In This Newsletter:
Hope Well Wines
New Arrivals
German Wine Sale Continues
Collector’s Corner
Hope Well Wines
“Hope Well wine is the alchemy between the natural world, my deep love for this ground and the unsung heroes whose strong hands, hearts and minds have helped me make it. Human. Nature. Hope Well.” -Mimi Casteel
Mimi Casteel is a once in a lifetime winemaker. Her background is as inspiring as it is long and varied, working stints as a firefighter, botanist, and ecologist. After many years studying, interacting, and living within the natural environment, it was a likely transition to begin making wine. Although, when she started Hope Well wine, she was not uninitiated. Mimi is a second generation winemaker, daughter of Ted Casteel and Pat Dudley, who pioneered winemaking in the Eola-Amity Hills region during the 1970s. It was there, at her family’s vineyard and winery, Bethel Heights Vineyard, where an understanding of winemaking began to form.
She’s developed Hope Well Wines into an impressive project focusing on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Riesling. The diversity and depth of her knowledge is evident in her conscientious winemaking ethos. Speaking of her practices, Mimi notes “Regenerative farming is really about looking at an ecosystem upon which we are trying to impose an agricultural system and repairing the broken cycles of nutrient and energy flows by facilitating those flows from a functional, structural standpoint.” (sourced from Wine Enthusiast). As a loyal practitioner of regenerative agriculture, Mimi’s wine project is only a subset of her farm, which also includes an apple orchard, vegetable garden and is home to many animals like sheep, llamas, alpacas and goats.
Off the back of her parent’s legacy, Mimi Casteel is creating a legacy of her own. A legacy of land stewardship, dedication to craft, and strong leadership paving the way towards a more sovereign food system. Her winemaking is a refreshing reminder of the relationship we have with the products we consume and the responsibility we all share to the environment from which they’re sourced. The wine industry should be so honored to have her.
We have a range of Hope Well wines in stock now at Vinopolis, here are just a few.
Hope Well ‘Sunday’s Child’ Pinot Noir, Eola Amity Hills 2021 750ml $75 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Mimi Casteel note “The three children of 2021 were born from a single lot of Pinot noir, a few rows of perfectly ripe fruit from all corners of the vineyard combined into one lot in the field, then separated at birth into three parts before vinification. For me, this was about pulling perfect Pinot Noir ripeness through a prism to see what was on the other side… Sunday’s Child went through a fully traditional Pinot noir maceration, on skins until dryness, and then to barrel to sleep for the next ten months.”
Mimi Casteel is a once in a lifetime winemaker. Her background is as inspiring as it is long and varied, working stints as a firefighter, botanist, and ecologist. After many years studying, interacting, and living within the natural environment, it was a likely transition to begin making wine. Although, when she started Hope Well wine, she was not uninitiated. Mimi is a second generation winemaker, daughter of Ted Casteel and Pat Dudley, who pioneered winemaking in the Eola-Amity Hills region during the 1970s. It was there, at her family’s vineyard and winery, Bethel Heights Vineyard, where an understanding of winemaking began to form.
She’s developed Hope Well Wines into an impressive project focusing on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Riesling. The diversity and depth of her knowledge is evident in her conscientious winemaking ethos. Speaking of her practices, Mimi notes “Regenerative farming is really about looking at an ecosystem upon which we are trying to impose an agricultural system and repairing the broken cycles of nutrient and energy flows by facilitating those flows from a functional, structural standpoint.” (sourced from Wine Enthusiast). As a loyal practitioner of regenerative agriculture, Mimi’s wine project is only a subset of her farm, which also includes an apple orchard, vegetable garden and is home to many animals like sheep, llamas, alpacas and goats.
Off the back of her parent’s legacy, Mimi Casteel is creating a legacy of her own. A legacy of land stewardship, dedication to craft, and strong leadership paving the way towards a more sovereign food system. Her winemaking is a refreshing reminder of the relationship we have with the products we consume and the responsibility we all share to the environment from which they’re sourced. The wine industry should be so honored to have her.
We have a range of Hope Well wines in stock now at Vinopolis, here are just a few.
