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The Cellar Door's Weekly Wine Sheet
July 26, 2007 "Happy Birthday Mick Jagger" 2001 VOLPAIA CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA “COLTASSALA” TRE BICCHIERI AWARD – THE ITALIAN WINE BIBLE, GAMBERO ROSSO Volpaia's former importer decided to get out of the wine biz and stick exclusively to liquor…this means that in Oregon, they'll have to switch distributors. The company that currently carries Volpaia, but who is soon to lose them, has a bunch of the monumental 2001 Chianti Classico Reserva "Coltassala" on a drastic price reduction. The new importer is also not shy about margins and the new pricing will increase by leaps and bounds. This 2001 Volpaia Chianti is very special indeed and it will never be at a price like this again, especially when the newly released 2004 goes for $45. The arrival of rock-star enologist Riccardo Cotarella has brought forth even more aspects of the classiness that has come to be synonymous with the Radda section of Chianti’s famous terroir. The Wine Advocate has referred to this wine as “the Beau Brummel of Chianti Classico,” and we couldn’t agree more. This wine was formerly a Super-Tuscan, but Mr. Cotarella detests Super-Tuscans, so he axed the cabernet and kept the sangioveto and mammiolo, making it a refurbished Super-Chianti Riserva. Heavenly, shapely scents of red and black cherry, vanilla, sage and red licorice define the aromas while potent, yet satiny flavors and silky tannins, which have long been Volpaia hallmarks, seduce the mouth. We have been raving on about the 2001 Tuscan vintage and the 2001 Volpaia Coltassala Riserva is definitely worthy to be included in our top Chianti of the vintage along with the likes of Felsina’s Vigna Rancia, Selvapiana's Bucerchiale and San Felice’s Poggio Rosso. While you won’t be committing a fashion crime if you were to uncork one now, it will ultimately be at its finest from 2009 – 2016. 2006 CAMERON PINOT NOIR "COLUMBIA GORGE" Big props go out to our good friend John Paul for continuing to find sources to make good Pinot Noir for such a fair price! Lately, we have seen all kinds of madness when it comes to pricing for Oregon Pinot Noirs.There are many factors causing this; short crops on the previous vintages, high grape prices set by growers which leads to competition for grape sources, and unfortunately, ego. 2006 is the second version of the Columbia Gorge Pinot Noir and it is delicious. While it is a different source than the Willamette Valley, you can see the Cameron style and signature all over it, just in a juicier and plumper way. Ripe and forward with black cherry and rose aromas as well as undertones of herbs, black pepper, lavender and cola. Generous, fleshy and nicely intertwined with subtle use of oak. Given that it is Oregon, one suspects that a little more new oak would make it a twenty-five dollar wine, but as it is, you have a serious, delicious-drinking everyday Pinot Noir for not a lot of money! Drink it over the next year or two. GA-GA FOR GODELLO! Some call Albariño Spain's number one white wine. Others say the title belongs to Rueda's Verdejo. But all seem to agree that waiting in the wings, Godello belongs right up there with the other two. Godello comes from Valdeorras in eastern Galicia, close to its border with Castilla-Leon. Originally planted by the Romans and similar to Albariño and Verdejo, it, too, is a native varietal and like them, was ravaged, probably even more completely, by the late 19th century phylloxera. Godello all but disappeared and when replanting time came, quantity not quality was the byword. The low yielding and difficult to harvest Godello fell victim to this dictum, and by the late 90's Valdeorras had only 350 hectares of Godello vineyards but lots of other vineyards devoted to other varietals. Thankfully, like with much of the rest of Spain, the rewards of quality gained the upper hand and the Godello recovery began. Founded in 1920 and currently owned by Ladera Sagrada with winemaker Jose Sotos, these old vines produce extremely small yields (only six pounds of fruit per vine instead of the typical 17 pounds) creating a wine that is rich with intensity and structure. With daytime temperatures wavering between hot and scorching, and nighttime temperatures ranging from very cool to cold, the vines experience a longer ripening period which adds an aromatic freshness to the wines. Additionally, the granite and slate soil surfaces warm up during the day, providing heat to the roots, which helps the grapes continue to ripen even during the night. This is a refreshing and reasonable Godello with impeccable character and an uncommonly long finish for the price; in other words, you can spend your savings on cracked Crab legs or Crab cakes with spicy aioli. 2006 A COROA VALDEORRAS GODELLO Adegas A Coroa is a relative newcomer to the Valdeorras scene. Angel Lopez and his family were in the nursery business in Valdeorras for many years. In 2002 they acquired 30 acres of old vine Godello, all old vine, all different exposures, but all entrenched in slate soils. Ancient Godello vines aren't the only Roman treasure that Angel Lopez and his family utilize in their winemaking; they found an old Roman edifice whose remaining chimney is reminder of the glorious past of this region. They restored the original building, respecting the parameters of that time period, stone, wood, mud and iron. The wines however are made in a very modern style, utilizing the finest equipment, but most importantly, impeccably farmed fruit with a healthy respect to nature. The 2006 is utterly gorgeous. Intense aromas of lilies, musk and pronounced mandarin dominate the nose. Vinuous, energetic and electric in the mouth, it moves and seduces all senses. The finish is palate-staining and super-long, fanning out with substantially long, powdery fruit. Illuminating, rich and very dry, have this with more substantial fare than the Castelo do Papa. Enjoy it with sole, salmon or lobster. 