Vinopolis Newsletter 7-5-24

A collaboration between a Portuguese chemical engineer/winemaker and a Belgian restaurateur/Sommeliar. Together, these two have created something magical, easily more than the sum of its parts.
 
Their philosophy? Authentic wines without adulteration. Focusing on indigenous varietals and biodynamic farming these are fantastic food pairing wines for thanks to William and are in the top echelons of quality and cutting edge wine technology. In fact, Filipa was elected Winemaker of the Year in Portugal by the “Revista de Vinhos” in 2020, a true rarity as she is the first woman to earn the title in 30 years!
 
The DNMC (Dinamica) wines are made primarily from newly acquired or rented vineyards in conversion. They are intended to offer a classic expression of the grapes and region, and offer tremendous value.
Filipa Pato ‘Dinamica – DNMC’ Bical – Arinto, Bairrada, Portugal 2022 750ml $18 special, 12 bottles available
Filipa Pato ‘Dinamica – DNMC’ Baga, Bairrada, Portugal 2022 750ml $18 special, 12 bottles available
 
The Nossa Calcario Baga is an estate wine from her certified biodynamically farmed centenary old vines, fermented in open oak “lagares” and aged in traditional 500-600L pipas. It’s a singular and soulful Baga.
Filipa Pato & William Wouter Nossa Calcario Baga, Beiras, Portugal 2021 750ml $44.50 special, 12 bottles available
Jancis Robinson 17/20 Points “Organic. Deep crimson. Deep-flavoured and subtle. And so appetising that for the first time in this massive tasting I,m tempted to swallow this! Tannins are like the most luxuriously polished soft leather.”

Peter William Adesman has been involved in wine since the mid 1970’s, first as a consumer, then a collector, an educator, and finally with his own wines from Peter William Vineyard. Peter is still a full-time physician, but his avocation is and always will be working with wine.
 
Peter William Vineyard Malbec, Rogue Valley, USA 2018 750ml $28 special, 12 bottles available
Sean P. Sullivan-Wine Enthusiast “Aromas of vanilla, baking spice and plum lead to a palate that mixes fruit and barrel, with plump-feeling flavors. Vanilla notes linger on the finish. Fruit and barrel walk hand in hand.”
Winery Note “Our only Bordeaux Varietal, most often seen on its own from Argentina. This is a big, bold mouth-filling wine of great depth.”
 
Peter William Vineyard Grenache Rose, Rogue Valley, USA 2023 750ml $24 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Note “The wine shows bright, pretty strawberry & light cherry fruit on the nose and palate. Ample acid brightens the fruit flavors and will allow this wine to hold up in the bottle.”
 
Peter William Vineyard Roussanne , Rogue Valley, USA 2023 750ml $19.50 special, 36 bottles available
Vinopolnote “Only 30 cases made! Expect hazelnut and stonefruit, with a wave of palette cleansing citrus in the finish. This is perfect for cheese and meat plates.”
 
Peter William Sauvignon Blanc, Rogue Valley, USA 2022 750ml $21.90 special, 36 bottles available
Vinopolnote “Delicious and refreshing! Perfect for seafood and sipping in the shade.”

 
 

ITALY
 
Paolo Scavino Rocche di Castiglione, Barolo DOCG, Italy 2020 750ml $135 special, 3 bottles available
Vinous 96 Points “The 2020 Barolo Rocche di Castiglione is a new wine in the range. It takes the place of the Carobric, which was a blend of Cannubi, Rocche di Castiglione and Bric del Fiasc. A few years ago the Scavinos lost their lease on Cannubi, which impacted their ability to continue to make Carobric with the customary blend. That may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the new Rocche di Castiglione is off the charts. Silky, aromatic and pliant, with striking textural depth, the 2020 is immediately captivating. The purity of flavors is just breathtaking. What a wine!”
 
