Vanessa

9.3

This is a stunning Garnatxa blend from Priorat (Catalonia), Spain!!

It’s comprised of mostly Garnatxa (Grenache), along with Syrah, and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from three parcels in the sun-soaked village of Gratallops, where Daphne Glorian purchased her first vineyard – Clos Escales – back in 1989 when she founded Clos i Terraces. 🍇

In making this move, she joined equally passionate and pioneering winemakers Álvaro Palacios (L’Ermita) and René Barbier (Clos Mogador) in a rebirth of production practices in the region; as a group (with other similar-minded producers) they altered the trajectory of Priorat’s profile as a source of tip top quality wines rivaling the best on the world stage. 👏🏻

Priorat is one of only two regions carrying the “DOCa” / “DOQ” quality designation (the other is Rioja), subject to various stipulations including regular auditing by a tasting panel. ✅

This particular wine is “Laurel” which is Clos i Terraces’s second wine, next to Clos Erasmus, one of Priorat’s finest and most sought-after wines. Yet it tastes like a flagship wine in and of itself.🫶🏻🫶🏻

It is absolutely beautiful, with a medium ruby hue, medium (+) intensity of ripe and fresh strawberry, red cherry, red plum, violet, black licorice, fennel, clove, baking spice aromas and flavors. It’s dry, with medium(+) acidity, a medium(+) body, high alcohol (14% ABV), and medium tannins that are fine-grained. 😆

This wine vinified and aged in a combination of vessels, including, large oak vats, concrete tanks, second and third fill French oak barrels, and clay amphorae, lending to its texture and complexity.👌🏻👌🏻
— 5 months ago

Vanessa

9.0

The Côte de Nuits – situated in the Côte d’Or region of Burgundy, France – is best known for its Pinot Noir 🍇wines hailing from famous villages such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, etc., in which some of Burgundy’s most renowned grands and premiers cru vineyards are located such as La Tâche and Romanée-Conti … 🍷🍷

Yet the Côte de Nuits produces a small amount of white and rosé wine, too!

In fact, the appellation of Marsannay (a northerly neighbor to Gevrey-Chambertin AOC) is the only village level AOC permitting production of not only red and white wine, but rosé wine, as well; it’s gaining recognition for its ability to deliver excellent quality wine for the price (QPR)! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Here we have a Marsannay made with Chardonnay from the “Les Longeroies” vineyard 🌱, located on a gentle, southeast-facing slope ☀️ with cooling influences from the prevailing winds. 🌬️

It’s a pale gold wine with developing notes of yellow apple, pear, white nectarine, lemon curd, honeysuckle, blossom, chamomile, wet slate, delicate butterscotch, cream, brioche, honey, and crushed hazelnut.

It has a creamy texture and rounded mouthfeel, balanced and lifted by the pleasant acidity and primary fruit notes.

Domaine Régis Bouvier Marsannay Les Longeroies (2017) ABV 13%

Cheers to exploring the beauty of Burgundy!! 🥂🥂
— 2 years ago

with Deked1

Romain Fitoussi

9.0

Black fruits, liquorice, pepper and animal smoke notes. Racy Saint Joseph, on youth. Nice delicacy, without the persistence of the greatest wines in the region. To be tested again in 2 years, to taste it on nuanced notes.

Fruits noirs, réglisse, poivre et notes fumées animales. Saint-Joseph racé, sur la jeunesse. Belle gourmandise mais sans la persistance des plus grands crus de la région. A tester à nouveau dans 2 ans, pour le goûter sur des notes nuancées. — 3 years ago

Vanessa

9.4

These are the perfect Birthday bubbles!
 
They’re brought to us by one of our favorite “grower” producers – Paul Bara – situated in Bouzy, a grand cru village in the Montagne de Reims ⛰️ region of Champagne.
 
Paul Bara owns the entire production process from beginning to end, carrying forward seven generations of family history and tradition, with winemaker Chantal Bara now at the helm.

This is the 2016 Paul Bara vintage special club rosé.  It was made with mostly Pinot Noir (70%) along with some Chardonnay (30%) for brightness.  

It is pale salmon 👁️ with medium(+) intensity of lemon peel, mandarin pith, white peach, green apple, raspberry, strawberry, toast, pastry, and blanched almond 👃🏻 👄 . The mousse is fine-beaded and well-integrated. It is dry with a creamy mouthfeel and elegant finish.

It’s positively delicious!

Cheers to another trip around the sun ☀️ and Happy Mother’s Day to all of the amazing Mamas! — 6 months ago

with Deked1

Vanessa

9.3

We absolutely love exploring the world’s many expressions of Pinot Noir!  It’s a lifelong endeavor and we’re here for it. 😆

Tonight, we’re taking a sensory trip to South America and, more specifically, Río Negro, Patagonia 🇦🇷 – the most southerly wine-producing region of Argentina – where Antarctic currents, winds descending from the Andes, & high latitudes offer cooling influences, ideal for producing elegant Pinot Noir styles.

Bodega Chacra was established in 2003 by Tuscan Piero Incisa della Rocchetta (grandson of Sassicaia’s founding father) in search of purity and nuance in fruit expression from the terroir of Patagonia. 🍇
 
Piero now partners with esteemed Burgundian winemaker (and friend) Jean-Marc Roulot in the production process, each contributing their respective oenological “genes” to the final wine, which is first and foremost a child of the earth in Mainqué, Río Negro. 🌱
 
Paying utmost respect to the land, Bodega Chacra cares for its vineyards organically and biodynamically aided, in part, by the arid, windy conditions that naturally mitigate fungal pressure in the vineyard. Their fruit is harvested by hand, allowing for selectivity and the use of whole bunches during fermentation. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

This wine is called ‘Cincuenta Y Cinco’ (fifty five) because its fruit comes from vines first planted in 1955, carefully preserved by the team at Bodega Chacra, whose oldest vines actually date back to 1932!

