June Staff Picks

Dominique: ’05 Copain Wine Cellars California Viognier “Saisons des Vins - L’Été” $14.99 For the last few years, winter has lasted longer than usual. Therefore, I decided to put a bit of sun and warmth in my glass by choosing this wine from the Copain winery—a part of the Saisons des Vins program: L’Été ('summer' in French). I first came across Saison des Vins when reading something about the Copain Wine Cellars winery and its owner, the young and very talented Wells Guthrie. He started his career working as a tasting coordinator at the Wine Spectator's San Francisco office. It was during these first few years that he fell in love with Syrah and moved to the Northern Rhône. Wells worked for Chapoutier for two seasons in both the winery and the vineyards, learning about the Northern Rhône varietals and biodynamic methods. Outside of Chapoutier, Wells spent as much time as he could with Jean Louis Chave, who he feels had an important impact upon his experiences in the Rhône region. Following Chapoutier, Wells returned to work at Turley Wine Cellars, working in both the vineyards and the cellar. Today, Wells is the full-time owner and winemaker for Copain Wine Cellars. Saisons des Vins is a program of Copain Wines but do not mistake it for a second label. Despite their lower prices, these wines have a distinct character and personality. Moreover, their complexity and intensity make them great values for under $20. The inspiration for the Saisons des Vins wines came from the great regional village wines of France. Wells only releases one wine per season under this label: a rosé for spring (Le Printemps), a crisp Viognier—formerly Sauvignon Blanc—for summer (L’Été), a Pinot Noir for autumn (L’Automne) and a Syrah for winter (L’Hiver). The grapes are grown on different organically farmed vineyards that offer the appropriate exposures and soil compositions to fit the different clonal selections. The wines are made with the least amount of intervention. They are fermented—as with Copain wines—with native yeasts. New oak is kept to a minimum and the reds are bottled unfined and unfiltered to allow the natural aromatics and flavors to shine. L’Été has a bright lemony color and a fresh aromatic nose of white flowers, peach, lemon and honey with earthy notes and hints of white pepper. The attack is refreshing and fruity, and then increases in intensity and complexity in the mid-palate. Vivid peach blossom and lemon zest flavors are balanced by a voluptuous texture and lovely acidity. A nice achievement for a Californian Viognier, with a Northern Rhône attitude that will gently lead us to the summer. Bravo! Justin: ’98 Marqués de Murrieta Gran Reserva Especial “Castillo Ygay” $38.97 Founded in 1852 by Luciano de Murrieta, Bodegas Marqués de Murrieta is one of the great historic Rioja producers. As a high-ranking member of the Spanish military, Luciano lived in England in luxurious circles and became a wine connoisseur. In the 1840s, the red table wines of France were renowned for their quality and ageworthiness and those of Rioja were virtually unknown. In 1848, Luciano—later to become a marquis—began wine studies in Bordeaux. His goal was to improve the quality of the wines of Rioja, so that they would be stable enough for export and long-lived enough to be sought out by the most discriminating British collectors. The winery's first vintage was in 1852, but it was not until 1878 that they purchased the Ygay estate and built the winery in the manner of a Bordeaux château. The estate is located in the warmer, southernmost part of La Rioja Alta. In the late 19th century, it became world famous, winning numerous prizes at European Universal Exhibitions. Medals from those expositions can be seen on the classic, gold, orange and black Belle Epoque label of today's "Castillo Ygay" Gran Reserva Especial. Fortunately for American wine lovers, the wines of Marqués de Murrieta are back on the US market after a hiatus of a few years between importers. "Castillo Ygay" is one of the most long-lived traditional Rioja Gran Reservas. The '64s, '68s and '70s are drinking beautifully for those who like the complexity and smoothness only well aged wines can offer; and the '78 was their most recent library release. They also produce outstanding traditionally styled red and white reservas along with “Dalmau,” a modern-styled luxury cuvée, which has taken