DIGWineSF

Good-bye New York. It was lovely!

Monday. Lunch.

Always a stellar day when the vintage arrives!

Rocking lunch wines for a friend’s birthday.

Birds and Burgundy: guinea fowl with Lamy Santenay Gravieres.

Monday lunch in much needed sunshine: mussels, clams, razor clams, Louis Michel Chablis Butteaux.

Bunny legs and dee-list Chassagne rouge.

This Week on the Tasting Bar
2016 Louis Michel Chablis

At this point telling you that Sher and I love Chablis is the pinnacle of redundancy. You know, kinda like Tweeting THERE IS NO COLLUSION!

Yet for pure drinking pleasure it’s hard to top either the deliciousness or value of these mineral-driven chardonnays from Burgundy’s northernmost region.

Plus, we love to eat sea creatures. Be it a platter of briny oysters, a sweet meaty crab or lobster, rich, buttery scallops, or a simple filet of sole, there’s a style and weight of Chablis to match.

Moreover, for terroir-geeks, Chablis is practically the poster-child argument for those who deny the existence of terroir. (Phooey on them!) And this week’s flight of seven wines — five of them premier crus — from the outstanding Domaine Louis Michel provides ample illustration of the terroir found across Chablis’ finest vineyards.

Founded in 1850 in the village of Chablis, Domaine Louis Michel has a remarkable string of first-rate vineyard holdings across the region, including parcels in seven premier cru and three grand cru vineyards.

In 2006 young Guillaume Michel, then working in the communications field in Paris, followed what he describes as a childhood dream, returning to Chablis to continue his family’s long history in the vineyards.
He represents the 6th generation to run this historic domaine.

As it is with all of today's top producers, Domaine Michel is focused on the health of its vineyards as the key to excellence in the bottle. As such the estate practices organic farming methods across it vinyeard holdings, as well as hand-harvesting — still a relative rarity in Chablis — for all but its Chablis AC and Petit Chablis vineyards.


But most unusually, unlike most other producers, who tend to use a mix of stainless tanks and (generally) neutral wood barrels, Louis Michel, for the past 40 years, has used only stainless tanks to raise its wines — even the grand crus — believing that these completely neutral vessels bring out the purest expression of their wines’ terroirs.

As many of you know 2016 was a disastrous vintage in much of France, largely due to spring frosts that clung to the fruiting vines at night, followed by morning sunshine that caused the ice to act like a magnifying glass, as the sun's rays burned the young berries within.

Eager to experience the results of this challenging vintage, I recently tasted through the currently available range of Louis Michel’s 2016 Chablis (grand crus arrived later in the year) and found them to be tauter than their 2015 counterparts, which themselves were notably energetic given that warm year.

Although quantities may be small these are delicious wines.
We invite you to taste them with us.

Friday, 5 - 7
35.00 for the 7-wine flight

This Week on the Tasting Bar
From Saumur with Love
The Remarkable Wines of Thierry Germain

This week’s flight focuses on just four wines — but what four they are!

Produced by Thierry Germain at his Domaine Roches Neuves in Saumur, Loire, Germain makes Chablis-like chenin blancs — mineral, cut, pure, and saline — and unusually elegant cabernet francs that avoid the vegetal rusticity found in so many examples of that variety.

As it is with the best wines these days, farming is the key here. Yes, Germain is blessed with many old vines parcels that range from 40-years to 112-years of age, which remain vibrant and productive from the strong commitment to biodynamic viticulture practiced by Germain and his longtime vineyard manager, Michel Chevré, whose name is now seen on some of the domaine’s many different bottlings. At least 16 by my count, a reflection of their commitment to site-driven chenins and cab francs.

Roches Neuves’ white wine vineyards are planted in Saumur, while the reds are from appellation Saumur-Champigny. As freshness, purity, and energy are his goals, Germain generally harvests on the early side. White wines are aged in large oval foudres, while reds are raised in round foudres and demi-muids in the cool cellars below Germain’s winery in the town of Varrains.

I'm excited to share Thierry Germain's with you,
please join us.

Friday, 5 - 7
25.00 for the 4-wine flight

This Week on the Tasting Bar
Post Paulée
Let's Drink Burgundy!

I suppose it's possible that those who attended last week's SF edition of the traveling Burgundy fest known as La Paulée might be experiencing a wee touch of Burgundy fatigue. But you know what? I seriously doubt that.

