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Domaine Meo-Camuzet Nuits-St-Georges Aux Murgers Premier Cru 2020

ID No: 449424
Country:France
Region:Burgundy
Winery:Meo-Camuzet
Grape Type:Pinot Noir
Organic:Yes
Vintage:2020
Bottle Size:750 ml
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Domaine Meo-Camuzet Echezeaux Les Rouges Du Bas Grand Cru 2020


Échezeaux is loyal to its appellation through the finesse of its attack on the palate and its overall balance. But it's also a wine with pronounced acidity, which gives it freshness and structure and bestows upon it a sometimes austere finish.

Review:

The 2020 Échezeaux Grand Cru Les Rouges du Bas bursts with aromas of ripe cherries, berries and plums, mingled with notions of rose petals, raw cocoa and loamy soil. Full-bodied, ample and dramatic, it's broad and enveloping, with succulent acids and a rich core of fruit.

The 2020 Echézeaux Grand Cru has a crisp, quite pure bouquet with a mixture of red and blue fruit, a touch of violet, maybe just a bit pinched at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with a sappy opening, quite chewy compared to others and at the moment, this just attenuates a little on the finish. I need to be more convinced by this cuvée, at the moment, surpassed by their top-notch Premier Crus.

 Vinous Antonio Galloni: 93 Wine Advocate: 95 95 Points
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots 2020

Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots 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 38.3 acres 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.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er cru lies in the “Zone Vosnoise” or northern end of Nuits-Saint-Georges just below Les Damodes. It borders Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er just to its north. Its position slightly lower on the slope with deep soil full of pebbles results in a richer and fuller wine.

The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 30-60% for the premier crus. 

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 30-60% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.

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:

Dense rich black purple. The nose is very heady but Boudots can carry it. Black cherry but there are nuances here, not just power. A wonderful depth, length and breadth to this, brilliantly energetic fruit, tannins just in the right place, refreshing mineral acidity. Finishes on black fruit with a touch of liquorice but wafts of redder notes are never far away.

The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru has the best aromatics among Grivot’s Nuits Saint-Georges with very well defined red berry fruit, briary and light sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, slightly savory on the entry, fresh and saline on the finish. This has real verve and class, though it will benefit from time in bottle. Drink 2026 - 2050

‘The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots Ter Cru has the best aromatics among Grivat Nuits Saint-Georges with very well defined red berry fruit, briary and lignt sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-badi -Vinous 93-95 Points A wine with the substance and structure to support the generous lashings of new oak used for maturation, and the overall effect is elegant and classic in style. Aux Boudots, where Grivot has 0.85ha, is at the northern edge of Nuits, just over the border from Vosne-Romanée Malconsorts. They began to pick on the 3rd of September – Etienne specified that they are very particular that the tannins are ripe and do what they can to prolong the vegetative cycle. Still, the grapes were picked with an entirely correct pH of around 3.4.

An extremely ripe nose lacks the same freshness as the best in the range though importantly, there are no notes of port-like nuances on the black cherry and spice aromas. The dense, powerful and very serious medium weight plus flavors possess excellent mid-palate density while exhibiting fine length on the long if slightly warm finale. This is a big Boudots that may better harmonize with time in bottle. Drink 2035+

 95 Points
Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux Grand Cru 2020

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.

This is pure, racy and enticing, hosting aromas and flavors of black currant, blackberry, violet and iron. This is about finesse, grace and precision balance, with saturated fruit flavors persisting on the superlong aftertaste. Needs a decade in the cellar.

 Wine Spectator: 97 97 Points
Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru 2020

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.


Domaine Jean Grivot Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2020

Domaine Jean Grivot Clos de Vougeot 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 38.3 acres 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:

Clos de Vougeot grand cru was acquired by Étienne’s grandfather, Gaston Grivot, in 1919. The total holding is 4.6 acres from the middle of the vineyard to the lower wall and the average vine age is 40 years old. A good Clos de Vougeot should be a complete wine without any one feature standing out. It is a perfect balance of power, aroma, and flavor.


