The Olympics may have kicked off in Paris this week, but it’s been a marathon of wine around here. Since returning from Veneto, I’ve been running non-stop to tastings, dinners, and wine events, including the 38th annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC), a three-day celebration of all things Pinot Noir held in Willamette Valley. Pinot Noir winemakers and wineries from around the world come out to showcase their wines, participate in educational seminars, tastings, lunches, dinners, and excursions to area vineyards and wineries. I even got in on the action pouring one of my favorite Champagne rosés, Charles Heidsieck NV Brut, from magnums at the Saturday Al Fresco tasting.
As fun, educational, and celebratory as this event and all the parties around it are, unfortunately, owing to slumping sales the last few years, this was the final IPNC. And although I have heard rumors swirling that it may be revived by a new entity or organization, it’s likely to look different going forward if it does. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But while it does, we’ve got wine to discuss.
In My Glass
2021 The Setting Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
From the deft hands of winemaker Jesse Katz comes this easy, juicy, balanced, and delicious Cab. Now, I’m not a huge Cab Sauv fan (Cab Franc I think you all know by now is another story), but if I do enjoy a Cab, I tend to prefer them with age when they’re less big and bold. Young Cabs can be just a little too “in your face” for me. Having just said that, however, this Cab Sauv at only three years of age from California’s Alexander Valley is one I want to put in my face. It’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that sees 22 months in French oak barrels, of which 80% is new. And despite all that new oak, it’s incredibly balanced and well-integrated. It’s from a single vineyard and it’s bright, brimming with fresh berries, plums, and spice. It’s round and elegant with velvety smooth tannins making it go down all too easy. I’m guessing this one can age, but honestly, just drink it now. Suave. $95
p.s. If you’re in Willamette Valley you can snag this at The Setting’s tasting room in Newberg (along with their OR Pinot and Chardonnay).
2022 Audeant Rosé of Pinot Noir
I am not a big fan of rosés from Pinot Noir. I tend to find them lackluster. This one, however, is anything but. A wine of contradiction and intention, it has an electric magenta-hue and is as savory as it is fruity, as lifted as it is encompassing. Crunchy fruits, spices, and minerals make this an absolute lip-smacker. It’s a more serious rosé than many, so pair this one with a good meal and great company. Or a great meal and no company. Either way, just pair it and pour it. Buoyant. $50
2022 Marco Felluga Russiz Superiore Collio Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio, the simple, easy-going, crowd-pleaser. Well, let’s step things up a notch with this Russiz Superiore from the Collio region of northeastern Italy. Much like the wine above, this is not your mass produced, party pounder. It’s more of a summertime dinner party Pinot G. It’s crisp, complex, loaded with citrus and orchard fruits, minerals, and herbs, and it’s a delight with summer pasta salads, salads, and cheeses. Pinot Grigio does not have to be boring and this bottle is proof. Unboring. $36
I’ve got one more rosé for you this week because it’s just too good to pass up. This snappy Grenache comes from the 250-acre family-owned ranch in Mendocino County. The winery is focused on growing healthy, small yielding vines and on harnessing the natural acidity derived from this vineyard, which they most certainly did here. Tangy goodness right here. But first, the nose on this rosé sets the stage for a showstopping performance with tart red berries, citrus, and minerality. And the palate delivers it all in spades. I’ve had multiple vintages of this wine, and I have to say, the 2023 is the most notable yet. Encore-worthy. $23
In the Spotlight
Wine Region of the Week
Since I have Pinot Noir on the brain (and probably coursing through my veins at this point) let’s jump into another region known for its prized Pinots, the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Stretching 18 miles long on the east-facing terraces of the Santa Lucia mountain range* in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, and sitting south of Monterey Bay on California's central coast, the Santa Lucia Highlands are planted to around 5700 acres of grapes anywhere from 40 to 2300 feet above sea level in its alluvial, gravely, sandy loan, and limestone soils.
Although first planted to grapes by Spanish missionaries in the 1790s, the region was historically focused on vegetable farming. It wasn’t until around 200 years later when a group of pioneering families began planting the region to vine once again and today the Santa Lucia Highlands have approximately 50 vineyards owned by 34 or so families.
Predominantly planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (with smatterings of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gamay and Syrah), the Santa Lucia Highlands see around 12-14 inches of rain annually. It’s a semi-arid region whose temperatures are heavily influenced by oceanic breezes and fogs from the Monterey Bay owing to an area of the bay known as the Blue Grand Canyon. The Blue Grand Canyon is an enormous submarine canyon 60 miles long and 2 miles deep. It creates a climatic pathway connecting the deep sea to Monterey's wine-growing regions bringing fog, winds, moderate temperatures, and a lack of rain during the growing season. It’s one of the world’s deepest marine canyons and the only one impacting a wine region.
But how do these breezes get from the bay down to the Santa Lucia Highlands? Well, that’s owing to another fun term - The Thermal Rainbow. This atmospheric action puts the cooling waters of the Blue Grand Canyon to work. As the sun's heat makes warm air rise, the heat from down the coast generates a low-pressure effect, so the cool air rolling off the ocean funnels through the Santa Lucia mountain ranges, mitigating temperature spikes from north to south, elongating the growing season, and enabling slow, gentle ripening.
