Weingut Vollenweider
Country: Germany
Region: Mosel
One of the new guard of Mosel producers, Daniel Vollenweider crafts his superb Riesling from 12.4 acres of vines mostly on extremely steep slopes with high percentage of old and ungrafted Riesling vines.
History
in 1999, swiss born Vollenweider devoted himself to a dream: to run his own estate and grow riesling wines that are crystal-clear, no-nonsense, yet sensual and lush all at once.
After working in vineyards both in Germany and abroad, Daniel started with 1.3 hectares in the Wolfer Goldgrube: an ideal vineyard in the sense that it boasts a fine pedigree, yet had fallen out of use (and the spotlight) in recent decades. He now owns just over four hectares on Goldgrube as well as parcels in Kröver Steffensberg and Trabener Würzgarten (Schimbock), and is a member of der klitzekleine ring, a group of winemakers that revive derelict, steep old-vine vineyard sites in the Mosel.
Daniel is dedicated to the uniquely grueling lifestyle of winemakers in the Mosel who choose to responsibly farm these harrowing sites by hand and without using pesticides and herbicides, knowing the hard work is beneficial to both the vines and ultimately the wine.
Vineyards and Viticulture
The Goldgrube is a steep amphitheater rising above a bend in the Mosel river, south to southwest-facing, with predominately Devonian gray slate (certain parcels variegated with iron-rich red slate). Old vines here are ungrafted and some are over 80 years in age. The estate is 100% Riesling and 100% steep, slate sites. Everything must be done by hand in the vineyard.
Winemaking
The winemaking philosophy is as simple as it gets: work hard. Daniel works alone, with no short cuts and no compromises. Vinification happens in the multi-level cellar located under his house in Trarbach, a town (along with its sister-city Traben across the river) that was an invaluable wine shipping hub during the last half of the nineteenth century and into the early 1900s. Taking a minimalist approach, Daniel uses stainless steel tanks and prefers spontaneous fermentation for all wines except for those affected by Botrytis. In more recent vintages Daniel has expanded into making dry and dry-tasting wines, which are also outstanding and full of verve.
Suavia Massifitti Trebbiano di Soave 2018
$50.00Utilising an ancient grape variety Trebbiano di Soave, Massi Fitti is a single vineyard grown high on valcanic Basalt soil. The wine is hand-harvested and fermented in steel vats for 15 days on lees. The nose is bright, floral with hints of flint. On the palate it delivers ripe pear, aromatic herbs and mineral alongside crisp acidity.
Suavia Soave Classico 2020
$40.00Grown in high altitude Volcanic vineyards, This is a blend of two regions in central Soave and is 100% Garganega. The wine is fermented in steel tank on lees for 14 days keeping the wine super fresh. With aromas of fresh apple and pear this wine tastes smooth and creamy, it offers almond and minerality brightened by crisp acidity.
Maison Langlois-Chateau Chateau de Fontaine-Audon Sancerre 2019
$55.00This 15 hectare vineyard surrounds one of the rare castles in Sancerre, in St Gemme to the north west of the Appelation.
Vineyard:
– Grape variety : Sauvignon (100%),
– Terroir : Silex (flint)
Harvest:
– Yield: 55 hl/ha,
– Hand and mechanical picking
– Pneumatic pressing with juice selection
Maison Langlois-Chateau Saumur Blanc 2019
$36.00Great value Chenin Blanc from the white soils of Saumur. Screwcap.
Domaine Marcel Deiss Alsace 2019
$55.00Cépages composed of Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Sylvaner. Wine without chaptalisation,or adjustment for acidity. Pale yellow color, intense fruity nose show the blending notes of lemon, white flowers, pineapple and yellow peach. The palate is remarkably fruity and severe; very dry for Marcel Deiss.
Domaine du Clos de Tart La Forge de Tart 2018
$750.00The second wine of the Clos de Tart estate, this is a Grand Cru wine, under a 1er Cru label. The winery was founded in 1141 by the Tart Abbey Bernardine sisters, a branch of the nearby Cistercian congregation. Since then it has changed owners 4 times. The Forge de Tart is made from vines under 20 years old, and sees no whole bunches in the winemaking. This is a great insight into a historic winery.
Domaine du Clos de Tart La Forge de Tart 2016
$720.00The second wine of the Clos de Tart estate, this is a Grand Cru wine, under a 1er Cru label. The winery was founded in 1141 by the Tart Abbey Bernardine sisters, a branch of the nearby Cistercian congregation. Since then it has changed owners 4 times. The Forge de Tart is made from vines under 20 years old, and sees no whole bunches in the winemaking. This is a great insight into a historic winery.
