Club Vino June 2020
Ciao a tutti – Hello to all my fellow wine club members from the heart of California’s real wine country – Sonoma, CA. As local Sonoman and famous comedian Tommy Smothers states regularly, “Sonoma makes wine. Napa makes auto parts!” All kidding aside, we are finally open for business on the patio at Della Santina’s and can’t wait too see all of you here in Sonoma soon. We’ve had to innovate and become creative these last 3 months during the pandemic with take out and delivery (family drivers Marco and Matteo Della Santina) for the restaurant while blowing up our online retail presence at enotecadellasantina.com. However, we’ve missed interacting with our customers on a daily basis as take out and delivery can be impersonal. The one common denominator that has remained during this whole crisis is wine. I’ve continued to pair wine regularly with customers’ take out dinners while discussing Italian, French, Spanish, Argentinian or domestic options for family parties or graduation events.
On the other hand, I’ve seemed to have forgotten what’s quietly happening on the western coast of South America in Chile. It’s a renaissance of Chilean wines on the international scene due to their quality and value play. The green, underipe, cool – climate wines of the past no longer haunt Chile’s reputation on the global market. In this shipment, I’ve assembled a mix of classic high quality producers like Montes and Clos Apalta with cutting edge producers like Viña Koyle and Kingston Family. These wines show what’s coming in Chile and what has been there for quite a while. Enjoy – Salute and as always, “wine is only as good as the company in which it is shared.”
Rob Della Santina
Club d’Oro:
2018 Mayu Pedro Ximenez - Elqui Valley, Chile
The Oliver family started Viña Mayu in 2005 and was the first to bring premium winemaking to northern Chile’s Elqui Valley. They choose the name “Mayu” - the Incan word for the Milky Way’s “river of stars.” The Elqui Valley is located 300 miles to the north of Santiago, which means it is about 30 degrees south of the equator, and is the location of several observatories because of how clearly the Milky Way appears. A refreshingly refreshing wine from a grape you’ve probably never heard of - meet Pedro Ximenez! A grape varietal long used in the production of brandy and sherry, it makes a surprisingly delicious wine! Elqui Valley is a very new region for viticulture and is Chile’s northern most wine region. Viña Mayu has vines planted from 1150 feet elevation to their highest vineyard at 6300 feet above sea level. Today’s wine comes from vines with an average age of 74 years. The math doesn’t add up, you say? The Elqui Valley has long been known for producing the best grapes for Pisco (a type of grape brandy made in Peru and Chile). One of the primary grape varietals they use is Pedro Ximenez. The grapes are hand harvested and then softly de-stemmed. The clarification is carried out by natural sedimentation and the fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts. The wine is racked after fermentation and aged, on the fine lees, for at least 4 months in stainless steel at low temperatures. This is a stylish white wine that offers appealing floral and fruit aromas with flavors balanced by fresh acidity, minerality and a long finish, which makes this an excellent match for shellfish and other seafood dishes.
Retail: $16.00 Alcohol: 13%
2017 Montes Alpha Syrah - Colchagua Valley, Chile
In 1987, two deluded partners (Aurelio Montes & Douglas Murray), with extensive experience in the world of wine, wanted to realize their dreams of producing wines of quality far superior to wines being produced in Chile at the time. Adding 2 more partners the next year and starting out as Discover Wines Ltd, their dreams came true - thus giving birth to Viña Montes along the way. Viña Montes & Montes Alpha now reaches more than 100 countries. The venture started out as a retirement project for the guys. They wanted a small boutique winery to amuse themselves once they retired for good. Graduating in oenology, Aurelio applied to the family run firm, Viña Undurraga (more on that later) and became its first full time oenologist. After 12 years of learning the ropes and experimenting as a winemaker he moved on to Viña San Pedro, one of the largest wine producers, and there he met his future partners (all playing different roles in the success of the winery). Having first visited Apalta when he was 21 years old, he fell in love at first sight and when the time came to purchase “terroir” for planting their first vineyard he had no doubt it had to be Apalta. They purchased and starting planting in 1990. The rest is history, as they say… This is a 100% Chilean effort with no foreign consultants like most other wineries in Chile. They were the first to plant the Syrah grape varietal in Chile, also. Sourced from the Apalta Valley this 90% Syrah and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon is co-fermented, Côte Rôtie style, with 3% Viognier. This is a rich, dense, granite-sourced Syrah with mild notes of leather and dark chocolate (which are very characteristic of Syrah from Colchagua). The palate is well balanced with rich acidity, smooth tannins, tremendous structure and generous volume. Pair with red meat, charcuterie and cheese.
