Robert Stemmler Winside Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012 After making wine in his native Germany, Robert arrived in Napa Valley in 1961, working with the Mondavi brothers at Charles Krug Winery, then becoming winemaker at Sonoma County’s historic Simi Winery. In 1976, he opened Robert Stemmler Winery, and in 1982 released his first Pinot Noir to critical acclaim. Meanwhile, in 1981, Anne Moller-Racke arrived from Germany to work at the family’s Buena Vista Winery. They soon became friends. After promoting Pinot Noir nationwide, Robert retired in 1989, and the Racke family purchased his label. When Anne launched an “ultimate Pinot Noir project” at The Donum Estate in 2001, Stemmler wines…
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Taittinger Brut Champagne NV When Pierre Taittinger first discovered the Champagne region, he was a young liaison officer during the first World War. It was thanks to his passion for wine and gastronomy that he returned several years later and, with his brother-in-law, invested all his energy into the development of a burgeoning champagne business. Since 1932 Champagne Taittinger has grown and taken its place among the great Champagne houses, commanding a bold innovative style particularly influenced by Chardonnay. Having bought back the family business in 2006, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger has surrounded himself with a team that is both young and bound together by a spirit of attainment and permanence. His…
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Champagne Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV When Pierre Taittinger first discovered the Champagne region, he was a young liaison officer during the first World War. It was thanks to his passion for wine and gastronomy that he returned several years later and, with his brother-in-law, invested all his energy into the development of a burgeoning champagne business. Since 1932 Champagne Taittinger has grown and taken its place among the great Champagne houses, commanding a bold innovative style particularly influenced by Chardonnay. Having bought back the family business in 2006, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger has surrounded himself with a team that is both young and bound together by a spirit of attainment and permanence.…
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Chacra Treinta y dos Pinot Noir 2013 Bodega Chacra is located in the Rio Negro Valley of northern Patagonia, 620 miles south of Buenos Aires, 1,240 miles north of Tierra del Fuego, and roughly equidistant west to east from the Andes Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. The property’s situation in the arid central Argentine desert is tempered by the convergence of the Neuquen and Limay Rivers, both of which flow from the Andes and join the Rio Negro, which in turn flows into the Atlantic. Acquired in 1932, Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, grandson of Sassicaia’s creator was born in Tuscany, making wines in Argentina, also purchased two other old vine…
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Kosta Browne Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2014 Located on the eastern slopes of the coastal range that shelters the fertile Salinas Valley from Big Sur, this appellation is relatively new with the first vineyards being developed only in the 1970’s. Surprisingly, these central coast slopes are generally cooler than the Russian River Valley, largely as a result of the ocean breezes and fog coming in from Monterey Bay. The vineyards are sheltered by the coastal peaks that limit rainfall. Pinot Noir excels on these hillsides. The five vineyards that help Kosta Browne make fine wines are farmed by two incredible grape growing families – Pisoni and Franscioni, where their…
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Fulcrum Brosseau Vineyard Chalone AVA Pinot Noir 2014 A Fulcrum is the point on which an object balances. This was the name winemaker David Rossi chose for his winery when he founded it in 2005 – years before the word balance became an essential element in any discussion about great New World Pinot Noir. For David, a Fulcrum represented the style of winemaking he spent years refining. It was also an ideal metaphor for his belief in leveraging the finest grapes to create balanced, complex and age-worthy Pinot Noirs. I recently went to a private tasting at one of my favorite wine shops, Stew Leonard’s Wines, in CT, where I…
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Domaine Serene Yamhill Cvuée Pinot Noir 2011 Grace and Ken Evenstad first arrived and settled in the Dundee Hills in the Willamette Valley in 1989. At that time, the couple had spent over 20 years together in Minnesota building a successful business and a deep appreciation for the wines of Burgundy. The Evenstads had faith in Oregon early on, before there was a national market for domestic Pinot Noir. When the time came to pursue their longtime dream of growing and producing world class Pinot Noir, they invested in a 42 acre hilltop estate that had just been logged in the beautiful Dundee Hills of Oregon. With the support of…
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Rochioli Russian River Pinot Noir 2012 The legacy began in 1911 when Joe Rocchioli Sr. immigrated to America along with his parents, Michele and Menichina Rocchioli (they later dropped the second “c”). Originally from a small village just outside of Lucca, the Rocchioli’s were one of many Italian families that arrived in New York, made their way across the country, and settled in Northern California. Although Joe Sr. really considered himself a crop farmer, he planted popular “jug wine” blending grapes like French Colombard, Early Burgundy and Valdeguié (Napa Gamay). By the mid-1950s he raised enough money to purchase the Fenton Acres property, the same location where Rochioli Vineyards are…
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Ca’Del Grevino Pinot Noir 2012 Another installment of my recent trip to CA to visit my oldest child and celebrating her birthday. We wanted to taste some great wines that cannot readily be obtained back east, so we visited Ca’ Del Grevino Estate Vineyards. Owned by the Grewal Family, Ca’ Del Grevino is the signature wine brand of their estate representing regality, tradition and opulence. Nestled in California’s prestigious Central Coast is the lovely Santa Maria Valley. The unique micro-climate of the valley produces cool mornings and long warm afternoons. The best quality fruit produced and attention to detail produces award winning Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, White Riesling and Syrah wines.…
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Babcock Radical Pinot Noir 2013 Another installment of my recent trip to CA to visit my daughter to celebrate her birthday. We wanted to taste some great wines that cannot readily be obtained back east, so we visited Babcock Winery in Santa Barbara. Babcock Winery and Vineyards was established in 1978 when Mona and Walter Babcock purchased a 110 acre property on Highway 246 between Lompoc and Buellton in the western Santa Ynez Valley. At the time, the Babcocks were in the restaurant business, as they are to this day, being the proprietors of the legendary Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach California. At the time of establishing the vineyard, he…