Vinopolpick Mid-Week 7-16-20

In Today’s Newsletter:

Collector’s Corner
DRC’s Romanee-Conti


Wine Tariffs & You

New Review for Domaine Servin

Trending

2008 Olga Raffault

Special Focus on Bernard Baudry

 
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Collector’s Corner


DRC’s Romanee-Conti


“2017 is an intriguing vintage, to say the least” – Antonio Galloni

To say DRC is the finest example of Burgundy is an understatement. These are the finest wines produced in the world. Iconic and highly sought after, these are devoted followed and drunk in ecstasy. These arrive mid-July directly from the national importer, Wilson Daniels, through our local distributor. 

“The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 2017s are showing brilliantly from bottle, and this tasting with Bertrand de Villaine was one of the absolute high points of my two months of visits along the Côte d’Or… spending an hour or two with full glasses of wines such as these is not merely of immense professional interest but, I admit, a source of great personal pleasure… it is clear that this is a vintage that will give immense pleasure to anyone able to secure a few bottles. Hauntingly aromatic, structurally supple and pungently intense, this vintage will drink well younger than both its 2016 and 2015 predecessors, but it is much closer in quality to those two vintages than I perceived 12 months ago. At the end of our tasting, the group spent some time discussing possible analogies, and the comparison I found the most compelling is with the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 1985 vintage. Indeed, I had drunk a superb 1985 Grands-Echézeaux from the domaine over dinner with a good friend a few days before my visit, and the similarities in overall balance between the two vintages were strikingly apparent as I tasted through the young 2017s.” William Kelley, Wine Advocate

We are offering these at a special subscriber-only price. The discounted price will not display online. Call or email for the special offer!

Arriving in July:

Only three bottles available
Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits 2017 750ML ($17,999.95) Listed Price: $16,599, Subscriber Price: $11,999
Antonio Galloni 96 points “The 2017 Romanée-Conti Grand Cru is dense, ample and also ethereal, as only it can be. Once again, Romanée-Conti elicits thoughts of art forms like cubist paintings or jazz, where themes are implied but never expressly stated. Above all else Romanée-Conti is a Burgundy that engages all the senses. You want answers, but all you get back is more questions. The 2017 is powerful and quite closed initially, yet with some aeration hints of black cherry, lavender and exotic spice start to appear. A closing rush of baritone inflections give it a real sense of gravitas. It’s a shame very few people will ever be able to taste it. Harvest took place on the morning of September 8.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $17,166

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Wine Tariffs & You

 
Wine tariffs negatively impact all aspects of the wine community from you the consumer to wine shops, wineries, restaurants, importers, and distributors. This puts jobs and small businesses at risk through no fault of their own, when the industry is already reeling from pandemic shutdowns. 

Make sure your voice is heard in the fight to end tariffs on imported wines. Visit the Wine Trade Alliance’s web site for an easy to use template to email your local representatives in Congress and the US Trade Representative!

www.endwinetariffs.com
 
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New Review for Domaine Servin


Domaine Servin is one of the oldest and most prestigious estates in Chablis, with 32 hectares of vines spread throughout the region and much of it in top vineyards. The Servin family has been in Chablis since 1654 and involved in the wine industry for much of that time. Today, Francois Servin runs the domaine with the assistance of his Australian brother-in-law, Mark Cameron.

François, while appreciating the great traditions that are very important to the Servin family, strives to modernize and improve the estate. He has resumed hand harvesting of grapes over most of the Premier Cru and all of the Grand Cru vineyards. Where necessary, he has replanted with improved Chardonnay vines. The wines are aged in a mix of stainless steel and wooden barrel, depending on the cuvee, and bottled without filtration—this is an estate that has made a wholesale commitment to quality and it shows in the wines.

Newly Reviewed by William Kelley of the Wine Advocate:

Domaine Servin Butteaux, Chablis Premier Cru 2018 750ML ($44.95) $38 special, 18 bottles in stock now
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 92 points
“The 2018 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is showing especially well, unfurling in the glass with notes of lemon oil, fresh pastry, crisp green apple and oatmeal. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it’s tightly wound and concentrated, with crisp acids and a saline finish. This cuvée is emerging as one of my firm favorites in the Servin portfolio.”

