Vinopolis Newsletter 9-13-2024

 

 
 
Winery Notes “The Mirabai 2023 is medium-dark, deep youthful red with blue undertones and brilliant transparency. The nose is a heady mix of minerals, subtle spices, ripe strawberries, and other dark red berries and cherries. The mouth is juicy and classic Dundee Hills silky with forever strawberries that end in a long finish. This Mirabai has depth, richness and power without any heaviness. It’s full of movement.”
­ Staff Pick!  Kelley Fox Mirabai Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, USA  2023 750ml $36.50 special, 36 bottles available
(Not reviewed yet, 2022 vintage provided for reference)
Jeb Dunnuck (2022) “Vibrant and lifted with poppy fruit, the 2022 Pinot Noir Mirabai is a brilliant ruby hue, with fresh, lifted aromas of wild red cranberry, white pepper, and fresh tangerine. Open and approachable, with medium body and soft elegant fruit as well as a supple texture and fresh acidity, it’s even-keeled and has a hint of spice on the finish. I love this wine for youthful fresh drinking.”
   
 
Champagne
   
“Yet another scintillating wine from Dom Perignon” -Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy
Dom Perignon Brut, Champagne, France 2013 750ml $299 special, 6 bottles available
James Suckling 98 Points “A driven and serious DP with aromas of chalk, biscuits, apricot stones and lemons. Some spice and dried flowers, too. So sleek and sophisticated. Elegant. Yet, it’s long and powerful, with a sharp minerality. Tight and precise. Reminds me of bottles from the 1980s, such as 1988. It really takes off. Disgorged October 2021. Drinkable on release in January 2023, but better in a couple of years.”
Decanter 96 Points “Silky, narrowly sculpted and serene, Dom Pérignon 2013 is a less hedonistic release than the 2012 (and less intensely energetic than the 2008), but showcases a beautiful mid-place between tension and expressiveness already. Orange-coloured fruit – apricots, mango and orange – play along with snappy lemon syrup and delicate red fruits, the palate teased into considerable detail and length with some trademark Dom Pérignon smokiness. There is immediate pleasure here, although cellaring will let some of the inner complexity unfurl, revealing this to the among the finest Dom Pérignon releases of recent times. 51% Pinot Noir, 49% Chardonnay. Drinking Window: 2026-2045.”
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 (2015 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.
 
Krug Grande Cuvee 171eme Edition Brut, Champagne, France 750ml $279 special, 6 bottles available
James Suckling 99 Points “The tightness and tension of this is impressive considering the youngest wine from this is 2015 (hot and dry year), with some wines going back to 2000. Ginger and orange zest. Some creme brulee. It’s medium-bodied with apple, pie crust and floral character. It’s salty and zesty yet, at the same time, complex and gorgeous. Chamomile and other floral teas highlight everything. Turns rich and flavorful at the finish. Terrific release. Really takes off at the end. Drink or hold.’
Wine Enthusiast 97 Points “Deliciously balanced, this Champagne is impressive. The iconic wine is in its 171st blend, meaning it combines vintages for the best result for each bottling, not a specific vintage. The 171st essence is dry, while also having fine textured fruit. This is a magnificent wine and worth aging for another year. “
   
Suenen Oiry Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, Champagne, France NV (2020) 750ml $89 special, 18 bottles available
Suenen Oiry Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut, Champagne, France NV (2020) 1.5L $199 special, 1 bottle available
Importer’ Notes “A single Cru bottlings from Oiry located next to Cramant, originally the fruit from this site was blended along with the fruit that goes into Aurélien’s C+C bottling to produce a straight Blanc de Blancs. The single cru bottlings reflect Aurélien’s terroir driven focus of highlighting the uniqueness between all his plots.”
   
Andre Clouet Grande Reserve Brut, Champagne, France NV 750ml $39 special, 36 bottles available
Decanter 92 Points “[Reviewed 2021] Incredible value for a blanc de noirs (100% Pinot Noir) grower Champagne from the grand cru vineyards of Bouzy. It shows gorgeous aromas of stone fruit, citrus and strawberry, with complex brioche nuances, remarkable balance, ongoing elegance and a rich, refined, persistent finish. Drinking Window 2021 – 2026.”
   
