Thursday Newsletter 6-18-20

Lilbert is one of the best kept secrets in Champagne.  Drawing from Grand Cru vineyards in the Cote des Blancs, Lilbert makes blanc de blancs wines from some excellent vineyards in a finessed, minerally style.  Their wines have notable brioche-y character, as well, due to the large quantities of reserve wines in their various blends.  At the prices asked, these are wines that massively over-deliver, especially on our subscriber special…

In Stock and On Sale Now:

Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut, Champagne NV 750ML ($69.95) Displayed price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off or $44.10 at 10% off!
Wine Spectator 92 points “A fresh and elegant blanc de blancs Champagne, with juicy nectarine and mango fruit accented by hints of candied kumquat, spring blossom and salted almond. Long and creamy on the mouthwatering finish. Disgorged summer 2016. Drink now through 2022. 1,650 cases made, 100 cases imported. ”

This was the lowest listed price in the USA today, 
Now it’s even lower!

Only 18 bottles in stock now!
Lilbert-Fils “Perle” Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut, Champagne NV 750ML ($79.95) $59 special, that’s $56.05 at 5% off or $53.10 at 10% off!
William Kelley – Wine Advocate 93 points “This bottle of Lilbert’s NV Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Perle was disgorged in summer 2018 with five grams per liter dosage and is based on the 2013 vintage, with 35% reserve wines. Offering up aromas of lemon oil, crushed chalk and hints of warm biscuits, it’s medium to full-bodied, with an elegant pinpoint mousse, a deep and tight-knit core, racy acids and a penetrating, precise finish. Dry and incisive, it’s classic Lilbert, showing Cramant’s serious side, and it will evolve beautifully in the cellar.”

 
This was the lowest listed price in the USA today, 
Now it’s even lower!
The next best price is $65.95

Great names in California have earned their status for a reason—years, often decades, of producing excellent wine result in well-earned reputations.  Case in point? Snowden’s Cabernet Sauvignons—one of the benchmarks for quality to price ratios in Napa.

Snowden is one of the great names in Napa Cabernet, making wines that combine classical power with freshness and intricate fruit.  Their two Cabs are both excellent and excellent values—it’s rare to find a bottle under $100 that can compete with the “Brothers” bottling and under $50 wines that are close to the Ranch’s quality are nonexistent. These are classic bottlings and showcase what’s been beloved about Napa for generations.

In Stock & On Sale Now from Snowden:

#91 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2019
Snowden Vineyards ‘Brothers Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2016 750ML ($89.95) Displayed price: $79, that’s $75.05 at 5% off or $71.10 at 10% off!
Antonio Galloni 96+ points “The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Brothers is the best wine I have tasted from Diana Snowden-Seysses. Rich, explosive and savory, the 2016 dazzles with intensity in all of its dimensions. Graphite, smoke, savory herbs and spice notes wrap around a core of dark fruit in a vertical, towering Cabernet Sauvignon that captures all the vintage has to offer.”
Wine Spectator 94 points “Offers a tasty core of plum and blackberry fruit, backed by lively anise and apple wood notes. Restrained overall, with an alluring freshness and a subtle charcoal hint lingering deftly at the end. Drink now through 2032. 639 cases made.”

This was the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
Now it’s even lower!

Snowden Vineyards The Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2016 750ML ($59.95) Displayed price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off or $44.10 at 10% off!
Antonio Galloni 93 points “Snowden’s 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon The Ranch is gorgeous. Dark, powerful and beautifully structured, the 2016 Ranch is a huge overachiever. In 2016, the Ranch is a wine of real power, gravitas and character. Black cherry, plum, lavender and savory herbs all develop in the glass, but it is the wine’s persistence and overall balance that stands out in this deeply flavorful, classically built Cabernet from Snowden. Best of all, the 2016 is a superb wine for the money.”

This was the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
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Grant Coulter is one of the hottest names in the Willamette Valley. The former assistant winemaker at Beaux Freres (under tutelage of the legendary Mike Etzel), Grant’s made a name for himself as the winemaker of rising star Flaneur, as well as with his own label: Hundred Suns.

