Rogers & Company Chateau, Villa and Estate Wines

Single Vineyard Wines

February 2015

Single vineyard wines have always captivated the minds of wine enthusiasts. A unique slope here, a mound of clay there, a vein of schist over there - what is it that makes certain vineyards sing louder than others? Who knows? But we all find them fascinating.

I think that because 'terroir' is always on the minds of wine enthusiasts - that sense of "somewhereness", a single vineyard connects with our minds and

dare I say hearts moreso than a wine from a larger appellation like a Central Coast Chardonnay or a Barossa Shiraz might.

So, here is a small taste of some of our single vineyard wines. I hope you find something here that connects with you as it has to us. The entire catalogue of over 300 wines is found on our website along with all the reviews and stories.

Please feel free to forward this to any friends or family that love wine as much as we do.

Sincerely,

Chris.

Domaine Masson-Blondelet
Pouilly-Fumé "Villa Paulus" 2013
$29.95 per 750ml, case of 12
$19.95 per 375ml, case of 12 (2012)

Domaine Masson-Blondelet celebrates terroir. By vinifying their wines in only stainless steel tanks they can explore the three types of soil found in Pouilly-Fumé - Kimmeridgian marls, limestone and flint. Villa Paulus is composed of dark Kimmeridgian marls, which is the famed soil of Chablis! Four point five hectares of 100% Sauvignon Blanc has never seen herbicides, fundicides, insecticides or synthetic fertilizer in its 7-generation lifespan. This is a jewel of a vineyard! The current vines are 40-50 years old.

Although vinified traditionally, the wine spends extended time on the fine lees which enhances texture and mouthfeel and also polishes the hard edges often found in Sauvignon Blanc. There is a smoky, flintiness to this wine which is the wine really expressing the vineyard. True Terroir.

A favourite of mine as an aperitif but also the natural accompaniment to scallops and one of those rare wines that can sing with goat's cheese.

"Gold Medal"

Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2014

Lis Neris "Gris" Pinot Grigio 2012
$43.95 per bottle, cases of 12

This is not my grandma's Pinot Grigio. This is probably the best I've ever tasted.

This is sourced from a single-vineyard called "Gris" (pronounced Griss) of fully mature Pinot Grigio vines around 25 years old. The vineyard is composed of calcareous soils interspersed with gravels, which were dragged there by meltwaters of Eastern Alpine glaciers. The Friuli region, especially near the Isonzo river, enjoys typically Mediterranean temperatures, but cold mountain air continually spills though the vineyards, cooling and drying the bunches.

This is fermented in oak and left to age in the same barrel for 11 months with frequent stirring of the lees.

This is at once creamy, perfumed, bright and juicy and hauntingly complicated.

This is considered one of Italy's top white wines and Lis Neris, one of Friuli's top wineries. In fact, Antonio Galloni, despite his wife's extended family being owners continues to critique their wines while stating, "An article on Friuli without these wines would have been incomplete and ultimately the consumer would have been poorer for their exclusion." (Wine Advocate, Feb 2012)

This is a wine you have to taste to believe.

The 2012 has received this year the most prestigious wine award in Italy -

"Tre Bicchieri" from Gambero Rosso. This marks the fifth year in a row achieving this amazing honour!!

Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils.
Chablis "Vaillon" 1er Cru 2013
$45.95 per bottle, case of 6

The Vaillon vineyard is located in the very heart of the Chablis country, on the left bank of the Serein River and it benefits from a excellent south, south-east exposure. The soil is made up of kimmeridgian clay, for which Chablis is famous. It is rich in fossil shells of a small oyster, Exogyra virgula, and it is believed that this calcium-rich soil imparts Chablis' distinctive flavours and aromas. The average age of Moreau's Chardonnay vines is almost 60 years.

"Moreau's 2013 Chablis Vaillon is rich, ample and expressive. Ripe yellow stone fruits, smoke, spice and menthol are some of the notes that blossom in the glass. The Vaillon is all about texture, yet also maintains gorgeous precision and a real sense of class. What a gorgeous wine this is. In 2013, about 40% of the wine was fermented in oak. 2015+"

(91-93) points, Antonio Galloni, Aug 2014

Domaine Huet
Vouvray Sec 2012 "Le Haut-Lieu"
$36.95 per bottle, case of 12

Domaine Huet's vineyards are some of the most famous in the Loire Valley. When the estate was founded in 1928, three soil types defined what was to become three distinct vineyards - Le Haut-Lieu, Le Mont and Le Clos du Bourg.

