Vinopolis Newsletter 4-14-25 PM

Special Arrival 

 

 

 

We’re calling this Christmas in Springtime.
 
We had already blown through our 2023 allocation of Cameron Willamette Valley Pinot Noir weeks ago —grateful to get as large an allotment as we did!—only to find out from winemaker Jean Paul that he had produced a secret second batch of his top value cuvee from different clones, with a slight barrel treatment.
 
This wine is still just as delicious as the first release, though perhaps with a slightly less savory and more lifted profile. It still has same the lovely tart cherry notes and the elegance of a wine twice its price.
 

This is one of our best-selling wines every year. These bottles won’t last long!
 

 

Cameron Pinot Noir (Take 2), Willamette Valley, USA 2023 750ml $26 special, 36+ bottles available
Winery Notes “This blend has fruit from Abbey Ridge, Clos Electrique, La Colina and La Sierra. Classic Dundee Hills Pinot Noir aromatics and flavors, velvety texture and beautiful fruit. C’mon now, our pinots smell and taste like how many different things? It’s delicious. Buy this wine!”
 
 
 

 

“This Vertus domaine numbers among my favorite addresses on the Côte de Blancs, and the Doyard family’s vinous, incisive Champagnes deserve a place in any well-stocked cellar. Deep, concentrated and characterful, everything that bears the Doyard label is well worth serious attention.” -William Kelley, Wine Advocate
 
Doyard Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, Champagne, France 2015 750ml $149 special, 13 bottles available
Decanter 93 Points “Fermented and aged for 10 months in second-hand Burgundy barrels. Immensely stylish and satisfying Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, showing plenty of 2015 ripeness and weight with mandarin, lime and juicy white peach notes backed up by toasted hazelnut. A real sense of refreshment and precision, even with the heat of the vintage in tow. (Drink between 2023-2030).”

 

 
Beaux Freres Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA 2022 750ml $124.50 special, 6 bottles available
Decanter 97 Points “A gorgeous Pinot Noir, the plantings from 1988 are being replanted as the phyloxerated vines are being removed. This wine shows elegance and grace while maintaining depth and concentration, but make no mistake, it’s built to age. The Beaux Frères Vineyard is clonally diverse with a massale selection of Pommard and Wadenswil and 115. Red fruited aromas and beautiful interplay between bright berries mixed with fresh mint and savoury herbs. The palate remains fresh and elegant, with red-fruited generosity and savoury depth of spearmint and wild anise. (Drink between 2024-2040).”
Eric Guido-Vinous 95 Points “This wine shows elegance and grace while maintaining depth and concentration, but make no mistake, it’s built to age. The Beaux Frères Vineyard is clonally diverse with a massale selection of Pommard and Wadenswil and 115. Red fruited aromas and beautiful interplay between bright berries mixed with fresh mint and savoury herbs. The palate remains fresh and elegant, with red-fruited generosity and savoury depth of spearmint and wild anise. (Drink between 2024-2040).”
 

 
 HOT DEAL  Purple Hands ‘Lone Oak Ranch’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $28 special, 11 bottles available
Int’l Wine Review 93 Points “The 2022 Lone Oak Ranch Pinot Noir from Purple Hands is a cuvée from seven premier vineyards from five Willamette Valley AVAs: Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton, Ribbon Ridge, Eola-Amity, and Mount Pisgah. This elegant Pinot Noir includes fruit from all of their vineyard designates and spent 10 months in 5% New French Oak, 45% Neutral French Oak, and 50% Stainless Steel tanks. Medium-bodied with lovely notes of dried Bing cherries, lavender, watermelon rind, purple flowers, wet stones, and bitter herbs, it ends with sweet crunchy tannins and racy acidity.”
 
Purple Hands Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $69 special, 6 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points “A richer reflective ruby hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard is a savory wine with notes of wet stones, graphite, pine, fresh black cherries, mixed berries, and tea leaf. It is very appealing on the palate early on. With refined tannins and a juicy feel. It’s very attractive now, and it’s not going to slow down any time soon. Drink 2024-2040.”
 
Purple Hands Haakon Lenai Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2022 750ml $66 special, 12 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points “A youthful ruby red hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Haakon/Lenai Vineyard comes from 27-year-old vines in the main estate vineyard. A youthful bright magenta/ruby color, it offers darker berried fruit notes of wild black raspberries, layered spice, toasted cedar, umami, and licorice, with some red-fruited, high-toned lift shining through. There is real crystalline depth to this wine as well as more purity and clarity, and it has bright, ripe acidity, mouthwatering freshness, and a great finish. Its ripe tannins are very well-framed, and it has a long finish. Much more purity and clarity here. Drink 2024-2044. This is by far the best wine in the Purple Hands lineup.”
 
Purple Hands Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton District, USA 2022 750ml $59 special, 6 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points “From one of the highest elevations in this vineyard, the 2022 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is a transparent red hue and is aromatic of ripe cherries, spices, mossy earth, and a lightly gamey but clean earth note. It is an elegant and lifted expression of the Shea Vineyard, with bright acidity, fine tannins, and a more linear feel, and as it opens, it starts to show its broader shoulders and its deeper notes come through. Drink 2025-2040.”
 
 
California
 

“Arnot-Roberts has become a leading force in producing understated, charming wines from some of California’s most prized vineyard sources.” –Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
 
At the forefront of the “New California” are small, pioneering producers such as Arnot-Roberts. Started by childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts in 2001, they’ve quickly established themselves as some of the best producers of restrained and elegant small-parcel wines. In 2013 the San Francisco Chronicle named them “Winemakers of the Year” in recognition of the quality and consistency of the wines they’re producing, and they’ve racked up professional accolades ever since.
 
