03-30-2022 Newsletter

Aglianico, also known as “The Nebbiolo of the south” has largely flown under the radar since its heyday in the Ancient Era. Thought to have been imported by Greek visitors to Campania, the Roman Empire used Aglianico to create an exclusive wine consumed by Rome’s elite. This particular wine called Falernum was mentioned by Pliny, Aurelius and Horace in literature and can even be seen advertised in the ruins of Pompeii’s bars. 

Fast forward a few thousand years and we have Contrade di Lonardo, one of the best kept secrets of Campanian wine, known for their commitments to traditional varieties and farming practices. Lonardo’s Taurasi is made from 35-81 year old Aglianico planted at 1300 feet above sea level, grown organically in a tall pergola in ancient volcanic ash with a base of limestone and clay. Even with these rigorous growing standards, Lonardo will only keep around 50% of his Aglianico for use in Taurasi. The very best lots are kept separate and released as single vineyard bottlings.

This commitment is evident in the finished product, featuring aromatics of violets, pipe tobacco, cedar and Bing cherries that command your full attention. There’s a characteristic “Italian Rusticity” to the wine that is evocative of new leather and antique wood, not unlike a high end cologne. These are wines made for anything roasted, braised or red sauce based. Peking duck, Grilled Cabbage, Lasagna or bbq pork ribs would all perform incredibly with this wine. Get at least two of these wines, one for short term consumption and the other for longer aging.

Cantina Lonardo wines in stock now:

Contrade Di Taurasi Cantine Lonardo Aglianico Rosso Irpinia Campania 2016 750ML ($27.95) $24 special, 27 bottles in stock now
Case-12 Contrade di Taurasi Cantine Lonardo Aglianico Rosso Irpinia Campania 2016 750ML ($319.95) $259 special, 27 bottles in stock now
Ian D’agata-Vinous 92 points “Deep ruby. Lively aromas of red fruits, minerals and herbs. Juicy and fruity in the mouth, showing hazelnutty nuances to the red fruit flavors. Finishes with good acid-fruit balance and nice tannins. A lovely wine that will age well, but provides irresistible drinking right now.”
 

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast today!

Contrade Di Taurasi Cantine Lonardo Coste Taurasi DOCG 2011 750ML ($89.95) $69 special, 36 bottles in stock now
Ian D’agata-Vinous 94+ points “Deep ruby. Floral nuances complicate the red and dark berry, ink, sweet spice and flinty aromas and flavors. Dense and seamless, showing a multilayered personality and remarkable complexity of flavor. Finishes very long and with repeating, lingering hints of ink and flint.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Contrade Di Taurasi Cantine Lonardo Vigne d’Alto Taurasi DOCG 2011 750ML ($89.95) $69 special, 18 bottles in stock now
Ian D’agata-Vinous 94+ points “Deep ruby with a purple tinge. Reticent nose at first, only hinting at dark cherry, sassafras and sandalwood. Then very concentrated and dense, displaying almost opulent, sweet nuances of oaky torrefaction to the coffee, cocoa and dark cherry flavors. This outstanding Taurasi finishes extremely long, rich and seamless. It’s virtually impossible to pick between Lonardo’s two crus in 2011, and both will have many admirers.”
 

This is the only listing in the USA today!

We carry an assortment of Italian wines from throughout the country, available both online and in store!

 

Suzanne:

When I first joined the shop, Jeffrey from Patricia Green would stop by every so often to pour from the extensive line up and watch attentively as we plowed through. I never felt the speedy swirl, sip, and spit tastings did much justice to the extensive lineup, but they were still profound, distinctive, and full of depth. Needless to say, we’ve stocked dozens of wines over the years. Since Patricia Green’s passing, Jim Andersen has helmed the winery with aplomb. He’s a passionate individual and quick to comment on Wine Berserkers if you’re looking for witty insider insight on the state of Oregon wines. We’ve picked up some of the new releases from the beautiful and poised 2019 vintage. They’re an energetic lot and one that we think will surprise and delight from the cellar for years to come.

