Vinopolis Newsletter – Monday 08/28/2023

 
Rodez Les Beurys Maceration Pinot Noir Rose 2015 750ml $149 special, 3 bottles available
Vinopolnote “A 100% Pinot Noir champagne. Taken from a single plot within the Grand Cru vineyards of Ambonnay. Macerated for 3 days in small oak barrels without Malolactic fermentation. A very rare and special product subjected to the closest scrutiny in every step of the process.”
 
Christophe Mignon Millesime Brut Nature 2016 750ml $99 special, 3 bottles available
Winery Note “100% Pinot Meunier. A beautiful shimmering hue, with elegant highlights, delicate and persistent ring of bubbles. Refined nose with iodine notes. Creamy, distinguished and concentrated mouth. Subtle bitterness nice gritty and mineral tension.”
 
Christophe Mignon De Foudre 3 Cepages Brut Nature (2015) 750ml $89 special, 12 bottles available
Winery Note “A proportional blend of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. Very clean and delicate nose, with subtle woody notes. Unctuous and round mouth, with toasted almond flavors.”
 

 

 
Luigi Baudana Barolo Cerretta 2019 750ml $89 special, 23 bottles available
 
Luigi Baudana Barolo Baudana 2019 750ml $89 special. 23 bottles available
 
Cantina Del Pino Barbaresco 2019 750ml $49 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 94+ Points “The 2019 Barbaresco has a slender, almost fragile personality with small berry tones, wild strawberry and blueberry. The effect is very beautiful, especially the melting tannins that characterize the mouthfeel. The wine is fermented in oak and stainless steel and matures in large oak casks for 24 months. This is a production of 12,000 bottles.”
 
Mauro Molino Barolo 2019 750ml $49 special, 12 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 Points “The Molino family shows a deft hand with Nebbiolo, as is illustrated by the 2019 Barolo. This wine shows great harmony, a lightweight style and a polished mouthfeel, with strong power too. The aromas follow a classic Nebbiolo playlist with small currants, blue flower and rusty nail. As far as classic Barolo goes, the 2019 is about as classic as they come. This wine is especially lifted and bright. With 45,000 bottles made, you get an outstanding value here.”
 

 
Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa 750ml $17 special, 6 bottles available
Decanter 94 Points “About five to six years old, from La Guita bodega. Bright astringency and vivid intensity, with a long, refreshing finish. Not subtle, or washed out; and in this case, I preferred this to the en rama version.”
 

K Vintners Syrah The Deal Sundance Vineyard Syrah 2020 750ml $33 special, 30 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points “As with almost all of the Syrahs here, the 2020 Syrah The Deal was not destemmed, saw an extended maceration, and spent 18 months in 40% new French puncheons. Deep ruby/purple-hued, it has an incredibly floral perfume of black and blue fruits, pepper, iron, and crushed stone. With medium to full-bodied richness, a focused, precision, elegant texture, and a great finish, it’s a gem of a Syrah as well as an insane value.”
 
K Vintners Syrah Motor City Kitty MCK 2020 750ml $39 special, 26 bottles available
James Suckling 98 Points “This is a serious and intense syrah. Complex notes of chocolate, blackberries, black cherries, cedar and nutmeg here, with cracked pepper, rosemary and dried lavender. Evolving. Firm, tight and compact, with a full body. Beautiful freshness, too. More structure here. Try from 2025.”
 
K Vintners The Boy Grenache 2020 750ml $46.50 special, 34 bottles available
James Suckling 98 Points “This is perfumed, with dried strawberry bush, ripe cherry, star anise, black cardamom and spiced orange peel. Lots of dried-flower undertones. Its medium- to full-bodied with layers of tight but juicy tannins and bright acidity cutting through. Its so alive and vibrant, with cocoa-dusted red berries jumping out of the glass. It shows depth and power, but in an elegant way, with a delicate, ethereal feel.”
 

Staff Pick
Mosel
 

“I am constantly bowled over by the quality of Molitor’s wines– even these little daily drinkers! If you’re not familiar with Molitor’s color coding, these green cap wines represent an off-dry, feinherb style Riesling. Personally, I feel that a little bit of residual sugar gives most Rieslings an extra dimension that some dry Rieslings are missing– here it comes in the form of ripe red apple. This is a great table wine and perfect for big spicy foods and also more delicate fare like charcuterie and cheese.”

-Tracy

Tour de Alsace
10 Stellar Alsatian Wines
 

Alsace is a magical little pocket of European culture that is all too often ignored by the rest of the world. Fought over for centuries, it exchanged hands between France and Germany so many times that it became a fantastic mélange of both cultures. Officially French (for now, at least) with a French speaking populace who are great producers (and consumers) of that great French delicacy Foie Gras but surrounded by beautiful Bavarian architecture and, although they are probably most famous for their lush and spicy Pinot Gris wines, craft some of the finest Dry Rieslings and Gewürztraminers  in the world.
 