Marie Courtin Amphora Blanc des Blanc Extra Brut Amphora, Champagne, France 2020 750ml $149 special, 6 bottles available
Importer Notes “After years of fermentations in tank, foudre and barrel, Dominique Moreau has ventured into the foray of amphora vinification and ageing. The Blanc de Blancs is a unique blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Arbanne, all grown in the kimmeridgian-centric soils of Polisot. The resulting wine is textured, bursting with energy and goes down easy.”
 

Oregon
   
Brick House Vineyards Gamay Noir, Ribbon Ridge, USA 2023 750ml $36 special, 12 bottles available
Doug Tunnell-Winemaker “From the same vines that produced a gold medal in competition with our colleagues in Beaujolais, the Due East bottling returns with the 2023 vintage. Ruby-hued and redolent of both red and black fruit flavors, this is classic Oregon Gamay, luscious, ripe and with a backbone of natural acidity that pairs this wine perfectly with almost any dish.”
 
Brick House Vineyards Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge, USA 2023 750ml $31.90 special, 24 bottles available
(Not reviewed yet, 2022 vintage provided for reference)
Eric Guido-Vinous 93 Points “The 2022 Pinot Noir Select is wonderfully perfumed with spice-tinged red berries, cloves and dusty flowers. This is juicy and energetic on the palate, with raspberry and cherry depths slowly saturating the senses. This finishes long and sapid with fine tannins framing exotic spices and inner florals, all enlivened by a bump of residual acidity.”
   
Westrey Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, USA 2021 750ml $38 special, 18 bottles available
Wine Enthusiast 90 Points “A tour de force of fruit begins with aromas of raspberry fruit leather and dried red apples. The palate features a bowl of mixed red berries that is accompanied by flavors of brown spices and saline. The wine’s crisp, lemony acidity is matched by firm tannins.”
 
France
   
Domaine Marc Colin is a star of the Santenay. Although Marc no longer works the fields, having passed the Domaine on to his children, the fruits of his labor can still be felt in these wines. Reds that are delicate but never brittle, whites that are crisp but never tart, the Domaine’s wines have perfected a skillful balancing act, while still maintaining excellent value.
 
Domaine Marc Colin et Fils En Montceau, Saint-Aubin Premier Cru, France 2022 750ml $89 special, 18 bottles available
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 94 points “The 2022 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru En Montceau is also a real success, mingling aromas of pear, orange oil and lemon with notions of freshly baked bread and white flowers in an inviting bouquet. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, it’s deep and racy, with good concentration and a long, penetrating finish.”
 
Domaine Marc Colin et Fils Les Combes, Saint-Aubin Premier Cru, France 2022 750ml $79 special, 6 bottles available
Neal Martin-Vinous 91-93 Points “The 2022 Saint-Aubin Les Combes 1er Cru has a wonderful nose of flecks of white peach and dried apricot marrying effortlessly with the citrus fruit. Like Colin’s other cuvées, there is real vibrancy and energy here. The palate is very well-balanced with a keen thread of acidity and hints of bitter lemon and orange rind; perhaps spicier than the Les Creots by comparison. Excellent.”
 
Domaine Marc Colin et Fils Les Castets, Saint-Aubin Premier Cru, France 2022 750ml $79 special, 18 bottles available
Jasper Morris-Inside Burgundy  89-91 Points “A limestone which breaks down easily, with chardonnay vines replacing pinot noir after 2005. South facing, late to start in the spring, but early to be picked. The nose has no particular character, just an agreeable white fruit, continued on the palate, fairly balanced with acidity, medium plus length.”

 
Italy
   
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, 22 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, 22 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.”

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.”    
Terre Nere Etna Rosso, Sicily, Italy 2022 750ml $24 special, 36+ bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92+ Points “Incredibly spicy, the 2022 Etna Rosso bursts from the glass with a wild bouquet of cloves and incense, giving way to dried cherries and sage. This is silky-smooth, with cooling acidity lifting its dense core of ripe red berry fruits as crunchy mineral tones resonate throughout. The 2022 finishes impossibly long and staining yet only gently tannic, leaving a lovely air of lavender and cloves that echoes on. Terre Nere continues to raise the bar with their Etna Rosso; it now has its own barrel-aging facility, which has allowed them to keep the wine in barrel between 14 to 16 months.”
 
