Piron Chenas Quartz is made from 100% Gamay - 60+ years old .
The Chenas Cru is the smallest Beaujolais Cru, not bigger than Côte Rôtie. This is a rare wine. The estate's unique parcel spreads over 22.2 acres of vines on a very steep slope facing East, situated between 310 and 380 meters above sea level. Granitic soils are covered with Quartz crystals and give the wine its own personality.
The vineyard is co-owned by Domnique Piron and Christian Lameloise, whose family owned Lameloise restaurant in Burgundy (3*** Michelin). Decanter classified the wine in the 3 best best bottles of Crus Beaujolais in 2015 (vintage 2013).
Hand harvest, sorting table, part destemming. A first stage of semi carbonic maceration during few days is followed by a more classic Burgundy maceration with « remontages » and « pigeages », for a total of 18-20 days, depending on the vintage.
30% of the wine are aged in recent French oak foundre and oak barrels (no new oak) during 12 months to bring roundness and complexity to the final assemblage.
Pairs well with complex dishes, meats, leaver, and why not a little pigeon with peas and diced bacon.
Review:
"Beautifully attractive violets and red flowers here, carrying a very fresh impression, as well as an exciting and vibrant yet elegant finish. Exceptionally pure and focused. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling (February 2019), 93 pts
Dominique Piron Morgon Cote du Py is made from 100 percent Gamay.
The Morgon Cru is based in the heart of Northern Beaujolais. Côte du Py is the heart of Morgon, a little hill of very old blue stone rocks - the oldest soils of Beaujolais (around 430 millions years old), with a typical blue color.
Côte du Py has been known for centuries for being the best terroir of the village, producing long lived wines with strong structure and flavors.
Wines of the Côte du Py are very dark, profound and dense. Classic aromas of red berries, cherry, kirsh. Fruity, structured and mineral in the mouth with graphite flavors and spicy notes of black and white pepper. Wine can age up to 10 years.
Hand picked grapes are sorted manually and destemmed for 50 to 70%. Fermentation starts in concrete tanks and lasts for 18-25 days with remontages and pigeages. Then after pressurage starts the aging, for 2/3 in concrete tanks, and 1/3 in recent French oak barrels with batonages on fine lies only. After 10 month we do the blending, keeping only the best cuvees and best barrels, and do the bottling.
Pairs well with red meat like beef, duck and game (Hare, Dear, Wild Pork,…), cheses.
Poggio Nardone Brunello di Montalcino is made from 100 percent Sangiovese Grosso.
The rich nose displays scents of spices combined with aromas of small red ripe fruits, blackberry and blueberry.
Well structured, determined and elegant, with round and silky tannins. Very nice finish.
Alcoholic fermentation was done in tank, maloactic fermentation in oak barrels. Wine was then aged for 3 years in French oak barrels.
Review:
Noble and decidedly balsamic in the primary profile alternating notes of peppermint, eucalyptus, green tea leaves and guaranà. A lot of very delicate dried cherries are housed in the background giving brilliance and crunchiness. Medium bodied, well extracted mature tannins and a finale which squeezes from the centre palate onwards. Better from 2025.
- WinesCritic.com 93 Points
Potensac Medoc is made from 44% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.
The estate's Grand Vin's vineyards are located west of the village of Ordonnac where the vines grow on gravelly-clay soiils. They produce a very fine wine with tight texture, richness and wonderful freshness. On the palate, the wine is pure and powerful, with great concentration, dense and spicy tannins, and mineral tension. Fresh and full-flavored with ripe black fruits, and a finish of great depth. Thanks to these qualities, Château Potensac is often considered to represent the "pure Medoc style". It should be noted that Potensac was the only "Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel" of its appellation, and certainly one of the most persistent ever produced at this stage.
