Vinopolis Newsletter 8-14-2024 PM

 
   
It’s not presumptive to say that Hofgut Falkenstein is the Cult Wine from the Saar to beat. In fact, there’s two types of wine aficionados out there: those who don’t understand the hype for these Rieslings and those who have tried them.
 
Nestled in the heart of the Saar region, the Falkenstein winery crafts Rieslings that are authentic and extraordinary. Hofgut Falkenstein is your personal wormhole to a bygone era of German winemaking.
 
Fermented with indigenous yeasts in ancient oak barrels within a cool, subterranean cellar, their wines develop into elegant expressions of the Saar terroir. From their cold, mossy cellars are born the cleanest of wines: dry and off-dry Rieslings, crafted from naturally low-yield old vines, and renowned for their vibrant acidity, ripe fruit, and racy character. Highly sought after by beginner Riesling enthusiasts and seasoned collectors alike, their annual release is one of the biggest events in the world German wine!
 
So get with the times… embrace tradition!
 

WINES	VWS PRICE	AVAILABLE	LINK
FALKENSTEIN AUSLESE FORSTER AP5 2023 750ML	$49.00	12	LINK
FALKENSTEIN EUCHARIUSBERG KABINETT GISELA AP8 2023 750ML	$49.00	12   sold out!	LINK
FALKENSTEIN HERBERT KABINETT FEINHERB AP15 2023 750ML	$29.00	12     4	LINK
FALKENSTEIN AUF DEM HOLZCHEN RIES KAB TROCKEN AP21 2023 750ML	$33.00	12    11	LINK
FALKENSTEIN SPATLESE KLAUS LANG AP6 2023 750ML	$39.00	12     6	LINK
FALKENSTEIN ALTENBERG SPATLESE TROCKEN AP7 2023 750ML	$34.50	12	LINK
FALKENSTEIN KRETT EUCHARIUSBERG KABINETT  AP12 2023 750ML	$33.00	12     5	LINK
FALKENSTEIN KRETTNACHER SPATLESE TROCKEN AP18 2023 750ML	$39.00	12	LINK
FALKENSTEIN KRETT EUCH MARLIES KABINETT AP13 2023 750ML	$33.00	12	LINK
FALKENSTEIN SPATLESE FEINHERB MEYER AP11 2023 750ML	$34.50	12     4	LINK
FALKENSTEIN TERNESEN EUCH MARLIES KABINETT AP14 2023 750ML	$33.00	12     11	LINK
FALKENSTEIN MUNNY KABINETT TROCKEN AP9 2023 750ML	$29.00	12     8	LINK
FALKENSTEIN KABINETT FEINHERB ONKEL PETER  AP4  2023 750ML	$29.00	12  sold out!	LINK
FALKENSTEIN SPATLESE FEINHERB PALM AP3 2023  750ML	$34.50	12  sold out!	LINK
FALKENSTEIN OCK BOCK KABINETT MIA AP22 2023 750ML	$49.00	12     6	LINK
FALKENSTEIN PET NAT 2023 750ML	$29.00	12	LINK
FALKENSTEIN ROSE TROCKEN 2021 750ML	$29.00	12	LINK

 

   
   
 
Have you been longing for the unparalleled elegance of a Felsina wine aged to perfection? Well, this is your chance to build a Felsina collection overnight… we are proud to offer you these special, very limited library editions of Felsina’s premiere bottling.
 
As the pinnacle of Felsina’s estimable portfolio, Felsina Rancia is a true masterpiece. Crafted from a rigorous selection of Sangiovese grapes grown in the renowned Rancia vineyard, this single-vineyard Chianti Classico Riserva embodies elegance, complexity, and age-worthiness. This wine is a must-try for enthusiasts seeking a truly extraordinary Chianti Classico experience.
 
Felsina is a legendary estate renowned for its unwavering commitment to quality and sustainability. Their wines are a true expression of Tuscan terroir, crafted with meticulous care by the Poggiali family for generations.
 
If you are new to Felsina, this is the perfect place to start… if not this is a great chance to catch up with some old friends.
 
Felsina Berardenga Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Italy 2013 750ml $69 special, 3 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 Points “Here is another highlight of the vintage. The 2013 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia is a dark, moody and sophisticated wine. It does not reveal itself immediately or in any obvious way. Instead, it doses out its intensity in careful measurements. The whole performance is seductive to say the least. That slow momentum leads to dark cherry with spice, grilled herb, wet earth and dried rose. Felsina’s Riserva Rancia is a very elegant wine, both on the nose and in the mouth.”
 
