Rogers & Company Chateau, Villa and Estate Wines

Stunning Sixes!

January 2015

Happy new year! I wish you a prosperous and happiness filled 2015.

I'm kicking off 2015 with a selection of exciting but less known wines that come in cases of six bottles making them perfect additions to the discerning drinker's cellar. These are all fairly rich wines, perfectly suited for those cold winter nights and hearty food pairings.

Please visit our website for all the new releases, blogs, catalogues and reviews. If you know some wine lovers, please feel free to pass this along. We always love to meet new wine enthusiasts.

All my best,

Chris.

Domaine des Baumard

Savennières "Clos de Saint Yves" 2010

$36.95 per bottle, cases of 6

In our market, probably the least-represented great wine region of France is Savennières, located on the north shore of the Loire River between Muscadet de Sevre et Mains and Anjou. Historically sweet wines were the fashion here, but today almost all Savennieres is dry. The high acidity and terroir-driven, crystalline fruit flavours are provocative and palate pleasing and as outlined below, these wines age dynamically.

"As an entry point to the world of the Domaine des Baumard, the 2010 Savennières is the right wine. Remarkable, bright and clear in its lime-green colour it displays an equally bright and clear aroma of healthy white fruits, herbs, hazelnut, flowers and minerals. The overture guides to a rich, bright, very elegant and lively, very well-balanced and complex palate with an animating freshness and a lingering salinity. The finish is quite long, and the wine already accessible, but there is no hurry at all. Since Baumard uses screwcaps for all his wines you can keep the opened bottle for 3-4 weeks in the fridge and it won't become less impressive. (At least I drank mine a month later with great pleasure.)"

90 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Oct 2014

Maison Alex Gambal
Chassagne-Montrachet 2012

$82.95 per bottle, cases of 6

More robust than Puligny-Montrachet but less rich than Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet offers a beautiful "middle-ground" from which to find great value, world-class white Burgundy. Alex Gambal has quietly, yet quickly, earned a reputation for finding exceptional fruit and producing delicious wines at reasonable prices and the 2012 is another success.

"The potentially outstanding Chassagne-Montrachet is a blend of three parcels from around the appellation: En l'Ormeau, Les Essarts and Blanchots Dessous. Honey, pastry, grapefruit and hints of lime blossom lead off, and this stays long and mouthfilling."

(88-91) points, Wine Spectator, March 2014

Chateau Montelena
Napa Valley Chardonnay 2012

$69.95 per bottle, cases of 6

Robert Parker puts it best, below, so I'll let him explain it, but I just want to state that every year Chateau Montelena produces fantastic Chardonnay, almost Grand Cru Chablis-like, but with the extra intensity delivered by California sunshine.

"You know you're doing something right when, after 45 years of Chardonnay wine making, they name a California Chardonnay style after your winery, the "Montelena style." In short, it means a non-malolactic, minimally oaked Chardonnay. This estate has long made one of the best examples of a quiet, restrained Chardonnay that ages for 20 or more years. Montelena's 2012 Chardonnay possesses zesty acidity as well as hints of white currants, delicate wood, tangerine oil and spice. Long and zesty with no noticeable oak (despite its barrel aging), it should drink well for 10-15 years."

90+ points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Grgich Hills Napa Valley Chardonnay 2011
$60.95 per bottle, cases of 6

Since 1977 Grgich Hills' Chardonnay has been considered a reference point style. It grows in American Canyon and Carneros, which are the viticultural regions closest to San Pablo Bay and deliver coolest-climate fruit. The wines do not undergo malolactic fermentation when in barrel, and so the acidity is high and the flavours are bright and tropical.

"Bright medium yellow. Aromas of mango, stone and soft citrus fruits and vanillin oak. Round, peachy and ripe but with brisk acidity and underlying minerality giving the mid-palate a juicy firmness. Silky, elegant wine with a solid citrusy spine."

89 points, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2014

Querciabella Chianti Classico 2011
$40.95 per bottle, cases of 6

Located in Greve in Chianti Classico, Agricola Querciabella was established in 1974 by Giuseppe Castiglioni, primarily to produce a white wine on par with the world's greatest, known as Batar. But since then, they have developed wine programs producing super-collectable Cabernet and Merlots, as well as this exceptional Chianti Classico.

"Querciabella's wines carry an increasingly deep, fascinating territorial stamp." Gambero Rosso 2010

"The 2011 Chianti Classico Querciabella has that extra bit of depth, creaminess and mid-palate pliancy missing in the 2010, all while maintaining plenty of brightness, freshness and Sangiovese character. Freshly cut roses, sweet red berries and a hint of spices are woven into the exceptionally elegant, refined finish. Simply put, this is a striking wine from Querciabella. 2013-2021"

91 points, Antonio Galloni, Aug 2013

Domaine Brusset Gigondas
"Les Hauts de Montmirail" 2012
$53.45 per bottle, cases of 6

Located in the foothills of Les Montmirail, a craggy mountain range in southern Rhone, Gigondas is a source of exceptional, big and bold red wines. If you like Chateauneuf-du pape, try Gigondas. If you like Napa Cab, try Gigondas. If you like Aussie Shiraz, try Gigondas. At minimum, you won't be disappointed. At best, you'll have a new favourite style of wine.

