Vinopolis Newsletter 4-7-25

In This Newsletter:


New Arrivals
Cameron, Champagne Flavien Nowack, Thibaud Boudignon, Kopke, and more!
 

 
 
Oregon
 

“Cameron Winery”
 

If you read these Vinopolis missives regularly, then you know Cameron is one of our favorite winemakers in all of the Willamette. And there’s good reason for that! John Paul of Cameron Winery, born in France and possessing a degree in Microbiology, began his wine journey when he discovered “that winemaking offered opportunities to use the right side of his brain and to drink at work.” Eventually his passions took him to Burgundy where he learned how to vinify Pinot Noir from its source.
 
Cameron Winery is a founding member of the Deep Roots Coalition “DRC” and were the very first certified Salmon-Safe vineyard in Oregon.
 
Cameron Winery ‘Ribbon Ridge’ Pinot Noir, Oregon, USA 2023 750ml $36 special, 36+ bottles available
Winery Note “Notes of black cherry, cardamom and copper accompany vibrant acidity and structured tannins that call to mind the red clay of terra cotta, though I can’t say I’ve licked any. This wine will age easily and pairs with rich foods and smoky flavors. The perfect union:  a rack of ribs, a bottle of this wine, and a spring evening!”
 
Cameron Winery Dundee Hills Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, USA 2023 750ml $24 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Note “Vinified from Abbey Ridge & Clos Electrique fruit, this is the best Chardonnay in its price range on the market. Lime leaf and orange blossom aromatics with a light touch of vanilla make me think of tarte au citron! A lovely rich mouth with some tartness and a long, mineral finish allows it to be both an aperitif while you’re cooking and it will go with the meal afterward, though if you drink enough while you’re cooking, this latter point will be unimportant!”
 
Cameron Winery Baird Orchard Sidra, USA 2023 750ml $21.90 special, 12 bottles available
Winery Note “Sidra is a traditional-style hard cider that originates from the Asturias region of Spain. The apples for our sidra come from Baird Family Orchard in Dayton, Oregon.  Their apples are a complex assortment of Asturian varieties such as Coloradona, Repanaldo do Liebana, and Solarina. The cider ages in neutral Pinot Noir barrels in order to resemble a true dry Asturian sidra, and finishes with a traditional-method bottle fermentation to achieve a pleasant mousse and petillance. Its aromas are redolent with brilliant apple blossom and rose petal with light, apple-skin tannin on the palate and a round mouth-feel. This may be our best sidra yet…”
 

 

Champagne
 

 
“Passionate about the idea that nothing should come between the purest expression of terroir – he farms organically, does not chaptalize, and does not seek malolactic fermentation for his base wines. He relies on the natural yeast of unfermented grape must as his prise de mousse for secondary fermentation in bottle. As a result, these Champagnes are lower in pressure than typical, creating a noticeable vinous quality in these exceptionally soft and delicate wines. He is a young talent with a clear vision.” -Floraison Selections
 
 CERTIFIED ORGANIC  Flavien Nowack ‘Les Bauchets’ Pinot Noir Extra Brut 2018, Champagne, France 750ml $69 special, 24 bottles available
Importer’s Note “Estate fruit. From single parcel “Les Bauchets” on pure Marne soils. 45 year old vines. Vinification & Aging Base wine is from 2019 – fermented with native yeasts, aged in small oak barrels, unfiltered and unfined. Tirage 5/2020. No dosage. Disgorged 1/2024. 2g/L RS. Importer’s Notes Producer Profile The only 100% fully sparkling Pinot Noir produced at the domaine.”
 
 
France
 

 
“Thibaud Boudignon is unquestionably one of the most exciting figures in wine today. Originally from Bordeaux, it was in 2009 that he began to make wine under his own name from a scant 3.5 ha in the heart of Anjou and Savennieres. Knowing that the quality of his fruit was of most importance, he committed himself absolutely to the health of his vines, choosing to farm organically and spend the majority of his time in the vineyards. His devotion paid off quickly, for in just a few vintages, his name began to circulate among Loire growers, eventually to top restaurants in Paris, and finally overseas. The speed at which he has garnered so much praise speaks to the remarkable quality of his wines.” –Skurnik Wines
 
Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc, Loire, France 2023 750ml $49 special, 12 bottles available
(not reviewed yet, 2022 review provided for reference)
Rebecca Gibb-Vinous 93 Points “The 2022 Anjou Blanc is very restrained, with a delicate perfume of chamomile, spearmint and nectarine. There’s a round richness to the wine’s mid-palate, but it feels oh-so quiet. It’s not showy but restrained, elegant and fine-boned, which is quite the feat in this dry, warm year. Despite no malolactic, the acidity is relatively low analysis-wise, but you don’t feel it; it remains finely poised.”
 
Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc ‘a Francoise’, Loire, France 2022 750ml $74.50 special, 12 bottles available
Rebecca Gibb-Vinous 93 Points “Made from a small parcel in the village of Saint-Lambert, the 2022 Anjou Blanc à Francois(e) is a mouth-filling style without any heaviness. The generosity of the 2022 season has been curbed, and there’s a nervousness and slightly reductive nature that keeps it tight. Expect an attractive sourness from the acidity and salinity. The finish has a nice twist of savory character with 20% new oak (500-liter and cigar format). Time is needed here to ameliorate.”
 
Thibaud Boudignon Savennieres Clos de la Hutte, Loire, France 2022 750ml $119 special, 12 bottles available
Rebecca Gibbs-Vinous 97 Points “Although it’s ungenerous on the nose, the 2022 Savennières Clos de la Hutte is tender and generous in the mouth, welcoming you in. There’s a cloud of gently handled fruit that embraces the palate, but it does so in an elegant and light-on-its-feet way. Texturally, it’s seamless and coats the mouth with fine texture. In terms of flavor, expect salty, briny notes and citrus tones alongside a touch of spice and nutty oak on the finish. This is a wine that seems to be able to take a deep, calming breath and become more complete.”
 
 

 
Chablis and Chavignol have something in common… these two regions produce wines with a similar “spark,” an acidity and minerality that is described by professional tasters as almost electric. So what is it that causes this phenomenon? An enormous basin of Kimmeridgian clay (a marl of limestone and fossilized ancient sea creatures) stretches between Chavignol in the Loire and Chablis in Burgundy, uniting two otherwise very different regions in one unique style of wine, typified most perhaps by the stellar Sancerres of Edmond Vatan.
 
Thomas-Labaille Sancerre L’authentique 2023 750ml $28 special, 22 bottles available
Importer Note “100% Sauvignon Blanc. Originally labeled simply as “Sancerre”, L’Authentique is Thomas-Labaille’s multi-parcel estate bottling. All of the vines are on the Kimmeridgian limestone soils of Chavignol and average twenty-five years old; they are sustainably farmed and harvested by hand. The wine is fermented with native yeasts in fiberglass and cement tanks, aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks for four to six months and bottled without filtration.”
 
Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Mont Damnes 2023 750ml $34.50 special, 20 bottles available
Importer Note “100% Sauvignon Blanc. Thomas-Labaille has vines averaging thirty years old with some much older on the famously steep slope of Monts Damnés in Chavignol. They are sustainably farmed and harvested by hand. The wine is fermented with native yeasts in fiberglass and cement tanks, aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks (with a small proportion of used barrel in some vintages) for four to six months and bottled without filtration.”
 
 
Italy
 

 
“I believe in natural wine because I believe this is going to make a better wine. I personally refer to myself as a natural wine producer. I don’t like to say “organic” or “biodynamic” because I find these terms are often misleading. At least when I say I make natural wine, people more or less have a grasp of what I mean by that. I know it’s difficult to define because many natural wine producers work very differently, but there is definitely a synergy and a like-mindedness that can be tasted in these wines.” -Francesca Padovani, one half of Fonterenza’s ownership team.
 
Fonterenza Toscana Rosso Alberello 2020 750ml $54.50 special, 20 bottles available
Eric Guido-Vinous 93+ Points “The 2020 Sangiovese Alberello is dusty in character, smoldering up with a darkly inviting bouquet of dried rose petals and wild strawberries complicated by hints of crushed stone. Its silken textures envelop the palate, quickly offset by a core of tart wild berry fruits and hints of sour citrus, as violet inner florals and lavender tones resonate throughout. This tapers off with a lasting presence, leaving edgy tannins to pinch at the cheeks as a bump of residual acidity keeps the experience vividly fresh and perfumed. The Sangiovese Alberello was once a Rosso di Montalcino yet was elevated within the Fonterenza portfolio to sit somewhere between their Rosso and Brunello. It’s a stunning wine, yet in need of some cellaring to come fully into focus.”
 
