Newsletter
December 10, 2016 – January 14, 2017
Brunello
2011 Brunello di Montalcino ‘Pelagrilli’ (Siro Pacenti)
Regular Price $49.99 – Sale Price $39.99 NET
Barolo
2010 Barolo Riserva ‘Bussia Vigna Mondoca’ (Oddero)
Regular Price $99.99 – Sale Price $79.99 NET
The 2010 vintage in Barolo was amazingly good. This may be the pinnacle of what is available to us. The Odderos made just 150 cases of the 2010 Bussia Vigna Mondoca. This parcel is like a Grand Cru within an already formidable Cru. Our tasting note reads, ‘an amazing mix of aromas, flowers, earth, berries, finish builds and lasts…’.
Saint Julien
2014 Saint Julien (Château La Bridaine)
Regular Price $34.99 – Sale Price $27.99 NET
R_B_L_
Ribolla Spumante Brut Nature ‘RBL’ (i Clivi)
Regular Price $28.99 – Sale Price $19.99 NET
We are always intrigued by sparkling wine made from indigenous varieties, so if a wine is an effervescent pleasure to drink and tastes as if it can only come from one place on earth, then we are hooked. The RBL checks off all the boxes plus one more: organic. Composed of Ribolla Gialla (hence its name) from Friuli near the Slovenian border, the RBL is a lovely sparkler with a fine, savory, slightly saline finish that makes it the perfect aperitif. Subtle scents of beeswax and fresh white blossoms lead to a mouthful of bright citrus and apricot fruit with a trace of chalk. At almost ten dollars less than its normal price, now is the time to taste this Ribolla Gialla and its corner of Northeastern Italy.
Paul Pernot
2015 Beaune ‘Clos du Dessus des Marconnets’ (Domaine Paul Pernot)
Regular Price $44.99 – Sale Price $35.99 NET
2015 Bourgogne Blanc (Domaine Paul Pernot)
Regular Price $29.99 – Sale Price $23.99 NET
Domaine Paul Pernot is mainly known for their outstanding white Puligny-Montrachet, but their rare red wines are excellent as well. This red Beaune comes from a vineyard that they solely own. The 2015 Clos du Dessus des Marconnets combines ripe berry fruit with a quarry full of crushed rocks and foresty aromas. It may be on the rustic side, but it is perfect for a long-braised beef stew with mushrooms. The 2015 Bourgogne Blanc comes from vines in Puligny near the border with Meursault. In this vintage you get a real treat, an excellent white Burgundy at a great price.
All-Loire Cabernet Franc
2014 Chinon ‘Les Grézeaux’ (Domaine Bernard Baudry)
Regular Price $27.99 – Sale Price $21.99 NET
All-American Cabernet Sauvignon
2013 Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Arrowood)
Regular Price $34.99– Sale Price $27.99 NET
Buglioni Bugiardo
2012 Valpolicella Ripasso ‘Il Bugiardo’ (Cantine Buglioni)
Regular Price $24.99– Sale Price $19.99 NET
Listed prices are honored through January 14th, 2017. We will not honor mistyped prices. Vol. 41, No. 1
The coastal Albariño grape may have put Galician white wine on the fine wine map, but the Godello grape grown on steep granitic hillsides in Valdeorras is steadily surpassing it. Rafael Palacios is making some of the best dry white wines in Spain. You may be acquainted with his Bolo label, which is a lively, minerally, Chablis-like white that sings for $14.99. His next wine, Louro, is more like a Meursault with its richness and roundness and its underground river of minerals. The 2015 is an amazingly balanced white for the finest seafood you can source. 
There are several producers in the Wachau Valley of the Danube in Austria that make world-class white wine and charge accordingly. Fortunately there is also the Domäne Wachau. This cooperative winery with prime vineyard holdings can release a wine that shows what the Wachau can produce, but at a more reasonable price. Their Federspiel is a medium-bodied dry white with above average qualities. The 2015 vintage has lifted this normally very good Grüner to abnormally excellent status. This is a spicy, herbal, minerally white wine with a sharp focus and a primal, truly glorious intensity.
