Newsletter 5/24/23

 In This Newsletter:

Arriving Friday
Vega Sicilia, Opus One, and more
Staff Pick
Tutti Frutti
Featured Winery
Equipo Navazos
May Sale- Rhone Wines
 Final week to stock up on your favorites Rhones
June Sale- Spanish Wines
 June savings– starts NOW
The Collectable Oregon
Arterberry Maresh and Tan Fruit- Wines built to last
Arriving May 26th

Spain
 

“Vega Sicilia”
Vega Sicilia Pintia Toro 2018 750ml $79 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 Points “The nose is very expressive, with bright cherry fruit, and the wine is fresher than the norm in the region, with integrated alcohol and oak, reflecting a very cool year, floral and perfumed. The palate is medium-bodied and reveals very fine and elegant tannins. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Pintia.”
 
Vega Sicila-Benjamin Rothschild Macan Rioja 2018 750ml $99 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 94+ Points “The 2018 Macán has moderate alcohol (14%) and more freshness (pH 3.69), reflecting a cooler and rainier year that forced them to fine-tune the sorting and selection of the grapes, which fermented with selected yeasts. The élevage was in barrel (55%) and larger foudres for 16 months. 2018 was quite different from 2019, as it was cooler and rainier. The wine is serious and harmonious, which was a challenge, and winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga told me that they had to be very careful and sort and select the grapes. It’s textured and elegant, a style that follows the path of the 2016; it’s elegant but with depth, managing the élevage in foudre better, which was a learning process they started in 2016. 74,570 bottles, 2557 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled
in September 2020.”
 
Vega Sicila-Rothschild Macan Rioja Clasico 2019 750ml $59 special, 24 bottles available
Wine Advocate 93+ Points “The second wine in the Bordeaux sense is the 2019 Macán Clásico, a more concentrated and powerful wine cropped from a warmer and drier year that was saved by the 80 liters of rain in the first half of September. It fermented in stainless steel with 10% of their own yeasts, and the élevage was 22% in stainless steel and the rest in new and used oak barrels, mostly French but with around 5% of them American, and lasted 12 months. It has a moderate 14% alcohol, mellow acidity and good freshness and balance. 2019 was a dry and warm year when they did a soft vinification to avoid harsh tannins. The nose is ripe without excess, and the oak is neatly integrated. The palate is juicy and round, with fine tannins and a velvety texture.”
 
France
 
“Domaine Serol Eclat”
Tucked into the foothills of the Côte Roannaise, this iconoclastic Loire specializes in red wines made from Gamay St Roman, a clone of Beaujolais’ Gamay Noir, a rather delicious alteration of Gamay Noir. The Gamay St Roman grape from Domaine Serol has tones that combine Burgundy’s Pinot Noir and North Rhone’s Syrah, along with the parent, Gamay Noir. These wines are unique and delicious.

Domaine Serol Eclat De Granites Cote Roannaise 2021 $21.90 special, 24 bottles available
Domaine Serol Eclat De Granites Cote Roannaise 2021 $24 special, 36 bottles available
Domaine Serol Les Millerands Cote Roannaise 2021 $31.90 special, 12 bottles available
Domaine Serol Perdriziere Cote Roannaise 2021 $39 special, 12 bottles available
 
“Domaine Denizot”
Domaine Denizot Sancerre Blanc 2021 750ml $24 special, 18 bottles available
Importer’s Notes: “A blend of Lieu Dits such as les Bouffants, Cote de l’Epée
and Monts Damnés. Pneumatic pressing and gravity fed into concrete vats for
fermentation over indigenous yeasts. Aged in concrete on fine lees.
 
Domaine Denizot Sancerre Pinot Noir 2021 750ml $28 special, 6 bottles available
Importer’s Note: From old vine Kimmeridgean grapes, Denizot Sancerre Rouge is elegant and juicy with pleasant notes of fresh red fruits (strawberries, cherry stones). Finesse and depth combine perfectly, bringing balance and voluptuousness to this Pinot Noir. Racked and fined, but bottled unfiltered.
 