2004 EDGE NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON Last week while tasting this yummy Napa Cab we were commenting on how U2 guitar god The Edge has worn a do-rag since 1986. We were also commenting how it has been since 1986 that we have seen a Cab that overachieves this much for 20 beans! Edge is a lush Cabernet Sauvignon produced from grapes selected from some historic vineyards along the Silverado Trail. A scrumptious drink, it is packed with tones of cassis, black raspberry and spearmint that are surrounded by intriguing tones of cocoa and allspice. In the mouth it is deep, voluptuous and smooth offering that has lots of depth and structure as well. This wine is very, very sexy right now, but will also age through 2009. 2001 FAUSTINO V RIOJA RESERVA From the Rioja Alto region comes a wonderful and traditional wine comprised of 92% bright intense Tempranillo and 8% Mazuelo. Ultra-traditional producer Faustino's Reserva V offers delightful toasty notes combined with a hint of red berries, vanilla and mulling spice. There is also a wide mouth-feel that is round, velvety and meaty. Throw in the lovely integration of sweet tannins brought on by subtle oak and you get a long finish that is smooth and robust. This wine is aged 16 months in casks of white American oak and allowed 20 days of skin contact and combined with the knockout 2001 vintage, we find it to be a lovely food wine for the price. Drink now through 2013. 2006 ROOT:1 SAUVIGNON BLANC In the spirit of the broadcast media's desire to grab ratings by scaring the daylights out of folks with diseases like SARS and West Nile Virus, we feel that it is IMPERATIVE to warn you about several wine diseases that are floating in the air these days. The first, and probably the most serious is OCPCD - Obsessive Compulsive Point Chasing Disease. A very well-established, nagging disease that normally goes away with time, however, if not contained, it will spread like wildfire. Those who have this disease would never have the strength to try a bottle like this. Another dangerous disease is WHFS - Wine Hype Fatigue Syndrome. Symptoms include head-spinning convulsions that are brought about by not being able to receive the mass-marketed, $150.00 Chardonnay or Cab that one must have for medicating these traits and stroking the ego. Lastly, there is ICBIHNML - I Can't Believe I Have No Money Left/Exploding Head (which is a milder form of What-The-Hell-Happened Disease). Symptoms are very similar to WHFS, but this is in a different form as this affects the wine buyer who may be able to get a hyped wine, but then proceeds to complain and blow up about the price. The CDHS (Cellar Door Health Services) has recommended the following prescription in order to avoid these ailments. Grab some fish tacos, Ceviche or gazpacho and open numerous bottles of this bursting, dry Sauvignon Blanc from Chile which is seemingly packed with passionfruit. Earlier this year, many of you experienced the delicious Cabernet from this project that is the brainchild of Australian wine importer Peter Click and Chilean winery Viña Ventisquero, and now they have followed it up with a supper-yummy-summer Sauvignon that is the envy of many Kiwis! 2006 PAOLO SARACCO MOSCATO D’AST There is a legendary story of when Bryan first met the Michelangelo of Moscato, Paolo Saracco. If you’ve ever met the man, you probably have a Saracco story. When Bryan first met him, it was with Aldo Vacca, the director of Produttori Del Barbaresco. We are supposed to all gather at Paolo’s house, which doubles as his winery, and head off to dinner. Of course, Paolo shows us around the winery and we are tasting the wines. He also makes nice white wines which we tasted, but the Moscato - Mamma Mia! Since Bryan doesn’t speak Italian and couldn’t relay what he wanted to say in French he told Aldo to tell Paolo in Italian, that this wine would be perfect to pour all over a girlfriend and to lick it off! Paolo then walked away from the table and Bryan apologized to Aldo for making Paolo angry. Turns out Paolo wasn't angry at all. He returned with a 5 liter bottle of Moscato and asked in French if he would be able to carry a bottle that size in his luggage! Yes, the man is an absolute character, but what's in the bottle speaks for itself! People absolutely adore Moscato D’Asti. We have had numerous people who don’t like wine, tell us how much they love this stuff. We've had serious wine collectors tell us that they can’t get enough. We've even had one client use it at her wedding to serve with the cake instead of champagne. What is it? A semi-sparkling wine from the Piedmont region of Italy, composed of the Muscat grape. Paolo Saracco is considered to be by many, the King of Moscato d’Asti, or in his terms, the Michelangelo of Moscato. The perfect ending to a light meal, all by itself, or with a simple fruit inspired dessert of summer peaches. It also makes a great beverage for Sunday brunch. An absolute must for all Cellar Door customers to have a bottle of this in their refrigerator for those special occasions! 2001 DOMAINE ROBERT GROFFIER CHAMBOLLE MUSIGNY PREMIER CRU "LES AMOUREUSES" Les Amoureuses vineyard within Chambolle-Musigny is a Premier Cru in name only. Wines from this site almost always perform at Grand Cru levels. Burgundy lovers always swoon over Les Amoureuses thus making the wines very scarce. Located in the village of Morey St-Denis, Robert and son Serge Groffier have all of their holdings in the villages of Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey Chambertin, and WOW, what holdings they have!!! This estate has always made phenomenal wines, but when Serge came on board in the late 80s, the wines into orbit and are now some of the most highly sought-after in all of Burgundy. The 2001 Chambolle Amoureuses is like any great wine from Les Amoureuses, a long-term proposition. Highly complex with youthful, fine fragrances of red cherry, raspberry, rose petal, mint and dark chocolate. Wonderfully silky on entry then locks up on the rich, layered and sensuous mid-palate, owing from its firm grip and pronounced spine. The finish is nothing but the truth...Superb class, precision and refinement exude on the long, slow-building finish that even at age 5 seemingly lasts about a week. If you open one, you are committing a sort of infanticide, even though it reveals all of these sexy traits now. For best results, hold onto to this until 2011 and drink it through 2024+.
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