Wines (24 View)

90pts- James Suckling:
A straightforward cabernet with medium body, light tannins and a currant and berry finish. Easy. Drink now.
Excellent to be paired with spicy roast beef chicken and duck. Also pairs well with strong cheeses like blue cheese and cheddar.
Aromas of plum and berries, with notes of licorice. Flavors of ripe cassis, blackberries and chocolate. Hint of toasted flavors that please the palate.

Winemaker Notes:
Purple-colored, the nose offers up plum and black cherry notes with a touch of black pepper. The palate is soft and round with ripe, saturated berry flavors. Finishes spicy and full with chewy tannins.
Ideal to serve with cheeses, red meats, mushrooms, stew, and the typical Argentine "asado".

Classic Primitivo at a great price! This rich, round, spicy red was aged entirely in tank...its spicy and freshly fruity profile makes it a perfect match for pasta, pizza, burgers, or anything off the grill! Primitivo is said be related to the Zinfandel grape which many old Italian immigrants planted in Northern California in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Tratturi label was inspired by the designs of Italy of this era. The background of the label is made up of Trulli houses, which dot the countryside in Puglia. Tratturi is the word for the ancient drovers trails in the countryside of Puglia that shepherds used in the old days to bring their flocks of sheep and other animals down from the mountains in autumn. This countryside of Puglia, specifically the subzone of Salento, is the source of this bold, spicy, and delicious Primitivo. - Distributor

La Storia Merlot is and has been consistently fine example of the ability of this classic Bordeaux variety to make solid, tasty and age worthy wines. The main aromas and flavors are of dark cherry, plums, a bit of black licorice and herbs. The new oak barrels contribute a touch of vanilla, brown sugar, cocoa dust and toast. On the mouth the wine is soft and viscous, balancing the acidity and the tannins well for such a young wine. The finish is long and soft with suggestion of sweetness backed by ripe tannins. This wine will age well and will reward your patience if stored well in the next 3-6 years.

Organic / Natural / Orange Wine

60% Vermentino, 25% Picpoul, and 13% Albarino. Centime” harkens back to France's copper penny, and celebrates our full skin-contact series (aka orange wine). The grapes are destemmed and fermented on the skins for 12 days, then aged in neutral oak 10 months. This is a non traditional orange wine, and at 11.8% alc, is light and fresh, while still textural. If you've always been curious about orange wines, but not a fan of oxidized wines, this is a great introduction to the style!

91 points James Suckling
Tangy and incisive nose full of chalk and lime citrus. Fresh and bright on the palate with a subtle, smart sweetness that balances the high, bright acidity.

Next to rose, there is no other wine that can turn down the summer heat like Txakoli. It’s not just a pleasure we indulge in when it’s hot outside; it’s essential. If given the choice between our air conditioner and Txakoli, we’d take the Txakoli! - PJ

The Txueka family is one of the most historic and important in Getaria. Iñaki Txueka was the leader of the movement to revitalize Txacoli from Getaria, beginning in 1980. In 1989, he was a leader in founding D.O. Getariako Txakolina. The family has been working in this zone for centuries, proven by documentation from Txomin Etxaniz dating back to 1649.

100% Hondarrabi Beltza. Harvest is done by hand and transported to the winery in 20 kg boxes. At the winery the grapes undergo further selection. This is followed by rose vinification at controlled temperature. Mature the skin with the juice between 12-15 hours , pneumatic pressing in an inert atmosphere, the fermenting at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks. Maceration occurs between 8 to 10 hours before pressing. Temperature controlled fermentation. The winery performs selection of the grapes for only the healthiest bunches. The grapes are cold macerated for 15 hours followed by destemming and a closed pneumatic press. Temperature controlled fermentation by selected indigenous yeast. 6 months in stainless steel sur lie, with battonage.