Italy

“La Fortuna”
La Fortuna Fortunello Rosso Toscana IGT 2020 750ml $16 special, 36+ bottles available
Vinopolnote: “
100% Sangiovese, aged new french oak.”
 
California

“Two Cali Classics”
Opus One Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2019 750ml $349 special, 6 bottles
Vinous 97 Points “The 2019 Opus One is a dense, beautifully layered wine, but it is also quite restrained. That should serve it well in time. Tasted next to the 2018, the 2019 possesses a bit more textural nuance and body, yet it has all the classicism that is such an Opus One signature. Bright floral accents linger on the sublime finish.”
Wine Advocate 97-99 Points “Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Opus One leaps from the glass with notes of Black Forest cake, Morello cherries, mulberries and fresh blackcurrants plus hints of licorice, wilted roses, Sichuan pepper and iron ore. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with juicy black, blue and red fruits, framed by velvety tannins and background freshness, finishing on a compelling earthy/mineral note. Tasted as a barrel sample, this is a truly magnificent Opus One in the making!”
 
Marietta Cellars Christo Rhone Blend 2019 750ml $21.90 special, 36 bottles available
Wine Advocate 96 Points “A blend of Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah and Viognier, the 2019 Christo has a deep ruby-purple color and alluring scents of blueberry jam and cassis with accents of loamy earth, violet, coffee beans and iron. The full-bodied palate is powerful yet silky, with seamless acidity and gobs of pure violet perfume on the long, layered finish. It’s easy to drink now but offers a decade or more of cellaring potential.
Staff Pick
Faugeres
Chateau Liquiere Tutti Frutti Rouge 2020 750ml $14 special, 20 bottles available
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like candy or fruit juice. Instead, this is a serious wine with a playful edge. A cofermentation of even parts Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, and Carignan this has lovely notes of purple fruit and meat, mild tannins, and good acidity. This is perfect for a casual night in or for your next barbecue.”
-Tracy
Featured Winery
Equipo Navasos

Most Sherry today is made on an industrial scale with a mind to consistency above all else, but Equipo Navazos revels in the ultra-specificity of each treasure they unearth and guide into bottle. In effect, theirs is the exact inverse of the consistency model, as every release—numbered in succession as “La Bota # …”—has its own origin story and its own indelible personality, and their offerings encompass a staggering stylistic range. In addition to working with Palomino Fino grown in the Sherry Triangle (primarily with bodegas in Jerez de la Frontera and Sanlúcar de Barrameda), the group also has partnerships to the north in Montilla-Moriles, a warmer zone renowned for Pedro Ximénez in both dry and sweet forms.
 
Equipo Navazos was born out of a group of friend’s passion to share the authentic, traditional wines of Jerez with each other. They select special casks of sherry from the most prestigious bodegas in the region to age. When their “Bota de No 7” release was declared the best Spanish wine of 2008 by one of Spain’s top wine magazines, their small club became an overnight phenomenon with accolades from top critics like Robert Parker (see reviews below).
 
If you’re a sherry afficionado these should appeal to you immediately, but if you’re a novice there’s no better place to start than with these top notch bottlings.

Equipo Navazos #100 Bota Manzanilla Pasada 500ml $99 Special, 4 bottles available
Robert Parker 97 Points “The next of the single-cask Manzanilla Pasada (80, 60, 50, 40 and 20) is the NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 100 Botas NO, selected from three butts (botas, in plural) to have more volume of the wine number 100. It’s a bottling that always had more demand than supply. So, they made more bottles—2,700 half-liter ones and some larger formats. It was bottled in October 2020. Like in previous bottlings, it’s bottled at 16.5% alcohol at an estimated average age of 15 years, the first 10 years under flor and the subsequent five with the barrels fully topped up, following an oxidative aging. This has more concentration and extract than the 110 I tasted next to it, but I favored the elegance and finesse of that other one. Still, it’s a stratospheric wine, an explosion of concentration, flavors and minerality, a little more oxidative.”

