In This Issue: Gold Medal Performers at Renegade Wines


2013 DuMOL Chardonnay Russian River Valley ($54)
The 2013 Chardonnay Russian River is a blend of some terrific terroirs including their own estate vineyard as well as three highly regarded single vineyards for Chardonnay – Heintz, Lorenzo and Ritchie. The wine displays beautiful honeysuckle and notes of orange blossom in a fruit-forward, medium to full-bodied style. It was aged 11 months in oak and then moved to tank for 3-4 months prior to bottling. This is beautiful Chardonnay.
2013 DuMOL Chardonnay Chloe 1.5L Magnum ($162) WA 96
The 2013 Chardonnay Chloe, which comes from two great vineyard sources, the Ritchie and Lorenzo, was treated similarly in terms of its aging 12 months on its lees, then four months in tank. Good acidity buttresses a relatively full-throttle, big, rich, honeyed wine, with plenty of apple blossom, orange marmalade, and pineapple notes. There is some underlying minerality as well. This will age well for a decade or more!
2013 DuMOL Chardonnay Claire 1.5L Magnum ($162) WA 95
The 2013 Chardonnay Clare is 100% from the Hyde Vineyard and represents a 22-year-old Wente clone of Chardonnay. This wine displays more buttery brioche notes, hints of tangerine oil and lemon blossom, a subtle, discreet use of oak, loamy soil undertones, and a full-bodied, almost premier cru Meursault-like white Burgundy personality. Complex, rich and multi-layered.

2014 Domaine Anne Gros Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits Cuvee Marine ($48)
Quality, Quality, Quality! Sweet and lush on the nose. Lemon syrup and flowers. Very fun and charming. Chalky finish. Utterly lovely Chardonnay.

2014 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes ($64)
2014 Domaine Fontaine-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er La Romanee ($116)
A tremendous duo of wines. The first a beautifully crafted, well-balanced Chard while the second is full of power and verve. One of our favorite Burgundy producers.


2014 Domaine Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet ($56)
This is a zippy one. Full with flavors of yellow peach, pear, clove and flowers. Strong mineral component with a long, intertwining finish. Bravo.


N.V. Pierre Gerbais Champagne Grains de Celles Extra Brut ($44)
This is a Champagne that drinks more like a Sparkling Chablis. The vineyards are rooted in Kimmeridgian soil as are the vineyards of Chablis. And the addition of 25% Pinot Blanc to the wine (the rest being 50% Pinot Noir & 25% Chardonnay) add a spicy, racy element. The newest Grower Champagne addition to the Renegade Family.

2014 Capichera Vermentino di Gallura Vigna'Ngena ($42)
This is benchmark; a reference in the wine scene of Sardinia. From a single vineyard. Intense aromas of orange blossom, iris, yellow apple, and hints of sublime minerality. It's a persistant and determined wine that gets under your skin. Stunning.


2015 Domaine Jean Vullien Vine de Savoie Chignin-Bergeron 'Les Divlettes' ($20)
100% Roussanne. The Savoie town of Chignin is home to Bergeron, a varietal more famously known as Roussanne in France's Southern Rhône Valley. Enticing flavors of orange, apricot, honey and minerals with a very creamy mouthfeel and refreshing acidity are what make this mountain white so compelling.


2013 Domaine Yves Cuilleron St. Joseph L'Amarybelle ($32.50)
Talk about a Gold Medal winemaker! Yves Cuilleron is a rockstar in the Northen Rhone Valley.
This Syrah at this pricepoint cannot be matched.
Notes: Inky ruby. Deep-pitched dark berry compote, cherry cola, licorice and olive scents are energized by a bright mineral overtone. Weighty and broad yet surprisingly lithe, offering sappy blueberry, bitter cherry and violet flavors that become sweeter with aeration. The youthfully tannic finish shows excellent focus and minerally lift, and leaves behind a suave floral pastille note.
ALSO: DON'T MISS HIS EPIC ROSE:
2015 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Syrah Rose 'Sybel' ($14) reg 20!!!