Domaine de Terrebrune Rosé 2019
$79.00Bandol Rosé at its best! This wine is made from 50% Mourvedre, 25% Grenache and 25% Cinsault. The fruit is handpicked with only natural yeasts used in fermentation; incredibly, this wine can age for 20 years. Few rosés are as persistent and long on the palate as this. Concentrated, ripe fruit brimming with nuances of wild strawberry, cherry, peach juice and apricot. There is a savoury and mineral side to the wine as well, with nuances of salinity, herbs, and crushed roses.
Domaine de Terrebrune Rouge 2017
$92.00Terrebrune is situated specifically in Ollioules which has different soils to the rest of Bandol. It is also closer to the ocean, which means it benefits from the much needed cool breeze. This is no more evident than in their Bandol Rouge, the antithesis to the often bulky, heavily concentrated Mourvedre dominated wines in the region. A blend of 85% Mourvedre, 10% Grenache and 5% Cinsault, it is astounding to see such elegance and finesse.
On the nose and palate, this is an intense wine, and while you’ll find plenty of juicy dark fruit and some meaty tannins, the palate is driven by wild herbal flavours such as thyme and lavender.
Chateau Villa Bel Air Rouge 2016
$60.00Villa Bel-Air displays a deep colour and an attractive nose with aromas of red fruits and violets mingled with roasted and woody notes.
The attack is solid, the palate revealing gorgeous ripe tannins, with toasty and mocha nuances. The finish is ample and well rounded, with a flavour of liquorice. Already tasting delightful, this is a wine for laying down.
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Barolo DOCG 2017
$170.00The Barolo DOCG is made from younger and lower vines from Brunate in La Morra and Prapo in Seralunga and spends 34 months in French oak. The Tortonian soils in Brunate provide elegance and finesse whilst the ferrous clay in Prapo provide power and strength. This is a classic Barolo – light garnet in colour with Barolo’s quintessential aromas of roses, tart cherries, and hints of truffles. Ceretto’s Barolo DOCG is extraordinarily approachable now, but it will continue to reward the patient wine drinker as it evolves over the course of several years.
La Côte Etoilée Côte de Brouilly 2018
$40.0040-year-old vines are handpicked followed by a 14-day whole cluster semi-carbonic maceration in concrete and steel tanks. A floral scent with hints of cherries and plums. Juicy and fresh fruit with long with marked acidity and fresh tannins that add some gentle grip to the tenacious finish.
Domaine Chanson Le Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2020
$49.00The grapes for Domaine Chanson’s Bourgogne Rouge are sourced exclusively from select estate-owned vineyards in the Côte de Nuits, as well as several terroirs located in the southern part of the Côte de Beaune. Dark ruby colour with purple nuances. Intense aromas of ripe blackberries mixed with spices and liquorice. Crunchy and generous. Complex and deep texture. Well-crafted tannins. Long and fruity aftertaste.
Domaine Chanson Chablis 2019
$56.00The village of Chablis, located in the northernmost district of Burgundy, is known for producing steely, crisp wines with intense green-apple acidity and a firm, mineral backbone. Domaine Chanson makes a plot-based selection on hills ideally mostly located in the south of the village.
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Nebbiolo d’Alba DOC Bernadina 2018
$79.00The Bernadina vineyard is right on the border of the Barolo zone and is often called ‘Baby Barolo’. Fermentation in stainless steel and ageing in old wood produces wines of great expressive potential, complex and long-lived. Broad floral-toned strawberry aromas lead to medium-weight, fleshy and juicy berry fruit flavours underpinned by a lightly charred spiciness, vivid acidity and structured tannins; a generous wine.
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Moscato d’Asti DOCG 2020 375ml
$30.00Ceretto Moscato d’Asti is fermented exclusively in stainless steel autoclaves so that the fruity aromas of the grape are preserved. It is an intensely aromatic, fruity and persistent wine. Its aromas of peach and floral touches stand out. On the palate, its sweetness is balanced by the low alcohol content, a very fine bubble, and the relatively low acidity gives it a pleasant freshness.
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Piana – Barbera d’Alba DOC 2019
$60.00VINIFICATION
Classic floating-cap fermentation, with frequent daily pumpings of the must over the cap, alternated with racking and returning. The contact with the skins normally extends over around ten days. Drawing off is followed immediately by the malolactic fermentation and after a few months in steel the wine is bottled to preserve the explosive fragrance of its youth.
