Posts

Posted on

2018 Les Cretes Petite Arvine Valle D’Aosta Italy

Classy white wines that defy the usual are always great finds. The case of the 2018 Les Cretes Petite Arvine Valle d’Aosta is that kind of Italian white wine. Known as the best white wine grape in the Swiss Valais region Petite Arvine can be vinified dry, semi-dry or as a sweet wine.

In the case of the 2018 Les Cretes Petite Arvine Valle d’Aosta, the wine is made in a perfectly dry style. Layer upon layer of lime, lemon, and grapefruit is there from start to finish. This is a lovely, refreshing, and full-bodied wine that is perfect with shellfish, baked clams, or even cheese.

That’s why the 2018 Les Cretes Petite Arvine Valle d’Aosta is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day!!!.

Posted on

2017 Poggio le Volpi Frascati Superiore

As the weather turns warm, the more there is the desire for wines that are refreshing, juicy, and easy to drink. That also means a need for alternatives to Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, the two usual suspects found in wine glasses the world over.

Take Frascati from the Lazio region just outside of Rome. It’s low in alcohol, almost always clocking in under 13.5%. It has gobs of fruit. It’s made in large quantities and is always very enjoyable when a good winemaker is behind the wine. It’s almost also always a great value buy.

That’s the 2017 Poggio le Volpi Frascati Superiore.  Golden color. Green apples and pears. Some fresh cut grass and voila, you have an everyday wine that has all you need to drink by itself, by the pool or on the patio, while you watch the sunset. The 2017 Poggio le Volpi Frascati Superiore is also an excellent food wine. Have it with fresh fish or a light creamy risotto. Most of all, just kick back and enjoy a refreshing white wine that won’t break the bank.

That’s why the 2017 Poggio le Volpi Frascati Superiore is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day.

Posted on

2016 Gaillard Collioure Rouge

Long known as one of the Northern Rhone’s top producers, Pierre Gaillard, and his family, have been cranking out rich and lovely wines for decades. In that time they have established themselves as a sure-fire, go to choice, for consumers, on restaurant lists and on the shelves of shopkeepers the world over.

Over time the family has expanded their holdings, being one of the first Rhone producers to venture into the Roussillion, when they expanded South and acquired Domaine Madeloc in Banyuls. There, the well chosen and perfectly aged terraced hillside vineyards, along with those in neighboring Collioure, are seen as some of the most treasured in the region.

While Banyuls grapes produce the delicious open top late harvest sweet grenache reds, it’s the vineyards in the Collioure AOC, overseen by Pierre’s daughter Elise Gaillard, that makes one of the most magical reds from the Roussillon, the 2016 Gaillard Collioure Rouge.

Made from a blend of Grenache Noir,  Mourvèdre and Syrah, the velvety red wine is full of both full throttle power and elegant silky fruit. Much like the wines of La Tour Vieille Spicy black and white pepper from the Mourvedre and Syrah and ripe strawberry, blackberry and blueberry from the trio of grapes are a given.

But it’s the elegant delivery and structure of the well-balanced 2016 Pierre Gaillard Collioure Rouge  that makes this wine a perfect pairing with creamy blue cheese or aromatic Epoisses that makes it such a delight. That and how well it pairs with baby lamb or perfectly cooked duck breast. While the wine is made mostly in large vats, the finishing takes place in large oak barrels, allowing the wine to have just enough oak tannins to go from being a fruit bomb to becoming a well developed and age-worthy wine.

That’s why the 2016 Pierre Gaillard Collioure Rouge is today’s Winesiders’ Wine of The Day.

Posted on

2014 Clos Marie L’Olivette Pic Saint Loup

Back when I first started to visit the Languedoc in the 90s, the wines imported into the USA from the region of Pic Saint Loup were dominated by a few producers like Chateau La Roque,  Chateau Lascaux, and L’Hortus. Sure there was the occasional Lancyre that found its way in, and others like Cazeneuve and Mas Bruguière had fleeting moments of visibility, but by and large, eventually it was the Kermit Lynch trio of Ermitage du Pic, Lascaux and La Roque plus L’Hortus that led the way.

The more I visited the hilltop region, the more I found other producers who were not only making wines on par with La Roque and Lascaux but like L’Hortus were forging their own path, finding a USA importer and making wines that stood out. Clos Marie was one of them.

The first tasting I had of Clos Marie came at a small roadside restaurant in Lauret, the town where Clos Marie is. From there, I drove to visit the winery, to end up tasting with the grandmother of Christophe Peyrus, tasting four or five wines that the small winery made. Eventually, a few importers started to bring Clos Marie into the USA, and it would show up here and there. Thankfully, the 2014 Clos Marie L’Olivette Pic Saint Loup is one of those now available.

