Gravity Wine
Mount Peak Winery
Rattlesnake Zinfandel 2014
Nice but I prefer the gravity from mount peak. Majority of fruit from monte rosso. Bigger and jammier than the silky,elegant, semi-restrained seghesio version last night, but this isn't as oaky or ripe as the boisterous louis martini version. Stellar price for a monte rosso zin. Nice project by gallo. Wonder if they will make a new project from stagecoach vineyard.
P.s. That label is legit. Texture and detail is awesome. — 6 years ago
Clos Salomon
Givry 1er Cru Pinot Noir 2015
The Givry 1er Cru is among the very greatest values in all of Burgundy. The 2015 release is exceptionally elegant and inviting, showcasing the character of the vintage quite well with its open aromatics and full extraction. It's also a very elegant wine with a savory earth component, showing some young tannins but noticeably softer after a couple of hours. Textbook example of whole cluster aromatics and structure, for those on the hunt for such wines. The Du Gardin family has owned this monopole for several generations, now adhering to biodynamic farming practices and gentle, gravity-flow winemaking with minimal intervention. The results speak for themselves- this is a very transparent and highly expressive wine. — 6 years ago
Gravity Wine
Peaceful White Riesling Blend 2014
Nice white blend bought after tasting at winery. Had with grilled lime citrus tenderloin and summer rice salad. Also love the bottle color — 7 years ago
Division Winemaking Company
"Cru" Methven Family Vineyards Gamay Noir 2015
Funky, peony floral, high gravity, wonderful! — 7 years ago
Dogfish Head Brewery
World Wide Imperial Stout
One hell of a beer and its a high gravity 18 percenter. Hard to finish but easy to start. — 7 years ago
Marc Hébrart
Cuvée de Réserve Brut 1er Cru Champagne Blend
375 bottle at Heartland. High gravity. — 7 years ago
István Szepsy
6 Puttonyos Aszú Tokaji Furmint Blend
My first Aszú, and what better way to taste it than in the Tokaj with István Szepsy Sr., a 17th generation winemaker. It's amber colored and viscous with magnetic aromas of marmalade and dried apricot, fleshy quince, burnt caramel, nutmeg and dust. On the the palate, this wine's considerable gravity, a honeyed elixir with an RS of 280 g/L has density, and yet, there is lightness and elegance too, felt along an acidic spine that is complicated by flinty smoky notes, crushed stones, walnut skins, and wild mushroom. — 8 years ago
Drappier
Champagne Brut Rosé
Drappier NV Brut Rosé Champagne, | 12% | Graceful equipoise is how I might sum this up. Pinot Noir can be so forceful and flexing or when it is just back blended for color it can taste invigorating but something of an imposter. Not this. This is charming at every sip a rosé de saignée of the highest order gently bled from Pinot Noir that has only soaked for a matter of three days –imbuing only the best of the gracious Pinot Noir grown around Urville where Drappier reigns supreme. Some saignée rosés take on too much fruit and baby fat to preserve their inherent elegance. Delicacy and poise prevail in part thanks to fermentation in large vats gravity fed at every step. Aging 2 to 3 years on its lees instead of the legal minimum of 12 months also lends much to this wine –at once vinous and sapid but still ethereal and angelic. Like I said: a non-vintage rosé de saignée of the highest order. — 8 years ago
Laurel Glen Vineyard
Sonoma Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1996
Energetic, great purity and a tactile interaction that is gravity-defying. A study in symmetry and modesty. — 9 years ago
Château Cos d'Estournel
Saint-Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2011
Giving Gravity flow a good name. Very special! — 10 years ago
Gravity Hills
The Sherpa Zinfandel 2009
Did not like this at first, but it was so much better after plenty of breathing. Really enjoyed it the day after opening — 10 years ago
Gravity Wine
Chapter Two Malbec 2010
2010 Gravity Malbec — 12 years ago
Sanford
Gravity Flow Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2016
Very winey rose. Great change from a regular rose! — 6 years ago
Seven Stones Winery (USA)
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Seven Stones was the wine of this market visit to Napa. For me, it is the very definition of why I drink wine. Great fruit that is not overworked and is the Webster’s Dictionary of elegance, even at this young age.
On the nose; beautiful dark & medium red cassis. Ruby in style with amazing florals. Blackberries, dark cherries, raspberries & blue fruit mix. The red florals are so engaging, They possessed me for quite sometime before getting to tasting the wine. Soft baking spices with understated vanilla.