And it’s practically like clockwork. The fog begins to roll off just before 10 a.m. and the heat starts to draw the cool air in from the Bay, and by about 1 to 2 p.m. daily the wind is being sucked into the Santa Lucia Highlands and on down the coast. The average maximum daily winds of 10-15 miles per hour and gusts up to 25 miles per hour actually change the structure of the grape skins, which results in higher phenolics and deeper flavor in the grapes. Additionally these cooling temperatures also stop photosynthesis, giving the Santa Lucia Highlands a shorter daily growth time, and a longer growing season in total than most cool-climate growing regions.
Recommended wineries: Pisoni Vineyards, ROAR Wines, Cru Winery, Wrath Wines, Mansfield-Dunne, and Morgan Winery.
*The Santa Lucia mountain range was formed when the large rock plate which sits at the core of the Sierra Nevada Mountains was separated from the North American Plate and transported northwest by the seismic action of the San Andreas Fault. It slowly spun its way here until it crashed into the Pacific Plate and formed the coastal ridge of the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Winery of the Week
I’ve been a big fan of the exquisite wines from Champagne Lelarge-Pugeot for several years and this week I was fortunate to attend a dinner hosted by Clemence Lelarge at Arden in Portland. Champagne Lelarge is found in Vrigny, a Premier Cru village located in Montagne de Reims. Since 1799, the family has farmed their 8.7 hectares of vineyards, the majority of which are Meunier growing on calcareous, clay loam and sandy soils.
Originally a grower that sold wines to many of the big Champagne houses, Lelarge-Pugeot began bottling their own wines in 1930. Today the winery is led by Dominique Lelarge and his wife Dominique Pugeot and two of their children, Clemence and Valentin. Dominique has been one of the earliest proponents of organic and biodynamic farming in the region. He and Dominique began eliminating the use of herbicides and pesticides in the vineyards in the early 1990s and by 2000 the vineyards were completely free these chemicals. But the sustainability efforts did not stop there. The family has since obtained both organic and biodynamic certifications and has completely restored the biodiversity of the vineyard. They even introduced a Champagne in 2014, the Nature et Non-Dosé, which sees zero manipulation. Native yeast. No sulfur. No dosage. And it’s exquisite. As are all the family’s Champagnes. Here are a few of my previous reviews:
Gueux comes from a blend of 70-25-5 Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay harvested in 2016 from two different lieux-dits: Le Linguet and Les Pantenais. The base wine is fermented in stainless before bottling where it then remains on its lees for three years. At the time of disgorging, the Gueux receives a final dosage of 2 g/L. It’s complex with waves of richness and depth of flavors: aromatics, spice, citrus, mushrooms, and minerals. And it’s perfect for letting go of the week, embracing abandon, and enlivening the senses.
Les Charmes de Vrigny Extra Brut was harvested in 2008 and aged in a solera system*. It’s a 50-30-20 blend of Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay respectively. It spent six months in tanks and eight years on the lees and has 3g/L dosage. Honestly it’s hard to get more up my alley than this. It’s rich, racy and it has a depth that evokes an almost guttural need. I’m absolutely craving more. Ah, the fleeting romance of a good Champagne.
And as for this week’s tasting, my recommendations would be the 2016 Gueux and the 2015 Les Meuniers de Celemence Extra Brut, a 100-percent Meunier made with 1er cru fruit that spends five years on the lees. It’s warm, rich, and spicy. And it’s ever so visceral. Honestly, if you see any of their Champagnes, just pick them up. You won’t be sorry.
*A solera system is a barrel aging process most commonly used in Spanish Sherry, but the same principal applies in wine. Basically barrels of different vintages are stacked with the oldest vintage barrels at the bottom and the newest at the top. The bottom row is called the solera and is the one from which a limited amount of wine is taken for bottling. The remaining wine in the solera barrels is then topped up with wine from the barrels one level above, which are then topped up with wine from the barrel row above that. This fractional blending technique ensures consistency by blending multiple vintages as the solera will contain an increasing number of vintages over time.
In the Know
Ever hear the term “Grower Champagnes?” These Champagnes differ from the large house Champagnes in that they are grown, made, and aged by the same grower/family and are a distinctive reflection of terroir. It’s essentially farm to table.
Some grower Champagne vineyards are only 2-5 acres. And there’s only roughly 5,000 of them out of the 20,000 independent growers. Styles vary, but vintage variation is almost always reflected in grower Champagne. These Champagnes are not done to recipe, but to reflect Mother Nature and the vineyards in the given year.
Only 5% of Champagne imported into the US is grower Champagne. There are no labeling requirements, but the letters “RM” or phrasing Récoltant Manipulant means a minimum of 95% of the Champagne is estate grown. It’s not full-proof, so always ask.
A few grower Champagne producers to know: Lelarge-Pugeot, Pierre Paillard, Vouette + Sorbée, Suenen, R. Pouillon, Pierre Moncuit, Vilmart & Cie, Pehu Simonet, Marguet, Egly-Ouriet, Marie Courtin, and Henriet-Bazin.
I am sad this is the last year for the IPNC :-( It's been on our list but we just hadn't made it a priority. We will have to keep an eye out for what the next vision will be! I may just have to attend the sparkling event in January since that's been on my list as well! Hoping that one will still be happening!