In This Newsletter:
Arrivals
Andrea Occhipinti, Krug, Veuve Clicquot, and more!
Wineries We Love
Crowley Wines: Wine Enthusiast gets Enthused
Vini Vidi Vino
3 Vini di Contrada from Arianna Occhipinti
Arriving Friday
Arianna Occhipinti
Arianna Occhipinti
Arianna Occhipinti is a Rockstar. As a woman in a male dominated industry and as a Sicilian, her rise to international acclaim seemed unlikely just a few decades ago.
Sicily is hardly the place you would imagine as the launching pad for a natural wine wunderkind. Quite economically depressed, Sicily offers low wages and Italy’s worst unemployment rate to its residents and its population has been declining as many young people leave to seek prosperity on the mainland. In choosing to stay in her homeland and stake her future there, Arianna Occhipinti might have seemed at a disadvantage, but with the number of abandoned farms on the Island, she also found opportunity. Arianna found vineyard space on the island with relative ease.
Although schooled in enology at Milan University, real world experience in Sicily’s vineyards and wineries lead her to reject many mainstream techniques, instead focusing her own efforts on biodynamic viticulture and minimal intervention, natural winemaking, creating a beverage that is fresh, immediate, and tells a captivating story of place.
Arianna Occhipinti’s style and passion has helped to reinvent Italian wine in the minds of modern winemakers and wine drinkers. Us included!
Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $49 special, 23 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92+ Points “The 2022 Il Frappato is an understated beauty. Blackberries and currants swirl up from the glass, accentuated by hints of incense and rubbed sage. This splashes across the palate, soft-textured and pliant, with crisp red and black fruits that flow across a core of tactile minerals and savory spice. A bump of zesty acidity maintains amazing freshness even as a tart wild berry tinge pinches at the cheeks through the long and tension-filled finale. I’d rather enjoy the 2022 alongside a meal than on its own, but I have a feeling that was Arianna Occhipinti’s intention.
Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Sicilia Rosso IGT, Sicily, Italy 2023 750ml $31.90 special, 24 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 91 Points “The 2023 Rosso SP68 is pretty and perfumed, with a blend of crushed roses and violets accentuating blackberries, white smoke and wet stones. It washes across the palate with a liquid floral concentration and tart wild berry fruits, all guided by a core of brisk acidity. The 2023 leaves the mouth salivating as a tart cranberry crunchiness resonates and hints of blood orange slowly fade.”
Sicily is hardly the place you would imagine as the launching pad for a natural wine wunderkind. Quite economically depressed, Sicily offers low wages and Italy’s worst unemployment rate to its residents and its population has been declining as many young people leave to seek prosperity on the mainland. In choosing to stay in her homeland and stake her future there, Arianna Occhipinti might have seemed at a disadvantage, but with the number of abandoned farms on the Island, she also found opportunity. Arianna found vineyard space on the island with relative ease.
Although schooled in enology at Milan University, real world experience in Sicily’s vineyards and wineries lead her to reject many mainstream techniques, instead focusing her own efforts on biodynamic viticulture and minimal intervention, natural winemaking, creating a beverage that is fresh, immediate, and tells a captivating story of place.
Arianna Occhipinti’s style and passion has helped to reinvent Italian wine in the minds of modern winemakers and wine drinkers. Us included!
Arianna Occhipinti Il Frappato Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $49 special, 23 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92+ Points “The 2022 Il Frappato is an understated beauty. Blackberries and currants swirl up from the glass, accentuated by hints of incense and rubbed sage. This splashes across the palate, soft-textured and pliant, with crisp red and black fruits that flow across a core of tactile minerals and savory spice. A bump of zesty acidity maintains amazing freshness even as a tart wild berry tinge pinches at the cheeks through the long and tension-filled finale. I’d rather enjoy the 2022 alongside a meal than on its own, but I have a feeling that was Arianna Occhipinti’s intention.
Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Sicilia Rosso IGT, Sicily, Italy 2023 750ml $31.90 special, 24 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 91 Points “The 2023 Rosso SP68 is pretty and perfumed, with a blend of crushed roses and violets accentuating blackberries, white smoke and wet stones. It washes across the palate with a liquid floral concentration and tart wild berry fruits, all guided by a core of brisk acidity. The 2023 leaves the mouth salivating as a tart cranberry crunchiness resonates and hints of blood orange slowly fade.”
