Thanks to a cool growing season, the 2010 shows beautifully restrained grapefruit and mineral notes, with none of the sometimes over-the-top fruit that gewürz often exhibits.   

Alcohol 13.9%

162-case production

100% stainless steel

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Vestry Wines for $23/bottle

The 2007 Lagrein ("la-grine") was conceived after Bill and his wife, Susan, experienced their first taste of this Alpine native on its own soil. While common in Northeast Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige region, lagrein is seldom seen elsewhere. It may be a cross between schiava and teroldego. Bill thinks his production is the largest outside of Italy.

In addition to being a bit of a stranger in a very strange land, lagrein results in wines, whether made here or there, that there is no neutrality about. Much like gewürztraminer, people either love it or loathe it. It typically has a very pungent, almost barnyardy, quality that many think is disgusting (to be honest about it), and others embrace. Regardless of which side of the fence one ends up on, the one thing that can be said about Bill's lagrein is that it would be accepted as authentic if a bottle were opened in Trento. High praise.

The ’07 Lagrein shows dusty, loamy and deep notes of blueberry, chocolate and orange peel. Its fresh acidity allows it to pair well with stews, and grilled and roasted meats.

STATS:

Alcohol 13.5%

1,040-case production

18 months neutral French oak

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California Wine Merchants for $22.99/bottle

Royal Wine Merchants for $21/bottle

Dovetail for $65/bottle

So, as promised, the '10 arrived in '11 after a long wait in between vintages (the '07 was the last edition of this wine). The 2010 Viognier is Bill’s first vintage from a new vineyard source in the Russian River Valley. The previous six editions were from Lodi. Interestingly, Bill has long thought that Sonoma County was a bit too cool for this variety. But he found a beautifully situated vineyard and pulled up his Lodi viognier roots, so to speak.

The RRV version is NOTHING like its predecessors. I loved the '07 in spite of the fact that it simply wasn't very viognier-like. I love the 2010 more because it is viognier-like. Viognier, which had its 15 minutes in California about 15 years ago, is typically treated more like chardonnay. In other words, it's permitted to get quite ripe (with a corresponding high level of alcohol from those ripe grapes) and is oaked. In its native appellations in the Northern Rhône (Condrieu and Château Grillet), it's apt to be hit by lots and lots of oak, most of it brand new. Sometimes this is good, sometimes not.

The California versions, for the most part, were Condrieu knockoffs. But the problem was that our warmer growing season meant that those wines skewed toward the less-successful French versions. Bill countered by using only stainless steel in order to retain freshness, something that is crucial because viognier doesn't have the inherent acidity of many other white grapes. He also doesn't permit malolactic fermentation to take place, ensuring that the resulting wine will remain even fresher. (If you're interested in what malolactic fermentation is, do a search on the site.)

All of this means that the 2010 is much more recognizably viognier-like than its predecessors. Fragrant notes of honeydew melon and light citrus are framed by a ripe mouth-feel. It pairs well with exotically sauced fish and chicken dishes.

Alcohol 13.7%

500-case production

100% stainless steel fermentation; no malolactic; sustainably grown

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California Wine Merchants for $20.99/bottle

Brushstroke for $42/bottle

Dovetail for $62/bottle

L'Ecole, the restaurant of the French Culinary Institute for $42/bottle

The 2010 version of the always-non-vintage Black Dot is another unusual blend. This one is composed of 35% grenache/30% zinfandel/25% syrah/10% cabernet sauvignon from two vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA (the cab is from the 2008 vintage; the others from the 2009 vintage). The '09 version had primitivo in it; this "year's" has zin instead.

But before you experts out there say zin and primitivo are genetically the same, don't bet the house on it. Google the subject and you will find lots of disagreement and equivocation out there. I'm not a plant geneticist, but I do know that at least according to the TTB (the arbiters of what may and may not be placed on a bottle of wine produced in this great country of ours or brought into it), the two are not considered synonymous.

