Ayni Vino de Parcella Gravas 2017
6 bottles with free shipping for: $270.00
12 bottles with free shipping for: $480.00
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Ayni Vino de Parcella Gravas is 100% Malbec
Ayni Gravas was created show the diversity of wine profiles that can be derived from Paraje Altamira’s terroir. The goal with this particular wine is to show a markedly calcareous profile that derives in a more intense black fruit flavor profile and a chalky tannin structure with great age potential, as opposed to the more feminine and elegant style which is typical from Paraje Altamira wines.
Chakana plans to further develop this wine, increasing its accents through vineyard selection and oak aging. Over time, production can potentially increase to 10,000 bottles (maximum).
Ayni Gravas is produced from smaller plots of a 20 hectare vineyard in Paraje Altamira, Valle de Uco, Mendoza. Paraje Altamira is a Geographical Indication (IG) located on the alluvial cone of the Tunuyan River. The Ayni vineyard has been planted on virgin soils on the upper (south western) side of the cone. The vineyard is crossed by numerous smaller river beds that once formed the river delta, and these create a pattern of different soil depths and gravel formations, imparting very different characteristics on the wine. Ayni Gravas is produced only with the sections of the vineyard where the calcium carbonated gravels come to the surface and the vines grow amongst them with no soil. Only a smaller percentage of the vineyard (approximately 20%) features these conditions.
Pairs well with grilled meats and stews.
Review:
"Dark medium ruby. Enticing violet lift to the aromas of boysenberry, blackberry and licorice; wild but not excessively so. Juicy and fine-grained, with penetrating chalky minerality enlivening the flavors of crushed blackberry, flowers and spices. In a very savory, almost salty style, finishing dry and firm, with fresh, fine-grained tannins and lovely energy and length. (just 12.5% alcohol; from the same vineyard as the Ayni Vineyard Paraje Altamira but from a selection of soils) - Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (June 2019), 91 pts
"There is a new 2017 Ayni Parcela Gravas, a selection of Malbec from their Ayni vineyard in Paraje Altamira from very shallow plots with a high content of limestone. The nature of the soils might have resulted in some stress in a warm and dry year like 2017, and the wine felt a bit ripe and with harsher tannins than the regular Ayni. For the rest, the production and élevage remained more or less the same. I look forward to seeing the results in a cooler year. For now, the tannins need a little bit of time in bottle. 3,000 bottles were filled in March 2019. - Luis Gutiérrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #245, October 2019), 91 pts
The Ayni Estate
Ayni is produced in a state-of-the-art winery, Chakana, built with the purpose of achieving outstanding quality.
Chakana winery was founded by Juan Pelizzatti on May 2nd, 2002. Juan was driven to enter the wine industry first and foremost by his passion for wine, and also by the desire to invest his time and money on a product of agriculture. Although Juan did not know it at the time, the company was founded on the same day the Chakana was celebrated on the Andes highlands: on that same day, the Southern Cross (the Chakana for the Inca people) becomes vertical in the night Andean sky.
Juan's mission is to create an integral experience to introduce world consumers to the taste and culture of the Andes. His vision is to become one of the top 20 exporters of wine from Argentina, by consistently offering outstanding value for money.
Wine is currently produced in four different levels at Chakana, by winemaker Gabriel Bloise:
Entry Level: Maipe
Reserve Level: Maipe Reserve, Cueva de las Manos, Nuna
Estate Selection
Ayni
The winemaking process is focused on treating the grapes with great care and with strict control of every step of the production.
Wines are designed under the responsibility of the renowned international wine consultant Alberto Antonini.
The winery is located on a 150 ha. estate, 34 km South of the city of Mendoza, in Agrelo, Lujan de Cuyo.
The grapes grown are 35 year-old Malbec, Bonarda and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Deep and textured soils facilitate plant development and confer great body and structure to the wines.
The year-long sunny and dry conditions allow almost organic viticulture practices. The outstanding feature includes a great daily thermal amplitude, with mild days and cold nights, permitting a particular richness of polifenols that improves the wines flavors and color.
A drip irrigation system has been set up to achieve a precise control of the vegetative cycle and a rational use of water. Waters are processed and used in the vineyards.
