Ig Winery
Château de Villars Fontaine
Clos du Château Chardonnay 2011
Aniv IG Dez20 Lil, Cle — 4 years ago
G.D. Vajra
Luigi Baudana Barolo Nebbiolo 2015
Aniv IG Dez21 — 3 years ago
Arnot-Roberts
Que Syrah Vineyard Syrah 2015
Among everyday wine drinkers, Syrah gets a bad rap. No one is exactly sure why this is, but many (myself included) think the blowsy Shiraz craze of the early aughts has something to do with it. Serious wine lovers know, however that Syrah is one of the world’s greatest red grapes, provided it is planted on the right sites and harvested at the right time (both of which, it must be said, are not so common in California). There are an increasing number of benchmark bottling a of Syrah in California, this one perhaps chief among them. The Arnot-Roberts guys, @duncanarnot and Nathan Lee Roberts (not on IG?) have been making arguably California’s most profound cold-climate Syrah from the Que Syrah vineyard way out on the Western Sonoma Coast for many years now. When I say cold, I mean really cold. Fog drenched, windy as hell, just a stone’s throw from the ocean, this vineyard gets ripe at like 12.2% -12.8% alcohol or it doesn’t get ripe at all. And the wines it makes…. Crunchy blue fruit, bloody meat and rusty nails, dried flowers and powdery refined tannins. With age bacon fat and leather emerge. All draped in a saline umami jacket that makes the mouth water. I can only buy a couple of bottles of this a year, but each one is a battle between drink and hold. So I split the difference. I decided to open this one up and both regretted it (it will improve for another decade) and luxuriated in it. May you be so lucky to have similar problems. — 3 years ago
Château Rieussec
Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend
Aniv jun21 IG, Jus, Adi, Sil, Vin Antonela — 3 years ago
Gaja
Barolo Nebbiolo 2000
Gaja Gromis Barolo DOCG 2000: Last night’s amazing wine selection to celebrate a lot of events! Birthday dinner (risotto with radicchio e salsiccia), Super Bowl Sunday and hitting 2000 IG followers. About the wine: Cherry. Eucalyptus. Spice. Smooth graceful finish. Cheers to my 25th anniversary of my 21st birthday! 🍷 — 4 years ago
Vanessa
What a beautiful spring day in Minnesota!
The glorious, golden sunshine called us outdoors and inspired us to crack into this 2012 Arnot-Roberts “Amphora” Ribolla Gialla.
We had the pleasure of blind tasting the 2010 vintage when we visited Arnot-Roberts last year. Check out my IG post (@Sips_Ensemble) from June 9, 2022 for more details on that magical visit!
This wine is made from the Ribolla Gailla variety, an ancient and rare grape grown most notably in the Friuli region of northeastern Italy and neighboring Goriška Brda region of Slovenia (where it’s called Rebulla).
Here is a lovely Napa expression coming from the Vare Vineyard in Napa’s Oak Knoll District, which is farmed organically by the esteemed Steve Matthiasson. Growing Ribolla in the Vare Vineyard dates back to 2001, when cuttings were brought over from Friuli, Italy for planting.
Settled at the base of the bottle we can see the lees (fine particles from the yeast), an indication this wine was likely unfiltered (or minimally filtered), lending richness and texture while also helping to preserve the wine.
It’s justifiably showing some signs of age with its deep golden hue and honeyed, nutty notes; yet it still offers round primary notes of yellow apple, bosc pear, quince, orange peel, grapefruit pith, cantaloupe, honeysuckle, white blossom, and wet slate, with a notable creaminess.
Cheers to sipping delicious wine on a delicious day! — 2 years ago