Lowest listed price on the West Coast
Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Bianco Sicilia IGT, Sicily, Italy 2023 750ml $30.90 special, 12 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 90 Points “The 2023 Bianco SP68 is distinctly savory, as wild herbs and wet concrete give way to crushed nectarines. This is soothingly round and supple with a spicy tinge of ginger up front, leading to tart orchard fruits and a cascade of salty minerals. The 2023 finishes vividly fresh yet still potent, leaving hints of green melon and lime zest that linger on and on. Allow the Bianco SP68 some time to open in the bottle to express its aromatics properly.”
Lowest listed price on the West Coast
New Arrivals
Champagne
Champagne Krug
It takes a long time to make just one bottle of Krug Grande Cuvee.
Each release combines over 120 different barrel aged wines from the very finest vineyards in champagne including Ambonnay, Aÿ, Le Mesnil and Trépail. Although each release will be centered on a single vintage (2013 in this case) the wines in the assemblage will contain up to 10 to 15 different years of age at the time of blending. From there an additional 6 years of cellar is required before release. Thus an average bottle of Krug takes twenty years from vineyard to bottle.
Compare that to other high-end champagnes like Cristal, aged for 6 years before release or Dom Perignon, aged for 9 years, and see that there is no comparison.
Krug Grande Cuvee 169eme Edition Brut, Champagne, France 1.5L $599 special, 3 bottles available
James Suckling 97 Points “Still vibrant and focused, with plenty of dried apple, apricot, dried lemon, lime zest, pie crust, toast and flint. Powerful and structured. Tightly wound and deep. 43% pinot noir, 35% chardonnay and 22% pinot meunier, from 2013 to older vintages. 40% reserve wine. Needs time to come together completely.”
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 96+ Points “Based on the 2013 vintage and complemented by some 40% reserve wines dating back to 2000, Krug’s newly released NV Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is showing very nicely, unfurling in the glass with notes of citrus oil, buttered toast, dried apricot, warm biscuits and marmalade. Medium to full-bodied, deep and incisive, it’s a tauter, more chiseled rendition of Grande Cuvée by comparison with the richer, more textural and more demonstrative 168ème Édition (based on the 2012 vintage) that preceded it; but its bright spine of acidity is nicely cloaked in fruit. Concluding with a long and sapid finish, this is a very classically balanced Champagne that will reward bottle age.”
Each release combines over 120 different barrel aged wines from the very finest vineyards in champagne including Ambonnay, Aÿ, Le Mesnil and Trépail. Although each release will be centered on a single vintage (2013 in this case) the wines in the assemblage will contain up to 10 to 15 different years of age at the time of blending. From there an additional 6 years of cellar is required before release. Thus an average bottle of Krug takes twenty years from vineyard to bottle.
Compare that to other high-end champagnes like Cristal, aged for 6 years before release or Dom Perignon, aged for 9 years, and see that there is no comparison.
Krug Grande Cuvee 169eme Edition Brut, Champagne, France 1.5L $599 special, 3 bottles available
James Suckling 97 Points “Still vibrant and focused, with plenty of dried apple, apricot, dried lemon, lime zest, pie crust, toast and flint. Powerful and structured. Tightly wound and deep. 43% pinot noir, 35% chardonnay and 22% pinot meunier, from 2013 to older vintages. 40% reserve wine. Needs time to come together completely.”
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 96+ Points “Based on the 2013 vintage and complemented by some 40% reserve wines dating back to 2000, Krug’s newly released NV Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is showing very nicely, unfurling in the glass with notes of citrus oil, buttered toast, dried apricot, warm biscuits and marmalade. Medium to full-bodied, deep and incisive, it’s a tauter, more chiseled rendition of Grande Cuvée by comparison with the richer, more textural and more demonstrative 168ème Édition (based on the 2012 vintage) that preceded it; but its bright spine of acidity is nicely cloaked in fruit. Concluding with a long and sapid finish, this is a very classically balanced Champagne that will reward bottle age.”
