Vinopolis Newsletter 2-12-25

 

 
 
France
 

 

“Bernard Baudry is one of the best and most reliable Chinon producers. Les Granges is the introductory bottle, made from young cabernet franc vines, farmed organically, and intended for early drinking. It’s lively, juicy and earthy, and easy to enjoy. It would be especially good with the dark meat and earthy tuber dishes. The Baudry single-vineyard cuvées, like La Croix Boissée and Les Grézeaux, reward aging and are among the best expressions of Chinon.”—Eric Asimov in the New York Times, November 15, 2021 as reported by Kermit Lynch
 
“In each bottling, we seek to express Cabernet Franc in its elegance, balance and aromatic freshness, in harmony with each of the terroirs and the year’s climate.” -Bernard Baudry
 
Bernard Baudry Chinon Croix Boissee 2021 750ml $49 special, 12 bottles available
Yohan Castaing-Wine Advocate “Matured for two years in used barrels and an additional nine months in tanks, the 2021 Chinon La Croix Boissée reveals a complex bouquet of plums, mulberries, spices and smoke, intertwined with carnal, meaty notes. Medium to full-bodied, layered and textured, it is chiseled and tense with an enveloping core of fruit and structured, firm tannins that transition into a meaty finish. While the phenols slightly detract from the powdery, delicate texture of the tannins, it remains poised.”
 
Bernard Baudry Chinon Clos Guillot 2021 750ml $38 special, 12  bottles available
Yohan Castaing-Wine Advocate “Matured for one year in barrels and for one year in tanks, the 2021 Chinon Le Clos Guillot expresses a slightly animal, somber bouquet of dark wild berries, licorice, cherries and violet. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and layered, it’s austere and firm with carnal notes on the finish.”
 
Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Domaine Rouge 2022 750ml $24 special, 36+ bottles available
Yohan Castaing-Wine Advocate “Matured for one year in concrete tanks, the 2022 Chinon le Domaine is crafted from vines planted on sandy, calcareous soils. Evoking aromas of dark wild berries, spices and smoke mingled with animal notes, it’s juicy and tense with a layered, rather enveloping texture, structured tannins and a firm, almost dry finish.”
 
Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges 2023 750ml $21.50 special, 36+ bottles available
Yohan Castaing-Wine Advocate “Aromas of dark wild berries, spices and smoke mingled with animal and carnal notes preface the 2022 Chinon Les Granges, a medium-bodied, juicy and round wine with structured tannins and a dry, short finish that also displays carnal undertones. Crafted from vines rooted in sandy, gravelly soils, it’s matured for nine months in concrete tanks.”
 
 
…also available from Bernard Baudry:
 
Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc 2022 750ml $29 special, 10 bottles available
Yohan Castaing-WThomas LaBaine Advocate “Crafted from vines planted on clay and limestone soils, the 2022 Chinon Blanc reveals aromas of lemon, white flowers, pear and herbs, followed by a medium-bodied, seamless and round palate with a moderately concentrated core of fruit and a delicate tension in the mid-palate complemented by an ethereal, saline finish. It matured 25% in egg-shaped concrete containers and 75% in barrels.”
 

 
Thomas Labaille’s winery sits in Chavignol, deep in the Loire Valley, atop a bed of Kimmeridgian limestone, the same material that gives the wines of Chablis and the Côte des Barres pop. They don’t rush things here, they don’t force them.
 
Jean-Paul Labaille took over from his father-in-law, Claude Thomas. He farms the right way, with no shortcuts and the wines show it. “L’Authentique” is smooth and full, made from different parcels across the estate. “Les Monts Damnés” comes from a steep hill, tough to work but worth it.
 
These wines are sharp, with citrus, stone, and an almost prickling minerality. The finish here lasts a long time, as all good things do.
 
Thomas-Labaille Sancerre l’Authentique 2023 750ml $28 special, 36 bottles available
Importer Note “100% Sauvignon Blanc. Originally labeled simply as “Sancerre”, L’Authentique is Thomas-Labaille’s multi-parcel estate bottling. All of the vines are on the Kimmeridgian limestone soils of Chavignol and average twenty-five years old; they are sustainably farmed and harvested by hand. The wine is fermented with native yeasts in fiberglass and cement tanks, aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks for four to six months and bottled without filtration.”
 
Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Mont Damnes 2023 750ml $34.50 special, 36 bottles available
Importer Note “100% Sauvignon Blanc. Thomas-Labaille has vines averaging thirty years old with some much older on the famously steep slope of Monts Damnés in Chavignol. They are sustainably farmed and harvested by hand. The wine is fermented with native yeasts in fiberglass and cement tanks, aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks (with a small proportion of used barrel in some vintages) for four to six months and bottled without filtration.”

 

 
 
Oregon
 

 
The deal of deals is back in stock! But for how long?
 
Cameron Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2023 750ml $24 special, 36+ bottles available
VinopolNote: This is one of the best wines we’ve had from the 2023 vintage yet! Enticing tart cherries on the nose, with a deeply satisfying savory character on the palette. This is yet another elegant, approachable entry level wine from Cameron. Simply delicious and an unbeatable value from our beloved Willamette valley.

 

 
Everything is coming up roses for Purple Hands Winery… as both a critical darling and unfailing crowd pleaser, we can barely keep these wines on the shelf! Purple Hands is another Willamette classic in the making.
 
Purple Hands Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 2022 750ml $59 special, 6 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points “From one of the highest elevations in this vineyard, the 2022 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is a transparent red hue and is aromatic of ripe cherries, spices, mossy earth, and a lightly gamey but clean earth note. It is an elegant and lifted expression of the Shea Vineyard, with bright acidity, fine tannins, and a more linear feel, and as it opens, it starts to show its broader shoulders and its deeper notes come through. Drink 2025-2040.”
 
Purple Hands Pinot Noir Haakon Lenai Vineyard 2022 750ml $66 special, 6 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points “A youthful ruby red hue, the 2022 Pinot Noir Haakon/Lenai Vineyard comes from 27-year-old vines in the main estate vineyard. A youthful bright magenta/ruby color, it offers darker berried fruit notes of wild black raspberries, layered spice, toasted cedar, umami, and licorice, with some red-fruited, high-toned lift shining through. There is real crystalline depth to this wine as well as more purity and clarity, and it has bright, ripe acidity, mouthwatering freshness, and a great finish. Its ripe tannins are very well-framed, and it has a long finish. Much more purity and clarity here. Drink 2024-2044. This is by far the best wine in the Purple Hands lineup.”
 
 
Spain
 
Envinate Misturado De Abeleda Ribeira Sacra 2022 750ml $54.50 special, 21 bottles available
Luis Gutierrez- Wine Advocate 93-95 Points “The sample I tasted of the 2023 Misturado was a blend of the two 228-liter barrels where the wine was completing its élevage without added sulfur. It’s a lighter wine, with more white grapes (close to 50% versus the 30% from 2022), and the wine has a lighter color, a very fresh nose of red berries and herbs, very tasty and fine-boned. There will be some 600 bottles, which they expect to fill in November 2024. There is a big jump in quality from 2022 to 2023 in this wine.”
 
 
Italy
 

Cavallotto Langhe Nebbiolo Bricco Boschis 2022 750ml $39 special, 35 bottles available
(Not reviewed yet, 2021 review provided for reference)
Antonio Galloni- Vinous “The 2022 Langhe Nebbiolo is terrific. Aromatic, light on its feet and vibrant, Cavallotto’s Nebbiolo offers plenty of varietal character in a light-bodied style that is quite attractive. The 2022 is a charmer.”
 
Cavallotto Barolo Bricco Boschis 2020 750ml $91.90 special, 24 bottles available
Kerin O’Keefe 95 Points “The 2020 Barolo Bricco Boschis is smooth, enveloping and delicious. Made with organically farmed grapes, it opens with inviting aromas of wild rose, forest berry, tobacco and new leather while the delicious palate doles out ripe raspberry, Morello cherry, cake spice and menthol. Showing the structure, elegance and depth of the Bricco Boschis and the forward nature of the vintage, this will be hitting its ideal window soon but will also offer years of fine sipping. Drink 2028-2035.”
 
 
Argentina
 
At Zorzal Wines, they have planted more vineyards and have now planted the majority of their 70 hectares around the winery, which is their dream. Fifty percent of their wines are now produced with their own grapes, mostly in Gualtallary, part in Monasterio and also in Río and Albo, and also with a vineyard in El Peral. The current production is 400,000 bottles.
 