Hope Well ‘Sunday’s Child’ Pinot Noir, Eola Amity Hills 2021 750ml $75 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Mimi Casteel note “The three children of 2021 were born from a single lot of Pinot noir, a few rows of perfectly ripe fruit from all corners of the vineyard combined into one lot in the field, then separated at birth into three parts before vinification. For me, this was about pulling perfect Pinot Noir ripeness through a prism to see what was on the other side… Sunday’s Child went through a fully traditional Pinot noir maceration, on skins until dryness, and then to barrel to sleep for the next ten months.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Hope Well Chardonnay, Eola Amity Hills 2020 750ml $74 special, 10 bottles in stock now
Mimi Casteel note “Harvested September 30, 2020. 100% organically farmed Chardonnay. Whole cluster pressed, barrel fermented in french oak. No commercial yeasts or bacteria were used. Bottled September 2, 2021.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Hope Well Pinot Noir, Eola Amity Hills 2021 750ml $75 special, 6 bottles in stock now
Mimi Casteel note “This was the vineyard’s vintage. I used no new wood, just twice and third-filled barrels for everything. Fermentation began easily on its own after 2-3 days, and the fermentation curve was beautiful and clean throughout. Very gentle cap management employed here. I stepped out with one fermenter and used 50% whole cluster, because the stems had the most lovely warm spice aroma this year and it seemed a crime not to do a little. I pressed at dryness, and the barrels wintered quietly together while we moved and grafted. I always do this, but this winter the wines were told the stories and legends of their home, the one we took with us, the one in my heart, and the one upon which their own wood now grows. That is Hope Well.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
See our full range of Hope Well wines on our website.
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New Arrivals
Vignobles de la Coulee de Serrant ‘Clos de la Coulee de Serrant’, Loire 2019 70ml $135 special, 36 bottles in stock
Wine Advocate 98 points “Produced from seven hectares of vineyards aged from 40 to 50 years old, Joly’s 2019 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant opens with a clear, bright yet enormously dense and complex bouquet of crushed stones, herbs and fine but dense and multilayered fruit that needs air to open up, yet it shows its class immediately. On the palate, this is a rich and intense, full-bodied, tight and concentrated yet elegant and stimulating salty Chenin with firm tannins intertwined with a crystalline acidity that carries this highly complex icon wine to a long and compact yet elegant finish. There is a remarkable purity, freshness and energy in the aftertaste that you sometimes might have missed in former vintages.”
Wine Advocate 98 points “Produced from seven hectares of vineyards aged from 40 to 50 years old, Joly’s 2019 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant opens with a clear, bright yet enormously dense and complex bouquet of crushed stones, herbs and fine but dense and multilayered fruit that needs air to open up, yet it shows its class immediately. On the palate, this is a rich and intense, full-bodied, tight and concentrated yet elegant and stimulating salty Chenin with firm tannins intertwined with a crystalline acidity that carries this highly complex icon wine to a long and compact yet elegant finish. There is a remarkable purity, freshness and energy in the aftertaste that you sometimes might have missed in former vintages.”
This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
Louis-Benjamin – Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang, Loire 2019 750ml $139 special, 3 bottles in stock
Rebecca Gibbs MW 96 points “What I love most about the 2019 Pur Sang is its focus and precision; the compact, light bodied core carries masses of fragrance across the palate and beyond on the long finish. There’s clarity and freshness, with a thread of acidity and minerality pulling the wine through like a needle and thread. It is starting to show the very first hints of time in bottle with a hint of almond alongside the ripe melon notes and nettle tea character. Impressive stuff from this three-hectare parcel in the village of Saint Laurent l’Abbaye, about 5km northeast of the Dagueneau domaine.”
Beaux Freres ‘Belles Soeurs Cuvee’ Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge 2019 750ml $89 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Wine Advocate 96 points “Medium ruby-purple, the 2019 Pinot Noir The Belles Soeurs has alluring wild red and black berry fruits with wafts of garrigue, Earl Grey tea leaves and Angostura bitters. The palate is silky and intense with layered, graphite-tinged fruit and a very long finish that’s notable for its purity and persistent perfume.”
