July Wine Club
WINES
2018 Smith-Madrone, Riesling, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley, California
2021 Marcel Lapierre, Morgon, Beaujolais, France
2016 La Rioja Alta, ‘Viña Ardanza’ Reserva, La Rioja, Spain
SMITH-MADRONE
2018 Riesling, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley, California
100% Riesling
For more information on Smith-Madrone, please read our June Wine Club post to learn a bit about this iconic producer. However, I will say here that I am overjoyed that these wines are now available in the State of Kansas! Smith-Madrone has been a ‘darling’ for sommeliers for over 30 years, but most people outside of California and few other markets are relatively unfamiliar with this producer. And while I am a huge fan of their Cabernet Sauvignon, it is really this Riesling that sets Smith-Madrone apart.
Riesling is perhaps the most under appreciated varietal in the United States. The assumption from the general public that it is always sweet and lacks depth and complexity is simply a falsehood. Riesling is one of the world’s noble grapes and is maybe the most exciting varietal in the world for sommeliers when it comes to food and wine pairing. While Germany is regarded as the home of Riesling, there are hamlets around the world where the grape also has incredible success. Napa Valley rarely gets spoken of as one of these places. However, Smith-Madrone, who planted their Riesling vines in their beginning along with Cabernet Sauvignon, is the great exception. This Riesling is completely dry and filled with depth, minerality, finesse, and fantastic persistence. Present is the characteristic Riesling acid, but here we also see ripe and sweet citrus notes ranging from lemons to oranges, and beautiful floral aromas. The 2018 vintage is the current release for this wine and it is built for a long life!
Serve at 45º-48º
Can drink now, BUT…. Riesling has tremendous aging potential because of its fantastic acidity. This wine has the potential to develop for as long as 20-30 years….my advice–drink this bottle and then buy a lot more to keep in your cellar!
Food pairings: all the classic white wine dishes are great here from salads to seafood. Also - pork tenderloin, roast chicken, sushi, oysters, clam chowder.
MARCEL LAPIERRE
2021 Morgon, Beaujolais, France
100% Gamay
It is possible that the wines of Marcel Lapierre are my favorite in the world. They are just so damn delicious and so versatile! Marcel Lapierre is part of a generation of French winemakers that started the natural wine revolution in the 1970s. Their understanding of the importance of a diverse ecosystem to provide nutrients and energy to the vines, and then the ability to the grapes and wine evolve naturally with limited intervention from manmade chemicals seems obvious. However, it requires commitment and precision both in the vineyard and in the cellar to make wines of quality and character while limiting the use of chemicals and manmade compounds. One of the issues with the ‘natural wine movement’ is that too many winemakers us the marketing opportunities of the ‘natural’ moniker while not having the raw materials or skills to truly make outstanding wine. These include the right sites, high-quality and/or old vines, and exceptional, clean, and scientifically-sound wine making. At Marcel Lapierre, all of these issues are moot.
Located in the Beaujolais village of Morgon, one of the 10 Crus of the Beaujolais Appellation, Marcel Lapierre has vineyards with the best exposition, vines averaging 45 years in age, and a cellar that is pristine. Their wines, made with 100% Gamay grapes as required by the AOC, are among the most structured and expressive of all of Beaujolais.
A word on Beaujolais
The wines of Beaujolais have been maligned in much of the world by the marketing phenomenon that was and is Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is the quickly made and released wine that hits the market on the 3rd Thursday of November each year, from grapes harvested just a few months prior. These wines, candied and filled with bubblegum notes, are not the wines that exemplify Beaujolais or the noble Gamay grape. Rather, the wines from the 10 cru villages (Saint. Amour, Juliénas, Fleurie, Chenas, Moulin-a-Vent, Chiroubles, Morgon, Brouilly, Côtes-de-Brouilly, Régnié) raise Gamay to its fullest potential as a fine wine with tremendous fruit, spice, finesse, and depth. These are some of the most food-friendly red wines on the planet and are pure happiness in a glass.
