Benjamin Romeo La Cueva del Contador is made from 91% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha.
Named after the centuries-old caves or “cuevas” carved out of the hillside below the castle of San Vicente in Sonsierra north of the Ebro, this wine is composed of 91 percent Tempranillo and 9 percent Garnacha. The fruit is sourced from eight different plots that yield about 1.2 kg per vine. Fermentation begins after a three-day cold maceration and the wine is aged for nineteen months in 100 percent new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration.
The palate offers flavors of blackberry coulis, Damson plums, Rosemary and well-integrated tannins; this wine is well balanced and youthful with a long powerful finish. Both red and black fruit are pronounced in the nose, but there are also mineral and herbal notes of gravel and lavender.
Review:
I found cleaner aromas and a fresher quality and finer tannins in the 2019 La Cueva del Contador, a quite complete wine with elegance and finesse combined with power and concentration. The oak is still noticeable after 18 months in new barriques, and I'd wait a little longer before pulling the cork. It has the perfume of La Cueva in the background. It should resurface with a little more time in bottle. 10,000 bottles produced.
-Wine Advocate 95 Points
Betz Family La Serenne Syrah is 100% Syrah
La Serenne is the most reflective of the site/vintage dynamic of our three single-site 2012 Syrahs. Lovers of this wine know that its source, the Boushey Vineyard, is the highest altitude of the three vineyards and is typically the latest harvested. This cool site was accentuated by the cooler season and the results reflect the seriousness of this vineyard and its care.
An extraordinary, nearly impenetrable black purple color leads to a concentrated, inky aromatic impression: smoky black cherry and wild blackberry dominate, but a litany of supporting aromas is already emerging: smoke, violet, mushroom, roasted meat, Chinese 5 spice and minerals. It has a full attack on entry and a big, rich mouthfeel that goes on and on.
Review:
Aromas of blackberries, black raspberries, violets, black and white peppercorns and stones. It’s medium-bodied with fine, tightly knit tannins. Seamless and transparent with a silky texture. Very bright and pure with layers of wild berries and minerals. Tar and dark tobacco, too. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 95 Points
Black Stallion Napa Valley Limited Release Red.
The winery takes its name from a major equestrian area that once occupied the grounds. Its calling card is Cabernet Sauvignon, made in a classic Napa Valley style that offers richness and finesse. While single-vineyard wines are occasionally bottled, most Black Stallion wines are made from small lots cherry-picked from the valley’s disparate winegrowing zones. These are then painstakingly blended to create luxurious, unforgettable wines that capture the depth and brilliance of Napa Valley’s diverse growing regions.
Review:
This blend is softly layered in dense, rich tones of plum and cherry, with a rounded approachability and well-integrated tannin and oak. Chocolate, leather and clove accent the finish.
-Wine Enthusiast 90 Points
Deep cherry red in color with a garnet rim. On the nose, it is intense and elegant, with a base of ripe fruits that blends with the subtle tertiary aromas of sweet spices and cocoa. On the palate, it is balanced, full-bodied but with sweet and pleasant tannins, with a long and very persistent aftertaste.
Review:
Brize Clos Medecin Anjou Villages Rouge is made from 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.
This is the flagship of the Estate. Clos Medecin has been produced at the estate for 90 years. All the grapes for this wine come from a very special parcel. The wine offers red fruit aromas. It is fresh, round and ample in the mouth.
Brulesecaille Rouge Sans Soufre Ajoute is made from 50% Merlot and 50% Malbec.
Deep purple color, powerful nose of blackcurrant and floral as well. Full on the palate with soft and ripe tannins with a fresh aromatic return.
Aging potential 5 years.
Pairs with boeuf Bourguignon, grilled vegetables and strong cheeses.
Bydand Pinot Noir Umino Vineyard is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
This small, sustainably farmed vineyard perches on a south-facing ridge in the Sebastopol Hills area of the esteemed Russian River Valley AVA, and has produced exceptional Pinot Noir for Bydand since their first vintage. Third-generation farmer David Umino rejected early assessments that the site was too cool for viticulture, and planted Pinot Noir there in 1996. The cold maritime winds in fact help to modulate ripening, and protect the grape’s natural purity and balance - resulting in fruit-driven wines with expressive red fruit and dark berry flavors, balanced with crushed rock and mouth-watering freshness. Velvety tannins coat the palate, providing an alluring and persistent finish.