The body was medium full. Tannins unbelievably soft, silky and elegant for such a young wine. The fruits picked at the perfect ripeness. Such elegance! Creamy and ruby fruits of; cherries, dark cherries, creamy raspberries and wafting blue fruits. Soft spices, dry crushed rock powder, delicate volcanic minerals, touch herbaceous, whiff of black olive, dry soils, beautiful red roses and violets. The structure firm yet delicate as was the tension. The length and balance in perfect harmony. The long, polished finish simply amazing. Especially, in a wine this young.
Photos of; the property with the seven stones from Yosemite that are held together by gravity and weight 100,000 pounds, and two other artworks from the owners amazing art collection and the view from their terrace. — 6 years ago
Zero Gravity
Conehead IPA
One of the better — 7 years ago
Kutch Wines
McDougall Ranch Pinot Noir 2011
You can't go fast with this wine, and you don't want to. This is an impressive wine, and a few years or more from its peak. Upfront it's all savory, dark fruits, black cherry, and kicking-around-in-the-woods notes. The midpalate is elegant, some weight but restrained. On the finish red cherry shows up, a hint of cola, too. Acid washes it all down, the finish goes on and on. There is a gravity to this wine, a character that says it knows what it is about. I have two more of these, according to my often inaccurate records. In a couple of years very good might very well have moved to great. Good job, Jamie. Well done! — 7 years ago
Danilo Thomain
Enfer D'Arvier Petit Rouge 2014
A super drinkable combination of lightness and gravity...! — 7 years ago
Clos Bellane
Clos Petite Bellane Côtes du Rhône Blanc White Rhone Blend 2015
A 50/50 blend of Marsanne and Viognier, the enchanting Clos Bellane Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc hails from a higher altitude site, with vineyard blocks set on 410" plateau opposite Mont Ventoux. Sunbeam yellow with lemon drop and d'Anjou pear leading into more diffuse aromas of dried laurel and slate. The attack is round and almost tender—anchored by a single vein of acidity—a center of gravity weighted in crushed stones and white pepper. Nice intensity and an even better finish 13.5% ABV | Sample — 7 years ago
Saint Roch Kerbuccio
Maury Sec Grenache 2014
Cinnamon, high gravity, subtle, nice balance, — 8 years ago
Radford Dale
Gravity Red Blend 2008
A true South Africa meets French. Classic indeed👌🏽👌🏽 — 8 years ago
Palmaz Vineyards
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Soft on the palate and very approachable #cabernetsauvignon. All gravity fed winemaking. — 9 years ago
Moylan's
Kilt Lifter Scotch-Style Ale Malt
Malty & rich brown live ale. Nutty & tangy. Very good & refreshing for a high gravity ale. — 9 years ago
Domaine Paul Pillot
Chassagne-Montrachet Chardonnay 2010
Big nose of slatey, volcanic burnt rubber and slate upon opening. Turns to white and yellow roses pears and apple blossoms with the whisper of volcanic smoke. Really minerally intro on the palate, without exposing too much fruit. Real depth here, and an acidic corset of complex earthiness that just winds and winds until it becomes slender and defiant of gravity. Comely, but natural and splendidly understated until the flexed muscle of its essence belies its grace! Held its own against whole yellow fin snapper, whole radish, stinky Deutsche Rougette Bavarian Red cheese. — 9 years ago
Domaine Zind Humbrecht
Alsace Gewürztraminer
Very clean varietally iconic characteristics. Indigenous yeasts, long natural fermentation, large Alsatian oak casks, long lees contacts, hand picked and sorted, whole cluster, gravity sedimentation. MW — 10 years ago
Château Lafite Rothschild
Carruades de Lafite Pauillac Red Bordeaux Blend 2003
On the nose, ripe; blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, cooked cherries & strawberries & hues of blueberries. Black tea, cola, soft baking spices; vanilla, light clove & cinnamon. Crushed rocks, stones, limestone, turned, moist black earth, tobacco leaf, saddle-wood, soft leather, dry & fresh dark red florals.
The body is medium edging toward full. The tannins pretty well resolved. The ripe fruits show the hot, ripe vintage. Blackberries, sweet & sour dark cherries, cooked cherries & strawberries & hues of blueberries black tea, cola, soft baking spices; vanilla, light clove & cinnamon. Crushed rocks, stones, limestone, tobacco with ash, some graphite, soft medium dark spice, turned, forest floor, powdery but edgy minerals, saddle-wood, soft leather, dry & fresh dark red florals with some violets on the finish.
This showed better with Ribeye. The Ribeye brought out a fuller, richer wine with even more complexity. 9.35-9.4 with the Ribeye. It just missed 9.2 on its own. It’s big brother the 03 “Lafite” is 💯 point Parker wine.
