Category Archives: Newsletter Archive

Domaine Huet Sale 3-3-25

In This Newsletter:
 
Domaine Huet Sale
Close-Out Featurette: Armand Rousseau

 
Explore the Affordable Luxuries of Domaine Huet

A pioneer in biodynamic viticulture, Domaine Huet is the most sought-after Vouvray producer. They craft producing wonderful and empirically age-worthy wines not to be overlooked: affordable, benchmark luxuries.
 
Today, horses still plough between the rows of their three vineyards, considered some of the greatest terroir in all of the Loire. These vineyards have very distinct personalities worth exploring. Wines from Le Haut-Lieu are their most approachable, offering softer and younger-drinking wines. Le Mont wines are dense, chock-full of minerals (or should we say chalk-full?), and the most age-worthy, per insiders. Clos du Bourg wines lie somewhere in between the others in terms of youthful approachability and minerality.
… Read the rest

California Excellence: Morlet & Rhys 3-2-25

 
 
Morlet Vineyards: A Legacy of Passion and Precision

Morlet Vineyards was founded by Luc Morlet, a fifth-generation winemaker from Champagne, France. Luc moved to California in the late 1990s, bringing with him a rich heritage of traditional French winemaking. After gaining experience at notable wineries such as Peter Michael Winery, he and his wife Jodie established Morlet Vineyards in 2006. The estate specializes in a diverse portfolio, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux-style blends, and Syrah. Luc’s winemaking philosophy centers around “la vie en beauté,” meaning “life in beauty,” emphasizing elegance and balance in every bottle. The wines often receive critical acclaim, showcasing the winery’s dedication to small-lot, handcrafted production.

Signature wines such as the ‘Mon Chevalier’ Cabernet Sauvignon are celebrated for their complexity and age-worthiness.
… Read the rest

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Sale 3-1-25

In This Newsletter:
 
Chateauneuf du Pape Sale
Close-Out Featurette: Merkelbach

 
Regal Rhônes
 
Stock Up & Save On
 
Chateauneuf-du-Pape
 
The Southern Rhone region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the king when it comes to power and impact. These wines are loaded to the hilt with aromatics, tannins, bombast, and terroir. Even the whites hit like no other.
 
What makes these so delicious?
 
This is the home of GSM blends, the trio of grapes (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre) that comprise the majority of CDP wines. Grenache typically is the base with proportions of the other two varying widely between producers. Rustic herbal and rich spice notes frame the red and black fruit aromas typical to the wines.
 
You’ll find plenty of terroir here, especially among the top estates, where vines are grown in poor, stony soils that impart deep and dark mineral notes.
… Read the rest

Vinopolis Newsletter 2-28-25

Special Arrivals
 
 Champagne Supernova
 
 
Cedric Bouchard
 


Cult Producer alert! This Côte des Bar producer releases only single-vineyard, single-varietal, single-vintage, zero-dosage Champagnes. Cedric Bouchard features some of the lowest restricted yields in Champagne, and places extra emphasis on picking at the optimum moment. The Côte des Bar itself is partially composed of the same Kimmeridgian soils as Chablis, which gives these a surge an almost electric intensity. Think of them as lightning in a bottle!
 
Cedric left the Sommelier world in 2000 and hit the ground running with a mission: to create un-adulterated wines that reveal the time and place of their origins above all else. By 2008, he had been named winemaker of the year by Gault Millau, one of France’s most respected restaurant and wine guides.
… Read the rest

Emrich-Scholeber Sale 2-27-25

In This Newsletter:
 
Emrich-Schonleber Sale
Close-Out Featurette: Dal Forno

 
Inspirational Riesling
 
Stock Up & Save On
 
Emrich-Schonleber
 
Despite the fame and renown of the estate inside Germany, Emrich-Schonleber flies under the radar in the USA. These are spectacular wines—every bit the equal of Dönnhoff, their main competition in the Nahe. This is the producer that inspired Stephan Bitterolf to open Vom Boden, the mostly-German wine importer best known for bringing Keller to the States.
 
Father and son team Werner and Frank Schönleber work with awe-inspiring sites, the most prominent being Halenberg and Frühlingsplätzchen. Both are unusually steep for the Nahe—they have slopes of up to 70%. Halenberg is as you’d dream for the Nahe: a mixture of blue slate (like the Mosel) and quartz.
… Read the rest