Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This week included a couple of the latest sparkling releases from the veteran Oregon bubbly producer Argyle Winery. Both their Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs from Spirit Hill Vineyard are precise and bright, but I prefer the Blanc de Noirs.
To most wine drinkers, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc needs no introduction. It’s one of the more recognizable and popular brands from New Zealand, and quite reliable in its expression of what has become the quintessential (or stereotypical) expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The 2023 vintage isn’t quite as snappy as I’d like, but fans of the wine will find it delivers all its expected tangy green brightness.
I stopped by Broc Cellars recently to pick up a wine that will be part of my next tasting column for Jancis Robinson, and Chris Brockway sent me home with a few more bottles of recent releases to try out. He recently took the big plunge and bought a vineyard, joining a small cadre of boutique Bay Area producers that have evolved from tiny custom crush operations to full-fledged, so-called “estate” wineries. Of course, Broc is still operating out of his urban winery in Berkeley, California with no plans to build a winery out in the middle of his vineyard, especially because the vineyard is in Mendocino County. But it now provides some excellent fruit for him to make his quirky, bright, and refreshing natural wines. I tasted three this week: his re-imagined White Zinfandel, a red table wine made for pizza, and his Nero d’Avola which is certainly one of the best California renditions of that variety I’ve enjoyed.
Next, I’ve got a couple of nice Oregon Pinot Noirs. The first is from Lavinea, a small producer that’s been making wines in the Willamette Valley since 2014, founded by Greg Ralston and with winemaking by the rather aptly named Isabelle Meunier. They do a series of wines focused on the individual AVAs within the Willamette Valley, and their Eola-Amity Hills bottling is pretty, if a bit heavy on the oak signature at this point in its evolution.
Sokol Blosser is a well-known pioneering producer in the Willamette Valley, now run by a second generation of founder Susan Sokol Blosser’s children. They make a wide range of very good wines, but I enjoy their single vineyard bottlings the most. This week’s bottle is an excellent example of why. It hails from the Kalita Estate vineyard in the middle of the Yamhill-Carlton district. It’s LIVE-certified sustainable, and in transition to organic viticulture.
As regular readers know, I tend to enjoy the wines from Troon Vineyard in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley. They’re embarking on a new line of wines made in amphorae and concrete, and this week I’m reviewing their amphora-aged Mourvèdre, which has an appropriately earthy character that fans of savory wines will enjoy.
Argentinean producer Trapiche Winery, one of the largest producers in Argentina, has made a massive marketing push here in the United States, with their own dedicated website for US customers trumpeting their virtues. They make a lot of wine, most of it decent, such as their Tesoro Cabernet Sauvignon, which will satisfy a lot of wine lovers for less than 20 bucks, though it has a little too much oak influence for my taste.
Last but certainly not least, I’m happy to recommend to you the latest Syrah release from the tiny boutique producer Minus Tide, who has managed to get ahold of fruit from one of the best Syrah vineyards in California. The Valenti Vineyard is high on Greenwood Ridge, roughly 6 miles from the Pacific at the western edge of Anderson Valley in Mendocino. Planted in 1998 it has made some of my favorite California Syrahs for many years. This one, made by Brad Jonas and Kyle Jeffrey, has a feral intensity that will appeal to anyone who is looking for more than just polished fruit in their glass.
Notes on all these below.
Tasting Notes
2019 Argyle Winery “Spirit Hill Vineyard Blanc de Noirs” Sparkling Wine, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale blonde in the glass with moderately fine bubbles, this wine smells of berries and wet chalkboard and a hint of citrus pith. In the mouth, tart berries and citrus pith have a nice saline brightness to them, and a chalky minerality underneath. Notes of acerola linger in the finish along with citrus pith. 85% Pinot Noir, 15% Meunier, whole-cluster pressed into oak where it ferments and ages for 6 months before secondary fermentation in bottle. Spends 34 months in bottle before disgorging. 12.5% alcohol. 300 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $60. click to buy.