When we first visited Jean Vesselle demand for their Champagne was so great that they had no wine to sell. The tasting and tour was informative and featured the first and only time we saw a day care center and lunch room in a Champagne producer’s facilities. This is truly a family operation producing high-level Champagne from their own vineyards in the charmingly named village of Bouzy. 
When demand eased we leapt on these wines because we love the super Brut style of their Pinot Noir-based bubblies and the superb value of their wines. These recently disgorged bottlings are pure and lovely. The Brut Reserve is amazing with fine, persistent bubbles and delicate red-berry flavor. The Oeil de Perdrix is a pale dry Rosé that is long and lingering with unmistakable breed.
Bordeaux’ heroic production ensures that there is always value from one of the highest-profile wine regions. The Côtes de Blaye is a good place to look for reasonably priced, sturdy dry reds. Haut-Vrillant is smooth with Merlot fruit and dry with good tannic structure. A fine red to serve with a tranche of pàté de campagne or, if you have the time, with your favorite meatloaf.
The holidays can be stressful, and cooking and cleaning up can seem endless, and this is where Prosecco has its most positive effects. Valdo won’t chop the onions or dry the dishes, but it will be there for you (and your guests) as an affordable and dry sparkling value. As a spritz, for a Bellini, or on its own, this will help the holidays slide by with ease and pleasure.
2010 Rioja Reserva ‘Viña Alberdi’ (La Rioja Alta)
Is German Riesling dry or sweet? When it comes to a Kabinett level wine, made from grapes that achieve sugar levels that can be fruity to some and sweet to others, the jury will always be out. So we appreciate that this Rheinhessen Riesling from Dr. Heyden advertises itself as ‘dry-style.’ It has Riesling’s signature fine fruity aroma, an ample middle palate of pear and apple fruit, and a crisp, almost dry finish. This delicious Riesling value has a perfectly poetic poise. It’s dry and not dry and lovely with spicy pad thai.
The lovely Bordeaux town of Saint-Emilion has many illustrious Chateaux, and many industrious ones as well. Chateau Piney is a member of the Union de Producteurs de Saint-Emilion, a group that shares costs to keep prices reasonable. We hope someday that wines from this group receive a medaille d’or from the Union de Producteurs de Steak-Frites for all the wine they have made available to bistros around the globe. The 2012 Piney is a real gem in the 2012 vintage, with plush plummy fruit, evenly measured ripe tannins, and an adequately long finish.
A seasonal cheese from Jasper Hill Farm, made in the winter months with the rich raw milk of hay-fed Ayrshire cows, Winnimere is inspired by Jura Mountain classics such as Vacherin Mont d’Or and Försterkäse. Wrapped in strips of spruce cambium sourced from surrounding woodland and washed in a cultured salt brine, the cheese is then aged 60 days. The result is soft and spoonable, with flavors of bacon, sweet cream, and spruce. A must try for fans of Harbison! 
The Point Reyes Dairy was purchased in 1959 by Bob and Dean Giacomini. By the mid-1990s the farm had grown to a herd of over 500 dairy cows and established a reputation for producing the highest quality milk. Their 720-acre farm could not sustain a dairy of that magnitude and so, with the help of their daughters, they reduced the size of the dairy and transitioned the business into an artisan farmstead cheesemaking facility. In 2000 they commenced cheesemaking with the Original Blue, a rindless raw cow’s milk cheese with a milky white paste and dense blue-green veining. It tastes of sweet farmstead milk with a peppery punch. 
2014 Vinho Regional Lisboa ‘Ruelas’ (Quinta do Gradil) 
2015 Côtes du Rhône ‘Laurent B.’ (Domaine Brusset) 
2015 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ‘Podere’ (Umani Ronchi)
2015 Douro Branco (Cassa)