1.28.16 WINE OF THE WEEK Mind Boggling 2010 Reserva Rioja

2010 MARQUES DE MURRIETA "FINCA YGAY" RESERVA RIOJA, SPAIN 

 

"The best Reserva from Murrietta in recent times...mind boggling quality for the price asked. -Luis Guitierrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

I visited the revamped facilities of Marqués de Murrieta in the outskirts of Logroño. After eight years they finished restoring the historical Castillo de Ygay building, all done with great taste. But the real focus has been on their vineyards and their wines, which are back at the top of the Rioja hierarchy. María Vargas, the winemaker, is ecstatic about the quality of the wines from 2011, which she calls perfect 2011, like 2005 and 2001. I found all the wines to be showing great, but perhaps the highlight is the 2010 Reserva, which might be the best vintage for this wine ever. The best part of it all is that it's available in good quantities and at an unbelievable price for the quality this vintage offers. -LG

 

93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The blend for the 2010 Rioja Reserva varies depending on the growing season. In the warm and ripe 2009 it was 93% Tempranillo, 4% Mazuelo and 2% Graciano and 1% Garnacha Tinta, always from their own vineyards and hand-harvested between October 2 and 23. Maria the winemaker thinks the Garnacha does not add much to their blend. The grapes fermented separately in stainless-steel vats and the wine aged for 21 months in American oak barrels. There is gob-smacking precision and elegance here. It's a pure wine with no oak that is super harmonious, floral and fragrant. I simply fell in love with the nose. Now onto the palate. The entry is really fluid, and then it explodes in your mouth, filling it along a thread of fine acidity making it long and tasty. It has the same astonishing purity and harmony, focus and precision found in the nose. This has to be the best Reserva from Murrieta in recent times. Bravo! One million bottles produced, but all the wine is one single lot and all the bottles you can find are exactly the same just they are bottled continuously for four months. Mind boggling quality for the price asked." (LG, 04/2015)

90 points Wine Spectator: "Spicy aromas lead to flavors of vanilla, cherry, fresh herb and mineral in this expressive red. Though oaky notes are prominent, there's a core of focused fruit, and the light structure is fresh and balanced. Graceful and alluring. Drink now through 2021." (06/2015)

90 points Josh Raynolds: "Ruby-red. Aromas of dried cherry, pipe tobacco and rose oil, with a subtle vanilla note in the background. Smooth and sweet in the mouth, offering pliant red fruit and succulent herb flavors plus a hint of licorice. Finishes long and subtly smoky, with supple tannins and lingering notes of bitter cherry and vanilla." (Vinous Media, 11/2015)

2010 MARQUES DE MURRIETA "FINCA YGAY" RESERVA RIOJA, SPAIN

Regular: $24.99

This Week: $22.49 

Other Wines You Might Like: Wines from Rioja

* Special pricing is valid thru Tuesday 2/2/16 while supplies last. Discount for web orders will be applied when order is processed. Orders are processed on first-come basis and shipped to specified shipping address unless otherwise noted. No further discounts apply.

 

WINE OF THE WEEK: Racy Semillon from the Luchsinger Vineyard

2012 WEI CHI "LUCHSINGER VINEYARD" SEMILLON, LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

A great discovery from a talented young winemaker in California! This 100% single-vineyard naturally produced Semillon from the Luchsinger Vineyard in Lake County, California is so fresh, racy and bright, you would never guess it hails from the hills just northeast of Napa Valley. However, a closer look at a map will reveal that this particular area near Clear Lake is protected by the Mayacamas Range to the west and further shielded by Mount Konocti, an extinct volcano, to the east. What makes this terroir particularly exciting, however, is that this also happens to be the second-largest geothermal area in the United States after Yellowstone. Who knew? The unique micro-climate and volcanic, mineral-rich soils make ideal conditions for the production of structured, serious Semillon that can stand the test of time. 

