Rockss and Fruit

The Brooding Bramaterras of Brusnengo

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 17:57:00 +0000

Filippo Barni

- Distinctive "Brooding" Style

- Almost Pommardian Flavor-Wise (Less Brawny, More Elegant)

- Darker Fruits, Complex Aromatics

- A Major Middle of Nowhere Discovery

- Only 330 Cases Made

2017 Filippo Barni Bramaterra

- All Star Nose

- Tar, Leather, Smoke

- Mid Season Cherries, Unreal Bruised Cherries

- So Layered

- Sous Bois

- Palate: Sick Cherries

- Sexy Texture

- Caresses the Palate

- Almost a Sensual Cling

- So Taut and Deep

- Complex, Structured and So Old School

- Will Age for 25+ Years and Peak in 5

2013 Filippo Barni Cantagnal Erbaluce Apassiemento Autumnal

- One of the Most Special Wines I've Ever Sold from Italy

- I Think That Italy Is #2 Behind Germany for Dessert Wines

- This Wine Reminds Me a Bit of Aged Riesling

- Crazy High Acidity and Freshness

- A Vinous Treasure

- Nose: So Complex

- Dried Apricots, Sea Breeze, Orange Zest, Jellied Orange Citrus Flesh

- Amazing Detailed Nuttiness

- White Raisins, Golden Raisins

- Caramel That is so Elite and Expansive

- Palate: A Wow

- So Rich and Decadent

- Apricot, Grilled Nuts, Citrus Jelly

- Superbly Mineral and Complex

- Burnt Orange Rind

- Fascinating Minerals

- Spectacular and so, so Juicy

- Gorgeous Mouthfeel and Texture

"These wines compete with very good Barolo quality-wise" - One of my most experienced and knowledgeable customers

When I was tasting these wines, the word that kept on going through my mind was "brooding."
And when I think of brooding, my mind naturally turns to the Prince of Denmark. I'm not saying that I contemplated my existence while drinking these wines. Well, not any more than I usually do. But there is a fascinating character to them. Almost introspective in a way. And they are not exactly glou glou wines. Many of our Alto Piemonte wines have that bright cherry fruit with uplifting spice.

These are at the other end of the spectrum. Deep. A bit dark. Very complex in a way that captures the attention. And maybe leads you to contemplate your existence.

There has definitely been a gold rush in Alto Piemonte but it hasn't quite reached every little town. And it didn't reach the 2,127 population commune of Brusnengo until my partner, in one of his insomniac late night data scrapes found Fillippo Barni and got them to send me samples.

They only make 330 cases of wine a year and are likely too small for pretty much anyone but us. And they don't market much so the prices are, let me say, more than fair. I could have charged 30% more and they would still be great deals. Maybe even more than that. It is very rare to find wines with this kind of complexity these days.

The Wines

Up first is the 2017 Filippo Barni Bramaterra for $29.99 each on a 4-pack. Nope. Not a typo. They sent me two bottles and each one was spectacular. Why are these wines this good? I'm sure they work hard in the vineyard and are hands off in the winery but there's something extra here. There's a sense of refinement one does not get that often in Alto Piemonte. And at the price of $29.99 a bottle I don't think one gets it anywhere in the world of wine really.

What a nose. An all star nose. Heaven. Tar, leather, smoke, mid season cherries and so layered. Sick nose. Sous bois. Unreal bruised cherries. Mint. Menthol. So so, so high toned and expansive. Cough drop. Just sick. A 9.5 nose. Easy. On Day 2 it didn't let up. Sick, sick nose. Haunting. Ethereal. Like a Volnay/Bramaterra cross. Wow. Spices and cherry and well but also sick nuance and other stuff.

Palate is incredible. Concentrated. Sappy and so pure. Velvety tannins, and sweet earthy fruit. Barely sweet though. Deep, super deep. Amazing mid palate with a tiny bit of opulence and such sap and purity. Such sick cherries. The fruit is so taut and deep. Complex, structured and so old school.

Long finish and refined tannins cake to the mouth. Long. Pure. Fresh. Sweet deep fruit. This is astonishing. Incredible density and yet light on its feet. This is one of the best Bramaterras I've ever had. On day 2, palate is crazy. Like crazy juicy with sick tannins and ripeness but so classic. Man this is impressive. Awesome texture. High quality refined tannins and some vivid, sappy dark cherry fruit on the finish. Long. Better in 5-7 years. Maybe more. Vin de garde. What a finish. Will age for 25+ years and peak in 5 and will last and last.

The 2013 Filippo Barni Cantagnal Erbaluce Apassiemento Autumnal for $36.99 (500ml bottle) each on a per 3 pack is a vinous treasure that is why you shop at Fass Selections. Claudia, being a mesnch also sent me the 08/05/03 to compare to the 12 and 13 to see how this wine ages and man does it age. It ages wonderfully and gets fresher, leaner and infinitely more complex and nimble.

What a nose. Dried apricots, sea breeze, orange zest, jellied orange citrus flesh. Amazing detailed nuttiness. So complex. Wow! Is that soy? Yes it is. Hoisin as well. I can't place the nuts but they are so brilliantly realized. I swear there is a Chinese food thing going on in the nose here but it works!

On the palate, wow. Rich. Decadent. Not shy. Amazing texture. Just great acidity and so long. Flavors of apricot, grilled nuts, citrus jelly, and superbly mineral and complex. So airy in the finish with bits of caramel and charred orange rind. Viscous but also fresh and textured. Gets longer as it airs out.

Day 2 notes are very important with dessert wines as they lose nothing and only get better and fresher as was the case here.

White raisins. Golden raisins. Caramel that is so elite and expansive. Grilled nuts. Burnt orange rind. And fascinating minerals that really put this in a class by itself. Wow this is spectacular and so so juicy. Just incredible freshness, yet rich and so beautiful. It has such intense flavors but also it has the balance and depth of the best sweet wines I have ever had . What mouthfeel and texture. Insane inner mouth aromas and caramel that is to die for. It has the sphere and orb in a sweet wine. Amazing! This will last 25 more years! Amazing!

2017 Filippo Barni Bramaterra - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack)

(VERY LIMITED)

2013 Filippo Barni Cantagnal Erbaluce Apassiemento Autumnal - $38.99 ($110.97 3-pack {500 ml}) (VERY LIMITED)

Two Divergent Robert Frost Wines

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 20:55:00 +0000

2020 Weltner Rödelseer Kuchenmeister Sylvaner Trocken Erste Lage

- Composed Like a *** Michelin Dish

- Unbelievable This Is Not His Top Bottling

- An Absolute Wow Wine

- Transportative Aromas

- Amazing Depth and Precision

- Lime Zest, Lime Pith, Airy, Mineral, White Pepper

- Calming and Zen-Like

- Palate - Unbelievable Refinement

- Concentrated and Deep

- Remarkable for its Purity, Poise and Precision

- Mineral Wall of Flavor on the Finish / Tall Normal Bottles

2020 Gunther Steinmetz (with Paul Weltner) Virgo Gaia "Scheu Aber Wild"

- Only 360 Bottles Made

- Brilliant Weltner Scheurebe Fruit (from Franken)

- Stefan Steinmetz's Mad Genius Winemaking (in the Mosel)

- A Collector's Item for German Wine Geeks

The Road Not Taken

The word "divergent" in the title obviously refers to Robert Frost's iconic poem, "The Road Not Taken." German white wine lovers obviously consume mostly riesling. But I've tried to highlight other grapes as well for the true connoisseurs.

One is silvaner. Paul Weltner's silvaner bottlings are one of the reasons that I started the company. They are some of the finest white wines in Germany and incredibly distinctive. These are in the running for the best silvaners made in Germany.

The second wine today is even more unique. It is made from Franken grapes grown by Weltner and vinified by Stefan Steinmetz using extended skin contact. Only 360 bottles were made and it's mostly just a fun project between friends. No one else will be bringing this to a wine tasting, that's for sure.

The Wines

Up first is the 2020 Paul Weltner Rödelseer Kuchenmeister Sylvaner Trocken Erste Lage for $24.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Of the two 1er Cru Sylvaners Paul makes this is the more clean, the more precise, the more shimmering. This wine shimmers. You gotta wear sunglasses to drink this stuff.

The aromas of these wines transport me. Just like a field. Heavenly. Amazing depth and precision. So refined. Silky this is under $30. Lime zest, lime pith, airy, mineral, calming and zen-like. White pepper. As it opens the wine's aromas become confectionary. Electric acids. Not over the top acids but perfect acids. Gets it to a bit beyond lean. So good.

Palate is god-level. So juicy and clean. Unbelievable refinement. Structured, balanced and so so juicy. Concentrated and deep with spring mineral favors and fresh vegetable flavors. But only the best ones like fiddlehead ferns, bok choy and others of that ilk. The finish is long. Wow. Longer than it should be. This is remarkable for its purity, poise and precision as this bottling always is. Mineral wall of flavor on the finish. Just divine wine.

On Day 2, as is the case with Weltner it was even better. Stunning nose. Mint, wafting minerals, airy and tons of rocks. Rock droplets. Palate is so juicy and clean. So refined,cooling and long. Opulence and minerality. Like a laser of Sylvaner. Such a long finish. This is a wine anybody can love. I wish people would drink Sylvaner rather than mediocre Chardonnay.

Up next I’ve got the first ever wine collaboration in Fass Selections history from two iconic Fass Selections’ growers. They are Paul Weltner and Stefan Steinmetz. They have become very good friends and trade each other wine often and decided in 2020 to collaborate on a Scheurebe. The 2020 Gunther Steinmetz (with Paul Weltner) Virgo Gaia "Scheu Aber Wild" 2020 for $36.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is as rare as it gets. Each of them got to keep 180 bottles and I’ve got a small batch. This is made in a natural style with 10 day skin contact and low sulfur used throughout. It’s so rare I haven’t tasted it yet but it takes the best of Steinmetz and Weltner and merges into one profound bottle of Scheurebe. This is likely quite distinctive.

2020 Weingut Weltner Rodelsee Kuchenmeister Sylvaner Erste Lage - $26.99 ($99.96 4-Pack) (VERY LIMITED)

2020 Weltner/Steinmetz Virgo Gaia "Scheu Aber Wild" - $39.99

($151.96 4-Pack) (VERY LIMITED)

On the Short List for the Greatest French Whites Outside of Burgundy - Les Christine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 20:52:00 +0000

2020 Gilles Berlioz (Domaine de Partage) Chignin-Bergeron "Les Christine"

- The Best Wine in Savoie - Unlike Any Wine in the World

- Your White Wine Education is Incomplete Until You've Had This

- $99.99 for a Wine This Good Is a Remarkable Value

- Aromas: Crazy Complex

- Psychotically Floral like an LSD Trip

- Like Elite Condrieu

- Spice Notes

- Epic Aromatic Fruit Complexity

- This Extra Dimension to the Aromatics I Can't Explain

- Utterly Ridiculous

- Palate: Elderberry, Pineapple, Lychee,

- Brioche, Smokiness and even Some Fenugreek

- Utterly Beguilingly Fresh

- Gorgeous Crystalline Minerals

- Dazzling Purity, Concentration and Complexity

- Utterly Crazy - A Wow Wine

- This Would be a Unicorn Wine ... if The Hipster Somms Could Get It

I did a podcast recently and brought the 2020 Berlioz Les Christine Chignin-Bergeron and was blown away by it. It showed very young and promising but man - this is a wine of utter genius and one of the best white wines we've ever sold. I asked Gilles if he had any more and he did! It's not a lot but I want everyone who wants one to at least try a bottle.

Benchmark Great French Wines Not from Burgundy

This is my benchmark list of the Greatest White Wines of France that are not Burgundy. These are wines that are typically made by masters and from selected parcels that have fantastic terroir and are able to produce wines that are every bit as good as the top wines coming out of Burgundy. And these are always less expensive than the top Burgs.

- Loire - Roches Neuves, Vatan, Guiberteau, Collier, Boudignon and the Cotats

- Provence - Trevallon, Chateau Simone

- Rhone - Chateau Grillet, JL Chave Hermitage Blanc, Sorrel Hermitage Blanc "Les Roucoules"

Those who have tried these wines will tell you that when properly aged they are singular and remarkable drinking experiences that can compare with the great wines from their brethren in the more well known (and vastly more expensive) regions of Burgundy. The Berlioz Les Christine is on this list.

The Wine

Now I am thrilled to offer the top white wine in the Savoie and one of the greatest wines in all of France. Period. The 2020 Domaine de la Partage (Gilles Berlioz) Chignin-Bergeron "Les Christine" for $99.99 a bottle on a 3-pack.

It is 100% Roussanne that is aged in a fiberglass egg, except this egg is more horizontal than vertical. I've never seen an egg like it and as a result of the shape it makes the wine different than the other more vertical eggs.

This is the best wine I've tasted from Gilles. Easy. It is pricey for a Savoie wine (and through 3 tier it would cost $165+) but think of this not as a Savoie wine but one of the world's great white wines, comparable to a great white Burgundy or a top Northern Rhone white. This is comparable to the great Beaucastel Roussanne Vieilles Vignes (which is twice the price) in my opinion yet with a much different mineral expression as it is more appealingly alpine. But it is right there qualitatively with that wine. I prefer it. Along with the exotic fruit profile of the Roussanne, and the texture, oh my god the texture of this wine is to die for, ridiculous aromatics, and this compelling alternate alpine reality minerality, you've got a really profound bottle of wine. The color is deep and golden but with a green glimmer. Even the color cannot escape the alpine qualities of Chignin. There is a lovely almost Champagne-like brioche quality to the expansive aromas as well.

The aromas are crazy complex and reveal more and more with coaxing and extended aeration. Floral and spice notes complicate things even more. Add to this a smoky complexity and you have aromas that are just ever changing. There is an awesome fruit complexity to the aromas that I've never encountered in any other wine.

The palate delivers all that the freakishly awesome Roussanne can. Elderberry, pineapple, brioche, lychee, more smokiness and even some fenugreek that Christine communicated to me via my translator. It is honeyed but so fresh, juicy and mineral as well. There is stunning volume here. The wine really is distinctive and specific with its aromatic and flavor spectrum as well (fenugreek, etc.). With all of this it is utterly beguilingly fresh with beautiful minerality. So pure. So precise. Truly one of the most special wines I've sold. I do now know how long it will age but I'd say 10-12 years. Love to see it in 5-6. That nose and that texture will only get better.

Also it has all the ingredients of a unicorn wine, or should I say pre unicorn wine as it has not yet gotten into the hipster somm hashtag round robin. It is made in minuscule quantities. He is close friends with another unicorn wine producer, Ganevat. There is a juicy quality from the acidity because 2020 has that juiciness down which is even more remarkable considering how arid 2020 was. This is from a very special plot of 25 year old Roussanne vines that the "two Christines" his wife Christine and his worker at the Domaine, Christine Meitas, have selected as a special parcel right below the castle in town of the best grapes of Roussanne at the estate. They have picked well. This is a wow wine and will blow anyone away. Very Limited.

2020 Gilles Berlioz Les Christine Chignin Bergeron - $101.99 ($299.97 3-pack) (VERY LIMITED)

The Best Pinot Noir No American Has Ever Had

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 20:52:00 +0000

The Next Burgundy Grand Cru

- This Wine Is In the Same League with Our Top Burgundies

- Burgundy Is the Ideal of Classically Made Pinot Noir

- Burgundy Does NOT Have a Monopoly on All of the Great Terroir for Pinot Noir

- There Is No Magic Pixie Dust

- Somehow, Switzerland Got Some Too

- Yes, You Can Drink Burgundy All Day

- But Burgundy Is About Appreciating Terroir

- If You Truly Love Burgundy You MUST Try This Wine

- Try the Road Less Travelled, At Least Today

2018 Weingut Riehen Le Grand Rouge (Pinot Noir)

- Reminds Me Most of 2 Grand Crus: Clos de la Roche and Clos Vougeot

- But with a Distinctively Gorgeous Alpine Element

- More Burgundian than His Ziereisen Label

- A Rare Opportunity to Try New Grand Cru Quality Pinot Noir from a Unique Vineyard

- Stunning Does Not Even Begin to Describe This

- Nose: Absurd - Blasting Lipstick Aromatics

- Intense, Deep, with Morey Spice and an Alpine Element

- Palate: Dense, Sappy, Explosive, Brooding

- Grand Cru Quality Texture, Purity, Concentration and Intensity

- Would Be Well Over $150 Through Traditional 3 Tier Stateside ($97.99 in this Offer)

- Dark Fruit, Dark End of Season Black Cherries

- Elite Elegant Richness

- The Closest Thing I've had to Elite Grand Cru Burgundy that is Not Elite Grand Cru Burgundy

2018 Weingut Riehen L'Unique Pinot Noir

- Swiss Liaison

- An Extraordinary Wine for the Money

- Nose: Off the Charts

- Earthen Scents, Alpine Grass

- Mid Season Cherry Fruit, Raspberry and Strawberry

- Wild Flowers

- Umami Scents

- Palate: crazy Energy

- Superb Dark Cherry Fruit

- Gorgeous Minerals

- The Fruit Here is Extraordinary

- Stunning Purity and Clarity

- Among the Best "Bourgogne Rouge" You Can Buy

"That's the problem in Switzerland,...The winemakers are too perfect. The wineries are too clean. They do too much in the cellar to make them perfect, refining and fining..." - Hanspeter Ziereisen

The 2018 Vintage

2018 is the best vintage of Weingut Riehen (Swiss Ziereisen project) I’ve ever tasted. I’ve
tasted them all since 15, but 18 is on a whole other level. The wines have a depth that is just beyond any other vintage. There is elite finesse in the top 2 wines as well, the Le Petit and the Le Grand. But they also have that unique and compelling wild mountain Swiss character that makes Swiss Pinot so special. Wild flowers, wild soils, a plant as medicine medicinal character if that makes sense is what separates these wines. It’s always a treat to taste the best vintage so far of a winery one loves and also seeing them grow to the next level of quality.

The Next "Burgundy Grand Cru" and Why You Should Try It

Why is almost all of the elite Pinot Noir in the world grown in Burgundy? Did you ever ask yourself that question?

Did God or nature just create some magic pixie dust and only sprinkle it on Burgundy? Or is it that Burgundy is an ideal.

- An ideal of a meticulous approach to identifying terroir.

- An ideal of following winemaking techniques that allow that terroir to shine through.

- An ideal that is understood and appreciated by many of the top wine lovers on earth,

And if Burgundy is that ideal and not magic pixie dust, then as wine lovers do we not have the impetus, indeed the obligation to seek out and try new terroir that produces brilliant Pinot Noir? And more importantly Pinot Noir that is as different from Chambolle as Chambolle is from Vosne or Gevrey.

The opportunity to experience a completely new wine made by a master in elite terroir is something that most of us cannot do. The elite wines in Burgundy are known by anyone with a broswer. And the prices have been bid up.... a lot

The First Wine

For me for a new wine to be delicious and distinctive like this is as rare as it gets. It has something to it that I've never had or tasted before in Pinot Noir and I can only assume that it is the quality of growing grapes in the mountains. The AOC is Basel-Stadt and the soil is blend of limestone and loess. This needs, no demands, a two hour decant. It was pretty tight when I opened it but I had faith that a wine Hanspeter had a hand in would eventually reveal its greatness. And oh man is it great.

