Vinopolis Newsletter 8-9-24

Special Arrival
 

Focus on the Fox

 
 

It’s no big secret that Kelley Fox is one of our favorite Winemakers. After years as a hired gun for such notable wineries as Eyrie, Torii Mor, and Hamacher, Kelley reinvented herself as the Queen of the Oregon natural wine scene. As she says, her wines reflect “the land, the vines, the fruit of the vines, the year, and everything else unknown and unseen that comes with those things.” Esoteric as these proclamations may sound, the consistence of quality in her wine is second to none. In both the playfulness and precision of her winemaking, she remains an unparalleled grape whisperer, coaxing terroir with ease and bringing accessibility to even the most inscrutable of varietals.
 
Although most recognized for her Burgundian varietal s, Kelley Fox is increasingly turning heads with her Pinot Blanc bottlings. This new release is –no surprises here– a benchmark expression of the varietal in the Willamette Valley.
Kelley Fox Slater Vineyard Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley, USA 2023 750ml $34.50 special, 12 bottles available
 
…also featured from Kelley Fox
 
Kelley Fox Wines Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Blanc, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $36 special, 12 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 93 Points “The 2022 Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill Vineyard opens with a rich and spicy blend of crushed stone, dried apricots and mint. Soft, silky textures soothe, filling the palate with masses of mineral-tinged orchard fruits and savory spice. It tapers lemon oil and raw almond.”
Winery Note “This wine was produced from the storied Freedom Hill Vineyard in Dallas (bordering the Eola-Hills A.V.A.) and was planted, owned, and farmed by the Dusschee family. The soil here is Bellpine, a marine sedimentary silt clay loam that is well-drained. The Pinot blanc was whole cluster-pressed after picking. It settled in tank for a couple of days before racking and this year, after primary, it was racked into a stainless tank for élevage until bottling. This wine is dry and ML-complete.”
 
Kelley Fox Wines Canary Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA 750ml $89 special, just 1 bottle left!
Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points “Moving over to the Eola-Amity Hills, the 2021 Pinot Noir Canary Hill Vineyard is packed with energetic tension, opening to notes of crushed stone, ripe pomegranate, and rosemary. Focused, with balanced ripeness and even-keeled acidity, it’s seamless and long on the palate, with sweet tannins and a refined feel. It has fantastic energy, with delicate incense on the long finish, and will be an age-worthy wine to enjoy over the coming 10-12 years.”
Winery Note “This wine was produced from the storied Freedom Hill Vineyard in Dallas (bordering the Eola-Hills A.V.A.) and was planted, owned, and farmed by the Dusschee family. The soil here is Bellpine, a marine sedimentary silt clay loam that is well-drained. The Pinot blanc was whole cluster-pressed after picking. It settled in tank for a couple of days before racking and this year, after primary, it was racked into a stainless tank for élevage until bottling. This wine is dry and ML-complete.”
 
Kelley Fox Wines Willamette Valley Chardonnay, Oregon, USA 2023 750ml $26 special, 13 bottles available
Winery Note “Beautiful pale lemon yellow in appearance, this Chardonnay is brilliant and transparent in the glass. The nose has hints of vanilla along with creamy tropical fruits, mixed citrus, and soft minerals. These delicious fruits are perfectly balanced by its fresh acidity. The mouth mirrors the nose, and the texture and finish are silky and pleasing. I hope you enjoy this Chardonnay as much as I do!”
 
Kelley Fox Wines ‘Durant Vineyard’ Lark Block Chardonnay, Dundee Hills, USA 2022 750ml $44.50 special, 8 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points “A bright yellow hue with green highlights, the 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard is expressive in its lacy perfume of jasmine, tarragon, salty earth, and bright green apple. Medium-bodied, it offers beautiful, pristine, ripe fruit, a pithy texture, and a delicate arch to its rounded mouthfeel, with no harshness. It’s refined and graceful, with a floral flourish of lemon blossoms lasting long on the finish. Drink 2024-2034.”
 
