Passion and Pinot Updates: Bells Up Winery 2025
When I was planning blind Pinot Noir tasting with friends, I reached out to some of the old friends in Oregon to see if I could include some of the Oregon Pinot Noir in that blind tasting. Sara and Dave Specter of “micro-boutique, un-domaine” Bells Up Winery graciously agreed to participate and sent me three samples of their latest Pinot Noir releases.
Bells Up was one of the 19 wineries profiled in the Stories of Passion and Pinot series, probably the youngest one, founded in 2013. Youngest or not, but Bells Up might be one of the most adventurous, going well past traditional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with their plantings of Schioppettino and Seyval Blanc. You can learn more about the winery and its vision from the original interview I did with Dave in 2019, and an update after I visited the winery in 2021.
When we spoke about the wines (it was the end of last year, 2024), I also wanted to have a short mini-interview with Dave – it is a bit less timely right now, but hey, 2025 is still young. Here is our short (virtual) conversation:
[TaV]: How was the 2024 vintage? What should we expect from the 2024 wines when they will be released?
[DS]: Well, we’re still in the very early stages of evaluating the 2024 vintage so it’s hard to tell at this stage but we have every reason to be optimistic. We had one of our better growing seasons in some time – warmer than usual early in the season but then settling into a more temperate pattern the rest of the way. We harvested in late September and early October which is right on schedule and the sugars and acids were pretty much on the money. The 2024 vintage whites will be released in the spring of 2025 and the reds will be released (most likely) in 2026 and 2027.
[TaV]: What was Bells Up’s best moment of 2024?
[DS]: Our best moment was getting to see the results from the “proof of concept” 2023 harvest of our young Schioppettino planting. For only third leaf vines, we’re seeing wonderful flavor development with the distinctive Italian grape licorice elements present. We are now confident that our first commercial vintage in 2024 will be a great addition to our portfolio.
[TaV]: By the same token, what was the worst?
[DS]: The entire industry was hit hard by a decrease in visitorship to the area in 2024, and wine sales suffered accordingly. This was the result of many factors and ultimately resulted in a difficult year for our business.
[TaV]: What are you looking forward to in 2025?
[DS]: We will have our first estate Pinot Blanc release in 2025! We will also see the return of our sparkling Seyval Blanc (Joy) which was so popular in its first release back in 2023. And we are also hoping that we see visitorship recover as travel patterns return to normal after the pandemic.
And then there were wines.
I got three sample bottles, out of which one, Jupiter Pinot Noir, was included in the blind tasting (based on Sara’s recommendation). Here are the notes for all three wines, with the first one written a bit differently as it is based on the notes taken during the blind tasting.
2021 Bells Up Jupiter Pinot Noir Estate Chehalem Mountains AVA (13.5% ABV, $50, 58.8% heritage clone Pommard, 25.8% Dijon clone 667 (8-year old vines), 15.4% Dijon clone 113 (6-year old vines), 154 cases produced)
New World (have no idea what I was thinking, I guess something outside of Europe), Vintage: 2021. Cherries, lots of cherries, raspberries, tart cherries on the palate, good balance, nice.
Drinkability: 8
2021 Bells Up Maestro Reserve Pinot Noir Estate Chehalem Mountains AVA (13.3% ABV, $56, 50% Dijon clone 943, 27.8% 667, 22.2% 113; 77 cases produced, club members exclusive)
Dark garnet
Smoke, earthy notes, dark fruit, hint of cherries
Sweet and tart cherries both, iodine, crisp acidity, medium body, a bit of medicinal finish
Drinkability: 8-
2021 Bells Up Titan Pinot Noir Willamette Valley AVA (13.8% ABV, $46, 22.3% 8-year-old Pommard Bells Up’s estate, 38.8% Dijon Clones 115 and 38.8% 777, MonksGate Vineyard’s in Yamhill-Carlton AVA, 19- and 20-year-old vines respectively; 12 months in French oak, 27% new; 111 cases produced)
Garnet
A hint of bell pepper, eucalyptus, raspberries
Black plums, cherries, medium palate weight, medium body, good acidity on the finish. Needs food.
Drinkability: 7+/8-
Here we are – a quick Bells Up winery update and the notes for three of their latest Pinot Noir releases.
Until next time…
This post is a part of the Stories of Passion and Pinot series – click the link for more stories…
Daily Glass: Beautiful Israeli Wines
Let’s start with a few questions.
First: what do you like more – selecting the wine to be opened or just drinking the wine? Feel free to dismiss this question as “stupid” and ask for the next. But in my world, before the bottle is brought to the table to be opened, I take special pleasure in looking for the right bottle for the occasion. Who are the people you will be sharing the wine with? What type of wine do they like? Maybe more importantly, what wines do they not like? What is the actual occasion? These are all important questions to consider – the wine has to bring pleasure, and as a self-designated “wine person”, it is your job to ensure that it will.
The second question is also not very difficult: how do you select the wine? So you know the occasion, you probably have an idea of what type of wine you would like to bring (sparkling, red, white, Rosé, dessert, all of the above), but how do you decide on the exact wine to bring? Even if you decided that you will bring a Pinot Noir, there are tens/hundreds/more choices from all different regions, different wineries, different vintages. You can always grab the bottle with the label that speaks to you in a given moment, but sometimes, you want to go a little deeper.
Let’s go a little deeper.
The occasion was a Shabbat dinner. The house we were visiting is not ultra-religious, so technically, we could bring any wine. At the same time, I love Israeli wines, but drink them typically only during the Jewish holidays, so this was an opportunity to enjoy a bottle of an Israeli wine on a regular Friday, and I couldn’t let it pass.
Israeli wines are tricky – the inexpensive ones are not always good (chances of finding good Rioja or Côte du Rhone on the budget are a lot higher than an Israeli wine), and the expensive ones are … expensive and also not easy to find. Yes, I would love to bring Domaine du Castel or Yatir Forest, but I was not ready to spend that much, and again, finding those wines is a challenge.
So that was my attempt to select wine by the region and the winery. My next idea – let’s try a specific winemaker.