I don't often get Biblical. But it's not often I get to be the first store in the US to sell a Grand Cru quality Pinot Noir. And it's not just any random Pinot Noir, it's a Pinot Noir made by one of the top 2 German producers of pinot noir. The Germans and Swiss are scooping up the insanely small production as these are incredible world class wines that are taking their rightful place in the constellation. This is a big deal. My fingers are almost tripping over themselves I'm so excited to be writing this offer.

I'm thrilled to offer the Grand Cru style wine today from Weingut Riehen which is the 2018 Weingut Riehen Le Grand Rouge (Pinot Noir) for $89.99 a bottle on a 3-Pack. This is the Swiss equivalent of the Jaspis Alte Reben and you all know how profound that wine is. But this is better. After the 18s I’m convinced. This is the best Pinot HPZ has ever made and there’s some stiff competition. This is more profound as the Jaspis Alte Reben but it's completely different. Like the difference between a Richebourg and a Corton Bressandes (if I had to pick two random Burgundy Grand Crus out of a hat). But if there was one village that this epic wine reminded me of it was Morey St. Denis and Clos de la Roche and/or Clos Vougeot. Both of these when done correctly have a distinct earthy spice that sets these two Morey Grand Crus apart. The Le Grand has that but with an alpine mountain twist to it. It's quite profound and makes this wine all the more alluring. What a wine. Stunning does not even begin to describe it.

Nose is absurd. Dark fruit, dark end of season black cherries. Bursting from the glass and with that telltale Ziereisen fruit purity. Really intense and deep aromas that you can get lost in. So much of that Morey spice I was alluding to earlier. It's hypnotizing. The nose gives off those pungent blasting aromatics like lipstick does. Nose is all woodland berries, mountain spice, insane florals and sweet herbals and unreal mountain cherry. So alpine and floral. Captivating and enveloping aromas. Plum skin as well that is so so fine. Stunning purity, breadth and detail the nose. Enchanted forest floor aromas. Keeps changing and changing. Just stunning. 9.6 or 9.7 on the nose. Smell like Grand Cru Burgundy. But with air it gets insane!! Freaking unreal nose. Dark violets, alpine scents galore, the best and most pure, vivid black cherries I’ve ever smelled. Wow. Just stunning. Smells rich but alpine rich!

Dense, sappy and just ridiculously explosive palate. This is Grand Cru all the way in texture, purity, concentration and intensity. It's got that urgency. Amazing texture and mouthfeel with tons of dark fruit and spice. The wine is amazingly brooding and has incredible sweet, ripe yet firm tannins and a fierce mineral backbone. It leaves your mouth watering. Stunning levels of power and concentration. The quality of the tannins is something special. So fine. Like silk. ZOMG the palate. Insane fruit and sweetness. So sweet and so intense. Wow. Mid to late season red and black cherries. Just so elegant and pure. Suave and chewy but silken tannins and impossible length. Just sickness. So long. Endless. Sappy and noble. There is a very serious and substantial structure here. This is truly amazing wine. Better than the 15. 9.6 for now.

After air the texture on this is truly stunning. So velvety. Amazing sweetened and no hard edges. Wow that palate. Incredible freshness and density allied with just the most amazing finesse. This is as grand as any burgundy grand cru. Man, I could smell this forever. Amazing structure and the sweetest most velvety tannins. Amazing fruit concentration. What a finish. What complexity. Just stunning. Super young but super incredible. 18 is the best vintage of Riehen I’ve ever tasted. As it airs the fruit comes more Into focus on the palate and the nose. What clarity. Just a tiny hit of opulence and then unreal freshness, leanness and sweet fruit. Unreal juxtaposition. Nose has so much Burgundian sous bous now and really is in Clos Vougeot territory. Brilliant. An elite wine. As it airs the texture gets more sweet and voluptuous which really takes it to the next level. It seemed to be at t's best after 3 hours.This is very close to a 9.8 but not quite.

This will age 20+ years and probably shouldn't be touched till 2025. What a wine. This is to be buried in the cellar. It needs maybe 10 years or a 2-5 hour decant if one wants to try it young.

Up next I have what I hope is the Swiss version of Liaison. The 2018 Weingut Riehen “Cuvee Unique” for $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. It’s quite hard to find a reasonably priced Pinot Noir from Switzerland. Today is that day. I’ve cut my margins so it’s priced under $30. This is simply an extraordinary wine for the money and I cannot recommend it enough. It’s got stunningly fruit clarity and all the alpine character one could pine for. This is a new entry level wine for them and the 18 is the debut vintage. Like the Le Grand it is from the Basel-Stadt.

Beautiful nose of earthen scents, mid season cherry fruit, wild flowers, alpine grass and some sort of umami scents. Seems like it has more to give. And it really dramatically improved with air. Gorgeous brambly nose with cherries galore and earthy and spicy aromas. Raspberry and strawberry. Floral. Just a knockout.

Palate is fresh as a daisy with crazy energy and superb dark cherry fruit that really sticks to the palate. Palate with lots of air is elegant and ripe with wonderful fruit and stunning purity and clarity. Also a very meaty vibe. Awesome. Such freshness and cut.

Terrific finish that clamps down. Awesome. A new stunning value Pinot from Ziereisen’s Swiss project. Deep and ripe tannins and a lovey rusticity as well. Gorgeous minerals awash the finish along with loads of black cherry fruit. This is fantastic wine. Gets very chewy with air. But man the fruit here is extraordinary. Such clarity. Palate with lots of air is elegant and ripe with wonderful fruit and stunning purity and clarity. Also a very meaty vibe. Awesome. Such freshness and cut.

The Estate

My story with this estate started a few years ago. I was arranging samples from Ziereisen and they also sent me the Swiss wines (Jost & Ziereisen, now called Weingut Riehen). The 2015/2016 "Le Petit Rouge" was a wine that I got at least 7 emails from clients absolutely blown away by that wine. Then I kept asking Edel about the prices for the 2018 Swiss wines. It took 3 months but I finally got them in February and of course that means I had to instantly sell these two wines. These are wines that are so brilliant because they are Zieriesen making Grand Cru and 1er Cru Burgundy style wines in Swiss Mountain terroir in Basel-Stadt which is really an extension of Baden but it's still in Switzerland. It's an insane combo and the level of distinction here is hard to beat. They are incomparable. Today the Grand Cru Pinot of Weingut Zieriesen and the stunning debut of a new “Village Pinot.”

2018 Weingut Riehen Le Grand Pinot Noir - $91.99

($269.97 3-Pack) (VERY LIMITED)

2018 Weingut Riehen l'Unique Pinot Noir - $31.99

($119.96 4-Pack) (VERY LIMITED)

JanotsBos' Perfect Storm Year: 2019 Density Merged with JanotsBos Elite Elegance

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 17:31:00 +0000

Janotsbos Is An Absolute Star

- Incredible Clarity in All Elements

- Textbook Elegant Winemaking

- If You Love Burgundy or a Terroirist, These Are Must Buys

- I Buy These Direct So That Are Steals for What they Are

2019 Domaine JanotsBos St. Aubin 1er Cru "En Creot"

- Stunningly Vivid Fruit with Incredible Freshness

- Fruit Complexity Has So Much Pure Green Apple, Apricot

- Power and Concentration Matched with Epic Purity, Fruit, Acid and Freshness

- Delicious St. Aubin Richness but Balanced By Minerality

- Will Compete for The Most Delicious White You Drink All Year - Against Anything

- His Most Accessible, Delicious Wine

- The Sleeper Value of His Portfolio

- The Only 2019 1er Cru and High End Wine from Janotsbos

- No Morgeot Made and Chassagne 19 Already Sold Out

2019 Domaine Janotsbos Bourgogne Blanc

- The 2014 was our White Wine of the Year - This CRUSHES It.

- Fruit: A Blend of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet

- Smells Like a High Class Village Wine

- Super Mineral and Super Expressive

- Big Apple and Pear Fruits

- Palate: Incredible Clarity of Fruit

- Terrific Flavor Authority

- Sappy Minerals

- Very Concentrated

- Tremendous Village Level Finesse and Sap / $27.99 CASE PRICING

A Perfect Storm Year for JanotsBos

While all of our wines skew elegant and traditional for their areas, there is always a range within each
region. In Burgundy, JanotsBos is perhaps our estate that is most focused on pure elegance. In years where fruit is less ripe, the wines are almost ephemeral. The bare essence of Burgundian fruit stripped of all pretense.

But in years like 2019 where you have elite density, you get something that is quite special. These are wines that will be remembered.

The Wines

Today I've got two of my absolute favorite 2019’s I tasted. The brilliant St Aubin 1er Cru that I think is directly under the Chassagne 1er Cru Morgeot. It's the sleeper value steal of the whole line up. His epic St. Aubin 1er Cru "En Creot." I’ve also got his epic 19 Bourgogne Blanc. This will be one of the last 2019 white Burgundy offers. And one I’ve been waiting for for a very very long time.

I am very excited to offer the 2019 Domaine JanotsBos St. Aubin 1er Cru "En Creot" for $47.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a Fass 4-3-1 plan. Buy 4, slug one down young. 2018 is a brilliant vintage at JanotsBos to drink young but has the real deep structure to age. I had an 2008 of this that was mind blowing. This is from a south facing vineyard and my note says great stuff and indeed it is.

The nose is very lean, very mineral and saline with lots of iodine and white flowers with a deep stony mineral earthiness as well. Almost dark round stones, if that makes sense. There is very complex hazelnut as well. It's such a unique and compelling nose. Very precise and very pure and reminds me a cool climate scene.

The palate is stunning with absolutely clear and vivid fruit with incredible freshness. It has amazing texture and St. Aubin richness but is so sleek, so refined and so complex you can't believe it's not the Morgeot. It is off the charts complex. Just enormous complexity and explosive yet nimble and so graceful as it crashes with fresh minerals across your palate. Think Riesling in a Chardonnay style. The fruit complexity has so much pure green apple, apricot and is off the charts and it finishes with huge palate staining minerals and such energy and cut. The roundness is so engaging as a contrast to the minerality. It's dazzlingly pure with amazing inner mouth aromas. This is a wine I'd sell to a JanotBos rookie. The power and concentration matched with the epic purity, fruit, acid and freshness will really turn some heads. It's just awesome and has a finish that pumps and pumps fruit and mineral. It is just a brilliant wine that should be 2-3 times more expensive. Will age and improve for 10-13 years. All my white Burgundy drinkers cannot miss this.

Richard also has some left of the 2019 Domaine Janotsbos Bourgogne Blanc for $29.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack and $27.99 on a case, which the 2014 was our white wine of the year some years back. It is simply a stunning microcosm of why 2019 is awesome and Janotsbos is awesome for an affordable price. If you have not had a Janotsbos wine and want to get a handle on the style, this is the perfect wine and he only has a limited amount left.

It is an unreal Bourgogne Blanc and it's really village level quality in Bourgogne Blanc clothing and it comes from absolutely the Fassiest estate we have for White Burgundy. This is liquid electricity.

Vineyards

The fruit in this wine is a blend of vineyards in Meursault (Les Pellons) and Puligny-Montrachet (Champ Perrieres) which is very serious for a Bourgogne Blanc. This wine is what great 2019 White Burgundy is about.

Aromatics

This smells like a high class village wine off the bat. Super mineral and super expressive nose with so much limestone character and big apple and pear fruits. Vivid and pure aromas. Loads of wet stones. It jumps out at you and has more minerality than the periodic table.

Palate

Incredible clarity of fruit, flavor authority and sappy minerals and tasty present and beguiling acidity along with terrific purity. This acid is no joke. So so bright and tactile. Deep, very concentrated with tremendous village level finesse and sap. Terrific cut and acidity and that intensely friendly drinkable yet classical style that sets 2019 apart.

Finish

Long winding mineral finish that pitter patters down your palate crackling like an electrical current. Really terrific mouthfeel and almost a sweet tart impression on the palate. Tactile and grippy. Powerful and persistent this has the guts to age 10 more years.

The Estate

Richard Bos of the relatively sleeper Fass Selection estate. Richard is from the Netherlands and still commutes back and forth between the winery in Meursault and his home in the Netherlands where he still has friends and family. Richard's partner is Thierry Janots. Janots was the part time winemaker for a number of years at Comte Lafon. Both have been killing the game since 2005. They don't own their vineyards like many outsiders in Burgundy but have connections to them and visit often and have great relationships with the land owners who they coordinate with to get the grapes the way that they want them.

I've tasted tons of white Burgundies from top producers and I am even more convinced that the JanotsBos wines are in that tier and offer brilliant value to boot. These are top top values as they have the insane depth of the top guys but are not priced like that. 12 years is a small nugget in time for a winery in Burgundy. One second on the Doomsday clock. And in that time they have raised waves. For high quality Burgundy these are a must.

2019 Domaine Janotsbos St Aubin 1er Cru "En Creot" - $49.99 ($191.96 4-Pack)

2019 Domaine Janotsbos Bourgogne Blanc - $31.99

($119.96 4-Pack, $335.88 12 bottle case {$27.99!})

The Next Alto Piemonte Superstar - from the Chambolle Musigny of Alto Piedmont, Carema

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 31 May 2023 20:25:00 +0000

Carema

- Only 5 Producers

- The Chambolle of Alto Piemonte

- Haunting Elegance, All Star Aromatics

- The Filigree and the Refinement

- The Next Big Thing

Matteo Ravera

- Pico Estate

- Brilliant, Elegant Wines

- Silky, Structured, Deep and Ultra Refined

2019 Vini Chiussima Carema

- Nose: Stunngly Complex

- Deep, Deep Fruit

- Strawberry, Rhubarb, Cherry, Caraway Seed and Anise

- Fresh, Hand Crushed Red Berries

- Wow Floral

- Insane Complex Spices

- Palate: Even Better

- Perfect Mid-Season Cherries, Cherry Liquor

- So Sensual and Delicious in Such an Elegant Way

- Awesome Concentration

- Sweet Chambolle-like Fruit

- Amazingly Fresh Finish, Insane Licorice and Spice

- A Very Hot New Producer in Italy

- 48 Bottles ONLY

2020 Vini Chiussima Pajarin Erbaluce

- Nose of Lemon Curd, Flintiness

- Huge, Massive Minerals

- Flowers and Apples

- Lovely Tree Bark, Lemon, Apple

- Palate: Very Mineral-Driven

- Nice Inner Mouth Florals

- Terrific Intensity

- A Wonderfully Complex, Mineral Driven Italian White for $29.99

- A Next Gen Italian White

- This BLOWS AWAY Each and Every Italian White I Had at the Recent Tre Bicchieri Tasting - Not Close

The Chambolle Musigny of Alto Piemonte

If there is one thing about Alto Piemonte that no one has done yet, and I'll do it some day is to
compare each appellation to Burgundy. For example I see Bramaterra as Nuits St. Georges as it's usually bigger and more structured. I see Lessona as Volnay as it's very elegant, super aromatic but it has a mineral spine. If I had to do one for Carema, which is the smallest appellation in Alto Piemonte, I'd say it is Chambolle Musigny. It's got the haunting elegance, all star aromatics plus the filigree and the refinement. It's why the wines of Carema are also more expensive than any other Alto Piemonte appellation. They have the magic. Just refined silkiness and Nebbiolo magic. I adore Carema. It's very small and very treacherous. There are, I believe, only 5 producers and Fass Selections now has 2. It's arguably the DOC in Alto Piemonte that makes the most refined, Chambolle-like wines. The issue is is that it's tiny and there is no wine amongst the smaller new producers. But to get a new producer of Carema is special. It's a gift. And when they are this good? It's truly magic.

Matteo Ravera

The wines of Matteo Ravera at the micro estate Chissiuma are revelatory wines and one of the most exciting new Alto Piemonte estates making wine today and we are very very lucky to have them. We've been chasing these wines for a very long time. The Caremas of Chiussima are silky, structured, deep and ultra refined. The fruit is extraordinary and layered and sweet like great Chambolle. This is elite. Comparable to Ferrando White Label which is $70+ now.

The 2019 Vini Chiussima Carema for $51.99 on a 3-pack is a revelatory wine. Buy 3, drink 1, cellar 2 as Carema ages as long as any wine in Piedmont. If ArPePe made Alto Piemonte wines it would taste like this. This is UBER limited.

Stunning nose. Strawberry, rhubarb, cherry, caraway seed and anise. This is so complex and so unusually alluring. Some cherry flower. Cherry smells are more pie like and velvety after 15 minutes. Deep, deep fruit on the nose. Hand crushed red berries. But after 20 minutes it's super floral. Like, wow floral. Really really pretty nose. Smoke, seaweed, just so unusual, very appealing and stunningly complex. On open, almost sexual, as it opens up, more sensual. But definitely incredibly alluring. Really wowed here. Insane complex spices. A 9.5 nose. Yes, really. On day 2 it continues to wow with a gorgeous nose big on strawberry and cherry and utterly intoxicating.

On the palate, this gets even better. Wow, what insane inner mouth florals and just unreal fruit. Mid season cherry. Cherry liquor. Awesome concentration. Decadent, yet delicate and so so refined. Incredible purity and freshness. It has that elegant deliciousness which is so rare. Incredibly silky and clean. Just so energetic and deep. But remains so delicate. Wow. One sip and you know this is elite. Amazing fruit. So red. So fully defined and just perfectly ripe. Just a spectacularly well made wine.

What a finish. It's an intense pitter patter. One of the greatest unknown young wines from anywhere I've ever tasted. The tannins are big but so ripe and juicy and just carry all the stunning fruit. So compelling. Just amazing freshness. Insane licorice and spice. So pure, juicy, fresh and layered. Amazing tannin quality. Drink now through 2041 I'd say.

Next up is a fantastic white wine that is a stunning value but it has barely any fruit. Be warned. But it's so well made and has just profound mineralIty. It's just glorious. The 2020 Vini Chiussima Pajarain Erbaluce for $24.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.

Nose of lemon curd, flintiness and huge, massive minerals. Airy as it airs. LOL. Really clean and precise nose. Gets more expansive as it airs. Flowers and apples as well but this, initially, aromatically is very mineral driven. On day 2 it's arguably better. Nose is much more complex today. Wonderful lift and lovely tree bark, lemon, apple with so much sappiness and purity. What a nose. Even some creamed corn and intense minerality.

Palate is where this really delivers. Structured, intensely mineral and very dry. Yet so juicy, so refined and deep. Really long. Almost no fruit on the palate. Nice inner mouth florals and such dry extract and sap. So clean, balanced and juicy. Really long. Just terrific. But it takes 30ish minutes to unwind. On day 2, palate is intense and mineral. Great acidity. Juicy and clean. Drink now and over the next 3-4 years.

The Winemaker

Matteo started to growing vines and making wine as a professional in 2011 when he established Matteo Ravera Chion winery. Previously he had been taken care of his family's small vineyard during his time at university. Matteo had a MSC degree in Cultural Anthropology.