Kelley Fox Wines Maresh Vineyard Golden-Crowned Sparrow Blocks Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2022 750ml $89 special, 6 bottles available
Winery Note “Many years ago, while staying on the Maresh farm one night during harvest, I heard a songbird in one of Jim Maresh Sr.’s sequoias singing in minor keys just before first light. It took years to learn what this bird was. I had listened to countless songbird recordings to find it. Well, it was the Golden-Crowned sparrow. These lovely sparrows migrate south at night along the Pacific from Alaska and Western Canada in the fall.  The Maresh Golden is a medium, youthful and rich blue-red with brilliant transparency. Of course, the nose is full of Hood strawberries with the cool freshness of rain and the Pacific Ocean in the spring air, along with dark red cherries and spice. This beautifully structured wine has disarming purity and weightless power.”
Eric Guido-Vinous 94 Points “The 2022 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Golden Crowned Sparrow Blocks is darkly alluring with crushed woodland berries complicated by blood orange and pine hints. Silky textures and stimulating acidity soothe, washing tart red fruits across the palate guided by zesty acidity. This finishes wonderfully fresh and long with a staining of red and black fruit and crunchy tannins.”
 
Kelley Fox Wines Gruner Veltliner, Willamette Valley, USA 2023 750ml $26 special, 12 bottles available
Winemaker’s Note “The Gruner is always a really fun wine to produce, and I’m happy every year that I can offer this bottling to you. Finally, there’s a bit more! This wine was tank-fermented and is ML-complete. It’s the colour of sunshine and is highly transparent. I love looking at it in the glass. The nose is full of fresh, creamy citrus, melon, delicious warming spices and minerals. The mouth is the same and has a certain build to it that reminds me of Juhfark or Furmint. The texture is both rich and weightless, and yes, it has the classic Gruner finsh of a touch of white pepper. It has wonderful acidity one might expect from an alpine wine. For me, this wine has radiant energy.”
VinopolNote “This Gruner Veltliner hits all the marks. It has an effervescent and easy nose with citrus fruit and sea salt coming through. On the palate, juicy melon fruit, honey, and grapefruit peel burst in the mouth. The mouthfeel has light zippiness, a full and oily viscosity, and a slight toast on the finish. This wine is complex and resolved, and would pair with carbonara.”
 
Kelley Fox Wines Maresh Vineyard Liminal Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2022 750ml $89 special, 10 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92 Points “A mix of blackberries, pine, dusty dried roses and exotic spice wafts up from the 2022 Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard Liminal. This is deeply textural with silken waves of tart wild berries, taking on a sour tinge toward the close. It renders the palate completely refreshed, leaving a hint of mint and tart wild berries.”
 
Kelley Fox Wines Weber Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2021 750ml $89 special, 5 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points “The jeweled ruby 2021 Pinot Noir Weber Vineyard takes on a riper though equally pristine character, with wild raspberry liqueur, pressed roses, forest herbs, and blood orange. On the palate, it has a rounded mouthfeel with more concentration and delivers ripe tannins as well as a pure, long, earth-toned finish with beetroot spice. Drink 2025-2035.”

 

 

Austria
 

 

Based in the village of Unterloiben, the Alzinger house farms some of the steepest vineyards in Austria. If you traded the granite for slate, you’d think you were in a Mosel village like the Saar or Terrassenmosel. Converging with the relatively high elevation of the site, Alzinger creates some of the most powerful expressions of Riesling in the country. Leo Alzinger took over his family’s estate after apprenticing in Marlborough, New Zealand and the Pfalz, Germany where he crafted his house style. This technical knowledge is evident in his wines, which he vinifies whole cluster with a touch of skin contact and extended lees aging.
 
Weingut Leo Alzinger Durnsteiner Riesling Federspiel, Wachau, Austria 2023 750ml $31.90 special, 24 bottles available
James Suckling 92 Points “Clear and linear riesling showing aromas of lime peel, gooseberries, kumquats and wet stones. It,s medium-bodied, lively and energetic, with zippy acidity and a crisp, dry finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.”
Vinous 92 Points “The 2022 Riesling Dürnsteiner Federspiel was picked from various smaller parcels on the foot of the Loibenberg, including terraces of Loibenberg and Burgstall. Exquisitely pure bergamot notes are fragrant and enticing on the nose. The palate is chiseled, fine and taut, with a slightly riper note of citrus that reminds of Meyer lemon, yet still with the fragrant green citrus frisson. This is a bright, pure wine of exquisite slenderness and citrus fragrance. (Bone-dry)”
 
Weingut Leo Alzinger Muhlpoint Gruner Veltliner Federspiel, Wachau, Austria 2023 750ml $36 special, 24 bottles available
Vinous 90 Points “The 2023 Grüner Veltliner Mühlpoint Federspiel, a site just underneath Steinertal, in the lower reaches where there’s more loess in the gneiss deposits. It’s gently savory on the nose and delivers yeast and pepper. The palate has a lovely stoniness and a slender aspect, with the pepperiness shimmering on the yeasty mid-palate. Lemon, stone and pepper make for a juicy, light-footed Federspiel. (Bone-dry)”
 
Weingut Leo Alzinger Durnstein Gruner Veltliner Federspiel, Wachau, Austria 2023 750ml $36 special, 24 bottles available
James Suckling 92 Points “Bright and fruity gruner showing aromas of pineapples, papayas and peaches. Medium-bodied, juicy and vibrant. Excellent length, too, with citrus zest and nutmeg notes at the end. Drink now. Screw cap.”