The brain’s work is mysterious. Of course, I’m not a brain scientist, whatever such a person should be called. But I’m not sure even a “brain scientist” can explain how information is processed by our brain to become memorable and impactful. Some years ago, I heard the name – Ido Lewinsohn, the garagiste winemaker from Tel Aviv, founder of the first “cult” Israeli winery. His wines were impossible to find – my friends in Israel managed to get me a bottle of his Garage de Papa Rouge, which I kept for a long time and then finally drank at some point (the wine was good, but I never wrote about it). Maybe it was the word “cult” that made such a lasting impression, but the name Ido Lewinsohn got stuck in my head.
While searching for a worthy wine for the dinner, I decided to search for the “Lewinsohn” too – what if his wines are now imported into the US? I didn’t find Garage de Papa wines, but to my delight, I discovered that after getting his Master of Wine degree (the second person in Israel to do so!), Ido is now working as the winemaker at Barkan and Segal wineries. Another search on the KosherWine.com website and voila – I got my dilemma solved – Segal wine it is!
I got four bottles of Segal wines—two to bring for dinner and two to celebrate the Passover holiday.
First, 2019 Segal Native Marawi Single Vineyard Judean Hills (11% ABV, $24.49, Marawi grape). Six years old white wine can be a challenge in itself – but this wine was not. The wine had a beautiful golden color, an intense nose of the whitestone fruit, which followed by the plump, roll-of-your-tongue nectar with explicit notes of white plums and cherry plums, fresh, intense, elegant, with a whiff of honey and cleansing acidity. The wine was a “crowd-pleaser” and disappeared in no time (Drinkability: 8+). In a blind tasting, my guess would be Marsanne/Roussane, and I would be very surprised to learn that I was wrong. An extra bonus – a rare grape I never had before.
Our second wine of the evening was 2021 Segal Petit Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon Galilee (13.5% ABV, $48.99). Dark garnet color, a restrained nose with a hint of black currant and explicit minerality. On the palate, the wine was old world in style, more of a young Bordeaux, crisp, fresh, edgy, with a good core of dark fruit and noticeable but balanced tannins. Excellent minerality, excellent acidity, excellent balance. In one word, superb. Second word – elegant. ( Drinkability: 8+).
Then there was a holiday Passover dinner, where another two bottles went into a play. These were as classic as they get – a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
2023 Segal Special Reserve Chardonnay Galilee (12.5% ABV, $19.99) was a perfect, classic, middle-of-the-road Chardonnay. Straw pale color, apples on the nose, apples with a hint of vanilla and a touch of Meyer’s lemon on the palate, round, clean, fresh, good acidity, an excellent balance. This was not a Chardonnay to knock your socks off, but this was a Chardonnay I would be happy to drink on any occasion. (Drinkability: 8)
Last but not least, 2023 Segal Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Galilee (12.5% ABV, $20.99). Dark ruby color, a hint of black currant on the nose. The palate was interesting, offering a touch of warm cinnamon and baking spices woven around a layer of plump dark fruit. The wine had all the traits of Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon, which usually has this warm cinnamon and spices – I also experienced a very similar taste profile with some of the Chinon Cabernet Franc. I don’t know if this is a terroir or if this is a specific Cabernet clone, but the resemblance was well noticeable. (Drinkability: 8- )
There you are, my friends. Four beautiful wines from Israel, perfect for any occasion, or any special day, especially those whose name ends with a “y”.
How do you select your wines? Do you have any favorite Israeli wines?
Celebrate Malbec! 2025 Edition
Do you know what I enjoy almost as much as sharing wine? Sharing pictures!
Today is World Malbec Day, where we celebrate a French grape called Malbec, or rather, Cot in its native Cahors region, which became a real star in Argentina. As bold a statement as it would be, Malbec made a world star wine producer out of Argentina, and Argentina made Malbec a world star grape.
As I mentioned before, the main reason for this post is to share my updated picture collage of some of my Malbec experiences. Here we go:
The last time I posted Malbec collage was 6 years ago, in 2019, you can find it here. Since then, in a true testament to the worldwide phenomenon of Malbec, I added a number of great Malbec experiences – organic Malbecs from Domain Bousquet in Argentina, a Little Fuck Malbec from Cahors in France, Flora Springs Ghost Winery Malbec from Napa Valley, Neyen Espíritu de Apalta Malbec from Chile, another Malbec from Argentina, Mythic, and I’m sure many more that I don’t even remember. Good Malbec is delicious, and we can leave it at that.
Don’t forget to celebrate Malbec. Even if you miss this special celebration, any day is a good day to drink Malbec. Oh yes, and if you have a favorite Malbec (or five), please share it in the comments!
Until the next grape holiday – cheers!
Daily Glass: Double Lucky, Coast to Coast
Wine is meant for sharing.
How do you share the wine? Well, that depends.
Of course, everyone knows the best way. Get together around the table. Open the wine. Pour into glasses. Sip, savor, enjoy the conversation.
This is the best way. But sometimes, it is not the easiest way. For example, when one person lives on the East Coast and another on the West Coast. What is the best way to share the wine then? Yes, nowadays, it is easy to speak with your friends no matter where they are – and not only talk, but you can see each other too, that’s a given. But still, how do you share the wine?
If you are lucky, you both might have the same bottle of wine. And you can be even double-lucky – especially if you have the right bottle, such as No Girls Double Lucky #8.
Talking about all the luck(s), there are a few here at play. Both my friend Wendy and I had the same bottle of wine available to us. Moreover, we had the bottle from the same vintage – 2019. Now, barring all the bottle variations, we were basically sharing the exact same bottle of wine – never mind 2,500 miles apart, as Wendy lives in Seattle.
Double Lucky wine was released during the pandemic, in 2021, and I was lucky enough not only to get a bottle of the inaugural 2017 vintage (all people on the No Girls mailing list received a bottle of Double Lucky for free), but also to attend a zoom call with Christophe Baron, the creator and owner of Cayuse wines and of the Cayuse “side branches” such as No Girls, Horsepower and others, and Elizabeth Bourcier, the winemaker – you can find my detailed impressions here. If you will read that post, you will find out that I was rather torn on the 2017 vintage.
2018 Double Lucky fared a lot better in my book, and it even made it to the Top Two Dozen of 2022 as wine number 19. And now, the 2019.