Since 2011 Matteo has been producing red wine (Canavese Rosso from Barbera, Freisa and other local varieties) and white wine (Erbaluce) from his family wineyard and another that he rents in Palazzo Canavese and Piverone which are two small villages on the morainic hills of Canavese.

In 2016 Matteo started the Chiussuma estate with his partners Alessandra and Rudy. Chiussuma is based in Carema and produces a Carema DOC and a wine called Farinel. Matteo also labels an Erbaluce from Matteo Ravera Chion. The biggest part of Matteo's work in Carema was to replant vineyards that had been abandoned years ago. They cut trees, bushes and all of the wild plants that year after year have covered the ancient stone walls. They planted back vines. All the work is done by hand because it is impossible to reach the small terrace on the slope of the mountain with by any other means. Since 2016, they started to produce a Carema from a very old wineyard they rent.

Matteo Ravera Chion is now 2,5 hectares of vineyard with almost half Erbaluce and half red varieties. They produce 4,000 bottles of Erbaluce, 3000 of Canavese Rosso and some other wine that is been sold in bulk.

Chiussuma vini is now 3 hectares of land with 1 hectare of old vineyards and 1.2 hectars of vineyards planted in the past four years. 8 hectares of vineyard are still unplanted.They produced 1,200 bottles of Carema in their first vintage (2016) and right now (2020) they are producing 2300 bottles.

2019 Vini Chiussuma Carema - $53.99 ($155.97 3-Pack)

2020 Vini Chiussuma "Pajarin" (Erbaluce) - $26.99

($99.96 4-Pack)

A Gorgeous Pinot and an Elite Level Geeky White

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 30 May 2023 20:23:00 +0000

2017 Max Geitlinger Wein Pinot Noir "maximal

- Essential Baden Pinot Noi
- Like Chambolle Crossed with Nuits St. Georges
- Nose: Stunning
- Gorgeous Mulberry, Mid Season Cherries, Some Sour Cherries
- Ripe and Perfect
- Cardamon and Clove
- Orange Rind
- 9.6 Nose
- Amazing Palate Presence
- Explosive Sweet Cherry Fruit
- Stunning Beyond Belief
- Length is Crazy
- Chambolle / Volnay Levels Here

- VERY LIMITED

2019 Max Geitlinger Wein "Gut & Edel"

- A Burgundian Take on a Geeky Baden/Swiss Grape

- Brilliant and Different Like Enderle and Moll Whites

- Explosive, Great Flavor Impact

- Great Freshness, Gorgeous Purity, Super Insane Value

- One of The Best Gutedels Ever

- Nose: Very Aromatic

- Lovely and earthy

- Ripe and Vivid Peach and Melon

- Complex Minerality

- Herbs and Subtle Spice

- Smells like a Scene in Nature

- Fruit Pith. Citrus Peel

- Palate: Weightless Yet Rich

- So Juicy and So Elegant

- Nerve and Energy

- Explosive and Has Intense Flavor Impact

- Liquid Rocks

- VERY LIMITED

"These wines should be of serious interest to those looking for better-priced alternatives to red Burgundy."- Jancis Robinson on German Landwein

The raves started to come in slowly but the amazing thing about them was how consistent they were. Each week I got a new email, social media tag or phone call about how brilliant the wines, in particular the Pinots were. People were comparing Max's wines to very famous names in Burgundy I could not believe.

Then the icing on the cake is that Jancis Robinson raved about Max Geitlinger's wines at the Baden Landweinmarkt which was organized by Hanspeter and Edel Ziereisen which showcases the wineries in Baden that are deemed not being "typical" enough and are classified as "Landwein." Landwein is lower than Qualitswein but in Baden the Landwein producers including Ziereisen, Max Geitlinger, Sven Nieger and Wasenhaus are fomenting a revolution of top wines from top sites and Landwein now means a denomination of the highest quality at certain addresses in Baden.

Today's Winery

Today, I have a major offer of one of those emerging stars, Max Geitlinger. You would think as a protege of Hanspeter Ziereisen that his style would mirror that of his mentor, but that is not the case. The style is much more similar to that of Henrik Mobitz, the genius cancer researcher who was on a methodical quest to produce the best "Burgundian" Pinot Noir in Germany and retired from winemaking after the 17 vintage. His wines are more the Platonic ideal of etherial Burgundy. They are, perhaps, even more focused and linear than those of Mobitz.

The Wines

A wine that truly moves the goalposts. The 2017 Max Geitlinger Wein Pinot Noir "maximal" for $35.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. The wine is super elite Pinot Noir and a profound experience. And it will wow just anybody. It blew me away. The wine is essential Baden Pinot Noir. If I had to compare to Burgundy it's like Chambolle crossed with Nuits St. Georges. But the lighter NSG's near the Vosne-Romanee border. There's deep noble structure but also elite aromatic presence and palate density There is an accessibility to this wine while it also has the structure to ensure a long life.

OMG what a nose! Jumps so high out of that glass. A nose that is hard to describe but I'll attempt it. Just stunning. Gorgeous mulberry, mid season cherries, some sour cherries but it's all ripe and perfect. Layers and layers of spice, hint of sweet oak that is so, so alluring. Vivid nose after air of mid season cherries, spice presented with top notch clarity. So clean. The spice just lifts this and takes it to another level. Mesmerizing. It’s a Xmas spice. Cardamon and clove. Dehydrated orange rind. Tree bark. Hint of sweet wood, but just barely. So good. 9.6 nose. Special Man this smells like an all time great classic Burgundy. A stunning stunning nose. Tree bark, Tolkien middle earth elements. I love it. As it aerates it ushers your nose to crazytown like only great Pinot Noir can. This nose just gets better and better as it aerates.

What a palate! This is Grand Cru all the way. Incredible spice and beautifully elegant and sappy sweet fruit that does not quit. Silky and with a gorgeous hidden silken structure. Amazing palate presence and leaves one's palate stained with such intensity you get impatient waiting for it to clear so you can sip it again. Wow what texture. Like a silky velvet. Explosive sweet cherry fruit. It is young and also accessible but has the potential to age 15+ years. Amazing wine. Gorgeous, lithe tannins and incredible freshness gives this a wonderful buoyancy. As this opens the texture becomes more haunting and the persistence is just beyond. Stunning beyond belief. The length is crazy. Oh man is this pretty. So elegant. Chambolle / Volnay levels here. Wow. Ripe, velvety tannin that are so precise and have great cut and sap. Such a completeness to this wine. This is drinking so well now but 3-6 years in the cellar will improve. It gets grippy and tight with more air but the balance is there. Sappy and so pure. Love the cut of this. I need a restraining order on this wine or it won't leave my palate alone. Judge! This is limited and you all need to buy this. A benchmark in German Pinot Noir. After 1 hour this wine is just crazytown.

Up next I have an absolutely brilliant bottle of one of my favorite quirky grapes. Chasselas as it's more commonly known but in this nook of Germany it's know as Gutedel and Max's version is as good as it gets. The 2019 Max Geitlinger Gut&Edel for $31.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is a stunning stunning wine. Max’s best Gutedel yet. This is the best Gutedel I have had since Ziereisen's 10-4 Jaspis which is $120. This is the only Gutedel I've sold that is not Hanspeter Ziereisen's. This one is worthy of that level of acclaim. It has similar DNA to the great Steingruble from Hanspeter but is a bit different. It has some discreet barrique aging but Max is a genius with framing use of wood that it is utterly brilliant and a distinct part of the wine like wood is on a great white burgundy.

Nose is lovely and earthy with ripe and vivid peach and melon. Very aromatic in such a unique way. Nose is superb. Lots of complex minerality. Herbs and subtle spice. Lanolin and a wonderful windy airiness. So pretty. Reminds me of a lean Jacquere from Savoie. Just killer. Smells like a scene in nature. Standing on a clearing in a forest overlooking a beach with the wind blowing the detritus. What a wonderful smell. Some peach skin if you really are looking for fruit. Chasselas in general has no fruit to speak of. It's stunning. After air it gets aromatically crazy. Stunningly complex. Wow. Rich and mineral. Some fruit pith. Citrus peel. So so complex. Lemon? Amazing nose.

The palate is weightless yet rich. So so juicy and so elegant. Big acid, nerve and energy. It has huge fruit and mineral with wonderful texture and freshness. Very juicy and concentrated with killer balance and wonderful super dry and mineral finish. Stellar purity. So long. Brilliant. The wood is so well executed and provides a stunning balance to the intense acidity and rich character. It's so explosive and has intense flavor impact but meanwhile having a weightless character about it. Great freshness and just gorgeous purity. There is a roundness to this that shows what a brilliant touch Max has. So complex and long. Palate is wonderful. Big time structure and density with intense minerality and sap. Very fresh, very pure, with such a nice core of minerals. Like liquid rocks. Some herbs and some sort of umami flavor. This is so clean and so pure.

Long finish. Like way longer than it should be. Easily best Gut&Edel I’ve had from Max. What a wine and what a finish. A true sum of its parts wine.

Acid gets more metal as this airs. Nose becomes more floral and also herbal. Truly wow. Almost a 9.5. So intense and tangy. Some intense high acid grapefruit confectionary goodness! So refined and fine with amazing precision and juiciness. So clean and so dazzlingly pure. This is unreal. Spice. Potpourri. Wow. Even some wood framing spice here. Wow. This is CRAZY LIMITED!

2017 Max Geitlinger Wein "Maximal Spatburgunder" - $37.99 ($143.96 4-Pack)

2019 Max Geitlinger Wein Gut&Edel - $33.99 ($127.96 4-Pack)

The Greek's 92 Point Cairanne - Under $26

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 27 May 2023 20:23:00 +0000

2019 Georges Lelektsoglou Cairanne Vieilles Vignes

- $26.99 for 90 Year Old Vines (Case Pricing @ $25.99)

- 92 Points from Jeb Dunnuck

- 90+ year Old Cairanne Vines

- Amazing Nose: Lavender, Garrigue, Menthol

- Earth, Wet Earth

- Black Cherry, Cassis

- Wonderful Purity and Freshness

- So Precise on the Palate

- Clean, Rich, Precise Fruit

- Dazzling Freshness

- Cooling Blue Fruits

- Will Drink Well for 10-15 Years

- Cairanne Is Now a Cru on the Same Level as Gigondas

- Fass Selections US Exclusive / $25.99 CASE PRICING

George Lelektsoglou (the "Greek") is the most respected wine retailer in the Rhone. He's
been the first person to sell most of the famous names. He doesn't just know every vineyard in the Rhone. He knows every rock and every vine. What many people don't know is that he makes a small number of wines. When he is able to source incredible grapes, he secures them and makes incredible wines that are insane values. Long time Fass listers can attest to some of the incredible values that we've had from him. And today? Today is one of the craziest values you'll ever see.

The Wine

Today we have the 2019 Georges Lelektsoglou Cairanne Vieilles Vignes for $26.99 on a 4-Pack and $25.99 on a case from 90+ year old Cairanne vines. This is a wonder. It drinks so well and has a level of precision, finesse and density that wines of this level hardly ever have. And serious wine geek clients who drink blingy expensive wine love this stuff. It's got stuffing. It's got refinement but also the bombastic fruit of 2019. Amazing material here.

The nose is stunning. You can't believe the wine is this inexpensive. Lavender, garrigue, menthol, earth, wet earth, cassis, super aromatic. After air it gains a liquer-like aroma that is spellbinding. Also tons of black cherry and deep, deep cassis. It's everything you want out of an inexpensive wine which is a wine with "expensive wine DNA" but still has the charm of an inexpensive wine. Wonderful purity and freshness.

So precise on the palate. Big, rich palate but dazzlingly fresh and straight as an arrow with such amazing precision. Incredibly pure. This has all the terrific stoniness the South is known for but with really clean, rich, precise fruit. The Greek has an amazing hand with Grenache on it's own like in his CDP or blended like this Cairanne. Big chewy, amazingly ripe tannins and big acids give this wine structure and the ability to age for 10-12 years.

At this point it needs a 20 minute decant and will drink well for 10-12 years. The blend is 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre and 25% Carignan. Great and unusual blend. If I'm drinking Southern Rhone it tends to be for explosive yet contained fruit. Backed by the stoniness of the Southern Rhone it can be a dreamy combo and what one wants. But this also being more north you get a lot of the cooling blue fruits that are preponderant in the North. If I could create a Cairanne from scratch this is how it should taste. I think this will gain finesse over time and become even more of a knockout, thus the case pricing. In February of 2016 Cairanne was elevated and is now a Cotes du Rhone Cru. This means the wines can be labeled without Cotes-Du-Rhone Villages anymore. It's the same level as Gigondas, but less expensive. For now. This is an extreme value.

"Kirsch, darker strawberries, and Provençal herbs emerge from George’s 2019 Cairanne Vieilles Vignes, a fruit-forward, medium to full-bodied, voluptuous Southern Rhône that brings the fruit and texture while staying light on its feet." - 92 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

I call George the Kingmaker because you know you've arrived when your wines are sold in his store. All of the top winemakers speak his name with reverence. The Greek knows every AOC, every vineyard in every AOC and every rock in every vineyard like the back of his hand. And while he makes fancier wines under his own name, I think that this wine is his greatest accomplishment. Why? Because it drinks like a really, really good wine that costs twice as much. If it cost $45, I would still happily sell it.

2019 Georges Lelektsoglou Cairanne "Vieilles Vignes" - $28.99 ($107.96 4-pack, $311.88 12 bottle case ($25.99))

Two Wines from the Shifu of Côte-Rôtie: Old School, Brilliant, No Bluster, No Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 08 May 2023 18:41:00 +0000

No Press, no Pundits, No Care

- Making Brilliant Wines for Decades

- A "Winemaker's Winemaker"

- A Favorite of the Greek (Even Though We Buy Direct)

- Just Churns Out Amazing Wines Year After Year After Year

2019 Maryline & Christophe Billon Côte Rotie "La Brocarde"

- 95-97 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

- Psychotic Nose: Floral, So complex.

- So Many Deep Intoxicating Aromas

- Huge Granite

- Big Florals, Deep Violets, Lilacs

- Spice, Smoke and Cassis

- Palate: Concentrated, Velvety Blackberry Fruit

- Tiny Berry Fruit Complexity

- Dazzling Purity

2019 Maryline & Christophe Billon Côte-Rotie "La Cote Rozier"

- 94-96 Points Jeb Dunnuck

- Nose: Mega Berry, Big Mint and Cooling and Crispy Fruit

- Palate: Amazing Tiny Berries, Terrific Concentration

- Off the Charts Purity

- World Beating Inner Mouth Aromatics

I've never had a bottle of wine from him that was anything but great. In any vintage. In any vineyard. With any grape.

Viognier. Basic Cote Rotie. Single Vineyard Rote Rotie. Condrieu. IGP. They're all great. Great, great, great, great great.

The man has the most basic labels I've ever seen. He could give a fig about the press. Or recognition. He just goes about his business every day making great wine.

Below are the Jeb scores for each wine.

2019 Billon Cote Rotie La Brocarde - 95-97 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2018 Billon Cote Rotie La Brocarde - 94-97 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2017 Billon Cote Rotie La Brocarde - 96 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2016 Billon Cote Rotie La Brocarde - 94-96 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2019 Billon Cote Rotie Cote Rozier - 94-96 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2018 Billon Cote Rotie Cote Rozier - 94-96 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2018 Billon Cote Rotie Cote Rozier - 94+ Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

2016 Billon Cote Rotie Cote Rozier - 94-96 Pts, Jeb Dunnuck

Oh, and Shifu is a Japanese word for expert/master.

The Wines

Up first is my personal favorite of the two single vineyard Billon Cote Roties. The 2019 Maryline & Christophe Billon Côte Rotie "La Brocarde" which is also $72.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. Maybe 5-8 years. It is extraordinary and profound Côte Rotie of the highest degree but man does this wine need time.

So many deep intoxicating aromas I don't know where to begin. Mint, leather, amalgam of
berries with so many flowers. My god this wine is floral. There is an engaging lilac/violet and even dandelion thing going on. It is just insane floral as Brocarde I always think is one of the most floral Côte Roties out there. It's intoxicating. Smoke and cassis eventually with air. It's just crazy. The nose on this wine is absolutely psychotic. Floral and so complex. Classic Brocarde. So smoky (mesquite?), floral and feral. So mineral and full of deep mineralogy like iron and things of that nature. It is so sick, so complex, so nuanced and really is more of a floral/spice thing versus the fruit of the Rozier. The fruit there is blue and cooling.

On the palate, the fruit is incredibly concentrated - it's almost alive in the mouth. It's so velvety. Each sip is an experience and it has energy and freshness like nothing else. The energy and freshness in all of the 2018 Côte Rotie is like nothing else. Just incredible. Because with the nuclear levels of fruit one needs energy and freshness which raises the complexity level. I cannot get over the texture of this wine. The tannins are so high class and really really refined. The tannins in La Brocarde are remarkable. They spread so evenly across the palate. So sweet, so juicy. Sweet velvety blackberry fruit gushes on your palate like an oil geyser with a terrific finish that does not quit. It is so s delineated and dazzlingly pure. Big blackberry fruit that just explodes in your mouth. It's so sweet and floral. Terrific long finish that is actually legitimately amazing. There is so much tiny berry fruit complexity and it saps down on the the finish. It's masterpiece and a work of art.

"For lovers of powerful, massive Côte Rôtie, the 2019 Côte Rôtie La Brocarde from Billon is going to punch that ticket. Decadent black fruits, scorched earth, roasted meats, and spicy nuances all define this beauty, and it's full-bodied, with a decadent, layered texture, one heck of a great mid-palate, and the density, structure, and balance to benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age and evolve for 20-30 years.."- 95-97 points, Jeb Dunnuck (2018)

Next up is the 2019 Maryline & Christophe Billon Côte-Rotie "La Cote Rozier" for $69.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. While the Brocarde is the more sexy, elegant, early approachable wine if one wants, the Rozier is a big sexy beast. But even being big and rich it is never heavy as a Côte Rotie is a wine of finesse over all other things. This is an epic epic bottle of Côte Rotie.

The nose is unreal. A hint of wood and huge mega berry, big mint and cooling and crispy fruit. So floral and just so so aromatic as only Côte Rotie from a great site can be. It really flew out of the glass.

The palate is epically juicy and impossibly complex with wonderful inner mouth florality. The energy on the palate is just insane. It's a total force of nature wine. It's meaty, gamey and so floral with amazing concentration and depth of fruit. So delicious with amazing fruit that is so so fresh and with excellent acids that give this wine incredible lift. Not as big as the 2018 but man this is an incredible wine in its own right. The fruit is so unique and so brilliant in Rozier. It's black cherries and blackberries. Incredible inner mouth florals and sick energy. This provides a counterpoint or platter for all the full bodied rich fruit. It's so amazing as this is richer than Brocarde and yet it never comes across as heavy and it is downright elegant. The tiny berry fruit complexity is off the charts as is the stunning purity. The wood use of Billon is brilliant and he is like a great chef using salt. The finish is so so long and just epic. The wine is so refined and also a bruiser when I tasted it but this will get so much better. Brilliant wine. It's a contemplative wine in a way. But it's also a wine for the cellar. Below is Jeb Dunnuck's 94-96 point review for the 2018.