WINE
On ageing its ruby-red color takes on elegant garnet highlights; its characteristic vinous nose becomes ethereal to the point of being vaguely reminiscent of the bouquet of Barolo. Punch and stuffing bring out its great body.
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Blange – Langhe Arneis DOC 2020
$56.00The Blange vineyard, located on the hillsides of Vezza d’Alba, was purchased in 1985 with the sole purpose of planting it with the Arneis grape.
Bright and refreshing, this opens with scents of honeysuckle, jasmine, pear and yellow stone fruit. The round but lively palate offers peach, green apple and a hint of white almond. Its fragrance and flavour are also enhanced by the small amount of CO2 maintained from the fermentation, which also helps to make up for the varietal’s typically low acidity.
Chateau de Campuget 1753 Rosé 2020
$35.00A very pale rose with grapefruit and exotic fruits on the nose and a delicate freshness on the palate with hints of roses and red fruits. Winemaking is traditional with a focus on preserving freshness and aromatic purity. A great aperitif.
Château Pierre-Bise Coteaux du Layon – Beaulieu Les Rouannières 2018
$76.00100% Chenin Blanc, the Rouannieres is made in 50% stainless steel tank and 50% old oak barrels. Aromatically it present an array of nicely concentrated and dried fruits, with a little caramelisation wrapped around the edges. The palate feels pure, concentrated as suggested by the nose, but also tense and correct, with a lovely balance of caramelised orchard fruits, praline and toasted nuts on one side, countered by delightfully fresh acidity on the other, giving it a very fine sense of poise. Very impressive, deliciously balanced, long and pithy with phenolic energy in the finish.
Château Pierre-Bise Cabernet d’Anjou 2015
$28.00A slightly sweeter style of rosé made from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Despite the high residual sugar, the wine remains balanced due to the tannins from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Domaine Chanson Clos des Mouches Blanc Beaune Premier Cru 2017
$290.00Gold colour. Subtle floral fragrances mixed with pretty and fresh aromas of pale fleshed fruit mixed with citrus fruit aromas on a hint of minerality. Fleshy and ample on a sappy and tight texture. Deep and long finish with mineral tinges.Chanson is one of the major owners of Clos des Mouches with a vineyard of 4.5 hectares. A sunny terroir which benefits from an ideal location on the hill at the southern end of the vineyards of Beaune on a spur pointing toward Pommard . A plot of 2 hectares on the upper side of the hill is planted with Chardonnay on a limestone subsoil covered with sand.
Maison Langlois-Chateau Chateau de Thauvenay Sancerre 2018
$55.00The Chateau sits on a 18 hectare vineyard surrounding one of the rare castles in Sancerre, in Thauvenay (south east of the Appellation).Facing the Loire, the vineyard on chalky soil. With aromas of apple, mango and grapefruit this wine develops strength and character while in the glass. Go all out and enjoy with lobster.
Domaine Marcel Deiss Burg 2015
$129.00Burg is one of Deiss’ most prized terroirs, with its south-facing aspect and multi-coloured Keuper marls and rare limestone insertions. Mainly planted with Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Muscat and Gerwürztraminer, Burg is a robust wine, complex and structured, with great ageing potential. The fruit is fermented in barrels using indigenous yeasts, and the wine is then matured in oak barrels on fine lees for 12 months. Each of these highly aromatic varieties gives the wine its extraordinary complexity and spiced notes with a hint of citrus peel. It makes an exquisite pairing with exotic, spiced dishes.
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Dolcetto d’Alba DOC Rossana 2018
$49.00Rossana is a splendid plot on the outskirts of Alba, historically recognised as one of the toponyms of excellence for Dolcetto. The wine spends nine months in stainless steel, keeping it fresh and vibrant. Aromas of red cherries mingle with notes of lavender, violets, and a touch of sweet almonds. On the palate, black cherries and sweet spices lead to a soft and lingering finish.
Bodegas Tradicion Oloroso NV
$195.00This is the traditional Jerez wine par excellence. Oloroso Tradición VORS, in addition to being our longest and most full-bodied wine, is also the smoothest and most elegant. Its age, which is approximately an average of 45 years, and its oxidative ageing process (with no flor and in total contact with the oxygen) have given it very particular properties. Our Oloroso is the result of combining soleras from the 18th and 19th centuries.
This pure breed Oloroso style is a powerful but extraordinarily gentle wine, mouth filling, rich, unctuous.