The 2019 No Girls Double Lucky #8 Walla Walla Valley (13.7% ABV, 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 33% Tempranillo, 21 months in neutral French oak) had a playful color, going from dark garnet to the crimson red, depending on the lighting. On the nose, on the first whiff, you can only talk about the rocks – the wine has a really profound minerality. Next, there is a hint of barnyard – just enough for those who like it, and we managed to agree with Wendy that we both love that little (or even not so little) funk on the nose – it makes the wine all the better (don’t talk to me about Brett). And then there were some cherries also present on the nose.
On the palate, the wine was all so interesting. We spoke with Wen for about 2 hours (wines, politics, families, popcorn, more wines – you know, just two friends catching up), and during these 2 hours, the wine kept changing. At first, the wine showed green bite, like chewing on the little branches of the wood (Elizabeth Bourcier is a big fan of whole cluster fermentation, and while it sounds wonderful, every time I hear the term, I almost cringe). After about 20 minutes, the green notes were gone, and the wine just had sweet cherries, olive tapenade, and rocks, lots of rocks. About an hour later, taking another sip, I suddenly discovered my beloved pepper! I love peppery notes of Syrah, this is an absolute hallmark in my book, so the wine definitely made me happy – and of course, it evoked memories of Michel Chapoutier Mathilda Shiraz, one of the most peppery Syrah renditions I ever tasted.
All in all, it was a great evening of wine and conversation – a double lucky we might even say, pun intended.
Never mind the distance – open a bottle and call your friends.
Until the next time – cheers!
Latest Wine News and Updates
There is something always happening in the world of wine. When we hear the word “wine”, of course, we get an instant image of the liquid in the glass. But before and after that liquid in the glass, the world of wine is a business world, and as with any other business, something is always happening in the wine business. Let’s take a look at some of the latest, “hot off the press” developments in the wine world.
Tariffs can’t stop the wine
It is nice to think of wine as something divine and poetic, but at the end of the day, wine has to be paid for, just like cars, TVs, and steaks. For things we pay for, the scary word of the day is “tariff” – we can’t just escape the reality of our lives. The US government floated the idea of setting the tariffs for all European wines at 200%, and that is a scary thought for winemakers and wine consumers alike. Some of the winemakers want to face this challenge head-on – and thus, venerable Champagne houses Dom Pérignon and Krug just announced that they will start production of their famed Champagnes in the US, which will allow them to avoid tariffs altogether. The information is scarce and protected by strong NDAs, but based on anonymous social media leaks, both houses entered into agreements with undisclosed wineries in Oregon to source the fruit and assist in the production of the sparkling wines. Would they be able to call them Champagne? This is the question of the year, of course. I’m sure we will learn more as the story unfolds. Currently, it is expected that both houses will be able to proudly offer “made in USA” Krug and Dom Perignon as early as the 2027 vintage.
Chateau Latour 1982 without alcohol? You got it
It seems that alcohol-free wine is a big trend (not for me, but hey, it is a free world, right?). Until now, the choices of alcohol-free wines had been limited to specifically produced non-vintage wines of unknown pedigree. This is about to change, all thanks to the company that already once revolutionized fine wine consumption. Coravin just announced a new wine preservation system, which not only lets you sip your prized First Growth over many years, but also allows you to remove the alcohol from the wine while it’s been poured! Think about your underage kids being able to enjoy the legendary wines together with the adults at the dinner table. Or even oneself, now being able to consume an unlimited amount of the elixir and then drive with no problems at all. This new Coravin wine preservation system, called Drink Freely, is priced at $899, and it is expected to hit the store shelves before Christmas of 2025. You can visit the Coravin website to sign up for the email updates for the early availability of Drink Freely.
Wine and health
I’m sure you noticed that wine has been assaulted as of late with all the baseless claims about the dangers of wine consumption to your health. Despite all the wealth of the previous research, talking about the benefits of moderate wine consumption, it seems that beating wine down became a favorite pastime of many medical “scholars.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has been one of the staunch critics of wine consumption and alcohol in general. In a stunning reversal of events, the WHO published the results of a 10-year-long lifestyle study, concluding that moderate wine consumption, up to 2 glasses of wine per day, had shown improved mental capacity, reduced stress, and boosted immune system defences among experiement’s subjects, compared with the control group. The findings were so profound that the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called the wine “an elixir of life” in his quote. Again, this was quite an unexpected endorsement, but who can argue with success?!
Vines under water
Rising sea levels are definitely a concern for many wineries, especially those located in the coastal areas around the world. What will happen if the vineyards go underwater? What if it is possible to successfully grow grapes in the vineyards at least partially, or potentially, completely submerged in water? The University of the Basque Country in Spain teamed up with famed UC Davis in California and several wineries in the Rias Baixas area to research the ability of vines to thrive under water. The first vineyards had been planted in the sea basin near Vigo in Rías Baixas, taking care of protecting young vines from the sea currents and fish. Obviously, Albariño was the first choice of the grape variety to plant, but a number of other Mediterranean grape varieties are also in the play. It is too early to talk about the results, as the project has been going for only 3 years, with the first mentions just leaking into the press, but the chief project scientist, Dr. Maximilian Grape-Seedling, says the early results are encouraging. We are still 3-4 years away from any commercial availability, but we can definitely share the hope for the future of the wine industry.
The wine crypto
Last but not least – we just learned of the first ever wine foray into the world of cryptocurrency. Loïc Pasquet, the winemaker behind the most expensive Bordeaux wine, Liber Pater ($30,000 per bottle upon release), just announced his brand new crypto, $Liber. $Liber will be based on the Ethereum blockchain and will be released at $10,000 a piece, with only 10,000 coins total planned for circulation. The new crypto will be backed by the 2020 vintage of Liber Pater, with 5,000 bottles set aside as collateral for the new cryptocurrency. It will be first available for sale on May 1st, and the demand for the hotly anticipated coin already exceeds 3 times the expected total supply. Each new $Liber owner will receive a 50 ml bottle of 2015 Liber Pater and the certificate of ownership signed by Loïc Pasquet himself. $Liber will be available on all major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Robinhood, and others.