In Stock Now from Patricia Green:

This is one of the largest and oldest vineyards in Oregon from which many great producers have crafted excellent wines. PGC works with about nine acres, allowing them to craft single-block and single-clone expressions, including the Wadensvil below.
Patricia Green Cellars Freedom Hill Vineyard Wadensvil Clone Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2019 750ML ($44.95) $37 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 95 points “Glistening ruby-red. Assertive, mineral-accented red berries, baking spices, cola and candied flowers on the seductively perfumed nose. Sappy, alluringly sweet and focused on the palate, offering juicy cherry, black raspberry, allspice and mocha flavors that flesh out slowly through the back half. Sharply focused and seamless in texture, finishing with impressive power, a resonating red fruit note and smooth, well-judged tannins. All de-stemmed fruit.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $41

This Ribbon Ridge property is neighbors to Beaux Freres and Whistling Ridge. First planted nearly 40 years ago on Wellsford soil (marine sedimentary) it now is composed of numerous blocks along its 360 degree planting.
Patricia Green Cellars Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge 2019 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 93 points “Glistening ruby-red. Fresh red and blue fruit, baking spice and potpourri scents, along with a smoky mineral topnote. Sweet and expansive in the mouth, displaying boysenberry, kirsch, savory herb and exotic spice flavors that slowly firm up on the back half. Shows youthfully intense, fruity character and spicy lift on the persistent finish, which is framed by velvety tannins and leaves suave floral and blue fruit notes behind. 100% Pommard clone; all de-stemmed fruit and 4% new French oak.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

This is one of the largest and oldest vineyards in Oregon from which many great producers have crafted excellent wines. PGC works with about nine acres, allowing them to craft single-block and single-clone expressions, including the Wadensvil below.
Patricia Green Cellars Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2019 750ML ($36.95) $33 special, 2 bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds 93 points “Deep, brilliant red. Spice-accented raspberry, boysenberry and candied rose aromas are complicated by suggestions of star anise and incense. Silky, sweet and fleshy in the mouth, offering plush red and blue fruit preserve and exotic spice flavors that pick up floral pastille and botanical herb nuances as the wine opens up. Round, even tannins add shape to a long, supple finish that leaves behind sappy red berry liqueur, floral and spice notes. 5% new French oak.”

Patricia Green Cellars Lia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains 2019 750ML ($34.95) $30.90 special, 3 bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 94 points “Vivid red. Spice-accented raspberry and cherry on the highly fragrant nose, along with hints of incense and baking spices. Silky and focused on the palate, offering vibrant red fruit and floral pastille flavors that deepen as the wine opens up. Fine-grained tannins frame a very long, spicy finish that shows repeating red fruit character and building florality. 15% new French oak.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $34

Patricia Green Cellars Volcanic Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills 2019 750ML ($41.95) $37 special, 9 bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 93 points “Bright ruby-red. Assertively perfumed aromas of fresh red fruits, cola, candied flowers and baking spices show fine clarity and minerally lift. Sweet and precise on the palate, offering juicy raspberry, cherry and spicecake flavors that deepen as the wine opens up. Closes long and smooth, with rounded tannins framing a resonating red fruit note. No new oak.”
Winery note “This wine has a dynamic set of vineyards that make it up. What comes forth is pure Dundee Hills goodness. Red fruits and spices combine on an incredible textural lattice making this wine both edu-mah-cational and very difficult to not find appealing. Come for the geology, stay for the incredible taste.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $41

This is one of the estate vineyards for Flaneur whose winemaker, Grant Coulter, is an alumni of Beaux Freres and also makes wine under his Hundred Suns label. It’s a beautiful site with great potential, evident in this bottling and the Flaneur line up.
Patricia Green Cellars La Belle Promenade Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains 2019 750ML ($41.95) $37 special, 9 bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 94 points “Shimmering ruby-red. A hugely perfumed bouquet evokes raspberry, cherry and boysenberry preserves, overlain with building floral and baking spice notes. Shows very good depth as well as energy to the sweet red and blue fruit, candied rose and cola flavors, which betray no rough edges. Melds richness and finesse with a sure hand and finishes on a repeating floral note, with wonderful persistence and rounded tannins adding subtle grip. 8% new French oak.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Patricia Green “Helen Dusschee” Tempranillo Rosé Freedom Hill Vineyard, Willamette Valley 2021 750ML ($33.95) $29 special, 10 bottles in stock now
Winery note “Years ago we committed to NOT making rosé because we liked drinking it too much to get into the business of crafting it. That was largely in part because of our belief that rosé should be made from red grapes that have more inherent muscularity than Pinot Noir and being up here in the Northern Willamette Valley means that access to grapes such as Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan or Tempranillo was incredibly limited to non-existent. Little did we know that lurking within Freedom Hill Vineyard was a block of Tempranillo that they had planted in 2012 at the behest of another winery that has since left the scene.  This was picked while there were still berries that had not changed color on the cluster and accordingly this was picked at 20.3 brix (thus the 12.5% alcohol) and a TA of 7.2 which gives the wine its bright, lifted character. These gangly clusters were lightly whole-bunch pressed and racked a few times off the lees before permanently residing in a stainless steel tank for about six months before being bottled before finishing malolactic fermentation. This wine is bone-dry with plenty of acidity!”
 