The Ayni Vineyards
Chakana sources grapes from their own four estates:
Agrelo
Acreage: 150 ha, 120 ha with vineyards
70 ha entry level
40 ha reserve level
10 ha estate & ayni
Acreage by varietal at Agrelo Estate:
Malbec: 50 ha
Cabernet Sauvignon: 30 ha
Syrah: 10 ha
Bonarda: 10 ha
Tannat: 2,5 ha
Petit Verdot: 2.5 ha
Cabernet Franc: 1.5 ha
Aspirant Bouchet: 2.5 ha
Ancellotta: 2 ha
Sauvignon Blanc: 4 ha
Viognier: 2.5 ha
Chardonnay: 2.5 ha
Wine Profile: Medium bodied, elegant, fresher fruit. Round tannin on gravels.
Terroir: Very heterogeneous – deep clay to sandy clay gravels; cool climate
Altamira I
Acreage: 15 ha, Malbec high density. Planted in 2010, not in production
Wine Profile: Full bodied, impressive tannic structure and roundness, spicy and complex.
Terroir: Sandy clay gravel, limestone; cooler climate
Altamira II
Acreage: 36 ha, 26 ha with vineyards
20 ha malbec, estate and ayni level
4 ha chardonnay, entry level and reserve
2 ha pinot noir (used for sparkling wine)
Wine Profile: Medium bodied, elegant, fresher fruit. Round tannin on gravels.
Terroir: Very heterogeneous – deep clay to sandy clay gravels; cool climate
Terrada
Acreage: 21 ha, all in vines
100% malbec, old vines, high density
Reserve – Estate Selection
Wine Profile: Complex, ripe fruit, medium bodied, elegant.
Terroir: Sandy clay gravels, 70cm. soil depth, Some limestone; warmer climate.
They also source wines from contract suppliers in Ugarteche and Medrano, for entry level wines, and in Vista Flores, for Estate Selection & Ayni levels.
Luis Canas Rioja Reserva is made from 100 percent 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano
A classic style Rioja Reserva from one of the regions most enduring family run wineries. The hillside terraced vineyards are sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria Mountains to the north from harsh weather extremes. Small plot production is utilized in this region of infertile chalky clay soil to produce clusters of excellent quality. Almost 900 plots are needed to complete the approximately 400 hectares of estate-owned or cellar-controlled vineyards, some with vines more than 100 years in age.
Tasting notes
Rich color. Very pleasant on the nose, subtle and elegant, complex, with aromas of fine wood, ripe fruit, coffee. Thick, unctuous and round on the palate with solid structure and juicy tannins. The second nose shows spiced nuances and black ripe fruit aromas.
Winemaking and aging
Upon entering the bodega, bunches undergo a manual selection and then individual grapes are sorted based on their weight. Following this double selection process, they are de-stemmed and crushed before undergoing fermentation and then aceration in stainless steel tanks for a total of 8 days, obtaining better color extraction as well as much more complex and tannic wines, suitable for prolonged aging.
After its primary fermentation, the wine is placed in barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and is aged for 18 months in French (70%) and American (30%) oak barrels, then aged minimum 18 months in bottle before release.
Total acidity: 5 g./l. Volatile acidity: 0,6 g./l. PH: 3,59 Free SO2: 25 mg./l. Residual sugar: 1,9 g./l.
Excellent with red or white meats, all types of game, roasts, oily fish, rice with meat and cheese. Within Rioja cuisine it is perfection accompanying peppers stuffed with cod, artichokes with ham, migas pastoriles and trotters
Reviews:
"2013 was the year in which Juan Luis Cañas and his team started to use a little less oak on his wines, to good effect in my view. This assemblage of Tempranillo with 5% Graciano is still a modern style, with 20% new wood, but it's spicy, refreshing and nuanced with some grip on the finish. 2019-23"
- - TIM ATKIN RIOJA 2019 SPECIAL REPORT, February 2019, 92 pts
"(aged for 18 months in 70% French and 30% American oak barrels, all new) Limpid ruby. Expressive red and dark berry preserve aromas, along with suggestions of vanilla, cola and roasted coffee. Round, sweet and open-knit, offering juicy raspberry and cherry-vanilla flavors that firm up steadily on the back half. Dusty tannins add grip to a long, focused finish that leaves bitter cherry and dark chocolate notes behind. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (February 2019), 91 pts
Deep ruby-red in color with violet hints. Complex and intense bouquet, features blackberries, cherries and plums, with delicate floral notes and spices. Balanced and fresh mouth, full-bodied with good length of spices.
The grapes come from the fantastic area of Paraje Altamira in the Uco Valley, Mendoza.