This site combines the best of the earthy west Sonoma Coast and well-fruited Russian River.
Capanna Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is made from 100 percent Sangiovese.
TYPE: DOCG
BLEND: 100% Sangiovese carefully selected in the oldest vineyards and only of the best harvests.
VINIFICATION:
Alcoholic fermentation with maceration of the skins (30-35 days) at a controlled temperature and spontaneous malolactic fermentation, both in truncated cone-shaped Slavonian oak vats.
AGEING:
In Slavonian oak casks of 10 to 25 hl for over 40 months; followed by ageing in bottles for at least 15 months.
NOTES:
Colour: deep ruby red, strong, lively.
Bouquet: very intense and complex, fruity and spicy, with red fruit, jam and liquorice shades; great prospects of future development.
Taste: great structure in the acid-tannin components, well supported by the soft ones; extremely persistent.
Food pairings: roast red meats, game and very aged cheeses.
Review:
Bright ruby in the glass. First impact is low key, with red cherry, leather, tobacco, fresh violet and balsamic notes. The attack is velvety, with a full body, lifted acidity and dense, ripe tannins. Character emerges from the glass, meaty and bloody. Thick, dry finish that’s fierce. Drink or hold
-James Suckling 95 Points
Carmo Vinhos Madeira Verdejo 10 Yr an amber medium dry wine with medium body and acidity. Rich aroma and flavor of dried fruits, nuts and caramel, showing a vibrant character, lengthy and well balanced. An excellent aperitif or as an accompaniment to pates.
Carra Beaujolais Blanc Pierres Dorees is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The nose shows step by step floral and fruity aromas. A vanilla hint in the end with a lingering finish: those are typical Chardonnay aromas.
Carra Beaujolais Rouge Les Ronzieres is made from 100% Gamay.
From granitic and sandy soils, this Beaujolais Rouge exhibits a nice color, with hints of cherry and garnet, and reveals aromas of red fruit dominated by cassis and strawberry. This cuvée was specially made to enjoy young with an easy drinking mouthfeel perfect for charcuterie and cheeses.
Carra Beaujolais-Villages Gamay Noir Non filtré is a new project for 2024.
We wanted a very fruity style of Beaujolais Villages using a good amount of carbonic maceration during the vinification.
The wine has a very nice ruby red color and a very pure and delicate nose of pure strawberries and cream that is very defined and seductive.
The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, lively red cherry fruit and pleasing weight on the finish.
Excellent with charcuterie (garlic sausage, dry sausage, boudin noir), but also delicious with Coq au vin (Chicken cooked in a red wine sauce).
The wine will also goes well with fresh fruit and a splash of Crémant de Bourgogne for a Burgundian Sangria.
Mark your calendars for June! Caymus 50th Anniversary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a testament to fifty years of exceptional winemaking by the dedicated, passionate, and family-owned Caymus Vineyards. Since 1972, they have remained a beacon of excellence in Napa Valley, staying true to their roots and producing unparalleled Cabernet Sauvignon. This limited edition wine is a celebration of their rich history, tradition, and relentless pursuit of quality across generations.
Winery Notes:
Each year, we set aside the best barrels of our Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley to produce Special Selection. Distinguished by extremely fine, velvety tannins and enjoyable upon release or with aging. A wine of structure with intense concentration of supple flavors and dark fruits. Special Selection is the only wine in the world honored twice as Wine Spectator magazine’s “Wine of the Year.”
Chateau Bourdieu Absolu Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux is made from 79% merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec.
When Luc Schweitzer was joined by his two sons Richard and Ludovic at the estate, he wanted to embrace this new chapter in the family history and launched in 2016 a special cuvée from Château Bourdieu called "Absolu". This top-of-the-range cuvée is the best of what their terroir has to offer. The 35 year-old facing south vines benefit from a meticulous care: regular maintenance of the soil, yield control, manual leaf stripping, sorting of the berries - all practices that ensure the quality of this great Bordeaux wine.
A deep garnet color with magnificent purple highlights. The nose is intense and full, revealing notes of ripe black fruits and subtle hints of vanilla and roasted coffee. Great structure with finesse and tannic density that brings depth and length to the mouth. The aromatic purity of the perfectly ripened grape varieties is magnified by the complex and subtle oak flavors.