I can also assure you that while this version of BD (as I call it) is similar in texture and style, it's not synoymous with the 2009 version either.

Thisone shows off its grenache and zin with concentrated red fruit compote notes, rounded out by a syrah-like vivacity. It pairs well with grilled fare and pizza.

334-case production; each variety vinted separately in neutral French oak.

14% alcohol

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Beacon for $24.99/bottle

First & Vine for $29.99/bottle

Maslow 6 for $24/bottle

P.D. O'Hurley's @ West End for $13/glass; $33/bottle

Dovetail for $55/bottle

Kennedy's for $15/glass; $45/bottle

Concentrated and kirsch-like in the Southern Rhône style (Alexis trained at Château Beaucastel), the ’08 Katydid shows expressive violet, cherry, licorice and dried tobacco notes. Pair it with grilled meats, the more char on them, the better.

277-case production; each variety vinted separately in neutral oak

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New York Vintners for $31/bottle

For those familiar with the 2006, the price of the '07 might be confusing. Unlike in the fantasy world of Bordeaux, one where prices always rise, regardless of the quality of the vintage, vagaries of Mother Nature, the economy or whatever, new releases typically don't reflect big price increases from year to year. Instead, there are incremental movements (usually, though not always, upward).

The 2007 Valerie's Vineyard Pinot is an exception to that rule. A peek at the production numbers in large measure explains it. Only 88 cases were made of the '07. There were 132 of the '06. Neither number is very big, obviously, but the difference between the two (33% for those keeping score) is big. Like anything, it costs money to make wine. When the winemaker is working with small batches of the stuff like Michael and Valerie Coats are, the less you make, the less bottles there are to spread costs around. And unless you're making thousands of bottles (minimum) instead of 1,000, there are no economies of scale to cushion the pain.

My "allocation" of the 2007 was 15 cases (it seems funny to use such a serious industry term in the case of Valerie's Vineyard, because outside of me in New York City, there is no other distribution other than on Michael and Valerie's home turf of Napa/Sonoma). I got 20 cases of the '06. And what's worse, there are only going to be 75 cases of the '08!

Is the '07 a "better" wine than the '06? Who knows? Though personally, I like the '07 a bit more than the '06. It all depends on what you like. Regardless, the '07 cost me more than the '06, so it will cost you more as well. Sorry.

The 2007 is intensely perfumed, exhibiting strawberry, raspberry and loamy notes framed by a tangy mouth-feel. It partners well with red meats, and thanks to its lovely balance, salmon as well.

88 cases produced

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First & Vine for $49.99/bottle

Blue Hill for $90/bottle

Print. for $79/bottle

The fruit comes from an organic, dry-farmed vineyard in Yountville that was planted in 1978.

The 2009 Toquade, thanks to a cooler and rainier growing season than usual, is less grassy and citric than its predecessors. Instead, it shows clean passionfruit and kiwi notes, buoyed by minerally acidity.

350 cases produced

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California Wine Merchants for $25.99/bottle

First & Vine for $29.99/bottle

Maslow6 for $26/bottle

Penn Wine for $24/bottle SOLD OUT!!!

Royal Wine Merchants for $24/bottle

Blue Hill for $58/bottle

Brushstroke for $56/bottle

Dovetail for $50/bottle

Kennedy's for $15/glass; $45/bottle

P.D. O'Hurley's @West End for $13/glass; $42/bottle

Print. for $51/bottle

The ’06 Clos Béru shows juicy apple and lemon notes buoyed by a briny freshness. Pair it with rich fish and chicken dishes, as well as tangy cheeses.

The 2006 was fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. By doing so, Athénaïs is going against the grain (sorry) by not having her family's signature wine dressed up in oak. However, starting with the 2008 vintage, Clos Béru has been doing its aging in barrel. The change appears to be more a function of getting a feel for the vines as they age and their location within the walled monopole. After all, the family has only resumed winemaking under its own name very recently.

