Mordoree Lirac Rouge Reine des Bois 2018

Gagliasso Dolcetto d'Alba Vigna Ciabot Russ  is made from 100 percent Dolcetto.

This Dolcetto offers ripe dark fruit, spice and earthy sensations, as well as hints of black pepper and anisette.

Average density of vines: 5500 vines per hectare Method of cultivation: classical Guyot method with medium-short pruning; the vineyard are three, two with west exposure and one south with medium slope. Green harvest in two different times with reduction of grapes with a production per hectare around 5500 kg . The grapes are harvested very ripe with a meticulous selection; the fermentation took place in stainless steel vats with temperature controlled. The fermentation is around 28-30°C with 5-6 days of maceration ; malolattic fermentation took place spontaneously in stainless steel vats. After malolattic fermentation the wine stay for 2 month in old big barrels; after this period the wine is bottled and refined for 4-6 month.

Refreshing acidity makes this very food friendly. It would work well with pasta topped with porcini mushrooms.

A deep powerful Gran Reserva from one of Rioja Alavesa’s 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 ruby red color. Intense and concentrated on the nose with warm, fresh notes of chocolate and cocoa. The barrel is present with notes of toasted wood, peat and smoke with spicy and black fruit touches. It is potent on the palate and shows nerve and good structure, an expression of wines from great vintages.

Alain Jaume Rasteau Les Valats is made from 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre planted on clay and stones based soil.

40 Hectoliters / Hectare

Deep red garnet color. Aromas of fresh red berries. On the palate, the richness of the fruit and tannins harmonizes with the roundness of the wine.

The finish is long, with spicy touches and minerals notes. Complete and authentic.

Grapes planted on clay and stones based soil.

Review:

"Notes of wet sandstone, crushed earth and olive lend elegant restraint to crisp black cherry and blackberry here. A blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah, this concentrated wine is marked by savory tones of dried mint and sage. Fine but firm tannins and a mineral freshness accent the finish. It's ready now but should improve through 2030. - ANNA LEE C. IIJIMA"

- Wine Enthusiast (March 2019), 91 pts

"Earth, black olive and plummy fruit combine on the nose of the 2016 Rasteau Les Valats. It's a bit rugged, but in a good way, with savory tannins framing the dark flavors and lingering on the finish. Dark and dusty, it calls out for grilled meat. - Joe Czerwinski"

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #238, August 31st 2018), 90 pts

"The 2016 Rasteau Les Valats is another outstanding wine from this team, offering classic Rasteau earthy black fruits, gravelly minerality, and a touch of spice to go with a full-bodied, concentrated, powerful style on the palate. Based on 80% Grenache and 10% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre, it’s a powerful yet balanced 2016 that will keep for 7-8 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 90 pts

Ottella Lugana DOC Riserva Molceo is made from 100% Trebbiano di Lugana - 25-30 years old.

The wine is produced in the area of San Benedetto di Lugana in estate vineyards that are most suitable due to the high content of white clay.

COLOR • Golden, clear, intense.
NOSE • It immediately opens with fruity notes that are enchanting, penetrating and complex. Characterized by hints of citrus fruits, flowers and fine mineral and elegant notes.
PALATE • Complex and intense blend of mineral flavors; captivating, long, lively, both in the persistence and in the strength of the flavors, mingling with unmissable citrus sensation. A delicate evolution, fine flesh, perfect longevity.
Since 2009 it has won every year the TRE BICCHIERI GAMBERO ROSSO award.

The harvest and selection of the grapes are done strictly by hand, in small 17 kg crates.
PLANTING LAYOUT AND YIELD • Double bow Guyot, yield around 8,000 kg. of grapes per hectare, equivalent to 5,040 liters of wine or 63%.
HARVEST PERIOD • Harvest late in October.
FINING AND FERMENTATION • Delicate, soft pressing of the whole bunch for most of the production, the rest with gentle destemming by oscillation. Thereafter, a strict protocol of vinification: partial malolactic fermentation, fining for 16 months on the yeast and fine lees, which mostly takes place in stainless steel tanks (80%) and the rest in wooden tonneaux and barriques.