Vinous 95 points “Vivid ruby. Expansive red and blue fruit aromas show fine definition, complemented by succulent floral, exotic spices and mineral notes that build with air. Sappy, appealingly sweet and energetic in style, offering boysenberry, Chambord, candied rose and five-spice powder flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. The floral note repeats emphatically on the impressively long finish, which features polished tannins and reverberating red fruit character.”
Jeb Dunnuck 95 points “The 2019 Pinot Noir The Belles Soeurs is elegant with the perfume of raspberry, cherry pie, dried roses, and cinnamon. The palate is vibrant and tension-driven with rose hip, hibiscus, and orange zest. I love this for its focused and direct nature, which will warrant some time in cellar to unfold. Drink 2024-2037.”
Luke Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope 2020 750ml $19.50 special, 36+ bottles in stock
Winemaker note “LUKE Cabernet Sauvignon offers aromas dominated by marionberry and dark chocolate, accented by hints of mint and molasses. Supple, focused and expressive, layering coffee-accented blackberry and currant flavors with polished tannins and hints of cedar and smoke.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut, Champagne 2014 750ml $349 special, 22 bottles in stock
#1 Top 100 Cellar Selections 2022 – Wine Enthusiast
Wine Spectator 98 points “This vivid Champagne shows up-front and linear definition, thanks to rapierlike acidity, with finely meshed flavors of ripe black cherry and mandarin orange fruit, raw almond, anise and cardamom spice as well as a touch of honeycomb, which all unfurl and expand on the fine, creamy palate. Sleek acidity continues through to the finish, with additional racy character provided by a streak of minerally saline and chalk, which gains momentum through the midpalate and rings out on the well-cut, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2040”
Antonio Galloni 98 points “The 2014 Cristal is another in a long line of gorgeous wines from Roederer and long-time Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon. A dazzling, vibrant Champagne, the 2014 impresses with a stunning combination of fruit density and linear energy that brings to mind a hypothetical blend of 2012 and 2008. At times, the bubbles feel totally wrapped up in waves of creamy, resonant fruit to the point the mousse is barely perceptible, especially with aeration. The flavors are bright and finely sculpted, leaning very much into the citrus, floral and mineral end of the spectrum.”
German Wine Sale
We’re having a huge sale on German wines throughout the entire month of January.
Sale Begins at 4pm on Monday, January 2nd
Sale Ends at 6pm on Tuesday, January 31st
5% off 6-11 bottles and/or large formats of German wines.
10% off 12 or more bottles and/or large formats of German wines.
Discount will not display online, we will adjust your invoice before charging your card.
Discount does not apply to pre-arrival wines or to case discounts.
This is first come / first served and limited to stock on hand.
If you buy a case-6 you can receive a 5% discount on any additional 1-5 bottles more of German wines. If you buy a case-12 all additional German bottles will receive a 10% discount.
This sale applies to ALL German wines. That’s over 500 wines discounted! Here are a few recommendations to get you started.
Weingut Donnhoff Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Riesling Kabinett, Nahe 2018 750ml $21.90 special, 36 bottles in stock
Vinous 92 points “Fresh pear and apple are tinged with ginger and sea breeze on the nose, then succulently deployed on a buoyant, polished palate. The mouthwateringly salt-tinged finish is transparent to shimmering stony notes and a mysterious ore-like earthiness surprisingly reminiscent of Hermannshöhle. “The grapes were almost too ripe for Kabinett,” remarked Dönnhoff of this bottling, “but you still have that citric sense of acidity.” Had he succumbed to his inclination to start picking a week later than the estate in fact did, we would not have a Krötenpfuhl Kabinett – an observation that Dönnhoff, with a smile, declines to contradict. The wine weighs in at 9.5% alcohol, and I don’t think it would have benefited from one gram less residual sugar than whatever it has.”
John Gilman 91+ points “The 2018 Krötenpfuhl Kabinett was still in cask and really showing beautiful potential on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is a lovely and delicate mix of apple, tart orange, salty minerality, white flowers and an esthery topnote of bee pollen. On the palate the wine is medium-full, pure and dancing, with beautiful fruit, a lovely foundation of minerality, bright acids and excellent length and grip on the vibrant finish. This has really good acids for the vintage. 2019-2050.”