The Tempest was one of the first wines, and the first Proprietary Blend, we produced. At the time, it seemed almost uncanny that we were able to access three grape varietals at the same time from the same vineyard; it was blind luck or perhaps the proverbial “perfect storm.” The resulting wine reflected a fierce determination to brave the storm as well as a new desire to realize the possibilities of Merlot. The Tempest is still made with outstanding grapes, from vineyards such as Blair in Calistoga and cooler sites like Farella and Orchard. Predominantly Merlot with lesser amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon depending on vintage, The Tempest is a roiling cauldron of fresh red and blue fruit and silky tannins – a wine that shows what Merlot can be in the right hands, from the right vineyards.
Red fruit; silky tannins; more approachable in its youth
Visual aspect: Straw yellow color with persistent mousse.
Aromas: Fruity notes of delicious Golden apple and Kaiser pear with a pleasant citrus background.
Mouthfeel: The wine is well balanced with a nice acidity and minerality, combined with freshness and complexity.
The finish is long and very pleasant.
Area of origin: Valdobbiadene, Conegliano, Vittorio Veneto.
Soil: calcareous clayey
Varietal: Glera (known as Prosecco)
Harvest: manual harvest with grape selection
Winemaking: off skins by gentle pressing.
Primary fermentation with controlled temperature by selected yeats.
Refinement :Stainless Steel tanks
Foaming: secondary fermentation in "autoclave" (cuve close) at a controlled temperature with selected fermentation as long as a 5 bar pressure is reached.
Fining: 60 days
Training system: autochthonous called "capuccina modificata"
Bottling: isobaric bottling after sterile filtration.
It is ideal for important occasions and as an aperitif. It is also excellent with risotto and noble meat.
This is a 6 liter imperial also called a Methuselah.
Roland Champion Champagne Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru 2014 is made from 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay from the chalky soils of Chouilly.
This Champagne is full of elegance and finesse. Very complex nose, with a bouquet of aromas dominated by honey, brioche and notes of dried fruits, hazelnuts and sweets. Perfectly matured.
Manual harvest; then pressing immediately to avoid oxidation & preserve quality. Free run juice only. Aged six years on the lees.
It matches magnificently with foie gras!
Review:
"Based in Chouilly on the Côte des Blancs, it is obvious this producer will have a Blanc de Blancs Champagne. And very good it is, with some age after six years on lees while still having freshness, crisp acidity and a tight, steely edge. The bottling will benefit from further aging, and it will be at its best from 2022. - ROGER VOSS"
- Wine Enthusiast (December 2020), 92 pt
This is a 9 liter imperial also called a Salmanazar .
Roland Champion Champagne Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru 2014 is made from 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay from the chalky soils of Chouilly.
This Champagne is full of elegance and finesse. Very complex nose, with a bouquet of aromas dominated by honey, brioche and notes of dried fruits, hazelnuts and sweets. Perfectly matured.
Manual harvest; then pressing immediately to avoid oxidation & preserve quality. Free run juice only. Aged six years on the lees.
It matches magnificently with foie gras!
Review:
"Based in Chouilly on the Côte des Blancs, it is obvious this producer will have a Blanc de Blancs Champagne. And very good it is, with some age after six years on lees while still having freshness, crisp acidity and a tight, steely edge. The bottling will benefit from further aging, and it will be at its best from 2022. - ROGER VOSS"
- Wine Enthusiast (December 2020), 92 pt
Roland Champion Champagne Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru 100% chardonnay.
Champagne with rich and structured aromas. Very pleasant and generous roundness, nice length in mouth. Golden color with buttery and fruity aromas. All the expression of a magnificent terroir for your most pleasurable moments.
Manual harvest; then pressing immediately to avoid oxidation & preserve quality. Free run juice only. Aged six years sur lattes.
It matches magnificently with foie gras!
Romariz Vintage Port is made from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca
Deep inky purple color. Intricate nose with aromas of blackberries and logan berries, subtle hints of amber and spring blossom and delicate spice. A tight, well-formed palate with an abundance of dark berry fruit, rich chocolate and liquorice, culminating in a long finish. Firm, closely woven tannins that give the wine great structure and body. An elegant finely constituted Vintage Port which will drink beautifully now or age quietly in the cellar.
