Country: | United States |
Regions: | Washington Washington (Columbia Valley) |
Winery: | DeLille Cellars |
Grape Type: | Merlot |
Vintage: | 2012 |
Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
J. Christopher Appassionata Fortissimo Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
Inspired by the three movements of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Piano Sonata, there are three Appassionata Pinot Noirs, released at different tempos.
The finale of the Appassionata Pinot Sonata is Fortissimo (dynamically forceful). Selected for ultimate expressivity and longevity, it is not released until 10 years after the vintage. This is the epitome of expressive excellence that we are seeking in Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – a wine that combines brooding intensity with lilting grace and can stand alongside the classic wines of the world. The 2012 Fortissimo is muscular and full-bodied, with a deep color and seamless structure. In this phase of maturation, tertiary aromas begin to show a profound complexity and subtle earthiness that only develops with bottle age and cannot be accelerated
Review:
Loosen Bros. and J. Christopher Wines just released the Fortissimo and it is showing great acidity and fine-grained tannins. Its aromas and flavors of sweet red cherries, roasted pork shoulder and orange-pekoe tea are alive and kicking. Enjoy 2023–2032.
-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points
Hickinbotham Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Trueman represents Cabernet in Clarendon at its best. Its purity, its elegant style, its supple, polished nature ... it’s a wine of its own.Distinct in character, this is not like Cabernet from the Vales below or the hills to the east. From its pretty, delicate florals and musk, through to its silky blackcurrant and kalamata juice and down to its dark carbon soul - Trueman is a modern Cabernet that encapsulates all the toil and antiquity of Clarendon. Echoing the unearthed prose of wine writer Ebenezer Ward from 1886 on theCabernet sown from this very land – Trueman is “an excelled wine, of very marked flavor and bouquet”.
Review:
Deep garnet/purple, the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Hickinbotham Vineyard has a classic nose showing pronounced fresh blackcurrant and blackberry highlighted by cloves, menthol, pencil shavings and earth notes. Medium to full-bodied, taut and muscular, the palate has grainy tannins, nice freshness and a long finish.
-Wine Advocate 93 Points
Laurent-Perrier Brut Millesime is made from 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir.
The Vintage is the choice of an exceptional year from which only a selection of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Grands Crus will enter into a future iteration of Grand Siècle. It is a rare and outstanding wine that expresses the character of the year in the Laurent-Perrier style. The wine is white gold in color with a fine sparkle. A flowery nose of great complexity, with notes of citrus and white peaches. A wine that is very present with a lively attack and great finesse with good minerality and notes of grapefruit on the finish. The Vintage 2012 pairs well with seafood and noble fish as well as with poultry or veal. This wine sublimates hard pressed cheeses such as a young Comté or a Beaufort.
Review:
The 2012 Champagne Brut is equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and has 8 grams per liter dosage. Since the 1950s, only 30 vintages have been produced by the house. The aromatics are reminiscent of a Burgundian feel, with pleasant flinty reduction, smoke, and vibrant green fruits of pear and citrus blossoms. Offering an energetic mousse with green apple, yellow plum, lemon curd, and wet stone, this wine is well-balanced and should continue to improve over the coming 15-20 years. Best after 2022.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Elegant array of lemons, slate, biscuits, oyster shells, croissants and brioche. Precise and focused on the palate, with sharp acidity and tight, fine bubbles. Pure and youthful for now. 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir. Dosage 8g/L.
- -James Suckling 94 Points
Morlet Family Vineyards Billet Doux Late Harvest Semillon 2012 (half-bottle) is made from Sémillon (65%) Sauvignon Blanc (31%) Muscat à Petits Grains (4%)
rowing in the gravelly soil of an ancient riverbed in the beautiful Alexander Valley, the old vines benefit from hot afternoons and cool, foggy mornings, favorable for the development of Botrytis (Noble Rot). Extremely small yields in the Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat vineyards lead to the immensely concentrated fruit. Just as one receives a note from one’s sweetheart, we present this wine as a precious ‘Love Note’ or ‘Billet Doux.’
Deep crystal clear gold. Intense and complex bouquet of dry apricot, pêche de vigne and Reine Claude yellow plum intermixed with notes of quince, honey, Muscat and a hint of sweet vanilla. Full bodied, the palate is reminiscent of the nose, with a creamy sweet texture and a great intensity. The large amount of sugar and glycerin creates a highlighted viscosity. Along with the wine’s great concentration, richness and opulence, the classical aromatic complexity reveals a flamboyant yet harmonious ensemble, leading to a very long, complex and smooth finish.
Proprietary name ‘Billet Doux’
Name meaning Love Note
Type of wine Late harvest white wine
Appellation Alexander Valley
Vineyard singularity 25-60 year old vines Loamy and gravelly soils from an ancient river bed One cluster per shoot ‘de rigueur’
Typical harvest date November Picking Manual, small lugs, refrigerated truck
Sorting Cluster by cluster
Fermentation In barrel through native yeast
Upbringing 16 months French Oak from selected artisan Coopers
Bottling Unfined, filtered to prevent Malolactic
Cellaring time Decades
Serving Chilled and decanted
Review:
Produced from 65% Sémillon, 31% Sauvignon Blanc and 4% Muscat, the 2012 Billet Doux has a medium golden color and profoundly scented nose of beeswax, honeyed nuts, orange marmalade, Manuka honey and preserved lemons. Full-bodied, full-on sweet, rich, concentrated and oh-so-unctuous, it delivers powerful flavor layers and epic length. 175 cases were made.
-Wine Advocate 97 Points
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Filippino Elio Barbaresco San Cristoforo Riserva 10 Anni is made from 100% Nebbiolo.
