April Staff Picks

Peter: '99 Moris Farms, Avvolture $37.99 Ever since it was granted D.O.C. status, Morellino di Scansano has witnessed an enormous positive change in its appreciation in Italy and throughout the world. In the past twenty years, many wine writers have stated that it is equal to any of the great wines of Tuscany. With this in mind and with the intention of producing the very best wine possible, Moris has set aside the finest sites at their estate in Poggio alla Mozza for Sangiovese. One of the keys to their quality is extremely low yields (only 2 tons per acre). Grapes are hand-harvested, typically late in October, and the wine is aged in small French oak barreliques. The 99 Avvolture a blend of 75% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Syrah) revealing a dense, dark ruby color, and notes of Provencal herbs mixed with black cherries, earth, and vanilla. A knockout that blows away many Super Tuscans at one third of the price. Sam: '99 Pine Ridge, Napa Valley, Crimson Creek, Merlot $28.99 Founded in 1978 by the Andrus family, Pine Ridge Wineries are located upon a gorgeous setting featuring the namesake pine tree cloisters, scenic and dramatic caves located at far as one hundred feet underground. The Crimson Creek vineyard, located in the Oakville appellation, are densely planted, to as many as 2,100 vines per acre! Fortunately, the resulting stress on the vines enhance the flavor concentration and complexity, which shows in their fantastic effort of Merlot in 1999. A Bordeaux blend of 82 % Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec, and 2% Cabernet Franc, this wine was aged 16 months in toasted French oak barrels, and was bottled unrefined in May 2001. The wine itself displays enticing aromas of coffee, hazelnuts, and smoke. This is followed by an intense mouthful of dark, sweet chocolate, black cherries, butter cream, and blueberries. Enrapturing the mid-palate with lush, dark fruit and a long, polished finish, this elegant, deep, ruby-coloured Merlot goes on and on. Wonderful, rich, and flavorful, with plenty of depth and structure, this solid, full-bodied effort from one of my favorite California wineries can hold its own against any other California Merlot (Duckhorn and Whitehall Lane, that means you, too!). Enjoy it now or keep it for another eight to ten years. Cheers! Justin: '99 Mauro, Tinto $28.99 1999 is a top vintage in the Duero region of Spain and the '99 Tinto is an excellent example from perennial star Bodegas Mauro, situated just outside the Ribera del Duero D.O. Although this is their basic cuvee it packs both power and finesse. It is magenta tinged, deep ruby in color. On the nose you find luscious, milk chocolate dark cherry fruit with a touches of toasty oak, sandalwood and clove plus notes of sweet meadow, wild berries and minerality. On the palate it is surprisingly smooth and nimble given the power evident on the nose. Deep cherry and briar patch berries come to the fore immediately, followed by milk chocolate and a touch of tar and smoke. The finish is long and smooth with bright cherry, ash and punctuated by fine tannins. Again Bodegas Mauro has created a powerful wine that has the balance to seem easy drinking, despite the intensity of flavor. It will soften in the coming year and keep well for another six or seven. My experience, however, is that the Mauro Tinto is simply too tempting and delicious to sit around in the cellar that long. James: '99 Telmo Rodriguez Valderiz, Ribera del Duero, $19.99 Never bet on a race horse for the colors is what my father used to say, but I liked this wine the second I saw the label. It stood out of the line-up with its bold label featuring a picture by Spanish photographer Ramon Masats of a woman in front of a white-washed house. The photo is melancholy and smart at the same time, suggesting a new take on a traditional way of life and hinting of the pleasures to be found within. Even the foil is distinctively etched silver. But enough about the bottle, Valderiz Ribera del Duero is a tantalizing, hard to pin down wine by Telmo Rodriquez of Basa and G fame. His family owns bodegas Remelluri and he has worked with Bruno Prats at Cos d’Estournel and also at the J.L Chave wineries in the Rhone. Valderiz is made from 100% Tinta del Pais that is aged in French and American oak for 18 months. The vines are between 18 and 25 years old and are grown in several vineyards in the area of the Ribera town La Horra. When poured, the inky black cherry color hints at the smoky fruit aromas, the oak is expressive but never overbearing in every stage. Again, on the nose are notes of pipe tobacco, wood, vanilla and toffee as well as black fruit and wild berries. Bold fruit continues on the palate accompanied by a velvet mouthfeel and evolving tannins. Valderiz finishes with toasty oak and long tannins. I think this wine is great to drink now- I was thinking of roasted meats or maybe a lamb couscous, but it will surely benefit from bottle time. Salud!