Photos of; Chateau Lafite, their oak vat fermenters, Estate wine and their magnificent barrel room.
Interesting history and producers notes...Lafite Rothschild has a long and interesting history dating back to 1234, even though the property was not in the Bordeaux wine business at that time.
It is has been largely believed that vines were already planted on their terroir. The owner of the estate at the time, Gombaud de Lafite left his mark, his name. Almost 1,000 years after he owned it, the Chateau is still named after him! The vines were probably in existence at Lafite for over a century, it was not until around 1680, the majority of vineyards of what we know of as Lafite Rothschild today were created. This is because on the 1680 estate manifest, there are six mentions of their Bordeaux vineyards. Jacques de Segur, earns credit for cultivating the vineyard as I wrote in my Colon Segur post last weekend. In 1695, Alexandre de Segur married Marie-Therese de Clauzel, heiress to Chateau Latour. So to dovetail that write up, within a generation, the Segur family married into two of the greatest Bordeaux vineyards, Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour! When their son, Nicolas-Alexandre passed away, Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour were separated.
In 1797, Chateau Lafite was sold again. In the deed of sale, Chateau Lafite was described as a Premier Cru of Medoc. This is one of the earliest mentions of what we know of today as Lafite Rothschild producing wines of what would later be classified as an 1855 First Growth.
At that time, of Lafite were managed by the Goudal family. The Goudal family were wine historians and were able to read accurate records and details of the viticulture and marketing plans for Chateau Lafite in the estates formative years. The Goudal family gets the credit for creating the cellar and saving many of the oldest bottles that remain in the cold, dark cellars, including their oldest bottle, the 1797 Lafite!
The start of the famous Rothschild family begins in 1744, with the birth of Amschel Meyer. Amschel Meyer began creating his fortune while working as a merchant at “Zum Roten Schild,” which eventually became the family name of Rothschild.
In 1798 his sons were sent to various cities to create their fortunes. Needless to say, his sons all prospered as did their children in turn. This eventually led to them wanting to own a Chateau in Bordeaux. So in 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, an English member of the Rothschild family, purchased Chateau Brane-Mouton. As was the custom of the day, the new owner renamed it using his name and Chateau Mouton Rothschild was born.
This was followed in 1868, when James Rothschild, another member of the family purchased Chateau Lafite, which was now a coveted First Growth.
On 8 August, 1868, Baron James d’Rothschild purchased Chateau Lafite, which was sold at a public auction in Paris. It’s assumed, he bought the property for family competitive reasons looking to one up his brother, the owner of Mouton Rothschild. At that time, Mouton Rothschild was only a Second Growth at the time. But, that does not paint the entire picture. The 1855 Classification had not taken on the importance associated with it the we see it today. Plus, buying Lafite was a reasonable investment as the vineyard sold for about 8 times its earning potential.
The actual Chateau is one of the older structures in Bordeaux, as part of the building dates back to the later part of the 16th century. In 1868, the vineyard took up 135 hectares, of which 74 hectares were cultivated with vines. Production was much smaller in those days than it is today as it was between 4,000 and 5,000 cases.
Just three months after the purchase, Baron James d’Rothschild passed away and Chateau Lafite Rothschild became the joint property of his three sons; Alphonse Rothschild, Gustave Rothschild & Edmond Rothschild. Since 1868, Chateau Lafite Rothschild has remained in the hands of the of Rothschild family. The new owners renamed the estate Chateau Lafite Rothschild.
Jumping ahead to the modern age, in 1962, the Rothschild family added to their holdings when they purchased Chateau Duhart-Milon, a Fourth Growth vineyard also located in Pauillac. It was owned by the Casteja family for more than a century, Chateau Duhart Milon suffered from neglect and was in a awful condition. By the time Duhart Milon was obtained by the Rothschild family, the vineyard was down to only 17 hectare which required extensive renovations.
Baron Eric Rothschild, nephew of Baron Elie Rothschild, took over the management of Lafite Rothschild in 1974. Baron Eric Rothschild was part of the fifth Rothschild generation to inherit Chateau Lafite Rothschild. In 1984, the Rothschild family added to their holdings in Bordeaux with the purchase of Chateau Rieussec in Sauternes.
1987 was a difficult vintage, but because that was the year Lafite celebrated the inauguration of their wine new cellar, they had a lot to be excited about.
The new cellars were built under the supervision of Catalan architect Ricartdo Bofill, is both underground and circular, with a vault supported by 16 columns, giving the structure a majestic architectural style. The cellar holds 2,200 barrels, which is about 55,000 cases of wine. The construction took two years to finish and was completed in 1988.