 
SPAIN
 
A.R. Valdespino Isabela Cream Sherry, Andalucia, Spain 750ml $16 special, 6 bottles available
Wine Spectator 90 Points “The rum raisin, date and burnt orange peel notes are nicely melded, with fruitcake and licorice root accents, all allied to a juicy, lush frame. Drink now.”
 
A.R. Valdespino Inocente Single Vineyard Fino Sherry, Andalucia, Spain 750ml $21.90 special, 3 bottles available
Wine & Spirits 95 Points “Best Buy. Inocente is Valdespino’s flagship, a wine from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, where the soil is pure white albariza. It ferments in 600-liter wooden casks without added yeasts, a practice that has become increasingly rare in Jerez. The intensity of the wine’s salinity is remarkable – iodine and salt – coming together with ripe white fruit, scents of nuts and exotic spices. The structure is dry and austere, like drinking the juice of stones. This will last for a decade in the cellar, but it’s impossible to hold onto a bottle if there’s raw seafood nearby.”
 
A.R. Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa Sherry, Andalucia, Spain 750ml $19 special, 6 bottles available
Decanter 94 Points “About five to six years old, from La Guita bodega. Bright astringency and vivid intensity, with a long, refreshing finish. Not subtle, or washed out; and in this case, I preferred this to the en rama version.”
 
A.R. Valdespino El Candado Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Andalucia, Spain 375ml $16 special, 12 bottles available
***Half bottle***
Wine & Spirits 92 Points “A PX from ten-year-old soleras, this is deliciously creamy. It combines raisined grape flavors with scents of figs and chestnuts, while subtle acidity plays in the background. The complexity develops further in the glass, building toward notes of chocolate, cinnamon and exotic spices.”
 
 
PORTUGAL
 

 

 
Gota Wines Private Selection ‘Prunus’ Tinto, Dao, Portugal 2021 $16 special, 24 bottles available
Decanter World Wine Awards 95 Points “An intense jammy bedrock of blueberry and damson offset with a lively herbaceous and white pepper lift; succulent and juicy with a long, refreshing finish. Stunning!”
 
Gota Wines Private Selection ‘Prunus’ Branco, Dao, Portugal 2021 $14 special, 24 bottles available
Winemaker Notes “Well-rounded and harmonious with concentrated fruit flavors of peaches yellow plums, apricots and floral notes while mineral on the palate with long mouth-watering finish.”

 
Willamette Wines, French Roots 
 
 
Domaine Drouhin.
 

Few events have signaled the blessing of a young wine region so well as the arrival of Burgundy’s famed Drouhin family in the Willamette Valley. The construction of the Drouhin family’s ten million dollar winery (in 1988 dollars, no less) announced the region as a place for serious winemaking. After the 1979 Paris Wine Olympics, where domaine Drouhin placed behind Eyrie Vineyard’s Pinot Noir, the late Robert Drouhin began investigating land in the Willamette Valley, finally settling on the Dundee Hills for their first American winery.
 
Domaine Drouhin Louise Drouhin Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2014 750ml $149 special, 6 bottles available
Vinous 94 Points “Dark red. Musky, deep-pitched aromas of black raspberry, cherry liqueur and incense, plus a smoky nuance and a suggestion of vanilla. Sappy, pliant and penetrating on the palate, offering bitter cherry, dark berry and spicecake flavors complemented by licorice and mocha nuances. Becomes sweeter and more lively with air and finishes spicy and extremely long; smooth tannins frame the intense fruit.”
Wine Advocate 94 Points “Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2014 Pinot Noir Louise conjures notions of Black Forest cake, dried herbs and mossy bark with hints of cranberries, cedar, roses and stewed tea. Medium-bodied and very elegantly played in the mouth, there is a lovey harmony of fine-grained tannins and freshness supporting the perfumed fruit, finishing with a mineral suggestion.”
 