Wine Production:

The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 40-70% percent for the grands crus.


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:

This round version is packed with ripe black cherry, violet, graphite and tobacco flavors. The silky texture and vibrant acidity work in tandem, while refined tannins provide support without getting in the way. There are a few edges to be worked out, yet this is long and concentrated.

Dark black purple in colour, ultra-concentrated in the rich ripe raspberry mode, but not over the top. What an incredible concentration of fruit on the palate! Super-dark raspberry, firm Clos Vougeot tannins but not overdone, just the right acidity. This is certainly a very good wine, and may develop into something even more spectacular.

 Wine Spectator: 95 97 Points
Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Premier Cru Les Champans 2021

The 2021 Domaine Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Champans Premier Cru is from the domain’s largest premier cru holding, 4.2 acres whose vines date from 1934, 1971, and 1985. Champans is down-slope in the premier cru band, and its wine typically has more fruit and power than other Voillot Volnays.

Review:

The 2021 Volnay Les Champans 1er Cru has much more brightness and delineation than the Fremiets this year, with red cherries, wild strawberries and just a touch of iodine and sous-bois . This is nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine structure, pliant tannins and a harmonious finish. Not the most complex Champans encountered from this address, yet it has class.

For reports and full tasting notes, go to Tim Atkin MW's website.

The 2021 Volnay Les Champans 1er Cru has much more brightness and delineation than the Fremiets this year, with red cherries, wild strawberries and just a touch of iodine and sous-bois . This is nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine structure, pliant tannins and a harmonious finish. Not the most complex Champans encountered from this address, yet it has class.

A softly spicy and noticeably earthier nose blends notes of both red and dark currant with those of plum and violet. The supple, round and velvet-textured medium-bodied flavors seem quite forward though this impression contrasts with the compact and youthfully austere finale. Note that this is sufficiently firm to benefit from at least a few years of keeping.

 Vinous Antonio Galloni: 93 93 Points
Product Description

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

Winery: Meo-Camuzet


For more than four centuries, the members of the Méo family have devoted themselves to growing vines and making wines. They came originally from the Burgundy village of Selongey, in the north of Côte d'Or, where today, even if the vines, alas, have disappeared, a pressing house, dating from the year 50 AD, bears witness to the presence there of Gallo-Roman winegrowers.

From the 19th century onwards, the Méo children chose the course of study. The great-grandfather of Jean-Nicolas, for example, was a primary-school teacher, his grandfather graduated from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (civil engineering) and his father, Jean Méo, was a graduate of the École Polytechnique and an engineer in the Corps des Mines. Jean was later to be elected a Member of the European Parliament and sat on the Council of Paris.

It was thanks to Jean Méo's mother, Marcelle Lamarche-Confuron, originating from an old winegrowing family in Vosne (with already a small activity as négociants), that the Méos came to settle in Vosne-Romanée. 

Jean Méo's grandmother was the first cousin of Étienne Camuzet, a very colourful character.

Étienne Camuzet (1867-1946) was a winegrower in Vosne-Romanée, mayor of the village and also an MP for Côte d'Or from 1903 to 1932. In 1920, he had the opportunity to purchase the Château du Clos de Vougeot with some of the vines, but instead of living there, he preferred to lodge his tenant farmers in it (indeed, because of his political activities, he no longer had time, himself, to look after his own vineyards). He was to sell it in November 1944: not surprisingly, the château had suffered during the war. He had (already!) understood the importance for Burgundy to have a "temple” to help promote its wine. Étienne Camuzet thus chose to pass it on to the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin.

As for the vines, it was the 20 hectares (50 acres) at the top of the Clos that were for sale ... Étienne Camuzet enlisted the help of his fellow winegrowers from Vosne-Romanée to acquire them. He would keep 3 hectares (7.5 acres) himself, immediately below the château.


