December Staff Picks

Dominique: ’98 Azienda Agricola COS Contrade “Dedalo” Nero d’Avola Sicily $50.99 The journey of Azienda Agricola Cos began in 1980 with the dream of 3 students and a very simple idea: wine must be the expression of land, terroir and culture. Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Giuseppina Strano started to produce wine for pleasure on a small vineyard owned by Giambattista’s father. They restructured an old farm, near Vittoria, called it COS (the initials of their surnames) and created their own company which is now one of the most recognized in Sicily. From the three protagonists, only two remain as owners. Giambattista and Giusto, both architects, are respectively winery director and marketing director. They redesigned the old farm, restored the main building as a temperature controlled cellar equipped with state of the art technologies and added multiple buildings to it, transforming it into one of the most ancient and majestic rural residence around Vittoria. In the past 25 years, they have tremendously improved the quality of their wines and contributed to the fame of the region. They invested a lot of patience, devotion and care, to create some of the best wines of Sicily. The winery’s 20 hectares of vineyards now produce 8 different wines totaling approximately 150,000 bottles a year. The old style bottle reflects the ancient diversity of tradition and culture of Sicily. The logo of the Contrade labels represents the country-house, situated in the village Fontane. The indigenous grape variety, Nero d'Avola harvested from the adjacent vineyards, is the soul of this beautifully crafted wine. Dedalo and Labirinto (named after the great garden maze behind the house) are the cru of Contrade. They are the results of a rigorous selection, vinification and ageing process. Dedalo has been crafted from 50 years old vines and has been aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, 6 months in stainless steel and 12 months in bottle. Dedalo’s personality expresses the potential and complexity of the Nero d’Avola grape, the uniqueness and the minerality of its terroir, and the mixed spice and aromas of its origin. A sip of this excellent boutique wine will literally transport you under the sun of this historically rich Mediterranean Island. Justin: ’01 Casajus Ribera del Duero “Antiguos Viñedos” $26.99 This is a remarkably elegant and accessible old vine Ribera del Duero wine from the outstanding, but brawny 2001 vintage. It comes from a relative new winery Bodegas J.A. Calvo Casajus, which was founded in 1993, although the owner, José Alberto Calvo Casajus’s family has owned vineyards in the town of Quintana del Pidio in Ribera del Duero for generations. In fact, his grandfather planted the vines used to make the “Antiguos Viñedos” in 1920, and which inspired the wine’s name, ‘Antique Vines’ in English. It is these vines that form the heart and soul of the property and lead Mr. Casajus to part ways with the cooperative his family had been associated with and found Bodegas J.A. Calvo Casajus, more simply known as Casajus. The 2001 “Antiguos Viñedos” is a deep ruby, cherry in color. It features scents of black cherry, chocolate and mineral with rich, creamy oak tones and hints of cured meat and spice. On the palate it is medium to full-bodied, bright, lithe and exceptionally well-balanced. Flavors of crushed black cherry, juicy black plums and cranberry predominate with subtle notes of iron, gunpowder and bacon, which add complexity. The tannins are very fine and very well integrated although still somewhat tight at the moment. The finish is long and juicy. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the wine is it's seamless quality. No single element stands out, which makes for excellent drinkability and disguises the wine's underlying depth. Kudos to Casajus for striving for elegance and harmony rather than the densest wine possible. In the words of a charming young woman and wine novice, whom I shared a bottle with, it's “very yummy” —which goes to show, you don't need to be a wine geek to appreciate just how good this wine is. Drink now with a wide range of foods like roast chicken, duck, stew or steak—or hold if you can. Donald: ’03 Pélaquié Lirac, Rhône Valley $10.99 The Pélaquié domain is situated in the village of Saint Victor la Coste, just north of Avignon and covers 70 hectares. Since the 16th century, the Pélaquié family has been cultivating vineyards in the same fields. From father to son, the family has passed on the secrets of preparing quality wines that illuminate the profound relationship between the terrain and the vines. Each generation has protected this cultural heritage and enriched their discoveries while creating wines of great lineage. Luc Pélaquié has modernized the winery, without forgetting any of its heritage. The powerful 2003 Lirac is a blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre. The vines are manually harvested and the average age of the vines is 25 years. The Lirac vineyards are typical of the southern Rhône—a red sandy loessy soil filled with large rolled stones that retain the intense summer sun—and as lovers of Rhône wines know the 2003 vintage was exceptionally hot, creating wines of great power and intensity. This Lirac is almost black in the glass with rich crushed cherries, stewed plum, smoked meats and saddle leather on the nose. The wine has great concentration and profound complexity—like a baby Bandol with an added essence of orange peel. This is a great red for cold nights and rich foods.