Oregon
 
Bethel Heights Vineyard ‘Casteel’ Reserve Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA 2022 750ml $79 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 96 Points “The 2022 Pinot Noir Casteel is youthfully shy and takes plenty of air to reveal intoxicating scents of pomegranate liqueur, blackberry jam, Earl Grey tea leaves and earth. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated and powerful! It offers generous layers of dark fruit, earth and spice, gaining purity as it airs in the glass. It’s structured by fine, chalky tannins and mouthwatering acidity and has a long, floral and spice-laced finish.”
 
Bethel Heights Estate Lewman Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, USA 2022 750ml $79 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 96+ Points ‘The 2022 Pinot Noir Lewman Vineyard has deep, layered scents of pomegranate, rhubarb, tea leaves, salami and dried flowers. It gains purity as it airs in the glass, and its spicy undertones seem on the precipice of bursting open. The medium-bodied palate features concentrated, spicy flavors structured by powerful, powdery tannins and chiseled acidity, though its fruit is still youthfully coiled. Give it 3-5 years in the cellar to blossom.”
 
Coe Cellars Mission Hills Sangiovese, Walla Walla Valley, USA 2021 750ml $26.50 special, 36+ bottles available
Vinopolnote “Coe Cellars produces just one wine: a 100% Sangiovese Grosso (the specific clone used in Brunello Di Montalcino production) grown exclusively in the Mission Hill Vineyard in Walla Walla. Dedicated to making ‘as old world of a wine in the New World as possible,’ Coe Cellars’ Sangiovese has a ripe cherry profile, with hints of savory dried herbs around the edges, lithe tannins, and a pleasantly tart finish. Blind fold us and we’d swear this is from Tuscany.”
 
St. Innocent Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2020 750ml $28 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Notes “Shea Vineyard is located in the Yamhill-Carlton District AVA, 35 miles SW of Portland, Oregon. The grapes for this wine come from two blocks: Block 6, planted in 1998 with Dijon clone 115 and a small amount of Pommard (11 rows), faces SE slope on a hillside of shallow sedimentary soil at about 450-500′ in elevation. The Terrace Block faces SW, planted in 2002 with the Pommard clone, and gets its name from the terraces carved into its steep slope. Hearty dishes with some sweetness and richness like lamb chops, pork tenderloin, duck breast and lentil dishes.”
 
California
 
Opus One Proprietary Red, Napa Valley, USA 2017 750ml $358 special, 6 bottles available
Decanter 96 Points “A fist of late summer cherries, raspberry and bilberry fruits set out their stall, all with the juicy character that confirms, even in a hot vintage like 2017, Opus can deliver balance and sculpted elegance. Beautiful grip, creamy texture with a strikingly powerful tannic frame. As the wine stays in the glass the floral aromatics begin to bloom up. A brilliant Opus. 20 days maceration – around half what it would have been a decade ago. 54% native yeast, as part of their native yeast project. 5% Merlot and 1% Malbec complete the blend. Harvest spread out over September 5 to October
 

 

Beaujolais: Cru Up 
 

“Cru Beaujolais, which describes wines that come from one of 10 villages in the Beaujolais area north of Lyon, has become a juggernaut of postmodern wine. It not only serves as this current generation’s substitute for the red Burgundy we can no longer afford, but something more: a totem of how wine itself has changed. The things we once considered informal side acts, wines built for upfront drinkability and made without status markers like new oak, are now perfectly acceptable and embraced as great wines.” –Jon Bonne, “The Insider’s Guide to Beaujolais,” Punch Drink.
 
If you were born with Burgundy tastes and a beer budget, Cru Beaujolais is still one of the best deals in French wine. No longer encumbered by the plonk-ish legacy of “Beaujolais Nouveau,” the region has become a beacon for high-minded natural winemakers who have pushed their freshness and terroir-driven agenda to worldwide acclaim and admiration.
 