Terre Nere Etna Bianco, Sicily, Italy 2023 750ml $26 special, 36+ bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 92 Points “Honeyed florals, candied ginger, hints of fennel and crushed green apples form a spicy and inviting bouquet as the 2023 Etna Bianco opens in the glass. This plays depths of ripe orchard fruit against a core of salty minerals and savory spices as a wave of stimulating acidity completely resets the palate. The 2023 tapers off perfumed and long, leaving a pleasantly sour tinge of citrus that puckers the cheeks.”  
“Telmo Rodriguez, one of the most iconic and best winemakers of his generation…. has accomplished himself as a champion of terroir over varietal and employs artisan craftsmanship in the cellar…” -Kerry Winslow, Grapelive
 
After his important work in the “Terroir Manifesto” that demanded a move towards classifying Spain’s appellations based on Vineyard quality, after bringing his father’s Remelluri winery in Rioja to new heights of purity and excellence, what else was one of the Spanish wine industry’s enfants terribles to do but start a new winery?
 
Telmo Rodriguez’s winery, Pegaso, began as all wineries in Sierra de Gredos seem to: with a long hike. Decades ago, he and his father were crossing the iconic mountain range and young Telmo was so enamored by the peaceful and simple beauty of the land that he vowed to make wine there some day. In 1999, he did just that, purchasing vineyard land in Cebreros, an old village outside of Avila. Finally a chance to make something all his own.
 
Pegaso releases wines based on the two soil types in his vineyards: Pizarra (brown slate) and Granito (granite). Zeta, his newest wine, is a blend from both slate and granite soils and an excellent introduction to Telmo’s style. Featuring 60 year old vines then spontaneously fermented and aged in a combo of neutral oak, stainless steel, and amphorae, then fined with egg whites, this is a complex and vivacious wine with a unique sense of place.
 
Telmo Rodriguez ‘Pegaso Zeta’ Sierra de Gredos, Cebreros, Spain 2020 750ml $26.50 special, 24 bottles available
Wine Advocate 92 Points “The 2020 Pegaso Zeta was produced with old-vine Garnacha on granite and schist soils from a healthy vintage that was picked early, starting the 27th of August … It’s a very harmonious vintage, expressive with bright red fruit and an herbal touch. The palate is seamless, rich but fresh, with pungent flavors and abundant, fine-grained tannins.”
 
…also available from Telmo Rodriguez:
 
Telmo Rodriguez ‘Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra’ Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon, Spain 2013 750ml $33 special, 2 bottles available
James Suckling 96 Points “Exuberant red berries and cherries with a fine, rose-like edge and some coal smoke. Very juicy, fleshy, rich and ripe mid-palate with a dense, long and showy, glossy black-cherry finish. Drink or hold.”
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 94 Points “Cropped from a cooler and late ripening vintage, the 2013 Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra resulted in fresh wines and certainly worked well with the slate soils of these old Garnacha vines in Cebreros. This has a very good balance between ripeness and freshness, power and elegance, with the character of the soils slowly coming through in the shape of fresh meat and beef blood, with the iron-like notes still pretty shy. This should develop nicely in bottle.”
 
Telmo Rodriguez ‘Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra’ Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon, Spain 2018 750ml $69 special, 8 bottles available
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 96 Points “The 2018 Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra was produced with Garnacha from 80+-year-old vines on slopes rich in schist. It fermented in oak and stainless steel vats and amphorae with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500- and 600-liter French oak barrels for 24 months. Against all odds, because the wines from schist tend to be more closed than the ones from granite, the wine is super expressive and open, aromatic, floral and perfumed. It’s powerful and elegant, with structure and freshness, with balance and all the ingredients for a great development in bottle. This has to be the finest vintage of this wine since the initial 1999.”
 
Telmo Rodriguez ‘Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra’ Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon, Spain 2019 750ml $59 special, 12 bottles available
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 96 Points “The 2019 Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra comes from a very dry year with low yields, produced with Garnacha from 80+-year-old vines on slopes rich in schist at 800 to 1,000 meters in altitude. It fermented in oak and stainless steel vats and amphorae with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500- and 600-liter oak barrels of different origins for 24 months. This is very expressive; the slate soils seem to take heat quite well. It is floral and open, rich and with the grainy tannins that reminded me of the dusty schist.”