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July Staff Picks
Contino was founded in 1974 in Rioja Alavesa on a single, priveledged vineyard site. It was one of the first single estate, chateau style bottlings in Rioja—as opposed to the multi-vineyard blends more traditional there. Contino was also a pioneer in that first wave of Rioja modernization, countering the trend of many producers who were making higher production, thinner, somewhat tired wines, supposedly in a traditional.
Today, the wines are created by the talented hands of top Rioja wine maker Jesús Madrazo and enjoy a very stong reputation for quality, ageworthiness and value. Introduced in 1995, their “Viña del Olivo“ Reserva bottling ranks as one of Rioja's great modern styled wines. The more classic 2001 Reserva’s silky mouthfeel, depth and purity will likely remind some of the exceptional (and exceptionally well priced) 1996 Contino Gran Reserva as well as other great earlier vintages like1982.
The 2001 Reserva gorgeously expresses the exceptional terroir and unique character of the Contino estate. Its displays a deep inner weight due to its early ripening vineyards, yet shows silky suppleness and integration throughout the palate. The nose is filled with elegant and bright raspberry, cherry, and pure crushed black raspberry scents that are intertwined with smoke, black dirt, milk chocolate, and vanilla spice tones. The wine is mouth-filling and intense with a very silky mouthfeel. Creamy black cherry, boysenberry and plum notes are central, surrounded by hints of red licorice, cedar and cocoa, plus mineral laden damp earth undertones. Outstanding depth and acidity carry into a very long and elegant finish capped by lingering cherry and chocolate tones. When we tasted this wine with the full staff we were so struck that we found ourselves simply nodding our heads with big smiles of contentment. Decant to serve this beauty now.
The '07 vintage in Germany is looking to be very good. A prolonged growing season allowed for slow and complete ripening, and this means the vintage produced wines with both balance and a wide spectrum of ripe flavor and aroma compounds(mmm, compounds!) So far I've tasted through a great many of the '07s, and from my experience, wine importer Terry Theise got it just right when he said that, "2007 is a fantastically consistent vintage of very high quality, standing somewhere between 2002 and 2001." Compared to the great '05 vintage, the wines show more harmony and not as much overt (or, occasionally, over) ripeness, though the '07s tend to be beautifully ripe. They are way more consistent than the '06s. If I had to describe '07 in a word, that word would be "harmonious."
Year after year Leitz, run by owner and winemaker Johannes Leitz, makes great wine in the Rheingau, and he just seems to be getting better. Most of his vineyards lie within the town Rüdesheim, and this vineyard, the limestone-and-loess-soiled Magdalenenkreuz, is no exception. Leitz has a tendency to craft aromatic Riesling with fine tuned features, at a variety of price ranges. Indeed, many people know his "Dragonstone" as a wine of great value. I'm a fan of the Dragonstone, but I think Leitz's Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spätlese '07 offers more, more density and stone and fantastically tuned aromatics that reach the higher, more floral registers of Riesling.
The wine itself shows great balance and very good ripeness. The nose is quite expressive, with peach blossom and peach pit plus lime rind and a cloud of slightly minty powdered stone. On the palate peach pit notes mingle with pear skin and citrus oil plus a crunchy, pear infused slate. Very well balance, the acidity is firm and integrated and the wine comes off as medium weight and quite nimble. This is great stuff, and even with the across-the-board price hikes that European wines are realizing, still an excellent value.
This wine is an enigma. The color is opaque purple which is usually an indication of a thick full bodied young wine, but I warn you this wine is full of surprises. The nose is laden with intense notes of olive tapenade, bacon fat, and crushed earth. There are also rich notes of mixed berries like blackberries and cherries. On the palate the wine is dry with pronounced flavors of mixed berries like cranberries and deeper notes of mineral, earth and more smoky bacon. This wine is medium bodied and has high acidity which makes it great to pair with food. If one were to take all the cues from the color and the nose of this wine (which indicate a full bodied monster of a wine) the overall mouth feel is surprisingly light structured and elegant. The tannins are fine and ripe and spread across the palate seamlessly. The finish is long and leaves you refreshed with the flavors of ripe berries and earth. This type of wine is a great match with hearty summer grilled meats like grilled lamb tenderloin or mature creamy cheeses.