Following the death of Étienne Camuzet, his daughter, Maria Noirot, inherited the estate from her father and retained the tenant farmers. She had no children, however, and when she died, in 1959, she bequeathed the estate to her nephew, Jean Méo, who at that time had already left Vosne-Romanée, and since 1958 had been a member of General de Gaulle's cabinet. Having been regularly in close contact with his uncle, who had shared with him his passion for the vine, teaching him to respect and love wine, the youngest of the Méos could not allow the winegrowing saga of the family to come to an end. He decided, therefore, to take the estate in hand, with help from his father, Gaston, initially, and then from his mother. In that way, Jean Méo was able to remain with General de Gaulle and to pursue his career in Paris, which would lead him to manage in succession several large companies: ELF, France Soir, Agence Havas, Institut Français du Pétrole and others. He was also elected to the European Parliament and sat on the Council of Paris. Throughout that period, he relied on four tenant farmers, including the great winegrower, Henri Jayer, who was one of the first to control temperatures systematically during vinification, always bringing out the freshness and the fruit, thus making the nose and the texture of the wine more attractive. Jean Méo was to manage the estate from 1959 to1984, after which he called upon the new generation.

In 1981, the Camuzet estate became Méo-Camuzet, and the first wines bottled under that name were those of the 1983 vintage.


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Delas Hermitage Les Grandes Vignes Ligne de Crete 2019

Delas Hermitage Les Grandes Vignes Ligne de Crete is made from Syrah. 

The nose discloses aromas of spice and leather intertwined with deep berry aromas (blackberry, redcurrant) and heady floral notes, liquorice and incense. Its richness, complexity and elegance are by no means a contradiction. The finest granite soils of the Hermitage hillside are to thank for this wine's incredible minerality and finesse. The wine is rich and dense on entry to the palate, where it shows an elegant, broad and flavorsome character. The ripe, smooth and well-integrated tannins contribute to the wine's powerful yet harmonious structure. The palate reveals the same aromas as those found on the nose with nuances of blueberry, raspberry, violet and bitter chocolate. Ligne de Crête is characterized by its exceptional structure, harmony and balance.

This remarkably smooth and elegant wine makes the perfect partner for a pigeon pie, beef tartare ravioli or a roast fillet of deviled duckling with cranberries. It also makes an excellent choice for woodcock, hare "à la Royale" or even a roast rack of lamb in a herb crust.

Review:

Powerful, highly perfumed aromas of black/blue fruit liqueur, licorice, olive and potpourri are complemented by an exotic suggestion of incense. Stains the palate with intense boysenberry, cherry, cassis and spicecake flavors that deepen steadily through the midpalate. Shows a suave blend of power and delicacy and betrays no rough edges. Youthfully chewy tannins add shape to an extremely long, mineral-driven finish that delivers outstanding clarity and floral thrust.

Whiffs of espresso, ore and charred meat mingle into thunderous flavors of crème de cassis and roasted plums in this wine. A single-site expression of Les Grandes Vignes from a ripe yet fresh vintage, it's a showstopping Syrah marked with a creamy texture and ripe tannins. Hermitage is not known for youthful pleasures but this rare bottling embraces the hedonism of adolescence along with its potential to gain power and complexity far beyond 2050. Anna Lee C. Iijima

Inky ruby color. Expansive, smoke- and mineral-accented black and blue fruits, licorice, smoky bacon, mocha, violet and licorice on the highly perfumed nose. Appealingly sweet, mineral-accented cassis, boysenberry, fruitcake, floral pastille and vanilla flavors show superb depth and become spicier with aeration. Shows superb detail and mineral lift on the youthfully tannic, extremely persistent and incisive finish, which features resonating floral and exotic spice notes.

The 2019 Hermitage Ligne De Crete Lieu-Dit Les Grandes Vignes comes from the top of Hermitage, in a tiny vineyard of thin, granite soils. It offers a deep purple hue as well as brilliant aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, chocolate, new saddle leather, and spring flowers. More classic smoky meatiness emerges as it sets in the glass, and it's medium to full-bodied and powerful on the palate, with a concentrated, focused mouthfeel, good acidity, and building tannins. There's nothing out of place and it's not over the top, it’s just pure, classic Hermitage greatness. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.

