2018 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Reserve (750ml) | ||
Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina | ||
B-21 Top Recommendation
Read More Ironically the great terrains of the vine are adverse to grape production. That swaths of Chateauneuf du Pape are planted in a bed of old river (Rhone River) stone flouts the mind. Much of Spain's Priorat vines are planted on vertiginously steep, ancient terraced slopes of decomposed slate. A winery guide on the touristic island of Santorini would point out vines planted in granite rock with its vine trellised in cirlces around the grape cluster to protect the fruit from the wind. Maybe the most remarkable, extreme vines exist on Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Indeed extreme is the standard here. The world's most challenging Ironman race takes place on Lanzarote each May. Volcanic activity have challenged the vignerons here, meters of volcanic ash sitting atop the island force them to burrow down to the "top soil" where the vine is planted. The landscape looks black-lunar, worthy of your Google Earth. In Argentina at elevations of five thousand feet is the deserted region of Tupungato. Here in the foothills of the Andes defines the elevation limits of vines as Mt. Tupungato volcano soars in the vista to 22,000 feet. At the north end of the Uco Valley lies Tupungato. Within the region of Tupungato is coveted Gualtallary where some argue the best wines of Argentina call home. Clearly the altitude and exposition play a key role here as does the diurnal temperature swings of twenty degrees or more in a cool climate. What makes Gualtallary truly unique is the soils. Poor soils – adverse to grape production. Limestone stressed vine in vigor and yields, in effect a more concentrated wine. Alluvial soils of sand and stone force the vine to seek more nutrients. Wines of Gualtallary and Altamira have great concentration, but also freshness coming from limestone acidity and elevation. | ||
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2017 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (750ml) | ||
Chardonnay from Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia | ||
B-21 Top Recommendation
Read More It all happened by luck, to hear the story of Leeuwin Estates as told by owners Denis and Tricia Horgan. Denis, who loved to surf, and was an accomplished accountant who specialized in mergers and acquisitions received a call from a friend one night. Turns out the owner of what was then Western Australia's largest high rise plumbing company was quite ill and looking to sell his business, one which also included a beautiful cattle ranch in Margaret River. Denis and Tricia visited the Margaret River ranch and bought the entire operation – that was 1969. A few years later, another call – this time someone was looking to BUY Denis and Tricia Horgan's place in Margaret River. That someone was Robert Mondavi. Long story short, the Horgans and Mondavi became partners – Tricia would never sell, to hear the story. Mondavi masterfully mentored the Horgans, from varietal selection to vineyard placement. All I want, he would say, is for this place to turn out world-class wines. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Leeuwin Estate – named for that immortal Cape – produces one of (if not the) most important Chardonnays in Western Australia. James Halliday (Australia's most well-respected wine critic) tells us, "Leeuwin Estate is a class act, every facet of its business working with the precision of a Swiss watch. It stands at the very forefront of estate-based, family owned wineries..." | ||
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2019 Laberinto Sauvignon Blanc (750ml) | ||
Sauvignon Blanc from Maule Valley, Chile | ||
B-21 Top Recommendation
Read More Chile continues surprise and impress with world class red wines such as 100 pointers – Clos Apalta (2014, 2015, 2017), Almaviva (2015, 2017), Viña Seña (2015, 2018), and Vinedo Chadwick (2014, 2017). For white Chilean wines, one wine stands out as both exceptional and unlike the red counterparts is value inclusive. In 1993 Rafael Tirado began planting Sauvignon Blanc in volcanic ash sitting atop granite at 1800 feet in a remote area of the Maule Valley on the front range of the Andes. Now legally designated as Colbun, an appellation where Laberinto remains the only winery. This iconoclast planted much of these slopes in unorthodox fashion that flouts modern vinticulture and in one section the rows form a labyrinth, thus the name Laberinto. Saline minerality with citrus zest, this a uniquely Chilean Sauvignon Blanc akin to the wines of the Loire Valley in France. | ||
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2017 Bodegas Avancia Godello (750ml) | ||
Godello from Valdeorras, Galicia, Spain | ||
12 B-21 Top Recommendation
Read More Many native grapes have teetered on the edge of extinction only to be rescued at the eleventh hour. My old buddy Jorge Ordonez, who single handedly introduced America to the regional wines of Spain in the 1990s, took a stand to preserve the Godello grape's heritage (alone with other varietals and regions) and began to promote it. Godello is a white wine grape from Spain's northwestern region of Galicia and most notably in Valdeorras. During the latter part of the 20th century while many were ripping up these old vineyards and planting more commercially viable grapes, Jorge was snapping up choice, old vine parcels of Godello. Then Jorge found the Avancia vineyard - one of the oldest, most traditional vineyards planted in Valdeorras. Avancia Godello expresses the authenticity and history of Valdeorras, the oldest Godello clones in the world. A completely unique white wine that ages beautifully. Avancia was recognized by Robert Parker as Spain's best Godello, produced from a single vineyard that was planted in 1904. Some compare to Grand Cru Chablis because of the richness, acidity and mineral length. Valdeorras, high above the Sil River, was named for the extensive gold mining that the Romans conducted here – Val-de-Oras roughly translates to Valley-of-Gold in Latin. | ||
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