In any case, not all of DIG's peeps attended La Paulée. And as last week I bucked that trend by pouring Italian wines, it seems like a good idea this week to have a little post-Paulée Burgundy fest of our own here at DIG.

There's no strong theme here - no single producer or commune focus - but rather instead a sampling of four whites and four reds ranging across different levels, villages, and producers to give a sense of where these wines are at in their still young years.

Our white flight begins with a pair of affordable rarities. First, a Bourgogne Blanc from Domaine Hubert Lamy.

Located in the village of Saint-Aubin, Olivier Lamy is one of the most intense, focused, and precise vignerons I know of. And his wines reflect that. I received precious few of them in this short vintage but want to share this one with you.

Located in Gevrey, Jean-Marie Fourrier is among the most revered of the region's winemakers. He crafts red wines of supreme purity and finesse, as well as this single white wine from a parcel in the northern reaches of the Côte de Nuits. Each year DIG receives a whopping 6 bottles (only 900 are made), and I usually simplify both my life and yours by purchasing them for me and Sher. This year I decided that was piggy, so I offer them here today.

We'll next move to wines from one iconic classic producer (Leflaive) and one iconic modern producer (Pierre-Yves Colin). Neither requires much introduction to DIG customers.

Leflaive is one of the great estates of Puligny-Montrachet - and a true pioneer of biodynamic viticulture - where the late Anne-Claude Leflaive's nephew, Brice de La Morandière, took the reins a few years back. In a warm vintage such as 2015, Leflaive's wines are unusually fresh and vibrant.

And Pierre-Yves Colin is simply one of Burgundy's finest talents. The man's wines have a combination of purity of expression, richness of texture, tension, and energy that mark them as at once true to their origin while being distinctly PYCM in style.


Our red flight begins with two of Burgundy's finest young winemakers.

Amélie Berthaut - who some of you met last year when Piccino hosted her for a winemaker dinner - studied enology in Bordeaux and made her first vintage in 2013, when she was all of 25. The daughter of Denis Berthaut and Marie-Andrée Gerbet, whose separate domaines are now merged as Berthaut-Gerbet, it's exciting to discover a fresh talent who has elevated established domaine's wines to new heights.

Now in his late-thirties, David Croix, whom some of you have likewise met at DIG, is another special young talent. The former winemaker at Camille Giroud, which he took over while in his twenties, David recently began working with the famed Meursault vigneron Jean-Marc Roulot, and also has a small Domaine of his own. Located in Beaune, Croix makes wines, as described by broker Becky Wasserman, that are "quiet" and "beautiful." I couldn't agree more.

We'll wrap with a pair of wines from Domaine Robert Groffier, whose range of vineyard holdings, largely in Chambolle-Musigny, are among the most enviable in Burgundy, including the single largest section of the great Chambolle premier cru Les Amoureses. Currently made by another gifted young winemaker, Robert Groffier's grandson Nicholas, these are seriously delicious Burgundies

We invite you to join us.

Friday, 5 - 7
48.00 for the 8-wine flight

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whites
Hubert Lamy Bourgogne Les Chataigners 2015 ($48)
~ From a quartet of parcels within Saint-Aubin, Scents of lemon zest, green apple, and sea salt introduce flavors that are both enveloping yet vibrant, high-pitched, and mineral.

Fourrier Bourgogne 2015 ($58)
~ From grapes grown in the Hauts-Côtes de Nuit. Apple, pear, and herb notes with a pliant, rather sexy mouth texture and deliciously appealing, easy going flavor profile that's ready to go right now. Pure drinking pleasure.

Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2015 ($135)
~ From several different lieux-dits, the expressive nose speaks of lemon zest and mineral, pear and orchard blossom. A clear step up in complexity, with a fine texture, plenty of verve, and nice length on the back palate.

Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru
Abbaye de Morgeot 2015 ($150)
~ Sitting smack in the center of the overall larger set of vineyard s within Morgeot, Abbaye de Morgeot leans toward green pear and apple scents, with a touch of peach skin rubbed with sea salt. The enveloping flavors once again have a sexy richness, but the mineral and acid notes keep it in fine balance. In a word, delicious.