Also In Stock Now from Domaine Servin:

Domaine Servin Blanchot, Chablis Grand Cru 2016 750ML ($74.95) $59 special, 24 bottles in stock now
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 92 points
“The 2016 Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots is also a success, offering up aromas of preserved peach, lemon confit and fresh citrus zest. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, textural and saline, with excellent purity and length. It’s a gourmand but elegant Blanchots that retains plenty of site personality.”
Neal Martin-Vinous 90-92 points “The 2016 Chablis Blanchots Grand Cru has a clean and precise, quite granitic bouquet, tightly wound but focused. The palate is well balanced with good depth, quite primal at the moment with a terse, saline finish. It just needs to loosen-up by the time of bottling.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Domaine Servin Montee de Tonnerre, Chablis Premier Cru 2017 750ML ($44.95) $38 special, 18 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni 93+ points
“The 2017 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru is soft, pretty and easy to drink young. I would have liked to see a bit more persistence. Overall this is an especially open-knit, easy going wine Chablis with good energy and brightness. My feeling is that it will benefit great from another year or two in bottle. Bright saline notes infuse the finish with lovely tension and energy that balances the more forward quality of the fruit.”
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2017 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre confirms its strong showing from barrel, opening in the glass to reveal notes of green apple, pear, beeswax and orange rind. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with good depth and tension, lively acids and a fragrant finish.”
Burghound 92 points “Outstanding. A beautifully layered nose combines notes of sea breeze and iodine with those of white flowers, pear and mineral reduction. The sleek, intense and wonderfully refined flavors flash plenty of minerality and dry extract, both of which are present on the strikingly long and palate coating finish. This is presently prettier than it is deep though there is more than sufficient underlying material for this to gradually develop better complexity.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!

Domaine Servin Les Preuses, Chablis Grand Cru 2016 750ML ($79.95) $59 special, 20 bottles in stock now
William Kelley-Wine Advocate 93 points
“One of the most reserved and serious wines in the range, the 2016 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses offers up notes of dried flowers, beeswax, lemon oil, mandarin and rock salt, framed by light reduction. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, saline and mineral, with a deep, tight-knit core and a long, youthfully grippy finish. It’s a wine that will appeal to purists.”
Neal Martin-Vinous 92-94 points “The 2016 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru is a step up from the Blanchot – a complex array of scents with green apple, oyster shell and a light sea spray influence coming through. The palate is well balanced with sappy green fruit on the entry, with a clean and precise finish that bodes well for the future. Excellent.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
 
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Vinopolis Wine Shop Curbside Pick Up

Order Online / By Phone / By Email

When you’re ready to pick up, just park in our lot,
give us a call, & we’ll bring your order to your car.


(If another adult is picking up for you,
please let us know their name when placing your order.)

www.vinopoliswineshop.com

info@vinopoliswineshop.com

503-223-6002

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Trending


Staff pick “a youthful wine with old world grace”
Biggio Hamina “Biha” Pinot Noir, Van Duzer 2017 750ML ($24.95) $17 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Case-12 Biggio Hamina “Biha” Pinot Noir, Van Duzer 2017 750ML ($299.95) $179 special (that’s only $14.92/bottle!)

No reviews for the 2017 vintage. Review is for reference.
Josh Raynolds 91 points “[2016 Vintage] Shimmering red. Vibrant, mineral- and spice-accented red fruit and floral scents, along with a savory herb nuance and a hint of smokiness. Appealingly sweet and sharply focused on the palate, offering lively redcurrant, raspberry and rose pastille flavors that deepen slowly on the back half. Silky tannins come on late and support a seamless, floral-driven finish that hangs on with strong tenacity.”
 
This is the only listing in the USA today!