Lowest Listed Price in the USA
Veuve Clicquot
Veuve Clicquot
“Just an outstanding vintage of La Grande Dame!” –John Gilman
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015 750ml $199 special, 6 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 95 Points “The 2015 La Grande Dame is bright and nicely focused. There’s good energy driving a core of Pinot Noir fruit. Pear, white flowers, mint, white pepper and lime are nicely delineated. The 2015 is not the most complex Grande Dame I have ever tasted, but it offers plenty of immediacy with no vegetal notes or hard contours that have proven so challenging elsewhere. This is an expertly made Champagne by any measure. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. Disgorged: October, 2021. Drink: 2023-2030.”
Wine Spectator 95 Points “This graceful Champagne offers hints of smoke and toasted brioche that transition to patisserie apple and blackberry fruit, candied ginger and mandarin orange peel notes. Seamlessly knit and mouthwatering, with a minerally underpinning and a finely detailed, dotted bead. Lush and creamy on the vibrant, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2035.”
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015 750ml $199 special, 6 bottles available
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 95 Points “The 2015 La Grande Dame is bright and nicely focused. There’s good energy driving a core of Pinot Noir fruit. Pear, white flowers, mint, white pepper and lime are nicely delineated. The 2015 is not the most complex Grande Dame I have ever tasted, but it offers plenty of immediacy with no vegetal notes or hard contours that have proven so challenging elsewhere. This is an expertly made Champagne by any measure. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. Disgorged: October, 2021. Drink: 2023-2030.”
Wine Spectator 95 Points “This graceful Champagne offers hints of smoke and toasted brioche that transition to patisserie apple and blackberry fruit, candied ginger and mandarin orange peel notes. Seamlessly knit and mouthwatering, with a minerally underpinning and a finely detailed, dotted bead. Lush and creamy on the vibrant, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2035.”
France
Gerard Bertrand
Gerard Bertrand ‘Chateau l’Hospitalet Grand Vin’ La Clape Blanc, Languedoc-Roussillon, France 2019 750ml $29 special, 12 bottles available
Joe Czerwinski-Wine Advocate 92 Points “A certified organic and biodynamic blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and Viognier, the 2019 La Clape Blanc Chateau l’Hospitalet Grand Vin is barrel-fermented and aged through the spring equinox, then bottled. The oak here is subtle, lending just a hint of pencil shavings to the citrus, melon and apricot notes. Full-bodied yet vibrant and refreshing, this is a big but beautiful white wine that finishes with ample length and zesty acidity.”
Joe Czerwinski-Wine Advocate 92 Points “A certified organic and biodynamic blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and Viognier, the 2019 La Clape Blanc Chateau l’Hospitalet Grand Vin is barrel-fermented and aged through the spring equinox, then bottled. The oak here is subtle, lending just a hint of pencil shavings to the citrus, melon and apricot notes. Full-bodied yet vibrant and refreshing, this is a big but beautiful white wine that finishes with ample length and zesty acidity.”
Gerard Bertrand ‘Chateau l’Hospitalet Grand Vin’ La Clape, Languedoc-Roussillon, France 2020 750ml $29 special, 14 bottles available
Joe Czerwinski-Wine Advocate 93 Points “A certified organic and biodynamic blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, the 2018 La Clape Chateau L’Hospitalet Grand Vin delivers glorious aromas of garrigue, blackberries and black olives on the nose. It’s full-bodied and concentrated, with creamy-velvety tannins that effortlessly support the mass of fruit, and boasts a lingering finish spiced with salted licorice. It’s a terrific effort for drinking over the next 10 years or so.”
Joe Czerwinski-Wine Advocate 93 Points “A certified organic and biodynamic blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, the 2018 La Clape Chateau L’Hospitalet Grand Vin delivers glorious aromas of garrigue, blackberries and black olives on the nose. It’s full-bodied and concentrated, with creamy-velvety tannins that effortlessly support the mass of fruit, and boasts a lingering finish spiced with salted licorice. It’s a terrific effort for drinking over the next 10 years or so.”
Wineries We Love
New Accolades for Crowley Wines
Tyson Crowley sampling the goods
As far as we’re concerned, Crowley Wines is one of the few estates in the country crafting what could be described as legitimately “Burgundian” wines. As a member of the Deep Roots Coalition, they are serious about the dry-farmed viticulture and its positive environmental benefits, but their work retains a joyful lifted quality that we look forward to sampling each vintage.
