Page 18 - Staff Tastings

Spring is in the air and to me that calls for popping a delicious bottle of white wine to be enjoyed outside with friends.  I was looking for something really special and unique, and I found it.  The 2013 Terredora Greco di Tufo Loggia Serra from Campania is just the wine I was looking for.  The cool thing about this crisp white is the fact that it is made with 100% Greco grapes.  The Greco grapes date back 2,500 years to the ancient Greek settlers and is now native to Campania.  This grape is one of the most important parts in Campania’s wine renaissance.  The Mastroberardino family has put all the focus on the vineyards and new technology to create the character of the Terredora.  The vineyards are located in the Avellino province in Campania which has a unique soil and thermal fluctuations that create intense and elegant fruit.  Since 1994,

In selecting a wine for this week’s blog, I wanted to pick something that I wouldn’t normally opt for. Usually my heart and palate steer me towards the Rhone, Burgundy or Bordeaux but  tasting wine is always about trying new things, so this time I selected one that I’ve been reading about in the press - the 2012 Fort Ross Chardonnay Fort Ross Vineyard. The Fort Ross-Seaview appellation is relatively new in the grand scheme of Sonoma. But winegrowers Lester and Linda Schwartz have been battling the elements here on the "REAL" Sonoma Coast for over two decades. 

I pulled the cork on this gem about an hour before dinner was ready. I made a great free-range chicken puff pastry dish stuffed with roasted tomatoes and gruyere with a lovely side of sautéed baby bok choy, my lady’s favorite. As expected this needed a little time to open up, but when it did it was perfecto with this dish. Firm acidity, not too much wood influence and the unfined quality

As my colleague Daron blogged about recently, the hottest releases on the market right now are the 2010 Brunellos.  James Suckling was the first to report on the vintage and said “The year 2010 for Brunello di Montalcino is the greatest modern vintage of Italy’s most famous red wine region.”  Antonio Galloni also recently released his report and stated that “Two thousand ten has turned out to be a superb vintage for Brunello di Montalcino”.  Needless to say with all of the hype around the vintage, we’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 2010 Brunellos, and thankfully they’re just starting to roll in!  The one that caught my eye was one of the better price-points from the vintage: 2010 La Serena Brunello – rated 97 points by James Suckling and only $49.95/btl

Wilde Farm Winery was actually a horse farm long before it became a winery. In fact, the 2013 Wilde Farm Pinot Noir Donnelly Vineyard is only the second vintage ever produced of these wines. It’s a collaboration between proprietor Loren Grossman and winemaker Pax Mahle. Even though it’s only the second vintage ever produced, Pax Mahle is not a newcomer to winemaking. He first started producing his Pax Label in 2000, and now produces Agharta and Wind Gap wines as well. All his wines have a very different style to them. With Pax and Agharta being the much richer and powerful wines in the group, the Wind Gap and Wilde Farm wines come from cooler coastal areas of Sonoma and tend to be lighter and lower in alcohol. 

Wilde Farm began as a horse farm in 1907 and was purchased about 20 years ago by Loren Grossman. However, the first vintage of Wilde Farm

My favorite duty as a Sokolin Wine Consultant is to sample wines that are unique, rare or limited in production. This week, I had the pleasure of experiencing a new arrival, the 2011 Calder Charbono Meyers Vineyard. I was quite excited to taste an almost extinct grape. 

The 2011 Calder is 100% Charbono.  Charbono, also known as Douce Noir which translates as “sweet black”, is known for growing in the Savoie wine region of France.  What was once the most widely grown red grape in Eastern France and a California favorite is now only grown in small amounts in Argentina, Piedmont and on 70 hectares in California. Why has such a historically prominent grape been reduced to such small plots of land? Producers have learned over the years that there is not much of a market for this scarce grape, but those drinkers who enjoy it hold it on a pedestal, as they would with cult wines.

The hottest releases currently in the wine market easily have to be the long-awaited 2010 Brunellos. It is a vintage many producers describe as “perfect”, a “dream”, and the “vintage of a lifetime.” After frequent rains in spring (which ultimately would assist in feeding the vines for the remainder of the year) pushed back the beginning of veraison a bit, a long and stable summer followed. According to the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, this allowed “a harmonious development of the phenolic and sugar ripening” and “extremely high levels of total polyphenols, anthocyanins and extract rarely found in” Sangiovese.  In short, this created complex wines with wonderful perfumes, solid structure, great balance and the ability to be enjoyed young as well as age. The first of the 2010s to arrive for us here at Sokolin was the Gianni

Sunday evenings have become a really special time in my household. Whether we are able to host family and friends or it is an evening for two, my husband and I set aside a couple of hours to enjoy what has quickly become a new tradition – Downton Night! We carefully select the appetizers or snacks to be served and choose a bottle of wine or two to share. There is some debate as to whether the party really starts when the cork is popped or when dramatic music and the sight of a yellow Labrador Retriever walking toward a castle fill the screen – I like to think it is a happy combination of both.

For the most recent episode, it was TV for two so we decided on an old favorite – popcorn misted with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt, pepper and parmesan. I pulled a bottle from a recently purchased mixed case, one I thought would complement the savory, cheesy popcorn to perfection. The 2010

As cold weather approached this weekend, I was thinking about drinking something that would not only pair well with the hearty meal I was preparing, but would pair well with my soul.  Then it hit me!  A warm California Cabernet Sauvignon. Truly heavy enough to warm me up and charming enough to take me away to the hills of Sonoma and forget about this cold weather.  So I chose the 2012 Bucklin Old Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Bucklin Old Hill ranch is the oldest ranch in Sonoma County and dates back all the way to 1885.  Some of the original vines are still producing to this day.  Otto and Anne Teller purchased the Old Ranch in 1981 and the four siblings are now running the winery since 2000, creating some of the finest wines in Sonoma County.  With the help of Will Bucklin training at the famous Lafite Rothschild, his style sure shows through in his wines.  One of the most interesting aspects of this vineyard is that they do not water the

Coming from an eight-acre parcel of Fourchaume Premier Cru that is directly next to the Grand Cru Les Preuses, it’s no surprise the Vaulorent is considered the "baby Grand Cru" at Fevre, and it consistently outperforms Grand Crus that cost many times more. 

William Fevre continues to be one of the premier Chablis producers today, second only to Raveneau and Dauvissat. Thankfully, the wines of William Fevre are much more available than the others, especially the Grand Crus. Last night I had the opportunity to sample the 2012 Vaulorent, pairing it with a traditional French dish, chicken francaise. For me, this offering never fails to deliver. Layered and rich, oyster shells coupled with explosive mineral characteristics. It complemented this dish with perfection. Always affordable, this Premier Cru could easily be mistaken for a Grand Cru. Scoop some up and see for yourself.  

2012

Henri Boillot is a 5th generation vigneron whose family has been farming in the Cote d’Or since 1885. In 2005, he bought out his brother and sister and changed the name of the estate from Domaine Jean Boillot to Domaine Henri Boillot to eliminate confusion with his brother’s estate Domaine Jean-Marc Boillot. The domaine has about 14-15 hectares under vine in Cote de Beaune, fairly evenly split between white and red, a majority of the best reds being mostly 1er Crus in Volnay. 

Les Caillerets is considered by most to be one of the finest 1er Crus of Volnay. Historically, it was given the highest Tete de Cuvee status by Jules Lavalle in his 1855 Histoire et Statistique et des Grands Vins, and Camille Rodier in his 1920 Le Vin de Bourgogne. More recently, Jasper Morris MW classified it as one of four Exceptional 1er Crus, and Clive Coates MW said it was one of five climats “a head or so above the rest…of course.”