And we are done here – all the latest wine news and updates.
Until the next time – cheers!
Brunello di Montalcino 2020: Captivating, Bright, Succulent
Benvenutto Brunello is one of my favorite wine tasting to attend. If you like Italian wines, Brunello needs no introduction (and if you don’t, I’m not sure we can be friends) – one of the 3 big Bs of Italian winemaking – Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello.
Brunello is an epitome of the expression of the best known Italian red grape – Sangiovese. The Sangiovese growing in the Brunello di Montalcino proper is considered a clone – Sangiovese Grosso, but it is a Sangiovese nevertheless.
Brunello de Montalcino appellation is almost square, all located around the hill crowned with the town of Montalcino, with vineyards densely occupying 5,189 acres and located at various altitudes over a range of different soils. Different microclimate conditions, terroirs, guarantee a great diversity of styles among 200 or so producers in Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. Another interesting appellation within Brunello proper is Rosso di Montalcino DOC, occupying 2,124 acres (after expansion in 2020) of dedicated vineyards (Rosso DOC vineyards are only used for production of Rosso di Montalcino DOC). Take a look at this wonderful video providing an excellent overview of the Brunello di Montalcino region:
Gabrielle Gorelli, MW, led our highly informative Brunello Masterclass, providing a detailed overview of the 2020 vintage and the changes in vintage assessment that just went into effect.
The 2020 was a pivotal vintage for Brunello di Montalcino. Not because of the Brunello 2020 wines per se, but because of the fundamental changes made in assessment of the 2020 vintage and all future vintages to come.
Until 2020, Brunello di Montalcino vintages had quality assessment specified with the stars (from 1 to 5 stars) and a short slogan characterizing the vintage. For example, the 2014 vintage had a rating of 3 stars and was called “Grace under pressure”. 2015 had a rating of 5 stars, and it was called “Power and Purity”; the 2016 vintage was also rated 5 stars and called “Finesse and depth”.
The 2020 Brunello vintage marks the end of the star ratings – this is the last vintage awarded a star rating (5 stars, in case you are wondering). Instead, Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino is introducing Brunello Forma, which will only provide a verbal description of the vintage moving forward.
A significant amount of effort went into the creation of the new system. 39 weather stations were installed around the region to collect the microclimate data. Historical data of the past 12 years were collected and a significant number of samples from the past vintages were blind tasted to come up with the set of data which will allow to make vintage assessment more scientific, I guess.
To come up with the vintage verbal assessment, a panel of industry experts (masters of wine, wine distributors, wine writers) ran extensive tasting of the 2020 wines, then collected and processed a large number of descriptors used by the panel members to crystallize the 2020 Brunello vintage description into these three words:
Captivating, Bright, Succulent
As an engineer at heart, I’m not a fan of words. Simple numerical (3 stars, 92) or verbal (fair, good, very good) rating quickly gives me everything I need to know about the vintage in general – captivating or succulent doesn’t set my expectations about a given wine – not now, and especially, not in the future.
However, as it was explained later on during the dinner with Giacomo Bartolommeo, Brunello winemaker at Caprili, the star ratings were hurting the wineries, as wine buyers preferred to ignore wines from 3-star vintages and focus on acquiring better-rated vintages, without much regard to the qualities of the particular wine. Moving to verbal descriptors eliminates the opportunity for a quick rating-based decision. Well, winemakers are in the business of selling their wines, so it is not my place to complain or judge.
Then, of course, there were wines. I have to say that in the traditional Italian style (please take no offence), the tasting order was changed by our presenter, Gabrielle Gorelli, MW, compared to the order written on the notes page. However, I have to say that our tasting order was definitely the right one, showing progression from very tight and lean wines to wines that were softer and more approachable now. I attended both seminars, so below are my notes:
Morning Seminar
Col D’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Ruby Color
Interesting nose, sapidity, earthy undertones, leather
Tart is the first sensation; tart cherries, expressive tannins, crisp acidity
Pian Delle Querci Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (36 months in Slavonian oak)
Dark ruby color
Sweet cherries, perfumy, very playful
Not as tart as the previous wine, but has very explicit tannins, good acidity, but lacking fruit, very lean
Carpineto Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (vineyards planted on the oldest soils, 3 years in big oak barrels)
Garnet color
Sweet tobacco, cherries, plums, attractive
Initially showed beautiful cherries, the tartness kicked in, followed by very dry finish with big but well integrated tannins
Marchesi Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (single vineyard, aged in big casks)
Garnet color
Beautiful nose, elegant, perfumy, with a touch of sweet cherries.
Tart cherries on the palate, herbs, tart finish with well pronounced tannings.
San Polo Podernovi Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (30 months in light-toast 40hl casks)
Garnet color with bright reddish hues
Beautiful nose, elegant, perfumy, sweet cherries, eucalyptus.
Tart cherries, tannins are overwhelming, but the most elegant finish so far.
Probably can be enjoyed now after decanting
La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Dark Garnet
Playful, bright red fruit, cherries, herbs, sweet oak.
Palate is a tad bitter, strange, had to swallow the wine instead of spitting to establish that it was not corked. Overall, not bad, but the nose is way better than the palate.
Collematoni Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Dark ruby color, beautiful
Beautiful nose, sweet fruit, cherries, sage, beautiful.
The best palate so far – round, with sweet and tart cherries, elegant, delicious.
8+
2020 Podere Brizio Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (38 months in oak)
Dark garnet
Beautiful, open, sweet fruit, sweet cherries, pencil shavings.
Tart cherries, explicit balsamic notes, succulent, mouthwatering, round, delicious, beautiful, superb.
8+
My favorite two wines of the morning seminar:
Afternoon seminar
Sanlorenzo Brunellodi Montalcino 2020 (aged in oak for about 3 years)
Garnet color
Beautiful, sweet fruit, cherries, dark undertones, earthiness.
Intense fruit quickly dissipates into very tart, very high expression tannins and acidity on the finish. Super-lean.
Mocali Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Dark garnet
Interesting nose, maybe racy is a good descriptor? Garrigue, some cherries show up a bit later.
Lots of sweet cherries which instantly disappear, but the finish is a bit less tart than the previous wine.
