New Reviews for Lapierre and Freemark
New April Sale Wine: Back Vintage Beaux Monts
High Scoring, Can’t Miss Burgundy—Latour and Boisset
2016 Beaucastel Gets Even More Praise
March Sale Magnum Madness, Ending Soon
Do You Dehu? We Do.
Alain Jaume, Star of the Southern Rhone
New Reviews from Decanter and Grapelive
Decanter 95 points “The estate known today as Freemark Abbey was established in 1886 by one of the first female wine-growers in Napa. Today Ted Edwards is head winemaker, working for the past three decades to develop relationships with growers, allowing exclusive sourcing rights to specific plots, which is crucial to the winery’s success. This wine has been aged for 28 months in a mixture of French and American oak. Stephen Brook: Powerful blackcurrant nose, with slightly charred oak. Very rich without being jammy, it packs a punch. An assertive and very youthful style, but good acidity and tannins mean this should go the distance. Alex Hunt MW: A bit Port-like on the nose to begin with, but there is good depth and the brightness increases in the glass. The palate is succulent, appealing, and has potential to age. Very good. Stefan Neumann MS: Intense, youthful and fruit-forward nose. This is softly structured but with a good level of tannins. Violets and rose petals lead up to a lengthy finish. Great purity and clarity here. ” (10/2017)
Domaine Marcel Lapierre Morgon, Beaujolais 2016 1.5L ($69.95) $59 special, 8 magnums in stock now
Grapelive 93 points “…Lapierre’s dad Marcel was a leader in organic and natural wines and Mathieu and his sister Camille have carried on his legendary example with exceptional care in the vines and in the cellar. These are wines that have always shown what well-crafted natural wine can be. They are pure, elegant and clean wines with an authentic and soulful expression of terroir and heritage. While still not taking themselves too seriously… these are wines you drink with a sense of awe and with much laughter and a huge smile on your face! This is absolutely Gamay perfection, made whole cluster from 60 years old vines and aged in well used Burgundy barrels, with no adornments, juicy, but wonderful in balance, beautifully perfumed and texture showing fine silky tannins and energy. The 2016 delivers a rich vein of bright cherry, fruity/juicy strawberry and wild black plum notes, a hint of cedar/walnut, sweet star anise, dried basil, mineral tones and violet. With air some savory tones, earth, spice and mineral add to the complex detail come through with delicious subtly, there’s no wonder why these are so sought after, I love it. This is a Gamay wonderland, not as concentrated as 2015, but joyously lively and almost crisply refreshing. Drink now.”
Don’t miss the new Cuvee Camille, arriving Friday:
Arriving ETA March 30th:
Domaine Marcel Lapierre Morgon Roche du Py ‘Cuvee Camille’, Beaujolais 2016 750ML ($44.95) $38 pre-arrival special
Domaine Marcel Lapierre Morgon Roche du Py ‘Cuvee Camille’, Beaujolais 2016 1.5L ($89.95) $79 pre-arrival special
Josh Raynolds 94 points “Brilliant ruby-red. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh red fruits, Asian spices and minerals, along with an exotic touch of incense in the background. In a distinctly elegant style, offering appealingly sweet raspberry, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors that show very good depth as well as finesse. A spine of juicy acidity adds support and cut to an impressively long, floral-driven finish that’s shaped by silky, harmonious tannins.”
New to the April Sale
Library Perrot-Minot Beaux Monts
April is about to start, so we’re giving you a sneak preview of the April Sale, now with the 2010 Perrot-Minot Vosne Beaux Monts Premier Cru. This is one of the best premier cru vineyards in Burgundy, from a top producer in an excellent vintage. Grab it before it’s gone. Also, remember that our March sale ends soon—just keep reading for some highlights, especially in magnum!
Domaine Perrot-Minot Les Beaux Monts Vieilles Vignes, Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru 2010 750ML ($199.95) Was $179, Now $159 Clearance Price
Antonio Galloni 91-93 points “The 2010 Vosne-Romanée Les Beaux Monts is deep, dark and sensual. It currently comes across as young, but there is gorgeous fleshiness and mid-palate pliancy that makes the Beaux Monts totally irresistible.”
The next best price is $186!
High Scoring Burgundy
2015’s From Latour and Boisset
Across the board, 2015 is a vintage to buy in quantity. We’ve got these incredible wines from Louis Latour arriving tomorrow (plus some highly rated 2014 from Jean Claude Boisset). Latour’s reds always represent incredible value, even their bottles that are $300+ (compare how much any other Romanée-Saint-Vivant is, much less one this highly rated). As with most top of the line Burgundy (especially from 2015), quantities are painfully small, so call, email or hop on our website if you want to secure some of these gems for your cellar.
Arriving Tomorrow!
Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Cote de Beaune 2015 750ML ($149.95) $126 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 97 points “So perfumed with exotic, tropical-fruit aromas that draw you into the glass. Full-bodied, layered and textured with soft creamy tannins and light stone and walnut undertones. Gun flint. Always a fantastic white. So constant. Drink or hold.”
James Suckling 97 points “So much dried-flower character on the nose with dark fruit and zest of orange peel. Full body, soft and velvety tannins and a long and flavorful finish. So sexy and delicious already. A little more than 100 cases made. Drink or hold.”
James Suckling 95 points “Subtle aromas of bark, mushrooms and light strawberries follow through to a medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and light vanilla-bean character, even chocolate. Glorious. Drink in 2020, but this is already gorgeous.”
James Suckling 98 points “So perfumed and aromatic with fabulous character of flowers, dark berries and chalk. Full-bodied and voluptuous. Ripe and velvety tannins and a long and flavorful finish. A wine with great potential and depth. Flamboyant. Drink in 2022.”
James Suckling 95 points “Incredible aromas of crushed strawberries, blueberries and flowers. Full body, full and linear tannins and a silky, caressing finish. Always compressed and refined. Drink in 2021.”
Wine Spectator 96 points “This is intense, starting out on the elegant side and building slowly to attain greater density and power. Spice, raspberry and cherry flavors form the center, with a layer of chalk and stone underneath. Shows fine concentration and balance, delivering a long, minerally aftertaste. Best from 2022 through 2042. 20 cases imported.”
Terrific Tuscans Incoming :
Lisini Brunellos and a New Felsina Chianti
Tuscan wine continues to be a hot commodity here and we have three new wines arriving in the next month or so—two back vintage Brunellos from Lisini (a classic, top producer) plus a new value Chianti from Felsina (again a top, traditional producer). Both arrive this spring, at prices that are not to be missed.
Arriving ETA Late April:
Lisini Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG, Tuscany 2011 750ML ($89.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 94+ points “I have not seen a Riserva from Lisini for a while, so this wine comes as a pleasant surprise. The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva takes us back to one of the warmest vintages in re-cent memory. However, this wine holds nicely with plenty of lush primary fruit to keep it smelling and tasting younger than its years. Dark cherry and dried blackberry rise to the top. Soon to follow are layers of spice and sweet tobacco. The mouthfeel is thickly layered but vel-vety smooth all the while”.
From the superlative Ugolaia cru, a 3.7-acre, southeast-facing vineyard by the same name, planted in 1978 with selected grafts (top grafted onto wild vines by Lisini senior experts). Crops are 1.1 kilo per rootstock, and élevage is 36 months in Slavonian oak barrels (11-20 hl.), followed by 18 months’ bottle age.
Fattoria dei Pagliaresi ‘Pagliarese’ Chianti Classico DOCG, Tuscany 2015 750ML ($21.95) $18 pre-arrival special
New from Felsina
Ian D’agata – Vinous 92 points “The 2015 Chianti Classico is a new wine from Fèlsina’s Pagliarese property. For what seems like forever, Giuseppe Mazzocolin has been the ultimate champion of Sangiovese, long before it was fashionable. With Pagliarese, Mazzocolin and Fèlsina return to a super-classic Chianti Classico based on Sangiovese, of course, but with dollops of Canaiolo, Mammolo and Colorino aged in cask. The debut 2015 is fabulous. Bright, red-toned fruit and an array of floral/savory notes are nicely delineated, but the wine’s purity and extraordinary balance elevate it into the realm of the sublime. What a gorgeous wine this is! ”
2016 Beaucastel
New Reviews
Same Great Pricing
2016 is a legendary year for the Southern Rhone—that much is already clear and the wines have yet to arrive in the US. More reviews, like these from Jeb Dunnuck, continue to roll in, and the wines are disappearing faster and faster. We wanted to highlight these reviews before they sell out, in case you missed them.
Arriving ETA April:
Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Rhone 2016 750ML ($89.95) $79 pre-arrival special
Jeb Dunnuck 95 points “Just sensational, and one of the best examples of this cuvée out there, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc boasts phenomenal notes of orange blossom, salty minerality, caramelized peach, and spice. Rich, full-bodied, unctuous and yet always pure and elegant, it’s one of the finest wines coming from this hallowed appellation.”
Wine Advocate 94 points “The family is a great believer in Roussanne as the white grape of the Southern Rhône, and the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc includes 80% of that variety. Waves of honeyed pineapple and tangerine sorbet flood the senses. This is really lush, yet it’s underscored by a briny sense of freshness that prolongs and lingers on the finish. It may be drunk young or aged several years.”
