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Vintners Dennis O’Neil and Steph Martin began development of Checkerboard Vineyards in 1999 and retained winemaker Martha McClellan to create a portfolio of wines reflecting the mountainside. The estate includes four vineyard sites of different elevation, exposure and soil composition, providing the foundation for a portfolio that includes Checkerboard Aurora Vineyard, Checkerboard Coyote Ridge Vineyard, Checkerboard Nash Creek Vineyard, Checkerboard Kings Row, Checkerboard Sauvignon Blanc, and Checkerboard Rose. Grapes are harvested at dawn in micro-lots and delivered steps away to the winery where clusters are sorted, discarding any blemished ones. Individual berries are hand-selected for vinification and transferred for fermentation, by hand, to Taransaud wooden tanks, stainless tanks, and individual wooden barrels.

Farming is based on long-term sustainability and includes water conservation and monitoring, permanent cover crops planted in alternating rows, and the use of entomology for pest control and the development of soils with good organic matter and microbiology. Checkerboard Vineyards is a member of Fish Friendly Farming which promotes environmentally-friendly land practices and water quality management. Aurora Vineyard is located in a small valley midway up Diamond Mountain and on a large knoll at an elevation of 1,200 feet. The knoll bulges outward, giving the vineyard full Southern exposure and open light from the East and West and protection from Napa Valley’s summer fog. Six acres are planted in the knoll’s rich, volcanic soils that are riddled with basalt cobble in a loamy red clay. The remaining six acres are planted in a deep gravely mix of volcanic ash and chips of decomposed Rhyolite that were washed down from the steep, rocky crags of Diamond Mountain above.

There's a fresh, sweet aroma to the 2016 Checkerboard Aurora Vineyard that builds excitement and anticipation for what's to come. On approach, the palate is juicy and expansive and explodes with flavors of blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry, caramel, leaf tobacco and green olive. The wine continues with a voluptuousness that's linear and constant yet lifted by natural acidity. The finish is showy, long and lingering with finely polished tannins. An exceptional vintage.

Cheurlin Thomas 'Celebrite' Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

An elegant soft gold color with a refined ring of bubbles. The nose reveals fruity aromas of a complex wine. The mouth is fresh and balanced with a woody finish. A great character with a perfect balance.

Cuvee harvested on the south facing land. The limestone base of the seat is emphasized by a thin bed of Kimmeridgian marl leaving a grayish underground, earth colored by white marl, ground vineyards par excellence. The wine is matured in oak barrel and pipe, second fermentation in the bottle with a minimum of 18 months aging. Reflects the white varieties of the Barrois hillsides.

Cheurlin Thomas Célébrité has rewritten the definition of excellence in Blanc de Blanc Champagnes. As authentic a champagne as can be crafted, the exceptional taste of this Grower’s prestige cuvée is re-writing wine books the world over. An exclusive champagne, produced in limited quantities, Cheurlin Thomas Célébrité is made solely from white grapes varieties and zero added sugar. Célébrité is all natural juice.

Florence Cholet Meursault Blanc is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

This classic Meursault offers expressive and complex aromas of white flower, white fruit, and herbal aromas. Bright acidity and minerality emerge on the palate from this beautifully balanced and structured white, followed by subtle hints of vanilla and toasted brioche nuances in a refreshing finish.

Pair with fresh Truffle Pasta, Beaufort Cheese, Pike Quennelles.

This wine is one of the absolute benchmarks for fine Priorat, and a reference in Spain. Sourced from 3 small vineyards in the Gratallops, this blend of Grenache and Syrah undergoes strict berry selection and is fermented and aged for 20 months in barrels and amphorae. It is all about dense fruit, exotic spice and licorella minerality, with a freshness and elegance are truly singular, even among the top wines of the appellation.

Codirosso Chianti is made from 90% Sangiovese, 7% Canaiolo, 3% Colorino.

