DeLille Grand Ciel 2010
| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | Washington Washington (Red Mountain) |
| Grape Type: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Winery: | DeLille Cellars |
SALE ON LAST FEW BOTTLES OF 2013 VINTAGE
Grand Veneur Dom Chateauneuf Du Pape Blanc La Fontaine 2013 is made from 100% Roussane.
Yellow-gold color. The nose is rich in aromas of citrus fruit, tropical fruit, quince and honey, with a touch of vanilla. On the palate, the same aromas appear together with a fatness combining exotic fruit and vanilla : the wine is rich, generous and elegant, with extraordinary length. "La Fontaine" is often considerated to be one of the best Châteauneuf du Pape white, and it is by definition a superb gastronomy wine.
Best between 1 and 8 years.
Review:
Their top white is the 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape La Fontaine Blanc. A blend of 100% Roussanne that’s aged 10% in small barrels (the majority is in stainless steel), it’s a classy, balanced and medium to full-bodied beauty that gives up classic buttered citrus, white peach, melon and spice. Like the classic cuvée, this will gain a touch more richness and flesh with another 6-12 months in bottle, and drink nicely for 3-4 years at a minimum.
This estate, under the leadership of Sebastien and Christophe Jaume, continues to be one of the reference point producers for relatively modern styled Châteauneuf du Papes. In addition to their top tier efforts, the portfolio is loaded with smoking values at just about every price point. I’ve listed domaine wines under Domaine Grand Veneur, and the negociant wines under Alain Jaume, which I believe might also include some vineyards owned by the Jaume family as well. Regardless, the quality here is superb across the range. In addition, they’ve excelled in both 2012 and 2013. Wine Advocate 93 Points
Grand Veneur Chateauneuf Du Pape Blanc La Fontaine is made from 100% Roussane.
Yellow-gold color. The nose is rich in aromas of citrus fruit, tropical fruit, quince and honey, with a touch of vanilla. On the palate, the same aromas appear together with a fatness combining exotic fruit and vanilla : the wine is rich, generous and elegant, with extraordinary length. "La Fontaine" is often considerated to be one of the best Châteauneuf du Pape white, and it is by definition a superb gastronomy wine.
Best between 1 and 8 years.
Review:
One of the top whites from Châteauneuf du Pape is unquestionably the La Fontaine cuvee from the Jaume family. Made from 100% Roussanne, the 2014 Châteauneuf du Pape La Fontaine Blanc sports a medium-gold color to go with fabulous notes of honeysuckle, crème brûlée and citrus. Medium to full-bodied, fresh, clean and crisp, it’s slightly more fresh and focused than normal, but that’s the vintage for the whites. It will be better in 6 months (probably by the time you read this) and have a decade or more of longevity. As always, the safe bet is to enjoy these in the first 5-6 years after the vintage.- Wine Advocate 92 Points
Grand Veneur Chateauneuf Du Pape Blanc La Fontaine is made from 100% Roussane.
Yellow-gold color. The nose is rich in aromas of citrus fruit, tropical fruit, quince and honey, with a touch of vanilla. On the palate, the same aromas appear together with a fatness combining exotic fruit and vanilla : the wine is rich, generous and elegant, with extraordinary length. "La Fontaine" is often considerated to be one of the best Châteauneuf du Pape white, and it is by definition a superb gastronomy wine.
Best between 1 and 8 years.
Review:
"A bigger, richer wine, the 2015 Châteauneuf du Pape La Fontaine Blanc is still aging in barrel and is marginally darker in color than the classic white. Buttered apples, brioche, honeycomb and hint of orange blossom emerge from this full-bodied, concentrated, seriously textured white that has moderate acidity and tons of fruit. It will be interesting to see how this comes together, but it has serious potential. - Jeb Dunnuck"
- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (Issue 227, October 28th 2016), 92-94+ pts
DeLille Grand Ciel 2010 100% Grand Ciel Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
DeLille Grand Ciel 2010 presents with a deep and dark fruit-scented nose of black cherries and black currants layered with lavender, hoisin spice and earthy loam notes. The bouquet reveals anise seed, cedar and Provence herbs as well. The flavor mirrors this complexity with Bing cherries, raspberries, red currants, cedar spice, toasty meringue and pie dough. Structurally this wine showcases the pedigree of the vineyard. There is a wonderful combination of concentration, elegance and a sense of perfect ripeness. The fruit and spices bask in youthful tannins continuing to an endless finish -- I love the mouthwatering savory nature of this wine. It is built to age.
