Hello and welcome to this week’s 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 past week included some new releases (actually some of them not yet released here in the US) from Raventós i Blanc, the ancient sparkling wine house in Spain’s Catalunya region. One of the architects behind the creation of Cava, Raventós i Blanc has now left the Cava DO, and is trying to establish their own DO in their specific region Conca del Riu Anoia. So they don’t and we can’t call their sparkling wines Cava, but if you need a mental shorthand, go ahead, as long as you note that these wines are vastly superior to most wines that bear that designation. I tasted 4 bottlings this week, ranging from their $40 Textures de Pedra wine to their $200 single site Mas de Serral wine (so special it gets its own website). My favorite of the bunch, however was their long-aged Xarel-lo dominant blend, Manuel Raventós Negra, which has a nice butter-cracker toastiness and salinity.
Closer to home, St. Supery, which is part of the Chanel luxury brand empire, sent along a few wines, including two Sauvignon Blancs, a rosé and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate Sauvignon Blanc is all green apple and passionfruit, while the Dollarhide Vineyard version has seen some barrel fermentation, and leans more lemon and vanilla. The rosé, made of unspecified grape varieties, has a nice cherry and watermelon rind character. Their Cabernet Sauvignon from Dollarhide Vineyard sports a sweet oak and black cherry character backed by bright acidity.
I also tasted the latest Jurassic Park Chenin Blanc from Birichino, the Santa Cruz-based project by Alex Krause and John Locke. I tend to like their wines a lot, and their Chenins in particular, though this wine seemed a bit softer in acidity than I would have liked. But the flavors were lovely.
The folks at Big Table Farm in Oregon sent through some wines this week but the only one I managed to open for this column was their Laughing Pig Rosé of Pinot Noir, which is in its usual form: crisp, bright, and tasty.
Light, chillable red wines are all the rage these days, and Copain Wines‘ P2 fits bottling right in, as a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, with a crunch and a light grip.
This week I was introduced to a new wine brand named Nestweaver, by Caren Frutig Hatton, co-founder along with her husband Fritz Hatton of Arietta wines in Napa. Nestweaver is Caren’s personal Pinot Noir project, sourced from a vineyard in the Sebastopol hills. The 2022 vintage is only the second from this project, which clearly has its sights set on luxury status with a $125 price point. It’s a nice wine, but honestly, pricing your second commercial vintage of a wine (made from purchased fruit off a not-particularly famous vineyard) higher than 95% of California’s finest Pinot Noirs registers quite high on the hubris scale.
Lastly, the folks at Trothe Winery in Washington State have a second label called Sagebreaker. Their Bordeaux blend, which is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, leans rich, ripe, and bold, which will doubtless appeal to many, but I found it a little heavy. The flavors are good, though, and the tannins supple, so if bigger Cabs are your thing, this is one for you.
Tasting Notes
2021 Raventos i Blanc “Textures de Pedra – Blanc de Negra Brut Nature” Cava Blend, Conca del Riu Anoia, Catalunya, Spain
Light gold in the glass with medium-fine bubbles, this wine smells of baked apples, pastry cream, and lemon pith. In the mouth, a voluminous, smooth mousse delivers flavors of apple, lemon pith, wet stone, and a faintly saline dashi quality. Excellent acidity. Crisp and clean. A biodynamically farmed blend of 25% Bastard Negre, 50% Xarel-lo Vermell, and 25% Sumoll. Aged for 48 months on the lees in bottle. Zero dosage. 12.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $30.
2022 Raventos i Blanc “de la Finca” Cava Blend, Conca del Riu Anoia, Catalunya, Spain
Light gold in the glass with medium-fine bubbles, this wine smells of freshly cut apples. In the mouth, an expansive mousse fills the palate and delivers flavors of fresh apple, lemon pith, yellow plum and wet chalkboard. There’s a nice crispness here, with an underlying stoniness that makes for a clean and refreshing finish with just a hint of savory dried herbs. A biodynamically farmed blend of 50% Xarel-lo, 40% Macabeo, and 10% Parellada aged for 30 months on the lees in bottle. Zero dosage. 12% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $35. click to buy.
2018 Raventos i Blanc “Manuel Raventós Negra” Cava Blend, Conca del Riu Anoia, Catalunya, Spain
Light to medium yellow gold in the glass with fine bubbles, this wine smells of dried apples, warm hay, toasted sourdough, and a hint of herbs. In the mouth, a silky, voluminous mousse delivers flavors of lemon and grapefruit pith mixed with butter crackers and dried herbs. Notes of chamomile in the finish. Smooth and refined. A biodynamically farmed blend of 70% Xarel-lo,15% Parellada and 15% Macabeo, aged for 72 months on the lees in bottle. Disgorged July 2025. Zero dosage. 12% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $100. click to buy.