Domaines Baron Rothschild became one of the first Bordeaux properties to invest in South America when they purchased Vina Los Vascos from a Chilean family. The owners of Lafite Rothschild continued expanding their holdings with the purchase of Chateau lEvangile in Pomerol from the Ducasse family, who owned the property for almost 100 years.
The wine making at Chateau Lafite Rothschild was managed by Charles Chevallier, who began his position in 1994. Charles Chevallier was replaced by Eric Kohler in January 2016. 2017 saw another change at the estate when Jean Guillaume Prats replaced Christopher Salin as the President of Domaines Baron Rothschild.
Perhaps, it’s the most refined of the First Growth. The wine, like all First Growth’s takes decades to mature. It has remarkable staying powers. Bottles of 1870 Lafite Rothschild discovered in the Glamis castle remain profound at more than 140 years of age! It is consider by many Master Sommeliers to be the best wine in the world.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild is one of the earliest major Bordeaux estates to bottle their own wine. In 1890, they bottled a large portion of the wine and again in 1906. Part of the estate bottling was due to requests from Negociants who were willing to pay more for Chateau bottled wines. Also, bottling was primarily done to combat piracy. At the time, it was known that merchants in some countries, like Russia were bottling cheap wine and placing labels from Lafite Rothschild on the bottles. The Koch’s famous Jefferson bottles were not the first attempt at counterfeiting.
Prior to 1996, some would say the property had its share of ups and downs. The 1960’s and 1970’s were not great for Chateau Lafite Rothschild. But since 1996, Lafite Rothschild has been producing some of the best wine in their history!
Sadly, only the wealthy can afford to purchase it. Price aside, there is no denying the level of quality. In 2003 Lafite Rothschild produced a wine that is possibly unequaled by the estate at any time in their long history. Hence, my purchase of their 03 second wine. 2009, 2010 and 2016 are not far behind.
Starting in about 2008, Lafite Rothschild became the most collectible wine from Bordeaux. Prices exploded due to demand from China as Chinese businessmen bought them as gifts or bribes depending on you look at it.
The reason this started was Lafite Rothschild paid for product placement on the number one rated Chinese soap opera on television. Characters in that show were pictured enjoying life with Lafite Rothschild and since then demand went through the roof as did priced.
However, Issac Newton had it right when he declared “What goes up, must come down.” Prices for Lafite Rothschild plummeted after 2011. By the difficult 2013, prices were finally starting to hold firm, but many of the vintages that were setting price records on a daily basis had lost close to 50% of their value.
Starting with the 2012 vintage, Chateau Lafite Rothschild began instituting anti-counterfeiting measures. From 2012 forward, to help fight, rampant counterfeiting, the estate places a seal of authenticity on the capsules of both Lafite Rothschild and Carruades de Lafite. The seal features a unique, numbered code that can be checked on their website, to verify if the wine is real.
The 112 hectare vineyard of Chateau Lafite Rothschild is planted to 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This shows a slight change in the vineyard.
While Cabernet Sauvignon remained at 70%, today there is slightly more Merlot, less Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot has been added since the mid 1990’s.
Located in the far north of the Pauillac appellation, only the small, Jalle de Breuil stream separates the vineyards from St. Estephe. You could divide the vineyards of Chateau Lafite Rothschild into three sections with 100 separate parcels in all. The estate has close to 50 hectares of vines located close to the Chateau, on both sides of the D2, which offers gentle rises in elevations of up to 27 meters. They also have about 50 hectares vines planted on the plateau in the Carruades sector, where they have two blocks of vines, one of which is inside the vineyard of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. It is interesting to note that even though the parcels in the Carruades sector give their name to the second wine of the estate, those vines are almost always placed in the Grand Vin.
There are also vines adjacent to, and interspersed with the vineyards of Chateau Duhart Milon. The property also consists of a smaller, 4.5 hectare parcel of vines located in the Saint Estephe appellation, “La Caillava”. The vines in St. Estephe are situated not that far from Cos d Estournel, which are located on a larger a parcel known as Blanquet. The vines in Saint Estephe are allowed to be placed into the wine of Chateau Lafite Rothschild because those vines were used to produce Lafite in 1885, at the time of the classification. The vineyards are close to their famous neighbor Mouton Rothschild.
Located just south of the Chateau, the best terroir of Lafite Rothschild has a thick layer of gravel with sand, clay, marl and limestone in the soils with rolling, gravel slopes. The gravel can be as deep as 4 meters in some parcels.