Equipo Navazos #110 Bota Manzanilla Pasada 750ml $69 special, 4 bottles available
Robert Parker 98 Points “The new bottling of the extraordinary saga of old Manzanilla Pasada 10, 30, 59 and 90 is the NV La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada 110 Capataz Cabo, from a solera filled with wine from Sanlúcar, mostly from the Pago Miraflores, that averages 10 years under flor and a further five years topped up with wine taken from all or most of the barrels in the solera. This bottling has resulted in a very balanced wine with intensity, freshness, complexity and drinkability, very difficult attributes to combine. This is the most complex and nuanced of Manzanilla Pasada before turning into Amontillado. It has gobsmacking precision and purity, defined and clean, laser cut like a diamond. This could be the most elegant and precise of all the bottlings of this wine. Cuts like a knife? No, cuts like a scalpel!”

Equipo Navazos #85 Bota De Fino Amontillado 750ml $69 special, 6 bottles available
Robert Parker 96+ Points “The extraordinary NV La Bota de Fino 85 “Un fino que va para amontillado…” is not a wine from Jerez but from Montilla-Moriles in the province of Cordova, an appellation where the majority of vines are Pedro Ximénez and the wines produced are similar to Jerez wines. In fact, Amontillado means “in the style of Montilla,” because the style originated there … Produced exclusively from Pedro Ximénez grown in the white chalk soils of the Montilla ridge and hand-harvested at 15% alcohol, #85 sports an average wine age of 12 to 14 years, with a bottled alcohol level of 16% owing to a slow oxidation that marks the onset of the amontillamiento process. A cousin of sorts to the manzanilla pasada “Capataz Cabo” (see La Bota #110), this bottling offers the brisk, direct, salty freshness of a fino alongside the more mysterious murmurings of an amontillado on a frame of impressive concentration and tunneling length. [NOTE: While “fino amontillado” is not allowed on the label, the phrase “un fino que va para amontillado” is utilized to capture the wine’s spirit.] Bottled in October 2018.”

Equipo Navazos #117 Bota De Amontillado Nv 750ml $79 Special, 6 bottles available
Wine Advocate 96 Points “The NV La Bota de Amontillado Montilla 117 is a new Amontillado from Montilla-Moriles that was never bottled before. Selected from the cellars of Pérez-Barquero, the wine is between 25 to 30 years of average age, not fortified but bottled at 20% alcohol from pure concentration from evaporation, as the Fino that is the base for this wine was never fortified, which is the tradition in Montilla. It’s a medium-age Amontillado with textbook characteristics and the evolution of the Fino Amontillado but with some 10 to 12 years more. It’s nutty, pungent, intense and sapid, with a saline, iodine twist. This is a bottling from the summer 2022.”

Equipo Navazos #109 Bota De Amontillado Nv 375ml $99 special, 4 bottles available
Wine Advocate 98 Points “The NV La Bota de Amontillado Bota Punta 109 is a very old wine they selected from the cooperative of Trebujena that had never been bottled before. The cooperative was created in 1970, but one of the members had these butts from before; their history was really unknown, but the wine has a profile of coastal Amontillado (from Sanlúcar or Trebujena) with less glycerin, sharp and saline, not as sharp or as bitter as the iconic NPI but with crazy numbers—alcohol, acidity, dry extract and everything. It’s very intense but very balanced. An amazing wine that should live forever. It was bottled into 1,200 half bottles (one bota) in October 2021.”

Equipo Navazos #108 Bota De Oloroso Nv 375ml $119 special, 4 bottles available
Robert Parker 97 Points “As they run out of 98 pretty quickly, they soon bottled a similar NV La Bota de Oloroso Bota NO 108, another butt from the same group, which has a more civilized nose, with hints of orange and somehow gentler (relatively speaking) and polished. Each barrel is different and the wines are so old, so this specific one seems to have a softer personality but is still pungent and powerful. These wines, as they are aged in Trebujena, cannot be labeled as sherry, but in the future that should change. They filled 1,200 half bottles in October 2021.” 

May Sale- All Rhone Wines
Final week!

Buy 6-11 bottles for a 5% discount
Buy 12+ bottles for a 10% discount
 
Ends May 31st at 6pm… the best selection is NOW!

Discount does not apply to pre-arrival wines or case discounts.
Discount will not display online, we will adjust your invoice before charging your card.