Reds
Berthaut-Gerbet Fixin Les Clos 2015 ($60)
~ From an upper parcel and from totally destemmed fruit, Les Clos is an elegant wine smelling of cherry, blackberry, a touch of rose, and forest floor. The pure, focused flavors, display a nice balance of fruit and mineral elements, with enough structure for aging if desired.

Domaine des Croix Beaune 1er cru Les Cents Vignes 2015 ($68)
~ From a variety of parcels in a large, upper slope lieu-dit; pretty floral, currant, and cherry notes with cool-toned flavors and gentle tannins. Lovey juice.

Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Les Sentiers 2015 ($195)
~ From an excellent parcel of 80-year-old vines, mid-slope, just beneath Bonnes Mares. Aromas here are vibrant, with dark cherry, blackberry, and spice, and a cool mineral core. A juicy and intensely flavored Chambolle that's balanced, richly textured, taut and pure.

Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Les Amoureses 2014 ($375)
~ For me Les Amoureses - situated right below Musigny - is grand-cru level wine. Groffier's is from a 70 year-old-parcel. The nose is quite aromatic with cool scents of cassis, blackberry and spice. Unusually concentrated and expressive. Elegant and pure, but not lacking depth. Needs time but the pedigree is fully evident.

This Week on the Tasting Bar
Burgundy Schmurgundy
Let's Drink Italian!

With that traveling Burgundian circus known as La Paulée setting up tents all across town this week, to me it seems logical to think, Burgundy schmurgundy! Let’s drink Italian!

And given my abiding love and support of Burgundy wines this is not an example of, um, you know, sour grapes, but rather instead DIG’s way of charting its own path with something different this week. (And rest assured, Burgundy will back on the bar before too long.)

Besides, I just received a pretty delicious batch of Italian wines I’m eager to share with you.

We’ll begin with a pair of trio of whites — 1 each from Marco de Bartoli (Sicily), Elisabetta Foroadori (Trentino), and Deperu Holler (Sardinia) — and a quartet of reds, 1 each from Ampeleia (Tuscany), Marco de Bartoli (Sicily), and, to top things off, the latest (and might I add, pretty stunning) vintages of Barbera and Barolo from a favorite producer in Piemonte, Poderi Colla.

Please join us.

Friday, 5 - 7
30.00 for the 7-wine flight

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Marco de Bartoli Lucido, Sicily ($25)
~ Made entirely of the native grape catarratto, de Bartoli’s Lucido first sees stainless tanks, followed by a final few months in neutral wood. The result is an ultra-fresh, tasty wine, smelling of citrus, herbs, and the sea air. Flavors are bright, savory, and a touch (delightfully) salty.

Foradori Fontanasanta Manzoni Bianco 2016, Trentino ($35)
~ From the Dolomites, the Incrozio Manzoni grape is a hybrid of riesling and pinot bianco. Aged for a year in large neutral acacia barrels, scents of savory herbs, lemon, mineral, and spicy riesling notes lead to focused flavors that are elegantly taut with a savory finish.

Deperu Holler Isola dei Nuraghi Bianco Prama Dorada 2015,
Sardinia ($40)
~ Aged 9 months in stainless with regular lees stirring, this field blend of 80% vermentino with a smattering of other heirloom grapes conjures herbs, lemon, wild flowers, and the island’s sea breeze. Slightly oxidative, with driving mineral notes and acidic snap.

Ampeleia Unlitro 2016, Tuscany ($20)
~ Made by Elisabetta Foradori, Unlitro (“one liter,” the bottle size) is an ideal everyday red. The blend is mostly alicante (grenache), and it’s raised for 6 months in concrete vats. Aromas and flavors conjure fresh brambleberry fruit, a bit of black pepper and earth that ends with a satisfying savory note making it very food friendly.

Marco de Bartoli Rosso di Marco 2015, Sicily ($28)
~ Made from the pignatello grape and aged in stainless. Rosso di Marco is all about wild red berry fruit, damp earth, and spice. High pitched and sassy, tasty stuff with just the right touch of bitterness to finish.

Poderi Colla Barbera d’Alba Costa Bruna 2015, Piemonte ($34)
~ From an old-vines vineyard (most of which was planted in 1930) located in Barbaresco, and aged in large oak casks, floral notes combine with bright cherry, earth, and spice; flavors are full and juicy, yet with a brilliant snap of minerality and acidity.