The Morgon of Marcel Lapierre is now made by his son Matthieu and daughter Camille who follow in their father’s footsteps, making wines with organic farming practices in the vineyard and natural, non-interventionist techniques in the cellar. The final wines are bottles with either very low or zero sulfite additions, no added sugars, and no filtration. The grapes are brought to winery where the whole clusters are placed in large oak vats to begin the alcoholic fermentation. However, in Beaujolais, this is done by Carbonic Maceration—a process in which the tanks are sealed and a layer of CO2 forms above the clusters as the weight of the bunches presses the grapes slowly. Following the fermentation, the clusters are slowly crushed and the juice is moved into used wood barrels for 12 months aging. The wine is bottled with no sulfur addition (or very minimal in the case of some of the exported wine) and held at the winery before release. The final wine is an example of some of the most delicious, and interesting wine on the planet. Full of red fruits that range from sour cherry, to raspberry, to strawberry, spices from cinnamon to cardamum, and a range of floral, earthy, and mineral notes. The combination of bright acid and fine tannins make give the wine a beautiful mouthfeel and long, finish.
On my visit to the estate in June 2023, I observed a winery and community of people with a spirit and joy for the wines, the earth, and hospitality. Our tasting included not only the low-sulfite Morgon, but also the zero sulfite version which was fascinating to taste side by side. In addition, we enjoyed their special cuvées including the single vineyard wine from the Côte-du-Py and a 2010 Morgon. I simply love everything this wine is. It does not pretend. It just is…delicious.
Serve at 55º-58º - you can actually chill this wine a touch if you like but it is definitely best at cellar temp or a little below.
Drink now or hold up to 10 years.
Food Pairing: Everything! This wine goes with any fish (especially fatty fish like salmon) and ranges all the way to chicken, roast pork, lamb, tenderloin steaks, burgers, pizza, hard/soft cheese, and more!
LA RIOJA ALTA
2016 ‘Viña Ardanza’ Reserva
80% Tempranillo, 20 % Grenache
La Rioja Alta produces some of the most exciting wines in all of Spain. Located in Haro, the capital of the Rioja DO (Denominacion de Origen) La Rioja Alta creates a perfect balance between tradition and modernity in the region. The dominant grape in the region, as in Ribera del Duero, is Tempranillo—spicy, high acid, and complex. As is customary here, the wines are aged in American oak which provides hallmark aromas of coconut and dill that support the fruit and mineral structure of the wines. The region’s warmth helps produce wines of richness and ripeness, while the cooling breezes that enter the Ebro valley help support the acid that gives the wines their longevity.
In the Rioja, wines are traditional identified by three markers for the amount of time they age in oak barrels. They are:
Crianza: aged a minimum of 12 months in oak and 6 months in bottle (2 years total required) before release
Reserva: aged a minimum of 12 months in oak and 6 months in bottle (3 years total required) before release
Gran Reserva: aged a minimum of 24 months in oak and 24 months in bottle (5 years total required) before release
La Rioja Alta’s aging process goes beyond the required minimums, spending 36 months in oak for the Tempranillo and 30 months in oak for the Garnacha. The oak protocol at La Rioja Alta sets them in a more traditional camp, using 4-year old American oak barrels for the Tempranillo and 2nd or 3rd passage oak for the Garnache. What results here is a wine that is almost perfect on release with fantastic potential to age and develop.
The 2016 vintage was tremendous, and this wine is a showstopper right out of the bottle. A huge bouquet with spice and red fruit jumps out of the glass. Hints of cigar and smoked meat combine with lovely toast notes, cedar, and dried coconut. On the palate, the acid and tannin hit simultaneously, integrating with a rich and round mouthfeel. The finish is long with new flavors of earth and spice revealing themselves every second. As the wine ages, more and more of these earthy elements appear, revealing forrest floor, dried leaves, and cured meat.
Serve at 58º-65ºF
Drink now or hold up to 15 years.
Food Pairing: This wine begs for smoked and cured meat, hard cheeses, and anything off the grill.