Pair: Rib of grilled beef and tournedos Rossini - butter pan-fried beef filet served on a crouton, and topped with a hot slice of fresh foie gras.
Review:
"A rich, opulent wine, this is full of dark tannins and powerful fruit. It's a big wine, with licorice and dense wood flavors that give a smoky character and reflect some serious extraction. The wine needs to smooth out to showcase its concentrated richness. Drink from 2024. - Roger VOSS"
- Wine Enthusiast (May 2021), 91 pts
Louis Barruol describes the microclimate of the vineyard Malleval as “very cold” which allows the grapes to retain acidity and showcase the floral aromas of the local Sérine variety. Aromas and flavors of blackberries and wild strawberries are accented by notes of peppercorns, tobacco, peonies, and violets.
Syrah, with its deep flavors and firm tannins, is a natural match for grilled or smoked meat and dishes featuring herbs, roasted mushrooms, and onions. Seared venison or beef with black pepper and thyme or a Moroccan tagine of pigeon or chicken are complimented by the spicy characteristic of Syrah.
Review:
This rich and impeccably balanced Gigondas has everything we look for in the wines of this appellation. What a wide spectrum of aromas with everything from raspberry to candied orange, plus a slew of delicate spicy notes and fresh Mediterranean herbs. I love the interplay of richness, fine tannins and lively acidity on the generous, but not expansive palate. Very long, refined finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 94 Points
Powerful, with steeped plum and cherry coulis merging with potpourri and charred garrigue on a ripe, lush palate. Packs a wall of iron that provides a ballast for the ripe fruit, while refined tannins build in intensity. Long and complex, with a gorgeous expression of place. Grenache, Mourve`dre, Syrah and Cinsault.
Wine Spectator 94 Points
Vintners Dennis O’Neil and Steph Martin began development of Checkerboard Vineyards in 1999 and retained winemaker Martha McClellan to create a portfolio of wines reflecting the mountainside. The estate includes four vineyard sites of different elevation, exposure and soil composition, providing the foundation for a portfolio that includes Checkerboard Aurora Vineyard, Checkerboard Coyote Ridge Vineyard, Checkerboard Nash Creek Vineyard, Checkerboard Kings Row, Checkerboard Sauvignon Blanc, and Checkerboard Rose. Grapes are harvested at dawn in micro-lots and delivered steps away to the winery where clusters are sorted, discarding any blemished ones. Individual berries are hand-selected for vinification and transferred for fermentation, by hand, to Taransaud wooden tanks, stainless tanks, and individual wooden barrels.
Farming is based on long-term sustainability and includes water conservation and monitoring, permanent cover crops planted in alternating rows, and the use of entomology for pest control and the development of soils with good organic matter and microbiology. Checkerboard Vineyards is a member of Fish Friendly Farming which promotes environmentally-friendly land practices and water quality management. Aurora Vineyard is located in a small valley midway up Diamond Mountain and on a large knoll at an elevation of 1,200 feet. The knoll bulges outward, giving the vineyard full Southern exposure and open light from the East and West and protection from Napa Valley’s summer fog. Six acres are planted in the knoll’s rich, volcanic soils that are riddled with basalt cobble in a loamy red clay. The remaining six acres are planted in a deep gravely mix of volcanic ash and chips of decomposed Rhyolite that were washed down from the steep, rocky crags of Diamond Mountain above.
There's a fresh, sweet aroma to the 2016 Checkerboard Aurora Vineyard that builds excitement and anticipation for what's to come. On approach, the palate is juicy and expansive and explodes with flavors of blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry, caramel, leaf tobacco and green olive. The wine continues with a voluptuousness that's linear and constant yet lifted by natural acidity. The finish is showy, long and lingering with finely polished tannins. An exceptional vintage.
Jubilation is our newest wine in the Colgin Cellars collection. Jubilation is our Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine created with a selection of barrels that display earlier drinking characteristics from our three hillside vineyards. As our vine age has matured and small additions have been made to our original holdings, we had the privilege of increasing our selectivity. Following the blending of our single-vineyard wines, we were fortunate to have a collection of barrels that conveyed the same elegance and complexity for which we are known, yet on a more supple, approachable frame. Jubilation is a wine ready to enjoy now, with the pedigree to age gracefully in the cellar, maintaining the Colgin Cellars’ hallmarks of perfume, freshness, and minerality. The inaugural bottling of Jubilation from the 2016 vintage was released in late 2020. Future vintages are destined for select members of the fine wine trade.