"More rich, concentrated and substantial, the 2012 Gigondas Les Hauts de Montmirail checks in as a blend of 50% tank-aged Grenache and the balanced barrel-aged Syrah and Mourvedre (30% being new). A serious 2012 that has everything you expect from the appellation, it gives up layered black fruits, melted licorice, singed leather and crushed stone-like minerality to go with full-bodied richness and texture on the palate. Despite the overall size here, it stays beautifully balanced and poised. Give it a couple years and drink it through 2027. "

(91-94) points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Dec 2013

Patrick Jasmin Côte Rôtie 2012
$72.95 per bottle, cases of 6

We receive very little of this beautiful wine each year, it is a winery well known to the discerning collector, and considered one of "The Appellation's Most Profound Wines", Robert Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide #7.

What differentiates this wine from the more well-known Côte Rôties like Guigal's and Rostaing's, is the use of neutral Burgundy barrels for ageing, purchased from the best estates. Jasmin lets the fruit and soil sing, not battle oak for the palate's attention.

"(includes about 6% viognier, "as usual"): Youthful purple. High-toned red berry and floral scents are complemented by licorice, black pepper and smoked meat. Fleshy and broad on entry, then tighter in the mid-palate, offering spicy black raspberry and bitter cherry flavours and a touch of olive. Chewy tannins give shape to the finish, which lingers with very good smoky persistence. This wine comes off as more masculine than Jasmin's 2010 did at a similar point in its elevage, which came as a surprise to me given the nature of the vintage."

(90-92) points, International Wine Cellar, Mar/April 2014

Maison Alex Gambal

Vosne-Romanée Vieilles Vignes 2012

$110.95 per bottle, cases of 6

This wine from Alex Gambal offers a great opportunity to try Pinot Noir from the most hallowed ground on Earth. Vosne-Romanée, located in Burgundy's Côte-d'Or, is the reference for great Pinot. This wine is silky, perfumed, dynamic and ageworthy.

"Here too the nose is relatively high-toned with appealing spice elements adding breadth to the expressive nose of red currant and sandalwood nuances. The supple and very rich medium-bodied flavours are blessed with plenty of palate coating dry extract that imparts a velvety mouth feel to the balanced and impressively persistent finish. This is an excellent villages and well worth considering."

89-91 points, burghound.com, April 2014

Belle Glos "Las Alturas"
Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2013
$44.95 per bottle, cases of 6

Belle Glos is the Pinot Noir facility born out of Caymus Vineyards and focused on single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from across California. The vineyard sources represent the best Pinot Noir regions - "Las Alturas" is located in the Santa Lucia Highlands near Monterey, "Dairyman" is from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma and "Clark & Telephone" is a vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. "Taylor Lane" comes from the far-Sonoma Coast, but currently we do not have availability of that wine.

The Santa Lucia Highlands viticultural area is the source of California's most full-bodied Pinot Noirs. Intense sun and downright cold and blustery winds off the Pacific combine to provide an amazing growing environment for Las Alturas.

"Spares no expense, with lavish smoke and black licorice-scented oak framing a rich core of dark berry, anise, boysenberry and savoury herb notes. Full-blown and expressive through a persistent, mouth coating finish. Drink now through 2024"

93 points, Wine Spectator, Nov 2014

Peay "Scallop Shelf" Pinot Noir 2012
$82.95 per bottle, cases of 6

Much further up the coast from "Las Alturas", in the newly appointed Fort Ross/Seaview appellation is Peay Vineyards. This is a tiny three-person operation that has already established a cult following, their wines are exciting and energetic.

"Scallop Shelf" is one of two isolations of the estate vineyard which is distinguished by fossilized shells. The other "Pomarium", is a former apple orchard and has loamier, richer soils. Both produce beautiful wines!

2009 San Francisco Chronicle "Winery of the Year"

"Vivid red. Tangy cherry and raspberry aromas are accented by fresh flowers and Asian spices. Bright and minerally in the mouth, offering intense red fruit flavours that pick up a refreshingly bitter character with air. The floral quality comes back strong on the incisive, very persistent finish, which is firmed by silky, harmonious tannins and zesty acidity."

93 points, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2014

Faust Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
$63.95 per bottle, cases of 6

One of my favourite Cabernets of the year is the 2011 from Faust. Grown predominantly in Coombsville, with complimentary fruit from Atlas Peak, Rutherford, Mount Veeder, Yountville and St. Helena, this is a "true" Napa Valley blend.

It is made by Quintessa which is located in Rutherford. Faust is a particularly aromatic Cab, and almost chewy in its structure. Notes of dark berries, graphite, cocoa, rhubarb lead to a full bodied yet elegant wine.

"Saturated, very dark red violet colour; appealing, aromatic, black currant, tart blackberry, blackberry syrup nose; juicy, tart black currant, tart blackberry, black raspberry palate; ready now; medium-plus finish."

92 points, Richard Jennings, RJonwine.com, April 2014

O'Shaughnessy Estate
Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
$115.95 per bottle, cases of 6

"Betty O'Shaughnessy and her winemaker Sean Capiaux make some of the most compelling Cabernets in California. These are among my favourite wines to drink at home. Best, of all they remain exceptionally well-priced considering the quality of what is in the glass."
Antonio Galloni, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Dec 2012

"(blended with 5% Merlot, 5% St. Macaire, 4% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot; from vines planted at 1,800 feet; aged in 75% new oak): Full ruby-red. Aromas of blueberry, blackberry, creosote and new oak, lifted by a violet top-note. Spicy and penetrating, with peppery acidity giving shape and grip to the flavours of dark berries, black cherry, licorice, bitter chocolate and pine resin. Nicely ripe, savoury wine with slightly dry tannins that call for a few years of patience."

91 (+?) points, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2014

Chris McLean

direct: 647 955 8872
office: 416 961 2294