Flatiron Wines & Spirits
Latest Blog Entries
Poderi Colla: Piedmont Greatness in a New Life
"Readers in search of a top flight, traditionally-styled Barolo will find much to explore in these very fine, noble wines from the Colla family." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Sometimes we introduce new producers in these stories. Sometimes we revisit old classics. But this time we have the best of both worlds: an old classic that has become new again. The Colla family has one of oldest histories in the region. For many generations, they futzed about. They dabbled in Champagne-style sparklers. They learned something about Vermouth and Amaro at Carpano and ended up making their own Amaro from Moscato. But then, in the 1950s, Beppe Colla settled into Barolo fame by taking over the old Prunotto estate. Beppe Colla hits his stride at Prunotto At Prunotto, he was the first to introduce single-vineyard-designated Barolo to Piedmont (inspiring Angelo Gaja and Bruno Giacosa to do the same a few years later). Quality at Prunotto soared and if you ever come across old bottles from the late 1950s to the late 1980s—drink them! But the Colla legend did not end when Beppe sold Prunotto to Antinori in 1991. The family decided to put together their own estate, in part by purchasing some of the same great sites that Beppe had worked at Prunotto. The cantina never got much attention here in the U.S. But there they were, at this year’s Festa del Barolo seminar, standing toe to toe with the rest of the region's top wines. Carlotta Rinaldi stopped by the shop to say hi the next day, and she joined us for a taste of Colla – just about all we ended up talking about was how great the Colla was. Colla's 2013 Barolo and Barbaresco are Pure Magic It helped that the current vintage is 2013, of course. But wow! How long had it been since we'd come across a producer new to us making Barolo and Barbaresco of such depth, seriousness, and general quality. Here was the Colla magic—steeped in tradition, fine terroir, and generations of honing techniques—embodied in a beautiful set of new wines. We have small quantities of both their Barolo—from Bussia of all places—and Barbaresco (from Roncaglie). We think you should take at least two of each wine: one of each to try now, for sure, and at least one of each to put in your cellar. The Barbareco will start to open up in 3-5 years and the Barolo a few years later. To incentivize you, we’ll offer 10% off any order of four or more of these wines. Just use the discount code COLLA10 at checkout. Poderi Colla, Barbaresco "Roncaglie", 2013 - $52.99 Poderi Colla, Barolo "Bussia - Dardi Le Rose", 2013 - $65.99 -Josh
Natural Discovery in 2015 Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage
There are treats and than there are very rare treats. There’s nothing more exciting than being turned on to a truly great producer from a favorite region for the first time. Make the discovery in stellar vintage, like 2015 Northern Rhône, and you have a very rare treat. Natacha Chave’s Crozes and St. Joseph were just such a treat. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise. We were at a tasting put on by Jeffrey Alpert, a very tiny boutique importer you probably haven’t heard of. He doesn’t blog, he doesn’t retail or even distribute his wines himself. But he does find absolutely stunning natural producers (like Ganevat, no less!). But even amongst the lineup of Jeffrey’s recent discoveries, Natacha’s wines stood out. They were delicious and tasted precisely of their terroirs—but in a personal way. They were clearly made by the same vigneronne with a distinct philosophy. They shared the same feelings of freshness and unforced complexity. They evolved in the glass and, when we decided to stay and eat lunch afterwards, hers were the wines we went back to again and again. The wines we want to drink are the wines we want to buy, so we did a little research. We liked what we learned. Natacha grew up in a winemaking family. Her brother, Yann Chave, took over the family domaine when she was still studying philosophy. And when she finally decided to make wine, she knew she needed to strike out on her own—she “just didn’t like the limitations that would go along with joining [her] brother.” Working without limitations, born from a tiny parcel in the old heart of Saint-Joseph Working without limitations has led to great things. She founded her domaine, Aléofane, with a tiny parcel in the old heart of Saint Joseph. Three years later she added some old vines in Crozes. She farms organically (she’s certified) and with biodynamic techniques. She's experimenting with new plantings of the old Sérine clone from massale selection. Sulfur use is minimal. Her winemaking