Jeb Dunnuck 100 points “the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes is utterly killer and is as good as it
gets. Huge notes of orange blossom, peach, tangerine, honeysuckle, and caramelized citrus flow from this insanely good, unctuous, heavenly textured white that possesses full-bodied richness and power, yet stays light, graceful and perfectly balanced on the palate. Drink bottles anytime over the coming 4-6 years, or cellar for a decade or more. Robert Parker once famously called this the Montrachet of the Rhône, and I wholeheartedly agree with him. Don’t miss this wine!”Wine Advocate 96 points “The 500-case production of this wine comes from a three-hectare parcel of Roussanne planted in 1909. The 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes takes the quality of Beaucastel’s traditional white and raises it another level. Caramelized pineapple sounds sweet and cloying, but it isn’t when it’s backed by amazing texture, citrus zest and a briny sensation on the never-ending finish. As this was the last wine of my visit to the estate, I found it especially hard to spit out.”
Arriving ETA Late Fall:
Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone 2016 750ML ($79.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone 2016 1.5L ($169.95) $149 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 95-97 points “No surprise, the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape takes the quality of the Coudoulet and ratchets it up a notch (or two!). I tasted the preliminary blend from foudre and was blown away by its potential. At 35% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 5% Cinsault and 10% other permitted varieties, it shows amazing purity in its scents of dark fruit and licorice, richness and weight without any excess of alcohol and a finish that goes on and on.”
There’s only four days left for the March Sale, which means a bunch of great deals disspear soon. Don’t get left wishing you had acted sooner. Of particular note is the gaggle of magnums we put in the March Sale—these are big bottles with big discounts that expire soon. We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite large formats on the March Sale, but you can see all 60+ wines (large and normal) on the Clearance Sale on our website by clicking here.
Il Poggione Vigna Paganelli, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG 2010 1.5L ($249.95) Was $219, Now $199 Clearance Price
Wine Advocate 98+ points “The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Vigna Paganelli is a phenomenal achievement and a wine that captures not only the spirit of this classic vintage, but the true essence of an age-worthy wine like Brunello. This single vineyard Riserva is sharp, pristine and immaculate. It starts slow and shy, but then blossoms to beautiful intensity and aromatic brilliance. It delivers a very authentic and genuine read of Sangiovese with wild berry aromas followed by pressed violets, wet earth, tobacco and lightly toasted spice. The bouquet is seamless and very long in persistence. The same holds true for the mouthfeel. The wine delivers a fine and silky texture with a good dose of power and personality at the rear.”
Weingut Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Auslese, Nahe 2015 1.5L ($199.95) Was $149, Now $133 Clearance Price
Wine Advocate 94 points “The 2015 Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese was selected shortly before the Spätlese and is a selection of super ripe and the rarely botrytis grapes. The wine has a super ripe and warm fruit bouquet with some spicy and flinty aromas. On the palate, this is a piquant and generous Riesling with clear definition and lingering complexity and salinity. It has very good grip. (The wine is also available in 375 milliliter bottles for $45 and 1500 milliliter bottles for $180.)”
Pian dell’Orino Bassolino di Sopra, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2007 1.5L ($349.95) Was $289, Now $249 Clearance Price
Antonio Galloni 93 points “The estate’s 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Bassolino di Sopra 1500 emerges from the glass with endless layers of fruit. A pure, voluptuous 2007, the Bassolino di Sopra 1500 is rich, round and seamless. Deeply spiced notes develop in the glass as the wine shows off its striking personality. I am not a huge fan of extended time in oak for wines of such purity, but the 2007 handles its 48 months in barrel quite nicely, although it is naturally shaped by its aging regime, especially from a textural perspective. The 2007 is made exclusively from the estate’s holdings in Pian Bossolino, but that site has also been trademarked by another winery, hence the slight name variation here.”
Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur Les Caillerets, Volnay Premier Cru 2011 1.5L ($179.95) Was $119, Now $99 Clearance Price
Antonio Galloni–Vinous 93 points “The 2011 Volnay Caillerets is one of the most explosive wines in this range. Black cherries, plums, licorice, smoke and tar literally jump from the glass. The 2011 is round and voluptuous on the palate, yet also backed up by considerable structure. Hints of cloves, new leather and sweet tobacco add the final layers of nuance. In 2011 there are just three barrels of Caillerets, one of which is new, a slightly higher ratio than is typically the case.” AG
Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur Taillepieds, Volnay Premier Cru 2012 1.5L ($149.95) Was $119, Now $99 Clearance Price
Antonio Galloni 91-93+ points “A layered, totally exquisite wine, the 2012 Volnay Taillepieds impresses for its balance above all else. The aromas and flavors are beautifully detailed and nuanced in a Taillepieds that is all about crystalline purity. This tasting catches the 2012 in a slightly raw, unpolished state, but nothing a little time in bottle won’t take care of.”