Felsina Berardenga Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Italy 2016 750ml $69 special, 3 bottles available
Decanter 97 Points “This 2016 vintage is simply stunning. It’s stately yet gracious, with personality for days, leading with a sumptuous nose of smoke, exotic spice and iron-rich earth. Ripe fruit coats the mouth yet it remains buoyant and tangy as chalky tannins charge in to frame the palate. A seductive wine with an appetising, savoury edge and a long, long life ahead.”
James Suckling 96 Points “A decadent Chianti Classico Riserva that shows plenty of cedar, spices, leather, wet earth and tobacco, but also really fresh undertones of dried orange rind and strawberries. Integrated and structured on the palate with a velvety mouthfeel and mouth-refreshing acidity. Drink now or hold.”
 
Felsina Berardenga Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Italy 2017 750ml $49 special, 2 bottles available
James Suckling 95 Points “Plenty of fruit concentration with cherry and strawberry aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with chewy tannins and lots of concentration. Intense and rich. Give it a year or two to come together. Better after 2021.”
Wine Advocate 94 Points “Rancia is always one of my favorite wines from this storied appellation (and the Castelnuovo Berardenga subzone). This vintage threw quite a few challenges at the winemaking team, but the Fèlsina 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia emerges intact, intense and beautiful. It is virtually unscathed by the heat and drought that marked this growing season. In fact, that brilliant radiance, linearity and energy of the Sangiovese grape comes through loud and clear. The bouquet is redolent of red fruit, wild berry, toasted almond, violet and potting soil. My score is a little lower (compared to past vintages) in terms of mouthfeel because I found this edition to be a bit shorter and less impactful on the finish, but not by much. It ages in barrique for up to 20 months.”
 
Felsina Berardenga Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Italy 2018 750ml $59 special, 3 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 Points “The 2018 is an unusual vintage that shows an especially austere character. Off the bat, it must be said that the Fèlsina 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia would certainly benefit from more cellar time and a long drinking window. The Rancia is elegant and streamlined with a medium-bodied style that breaks from some of the more concentrated vintages we’ve seen in the past. The bouquet reveals a lot of dark or black character with blackcurrant, tar, resin, iron ore and a dusty hint of dry graham cracker (which reminds us of the vintage heat). Structurally, the wine offers a solid and firm footing, but it would benefit from further evolution.”
James Suckling 95 Points “This is really subtle and complex with cherry, herb, floral and sage aromas that follow through to a full body with firm, fine tannins that give form and energy to the wine. Racy and very fine. Drink or hold.”
 
Felsina Berardenga Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Italy 2019 750ml $59 special, 3 bottles available
James Suckling 95 Points “Darker fruit on the nose with walnut, spice box, incense and espresso bean, too. Medium-bodied, firm and structured with polished tannins and a creamy, compact mid-palate. Quality dark oak spice throughout. Long and rich. Better from 2024.”
Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points “Amplified even further is the 2019 Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia, which offers up a musky cologne of cedar, cherry licorice, cracked pepper, and menthol. It is medium to full bodied, with a rich tannin structure, a broad mid-palate, and a long, fragrant finish.”
 
Felsina Berardenga Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, Italy 2020 750ml $51.90 special, 14 bottles available
Wine Spectator 95 Points “Intense, with complex flavors of cherry, blackberry, violet, mineral and leafy underbrush, this red is silky and verges on racy. Harmonious and persistent, with a long, resonant aftertaste that echoes red fruit, mineral and savory elements. Best from 2025 through 2045.”
 
“The jewel of these famous vineyards, first planted by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, is sole ownership of the Coulée de Serrant (or ‘Casting of Tightening’ if you happen to read the English version of their website), a magnificent steep slope of Chenin Blanc vines that is clearly destined to be one of the world’s great vineyards.” –Jancis Robinson
 
The wines of Famille Joly are dynamic. Bio-dynamic, that is. Pioneers in sustainable and natural viticulture, they embody the intersection of history and refined technique. Utilizing minimal intervention winemaking to preserve the integrity of the vineyard as it becomes wine, their long-lived Savennieres are a thing of legend, and their Clos de Coulee de Serrant the absolute zenith of the region.
 
Famille Joly Vignobles de la ‘Clos de la Coulee de Serrant’, Loire, France 2019 750ml $135 special, 16 bottles available
Stephan Reinhardt-Wine Advocate 98 Points “Produced from seven hectares of vineyards aged from 40 to 50 years old, Joly’s 2019 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant opens with a clear, bright yet enormously dense and complex bouquet of crushed stones, herbs and fine but dense and multilayered fruit that needs air to open up, yet it shows its class immediately. On the palate, this is a rich and intense, full-bodied, tight and concentrated yet elegant and stimulating salty Chenin with firm tannins intertwined with a crystalline acidity that carries this highly complex icon wine to a long and compact yet elegant finish. There is a remarkable purity, freshness and energy in the aftertaste that you sometimes might have missed in former vintages.”