In this article, Michael Apstein tells the history, viticulture and winemaking side of Drouhin’s Clos des Mouches Blanc. As well as a vertical tasting of the wines spanning close to 40 years.
by Michael Apstein
Drouhin’s Clos des Mouches Blanc is a rarity in Beaune, where 86 percent of the appellation’s vines are red.
($23): 
Riás Baixas, a small area tucked away in Galicia in north western Spain, can make cutting white wines, like this one, from the Albariño grape. Grandbazan’s 2020 delivers a hint of grapefruit rind pithiness and good depth. Not a pre-dinner sipping wine because it might take the enamel off your teeth. … Read more
($14, Winebow): 
The popularity of Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough area of New Zealand’s South Island has grown enormously over the last two decades. And Villa Maria is one of the reasons. This clean and fresh Sauvignon Blanc displays an electricity-like energy that accompanies, but does not overwhelm, its subtle fruitiness. … Read more
($27, Romano Brands): 
Vermentino can produce wines ranging from innocuous to stunning. Put this one in the stunning category. It combines a lovely saline-like invigorating character with good weight and length. It commands a presence on the table without being heavy or overdone. … Read more
($59): 
Jordan, a leader in California Cabernet, continues to do what it does best — making graceful and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon. As usual, their 2017 is fits that mold. Not a bombastic wine, this mid-weight beauty delivers a wonderful combination of red fruit notes and spice. … Read more
($19, Winebow): 
Tasca d’Almerita family owns Tenuta Regaleali, a great and reliable name for Sicilian wine. They have transformed Catarratto, another autochthonous grape, into a fleshy and cutting wine. (Soon Catarratto will be called Lucido, after one of its clones, for marketing reasons because the Sicilians believe it is easier for foreigners — mainland Italians included — to pronounce.) … Read more
($35, Folio Fine Wine Partners): 
Pantelleria is not an appealing place to make wine. An island off the coast of Sicily closer to Africa than to Rome, it’s been described as “a volcanic rock jutting from the sea” where the major activity is “listening to the wind.” … Read more
($29, Taub Family Selections): 
Planeta is so consistently reliable that consumers can basically pick any of their wines and be thrilled with the choice. Their Etna Bianco, made from Carricante, a grape indigenous to Sicily, is stunning and dispels any notion that Sicily is incapable of making great wine. … Read more
($19, Taub Family Selections): 
Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily’s only DOCG wine, is a blend of Nero d’Avola and Frapatto, two of Sicily’s autochthonous grapes. Planeta’s is simply marvelous. Refined, it delivers a balanced combination of minerals and cherry-like fruit. Weighing in at a modest 13 percent stated alcohol, it is not particularly opulent, but it is particularly penetrating. … Read more
($23, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
I was unfamiliar with this producer until samples arrived on my doorstep. Now, with this Nero d’Avola and their equally impressive Etna Rosso, Vivera is a name I will remember. The fleshy character of this Nero d’Avola presents a great counterpoint to the sleek austerity of their 2019 Etna Rosso. … Read more
($25): 
Valle del Limari, in the north of Chile, is hot and dry, not exactly the conditions that Pinot Noir loves. But Concha y Toro’s shines, in part, because of the vineyard’s location on the banks near the Limari River, which cuts through the coastal range of mountains and allows cooling Pacific Ocean air to bath the grapes. … Read more
($25): 
Carmenere (often spelled Carménère), originally and still planted in Bordeaux, has taken off in Chile. Growers there confused the grape with Merlot (which was often planted in the same areas long before precise record keeping became the norm) and wound up harvesting it too early, which led to weedy, green flavors in the wine. … Read more
($30): Sonoma-Cutrer, a leading Sonoma producer, bottles a bevy of Pinot Noirs. T
his, their “entry level” offering, is a good example of Russian River Pinot Noir. Though fruit-focused, attractive earthy, leafy notes appear with air and add complexity. Its fruitiness comes through in the finish as a hint of sweetness. … Read more
($25): 
First, please note that this decade-old wine is the current release. Secondly, if you read the label and note its 15 percent stated-alcohol, you might be put off. Don’t be. I can’t explain it, but Garnacha can carry that level of alcohol beautifully, as this wine shows. … Read more
($45): 
Amarone, by type, is a big wine because regulations require that it be made from partially dehydrated grapes. Its power comes from the concentration of sugar, resulting in higher alcohol, acids and everything else that occurs as the grapes dry and shrivel. … Read more
($105): 
Never say never, the translation of Mai Dire Mai, as in “I never like Amarone,” is appropriate for this massive wine. I’m not usually a fan of Amarone because they can be overwhelming. And that’s what you’d expect from one with a stated-alcohol of 16.5 percent. … Read more
($35): 
The red wines from the Roero DOC, just across the river from Barolo and Barbaresco are under-rated and fly under the radar as Michael Franz, my friend and colleague at WineReviewOnline.com, has pointed out. Juicy and succulent, this youthful example shows just how impressive the wines from this DOC can be. … Read more
($55, Consortium Wine and Spirits Imports): 