Domaine Drouhin Louise Drouhin Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2016 750ml $159 special, 4 bottles available
Vinous 95 Points “Bright-hued ruby-red. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh boysenberry, black raspberry and Asian spices, and a sexy floral nuance gains strength with aeration. Sweet and seamless on the palate, displaying a suave blend of heft and focus to the concentrated red and blue fruit, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors. Shows impressive energy on the gently tannic, penetrating finish, which hangs on with serious, floral-driven tenacity.”
Wine Advocate 94+ Points “The 2015 Pinot Noir Louise has a pale ruby-purple color and incredibly vibrant nose of Bing cherries, crushed cranberries and violets with touches of tree bark, cinnamon stick and black truffles. Medium-bodied, the intensity continues on the palate with layers of gregarious red fruit intermingled with baking spices and earth notions, supported by fine-grained tannins and a lively backbone, which carries the finish beautifully.”
 
Domaine Drouhin Roserock Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA 2022 750ml $36 special, 35 bottles available
Michael Alberty- Wine Enthusiast 95 Points- Editor’s Choice! “This is a Goldilocks porridge wine where everything from the lemony acidity to the sturdy tannins was ‘just right.’ It is medium- bodied fare, with blackberry, Thai basil and orange-zest flavors. Violet and cinnamon-stick aromas blend harmoniously with notes of dark raspberries and blueberry fruit leather. It is a stunning value.”
 

Composition.
 

Bertrand de Villaine of Domaine Romanee Conti (heard of it?) went to college in Oregon and always kept that part of the world in mind, with a dream to one day make wine from these vineyards.
 
Composition Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $89 special, 5 bottles available
Vinopolnote “Located on the edge of the Ribbon Ridge on the south slope of the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Willakenzie sedimentary soils are present in this section of the AVA. The vineyard sits on a gorgeous ecosystem, including the livestock of birds, sheep, and a trusty collie. Dry-farmed with biodynamic preps and no synthetic chemicals, the focus is to regenerate the soil, add native plants and allow beneficial species to thrive.”
 

 
Built from the unlikely friendship that bloomed between an American Music Executive and a famous French Winemaker, Jean-Nicholas Meo of Meo-Camuzet and Jay Boberg, formerly of MCA and IRS Records, Nicolas-Jay is dedicated to producing organic, dry-farmed, old-vine Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the spirit of Burgundy’s most esteemed Grand Crus.
 
Nicolas-Jay ‘Affinites’ Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 5 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points “From a vineyard originally planted to Pinot Gris, the 2021 Chardonnay Bishop Creek pours a bright straw hue and takes on a sunnier profile of aromatics in its notes of white peach, orange blossoms, delicate baking spice, and lemon curd. The palate is full-bodied, with a weightless feel, a long, luxurious texture, and notes of almond that coat the palate. If well-stored, this is another wine that should age gracefully and improve with a few years in the cellar. Drink 2025-2032.”
 
Nicolas Jay Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 7 bottles available
Winery Notes “A beautiful garnet color is the first indication of a dense, concentrated harvest. It’s stunning at first approach with red cherry, black tea and subtle splashes of toasted clove, spices and citrus aromas. The fruit is crunchy and wet at this early stage, but a core of cinnamon spice and light menthol arrive to inter-mingle with these cold-pressed red fruit elements as the wine begins to stretch out. Alert acidity on the front-end gives way to granite, medium-weight tannins. It’s round on the palate, but shifts into a compression of red bush fruits, orange citrus and sandalwood that presses for minutes but still finds a way to maintain an elegant canter so typical of this celebrated cuvée.”
 
Nicolas-Jay ‘l’Ensemble’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $69 special, 17 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points “A jeweled ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir L’Ensemble needs a little time to open in the glass before revealing aromas of fresh pine, ripe cherry liqueur, and toasted spice. Supple and medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannins, it delivers elegant freshness and wonderful purity through its long, mouthwatering, seamless finish. Drink 2025-2037.”