Graileys Fine Wines Blog

We hope everyone had wonderful July 4th weekend!

We opened two extraordinary bottles of Champagne and sealed the night with a stellar red Burgundy. The 1998 Henriot Cuvee des Enchanteleurs was beautiful! A Prestige Cuvee from Henriot, equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from only Grand Cru villages, this Champagne was showing at the perfect place. Generously toasty in character from long lees ageing with glorious flavors of apple pie, baked pears, orange peel spice, with soft stonefruits of preserved apricots and white peach. There was a depth in the wine that blew me away. The pearls were ultra-creamy and completely filled the palate, while at the same time being extremely elegant and light-footed in style. The finish was just as lovely with notes of honey, light flint and white flowers tying the fruit together from the start. Such an amazing wine and what a breathtaking treat to start the July 4th weekend.

2002 Piper Heidsieck Rare is a true Champagne gem. The deep flavors of toasted nuts, green and golden apples, green pears and sweet bread driven by Chardonnay with a strong backbone and additional aromatic lift from the Pinot Noir; this is a fine Champagne that will age in the cellar for decades to come. There were so many notes in this Champagne: spicy ginger, honey, sweet herbs, bright citrus and racy, briny minerals (but not in that weird ‘bad’ Grower Champagne kind of way).

2012 Claude Dugat Gevrey Chambertin was a baby but after some time in the glass this cult Burg really rounded out, offering fleshy red and black cherries, loads of cinnamon and rose, red tea, Asian spice and fresh turned soil. The fruit was concentrated and intense; and overall, the wine had great structure and depth. This village Pinot Noir was bright, forceful, polished and immaculate.

The day all of us acid loving sommeliers and great white wine lovers look forward to finally came upon Graileys on Thursday-we got our shipment of Deutsche Weisswein von sechs verschiedene Grosses Gewachs in ein ganz trockenisches Stil. Die sind ausgehtzeichnet!!! Or put another way, the Dry German Grand Cru Rieslings have arrived and they will literally blow you away! We had to open one to see how it was drinking (oh darn!) and the results were not disappointing in the slightest. We decanted the 2013 Von Winning Kieselberg Grosses Gewachs in Deidesheim in the Pfalz.  The Pfalz is called the Palitinate in English and this is a beautiful, ancient area. I used to live in this area of Germany for 2 years in the town of Worms on the Rhine River. Those were some fun days that I look back on fondly. Way before I knew how freaking awesome their wines were! The new(ish) movement in Germany’s warmer areas for Riesling (Pfalz, Nahe, Rheingau) is to craft dry riesling from the best plots of the best vineyards at extremely low yields under the Grosses Gewachs label – or Grand Cru. We drank 3 or 4 of these GGs in March and everyone was so floored we bought/sold them all in a day. This is round two and we bought more! This wine tasted like Grand Chablis on the palate with more slatey minerality on the extremely dry, expansive finish. The nose was exotic like great Riesling can be with citrus blossoms, lime, peach, apricot and even salt and sweat. There was a certain lemon/lime/cantaloupe sherbet thing for me that was killer. Beguiling, delicious and powerful-this stunning Grand Cru Riesling will drink like a champ for 30 years. These might be the best value in Grand Cru wine in the world!

After my Riesling euphoria we drank some other rocking wines. The 2000 Krug was as delicious as ever! This bottle of 2000 has a rather shy personality with a tilt toward subtlety, complexity, charm and openness. Autolytic and toasty with baked apples and pears, Krug is my favorite Champagne House today. Next up we had the 2004 Blankiet Estate Merlot Paradise Hills made by Helen Turley from a primo vineyard in Yountville. Exotic notes of crushed raspberries, violets, black cherry and mocha filled the glass and the tannins were silty smooth as the wine is drinking at its peak and was quite enjoyable. These Blankiet wines are pretty badass. We finished with a bottle of 2010 Switchback Ridge 100th Anniversary Blend that is 60 Cab Sauv / 40 Merlot and aged in French Oak for 24 months. Robert Foley crafts this stunner and this might be my 6th bottle to drink. That signature Foley nose of toasted nuts, chocolate, brambly black and red fruit and coffee bean exudes class from the glass. Slurpable and generous in every way. I can’t wait to see this wine evolve. All in all-a wonderful wine day at Graileys!

Other Great wines from the evening included:

NV Krug Grande Cuvee

NV Krug Brut Rose

2006 Favia Cerro Sur

2009 Favia Cerro Sur

2012 Gargiulo Money Road Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon

2009 Jack Quinn Cabernet Sauvignon

2010 Tortuga Cab

2005 Buccella Cab from Magnum!

2003 Brovia Garblet Sue Barolo

1999 Dom Caillot Batard Montrachet (pre-moxed)

2013 Montagu Bacigalupi Pinot Noir

Last night a bottle of one of our favorite Chablis producers that we enjoy in every level, from quaffing down during the summer heat to thoroughly enjoying with fresh seafood and meals on the patio with friends: Domaine William Fevre. The word Chablis in itself can be a turn-off; but in today’s world of fine wine, I assure you- William Fevre is NOT that giant box of Chablis that was in the kitchens of the past.
Sharp, precise and quality driven, these Chardonnays beautifully exhibit the vineyard from which they came.

The 2012 William Fevre Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume was a lean, clean, lime machine. What I love about this Chablis is that it comes from a strong Premier Cru vineyard just above the seven Grand Crus, sharing similar soils type and aspect; thus offering a distinct depth that mimics the big boys in great vintages. From lime zest to lime flowers, crunchy green apples to crushed oyster shells, the brilliant minerality and crispiness of the wine will have you going back for more. If anything, it will for sure brace your appetite for the next meal. Oysters and Chablis, it’s a classic for a reason. The nutty, briny elements of the oyster pairs perfectly with the flinty, wet rock notes of Chablis; while the acidity cuts through the oysters’ fatty, oily meat. Sushi, tartars, seafood Carpaccio and heavier crudités would be great too! (Clearly I am hungry).

If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and dare you to try the next one: 2013 Deinhard Von Winning Diedelsheimer Kieselberg Riesling GG. Are you still there?… Hopefully I didn’t lose you through all those German words tagged with the word Riesling at the end. I’m going to be honest, this is not the wine for every palate; but for those who love dry white wine, Von Winning is definitely one to try. Bone-dry in style and like the Chablis it offered crisp flavors of lime and lemon smashed over river rocks and flint, with hints of white peach, apple blossoms and a touch of bee’s wax. The minerality and the acidity was razor sharp, but the overall wine still very balanced with a powerful backbone as brawny as any bottle of red. Don’t let the white wine fool you, you will be surprised with the capability of this little Riesling to evolve magnificently in the cellar along with your top Cabernets.

For the best of dry Rieslings from Grand Cru sites, look for the GG!

Going into reds we had a table loaded with- please forgive my lack of professional wine terminology on this one- killer California juicy goodness. From 2010 Switchback Ridge Anniversary Red Blend to 2012 Gargiulo Vineyards Money Road Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, it was a great showing of stellar full bodied, California red wines. Of the lineup, we compared two Favia Cerro Sur bottles of different vintages: 2006 and 2009. It is always a good day when Favia is on the table and both vintages were smoking! The 2006 with darker fruits, deeper gravel tones, more depth and concentration; while the 2009 had a lifting breath of juicy red toned fruits, aromatic florals and slate. Both wines were incredibly sexy in a most sophisticated fashion: dark chocolate, warm blackberry and mulberry pie, along with toasted vanilla and hints of tobacco and leather.