Luckily, bottle-hardened wine geeks like us are not the only ones hip to their excellence these days. Michael Alberty of Wine Enthusiast Magazine is just the latest journalist to foist praise on these homegrown favorites. Featuring expressions of warm climate sites (La Colina) cool sites, (Four Winds) in-betweeners (Sojeau) and an elegant blend of all three (Entre Nous), this is a fantastic line-up of affordable, age-worthy wines with more than a little something for everybody.
Check out these new reviews… if you haven’t tried these bottles yet, what are you waiting for?
Crowley La Colina Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 21 bottles available
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points “Match this winemaker with Dundee Hills fruit and magic happens. The La Colina grabs you by the lapels with its aromas of black cherries, watermelon, rye bread and the saline quality of a fresh-shucked oyster. Bing cherries mingle with dark chocolate and dried cranberries on the medium-bodied palate, ably supported by a mix of jangly acidity and silky tannins.”
Crowley Four Winds Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 5 bottles available
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points “These cranberry, black pepper and sweet pea flower aromas are capable of distracting you from actually sipping the wine. But once you do, get ready for tart red raspberry, blood orange and green tea flavors. The wine feels tangy and chewy on the palate, with lively acidity and massive tannic structure. Enjoy 2024-2036.”
Luckily, bottle-hardened wine geeks like us are not the only ones hip to their excellence these days. Michael Alberty of Wine Enthusiast Magazine is just the latest journalist to foist praise on these homegrown favorites. Featuring expressions of warm climate sites (La Colina) cool sites, (Four Winds) in-betweeners (Sojeau) and an elegant blend of all three (Entre Nous), this is a fantastic line-up of affordable, age-worthy wines with more than a little something for everybody.
Check out these new reviews… if you haven’t tried these bottles yet, what are you waiting for?
Crowley La Colina Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 21 bottles available
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points “Match this winemaker with Dundee Hills fruit and magic happens. The La Colina grabs you by the lapels with its aromas of black cherries, watermelon, rye bread and the saline quality of a fresh-shucked oyster. Bing cherries mingle with dark chocolate and dried cranberries on the medium-bodied palate, ably supported by a mix of jangly acidity and silky tannins.”
Crowley Four Winds Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 5 bottles available
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points “These cranberry, black pepper and sweet pea flower aromas are capable of distracting you from actually sipping the wine. But once you do, get ready for tart red raspberry, blood orange and green tea flavors. The wine feels tangy and chewy on the palate, with lively acidity and massive tannic structure. Enjoy 2024-2036.”
Lowest listed price online
Crowley Entre Nous Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $36 special, 30 bottles available
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points “2022 was a return to cool vintage for Oregon, and the wines have benefitted greatly. Entre Nous has a touch of new oak that we just can’t get enough of, and it frames a palate of crunchy red flesh apple light maple candy that lead to a long umami finish.”
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points “2022 was a return to cool vintage for Oregon, and the wines have benefitted greatly. Entre Nous has a touch of new oak that we just can’t get enough of, and it frames a palate of crunchy red flesh apple light maple candy that lead to a long umami finish.”
Only listing online
Crowley Sojeau Vineyard Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity, USA 2021 750ml $49 special, 3 bottles available
Michael Alberty-Wine Enthusiast 92 Points “Sojeau’s dark cherry and orange sorbet aromas are joined by a sweet, earthy note similar to fresh-cut hay aroma that always reminds me of growing up in Kansas. The wine’s flavors are a heady mix of boysenberries, raspberry pastilles and strong-brewed black tea. As always, the trademark Crowley acidity is a beacon in this ocean of flavor.”
…also available from Crowley Wines:
Crowley Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $24 special, 3 bottles available
Winery Note “As soon as this wine hits the glass, sparkling clarity meets the eye. A nose of morning mist, bright green moss and honeydew melon are layered over notes of fluffy clotted cream. On the palate, chalky vitamins frame a firm fruit core of kiwi, lemon, and tart lychee.”