With prices of Barolo and Barbaresco going higher and higher, this wine should be on every Piedmont-lovers list. Its relative bargain status — I hate to call a $55 wine a bargain, but it is — could be due to the 2015 vintage, an excellent year overshadowed by the hype justifiably afforded the 2016s. … Read more
($28): 
Guigal, an undisputed leader in the Rhône, shows his considerable talents with this white wine from what is best known for its reds. White wine from Crozes-Hermitage comprises less than ten percent of the appellation’s total production. This one, a blend of mostly (90+ percent) of Marsanne with Roussanne providing the remainder, delivers delicate and refined stone fruit flavors with wonderful acidity, a characteristic often lacking in Rhône whites. … Read more
($25): 
Full disclosure: I’m prejudiced against Malbec because all too often it produces a plodding, hit-you-over-the-head red wine. But, that’s why you keep tasting. This one does not fit my prejudicial paradigm. It’s a big wine, to be sure, but balanced and, most importantly, fresh. … Read more
The world loves Beaujolais. And for good reason. The various red wines of the Beaujolais region provide something for everyone, from simple “everyday” pizza wine to far more serious and structured ones from the crus, the top ten named villages. Sometimes the wines from the crus do not even carry the word Beaujolais on the label. … Read more
($28): 
Move over Finger Lakes. Here is a terrific Riesling from Long Island. It delivers a masterful blend of delicate fruitiness — think subtle peaches — offset by zesty acidity. Clean and pure, it gives the impression of sweetness, then it disappears. … Read more
($12): 
Coteaux Bourguignons, a relatively new appellation in Burgundy, has few rules, allowing growers broad latitude. They can blend Burgundy’s Pinot Noir and Beaujolais’s Gamay, along with a couple of obscure varieties, grown anywhere in Burgundy from Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the south. … Read more
($20, Baron Francois): 
Yes, some Beaujolais is white. And it’s worth looking for because it frequently delivers great value. As white Burgundies, even from the Mâconnais, rise in price, consumers need to search elsewhere for value for French Chardonnay-based wines. Made exclusively from Chardonnay, white Beaujolais accounts for only about five percent of the region’s production. … Read more
($37): 
Résonace is just another example of how the Burgundians believe in the potential of the Willamette Valley, especially for Pinot Noir. Drouhin started what is now a trend with establishment of Domaine Drouhin Oregon three decades ago. Maison Louis Jadot, another stellar Burgundy producer, purchased the 20-acre Resonance Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in 2013 and expanded by buying the Découverte Vineyard in the Dundee Hills AVA. … Read more
($37): 
The 2018 Résonance Pinot Noir is Jadot’s eighth vintage. Unsurprisingly, the wines just get better and better. Their 2018 is riper and slightly more robust — black cherries rather than red ones — than their 2017, yet conveys the same lovely freshness and vivacity. … Read more
($17): 
Despite its northern location and frigid winters, the Finger Lakes region of New York State is well suited for Riesling and other European grape varieties. The lakes are remarkably deep, so the water moderates the temperature of the surrounding shores, allowing Vitus Vinifera planted close by the waters’ edge to survive the winter. … Read more
($17): 
The story of the founding of the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery is nothing short of phenomenal. He went from arriving in the U.S. in 1951 as an emigrant from the Ukraine, speaking no English and with virtually no money, to making one of America’s finest Rieslings from a place where no one had thought of planting that grape. … Read more
($32): 
Ravines may not have the storied history of Dr. Konstantin Frank, but they are making sensational Rieslings as well, as demonstrated by this single vineyard bottling and their “regular” one. Morton Hallgren, winemaker and owner with his wife, Lisa, identified the Argetsinger Vineyard as a top spot for Riesling shortly after establishing their winery in 2001 and have produced a single-vineyard bottling every year.… Read more
($18, Quintessential Wines): 
One of the many charms of Rioja is the ability to find wines with aged character at a reasonable, dare I say, bargain, price. This one displays the balanced combination of fresh and dried fruits, the latter of which comes from bottle age. … Read more
($13, Quintessential Wines): 
Bargain alert. Light, bright and zesty, this Rioja would fit into my category of “pizza wine” if it came from Italy. So, call it a tapas wine instead. But you get the point. Though it’s a lightweight red, its lively red fruitiness allows you to serve it with barbecued chicken. … Read more
($23, Montcalm Wine Importers): I was unfamiliar with this producer until samples arrived on my doorstep. Now, with this Nero d’Avola and their equally impressive Etna Rosso, Vivera is a name I will remember. The fleshy character of this Nero d’Avola presents a great counterpoint to the sleek austerity of their 2019 Etna Rosso. … Read more
($34, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
Wines made from grape grown on the lava-rich slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna transmit their origins beautifully and precisely. The cherry-like fruitiness of this Etna Rosso takes a back seat to its angular lava-tinged character. Wonderfully austere, this sleek wine delivers a saline-like freshness. … Read more
