Three European Gems (at big discounts)
Pricing available as supply lasts.
SALE CLOSES MONDAY FEBRUARY 17th at 12:00 pm.
ALL WINES AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP starting Wednesday February 19th at 5pm.
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Hi everyone –
We’re sharpening our pencils for 2025.
The looming threat of more inflation, the possibilities of wild tariff wars, and the slowdown in the wine market over the last two years has made for an interesting situation. 1) Importers are loading up wine stateside in anticipation of possible tariffs. 2) Wholesalers are trying to lower their stock to adjust to new financial realities. 3) Most retailers and restaurants are in “playing it safe” mode and not chasing gems or rarities.
This makes for an opportunity for us. We’re walking warehouses A LOT lately and finding piles of lovely wines that are gathering dust and being ignored by the marketplace. Then we negociate the prices down. Then me and Chuck pass the deal to you.
We present three of these gems today.
What we have for you this week
A nine year old top-rated Châteauneuf-du-Pape (only 13 bottles left in the state). A Ribera del Duero made by the former longtime technical director at Vega Sicilia. And finally a bargain Priorat (never thought you’d hear those words put together, eh?) at one the lowest price in the country.
Let’s get to it!
Buil and Giné “Giné Giné” Priorat 2020
Here’s a quick primer on Priorat.
Located just outside of Barcelona, the region of Priorat suffered greatly with the rise of the Spanish dictatorship in the early 20th century. The isolationist policies, combined with the economic impact of WWII on Europe in general, led to many families abandoning their farms across Spain and moving into the cities in multi-generational housing and to find jobs. One of the regions that was basically completely abandoned was Priorat.
Photo of old vines via Buil and Giné. Check out the soil … very typical of Priorat. (photos in the section are from the winery)
The old Carignan and Garnacha vines stayed in the ground, and were naturally pruned over the decades by the wild boars eating the grapes. By the time the vineyards were rediscovered in the 1990s by the likes of Rene Barbier and Alvaro Placidos, they were a touch overgrown but overall in great shape. Gnarly old vines that looked like Yoda all over the place.
The rebuilding of Priorat was on! The incredible old vines were soon joined by newer plantings, and the wine world started to take notice of these amazing wines coming from northeastern Spain. Powerful, dark, brooding, rich, and delicious wines with aromas of graphite and black cherry. Yum.
Photo of pruning via Buil and Giné. Check out the terraced vineyards in the background.
Buil and Giné is a winery based on specific vineyards. It’s a multi-generational farming operation, embedded in the history and culture of the region. This is not new money suddenly showing up to make a splashy wine with a flashy label. The Buli family are the real deal.
Photo via Buil and Giné. Hard to imagine many of these old Priorat vineyards were abandoned for decades, but the necessity of jobs pushed families to the cities during the era of the dictatorship.
This wine is characterized by its power. It is not a shy little flower. It is bold, it is strong, and it begs for grilled red meat or other loud flavors. But what is magical is the elegance that it shows while at the same time being so powerful. This is a tightrope walk. Rarely do I find wines like this, where winter stews and pot roast pair so beautifully and yet so brightly.
If I was to “somm speak” this wine I’d say this: dark color, black on red, with grippy legs from the elevated alcohol. But that alcohol doesn’t show itself in the aromas or the flavors, showcasing fine winemaking all around. Aromas of licorice, black cherry, pencil lead, wet stones, and dry cured meat, all on point and with precision. The attack is powerful, but the flavors unwind into strands of details that are mesmerizing. This is outstanding Priorat, in tune and ready to play a great song. Be sure to have with manchego cheese, pot roast, or slow roasted leg of lamb.
Aalato Ribera del Duero 2020
This wine is a true bargain, and offered at the lowest price you’ll find nationwide.