Please peruse this selection of fine producers and see why Beaujolais is the New Burgundy:
 

 

Daniel Bouland Morgon Corcelette Sable Vieilles Vignes, Beaujolais, France 2021 750ml $48 special, 11 bottles available
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 94 Points “One cuvée that really doesn’t miss a beat in this more challenging vintage is the 2021 Morgon Corcelette Vieilles Vignes Sable, a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy wine evocative of plums, sweet berries, spices and forest floor. Layered and concentrated, with an enveloping core of fruit and melting tannins, it will delight readers nostalgic for more classically proportioned Beaujolais.”
 
Daniel Bouland Morgon Les Delys, Beaujolais, France 2021 750ml $49 special, 17 bottles available
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 94 Points “The 2021 Morgon Les Delys Vignes plantées en 1926 is deep and brooding, unwinding in the glass with aromas of wild berries, cherries, exotic spices, cracked black pepper and vine smoke. Medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a long, resonant finish, it represents a terrific achievement from Bouland.”

…also available from Daniel Bouland

Daniel Bouland Beaujolais Blanc, France 2021 750ml $28 special, 3 bottles available
VinopolNote “A clean and mineral driven Chardonnay from one of the most well-known Beaujolais producers.This Chardonnay is round, cirtus fruit driven, and well balanced.”
 
 

 
Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes Morgon ‘Chateau Gaillard’, Beaujolais, France 2021 750ml $33 special, 29 bottles available
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 90 Points “Aromas of cherries, smoky berries and plums preface the 2021 Morgon Château Gaillard, a medium to full-bodied, ample and enveloping wine with a sweet core of fruit, lively acids and an open, giving profile. Cropped at a yield of 17 hectoliters per hectare as a result of frost, it was entirely destemmed this year.”
 
Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes Morgon Javernieres, Beaujolais, France 2021 750ml $39 special, 8 bottles available
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 94 Points “There’s no Impenitents bottling this year, so everything went into the 2021 Morgon Côte du Py Javernières, a brilliant effort in this challenging vintage. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of cherries, ripe plums, wild berries, vine smoke and petals, it’s medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with terrific mid-palate volume, ripe tannins, tangy acids and a long, penetrating finish.”
 
Domaine Louis Claude Desvignes Morgon Montpelain, Beaujolais, France 2021 750ml $33 special, 9 bottles available
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 91 Points “The 2021 Morgon Montpelain opens in the glass with a delicately spicy bouquet of red berries, plums and vine smoke, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy palate framed by fine, powdery tannins that assert themselves with gentle grip on the finish. This is always one of the more classically structured wines in the range, and that’s true even in this open, giving vintage.”
 

 
Anne-Sophie Dubois Fleurie Les Labourons, Beaujolais, France 2022 750ml $37.50 special, 23 bottles available
James Suckling 92 Points “This has an inviting nose of raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb and nutmeg. Touch of tobacco. It’s medium-bodied, very fresh and poised. Very fine, precise tannins. Drink or hold.”
Importer Notes “Whereas previously the wine was a selection of the oldest fruit, Anne-Sophie has decided to take the selection one step farther and make it a selection of the best fruit from the old vine parcel. Les Labourons is the name of the lieu dit in Fleurie. In 2017, after recieving her organic certification, she wanted to rename the wine and have a new label drawn to showcase the new chapter in her winemaking. Despite the label and name change, Anne Sophie’s approach to vinification is the same as vintages past. It is 100% destemmed and aged for around 13 months in 228L neutral oak barrels.”
 

 
Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon Les Charmes Eponym, Beaujolais, France 2019 750ml $46 special, 10 bottles available
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 94 Points “Glistening ruby. Powerful, mineral-accented cherry, black raspberry, violet and black cardamom scents pick up a spicy nuance as the wine opens up. Chewy and tightly wound on entry, offering juicy dark berry, bitter cherry and floral pastille flavors that deepen and slowly spread out through the back half. Shows firm tension and impressive energy on a very long, mineral-driven finish framed by polished, even tannins.”
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 93 Points “Aromas of sweet red berries, plums and smoke introduce the 2019 Morgon Eponym, a medium to full-bodied, supple and charming wine that’s fine boned and elegant, with powdery tannins and lively acids, concluding with a perfumed finish. This is a pretty rendition of this cuvée derived from climat Les Charmes.”