Vinification: fermentation in stainless steel at controlled temperatures for 7 to 8 days with an additional 7 to 8 days on the skins. The juice is pumped over daily for 10 days at the beginning of the fermentation. The wine is then racked and goes through malolactic.

Ruby red color with purple reflections. Intense vinous bouquet with hints of violets and dark cherry fruit.The flavor is full of ripe fruit and a hint of spice. It is well balanced and dry. The finish is persistent and satisfying.

Food pairing: grilled, braised or roasted meats

Corne Loup Lirac Blanc is made from 40% Grenache Blanc, 35% Viognier and 25% Marsanne

No Oak
The wine boasts a light yellow and brilliant color, fine floral and fruity notes. It is fat, ample and powerful in the mouth with a lot of freshness.

Corne Loup Lirac Rouge Cuvee du Gouverneur is made from 50% Grenache, 40% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah.

The name of the Cuvee comes from Geraldine's ancestor (7th generation), who was mayor of Tavel in the 1800's and was nicknamed the "governor" (Le Gouverneur in French). 

This is a very small cuvée, all aged in oak barrels that makes a sexy, international style of Lirac, with tons of spice and fruit. 

Cortenova Montepulciano d' Abruzzo is made from 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Deep ruby red color with violet highlights and a pleasant and fruity bouquet. Full bodied, soft tannins and good acidity.

Excellent with pasta dishes and red meats.

Cortenova Pinot Grigio is 100 percent Pinot Grigio.

Brilliant straw color with emerald reflections.

Fresh and floral bouquet with a hint of pears, apricots and bananas. Fresh and inviting with bright fruit and an easy drinking style with a pleasing hint of almonds in the aftertaste.
Pairs well with seafood dishes, risottos with scampi, spaghetti with clams, sole in white wine  Perfect also as an aperitif.

Cortenova Primitivo is made from 100% Primitivo

The grapes are harvested and immediately pressed at controlled temperature. Fermentation is carried out with maceration on the skins for 10-12 days; daily remontages; malolactic fermentation.

Dark, ruby-red color with violet highlights. Intense and fragrant bouquet with a rich array of red and black fruit aromas and flavors. Harmonious and velvety on the palate. Great balance and structure.
Excellent with grilled or roasted meats, game and cheeses.

This new-wave Rioja (see below for info) is a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha. It combines maturity and complexity with freshness and elegance. Theres a core of dark plummy fruit, with some cherry notes, spice and earthiness and lovely ripe tannins giving complexity and body.

This is perfect with grilled lamb chops and salsa verde

 Rioja has traditionally been defined by its ageing. Wines would be blended from across the region and quality would be defined by a wines age - vineyards and regionality were not considered important. Now, theres a new movement in Rioja where new wave producers are pushing to label the wines from their villages and regions highlighting the difference in the terroir and individual parcels.

Creaciones Exeo is part of this movement , stepping away from traditional methods, to produce fresher styles of wine with a lesser reliance an oak influence. The important thing here is hard work in the vineyard to produce great fruit.

Located in the area of Labastida, Rioja Alavesa (this village is labelled on the bottle, until very recently producers were not allowed to do this), Carlos works with 24 hectares of the highest altitude vineyards of the area. In the shelter of the Sierra Toloo, the vines benefit from Atlantic influences and the soils here are mainly chalk and limestone which all help to give elegance the wine.

Croix Senaillet St. Veran Les Rochats is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

This Saint Veran Les Rochats is produced from 50-year-old Chardonnay vines, grown organically on Jurassic-era limestone (Entroque limestone), covered by pebbles that act as a filtering soil. The parcel is southeast facing on half hills. 

Clear golden color with light green reflections. The wine has a rich and complex bouquet with a wide array of aromas: pear, nougat, wild peach and kiwi. The mouth is rich and dense bringing freshness with a nice volume and finishing on a light exotic note.

