Week of 11/24/24 : Vinography
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 past week included a trio of nice white wines from Northern California, beginning with the lean, snappy Sauvignon Blanc from Stewart Cellars. Picked early in a chilly vintage, this wine has a lot of edge to it, so if you appreciate acidity, it might be a good bet for you.
I love wine projects that have focus. John Skupny and his wife Tracey have been making Loire-inspired Cabernet Franc and Chenin in Napa and across the North Coast for decades under their Lang & Reed label. The winemaking is now a joint affair between John and his son Reed, and they continue to make excellent wines, including the floral and bright Mendocino Chenin Blanc they sent this week, as well as their entry-level Cabernet Franc which you can find a bit farther down the page.
Lastly the Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay that Auteur recently sent along was quite nervy and bright, leaning towards Chablis more than California if you get my meaning, though it has a keen acidic edge to it that you don’t get that often in Chablis these days. I enjoyed the wine, as well as the two single-vineyard Pinot Noirs that Auteur sent along as well.
This week featured an interesting selection of Nebbiolo from northern Italy, across both Piedmont and Lombardy. The Vietti Perbacco Langhe Nebbiolo, which I often find to be a generous, approachable wine, was surprisingly tight, but will doubtless relax with some time. The Tenuta Scerscé Valtellina Superiore Valgella was savory and herbal, with a hint of reduction and the powdery tannins that sometimes accompany alpine Nebbiolo.
Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Gresy is a mouthful (both literally and figuratively) so most people just say Marchesi di Gresy when they’re referring to this producer with four separate estates in the Piedmont region of Italy. Their Martinenga Barbaresco comes from their Martinenga estate which has been in their family’s hands since 1797. It is lovely and ethereal with great balance and brightness.
Perla Terra is a new brand developed by storied importer Dalla Terra in collaboration with a number of smaller producers in Piedmont. Made from purchased fruit, it is designed to be an attractively priced entry into the Barolo category. The 2019 Perla Terra Barolo is tight and needs time, but will hopefully open up with some years in the bottle.
My favorite of the Nebbiolos I received this week was the Enrico Serafino Monclivio Barolo. The Serafino family has been making wine in Piedmont since 1878, and this bottling is their classic Barolo crafted from several plots in the Serralunga area. It is broad and generous, with a great balance between fruit, herbs, and spices. It will improve with age, of course, but (with a decent decanting) proves quite attractive even in its youth.
Finally, I’ve got two more wines from Stewart Cellars in Napa — their standard Cabernet Sauvignon, which I enjoyed, but not as much as I enjoyed their “Tartan” red blend that seems to have more dynamism and balance to it. I just wish the winery would get with the program and lose their nasty heavy bottles in favor of something more environmentally friendly.
Notes on all these below!
Tasting Notes
2023 Stewart Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Oakville, Napa, California
Palest straw in color, this wine smells of green apple and a touch of alfalfa. In the mouth, tart green apple flavors mix with celery and a little bit of passionfruit as lean, zippy acidity keeps things fresh and bright. There’s just the faintest vegetal edge to this wine. 12.9% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $38. click to buy.
2023 Lang & Reed Chenin Blanc, Mendocino, California
Palest gold in color, this wine smells of poached pear and pastry cream. In the mouth, silky bright pear and pear skin flavors mix with a touch of grapefruit and grapefruit pith. Bright, juicy acidity and a hint of vanilla and oak linger in a long finish. Very pretty. Whole-cluster pressed with half fermented with ambient yeasts, the other half inoculated. Aged in a combination of steel and oak for 10 months with bi-weekly battonage until two months before bottling. 13.5% alcohol. 252 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $35. click to buy.
2022 Auteur “Hyde Vineyard” Chardonnay, Carneros, Sonoma, California
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith and pomelo zest. In the mouth, lean lemon pith and grapefruit flavors are zingy and bright thanks to fantastic acidity. The wine is very lean and pithy, with a hint of lemon oil that emerges in the finish. If you like your Chardonnays a touch austere, this will be quite pleasing. 12.8% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $65. click to buy.