It is important to note that even though their vineyards are in the far north of Pauillac, most of the soil is pure gravel, rocks and stones. With more than 50% of the soil consisting of gravel, that is a large part of the reason Lafite Rothschild has such elegant, feminine textures and that coveted sensation of minerality.
On average, the vines are close to 40 years of age. However, Chateau Lafite Rothschild has much older vines. In fact, they have some vines that are more than 100 years of age planted in the La Graviere section. That small parcel of Merlot vines dates back to 1886. Less than 1% of the vines are that old.
Additionally, they have a small section of Cabernet Sauvignon that dates back to 1922! Other old vines range from 50 to 90 years of age! They also maintain some of the oldest Petit Verdot vines in the Medoc that was planted in the early 1930’s.
At Chateau Lafite Rothschild, between 1% to 1.5% of the vineyard is replanted every year. Vines less than 20 years of age are never included in the Grand Vin.
The vineyard of Chateau Lafite Rothschild is planted to a vine density that ranges from 7,500 to 8,500 vines per hectare. Only organic fertilizers are used in the vineyards of Lafite Rothschild.
During harvest, the goal is not to pick at the maximum level of ripeness. Instead, they are seeking a blend of grapes at differing levels of maturity, which gives the wine its unique textures, freshness, aromatic complexities and elegant sensations.
Lafite Rothschild is the largest of the First Growth vineyards with close to 112 hectares of vines. A large portion of the estate is taken up with stunningly, beautiful landscaping, lakes, trees and parkland.
At one point in time, Chateau Lafite Rothschild produced a dry white, Bordeaux wine that was sold as Vin de Chateau Lafite. The wine was produced from a large percentage of Semillon, blended with a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc. The last vintage for their white wine was 1960. The wine was sold as a generic AOC Bordeaux blanc with a simple, scripted label, black and white label.
Lafite vinification takes place in 66 vats that are a combination of 29 wood vats, 20 stainless steel tanks and 17 concrete vats that range in size from as small as 45 hectoliters up to 123 hectoliters in the concrete and as large as 270 hectoliters for the wood. The wide range of vat sizes coupled with different materials allow Chateau Lafite Rothschild to vinify depending on the needs of each specific parcel and grape variety. The stainless steel tanks and oak vats are used for Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot is vinified in the concrete tanks. Malolactic fermentation occurs in smaller, stainless steel tanks that vary in size from 25 hectoliters up to 60 hectoliters. At this point, Chateau Lafite Rothschild does not yet use gravity to move the fruit and juice in the cellar. It’s a good bet that a remodel is coming soon.
The average annual production of Chateau Lafite Rothschild ranges from 15,000 to 20,000 cases of wine per year, depending on the vintage. They of course make this second wine, Carruades de Lafite, which due to the name and association with the Grand Cru, has also become extremely collectible. Carruades de Lafite takes its name from a specific section of their vineyard that is located near Mouton Rothschild. Carruades is actually one of the older second wines in Bordeaux, as it was first produced in the mid 1850’s. About 100 years later during the mid 1960s, the estate reintroduced their second wine naming it Moulin de Carruades. The name was changed again in the 1980’s to Carruades de Lafite.
There is also a third wine which is sold as an AOC Pauillac that is produced from declassified fruit from Lafite Rothschild and Duhart-Milon.
The blend for Chateau Lafite Rothschild changes with each vintage depending on the character and quality of the vintage. Generally speaking, the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend ranges from 80% to 95%. Merlot is usually 5% to 20%. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot usually varies from 0 to 5%.
— 6 years ago
Gravity Wine
Cabernet Franc 2013
This is a smooth dry Cabernet Franc from a Michigan wine tasting birthday weekend in fall 2014. Pepper finish, not as much fruit as other wines. Not to say that's bad...This wine is perfect. — 9 years ago
Gerard & Pierre Morin
Le Chêne Marchand Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Enamel lined steel tanks. Gravity. Bue. Real tactile minerals. — 10 years ago
Bob McDonald
Craiglee have been making wine on this site since the 1860s In a 3 Level bluestone gravity fed winery - about a half hours drive north of Tullamarine - Melbourne International Airport. Aromas of Liquorice and Spice. Medium minus palate weight - very different to Barossa or McLaren Vale Shiraz. Medium To light weight tannins. Great length despite the lack of palate weight - like a Pinot lovers Shiraz. Years ago I used to buy this cool climate Victorian Shiraz because of the white and black pepper, but no sign of that in this one - is Pat Carmody picking a little riper? Worth a visit for any visiting overseas Wine Lover so close to Tullamarine. — 6 years ago