 Vinous Antonio Galloni: 98 Wine Enthusiast: 97 98 Points
Tenimenti Angelini Val di Suga Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino Vertical 2013 2015 2016

This is a 6 pack with 2 bottles each from vintages from 2013, 2015, and 2016. 


***Tenimenti Angelini Val di Suga Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino 2016:

The 2016 Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino is the most brooding of the lineup from Val di Suga and is sourced from the southwest of the region on sandy soils. There are aromatics of black raspberry, licorice, menthol, sage, cinnamon, and iron-rich earth. Its Mediterranean influence is felt on the palate with ripe black cherry, dried herbs, and sun-baked earth. This is the fullest bodied and most savory of the Val di Suga lineup, with more roundness and grip. Its structure will benefit from cellaring for several years and will be great drinking over the next 20 years or more. 2026-2040.

-Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points


***Tenimenti Angelini Val di Suga Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino 2015:

The 2015 Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino is more introverted on first opening, with notes of black plum, licorice, dried Mediterranean herb, and sun-baked earth. On the palate, it offers a tart dried fruit character, with a building tannin structure that finishes with tomato leaf, and bitter herbs. The most rustic and burly of the wines in the lineup of the 2015 Val di Suga vintage, it will benefit from allowing some time in cellar to see how this matures and its tarriness develops. Drink 2026-2036

-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points


***Tenimenti Angelini Val di Suga Vigna Spuntali Brunello di Montalcino 2013:

Plenty of spices and fresh herbs on the nose, such as dried rosemary and nutmeg, to match the underlying dried redcurrants and cranberries. Full-bodied with plenty of concentration, but still shows a very sturdy, tannin backbone and punchy acidity, to drive this through to a long finish. Drink in 2021.

-James Suckling 94 Points

"Funkelndes, sattes Rubin mit feinem Granatschimmer. Sehr klare und duftige Nase, satt nach Brom- und Maulbeere, dazu etwas Leder und Lakritze. Zeigt sich am Gaumen satt und stoffig, öffnet sich mit griffigem Tannin in vielen Schichten, sehr langer Nachhall im Finale, ein Langläufer."

-Falstaff 97 Points

 97 Points
Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots 2020

Domaine Jean Grivot Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Aux Boudots 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 38.3 acres 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.

Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er cru lies in the “Zone Vosnoise” or northern end of Nuits-Saint-Georges just below Les Damodes. It borders Vosne-Romanée Aux Malconsorts 1er just to its north. Its position slightly lower on the slope with deep soil full of pebbles results in a richer and fuller wine.

The grapes are destemmed and maceration à froid usually lasts just a day or two. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous and malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel. Depending on the vintage, the proportion of new oak is around 30-60% for the premier crus. 

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 30-60% new Burgundian pièce brings notes of vanilla, toast, and baking spices.

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:

Dense rich black purple. The nose is very heady but Boudots can carry it. Black cherry but there are nuances here, not just power. A wonderful depth, length and breadth to this, brilliantly energetic fruit, tannins just in the right place, refreshing mineral acidity. Finishes on black fruit with a touch of liquorice but wafts of redder notes are never far away.

The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots 1er Cru has the best aromatics among Grivot’s Nuits Saint-Georges with very well defined red berry fruit, briary and light sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, slightly savory on the entry, fresh and saline on the finish. This has real verve and class, though it will benefit from time in bottle. Drink 2026 - 2050

‘The 2020 Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Boudots Ter Cru has the best aromatics among Grivat Nuits Saint-Georges with very well defined red berry fruit, briary and lignt sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-badi -Vinous 93-95 Points A wine with the substance and structure to support the generous lashings of new oak used for maturation, and the overall effect is elegant and classic in style. Aux Boudots, where Grivot has 0.85ha, is at the northern edge of Nuits, just over the border from Vosne-Romanée Malconsorts. They began to pick on the 3rd of September – Etienne specified that they are very particular that the tannins are ripe and do what they can to prolong the vegetative cycle. Still, the grapes were picked with an entirely correct pH of around 3.4.