Château Pierre-Bise Quarts de Chaume 2016
$105.00The top cuvée. One for the purist terroirists rather than the hedonists. The finished blend is almost 100% botrytised fruit and has residual sugar of 175 g/l. The nose is admirably high-toned and full of toasted-honeyed nuts, with a bed of grilled and dried berry fruits. The palate shows great substance and polish, with a velvety, creamed-fruit texture, polished and weighty, cut through by a fresh acid bite. This is imposing, textural, majestic even, with tangible weight and an impressive length. It remains fresh throughout, though, and it retains a sense of purity. An excellent cuvée and an absolute must for the cellar.
La Côte Etoilée Côte de Brouilly 2017
$40.0040-year-old vines are handpicked followed by a 14-day whole cluster semi-carbonic maceration in concrete and steel tanks. A floral scent with hints of cherries and plums. Juicy and fresh fruit with long with marked acidity and fresh tannins that add some gentle grip to the tenacious finish.
Weingut Vollenweider Goldgrube Grand Cru Riesling 2017
$100.00Goldgrube Grand Cru comes from the best plots and oldest vines (up to 100 years old!) of the Wolfer Goldgrube vineyard and is the quintessential wine of this slope. It boasts a rich spectrum of flavours that include tropical hints; it is complex, deep and focused. It has a remarkable mineral backbone and a great ageing potential.
Chateau de Campuget 1753 Viognier 2019
$32.00The 1753 Viognier Cuvée exhibits a terrific bouquet of honeysuckle, orange marmalade, peaches, and tropical fruits Medium-bodied and filled with fruit yet structured, with good underlying acidity to provide freshness and focus.
Chateau de Campuget 1753 Grenache 2016
$32.00This wine is of a beautiful complexity. The colour is deep ruby. The nose offers red fruit (cherry) mixed with spicy notes. In the mouth, the tannins are tender and supple, marked by finesse and elegance.
Domaine Chanson Meursault Perrières 1er Cru 2017
$325.00“Les Perrières” is situated on a mid-slope on the hill south of Meursault on clay and limestone covered with stones. This Premier Cru Vineyard is considered to be the ultimate area in Meursault, combining richness and minerality.
Domaine de Terrebrune Blanc 2017
$74.00• Organic viticulture with absolutely no chemical herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers
• Soil is worked regularly by plow and hand-hoes
• Buds are trimmed and a green harvest is practice to purposefully limit yields; the average yield is between 35-38 hl/ha
• All grapes are harvested by hand, and selection takes place in the vineyards instead of on a sorting table
• Grapes are de-stemmed and then pressed gently by pneumatic press
• Only indigenous yeasts are used
• Wines ferment in underground, temperature-controlled, gravity-fed cuves
• Slow fermentations at low temperatures
• Wine goes through malolactic fermentation
• Ages for 6-8 months in barrel before bottling
Domaine de Terrebrune Blanc 2015
$79.00Bandol Blanc is a rarity, making only 5% of the wine produced in the appellation. The Terrebrune Blanc is a blend of 50% Clairette, 20% Ugni Blanc, 20% Bourboulenc, 5% Rolle and 5% Marsanne. Fermentation lasts for 15 to 20 days, and the wine spends half a year in stainless steel tanks afterwards. The resulting wine is a pure, stony style, with jasmine, blanched almond, quinine and mineral notes backed by light honeysuckle and wet pebble hints. Elegant finish.
Domaine du Clos de Tart La Forge de Tart 2014
$520.00The second wine of the Clos de Tart estate, this is a Grand Cru wine, under a 1er Cru label. The winery was founded in 1141 by the Tart Abbey Bernardine sisters, a branch of the nearby Cistercian congregation. Since then it has changed owners 4 times. The Forge de Tart is made from vines under 20 years old, and sees no whole bunches in the winemaking. This is a great insight into a historic winery.
Maison Langlois-Chateau Crémant de Loire Blanc Brut NV
$44.00“Langlois Chateau Cremant de Loire Brut NV Sparkling wine has vibrant and racy fruit, bready yeast flavours and zesty appley freshness, accompanied by the waxed lemony flavours of a Chenin Blanc. Fresh orchard-fruit aromas burst from the glass of this easy-drinking Chenin-Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay blend. In the mouth is honeyed and balanced with an Old World feel. The Cremant de Loire Appellation is among the most demanding sparkling wine appellations in France. Under Bollinger, Langlois has further augmented the regulations to equal, and even exceed, those of Champagne.” Decanter Magazine.