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Browse our incredible selection of in-stock wines from Oregon from producers such as Bergstrom, Ayoub, Eyrie, and Cristom on our web store now! 
 

 

Tenuta Arcenos Top Tier:
Arcanum 
 

Are you familiar with Tenuta Arceno? In addition to their olive oil and Chianti Classico production, they make some of the best Bordeaux Blends in Tuscany at a variety of price points. While Tuscany is famous for her blends of the indigenous Sangiovese grape and Bordeaux varietals more commonly known as “Super Tuscans”, there have been Bordeaux blends utilized since the 14th century!
  
The combination of rich soil, high elevation and generous Tuscan weather creates a level of ripeness that is almost Napa Valley-esque but with the quintessential Italian rusticity and character. The Tuscan character especially manifests after extensive bottle age, with the house intentionally withholding a portion of every vintage for later release as a library wine. 

Tenuta Arceno Wines in stock now: 

Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT Tuscany 2015 750ML ($79.95) $69 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Case-6 Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT Tuscany 2015 750ML ($479.95) $399 special, (That’s $66.50 per bottle!) 
Monica Larner – Wine Advocate 97 points “It would be impossible to exaggerate the grandeur and majesty of the overachieving 2015 Arcanum. The blend is 74% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. This full-bodied wine is mostly defined by its texture that is exceedingly rich and smooth with significant infusions of blackberry, plum, spice, tobacco and cured leather. The wine achieves beautiful balance, yet it remains intense and powerful all the while.”

Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT Tuscany 2008 750ML ($99.95) $79 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Case-6 Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Toscana IGT Tuscany 2008 750ML ($599.95) $449 special, (That’s $74.83 per bottle!) 
Monica Larner – Wine Advocate 96 points “The 2008 Arcanum is a monumental achievement and my favorite wine in an already impossibly impressive collection. The blend sees Cabernet Franc (77%), Merlot and a very small part of Cabernet Sauvignon. Like many Tuscany growers, Tenuta di Arceno is betting on Cabernet Franc’s performance in the warmer corners of Tuscany. The integration here is absolutely beautiful and the wine glides smoothly over the palate with the perfect balance of extraction, glycerin, residual sugar and acidity. The aromas span the spectrum, from bright cherry to dark chocolate. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030.”
 

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Arcanum ‘Valadorna’ Toscana IGT Tuscany 2015 750ML ($79.95) $49 special, only 2 bottles left in stock now 
Monica Larner-Wine Advocate 95+ points “The 2015 Valadorna (65% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot) is a dark and thickly endowed red wine that boasts a rich and lasting grip on the palate. The bouquet offers depth and complexity with dark fruit, leather, cured tobacco and spice. There are also softer notes of chocolate and ground espresso beans. The wine’s seamless integration of flavors leads to increased momentum and intensity as the wine continues to open in the glass.”

 

Port is ubiquitous in the world of wine, having been a staple in every cellar since its inception in the 17th century. Not only delicious but also one of the most ageworthy and collectible wine styles in the world, port is a mainstay on auction blocks around the world from New York to Hong Kong. Unlike other ports which are multiple vintages blended together to make the various bottlings like ruby or tawny, Vintage Ports are coming from a handful of the best barrels from a singular harvest. Statistically speaking less than 2% of port is ever bottled as a vintage offering, making them some of the scarcest wines in the world.   

No small feats given the unprecedented string of declared vintages especially in recent years, these three are considered the apex of power and elegance. In order for a vintage to be declared it must pass three different evaluations beginning with the individual houses. The next step involves a vote amongst the houses to determine if there’s consensus to declare a vintage. Finally, the houses must submit examples of their vintage to the Institute of Douro and Porto Wines for a tasting evaluation before being allowed to bring the wine to market. 

Perfect gifts, cellar gems or meal accompaniments for now and years to come you should be running to this offer. Even rarer than a vintage offering is a vintage quinta, or single vineyard vintage port. Representing the “Soul” of a Port House, Vintage Quinta Ports are assembled from the oldest blocks of their best vineyards (With the average age often being over a century old!)  

