“Harvest began on August 19 at Domaine Dujac in 2020, concluding only six days later, and Jeremy Seysses opted for very short macerations, retaining 90% to 95% whole clusters. In the vineyards, the viticultural team didn’t deleaf at all in the warm, sunny growing season, and Seysses noted a big difference in drought resistance between organic and biodynamically farmed parcels. Bottling is planned earlier than usual to capture the wines vibrant fruit intact.

Oregon / Walla Walla

Crowley “Phoebe” (Four Winds Vineyard) Chardonnay, Willamette Valley 2020 750ml $55 special, 24 bottles in stock now
Winery note “Aromas of Asian pear, lemon chiffon, honeysuckle, mint and a trace of eucalyptus. The palate has the typical Four Winds high tension and firm acidity combined with mineral to complete its austerity. Richness from barrel enters mid palate and merges with silky texture and creamy fruit to a complete high energy finish. Beeswax lingers as does lime-pie. Wente & Draper clones. Native fermentation.”

This is the only listing in the USA today!

Mike Etzel, the founder and winemaker of Sequitur, is a living legend in the Willamette Valley. He co-founded Beaux Frères in the late 1980s and was the winemaker there until recently passing the duties to his son. Never one to rest on his laurels, though, he began planting a vineyard adjacent to Beaux Frères in 2010—a project that became what we know as Sequitur.

It’s helpful to think of Sequitur as a distillation of everything Mike Etzel learned while starting and producing Beaux Frères over the decades. The Sequitur vineyard sits right next to the Beaux Frères “Upper Terrace” but is planted to a wider array of clones at tighter spacing.

 
Bond Unbound

New Arrivals from Bond 

“It is always fascinating to taste through the BOND wines, as these five Cabernets are remarkably expressive of place. For many years, I considered the St. Eden and Vecina to be the flagship wines, but in recent years the Melbury and Pluribus have made significant strides. Those are both true hillside sites (St. Eden is closer to elevated valley floor/bench and Vecina is a lower hillside), where farming is naturally much more challenging…” -Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Bond Melbury, Napa Valley 2015 750ml $649 special, 1 bottle in stock now
Antonio Galloni 98 points “The more time passes, the more I think Melbury may turn out to be one of the most complete wines in the BOND range.

New Week – New Arrivals:
From Local Favorites & Donnhoff!

Renaissance in the Rheinhessen:
Schätzel

Marqués de Murrieta

Collector’s Corner:
Dominus