($24, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
The versatility of Barbera helps explain its popularity. Typically bright and fresh, like this one, they are a “go-to” choice for many tomato-based pasta dishes. This one’s raspberry-like fruitiness and mild tannins means that it could take a chill nicely in the waning days of summer. … Read more
Louis Jadot 1985 Bonnes Mares 98
Chambolle-Musigny is home to two grand cru vineyards: Musigny, whose name was appended to the village’s original name in the nineteenth century, and Bonnes Mares (the latter name is almost always written with a hyphen between the words Bonnes and Mares, but at Louis Jadot they prefer the spelling without it, as you can see from the photo of this wine’s label).… Read more
Dr. Laura Catena, the managing director of Bodegas Catena Zapata, Argentina’s most famous winery, quips that her father, Nicolás Catena, must have known about fighting climate change before anyone else. In 1992, his neighbors considered him foolish when he started planting vines at high-altitude. … Read more
($36): 
The Freedom Hill Vineyard, located in the foothills of the Coast Range ten miles southwest of Salem, benefits from the warmth of the valley floor (which aids ripening) and night time ocean breezes (which lower temperatures and allows grapes to hold acidity). … Read more
($53): 
The Cuvée La Liberté is a cellar selection of the best barrels of St. Innocent’s Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay. They consider it their top Chardonnay, making fewer than 100 cases of it compared to 1,100 cases of Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay. … Read more
($36): 
Jordan continues to do what they have always done and do best. They make two wines, a Cabernet Sauvignon and this one, a Chardonnay. There are no reserve wines, no special bottlings, no block selections. All their talents and energy go into those two wines. … Read more
($26, Folio Fine Wine Partners): 
No one needs an introduction to Ornellaia, a Bordeaux-blend and one of Italy’s greatest wines. But some explanation about Le Volte is important since even Ornellaia’s website reveals few details of this wine. Ornellaia took a giant leap in quality in 1997 when they introduced Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia, a second wine, also a Bordeaux-blend. … Read more
($75, Massanois): 
Located in Gaiole in Chianti in the heart of the Chianti Classico region, Bertinga is a new venture. The 2016s are their first release. After tasting their wines, I have a feeling their success is not beginner’s luck. Their 50 or so acres of vineyards are planted exclusively with Sangiovese and Merlot. … Read more
($169, Massanois): 
This 100 percent Merlot is equally expressive and explosive as Bertinga’s Punta di Adine, just in an entirely different way. While Punta displays red fruit qualities, Volta di Bertinga is all about black fruit complemented by tar-like minerality. It’s a wonderful red-black contrast. … Read more
($119, Massanois): 
This gorgeous wine comes exclusively from Sangiovese planted in a six-acre vineyard in Gaiole in Chianti that sits at an altitude of about 1,800 feet. The elevation moderates the temperature, especially at night, which allows the grapes to retain more acidity. … Read more
($55, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
Gran Selezione is a relatively new quality category, aiming to represent the pinnacle of a producer’s Chianti Classico production. This gorgeous wine certainly achieves that distinction. It’s all the more impressive considering Villa Vignamaggio managed to produce such a stellar wine in 2017, a difficult year for Chianti Classico. … Read more
($25, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
Villa Vignamaggio’s 2018 Chianti Classico is textbook Chianti Classico and reminds us why that category is so popular. Made entirely from Sangiovese, this mid-weight wine delivers the ideal combination of dark fruit and savory nuances, all wrapped in a suave texture. … Read more
($35, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
Ciliegiolo, named supposedly because of cherry-like flavor, is a grape variety common in Tuscany where it is sometimes blended with Sangiovese in Chianti or its subzones, such as Chianti Classico. Bosoni has done a marvelous job with it as a varietal wine in Liguria, not surprisingly since this is such a talented producer. … Read more
The 2017 vintage represents the 40th anniversary of I Sodi di S. Niccolò, a truly iconic Italian wine. It was likely the first Super Tuscans from Chianti Classico area using autochthonous grapes. It showed—and continues to show—the extraordinary heights the wines from the Chianti Classico region can reach. … Read more
($35, Montcalm Wine Importers): 
Unsurprisingly, given the stature of the producer, this wine manages a presence without being powerful or in your face. Its unusual blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot and Montepulciano, speaks to the experimentation going on in the Maremma. … Read more
($50, Romano Brands): 
Paolo Manzone is a top producer of Barolo who happens to fly under most peoples’ radar. This Barolo, from the Meriame cru in Serralunga, is his top wine. Though Serralunga is known for tannic, structured wines, Manzone’s Meriame is immediately engaging. … Read more
Pernot Belicard 2017 Bourgogne Côte d’Or
Domaine Pernot Belicard is a name to remember because it will soon be included among the top names for white wine in all of Burgundy. The Pernot part is Philippe Pernot, grandson of Paul Pernot, a legendary producer in Puligny-Montrachet.… Read more