Sale Begins at 4pm on Monday, January 2nd
Sale Ends at 6pm on Tuesday, January 31st
5% off 6-11 bottles and/or large formats of German wines.
10% off 12 or more bottles and/or large formats of German wines.
Discount will not display online, we will adjust your invoice before charging your card.
Discount does not apply to pre-arrival wines or to case discounts.
This is first come / first served and limited to stock on hand.
If you buy a case-6 you can receive a 5% discount on any additional 1-5 bottles more of German wines. If you buy a case-12 all additional German bottles will receive a 10% discount.
This sale applies to ALL German wines. That’s over 500 wines discounted! Here are a few recommendations to get you started.
Weingut Donnhoff Kreuznacher Krotenpfuhl Riesling Kabinett, Nahe 2018 750ml $21.90 special, 36 bottles in stock
Vinous 92 points “Fresh pear and apple are tinged with ginger and sea breeze on the nose, then succulently deployed on a buoyant, polished palate. The mouthwateringly salt-tinged finish is transparent to shimmering stony notes and a mysterious ore-like earthiness surprisingly reminiscent of Hermannshöhle. “The grapes were almost too ripe for Kabinett,” remarked Dönnhoff of this bottling, “but you still have that citric sense of acidity.” Had he succumbed to his inclination to start picking a week later than the estate in fact did, we would not have a Krötenpfuhl Kabinett – an observation that Dönnhoff, with a smile, declines to contradict. The wine weighs in at 9.5% alcohol, and I don’t think it would have benefited from one gram less residual sugar than whatever it has.”
John Gilman 91+ points “The 2018 Krötenpfuhl Kabinett was still in cask and really showing beautiful potential on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is a lovely and delicate mix of apple, tart orange, salty minerality, white flowers and an esthery topnote of bee pollen. On the palate the wine is medium-full, pure and dancing, with beautiful fruit, a lovely foundation of minerality, bright acids and excellent length and grip on the vibrant finish. This has really good acids for the vintage. 2019-2050.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Kabinett, Mosel 2018 750ml $21.90 special, 33 bottles in stock
Wine Advocate 92-94 points “The 2018 Elisenberger Riesling Kabinett is dense, cool, very precise and flinty-mineral on the nose, which is still reductive but exciting. Coming from a coolish side valley that was picked at roughly 84° to 85° Oechsle at the end of September, this is a gorgeously lush and mouth-filling Riesling with the mineral piquancy of quartzite soils. There is no aggressive acidity here, there is nice tartaric acidity that makes this a seductive Kabinett you can’t resist. This is a fabulous, very long and enchanting Riesling. The wine has slightly more than 50 grams of residual sugar and comes in at 8.5% alcohol. It was scheduled to be bottled a couple of days after I tasted it from the cask at the end of March 2019.”
Mosel Fine Wines 92 points “The 2018er Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Kabinett was harvested at 84° Oechsle and was fermented down to fruity-styled levels of residual sugar (50 g/l). It offers a beautiful nose made of white peach, cassis, gooseberry, pear, laurel, herbs and spices. The wine develops the delicate creaminess of a Spätlese on the otherwise nicely crisp palate. The finish is long and nicely fruity. Ripe mirabelle and some herbs join the zesty side in the after-taste. 2028-2048.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Markus Molitor Alte Reben Riesling Trocken, Mosel 2018 750ml $29 special, 22 bottles in stock
Wine Advocate 92 points “The 2018 Riesling Alte Reben is perfectly ripe and pure on the intense yet elegant and refined, crystalline nose. Round and juicy on the palate, this is a rich and creamy-textured, finely tannic and phenolic Riesling with grip, but this old-vines Riesling cannot disguise its 2018 origin. Tasted at the domain in September 2020.”