2014 Raventos i Blanc “Mas del Serral” Cava Blend, Conca del Riu Anoia, Catalunya, Spain
Light to medium bronze gold in the glass with fine bubbles, this wine smells of baked apples, butterscotch, and parchment. In the mouth, a voluminous, silky mousse delivers flavors of dried apples, dried lemon peel, dried herbs, and a mix of marzipan and butterscotch. Nicely dry, with a hint of salinity that emerges in the finish along with a citrus peel kick. Alcohol unknown. A 1954-planted field blend of interplanted Xarel-lo and Bastard Negre that is farmed biodynamically. The wine ages for 100 months on the lees in the bottle. Score: around 9. Cost: $195. click to buy.
2024 St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of candied green apple and passionfruit. In the mouth, candied green apple mixes with just a hint of alfalfa, as faintly saline flavors of lime zest and green apple linger in the finish. Very good acidity. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 13.5% alcohol. Napa Green Certified winery and vineyard. Closed with a technical (resin) cork. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $21. click to buy.
2023 St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery “Dollarhide” Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Light gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon and vanilla. In the mouth, lemon curd, lemon zest, and vanilla pastry cream notes are bright with juicy acidity. 15% of the wine is fermented in oak, the remainder in steel. Aged on the lees for 5 months. 13.5% alcohol. Napa Green Certified winery and vineyard. Closed with a technical (resin) cork. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $48. click to buy.
2024 Birichino “Old Vines – Jurassic Park Vineyard” Chenin Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, California
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of pears and pear skin with a hint of wet straw. In the mouth, pear and pear skin flavors have a hint of grapefruit pith and a pastry cream quality. Slightly softer acidity here, contributing to the creamy quality, with a faint chalky texture. I’d like more zip. Fermented with ambient yeasts and aged on the lees in concrete egg and old oak. 13.5% alcohol. Vines are 46 years old. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $28. click to buy.
2024 St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery Rosé, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Light coppery pink in the glass, this wine smells of cherries and watermelon. In the mouth, cherry and watermelon rind flavors have a nice crispness to them, but a faint bitterness as well, that lingers with a hint of chalky tannic texture in the finish. Grape varieties not specified. 13.5% alcohol. Napa Green Certified winery and vineyard. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $28. click to buy.
2024 Big Table Farm “Laughing Pig” Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Light coppery pink in color, this wine smells of strawberries, cranberries and wet pavement. In the mouth, silky flavors of raspberry and strawberry have a nice crispness thanks to very good acidity. There’s a hint of pastry cream in the finish. I would personally like a little more acidity, but it’s hard to argue with the flavors. 13.9% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $36. click to buy.
2023 Copain “P2” Red Blend, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light ruby in the glass, this wine smells of raspberries, pears, and citrus peel. In the mouth, crisp berry and citrus peel flavors mix with a hint of apple and pear as lightly grippy tannins and crunchy acidity make for a refreshing mouthful. There’s a light brushy, herbal note that lingers in the finish. A blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Gris. 12% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $38. click to buy.
2022 Nestweaver Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of sweet cherry and raspberry fruit. In the mouth, bright raspberry fruit mixes with cherry and cranberry as faint gauzy tannins and a light herbal note linger through the finish. Very good acidity. Ripe, but not overly so. 14% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $125. click to buy.
2022 Sagebreaker “D-41-BDX” Red Blend, Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley, Washington
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, chocolate, and espresso grounds. In the mouth, rich espresso, sweet black cherry, cassis, and cola flavors have a fleecy tannic texture and are shot through with the sweetness of oak. A bit ripe, and a bit overdone, though the texture is quite nice and there’s enough acidity to keep the wine from being flabby. A blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5%Cabernet Franc, and 0.5%Petit Verdot aged in 70% new French oak. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $84.
2021 St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery “Dollarhide” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Napa, California
Inky opaque garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of sweet oak, black cherries, and cassis. In the mouth, thick fleecy tannins wrap around a core of black cherry and cassis flavors with hints of blueberry. Very good acidity keeps things bright, but the wine feels a bit heavy on the palate. Notes of toasted oak linger in the finish. Aged for 19 months in French oak. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $134. click to buy.