2018 Argyle Winery “Spirit Hill Vineyard Blanc de Blancs” Sparkling Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills , Willamette Valley, Oregon
Pale gold in the glass with moderately sized bubbles, this wine smells of golden apples, sea air, and wet chalkboard. In the mouth, a somewhat weak mousse delivers flavors of citrus pith, green apples, and a touch of lime zest. Good acidity, and a hint of salinity. Ferments in oak and ages for 6 months before secondary fermentation in the bottle. Spends 54 months on the lees before disgorging. 2 g/l dosage. 12.5% alcohol. 450 cases made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $60. click to buy.
2023 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
Pale straw in color with a hint of green, this wine smells of that famous combination of gooseberries and a hint of cat pee. In the mouth, green apple, cut grass and lime zest flavors are silky and bright, with decent acidity and a hint of chalky minerality. I’d like it a little more brisk, but it is tasty nonetheless. 13.5% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $35. click to buy.
2023 Broc Cellars White Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma, California
Palest ruby-orange in the glass with a faint haze, this wine smells of apples, cranberry, and herbs. In the mouth, cranberry, red apple skin, citrus oil, and dried herbs have a tangy, sour cherry quality and crunchy, mouthwatering acidity. 10% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $25. click to buy.
2022 Lavinea “AVA Series” Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry and cherry. In the mouth, cherry, raspberry, and cranberry flavors are wrapped in a lightly fleecy blanket of tannins that stiffens as it moves across the palate. Features excellent acidity and a nice earthy, stony underbelly. Hints of herbs and citrus peel in the finish along with the unmistakable vanilla sweetness of oak. 13.4% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $40. click to buy.
2022 Sokol Blosser “Kalita Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry pastilles and flowers. In the mouth, bright raspberry and redcurrant flavors are shot through with floral perfume as bright citrus oil and herbs linger in the finish. Faint, athletic tannins grip the edges of the palate. Notes of sweet oak linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. Certified B Corp. LIVE-certified sustainable. Vines are 22 years old. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.
2022 Troon Vineyards “Amphora” Mourvedre, Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon
Medium garnet in color, this wine smells of blueberries, dried flowers, and a hint of saddle leather. In the mouth, blueberry, boysenberry, and dried herb flavors mix with a hint of barnyard manure and potting soil. Notes of dried herbs and flowers linger with a little bit of dried citrus peel in the finish. Stony, powdery tannins coat the mouth. Excellent acidity. Includes 25% Grenache. Between 30% and 35% whole cluster fermentation with native yeasts and no additions in open-top fermenting bins, then transferred to a large terra-cotta amphora for 10 months of aging. Demeter-certified biodynamic. Gold Regenerative Organic Farming certified. 13.5% alcohol. 95 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $65. click to buy.
2022 Broc Cellars “The Badger – Fox Hill Vineyard” Nero d’Avola, Mendocino County, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry and raspberries. In the mouth, a cloud of powdery tannins wrap around a juicy core of black cherry, raspberry, and plum skin. Mouthwatering and juicy, with a faint sour cherry note in the finish. Really crunchy, delicious, and juicy. 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $27. click to buy.
2021 Broc Cellars “Amore Rosso Red Table Wine – Fox Hill Vineyard” Red Blend, Mendocino County, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of forest berries and wet stone. In the mouth, bright crunchy flavors of cherry, plum, cranberry, and raspberry are wrapped in lightly grippy tannins and shot through with excellent acidity that leaves a citrus peel brightness in the finish. A great pizza wine indeed (illustrations of pizzas grace the label). 12.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $23. click to buy.
2021 Trapiche “Tesoro” Cabernet Sauvignon, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, cassis, and cola. In the mouth, cherry and cola flavors mix with wet earth and a touch of espresso as cottony tannins coat the mouth. Good acidity and a nice stony earthiness linger in the finish along with dried herbs and oak. 14% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $19. click to buy.
2021 Minus Tide “Valenti Vineyard” Syrah, Mendocino Ridge, Mendocino, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of wet earth, black cherry, and a hint of horse sweat. In the mouth, wonderfully bright, citrus oil and black cherry fruit are mouthwatering with a saline acidity that is quite disarming. Powdery tannins coat the mouth and then stiffen with time leaving a stony character in the mouth, as salty black cherry and leather flavors linger through the finish. Unusual and slightly feral (in a very good way). 50% whole-cluster fermentation with native yeasts, then aged for 11 months in neutral ok. 13.4% alcohol. 87 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $42. click to buy.