Nearly unbeatable for value Bordeaux
Chateau Puygueraud, Cotes de Bordeaux Francs 2016 750ML ($24.95) $21.90 special
Case-12 Chateau Puygueraud, Cotes de Bordeaux Francs 2016 750ML ($299.95) $228 special (that’s only $19/bottle!)
Case-6 Chateau Puygueraud, Cotes de Bordeaux Francs 2016 750ML ($149.95) $119 special (that’s only $19.83/bottle!)
James Suckling 94 points
“This is so good! I want to drink it now. Iodine, mushrooms, dark fruit and orange peel on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, yet polished and fresh. Lovely tension A blend of 80 per cent merlot, 15 per cent cabernet franc and five per cent malbec.”

Chateau La Serre is part of the Moueix family of wineries—a name that needs little in the way for Bordeaux enthusiasts.  While it may not be as grand as some of its fellows (like, err, Petrus and Trotanoy), La Serre offers incredible value for the price.  Representing a harmony between traditional production styles and immediate drinkability, these are great bottles for drinking now or cellaring.

Chateau La Serre, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015 750ML ($59.95) $39 special
Jeb Dunnuck 93 points
“Made from 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 Château La Serre is a ripe, sexy beauty that’s packed with fruit. Black cherries, blueberries, leafy herbs and hints of tobacco all emerge from this ripe, opulent 2015 that has sweet tannin, a charming, forward style, moderate concentration, and a great finish. It should be a smoking value and delivers loads of pleasure already. Tasted twice.”
James Suckling 93 points “Suave, cedary oak aromas with bright vanillin-dusted plums, raspberries and some graphite. The palate delivers clean-cut tannins, carrying flavors of blackberries and mulberries to an upbeat finish. Drink or hold.”

A beautifully fresh Italian white that’s perfect for summer—and a steal under $15.
Ronchi di Pietro Friulano Friul Colli Orientali 2017 750ML ($19.95) $14 special
Winery note
“Yellow-straw colour with beautiful greenish tinges. Its intense aroma recalls wild flowers, hay and almond. Fine, delicate, and full-bodied, with a remarkable scent of bitter almond.”
 
One of the best Gran Selezione in terms of quality and value
Tenuta di Bibbiano ‘Montornello’, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2015 750ML ($39.95) $33 special
Case-6 Tenuta di Bibbiano ‘Montornello’, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2015 750ML ($239.95) $189 special (that’s only $31.50/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Case-12 Tenuta di Bibbiano ‘Montornello’, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2015 750ML ($479.95) $349 special (that’s only $29.08/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Wine Spectator 95 points
“Relaxed, balanced and supported by dense tannins, this touts aromas of leather, tobacco, wood paneling, iron, woodsy spices and smoky cherry fruit, with a finish that is long and expansive. Drink now through 2040. 3,300 cases made, 500 cases imported.”

The Rosso di Montalcino from Il Poggione is a fantastic follow up to our Rosso di Tuscano offer from last month, which sold out in a flash. We’re the lowest price in the country, and even lower by the case!
Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany 2017 750ML ($31.95) $18 special
Case-12 Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany 2017 750ML ($359.95) $189 special (that’s only $15.75/bottle!)
James Suckling 91 points
“A Rosso with focus and poise that shows cherry and chocolate character. Lots of new wood now, but plenty of fruit, fine tannins and bright acidity to hold it together. Drink or hold.”
Wine Spectator 89 points “Broad and velvety, with a beam of vibrant cherry accented by iron, sanguine, earth and underbrush notes. Dense and beefy, finishing long and cleansing. Drink now through 2023. 12,000 cases made, 7,500 cases imported.”
“Ripe and racy to the core, Il Poggione’s 2017 Rosso di Montalcino offers tons of richness and intensity from the very first taste. Sweet red cherry, wild flowers, spice and a kiss of new oak are all front and center. In this vintage, the Rosso is decidedly bold. It needs time in bottle to fully come together, for some of that oak to integrate, but it is undoubtedly a very delicious and alluring Rosso that captures the flamboyance of the year.” -Antonio Galloni, Vinous
 
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $22.90
The average price is $25