This wine was fermented in cement vats using native yeast, adapted to the environment and matured 11 months (50% in concrete, 50% in French oak of various ages) before release. ⚖️

In a word this wine is ethereal.
 
We served it with a slight chill. Its pristine, berry and cherry fruit profile, complements the delicate cherry blossom, peony 🌺 and baking spice notes. It’s light on its feet w/ medium alcohol (12% ABV) and bright acidity.  It’s lovely & perfumed.

Cheers to Bodega Chacra and all of the beautiful Pinots of Patagonia! — a year ago

with Deked1

Vanessa

9.0

Artesana is a small production, low intervention, terroir-driven producer of beautiful Uruguayan wines. 🙌🙌 🇺🇾

This wine was made from grapes grown on estate vineyards, harvested by hand, with sustainable farming practices. 🍇🍇

It is a deep ruby hue, offering concentrated aromas and flavors of tart black cherry, black currant, plum, nutmeg, cedar, anise, pepper, vegetal and green notes, alongside meaty characteristics.

It is balanced with good fruit concentration, refreshing acidity, high alcohol (14%), and soft tannins.

It’s comprised of Cabernet Franc (55%) and Merlot (45%) from the region of Canelones, Uruguay.

Acclaimed female winemakers Analía Lazaneo and Valentina Gatti have left us inspired and excited to try more from Artesana.

@Delectable Wine This is the Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend. 🙏🙏 — 3 years ago

with Deked1

Tim L

9.4

End of an era, however brief…August Recher Pinot (vintage 2021) by Robert Mueller is the among the last of Mueller Wine’s fine Pinots of the region Russian River, CA…perfect balance, full-bodied, full-flavored dark berry…top of class at any price. Ending his wine clubs and tasting rooms, Mueller sold the winery and facilities, vineyards - not the brand - to a so far unannounced name…at least per Google. The new adventure will certainly continue production but who knows if a superlative Mueller-like wine will result. Que sera’… — a year ago

Vanessa

9.1

Oh, hello, Friulano!! A local specialty of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in the far northeast of Italy. 🇮🇹

This beautiful wine is the Livio Felluga Friuli Colli Orientali DOC Friulano (2021).

Livio Felluga was an early adopter and pioneer of modern production techniques in the region, employing the use of stainless steel tanks, delicate grape pressing, and temperature-controlled (cooler) fermentations to produce clean, varietal-driven and refreshing white wine styles the region is now known for 🙌🏻👏🏻

The fruit used to make this wine hails from the Colli Orientali DOC, situated on hillside sites, stretching along the border of Slovenia, benefiting from higher altitudes, and cooling Alpine breezes, in support of a firm acid structure.

👁️ This wine has a medium lemon hue with a medium (+) bouquet 👃🏻 of white peach, green apple, Meyer lemon, clementine peel, green mango, white blossom, mint, basil, rosemary, white pepper, and wet pavement (petrichor).

👄 On the palate, this wine has a rich texture and weighted mouthfeel, balanced by medium (+) acidity, supporting its structure, while adding freshness and lift. Flavors are consistent with the nose – well-defined and concentrated.  Alcohol is medium (13.5% ABV) with a warming presence.

We paired this lovely wine with smoked salmon canapés made with lemon-marinated cucumbers and crème fraiche, lemon zest, shallot, fresh dill and chives on Norwegian crispbread, and was a stellar match-up! 🤩

Cheers to the pioneers who’ve shaped the evolution in wine styles we’ve come to know and love! — a year ago

with Deked1

Vanessa

9.1

Cheers to old-vine Chenin Blanc from South Africa! 🇿🇦 In South Africa, Chenin Blanc also goes by the name “Steen.”

It’s such a versatile grape and wine, capable of producing beautiful sweet, dry, still, and sparkling wines.

This wine is still and dry. We’ve paired it with sushi and it’s a delightful duet.

The grapes for this wine were grown organically in the Citrusdal Mountain district, north of Cape Town, west of the Olifants River, on the Western Cape. The bush vines were originally planted in 1957 (old!!), contributing to an intensity and a concentration of primary aromas and flavors in the grapes.

Indeed, the nose and palate offer medium(+) aromas and flavors of ripe pear, yellow apple, white peach, vegetal, boxwood, white blossom, crushed stone, and aged cheese rind notes. Lively acidity gives it lift and balances the high alcohol and intensity of fruit.

This wine was produced by Ginny Povall, American-born proprietor and self-taught winemaker of Botanica Wines. I love the botanical images on her labels, each an homage to the flower farm on which she began her wine production journey in South Africa.   

Botanica Wines, Chenin Blanc (Mary Delany Collection), 2019, ABV 14%. — 2 years ago

with Deked1

Romain Fitoussi

9.1

Very nice interpretation of the gamay, balanced from one end of the tasting to the other. Blindly, we are in a triangle somewhere between Loire, Burgundy and Beaujolais (or PN from Alsace) The finish is carried by a very beautiful mineral weft unusual in this region. Nice finesse. Very good value for money/pleasure.

Très belle interprétation du gamay, équilibré d’un bout à l’autre de la dégustation. A l’aveugle, on est dans un triangle quelque entre Loire, Bourgogne et Beaujolais, (ou même un Pinot-noir alsacien). La finale est portée par une très belle trame minérale peu courante dans cette région. Belle finesse. Très bon rapport qualité/prix/plaisir. — 3 years ago