"Dark berries and minerals on the vibrant, sweet nose. Intensely flavored but light on its feet, conveying an impression of serious power without any excess weight. Dark berry fruit flavors are complicated by subtle soil tones and strong graphite minerality. This wonderfully concentrated, seamless wine finishes with noble tannins and outstanding palate-staining persistence. A good bit of this material is declassified into DeLille's D2 and Four Flags bottlings. Wonderfully suave Washington cabernet for extended cellaring.- Stephen Tanzer"
- Vinous (November 2013), 94 pts
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.)"
- back
view More...
view More...
view More...
view More...
Sweet, savory aromas lead the way, sort of a mineral-laden black fruit---dark berries and plums. Smoke, dried herbs, violet, meat, wet stones and a hint of ironstone complete the package. It penetrates yet is a broad fragrant expression. I've always felt the aromatic range of this wine has its foundation in the four clones we use.
The black fruits continue on the palate, with black cherry, dark plum and spices echoing the aroma. While it's rich, almost luxurious, there's a tannic foundation and a structured acidity. Floral and earthy, the dried herbs and stones emerge here too, along with tobacco, thyme and lavender. This is a food-lover's Syrah, with weight, brightness and dimension.
(Clones 174, 383, 99 and Phelps) Vineyards: Ciel du Cheval Ranch at the End of the Road Classic Red Mountain character defines the Syrah La Côte Rousse, despite being the product of a cooler vintage. The warm site vineyards, Ciel du Cheval and Ranch at the End of the Road accumulated more heat than our other sites and ripened the four Syrah clones to a greater extent; we’ve never seen Red Mountain deliver less than full physiological maturity, every vintage. Nevertheless this vintage retains a vibrancy and energy that isn’t often found on Red Mountain.
Review:
The 2015 Syrah la Cote Rousse is a blockbuster Syrah from Red Mountain that’s from the Ranch at the End of The Road and Ciel du Cheval vineyards. It’s a mix of four different clones and is brought up in barrel. This deep, inky, seriously black Syrah gives up Hermitage-like notes of scorched earth, charred meats, graphite and licorice. It’s a big, concentrated effort that’s going to benefit from short-term cellaring and keep through 2035. Robert Parker 96 Points
Luis Canas Reserva Seleccion de la Familia Rioja is made from 85% Tempranillo and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Aged for 20 months in new oak barrels - 50% French 50% American.
45 years old vines
Alcohol: 14,5º
Total acidity: 5,73 g./l.
Volatile acidity: 0,73 g./l.
PH: 3,53
Free SO2: 28 mg./l.
Reducing sugars: 1,3 g./l.
The “family reserve” from one of Rioja Alavesa’s most enduring family-run wineries. Wines destined to be the Reserva de la Familia label are made from a selection of grapes from old vines, those which combine a series of characteristics such as good orientation and exposure to the sun, and a poor soil which ensures low yields.
This wine is one of very few Rioja wines to blend Cabernet Sauvignon with Tempranillo. Bodegas Luis Cañas was granted permission by the D.O.Ca. to plant this variety as an experiment in the early 1980s.
Tasting notes
A brillant garnet color with cherry hints on the edges.
The nose offers a complex variety of aromas that combine to bring an intense and sophisticated wine. Initially we can find very ripe berry fruits, smoky notes, raisins and liquor. After a certain amount of aeration, the cinnamon and jam notes appear and, with a little more time, the roasted and spiced aromas are noticed more clearly.
The palate is full, with a good presence of tannins, although these are offset by the glycerine like character, resulting in a fleshy sensation. Long lasting and lingering finish.
Winemaking and aging:
The grapes were cold macerated for 72 hours upon arrival at the winery. They underwent fermentation at 26º C in sealed cement tanks under constant thermal control, with the must pumped over daily. With the paste devatted by gravity, spontaneous malolactic fermentation took place after 45 days.
The wine was aged for 20 months in 50% medium toasted American and 50% French oak barrels. The barrel ageing not only adds tannins from the wood, but stabilizes the wine naturally. After the final racking, it was clarified in tanks with a small amount of natural egg white, decanted after 30 days and bottled directly without any type of filtration. Because this wine’s evolutionary cycle is quite slow, only corks of the highest quality available were used to ensure that it could be prolonged for several years.
Reviews:
"The 2012 Reserva Selección de la Familia is Tempranillo with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes it different from the majority of reds from Rioja. It matured 50/50 in French and American oak barrels for 20 months. It's slightly more international than the rest of the bottlings, the Cabernet adding some weight. There are notes of toasted sesame seeds and a touch from the French oak. It's clearly different, so it's a matter of preference which one you like best. 125,250 bottles produced. - Luis Gutierrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #235, February 2018), 91 pts
