Chateau d’Oupia
“Les Heretiques”
Grapes 50% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 15% Carignan, 10% Cinsault
Place Minervois - France
Process The vines average 40 years old, with some of them being up over 100 years old, and are planted on clay-limestone soils. The fruit is sustainably farmed and harvested partly by hand and partly by machine. The Syrah and Grenache are destemmed and macerated for 3-4 weeks in concrete vats. Carignan and Cinsault remain in whole clusters for a full carbonic maceration in steel tanks. Fermentation is with selected yeasts. The varieties are blended and bottled with a light, non-sterile filtration and a very small dose of sulfur.
Family André Iché inherited an impressive 13th century castle and a large estate in the barren Minervois region. Iché was never a member of his village coop, tended his very old vines and made his wines but sold everything in bulk to local négociants. One day, a Burgundian winemaker happened to be in Oupia, tasted Iché's wines, and was so enthused that he convinced Iché to bottle and market his production.
André expanded his vineyard holdings and started vinifying several cuvées of Minervois of his best grapes, the "Cuvée des Barons" and "Nobilis", aged in new oak barrels. He rebuilt a cellar, and, after much deliberation, bought and cleaned up some overgrown and steep terraces that had been abandoned since the late 19th century.
The "Minervois Tradition" is 50% Carignan (from vineyards up to 100 years old), 40% Syrah and 10% Grenache. It is aromatic, full and densely colored, with a long finish of dark fruits. The wine is elegant and balanced — it is both enjoyable to drink young and can age 5-7 years. "Cuvée des Barons" and "Nobilis" are 60% Syrah and 40% Carignan, from a selection of old vines in the best plots, and are aged in Bordeaux barriques for 20 months. They are slower to evolve than the "Tradition" and exhibit more elegance and restraint, but similar dark berries and spicy aromas.
Bottle: $19 | Glass: $8
Division Villages
“Beton“
Grapes 35% Cab Franc, 32% Malbec, 24% Gamay, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Pinot Noir
Place Portland - Willamette Valley - Oregon
Process The Béton blend features several grape varieties and fermentation techniques that all come together once blended after 5-6 months of aging. The heart of this wine is the Loire clone Cabernet Franc from the Applegate Valley fermented mostly whole cluster with natural yeasts both individually and co-fermented with Côt (Malbec). A new organic site near the western edge of the Yakima brought additional Côt with a delicious floral dimension. Gamay took a larger presence this vintage and smaller quantities of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon rounded out a special year of this wine
Family Kate Norris is the co-owner & co-winemaker of Division Winemaking Company. After cutting her teeth working in wine in France, Kate has since become a leader in Oregon winemaking. Working closely with organizations including the Oregon Wine Board and the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, Kate is often the one to encourage change and diverge from the path of sameness. Often found with her sleeves rolled up in her trusty Carharts, Kate’s approach to winemaking is open minded, always evolving and simple: drink good things with good people.
Bottle: $33 | Glass: $12
Ennak
Grapes 40% Grenache, 25% Carignan, 18% Merlot, 17% Tempranillo
Place Terra Alta - Catalunya - Spain
Process Two vinifications Tempranillo and Merlot vinified together at 16°C, “cooked” at low temperature, pumping over as much as possible the first 24 hours in order to extract color and aromas. Then 2 times daily 30′. End of alcoholic fermentation without skins, in order do not extract strong tannins. Soft pressing, malolactic fermentation in tank. And another of Grenache and Carignan, harvested and fermented together, ripe Grenache looking for the aromas and almost ripe Carignan looking for the freshness and acidity. Full maceration with skins. Soft pressing. Malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vat. The final blend is decided by tasting. Fresh red wine with intense color and brightness, round on the palate. Soft and light on the mouth.
Family Jordi Miro’s passion for wine started at an early age. As a child, he worked in his family’s vineyards alongside his father, Miguel Miro. There he learned to prune, plow, cultivate, and harvest. The family has been growing grapes in the region for generations - Jordi’s maternal grandfather had his own small winery, while his paternal grandfather, Jaume, was a renowned grafter in the region and an expert grower.
After having worked most of his life for other wineries, Jordi planted his own 5 Ha (12.5 acres) of vineyards in 1999. The vines lie within the Terres de l’Ebre Biosphere Reserve. The soils are calcareous and poor in organic matter. The vineyard is organically farmed with no irrigation and no chemicals are used (pesticides, fertilizer, additives, etc). The grapes are hand harvested and the average yield in the vineyard is less than 3 lbs per vine.
In 2009, Jordi began to construct his own small winery. He built it himself, brick by brick. Traditionally in Terra Alta, whites and reds were produced by extended skin contact. Jordi's wines combine traditional methods with a modern touch. He does spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, uses no winemaking additives and the wines are very minimally fined or filtered. Sulfite levels are below 60 mg/L.
Jordi still uses the lessons he learned from his father, doing all the work himself. He prunes, plows, thins the vines, harvests, ferments, rakes, cleans the vats and bottles the wine. Harvest starts with the first light of the day and is done by hand, into small cases. Jordi’s philosophy is to do as much as possible in the vineyard to create the wine there, and then just do minimal intervention in the winery.
Bottle: $27 | Glass: $14
Fidelity
Grapes 76% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 3% Cab Franc, 2% Malbec
Place Alexander Valley - Sonoma County - California
Process Organic vinification practices; Unfined and Unfiltered; Aged 10 months in French Oak, 15% of which is New French Oak
Family In 1990, Nick and his wife Yolyn settled down in Healdsburg, California, as Simi’s Associate Winemaker. Nick was promoted to Chief Winemaker 1991 and became Vice President and Chief Winemaker in 1996. Nick spent a total of 13 years at Simi and was one of the driving forces that brought the Simi Reserve Cabernet program to notoriety. In May of 2003 Nick accepted the position of Executive Vice President and Winemaker at Allied Domecq Wines USA. During recent acquisitions Nick has been named Vice President and Executive Domestic Winemaker for Beam Estates wine portfolio.
As winemaker for Beam estates, Nick oversees the production of Clos Du Bois, Buena Vista, Haywood, Garcia, Atlas Peak, William Hill, Gary Farrell and Jakes Fault. In the global arena his work takes him to Mexico, Spain, Argentina and New Zealand where he is involved with blends being imported into the domestic market as well as several domestic brands that are being exported into other global markets.
In 1998 Nick and Yolyn Goldschmidt, established their own line of wines with the release of Goldschmidt Vineyards. The goal of the company was to produce two distinct brands of fine wines, Forefathers and Goldschmidt Vineyards; with the idea of focusing on site specific winemaking from great vineyard sites from around the world. Having produced so many world class wines from around the globe, Nick knew exactly which vineyard sites he would choose to make his wines from.
Under the Forefathers brand Nick and Yolyn produce a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, an Australian Shiraz, and a California Cabernet Sauvignon. For the Goldschmidt Vineyard brand they have created two distinct Cabernet Sauvignons, one from Alexander Valley in Sonoma and the other from Oakville in Napa Valley. The wines Nick and Yolyn Goldschmidt produce are all single vineyard, 100% varietal, handcrafted, small production artisan wines.
Bottle: $27 | Glass: $12