"The 2019 Côte Rôtie Côte Rozier is also concentrated and rich, yet it has a more lifted, elegant, fresher style in its plum and flowery, peppery incense aromatics, medium to full body, building tannins, and great finish. It doesn't have the sheer wealth of fruit to buffer its structure like the La Brocarde and needs at least 4-5 years in the cellar to round into form. It's impressive, nevertheless." - 94-96 points, Jeb Dunnuck

2019 Maryline & Christophe Billon Côte Rotie "La Brocarde" - $74.99

($218.97 3-Pack)

2019 Maryline & Christophe Billon Côte Rotie "Rozier" - $71.99

($209.97 3-Pack)

Re: Top 3 Bourgogne Blanc for Under $35 - The Top 2 Are $145-$250

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 04 May 2023 23:37:00 +0000

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne "Les Equinces"

- Easily 1er Cru Puligny/Meursault/Chassagne in Quality

- Evocative Nose

- Flowers, Pear, Apple

- Wonderful Minerality

- Palate: Purest and most Balanced Equinces Ever

- Unreal Complexity and Freshness

- Terrific Chewiness

- Spice Bazaar

- Fantastic Roundness

- Insane Inner Mouth Aromas

- Amazing Balance, Freshness, Salinity and Length

- Fass Selections Core White Burgundy

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Rose

- Top Notch Rose from Pinot Noir

- Unlike Any Rose In The World

- Painfully Low Yields

- Insanely Dense, Rich and Flat Out Delicious

- There is Great Rose Out There Beyond Lopez de Heredia, Which is the Wine Geek Default Rose and also $100+

- Rose Made Exactly Like 1er Cru White Burgundy

- Not Much in 2019

Changes are about at the great Domaine Berlancourt, the famous Bourgogne Blanc and Rose estate. Pierre the father has officially retired and now Adrien, the son has taken over and I think this means quality will only go up. Adrien is about as serious a winemaker as I’ve met. Quiet but serious which is the exact opposite of his father who drips of passion and speaks a lot. 2019 is a very short vintage and I will disappoint many of you who will not get the Equinces. But I’m sending it to the whole list because 2020 they made much more wine and I need to know how much to ask for.

"1er Cru Level, Easy"

JF Coche Dury

Robuchon's Potatoes

Most food lovers know the story of the late, great Joel Robuchon's potato puree. The rich and yes, so potato-ey dish became a staple of global fine dining after it was introduced in the 80s. What is interesting about the story is that Robuchon made his name not with a luxury ingredient, like lobster or fois gras, but with the humble potato which he elevated into one of the most delicious dishes on earth.

I mention this dish because today's winemaker has become famous by making wines from the humblest of terroir. His secret, like Robuchon's, is hard work and technique. He treats his wines as if they were premier or Grand Cru. And they are spectacular.

Domaine Berlancourt

Domaine Berlancourt is one of the smallest estates in Burgundy. Pierre and his son Adrienare doing wonders with Bourgogne Blanc. I missed him this year obviously but writing this has brought me back there. The fresh gougeres are legendary as well as the wine. Calling it Bourgogne Blanc is an insult almost. These wines are so much better. They are 1er Cru quality. Actually in 2019 there are 3 whites. now. There is no Demoiselles in 19 but they added a very high end wine which we just offered the other night. They are in my ranking - regional/village/1er Cru and Grand Cru. Pierre told me that the one and only Jean Francois Coche Dury was tasting there a few weeks before the second lockdown and he declared all the wines at least 1er Cru in quality. That's quite an endorsement if I've ever heard one. But to throw another name out there, Arnaud Ente seems to be the only person in Burgundy who takes his Bourgogne Blanc as seriously as Pierre and Adrien Berlancourt. Well Pierre Brisset as well but Brisset's are super classic while Berlancourt are distinctive and there is nothing like them. Close in DNA to JJ Morel but not in a natural style.

The Bourgogne Blanc Royalty

- Wine-searcher has 3 Arnaud Ente Bourgogne Blancs and they are $145, $159 and $195.

- Coche Dury's, whose is nice but I would not put at the Ente level, is $250.

I'm not saying today's wines are at these quality levels but for people who work hard on their Bourgogne Blanc I have to firmly put Berlancourt as number 3, behind Arnaud Ente and Coche Dury. Maybe a tiny bit behind Brisset. Or Berlancourt does for Puligny-based Bourgogne Blanc what Brisset does for Chassagne-based Bourgogne Blanc. Chavy Chouet is also making a late charge to become a leading light in the Bourgogne Blanc sweepstakes at Fass Selections.

The Facts

- The total production of this winery is a microscopic 2,000 bottles (they earn a living from their adjacent hotel, not from winemaking).

- Yields are cut back to 12-28hl/ha for the Equinces.

- As a basis for comparison, the average yield for this area is 68 hl/ha.

- Legendary winemaker Lalou Bize-Leroy's famously low yields are 16 hl/ha (most of her wines are a thousand dollars and up).

- What low yields do is add incredible concentration of flavor and texture to the wines.

- These wines are made as if they were from Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards. And it shows.

- The Sulfur levels are lower than ever know which has imbued an astonishing purity to the 19’s

The Wine

The 2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne "Les Equinces" is $33.99 a bottle on a 3-Pack today. This is the best young Equinces ever. It has a compactness and purity that is astonishing. This wine is just gorgeous and easily 1er Cru Puligny / Meursault / Chassagne in quality. Yields on this were 22 hectares per hectare in this vintage. It is aged for two years in old oak (the barrels are really old). The pruning in winter 2019 was very severe and they cut off many vines due to frost. Still this wine is enormously complex, dense and chewy as only Berlancourt can be.

Nose. Insanely aromatic. Cake icing, green apple, huge minerals, alluring spice, iodine, hazelnut, so refined and complex. After air you get a big evocative nose of flowers, apple pie, apple skins and wonderful minerality. It opens and opens. Eventually there is a gorgeous perfume that has you gripped. The nose just is sick. Jumps out and demands your attention. Floral, mineral and really broad. It wafts from the glass. So clean. Smells like Puligny 1er Cru. Even some Puligny hazelnuts after a while. Even better on Day 2. Glorious spice, apple pie, so juicy. Huge spectrum of aromas. So precise.

Wow, what a palate. The purest and most balanced Equinces ever. Just a stunning wine. Tastes like elite 1er Cru. Just insane. Awesome acids and freshness and also has fantastic roundness which is a sign of an elite white wine. See Keller and Brisset. As nose opens up it becomes perfumed and spicy like a spice bazaar. Palate is so deep. My goodness it is crazy. It is so clean, so fresh and so ethereal. It floats on the palate and pumps juicy, refined apple fruit on the mid and the finish. Wow. So deep. Totally genius and so, so refined. Sickness. What structure and grip. Just genius. Best Equinces ever. There is terrific chewiness and a density you just don't see in any other Bourgogne Blanc that I've tasted. There is unreal complexity and freshness. There are insane inner mouth aromas. It is so deep, yet so pure and nimble at the same time. On day 2, Amazing balance, freshness, salinity and length. So compact, spicy and elegant. Concentrated and so so well made. Amazing sucrosity and treacly tension. Icing on a cake texture and a hint of confectionary aromas. Drinks like a 1er Cru. Has that mouthfeel and delineation. Wow. Like a perfect gumdrop of Chardonnay. Best one ever.

The finish is as long as the days in the summer. Endless. This is a work of art and a beautiful wine. The finish has an almost tannic quality to it and the length is profound. Just when you think the finish is over it is just beginning.

I'm not a big rose guy but I think that makes me much more qualified to pick them out. The harshest critics usually make the best recommendations. At Fass Selections, we have two roses that really stand above. And one hasn't even gotten its own e-mail yet. This is the first ever stand alone e-mail for a Rose in our seven year history. The other rose that is mega famous at Fass Selections is the Enderle & Moll Spätburgunder Rose which is allocated and today's wine the 2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Rose for $25.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. I think this is one of the the greatest roses in the world. I love Simone but this is Pinot Noir. It's a whole different ballgame. It's from painfully low yields and a dedication I've seen in few winemakers.

What a nose. Stunning. Wet earth, so pure. Flower petals, roses, tangerine. cherry fruit, strawberry, so delicate but deep and so savory, earthy and feral. Some tea notes, orange zest and huge minerality. Also saline notes develop with air. It's super complex as one can tell. You get the picture.

Gorgeous palate that is dense and structured but again so delicate and pure. Lithe structure and cherry fruit like a ballerina on the palate. Very dense and very juicy. Long and complex and finishes savory and mineral. Terrific. Floral and hauntingly elegant with saturating Pinot fruit that is so clearly defined. Also hints of that lovely Puligny iodine. So well made. A cerebral rose if there ever was one. Juicy and concentrated with terrific power and minerality.

Long, mineral finish that dissipates perfectly. What a finish. It gains length, depth and power as it aerates. Acidity is insane and it is beguilingly pure and fresh and my goodness this finish is way way longer than it should be The fruit is so Pinot and is truly saturating. It has power and minerality,

It's so unique. Nothing else to compare it to. The Faberge Egg of rose.

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne "Les Equinces" - $35.99

($101.97 3-Pack)

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Rose - $27.99

($103.96 4-Pack)

Hands Down The Best Gattinara I Have Ever Had - 2015 Il Chiosso Gattinara Riserva

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 01 May 2023 23:36:00 +0000

First Vintage Since 2008 - An Absolute Piedmont Superstar Wine

2015 Il Chiosso Gattinara Riserva

- I Had This Recently and Gave it a 9.6

- Up There with Superstar Baroli

- A Wine of Prodigious Depth

- Next Level Concentration

- Beautiful Purity

- Nose - Truly Exquisite

- A Garden Full of Every Kind of Ripe Berry on a Hot Day

- Smoke, Leather, Tar, Roses and a Hint of Mushroom

- An Incredible Symphony of Nebbiolo Aromas

- Palate: Explosive Berry Fruit

- So Complex, and So Refined

- Internal Aromatics are Simply Gorgeous

- Fruit, Spice, a Bit of Licorice

- Balance is Extraordinary and the Finish Does not Quit

- Very Serious and Very Compelling Gattinara

- Please Do Not be Misled by the Price

- A Super Premium / Elite Nebbiolo

- The Structure and Acidity to Last for 15+ Years

One of the Iconic Wines of Piedmont

The 2008 Il Chiosso Gattinara Riserva is one of the most legendary wines in the history of
Fass Selections. We were growing the portfolio nicely and then all of a sudden people started going crazy over this wine. We had to offer it a second time and people bought tons of it.

This is not a regular "productized riserva"- it's only made in the most exceptional years when everything goes right. That's twice now in in a decade. That's why this wine is truly a gift. It's one of the most guaranteed elite wines in the entire portfolio across Europe.

I had the 2015 again last week. It's simply a stunningly unbelievable wine.

- Complex

- Dense and concentrated

- Opulent

- Huge structure with decades ahead of it

- So refined

This will go toe to toe with top tier 2016 Barolo in a decade. It's that good.

- The terroir is incredible.

- The winemaker is brilliant.

At $52.99 for an elite wine, you are not touching this in Barolo.

Buy as much as you can store.

The Wine

The 2015 Il Chiosso Gattinara Riserva for $52.99 a bottle on a 4 pack purchase is a wine I tasted out of barrel when I went to Italy and was immediately moved by it. This was 2017. Now we are in 2022 and it is almost gone. I hadn't tasted this wine in 4 years until this week. But I remember that warm day in Gattinara tasting this with Marco Arluno and being just gobsmacked by this wine. This was the best Gattinara I'd ever had.

A wine of prodigious depth, next level concentration, beautiful purity and those crazy, deep classic old school Il Chiosso aromas. But the most vivid expression of these aromas yet. They know what they have and have priced it as their most expensive wine yet. And it's underpriced. By a lot. But for the best wine in an appellation that I've had for $53 it's a steal. At $53 you are getting village Barolo. Well at Fass Selections you are getting some Cru Barolo but we are a bit unique. For $53 in Gattinara you're getting some elite, rare, next level stuff. Which is what people who shop here want and expect. This is as Grand Cru as Gattinara gets and one can understand why Roberto Conterno bought Nervi and pumped a ton of cash into it. Gattinara will be the Pauillac of Alto Piemonte.

This is one of those wines that is like a punch in the face (in a good way). You are tasting wine after Piedmont wine after Piedmont wine and some are good, some bad. And then you put this in your mouth and you are like "what the heck is that?"

First the nose. It's as if there was a garden full of every kind of ripe berry on a hot day when the aromatics are swirling all over and your head is in the middle of all of this with all of these berry fruits swirling around your nose. It's truly exquisite. Just an incredible nose. The nose has an incredible symphony of Nebbiolo aromas. The heavens opened and sprayed this aroma in the glass it seems like. Secondary aromas come out with air. Smoke, leather, tar, roses and a hint of mushroom. Just that glorious old school Nebbiolo. Old bookcase aromas as well.

The palate is explosive berry fruit, but juicy, the way we like it at Fass Selections. Very, very concentrated berry fruits with great acidity. The palate is so complex, and so refined (some Gattinara can be too rustic) with big juicy red cherries. The internal aromatics are simply gorgeous: fruit, spice, a bit of licorice. The tannins are big, ripe and sweet with dazzling complexity on the finish. This is stunning now but has at least 15+ more years of life. The inner mouth aromas are ridiculous as is the purity and freshness. Flowers, spice and cherry fruit are enveloped in the stunningly refined tannins that have a lovely rustic but not too rustic edge to them. The balance is extraordinary and the finish does not quit. It's a big but graceful wine with palate staining fruit and firm but beautiful tannins. Such an intense huge core of mid season cherry fruit and this wine palate is unapologetically old school.

So long and strikingly mineral on the finish. Powerful and deep yet light on its feet. Profound. This wine is so so good and pulls of the combo of cerebral and hedonistic at the same time. This is very serious and very compelling Gattinara. I love the appellation as the wines have a happiness and brightness to them that I find so appealing. This wine is good to go. It would cost $85+ 3 tier so it is not imported by the people who import the regular Gattinara.

Please do not be misled by the price - this is a super premium elite Nebbiolo. There is the level of terrific concentration that you expect from a top wine from the Northern Rhone or even Burgundy (and Barolo as well, of course). If you like wines with a solid amount of fruit, this is one to really stock up on. this is not a modern, jammy fruit wine (it is well balanced with secondary flavors) but for a traditionally made wine, it has awesome fruit. 2015 was an insane vintage for this winery and they are running out of this bottling even though it was just released and we are in a global pandemic. This is at the beginning of its drinking window and has the structure and acidity to last for 15+ years. Maybe longer. This is very limited.

2015 Il Chiosso Gattinara Riserva - $54.99 ($211.96 4-pack)

2020 Is a Great Vintage in Chablis - Small Quantities - Our Only 2020 Chablis Grand Cru: Dampt Bougros

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 16:42:00 +0000

2020 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros"

- I Don't Think That There Is a Better Under $60 Grand Cru Value in France

- His Only 2020 Grand Cru

- One of the Most Epic Bougros I Have Ever Tasted

- Nose: Wafting Seashells, Oyster Shells

- A Gorgeous Lemon Oil

- So Mineral

- Like Pulverized Rocks Made from Petrified Green Apples

- Palate: Brilliant Freshness and Complexity

- Stunning Density as It Opens

- Damptian Balance Between Glorious Fruit / Saline Freshness

- Incredible, Precise Green Apple Fruit

- Classic Chablis with Grand Cru Density and Dampt Drinkability

- Finish Is God's Lemons (Perfect Fruit and Acid Balance)

- Drinking Well Now - The Structure to Age

- Terrific 2020 Vintage - VERY SHORT

- 91-94 Burghound

If You Like Chablis and Drink Grand Cru Chablis, This Is Very Sage and Safe Addition to Your Cellar

The Bad News

Sadly again the source that Sebastien Dampt gets for Les Clos and Valmur in 2020 was not able to supply him with fruit. So that means we only have one Dampt Grand Cru in 2020. But what a smokeshow it is and what a devastating value it is.

If you like Chablis and drink Grand Cru Chablis, you should stock up on this. 2020 is short and Chablis has problems with frost pretty much every other vintage these days. I don't see that problem getting solved any time soon

The Wine

Today I am thrilled to offer the 2020 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" for as little as $59.99 on a 4-Pack. This is a great deal for Grand Cru white Burgundy. Bougros, for me and everyone else in Chablis is the early drinking Grand Cru. It is always so generous in its youth and combine that with the tense yet accessible 19s you have a Grand Cru Chablis that is ready to be drunk now. There is never any austerity on these and they always have glorious finesse.

It is an epic Bougros. Just a beautiful bottle of Chablis. Reminiscent of the brilliant 2014, the 2020 is an amazing accomplishment. And because Sebastien is not particularly greedy and because he is still young and has not reached the "status" of the top 4-5 growers, his wines are crazy values, especially his Grand Crus.

The nose is gorgeous. It's big and wafting with beautiful seashells and oyster shells along with green apple. It's almost like if a green apple grove in full fruit turned into rocks over 1,000 years and those rocks were pulverized - that's what it smells like. Just stunning.

The palate has brilliant freshness and complexity and is giving so much now. When you first taste it, you get the more obvious Damptian delicious profile. Waves and waves of juicy green apple fruit, silly amounts of minerals and wet stones along with the perfect amount of balancing intense Chablisien acidity.

As this wine opens, you get the density of Grand Cru terroir. The fruit integrates a bit with some coiled richness and more of a dark stone minerality. It still has that green apple but the complexity starts to come out and you get that Grand Cru experience. Saline and compact like the 17 and a skoche more ripe yet very generous but not at the sacrifice of terrific thundering acidity. The fruit is pure and vivid as is the salinity on the very long Grand Cru finish. Very sappy and structured.

The finish really shines here. It's like rocks that were rehydrated with God's lemons. What are God's lemons? Well you know how regular lemons are a bit too acidic and Meyer lemons are a bit too sweet? God's lemons are a hybrid of regular and Meyer lemons with that perfect lemon flavor that has laser-like acidic balance so you get the perfect balanced lemon flavor lingering on the palate after you swallow.

The wine is classic Sebastien Dampt - he has a way of maximizing fruit but keeping it in balance with great acidity and minerality. I don't think that there is a better under $60 Grand Cru value in France. Epic wine and highway robbery at this price point. This will be limited. I was super impressed. It can and should age for 3-5 years before it reaches peak but there is no structural (closed) reason it should not be drunk now. It is utterly compelling and delicious.

Bougros

Bougros is located on the NW section of the big hill where all the Grand Crus are located. The excellent 1er Cru Fourchaume is to the North and Preuses Grand Cru is above Bougros on the hill. The soil is more clay dominated as it is near the water and actually gives Bougros a lovely earthiness. It is also very steep, maybe the steepest of the Grand Crus and also is southwest facing so gets excellent sunshine. Sebastien makes this wine under the Maison Dampt label with his brother.