Collemattoni Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is made from 100 percent Sangiovese.
Intense ruby red with brilliant burgundy reflects in color. Reminiscent of wild black fruits, vanilla and spices on the nose and dry, warm, slightly austere but velvety in the palate.
This wine comes from the oldest vineyard of Collemattoni: Fontelontano. Less than half hectare. It's one of the few Single Vineyard Brunello di Montalcino riserva.
Coming from a parcel with 15-18 year old vines planted in sandy clay and marl soils.
Harvest is 100% destemmed with a soft pressing, fermentation in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature of 28-30°C, pumping over for the first week of maceration following by skin-contact maceration for 20-25 days with rack and return technique (delestage).
Malolactic fermentation completed. The delestage and the pumping over are then spaced out along the process.
Wine is slightly filtered before bottling.
Review:
This is intense with aromas of dried cherries, sweet licorice, cloves, crushed walnuts and hints of chocolate and undergrowth. Full-bodied, deep and structured with taut, tightly packed tannins. Long and persistent. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 94 Points
Corinne Perchaud Chablis (half-bottle) is 100 percent Chardonnay.
A classic Chablis with aromas of ripe white fruits and a taste of rich minerals.
The Vineyards The plots are in Chablis located predominantly on the village of Fleys, but also on the common Chichée and Fontenay, their total area is 13 hectares. They are mostly north and north-west oriented. The ground floor is Kimmeridgian marl consisting clay and limestone. The oldest of of the vines is 35 years. Winemaking After a slight settling, the juice is put in stainless tanks to achieve its fermentation both alcoholic and malolactic. There is a long aging on lees to refine the flavors and develop complex flavors. If necessary, we make a collage of Bentonite to remove proteins and a passing cold which eliminates tartar crystals. Then we perform a tangential filtration method friendly to the wine. The wine is bottles between 14 and 21 months after the harvest. 2011 Vintage The relatively high temperatures at the end of winter allowed an early bud vines in early March. With a hot, dry spring flower took place in good conditions. In July, a hailstorm located did some damage to our Fourchaume plot. July and early August, rainy and stormy brought the water needed vineyards. The dry and sunny weather of the second half of August brought the grape good maturity. The harvest began on September 2 under clement skies.
Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.
Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.
Klaus sits adjacent to Achleiten and is one of the Wachau’s most famous vineyards for Riesling. The vineyard is incredibly steep with a gradient of 77% at its steepest point. The southeast-facing terraced vineyard of dark migmatite-amphibolite and paragneiss produces a tightly wound and powerful wine. The parcel belonging to Toni Bodenstein was planted in 1952.
Tasting Notes:
Austrian Riesling is often defined by elevated levels of dry extract thanks to a lengthy ripening period and freshness due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night. “Klaus is not a charming Riesling,” says Toni Bodenstein with a wink. Klaus is Prager’s most assertive and robust Riesling.
Food Pairing
Riesling’s high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table. Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame some saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette might.
Review:
Superbly cool, restrained and refined, this austere, beautiful dry riesling is a slow-burn masterpiece that's only just beginning to reveal its complex white-peach, white-tea, wild-herb and dark-berry character. Super-long and mineral finish. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 97 Points
Babylons Peak Chenin Blanc is made from 100 percent Chenin Blanc.
Babylon's Peak winery, situated on the highest weathered granite slopes of the Paardeberg Mountain, is privately owned by the Basson family who has passed down the tradition, passion and art of winemaking over four generations. Predominantly low-yield dryland bushvines are selected to produce these excellent wines with distinctive character.
The Chenin Blanc grapes were picked from very old dryland bushvine vineyards. The vineyard grows on weathered granite soils, contributing to the flavor of the grapes and mineral character of the wine. Production is limited to 5 tons/ha.
The grapes were harvest by hand at 22.1°B. The grapes were destalked and lightly crushed. Only the first 450 litres free-run juice per ton were fermented in stainless steel tanks at a cold temperature (10-12°C) for 21 days. The wines was left on the fermentation lees until bottling.
A crisp, fresh and fruity Chenin Blanc from low-yield dryland bushvines.
Pairs with salads, seafood, chicken and other light dishes. The perfect wine for every occasion.