Irrigation: Drip
Harvest: Manual
Maceration: 4 days cold soaking below 10°C in stainless steel tanks
Alcoholic fermentation: 80% of the wine in stainless steel tanks for 15 days with wild yeasts, 20% of the wine in 225-liter closed French oak barrels
Malolactic fermentation: Yes
Pairs well with grilled meats and stews.
Review:
The single-vineyard 2017 Ayni Malbec comes from paraje Altamira, and the wine was bottled with 13% alcohol and moderate acidity that made it feel soft but not bland, with enough freshness going through its core. Many wines are now matured in large oak containers, and that certainly helps with the integration of the oak with the fruit, as is the case here. The tannins are fine-grained, and the finish is dry and long. 10,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2018. - Luis Gutiérrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #245, October 2019), 91 pts
Manoir du Carra Beaujolais Cru Fleurie Clos des Deduits is made from 100% Gamay grapes coming from the lieu dit "Montee de la Tonne".
The vineyard measures 1.5 hectare and the average age of the vines is 50 years. Yield: 48 hl/ha
Manual harvest; Semi-carbonic maceration for 10-12 days; Aging in Foudre for 3-4 months; Slight filtration.
Intense red color, subtle fruity and floral aromas of violet, berry and cinnamon. Ample in the mouth, fruit flavors. Even better after a few years of cellaring.
Excellent with red and game meats, and cheeses.
Review:
"Bright ruby. Ripe and energetic on the nose, showing excellent clarity and lift to the ripe raspberry, cherry and floral pastille scents. Palate-staining red and blue fruit and lavender flavors are sharpened by suggestions of smoky minerals and white pepper. Smoothly plays richness off vivacity and finishes long and vibrant, leaving a sweet black raspberry note behind. - Josh Raynolds"
- Vinous (Jaunary 2017), 91 pts
Ayni is the quechua name of a principle of reciporcity practised for centuries by the andean cultures, it means in order to receive something you first have to give. Ayni is also the name of our most special vineyard, located in Paraje Altamira one of the best appelations within Uco Valley in Mendoza.
Argentina has a history of sparkling wine production since the early 1960’s.
Tasting Notes: Aged for 18 months on its lees before disgorgement. It’s a creamy with a nice toast aroma. It is made in a well-balanced style, with fine bubbles and a dry, palate-cleansing finish.
Vineyards: 100% Altamira in the Uco Valley subregion
Soil type: Sandy loam over calcium carbonate coated gravels, 30 to 50 cm deep
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
Average age of the vines: 10 years
Winemaking: Methode Traditionnelle (Champenoise). Aged sur lattes for 18 months. Made following the tratidional method, fermentation goes until it gets totallay dry. No liquor is added to keep the freshnes, elegance and purity of is clean profile.
A versatile wine, good on its own or paired with any food.
"An impressive first release for this all-Pinot Noir bubbly from Paraje Altamira, aged for 18 months on its lees before disgorgement. It’s a creamy, bready, well-balanced style, with fine bubbles and a dry, palate-cleansing finish. A fizz to watch. 2017-22"
- Tim Atkin (Argentina Special Report 2017), 92 pts
"Perhaps with the same sort of structural power that Altamira reds possess, this sparkling rosé shows something immutable in body, lively texture, bracing acidity. The wine spent 18 months on the lees and this, no doubt, provides flavor complexities well beyond the fruit, but still the fruit predominates with intense aromas, substantial, and crisp, lively acidity. If what you’re looking for is a sparkler for carpaccio or roast beef, this is it."
- Descorchads 2018, 94 pts
Begude Cadet de la Begude Rouge is made from 35% Mourvedre, 35% Grenache and 30% Cinsault.
A selection of young vines, with no oak aging. Full fruit with a fresh and provencal character.
The noble terroir of Provence and the signature of the Tari Family raised at Chateau Giscours in Margaux and at the Domaine de la Begude in Bandol - the 7th generation of vignerons - gave birth to this valiant Cadet.
A selection with a fragrance of freedom, respectful of the environment, carried by the Mistral wind and the light of the Mediterranean Sea.
Average age of the vines: 10 years
Planted on clay and limestone soils.
Double sorting, total destemming, grapes pressuring and maceration in vats.
Aged 2 months on the lees.
Gentle filtration before bottling.
Grilled lamb, meat cooked with sauce, southern French cuisine and tasty dishes (tajines, couscous, paellas).
Review:
"This young, deep-purple-colored wine is almost the equivalent of a Bordeaux second wine. A blend across the two appellations of Côtes de Provence and Bandol, it has a rich potential, spicy, herbal while also packed with generous black fruits. The tannins will allow it to age, so save for 2019. -R.V."