Vina Zorzal Malayeto, Navarra 2018 750ml ($29.95) $26 special
Luis Gutierrez – Wine Advocate 94 points
“The really impressive and mineral 2018 Malayeto was produced with Garnacha from a single vineyard that produces wine of unusual elegance and minerality. This was the first plot they bottled separately, and this 2018 is the sixth vintage they have produced. It’s a 2.9-hectare plot planted 40 years ago, on the same slope as Corral de los Altos but at a higher altitude and therefore with different soils, surprisingly deep but with lots of calcium carbonate and fine gravel. This fermented in a combination of stainless steel and concrete with indigenous yeasts and matured in a 4,000-liter oak foudre and nine used 500-liter oak barrels for nine months. This wine clearly transcends its price. It’s serious but started quite shy and needed time to open up (it’s extremely young and just bottled), but there is great purity and detail, and it’s elegant and balanced, extremely harmonious. The palate is incredibly elegant, seamless, balanced, with very fine tannins, great integration of the oak and very good freshness, with citrus-like freshness (think blood orange skin). Most of the time, this is my go-to wine in Zorzal’s portfolio, a wine of great finesse in its finest vintage to date.”
 
This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast today!

Arriving Tomorrow, July 17th!

CVNE ‘Imperial’ Gran Reserva, Rioja DOCa 2012 750ML ($79.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Luis Gutierrez-Wine Advocate 95 points
“The wine that represents the traditional and serious reds from Haro, the 2012 Imperial Gran Reserva is a classical blend of Tempranillo with 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo that matured in barrel for two years. It has a textbook serious Haro nose, with dark spices, ripe fruit, something balsamic and a round, full-bodied palate within the straight and serious style of the wine. 2012 was a warm year, but the wines are fresher than those from 2011. This has fine, slightly grainy tannins with good grip. A textbook Imperial Gran Reserva. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2015.”
Josh Raynolds 94 points “(raised in new and used French and American oak barrels for two years) Vivid ruby-red. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe raspberry, cherry-cola, potpourri and exotic spices, with a suave vanilla topnote and a smoky mineral flourish. Sweet and broad in the mouth, offering lush red fruit, spicecake, mocha and coconut flavors that steadily tighten up on the back half. Finishes extremely long and spicy, with a resonating floral quality, well-knit tannins and lingering oak spice notes. This one is still quite young.”
James Suckling 94 points “A tight and beautiful wine with blackberries, bramble berries, rose petals and lemon grass. Medium to full body, ultra-fine tannins and a beautiful finish. Very fine-grained. Lovely now. Even better in 2020.”


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2008 Olga Raffault


Arriving Friday, July 17th:

Olga Raffault is one of the benchmark producers of Chinon, and has an intriguing history. Olga and her husband Pierre operated this estate together until he died unexpectedly just before harvest in 1947. Olga was left to run the business, but was assisted by Ernest Zenninger, a German prisoner who had found refuge and work at Raffault. Ernest stayed on, becoming the winemaker and working closely with Olga’s son Jean Raffault. Olga’s granddaughter Sylvie and her husband Eric de la Vigerie took over in 2000 and now run the estate. Raffault is in the Véron, a strip of land with sandy and gravelly soils where the Vienne River intersects with the much larger Loire. They farm 24 hectares, most of it Cabernet Franc with a small amount of Chenin Blanc, with vines averaging about 30 years in age. Sylvie insists that their wine is drinkable in that classic Chinon style. “We sell the wine for wine bars and bistros and we want a fresh wine,” she said.

Olga Raffault Chinon Les Picasses, Loire 2008 750ML ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Winery Library Release!
Jason Wilson-Vinous 92 points “Light ruby in color, bright and fresh, featuring aromas and flavors of tomatoes and cherries throughout. Balanced and cool, with a hint of dark minerality on the finish. Incredibly fresh and seamless. Has a long life ahead. Aged one year in foudre. Drink 2020 – 2030.”
This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!