95 points Vinous

Brooding yet intense, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino bursts from the glass with a wave of autumnal spices, crushed cherries, cedar shavings and steeped plums lifted by pine hints. This is deeply textural, elegant and refined, with a dense wave of ripe wild berry fruits, all guided by vibrant acidity, offset by oranges and balsam herbs. It finishes grippy and extended with a black hole of tension and a sweet and sour sensation that lingers on and on as crunchy tannins resonate throughout. The 2019 is youthfully backward today, yet there’s a balance that can’t be denied, especially as I watched it open up over twenty-four hours. This is a total pleasure to taste. Bury the 2019 deep in the cellar. 

95 points Wine Advocate

The Uccelliera 2019 Brunello di Montalcino offers ripe fruit, a note of cooked blackberry and pomegranate juice. Along with oak spice and dried bay leaf, there is a spot of creaminess on the mid-palate that recalls cheese rind or aged chèvre with a crust of black pepper and thyme. That note blows off, however, and the wine returns to dried cherry with a medicinal or herbal twist. There’s a lot going on. The wine needs more time in bottle to address the fine, chalky tannins. It is elegant now but poised to improve

Organic

91 points Vinous
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Ungrafted Gravel Soil hails from Isla de Maipo, aged 12 month in used barrels. Light purple in hue, the mild nose offers blackcurrant and cherry soft piracine notes. Terse with polished, slightly reactive, finely grained tannins and a flavorful juicy finish. A nuanced and lively style.

Organic

93 points Vinous
The 2022 Carménère Gravel Soils hails from Isla de Maipo. Purple in hue. The nose opens with ashes and spices, green bell pepper and sandalwood, and hints of incense. It is an attractive and nuanced red. On the palate, it offers loose and fine grain tannins textured as well as a more silky than velvety palate. A rare red lean in the flow and voluptuous in weight

Grapes are sorted and destemed and then fermented in stainless steel with wild yeast.

Post fermentation the wine is moved to neutral barrels to rest for a few months before going into 5,000 l foudres for aging for 12 months.

Organic

92 points Vinous
The 2021 Cinsault Ungrafted Old Vines comes from Guarilihue and spent 12 month in used barrels. Cherry red in color, the nose presents aromas of damp earth, pomegranate and a line sour cherry. Compelling and reductive on the palate with finely grained tannins, the 2021 is tout and juicy with a fruity end in the back of the mouth.

Grapes are sorted and destemed and then fermented in stainless steel with wild yeast.
Post fermentation the wine is moved to neutral French barrels to age for 6 months.

Organic

90 points Vinous
The 2021 Muscat Ungrafted Old Vines combines 15% of Chasselas from Guarilihue, Itata. Yellow in color, it offers notes of rose and traces of Muscat and herbs. Ample in the mouth with a refreshing and gripped finely grain palate that channels the flavor, this is a well-made wine.

Post fermentation the wine age in barrel for 6 months with 50% allowed to finish malo.

Unshackled Red Blend opens with aromas of raspberry, blueberry, and crushed violets. Flavors of spiced dried cherries, florals and a hint of white pepper translate to a balanced red blend wine supported with a generous mouthfeel. A blend of Zinfandel, Malbec, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Grenache is barrel-aged in French and American oak casks for 11 months before bottling. Serve just below room temperature by refrigerating this wine bottle for up to 30 minutes. Pair this red wine blend with BBQ Pork Ribs or a Portobello Mushroom burger.

Vinified by Patrick Piuze of Chablis fame. 100% Pinot Noir. From vineyards near the village of Tonnerre to the north and east of Chablis. Clay and limestone soil. Average vine age 30 yrs old. Grapes are hand harvested, crushed, and left to macerate on the skins for a few hours only in order to take on a bit of color and fresh red fruit aromas.

Organic

93 points Vinous
The 2019 Colline Novaresi Spanna Cuvée Bernardo Vallana is gorgeous. It presents a bit more mid-palate sweetness and generosity than many of these wines, which only adds to its considerable appeal. Sweet red cherry, kirsch, rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange build nicely in the glass, leading to a finish marked by lovely delineation and class.