2022 Auteur “Gap’s Crown Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Medium to dark garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of cherries and raspberries. In the mouth, bright cherry and cranberry fruit are wrapped in gauzy tannins that stiffen slightly with time. Notes of citrus peel and faintly bitter dried herbs emerge on the palate and linger through the finish with a scent of oak. 14.3% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $85. click to buy.
2022 Auteur “Ferrington Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry and cranberry fruit mixed with a hint of forest floor. In the mouth, raspberries and cranberries are juicy and bright with notes of dried herbs and citrus peel. A faint dusty earthiness underlies the finish, and the tannins stay ghost-like at the edges of perception. 13.5% alcohol. 252 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $85. click to buy.
2021 Vietti “Perbacco” Nebbiolo, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy
Medium ruby in the glass, this wine smells of strawberries and dried herbs and flowers. In the mouth, muscular, fleecy tannins wrap around a core of strawberry and cherry fruit shot through with dried herbs and dried leaves. Excellent acidity leaves an herbal freshness in the finish. 14% alcohol. Vegan certified. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $30. click to buy.
2019 Tenuta Scerscé “Riserva Cristina Scarpellini” Valtellina Superiore Valgella, Lombardy, Italy
Light to medium blood and brick red in the glass, this wine smells of dried flowers, struck flint, and dried berries. In the mouth, bright, fresh acidity makes flavors of dried berries and dried flowers juicy and bright with hints of fresh herbs and citrus peel. Powdery tannins. Grapes are grown on a terraced plot between 500 and 650 meters above sea level. 13% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $58. click to buy.
2020 Tenute Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Gresy “Martinenga” Barbaresco, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy
Light to medium ruby in the glass, this wine smells of strawberry and dried herbs, rose petals, and earth. In the mouth, bright strawberry and leather notes mix with citrus peel and dried herbs as a blanket of fleecy tannins coat the mouth. Very good acidity with notes of dried herbs lingering in the finish. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $70. click to buy.
2019 Perla Terra Barolo, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy
Medium brick red with coffee-colored highlights, this wine smells of earth, dried flowers, and licorice root. In the mouth, dark licorice and earth flavors are fresh thanks to very good acidity as chalky mouth-coating tannins fill every nook and cranny of the palate and then gradually stiffen over time. Herbs and dried flower petals linger in the finish. Needs a few years to open up. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 8.5. Cost: $42. click to buy.
2019 Enrico Serafino “Monclivio” Nebbiolo, Barolo, Langhe, Piedmont, Italy
Light to medium brick and blood red in the glass with orange highlights, this wine smells of rose petals, leather, and a hint of snuffed candle. In the mouth, juicy and bright flavors of strawberry jam, rose petals, dried herbs, and leather are wrapped in fleecy, mouth-coating tannins that remain quite supple but display their muscle over time. Fresh, thanks to excellent acidity, with notes of chopped fresh herbs in the finish. 14.5% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $51. click to buy.
2022 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of plums, crushed nuts, and chopped green herbs. In the mouth, nutty flavors of cherry and plum are shot through with green herbs and just the tiniest hint of green bell pepper. Light fleecy tannins coat the mouth, and excellent acidity keeps things fresh and bright. Notes of oak linger in the finish. 14.5% alcohol. 2018 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $29. click to buy.
2021 Stewart Cellars “Tartan” Red Blend, Napa Valley, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, plum, and cola. In the mouth, bright black cherry and plum flavors mix with dried herbs and a touch of licorice as fleecy tannins coat the mouth. Notes of oak emerge on the finish but are generally very well integrated into the wine, balanced with the rich fruit. Notes of licorice root linger in the finish. Excellent acidity. 14.5% alcohol. Packaged in an unusually heavy bottle weighing 1.63 kg when full. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $66. click to buy.
2021 Stewart Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California
Inky opaque garnet in the glass with purple highlights, this wine smells of oak and black cherries. In the mouth, rich black cherry, blackcurrant, and licorice flavors battle with sweet oak flavors for attention. Very good acidity keeps things fresh, but there’s just a lot of wood to wade through to get to the fruit. The tannins are muscular and slightly drying. Cellar for at least 3-5 years. 14.5% alcohol. Packaged in an unusually heavy bottle weighing 1.63 kg when full. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $90. click to buy.