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Special Focus on Bernard Baudry


“One of Chinon’s classic, benchmark producers, Bernard Baudry, somewhat surprisingly, only purchased his first two hectares in 1975. Now comprising 32 hectares, the estate is run by his son Matthieu, who joined his father in 2000. Organic since 2006, the Baudrys remain traditionalists, and are blessed with a diversity of terroir surrounding their village of Cravant-les-Coteaux: five vineyard sites variously endowed with clay limestone, sandy limestone, silex and gravel. The Baudrys also believe in fermenting and aging in cement tank, especially for their less structured, youthful expressions. But these wonderful unoaked, easy-drinking Cabernet Franc are part of the fabric of Chinon.” –Jason Wilson, Vinous Media

“Their wines are noted for exquisite precision, concentration and texture and are unquestionably among the finest and most expressive of the Chinon appellation.” –David Bowler Wine

Newly Reviews & In Stock Now:

Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges, Loire 2018 750ML ($24.95) $20.90 special, 6 bottles in stock now
Jason Wilson-Vinous 92 points
“Spicy and fruity throughout, with an expressive nose full of smoked meat and grilled herbs. In the mouth, there’s solid structure and notes of blackberry, along with more savory flavors of black olive and tomato. At midpalate comes an underlying tobacco note, followed by the dry, spicy finish. Feeling of chalk and clay on the palate. This is the kind of value that Chinon should be more famous for. Aged 10 months in cement. Drink 2020 – 2028.”

Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot, Loire 2016 750ML ($37.95) $33 special, 35 bottles in stock now
Jason Wilson-Vinous 92 points
“Same aging and vinification as the 2017, but this is even fruiter, with more oak influence. More floral than savory, and purple in all ways: purple color, purple flowers, purple fruit. In the mouth, there’s black cherry and plum and big, wild acidity, almost white-wine-like acidity, and a cool, fresh finish. Should be interesting to see how this has developed in a year or two. Drink 2021 – 2046.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $42

Arriving Friday, July 24th:

Only 24 bottles available!
Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc, Loire 2018 750ML ($34.95) $28 pre-arrival special
Chenin Blanc grown on clay and limestone soils. 
Winery note “The white Domaine is a charming wine with notes of white fruit and citrus. Though totally dry, its roundness makes it pleasant in its youth. Quantity is limited.”

Bernard Baudry Chinon La Croix Boissee Blanc, Loire 2018 750ML ($49.95) $44 pre-arrival special
Chenin Blanc grown on limestone soils. 
Winery note “The very chalky soil imparts La Croix Boissée with minerality and a dense body. This is a nice wine for gastronomy with notes of white fruits and a fine salinity. Quantity is limited.”

This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!

Bernard Baudry Chinon Rose, Loire 2019 750ML ($24.95) $20.90 pre-arrival special
Winery note
“The Chinon Rosé is a dry wine, its color is pale pink due to direct press. Delicate, with notes of white fruit, it is a perfect aperitive wine or served with simple dishes, barbecue-grilled fish. Quantity is limited.”
Importer note “100% Cabernet Franc. The fruit for the rosé comes from several estate parcels on two different terroirs: the higher plateau with flinty clay soils and valley/river level with sandy gravel soils. The vines are on the younger side, averaging 20 years old, and are farmed organically. The grapes are harvested by hand, destemmed and gently pressed. Fermentation is long and slow, with native yeasts in unlined cement tank, taking anywhere from two weeks to two months to finish dry… The wine remains in tank, goes through malolactic fermentation, receives minimal sulfur and is bottled in the spring following the harvest. Very small production.”

This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
The average price nationally is $24

Bernard Baudry Chinon Le Clos Guillot, Loire 2017 750ML ($39.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Jason Wilson-Vinous 93 points
“From one of Baudry’s top limestone sites. Aged 12 months in 2- to 5-year-old barrels, then rests for nine months in cement tanks. Still young and rambunctious, very juicy and full of energy, very like Pinot-like. It’s one of the fruitier Baudry expressions, with lots of black and sour cherry, some blackberry and tomato, and light stoniness on the finish. Give this a year or two and it will pay back your patience. Drink 2022 – 2047.”


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Vinopolis is an independent wine shop in Portland that opened in 2004. Our goal has always been to offer the finest, broadest, and largest selection of wines at the best prices to our customers in Portland, in Oregon, across the West Coast, and throughout the United States. Thank you for reading and for continuing to support our team.



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