Named for the number of days between flowering and harvest, the Hundred Suns Pinots drink like a love letter to the Willamette Valley.  We recently tasted through the set of 2018 single-vineyard wines and were blown away.  You can taste the Beaux Freres-inspired style, but these are wines that are uniquely Grant, from an assortment of some of the most interesting vineyards in the Willamette Valley.

Shea needs no introduction among Willamette aficionados—a grand cru of a vineyard in Yamhill Carlton. The Hundred Suns edition is spectacular, full of dark, plummy fruit and the spices that the site is known for.  Bednarik is a vineyard that flies under the radar a bit more, but Ken Wright fans from the 90’s know the site well.  This version is more compact than the Shea, with beautiful, crunchy structure allied to a beguiling mixture of black cherry fruit and savory overtones.  It’s a cool vineyard and that shows in the brightness on the finish, though this wine still shows great power.  Finally, there’s Breaker, their home vineyard, planted in 1972 (and own rooted!) located in the Eola-Amity Hills.  Of the three wines, this combines elements of the previous two, with dark, rich fruits but plenty of structure and Eola-Hills power.

Anyone who’s loved the Beaux Freres or Flaneur wines in the past needs to be paying attention to what Grant is doing at Hundred Suns.  His project represents one of the most exciting new labels in the Willamette Valley and Pinot lovers ought to buy in now, before they become hard to find.  We’ve got all three vineyards arriving on the 26th and you can stock up now.

 

Hundred Suns Bednarik Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2018 750ML ($59.95) Displayed price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off or $44.10 at 10% off!
James Suckling 94 points “Rich aromas of crushed violets and blueberries with a deeply spicy edge, as well as cocoa powder, dark chocolate and darker cherries, berries and plums. There’s striking purity here with more red fruit on the palate. Very plush, concentrated and balanced. Drink or hold.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Hundred Suns Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton District 2018 750ML ($59.95) Displayed price: $49, that’s $46.55 at 5% off or $44.10 at 10% off!
James Suckling 95 points “This has a very fresh, attractive nose with roses and violets, as well as boysenberries, red cherries and a savory, stony edge. Some sappy nuances, too. The palate is very succulent and has strikingly fresh red berries and cherries, underscored with vibrant acidity and a very uplifting, dynamic finish. A richer vintage, made in a fresher style, works very well here. Drink or hold.”

This was the lowest listed price in the USA today, 
Now it’s even lower!

Hundred Suns Breaker Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills 2018 750ML ($69.95) Displayed price: $55, that’s $52.25 at 5% off or $49.50 at 10% off!
James Suckling 95 points “A unique wine that has a very striking, blueberry and violet nose with an iodine-like, savory edge and some darker-fruit and fresh-herb notes. The palate has such an intense, powerful feel with concentrated blueberries and an assertive frame of fluffy, succulent, fresh and long tannins. Drinkable now, but best from 2023.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

 

Only three bottles available!
R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Gravonia Crianza Blanco, Rioja DOCa 2011 750ML ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 94 points “The white that will be sold from October or November 2019, the 2011 Viña Gravonia Blanco comes from a warmer year with very low yields, and the wine is already showing some tertiary notes, with very subtle diesel-like hints. The palate is bone dry with some nutty undertones and a salty/bitter finish. These are whites for food. 18,667 bottles were filled in November 2016, at the same time as the 2010, which means this had a shorter élevage (probably the sign of a slightly weaker year).”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Only three bottles available!
R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco, Rioja DOCa 2007 750ML ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 96 points “They developed the superb 2007 Viña Tondonia Blanco Reserva following the founder of López de Heredia’s admiration for the wines of Graves, austere and dry whites. 2007 was a very good vintage in Rioja, much better than anticipated, and the wines are evolving slowly and in a positive way. This is not an exception, and the wine is vibrant, lively and tasty, with a dry, umami/salty finish. María José López de Heredia considers 2007 a great vintage for their wines—extraordinary, with freshness and almost as good as 2010.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Only four bottles available!
R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado, Rioja DOCa 2009 750ML ($199.95) $149 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 95 points “Attractive, sweetly aromatic, red-floral perfume with dried red cherries and some dried strawberries, too. Only hints of leather here. The palate has a beautifully fresh, succulent and elegantly focused feel with a long sleeve of dried-cherry flavor and gently nutty notes to close. Dry, long and mouthwatering finish. Drink now.”
Josh Raynolds – Vinous 94 points “Light bright amber-hued orange. Mineral- and spice-accented red currant and cherry scents, joined by building herb and floral nuances. Shows noteworthy depth as well as energy to the bitter cherry, succulent herb, spicecake and blood orange flavors, which turn sweeter as the wine stretches out. Finishes extremely long and chewy, with resonating floral and red fruit character and a lingering suggestion of fennel. Aged for four years in neutral American oak barrels and racked twice a year.”
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 93+ points “The unique and personal 2009 Viña Tondonia Rosado Gran Reserva is a little darker than the 2008 I tasted next to it. It also feels a little riper and nuttier, with some traces of ripe apricots and flowers. It’s also fuller and not as sharp as the 2008 and has a dry, chalky/stony palate. These are unique wines that develop in bottle for a long time. 14,200 bottles were filled in April 2015.”