"Restrained aromas of ripe white and yellow fruit flirt with the exotic though this is otherwise classic with its nuances of iodine, shellfish and tidal pool. This is rich and dense to the point of being borderline thick while flashing good power on the vibrant, dry and clean finish. This focused and moderately structured effort isn't particularly refined though elegance is not why one buys Bougros."- 91-94 Points Burghound

2020 Maison Dampt Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" - $61.99

($239.97 4-Pack)

Tiny Quantities of 2 Syrahs from Peter Vinding Diers

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 17:40:00 +0000

Peter Vinding Diers

- World Famous Critic Hugh Johnson Picked Him to Start Royal Tokaji

- A Legend in Winemaking Circles

- Elite Level Technique in the Vineyards and the Cellar

- Ask Your European Winemaking Friends - We Hit the Jackpot!

- Syrah's "Perfect Terroir"

- So "Transparent," "Elegant," "Complex"

"These were not internationally moulded, dark, concentrated monsters, but elegant, complex Syrahs with finely chiseled tannins and modest alcohol levels."- Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson

"Their transparency clearly indicated a unique origin. Somewhere in Sicily the grape seemed to have found its perfect terroir."- Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson

2020 Vinding Montecarrubo Cuvee Suzanne

- Nose: Simply A Thing of Beauty.

- The Most Gorgeous Syrah Perfume on This Planet.

- Raspberries and Blackberries, Melded at the DNA Level

- The Flower from Spices.

- Jumpy Aromatics Leap out of the Glass

- The Platonic Ideal of Syrah Aromatics

- More Burgundy Made from Syrah

- Perfect Palate

- Elite Balance

- Raspberries. Blackberries

- Gorgeous Silky Texture

- Insanely Elegant Spice

- Perfectly Clean Mountain Water Infused like Crazy with Spiced Raspberries

- A Hint of the Most Gorgeous Licorice

- Lightly Savory in an Elegant Way

- Incredibly Salivatory

- Silky, Integrated Tannins

- Has the Structure and Balance to Age

- Still Great after 6 Days Open - A Masterfully Well Made Wine

2020 Vinding Montecarrubo Quattro Venti

- Nose: Classic Vinding-Diers

- Clean, Elegant Fruit

- Raspberries

- Blackberry Flower

- Elegantly Perfumed Spice Assault

- Jumpy Aromatics

- Palate: Pure Liquid Silk

- The Veritas of the Grapes and the Terroir

- Raspberry, Blackberry Pure Meld

- Illustrates How Vinding-Diers is an Exemplar of a Modern Master

A Modern Legend

Peter Vinding-Diers is one of those winemakers who has mad respect from the top, in the know, wine
critics and winemakers worldwide.

- He restarted Royal Tokaji with wine legend Hugh Johnson.

- He is a world expert on the importance of native yeasts after his famous 1985 experiment where he fermented 3 barrels of the same must with yeasts from Lynch-Bages, d'Angludet and Rahoul. The 3 wines reflected the 3 properties and the experiment was very influential in our understanding of the importance of yeasts in winemaking.

- One of the top US Italian wine critics has requested samples so these will likely be quite in demand in a short while.

- This guy is an absolute legend.

The Maddest, Most Elegant Expression of Syrah - With Speculation As to Why

If I told you that I had found a new winery that made perhaps the most elegant expression of Syrah available today, and offered to bet you blind where it came from, I'm pretty sure you'd never in a million years guess Sicily.

Oh yeah ... the wines are from Sicily. Diers "retired" there with his wife around 20 years ago.

These wines are almost more Northern Rhone than present day Northern Rhone wines. They have all of the classic Syrah aromatics, but more on the floral side and less on the gamey side. But the fruit weight and alcohol are lower than what is typical in the Rhone. They are stunningly elegant.

This, of course, makes zero sense given how far South Sicily is. So how does he do it? Here are some guesses as to why the wines are less fruit-forward and more balanced.

The vines are all bushes instead of the classic supported vines that we are used to.
The soil is volcanic with limestone and marine fossils. Vinding-Diers calls it a "paleolithic vineyard." Poor soils likely balance out the fruit expression which allows the secondary and tertiary flavors to shine.
The winery is in the hills near the Ionian sea, which may cool the vineyards.

At any rate, what is important is how the wines taste.

The Wines

The first wine is the 2020 Vinding Montecarrubo Cuvee Suzanne for $45.99 a bottle each on a 4 pack. This wine is named for Peter's wife of 50 years, Suzanne. This wine is somehow almost more Cote Rotie than present day Cote Rotie.

The nose is simply a thing of beauty. The most gorgeous Syrah perfume seen on this planet. Raspberries and blackberries almost melded at the DNA level. Spice but more the flower from spices. Everything is so well integrated it's hard even for me to distinguish the various flavors and scents. The aromatics are what I call jumpy - they leap out of the glass and into the nostrils. Almost the platonic ideal of Syrah aromatics. More Burgundy made from Syrah than almost anything in the Rhone.

The palate is perfect. Perfect balance. Raspberries. Blackberries. Elite silky texture. Insanely elegant spice. It reminds me a bit of the Podere Forte we sold but perhaps a bit less fruit forward and more perfumed. It's almost like perfectly clean mountain water infused like crazy with spiced raspberries it's so clean. A hint of the most gorgeous licorice. Lightly savory but in an elegant way. Incredibly salivatory. Silky, integrated tannins. This has the structure and balance to age. The juiciness and touch of savoriness just make your mouth water. Balancing minerality. So good.

The finish is so elegant. Clean, laser-like precision. You get the fruit but more echoes of the non sweet aspects of fruit than sweet fruit if that makes sense.

I had a last sip on day 6 after significant oxygen exposure. The wine was still incredible. Blackberry, spice and blackberry licorice. Such incredibly maxed out delicious sweet fruit. Like that crazy to the max perfect clean blackberry with licorice meld. So sexy and sensual. Absolutely delicious. Masterfully well made.

This is one of those wines that you have to try if you like Syrah. It is very different from the other top Syrahs in the world (the Rhone and Ziereisens's Syrah from Baden) and the best Syrah I've had from Italy by a long shot. Some of you, particularly old time Rhone drinkers, will prefer it to present day Rhones.

The review is from Walter Speller, who loves the wines. 17+ is a very good score from Jancis Robinson. I will say that he had the wine a year before I did and the hint of oak is now integrated. The wine has also become more fine and elegant and less brooding with a year of age. He had it less than a year after harvest and notes that it needs more time.

"A blend of two single vineyards, Vignolo and Vigna Grande. 100% Syrah.

Lustrous mid ruby. Deep and brooding, even a little mysterious on the nose with hints of exotic spice and a touch of fine oak. Concentrated, embryonic sweet fruit and serious, chewy tannins that make themselves known on the finish. Needs and deserves much more time."

17+/20 Walter Speller, Jancis Robinson (tasted on August 23, 2019)

The second wine is the 2020 Vinding Montecarrubo Quattro Venti for $51.99 a bottle each on a 3 pack. This is 66% Syrah blended with 34% Cabernet Franc. Vinding-Diers became famous for his work in Bordeuax. And this wine is a bit of a nod to that with the inclusion of Cabernet Franc. This is more a show stopper kind of wine and really shows Vinding-Diers skills as a winemaker.

The nose is classic Vinding-Diers. You get that clean elegant fruit. Raspberries, A hint of blackberry flower. And then the spice assault. The house style here is more elegant perfume than say darting needles of spice. Again - these are very jumpy. They leap out and saturate the nostrils in a persistent yet penetrating way.

The palate is pure liquid silk. There are a handful of winemakers on earth that can make wines that combine this level of silky elegance with the veritas of the grapes and the terroir. Vinding-Diers is an absolute master of this style and the Quattro Venti is one of the wines that really shows this well. It's the reason his wines sell out in Europe almost immediately. You get that raspberry, blackberry pure meld. Spices that are bonded with the fruit seemingly at the molecular level. The fruit is so sweet, but not cloying. It has the requisite acid that balances it perfectly and makes it fresh. The overall palate impact is much more like high end Bordeaux. Elite levels of deliciousness. Really a wine to pop and pour at a dinner party to illustrate how Vinding-Diers is an exemplar of a modern master.

2020 Vinding Montecarrubo Cuvee Suzanne - $45.99

($175.96 4-Pack)

2020 Vinding Montecarrubo Quattro Vento - $53.99

($155.97 3-Pack)

The Lelektsoglou Rhone's Are Getting Top, Top Scores - 94 Point Crozes Today from Next to Hermitage

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 21:39:00 +0000

2020 Compagnie de L'Hermitage (Lelektsoglou) Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes Gervans"

- Right Behind Hermitage

- Grapes from a "Very Famous Winemaker"

- 100+ Year Old Vines

- Insane Concentration, Complexity and Balance

- 160 Cases Made

- 2020 Vintage of the Century but Cool Climate Vibe

- Competes Quality-Wise with Hermitage at Twice the Price

- USA Exclusive

- Dense Yet Delicate

- Huge Structure But Yet Again So Delicate

- From Gervans Which Is Locally Known as "petit Hermitage"

- 2019 94 Jeb Dunnuck

Is The Greek and Sons the Best Producer in the Rhone?

2019 Compagnie L'Hermitage Chateauneuf-du-Pape "lieu dit Pignan - 99 points Jeb (“"It might be the closest thing to an older Rayas . . ."

2019 Trois Freres St. Joseph - 96+ Jeb (Top St. Jo Score in 2019 According to Jeb - yes, it beat Gonon)

2019 Compagnie L'Hermitage Cairanne - 92 points Jeb Dunnuck. Top 3 Best Value Cairanne in 2019

and today's wine . . . .

2019 Compagnie de L'Hermitage (Lelektsoglou) Crozes-Hermitage "Vieilles Vignes Gervans" 94 Points from Jeb Dunnuck - the 2nd highest rated Crozes in 2019. (I'm selling the 2020 today).

"Where 2019 is more in the style of 2015 and 2009, the 2020s have a seamlessness and suppleness that brings to mind 2018 and 2016." - Jeb Dunnuck on 2020

I know I blow up all your inboxes with with tons of Rhone wines but the wines made by the
Greek under his wine shop’s label are some of the most special and also you’re not getting these from anywhere else. All of them drink higher than what they are supposed to and I have a special place in my heart for today’s wine as there is no Crozes like it. I could nail it blind in a lineup of 20 Crozes. The distinctive dark fruit character combined with the deep granitic character is just unmistakable. This is simply put a wine that drinks like $80 and costs $42. But it’s more than that. It’s unique in that it leverages a historical wine shop and a person that is so ingrained into the history of the region and development of the region that this wine is almost a cheat code. Do not miss this.

Today I am privileged to sell the 2020 Compagnie l'Hermitage Crozes-Hermitage (Lelektsoglou) Vielles Vignes de Gervans for $41.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. The vines are very old (100 years plus) from an area called Gervans which is right behind Hermitage. The granite soils of Gervans are parallel to the great Hermitage Les Bessards. It's better than most Hermitage. It’s a top 3 Crozes since its debut in 15. There is no other Crozes like it. I’d rather have one bottle of this than 10 cases of Alain Graillot which seems to be the only Crozes available in most markets and I find it very mediocre. The area is called "petit Hermitage" by the locals. It's 5-10 minute drive from Hermitage central. There is no oak on the wine (steel vats) and Georges selects and vinifies the wine his way. The vines and terroir are from a very famous winemaker which is all I can say. There are only 2,000 bottles produced. Then it's gone. This is from very old vines and from arguably the top sector of Crozes-Hermitage. I just offered the last of the 2019 and now 2020 is here and it's crazy. Like a blend of 2010 and 2015.

The nose is just insane. Huge and generous with deep berry/black cherry fruit and crushed deep granite. Gamey, spicey, so comforting, gravy, pepper. White and black spice. So so complex. Olive. Huge granite. This is so deep, nuanced and very layered. Almost lurid. Dark flowers and mint. It's an amazing nose and transcends Crozes for how dark, serious and meaty it is. So complete. There is no way in hell anybody would ever guess Crozes blind. No way. It's too noble and has too much breeding. Really inky color only adds the allure.

The palate is so deep yet so harmonious. Blackberry, black cherry fruit on a bed of granite. Stunning inner mouth aromas and one of those finishes that begins when you think it's going to end. Juicy and sensual with a musky inner mouth perfume. Big black and blue fruits. Opulent and rich but also fresh and energetic. . Palate is a wonder. Super juicy and decadent but allied with terrific freshness and a smoking granitic finish also with notes of game, herbs and olive. So sappy and juicy with incredible density and sweetness. Awesome texture as well. Huge mineral spine. Stunningly well made wine that is absolutely delicious. Just lingers on the palate. This is top, top class Crozes. More like a Hermitage. So long. Amazing freshness and a granite expression like no other. The balance is extraordinary as well as the level of concentrated dense fruit. This is what Crozes can and will be. Crozes is the new St. Joseph. With the right terroir, old vines and sparing no expense (that's why only 2,000 bottles made as only the best for this wine) you can make world class and age-worthy wine (15+ years) from Crozes-Hermitage. This is as expected very limited.

"The 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Vieilles Vignes De Gervans showed beautifully, with a bright, lively, yet powerful style offering lots of blue and black fruits, candied violets, pepper, and crushed stone. It has a real sense of minerality, medium to full body, beautiful purity, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's not your standard Crozes-Hermitage from the lower plains and will have two decades or more of overall longevity.." - 94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (2019)

Chavy Chouet's Pommard Catches Up To His Whites

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 21:37:00 +0000

Romaric Is Now Killing His Reds As Well As His Whites

- The Red Wine Translation of Terroir Plus

- The Terroir Characteristics Are There But Amped Up

- Very Distinctive Reds for Burg Collectors

2020 Was Very Very High Quality

- Huge Fruit and Huge Terroir Vintage.

- Like 10/12 blended.

- A Pommard That is Quite Simply

- Off the Charts in Terms of Fruit & Terroir Expression

- Most Refined Tannins Of Any Chavy Red Vintage Yet

2020 Chavy-Chouet Pommard 1er Cru "Les Chanlins"

- 93 Points, Vinous, Neal Martin (A High Score from Him)

- An "Oh, my God" Wine

- The Nose is the Essence of Pommard

- Crushed Red and Black Berries, Black Cherries

- Huge Mineral Aromas

- Tons of Dusty Earth

- Some of the Best Fruit on A Young Burg I've Ever Tasted

- Thunderous Energy, Tiny Berry Fruit

- Overwhelmingly Concentrated Fruit

- Terrific Class and Refinement

2020 Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Rouge "La Taupe"

- A Very Distinctive Bourgogne Rouge

- From a Plot Near Pommard ...

- Nose: Big Berry, Raspberry and Spice

- Palate: Substantial Body and Fruit Concentration

- Stylish with Loads of Grip

- There Is Not Much Bourgogne Rouge in 2020 and 2021

- An Outrageous Value

- Chavy's Entry Level Wines Are Now What You'd Expect from a Top Tier Producer

- The Same Skill and Style at Much Lower Price

As most of us know, Romaric Chavy-Chouet has crossed over into the elite tier in terms of quality and price. His top wines will be at or just under $100 at traditional retail in the States. His style is perfect terroir replication "Plus." What is the Plus? The Plus is that his wines from any vineyard taste like wines from that vineyard except even more so. A bit more fruit. A bit more minerality. And a bit more acidity to balance it out. Think Roulot or Coche Dury. The wines are still a value because he's a great producer and I sell them for less than traditional retail becuase I buy direct.

Romaric's 2020 Reds

The 2020's have even more clarity, more finesse, deeper fruit and more fruit precision, more
freshness and more depth than his 2019's. When I tasted them, I knew Romaric had reached the big time. The wines were on the level as I like to say. He sent me the prices and I noticed the increases but didn't even break a sweat as these are outrageous values, still. The guy is a star. I'm lucky to have him as he is known for his support of the little guy. The Pommard went to another level in 19 and now 20 and is likely up there with the top white 1er Crus in the portfolio. The Pommard has now added incomparable finesse.

The Wines

The 2020 Chavy-Chouet Pommard 1er Cru "Les Chanlins" can be had for $77.99 a bottle on a 3-pack (this wine would cost $125+ through 3 tier). The wine is ridiculous. Bonkers. Some of the best pure fruit I've tasted in a young Red Burgundy and with an added level of incomparable finesse that makes this wine standout. This is the kind of wine that when you first sip it, your eyes open to the max and as soon as you swallow, you utter "Oh, my God."

The nose is the essence of Pommard with crushed red and even some black berries and black cherries with huge mineral aromas and tons of dusty earth. It is so intense and has the stamp of tiny berry fruit firmly there which I love. The energy of this wine on the palate is just thunderous.

The palate has the typical Chanlins richness but is more refined than usual due to the overwhelmingly concentrated fruit that chips away at the youthful rusticity this wine has in a normal vintage but has really started to shed that and it now has class and refinement with only a smattering of rusticity.

The finish has firm Pommard tannins that are amazingly ripe and sweet but also pumps huge amounts of fruit to every nook and cranny of your palate. Also that energy keeps this wine engaged with your palate like no other Chavy Chouet red I've offered. This is indeed, profound. I tasted out of barrel in March and could have brought it home right there with me and drank it this past Autumn. Usually it needs 2-5 years to become civilized. This will drink well after 5 years but the aromas Pommard gives after 10-12 years are worth the wait.

It's the perfect application of the Chavy-Chout style to red wine. The parcel is in an incredible location between Volnay 1er Cru Les Pitures and the Pommard 1er Cru Haut Rugiens Bas. That is stealth top notch neighbors to have. The vineyard is very rocky and has a serious slope to it.

"The 2020 Pommard Les Chanlins 1er Cru offers brambly red berry fruit on the nose, well defined, maybe a little more refined compared to the Volnay. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, just a touch of liquorice. Very nicely refined with good matière on the finish, this is a very fine Pommard."

93 Points, Vinous, Neal Martin

Not only has Romaric vastly improved his reds at the Volnay and Pommard level but also at the Bourgogne Rouge level. His 2020 Bourgogne Rouge “La Taupe” is the best version yet and now is so refined, with added depth, complexity and finesse. It’s remarkable how much his Bourgogne’s of both colors have improved but the red has come farther as earlier versions were rustic and good but never had depth, complexity or finesse.

I also have the 2020 Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Rouge "La Taupe" for $25.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is brilliant in 2020 and it is so good this will be the second vintage I offer as it is full of fruit and character. The fruit on this wine is so ridiculous. This wine is an outrageous value in 2020, with massive generous levels of fruit but also depth and refinement.

Big berry, raspberry and spice on the nose. Very clean. Some mint and menthol. Village-level nose is not even a question here. Amazingly detailed late season cherry fruit. Sappy raspberry. So floral with incredible spice. So vivid and clear. This is killer. Deep and impactful aromas that just blow away so many other better village wines. This is from a plot near Pommard with gives it substantial body and fruit concentration.Palate has terrific lift and awe-inspiring purity. Juicy and so sweet. Rustic yet reigned in tannins they signify this will age 5-10 years. Just superb. Best Bourgogne I've had from Romaric. Lovely richness and freshness and super velvety and ripe tannins. This has improved so much The wine is stylish and very pure with loads of grip and an amalgam of fruit. Very fresh and very grippy. A steal!