La Magia Brunello di Montalcino 2020
Very dark, practically black, darkest of the tasting so far
The nose is restrained, earthy and herbaceous
Sweet cherries, sweet oak, then tart, acidic, and ultra-tannic on the finish, very dry
Sassodisole Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (minimum 24 months in oak)
Dark Garnet
Cherries, sage, perfume, nice and open
Tart cherries, leather, well-integrated tannins
So far, the most approachable wine of the tasting
Camigliano Paesaggio Inatteso Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (30 months in oak barrels, 10 months in cement tanks after)
Bright ruby
Underbrush, a hint of smoke
Tart cherries, fresh cleansing acidity, acidic finish with some tannins, not bad.
Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (30 months in Slovenian oak casks of different capacities)
Dark garnet
Nice, inviting, round, dark fruit, a touch of crushed rocks.
Sweet cherries, crunchy and succulent, great energy, cherries on the finish, delicious.
8+, the best of the second seminar
Cortonesi Poggiarelli Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (24 months in oak)
Dark garnet, almost black, with bright hues
Amazing nose. Cherries that magically pull you in.
Fish and powerful opening on the palate, but bitter tannins set in.
Best nose of both tastings, 9-/9. Palate is not great right now – 7+
Banfi Poggio Alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino 2020 (24+ months in French oak)
Dark garnet with bright hues
Nice, open nose with lots of fresh herbs – sage, thyme.
Sweet dark fruit on the palate initially, then the palate is quickly shut down in front of the mouth. Again, if you swallow this wine instead of spitting, the wine is a lot more generous. Succulent is a perfect descriptor for such a wine. 8+
Best wines of the second seminar:
In addition to the seminars, there was tasting on the “main floor”. There were more of the excellent 2020 Brunellos, such as San Felice, Caprili, or Corte Pavone. There were also many of the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva wines, which were simply outstanding. Additionally, 2023 Rosso di Montalcino were presented by almost all participating wineries and were excellent across the board.
My Brunello deep immersion didn’t stop there. After the event was over, we went for dinner with John Fodera and Giacomo Bartolommei, the winemaker at Caprili, to the wonderful Italian New York restaurant Zero Otto Nove, famous not only for genuine Italian food but for the amazing wine list. There, Giacomo found 2001 Cerbaiona Brunello di Montalcino, which we ordered.
Wow, what a pleasure it was. Perfumy nose of succulent cherries, anis, eucalyptus. You can’t stop smelling the wine, you don’t even think of drinking it for a few minutes. Then you take a careful sip and experience an explosion of flavor with succulent cherries, balscami vinegar, iodine, and magic that only an Italian wine with age can offer. The experience was not identical to 1999 Soldera, but it was pretty darn close.
And now my Brunello report is complete. The 2020 vintage offers beautiful aromatics; it is approachable, it is succulent, it is captivating. Let’s raise the glass to the new era in Brunello and more tasty Brunello wines for us. Cheers!
2022 UGCB Vintage Preview – Power and Elegance
About a month ago, I attended the Union de Grand Crus de Bordeaux (UCBG) event introducing the Bordeaux 2022 vintage. UCBG is a marketing organization created in 1973 with the goal of promoting Bordeaux Grand Cru wines around the world. Today, UCBG comprises 132 Grand Cru Châteaux (wineries) in Bordeaux and runs about 80 marketing events per year, attracting more than 40,000 wine professionals.
UCBG vintage introduction event offers a great opportunity to have an early look into the latest vintage, taste lots of great wines and talk to the winemakers.
Speaking with the winemakers, my main question was: So, how was the vintage? Based on what I heard, it seems that 2022 was an excellent vintage with even growing conditions, with rains mostly in the early stages and then reasonably hot and dry conditions all the way through the harvest, delivering powerful, concentrated fruit with ample acidity. Hence, the descriptor I’m using for this vintage is Power and Elegance.
I have to tell you that I enjoyed most of the wines across the board. I didn’t have any OMG moment, but lots of wines showed very consistently, many of them ready to drink even now.
I didn’t take any detailed notes. Instead, I took pictures of the wines I liked, and now I would simply like to share the list of my favorite wines from this 2022 Bordeaux Grand Cru tasting.
Last year, I wrote about the 2021 Bordeaux Grand Cru vintage, so this year, I decided to mark the wines I liked last year with a star. This way, maybe I can identify my “perennial” preferences 🙂 – will see.
Here you are – my favorite 2022 Grand Cru Bordeaux wines, sorted by region:
Pessac-Léognan (the only Grand Cru region in Bordeaux producing both white and red wines).