Le Haut-Lieu is nine hectares in size, with soils rich in clay that produces the most open and supple wines of the three vineyards. We consider it the best introduction to the wines of Domaine Huet.

"Le Haut Lieu Sec is gorgeous to drink young but actually ages quite handsomely for up to a decade."

Robert Parker, World's Greatest Wine Estates

"This white offers notes of powdered ginger, honeysuckle and white peach, with a flicker of cardamom through the minerally finish. This is very pure and nicely delineated. Drink now through 2020. 2,000 cases made."

92 points, Wine Spectator, Oct 2013

Falchini "Paretaio" IGT 2010
$31.95 per bottle, case of 6

Paretaio is a single-vineyard Super-Tuscan red blend of Sangiovese with a touch of Merlot. This unique vineyard, located just outside the walls of San Gimignano is composed of sandy clays, which provides an environment where the vines have to work to extract nutrients, but where there is just enough water retention for them to function properly. This fine balance produces intense and aromatic grapes.

The late Mr. Falchini developed this wine with consulting enologist Giacomo Tachis. Although Mr. Tachis' name may go unnoticed, the wines he helped create for other wineries do resonate with collectors - Tignanello, Sassicaia, Solaia, and Ornellaia. He continues to consult for Michael and Christopher Falchini who carry on their late father's legacy.

This is my go-to Super Tuscan. At this price it's hard to beat. Always an exciting and captivating wine, the tannins are very fine and the inherent acidity of Sangiovese makes the wine lively and refreshing.

Antonio Galloni has awarded the 2010 vintage 90 points and says: "a wild, eccentric wine. Game, smoke, tobacco and red stone fruits all take shape in the glass. There is plenty of depth and nuance here."

Ridge Vineyards "Geyserville" 2012
$53.95 per 750 ml, case of 6
$28.95 per 375ml, case of 12

Ridge Vineyards is a leader in California in the bottling of single-vineyard wines. The names Monte Bello, Lytton Springs, and Geyserville (among many others) have always resonated with collectors and wine enthusiasts alike.

"Geyserville" is actually from a vineyard named Whitton Ranch, located in the Sonoma town of Geyserville and was first planted in 1882. That's right, the "Old Patch" vines from which a large portion of Geyserville is harvested are well over 130 years old. The youngest vines were planted in 1991.

It is actually three adjoining vineyards within the ranch, but for my purposes, lets call it a single vineyard. What defines the wine is that it is grown on a patch of extremely well drained gravelly soil in an ancient river bed. The vines pull the nutrients from deep, deep down and produce exceptionally intense fruit.

Click here for a fantastic virtual trip to this magical vineyard.

"The 2012 Zinfandel Geyserville is quite exuberant in this vintage. Savoury herbs, tobacco, smoke, menthol and dark red/blackish-toned fruit burst from the glass in an exotic, juicy Zinfandel-based field blend loaded with personality. The tannins could use another year to soften, but readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this jewel of a wine. The brisk, energetic finish is incredibly appealing. The blend is 71% Zinfandel, 19% Carignane, 7% Petite Sirah, 1% Alicante Bouschet and 1% Mataro (Mourvèdre)."

93 points, Antonio Galloni, July 2014

Dominus Estate "Napanook" 2011
$78.95 per bottle, cases of 12

Napanook is the vineyard that gives us one of Napa's finest wines: Dominus, and is one of the most historically important vineyards in Napa Valley.

From the road it appears flat, but in actuality it is a benchland vineyard, elevating as one heads west, composed of gravelly, volcanic soils as well as loams and some clay. Deep below the vineyard are vast aquifers which the vines push deep down to reach. These aquifers are rare and it is what made George Yount plant this first vineyard in what is now Yountville in 1836.

The vineyard is dry-farmed (basically, the plants are given no water because the soil provides all they need) and this balanced stress force the vines to push. As you know, this adversity breeds character, and Dominus Estate bottles that character as one of Napa's most memorable and collectable "one-two" punches, Dominus and Napanook.

"The 2011 Napanook is deep, rich and intense for the year. Plums, mocha, spices, licorice all flesh out in an inviting wine to drink now and over the next few years. The 2011 has no hard edges or greenness, but the medium-bodied structure suggests it is best enjoyed sooner rather than later. The blend is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc. 2015-2025."