Crowley Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $26 special, 3 bottles available
Winery Note ” …Taut edging defines the flavors as sweetly elegant and delicate. Lithe and lively, strawberry, and warm spice carry the sweet spot while forest floor and autumn leaves bring in the earthen complexity. This wine stays upright and coiled as the phenolics are spread perfectly from start to finish.”
Crowley Phoebe Four Winds Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, USA 2020 750ml $55 special, 12 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck “The 2020 Chardonnay Phoebe Four Winds was barrel-fermented and aged in 30% new French oak. It is expressive with fresh lime blossom, sour beer, and dusty earth. The palate is dry, with tart green apple, lime zest, and baking spice. Drink 2022-2025.”
Winery Note “As soon as this wine hits the glass, sparkling clarity meets the eye. A nose of morning mist, bright green moss and honeydew melon are layered over notes of fluffy clotted cream. On the palate, chalky vitamins frame a firm fruit core of kiwi, lemon, and tart lychee.”
Crowley Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2022 750ml $26 special, 3 bottles available
Winery Note ” …Taut edging defines the flavors as sweetly elegant and delicate. Lithe and lively, strawberry, and warm spice carry the sweet spot while forest floor and autumn leaves bring in the earthen complexity. This wine stays upright and coiled as the phenolics are spread perfectly from start to finish.”
Crowley Phoebe Four Winds Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, USA 2020 750ml $55 special, 12 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck “The 2020 Chardonnay Phoebe Four Winds was barrel-fermented and aged in 30% new French oak. It is expressive with fresh lime blossom, sour beer, and dusty earth. The palate is dry, with tart green apple, lime zest, and baking spice. Drink 2022-2025.”
Vini Vidi Vino
3 Vino di Contrada from Arianna Occhipinti
There’s wine geeks and then there’s the wine super geeks who will truly appreciate this offer!
This set represents a survey of the three districts (Contradas) Andrea Occhipinti farms. Born through what she describes as “empirical observation” of her Vineyards, these specific parcels produce unique terroir expressions. Each pack contains one bottle each of the Pettineo (PT), Fossa di Lupo (FL), and Bombolieri (BB) Contradas.
Arianna Occhipinti Vini Contrada 3-PACK 2019 750ml $249 special, just 1 3-pack available!
This set represents a survey of the three districts (Contradas) Andrea Occhipinti farms. Born through what she describes as “empirical observation” of her Vineyards, these specific parcels produce unique terroir expressions. Each pack contains one bottle each of the Pettineo (PT), Fossa di Lupo (FL), and Bombolieri (BB) Contradas.
Arianna Occhipinti Vini Contrada 3-PACK 2019 750ml $249 special, just 1 3-pack available!
…includes one of each:
Arianna Occhipinti Fossa di Lupo (FL) Vino di Contrada Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2019 750mlMonica Lerner- Wine Advocate 93 Points “One of three single-vineyard wines from Arianna Occhipinti, the 2019 Frappato Vino di Contrada FL shows sweet cherry, grilled rosemary and lingering tones of iron ore or rusty nail. This vineyard has red and dark brown soils with lots of stones. Those ferrous notes come though, and the wine closes with a clean, lean-bodied texture.”
Arianna Occhipinti Bombolieri (BB) Vino di Contrada Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2019 750ml
Monica Lerner- Wine Advocate 94 Points “Pouring from a bottle with a red wax capsule, the Arianna Occhipinti 2019 Frappato Vino di Contrada BB opens to a fun, especially punchy and bright bouquet with wild berry and blue flowers. From a site with sandy soils and white rocks, this wine is especially botanical in character with dried herbs and lavender common to the Mediterranean basin. Freshness is a protagonist, and the wine closes with dry but mild tannins.”
Arianna Occhipinti Pettineo (PT) Vino di Contrada Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2019 750ml
Monica Lerner- Wine Advocate 93 Points “With fruit from 60-year-old vines, the Arianna Occhipinti 2019 Frappato Vino di Contrada PT (with 2,200 bottles made) reveals a bright and very lifted bouquet with dried cherry skin, wild rose, cast iron and grilled herb. The wine shows medium-weight texture and fine tannins that feel especially integrated in this wine from the Contrada Pettineo. This site has reddish sand soils with a layer of tuffaceous rock.”