2022 Château Carbonnieux Rouge Pessac-Léognan
2022 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion Rouge Pessac-Léognan
2022 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc Pessac-Léognan*
2022 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge Pessac-Léognan*
2022 Château de Fiuzal Blanc Pessac-Léognan*
2022 Château de Fiuzal Rouge Pessac-Léognan
2022 Château Haut-Bailly Rouge Pessac-Léognan
2022 Château Latour-Martillac Blanc Pessac-Léognan
2022 Château La Louvière Blanc Pessac-Léognan
Apparently, Chateau Lascombes went back to the old label – as you can see in this picture
Margaux
2022 Château Lascombes Margaux
2022 Château Malescot St. Exupéry Margaux
2022 Château Desmirail Margaux
2022 Château Brane-Cantenac Margaux*
Pauillac
2022 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
2022 Château Pichon Baron Pauillac
2022 Château d’Armailhac Pauillac*
2022 Château Clerc Milon Pauillac*
2022 Château Duhart-Milon Pauillac*
2022 Château Grand-Puy Ducasse Pauillac*
2022 Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac*
2022 Château Haut-Batailley Pauillac*
2022 Château Batailley Pauillac*
2022 Château Lynch-Moussas Pauillac
Pomerol
2022 Château Beauregard Pomerol
2022 Château Petit-Village Pomerol*
2022 Château La Cabanne Pomerol
2022 Château Clinet Pomerol
2022 Château Le Gay Pomerol*
Saint-Émilion
2022 Chateau Valandraud Saint-Émilion*
2022 Château Villemaurine Saint-Émilion*
2022 Château Pavie Macquin Saint-Émilion
2022 Château Clos Fourtet Saint-Émilion
2022 Château Dassault Saint-Émilion
Saint-Estèphe
2022 Château Phélan Ségur Saint-Estèphe*
2022 Château Cos Labory Saint-Estèphe
2022 Château De Pez Saint-Estèphe
Saint-Julien
2022 Château Langoa Barton Saint-Julien*
2022 Château Léoville Barton Saint-Julien*
2022 Château Léoville Poyferré Saint-Julien*
2022 Château Gloria Saint-Julien*
2022 Château Gruaud Larose Saint-Julien
Médoc
2022 Château Chase-Spleen Moulis en Médoc
2022 Château Citran Haut-Médoc
Sauternes – most of the producers I spoke with mentioned that they didn’t produce any Sauterns in 2021 – now it makes sense that last year most of the Sauternes producers were presenting different vintages…
2022 Château Guiraud Sauternes* (presented 2016 vintage last year, 2024)
2022 Château Doisy-Vérdines Sauternes* (presented 2018 vintage last year, 2024)
2022 Château Doisy Daëne Barsac Grand Vin de Sauternes
2022 Château Bastor-Lamontagne Sauternes* (presented 2016 vintage last year, 2024)
At the same tasting, I also had an unsanctioned (in many ways) treat. I noticed a winemaker in the corner talking to a few people and pouring wines that clearly didn’t belong to the tasting – 1982 and 1983 Boirceaux. I asked if I can have a taste too, and the wine – albeit grudgingly – made into my glass. The 1983 was quite drinkable – I didn’t catch the label, though. This 1982 Château Ramage La Batisse Haut-Médoc was mostly showing tertiary aromas, but hey, 1982 commands respect, so I can’t complain about having a taste of the Bordeaux from the legendary vintage.
There you are – the 2022 Bordeaux Grand Cru vintage. Well worth your attention. I’m sure it will age very well, but – you really don’t need for it to age. Crack the bottle open and enjoy!
Open That Bottle Night OTBN 2025 – What a Night!
What a Night! The end.
If I say “what a night”, can this serve as a sufficient wine descriptor?
Okay, of course not, but what a night it was.
As a wine lover, I really treasure Open That Bottle Night, or OTBN for short, taking place on the last Saturday in February. OTBN was created by the Wall Street Journal wine writers, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, back in 1999, to encourage wine lovers around the world to open that long-stashed special bottle that might be long gone while waiting for a special enough day to be opened.
Now, if I describe the experience as “agonizing”, does that portray a happy vibe? I might be unique in my self-directed masochism, but “agonizing” is the best way to describe the days leading up to the OTBN sacred night. Agreeing with oneself on wines worthy to be opened for OTBN can’t be described any other way, as I endlessly circle around the bottles located all over the house (an extra challenge of not having a dedicated wine cellar).
This year’s OTBN accidentally worked better than it could’ve been. We had been trying to arrange a dinner with friends for a while, and February 22nd was not my preferred date as it was my only night home in between two weeklong business trips. But as we tried to push it out to a later date, we came to a realization that it is either now, or it will be pushed far away, and we already had been talking about this get together for about half a year. I was responsible for the wine, and the other two couples for the food. As I started thinking about wines I should bring, it downed on me – ohh, this is the last Saturday of February, which means … OTBN!
Selecting the wines instantly got a lot more interesting and a lot more challenging at the same time. Now I need to bring not just wines, but the wines worthy of OTBN, the wines special for whatever reason, as a bare minimum special at least to me.
Celebrating OTBN in the group has a great advantage – I don’t need to decide what this one special bottle is – we can cover the full proper “wine dinner range” – bubbles, white, red, dessert. This is exactly what I did – and here are the wines I selected, with all the notes and impressions attached.
Bubbles – my selection is typically very limited at home, I have maybe 12 to 15 bottles of sparkling wines on hand, so deciding what is “special enough” is not easy – and the whole idea of OTBN is to work with your own cellar, so I had to really find that bottle inside. In the morning of, I pulled out a shelf with sparkling wines from the fridge, and inner voice said “how about this one”. Grabbed the bottle of 2008 Champagne Philippe Fourrier Brut Cuvée Millesime (12% ABV, I think I got it through WTSO a while back), and while checking the back label I realized that this was also a vintage champagne, a 2008 – even better! Now the bottle has become a lot more worthwhile to open at OTBN.
What a joy this wine was. Perfectly substantial without going overboard – toasted bread, apples, yeast, fresh and full of energy – an absolute “wow” of the champagne experience, the wine that was very easy to like instead of looking for ways to convince oneself that you like it. Extra bonus – everyone loved the wine, which is never given in the group, especially when it comes to bubbles.
Next, 2016 Salabka La Quine Chardonnay Czech Republic (12.5% ABV).
This wine was probably the most special in the group. This wine was associated with memories. I brought a few bottles of this same wine back from the Czech Republic in 2017, after tasting the wine at a dinner at Salabka city winery, located and growing their grapes within Prague city proper. This was my last bottle from that trip, and I already pulled it out of the fridge on multiple occasions, and put it back every time deciding “not today”. This time I decided that it was actually the time to pull that cork – but I didn’t have much hope for this 9 years old Chardonnay.
Oh my… what a wow wine it was. Perfectly intact cork with a few crystals. No age showing in the color, still at light golden. And the nose and the palate showing apples, pears and vanilla, woven over a firm citrus core. Bristling acidity doesn’t get in the way of enjoying wine. Considering how fresh the wine was, I’m sure this wine had another 20 years of life ahead of it – and now I have a perfect reason, even a strong need to visit Prague again.
Next, time for reds.
In retrospect, the selection of reds was very interesting, I don’t think I would’ve done it better even if I would try. A 2005 Bordeaux and 2012 Washington estate red – sounds reasonably far apart, right? And yet somehow, the wines literally were singing in unison, just imagine 2012 red having a bit of a deeper voice.
Maybe this was due to very similar grape blends – both wines were blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Verdot, but the Washington red was simply a continuation of the French Bordeaux.