100% Spanna (Nebbiolo) are hand-harvested and put into small 20kg baskets. Fermented in concrete vats under temperature control for 10 days. Aged in wooden casks for one year.
Fined, filtered, and bottled, and aged for a period of time in the cellar before release
125 cases produced annually.

Valle de Passos is a red wine that presents a dark ruby color, aromas of black fruits and mineral notes. In the mouth, the tannins are soft but present with balanced acidity.

"The millennial Unico was tasted twice in January and June 2012. It has a Bordeaux- inspired bouquet that demonstrates more austerity than the 2004 with herbaceous notes infusing the brambly black fruit: smoke, forest floor, wild mint and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with bright blackberry, strawberry and Morello on the entry. It is extremely well balanced and more feminine than the nose suggests. There is also impressive tension and vivacity towards the finish. There is great backbone here, a solid and obdurate Unico at the moment, but it will surely mellow in bottle. 108,536 bottles produced. Drink 2018-2030+." 93pts WA

98 pts Wine Advocate
I tasted a bottle of the 2009 ??nico blind and was taken by the freshness, the red fruit notes and the Burgundian-like characteristics of this vintage, which on paper was quite warm and dry. I also tasted the 2009 Valbuena, which is always more approachable, and was blown away by its aromatics. With time in the glass the ??nico opened up and got closer to the character of Valbuena but with more depth and clout, while showing extremely elegant. I tasted it again in the context of all the wines from the group, and it delivered all that I saw when I tasted it blind. It takes some time to unfurl its aromatic palette, and it feels young and somewhat undeveloped, younger than it is. It has a touch that made me think of the old vintages of ??nico on the nose but with very polished tannins and a soft mouthfeel that provides elegance. This is a wine that ages for no less than ten years before it's released. 2009 seems like a great vintage for Vega Sicilia, much better than what I anticipated. It should develop nicely in bottle.

96 pts Wine Advocate
The Unico released in 2021, 10 years after the harvest, is the 2011 Unico, selected from 40 of their 210 hectares of vineyards. 2011 is a concentrated and ripe vintage, and they selected 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that were cooled in a cold room for 24 hours before being sorted; the bunches and grapes macerated at 9 to 10 degrees Celsius for three to four days, and then it was inoculated with a pied de cuve to ferment with pumping overs. Malolactic was in stainless steel, and the wine was put through a long aging, 10 years between oak and bottle, using new and used French and American oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats. For Vega Sicilia, 2011 was a fresher year than 2010, not the common idea about those vintages in Ribera del Duero. The wine has a developed nose with some notes of ripe black fruit, meat and underbrush, somewhat herbal and perfumed. There is something about the nose of the ??nicos that I cannot quite describe but is quite distinct, and it's in this vintage and also in the Reserva Especial.

96 pts Wine Advocate
The 2012 ??nico is released 10 years after the harvest. They produced it with the grapes from 40 of the 210 hectares of vineyards they have, with a total of 55 separate plots and 19 different soils. It's mostly 95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that are cooled down for 24 hours and then fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation was in stainless steel and the aging in 225-liter oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats for a long time as this was bottled in June 2018. 2012 is a concentrated year, warm and dry with some rain at the end of September that helped the end of the ripening process of healthy grapes with lots of color and ripe tannins. The wine has a ripe nose, with intoxicating notes of black fruit, fresh meat and blood, a spicy touch from the American oak and an earthy twist. It's a voluptuous and decadent vintage for Vega Sicilia, for those that favor years like 2006, a bit atypical, or 1999.

97 points James Suckling
Berry, smoke, violet and sandalwood aromas follow through to a full, layered palate that shows super polished tannins that are caressing and long. It?????s tight and very long. Give it two or three years to soften. Drink after 2023.