 
Germany
 
 

 
As the greatest purveyor of Riesling on the West Coast, we guarantee that when we’re excited about a Mosel producer, you should be too. Every single year we getted hyped up as a team regarding the new release of Hofgut Falkenstein’s Rieslings. Nestled in the heart of the Saar region, the Falkenstein winery crafts Rieslings that are like a laser beam of minerality, fresh exotic fruits, and delicious acidity.
 
Falkenstein Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken AP 18 2023 750ml $39 special, 36 bottles available
Mosel Fine Wines 93 Points “(Falkenstein Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken) AP: 18. The 2023er Krettnacher Ober Schäfershaus Riesling Spätlese Trocken comes 60-year-old vines planted in the similarly name Lieu-Dit in the Altenberg vineyard underpinned by Diabas elements. It offers a superb nose of greengage, bergamot, smoke, wet stone, and grapefruit zest sorbet. The wine is racy but beautifully playful on the bone-dry tasting palate and leaves a superbly feel of menthol in the long finish. 2033-2048.”
 
Falkenstein Euchariusberg Spatlese Klaus AP 6 2023 750ml $39 special, 3 bottles available
Mosel Fine Wines 94 Points “AP: 06 24. The 2023er Krettnacher Euchariusberg Riesling Spätlese Klaus (the reference to this internal cask name is provided in small print on the label after the AP number) comes from fruit harvested on 60-year-old vines in the prime Gross Schock sector of the vineyard and was fermented down to sweet levels of residual sugar. This offers a beautiful nose of bitter lemon, mint, white peach, cream, and smoke. It proves beautifully creamy yet focused on the palate and leaves a gorgeous, slightly earthy feel in the long finish. Citrusy and minty elements add to the pleasure in the long and lingering finish. 2033-2043.”
 

 
 
Portugal
 

 
The hand-stamped bottles have a rugged, workmanlike appeal that betrays the elegance and purity of wine within. Kopke is a classic for a reason and while we stock many of their vintage options, these non age statement bottlings are still a toothsome treat at an unbeatable price.
 
Kopke Fine Ruby Port NV 750ml $19 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Notes “A deep ruby colour, with a garnet rim. A classic bouquet, on which the liveliness of young fruit produces a delicate balance. Firm and powerful in the mouth, it shows flavours of fresh fruit and delivers a long and harmonious finish.”
 
Kopke Fine Tawny Port NV 750ml $19 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Notes “A vivid orangey-brown colour. On the nose, it reveals aromas of ripe and honeyed fruit combined with fragrant notes of vanilla. A smooth and round palate, full of rich and enveloping flavours.”
 
Kopke Dry White Port NV 750ml $21.90 special, 24 bottles available
Winery Notes “Crystalline citrine colour with straw tones. Presents an exuberant nose of tropical fruits well combined with attractive floral notes. Smooth in the taste, dry, with a great structure and a stupendous balance.”
 
…also currently available from Kopke:
 
Kopke 10 Year Tawny 750ml $36 special, 6 bottles available
Decanter 95 Points “Caramel bouquet embellished by a touch of wood spice. Then toffee, fudge and caramel on the palate, with ripe, red-berried fruit coming through on the finish – altogether pleasant and rich.”
 
Kopke Colheita Tawny 1934 750ml $899 special, 6 bottles available
Mark Squires-Wine Advocate 97 Points “The 1934 Colheita Tawny Port was bottled March 2022 with 149 grams per liter of residual sugar and a bar-top cork. Of the many Sogevinus Tawnies that the producer showed over its various houses, this was the oldest and tasted like it. Yet, like all of the producer’s oldies, they do a great job in producing complexity without the fruit seeming too old. I’m told it is never topped off too. There are only about 450 liters left for the future. It is a bit darker, leaning a little more to molasses, but it’s surprisingly fresh for its age. It has fine concentration and an endless finish. It is certainly special, not automatically a lot better than, say, a 50 Year, but a very different experience.”
 
Kopke Quinta Sao Luiz Vintage Port 2015 750ml $59 special, 6 bottles available
Wine Spectator 92 Points “A flattering style, with a generous feel to the mix of raspberry, boysenberry and blackberry puree flavors that glide through. Light fruitcake and red licorice accents infuse the finish, which has a nice kick of freshness. Best from 2028 through 2045. 200 cases imported. — JM”