A vintage port is made from blended grapes, all from the same vintage year. Vintage ports are historically only declared every 3 out of 10 years. Romariz vintage ports age for up to two years in oak, then go unfiltered into the bottle for further aging.
Schwarz Thiele Road Grenache is made from 80 year old 100% Grenache vines.
Thiele Road is a dusty track that crosses Bethany Creek at the foot of the Barossa Ranges. It is home to Jason Schwarz's family's 70 year old, deep rooted Grenache vines that produce wines with complex flavours and plenty of character.
Bouquet: The nose is floral and expressive with raspberry and pepper.
Palate: Red fruits, spice and earth with beautiful balance and structure. Medium weighted with fine acidity. A wine built on complexity and packed with interest.
Planted in 1941. The gnarled, old vines continue to produce fantastic fruit and the quality out of the 2014 vintage was evident. The vines are handpicked, 10% whole bunch and the remainder de-stemmed and into an open fermenter. Before too long the wild yeast population on the grapes kicks off fermentation and that continues with daily gentle pump overs and hand plunging until fermentation is complete and the flavour profile is just right. The wine is then basket pressed and matured in seasoned French oak for 18 months before bottling. Not filtered or fined.
Review:
"This is an intriguing, full-weighted wine of compelling dry extract and savory, forceful length. Far from the archetype, or at least what I had construed that to be in these parts. Smoky and ferruginous, with aromas of Islay peat from a wild ferment and old vine je ne sais quoi. A darker brood, lathered with clove, anise, brush smoke and iodine, over the usual red fruited paradigm. The finish, biltong meaty and a tad drying. That said, this may well be reduction as the wine opens beautifully with time, boasting oodles of personality. Drink or hold. - Ned Goodwin MW"
- James Suckling (August 2023), 94 pts
La Spinona Cru Bergera Barolo is made from 100 percent 100% Nebbiolo Lampia
The Beruttis bought 4 hectares in 1994 in the then relatively unknown zone of Novello which lies on the confines of Monforte and Barolo. A Sorì is an entirely south-facing vineyard. This Sori lies at 230 meters. It is named for the great grandfather that started the Barbaresco vineyards. The vines are an average of 40 years old. Bergera comes from the mid part of the vineyard and is dedicated to Pietro's grandfather who started the estate.
Brilliant deep ruby red with garnet reflections. Rich fruity bouquet with hints of cherries, violets liquorice and mint. Good structure with full, cherry-ripe flavors. The tannins are gentle and the spice subtle. It is an elegant wine of great finesse and drinkability. Excellent with wild game, roast, braised or stewed red meats, truffle dishes and aged cheeses.
Sunset Hills Shenandoah Springs Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is our first release of a clone-specific wine for Sunset Hills. The goal is to show you a specific terroir, one that year after year delivers excellent fruit quality. I chose clone 96 for its complexity both in ripening and barrel aging. During ripening, the fruit has notes of pineapple and pear with great acidity. I saw this wine as a chance to highlight not only the vineyard, but how detailed we can get in growing and making wine.
100% Chardonnay:
75% Clone 96
20% Clone 76
5% Clone 17
Notes of light honeysuckle, Asian pear, raw almond, and lemon custard. Medium body and medium acid.
Terre dei Buth Frizzante Rose Special Cuvee NV is made from 90% Glera and 10% Raboso.
Fresh, fruity with hints of gooseberry and redcurrant.
On top of being "Certified Organic", this is also "Vegan Approved".
Glera and Raboso are blended before foaming process into what we call "Special Cuvée", for its outstanding drinkability and delicate scents. Glera, which is the variety used to make Prosecco, brings the liveliness of the most famous Italian sparkling wine to this cuvée, which reaches perfection thanks to Raboso, which is an indigenous red grape of the Venetian region, well-known for its hints of red berries and smooth taste.
The grapes are coming from vines planted on gravelly soils.
Average age of the vines is about 10 years old.
Grapes are machine-harvested, so that the grapes are pressed about 10 minutes after picking,allowing to preserve the freshness of the fruit, and avoiding micro-fermentation that would take place by leaving the grapes for too much time in the vineyard after picking.