Aalato is a winery started in 1999 with the goal of making world class Ribera del Duero, but in a slightly different way than most. They obtained vineyard contracts with the oldest and greatest properties in the region, then made the best wine they could from each of those parcels. Only after the wine was completed (including barrel aging) did they begin the process of blending to achieve an even higher level. This is risky winemaking, and not how its normally done. The goal was simple: make the best single vineyard wines possible, then prove that carefully blending can make a wine that is even better (and thus reflects the whole of Ribera del Duero instead of just its parts).
Their secret weapon: Mariano García Fernández
Mariano García Fernández was born in the region and rose to prominence at the legendary Vega Sicilia, where he was the technical director. His first harvest at Vega was 1968 and he enjoyed a thirty year career at the storied winery. But approaching retirement, he wanted a new challenge and joined the team at Aalto.
From the Aalto website:
Mariano García studied at the “Escuela de la Vid y el Vino” in Madrid and made his first harvest in 1968 at Vega Sicilia, where he developed his professional career as Technical Director of the company for 30 years, until 1998. In 1999, he founded with Javier Zaccagnini, Bodegas AALTO, as Technical Director from the first day. As a winemaker, Mariano García firmly controls the yields, respecting the grapes as much as possible and his philosophy of minimum intervention, searching for the maximum expression of the terroir in each plot. The wines unite the power and structure with elegance and complexity.
94 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: The nose of the red 2020 Aalto comes blasting with tons of toasted oak, spice, smoke and more toast, ripe berries and a luxurious creaminess like the finest modern wines from the turn of the century. This is predictable but exactly what their customers are looking for, with ripe berries, generous oak and a velvety palate with volume, soft tannins and mellow acidity. It matured in French and American oak barrels for 18 months.
We present the Aalto 2020 at the lowest price you’ll find in the country. This is really fun wine.
Guigal Château de Nalys Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016
Only 13 bottles of this are available. We happened upon it sitting in a dusty box at the wholesaler’s warehouse and secured it all.
This is the historic first vintage of the Guigal family taking control of the legendary Nalys operation, bringing to the facility the generations of knowledge and investment that only a family like Guigal can offer.
96 points Wine Enthusiast. 95 points Robert Parker. 93 points James Suckling. 93 points Wine Spectator. The list goes on and on.
It’s a blend of 59% Grenache, 32% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre, 3% Counoise and 1% Vaccarèse. The composition is made up of three vineyards including a significant bit from Le Crau, arguably the top vineyard in all of CDP.
From the importer’s website:
“La Crau” is arguably the single greatest vineyard in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Nalys has 38 acres located as a single center-north block. It is famous specifically for structured, complex and intensely expressive wines. Naly’s holdings are the highest elevation of the Crau plateau and bordering forest they own, providing slightly cooler temperatures and ideal drainage – the sweet spot. The soils are made up of the famous galets: large round pebbles derived from the Rhône river. Direct neighbors are Henri Bonneau, La Janasse (used for their Vieilles Vignes), and other leading properties.
There are many great reviews out there to choose from, but I found this one from The Wine Advocate to agree with my findings the most:
“Destined to become Nalys’s new flagship (unless the white version steals the show), the 2016 Chateauneuf du Pape Grand Vin is a blend of 59% Grenache, 32% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre, 3% Counoise and 1% Vaccarèse. It’s full-bodied and velvety, offering hints of vanilla and sandalwood, but there also are layers of dark cherry fruit. Subtle notes of cinnamon, clove and allspice add interest to the long, silky finish. It’s an auspicious debut for the Guigal team. 95 points.”
If you want some damn good Châteauneuf with nine years of age on it, ready to roll and enjoy anytime between now and 2040, this is for you.
In conclusion / buying advice
As mentioned at the start, we’re sharpening our pencils and walking warehouses more than ever before. We have a simple goal in 2025: ferret out the gems that we know are in the warehouses, negociate some great pricing for you, and offer wines you won’t find anywhere else.
These three wines showcase this goal. All are awesome, all are drinking great right now, and all will age nicely for the upcoming years.
Thanks, everyone!
Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education
Offer and special pricing are available as inventory lasts