Tag Archives: Wine

Wine of the Day: PY Colin-Morey Les Combes, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 2013 4-30-16

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Les Combes, Saint-Aubin Premier Cru 2013 750ML ($69.95) Buy Now: $59 special

Why we love Les Combes: Balance. PYCM’s been putting out white wines with such consistency over the past few years, this gem most certainly notwithstanding. They’re drinking well now and they’ll only continue to do so… – Tyler

Wine Advocate 88-90 points “The 2013 Saint Aubin les Combes has another very expressive bouquet with hints of mango and overripe Satsumas combining nicely with the mineral component. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity, quite refined, although it just eases off a little prematurely on the tapered finish. Otherwise I envisage this slipping down the throat with ease.” WA

Wine of the Day: Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Bianco 2013 4-26-16

Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Bianco Sicilia IGT, Sicily 2013 ($29.95) Buy Now: $26 special

Why we love it: Aromas, for one. Uniqueness and transparency, too. A perfect marriage of two truly different grapes. I’ve often sold it on the basis of it being the nicest-smelling wine I’ve ever had. Tropical, bright, and bewilderingly fresh. Great accompaniment to simple foods or as a skeleton key during a potluck dinner. A yardstick effort for natural wine and for Sicily-at-large. Sheesh! -Tyler

Vinopolnote: A bright, fresh, and aromatic blend of Albanello – native to the Ragusa area near Vittoria – and Zibbibo – otherwise known as Muscat de Alexandria – one of the oldest genetically unmodified varietals still in existence.

Wine of the Day: Bernhard Ott Gruner Veltliner 2013 4-20-16

Weingut Bernhard Ott Feuersbrunner Spiegel Gruner Veltliner Erste OTW Lage, Wagram 2013 750ML ($59.95) Buy Now: $49 special

Why we love it: Length and layers. There’s the pretty, initial fruit and then everything which follows. That kick of ginger and spice is particularly lovely, and I was struck with a nostalgic reflectiveness once the bottle had emptied. – Tyler

David Schildknecht–Vinous 93 points “Honey, white peach and quince allied to hints of truffle and kelp put one in mind of certain very rich Chenins. Full yet barely over 13% in alcohol, and boasting lusciously satisfying primary juiciness, this takes on more typical Grüner Veltliner characteristics in the mid-palate in the form of caramelized parsnip, snap pea and blond tobacco, not to mention the white pepper, allied with ginger, that informs its long mouthwateringly savory and buoyant finish. Fruit from these vines, noted Ott, was especially affected by millerandage and consequently concentrated. A mere 600 liters were harvested from the Spiegel’s eight hectares!”

Wine Advocate 92 points “The 2013 Grüner Veltliner Spiegel Erste Lage is Ott’s third vintage of this Feuersbrunn cru which carries a mix of very old and very young vines which are cultivated on south-facing terraces in 280 to more than 300 meters above sea level and well protected to the northwest by the Hengstberg gravel ridge. The soils, derived from a massive blanket of loess that is draped over the Gföhler gneiss bedrock, marine sediments, and ancient gravels of the Danube River, are calcareous and silty and, in 2013, bore a light golden colored, tropical flavored, rich, sweet and harmonious Veltliner of great intensity and elegance. It intermixes ripe peach and mango aromas with tobacco and mineral flavors and develops a great length which makes the Spiegel on a par with the Rosenberg., the former more sweet, the latter more subtle perhaps.” WA

Chateau Margaux Bordeaux 2009

Chateau Margaux, Margaux, Bordeaux 2009 750ML ($1,199.95) Buy Now: $999 special

Robert Parker 99 points “A brilliant offering from the Mentzelopoulos family, once again their gifted manager, Paul Pontallier, has produced an uncommonly concentrated, powerful 2009 Chateau Margaux made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest primarily Merlot with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. As with most Medocs, the alcohol here is actually lower (a modest 13.3%) than most of its siblings-. Abundant blueberry, cassis and acacia flower as well as hints of charcoal and forest floor aromas that are almost Burgundian in their complexity are followed by a wine displaying sweet, well-integrated tannins as well as a certain ethereal lightness despite the wine’s overall size. Rich, round, generous and unusually approachable for such a young Margaux, this 2009 should drink well for 30-35+ years.”

Ian D’Agata – Vinous 97-100 points “(a blend of 87% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot, 2% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot; pH 3.79; 13.3% alcohol; represents a stringent 36% selection) Good full ruby-red. Pure, ripe aromas of cassis, graphite and cedar, lifted by floral and mineral high notes. Dense and amazingly concentrated yet light on its feet, with compelling, extremely pure flavors of spicy blackcurrant, tobacco leaf and minerals. The extremely long, slow-building and wonderfully fine-grained finish offers an exhilarating combination of power and sweetness. This comes across as quite backward today yet is anything but austere. A real essence of Margaux’s great terroir, and one of my favorite wines of the vintage. As I walked to the parking lot with Pontallier after the tasting, he said to me, “If people don’t think this is one of the greatest wines I have ever made, then it means I haven’t really understood anything in the last 30 years spent making wine.””

Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2010

Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru 2010 750ML ($199.95) Buy Now: $149 special

VinopolNote: Domaine Rene Leclerc was founded in 1962 and is owned and run by Rene and his son, Francois. Their passion is for wine of purity and balance, a hands-off style that allows the fruit to fully express the magnificent terroir of the region. The wines undergo cold soaks before a light and short pressing to extract only the best juice. What follows is a long, traditional fermentation in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts. The Leclerc Griotte Chambertin, their only Grand Cru bottling, is aged in vat for six months and then for 1 year in 50% new French oak. It is an excellent candidate for long term cellaring, a serious wine that expresses notes of red and black berries, chocolate, game and spice as it opens in the glass. The Domaine owns 9.5 hectares of vines and works the Griottes vineyard portion (the portion being owned by Domaine des Chezeaux) and leased to Rene Leclerc long term or ‘en fermage’).

As well as making this wine under his own label, Leclerc bottles some to be sold under the label of the vineyard owner, Domain des Chezeaux. Here is a review of the Chezeaux bottling from Burgundy report.com: “Medium, medium-plus colour. The nose is a fine advertisement for ‘Griotte’ with a very pretty core of shiny red fruit – more cranberry/redcurrant than cherry – relatively simple in its youthfulness, but lovely. A hint of cushioning to the texture and an understated lick of tannin too. The acidity, like the tannin, seems rather understated but bubbles through as the mid-palate intensity grows, and becomes more mouth-watering. Subtly long. This is a very pretty wine that is also very ‘young Griotte’ in terms of its beauty yet lack of complexity – a perfectly balanced wine to wait for.”