- Wine Enthusiast (July 1st 2018), 90 PTS
"Roughly one-third each Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault, the 2017 Cadet de la Begude is a new IGP wine meant to introduce the domaine to new audiences. It's an unoaked, medium to full-bodied wine, bold and berry-scented, loaded with plum and raspberry flavors, soft tannins and a lingering finish. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Interim end of September, September 2018), 90 pts
As to the reds, the 2017 Cadet de la Begude is close to an even split of Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Cinsault that’s a selection of younger vines aged in tank. It’s a charming, textured, nicely layered Bandol that has good complexity in its spicy dark fruits and peppery aromatics. It’s already drinking nicely yet will keep for 7-8 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 90 pts
Fefinanes Albarino de 1583 Albarino is made from 100% Albarino.
Aged for 5 months in oak barrels (a combination of fine-grained American and French Allier barrels).
1583 is the birth date of the Viscount of Fefinanes, Gonzalo Sarmiento Valladares, builder of the Castle of Fefinanes, in Cambados.
They wanted to pay tribute to their ancestor with this wine that managed to reach a perfect harmony between the fruitiness of the Albarino grape and the complexity brought by the oak aging.
Lovely straw yellow color, clean and bright. The nose is reminiscent of ripe crystallized fruit and spices. The palate is elegant, round and well balanced, with a silky texture.
Excellent with shellfish, grilled or stewed fish, white meats, poultry.
Review:
"Fatter, fleshier, and more textured than the straight Albariño, the 2017 Albariño 1583 is another brilliant white from this estate that’s well worth seeking out. Notes of green apples, spice, and crushed rocks all flow to a medium to full-bodied white that has a dense, layered mid-palate, terrific balance, and a great finish. This beauty is geared for the dinner table and, as with the base cuvée, it should keep for 2-4 years easily. This cuvée is 100% Albariño that spent four months in French and American oak followed by two months in stainless steel."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 93 pts
Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle Hermitage Rouge Donnieres is made from 100% Syrah.
Made from 40-year-old vines planted on granitic and rocky soils in the Lieu dit "Les Donnieres" at the bottom of the Hermitage's hill.
Intense inky ruby red color.
The wine has plenty to offer with red and black fruit aromas, as well as a good minerality.
The finish is very long, clean and juicy and offers a great spicy mouthfeel.
Soil is clay, silica and round pebbles.
Hand harvested in small crates. The grapes are then pumped into tanks (full cluster, not destemmed).
It will stay in this tank for 15 days for the skin contact maceration and the Alcoholic fermentation.
Tey will also use the "rack and return" technique (delestage).
Then the wine is transfered into neutral French Oak barrels where the wine will complete the Malo-Lactic fermentation.
Delicious with grilled red meat such as venison or lamb and most cheeses.
Review:
"If the prebottling sample of the Fayolles' 2017 Hermitage Les Dionnieres is truly representative, purchasers will be in for a treat. It's inky dark in color, with a cassis-laden nose that's marked by hints of crushed stone. It's full-bodied and concentrated, tannic without being hard or overdone, and despite ample ripeness, there's structure and freshness. It looks to be the complete package and potentially in the same ballpark (quality-wise) as the impressive 2015. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (Issue #239, October 31th 2018), 94-96 pts
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Alain Jaume Lirac Rouge Roquedon is made from 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, 10% Carignan.
Inky color. The nose is dominated by aromas of wild fruit (blackcurrant, blackberry) and spices. Long and balanced mouth.
"Roquedon" deliver more of the "round"- "sweet" body from the Grenache, and cherry-red fruit expression. It is dark in color, almost black.
Traditional wine-making in stainless still vats. Crushed and destemmed grapes. Fermentation temperature : 30°C. 18 days of vatting with pigeages. Ageing mainly in vats and about 10% in oak barrels. Bottling 15 months after the harvest.
Review:
"Based on 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Mourvèdre and Carignan, the 2016 Lirac Roquedon offers more black (and even some blue) fruits to go with complex white pepper, garrigue, and new leather aromas and flavors. Ripe, opulent, and fleshy on the palate, this medium to full-bodied Lirac has loads of character."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 92 pts
Sunset Hills Viognier is made from 100 percent Viognier.
Tropical notes of pineapple and apricot on the nose. Crisp lemon lime, pear, and white flower wash over the palate.