Vineyard
Surface area : 1 Ha.
Soil : limestone soil from the Jurassic period, covered by pebbles acting like a filtering soil.
South-east facing parcel on half-hills.
Grape variety : organically-grown Chardonnay.
Plantation density : 8.500 vinestocks per ha.
Age of vines : 50 years.
Mâconnais style pruning quite short, with 10 to 12 buds.

Hand-harvesting at optimal maturity.
Destemming to avoid herbaceous taste.
Slow and gentle pneumatic pressuring guarantees purity of juice and extraction of the finest aromas.
Very slow alcoholic fermentation in stainless still tank.
Malolactic fermentation.
Aging in stainless steel tanks for 9 months with gentle stirring of fine lees.

Pairs well with shrimp risotto, sautéed veal with eggplant.

Corne Loup Tavel Rose is made from  60% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, 15% mix of Mourvèdre, Clairette & Carignan

Elegant, refreshing, food-friendly and versatile, this Tavel offers mouth-watering aromas of strawberry and berry pie.

Corne Loup Tavel represents the pinnacle of the rose pyramid quality wise that can be achieved in the Southern Rhone. The town of Tavel has been famous for its rose wine since the time of the Popes in Avignon (1300's). Tavel is about 2,300 acres in size and produces about 500,000 cases yearly of 9 liter cases, plus can age for 2-3 years, unlike many other roses. Produced from a blend of  Grenache, Cinsualt, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan, the wine comes from a famous sub-parcel called the Plateau de Vallongue between Tavel and Lirac AOC's.

The 20 hectare-vineyards are located in the hamlets of Oliver, Campet, Vestides and Vallongue. The Tavel from this producer is a blend of all 3 soils types you can find in the AOC:

• Vestides is located West of the village of Tavel. The terroir is made of flat white stones.
• Vallongue is located Northeast of the Village of Tavel. The terroir is similar to Chateauneuf du Pape, with a lot of pebble stones. (Galets Roules).
• Olivet is located South-East of the village of Tavel. The terroir is made of sandy soils and some stones.

Dry and lively, it is an ideal wine for barbecues as it makes a wonderful sipper that's also capable of matching with a wide variety of summer foods, including grilled chicken, seafood and summer salads

Domaine du Colombier Hermitage Rouge is made from 100 percent Syrah. 

Perfect with beef ribs, grilled meats and cheese.

Manually harvested with destemmed grapes and fermented for about 2 to 3 weeks in temperature controlled vats, with an ageing period of 12 months, 65% in oak barrels and 35% in concrete tanks.

Review:

Brought up in 30% new demi-muids, with the balance in used barrels, the 2017 Hermitage is beautifully pure and layered, with smoking good notes of crème de cassis, white flowers, crushed rocks, and violets. Deep, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has plenty of tannins and is going to need 5-7 years of bottle age. This is a sensational Hermitage from Colombier that will drink well for 25+ years.

These wines are made by the talented Florent Viale and shine for their purity as well as character. While the winemaking here is traditional, with the wines destemmed and brought up mostly in used demi-muids, the purity of fruit can give the impression that wines are more modern styled than they are. They will all benefit from short-term cellaring.

-Jeb Dunnuck 96+ Points

Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux Grand Cru is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

Domaine Jean Grivot is among the great names in Burgundian wine. Étienne Grivot and his wife Marielle took over from Étienne’s father Jean Grivot in 1987. The vineyards are densely planted and farmed organically “sans certification” while the aim in the cellar is for balance and clear expression of terroir.

Jean Grivot’s 15.5 hectares spread across 22 appellations with vineyards in the communes of Vosne-Romanée, Vougeot, Chambolle-Musigny, and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Besides the three grand crus, there are 8 premier crus including the much lauded Les Beaux Monts and Suchots in Vosne-Romanée. The grapes are completely de-stemmed and fermentation is spontaneous.

About the Vineyard:

Echézeaux grand cru is a large vineyard of 38 hectares divided into 11 individual climats. Grivot’s parcel is in the climat of Les Cruots and lies at the southern end of Echézeaux near the premier cru of Les Suchots. A good Echézeaux should have rich fruit, considerable earthiness, and be very complete on the palate.

