 #10: 2008 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Special Club Brut $84 What is Special Club you ask? Let us explain. The Special Club or Club Tresors de Champagne, was founded in 1971 by 12 of the oldest families in Champagne. Since then, the club has grown to 29 producers committed to excellence. The club is only open to grower producers and wines are produced only in excellent years. This was the shinning star at the Champagne Trade Tasting last year. Light yellow, with abundant tiny bubbles, almond cream nose, creamy texture, nice finesse and texture. Lovely! |
 #9: 2014 Telmo Rodriguez Rueda El Transistor $26.50 Ahhhhh, Telmo. Thank you for creating the best Verdejo we've ever enjoyed. Pure, old-vine Verdejo. White peach, fennel, fresh cut flowers, hints of balsamic, fresh & complex. Wow! And we finally found out why its named El Transistor (The Radio). The vineyards are so remote, that they have to leave on the radio so the wild boars don't eat all the grapes! |
 #8: 2013 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave St. Joseph $65 It feels like family. Maybe because we've been selling their wines for so long, or that some of our most memorable experiences revolved around their wines. This one is no exception. Deep ruby. Vibrant. Fresh dark berries, concentrated boysenberry, juicy, spicy, minerally, smoke. Fine-grained tannins, an impressively long finish. This is brilliant. |
 #7: 2014 Domaines des Rouges-Queues Maranges Vieilles Vignes $34 It began in a disco I kid you not. Jean Yves was a DJ and Isabelle was there, well, to disco. And so they met. Both wanting to pursue wine in Burgundy gave them something in common. Eventually they moved to Maranges (it's South of Chassagne-Montrachet and West of Santenay) where they began from scratch. - The second part of the story: 'Great Burgundy For A Steal' came across our inbox one day. Intriqued we were since great Burgundy wines cost a fortune these days. So we read the bio of the winery and their organic / biodynamic practices, and then descriptions of each of the wines. And mind you, it wasn't late. We order one case of each of their wines, and have been re-ordering ever since. - This wine comes from 60+ year old vines. It has verve. It is endless elegance, tremendously pretty. Beautifully balanced, and one that we cannot help opening any given day. Their range of wines include Bourgogne Rouge ($24) up through a Premier Cru single vineyard ($48). We cannot wait to visit them! |
 #6: 2014 Clelia Romana Fiano di Avellino 'Colli di Lapio' $30 "This is arguably Italy's single best white wine." -Ian D'Agata, Vinous We couldn't agree more. Bright straw, lemon verbena, chamomille notes. Ripe apricot, pear. Rich and round. Tactile. A fresh and very long finish with stony undertones. |
 #5: 2015 Brundlmayer Riesling Zobinger Heilgenstein $38 We've been enamored with this estate for years. Their precise, razor-like Rieslings are some of the best in Austria. This is classic, intense, painfully young but decant it for 3 hours and you'll be knocked back. What just happened you'll say to yourself. It transforms. Ripe lemon, rich pear, citrus, a saline quality, and don't forget the granite pebbles. It's our go to Riesling. |
 #4: 2012 Telmo Rodriguez Valdeorras As Caborcas $64 Two wines from Telmo in the Top 10??? Yes, he is a brilliant winemaker. This Mencia is gorgeous. Wild berries, damp earth, a cool herbal twist akin to chaparral. Great tension, fine tannins, superb balance. |
 #3: 2014 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Clos de la Marechale $116 This one needed decanting. About 4 hours worth to warm it up. A sexy wine, bright, aromas of red cherry liqueur and spice, pomegranate, violets, cocoa. A deep, full-bodied Pinot with good acidity, suave tannins, a intense central core, and a long grippy finish. A truly great wine from a truly great Burgundian producer. |
 #2: 2014 Alois Lageder Pinot Grigio Porer $24.50 As we were tasting through the Lageder wines, we paused when we came to this one. THIS is Pinot Grigio? It's on a whole other level. We smelled white flowers and pears and crushed rocks, tasted creamy yellow apple, intense minerality, fresh acidity. We thought perhaps the bottle was labeled incorrectly. We tasted again. And again. And finally the sales rep told us just to keep the bottle. We've turned many people on to this wine in 2015, and everyone has come back for more. |
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and have a wonderful New Year!
Renegade Wines
417 Santa Barbara Street Suite A-6
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805-568-1961
www.renegadewines.com
