Michele Chiarlo 2013 Moscato d’Asti Nivole Michele Chiarlo’s extensive vineyards stretch over more than 272 acres of Piedmont, including the hills surrounding Canelli, which offer an ideal microclimate for growing Moscato. Grapes are hand harvested from select vineyards with southern exposure and placed in pneumatic presses, followed by a slow fermentation using natural yeasts to a low level of alcohol. Unfermented Moscato grape must is then added to fine tune the sugar levels. Finally, the wine is immediately bottled in order to preserve the characteristically aromatic, sweet fruit fragrance of the Moscato Bianco grape. The result is a wine with such a delicate finesse that Michele Chiarlo named it Nivole…
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Caparzo 2005 Brunello Di Montalcino The name of the estate apparently derives from “Ca’ Pazzo”, as shown on some ancient maps. The estate covers an area of 190 hectares, 54 of which are vineyards, 4 are of olive groves, 87 of which are wooded and 45 of which are to be planted with new vines. Caparzo is the only estate-bottled producer of Brunello di Montalcino to have estate vineyards on all five sides of the hill of Montalcino, ensuring that no matter what climatic challenges effect one side, the other vineyards will more than compensate. More than thirty years have passed since the first vines were planted and the first…
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Bodegas y Viñedos Alión 2008 In April 1982, the Alvarez family purchased Vega Sicilia from its previous owner Hans Neuman, a Venezuelan businessman. Wine thus became the cornerstone of the family’s new business project. In 1991, the Alvarez family created Alión, a modern up-to-date wine, quite unlike the classicism of Vega Sicilia. Coming under the same denomination of origin, just 15km from the earlier brands, it marked a turning point in wine production in Ribera del Duero. Opening a bottle of “modern” Ribera del Duero was an absolute joy. The color was a glistening dark Ruby red with concentrated aromas of dark fruits, floral scents and some oak spice. The…
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Calera 2012 Mills Vineyards Pinot Noir Mt. Harlan Josh Jensen became a pioneer in search of the perfect spot on the globe to grow grapes. Taking his cue from the great domaines of Burgundy which have grown grapes in limestone soil for centuries, he set out in search of the perfect spot in California to create wines unique to the world but in the style of the greatest wines of France. Site selection was vital as he ventured off the grid to plant on the site of an old limekiln in the Gavilan Mountains of California. Today Calera wines still express that pioneer spirit and are revered the world over. …
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Grgich Hills Estate 2012 Napa Chardonnay Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the celebrated “Paris Tasting” of 1976. Then, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges swirled, sniffed, and sipped an array of the fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the Napa Valley. When their scores were tallied, the French judges were shocked: they had chosen the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, crafted by Mike Grgich, as the finest white wine in the world. Mon Dieu! The results stunned the international wine establishment and immediately earned Mike a reputation as one of the greatest winemakers in the world.…
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Fess Parker 2013 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir Family run winery established in 1989 by the late Fess Parker. Fess is best known for his portrayal of the frontiersmen Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone during the 1950’s and 1960’s and made him a legion among millions of adoring fans. Fess Parker was originally from Texas, attended the University of Texas and did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy during WWII and moved to California in the 1950’s and began acting. After his acting career was winding down, Fess, in 1986, opened a resort hotel in Santa Barbara on 23 ocean front acres. In 1989 Fess’ next adventure lured…
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Dehlinger 2012 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir In 1975 Tom Dehlinger planted the initial 14 acres of vineyard. From the start, his emphasis has been on extracting, developing, and preserving the maximum flavor from the grapes and producing small amounts of hand-worked, barrel-aged wines. Today his focus is entirely on estate grown wines, producing 7000 cases annually of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and interested in perfection of technique and the balance and intensity of flavors, than making large amounts of wine. Opened another outstanding 2012 Pinot from California. Deep red color with aromas of red fruits and a touch of woodsy spice. The palate brings forth cherry…
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Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2012 Goldeneye Winery was founded in 1996, years before the Pinot Noir boom that has reshaped the landscape of California winemaking. But the genesis for Goldeneye goes back even further. In 1990, after fifteen years of making world-class Bordeaux-varietal wines, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn embraced their growing love of Pinot Noir. They wanted to found a winery that could make a terroir-inspired expression of California Pinot Noir of equal stature to the acclaimed Merlots they had pioneered at Duckhorn Vineyards in Napa Valley. The Duckhorns knew that in both the Old and New World, the finest Pinot Noir thrives in very different conditions than Merlot.…
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Antinori Toscana Tignanello 2005 The Antinori family has been involved in the production of wine for over six centuries, ever since, in 1385, Giovanni di Piero Antinori entered as a member, the “Arte Fiorentina”, the Winemakers’ Guild of the city of Florence. During this entire long period, thorough twenty six generations, the family has always directly managed this work with courageous and, at times, innovative decisions, but always maintaining, unaltered, a fundamental respect for tradition and for the territory in which they have operated. Today the firm is run by Marquis Piero Antinori with the support of his three daugthers, Albiera, Allegra, and Alessia, directly involved in the work of…
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Copain “Tous Ensemble” Anderson Valley 2014 Pinot Noir Copain Wines is perched on a hill overlooking the serenely beautiful Russian River Valley. Winemaker Wells Guthrie discovered early on that his taste in wine gravitated toward Europe in general and France’s Rhône Valley in particular. So much so, he picked up and moved with his new bride to the region to learn from the best. For two years, Wells apprenticed for esteemed winemaker and living legend Michel Chapoutier in France’s Rhone Valley. During that time, Wells was deeply inspired by the traditions and practices of French winemaking, not to mention the European attitude that wine is an essential part of life.…