The wine spends 12-14 months on its lees. Bâtonnage (gentle stirring of the lees) takes place after the primary and secondary (a/k/a malolactic) fermentations, and thereafter once a month at most but never during the winter. (For more detailed explanation of bâtonnage, lees and malolactic fermentation, please check out the 2007 Chablis entry.)

10 cases imported for New York

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Royal Wine Merchants for $35/bottle

Blue Hill Restaurant for $75/bottle

Brushstroke for $68/bottle

The 2008 is a tick more at 14.5%. Crazy. But not really. Alcohol, like any other piece of a wine's puzzle, is a releative measurement. When the wine is in balance, the alcohol, like the acidity, like the tannins, like the oak employed (if there is any), nothing sticks out. The 2008 actually came across to me as showing less alcohol than the '07. Go figure.

The cèpage (a fancy-sounding French word—in fairness, all French words sound fancy—for the grape mix) is noticeably different in the '08. It is 80% roussanne with the balance being viognier. Last year's was 60% roussanne/40% viognier. Why the change? Just because that's the way the Pouillons thought they needed to go based on the growing season in '08.

The '08, like the '07, is rich and redolent of all sorts of flowers and stone fruit. When it's a bit chilled, it's all roussanne, showing honeysuckle, apple blossom and paraffin. As it warms, the viognier emerges in texture and honeyed apricot notes. But don't call it sweet. It's simply very, very ripe.

200 cases produced; 10 months aging in 5-year-old neutral Burgundian oak.

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Frankly Wines for $21/bottle

Martin Brothers for $17.99/bottle

Suburban for $19.99/bottle

Winesby.com for $20/bottle

Annisa for $45/bottle

West Side Steakhouse for $38/bottle

Toquade is French for “infatuation.” Christine Barbe is from Bordeaux, and makes this dry-farmed, single-vineyard SB in a style falling somewhere between Sancerre’s verve and Bordeaux Blanc's roundness. Her style is decidedly not Kiwi, however. No gooseberry/bubble gum stuff here. Just pure, transparent SB the way the grape's originators in the Loire intended.

The fruit comes from an organic, dry-farmed vineyard in Yountville that was planted in 1978.

The 2008 Toquade is two wines in one: When chilled, it exhibits classic SB notes of cut grass, citrus and minerals. As it warms, apple and pear show themselves, though always with a continued citric tanginess.

250 cases produced

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Penn Wine & Spirits for $24/bottle Sold out!!!

Print. for $44/bottle Sold Out!!! Print. has the 2009 for $46/bottle.

P.D. O'Hurley's @ West End for $13/glass; $42/bottle Sold out!!! P.D. O'Hurley's has the 2009 for the same prices.

There are a few reasons for this. First and foremost, it's made of 100% syrah, a grape that can be grown in many places under many different growing conditions. That said, syrah doesn't make frivolous reds (or pinks). It's just not in the grape's DNA. So, what Bill was left with was real fruit for a real wine, one that just happens to be off-red in color.

The second crucial factor is that the wine doesn't undergo malolactic fermentation. This secondary fermentation (that is, second to the initial alcoholic fermentation in which yeast interacts with grape sugars and converts them to alcohol) is discussed throughout this website. The short version is that by not allowing the rudimentary wine to go through malo (the shorthand reference), it retains a sprightly freshness that it might have lost otherwise. This results in a zingy rosé with real wine-like character.

Bill would probably read this, and say, "Just shut up and drink it." Agreed.

WINE PROFILE:

Fresh and very clean combination of citrus and tropical fruit notes with a vivacious finish. Tasty and light enough to drink as an aperitif, it’s also an ideal match for spicy dishes, from Asian-inspired to barbecue.

400 cases produced

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Greene Grape Downtown for $17.75/bottle

The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges for $12/glass; $48/bottle

P.D. O'Hurley's @ West End for $13/glass; $32/bottle