F.X. Pichler Durnsteiner Kellerberg Gruner Veltliner Smaragd, Wachau 2013 1.5L ($219.95) Was $149, Now $133 Clearance Price
Wine Advocate 95 points “The tremendously deep bouquet of Pichler’s 2013 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Kellerberg is precise, vegetal and flinty/cool. The wine is a noble, rich, highly elegant and terroir-driven Wachauer signature wine, which reveals its overwhelming power and great expression only in its finish and long, persistent aftertaste. This is, again, an icon wine of the Wachau and the 2013 vintage. A must buy, if you can afford it.”
David Schildknecht–Vinous 94 points “Smoky Szechuan and Madagascar peppers pungently announce site typicity in the nose, along with high-toned intimations of pit-inflected white peach and Mirabelle that subsequently flood the glycerol-rich, almost plush palate. The richness of fruit here, also incorporating very ripe muskmelon, is contrasted and cut with citrus rind piquancy allied to stony and peppery inflections that follow into a forcefully sustained but in no way rough or warm finish, the alcohol here having ended up at just under 14%”
F.X. Pichler Durnsteiner Kellerberg Riesling Smaragd, Wachau 2011 1.5L ($179.95) Was $133, Now $119 Clearance Price
Falstaff 97 points “Bright green yellow. Fine exotic fruit bruet, delicate according to blood orange, dark mineral, facet rich. Very complex and concentrated, close-knit, finely underpinned acid structure, dark mineral, will remain for a long time, a long-distance runner and great promises of the future. [translated from German]”
Now it’s even lower!
Domaine Jean Francois Ganevat Cotes du Jura Le Montceau 2014 1.5L ($149.95) Was $119, Now $99 Clearance Price
Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur Meursault Charmes, Meursault Premier Cru 2011 1.5L ($199.95) Was $149, Now $119 Clearance Price
Antonio Galloni–Vinous 91 points “The 2011 Meursault Les Charmes wraps around the palate with gorgeous depth and nuance. There is plenty of Charmes richness and depth in the glass. At the same time, the wine’s structural elements are front and center, at least today. The firm, slightly dry finish suggests the fruit may have been brought in a little early.” AG
Benoit Dehu Rose De Saignee, Champagne NV (2015) 750ML ($149.95) $128 pre-arrival special
75% Pinot Meunier, 25% Pinot Noir
Star of the Southern Rhone
Alain Jaume & Fils Domaine du Clos de Sixte Lirac, Rhone 2016 750ML ($29.95) $26 pre-arrival special
Wine Advocate 93+ points “The 2016 Lirac Domaine du Clos de Sixte is a terrific wine, easily the rival to many Châteauneufs from across the river, starting with its alluring aromas of flowering garrigue and ripe cherries. A blend of 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 15% Mourvèdre, this full-bodied wine is lush and concentrated on the palate, then turns velvety on the long finish. I’d treat it like a Châteauneuf du Pape in terms of cellaring: hold it for a few years, then drink it over the next 15.”
Wine Advocate 92-94 points “Looking like a future star, the 2016 Gigondas Terrasses de Montmirail is full-bodied, lush and creamy. Black cherry and vanilla flavors finish with savory tannins, an enticing bit of licorice and no heat at all. Very promising.”
Jeb Dunnuck 95 points “The flagship 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc La Fontaine is a more substantial, serious effort that offers notes of caramelized citrus, brioche, honeysuckle and orange blossom. Rich, layered and concentrated, yet also fresh and lively, it’s a terrific white that’s going to sing on the dinner table. Drink it anytime over the coming 4-5 years (it will keep even longer).”
Jeb Dunnuck 91-93 points “The entry-level effort is the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Miocène and it’s primarily Grenache with smaller amounts of Syrah and Mourvèdre. It offers a classic, fresh, beautifully focused style in its raspberry, garrigue, flower and spice aromatics. This gives way to a medium to full-bodied, deep, rich, layered red that has the underlying tannic grip and structure of the vintage. It’s going to keep for 10-15 years.”
Jeb Dunnuck 94-96+ points “Possibly the finest vintage of this cuvée to date, the 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Origines (50% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, and the balance Syrah) offers a full-bodied, unctuous, yet thrillingly pure style in its black raspberry, cassis, licorice and spice aromas and flavors. It has a smoking good mid-palate, building, ripe tannin and a huge finish.”
Jeb Dunnuck 97-99+ points “The 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes is sensational, with notes of blackberry jam, blueberries, crushed flowers, licorice, and graphite all soaring from the glass. Deep, rich, unctuous and still structured, with masses of tannin, it’s a beast of a wine, yet stays impeccably balanced, pure and clean. It’s going to need 4-5 years of cellaring.”
Thank you for reading!
