They call him the “red-wine wizard”, the Ahr Valley’s Werner Näkel of Weingut Meyer-Näkel. Werner is one of the leaders of modern Germany’s high-quality Pinot Noir movement. Pinot Noir  is nothing new to German vineyards, mostly known by its’ traditional name, Spätburgunder, the grape has been part of the German wine scene for centuries. In fact, Germany is now the 3rd largest Pinot producer in the world. What has changed in the last several decades is the development of superior clones for the region, higher temperatures due to global climate change and most importantly, the rise of a new generation of quality-obsessed winemakers with a vision to produce wines on a par with world’s best. Werner Näkel was one of the pioneers of this movement and is today one of Germany’s brightest stars in the Pinot-verse!

From his winery in Dernau, Werner Näkel and his daughters Mieke and Dorte manage over 15 hectares of vineyards in the steeply-pitched slopes of the Ahr Valley. At over 50 degrees latitude, the Ahr is at the very northern edge of the world-wide wine production zone. Despite being perched on this northern extreme, the deep valley of the Ahr provides excellent protection from the cold and wind, assuring the warm conditions necessary for the ripening of Pinot Noir. The real problem with the Ahr is that it is Germany’s smallest wine region, making these wonderful Pinots very difficult to obtain of outside of the region. Most wine lovers have to content themselves with simply reading about these wines!

Ever since visiting Meyer-Näkel in 2002, I have wanted to be able to introduce customers to Werner’s remarkable wines. Sadly, the amount of this nectar that gets imported into the USA is miniscule, German aficionados happily snap up nearly all of his production.  We have been very fortunate this year in getting a small supply of the outstanding 2011 Meyer-Näkel “Blue Slate” Pinot Noir. This wine has a wonderfully bright ruby red hue, with aromas and flavors of ripe raspberries and blackberries. It shows both a juicy fruit filling and a fine minerality from the distinctive blue slate soil makeup of the vineyards used for this wine, with subtle notes of smoke and cloves. The tannin is velvety, elegant and full of finesse. The wine is quite drinkable now but it will cellar nicely for 5 or 6 additional years as well.

$44.99 per bottle.

Try a bottle for yourself, but don’t wait too long. Rare gems like this don’t come along every day, and when they’re gone, they’re gone!

~ David Clark, Wine Manager for The Wine Connection

“A sleeper of the vintage as well as the finest wine I have yet tasted from this estate, Lalande-Borie is made by Ducru Beaucaillou’s proprietor, Bruno Borie. He has turned out a graceful, charming, seductive St.-Julien possessing a dense purple color and sweet cassis fruit intermixed with forest floor, spice box, and earth characteristics. This is a beauty to drink over the next decade.” – Robert Parker, Rated 90 points

Check it out @: http://thewineconnection.com/products/111237-0-1/2005-Lalande-Borie+by+Ducru+Beaucaillou-Red+Wine-St.+Julien-Bordeaux%2C+France

]]> http://thewineconnection.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=141 0 http://thewineconnection.com/blog/?p=125 http://thewineconnection.com/blog/?p=125#comments Sat, 04 Aug 2012 22:08:56 +0000 Morewine http://thewineconnection.com/blog/?p=125 Congratulations to Silver Oak, this year celebrating their 40th anniversary! To mark this auspicious anniversary the winery constructed a large but scaled-down replica of the iconic tower that has graced the label for all these years and sent it on a nation wide tour. We call it the Tour de la Tour. The mighty tower has traveled from sea to shinning sea and back again, pausing for a shocking variety of American landmarks, accompanied every step of the way by photographer Bill Tucker. The winery has a terrific photo section on their website which we highly recommend! Great fun!
See them @:
http://www.silveroak.com/blogs/

The first week of August is the traditional release date for Silver Oak’s Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, this year it’s the 2008 vintage. We had a chance to taste the wine for the first time several days ago and were very impressed it. The 2008 is a dark, rich full-bodied wine with great tannic structure and mouth-feel.We found it both darker and bigger in structure than any recent vintage of the Alexander we can recall. It is showing plenty of ripe boysenberries, cherry liqueur and dark chocolate flavors, plus a touch of sandalwood and vanilla, with a bit of a grip of fine-grained tannins on the finish. The 2008 seems like a promising candidate for cellaring a bit as well as enjoying now.

The wine is available from us in store or online for only $59.99. Check it out @:

http://www.thewineconnection.com/products/121876-0-1/2008-Silver+Oak-Cabernet-Alexander+Valley-Sonoma%2C+California

We recently had the opportunity to taste a line-up of 10 or 12 fine  Southern French rosés from the 2011 vintage. Domaine d’Eole was the clear favorite out of the tasting. Eole’s vineyards are planted to six traditional Provençal red varieties, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvedre & Carignan, and are farmed 100% organically. This six grape blend gives the wine an excellent level of complexity, this combined with the wine’s perfect acid balance and abundant flavors makes this an amazingly food-friendly rosé. This one rises above the general class of warm weather sippers into the realm of interesting and satisfying fine wines. We recently served Domaine d’Eole with a grilled salmon with an apricot glaze that had guests raving!

The 2011 Classement of France’s prestigious Revue du Vin de France ranks Eole among the Top 20 domaines in all of Provence.

Wine of the Week! $19.99

If you are looking for a wine that is not on this list, please contact us for a quote.

2007 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet

 The new 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an especially full-bodied and complex wine, showing off this top vintage to full advantage. It has a generous nose of classic Napa Cabernet dark cassis. On the palate, the wine has a rich, full character that coats the mouth with dark plum and berry fruit and a lovely, long finish with smooth, well-integrated tannins. Outstanding now, with proper cellaring, it should give drinking pleasure for many years. We had a chance to taste this wine a few days ago in a “sneak preview” and were very impressed! This is certainly one of the finest Silver Oaks Napa bottlings in years! Well done, Silver Oak!

 $89.99 – in stock now

Click to order

If a cup holds naught but insipid wine,

One sip is more than enough,

But if the taste be rare and fine,

Even a full glass will not do.

- David Clark

The ghost of Robert Burns meets the ghost of a Sung Dynasty poet over a cup of very old wine. Now, as then, five lines should be enough to say what matters.

1886 Estate Cab

“The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon 1886 is a beautifully delineated wine with expressive aromatics and plenty of nuances. Blackberries, Chambord, spices, white flowers and licorice are some of the notes that emerge from this generous, fruit-driven Cabernet Sauvignon. This feminine, graceful Cabernet Sauvignon should continue to drink well for a decade or so. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020.”

~ Antonio Galloni for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Rated 93 Points

Organic/Biodynamic Farming

A delivery came rolling in the door a few minutes ago with a precious box of one of Walter Hansel’s latest treasures. If you’ve already tasted a Walter Hansel Pinot, you know why I call it a “treasure”. This cool-climate Russian River producer is crafting some of the finest Pinots in the region, at any price! If you have not yet had one of these beauties, do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle or two while they are around. They seem to release a new vineyard block every couple of months, but everything there is small production, so don’t wait too long! I’ve posted Robert Parker’s cogent review for your edification below.- Stay well! -Dave

2009 Walter Hansel  “South Slope” Pinot Noir

“An impressive Pinot, it exhibits a more full-bodied, intense style with lots of black cherry, raspberry, foresty, floral notes,

a sensational texture, a rich, concentrated, opulent mouthfeel, and a long, luxurious finish.

This stunning Pinot Noir is already providing plenty of pleasure and it should continue to do so for 7-8 years.”

Rated 92-94 Points ~ Robert Parker

What a great Pinot Noir for only $39.99!!