May 27, 2009

The Savoie, Chignin, Gilles Berlioz and the Mountains

Chignin is one of the specific Crus, or vineyard sites, under the larger appellation of "Vin de Savoie." Chignin's vineyards are considered some of the best in the region - extremely steep and, relatively speaking, warm.

These are high elevation alpine vineyards that wouldn't be able to ripen grapes were it not for their southern exposure and the curious "mountain furnace" effect - if there are mountains all around, the heat has nowhere to go. It's trapped, and therefore a place that is packed with skiers well into March can also produce some very, very good wines.

This mountain region is famous for its white wines, most often based on the indigenous Jacquere grape - vinified here by Berlioz in a traditional style.

Gilles Berlioz is one of the new growers of the Savoie and the quality of his wines has quickly established him as one of the best.

It isn't often that someone bucks the trend and follows their own path, especially when doing so runs against the grain of what is quick, easy and profitable. While most in the Savoie bottle as quickly as possible to sell to captive winter tourists, Berlioz purposely does not.

While most aim at acquiring more land, Berlioz has actually been selling off his lesser vineyards so as to focus on the best parcels he owns. It shows in the quality of the wines and while there is very little available for the U.S. market, we get a good chunk of it as we've supported Berlioz since (almost) the beginning!

Posted by Joe Salamone at 10:52 AM | TrackBack

The Return of Berlioz! 2008 Berlioz Chignin

Mountain Muscadet and the $17 Summer Sipper of Choice

The stunner of the Savoie returns for summer sippin' 2009!

Yes, it's gray and overcast in New York City (summer retreats for a moment after the glorious holiday weekend weather) but don't worry, summer will return. The blast-furnace heat is destined to overwhelm and when it comes...be ready.

Posted by Joe Salamone at 10:37 AM | TrackBack

May 22, 2009

Gravner: Through the Decades

A History of Restlessness and Clay Amphora

A relentlessly reflective iconoclast, the style of wine that Josko Gravner has made from his 18-hectare estate has varied greatly over the past three decades. Regardless of style, Gravner has remained not only a benchmark of the region, but also one of its most provocative and influential winemakers. His commitment to his terraced, high density, old-vine vineyards has remained severe and his sites are famous for being meticulously kept.

In the early 1980s, Gravner was the first to abandon the use of steel tanks and cool temperature-controlled fermentations that had dominated Friuli white wine making, for the use of French barriques. This amounted to a revolution for the region; a change from the crisp, clean wines that were intended to be drunk relatively young, to richer, deeper wines that benefited from aging.

However, Gravner soon became weary of this style of wine and ridded his winery of its barriques and high-tech scientific equipment to pursue wine as it would have been made generations ago. The barriques were traded in for large old Slavonian oak barrels, he began macerating his white wines for periods of around twelve days, and no temperature control or filtration was used. The wine then sat in barrel for three years or more. The resulting wines were cloudy, dark, and had a textured and even grippy mouthfeel. Many of Gravner's neighbors were scratching their heads and wondering if their strange, wine savant had lost it this time for good. These were surreal and singular wines at the time.

His exploration of old fashioned winemaking techniques led him finally to the use of amphoras, clay pots that were wine's first vessels. There's a history of their use going back 4,000 years and Gravner began to experiment with the amphoras in 1997. From 1998 until 2000 his wines were a combination of barrel and amphora. In 2001, Gravner released his first wine raised purely in amphora.

While the severity of his practice is unquestionable, perhaps no other factor speaks to Gravner's importance than the number of disciples he has had, the influence he has wielded in Friuli and Italian wine in general. Both Edi Kante and Damijan studied with Gravner before beginning their own, much respected, wineries in Friuli. Gravner's influence can easily be seen in the wines of his neighbors Radikon and La Castellada. The use of amphoras has spread through Italy with Lispida in the Veneto, Cos in Sicily, and Guttarolo in Puglia to name only a few.

Posted by Joe Salamone at 1:09 PM | TrackBack

Gravner: Going Back to the Origin of Wine

"Gravner continues to cast a large presence in the region, continually pushing the envelope with his wines and significantly influencing the younger generation of producers." - Wine Advocate

We come full circle this week.

Today we go to Friuli, the far northeast of Italy, to provide the ultimate bookend to this week of free-thinking, fiercely independent winemaking on the edge of everything... well ... comprehensible?

Posted by Joe Salamone at 12:18 PM | TrackBack

May 19, 2009

2007 Becker Estate Pinot Noir

Authentic Winemaking and a Pinot Noir Steal at $16.80
(How Do You Say "Back Up the Truck" in German?)