Arnot-Roberts Clajeux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill, USA 2022 750ml $128 special, 3 bottles available
Decanter 94 Points “Arnot-Roberts’ longest-standing vineyard partner since 2003, Clajeux, is a hillside site in Chalk Hill, just above the Russian River Valley. The 2022 Cabernet is basket pressed to neutral French oak barrels for 22 months. It showcases a powerful blend of sweet and tart blue and blackberries, complemented by a hint of tangy marmalade. On the nose, it offers aromas of violets, dried spices, and a bouquet garni. The well-drained, rocky volcanic soils in the vineyard impart a chalky minerality that supports the young tannins in the wine. With an inviting 12% ABV, this well-rounded Cabernet has a bright future if you allow it a few years in the bottle. Only four barrels were produced.”
 
Arnot-Roberts Fellom Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, USA 2022 750ml $128 special, 3 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 94 Points “The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Fellom Ranch is the most complete of the three Arnot-Roberts Cabernets. It shows the ripeness of the year in its extroverted personality. Black fruit, leather, licorice, chocolate, bay leaf and spice saturate the palate. There is an exotic quality here that is palpable. Savory notes are buried, but in exchange, this will drink well with minimal cellaring.”
 
Arnot-Roberts Rose, Lake County, USA 2024 750ml $26 special, 24 bottles available
Winemaker’s Note “We began making Rosé from Touriga Nacional in 2010. We were compelled by the grape’s deep color, brilliant acidity and aromatic complexity even at low sugar content. Touriga is a late-ripening Portuguese variety that needs some heat to mature, and we have sought out vineyards suited to this hearty variety.”
 
 
Washington

Leonetti Cabernet, Walla Walla, USA 2021 750ml $119 special, 34 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, USA 2022 750ml $95 special, 26 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.”
 
Leonetti Reserve, Walla Walla, USA 2016 750ml $219.95 special, 2 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points “The 2016 Reserve is similar in color (it might be even inkier at the rim) and is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, and 5% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in a mix of 75% new and 25% once-used French oak barrels. It offers sensational notes of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, smoke tobacco, and perfectly integrated oak. These all flow to a ripe, powerful, yet seamless and incredibly elegant wine that has nothing out of place, building tannins, awesome purity of fruit, and a massive finish. Reminding me of the 2010, yet made in a more elegant style, this magical wine is drinkable today but will benefit for 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. Hats off to Chris Figgins for another awe-inspiring wine.”
 
 
France
 

 
Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30, Rhone, France 2022 750ml $49 special, 22 bottles available
James Suckling 96 Points “So expressive and so precise, this is a great modern Cornas. Haunting nose of black forest berries with notes of dry forest floor and wild herbs. Then comes the wonderful combination of restrained richness and youthful freshness on the vertical, medium-bodied palate. And just as the coolness of evening follows the heat of the day, the mineral vibrancy of the finish follows the succulence of the mid-palate. Drink or hold.”
 
Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 60, Rhone, France 2022 750ml $69 special, 5 bottles available
James Suckling 97 Points “A well-composed, velvety and vivid Cornas with brightness and purity. Aromas of dark cherries, currants, wild herbs, graphite and black pepper. Medium-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Good concentration with precise fruit and a constant mineral edge. The peppercorn and stone character brings freshness and verve to the energetic mid-palate. It’s vibrant and vertical with a lot of tension in the long, textured and spicy finish. Try after 2027.”
 

 
Domaine Pinson Freres Mont de Milieu, Chablis Premier Cru, France 2021 750ml $56.50 special, 24 bottles available
Jasper Morris 91 Points “Clear mid yellow, toast and vanilla on the nose, as this wine is fermented in wood. It will integrate but it sticks out a touch at the moment. There is a concentrated saline middle to the wine covered by white fruit. Drink from 2025-2031.”
Neal Martin-Vinous 91 Points “The 2021 Chablis Mont de Milieu 1er Cru is the largest cuvée from Pinson thanks to their 4.5-hectares of vines planted between 18 and 40 years ago. Fermented in 10% new oak and then aged in barrel, it has an expressive bouquet, outlined with lemon peel, clementine and light pear aromas. The palate is well-defined with a crisp line of acidity, taut and fresh with a saline finish, I would just like a little more persistence to develop during its élevage. Fine.”
 
 
Italy
 

 
“Verdicchio is one of the joys of Italian oenology that rarely gets the respect it deserves, and few producers do it better than Bisci.” – The Wine Advocate
 
Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica, Marche, Italy 2023 750ml $17.50 special, 24 bottles available
(Not reviewed yet, 2021 review provided for reference)
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 90 Points “The Bisci 2021 Verdicchio di Matelica is terrifically fresh and vertical, boasting an extremely linear quality that is the hallmark of the Matelica subzone. This wine offers floral notes, tropical fruit and a spicy hint of white pepper. Matelica gets very cool at night, and those steep diurnal shifts are an important factor that shapes the character of this wine.”
 

 
Cusumano Nero d’Avola Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily, Italy 2021 750ml $14.50 special, 24 bottles available
Wine Advocate “Closed with a glass cork, the unoaked Cusumano 2021 Sicilia Nero d’Avola shows soft dark fruit and black cherry over a medium-weight mouthfeel. This entry-level red is super fresh and lively with cherry, baked plum and toasted cinnamon. The wine is supple and simple to the palate. This is a super production of 696,000 bottles.”