressive) have quickly become among the best in the United States. For to my palate, the 2018s show wonderful clarity and no warm-vintage shortcomings, and I’ll wager that the 2019s are the best set of wines yet made here. In both years, one gets the generous fruit expression that marks the vintages and identifies the wines as “New World.” At the same time, there is distinct tension and focus in play, which confounds such stereotypes. New oak isn’t eschewed by Savre, but when it’s there, I find it well-played: an integral supporting actor, but not a star (think rhythm guitar versus lead). It’s early days to predict where these wines will go with age, but the right boxes (depth, energy, focus, structure and balance) are all ticked, suggesting that the 2018s and 2019s will deliver big dividends down the road.” -Josh Raynolds, Vinous

Arriving Friday, February 18th:

Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills 2019 750ML ($99.95) $89 pre-arrival special, only 24 bottles available
Josh Raynolds 97 points “Vivid ruby-red. Highly perfumed aromas of ripe red and dark fruits, incense and potpourri, along with an exotic spice nuance and a hint of smoky minerality. Palate-staining black raspberry, cherry and fruitcake flavors show sharp definition and deepen steadily as the wine stretches out. Deftly plays richness off elegance and finishes impressively long and chewy, with repeating cherry and floral character and building tannins adding final grip. 8% whole clusters and 26% new French oak.”
 

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Lingua Franca ‘Avni’ Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills 2019 750ML ($39.95) $31.90 pre-arrival special
Josh Raynolds 93 points “Deep, shimmering red. A highly aromatic bouquet evokes fresh red fruits, licorice and Asian spices, along with a smoky mineral overtone. Juicy, lithe and focused on the palate, offering appealingly sweet, mineral-tinged raspberry, rose pastille and spicecake flavors that deepen slowly with air. Finishes with harmonious tannins, sharp clarity and strong persistence, leaving cherry and spice notes behind.”

Lingua Franca ‘The Plow’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2019 750ML ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Josh Raynolds 95 points “Deep magenta. Expansive red and dark berry and floral aromas are complemented by hints of star anise, sassafras and cola. Sappy, seamless and fleshy on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, cherry cola, candied lavender and mocha flavors underscored by a vein of smoky minerality. Seductive in character, finishing with powerful thrust and supple tannins that meld smoothly with the sappy, persistent fruit.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $64.99

Don’t miss the other newly reviewed Oregon wines from Goodfellow, Crowley, Kelley Fox, J.C. Somers, and more in stock now!
 

 

New Arrival Special Feature:

Felsina
 

The ancestral home of Sangiovese, Chianti produces the widest array of styles in part due to stratified geological, topographical and administrative processes. As one of the first established wine regions in Italy after the country’s unification in the 30’s, Chianti is synonymous with Italy’s quality revolution in recent decades.

Felsina has been a major leader in this quality revolution, with their single vineyard Riservas being among the most collectible in the appellation, as well as age worthy. Their Riserva offering, called “Rancia” is sourced from a single vineyard formerly used to supply the Benedictine Monks with sacramental wine in the Middle Ages. Felsina rehabilitated the site and cloned the best vines throughout the vineyard, eventually spreading them throughout their other holdings. The dominant soil type of the vineyard is albarese, a type of limestone-infused sandstone that’s famous for the aromatic punch it contributes to the wine.    

Unlike the Rancia bottling, the Fontalloro is a blend between two sub regions just outside of the borders of Chianti Classico. Still entirely sourced from Sangiovese like her Riserva sister, the Fontalloro is meant to offer a snapshot of Tuscan Sangiovese as a whole. 

Newly Arrived from Felsina:

Felsina Berardenga Rancia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2018 750ML ($59.95) $49 special
Case-6 Felsina Berardenga Rancia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2018 750ML ($359.95) $285 special (that’s only $47.50/bottle!)
Case-12 Felsina Berardenga Rancia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2018 750ML ($719.95) $549 special (that’s only $45.75/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Antonio Galloni 97 points “The 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia is an absolutely stunning wine. The archetype of Rancia in the past has been of a big, potent Chianti Classico but in 2018, Rancia is a wine of mind-blowing elegance and finesse. Silky, perfumed and indescribably finessed, the 2018 dazzles from start to finish. It’s a magical wine in every way.”
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2018 is an unusual vintage that shows an especially austere character. Off the bat, it must be said that the Fèlsina 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia would certainly benefit from more cellar time and a long drinking window. The Rancia is elegant and streamlined with a medium-bodied style that breaks from some of the more concentrated vintages we’ve seen in the past. The bouquet reveals a lot of dark or black character with blackcurrant, tar, resin, iron ore and a dusty hint of dry graham cracker (which reminds us of the vintage heat). Structurally, the wine offers a solid and firm footing, but it would benefit from further evolution.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $57

Felsina Berardenga Fontalloro Toscana IGT Tuscany 2018 750ML ($69.95) $59 special
Case-6 Felsina Berardenga Fontalloro Toscana IGT Tuscany 2018 750ML ($419.95) $343 special (that’s only $57.17/bottle!)
Case-12 Felsina Berardenga Fontalloro Toscana IGT Tuscany 2018 750ML ($839.95) $663 special (that’s only $55.25/bottle!)
Antonio Galloni 95 points “The 2018 Fontalloro is bright, floral and full of energy. In most vintages, Fontalloro is quite open, but the 2018 is especially nervy and taut. That won’t be an issue in time, of course, but readers should plan on being patient. Sangiovese is so expressive here. A whole range of floral and savory accents lingers on the close.”
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 95 points “To my palate, the 2018 vintage sometimes feels a little too ripe or baked. I was reminded of those characteristics when tasting the Fèlsina 2018 Fontalloro. There is plenty of dark fruit at its core, but this wine also reveals dry tones of jarred oregano, grilled Mediterranean herb, crushed aspirin and graham cracker. The mouthfeel is pleasantly lean and silky, and perhaps the wine delivers more in terms of length than it does weight or texture. A little more bottle age should help flesh out and soften these results.” 

Shop our complete collection of Felsina wines or browse all of our Tuscan offerings on our web store now!