Consider today's offer a dazzling introduction to the new, more balanced, more sophisticated sensibility of German Pinot Noir, though it's also one of the most profound values in Pinot Noir we've come across in a long time.

While the value this wine offers is glaring and obvious (we're talking really good Pinot Noir for well under $20!), what I think needs emphasis here is the seriousness of this bottling.

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 12:10 PM | TrackBack

May 18, 2009

Frank Cornelissen

Frank Cornelissen does not come from a long line of winemakers; in fact, it was only in 2001 that the Belgian bought his first old-vine, ungrafted vineyard on the volcanic flank of Sicily's famed Mt. Etna, after being inspired by a bottle of Etna Rosso at a lunch in Sicily, and presumably, falling in love with the extreme, volcanic and mineral-laden soils of this most extreme locale (after all, his most famous wine is named "Magma").

Since then Cornelissen has refined his techniques and his philosophies to the point where he has turned the fundamentals of winemaking upside-down. According to Cornelissen, the way to achieve the best wine is to intervene as little as possible with what the soil gives the grapes. Cornelissen plants vines in low densities to allow for restorative cover crops to be used more extensively. Striving to avoid an agricultural monoculture, Cornelissen has fruit trees, olive trees and two varieties of wheat intermixed within the vineyards.

His use of clay amphorae encourages oxygen transfer (and purposeful oxidization) without imparting the flavors and tannins of oak barrels. On his website, Cornelissen explains that the long macerations are completed "in order not to disturb the complex natural processes of fermentation. The skins, seeds and nascent wine remain unseparated during the entire transformation, maintaining a cosmic link, and enabling extraction of all possible aromas of soil and territory."

Upon opening, you may encounter a slight fizziness which will slowly abate with time (refermentation is not necessarily cultivated, but nothing is done to avoid it either). It's not uncommon to have the same wine show a different face with each new cork that is pulled. Many of the wines are fermented in terracotta vessels and aged in clay amphorae. Macerations can last up to 14 months, even for the white wines, which are quite cloudy - indeed Cornelissen would have it no other way.

At this extreme - on the edge of winemaking - we believe there is true, uncompromising beauty. Cornelissen's philosophies may be radical, but they produce wines that are alive and truly organic in all senses of the word.

Posted by Joe Salamone at 1:25 PM | TrackBack

Frank Cornelissen - Bianco del Monjebel 5 / Rosso del Monjebel 5

Warning: Eccentric, Esoteric, Extreme Winemaking
Our 2nd Offering: Going Back to Mt. Etna!

A most esoteric, yet inspired, offer for you this Monday. It was just over a year ago that we sent out our first Frank Cornelissen offering.

These are some of the most extreme wines out there and though we had heard great things about Cornelissen, we sent out last year's offering with some hesitation and some serious disclaimers! (The hesitation, this year, has been allayed though the disclaimers remain - see below.)

Today, as we go back to the mountain (Mt. Etna that is) for another helping of these singular concoctions, the wines of Frank Cornelissen are gaining some very real momentum in the northeast. It's strange how things need time to settle in, to gain exposure, word of mouth...and then, you just reach that "tipping point" - the moment when all of a sudden, everywhere you look, there it is.

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 12:55 PM | TrackBack

May 8, 2009

2006 Desvignes Morgon "Javernieres"

The FINAL Batch of the STUNNING 2006!

"If there were a classification of vineyards in Morgon, Cote du Py would be a Premier Cru and Javernieres a Grand Cru." - Louis/Dressner

Today we present the last of our "Back-Vintage Beaujolais" emails, because with this parcel of wines, the needle goes to empty.

Posted by Joe Salamone at 12:24 PM | TrackBack

May 7, 2009

2007 Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reservee

"...like drinking a liquified, rare grilled steak mixed with ground pepper, roasted herbs, and spice." - Wine Advocate

Lowest Price in the Nation!

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 2:45 PM | TrackBack

May 5, 2009

2006 Lignier Red Burgundy - Power, Texture, Richness...and VALUE!

While the recent history of the Lignier family has been tragic, there is always a time for rebirth, for renewal.

With this offer we mark the beginning of an exciting new generation of winemaking at this estate, firmly rooted in the Ligniers' top sites across Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St-Denis and Chambolle. Terroir just doesn't lie and here, well, the terroir is great.

Posted by Ian McFadden at 12:07 PM | TrackBack