This Riserva 100% Nebbiolo is produced on the hillsides of the San Cristoforo vineyard in Neive. A beautiful wine, full of fruity aromas, violet and raspberries, along with spicy hints of cinnamon, tobacco and vanilla. Full-bodied and elegant with intense flavors.
The best grapes are delicately pressed and the stalks are removed. The must ferments in stainless steel vats at a controlled temperature of 26°C with a maceration of 25 days. After racking, the new wine is put into 15-25 hl Slavonian oak casks for long months. Next, it is bottled and left to age for at least 7 years. The tenth year the wine is ready for the market.
DeLille D2 2012 is 56.5% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
The notable dark black-purple color suggests a concentrated and ripe vintage. With perfume-scented blueberries, cassis, cherries, raspberries and dried lavender, the nose is enticing. There is also wonderful oak and fruit integration displaying notes of cassis, red plums, tart cherries, cocoa nibs, cedar and Herbs de Provence. Mouthwatering ripe tannins give way to a long and dramatic finish reinforcing a rich and complete D2 that will give satisfaction for years to come.
The DeLille Cellars Estate
Founded in 1992, DeLille Cellars is a small family owned winery located in Woodinville, Washington. Their goal is to make the very best handcrafted, old-world style red and white wine made in the State of Washington.
The DeLille Cellars Vineyard
The beautiful ten-acre site sits above the Woodinville valley floor, overlooking the wineries of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery. All DeLille wines are elaborated with the highest “hand-crafted” standards. Only grapes from the oldest and best vineyards in Washington State are used. They are hand picked and hand sorted at crush, using only the finest berry clusters. The wines are aged in 100% new French oak barrels each and every year and are never filtered.
The DeLille Cellars Wines
In the words of David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate, December 2012:
"Winemaker-vineyard manager and self-styled "old world traditionalist" Chris Upchurch has been the guiding spirit of DeLille Cellars since its early-’90s inception, although the ostensibly Old World models followed have evolved significantly in both marketing and winemaking terms. Early-on, DeLille, unsurprisingly, – like so many other U.S. wineries – focused exclusively on a Bordelais vision. That said, Upchurch and his partners had been in business for nearly a decade before they purchased a vineyard: Grand Ciel, adjacent to Ciel du Cheval and Galitzine and managed by the accomplished and (seemingly in Red Mountain at least) ubiquitous Ryan Johnson. DeLille also vinifies and bottles separately the fruit of Harrison Hill’s antique vines (for more about which see my tasting note on the 2009 vintage) and a second estate vineyard project is afoot. The established if misleading name Chaleur Estate was retained for DeLille’s flagship wine crafted from contract fruit (second wine: D2); while the designation Doyenne – utilized from early-on for Syrah – morphed into an officially separate winery for experimental-minded exploration of themes inspired by Southern France. (For database purposes, we at The Wine Advocate / eRobertParker.com treat Doyenne as part of the relevant wines’ descriptions and a DeLille sub-label, which reflects the way those wines are marketed and the spirit in which they were presented to me. Comments on Upchurch’s vinificatory approaches can be found sprinkled though my tasting notes.)"
Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose NV is made Pinot Noir from 10 crus in the Montagne de Reims
The Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier is the most recognized rosé champagne in the world. The house uses its proprietary maceration technique and the wine is crafted for a fragrance and not mixed for a color. Held in an elegant bottle inspired by King Henri IV, it has been widely acknowledged for its consistent high quality for more than 40 years, and it is the benchmark for rosé champagne around the world.
Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé is truly remarkable for its highly expressive bouquet, stemming from very careful preservation of fresh fruit aromas during the wine making. Made with 100% Pinot Noir from 10 different "crus " (or villages), from the North and South areas of the Montagne de Reims, as well as the famous village of Bouzy. Grapes from carefully selected plots are meticulously sorted and de-stemmed before going into the vats, and the controlled maceration helps with the color extraction and the development of the full aromatic richness of the Pinot Noir.
Intensely fruity flavors, clean and slightly sharp, the wine opens to the sensation of freshly picked red berries: strawberries, Morello cherries, black currants and raspberries. The finish is supple and rounded.
Its aromatic depth makes it ideal for pairing with marinated raw fish, grilled prawns, exotic dishes, Parma ham and red fruit desserts. Those who are more daring will try it with Asian or Indian cuisine.
Review:
Ethereal floral and raspberry nose. A vinous palate with a mild mousse, the soft texture all wrapped in spice, nuts, smoke and a superior berry tincture. Very long and easy to enjoy.
-Decanter 95 Points
Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna is made from 60% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot .
The first impression of the nose is earthy with notes of cypress, vanilla bean, and spice. There are deep fruit flavors of black cherries, plums and blueberries followed by pleasant hints of chocolate and dried rose petals. On the palate, the tannins are chewy and accompanied by lively acidity; contributing to a long finish dominated by flavors of dried figs and licorice. The 2016 Valadorna is a time bomb of joy that will stand the test of time and age well in the cellar if patience permits.
This Merlot-led blend is sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia blocks, which produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The blocks are located within the cooler part of the estate, naturally irrigated by the stream that undulates through it, and feature sandy brown soils and lower yields than typical. These blocks are often the last Merlot blocks to ripen on the estate.
Review:
Solid and radiant in the glass it shows notes of pink grapefruit, flowering geraniums, pressed blueberries, plums and rosemary. There is more in the background in the brightness of the lemon, lime and bergamot notes. Full body, well-polymerized tannins that are decidedly vibrant and tense at the moment and an impressive long finish that will relax over time. Better from 2024.
-Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic.com 96 Points