Here’s a typical Pic Saint Loup red blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre, but unlike Mourvedre from other parts of the Languedoc where Mourvedre is usually the second or third grape in the blend, in the Pic, the Mourvedre take the reigns. I’m not sure why, but for some reason when it comes from the vineyards that dot the mountain top Pic region, the Mourvedre has a certain quality that puts it on par with the great Mourvedre vineyards of Bandol.

Just as there are striking differences between wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux or the Rhone and Bandol, Pic St. Loup wines are different from other parts of the Occitaine. Often they are more akin to Gigondas and Vacqueyras, where the stony hillsides and ancient hillsides produce wines of great power from their chalky base, than neighboring villages where the wines are more lush and juicy when young.

The 2014 Clos Marie L’Olivette is that kind of wine. As the small winery’s entry-level wine, here’s a ready to drink now.

It’s a big gun red that is full of black raspberry, ripe blueberry, black pepper and a lush strawberry base that all blends with the Languedoc’s sister to Provencale herbal aromas, la Garrigue. That’s where the whiff of rosemary, thyme, and sage hits the fruit, giving the wine the telltale sign that it’s from the Pays d’Oc.

And for those factors and many more, it’s why the 2014 Clos Marie L’Olivette Pic Saint Loup is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day.

Posted on

2018 La Liebre y la Tortuga

After a fast four days and many stops in wine bars, bodegas, tabernas, and restaurants in Madrid my love of exciting racy white wines with character was revived just as it was in Lyon with those delightful Beaujolais Blancs and then again in the Languedoc-Roussillon (Occitaine). On the trip, the joy of brilliantly crafted, fruit driven, elegant, and soft wines triggered back many of the reasons that led me to want to share my views on wine. 

One of the joys of the trip was tasting wines from Rías Baixas region, where the Albariño evokes so much goodness and serves as the ideal complement for anything that comes out of the water, or just needs to be drunk all by itself.

The 2018 La Liebre y La Tortuga Albarino Rias Baixas from Fento Wines is that kind of wine. Coastal climate in nature, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and grown on weathered sandy granite soils, it’s a young wine meant to be drunk young. It’s vibrant. It’s fresh tasting. It’s lively, and most of all, it’s fruit driven. As Albarino wines go, the 2018 La Liebre y La Tortuga Albarino sets a mark for the vintage. It has style and grace that’s comes from the slightly green tinged color that also makes it so seductive.

Aromas of passion fruit and citrus fruit capture your attention. Then comes the lemon, lime, orange and lemon zest appealing flavors on the first and through until the last sip.

It’s a not so much the charm the 2018 La Liebre y La Tortuga Albarino, brings, but the enjoyment that it delivers as you sit back, and just drink it.

That’s why the 2018 La Liebre y La Tortuga Albarino is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day!!

Posted on

2017 Domaine Jaume Generation Cotes du Rhone – Vinosobres

Wines offered by the glass in bistros and brasseries across Paris, and all of France, always include some of the most lovely, easy to drink, everyday wines which drink so well that you just want to enjoy them without stopping.

That’s what the 2017 Domaine Jaume Generation is. It’s a stunning red bistro wine that is rarely found on store shelves, but when it is, it’s always one to buy.

Here’s a low alcohol red wine that’s full of gorgeous cherry, strawberry, and raspberry fruit. The Generation is a blend of  Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre and has a lush fruity bouquet, that is different than 2016, which was mostly spice and pepper on the nose.

While the fruit rules the glass, there’s also lovely star anise and licorice appeal to the wine that makes it a perfect match for French country style cooking.

That’s why the 2017 Domaine Jaume Generation is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day!!!

Posted on

2014 Eric Texier Brezeme Vieilles Vignes Cotes du Rhone

When you think of Cotes du Rhone reds normally Grenache based blends come to mind. But a few producers like to go with a single varietal, and again, the nod usually goes to Grenache.

Not so with Eric Texier, a pioneering winemaker in the region known as the Ardeche that sits just outside the best Northern Rhone regions. Texier hunts for grapes from around the Rhone, finding old vine parcels that have never seen the onslaught of pesticides and chemicals. While “natural” wine is often tossed around these days, and Texier is “natural” he’s a serious winemaker, working with serious fruit from old vine vineyards. 

Take the 2014 Eric Texier Brezeme Vieilles Vignes. Here’s an old vine, all Syrah red, that would stand up to a Cote Rotie from the same vintage. Having tasted Texier’s wines since the 2000 vintage, the longeviity he get from good to very good harvests is mind blowing.  What Texier also gets from the wines he makes is intense layer upon layer of fruit.