Each grape variety is harvested and vinified individually.
After picking, grapes are soft-pressed, and the primary fermentation is completed in about 10 days. Then fermentation takes place for 5-6 months, where the cuvée reaches the appropriate level of acidity for foaming, which is performed in stainless steel tanks, thermo-conditioned, for about 20-25 days.
Pasta, pizza and summer salads.
Review:
medium-length finish displaying accents of peach gummi bear, edible flowers, dole fruit cup juice, and gooseberry. A more serious take on Glera with the body and richness to pair with diverse cuisines."
- Beverage Testing Institute (November 2022), 90 pts - Gold Medal - Best Buy
This limited release wine is created from the fusion of two exceptional parcels of 70% Shiraz and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. This classic blend is matured in the finest oak crafting an intriguing unison that captures the essence of the vineyard and highlights its unique varietal expression.
Vintage Overview
2013 was a very good season with predominantly mild, dry days. Yields were generally low and this did result in some excellent parcels of fruit being harvested. Vine-balance was carefully monitored, resulting in fruit that demonstrates the vibrancy and fruit-derived characters that we strive for in our wines. By all accounts it was a textbook vintage.
Tasting Notes
Deep inky purple in color. Aromas of blackberry, mocha, mint and spices. Lush, ripe palate dominated by black fruits, cherry and chocolate. An expansive palate with black fruits and nicely balanced by oak.
Made with the greatest dedication and care, select parcels were matured in new and seasoned French and American oak for up to 20 months prior to being selected for this blend. Individual barrels from our family estate that best demonstrate the intensity of our fruit, balanced by integrated oak were selected for the final blend, which was then bottled with minimal filtration.
Pairs well with venison, ribeye steak, lamb.
Review:
70% Shiraz and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit and oak combine here to produce a powerful, full-bodied red with coffee, toast, blackberry and rick plum flavours pouring through the palate. Tannin taps gently at the brakes: peppercorn and pine notes add lift: creaminess to the texture keeps everything running smoothly. Screwcap. 14.5% alc.
Halliday Wine Companion 2020 94 Points
Torello Corpinnat Special Edition Brut Reserve is made from 44% Xarel.lo, 37% Macabeo, 11% Chardonnay, 8% Parellada.
The estate soils have been formed from sediments from the Garraf Massis, deposited thousands of years ago. One of the most characteristic features of the estate’s soils is the presence of accumulations of calcium carbonate. The movement of water through the soil dissolves the carbonates and takes them to a certain depth. The continuous repetition of this process has ended up producing the accumulation of these deposits. When these become massive, after thousands of years, they bind together and form a hard stratum called a petrocalcic horizon. This hard stratum limits the availability of water to the vine and the production, but is a factor that gives the grape quality
The wine offers a straw yellow color, clean, transparent, fine, and persistent bubbles with a rosary formation. In the nose fresh pear aromas stand out along with delicious notes of pastry cream, white flowers, and candied fruits. On the palate, good balance and acidity. Powerful and flavorful with white flowers and notes of brioche, almond and great length.
Special Edition is very versatile and matches with many different kinds of dishes; pasta, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, rice, cold cuts, desserts.
Tres Ojos Rosado Calatayud is fresh, crisp and juicy Rose made of 50% Garnacha and 50% Tempranillo displaying beautiful strawberry and raspberry fruits. Enjoy with salads, chicken or simply with a glass. Serve chilled.
Trouillet Lebeau Macon Solutre Pouilly is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The Macon-Solutre-Pouilly is produced from the 2 hectare-parcel called "Au Rompay", which is the highest of the estate, located at the southern tip of the Mâconnais in the Mont Pouilly, across the famous Solutré Rock. The grapes are usually harvested in the very last days, bringing freshness and minerality to the wine.
The nose opens generously with sweet notes of candied and citrus fruits. The maturity and ripeness of the fruit combine with an aromatic freshness and a real delicacy in the mouth. The wine is structured, but still lively on the finish.
