Page 32 - Staff Tastings

In Piedmont, the Rivetti's La Spinetta wines have been synonymous with superlative, indigenous, varietal wines, beginning with their '78 single vineyard Moscato release through to today with Barbera, as well as Nebbiolo in both Barbaresco and Barolo.  Often while visiting Tuscany, Giorgio Rivetti wondered why many producers opted to rip up old vines of Sangiovese, plant new Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah, and fashion wines for a more global palate.

In 2001, La Spinetta expanded into Tuscany with the goal of creating wonderful expressions of indigenous varietals, much like they do up north.  With the 2006 vintage they have done just that.

2006 Casanova della Spinetta Il Gentile di Casanova gets it's name from the Sangiovese clone Prugnolo Gentile, used primarily in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.  This intense ruby red wine, with it's bouquet of wild flowers and ripe cherries, is full bodied with refined tannins that carry some minerality, tobacco and a spice on

Last night, we were among the privileged few who get to do a full vertical tasting of seven vintages of Waterstone Cabernet with owner Brent Shortridge.  Waterstone is a wine we love so much here at Sokolin both for its high quality (made from grapes sourced from undisclosed top "Cult" properties in Napa) and for its low, low price. What an experience!  Each vintage was unmistakably Waterstone, but so different in the nuances on the nose and on the palate.  Interestingly, different staffers had different favorites. This tasting meant a lot to everyone here as we were the first retailer to launch the debut vintage of 2001 back in 2003.

2001
The nose of this wine and the expression of fruit is so powerful it would be easy to mistake for a back-vintage Bordeaux.  Soft layers of cassis and strawberries dominate the nose up front and a subtle hint of eucalyptus and oak finish off nose. 

As the Sokolin team has been tasting through some of our gems, we've noticed something.  The 2003 vintage in Bordeaux is surprisingly fruit forward, plush and drinking great already. 

We just popped a bottle of the 2003 Monbousquet to see where this Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is in its evolution and drinkability.  Wow!  We were all surprised at the depth and power that came from this extremely reasonably priced "monster" from the 03 vintage.  Weighing in at ONLY $59.99/bottle, this concentrated red has elegance, finesse and incredible length.  It also has 93 points from Robert Parker and is a phenomenal deal.

Dark fruits, smoke, hints of vanilla and earth - with an underlying vein of baking spices and amazing acidity to bring it all together.  This wine has another decade ahead of it, but is drinking wonderfully right now...No

Being  a Burgundy lover  I'm always on the hunt for high quality Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays.  In the latest Wine Spectator issue there was a great article on Oregon and the spectacular 2008 vintage.  Harvey Steinman from Wine Spectator rated the overall 2008 Pinot Noir vintage 97 points, making it the highest ever for this region. Many believe Oregon's cooler wet climate is better suited than say California, for producing Burgundy-esque wines.  The 2008 vintage in particular produced more highly-rated Pinot Noirs than any previous year.  Also, they were some excellent Chard's produced this year with the added depth and fruit that had been lacking in previous vintages.  A lot of the characteristics from this vintage are supple fresh wines with moderate acidity and great balance.

So with all this great information I was extremely excited to start tasting some of these  '08's!  One winery in particular that seemed to be getting a lot of

I just tried a wine that often gets overlooked.  Minervois is a section in the Languedoc region of France.  Languedoc is the next door neighbor of southern Rhone's most famous region, Chateauneuf du Pape, and is primarily made up of the Carignan grape.  Producer Oustal Blanc takes a less common approach with their wines than what is traditionally found in this region, by blending Grenache, Syrah, and a little bit of Carignan.  This offers the unique palate and style that the producer truly believes in.  Oustal Blanc, while having the terroir in Chateauneuf, focuses more on the likes of Burgundy to produce their wines.