Tasting Notes:

The wine shows aromas and flavors of red berries, herbs, and purple flowers. The palate is rich with ripe fruit and medium weight with bright acidity and fine tannins. Aging in 40-70% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.

Food Pairing:

Red Burgundy might be the world’s most flexible food wine. The wine’s high acidity, medium body, medium alcohol, and low tannins make it very food-friendly. Red Burgundy, with its earthy and sometimes gamey character, is a classic partner to roasted game birds, grilled duck breast, and dishes that feature mushrooms, black truffles, or are rich in umami.

Review:

A very elegant expression of Echezeaux, with a velvety black plum and rose petal fruit. There is a lovely freshness and so much finesse that the tannin and structure might surprise you at the end. This has the substance to age for decades. Produced from a 0.84ha parcel in Cruots next to Comte Liger-Belair. The vines were planted in 1954 and the destemmed fruit was gently fermented.

-Wine Spectator 97 Points

Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru is made from 100 percent Chardonnay. 

Chablis achieves its highly distinctive mineral character due to its cool northerly climate and its highly calcareous soil. The Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru is a generous, fleshy and lively wine that displays a beautiful balance of minerality, fruitiness and elegance.

Chablis, with its steely character and fresh citrus flavor, pairs well with white fish and shellfish and its naturally high acidity can counterbalance cream-based sauces. Unoaked Chablis lends itself well to vegetables, starches, Comté, or fresh goat cheese.

A clearly pronounced personality: powerful, sometimes wild aromas; a marked acidity, which give it a captivating freshness; a fine roundness, sometimes even opulence. In short, an intense wine which has many cards in its hand to win you over.

Review:

Notes of cherries, cassis, peonies and rich spices preface the 2020 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Aux Murgers, a medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated wine that's lively and penetrating. Like its 2019 predecessor, it's especially seamless and charming.
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 92-94 Points

Dr. Loosen Riesling Eiswein is made from 100 percent Riesling. 

This vibrant, racy dessert wine conjures flavors of densely packed pear, apple and guava, with an intense, nervy edge in the aroma. It is luscious, silky and juicy on the palate, with bright acidity giving it a crisp, dynamic finish. 

Review:

Dr. Loosen Riesling Eiswein is made from 100 percent Riesling. 

This vibrant, racy dessert wine conjures flavors of densely packed pear, apple and guava, with an intense, nervy edge in the aroma. It is luscious, silky and juicy on the palate, with bright acidity giving it a crisp, dynamic finish. 

Maurice Ecard Savigny Beaune 1er Cru Narbantons is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir

Reduced yields from severe springtime pruning, fully mature harvest and manual selection and sorting.  Vinification involves partial destemming, classic fermentation, pigeage, racking of the gross lees.

The wine offers black cherry fruits on the nose. Rich and full bodied with a beautiful texture. Flavorful.

Red wine made with a blend of the Listán Negro and Syrah grape varieties. Listán Negro brings an Atlantic character that’s fresh and lively while Syrah, grown on our family vineyards, provides the necessary structure for ageing in barrels. Limited production of 17,940 bottles.

Both varietals are made separately and a blending of the two is done prior to malolactic fermentation. This second fermentation takes place in 500-litre French oak barrels with different toast levels in order to increase the complexity and balance between the fruit and the wood. This wine is then aged for six months. It’s then bottle aged for six months, adding roundness and smoothness.

Appearance: Deep burgundy color with medium intensity, clear and bright.

Aroma: Complex thanks to the blending of varietals and its ageing in oak barrels. Notes of red fruits (blackcurrant or raspberry), toasted hints of toffee or caramel, with a decidedly Atlantic character. The Listán Negro grape variety gives it balsamic notes (mint or eucalyptus), making it an even more complex wine.

Taste: Ariana is a fresh, well-balanced, long-lived wine with smooth, round tannins providing structure