To preserve the fruit's natural character, it was hand-harvested and first gently crushed by foot, then pressed. Fermentation by native yeasts took place in stainless steel, reaching a naturally low alcohol of 11.4% ABV. This crisp white the perfect pairing for oysters, shellfish and crustacean--its vibrant acidity and minerality brilliantly highlights fresh-from-the-sea aromas and flavors--but it also has the body and structure to complement fleshier fish and other white meats like chicken and pork, too. Try it as an alternative to Muscadet, Saugivnon Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay for a gourmet twist.

*Winemaker to Watch* A native of Australia, where the production of Semillon has a long and celebrated tradition, winemaker Erin Pooley started making wine in 2007 and has since burst onto the California natural wine scene as a winemaker to watch. For Pooley, winemaking is in a constant state of evolution, "no vintage will be the same as the last, the wines will never be finished. We (and the wines) are in a constant state of change." It makes sense, then, that the name of her label is "Wei Chi," inspired after the ancient Chinese concept from the "I Ching" which can be translated to mean "before completion." Pooley is currently working exclusively with Semillon from Luchsinger Vineyards, a Lake County gem that is the (increasingly less) secret source for a number of high profile vintners including  Arnot-Roberts and whose cuttings have been recently sought after by Jason Lett of the Eyrie Vineyard in Oregon and Tegan Passalaqua, the winemaker at Turley Cellars and a leading scholar of old California vineyards, to plant and/or graft over existing vines. 

2012 WEI CHI "LUCHSINGER VINEYARD" SEMILLON, LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Regular: $20.99

This Week: $18.89 

Other Wines You Might Like: Interesting White Varietals and Blends 

* Special pricing is valid thru Tuesday 1/26/16 while supplies last. Discount for web orders will be applied when order is processed. Orders are processed on first-come basis and shipped to specified shipping address unless otherwise noted. No further discounts apply.

WINE OF THE WEEK: 2014 LES LUNES "DOBSON VINEYARD" MANTON VALLEY CHARDONNAY

Produced from native-rooted vines planted at the foot of Mount Lassen, an active volcano, in the newly designated AVA of Manton Valley, California, this is unlike any California Chard we've ever tasted...in a good (albeit wine-geekish) way. Think Burgundy meets Etna, with a Jura (or is it more Jerez?) twist. Of course, that's to be expected from the talented folks behind the Living Wines Collective, a small cooperative based in Northern California who are all about traditionally made wines and natural farming practices. Sam Barron and Shaunt Oungoulian, the team behind Les Lunes, spent time together and separately in Burgundy, working with reputed domaines from the Macon to Chablis, which inspired them to return home to produce distinctive, terroir-driven Chardonnay from unusual sites in California. The decomposed volcanic soils of the Dobson Vineyard combine with natural, oxidative winemaking techniques to result in a wine that is at once fresh and complex, vibrant and ethereal. Awesome with food (like oysters, sushi or dishes with complex umami flavors), this wine is definitely not for everyone (warning: if you love big, rich, oakey Chardonnays, this is most definitely not for you), it has much to offer the curious wine drinker. Go ahead, drink outside the box!

About the Producer: Les Lunes is a project under the umbrella outfit of the Living Wines Collective, who seek to reference the honest, great wines of California’s heritage, "before money, ego and points got in the way." They manage every detail of the production process by hand. They lease their own vineyards, work their own vines and built their own cellar. Their focus is on vineyard health and they believe that proper vineyard management can eliminate the need for pesticides, preserving the indigenous microbes on the grapes and in the soils. At Les Lunes, everything is 100% organic, neither herbicides nor insecticides are used, which leads to healthier and more complex wines that don’t need tweaking in the cellar. Consequently, they are able to follow the most minimal intervention winemaking to allow the authentic expression of terroir shine through. Nothing was added prior to bottling, and the wine was bottled by gravity flow. 

2014 LES LUNES "DOBSON VINEYARD" MANTON VALLEY CHARDONNAY, CALIFORNIA

Regular: $26.99

This Week: $24.29