off in the last few vintages and now stands among the top modern Riojas. Upon tasting the 1998 "Castillo Ygay," I was struck by the depth of fruit, which marks the continuation of the somewhat more fruit-forward style I first noticed in the 1995 edition. Even so, this wine remains in line with the great Castillo Ygays of the past, but with a slight shift toward greater accessibility in its youth. In color, it is deep, brilliant ruby. The nose bursts with cherry, strawberry and plum aromas, accented with smoke, leather, milk chocolate, mineral and soil notes. On the palate, it is plush with red and black fruit flavors in the refined and elegant style of classic Rioja. It features excellent acidity with the bodega's signature hint of dried orange peel on the palate. The finish is long and smooth, characterized by soft, full tannins and lingering, chewy cherry notes. This elegant red is ideal with game fowl, roasted pork or rich red meat dishes. Drink now or in the coming decades; whatever patience you can muster will be rewarded with increasing complexity and smoothness. Dan: ’04 Köfererhof Pinot Grigio $13.97 For some time, the public image of Pinot Grigio has been that of a thin, everyday, and not very challenging wine. As you may expect, this need not be the case. There are some surprisingly good Pinot Grigios out there. Köfererhof’s 2004 Pinot Grigio is a stunning wine. It’s distinct, intense, and highly expressive. Italian Pinot Grigio comes principally from Trentino, Alto Adige, located in northeast Italy. The Köfererhof vineyard is very small, consisting of only eight hectares (approximately 20 acres) of vines. It sits in the middle of the Dolomite mountains, on the border to Austria (though still in Italy) in a sub-region of Alto Adige known as South Tyrol, which was once a part of Austria. This location is between 700 and 800 meters above sea level, allowing for warm days and cool night. Cool nights allow for the grapes to ripen slowly, and slow ripening (when the grapes come to ripeness later in the growing season, after long maturation) frequently results in a harmonious balance between acid and sugar at the time of harvest. With such proximity to Austria, it makes sense that this wine shows a steely minerality so common in Austrian wines. This proximity also explains the name, Köfererhof, which is Austrian, not Italian. This wine has an intense nose of hard pear, minerals, clay, and a touch of floral lime. The palate is exquisitely firm with more pear, mineral, and lime notes. The mid-palate is surprisingly expansive, so much so that you can literally feel the wine spread out across your tongue, dropping notes of stone and flowers along its path. This expansiveness is bookended by vibrant acidity that clears the way on the front palate and snaps and sparkles on the long finish.

Patrice: ’05 Joseph Leitz Riesling “Dragonstone” $10.97 Located in the provincial German town of Rudesheim, the Josef Leitz Winery is one of the superstars of the Rheingau region. Johannes Leitz, who has defined himself as a producer of complex naturally made wines, currently manages the winery. Leitz believes that the beauty of their Rieslings is an expression not only of the pure ripe fruit, but also the vineyards' complex soil composition. The quartz and slate soil, in which the vines thrive, plays an instrumental role in creating wines with rich distinctive flavors such as rosewater, lychees and apricot. The Leitz Dragonstone is the winery’s most modest bottling and of the approximately 9000 cases produced, about 90% are shipped outside of Germany. The name "Dragonstone" is an English translation of "Drachenstein", and the wine is named for the mysterious footprint of a dinosaur that was supposedly found in the vineyards. The 2005 Dragonstone is very young and yet it is showing tremendously well, proving itself to be a wonderful example of the vintage. The nose is filled with exotic flowers and spice. Racy acidity balances the honeyed fruit of apricots and peaches on the palate, leading to a pure and lingering finish. This could very well be a Spätlese—with it’s marked fruit and vibrant sweetness—masquerading as a QBA, making the Dragonstone a terrific value. This is the perfect Riesling to enjoy this summer with your favorite spicy Asian dishes. Sam: ’05 Estancia Piedra Toro “Azul” $10.47 The beautiful estate of Estancia Piedra is located on the