One of the original bottlings from Gruet, the NV Gruet Brut is a crisp and full bodied sparkling wine. The blend of this New Mexican bubbly is 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir. Refreshing layers of green apple and citrus flavors are accented with a touch of vanilla and lead to a toasty finish. A terrific choice for sushi or lighter summer fair including salads, cheeses and charcuterie. Not to be missed.
The reds wines of Pradeaux are brooding and difficult in their relative youth and require patience and cellaring. The Rose produced at Pradeaux is another story entirely and what a great ones it is!
This lovely pale rusted-colored rose is offset with shimmering and completely unabashed neon pink highlights. The bouquet bounds between ripe watermelon flesh, scents of crushed stones, plum and candied cherry aromatics, lemon drop notes and a dash of windswept garrigue offset by a briny sea spray. The palate is a deeply expressive expression of bright berry flavors and juicy mineral infused tones boosted by supple acidity. Serve with whole grilled fish, sausage—aged or grilled, black olive tapenade on rustic bread or raw vegetables, hard sheep milk cheeses, grilled anchovies, grilled lamb chops, fish stew with a hearty dollop of homemade aioli and grilled sea scallops wrapped in bacon.
For one of the very best examples of Altesse du Bugey one can turn to Franck Peillot whose family has been making wines from this obscure region for four generations. Peillot's high altitude vineyards are formed of lime based glacial soil. He carefully controls the yields of his 45 year-old vines and pays a master winemaker's attention to full fruit ripeness. The wine sees some large barrel French oak, but nothing masks the juicy, brilliant fruit that is its signature.
Peillot's '06 Altesse de Montagnieu has a ripe, expressive nose of dried apricots, tangerine and green apple joined with light floral notes and a crushed stone minerality. These notes join again on the juicy palate, enlivened by the crisp, bracing acidity of a fresh picked apple.
I can still taste that poulet Bresse from more than 20 years ago. Franck Peillot's Altesse would have been a delicious match for it then, as it would be now for a locally raised free-range chicken with butter and fresh herbs, a summertime vegetable risotto or Lyonnaise style pork sausages.
The Vermentino vines that make up this wine are located 190 meters above sea level on mixed soils that vary from one vineyard site to the other. The yields average about two kilos per vine. Sardinia winters are mild with low rainfall and the summers are very, very hot with dry winds blowing up from the African plains that provide the vines with great ventilation. The grapes are harvested by hand early in the morning before the September sun makes manual labor impossible. The grapes are pressed and fermentation lasts for four weeks. After fermentation, the wine is stored at low temperatures and under inert gas in stainless steel vats, before it is bottled.
This pretty white is deep yellow in the glass with a slight greenish hue. Honeysuckle blossoms, almond blossoms and peach skins dashed with a note of sea coast make up the dynamic aromatics. The palate carries pretty notes of white fruit, summer melon and a hint of citrus. Moderate acidity buoys this medium bodied white and it finishes on a pleasantly dry note. This Vermentino is ideal—slightly chilled on the back porch, at the beach, or on the stoop—along with a plate of grilled shrimp, sea scallops, steamed crabs, clams and fried fish.
Justin:
’01 Contino Rioja Reserva $39.99
The 2001 Contino Reserva is simply a great wine, and a relatively affordable one given its excellence. In top vintages like 2001 it will stack up against the best wines in the world. Case and point is the legendary '82 Contino, which was slipped in a blind tasting I attended of Bordeaux 1st Growths and 100 point wines from the great Bordeaux vintage of 1982. The Contino ranked fifth in a field of twelve of world's most renowned wines.