Agape Pinot Gris Expression 2018 750ml $19.90 special, 8 bottles available
Importer Note “Produced from owned plots in Riquewhir dominated by granite soils. The vines vary from 15-33 years old. Aged in large wood barrels to allow for aeration. This rich and honeyed, barely off-dry Pinot Gris is draws the very best out of this grape. Apricot notes and orange peel combine with earth and spices. (normally 50% stainless, 50% wood). Approx 500 cases produced annually.”
 
Agathe Bursin Gewurztraminer Dirstelberg 2021 $29 special, 12 bottles available
VinopolNote: The Dirstelberg vineyard is mostly composed of pink sandstone and is known as a high quality vineyard for a variety of grapes.  The wines from the site tend to be linear and crisp, with good varietal character.  Unlike many Alsatian producers, Bursin errs on the side of delicacy and raciness rather than pick too late and allow the wines to become rich and flabby for the sake of “power.”
 
Agathe Bursin Pinot Blanc Parad’aux 2021 750ml $24 special, 20 bottles available
VinopolNote: Classic Alsace Pinot Blanc. Clean, crisp with nice minerality and a touch of nuttiness.  This would make an excellent aperitif or a smashing pairing with fish.
 
Agathe Bursin Sylvaner Eminence 2021 750ml $39 special, 8 bottles available
VinopolNote: Agathe Bursin is known in Alsace as one of the top producers of Sylvaner and these grapes are all sourced from the Grand Cru Zinnkoepflé, labeled only as “Eminence” because the variety is not allowed the Grand Cru distinction. This is one of her top wines and provides a compelling reason to pay attention to the grape and Bursin’s remarkable work. Aromatically really interesting with a bright, mineral palate and great texture.
 
Schoffit Riesling Rangen De Thann Grand Cru 2019 $59 special, 4 bottles available
James Suckling 97 Points “Welcome to another planet of dry riesling! This is still very young, but has a fascinating nose of red vineyard peaches, wild berries and herbs, plus a whiff of hibiscus. Makes a serious statement on the front palate, but that’s only the beginning of this amazing story. Grows and grows as it powers ahead across you palate. Incredible intensity of wet-stone and salty character at the enormous finish, although the acidity is really moderate in the riesling context. Enormous aging potential! From organically grown grapes.”
 
Pierre Sparr Riesling Schoenenbourg Grand Cru 2019 750ml $45 special, 5 bottles available
Vinopolnote “Here at Vinopolis, we are known to be huge fans and advocates of Riesling and German wines in general, but where else in the world can you get a very dry Grand Cru Riesling for under fifty dollars? If these were one of Mosel’s own Grosse Gewachs wines, these would be much more expensive.”
 
Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Mambourg 2017 750ml $39 special, 5 bottles available
Wine Enthusiast 90 Points “A concentrated nose of Damask rose and juicy peach makes for a heady opening on this wine. A hint of grapefruit-peel spice plays on the juicy, medium-sweet palate. Along with citrus freshness, this creates a lovely balance of richness and freshness.”
 
Trimbach Clos Ste Hune Riesling 2016 750ml $379 special, 1 bottle available
Vinous 98+ Points “Luminous straw. Penetrating nuances of lime and guava join the lemon verbena, jasmine, mineral and white stone fruit aromas on the knockout, captivating nose. Then dense, complex and multilayered, offering profound flavors of fresh citrus fruit, sweet spices and talcum powder. Closes extremely long, clean and precise; this is a young white wine of utterly mesmerizing beauty. I find this to be one of the best young CSHs I have ever tasted; it is stylistically different but almost on the same quality level as the marvelous 2010 CSH. One sniff (never mind taste) and I was left almost speechless – and I’m not usually one who keeps his mouth shut when I recognize a truly great wine.”
Jancis Robinson 19-20/20 Points “Just 7,000 bottles produced in an average year from this 1.67-ha muschelkalk enclave within the Rosacker Grand Cru vineyard. Always vinified bone dry for a long life. So fresh and minerally and complete. Already gorgeous with beautifully judged balance. Such tension and this is already approachable, I’m delighted to say. Really vibrato and vibrant. So long and as though on a tightrope.  Then a beautiful undertow with some lime and a lot of stones. Riesling perfection!”
 
Weinbach Pinot Gris Clos De Capucins 2019 750ml $33 special, 19 bottles available
Wine Spectator “A light-bodied version, with snappy acidity creating a lively frame for the flavors of nectarine, Asian pear, rose petal and spicy mineral. A hint of almond shows on the juicy finish. Drink now. 300 cases imported.”
ginger play on the stony, mineral-driven finish. Drink now through 2019. 100 cases imported.”
 
Weinbach Sylvaner 2019 750ml $26 special, 8 bottles available
James Suckling 93 Points “Although this was made from the least “popular” of the Alsace grape varieties, this is a beauty, with a wide spectrum of white and yellow fruit, the kind of concentration you expect from old vines and quite some power at the long, fresh finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.”