Poderi Colla Barolo Bussia Dardi le Rose, Piemonte ($88)
~ Poderi Colla’s Bussia Dardi le Rose is always a Barolo of exceptional elegance, and the 2013 is a knockout! Sweet notes of cherry, licorice, rose petal, and spice introduce a suavely built wine with silky tannins and a lingering, savory flavor profile. s.

This Week on the Tasting Bar
Introducing Domaine La Barroche's
Exceptional Châteauneuf-du-Papes
Plus a Quartet of Northern Rhône Whites

Although 20 or so years ago I drank them frequently, truth be told I find too many of today's Southern Rhône reds to be, well, too much. Too big, too much jam-jar fruit, too much heat from high alcohol counts; lacking restraint, finesse, and the balance of mineral and acid elements that brings harmony to wine.

That's not to tar all wines from this region with the same sticky purple brush. The Brunier family of the famed Vieux Télégraphe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Les Pallières in Gigondas are crafting traditional, consistently excellent grenache-driven wines, as are a handful of others. But it's been a while since I became truly excited about a new discovery, especially from Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

That changed a few weeks ago when the team at importer Chambers & Chambers visited DIG with Laetitia Barrot from the 400-year old Domaine La Barroche.

The domaine's modern era began in 1972, when Christian Barrot inherited his family's five hectares estate, which has since grown to 15 ha spread across the appellation's northern region. At 120 meters above sea level the climate here brings Mistral winds, plenty of sunshine, and relatively little rain. The vines average 65 years of mostly grenache planted in sandy topsoil over deep limestone.

Although he grasped the terroir of his vineyards, Christian continued selling his wines off in bulk. But at the turn of this century Christian's children, Laetitia and Julien, joined the family business and decided to estate bottle their own wines. Today, Laetitia handles the marketing side, while Julien, who received a degree in enology, handles the winemaking side.

We'll taste a trio of La Barroche wines. The recently-launched Liberty, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Signature, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pure, a remarkable wine made from 100-year-old mostly grenache fruit from near Rayas.

To wet or whistles we'll begin with four rather tasty Northern Rhône whites from three outstanding producers: Graillot, Gonon, and Rostaing.

Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2016 ($35)
~ Graillot's blanc blends 80% marsanne and 20% roussanne to create a wine smelling of peach skin, lemon peel, and savory herbs; energetic, stony flavors with a fine balance between juicy fruit, mineral, and acid elements.

Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers 2015 ($58)
~ Considered Saint-Joseph's finest site for white grapes, the blend here is identical to Graillot's. Aromas of Meyer lemon and chamomile flower lead to beautiful, lilting yet expansive flavors that finish with just the right note of saltiness.

René Rostaing Viognier Les Lézardes 2016 ($48)
~ From several parcels of old vines immediately adjoining Condrieu, Rostaing's viognier smells of tropical and citrus fruits, with cool white mineral accents. Juicy yet elegant, with a fine back palate where the mineral notes pop once again.

René Rostaing Condrieu La Bonnette 2016 ($98)
~ Rostaing's classy Condrieu La Bonnette is from a half-hectare site and raised in stainless tanks. Notes of fennel flower, lemon peel, ground ginger, and sea salt unfold to flavors that are juicy and mineral-inflected with a notable degree of finesse for this tiny appellation.

Domaine La Barroche Liberty 2015 ($36)
~ Blending 55% grenache, 18% syrah, 12% mourvedre, 10% cinsault, and 5% carignan, aged in old oak casks and 600-liter barrels for 18 months. Vibrant garnet color, scents of fresh red and black fruits and pepper; mineral and savory.

Domaine La Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Signature 2014 ($66)
~ Comprising 65% grenache, 16% mourvedre, 13% syrah and 6% cinsault, the vine age ranges from 18 to 100 years old. Aged in a combination of oak foudres and stainless steel vats, darker scents of plum fruit, black olive, and salty mineral; juicier in the mouth, but still fresh, alive, and cool-toned, with a nice saline finish and fine tannins.

Domaine La Barroche Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pure 2014 ($110)
~ Pure is a handcrafted blend of 97% grenache and a handful of other grapes from a single plot of 100-year-old vines at the junction of the Grand Pierre, Rayas, and Pointu districts. Aged in old foudre for approximately 18 months, here, unusually lovely fruit and spice elements combine with a dash of salty green olive on the nose leading to a captivatingly elegant flavor profile.