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Alejandro Bulgheroni Lithology Beckstoffer Las Piedras Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
From a St. Helena vineyard planted by early Napa settler Edward Bale more than 150 years ago, and later serving as the estate vineyard for the area’s first winery built by Henry Pellet in 1860, the Las Piedras site always gives us our prettiest wine. When placed next to Dr. Crane and To-Kalon wines, the Las Piedras show a certain elegance, with a very graceful entry and finely detailed complexity. We produce it with at least 75% new French oak, so there is a floral, spicy, and vanilla accent to the intense red and black fruits, cassis, and black cherry liqueur. What distinguishes this bottling is the beautifully fine tannins, delicate texture, and stunning purity. (Less than 100 cases made.)
Fermentation 70% Oak, 24% Concrete, 6% Puncheon
Review:
"The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Lithology Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard comes from a world-class site outside of St. Helena and is all Cabernet that spent 20 months in 80% new oak. It offers a touch more red fruit as well ample cassis, spring flowers, loamy earth, and spice-like aromas and flavors. It has a wonderful sense of minerality, ultra-fine tannins, a dense, layered texture, and incredibly purity of fruit. It’s another just about off the charts release from this estate."
- Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points
A dramatic, ridgetop landscape — rising 1500 feet above Lake Hennessey, staring west over Pritchard Hill — persistently influenced by a push/pull draw between The Valley’s floor and Lake Berryessa. This wild, untamed, eastern frontier of Napa Valley, produces singular, terroir-driven wines of captivating beauty, power and lift. An unseasonably wet and cool springtime produced significant shatter at Sage Ridge in 2019, reducing our yields by 50%, leading to a particularly flamboyant edition of this wine.
An incomparable expression of Cabernet Sauvignon — massively pure red fruit character, delivered on a ribbon of ultra-suave tannins and gorgeously seductive high tones. The palate never relents its come-hither posture. Aromatically, puts forth an intriguing botanical complexity that is unmistakably site-specific. As our experience with this one-of-a-kind terroir deepens, we remain endlessly excited for the potential of these unique ridgetop vineyards. Get your hands on a bottle and pull the cork…a wine built for immense near-term gratification.
Review:
"Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sage Ridge Vineyard opens with open-knit notes of plum preserves, baked blackberries and boysenberry jam, leading to a core of crème de cassis, mocha, camphor and Indian spices with a touch of unsmoked cigars. The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and dense with black fruit preserves, framed by soft tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and very spicy. Only 75 cases were made. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (November 2021), 95 pts
Benjamin Romeo La Cueva del Contador is made from 91% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha.
Named after the centuries-old caves or “cuevas” carved out of the hillside below the castle of San Vicente in Sonsierra north of the Ebro, this wine is composed of 91 percent Tempranillo and 9 percent Garnacha. The fruit is sourced from eight different plots that yield about 1.2 kg per vine. Fermentation begins after a three-day cold maceration and the wine is aged for nineteen months in 100 percent new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration.
The palate offers flavors of blackberry coulis, Damson plums, Rosemary and well-integrated tannins; this wine is well balanced and youthful with a long powerful finish. Both red and black fruit are pronounced in the nose, but there are also mineral and herbal notes of gravel and lavender.
Review:
Appearance Intense garnet red dress of great luminosity and elegance. Aroma Slightly candied fruit tones, toasted from a good barrel, intense. Palate Powerful and marked on the palate, velvety, round, tasty and balanced.
Guia Repsol 95 Points
Youthful purple. A complex, oak-spiced bouquet displays ripe boysenberry and cherry, candied violet, cola and mocha scents lifted by a vibrant mineral flourish. Deeply concentrated yet lively as well, offering intense dark fruit preserve, cola and spicecake flavors that show excellent delineation and floral lift. Manages to be rich as well as lively and finishes very long and alluringly sweet, leaving allspice and vanilla notes behind.
-Vinous 93 Points
Burgo Viejo Rioja Crianza is made from 90% Tempranillo & 10% Graciano.
Red ruby colored wine with violet tones; well-balanced, black fruit, vanilla and coconut flavors. Powerful, complex and silky smooth...classic old style Rioja at a bargain price.