Wednesday Newsletter 11-18-20

Certainly, Nanclares’ Albarinos are considered the stars of the show. The Soverribas is among the best Spanish white wines being made. But you can’t just play the singles and call it a day. The deep cuts are the reds from the Ribeira Sacra area of the Rias Miño. The little pockets of south facing slopes that run along the twisty north-south running river are ancient and planted predominantly with 100 year old Mencia vines along with other local varietals that flourish in the granitic and alluvial soils. 

The southern exposure is a necessity as even in a warm vintage like 2015 the wines at full ripeness are only putting out a 13.5% abv. In a vintage like 2018, you can look for alcohol levels in the 10% to 11% range. They’re wild and elegant at the same time as Alberto Nanclares is known for minimal intervention and extracting the most he can from the fruit. Field sorted whole cluster fruit with foot pigeage, fermented in large, older and very neutral chestnut foudres and aged in 500L barrels for 12 months. The resulting wines are then bottled with no filtration with minimal SO2, preserving the essence of the vineyard and cellar until you deem it appropriate to open them. 

And when should that be? These wines tip the scale towards wild in their youth; decanting is a necessity to both let the wines open up to their full extent and to avoid the bulk of the sediment that is usually present. I have had these wines after release and after a five year cellaring. The 5 years was just the beginning of what these wines could offer. I recently had the 15 Minato da Rana and was floored by the brightness of the acidity even while the wine offered such a full throated version of Mencia. I’ve seen reviews that push the ageing window out another 30 (!!!) years. I believe it is not only possible, but should be positively remarkable over the next two decades.

Red Wines In Stock Now

Nanclares y Prieto ‘A Senda Vermella’ Tinto, Spain NV 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 35 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 92 points “Their first red from Rías Baixas is the NV A Senda Vermella, an unusual blend of 80% wine from 2018 and 20% from 2017 (the cork reads 17/18), which is 60% Caíño and 40% Mencía from different parts of the Salnés, but it’s sold without appellation of origin. There’s only 10.9% alcohol, and it has a very clear green strike and pungent herbal flavors that somehow give it a strong umami sensation. It’s definitely green in the best possible sense, and light to medium-bodied with very fine tannins. It fermented with 100% foot-trodden clusters for some 20 days, mostly in used barrels but with 20% of the volume in stainless steel. The 2017 part was in stainless steel and oak for 22 months, and the 2018 part aged exclusively in tank for 10 months. Very unusual, a red of strong character. It’s a red that grows on you, better the second and third time, and always better with food. 3,883 bottles were filled in August 2019.”

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Nanclares y Prieto ‘Minato da Rana’ Tinto Rustico, Ribeira Sacra 2015 750ML ($69.95) $59 special, 3 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 94 points “As I wondered last year, I am not sure why the label does not state that this is a wine from Ribeira Sacra, hypothesizing that it is because Señor Nanclares’ cellar lie in the town of Cambados in Rías Biaxas? The Miñato de Raña “Tinto Rústico” is composed from a blend of sixty percent Mencía, thirty percent Garnacha and ten percent unknown grapes, sourced from steep, terraced granite vineyards on the Miño River. The 2015 version is just superb, as the fine ripeness of the vintage has really worked here, with the deep and sappy bouquet offering up scents of sweet dark berries, pomegranate, graphite, espresso, superb minerality and coffee grounds. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and nascently complex, with great depth in the mid-palate, moderate, ripe tannins, good acids and great backend soil signature on the very, very long and classy finish. This is even a step up from the outstanding 2014 version! 2020-2050+.”

