The "grower" champagne movement has really taken hold, as the public discovers that this is where the best quality to value lies.  These are houses with decades, if not centuries of viticultural history with generations of family members at the helm.  They grow their own fruit, and produce their own wines.  Champagne Gaston Chiquet is the oldest and among the best of these wineries.

The Blanc de Blancs d'Aÿ is a particularly important wine, as explained here by the sommeliers' sommelier Raj Parr.

"Nicolas Chiquet is among the greatest of all the grower-producers........The house of Chiquet, which first planted vines in 1746, was also, in 1935, the first grower to begin to produce, instead of just sell grapes.

Chiquet makes a wine that is highly notable, a wine that every sommelier and serious wine drinker should know about, Blanc de Blanc d'Aÿ.

What is significant about this Chardonnay is that it comes from a Grand Cru-rated village that is known for its Pinot Noir. This is a reversal that makes little sense: why make Chardonnay from a place that is universally praised for Pinot? The wine tells you why.

It is from a very old vineyard, and the wine proves the point about terroir in Champagne: it is not at all an expression of Chardonnay, but an expression of this place. If you are a terroir doubter, game over. Terroir clearly exists, and this wine proves it.

Heavier and richer than other blanc de blancs, it drinks like a pinot noir - robust and juicy, speaking of berries, quince and honey - even though it is not."

Rajat Parr, Secrets of the Sommeliers, 2010 page 161.

"Crisp, ripely herbaceous style, fresh and vibrantly fruity, showing good weight and flavour depth"

Top 40 of the Year & Best Buy,  

Winestate Magazine, Mar/April 2015

Agricola Querciabella in Radda, Chianti is an exquisite estate focused on exploring the crus and terroirs of Chianti Classico.  They farm using biodynamic methods - in tune with the earth and the universe.

From the vineyards in the coastal Maremma region Querciabella produces Mongrana, a "super Tuscan" blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  This is a supple and balanced wine, which at almost six years old is in its prime drinking window now. 

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com, Sept 2014  

How does one describe or compare Washington Cabernets to their Napa Valley counterparts?  A sweeping generalization would be to say that Washington State wines tend to show more lead pencil, forest, bay - almost the aromatics of Napa mountain wines from Spring Mountain with the richness and power of wines from Napa's valley floor AVAs, like Oakville and Rutherford.

This particular winery offers tremendous value in an artisan wines sourced from the oldest rows of some of the Columbia Valley's best vineyards like Bacchus, Champoux, Klipsun and Pepper Bridge among others.