John: '01 Pax Castelli-Knight Ranch Syrah $34.99 The 01 Castelli-Knight Ranch continues to cement my love affair with Pax Cellars. They consistently produce peerless California syrah with every vintage. Their focus is on the production of premium vineyard-designated Syrah based wines from the North Coast of California. The intent is to create unique wines with strong personalities of where they are grown. Pax feels that the cooler climates along the northern coast of California have the potential to produce world-class Syrah. They utilize traditional winemaking techniques; minimal handling, unobtrusive use of the finest French oak and bottling without filtering or fining. The '01 Castelli Knight seduces at first sip with every syrah-related aromatic you can think of: crushed blackberries, plums, bittersweet chocolate, hickory-smoked bacon and melted licorice. The true magic of this wine lies in its texture. Lush, dense and velvety fruit envelops the palate, and expands in volume and length. It is truly an intense and magnificently structured wine, with an extraordinary finish that lasts for 45+ seconds. My only fear is that it will steal the spotlight from any dinner entrée. Perhaps a supporting cast of cheese, candles and soft music is the best option. Patrice: '97 Domaine des Baumard Trie Speciale, Savennieres $26.99 Produced north of the Loire, the wines of Savennieres are sometimes referred to as the definitive expression of a dry Chenin Blanc. These majestic wines display beautiful depth with flavors of honey and summer fruit off set by zesty citrus notes and minerals. Needless to say the finer examples age very well, although many of them are delicious young. The 1997 Baumard Trie Special Savennieres is a superbly rich and complex dry white wine of the Loire. Beeswax and sweet grass on the nose open up on the palate with a luscious blend of creme brulee, buttery pears, and apples tinged with notes of tangy citrus. The wine's toasty finish is impressively lengthy. Delicious on its own or a nice accompaniment to shell fish. Dominique: '01 Caparoso Wines, San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir $15.99 The fruit and the balance of this incredible wine will blow you away. First you will spend hours to define the multiple aromas, and then you’ll become addicted to the taste of the fruit and the delicate silky finish. It is a blockbuster and a steal at this price. Randy Caparoso has his own way of talking about his wine and because I don’t have anything else to add to his words, I’d rather let him explain his excellent San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir. "The great Andre Tchelistcheff once described classic Pinot Noir as a Russian princess' leather glove. I like to think of my Pinot Noir as a teenybopper's new convertible — brazenly bright, cushiony soft, and intoxicatingly perfumed. The Caparoso San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir is a soft, lacy red wine, crying to be enjoyed in its youth. The varietal spice is manifested as cinnamon, cherry, clove and cola, wrapped in smoky French oak (30% new). My 2001 is a barrel selection from a meticulously cultivated vineyard located in the cool climate pocket of San Luis Obispo known as Edna Valley. The soil is classic rocks, chalk and gravel, and the winemaking the epitome of small batch handcrafting. It was a great year for this region and the Pinot Noir grapes came in dripping with juice, which is borne out in this wine. It's a red wine with moderate degrees of tannin; and so it goes perfectly well with meats with some degree of fattiness, while being soft and crisp enough for white meats like fish, veal, pork and chicken." —Randy Caparoso Dr. Marty: '01 Oliver Cuilleras, Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Visan Vieilles Vignes $15.99 First, a few points regarding the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation. The rules are made by the INAO, National Institute of Appellations of Origin. At the bottom of the Rhone Valley wine hierarchy is Côtes-du-Rhône, representing nearly 90% of the entire wine production of the Rhone Valley. One step-up and purportedly better is the appellation Côtes-du-Rhône Villages which is reserved for wines from about 70 villages deemed tops in the area. Sixteen of these Côtes-du-Rhône Villages are in the next and top step. They may append their name to the appellation, as does this wine. This arcane system is obviously less than ideal, especially as actual quality does not necessarily line up with the various levels. This is where importer Robert Kacher excels. He visits France three to four times a year for about six weeks at a time. On a typical visit, he tastes his way through the cellars of sixty vignerons, maybe four of whom he will wind up doing business with. This producer, Olivier Cuilleras, represents one of his latest discoveries. In the Côtes-du-Rhône, 24 varietals are permitted, of which 14 are considered major players. In practice, the red wines are dominated by Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan. This wine is made from 50 year old vines and is 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah. It is aged completely in tank and is not filtered prior to bottling. Visan is in the Northern Côtes-du-Rhône. Cuilleras is the owner-winegrower, and the estate is named Domaine La Guintrandy. The wine has a bright ruby-purple color. Blueberry, blackberry, cherry, floral and animal scents provide multilayered aromatics. Deep and rich, the wine is medium to full-bodied and well-balanced. The mouthfeel is velvety and the finish long with black fruit predominating…a steak au poivre would be a fine companion for this wine.