Stimulating with marine or freshwater fish, it also goes well with savory or fatty meat (goose or pork). Enjoyable with seasoned, herbal cheeses of various types and elaborate dishes.

Review:

"Intensely fragrant, this wine boasts aromas of citrus, perfumed white flower and yellow stone fruit. The elegantly structured, precise palate delivers juicy grapefruit, ripe apricot and energizing minerals while bright acidity lends balance. A bitter almond note graces the finish. Drink through 2024. - KERIN O’KEEFE"
- Wine Enthusiast (August 2019), 92 pts - EDITORS' CHOICE

Dark ruby color. Aromas of cherry, currant, vanilla bean and hint of tar. Full-bodied, with flavors of cherries, cocoa powder and oak. A touch of sweetness on entry with a little bit of air with soft tannins that are starting to integrate well.

The latest step in the project is Vinsacro (formerly Valsacro) Dioro. The earlier Valsacros were made from a field selection of the older vineyards. Now, thanks to the new facility Amador has been able to build an upmarket version of Vinsacro (formerly Valsacro) with a four-stage selection process that includes an initial field selection of the fruit followed by a second table selection as the grapes come into the winery. After fermentation wine from selected tanks is transferred to new French oak barrels for 12-14 months of barrel age. Finally, the best barrels are set aside for Dioro and the remainder used to "upgrade" the normal Vinsacro.

Vinsacro Dioro is a blend of grapes from 100+ year old "vidau" vineyards where many varieties were planted together in the same plot.

Today the grapes are harvested and vinified separately. The final blend depends on the vintage but typically it's Tempranillo (50%), Garnacha (20%) and remaining 30% is a mix of mainly Graciano (10%) & Mazuelo (10%) with a little of Monastrell (5%) & Bobal (5%).

Review:

"The top of the range is the 2015 Vinsacro Dioro, a wine that is only produced in excellent vintages. It's a blend of 40% Vidau (the old field blend) plus 45% Tempranillo and 15% Mazuelo, from a slope in the south of the Monte Yerga called Cuesta la Reina, from a big, 120-hectare plot that has been with the Escudero family for generations. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel with a long maceration. It matured in new French (70%) and American oak barrels for 18 months. It's still very young and a little shy, with a reticent nose where the lactic and spicy aromas are intermixed with earthy and dark fruit aromas. The palate is full-bodied but perfectly balanced, compact, powerful and serious, with abundant tannins, extract and clout. This should develop nicely in bottle, given its stuffing and balance. An excellent, modern version of a classical Rioja. 20,000 bottles were filled in June 2017. - Luis Gutierrez"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #235, February 2018), 92 pts

"(sourced from a 100+ year old plot of mixed varieties; aged in new and used French oak barrels for 14 months) Deep, bright-rimmed ruby. Ripe black and blue fruits on the expansive, spice- and smoke-accented nose, along with suggestions of vanilla, candied flowers and cola. The oak qualities recede quickly on the palate, which displays sappy, deeply concentrated boysenberry, black raspberry and spicecake flavors that show a suave blend of richness and energy. Supple tannins build steadily on the penetrating finish, which leaves cherry-cola and baking spice notes behind. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (February 2019), 93 pts

"I loved the 2015 Vinsacro Dioro Rioja, and this beauty is 50% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 10% each of Mazuelo and Graciano, and the balance Mourvèdre and Bobal, all of which spent 12-14 months in French oak. It boasts a deep ruby/purple color as well as smoking good notes of black currants, dried herbs, licorice, and background oak. Medium to full-bodied, seamless, and layered on the palate, with terrific fruit and impeccable balance, I suspect it will shine for over a decade."

- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 93 pts

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.