2012 Domaine Saint Prefert Chateauneuf-du-Pape ($52)
Saint Prefert is run by the talented Isabel Ferrando who has had stellar vintage after stellar vintage under her belt since 2003. With so much press these days -Wine Spectator, Decanter, Jancis Robinson, etc- it's no wonder the wines are nearly impossible to find.
Her 2012 Rouge is a blockbuster of 80 year old Grenache (60%), 60 year old Mourvedre (35%), and 65 year old Syrah (5%).
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Notes: Brilliant ruby. Flamboyant aromas of ripe red berries, incense, potpourri and minerals. Supple, fleshy and alluringly sweet, with intense red fruit flavors coating the palate. Smooth, seamless and concentrated but also lively, with velvety tannins giving shape to the long, spice-accented finish.
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2014 Domaine Saint Prefert Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc ($52)
White wine from Chateauneuf-du-Pape is making a comeback. After decades of bottling it as almost an afterthought, a new generation of producers are taking it very seriously. Isabel is certainly one of them, and this cuvee has to be one of the best Blancs we have tasted.
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Notes: Bright straw. Penetrating aromas of tangerine, lemon pith, white peach and tarragon, accented by hints of chalky minerals and pungent flowers as the wine opens up. Juicy and sharply focused, offering refreshingly bitter pear skin and Meyer lemon flavors and a spicy touch of ginger. The mineral and floral notes repeat strongly on the incisive, tightly focused finish, which hangs on with strong, spicy tenacity.


2000 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana IGT ($116)
2007 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana IGT ($116)
2013 Fontodi Flaccianello della Pieve Colli della Toscana IGT ($116)
Fontodi is one of the very best Chianti producers and their flagship wine, Flaccianello, is a selection from their very best Sangiovese vineyards.
Year after year this wine gets top marks. The 2000 is a very gracious wine, elegant, extemely pretty and bright. The 2007 captures the essence of how great this wine can be. Sexy, opulent, seamless, with decades of life ahead of it. The 2013 is still sleeping so to speak. A baby giant ready to awaken in a few years time and grow to become a timeless masterpiece.
2010 Esprit de Pavie ($26.50)
The second label of Chateau Pavie, this comes from the younger vines of Pavie and Monbousquet, as well as small parts of Clos L’Eglise and Sainte Colombe. It carries the humble AC Bordeaux designation but punches well above this classification, given both its winemaking pedigree and the quality of terroir.
A big wine with a dark core and a rich, purple rim. The nose is radically intense with ripe cassis and plums. The palate is full-bodied, richly textured and deeply concentrated, finishing with notes of liquorice, spice and touches of chocolate. It is extremely long and fine. Composed of 70% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.


2015 Doniene Gorrodona Bizkaiko Txakolina Hondarrabi Beltza ($32)
This is a complicated wine. But let's start simply: It's a Spanish Basque RED wine and the varietal is Hondarrabi Beltza, native to the area. The title you see in the picture above is the specific appellation in Spain from the region of Pais Vasco.
But enough with the geography. This is a very UNIQUE wine. The vines are from pre-phylloxera 150-200 YEARS OLD! No kidding.
The wine is obscurely charming. It's old world, like something out of Middle Earth. There's odd spice notes, aromas of dried fruit and damp redwood. Dark berries and lingering acidity. It's beguiling and hesitant at the same time. One minute we love it, and the next we're not sure what to think of it. Grab a bottle and decide for yourself. But first, marinate a rack of, or leg of, lamb. Corriander, Rosemary, Sage, Arbol Chilies, dried orange peel, garlic, olive oil... for a day, day and a half. Then grill, drink, and enjoy.

 
 
Thanks you for your support,
Renegade Wines
417 Santa Barbara Street Suite A-6
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805-568-1961
www.renegadewines.com