The 2005 Domaine De l’Île Margaux Cuvée Mer de Garonne Grand Vin Bordeaux Superieur (13.5% ABV, 33% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Petite Verdot)
comes from a unique place, a small island in the middle of the Gironde River, overlooking the great estates of Margaux. The wine opened up as a classic, beautiful Bordeaux, with cassis and eucalyptus on the bright nose, and more of the same on the palate. Perfectly fresh, beautiful layers of fruit, firm structure, impeccable balance. The 20 years of age were unnoticeable. The wine didn’t need decanting, but opened up beautifully in the glass.
The 2012 Figgins Estate Red Wine Walla Walla Valley (14.6% ABV, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Merlot) was my only bottle which I got as a present some years back. Similarly to Salabka Chardonnay, this wine was pulled out of the fridge on a number of occasions, only to be put back in again. Finally, this was the day. On the nose, it was very similar to the Bordeaux, only a bit more restrained. On the palate, it had the same cassis and eucalyptus, but the appearance was a bit “fattier” – more pronounced berries, juicier layers, a bit darker notes but still perfectly balanced and perfectly delicious.
And then the was time for dessert. Nothing makes me more ecstatic than an opportunity to open a bottle of a dessert wine. During most of the dinners, even when you plan to open the dessert wine, everyone starts complaining about how they don’t want to drink anything else, and the desire not to waste a whole bottle for just a few sips prevails. But this is OTBN, not just some regular wine dinner, so everyone simply has to go with the program.
I don’t know exactly how I got into possession of this 2018 Mazza Vineyards Vidal Blanc Ice Wine Lake Erie Pennsylvania (11.5% ABV, Harvest dates January 11 and 21, 2019) bottle – I guess someone just brought it as a present.
Boy, was this wine just an amazing finish for the evening… stunningly delicious, with ripe apricot on the nose, and ripe, juicy, succulent apricots on the palate enveloped in a perfect amount of acidity. This was the wine of impeccable balance, the balance of sweetness and acidity that makes or breaks dessert wines. This one was superb – we almost had to fight for who would get to finish a bottle – a pure joy to an oenophile’s heart.
I also have to mention another special treat we had for dessert – small pastries that were popular back in Belarus growing up there, called Bouchée. These were specifically made as per the original Russian recipe and were absolutely sublime.
Another OTBN just became a history, a memorable memento. Luck or not, but these were 5 excellent, memorable wines – and a great company. Let’s raise the glass to the joy the wine is able to bring. Cheers to memorable nights!
Valentine’s Day 2025 – Reflecting on Wines
In my previous post, I complained about frustration with choosing the right wine for the right moment. That post ended with a picture of the wines I selected for Valentine’s Day 2025 – and now I want to talk about those wines.
Following my own advice, our first wine was sparkling. Not just any sparkling – it was Champagne. And not just any Champagne – it was Krug.
I don’t want to sound elitist, but the only way to put is this: those who know, know Krug.
For the wine lovers en masse, the epitome of champagne is Dom Perignon. Maybe also Crystal on a good day. Krug definitely is lesser known, but for those who know, Krug is a cult, a religion, the only Champagne one can drink.
I joined that cult after experiencing Krug vintage and non-vintage wines during the PJ Wine Grand tasting in New York in 2010. Krug was an absolute revelation, I have never tasted anything like that ever before.
Then a few years later, in 2012, I came across an article by Alice Feiring, talking about changes in winemaking at Krug in 2003 which she said resulted in more or less the “end of Krug”. I referred to her article in my post, but unfortunately, the original article can’t be found so I can’t share any more details. I only remember tasting Krug at the trade tasting in the same year or maybe the year after, and thinking “well, it is not as good as I remembered it“.
Trade tasting is not always the best place to fully understand the wine, so Krug remained high on my “wines I want” list. Then a few years back, I got this half-bottle of Krug as a present for the new year, and this year I decided that Valentine’s Day is a perfect reason to open that bottle.
After struggling a bit with the cork, I managed to get the wine into our flutes (I know, I know – but it is a holiday, okay?). Smelling and tasting it left both me and my wife underwhelmed. Crisp and acidic for sure, but that’s what literally every other Champagne has, and Krug should really give you more. A few more sips and I closed the bottle, and back into the fridge it went.
Not so long ago, I read an article from a champagne pro, and he suggested that Champagne, similar to any other still wine, can and usually improves after opening. It can be placed into the fridge and enjoyed slowly over the next few days, and many of the Champagnes simply taste better the next day.
Why is this important? When I poured what was left of Krug into the glass the next day (okay, it was a regular glass), that was a totally different wine. Rich, layered, with toasted bread and apples. This was the real deal and it was delicious. I can’t tell you if it tasted like the one I was blown away by in 2010, but it was definitely an excellent Champagne. I guess there is an interesting lesson here for future encounters with Champagne, and not only with Krug.
After Krug’s image was somewhat restored in my eyes, I decided to learn more about the wine. Nowadays every bottle of Krug comes with its own unique code. When you go to the Krug website and type in the code, you get the most detailed information about the wine you can wish for – here are a few excerpts related to my bottle:
“Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition
Composed around the harvest of 2014, Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition is a blend of 195 wines from 12 different years. The youngest is from the year 2014 and the oldest dates back to 1998.
In all, reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 45% of the final blend, bringing the breadth and roundness so essential to each Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée.
The final composition of this champagne is 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 11% Meunier.
Time in the cellar:
This half-bottle spent around 7 years in Krug’s cellars developing its generosity and elegance, receiving its cork in Autumn 2020.”
According to Julie Cavil, Krug Cellar Master:
“In this blend, the dynamic Pinot Noirs of 2014 came from a wide range of plots throughout the Champagne region, while fruity and full-bodied Chardonnays were selected from plots in the Montagne de Reims, Sézannais and Côte des Blancs. The Meuniers from the Vallée de la Marne Rive Gauche were particularly bright, with magnificent fruit expression from plots in Leuvrigny. To complement the wines of the year, we selected reserve Pinot Noirs from plots in the Montagne de Reims Sud renowned for their structure, including an Ambonnay from 2005. Reserve Chardonnays from plot’s wines from Avize and Mesnil-sur-Oger over a wide spectrum of years have a nice share of voice in this blend, while reserve plot’s wines of Meuniers add freshness, intensity and chiselled structure.”