Dan:
’07 Leitz Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Rheingau Riesling Spätlese $17.99
Matt:
’06 Domaine Les Bruyeres Syrah VdP $12.99
Who says that Syrah cannot be a great summer wine? Not I! This interesting elegant wine may restore some faith in the fact that Syrahs can be made without pen ink viscosity and alcohol over 15%. Domaine Les Bruyeres located in the rolling foothills of the Alps in the southeast region of the appellation Crozes Hermitage. The soil here is made up of clay and limestone mixed with large gravel deposits. These rich mineral deposits along with the apricot and cherry trees growing with them, help the 50 year old Syrah vines to express quintessential old world Syrah. David Reynaud, a fourth generation wine maker took control of the vineyard in 2000, after earning his degree in viticulture and oenology. David made sweeping changes and converted the farm to organic and has been certified by ECOCERT (the European Organic certification agency) since 2005, and recently converted the farm to biodynamic. He has also just completed work on a new gravity feed winery to lessen the impact of the winemaking process on the wine.
Patrice:
Gruet Sparkling Wine, New Mexico $12.47
Sparkling wines are a refreshing and festive option for summer dining when you are looking for something fruit filled and bright. One can find some interesting choices and terrific values at the Gruet Winery in New Mexico. Champagne producers in Bethon, France since the 1950s, the Gruet family became interested in planting vineyards in New Mexico while touring the American Southwest in the 1980s. At first it was an experimental vineyard planted exclusively with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Frontiersman so to speak in the region, Laurent and Nathalie relocated to the area to monitor the vineyards. An excellent harvest in 1987 provided the Gruets with the opportunity to produce their first two wines, their NV Gruet Brut and their NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs. During the process the Gruet family was intent on closely following the rules of the Methode Champenoise using equipment shipped from France to make the wine. After the required 2 year aging on tirage the first two wines were released to the public and wine world in 1989. An immediate success the winery has grown in size and reputation and are now known for their quality products at exceptional prices. Today the Gruet family produces over a half dozen sparkling wines along with several still wines that are distributed to most states in the country.
Donald:
’07 Pradeaux Bandol Rose Mourvedre Blend Rose $22.99
Chateau Pradeaux is the heavyweight champion of Bandol. Pradeaux is the Mohamed Ali or John Coltrane of the AOC. Chateau Pradeaux is the standard bearer for this ancient wine-growing district and the wines crafted here are the ones that all other wines made in Bandol must be judged. Situated on the outskirts of St. Cyr Sur Mer, Pradeaux lies directly on the Mediterranean between Toulon and Marseilles. The Portalis family has owned this property since before the French Revolution and it is currently under the direction of winemaker Cyrille Portalis—who has maintained the estates' extraordinary legacy. Cyrille cultivates the vineyards with organic methods and interestingly enough, during the spring sheep are permitted to graze in the vineyards thereby eliminating the need of herbicides and at the same time providing an essential, and all natural compost.
Brian:
’06 Franck Peillot Altesse de Montagnieu $21.99
The Bugey region lies just to the west of Savoie, in eastern France, near Lyon. When I visited the area many years ago I was so intent upon devouring one of the fabled local Bresse chickens that I never thought to ask about the local wine. Quel erreur! There are actually three Bugey crus today producing wonderful, regionally distinctive wines: Manicle, Cerdon and Montagnieu. The Manicle is planted primarily in Chardonnay and Jacquére (the region's most prolific white wine grape). Cerdon is renowned for its sparkling rosè,and the Renardat-Fâche Cerdon de Bugey, with its bright red berry flavors and gentle sweetness, has been a longtime staff favorite here at PJ's. From Montagnieu come white wines made from Rousette-or Altesse as it's known locally-thought by some to be a relative of the Hungarian Furmint (Tokaji).
Jose:
’06 Argiolas Italian Other Costamolino/ Vermentino (Net) $10.97
Francesco Argiolas began making wine on the island of Sardinia with the help of his immediate family and a group of prisoners of war in 1918. His brother Antonio, now 97 years-old and going strong, brought his enthusiasm and expertise in viticulture to this family endeavor and over the proceeding decades the family acquired new vineyards and vast olive groves throughout southern Sardinia with the aim of setting up an advanced, modern farming facility. Today, Argiolas is one of the well-know wineries on the island and their wines are consumed all over the world.
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