slopes of the picturesque Guareña Valley 10 kilometers south of the town of Toro. It was founded in 1998 by Grant Stein, a Scottish lawyer, whose business acumen, love of wine, and fluency in Spanish allowed him to reinvent himself as proprietor and winemaker of Estancia Piedra. The winery has quickly gained recognition as an up-and-coming winery in the D.O. Toro. The secret of this bodega's success is its 59 hectares of vineyards, devoted almost exclusively to the Tinta de Toro grape varietal. This native varietal thrives under Toro’s dry, sometimes extreme, temperature changes. Except for its single vineyard, ‘Paredinas,’ the average age of Estancia Piedra’s vines is about 40 years. 2005 marks the first vintage of Azul (Spanish for blue—derived from its label, but it may have also been for the color of the wine!) Made from 100% Tinta de Toro grapes and hand-harvested from 40-year old vines, the must is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in bottle and sees NO OAK. The Azul is the best Spanish wine value tasted this year, says this wine aficionado. The wine boasts a deep, vibrant purple color with tinges of blue (recall the earlier suggestion?). The wonderfully rich and complex scents of ripe mountain berries, black pepper, licorice, earth, and minerals are both intriguing, inviting, and enchanting—all in the same whiff of the nose! It is on the palate, however, that the magic of this wine really begins. The wondrous attack of sweet fruit and a rush of the power and intensity of this young wine give way to a beautiful, full-bodied, dark, rich, savory palate with big dark berry fruit, amazingly vivid acidity, and sweet, zesty tannins. The finish is long, persistent, and completes the intensity and boldness of this stunner! For those looking for all the fruit, tannin, purity, and intensity without any oak getting in the way, this is the wine for you! The Azul embodies the essence of the fruit of Toro D.O., and will meld perfectly with spicy meats, barbecue, Chinese, or Vietnamese cuisine. By the way, the wine was even better the second day after I opened it. Experience the difference for yourself! Donald: ’04 Domaine des Aubuisieres Vouvray “Cuvée de Silex” $12.47 A few months ago, in an effort to build up our Loire Valley section, we culled about four dozen white wines from around the region, and tasted all of them blind. As you already know, the Loire Valley is world famous for the Sauvignon Blanc-based wines from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, while the Chenin Blanc-based wines from Anjou, Vouvray, Saumur, Savennières and Touraine are rapidly gaining ground. We carefully tasted through all four cases and found a few surprising gems and some disappointments, of course. The undisputed star of all of the wines we tasted that afternoon, regardless of price, was the dry Vouvray from Domaine des Aubuisieres "Cuvée de Silex." This is a truly elegant and affordable expression of Chennin Blanc from a master winemaker. Bernard Fouquet runs Domaine des Aubuisières in Vouvray and his vineyards are planted entirely with Chenin Blanc. He has quite a few vineyards and is a great believer in terroir, and champions the individual characteristics that his different vineyards possess. Some are limestone-based vineyards and others thrive in silex (flint)-based soils. Bernard Fouquet creates stellar wines on some of the best vineyard sites in the Loire Valley and many of his top cuvées are as legendary as they are age-worthy. Bernard Fouquet uses biological vineyard treatments and minimal chemicals, he spends countless hours during the spring and summer carefully observing the gradual maturation of the fruit on the vine and when the harvest occurs it takes place in several tries—so the grapes are harvested at their maximum ripeness—and then they go directly into pneumatic press. The Cuvée Silex 2004 has a lovely straw pale hue in the glass. The pronounced nose is rich with loads of ripe pears, cool mint leaves, ginger, a suggestion of baked sugar and ample damp mineral notes. The palate is seemingly possessed with round melon, citrus paste, a hint of fresh fig skins, cool beeswax and plenty of warm flint that rides out with highly toned acidity on the lingering finish. This is an elegant dry Vouvray and perfect with sautéed sea scallops, steamed lobster, lemon or saffron infused chicken dishes, and warm goat cheese salads.