2020 Chavy-Chouet Pommard 1er Cru "Les Chanlins" - $79.99

($233.97 3-Pack)

2020 Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Rouge "La Taupe" - $27.99 ($103.96 4-Pack)

Enderle & Moll's Top Wines Are Allocated Forever - Their Basis Is One of the Great Under $20 Pinot Noirs Anywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 21:37:00 +0000

Enderle and Moll Make Some of the Rarest Pinots on Earth

- "Best Customer Only" list at Top Restaurants

- Micro Production, Organic

- One of Germany's Top Winemakers

The Cult of Enderle & Moll

- As Close to Art As Wine Can Get

- Yes, Their Wines Are Delicious...

- But in a Totally Different Way from Anything, Anywhere in Burgundy

- So Culty, All of Their Single Vinevard Cuvees Have Been Allocated for Years

2020 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir "Basis"

- This Is His Entry Level Wine

- Stunningly Delicious

- I Got an Insane Direct from the Winery Price

- This Is a Wine for Everyone

- The Beautiful Fruit from Terrific Vineyard Work

- The Poetic Transparency of a Great Winemaker

- Delicate and Refined Beneath the Deliciousness

- Nose: Incredibly Striking off the Bat

- Sweet Herbals, Mineral and Big Red Cherries

- Spice, Resin, Pine, Clove

- Early Season Cherry, Sour Cherry

- Palate: Very Crunchy, Very Powerful

- Very Mineral

- Sappy Red Fruits / $19.99 CASE PRICING

The Best Wine for a Price You Don't Have to Think About for Any Wine You'll Ever Buy.

Enderle and Moll is the cult winery that every top German collector wants. Their wines are sold for hundreds of dollars in certain top restaurants. They are "top customer only" at some places. Production is incredibly small and it's almost impossible to get the top bottlings. I've only sold the top bottlings to the initial buyers when I first opened. This winery is going to go down in history
as one of the first superstar wineries that defined the breakout of German pinot noir. 2020 is almost the most miraculous vintage I've tasted and cements E & M as the Michael Jordan of German Winemakers in that they just killed it. They are nimble, terrific, elegant, deep, powerful, transparent, delicate, suave, lithe and insanely fruity but in a beautiful refined way. Like 2019 with more crunch, power, refinement and depth. Florian says it's his best ever vintage.

Today I am selling this wine as it is gorgeous and the single best value Pinot Noir I've ever sold in the world in my career from anywhere. An absolutely incredible wine from a top, cult producer for a price that normally nets you wretched plonk from a mammoth industrial winemaker.

2020 is an incredible vintage for E&M. We might only be able to offer the Basis once this year as yields across Baden are so low. Usually we offer twice.

Today I am offering the 2020 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir "Basis" for $21.99 a bottle and $19.99 a bottle on a case. Pinot Noir this good for $19.99 a bottle? This is a gorgeous wine that speaks of killer Pinot Noir as much as it does a doorway into the Pinot Noir musings of Sven Enderle. That's what it feels like. We taste his creations. It's always fun to taste these brilliant wines in the home of Pinot Noir. This is the best under $20 Pinot Noir in the history of the world.

The nose is incredibly striking off the bat with just a barrage of honey, brown sugar, a hint of sweet herbals, mineral and big red cherries. Loads of spice, resin, pine, clove, early season cherry, sour cherry and showing tremendous complexity. Yes a $20 Pinot can show complexity. Just amazingly pure cherries on the nose after around 24 hours of air with all the spice and resin.

The palate is just fantastic. The 20 has high acid, deep deep fruit (most ever for this wine!) beautiful purity and great to very great length. Very crunchy, very powerful and very mineral. Almost a stoney effect with deep sweet cherry interspersed. Right now showing intensely mineral, but also has the sappy red fruits this bottling is know for once it's open for 24 hours. Elegant tannin. Wonderful. This is deeper and more structured than the 2019, but when it matures, 3-4 years, it will be the knockback King of all Pinots. Just so bright and juicy and absolutely delicious. A wine that makes you just totally thrilled to be alive. And yes, while it is delicious and bright, it has that Enderle & Moll complexity. The spice. The licorice. Hauntingly lithe and beautiful pure Pinot Noir like only E and M can be. Just so delicate and refined. A wine you can knock back on a Tuesday night, after 2-3 years, or serve at a party or even serve to wine geek friends. One can never enough of as well because of the structure. This will last 5-8 years and peak in 2-3.

I'm doing case pricing here because I buy this direct and got a great deal and I want everyone to be able to have enough that they don't need to think about it when they open a bottle. Pizza on a Tuesday? Party for 10? Just want a drink after work? This is the best wine for a price you don't have to think about for any wine you'll ever buy.

2020 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir "Basis" - $23.99

($87.96 4-Pack, $239.88 12 bottle case ($19.99!)

List Favorite Domaine Berlancourt's Top 2 Bourgogne Blancs - VERY Limited

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 06:20:00 +0000

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Blanc "Cuvee Les Champans"

- Blind, I Would Guess Grand Cru Chevalier Monthrachet or Puligny 1er Cru "Folatieres."

- Micro Low Yields in the Lalou Bize-Leroy Range

- The Ultimate Ringer at a High End Burgundy Tasting

- Nose: Psychotic

- Meyer Lemon with Intense, Clear and Airy Minerality

- So Deep and Enveloping Like an Ocean Breeze

- Endless Aromas and Aromatic Depth

- Palate: Massive and Intense

- Nimble, Concentrated and Delicate

- Classy and Easily Grand Cru Cru Level

- Insane Structure, Density and Concentration

- Fleshy Fruit but also Pithy - 18 Bottles

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Blanc "Derrière Frétille"

- The Estate Says It's Better Than the Champans

- I Have 6 Bottles

Most of you have heard the story of long time list favorite Domaine Berlancourt. It's actually a hotel with Bourgogne Blanc terroir that they tend like it's 1er Cru and Grand Cru terroir. It is one of the best examples of "hand over land" I've seen in Burgundy. These are wines that every Burgundy lover should have in their cellar. They are spectacular, great values and also terrific wines to bring as ringers to a Burgundy tasting. Today it's the top two cuvees in the very limited 2019 vintage.

The news at Berlancourt is that the father has retired and the son is now fully in charge. I think
this is for the best and the wines will only get better. The son is a serious winemaker and truly no nonsense type of guy and is 100% dedicated to his craft. I cannot imagine how good the wines will be in the future. Also I will miss the father's incredible sweater.

The Wines

The 2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Blanc "Les Champans" for $79.99 a bottle NET as good a wine as 19 can deliver. At Berlancourt they have their own hierarchy. The Champans is their Grand Cru and after tasting the 19, I think it can compete with a large number of Burgundy Grand Cru whites. It has the depth, length (oh man does it have the length), complexity and richness of at least 85% of the Grand Cru while burgs I've tasted. It also has that dramatic and grandiose quality. It's just a wine that not only transcends the appellation but it's a wine that wants to remake the appellation. After drinking a bottle of this over 3 days it really made me think hard about the appellation system. It generally gets its right but how can a wine that is labeled Bourgogne Blanc taste like 85% of Burgundy Grand Cru Burgs?

I have never encountered a wine quite like this in my career. Almost 20 years now. Blind, I would guess Grand Cru Chevalier Monthrachet or Puligny 1er Cru "Folatieres." It is from yields of around 15hl/ha and aged in 100% new oak for 2 years. Just an incredible wine.

Huge nose. Vanilla extract, not woody at all but that good vanilla of super high end elite whites. Then herbals, Meyer lemon with intense, clear and airy minerality that is so deep and enveloping like an ocean breeze. Apple spice starts to develop after some air. Endless aromas and aromatic depth. On Day 2 it was just insane. stunning nose. Vanilla extract aromas and so much coconut. Man this is so good, so airy with superb minerality. Just gorgeous and vibrates in its own plane.

Palate is massive and intense but then so nimble, concentrated and delicate. My godthis is classy and easily Grand Cru level. Insane structure, density and concentration. Mega mega juicy. Thunderous. So pure. No hard edges. Unreal finesse. Such fleshy fruit but also pithy. Everything is in perfect proportion. Just gets better and better with air. On day 2, palate has perfect balance, prodigious concentration and is so sappy and dense, yet so light it's super elegant. Big and suave at the same time. It's grand cru all the way.

The finish is endless. Just silky and stunning. Stunning finish. The finish begins where you think it is going to end. Just a masterpiece. Truly a genius and incomprehensible wine that should not be a Bourgogne Blanc. Best Champans ever and the finish is eternal. Just never ends and has perfect dissipation. I only have 18 bottles but more wine is on the way next week including the 2019 Equinces!

There is a new cuvee that I only have 6 bottles of called the 2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Blanc “Derrière Fretille”. It is $84.99 NET and he thinks it’s better than the Les Champans. I don’t know anything about this wine and all I know it’s better than Champans. Whoever gets this please drink one with me!

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Blanc "Les Champans" - $79.99 NET

2019 Domaine Berlancourt Bourgogne Blanc “Derrière Fretille - $84.99 NET

Everything Now Known Was Once Unknown - That's Where The Greatest Values Lie

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 13:13:00 +0000

2015 Terre di Sarrizola Colli Tortonesi Rosso "Gambarasca"

- Barberas Have Amazing Fruit and Spice

- But They Are a Bit Linear

- Merlot Adds Mouthfeel, Lushness / Lusciousness and Structure

- Changes This From a Delicious Drink to Something Quite Serious

- But the Price Is Still Ridiculously Low

- I Gave a 9.4 on Delectable - More a $40-$50 Wine Even for Us

- As Serious as Red Wine Gets Under $50

- Like an Italian Take on Gripa

- Nose: Amazingly Pure and Explosive

- Incensey / Herbal / Berry Consommé

- Superbly Mineral

- Palate: A Freak Show

- Depth, Concentration and Breeding of a Much More Expensive Wine

- Only Made in Top Vintages

2018 Terre di Sarrizola Colli Tortonesi Timorasso "Biancornetto"

- The Salvador Dali of Timorasso

- Almost a Sureral Wine

- Italy's Answer to Chablis

- Nose: Superbly Focused

- Lemons, Lemon Oil, Lemon Rind

- Tropical Flowers

- Provençal Herbs and Spices

- Palate: Gorgeous Richness

- Terrific Mouthfeel and Texture

- Great Minerals

- Juicy but Tempered Acids

- Elegant, Juicy, Spicy and Pithy

- Elite Precision

- Lithe Juiciness on the Finish

- Drinking Well Now, Will Be Better in 5 Years

- My Partner and I Both Gave the 2017 a 9.4

- Only Made in Top Vintages

- Timorasso Is the Darlings of Italian Michelin Star Somms

This has got to be one of the most epic Perfect Storm of value offers we've ever done.

Beyond the Langhe is Alto Piemonte, but what is beyond Alto Piemonte? Today I can bring you some new fascinating Piedmont wines from the province of Alessandria and the appellatio, Colli Tortonesi for reds and whites.

No one has really heard of this region or this winery. And the winery focused on selling their wines and not on maximizing price at this point. So this offer is a crazy, crazy steal.

What is the Colli Tortonesi?

This refers to wines made from red and white grapes amongst the hills of Tortona. It's actually one of the older Piedmont DOCs and was created in 1973 just before the more famous and prestigious Gavi appellation. This is as East as Piedmont gets and shares a border with Lombardy. The main red grape is Barbera. The main white is the eponymous Cortese which I like but don't love and vastly prefer the great Timorasso which is gaining in popularity and I think is much more interesting and ageworthy than Cortese's highest expression in Gavi. Timorasso is like Italy's answer to Chablis but with its own unique twist. The minerality in Timorasso whites is remarkable as is the structure. They are known to age for a decade at least and in many cases much longer.

The Wines

But today's first wine is not the Timorasso, which comes 2nd but to be honest both of these are "1st wines." The red is one of the greatest values I've ever tasted. It is remarkable and represents elite QPR in my opinion. That is why I am offering a case price. The wine is the 2015 Terre di Sarrizola Colli Tortonesi Rosso "Gambarasca" for $21.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and $19.99 on a 12 bottle case.

This is NOT a knockback easygoing Tuesday night pizza red. I've sold plenty of Barbera, Dolcetto and Langhe Nebbiolo that is. They are perfectly delicious wines and I love them. This is in another league. It's as serious as red wine gets under $50. I didn't know the price and just laughed when I found out yesterday. Italy has always been a sea of values but you got to kiss a lot of frogs on that journey. The division is starker now with the tariffs between the value of France and the value of Italy. This wine is a preposterous value. It's 70% Barbera and 30% Merlot. It's only made in the best vintages. 2015 and maybe 2019. But this 2015 is in the zone and will go many years. Another decade at least. This needs a minimum of two hours of air to really start to strut its stuff.

Starts off with a big grapey nose. Lovely berry fruit and big minerals. As it airs it opens and the aromas become really intriguing and expansive. Lovely core of minerals and soil tones. Really nice. In a great spot aromatically. Really in your face gutsy minerals. After air, nose is incensey/herbal/berry consommé and superbly mineral. Balanced, pure and very fresh. Just amazingly pure and explosive.

Palate is soft and lush with very nice sweet fruit. Big but ripe and suave tannins. Concentrated and structured, this has real lift and energy. Complex and seems like it will age a decade more. Terrific wine. After air mega improvement. 9.3 to 9.4. A freak show now with mega concentrated fruit and long. Super. Mineral. Like Mauves St. Jo. Like an Italian take on Gripa. This is too good to be true at $21.99. I could and was prepared to sell for $35-$37 as I assumed my cost would be much higher. The wine has the power, depth, concentration and breeding of a much more expensive wine. Because this is from a no name area it's this inexpensive. Reminds me of some of those Elio Altare Barbera blends that go for $65+. Larigi in particular comes to mind. I can heartily recommend a case purchase for this.

Next up is the utterly amazing white from Terre di Sarrizola, the 2018 Colli Tortonesi Timorasso Derthrona "Biancornetto" for $34.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is from a single vineyard called Biancornetto and it means white horn. It's on top of limestone. This also is only made in the best vintages.

Timorasso is the next big thing in Italian white wines. They are the darlings of all of the Italian Michelin star somms and everyone is saying that they have the potential to produce some of the best white wines in Italy.

So why has no one heard of them?

Until recently, they were a grape used in field blends and almost lost to history. This winemaker named Walter Massa brought the grape back from the dead and starting selling it as a varietal. Now the big boys like Vietti are starting to bottle Timorasso. It's arrived in a big way. This wine is the Salvador Dali to Walter Massa's Velasquez (I'm keeping the painters both Spanish for some reason). It's almost a sureral wine.

Nose is lemons, lemon oil, Meyer Lemon. This psychotic swirl of tropical flowers. Also Provençal herbs and spices. It got much better with air. Lemon rind, lemon peel. Mineral. Also hints of game? This is wild. Superbly focused. As it aerates the confectionery aromas are just superb.

Palate is juicy, mouth filling and clean. Very pure and clean. Flavors of sweet lemon, and an awesome elegant texture. Really terrific mouthfeel and texture. Very good if not elite acids but the freshness is from the minerals and the juicy but tempered acids. Lush. Elegant, juicy, spicy and pithy. Really energetic and the flavors are so so unique. Bright and lifted. Long.

Finishes also with a lovely note of bitterness. This is great. This really needs I think 5-6 years to show even better. Over two days it had glimpses of its true greatness but I think the best is yet to come. In a rare reversal drink the red and cellar the white.

2015 Terre di Sarrizola Colli Tortonesi Rosso "Gambarasca" - $23.99 ($87.96 4-Pack, $239.88 12 bottle case {$19.99!})

2018 Terre di Sarrizola Colli Tortonesi Timorasso - $36.99

($139.96 4-Pack)

Primus Inter Pares - 2013 Walter Fruhburgunder is Firing on All Cylinders + Walter's Rarest Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 14:13:00 +0000

2013 Josef Walter Frühburgunder Centrgrafenberg "J"

- This Will Blow Away the Most Jaded of Tasters

- Early Ripening Pinot Noir That Is Off the Charts

- A Nose Out of Hansel and Gretel...

- ...Smoke, Flowers, Forest Scents, So Many Spices: Baking Spices, Cooking Spices

- Off the Chain Fruit - The most Intense Cherries Ever

- Black Tea, Cassis

- From One of the Great Vineayrds of Europe : Centrafenberg

- Stunning Purity and Texture

- Only In Germany Do You Get Pinot of This Quality Under $80 (It's $39.99) - Gave This 9.6 on Delectable 3 Months Ago

2011Josef Walter Pinot 274

- His Smallest Production Wine

- 300 Bottles Made (Not a Typo)

- Only Sold to Michelin Star Restuarants (and Me)

- The Ultimate Collectors' Item

- Insane Burgundian Nose: Leafy, Earthy, Mushrooms, Truffles

- Thunderous Sweet Fruit, Hedonistic

- Amazing Depth and Purity

- Please Let ALL Walter Wines BREATHE Longer Than Any Other Spatburgunder Producer We Sell

Primus inter pares is a latin phrase meaning first among equals. It typically means a person in a group who has a higher status than his esteemed peers. Well I had a terrific case of samples, including some very blingy terroir from Burgundy, and this wine stood out head and shoulders above the rest. So I'm dashing this E-Mail off to get it to you.

The Fass Selections Frühburgunder Cult

Frühburgunder is one of my favorite grapes in the world. The name can be intimidating because it's German and it's got an umlaut and not many people know what it is. So for the sake of clarity and understanding it's really just Pinot Noir that ripens three weeks earlier than normal Pinot Noir and is a specialty of the Burgstadt region in Franken, Germany. Christoph Walter is the Frühburgunder whisperer as his version is just completely outrageous. It's a difficult grape to cultivate because of the early harvest date and also it is a favorite of the local wild boars. They have to put a blue netting on the vineyard to protect them once they start ripening. I've sold epic aged versions like 2005 and 2007 and 2009. I've sold the 2010 as well which is from a high acid vintage and will age gloriously. I've sold the 2012 which was priced higher than all the others as Christoph thought it was better than every Frühburgunder he has made. I agreed with him and happily sold it. I sold the 2015 which is argubaly on the same level as 2013 but still needed age. I just had the 2013 and at 9 years of age it has started to really blossom.

The Wine

The Fruh in question is the 2013 Josef Walter Frühburgunder Centrgrafenberg "J" for $39.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. The fruit in a young Frühburgunder is akin to nothing I can compare in the world of Pinot. It's sweet, but in such a unique way. It's a very Northern part of a Northern wine producing county with a Pinot Noir variant that is ripened three weeks earlier than the normal Pinot Noir. Yes, you've got global warming but the wine should not, by any measure be this ripe, this sweet and this grandiose.

But while being ripe and grandiose it smells like something out of Hansel & Gretel. Smoke, flowers, forest scents, so many spices, baking spices, cooking spices, all the spice is what makes Frühburgunder aromatics so intense. But you've also got the florals. This indescribable vivid violet. It makes me think Vosne-Romanee. Just that part. The rest of the wine is pure Centrgrafenberg Frühburgunder. The wine just killed from the second I poured it to the last sip on day 2. The spectrum, roundness and opulence of the aromas were spectacular. You remember these aromas. But with all that spice and florals there is deep, deep fruit. 2013 is an awesome vintage for Pinot in Burgstadt and Franken. It's so complex with deep black cherry. Even some cassis. Black tea. Wet leaves. It never ends. Xmas spice. It's so complex but almost can't be as something complex needs to be stable to be classified as complex. It's that type of nose. So layered amazingly complex.