Ports in stock now: 

Kopke Quinta Sao Luiz Vintage Port Portugal 2019 750ML ($89.95) $79 special, 6 bottles in stock now
Wine Spectator 94 points “This has some flash, with bright cassis, plum and boysenberry purée flavors that have a nice, caressing feel. Loads of anise, red tea, fruitcake and melted licorice notes entwine themselves to the fruit, leading to a seductive finish. Best from 2040 through 2060. 350 cases made, 10 cases imported. — JM”
    

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Churchill’s Vintage Port Portugal 2003 750ML ($89.95) $69 special, 17 bottles in stock now
Wine Enthusiast 92 points “An impressive, finely tannic Port with solid, ripe fruits and great black jelly and fig flavors. -Roger Voss”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

W & J Graham’s Vintage Port Portugal 2017 750ML ($119.95) $99 special, 9 bottles in stock now
James Suckling 99 points “Extremely complex aromas that show the classic Graham character of black-fruit marmalade and burnt oranges. Follows through to a full body with great grip at the finish. Lightly sweet. Chewy and powerful. Such a focus at the end.”
Wine Spectator 98 points “This offers a distilled plum and boysenberry essence, with a racy feel, as spearmint and graphite notes drive through. As the finish kicks in, this turns toward the dark side, with ganache, charcoal and tar elements. Has the showy ripeness of the vintage but is backed by a decidedly dry feel on the finish, imparting a sense of precision despite the heft. Best from 2030 through 2055.”
 

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Other Ports in stock now:  

Fonseca Vintage Port Portugal 1985 750ML ($149.95) $119 special, 23 bottles in stock now
Wine Spectator 95 points “A hard, take-no-prisoners Port, extremely powerful and still closed when last tasted. Deep inky color, with concentrated blackberry and raisin aromas, full-bodied, with massive raisin flavors, a superb backbone and a very long finish.”

Dow’s Vintage Port Portugal 2016 750ML ($119.95) $99 special, 16 bottles in stock now
Wine Spectator 98 points “This packs a lot of fun, with a wallop of blackberry, fig, boysenberry and açai berry compote flavors working together, laced with a mouthwatering licorice snap note and driven by a fresh, well-detailed finish. A roasted apple wood accent is integrated as well, lending textural contrast through the vivacious finish. Best from 2030 through 2055.”
Wine Enthusiast 97 points “Very floral, intense and ripe, this is a wine that is based around big black fruits as well as fine acidity. It is obviously destined for long aging with its powerful dry tannins and perfumed acidity. Drink this wine from 2028.”

Dow’s Vintage Port Portugal 2017 750ML ($119.95) $99 special, 8 bottles in stock now
Dow’s Vintage Port Portugal 2017 375ML ($69.95) $59 special, 22 half-bottles in stock now
Neal Martin-Vinous 98 points “The 2017 Dow’s Vintage Port showed a slight reduction and required more time to really open in the glass. Typical of Dow’s it has a more backward and introspective bouquet compared to its peers, scents of blackberry, clove, wild mint, cassis and vanilla, gradually gaining more intensity with aeration. The palate is simply glorious. It is built around a compelling tannic frame that seems finer than any Dow’s I have encountered apart from the ethereal 2011. There is so much energy coiled up in this Port, a sense of symmetry that is enthralling and yet you just know that it needs to be cellared for 15-20 years for it to reveal its full potential. For serious Port-lovers. One of the vintages most cerebral offerings. Total production is 5,250 cases.”
James Suckling 98 points “Pure grape aromas that remind me of fermenting must but then goes to stems and dried flowers. Full-bodied, medium sweet with fine-grained tannins that coat your palate. Powerful and muscular yet remains agile and beautiful. Grows on your palate. Wonderful ripe fruit in the middle palate. Try after 2030.”
Decanter 97 points “Based on fruit from the predominantly south-facing Quinta do Bomfim in the Cima Corgo and Quinta Senhora da Ribeira in the Douro Superior, with Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca making up 80% of the blend. This is opaque and closed in but powerfully ripe with underlying pure berry fruit. It’s seemingly quite introverted compared to some of its peers at this stage, but it’s still full, rich and opulent on the palate. It also shows the latent power of the vintage, made as it is in a slightly drier style (3.4 Baumé), with lovely minty fruit and full, ripe sinewy tannins all the way through the finish. Long and lithe, and very fine.”
Jancis Robinson 18/20 points “Black core with purple rim. Very different from the Stone Terraces just tasted, sweet and somehow more lifted as if more volatile. Hedgerow fruits on the nose, floral too, and again that real sweetness of fruit on the palate. Intense, firmly built but very generous in its sweet fruit character even if not analytically sweeter. Fine-grained but still grainy tannins with some hints of dried fruits on the finish. When I tasted this a second time on a different occasion, it seemed much fresher and more vibrant so I increased my score and lengthened the drinking window