Each 1.5L (Magnum) bottle will be counted as 2 bottles when applied to the discount.
Each 3.0L bottle will be the equivalent of 4 bottles.
6.0L bottles will be counted as 8 bottles.

This is first come / first served and limited to stock on hand.


Clos Du Caillou Chateauneuf Tradition 2017 750ml $39 special, 36+ bottles available
Vinous 91-92 Points “Glistening ruby-red. Pungent cherry pit and black currant aromas, along with hints of licorice, musky herbs and cracked pepper. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering slow-to-open bitter cherry and dark berry flavors braced by an undercurrent of juicy acidity. Shows firm tannic grip on the persistent finish, which leaves suggestions of candied licorice and cherry preserves behind.”

Domaine De Fondreche Divergente 2016 750ml $59 special, 36+ bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points “Reminding me of one of the Sélections Parcellaires Hermitage from Michel Chapoutier, the 2016 Ventoux Divergente is 90% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre that was mostly destemmed and brought up in foudre. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, peppered meats, graphite, and liquid rock notes all flow to a fat, unctuous, sexy Syrah that has beautiful acidity, fine tannin, and a huge finish. It’s a true “Wow” wine that needs to be tasted to be believed. Put this in a blind lineup of top Hermitage and shock all your friends.”

Duclaux Cote Rotie Maison Rouge 2018 750ml $79 special, 36+ bottles available
Wine Advocate 96 Points “From arguably the most famous lieu-dit in the southern portion of the appellation, the Duclaux brothers’ 2018 Cote Rotie Maison Rouge is a showstopper. Scents of violets, stone fruit, anise-like spice and mixed berries combine to create a complex nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is concentrated yet supremely silky, smooth and charming, ending long and elegant.”
  
Vintage Wine Points Price/Quantity
2019 Graillot Domaine Des Lises Crozes-Hermitage 750ml Vinous 92-94 Points $34.50 special, 36+ bottles available
2017 Grand Veneur Chateauneuf Pape Miocene Rouge 750ml Wine Advocate 93 Points $36 special, 34 bottles available
2020 St Damien Gigondas Souteyrades VV 750ml Jeb Dunnuck 94-96 Points $36 special, 36+ bottles available
2019 Domaine Ferrand Chateauneuf Du Pape 750ml Jeb Dunnuck 94-96 Points $59 special, 36+ bottles available
2016 Courbis Cornas Les Eygats 750ml Wine Advocate 96 Points $69 special, 20 bottles available
2019 Delas St Joseph Sainte Epine 750ml Wine Spectator 94 Points $79 special, 35 bottles available
 
 
We have dozens more Rhone wines to choose from on our website
June Sale- All Spanish Wines
Get a jump on next month’s savings!!!

Buy 6-11 bottles for a 5% discount
Buy 12+ bottles for a 10% discount
 
Ends June 30th at 6pm… the best selection is NOW!

Discount does not apply to pre-arrival wines or case discounts.
Discount will not display online, we will adjust your invoice before charging your card.

This is first come / first served and limited to stock on hand.

Nin-Ortiz Planetes Classic 2017 750ml $49 special, 15 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 Points “The 2017 Planetes de Nin comes from the four hectares of 20-year-old Garnacha and 11-year-old Cariñena in the Planetes vineyard in Porrera at 450 meters in altitude. It’s 60% Garnacha (some of it Peluda) and the rest Cariñena, harvested early. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 3,200-liter oak vats and one 1,000-liter amphora for 17 months. It has depth and harmony, and the vines are getting older and seem to be better and better balanced. This is not that different from the 2016; it feels quite stable and has its style and character, especially since the 2015 vintage. 9,704 bottles were filled in April 2019.”

Espectacle Del Montsant 2018 750ml $119 special, 17 bottles available
Wine Spectator 98 Points “As with other wines, I also tasted the 2018 Espectacle del Montsant next to the 2017 to catch up, as I last tasted the region some 16 months ago. 2018 was a cooler year of slow ripeness, and the grapes achieved an amazing 16% alcohol. The wine is truly spectacular, true to its name. It has tons of violet notes and aromatic herbs, the palate is gentler, and the tannins are rounder, polished and elegant. It has full body but isn’t heavy. There is a lot of complexity, and the wine developed slowly in the glass, showing nuances of cereals, kirsch, orange peel and lots of spices and herbs. It’s opulent and full, deep and complex.