Retail: $18.00 Alcohol: 14.5%
2016 Casa Lapostolle ‘Le Petit Clos Apalta’ Red Blend - Apalta Valley, Chile
To give a brief back story of the lineage that started this winery, we go back to 1827 near Versailles, France with Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle. He founded a fruit liqueur distillery. Fast forward 53 years when JB’s granddaughter’s husband, Louis-Alexander Marnier, coming from a family of Sancerre wine merchants was captivated by the cognac region and its brandy. In 1880 he imagined a drink based on cognac and a rare variety of bitter oranges, which were then a luxury commodity. The famous hotelier Cesar Ritz tasted it and named it “Grand Marnier.” Moving on, in 1994 Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, great-granddaughter to the creator, embarked on a new adventure in Chile. In just a few years, along with her husband (Cyril de Bournet) and Michel Rolland joining in 1997 as oenologist and wine consultant, she succeeded in making Clos Apalta an iconic wine by shaping the vineyard, foot by foot. Their son, Charles-Henri de Bournet Marnier Lapostolle is the present guardian and renovator who is continuing to carry the torch. Apalta is located southwest from Santiago in the Colchagua Valley. The vineyard is situated on a north to south exposure, which is quite rare in Chile. This geography is responsible for the conditions that ensure balance for the vines and a slow ripening for the grapes. The average age of the vines is 90 years. The grapes are hand harvested and de-stemmed. Fermentation is done in French oak vats by gravity. Native yeasts are used to ferment the grape juice and the wine is estate bottled by gravity without any treatment or filtration. Alexandra built a seven level underground complex on the slopes of the land allowing for the gravity fermentation and bottling, with only the cylindrical roof jutting out from the mountain. With their organic vision, and inspired by their experience in biodynamic vineyard management, they allow the terroir and wines to truly work in harmony with each other to produce award winning wines. Le Petit Clos consists of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot and 1% Carmenere. The Cab and Carmenere come from pre-phylloxera old vines planted in 1920, not grafted. The wine stayed 6 months in 100% new French oak barrels where natural malolactic occurred. After the selection of the lots was completed it was aged another 17 months in 20% new French oak barrels, 32% in second used and 48% in third used French oak barrels. The nose is very intense with black fruit (cassis and black currant) and red fruit (cherries and strawberries) aromas along with fresh herb notes and a touch of vanilla. It has a big structure, well balanced with remarkable acidity. They recommend decanting for an hour prior to drinking this complex and expressive wine. A big steak, beef tenderloin with creamed spinach and slivered almonds or venison with seasonal grilled veggies are a few pairing ideas.
Retail: $51.00 Alcohol: 14.5%
Club Argento:
Viña Koyle:
For 6 generations, starting in 1885 with Francisco Undurraga (remember that name?) Vicuña, the Undurraga family has been growing grapes and making fine wines in Chile. In 1903 they were the first to export wine to the United States. In 2006 the family sold the winery, vineyards and the brand. This led Alfonso Undurraga Mackenna (a great-nephew of Francisco’s) to pursue a lifelong dream of finding superior terroir from which he and his 3 sons could create handcrafted, small production wines to show how exceptional Chilean wines can be. His son Cristobal Undurraga Marimon (the first winemaker in the 5 generations of the Undurraga family) lived for 7 years abroad to hone his skills. He worked in Napa Valley (Franciscan Estate), Australia (Rosemount), Bordeaux - France (Chateau Margaux) and Mendoza - Argentina (Kaiken). After visiting and analyzing all the different valleys and regions in Chile, they settled on 2,718 acres in the Los Lingues Zone of Alto Colchagua, in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. In 2008 they began the greatest challenge: transforming the vineyard of Los Lingues into a biodynamic vineyard certified by Demeter from Germany. In 2012 they achieved certification and continue in the search for the greatest expression of terroir in the wines. Los Lingues has a Mediterranean microclimate, allowing Koyle Vineyards to be influenced by the constant and fresh breezes that come down from the mountains. The well-drained soils have a clay texture with volcanic rock and colluvial stones that deliver unique minerals giving the right balance to the vines. They irrigate with water from their own streams and use solar energy to power the irrigation channels. Fifteen varietals are grown by Viña Koyle. Furthermore, all Koyle estate-grown grapes are harvested by hand and vinified with a low-intervention philosophy to preserve their natural expression, freshness and finesse. They are “wild fermented“ with indigenous yeast while being vegan friendly. Koyle is the Chilean Indian name for the beautiful purple native plant that grows next to oak forests and blossoms with a much-demanded fruit. An endangered species, it can be found in the Koyle mountain vineyards.