91 points, Antonio Galloni, Nov 2013

Ehlers Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena
"One Twenty Over Eighty" 2011
$67.95 per bottle, case of 12

Like a microcosm of the valley itself, this biodynamically farmed vineyard in northern St. Helena is a mosaic of soil types. It is this complexity and the possibilities therein that caught Bernard Ehlers' eye when he first planted it in 1886.

Each varietal and rootstock is perfectly suited to best express the vineyard, and winemaker Kevin Morrisey whose deft touch was honed at Petrus, Stags' Leap Winery and Etude coaxes out a rich, aromatic heavyweight Cabernet.

The wine is layered with blackberry, black currant, caramel and milk chocolate aromas, and sports a great structure and backbone. Focused acid, silky soft tannins, and a touch of spice emerge from the mid-palate. Compelling and complex, this is a fine Bordeaux-style Cabernet blend that will age for decades.

This wine seems to get better each year, and the 2011 is one of my "under the radar" recommendations that I go to. Take my word for it, this is a tremendous buy and for an artisan-sized estate single vineyard Cabernet.

Peay Vineyards
"Pomarium" Pinot Noir 2012
$86.95 per bottle, case of 6

If you head north out of San Francisco up highway 1, far past the fields of dairy cattle, past the beaches of sea lions and beside forests of towering Redwoods, you arrive on the extreme Sonoma coast. An area of California as wild as can be, where one would find small, remote vineyards carved out of the forests, which only a few million years ago was actually the floor of the Pacific Ocean. These vineyards are some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards in California - Peay, Flowers, Hirsch, Marcassin, among few others.

Peay's "Pomarium" was once a small apple orchard on what is now the Peay's home vineyard. Sitting above the fog line, the vineyard produces Pinot Noir that is bright with savoury fruitiness, silky tannins and fine acids. This is one of my favourite Pinot Noirs. Although certainly worth ageing for 5-6 years, this wine drinks beautifully from the moment you get it home.

"Bright red. Seductive aromas of raspberry liqueur, Asian spices, potpourri and blood orange, with a note of bright minerality adding lift and vivacity. Dry, nervy and very precise, offering intense red fruit and rose pastille flavours with no excess fat. Finishes silky, pure and very long, with outstanding tenacity, gentle tannins and resonating mineral and floral notes."

94 points, International Wine Cellar, May/June 2014

"The 2012 Pinot Noir Pomarium Estate is quite a bit more polished than the 2011 tasted alongside it. Dark red cherries, flowers, new leather flesh out in a big, broad-shouldered wine endowed with tons of depth and pure resonance. The style is masculine and imposing. I would give the 2012 another year or two in bottle, but is unquestionably impressive, even at this early stage. 2015-2022."

93 points, Antonio Galloni, Feb 2014

Cain "Five" 2010
best estimate $170.95 per bottle, case of 6
arriving May 2015

Cain Vineyard & Winery is cradled in a spectacular series of bowls overlooking the Napa Valley from the crest of the Spring Mountain District over 1,400 feet above sea level. It is from here that one can see Sonoma to the west and Napa to the southeast.

Fog rolls into Napa Valley each morning as a dense white river cooling the valley floor, but Cain remains bathed in sun, warmed by lighter, warmer air. This extended sunshine is only part of what makes Cain Five such an intense wine.

These ancient, sedimentary soils are rare in Napa Valley, where one finds mostly volcanic soils and alluvial deposits like gravels and clays. The vines strain and stress to pull in nutrients, but the vines are healthy, coddled by the team.

Another notable feature of the Cain Vineyard and Spring Mountain are the forests. It is suspected that the trees - oak, madrone, bay laurel, and Douglas fir contribute to the unique aromatic signature of the Cain Five. Just to stand on the mountain and to inhale the scented air reminds one that this place is like no other and you can taste it in the wine.

The 2010 has yet to be reviewed, but James Suckling awarded the 2009, a lesser vintage, 96 points and the following note; "A fascinating wine with dark berries, spice, sliced raw meat and minerals. Black berries. It changes all the time. Full body with spice, black pepper, blueberry, mushroom and walnut. Seaweed. Goes on for minutes."

We are accepting reservations for this one-of-a-kind wine now for the 2010. The wine will arrive in May 2015.

Chris McLean

direct: 647 955 8872
office: 416 961 2294 x 29