This Week on the Tasting Bar
(Mostly) New Arrivals from France

This week’s flight offers a mash-up of (mostly) new arrivals from France.

Our three whites represent different aspects of Loire chenin blanc from the appellations Vouvray, Chinon, and Saumur.

We poured two of these wines, from Domaine Huet and Château de Brézé, some six months ago, and after recently tasting them anew thought it would be instructive to show what can happen with even a brief time in bottle, as both wines have opened up nicely.

Our final chenin blanc comes from the excellent Chinon-based vigneron, Bernard Baudry.

Well-known for his cabernet
francs, Baudry — now working with his son Matthieu — also makes this tasty and quite rare white from a
one-hectare parcel of vines. DIG received a whopping 12 bottles.

For reds we’ll introduce three wines from a pair of young guns.

We’ll begin in the cru Beaujolais villages of Régnié and Morgon, where Sébastien Congretel joins the ever-growing ranks of talented young winemakers carving out their places here. With Julien Sunier as his mentor, Congretel somehow managed to acquire a few parcels in the above-mentioned villages, including some 75-year-old Morgon vines next to those of the iconic Guy Breton. His father-in-law had a winemaking facility to lend, and so in jumped Sébastien. The 2016s we’ll taste are from his very first vintage.

Although not quite as young as Congretel, Baptiste Lalfert received his enology degree in 2006, followed by a formative stint in Burgundy with Jean-Marc Boillot. Hearing of an old-vines vineyard in his native Languedoc, at the foothills of the Cevennes Mountains, where the dry climate is balanced by the cool mountain breezes, Lalfert rented a cellar space, borrowed some gear, and started making wine from his 1-.3-hecatre parcel planted mostly to syrah. His annual production is just 100 cases.

Please join us.

Friday, 5 - 7
28.00 for the 6-wine flight

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Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec Le Haut-Lieu 2016 ($39)
~ Victor Huet's original vineyard, Le Haut Lieu, comprises soils of clay and chalk above a bedrock of limestone. Aromas of pear and sliced green apple with a sprinkle of sea salt, a sq**rt of lemon, and a dash of spice. Juicy, with layered fruit, minerals, and the bright acidity these wines show in their youth.

Bernard Baudry Chinon Blanc 2016 ($32)
~ From a 1-hectare vineyard and aged in large neutral barrels, Baudry’s only blanc is a rare bird indeed. piced pear and tropical fruit notes and a sprinkle of salt lead to lively flavors, a fine texture, and mineral-flecked end note.

Château de Brézé Saumur Blanc Clos David 2014 ($36)
~ Here’s a chenin blanc that seems chiseled out of the limestone and sandy soils it grows in. Aromas of citrus, herbs, smoke, and stone introduce a wine that’s loosened up a bit after we first poured it six months back. There’s still plenty of mineral and acid notes here, but with a previously masked graciousness.

Domaine de l’Epicurieux Vin de Cha-Cha Régnié 2016 ($28)
~ Although not one of Beaujolais’ better-known cru, Régnié is a village whose wines I’m fond of from Julien Sunier and Charly Thévenet. Now we have Sébastien Congretel’s playfully named ChaCha, a wine with pretty red flower, small berry fruit, and orange peel scents, bright flavors, silky textures, and a stony core.

Domaine de l’Epicurieux Vin de Zélébrité Morgon 2016 ($30)
~ I didn’t really need another Morgon in the shop but was again impressed with this effort from Congretel. Here, darker fruit and earth tones and a dash of spice introduce a delicious wine of balance and unusual grace from the appellation.

Clos Lalfert Vin de France 2015 ($46)
~ The blend here varies but is usually 90%+ Syrah with a bit of cabernet and carignan from vines ranging up to 65 years old, aged 12 months in neutral wood, with an additional 8 months in stainless tanks. Classic notes of purple fruit, flowers, pepper, flint, and a hint of the animal lead to bright, juicy flavors with a decidedly savory finishing touch.

This Week on the Tasting Bar
A pair of 2014 Chablis
A trio of 2015 Red Burgundies
And one Rare and Tasty Bordeaux

A few weeks back we got together with friends for a backyard crab extravaganza wherein a trio of well-chilled 2014 Chablis were consumed with much gusto. “They’re still young,” said our pal Mark, “but they’re so damn tasty I want to drink them now.”

Indeed, what finer compliment can one give to any wine but to say that it’s so good you can’t help but enjoy it now?