And then there was 2002 Shafer Relentless Napa Valley (14.5% ABV, 80% Syrah, 20% Petite Sirah). I tasted this wine a few times before at the trade tastings, but never had an opportunity to really spend some time with it.
Shafer needs no introductions to California wine lovers, with its fame closely associated with the flagship wine, Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. Shafer Relentless is not as well known, but this Syrah blend has been around for more than two decades, named in honor of Shafer’s [relentless] winemaker, Elias Fernandez.
We didn’t decant the wine – it would probably help a bit, but I just didn’t want to deal with it. At first, the wine was tight, with well-noticeable tannins and an interplay of tar and cherries, with the addition of pepper. After some time in the glass and opened bottle, the tar subsided, leaving delicious peppery cherries to be admired around a layered but firm core. This 23 years old wine showed beautifully and it was a real treat.
Now the last piece – food. We stopped going out to the restaurants on Valentine’s Day a long time ago – the experience just not worth it. We were craving sushi for some reason, so that is what completed our Valentine’s Day dinner – here you can see some creative rolls from an Asian restaurant not too far from our house.
There you are my friends – our V-day reflections. How was your celebration? Any special wine experiences? Do tell! And until the next time – cheers!
Frustration of the Oenophile – Choosing Wine
First-world problems, I know. Nevertheless, let’s talk about them.
I guess we, oenophiles, are tender creatures. Doesn’t take much to get us frustrated. Wine not tasting the way we expect; not enjoying critic’s choice 100-points wine; close friends not sharing your excitement about the wine in the glass. We can go on and on about these little insignificant things, each one a source of the full-blown frustration. Oenophile’s frustration looks different every day. And mine right now might be the biggest one of all (remember – taste is subjective, so are the feelings) – inability to choose the wine.
Assuming I will be able to finish this post today, tomorrow we are celebrating Valentine’s Day – and what says “I love you” better than a luscious, voluptuous, sexy, and seductive bottle of wine? Forget flowers, flowers don’t stand a chance against such a bottle of wine. But what wine will be luscious, voluptuous, sexy, and seductive? The need to choose that wine properly becomes the cause of the ultimate frustration. But that’s not all, because merely in a week we have to deal with OTBN – Open That Bottle Night – and this is the ultimate “oenophile frustration” cause, as now we need to decide what bottle we kept not opening waiting for a special moment which might either never arrive or already be in the past?
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Trying to select the right bottle of wine for the occasion, you have only a few minutes to agree with yourself on the proper bottle. If you will not arrive at the decision within those few minutes, the next 2, 3, 4 days will be miserable. You are going to pull a bottle, look at it, think about it for a moment, sigh, and put it back. Then repeat the process over and over again, pretty much until you force yourself to feel that you got the right bottle. Possibly to change your mind again in a few hours, or even 20 minutes before the bottle needs to be opened. If you are an oenophile, and you are not going through this pitiful “decision paralysis”, I envy you and congratulate you. And for the rest of us – I share your pain.
So what wine should you select for Valentine’s Day? I already told you – it should be luscious, voluptuous, sexy, and seductive – or not. Of course, there is a big dependency on the food, but don’t try to achieve a perfect match – it’s okay to enjoy your food and wine independently. I have to say that I’m not a big fan of still Rosé wines for Valentine’s Day – yes, it matches the pink color of all the all V-day paraphernalia – but it might not deliver the pleasure you are looking for. I also would suggest avoiding “thought-provoking” wines – rare grapes, natural wines, skin-contact wines, wines from the forgotten corners of the Earth. On a normal day, I’m the first one to ask for an obscure wine, but for Valentine’s Day, wine should give you pleasure, elevate your mood, it should be easy to understand. If upon the first sip you will not say “ahh, this is good”, you’ve chosen the wrong wine – put the cork back and go fetch another bottle.
I love to have bubbles for Valentine’s Day – of course, nothing can beat the classic Champagne (and it perfectly can be pink), but you can’t go wrong with Cremants, Franciacorta, Trento DOC, Cava, and all other méthode champenoise wines. If you like white wines, Chardonnay is your best choice of white V-day wine, pretty much from anywhere in the world, as long as it is not a lifeless purposefully unoaked rendition.
And then, of course, the red. Ideally, the red should have an age on it, to truly deliver all that pleasure upon a first sip. Amarone, Brunello (I would avoid Barolo unless you perfectly know what you are doing), Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux/Cabernet blends, Super-Tuscans, Spanish Grenache, Rioja from a good producer, Syrah and Zinfandel. I’m not trying to make other wines feel bad, but for Valentine’s Day, this is what I would pick from.
Here is actually what I picked – Champagne and Syrah from California – and I will tell you all about it later on.
If you thought selecting wine for Valentine’s Day was frustrating, it is nothing in comparison with selecting the wine for OTBN.
OTBN (Open That Bottle Night) was invented in 1999 by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, writers behind the Wall Street Journal’s wine column at that time. The purpose of the OTBN, which is always celebrated on the last Saturday in February, is to encourage wine lovers around the world to open that special, stashed far away bottle. We all have those bottles that can be categorized as “not today”. These wines typically exist in single quantities in our cellars and always have a memory attached to them.
This is what makes the selection process very difficult – to open or not to open? I have only one such bottle. What if I open it too early – I will never know how amazing it could become over the next 10 years? Once I open that bottle which was gifted by a dear friend, brought back from the amazing trip, acquired in the moment splurge, will my memories be lost forever? Should I just hold on to that bottle instead? Will I open this wine in the right company? Will people truly appreciate the sacrifice I’m making?
Frustrated, frustrated oenophile. It is hard to make wine decisions.
I hope you got my point. And I hope I helped you, at least a tiny bit, to select a proper bottle of wine, at least for Valentine’s Day. And please don’t ignore the OTBN – the right time to open a special bottle of wine is now – you never know, tomorrow the wine might be gone, or you might be gone. Truly, live in the wine moment – at least on the last Saturday in February.
Do you have frustrated oenophile moments of your own? Please share! And I wish you a happy, quick, and not-frustrating-at-all wine selection process, for all the special moments to come. Cheers!
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