The palate does not let down. It's velvet sweet energy. If I had to summarize in three words. It's so sweet, so complex, and incredibly velvety with just awesome balance and pinpoint acidity. Deep cherry and black cherry fruit that is so pure, so vivid, but also lacey and playful with such unreal and intense energy. Amazing precision while also delivering just hedonistic sweetness. It really just wants you to love it. Amazing tiny berry fruit intensity and stunning purity and texture. Such velvety tannins that coat the palate and deliver huge sweet fruit on the never ending finish.

Below is my Delectable note from 3 Months ago.

"This is a specialty here and wow this is really something. Such a glorious and nuanced nose of spice, tree bark, glorious dark black cherries, spicey oak and wonderful violets. It’s super clean, nuanced and multilayered. Great. Palate is fresh, energetic and has superb purity and freshness. Tangy red cherries on the palate, a bit of oak and as always this needs mega air but it’s all there as it always is. Huge structure on this. Elegant and so bright. Awesome length. Needs 5 years.

Day 2 update : 9.4 to 9.6 overnight. Palate is so fresh and energetic. Unreal freshness and purity. Beautiful sweet, silky and cherry fruit. Long, tangy and fresh. Haunting and deep. Wow. Amazing on day 2." - Lyle Fass

Next up, I have, as there is no other way to put it, something ridiculously special. One of the rarest of the rare. Walter he only sells it to Michelin starred restaurants and never to retail or to people who visit the winery. He made 300 bottles of the Josef Walter 2011 Pinot 274 which can be had for as little as $51.99 each on a 4-pack. But, wait, what is this wine? It is my Franken dream. It is 40% Spatburgunder and 60% Fruhburgunder. Mind. Blown. Also the Pinot 274 clone is the best clone Walter works with. I knew this wine had to exist but only Christoph had the cojones to make it. Make no mistake this wine is drinking superbly at the moment. Fruhburgunder is a Pinot Noir variant that ripens 3 weeks earlier than regular Pinot Noir and is something I swoon for if I can find it.

Insane aged Burgundian nose. Sous-bois up the wazoo. Leafy, earthy, mushrooms, truffles, dusty, wet poodle. One of those noses you smell and two things happen. 1), You cannot stop smelling because of the purity and vividness of the aromas and 2), You can't stop smelling because there is no way this is from Germany. It smells most like the 1978 Billard-Gonnet Pommard Rugiens Phillippe Billard opened for me a few years back. It is all there. I swear it smells like great aged Grand Cru Red Burgundy. Stunning stunning nose.

Extraordinary purity and depth. Amazing tannins. Huge, dense, ripe and sweet fruit and killer inner mouth aromas. Stunning secondary flavors of truffle, leather and sweet fruited earth. Big tannins. Amazing. Sweet, sweet fruit. Thunderous. This is as hedonistic as one can get while also being massively structured, dense and fresh. You will not believe this wine. I could not believe this wine and it was trapped in my mind all trio. Longest finish of any wine I had in August of my last trip. I had a lot of wine. This is VERY LIMITED (obviously) and will be ALLOCATED if need be.

2013 Josef Walter Fruhburgunder Centgrafenberg "J" - $41.99

($159.96 4-pack)

2011 Josef Walter Pinot 274 - $53.99 ($207.96 4-pack)

A Burgundy That Will Stand Up to Any Wine at Any Price in 10 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 08:11:00 +0000

The Modern and the Traditional

- A Modern Notion of How to Work the Land to Create the Best Grapes

- A Traditional Approach to Winemaking

- Alain Michelot's Nephew

- These Wines Are Miracles in a Bottle

- If You Have Cellar Space Buy As Much As You Can and Forget Them for 10 Years

2018 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges" Vieilles Vignes

- 24 HL/HA Yields

- Shocking Levels of Density - Utterly Elite

- A Tour de Force in Winemaking

- Underpriced by at Least a Factor of 4 (with Age)

- I Recently Gave the 2013 a 9.7

- Nose: Super Fragrant

- Ethereal with Deep Rich Fruit and Pungent Stoniness

- Mashed Black Flowers

- Violets, Roses

- Pungent Almost Lurid Red Fruit Quality

- Black Cherries in Pastelle Clay

- Nothing like it in Burgundy or Nuits St. Georges

- Palate: Amazing Richness and Density

- Almost Like an Invasive Species of Pinot Noir in Your Mouth

- A Holy Crap OMG Wine

2018 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts"

- The Same Kind of Insane Effort Winemaking

- More Affordable Terroir (Les Beaumonts = Best Terroir in Chorey)

- Gorgeous Aromas of Raspberry Cake, Dank, Dark Cherries

- Loads of Complexity

- Complex and Fragrant Nose of Raspberry Coulis

- Smoke, Tin, Leather

- Palate: Ripe and So Juicy

- Bright Mid Season Cherries

- Amazing Balance and Purity

- Concentrated and So, So Sappy

- Amazing Purity

- Terrific Inner Mouth Aromas

- Fantastic Mineral Spine

- Amazing Texture

If You Cellar Burgundy, You Need to Buy These Wines

There are a handful of people even in Burgundy even trying to make wines like this. And most of them are well known and the wines cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The first vintages of Ledy's Nuits St. Georges are just coming into their prime. So few people have tried them. And let me tell you, they are exactly what I expected. You can taste these next to any Burgundies you like and they will stand to toe with them. These are underpriced by at least a factor of 4.

Here’s the thing about Ledy. He’s a genius of the highest degree. But his wines need age. They demand age. I’ve been drinking my 12/13/14 Ledy’s and they are mindbending today. I emailed Vincent recently and asked if his 2013 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges" Vieilles Vignes was ready to drink and he actually said YES! He never ever says his wines are ready to drink. But he said yes and I opened it and it blew my mind. At 9 years old it was just divine. I gave it a 9.7. First time I’ve ever had this bottle as it was entering its drinking window. And it was easily the best NSG I’ve had at Fass. Easily on the same level as Brisset. I also had the 2014 Chorey-Les-Beaune “Les Beaumonts” and that was also stunning and gave it a 9.4.

The Winemaker

Vincent is a force to be reckoned with now. The wines are deep and powerful and take hours and days to unfurl but most of all need years to truly express themselves. And when they do, watch out as the first wine today can compete with even Burgundy Grand Crus. A client emailed some years back that he did a blind tasting with some friends of his and the 2015 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" was first place for 3 people over 2 different Corton Grand Crus and a Beaune 1er Cru. He emailed me about it as he could not believe it. He was obviously very happy and it's nice to have my validations about Vincent Ledy confirmed. One other reason Vincent is not a superstar is because the only critic that has tasted his wine is La Revue de Vin de France which is a like a French Wine Spectator.

...but Jasper Morris, British Burgundy legendary critic has posted in the past about a visit with him in Burgundy and I was thrilled about it. He said he makes "promising powerful reds." And yes he does.

The Wines

The 2018 Vincent Ledy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges" Vieilles Vignes is $102.99 a bottle on a 3-pack. It's probably next to the Poisot Romanee St. Vivant, a few Brisset reds, the best Red Burgundy I sell. This is from 85+ year old vines. Yields for this wine were only 24 hl/ha versus an average of 37 for NSG Premier Crus. This wine is a love letter and a tour de force in winemaking. It is a work of remarkable genius.

The nose. Super fragrant nose. Like the best fragrance you can imagine. 13 was darker and had lower yields and more brooding. 14 had more lift to it and is a bit more evenly fruited between black, blue and red. 18 is more ethereal with deep rich fruit and pungent stoniness that makes it insanely distinct. It also has terrific crunch with all that rich yet energetic 2018 fruit. Mashed black flowers and tons of stoney minerality. So floral. Violets, roses, just beguiling. But all of this is on a bed of stone. Limestone. There is also a confectionary aroma as well that envelops the black cherries and blackberries. Big sappy blackberries and black cherries. But there is also a pungent almost lurid red fruit quality that intermingles as well. I also get a iron/graphite mineral/ore component. The aromas are just off the charts. The wine is flat out brilliant. It is so deep. But what the 18 has that the earlier vintages just fall short of is the remarkable finesse that only comes from the best sites in the best years. This is the most finesse I've ever had in a young Ledy and it will only grow more elegant with time. For something so big it floats. I once compared Ledy's style to the great Henri Gouges and this is the wine that made me think Gouges as soon as I smelled it. Like black cherries in pastille clay. This is one of the most expensive direct wines I offer, but I offer it because there is nothing like it in Burgundy or Nuits St. Georges. The wine is an elixir in that the care and love that Vincent puts into it is second to none. You can taste it. The wine is always opening and changing. You see Vincent's artistry here as he uses no new barrels in this wine and the character of the great 1er Cru site "Les Porrets Saint-Georges" shines through. This is naked Burgundy at its finest.

The palate has amazing richness and density and the power and density of the site and the old vine sap are apparent in spades. Yet it is so crisp and fresh which is remarkable for a 2018. The inner mouth aromas are some of the best I've ever encountered. It takes over every nook and cranny of your mouth like nothing I've ever had. It's almost like an invasive species of Pinot Noir in your mouth. The tannins are firm and the energy on the palate is second to none. The freshness and acid combined with the density, length and richness are some of the best I've encountered. This is a holy crap OMG wine. It's a wine I hope to cellar every vintage. And i have. This wine needs extensive cellaring which is a throwback in Burgundy considering so many burgs these days don't demand cellaring like they used to. With the 2018 as in the 2014 vintage Vincent made this wine into two cuvees, separating the young vines and old vines.

What a wine. I can easily put this in a lineup of the top NSG (Mugneret-Gibourg NSG Chaignots, Gouges Vaucrains/Les St. Georges, Chevillon Vaucrains/Les St. Georges) and it would finish at top or in top 3. It is top, top wine.

From vines planted in 1935. Open bunches with small grapes which therefore merit a percentage of whole bunches in the fermentation tank. Rich dense purple black with significantly greater weight of fruit than the regular bottling. Firm thick tannins at the back but with such a wealth of fruit that this should come through. Incidentally, the 2019 shows great promise at this early stage.- 91-94 Jasper Morris (for 2018)

Up next I have by far the best Chorey-Le-Beaune in Burgundy. The Grand Cru beater. The 2018 Vincent Ledy Chorey Les Beaune "Les Beaumonts" for $35.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. Terrific vintage for by far the best Chorey in Burgundy. Most Chorey is forgettable in my opinion. Sorry Tollot-Beaut. Also Les Beaumonts is the best terroir in Chorey. The La Tache of Chorey-Les-Beaune.

Gorgeous aromas of raspberry cake, dank dark cherries, some earth, some animal, spice and loads of complexity. Will open more with air and it did as I always spend so much time in Vincent's cellar. Complex and fragrant nose of raspberry coulis after 45 minutes with smoke, tin, leather, more smoke and minerals. So complex. Amazing raspberry cake. Stunning aroma.Really, clearly defined mid season cherry fruit with just amazing brightness, depth and clarity. Striking. Earth, spice and citrus round it out once it reaches its aromatic apogee.

Palate is ripe and so juicy with just stunning precision and dazzling purity. Big bright mid season cherries and amazing balance. Finish never ends. This is easily 1er Cru quality. Closed as Vincent's wines are super powerful and need time to unfurl but having said that in ripe vintages such as 18, 17 and 15 his wines shine like no other. Concentrated and so, so sappy with amazing purity. Terrific inner mouth aromas that are floral and fruity with a fantastic mineral spine. Amazing texture and such impressive high quality ripe tannins. Clean as a whistle. This is so so impressive. The purity of the fruit on the finish. Stunning. After an hour of air the palate is ripe and sweet with slippery fruit but firm tannins on the back end. Long finish and great quality tannins but firm tannins. Really long and raspberry hits along the way. Fantastic balance and purity. Age is key for Ledy and I see this improving a lot over the next 10 years. Terrific concentration and power. Also shows great finesse despite being a big bodied wine. Wait 5 years. If you want drink me nows Ledy is not your guy but Boussey/Girard fit the bill.

2018 Vincent Ledy Nuits St Georges 1er Cru "Les Porrets St. Georges - Vieilles Vignes" - $104.99 ($308.97 3-pack)

2018 Vincent Ledy Chorey-Les-Beaune "Les Beaumonts" - $37.99

($143.96 4-Pack)

The Curious Case of Martin Muellen's Pricing on One of the Best Wine's He's Ever Made (Under $30)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 18:10:00 +0000

2019 Martin Muellen Krover Letterlay Spatlese Feinherb***
- Some of the Best Fruit Martin Has Ever Made
- I Gave This 9.7 on Delectable
- One of My Top Scoring Muellen's Ever
- A 30 Year Wine
- $27.99 Case Pricing
- Huge Tropical Nose
- Apricot, Peach Pit
- Superb Wafting Minerality and Spices
- Honey and Tree Bark
- Smells so Deep
- Bee Pollen
- Slate and Sick Minerals
- So Aromatic and Provocative
- Almost Endless on the Palate
- Preposterous Core of Apricot and Peach Fruit
- Huge Concentration and Such Finesse
- Superb Finish and Balance
- Unreal Purity and Length

- A Miracle Wine That Should Cost $60+ Even in Germany

Curious Pricing

So most Muellen fans know that Martin lets nature decide which wines he is going to make each year. If the grapes are best for Auslese, he makes Auslese. If they are best for Spatlese Trocken, he makes Spatlese Trocken. If you ever want to retire and make a lot of money, move to Traben-Trarbach and become Martin's label maker. His labels change almost every year and he has a lot of them (they are also quite beautiful and I'd imagine pretty expensive).

It can be a bit challenging for us, to be honest. Some years we get almost all sweet wines and
very few trockens, Some years, it's the reverse. But because Martin never "forces" a wine, not even a little bit, they are always at least incredibly good.

So today's wine has 3 stars. Muellen fans know that he reserves the 3 stars for the best wines he makes. It is not a vineyard designation or a mutli year label. He tastes the wine and if it gets 3 stars, then it gets 3 stars. If for some reason he's not totally in love with a wine from one of his top vineyards, no stars. I've had wines of his I gave very high scores to that got no stars.

So here's the curious thing - you'd think that a wine like today's that has some of the best fruit Martin has produced this decade would be like $60. But it doesn't. Why? Well - I really don't know. I'd suspect that 1) it's not from his most famous vineyard (Huhnerberg) and 2) it's a feinherb and feinherbs just cost less money.

So basically you are getting

- Some of the best fruit Martin ever made

- by one of the top winemakers in Germany

- in a wine that will last as long as you do

- for under $30.

Welcome to Germany.

The Wine

Today I’ve got one of the most delicious, most fascinating, novel and profound Rieslings of the 2019 vintage. It’s the 2019 Martin Muellen Krover Letterlay Spatlese Feinherb*** for $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack and $27.99 on a 12 bottle case. This is what I like to call a “Fass Freak show” in that it’s freakishly delicious but also the wine, by definition is a freak show. First of all Spatlese Feinherb is an unusual category we don’t see often. More on that below and second of all it’s three stars on Martin’s internal rating system which means “finest.” Fine and finer are what one and two stars mean. It’s so profound, so full of character and personality and is a wine that lives in a liminal space as described below.

The Style - Spectacular But Elusive

Feinherb is one of the hardest to pull off pradikat/ripeness category but when properly executed, it's absolutely stunning. They need to be ethereally light yet also have an intensity to turn as well. There needs to be a balance of the added elements that lift this from Spatlese Trocken to Spatlese Feinherb. Those elements are sugar which adds two things. Texture and sweetness. Spatlese Trockens are more skeletal but Spatlese Feinherbs have some flesh on them but not too much. There is the every so slightest hint of richness and sweetness that adds so much to the wine that it enters a new category. The sweetness is like great service in a *** Michelin restaurant. I like to call it "there but not there." You get up for 5 seconds to talk to someone at the next table. A handshake (or today more likely an elbow bump) and then back. But when you're back your napkin is folded in some unreal shape origami type thing that you cannot believe they have done this in 5 seconds and no one is even close to the table! Did it really happen? That's how the sweetness should be in a Feinherb. It exists in this state that is like peeking out from another reality or dimension. It's present sometimes, but not all the time, and when it is present, it's elegant and "there but not there."

The Notes

I gave this wine a 9.7 on Delectable. It’s odd that MFW nor WA reviewed it as it’s one of the best off dry wines of the vintage.

Martin’s top Feinherb in 19. Huge tropical nose with apricot, peach pit, superb wafting minerality and spices. Honey and tree bark. Smells so deep. Bee pollen. Slate and sick minerals. So aromatic and provocative. With air will only get better.

So young and so energetic. Sappy and dense and only showing 10% of itself which is why I’m offering case pricing. This is a 30 year Feinherb. But what a core of apricot and peach fruit that is almost endless on the palate and it finishes very mineral with a gorgeous opulence on the mid to backend. A stunning wine. Just stunning. As nose opens it gets insanely complex like a spice bazaar. Wow. Huge concentration and such finesse. Superb finish and balance. Unreal purity and length. A brilliant wine. Blown away. Inner mouth aromas. Huge pit fruit on the end. Endless finish. While being big this is ultra delicate and refined.

As par the course it got better on day 2. Creamy, citrus nose with superb spice and terrific earthy elements. Palate is dense and electric with stunning bitter pit fruits. Juicy and so clean. So clean. So juicy. Wow. Great structure. Fantastic. Drop dead purity.

A classic Fass Freak Show. Ideally wait 5 years for peak drinkability. Then open one every other year for the next 30 years.

2019 Martin Muelen Krover Letterlay Spatlese Feinherb*** - $31.99 ($119.96 4-Pack, $335.88 12 bottle case {$27.99})

2 Spectacular Red Burgundy Values Under $30 - 2017s, Ready to Drink, Will Age

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 18:08:00 +0000

2017 Laurent Boussey Beaune "Les Prevoles"
- Directly Under the Great 1er Cru, Tuvilains
- Nose: After 10 minutes the Fruit Aromatically Erupts like a Volcano
- Strawberry and Watermelon
- Classic Tweed Jacket, Some Licorice
- Palate: Juicy, Luscious 2017 Fruit
- Refined and Superbly Elegant
- Tremendous QPR Here
- Drink Now but Can Age for 6-10 Years
- Compare Other Various Beaune "Les Prevoles" at $53-$68

2017 Laurent Boussey Savigny Les Beaune Rouge
- Nose is So, So Deep
- Very Floral
- Gorgeous Mid to Late Season Cherry Fruit
- Stunning Minerality
- Palate: Ungodly Amounts of Fruit
- Black and Red Cherries Galore
- Stunning Tiny Berry Fruit Intensity
- Lovely Sweetness
- Wide Open
- Powerful but also Elegant

- Terrific Inner Mouth Aromas

Rational Expectations vs. Adaptive Expectations

In economics, adaptive expectations basically means that you observe what is happening and act accordingly at that point. So if prices rise, after that point, you adjust how you consume an item (or even behave generally).

Rational expectations means that you alter your behavior before the price rises by using intellect/models to predict what will happen.