Except for those in private cellars most 2014 Chablis are, alas, long gone — no longer to be found on most retail shelves or on any but the deepest of restaurant wine lists.

So I was pleasantly surprised when Daniel Madero, my sales guy from Kermit Lynch, brought a superb Grand Cru Vaudésir 2014 from Domaine Lavantureux to a lunch we shared at Chez Panisse on the very day after that crab fest.

Vaudésir is ranked high among Chablis Grand Crus, just beneath what most consider the finest of all, Les Clos. Rankings aside, this vineyard grows my kind of Chablis — tautly structured with a mineral spine, yet also elegant and often pretty of aroma.

Louis Michel is another name familiar to the DIG crowd. Founded in 1850, this domaine owns a nonet of exceptionally fine parcels ranging across six premier cru and three grand cru vineyards. Guillaume Michel is the 6th generation to run the domaine, which is unusual in that it raises all of its wines in stainless steel tanks to retain freshness and maximum nerve. I was pleased to find some of their 2014 from the wonderful premier cru vineyard Montée de Tonerrre still available, and present it here for you.

We’ll also taste two 2015 red Burgundies from the commune of Chambolle-Musigny: Les Bussières from Anne and Hervé Sigaut, which I first poured some 8 months back, and the recently arrived Chambolle village bottling from the excellent Vougeot-based house of Hudelot-Noëllat, where Charles van Canneyt continues the family tradition of making fragrant, finely structured wines with relatively minimal use of new barrels.

I’ll also pour the newly arrived old vines Nuits-Saint-Georges from the venerable Domaine Robert Chevillon, which remains a benchmark of this commune.

Finally, south to Bordeaux, where Eric Jeanneteau oversees the family’s tiny Château Tertre de la Mouleyre in Saint-Emilion, producing just 350 cases per-year of chiseled, old-school Bordaux, the likes of which one rarely sees this days, and certainly not from the large estates of the Médoc.

Please join us.

Friday, 5 - 7
38.00 for the 6-wine flight

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Louis Michel Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2014 ($55)
~ Located on Chablis’ right bank just beneath the string of grand cru vineyards, Montée de Tonnerre consistently grows one of the region’s finest wines. Notes of lemon and minerally sea salt with finely focused flavors that gently lift and linger on the palate.

Lavantureux Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 2014 ($85)
~ Lavantureux’s Vaudésir is largely fermented in barrels with a small part seeing stainless steel. 85% of the wine is aged in 3- to 5-year-old barrels, the remainder is aged in new wood. The aroma is at once both elegantly expressive of Meyer lemon and savory herbs, as well as a core of classic Chablis white rock and salty notes. Hits the palate with lots plenty of verve that spreads out with a mouthwatering stony finish.

Anne et Hervé Sigaut Chambolle-Musigny
Les Bussières Vieilles Vignes 2015 ($75)
~ The lieu-dit Les Bussières lies downslope just beneath the 1er Cru Sentièrs. Here, a deft touch of wood frames an expressive nose of red berry fruits, flower, and a dash of spice. Vibrant and juicy, yet showing the youthful structure so typical of the 2015 vintage.

Hudelot-Noëllat Chambolle-Musigny 2015 ($90)
~ From a handful of parcels, cool scents of plum and raspberry mingle with spice and a whiff of smoke; the flavors are cool-toned and mineral inflected, with a fairly serious attitude for its appellation.

Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Vieilles Vignes 2015 ($100)
~ A blend from roughly six vineyards with the majority from La Charmotte and Au Chouillet. A nose of plum, cassis, orange peel, and earthy, dried porcini leads to a cool, rather elegant expression of Nuits with notably fine-grained tannins.

Château Tertre de la Mouleyre Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015 ($98)
~ A tiny 1.5-hectare estate, Tertre de la Mouleyre (“the mound of the miller”) is from fifty year old old vines — 80% merlot, 20% cabernet franc, aged in both large and small barrels. Fresh scents of red fruits (cassis, plum, currants) with a dash of cacao powder and flinty stone lead to a finely layered wine of cool elegance and a chiseled structure.

This Week on the Tasting Bar
A Flock of Tasty Italians

In my ongoing efforts to introduce weeknight wines that are interesting, delicious, and relatively affordable, this week’s flight presents a flock of favorite Italian whites and reds that span the country from the Alps to Sicily.

