VinopolPick Thursday Edition 12-14-17

Terrazas de Los Andes ‘Cheval des Andes’, Mendoza, Argentina 2013 750ML ($89.95) Displayed price: $69; Your subscriber price until Sat Midnight: $59 pre-arrival special
Case-6 Terrazas de Los Andes ‘Cheval des Andes’, Mendoza, Argentina 2013 750ML ($479.95) Displayed price: $369; Your subscriber price until Sat Midnight: $319 pre-arrival special (that’s only $53.17/bottle!)
James Suckling 98 points “The purity of fruit is so impressive here with flowers, dark fruit, and strawberries. Full body, ultra-fine tannins, and a focus and beauty that makes you think. So long and elegant. 67% malbec, 25% cabernet sauvignon and 8% petit verdot.”
Wine Advocate 96 points “At Cheval des Andes they consider 2013 as a warm vintage, because even if the winter saw average temperatures, the spring and summer were warmer than normal. The 2013 Cheval des Andes came up to 67% Malbec, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petit Verdot mostly from their vineyards at Las Compuertas at some 1,1000 meters altitude and some fruit from their 15 hectares at La Consulta in the Valle de Uco, that they use when they don’t find it too ripe. Even if they tend to pick early, the bottled wine is a ripe and heady blend hitting the scale at 15% alcohol fermented relatively warm (28 degrees Celsius) for some 25 days. After malolactic in tank, all different lots go into barrel and they try to make the blend as soon as possible, usually during the first winter so the wine ages together for some 15 to 18 months in French oak barriques. They have reduced the amount of new wood used (only 30%) to avoid overwhelming the fruit with aromas but providing complexity and clarifying the wine naturally. From this vintage onward they have been able to not acidify the wine, as they changed their approach to viticulture, and they are now able to burn the green notes and harvest early, with natural acidity and lower alcohol. The key to this is to get something like 30-35 hectoliters per hectare. I think this is absolutely the right approach, and this change started in 2010–with 100% estate fruit, no oenological products used, fresh maturity without greenness through lower yields. In 2013.”
Decanter 94 points “When Château Cheval Blanc’s Pierre Lurton visited Mendoza in the late 1990s, he teamed up with Roberto de la Mota, finding a block of ungrafted Malbec planted in 1929 in Las Compuertas. Selected for its elegant, refined expression, Cheval des Andes was born once the use of the revered Cheval name had been personally sanctioned by LVMH’s owner Bernard Arnault. Malbec has taken over from Cabernet Sauvignon as the senior partner in the blend, as its properties in viticulture and winemaking have become better understood. ‘After 18 years of experience,’ says Lorenzo Pasquini, technical manager and winemaker, ‘our aim is to create the same vision and style in Mendoza as at Château Cheval Blanc: ageing potential with elegance, complexity, freshness and balance.’ Scented cedar gives way to a lip smackingly rich black fruit quality, polished oak adding to a suave texture, before morphing into a firmer structure of youthfully vigorous grip and a fresh acid spine.Drinking Window 2018 – 2030.”
Stephen Tanzer – Vinous 94 points “Bright, dark ruby. Sexy oaky high tones to the classy scents of blackberry, cassis, licorice pastille, tobacco leaf and violet. Wonderfully fine-grained wine with a seamless, velvety texture and terrific restrained sweetness to its blackberry, licorice and mineral flavors. Very penetrating, savory, rather powerful wine with terrific ripe tannins, a repeating licorice pastille quality and outstanding rising length. Really terrific subtle sweetness of fruit here. Has the density of texture and energy for a slow and eventful evolution in bottle.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

The next best price is $70.87

The average price is $83

We flew through our first tranche – don’t miss this second & final restock!

Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque – Fleur de Champagne Brut Millesime 2008 750ML ($149.95) $99 pre-arrival special
Decanter 93 points “Perrier Jouët Belle Epoque 2008 reminds me somewhat of the grace of the exceptional 1995, Cellarmaster Hervé Deschamps’ first solo vintage and still one of his best. Though the two vintages 13 years apart share the same grace and class, the 2008 is more mineral, reflecting a quite sunless summer season. Only the return of warmer weather at the start of September imbued the vintage with a freshness of great Chardonnay in tune with the subtly restrained power of Pinot Noir and a soupçon of rounded Meunier – that final little touch making the wine more pleasurable to drink soon, unlike other wines from the Champagne 2008 vintage, which need a lot more time.
Chardonnay is from Cramant, Avize, and Mesnil, Pinot Noir from Ay and Ambonnay in the Montagne de Reims, and Pinot Meunier from Dizy. Shimmering pale gold with green lights, radiant clarity; persistent tiny bubbles: riot of white flowers scents, hawthorn, then more stone-fruit than citrus, reine claude (greengage) and elderflower. Vibrant mouthfeel, invigorating, expansive – perfect with saline fruits de mer.”