2012 Domaine de la Pepière Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Château-Thébaud Clos des Morines

A beautiful (if somewhat young) mouthful of stony, bright lemon, saline melon de bourgogne. Quite delicious and powerful. An insane bargain for the quality, giving many Chablis a run for the money.  Paired nicely with sauteed scallops.

Here are excellent notes from the David Bowler wine website:

"...Clos des Morines is a lieu-dit in the cru of Château Thébaud. It came into Pépière world via Marc Ollivier's partner Rémi Branger, whose father farmed it two parcels of it for decades. This 1.5 hectares of vines--up to 65 years old--is on a south-facing, earlier-ripening slope. The soils are of granite de Thébaud, a granite differing from that of Clisson in containing more feldspar and clay--this means more nutrients for the vines, cooler soil temperature, slower ripening, better water retention and a porosity that allows the roots to go deep to the hard granite mother rock.  The farming is organic and harvest  and all work by hand...."

"...Like for the rest of the Pepière wines, the fruit is direct-pressed in whole clusters and the juice settled naturally for 12 hours. It is then fermented in stainless steel tanks with natural yeasts; the wine is aged on its lees in large underground vats until bottling without fining or filtering. Thébaud needs longer aging on the lees than any of the other wines, for 3.5 years in the case of the 2012. It is typically the most austere, intensely salty and mineral of the line-up...."

2011 Proprietà Sperino Lessona

14% abv. PnP. 

 Fascinating rendition of Nebbiolo from Alto Piemonte. Plush fruit... wild blackberry, tar, spice. Very polished tannins. Quite shy nose at first then opening up after a few hours with lovely florals. The tannins come more to the forefront over the evening, but not hot or not overbearing.  
Overall, a wine of great elegance produced by Luca and Paolo De Marchi of Isole e Olena. Very impressive. I will be seeking out more of this wine. Although not inexpensive at $60. Paired nicely with prime NY strip.

Côte de Beaune, Willamette Valley and Sonoma Coast

Great friend and pizza-maker extraordinaire, Steve Russo, hosted an intimate gathering highlighted by pinot noir from three distinct regions, paired with homemade pizza using scratch-made dough. Truly delicious!  :) 

Going in order of lightest to most full-bodied of the wines:

2011 Louis Jadot Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru
Drinking nicely now. Slow-o'd for about an hour. Elegant, light-bodied frame. Attractive nose of red fruit and sous bois. Medium red cherry palate with mellow tartness. Nice bit of saliinity / savory-ness that made it food friendly.  Solid effort for a so-so vintage. No reason to hang on to this for more than a handful of years. 

2006 Broadley Vineyards Pinot Noir Marcile Lorraine (Willamette Valley)
First time I've tried this producer. Quite impressive and a very reasonably priced Oregon pinot noir. Craig and Claudia Broadley founded Broadley Vineyards in 1981 and received widespread recognition for the 1994 Claudia's Choice cuvee.
The '06 Marcile Lorraine is instantly likeable with medium-bodied mature red and black fruit, sandalwood accents on the nose, graceful dusty tannins and lilting nuance of forest floor.  This has aged very nicely and could go another couple of years as evidenced by the palate gaining a bit in presence over the course of the evening.  I'm definitely going to acquire some of the newer releases to try out.

2008 Kanzler Family Vineyards Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Steve Kanzler has always produced one of my favorite pinots from California. His Sonoma Coast cuvee is an enjoyable fuller bodied cuvee that is dependable year in and year out. His Reserve bottling can reach heights of greatness. Kanzler Vineyard ranks in the grand cru realm of pinot noir vineyards in California in my opinion. Check out this video that Steve Kanzler recorded... it is a tour of his vineyard (he planted it himself in 1996) with fascinating detail on the pinot noir clones, soils, methods, etc...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57jSSynGUvQ&noredirect=1
The 2008 Sonoma Coast bottling is definitely the fullest bodied wine of the evening.  It really began to show its stuff several hours into the dinner.  Gaining presence and balance over the course of the evening, the last pour was stunningly delicious in its combination of flavors... red raspberry with mouthwatering savory character, spiciness and the signature hints of anise that so elegantly complete the picture. 
667 Clone, Pommard Clone 4 and Clone 115 are planted in the Kanzler Vineyard, each making their own unique contribution to the framework of the wine.  

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Day 2 notes on the '11 Jadot Corton Clos du Roi....

Gained significant presence, blossoming into a rounder, fuller expression of Corton. Less angular at this stage than I think the Corton Pougets would be. (I have some that I am holding off on for now). 

Quite seductive on the nose. Sous bois influence is very nice.  A great trait in the red wines from hill of Corton. Brings to mind the beautiful forested area on the crest of the hill , the Bois de Corton. Last year, there was a movement to protect the fabled woods.

https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2017/02/big-names-ride-to-corton-s-rescue

2002 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva and 2000 Artadi Grandes Añadas

Fascinating comparison of modern and traditional producers in Rioja.

The '02 LdH Tondonia Rojo is one of my favorite vintages... its plummy palate of red and blue fruit is so alluring. Comprised of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo. A great wine made in a less than heralded vintage.

The '00 Artadi Grandes Añadas is still young.  100% old vines tempranillo. A little sharp around the edges. More structured and goes well with food. It is only produced in special vintages. 

Hard to pick a favorite. The Tondonia was delightful with or without food. Less structured but beautiful mature fruit.  It would be interesting to taste the Añadas in another 5 years. 



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Visiting Rioja in October 2016 was memorable. Lopez de Heredia is remarkable in their commitment to tradition. Natural cooling is used to control fermentation temperatures.  Old school wooden buckets are even used in the field during harvest.