Terroir Al Limit Les Tosses Priorat 2014 750ml $219 special, 7 bottles available
Wine Advocate 98 Points “Already bottled in June 2016, slightly earlier as it usually spends two years in foudre to avoid excessive fatigue because of too much oxygen in the wine, the 2014 Les Tosses is pure Cariñena from an old vineyard on slate soils at some 650 meters altitude. There is none of the rusticity I often link to the grape, this is extremely floral and perfumed, with plenty of violets, a little earthy too. The palate is extremely balanced, and I don’t remember tannins as elegant as these in a Cariñena before. There is length, freshness and a very, very long finish. This might very well be the best vintage of Les Tosses so far.”
  
Pingus Dominio De Pingus 2019 750ml $1199 special, 3 bottles available
Wine Advocate 99 Points “I tasted the bottled 2019 Pingus two weeks after bottling. Even at this early stage and after the operation, the wine is super harmonious and elegant. They really outdid themselves here and produced an amazingly fresh, aromatic and harmonious wine in a warm vintage. It’s incredibly textured, with refined, very fine-grained and chalky tannins. It’s very balanced, and there’s no excess of anything; it has 14% alcohol, perfect ripeness and a velvety mouthfeel. It gets more floral with time in the glass, getting nuanced and really interesting. It delivers what the barrel sample promised one year ago, when the wine already surprised me. I think the word that best describes this wine is precision—it’s clean, focused, balanced and delineated. Bravo!”
 
Vintage Wine Points Price/Quantity
2018 Muga Anden La Estacion Rioja Crianza 750ml Vinous 90 $19 special, 46 bottles available
2019 Alvear 3 Miradas Vino De Pueblo 750ml Vinous 91 $20.90 special, 10 bottles available
2020 Gramona Mart Rosat Xarel-Lo Vermell Penedes 750ml   $24 special, 15 bottles available
2019 Scala Dei Priorat Escaladei Black Slate 750ml   $24 special, 10 bottles available
2019 Pingus Psi Ribera Del Duero 750ml Wine Advocate 93+ $28 special, 32 bottles available
2021 Envinate Palo Blanco Canary Islands 750ml   $54.50 special, 10 available
2005 Lopez Heredia Tondonia Reserva Rioja 750ml Decanter 96 $69 special, 24 bottles available
 

The Collectable Oregon
Arterberry Maresh and Tan Fruit- Wines built to last
 
“Arterberry Maresh”
Vintage Wine Points Price/Quantity
2021 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 750ml  Wine Advocate 97 $33 special, 36+ bottles
2021 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Old Vines 750ml  Wine Advocate 98 $56.50 special, 36+ bottles available now
2021 Arterberry Maresh Chardonnay Maresh Vineyard 750ml  Wine Advocate 96 $72 special, 36 bottles available now
2021 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Maresh Vineyard 750ml  Wine Advocate 98+ $72 special, 36+ bottles available now
2021 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Weber Vineyard 750ml  Wine Advocate 97+ $72 special, 22 bottles available now
 
“Tan Fruit”
Vintage Wine Points Price/Quantity
2021 Tan Fruit Cuvee Tan Fruit Chardonnay 750ml Wine Advocate 97 $39 special, 36+ bottles available now
2021 Tan Fruit Oak Grove Chardonnay 2021 750ml  Wine Advocate 97 $59 special, 36+ bottles available now
2021 Tan Fruit Sophie’s Vineyard Chardonnay 750ml  Wine Advocate 93 $59 special, 36+ bottles available now
2021 Tan Fruit Tank Fruit Chardonnay 750ml  Wine Advocate 97 $59 special, 36+ bottles available now
2021 Tan Fruit Maresh Vineyard Chardonnay 750ml Wine Advocate 97 $59 special, 36+ bottles available
2021 Tan Fruit Fairview Chardonnay 750ml  Wine Advocate 95 $66 special, 17 bottles available now
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Thank you from the team at Vinopolis!
Be well & drink well.