We’ll begin outside the Mont Blanc tunnel, high in the Alps at some 1200 meters, where the vines get plenty of warmth during the day balanced by chilly nighttime temperatures. Here, Ermes Pavese is creating unusually excellent wines from the native grape prié blanc.

We’ll the head over to Friuli, located at Italy’s northeast corner, where the area of Collio lies a few meters from Brda, Slovenia. Edi Keber is one of the region’s finest talents, and his wines, from dense limestone soils, have long been DIG favorites.

The wines from the Veneto’s iconic Giuseppe Quintarelli require little introduction — they are among the finest in all of Italy. Although Giuseppe passed in 2012, his daughter Fiorenza, his son-in-law Giampaolo, and his grandsons Francesco and Lorenzo are continuing to make wine in this estate’s +50-year traditions.

From Piedmont we’ll sample a pair of wines. Poderi e Cantine Oddero owns a very unusual number of good and great vineyards. They make classic wines including a few very fine Barolos, plus the unusually tasty Barbera on tap today.

Proprietà Sperino lies in the Alpine foothills of Northern Piedmont in Lessona. A region once covered by vineyards, industrial growth in nearby Milan led to their gradual abandon for a lack of workers. But a handful of adventurous spirits are again making wine here, including native Paolo De Marchi, who in the seventies moved to Tuscany to found Isole & Olena, and whose desire to return home found him starting Proprietà Sperino in 1999.

Moving south to Montalcino in Tuscany, the Padelletti family has cultivated vineyards here since 1571. Today, Claudia Susanna Padelletti runs this small estate at the family’s Rigaccini podere, which is located at 430-meters at the foot of Montalcino’s hill, just northeast of the village, where they are producing beautiful examples of traditionally crafted sangiovese.

And from Sicily’s Mount Etna, the former classical pianist Giuseppe Russo began working the family’s old, high altitude vineyards in 2005. His are elegant expressions of the native nerello mascalese grape, which he farms from a trio of vineyard sites from vines that are up to100 years of age.

Please join us.

Friday, 5 - 7
30.00 for the 7-wine flight

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Ermes Paves Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle,Valle d’Aosta 2016 ($35)
~ Working in the high Alps at about 1200 meters above sea level, Ermes Pavese’s Blanc de Morgex is made from the native prié blanc grape, from pre-phylloxera root stock. Smelling of crushed rock, orchard fruit, meadow grass, and a whiff of honeysuckle; pure, delightful.

Edi Keber Collio 2015, Friuli ($32)
~ Keber's Collio is a blend of three varieties: friulano for structure, malvasia Istriana for its aromatic qualities, and ribolla gialla for acidity. Fresh and beautifully textured, with a gorgeous saline and mineral finish.

Giuseppe Quintarelli Bianco Secco Ca del Merlo 2016, Veneto ($45)
~ Blending garganega, trebbiano Toscano, sauvignon bianco, chardonnay, and a touch of saorin, Quintarelli’s Bianco Secco smells of pear, orchard flower, nutmeg, and lemon curd; nicely balanced with generous fruit and a solid stony core.

Oddero Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2014, Piedmont ($28)
~ From 60-year-old vines and aged in a combination of large and small casks, a fresh nose of red berry fruit, pepper-spice-earth with fine tannins and a lovely, savory finishing touch.

Proprieta Sperino Uvaggio 2013, Piedmont ($34)
~ I love these cool-climate, northern Piedmont wines. “Uvaggio” means “blend,” and this is 80% nebbiolo, 15% vespolina, and 5% croatina. Here, notes of red flower, licorice, and pepper lead to a palate that’s lively and fresh, cool-toned, with a lovely fruit/earth balance.

Padelletti Rosso di Montalcino 2013, Tuscany ($30)
~ 100% organically farmed sangiovese from 15-year-old vines, aged 12 months in large cask,
Padellettis 2013 Rosso offers a classic nose of fresh sour red cherry, and cool herb and earth notes. Tasty now, there’s also youthful, age-worthy structure here.

Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso á Rina 2015 ($30)
~ Made from the pinot/nebbiolo-like nerello mascalese, Russo’s á Rina is a blend of younger vined-fruit from his best vineyards. Scents of dark red fruit, a touch of smoke and ash; silky textures, with a bright touch of acid that dances on the palate’s harmonious finishing notes.