Domaine des Nymphs Encoste Rasteau
$31.99
The Domaine des Nymphes is one of the smallest estates in Rasteau with only 6 ha including 3 in PDO Rasteau and 3 in AOP Côtes du Rhône Villages. In April 2019 the estate was taken over by Eric Petitjean, owner of the Château la Croix des pins located on the appellations Ventoux, Gigondas and Beaumes of Venice. With Jean Pierre Valade, his friend and oenologist they produce generous, fine and elegant wines. The vineyard has started its conversion to organic farming as soon as it is resumed in 2019.
Seghesio Langhe Nebbiolo Ruri
$59.99
Renzo Seghesio has worn many shoes, farmer and winemaker, cartographer and former mayor of Monforte d’Alba: upon studying winemaking in Alba, Renzo has received a master's degree in biology from the University of Turin and, since returning to Monforte in the 1960s and founding his winery, his intent and focus have been dedicated to the single goal of growing and selecting the best possible fruit from the unique terroir of the family parcels.
Since 1968 Renzo has gone from making his first wine in his family's garage to producing over 70.000 bottles per year from the own-grown grapes of the family estates currently spanning over 14 hectares of land
d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz Museum Rel.
$94.99
d'Arenberg is a historic wine estate dating back to 1912 in South Australia's McLaren Vale region. Their flagship wines, Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon and Dear Arm Shiraz, are legendary for their quality and longevity. This is one of their library releases, meaning the wine has been aged in their cellars and shipped here a few months ago, ensuring perfect storage.
Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa Lata that randomly affects vineyards all over the world. Often, affected
vines are severely pruned or replanted. One-half, or an 'arm' of the vine, slowly becomes reduced to dead wood. That side may be
lifeless and brittle, but the grapes on the other side, while low-yielding, display amazing intensity.
Barge Cotes du Rhone Loch Ness
$26.99
Julien Barge descends from a long line of Côte-Rôtie winemakers. His family have been growing grapes in the area since 1860, though it wasn’t until 1929 that Jules Barge started selling wines bottled on site. Major change came to the family business when Julien’s father, Gilles, joined his own father at the winery in 1979. Although many traditions were kept, Gilles introduced some modern techniques and standards. Unique at the time, he started bottling some wines as single-vineyard cuvées. Emphasis was made on whole-cluster fermentation and the use of neutral old barrels for aging. He was not interested in the flashier style of wines that were starting to appear in the area. An ambassador for the region and it’s wines, he was also the President of the Côte Rôtie Growers Syndicat. Under Julien’s direction the winery continues to bottle wines of utmost purity and simplicity. The Loch Ness is now dominated by syrah, sort of a declassified Cote Rotie, soft and plummy with great spice.
JL Denois Pinot Noir Grand Vin
$47.99
Nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees in Southwest France is the coolest climate and highest elevation appellation in the Languedoc: Limoux. There, outside the lofty Medieval village of Roquetaillade, lives Limoux's most famous vigneron, Jean-Louis Denois, the gentleman responsible for bringing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to this ideal terroir in the 80’s. His eponymous domaine, founded after he sold his first Limoux project Domaine de l’Aigle to Gerard Bertrand twenty years back, includes 15 hectares of vines at 400-500 meters above sea level on limestone and clay soils. Denois quickly rose to prominence in France for offering incredible bubbles at incredible prices. His crémants used the finest techniques and clones of Champagne without the same price tag, earning the regard of leading Champagne experts like Jancis Robinson who deemed the wines “a little fruitier, more opulent, and less obviously lees-aged than the best champagnes but infinitely better than cheap champagne” by the turn of the millennium. The wines have only continued on their path to terroir singularity and deliciousness over these last twenty years.
Haritz Tempranillo
$24.99
Benetakoa Winery was founded in 1985 by Carlos Martínez de Cañas in Villabuena de Álava. Viticulture has been a centuries-old tradition in their family, and for several generations, they have dedicated themselves to pampering and learning from the land and the vine. In 1997, they expanded their facilities and moved to a new winery built in the upper part of Villabuena. They preserved the tradition and the artisan concept that was incorporated into the first winery, and continued with innovation as the basis of their wines. Since 2001, Gorka Martínez de Cañas, son of the winery’s founder, has taken charge of the family project.
Littorai Savoy Pinot Noir
$181.99
Littorai Wines was founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon. With the exception of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, all Littorai wines are single-vineyard designated from the northern coasts of California, western Sonoma and western Mendocino Counties. In fact, "Littorai" comes from the Latin word for "coasts". Littorai's philosophy of winemaking is inspired by Ted's years in France and is based upon the concept of terroir. All of the sites in the Littorai vineyard portfolio have been carefully selected by Ted. Many of these are steep hillsides where yields and ripening conditions are marginal. We get very small allocations (12 bottles on average) of these wines once a year.
Marchand Tawse Bourgogne Joie de Vigne
$47.99
The affable Pascal Marchand might be from Quebec, but his story is full-throttle French, and more specifically, deeply Burgundian. Over the past 45 years, he has built a resumé as good as anyone's in all of Burgundy, and even though Canadian, is considered today to be one of the originalists of what can be thought of as modern Burgundy. Starting in 1989 at the famed Comte Armand, he introduced organic farming, modernized the winery, and gained almost overnight acclaim for their now famous Pommard 'Clos des Epeneaux'. Following his tenure there, he pivoted to the Boisset family's Domaine de la Vougeraie, where until 2006, he converted their vast holdings into an organic and biodynamic treasure trove.
Finally, in 2011, along with partner Moray Tawse, another Canadian, he founded Domaine Marchand-Tawse, having purchased the old Maume cellars in Nuits St. Georges. Together, Marchand and Tawse have accumulated a staggering collection of vineyards in 68 different appellations up and down the Côte. Their price list covers nearly 3 pages and spans 5+ vintages with current releases.
Lapostolle Alexandre Carmenere
$45.99
Lapostolle was founded by Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle and her husband, Cyril de Bournet in 1994. Since 1827, the Bournet-Lapostolle Family has been dedicated to the production of spirits and fine wines. Today it is the seventh generation, Charles de Bournet, who is at the head of the Domaine. After visiting Chile, Alexandra and Cyril not only fell in love with the Valley of Apalta, but they also detected the enormous potential of the country to produce high-quality wines due to its exceptional geographical characteristics.