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Nanclares y Prieto ‘Penapedre’, Galicia 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 2 bottles in stock now
Grapelive 94 points “From an old vine vineyard in the Mino slope in the Ribeiro Sacra, the wonderfully layered 2015 Penapedre from Silvia Prieto and Alberto Nanclares of Viticultores Nanclares y Prieto…. The Penapedre is a co-planted and fermented blend of mostly Mencia 60% along with 30% of Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet) along with 10% of mixed black (and maybe a bit of Godello white?) grapes from a 100 year old all organically farmed parcel at a 60 degree angle/slope set on classic granite soils, this vineyard is hand tended and picked in small baskets, it faces south and southwest to get the most of the Galician sun, and allowing ripe flavors and refined tannins. The 2015, from a warm and lush vintage, comes in at 13% natural alcohol, it also allowed whole cluster ferments in a large 4,000L chestnut wood open top fermenter with traditional foot stomp crushing, native yeasts and low sulfur were used here with lees aging in a mix of five used French large cask of 300L and 400L sizes for about a year before racking to stainless tank, it was unfined and unfiltered. This old school Mencia based old vine field blend starts with lovely earthy charm, lightly perfumed with dark floral tones, truffle and spices to go with black fruits that all lead to a medium full palate of wild plum, blackberry, mulberry, zesty currant and black cherry fruits, as well as cracked green peppercorns, forest mushroom, roasted herbs, crushed violets, flinty mineral and gravel, anise and subtle/faint oak shadings. This vibrant and velvety red has a northern Rhone feel and style, but still uniquely it’s own wine and terroir with it’s juicy acidity that is more Pinot like in textural delicacy and grace, while remaining seductively exotic and feral”
Wine Advocate 92 points “There is one more red from the Ribeira Sacra zone in the banks of the Miño, a bottling called 2015 Penapedre, which is a blend of 60% Mencía, 30% Garnacha Tintorera and 10% white grapes (Palomino and Godello) from ancient (believed to be centenary) vines. The wine is fermented with full clusters and foot treading in a new 4,000-liter chestnut vat and matured in a 500-liter oak barrel with lees for 12 months. It has a similar character to the Miñato da Raña; perhaps I found a little more finesse here, maybe because it was polished by a slightly longer élevage. There is lovely rusticity in both, which gives it character. It would be superb if it was a little livelier. There is some lactic/creamy notes, which could be from the chestnut vat or because one of the barrels provided that note that grew in the glass. 2,255 bottles were filled in January 2017. This is a joint venture with some friends. Part of it is bottled by Eulogio Pomares and the rest is here; the wines are the same, only the élevage is different.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $56.99

White Wines In Stock Now

Nanclares y Prieto ‘Soverribas de Nanclares’, Rias Baixas 2018 750ML ($49.95) $45 special, 32 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutierrez – Wine Advocate 95 points “The 2018 Soverribas is a single-vineyard Albariño from a plot in Meaño on sandy granite soils. The grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts in a 2,200-liter oak vat from 2004 (so, already very neutral). This is a bit of a chameleonic wine that needs time in bottle and can often be confusing when drunk very young. This is austere and mineral, and it might be a good idea to decant this in advance if you are going to pull the cork any time soon. There are notes of wet granite, white flowers. This is a long-distance runner. This also transcends its price level. Amazingly enough, this wine was rejected by the appellation of origin! 2,669 bottles and 40 magnums produced.”
Importer note “Soverribas Albariño comes from a single, southwest-facing parcel named Paraje Manzaniña, located in the parroquia of Padrenda (Meaño). After a wet and cool spring and summer, it turned dry and hot in August, with hand-harvesting on Sept. 10th through Oct. 6th. Grapes were pressed whole-cluster and fermented and raised on the lees in an old 2,200L French oak tina for 11 months with battonage for the first 3 months, bottled on Aug. 21st (fruit day) without fining or filtration, and modest amounts of SO2. An angular and serious vin de garde Rías Baixas wine. Decant before serving.”

Nanclares y Prieto ‘Crisopa’ Branco Tradicional, Rias Baixas 2018 750ML ($69.95) $59 special, 24 bottles in stock now
Luis Gutierrez – Wine Advocate 94 points “The completely unusual “orange” wine is a bright amber Albariño macerated with skins during the fermentation. The 2018 Crisopa, produced with grapes from the same vineyard as Soberrivas, has a completely different nose and a brighter and deeper color than any previous vintage. Perhaps the grapes were smaller and there might be more skins for the juice, and the wine underwent malolactic (at least partially). There are notes of apple liqueur, pollen and beeswax, and the palate is finely tannic. Here, the process overpowers the variety and place. It has lower acidity than most of the wines from the winery, but this is one of the finest examples of the type. It should develop nicely in bottle. 636 bottles were filled in August 2019.”
Importer note “Crisopa Branco Tradicional comes from the same parcel as “Soverribas” (Paraje Manzaniña) but is picked one day earlier to select the best bunches. After a wet and cool spring and summer, it turned dry and hot in August, with hand-harvesting on Sept. 10th through Oct. 6th. The grapes were foot-trodden in open plastic vats with 100% whole-clusters, and then skin-fermented for 20 days in a steel vat. After a vertical press the wine is racked into a used 500L French oak cask, where it rests for 11 months on the lees with battonage for first 3 months, before being bottled on Aug. 21st (fruit day) without clarification, filtration and only modest amounts of SO2. A fascinating and extremely textured Vinho Branco made in the style of the ancients!”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $63

