Vinopolis Newsletter 3-17-25

In This Newsletter:


Arriving Tomorrow, March 18th
Giacomo Conterno

New Arrivals
Screaming Eagle, Leonetti Cellar, Steinmetz, and more!

New Sake Arrivals
Three new Sakes for your enjoyment
 

 
 

Named for Aldo and Giovanni’s father and helmed by Giovanni until his death in 2004, the wines are made using traditional Barolo methods like slow fermentation and aging in giant, used barriques. Unlike the fresher, fruitier Aldo Conterno wines, a Giacomo Conterno Barolo is a dense, powerful, and muscular experience. It needs much time to tame down.
 
The winery is currently owned and operated by Giovanni’s son Roberto, who has remained faithfully married to the ultra-traditional style of his Father and Grandfather. There is a great legacy riding on his shoulders, but according to his own importer Polaner, Roberto is “the most annoying and perfectionist winemakers we have experienced,” who has “nonetheless taken the winery to even greater heights than his predecessors.”
 
Giacomo Conterno ‘Francia,’ Barolo DOCG, Italy 2020 750ml $299 special, 3 bottles arriving
Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points “Bright red pale in color, the 2020 Barolo Francia is gorgeous with a bit more structure and depth, though it remains elegant all the way through. Its ripe, pure notes of fresh cherries, roses, incense, and spice are followed by a medium-bodied red with structured, ripe tannins, energetic lift, and gorgeous notes of apricot and tea leaf on the incredibly long finish. While it certainly boasts more depth compared to the 2018, its elegant profile harkens to the gracefulness expressed in many of the best wines in that vintage. It’s outstanding all the way through and is going to offer a tremendous amount of pleasure over the next 20 or more years. Drink 2025-2045.”
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 98 Points “The 2020 Barolo Francia is fascinating to taste next to the 2021. A substantial young Barolo, the 2020 oers notable mid-palate density and tons of pure explosive energy. Savory and mineral notes abound, but at this stage, the 2020 is a Barolo of fruit and texture. Practically seamless tannins pull it all together. I have a slight preference for the 2021, but it is neck and neck between these two great Barolos. A second bottle enjoyed in a local restaurant a few days after this tasting was every bit as memorable.”
 

Average listed price $308

 
Giacomo Conterno Nebbiolo d’Alba Vigna Arione, Piedmont, Italy 2021 750ml $189 special, 12 bottles arriving
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 94 Points “The 2021 Nebbiolo d’Alba Vigna Arione is all class. Perfumed and silky on the palate, with medium-bodied structure, the 2021 embodies the virtues of elegance and class. Crushed flowers, white pepper and mint play off a core of vibrant, red-toned fruit. What a beautiful wine this is. As a reminder, the Nebbiolo d’Alba Vigna Arione emerges from a section in Arione that is just outside the Barolo appellation. Vines here were replanted after the 2015 harvest. The Nebbiolo was vinified in wood and then spent 31 months in cask, a classic Barolo élevage.”
 

Average listed price $191

 
…currently available from Giacomo Conterno
 
Giacomo Conterno ‘Arione,’ Barolo DOCG, Italy 2020 750ml $299 special, 3 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 97 Points “The 2020 Barolo Arione is a wine of extreme delicacy and finesse. Lavender, sage, mint, cedar and rose petal are some of the many notes that lift from the palate. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2020 impresses with its inner sweetness and sublime balance.”
 
Giacomo Conterno ‘Cerretta,’ Barolo DOCG, Italy 2020 750ml $299 special, 2 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 96 Points “The 2020 Barolo Cerretta is a potent, packed wine. Today, the tannins are especially imposing and also larger in scale than the other Barolos in this range. Dark red-toned fruit, orange peel, white pepper and crushed rocks all race out of the glass. This is a wine for those with patience.”
 
 

 

California
 

 

The original cult Napa winery, Screaming Eagle’s quality was already a poorly kept secret among oenophiles before a perfect 100 point review by Robert Parker launched its reputation into the stratosphere!
 
Screaming Eagle Cabernet, Napa Valley 2022 750ml $2,199 special, 3 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 95-97 Points “While I wasn’t able to taste the 2021s, the 2022s from Screaming Eagle are undeniable successes. Tasted from multiple barrels, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon has medium to full-bodied, richness, beautiful purity of fruit and ripe, building tannins, as well as a good spine of acidity. This estate did an incredible selection, and it certainly shows in all the samples I was able to taste.”
 

Lowest listed price on the West Coast
Average price $2,294!

 
…also currently available from Screaming Eagle:
 
Screaming Eagle The Flight, Napa Valley 2019 750ml $999 special, 3 bottles available
James Suckling 99 Points “Extremely floral and aromatic with violets and lavender throughout. Black olives, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, very fine-grained tannins that run the length of the wine. Goes on for minutes. A greenish undertone comes out at the end with some spearmint, green tea and green olive. About two-thirds merlot. Best after 2028, but already stunning.”
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 97 Points “The 2019 The Flight, the estate’s Merlot-based wine, is dark, powerful and brooding in demeanor, almost shockingly so. The natural concentration of a year with low yields and small berries is very much in evidence. A rush of black cherry, plum, graphite, lavender and blue/purplish fruit builds as this virile, explosive wine shows off its arresting beauty. In a word: impressive.”
 