“Com Tu is a new project in Montsant owned by the Barbier family of Clos Mogador fame in Priorat (among other things). They have been in La Figuera since 2002-2003, and they got involved in the Espectacle project. Their Laurona project always had some Garnacha from the village, and after discovering Espectacle, they put more attention in the village. This new venture is based on three vineyards, all Garnacha, at some 550 to 600 meters in altitude close to the Espectacle vineyard. The character of the village’s wines is defined by flowers, an ethereal nose with orange peel aromas and an incredible structure, as seen in the Espectacle bottling. A new name to follow. They will produce 10,000 bottles in 2017 and don’t expect to do more than 15,000 bottles.” –Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate

(Clos Mogador) ‘Com Tu’, Montsant 2016 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Case-6 (Clos Mogador) ‘Com Tu’, Montsant 2016 750ML ($359.95) $279 pre-arrival special (that’s only $46.50/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 94-96 points “I was so impressed with the debut vintage that I was very happy I could also preview the 2016 Com Tu, which was aging in a 4,000-liter used oak foudre and waiting to be bottled. The Garnacha grapes fermented in that same foudre with indigenous yeasts. It’s still very young and raw and the nose needs to develop, but it has subtle notes of raspberry leaf and wild cherries. The palate is livelier than the 2015, and I think this wine will be better in the long run, with more acidity and freshness. This is one of the names to watch in Montsant. There will be some 5,300 bottles of this.”
VinopolNote: 100% Garnacha from 35-50 year old vines in red clay and limestone soils at 580-600 meters above sea level.
Winery note “In the early part of this century, my son René and I first started experimenting with wine-making in the village of La Figuera (70 unhabitants). We met some winemakers and we vinified around 4.000 kilos of Garnacha vines. In 2002 I discovered the centennial vineyard that belonged to Mr. Joan Anguera (today it’s the Spectacle vineyard) and we started to promote that area so exceptionally good for Garnachas with the collaboration of the winemakers of the area. The idea of the name Com Tu was my son’s, Anderson Barbier Meyer, an artist that together with his mother, came up with this label. And also my second son, Christian, joined us in this project. He is leading Clos Mogador into the path of biodynamic agriculture. The Garnacha grapes from La Figuera produce wines with a unique color range, tender and fluid; with a fresh aroma, of flowers, orange peel, incense, as well as wide range of white fruit, citrus, very fresh. Its high alcohol content together with its extraordinary acidity, helps the wine to age perfectly. In palate it’s soft, with harmony but the taste development goes in crescendo, and it leaves us with an exceptional post-taste. This wine amazes us and fills us with vitality.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

For all your good-value good-tasting Italian white wine needs.

Sartarelli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, Marche 2018 750ML ($14.95) $11.90 pre-arrival special
Decanter 94 points “This shows just how good Verdicchio can be at the ‘least elevated’ level. Juicy fresh fruit is joined by herby, nutty, creamy and salty notes. A slightly succulent texture to the palate gives added interest.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
The average price nationally is $13