Trending Wines Arriving Tomorrow

A phenomenal wine in good years, in great years like 2010, this is a must-buy.
Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Saint-Julien 2010 750ML ($219.95) $149 pre-arrival special
Jeb Dunnuck 99 points “Another massive, incredible release from this estate is the 2010 Léoville Poyferré. Based on 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and the balance Petit Verdot, its inky purple color is followed by a massive, full-bodied, incredibly concentrated 2010 that has awesome notes of pure crème de cassis, licorice, graphite, and spring flowers. As with the 2009, it has incredible depth of fruit, yet a slightly more focused, classic style, which is very much in the style of the 2010 vintage. With its new oak completely absorbed by its wealth of fruit, perfect balance, and sweet tannin, it’s a sensational, monumental effort to drink over the coming 3-4 decades.”
Robert Parker 98+ points “The wine out distances both Leoville Las Cases and Leoville Barton, but all three of them are compelling efforts. Full-bodied, dense purple in color, with floral notes intermixed with blackberries, cassis, graphite and spring flowers, this full-bodied, legendary effort is long and opulent, with wonderfully abundant yet sweet tannin, a skyscraper-like mid-palate and a thrilling, nearly one-minute finish. This spectacular effort from Poyferre that should drink well for 30+ years.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $247

While most reasonably priced Bordeaux is commercial and unremarkable, this wine bucks the trend.  Hands on farming and winemaking make this a wine of place and personality.  It’s no wonder why it remains beloved in France.  The only outstanding question is how long this open secret across the pond will remain under the radar in the United States.

Chateau La Bastienne, Montagne-Saint-Emilion 2016 750ML ($34.95) $21.90 pre-arrival special
Case-6 Chateau La Bastienne, Montagne-Saint-Emilion 2016 750ML ($199.95) $124 pre-arrival special
Case-12 Chateau La Bastienne, Montagne-Saint-Emilion 2016 750ML ($399.95) $219 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 93 points “Very rich blackberry and vibrant fruit aromas in the mulberry and dark-plum spectrum with a concentrated palate that offers a very fleshy and attractive set of supple fruit, framed in ripe, sturdy tannins. Try from 2022.”
Wine Advocate 90 points “The 2016 La Bastienne is medium to deep garnet-purple colored and features fragrant roses, oolong tea and baking spices scents with touches of warm plums, black cherries and raspberry pie. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed with expressive red berry and floral layers with a fine-grained frame and long, lively finish.

You can tell a lot about a Brunello vintage by how early we start getting asked about it.  In the case of the 2015s, well, let’s just say this is a pretty anticipated set of wines.  ’15 was a warm year across Europe and the vintage produced Brunello di Montalcino of exceptional concentration.  Even for a region known for richer wines, these are powerful—yet they maintain an expressiveness that’s delightfully fresh to go along with their intensity.

Lazzeretti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany 2015 750ML ($59.95) $44.50 pre-arrival special
Case-6 Lazzeretti Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany 2015 750ML ($319.95) $249 pre-arrival special (that’s only $41.50/bottle!)
James Suckling 96 points “This is a very, very intense Brunello with explosive spices, cedar, leather, tar and a plethora of dried plums and berries. The full-bodied palate is incredibly dense and bold, swathed in vast, comprehensive tannins and layer upon layer of plums and cherries. There’s marvelous length and decadence to the finish, where the dried-spice character goes on and on. Stunning richness. Drink from 2025.”
International Wine Report 96 points “An incredible wine from Lazzeretti, this Brunello is lively and intense with exuberant character, showing notes of hibiscus flowers and lavender along with notes reminiscent of blueberries and star anise. It possesses incredible energy with a wonderful fresh character through its full bodied texture. It displays outstanding overall quality and a pure territorial expression which is wrapped up in velvety tannins and an incandescent finish. Balanced and harmonious, this maybe the finest wine yet from Lazzeretti, even surpassing the excellent 2010.”
Wine Spectator 93 points “A monolithic red, with sweetness to the black cherry, black currant and raspberry fruit. Earth and iron notes anchor the bottom end, while a tobacco accent frames the dense tannins. Offers a long finish, showing solid grip. Best from 2023 through 2042. 1,500 cases made, 700 cases imported.”