In the case of the 2014 Eric Texier Brezeme Vieilles Vignes is the smokey quality of the Syrah that evokes that Cote-Rotie sensation, along with brambly blueberries, hints of bacon and black and white pepper.

This is a wine that is a standout both in value and quality, and that’s why the 2014 Eric Texier Brezeme Vieilles Vignes is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day.

Posted on

2017 Domaine de Fondreche Persia Rouge Ventoux

Wines of the Ventoux region of France continue to make a mark on the wine scene for those in the know.  One of the early producers from the mountain region that has steadily left a favorable impression on wine shop owners in the USA who know what’s going to be the real deal is Domaine de Fondreche, a smart, well-positioned producer whose wines have been gracing my own cellar and table since 2010. It’s now time for their wines to reach yours.

Fondreche is one of the regions’ producers that should be thought of as one of the “benchmark” brands from the Ventoux region. Fondreche, like Chateau Unang,  Chataue Pesquie,  Chene Bleu, Juvenal, Vintur, Clos de Trias, Martinelle, St. Jean du Barroux and others was very visible at Decouvertes du Rhone last month.

Between that event week long event and Ventoux Rising, Fondreche, and the others showed off high quality, fine and elegant wines that are helping to draw attention to the area,  standing apart from negociant and cooperative grade bottlings that have long seen wider distribution.

While the Fondreche Ventoux Rouge bottling has always been a great “go-to” choice, vs. Cotes du Rhones, it’s the high-grade Persia release that always grabs my attention. It just requires a bit of patience.

The 2017 Domaine de Fondreche Persia Rouge Ventoux is a knockout. Made from 90% Syrah and 10 % Mourvèdre that spends a year in large oak barrels of both barriques and foudres size, it’s a spicy, juicy, mouth-filling red wine that never quits.

Layers of pie-filling blueberry and black raspberry fruit follow the rich, lush, spicy nose of black pepper and licorice, and some chocolate/carob scents. While you’ll want to drink it now, as it’s already an irresistible red wine, history has shown that the Persia ages very well, and from fruit forward years like 2017 was, will be even better in 5-7 years if you can keep your hands off the bottles.

That’s why the 2017 Domaine du Fondreche Persia Ventoux Rouge is today’s WineSiders Wine of The Day!

Posted on

2017 Alta Mora Etna Bianco

As the spring weather turns warmer, finding food-friendly whites becomes the name of the game of wine hunting. To me finding those white wines is as much as a challenge as discovering summer weight reds that can hit the mark as well.

The wines from Sicily’s Alto Mora are those type of wines, without question as their whites, reds, and roses are some of the best from the Mt. Etna area of the island.

Take the 2017 Alta Mora Etna Bianco. Here’s a white wine made from the Carricante grape that has the palate style of a fine White Burgundy, but shows a total lack of any oak as it’s vinified in stainless steel, much like the way Chablis is made in Burgundy.

It’s a wine that’s fresh from the first sip to the last, and which conveys fruit without sweetness. That is so apparent as the young vines of 15 years of age give off that lovely and charming freshness of youth in the glass.

The aromatics remind you of fresh pulled rosemary, thyme and sage, with hints of flinty wet stones and green apples. As you taste the wine, you get a lovely citrus flavor of limes and ripened lemons that move out of the way for a more green apple and white pear finish.

As Italian white wines go the 2017 Alta Mora Etna Bianco is a lovely wine that’s great with shellfish and light tomato-based pasta dishes and is one to seek out. 

And for all those reasons and more, it’s why the 2017 Alta Mora Etna Bianco is today’s WineSider’s Wine of The Day!!!

Posted on

2017 Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos del Bierzo

Legendary winemakers come from everywhere. And winemakers like Alvaro Palacios make wines eveywhere they can in Spain.

Palacios finds vineyards and sources of grapes and like an artist with a blank canvas, but with lots of paint, he figures out what is going to be best at the moment from each region and for each wine he makes.

While some wines of Palacios carry high price tags, the most enjoyable,  approachable and entry level wine year after year is his 2017 Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos del Bierzo.

Made on the ouside western edge of Bierzo from the Mencia grape, the red wine is a prototype for the region, much like the Guigal’s Cotes du Rhone is for the Rhone Valley. In many ways the comparison is valid, as Palacios produces over 300,000 bottles of the wine that has a kinship in flavor profile, as the strawberry base of vibrant, lively and deep fruit is much like the Grenache based Rhone standard flag waving wine.

It’s lush, without being sappy. It’s forceful, without being overpowering. And most of all, it’s drinking well right now, or will age gracefully for many, many years.

That’s why the 2017 Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos del Bierzo. is today’s WineSiders’ Wine of The Day!!!