Tag Archives: Staff Pick

Wine of the Day: Domaine Léon Barral Faugeres 2012 4-8-16

Domaine Leon Barral Faugeres 2012 750ML ($37.95) Buy Now: $31.90 special

“I remember my first Faugeres wine like my first Jimi Hendrix record: I don’t recall where, or which it was, even, but I remember perfectly the feeling that this was unique, special, worthwhile… So many of the producers in Kermit Lynch’s portfolio have achieved that same effect, at once jarring and welcome. The Faugeres from Barral – like Hendrix – so wonderfully walks that line between edgy and suave, punk and soulful.

“Didier Barral is a postcard producer for Lynch, someone to check in on from time to time to get a feel for that vintage and region, even if he’s riffing differently than the other guys. Farming biodynamically, he relies on a miniature ecosystem in order to work his vines.… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: San Fereolo ‘Dolcetto di Dogliani’ Superiore ’01/’05/’07 4-4-16

San Fereolo Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore DOCG, Piedmont 2001 750ML ($59.95) Buy Now: $49 special
San Fereolo Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore DOCG, Piedmont 2005 750ML ($39.95) Buy Now: $33 special
San Fereolo Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore DOCG, Piedmont 2007 750ML ($34.95) Buy Now: $28 special

How often can you witness the stages of a wine’s development in this manner? The ’01 was such a treat a few weeks ago, and the others sing in such nice harmony with it. This stuff is Dolcetto like you’ve never seen it. Piedmont which you’d never expected. Try them – I dare you! We don’t have much left, so I wanted to make sure it got into the right hands. – Tyler

Importer note: “The most important wine of the estate.… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Luneau Papin ‘Terre de Pierre’ 2012 4-3-16

Domaine Pierre Luneau-Papin Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine Sur Lie Terre de Pierre 2012 750ML ($29.95) Buy Now: $24 special

Though wine writing may claim no shortage of hyperbole, I must come forth and assert it: I have yet to share this wine with anyone who didn’t adore it. The ‘Terre de Pierre’ bottling is grown on solidified lava which dates back 500,000,000 years. The wine ferments on the lees for a year before aging in wood vats for eight months; it has this lovely little salty air/white flower/lemon rind thing going on which makes me think of a drizzly walk on the beach in your hometown in a good sort of way. I request that you buy at least two: one to drink now and another to hide somewhere and drink a few years down the road: you’ll truly be glad you did.… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Lopez de Heredia Tondonia 4-2-16

R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva 2003 750ML ($47.95) Buy Now: $33 special
Case-12 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva 2003 750ML ($499.95) Buy Now: $359 special (that’s only $29.92/bottle!)

There’s a little jazz venue-meets-bottle shop on Portland’s east side that has two bottles of Lopez de Heredia from the 1940’s sitting on a shelf. While a friend was playing a recent show, I could barely resist temptation of yanking out the still-intact corks and seeing what message the wine bore from three quarters of a century ago. The labels are tattered, the bottle’s glass itself is lopsided, and the once-bright red wax seal has assumed a burnt sienna hue. I wonder when, if ever, these wines will see the light of day!… Read the rest

Wine of the Day: Peter Lauer Fass 8 Kabinett 3-30-16

Peter Lauer Fass 8 Ayler Kupp Kabinett, Mosel, Germany 2014 750ML ($37.95) Buy Now: $31.90 special

Like tiny flowers pressed between the pages of a book you borrowed years ago but have yet to read (or return!), this year’s Fass 8 is delicate but not wimpy, bittersweet yet not overwrought, and perhaps a little flirtatious. It trades off solos from sweet to saline and floral to fruit with ease, ne’er too serious and yet fully confident with what’s at stake in the glass. After all, Riesling faces an uphill battle even during its own renaissance.

I fear that writing down a bunch of adjectives in quick succession reduces this wine to something to be scored rather than enjoyed. To hell with points!… Read the rest