Patrice: ’03 J.L. Chave Côtes-du-Rhône “Mon Coeur” $16.99 Family owned Domaine Jean Louis Chave is one of the oldest and most famous wineries of the Rhône Valley. Known for their world renouned Hermitage, Chave produces a number of other delicious bottlings from the region. The hot weather that settled in the Rhône Valley during 2003 created fabulous growing conditions making the wines of this vintage even more delectable. The delicious and attractively priced “Mon Coeur” will be a nice addition to your holiday table. A blend of predominantly Grenache with a good dose of Syrah the wine carries the aromas of a dark berry jam with a lifting hint of mint. On the palate, blackberry and raspberry fruit are accompanied by notes of licorice, dark chocolate and peppery spices. The earthy and rustic tannins complement the dense fruit profile and lead way to a lenghty finish. The 2003 “Mon Coeur” will pair well with many of the holiday's stuffed game birds including a classic roast turkey, duck or pheasant. Happy Holidays! Sam: ’03 Philippe Foreau Vouvray Demi-Sec “Clos Naudin” $29.99 In the rich Loire Valley, the production of great Vouvrays never ceases to amaze me. Most of them, of course, are terrific for the summer; but you do have many that are so deliciously well-made that they are great for any season. Thus, we find Philippe Foreau, the third generation winemaker and vintner of Domaine Foreau, which his grandfather purchased in 1923. With eleven and a half hectares dedicated to Chenin Blanc, the vineyards are tended using only organic methods…no use of pesticides or herbicides. After a manual harvest, after which malolactic fermentation never occurs, the wine is fermented slowly in cave for over two months. The wine itself is tremendous, with gorgeous aromas of pear, mango, and orange peel. The flavors of almonds and lime dance on the mid-palate, and maintain a long, fruit-forward finish. A wonderful match with any delicate seafood or poultry dish, it has the capability of aging for another decade, thus becoming even more wonderful in time. Cheers. Chris: ’02 Alto Moncayo Garnacha Campo de Borja $28.97 Similar to Jumilla, Bullas, Calatayud and Cariñena, Campo de Borja is an important up-and-coming D.O. region in Spain. The bevy of bold, full-bodied reds that have appeared in the market from this region over the past year is ample testament to the tireless work that importer Jorge Ordoñez has done. Mr. Ordoñez’s importing company, Tempranillo, Inc., has the premier selection of Spanish wines available in the U.S. and his collaborative project with Bodegas Borsao has been a resounding success in creating a range of quality wines at an extremely low price and in demonstrating the potential of the Campo de Borja region to Spanish wine lovers in the U.S. Another winery that Jorge has brought here is the Bodegas Alto Moncayo. The 2002 Alto Moncayo is an incredible, intensely flavored 100% Garnacha. Grapes for this wine come from 62 hectares of 35-92 year-old Garnacha (Grenache in France) vines. These vines are head-trained (termed gobelet in France because they resemble a wide-mouthed wine glass) and undergo continuous canopy management, leaf thinning and green harvest during the grape’s maturation in the summer. Bunches are strictly selected in the vineyards and transported to the winery in protective boxes where another sorting process occurs. Australian winemaker Chris Ringland, who has a reputation for his cult Shiraz wines, oversees the vinification process with attention to all the details. Basket presses and small, open-topped fermenters are used to obtain a quality pressing and the wine is aged for 18 months in new French and American oak barrels before being bottled unfiltered. This extremely ripe Garnacha really blossoms after some minutes of air, revealing layers upon layers of minerally, and herbal, funky, and deep dark berry fruit. On the palate, the ripe fruit is almost unctuous, like sweet cherry liqueur, with a trace of kirsch and cassis. There’s considerable heft of structure (tannins, acidity and alcohol) here, but the ripe fruit steals the show, and it has remarkable density on the palate. Pair this with barbeque baby back ribs slathered in sauce, spicy roast lamb or mergez sausage.