James Suckling 92 points “The lovely sliced-pear, white-peach and blood-orange nose eases you into this well-proportioned dry Mosel. The crisp acidity nicely balances the generous body and the touch of tannins. Good length and some nice herbal notes and complexity at the finish. Drink or hold.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Muller-Catoir Haardter Burgergarten ‘Im Breumel’ Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz 2018 750ml $49 special, 36+ bottles in stock
James Suckling 97 points “Very floral with pretty herbal undertones, ranging from coriander to dill to mint. The flowers range from jasmine to honeysuckle to almond blossom. Understated and elegant from the outset. The palate has a very chalky feel to the texture with overlapping, firm lines of acidity and dainty citrus fruit. Immaculately ironed-out edges and well-defined, linear crease. Drink now or hold.
Winery Note “The age-worthy Riesling wines from this prime section of the Haardt Bürgergarten are characterised by the optimal balance between a concentrated Riesling fruit, lingering minerality, a delicate elegance and an elaborately interwoven, long finish – Riesling to perfection.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Collector’s Corner
Louis-Benjamin – Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Asteroide, Loire 2019 750ml $1499 special, 2 bottles available
Rebecca Gibbs MW 92 points “Just 400 bottles of Pouilly Fumé Asteroide were made in 2019 from the same vineyard as Pur Sang, but the winemaking is different: half of the wine goes in a glass wine globe (a bit like a bonbonne), the other half in a barrel. This is a more varietal expression of the grape and the vineyard with nettle tea, dill and boxwood. Winemaker Jean-Philippe Agisson suggests this varietal character might be down to the influence of the wine globe. There’s a firm, tangy finish and a touch of savory, nuttiness on the length. The Pur Sang is a more complete wine than the Asteroide despite the latter having the rarity X factor due to being ungrafted. Certainly doesn’t represent good value!”
Rebecca Gibbs MW 92 points “Just 400 bottles of Pouilly Fumé Asteroide were made in 2019 from the same vineyard as Pur Sang, but the winemaking is different: half of the wine goes in a glass wine globe (a bit like a bonbonne), the other half in a barrel. This is a more varietal expression of the grape and the vineyard with nettle tea, dill and boxwood. Winemaker Jean-Philippe Agisson suggests this varietal character might be down to the influence of the wine globe. There’s a firm, tangy finish and a touch of savory, nuttiness on the length. The Pur Sang is a more complete wine than the Asteroide despite the latter having the rarity X factor due to being ungrafted. Certainly doesn’t represent good value!”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Falletto di Bruno Giacosa ‘Falletto Riserva – Falleto Vigna Le Rocche’ Barolo DOCG 2016 750ml $799 special, 2 bottles available
James Suckling 100 points “This is the second 100-point Vigna Le Rocche, following the 2015. What the former had in intensity of fruit and transparency, this has in structure and power. The purity of fruit is sensational in this young Barolo, offering blackberries, black truffle and iron. Rust too. This is so tannic and powerful with incredible structure. This may be the most structured Barolo from Bruno Giacosa I have ever tasted as a young wine. Speechless. Full-bodied and so intense, yet it remains fresh and agile. Traditional in every sense of the word, but this is clear and clean. A classic in the making. It will be in the market January 2022. Leave this for at least six to eight years. Try in 2027.”
Wine Advocate 98 points “The Bruno Giacosa 2016 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche sees its fruit sourced from the oldest vines in the Falletto cru. This wine boasts all the signature touches of Serralunga d’Alba with the massive structure, density and the long aging potential that comes with Nebbiolo grown in this village. The wine spreads evenly over the palate, imparting its considerable fruit weight and generally leaving a big impact. This Barolo is really quite lovely and beautiful. The bouquet is fluid and ever-shifting, showing new sides with firm fruit, blackberry, smoke, rusty nail and mineral with every swirl of the glass. I visited this vineyard site shortly before tasting this wine and marveled at the beautiful peacocks that roam free between the rows of vines.”
Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Seleccion, Montilla-Moriles 1929 750ml $299 special, 2 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 points “The extreme 1929 Don PX Convento Selección is a thick, dense and unusual, rare sweet beast. It is very dark with a green border, dense, oily and serious full-bodied palate with the profile of a PX from Jerez. With 500 grams of residual sugar per liter, it is a little monolithic, a little heavy and not so easy to drink. Still it is an impressive, very sweet wine that is really unique”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Thank you from the team at Vinopolis!
Be well & drink well.