For the curious, Robert Lucas won the Nobel Prize for applying rational expectations to macroeconomics. It was a revolutionary contribution and had a huge impact on macro modeling (also making it incredibly complex).

At Fass Selections, We've always tried to be rational.

What that means is that we all know that 2021 will be the lowest yielding vintage since 1981.

So we are not waiting for the impending demand crunch. We are raiding cellars in a ninja-like fashion to get you wines to make up for the impending shortage.

The 2017 Vintage

Which brings us to 2017. There’s plenty of it and it’s in an up front style that has not yet closed down and likely never will. Today I’ve got two brilliant 1er Crus from Laurent Boussey that will offer compelling drinking over the next decade while you sit on the other vintages like 2018/2019/2020.

Laurent Boussey

Every day, more and more people taste Boussey and jump on the bandwagon.

These are old school, classic and traditional Burgs with chiseled incredible fruit (especially in 2017). Laurent has some very serious terroir as his father has retired and he has vineyards in 24 different appellations.

Oh and I buy direct so these are incredible values when you compare to 3 tier.

Laurent Boussey's 2017s

Laurent Boussey outdid himself in 2017 and blew me away with his level of quality. His 17s and 18s in barrel were truly stunning wines and he has really made a move in these two vintages up the quality producer ladder in Burgundy. They are stunningly fruited wines with insane transparency, site character and top notch finesse. They have an accessible charm to them (as is the case with all 17s) and from his anything but basic village wines to his top notch 1er Crus you cannot beat this pricing. I am very happy with Laurent and his 17s are the best vintage yet.

So what gets the least respect in quality Burgundy? How about a lieu-dit from Beaune? Yup. When you have the massive holdings that Laurent Boussey has (he inherited a bunch when his father retired) you've got so many, at least in my mind, really dope, cool, and quirky ones. But also these wines provide tremendous value.

The Wines

I'm lucky to have one of those wines today. If I had an award for the most honest wine I've ever offered this would be up there. The 2017 Laurent Boussey Beaune "Les Prevoles" for $28.99 a bottle on a 4-Pack. Beaune lieu-dits can be excellent values but it's also important to get a good producer. I've tasted as much bad Beaune reds as any type of wine I can think of. But when they are good I tend to gravitate towards them as they are really great values and I love the slightly rustic yet linear style and in the right vintages it has "crank it up" fruit. Les Prevoles as a site has a relationship to Fass Selections. It is directly under the great 1er Cru, Tuvilains that former Fass Selections superstar Herve Murat made a few vintages of for us. This wine is just incredible. This was going to get an email of it's own but I decided against it.

The nose. After 10 minutes the fruit aromatically erupts like a volcano. Strawberry and watermelon. Wow. Really great. Classic Beaune Prévoles tweed jacket as well. Just wafting aromas. Classic and woolly nose if you know what I mean. Very Burgundian. I know, I hate tautological tasting notes but you'll get what I mean. The sweet red cherry fruits really jump out of the nose. Stunning. After air it really starts to waft. Huge, soppy red cherries and tons of earth. Floral and complex with great breadth.

Palate has stunningly juicy and luscious 2017 fruit. Stunning purity and mouthfeel. Balance is magical. So dense and chewy. Palate is powerful, dense and tannic. But has a terrific core of fruit. Really gets to the back of the throat and love how the tannins are mineral inflected. Has the “slippery, up front” character of 2016 which will I think will never close down and drink well for at least 10 more years. With air it’s integrating more and sweetening up and the tannins are becoming more velvety Refined and superbly elegant. This is the most refined version of this wine I've ever had. Velvety tannins pump out the fruit. Very chewy. Long finish with a hint of rusticity. Pure. Lovely.

On day 2 the nose has vivid sour cherry. Lots of zesty fruit. Tweed. Cherry pit. Licorice. Palate is deep, juicy and ripe and cuts a lovely swath. Enormous concentration and purity. Very fresh and energetic. Tremendous QPR here. Drink now but can age for 6-10 years. The fruit is so ungodly great that it must be drunk young but has the guts to age for 10 years.

Up next is the 2017 Laurent Boussey Savigny Les Beaune Rouge for $28.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a steal in 2017 and one of the best SLB Village wines I've ever had. And it’s drinking so well now. Just insane fruit. I love 17’s fruit.

Nose is so so deep. It's floral after mega air. Gorgeous mid to late season cherry fruit on a bed of limestone are the hallmarks here. Gorgeous minerality. Superb earth and red fruits. Strawberry, gorgeous classic Burgundian aromas. The classic sous-bois in full effect. 2017 is so good in the so called "B" villages.

Palate has an ungodly amount of fruit. Black and red cherries galore. Juicy, oh man, so juicy with stunning tiny berry fruit intensity and just lovely sweetness. Just explodes on the palate with tiny berry fruit intensity. Terrific velvety tannins and freshness. Wow. A stunner. This is a stunner. This is wide open and has extravagant levels of fruit. What a palate. A monster of slippery, sweet fruit. Nuanced, clear and detailed. So deep, so fresh, so concentrated. Amazing purity and sappy red and black cherries. Powerful and also elegant. Sappy. Such nice acid and freshness has an electricity to it despite its ripeness. Wow. Exhilarating is the best word. Terrific inner mouth aromas and sweet, ripe velvety and substantial tannins. Drink now and over the next 10 years.

2017 Laurent Boussey Beaune "Les Prevoles" - $30.99

($115.96 4-Pack)

2017 Laurent Boussey Savigny Les Beaune Rouge - $30.99 ($115.96 4-Pack)

The Ziereisen Gutedel Alte Reben 10-4 "Jaspis" Offer (95 Points in 16/17 But That's Not the Point)

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 22:05:00 +0000

Salvador Dali 5 Centuries Before His Time
2019 Ziereisen Gutedel Alte Reben 10-4 "Jaspis"
- An Emotionally Moving Experience
- The Most Densely Mineral Wine I've Ever Had
- Complex and Delicious with No Fruit (Not a Typo)
- Insanely Complex Nose
- On a Level with Thousand Dollar Prestige Burgundy
- A Wine You Have to Experience if You Drink the World's Great Wines
- If Chave Hermitage Blanc & Ramonet Chevalier Montrachet Got Married and Had a Rebellious Kid

- 2016/2017 Got 95 PTS, Wine Advocate, Stephan Rheinhardt

On Hieronymus Bosch, Time Travel and Wine

This is easily the most preposterous ahead of its time wine offer that I do every year. I call it the Hieronymus Bosch offer. For those of you (likely almost everyone) who are not connoisseurs of Hieronymus Bosch, let me bore you with some background. Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch painter whose work could be pinned to the mid 20th century. It has the surrealistic bizarreness of Salvador Dali. Except, of course, that it was painted in the 15th Century. Perhaps his most famous work is the "Garden of Earthly Delights" which is in the Prado. I've decided to post it here instead of yet another picture of Hanspeter. For me, the style and technique are centuries ahead of its time, so much so that if I read that Bosch was a time traveller, I would have no trouble believing it.

The Wine

Today's offer is equally ahead of its time. The wine is miraculous but stylistically so different from pretty much every top wine sold in the states that it may as well have been made by a time traveller. This is a wine I believe in like maybe no other wine in the world. I believe that the Jaspis Alte Reben I am selling today is one of the greatest white wines on the planet. Up there with the top wines from Keller, Roulot, Boudignon Roches Neuves, Ramonet, Chave, Lafon and the like. Not only do I not have to sell this wine, most of you will think I'm crazy to offer it. Maybe I am. But one thing that is not in debate is the high quality and distinctiveness of this wine. The Gutedel is a sticker shock wine but it is still a value in my book.

The Wines

Today I am honored to offer the top white wine at Ziereisen, the 2019 Ziereisen Gutedel Alte Reben 10-4 "Jaspis" for $117.99 a bottle per 3-pack. I know a few might want cases, so I can negotiate price with you. This wine is an emotionally moving experience. It is the most mineral wine I have ever had. Nothing comes close. If you like fruit, this is a an easy pass, there is none. But if you like mineral slathered individual uncompromising wines of the highest quality this is for you. This is 100% Gutedel aka Chasselas.

The nose is insane. Like a Domaine Leflaive or Ramonet Grand Cru Burgundy.Maybe Chave Hermitage Blanc. It is so dense you can cut it with a knife. So layered. Just insane. You'll smell this wine for hours on end as it changes and mystifies your olfactory senses and makes them overload. Lavender and bath soaps seem to come in and out. I have never smelled a white wine that is this aromatically complex. Not even close. It is focused like a laser in the mouth. It is so straight and focused you cannot believe it.

Once it is in your palate we are in Chave Blanc land. Or perhaps Haut-Brion Blanc. But also a grandiosity like only Chevalier-Montrachet can bring. Make no mistake this is on the level of thousand dollar bottles of prestige White Burgundy. This wine is no joke. The wine, when young can be austere but only because of the mineral density. There is not a more densely mineral wine I have ever had. It pushes minerals to places in your mouth you did not know even existed. It is juicy and so dense oh so dense it cannot be believed. Almost tannic. It is a targeted and focused palate explosion. Clean like a baby after a bath. The cleanest. The palate is bone dry yet retains a juiciness that is just awe-inspiring.

The finish is endless minerals. This is genius wine of the highest degree. I cannot recommend this enough. It's like Haut Brion Blanc/Chave Blanc/Domaine Leflaive but really is uniquely Ziereisen. Only Hanspeter could make a wine like this and have the balls to charge what he does. But when one is confident in one's abilities, you have wines like this. You have to experience this wine. You need to. It is easily the greatest and most interesting white wine I sell. It's a why we drink wine type of wine. It changes every minute. Over three hours that is 180 different wines. See? It's a value.

Gutedel is the local name in Baden for Chasselas. Chasselas is a grape found mainly in Alsace, Switzerland and small pockets of the Rhone. Chasselas is one of the oldest grape varieties in the world. The vines are 40+ years old and made from ridiculously minuscule yields. The terroir is all limestone.

Below is Stephan Rheinhardt's review for the 2016.

"The 2016 Gutedel Alte Reben 10-4 Jaspis opens enormously pure, deep, fresh, precise and flinty on the dramatically focused nose and reminds me (again) of the finest Burgundies. The "10-4" in the name of the wine refers to the fact that it comes from a vineyard that is planted with 40-year-old vines with 10,000 vines per hectare, which may have something to do with the price, as this is probably the world's most expensive Chasselas. It is intense and concentrated on the quiet and elegant, flowing palate, where the lack of acidity (if you like to name it analytically) is compensated by very fine tannins and bitters originating from aging the wine in a 650-liter oak barrel (from the German cooperage Assmann) as well as an overall lively and finessed character. This is Gutedel for Pinot fans, whereas its mineral tension and mouth-tickling salinity and freshness is that of a Puligny-Montrachet. Despite so many great Rieslings, this is one of Germany's most exciting white wines. Ziereisen's slogan-"Make Gutedel great again"-has been proven here as mission fulfilled. Not too bad: 12.5% alcohol means you can drink a bottle on your own easily." - 95 PTS, Wine Advocate, Stephan Rheinhardt (2016)

2019 Ziereisen Jaspis Gutedel 10-4 - $119.99 ($353.97 3-Pack)

Chambolle on the Sesia - We Had This Recently and Begged for a Small Allocation

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 22:02:00 +0000

The Latest in a Long List of Our Wines to Hit it Big
- This Got 94 From Galloni and Has Improved Significantly Since Then
- (I Had It Recently)
- I Begged for a Small Allocation from Her Cellar

2010 Podere Ai Valloni Boca "Vigna Cristiana"
- What you Pay for with Old Nebbiolo
- clasic Nebbiolo Spice
- Perfect Fresh Cherry
- So, So Floral
- Plush Roses
- Absolutely Saturates the Nose
- Palate is the Image of Perfection
- Perfect Cherry
- Perfect Acidic Balance
- Elite Level Burgundian Freshness
- That Weightlessness You Get with Certain Elite Burgundies

- 94 Vinous Antonio Galloni (with Age, This is 95-96)

Chambolle on the Sesia

I drink a lot of young Boca. And I can always sort of imagine what it will taste like after 10 plus
years.

- It has the structure.

- It has that lithe fruit.

- It obviously has Nebbiolo secondary and tertiary flavors.

But when you taste one perfectly aged, it can blow your mind. And my mind was blown by a recent bottle. It has that refined elegance you normally only get in places like Chambolle.

I immediately E-Mailed Anna Sertorio and asked if she had any left. Fortunately she had a small allocation.

Oh and the Sesia is the closest river.

The Wine

I am thrilled to offer the Podere Ai Vailloni Boca "Vigna Cristiana" 2010 (straight from the cellar) for $51.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.

To be honest, I was so enraptured by the wine that my tasting note is a bit thin.

The nose is of course what you pay for with old Nebbiolo. It's simply classic, but the age just makes it so much more refined. You get that clasic Nebbiolo spice. And then the perfect fresh cherry. No way this should smell like that after 11 years but that's what great winemaking with great terroir will get you. So, so floral. As it opens, you get plush roses. Like you are wandering in a rose garden and stuffing your nose into the open flowers. The cherry becomes even more perfect. It absolutely saturates the nose almost as if you have an electric air freshener pumping inside of it.

The palate is the image of perfection. Perfect cherry. Perfect acidic balance. Elite level Burgundian freshness. There is that weightlessness about the wine. It just exists on the palate, almost without being there. You get that these days with great, great Burgundy and maybe some wines from Alto. Ar.Pe.Pe. And maybe a few old school Barolo and Barbaresco producers. It's just too hot to make many wines like this in the Langhe any more. That doesn't mean that there aren't great wines in the Langhe - just that they don't taste like this.

The finish is long and insane.

This is $100+ in Barolo if you can get something this elegant. You might have to really gun for the crazy expensive Baroli to get something like this today.

Wow.

I obviously don't have a ton but ask for what you'd like and I'll do my best to be fair.

Below is Antonio's review from before with wine truly blossomed. No offense to Antonio who I respect tremendously but in my opinoin, this wine improved a lot since his review.

"The 2010 Boca Vigna Cristiana shows all of the complexity and subtlety of a wine that spent three years in cask. The aromatics alone are beguiling. An exotic mix of sweet pipe tobacco, mint, dried flowers, spice and cedar lifts effortlessly from the glass. Medium in body, with striking energy and verve, the 2010 is a fabulous example of the appellation, with tons of pungent, savory character to match its quirky personality. Drink it over the next 7-10 years. The blend is 70% Nebbiolo, 20% Vespolina and 10% Uva Rara."- 94 Points, VINOUS, Antonio Galloni (2010)

2010 Podere Ai Valloni Boca "Vigna Cristiana" - $53.99

($207.96 4-Pack)

The Tragedy of Success - Ziereisen Syrah Is Now Allocated

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Fass) — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 22:02:00 +0000

2019 Ziereisen Gestad Syrah
- Stunning Guts, Depth, Power and Concentration
- Refined and Sleek
- Uncanny Freshness
- Vivid and Deep Red Fruits
- Crazy Nose
- Dark, Meaty, Ripe
- Lovely Blackberry Fruit
- Laser-Like Balancing Acidity
- Balance is Just Extraordinary
- ELITE Levels of Precision
- As It Opens, Remarkably Delicious

- 94 Points for the 2018, Stephan Reinhardt / $31.99 NET / 60 Bottles

Up today is the "petit Hermitage" style wine but if in 2018 it was dense, structured and sappy, in 2019 Ziereisen Gestad Syrah ($31.99 NET) has stunning guts, depth, power and
concentration and tastes like a top Crozes from Darnaud or Lelektsoglou. This one of the greatest Syrah values I've ever sold at Fass Selections. The 2018 got 94 from Stephan Reinhardt. It's $31.99!. This wine is a wine I want as many people as possible to have as their first German Syrah. Which is not possible as I only have 60 and this is only going to previous buyers. I’ve priced it to be affordable for all and it is just so delicious and complex. With 3-4 years in the cellar this will blow minds. Refined and sleek with an uncanny freshness and depth and it truly speaks of their little slice of heaven in Efringen-Kirchen

Just a crazy nose. It jumps and stops you in your tracks. The nose on the 19 is stunning and represents aromatic value like no other. Vivid and deep red fruit and sprinkled with limestone and black fruits.

This wine is dark, meaty, ripe and so soft, textured and juicy on the palate with lovely blackberry fruit, and wonderfully etched and fine tannins. But man the energy and depth is almost like a Jaspis from a normal year. That 2019 intensity. If you've ever had any Ziereisen wine you know what I'm talking about. It's that balance and tension between opulence/richness reigned in with freshness. Why the wines are so delicious and drinkable. The balance is just extraordinary. The acids are beautiful and extend the brilliant mouthfeel. Again - you get that Ziereisen precision here which is the hallmark of his style. Sickness. Brilliance. Genius. Startling value here.

If this was not a wine I had to sell before it sells out this would easily be the red wine of the year. But I gotta get that order in Monday! Below is the 2017 review.

“Kept on the mash for eight weeks and fermented for 20 months in (25% new) Assmann barriques, Ziereisen's 2018 Gestad is a terrific Syrah with highly attractive reduction and smoky flesh as well as dark fruit aromas of cherries, cassis and black olive tapenade and remarkable finesse and limestone-driven freshness. Smooth, refined and very intense on the palate, this is a full-bodied, warm and concentrated, very sustainable Syrah with silky, perfectly ripe and peppery tannins and a long and aromatic, blackberry finish. A gorgeous Syrah that is reminiscent of the Rhône, even though this is from pure limestone in the very south of Baden. By far the best Gestad I have tasted from Ziereisen in 20 years. 13.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in October 2021.” - 94 Points, Stefan Reinhardt (2018)

The Legend of Ziereisen

If you forced Hanspeter Ziereisen to only grow Fer Servadou (Obscure SW French grape) for red and Elbling for white (obscure Northern Mosel grape) he would transcend each grape and make wines that were so exciting and so profound you'd be like, "I never knew Fer Servadou and Elbling could taste like this." The man has the Midas touch when it comes to any grape. He has one of the most diversified portfolios of anyone I work with. Everything he touches is utterly elevated and then Ziereisenized. I am fully confident you could give him Chenin or whatever and he would give Clos Rougeard and Huet a run for the money. Germany is not known for Syrah. Most of Germany is much farther north than Syrah's most famous growing area (the Rhone). But Hanspeter Ziereisen is at the very southern tip of Germany, he has the terroir to grow great Syrah and he is, I can say without any hesitation, one of the great winemakers in the world. Hanspeter is making world class wine from 6 grapes: Pinot Noir, Grauburgunder, Weissburgunder, Chardonnay, Chasselas (aka Gutedel in Baden) and today's grape, Syrah.

I'd put this wine against the Northern Rhone Syrahs I've sold at $30-$50. And this is by far the most Northern Rhone like Syrah I've had from ANYWHERE that is not the Northern Rhone. It's tied with the Vinding Montecarrubo wines from Sicily. This has the aromatics and flavors of Northern Rhone Syrah but the wines is really more about balance and tension between fruit, richness acidity and secondary flavors, almost more the way a Burgundian would make Syrah.

2019 Ziereisen Gestad Syrah - $31.99 NET