Brian McMahon

Sales Polaner Selections

9.6

Wow. Vineyard: Nearly 50 year old vines in Les Chatelots, this 2.96 hectares 1er Cru vineyard sits close to the village of Chambolle and part of the vineyard adjoins Charmes.
Orientation: South/Southeast
Soil: Clay-limestone with a fair amount of stones
Viticulture: Lutte raisonée, organic after the flowering
Vinification: Traditional vinification; 7 day cold maceration, 3 week alcoholic fermentation.
Aging: Aged in French barrels, 30% of which are new
Production: 250 cases
Notes: Vibrant, polished and structured, yet delicate.
RATINGS
Publication: Burghound
Rating: 90-92
A discreet application of wood allows the airy, pure and elegant aromas of violet, plum and exotic tea to shine. There is a cool and restrained mouth feel to the punchy medium weight flavors that offer good richness yet also pretty good delineation on the soil and mineral-inflected finish that is dusty, balanced and solidly persistent. It's rare that even a very good Chatelots can match an average Fuées but that is the case here. — 9 years ago

Ateka Powell Loomis

9.7

Can be purchased at woodmans grocery stores. — 10 years ago

Joyce Klassen

9.2

Fun to be drinking this with a winemaker that had a hand in it's making! Apparently the season was cold cold cold and then extremely hot. Sorting the grapes took 18 hr days ! — 10 years ago

Julia katherine

9.7

Warming wine on a cold Friday night. — 10 years ago

Mark Hoffman

9.0

Great wine for $10 at Country Fresh and Kroger. 100% Garnacha from Spain using 100 year old vines in the village of Atea up in the mountains (2400-3000 ft). — 10 years ago

Dimitri Fedotov, C.S.

Sommelier Osteria 177

9.1

Please, don't do it too cold -- you will miss a bit of sour apricots and chalk at the end. Great stuff!! — 11 years ago

jarred gild

Head Wine Buyer Western Market

9.4

so f'n good. bottle-fermented pignoletto. read about alberto tedeschi on the louis/dressner website: "I'm just getting started: my parents have other jobs, so I'm starting from scratch! We work organically in the vineyard, and it's very important for me to work traditionally in the cellar. And even though I'm renting my vines, I'm ok with that because they produce quality grapes and I can make the wines I want to make. These are fresh wines with great acidity, that can be drank young, but can also age in bottle for quite some time. I am also proud to make GOOD territorial wine; most consider Bologna wine to be an industrial product, and most of the time they are right! I only work with Pignoletto. I drive the grapes (which are in boxes) to the cellar in my van. I then do a direct press; Pignoletto is thick skinned and very tannic, so it's important to be gentle. After that I leave the juice outside overnight, then I rack it to stainless steel. The natural fermentation begins, then nothing! After three of four days, I re-rack the wine back to old oak barrels, where they stay on the lees for 12 months. That's for the Bellaria. For the frizzante, the fermentation and aging is in stainless steel (almost a year). I take a bit of must (which hasn't fermented) I've kept in the fridge, and add it to the still wine, then I bottle. The sugar of the must then begins the refermentation in bottle. It's a really typical way of making wine in our region. In Emilia, we are not famous for rich, big wine. We are country folk! We make easy, drinkable wine made to enjoy in the moment." — 12 years ago

Stephen Langer

9.4

Truant on a cold Friday evening — 9 years ago

sarah ward

9.0

Rich, jammy, not too sweet or fruity, fairly dry. Extremely drinkable. Had it with Chicken Country Captain. — 9 years ago

Jonathan Gray

9.0

Smells like agave as in mild Mezcal or good tequila, has structure, dark red crunchy fruit, and fresh and zippy. This wine is delicious. 150 year old vines of Hondarribi Beltza. Considering Cabernet Franc's French Basque Country origins, I don't think it's a stretch that Hondarribi Beltza is from similar genetic origin at all. Awesome value. — 10 years ago

Raymond Tosti

10

Bastardo, which is this varietal's name in Portugal, is known by 27 different names (the approved name in the USA is Trousseau). This varietal is perhaps one of the rarest red grapes in the country, with only a handful of winemakers producing this wine alone or in a blend. The budwood for these vines came from the El Gavilan Vineyard, planted in the 1890s, and obtained by grower Ron Siletto before the original vineyard was removed and replaced by new root stock and different grapes.

The 2009 Pimenteiro -- which means "pepper pot" in Portuguese -- has a bouquet of white and black pepper with a hint of blueberry. The long finish, full of plum and cherry, also has the distinct flavor of white and black pepper. This unusual wine is perfect for blue cheeses -- perhaps the most difficult food to pair with wine! Serve with any food that likes pepper: rib-eye steak, mushroom soup, butternut squash soup, grilled salmon, lamb, steak, cured paella, stews, and chocolate. — 10 years ago

David Rosen

9.3

Cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and milk chocolate on the nose. The mouth us much the same with a chocolatey finish and and an aftertaste of powdered cocoa. The perfect wine to warm you up on a cold winter night. — 11 years ago

Andrew Lampasone

Owner Wine Watch Selections

9.4

Family not in the business of winemaking Francois was in cooking school but liked the idea of becoming winemaker and planted his first vines in 1988 then made his first wines in 1991 he makes almost all of the wines available from the north 8 appellations cote rotie condrieu them grilled which is the smallest appellation in France st Joseph coronas st perret they make sparkling therein left are crazes hermitage a hermitage lots of granite except cote rotie schist. Hermitage the soils very complex crazes very similar but not as complex too cold for Grenache in the north. Very pretty bouquet with juicy peach and apricot fruit 100% marsanne varietal this name used to be used for the varietal 20% new burgund barrels more floral and mineral this varietal very pretty white with a smooth creamy textures lovely freshness and balance with pretty floral notes through the finish excellent clementine orange zest — 11 years ago

David Buckley

9.1

Defintely taste the cherry. Very drinkable on cold night. Great wine. — 9 years ago

Lenn Thompson

Publisher NewYorkCorkReport

9.2

Stone cold stunner. — 10 years ago

Diedra West

9.4

Diedra had this 10 years ago

Julien Schmid

8.9

Buttery, and yet still fresh if served cold — 10 years ago

Marc McSorley

8.9

Medium color with a very nice nose. Tastes very nice, but not blown away like previous summa's, could be the long week with a head cold. This 2008 has a longer life ahead, on the light side. — 10 years ago

Enrique Rodriguez

9.5

I love this wine, drinking cold, not sweet not dry just perfect — 11 years ago

Mark Lindzy

9.8

Oh hells yeah. 90yr old Godello vines make me so happy on a cold Chicago night. — 11 years ago