2019 Viña Koyle Costa ‘La Flor’ Sauvignon Blanc - San Antonio Valley, Chile
“Costa” underscores the vineyards Koyle has bought near the sea in Paredones, which is part of the new Colchagua Coast appellation, from which the grapes for this wine comes from. Debuting in 2014, this 100% Sauvignon Blanc was fermented mostly in stainless steel with 20% of the volume fermented in concrete egg. Moreover, it was kept on the lees for 3 months. It has aromas of white flowers and citrus with the austerity of the granite, which is noticeable on the nose as well as in the texture and the clean palate. “It ends dry and with an almost salty twist,” says Robert Parker - who gave this wine 91points. Enjoy with oysters, fresh crab grilled fish or sushi & sashimi.
Retail: 13.00 Alcohol: 12.5%
2017 Viña Koyle Gran Reserva Carmenere - Colchagua Valley, Chile
Carmenere is the signature grape in Chile. This blend of 85% Carmenere, 10% Tempranillo and 5% Petit Verdot was aged for approximately 12 months in French oak barrels and has a deep purple color with rich notes of white pepper along with focused flavors of native trees aromas with layering of dried raspberry and red currant. Velvety tannins emerge from the small percentage of Tempranillo, with explosive notes of minerality coming from the basaltic rocks from the Los Lingues vineyard. Elegant and fresh! Enjoy with roast duck, ratatouille or chicken based plates.
Retail: $16 Alcohol: 14%
2016 Kingston Family Vineyards ‘Tobiano’ Pinot Noir - Casablanca Valley, Chile
It all started in the early 1900’s when Carl John Kingston packed up his belongings and made the months long journey from Central Mine, Michigan to Chile in search of copper and gold. He never struck gold, but CJ unearthed a large dairy and cattle ranch 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the western hills of Chile’s Casablanca Valley. He and his new wife settled in the casa patronal on “The Farm.” Four generations later, Courtney Kingston wrote a business plan, while in graduate school at Stanford University, having nothing to do with cattle or traditional farming. She wanted to plant a vineyard in the far western hills of Casablanca. In 1998, she planted Pinot Noir and Syrah in a valley known exclusively for white wines. Inspired by California vineyard leaders like David Hirsch and Gary Pisoni and using Byron Kosuge as their American wine consultant, they planted a vineyard up in the hills and gambled on the future of cool climate reds. In 2003, they made 400 cases of Pinot Noir and Syrah under their own Kingston Family label. They have gradually expanded to 350 acres of vineyards and are one of a handful of Chilean vineyards leveraging artisan winemaking and organic viticulture techniques to uncover the potential of coastal Chile. Tobiano is a blend of different parcels sustainably grown within the greater Kingston vineyard. It has been featured at respected restaurants such as Jean Georges in NYC and the Four Season in London & now at Enoteca Della Santina in Sonoma! This wine was born for everyday enjoyment. It is their “fun” wine. Almost Beaujolais like, it has a ‘gulpable’ quality that would make it completely at home with bistro fare or a picnic. It has a fresh mix of herbs, flowers and berries (that are not too sweet) on the nose and a fresh tart and lively entry on the palate with no discernible oak to get in the way.
Retail: $26 Alcohol: 12.5