An extremely ripe nose lacks the same freshness as the best in the range though importantly, there are no notes of port-like nuances on the black cherry and spice aromas. The dense, powerful and very serious medium weight plus flavors possess excellent mid-palate density while exhibiting fine length on the long if slightly warm finale. This is a big Boudots that may better harmonize with time in bottle. Drink 2035+

 95 Points
Argot Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Sage Ridge Vineyard 2019


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:

Always one of the more exotic wines in the lineup, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sage Ridge Valley just about jumps out of the glass with its red, blue, and black fruits as well as floral, orange blossom, and bouquet garni-like nuances. It's beautiful on the palate as well and is medium to full-bodied, has supple, seamless tannins, wonderful balance, and a great finish. As with all of these 2019s, it has plenty of up-front appeal, yet I think it will benefit from just a year or two of bottle age and have 15-20 years of prime drinking.

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.

 Wine Advocate: 95 95 Points
Luis Canas Rioja Hiru 3 Racimos 2017

Luis Canas Rioja Hiru 3 Racimos  is 100% Tempranillo
60 years old vines
Alcohol: 14,5º
Total acidity: 6,0 gr/l
Volatile acidity: 0,50 gr/l
PH: 3,47
Free SO2: 25 mg/l
Reducing sugars: 1,8 gr/l

This wine is a response to our quest to find the perfect wine, one that combines structure, complexity and balance. It is the result of a careful selection of grapes not from the vines but from the appropriate clusters, those that naturally produce three or less clusters and which are 60 or more years of age. Vines situated on slopes and terraces of limestone and clay soil, well exposed to the sun. These grapes are harvested in small boxes at the very best moment, then inspected on the selection table and vinified in small groups at a controlled temperature. After alcoholic fermentation they are macerated to extract their full potential. The resulting most is then settled in new French and American oak barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. This second fermentation ensures the wine gains in complexity and aromatic intensity, it also stabilises its colour.

Fully ripened and concentrated fruit aromas with balsamic and spicy mineral nuances, notes of blackberry and blueberry preserve wrapped in creamy oak, caramel and milky coffee tones. The palate is concentrated, unctuous in the centre, balanced, sweet, with fine tannins. Very long finish, expressive, clearly marked with the character of the soil.

Hiru 3 racimos is a complex wine and so is its pairing with food. We must consider two options, either drink it in light sips so that the wine itself is the star of the feast, or serve with solid dishes that can match its vigour. An Iberian pork loin with roasted peppers, steak with mushrooms and plums, wild boar stew or pheasant in port are dishes that blend incredibly with this characterful wine.

 


Bodega Aleanna Gran Enemigo El Cepillo Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2018

Enemigo El Enemigo Gran Enemigo is made from 100% Cabernet Franc. 

In the spectrum of people who pay attention to detail, winemakers are often incredibly detail-oriented.  This can sometimes spill over to become an internal battled, and, as Alejandro Vigil and Adrianna Catena state, "We are our own worst enemy." El Enemigo pays homage to this internal struggle.

The nose presents sweet aromas of black ripen fruits with hints of vanilla and chocolate, which appear after the oak ageing. The mouthfeel is sweet with structured, persistent tannins due to the natural acidity of this wine, leading into an excellent long finish. 

Review:

The nose of the 2018 Gran Enemigo El Cepillo Single Vineyard, from a low-yielding and drier year, is full of curry, a note that was a constant across the three vintages I tasted together, but it tends to be stronger in low-yielding and dry years like this. It's also floral and comes through as aromatic and a little exotic, in a good way, with elegance, persistence and very pure flavors. It has fine-grained tannins, great acidity and balance. 7,200 bottles. All these single-vineyard bottlings mature in ancient 4,000-liter oak foudres for some 15 months.

Pretty and inviting on the nose with gorgeous aromas of floral violet, cassis and completed with a lifted, delicate liquorice note. The palate is graced with deep herb, pepper, crunchy red fruit and graceful, silky tannins.

 Wine Advocate: 97 97 Points
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