Zorzal Gran Terroir Malbec 2022 750ml $21.90 special, 36 bottles available
(not reviewed yet, 2021 vintage review provided for reference)
Wine Advocate 90 Points “The nose of the 2021 Gran Terroir Malbec is riper and has black rather than red fruit, as they look for more exuberant fruit. This is a more classical Malbec with 14.5% alcohol and grainy tannins. It has some spicy notes and a smoky hint after maturing in third, fourth and fifth use barrels for 14 months. 25,000 bottles were filled in July 2022.”

 

 
 

 

 
Barbaresco
 
Barbaresco remains a stunning value in the world of Italian wine. If you prefer elegance to power, Barbaresco can top even Barolo, the vaunted King of Piedmont wines. This Cru wine from Cantina Rizzi’s estate vineyards is drinkable today, an absolute showstopper of a Barbaresco with excellent, soft tannic structure and gales of delicious savory and fruit flavors.
 
WAS $99
Rizzi Barbaresco Riserva Boito 2015 750ml $89 special, 10 bottles available
Kerin O’Keefe-Wine Enthusiast 96 Points “Cellar Selection. Camphor, pipe tobacco, iris and mature black-skinned fruit aromas shape the nose on this full-bodied red. Delicious and structured, the firm palate delivers succulent black cherry, raspberry and licorice framed in firm, tightly knit but noble tannins. Drink 2023–2030.”
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 94 Points “The Rizzi 2015 Barbaresco Rizzi Riserva Vigna Boito features the artwork of proprietor Enrico Dellapiana on the front label. With only 3,176 bottles produced, the wine reveals broad shoulders, width and impressive depth. This vintage offers a complete picture of the Nebbiolo grape and of the distinctive elegance of Treiso, one of the cornerstones of the Barbaresco appellation. This Riserva offers a solid center of gravity with ample fruit rendering and framing. The vintage achieves a richer, more concentrated style that suits the wine very nicely.”
 

Barolo
 
The Granbussia is a celebration of Barolo’s greatest vineyards and vintages. Produced only in the most excellent vintages, it combines the fruit of Conterno’s three best vineyards: Cicala, Colonnello, and Romirasco. After pressing, it is aged in oak for at least thirty months and spends a further six years in bottle. It is the best of best’s best, a stunning wine that can practically live forever!
 
WAS $889
Aldo Conterno Barolo Granbussia 2012 750ml $789 special, 6 bottles available
Wine Spectator 95 Points “The earthy, woodsy aromas show some evolution in this red, with just a hint of white truffle, yet there’s still a hefty dose of spicy oak to be resolved. Rich and sumptuous midpalate, showing plum, cherry, tar and tobacco flavors shaded by vanilla and toasty spices, with firm, dusty tannins laying a grip on the long finish. Give this another year or two in the cellar. Best from 2024 through 2042. From Italy.”
 
 
Brunello
 
In the hearts and minds of wine lovers everywhere, Biondi Santi is Brunello. After all, it was at Biondi Santi that the Brunello grape, a clone of Sangiovese called Sangiovese Grosso was first discovered and vinified. They are still the Brunello producer to beat today, with a cellar of wines dating back to the 18th century that are still drinking beautifully.
 
WAS $699
Biondi Santi Il Greppo Brunello Riserva 2016 750ml $619 special, 5 bottles available
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 99 Points “Wow, here is a vintage I’ve been anxiously waiting to try. The 2016 growing season was one of the best in recent memory in Montalcino, and if we look back in time, this vintage marks the year Biondi-Santi was sold to a French group. The prestigious 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva proves a mighty collector’s bottle that will undoubtedly gain in complexity and depth with careful bottle age. The wine offers wild nuances of forest berry and tart cherry, and there are herbal side notes as well as floral tones of dried violet and lilac. The tannins are soft, powdery and feel like they melt away on the palate.”
Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points “The 2016 Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva is layered and unfolds in the glass with incense baking spice ripe red cherry and cedar. It has more concentration and length through the mid-palate and offers an impeccable balance of structure ripeness and tension. It is expressive on the nose but it is even more impactful at this stage with its intensity through the palate with nearly electric energy of wild raspberry rose petal tea leaf and orange zest. Allow for cellaring another 3-4 years. Drink 2026-2046.”
Wine Spectator 98 Points “A harmonious balanced red this sets the stage perfectly for the cherry strawberry floral iron and tobacco flavors. Fresh and detailed with a linear profile and refined structure driving the seemingly endless finish. Superb. Best from 2026 through 2050.”