Burgundian style shines through with a medium body on the palate that packs a punch on the nose.  Anise and tart berries shine through instantly with the slightest hints of rosemary poking through.  The plum color offers a unique glare in the glass and a flavor of prime meat hits the middle of your tongue.  This wine is in its

Located in the Heart of Priorat, Spain lives Rene Barbier. He is one of the founders of the Priorat revolution and is the winemaker of Clos Mogador. This Spanish blend has long been considered one of the top wines of Spain and I was fortunate enough to drink the 2007 vintage last night.

Although quite young and big this wine delivered some great fruit on the nose and was quite balanced on the palate. As we went around the room we were calling out tastes of anise, black cherry, licorice, blueberry, coffee, chocolate, and it didn't stop. This dark purple blend did not disappoint.

The 2007 Clos Mogador is a blend of Garnacha, Carinena, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Jay Miller of the Wine Advocate gives it 96 points and it will drink at least 15 more years. My advice: buy now and wow your friends at future celebrations. At $69.95 this wine is a steal and when you open it in five years it will blow your mind.

I don't know if the producers of white Burgundy have an official bird.  But if they don't they should consider the American Robin!

Nothing says Spring has sprung and better weather is on the way than that first sighting of a robin!

I finally saw a few robins over the weekend (even though it was wicked cold out) and I immediately thought of warmer weather and the perfect wine for the Spring and Summer...

CORTON CHARLEMAGNE!!  This wine goes everywhere; the grill, the beach, weddings, long weekends...and with everything!

And we have one of the all time best deals ever for Corton Charlemagne available:

2006 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne - 94 Burghound - $85 bottle | $1,020 case.  This one is ripe and ready and to go.  With gobs of fruit braced up with that smooth minerality that makes Chardonnay from this region like none other made anywhere else in the world.  It's big enough to drink while it's still cold but when the

Some of us attended an amazing 2008 Leflaive tasting last week at The Modern restaurant in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. The winemaker, Eric Remy, was on hand to guide us through the 10 different wines while giving us a thorough explanation of the differences between each appellation and the overall evolution of Domaine Leflaive through the years.  Here are my tasting notes:

Bourgogne Blanc - Great minerality, sweet, full and pure with subtle floral and spice flavors. Nice texture but definitely the lightest of the bunch but also the most ready to drink.

Puligny Montrachet - A bit more spicy oak than the Bourgogne Blanc. Classic peach and steely Puligny type flavors. Good balance and length.

Meursault sous le Dos d'Ane - Creamy again with less acidity. Interestingly,

1997 was the vintage that truly brought Tuscan wines to the forefront of global recognition.  An optimum growing season, combined with years of improvements in the vineyards and wineries, helped winemakers fashion compelling wines. 

I can remember reading various reviews of the '97s as they were released.  One that caught my attention, probably also because of the photo of the label, was the 1997 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva Grandi Annate in Wine Spectator's October 31st Issue.  It was designated 'Highly Recommended' and a few issues later appeared in the Top 100 Wines of the Year at the 4th Rank.  James Suckling commented then (and again during a 1997 Italian blind retrospective) that it was "the greatest Vino Nobile ever made." I was never fortunate enough to score a bottle back then and had to add it on my wish list of wines to try.

About 5 years later my wife and I were lucky enough to stay at a friend's villa in Tuscany, in

This past weekend I thought I'd revisit one of the best vintages ever from the Rhone region.  It has been a couple years since the '07 Rhone's were released, and the heat has kind of quieted down on the vintage, so I thought I'd check to see how they were doing in bottle.  As I combed our stock for the perfect '07 Rhone, I stumbled upon a new one that we just checked in.  It was from the legendary producer Guigal, had a great rating of 92-94 points by Robert Parker, and the best part - it was only $25.99!!  The wine is the 2007 Guigal Gigondas, which is from the southern part of Rhone and is also where Chateauneuf du Pape hails from.It consists of a blend of about 55-60% Grenache, around one third Mourvedre & the rest Syrah.  In Robert Parker's review he states 'the best Gigondas from Guigal that I have ever tasted will certainly be the 2007..." - so needless to say I was pretty excited to pull the cork!

Upon first swirl of the glass you get that amazing