This has finesse on the palate, freshness and a delicate, persistent mousse. Crisp acidity, vibrant lemon sherbet characters, but also plush and rounded on the mid-palate. Complex and long with a pronounced green apple character on the finish.
Domaine Mas Jullien Autour de Jonquieres 2015
$110.00A blend of 20% Syrah, 40% Mourvèdre, and 40% Carignan planted on limestone soils. The fruit is fermented primarily in 40hl concrete tanks. Jullien ferments the destemmed fruit for up to three weeks before ageing in demi-muids and foudre. It is unfiltered and unfined. Notes of red and black fruits, spice and distinct minerality, this full-bodied effort has stunning purity of fruit and building structure, with nicely integrated acidity and tannin. Classically styled, with the hallmark purity, tension and focus of a Mas Jullien cuvee.
Domaine Chanson Clos des Mouches Rouge Beaune Premier Cru 2017
$240.00Chanson is one of the major owners of Clos des Mouches with a vineyard of 4.5 hectares. Ideal location on the hill at the southern end of the vineyards of Beaune on a spur pointing toward Pommard. A plot of 2.5 hectares is planted with Pinot Noir on a limestone subsoil covered with clay. Dark ruby colour. Intense aromas of red berries mixed with an array of spices. Complex with vibrant energy. Well-balanced. Beautiful texture. Harmonious oak note and fine-grained tannins. Long and elegant aftertaste.
Château Pierre-Bise Rouannieres Anjou Villages sur Spilite 2014
$46.00Les Rouannières is a vineyard planted in soils of schist and an oceanic volcanic basalt known as spilite. This wine kicks off with aromas of dark, glossy and perfumed fruit, with notes of sooty plum. The palate feels very fresh and pure, with a tense and bright structure, plus lots of grippy tannins, ripe and fine-grained, with vibrant acidity. All in all, a very appealing style with plenty of grip.
Bodegas Tradicion Pedro Ximinez NV
$275.00This exciting sweet wine owes its name to the grape it is obtained from, grapes that are dried to concentrate their sugars in the ancient process known as asoleo. This very special wine is created using the same oxidative ageing method through the soleras and criaderas system.
It has a median age of 22 years. This ageing bestows dried fruit aromas on the wine, counterbalanced by toasted notes from the oak ageing and acidity that prevents it from being overwhelmingly sweet.
Annual Bottling Capacity: 3,000 bottles per year.
Aromas of dried fruits, figs and plums. Hints of black licorice, straw and dried tomato. It is smooth, dense, silky and full. The passage through the palate and throat is not heavy, inviting another sip. The last touch is an aftertaste of chocolate, licorice, coffee and toffee.
It could be said that since the wine is so sweet and concentrated, it could be a dessert in itself. Molten chocolate cakes or souffle’Ѓ are a stupendous match. It is wonderful with Christmas sweets, creamy (low acidity) deserts and surprising with creamy blue cheeses such as Roquefort, Gorgonzola or Treviso, or goatду»s milk cheeses such as Ibores or Grazalema.
Once opened, the wine can last up to 12 months, always maintaining the bottle in a vertical position, at cellar temperature (60°F, 16°C) and in a dark place.
Bodegas Tradicion Palo Cortado NV
$290.00Palo Cortado is a very special wine, both elegant and unique, which comes from certain Jerez wines which are particular for their fermentation and ageing in oak barrels where their atypical characteristics were developed: elegant in the nose and full in the mouth. One of the classic Palo Cortado from that time is that which we find in our Palo Cortado Tradiciн_n VORS; a subtle, delicate wine, which, after losing the flor, has finished its ageing process in contact with the oxygen. With an average of 32 years of age, it is the subtlest and youngest of our dry wines.
Bodegas Tradicion Fino NV
$110.00This is a wine in full maturity, the result of lengthy ageing under “flor” – a veil of yeasts, in American oak barrels using the solera and criaderas system.
Very dry, it denotes a salinity, complexity, intensity and length that is hard to compare, offering a long persistence on the palate. This is a rare breed of fino that is pure, serious and traditional.
Bodegas Tradicion Amontillado NV
$195.00Amontillado is a classic Jerez wine, which had an initial biological ageing phase under flor, followed by an oxidative one. This combination in its ageing makes amontillado wines very particular, remarkable for the biological ageing character despite having spent many years in contact with the air. Our amontillado, with an average of over 43 years of age, is the result of a blend of a selection of soleras from Jerez, El Puerto de Santa Marн_a and Sanlн_car, and has some unique characteristics.