Average price $1,129

 
Screaming Eagle The Flight, Napa Valley 2020 750ml $919 special, 5 bottles available
James Suckling 98 Points “Aromas of blackberries, red and black currants. Green olives, too. Dark roses and perfume. Medium-bodied with super crunchy energy and brightness. Very fine tannins. Elegant and precise. So subtle and complex, it’s really something. A blend of 64% merlot and 36% cabernet sauvignon. Needs four to five years to open and come together.”
 

Average price $1,129

 
Washington
 

 
“The 2021s from Leonetti Cellar are to die for.” –Eric Guido, Vinous Media
 
Leonetti Cabernet, Walla Walla 2021 750ml $119 special, 19 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 97+ Points “The classic 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from this reference point estate checks in as 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec raised 22 months in once-filled oak and neutral oval botti. Its vivid purple hue is followed by a perfumed, youthful bouquet of cassis and blue fruits that give way to more graphite, chalky minerality, violets, and spicy oak. It’s deep, rich, and medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a gorgeous mid-palate, ripe, building, polished tannins, and fabulous length on the finish. This absolutely brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be forgotten for 2-4 years and will evolve gracefully over the following two decades. It’s another sensational wine from the talents of Chris Figgins.”
 
Leonetti Cellar Merlot, Walla Walla 2022 750ml $95 special, 8 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points “All Merlot aged in once-filled and neutral oak, the 2022 Merlot sports a vivid ruby/purple hue as well as solid aromatics of ripe black cherries, cedary herbs, dried flowers, and a kiss of background oak. It’s medium to full-bodied, has a pure, elegant mouthfeel, polished tannins, and a great finish. It will keep from 10-12 years with ease.”
 
France
 
Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy, France 2021 750ml $39 special, 36+ bottles available
Importer Notes “This cuvée is sourced from vines the age of which is between 45 and 70 years. A wine of exceptional concentration for a village level appellation, this wine is always a true expression of the kimmeridgian soils that make Chablis so distinctive. Aged for thirty months before release, Defaix’s old vines Chablis is richly dense with a classic “pierre a fusil” bouquet and long mineral-infused finish.”
 

Lowest listed price on the west coast

Germany
 
Steinmetz Kabinett Piesporter Treppchen, Mosel, Gemrnay 2023 750ml $39 special, 24 bottles available
Anne Krebiehl-Vinous 94 Points “The 2023 Riesling Piesporter Grafenberg Kabinett, grown on reddish slate, presents wet stone on the nose with a touch of red apple and lemon. The palate combines lightness, red apple verve and naked slate with a contained, dollop-like sweetness at the core, surrounded by layers of freshness. This is absolutely lively, exciting and deliciously bracing, with around 40 g/L of residual sweetness against 10 g/L of acidity.”
 
 

 

A Junmai or “pure rice” sake made exclusively from rice, water, yeast, and “koji” (a kind of fermented rice and yeast starter—think of sourdough or sour mash starter as an analogue— used in miso, sake, soy sauce) without additives like sugar or neutral spirits.

Koshitsukano Hirai Junmai Sake 720ml $26 special, 12 bottles available
Importer Tasting Note “HIRAI Junmai Sake is clean, crisp, dry, and elegant. Named for the swans that migrate to the local lake, HIRAI is an ideal sake for those who are new to sake but appreciate a quality hand-crafted style. Local ingredients include wild yeast that the brewery propagates itself and very soft water from the on-site well. The savory aroma of freshly cooked rice with hints of tropical fruit leads to a balanced mouthfeel and a clean and crisp finish. The brewery was established in 1781 in the Niigata prefecture on the west coast of Japan. The purity of HIRAI Junmai Sake is a reflection of freshly fallen snow covering beautiful Niigata villages.”
 
Minakata Karakuchi Extra Dry Junmai Sake 720ml $33 special, 12 bottles available
Winery Note “This is a classic dry style Junmai sake with restrained fruit balanced with a light nutty and umami earthiness. An easy-drinking sake with a crisp and bone-dry finish, perfect with seafood.”
 
A Nigori or “cloudy” sake is a minimally filtered sake, still containing residual rice solids, providing a smooth and rich mouthfeel and typically fall on the fruitier and sweeter side of the spectrum. For this reason, they pair especially well with spicy foods. Like a Spatlese Riesling.

Tengu No Doburoku Mountain Warrior Nigori Sake 720ml $27 special, 13 bottles available
Winery Note “A full-bodied unrefined sake that retains the rice Umami with a rich sweetness. You can enjoy the good old plain Umami of Japanese Sake and its authentic taste.”