aims to let the fruit and terroir speak. She does very little extraction (a bit of pumping over) during the long, slow fermentations made on the natural yeasts. There’s about a week of maceration before she moves the wine to large demi-muids and some barrels for 10-12 months of aging. Her wines sound old-fashioned and traditional, and in a way they are. But they have an accessibility that seems to be her unique take on the approach. Working like this, on her own terms only, means the wines get all her attention and are incredible expressions of her vision of the terroir. It also means there aren’t a lot of bottles. She’s been discovered in Europe, so almost none of the little she makes comes to America. We should really keep these for ourselves, shouldn’t we? We bought all we could and offered them to our newsletter subscribers, leaving us with just bottles. Normally, with a new discovery like this, we would have gleefully stashed away the rest in our library but, after discussing amongst ourselves, decided that the wines were just too delicious and the story too good that we had to share what little we had left. As such, we are thrilled to be offering a sampler pack to our loyal blog readers, good while supplies last: buy any 3 or more of these wines and take 10% off with the code ALEOFANE10, at checkout. Shop all the wines now or learn more about each, below. DOMAINE ALÉOFANE, CROZES-HERMITAGE, 2015 $27.99 Good structure, very fine tannins, mineral notes. Fairly old vines (from the ‘70s) and so some depth, but absolutely delicious right now. John Livingston-Learmonth liked the wine and gave it a ****(*) rating (very high for him!). DOMAINE ALÉOFANE, ST. JOSEPH ROUGE, 2015 $32.99 This is a slightly more serious wine with sharper-edged minerality and one that we’ll be laying down (as well as drinking now). JLL says “this is rather stately, impressive.” DOMAINE ALÉOFANE, ST. JOSEPH BLANC, 2016 $29.99 Delicious Marsanne/Roussanne 50/50 blend that is generous up front and mineral and fresh on the finish. Only 250 cases made. -Josh Want to get more offers like these straight to your inbox? Sign-up for our newsletter already! As loyal subscribers already know, the newsletter is not only the best place to get first crack at your favorite, hard-to-find wines at special discounts but it’s also where we go in depth about the producers, vintages, regions and trends in the world of fine wine. We send it once a week on Wednesday, unless, you elect to receive more. You can do so by using the form below or, here, if our site’s sophisticated technology isn’t functioning as described. ;)
A cut above the rest: 2013 Collemattoni Brunello
2013—a very good Brunello vintage Don’t yawn! I know vintage hype can be tiring, especially in Italy, where climate change has (for now, at least)—really been a friend to wine. The message can get repetitive. For instance, in Montalcino three of the past four vintages (2010-2013) have been all-stars (and early tastes of 2014s have even revealed some gems in that tricky year). But having too many good vintages in quick succession is a good problem to have, right? So I'm not going to shirk from asking you to pay attention to the 2013 Brunelli, as it's what we call a "classic" vintage with especially strong communication of terroir. The wines are lifted, light-filled things of beauty. One of the best examples I've tasted so far is from Collemattoni, an organic estate with holdings in Sant' Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell'Abate. Like the same year in Piedmont, from which we have already seen many great releases, Tuscany enjoyed a longer, cooler growing season with more sun hours than in the preceding couple of vintages. Timing of the harvest was trickier in Tuscany, though, with a threat of September rain. Producers who picked too early or too late ended up with wines that don't show the full potential of the vintage. But those estates that got it right, Collemattoni among them, turned out wines of exceptional elegance and balance. Why Collemattoni? A cut above Seriously under-known relative to its quality, Collemattoni is a very traditional estate, using a 20- to 25-day maceration and aging the Brunello in large Slavonian casks for at least 30 months. Their most modern twist is environmentalism: not only are they certified organic, but 80% of the winery’s electricity comes from solar panels and biomass processing. Meanwhile the pricing is definitely a throw-back to past years. And if you take advantage of our Blog Special, you’ll have some delicious wine for now and (if you can cellar it) many years of future enjoyment. Through Sunday 6/24, just use the code – COLLEMATTONI13 – once you add the wine to your cart. Collemattoni, Brunello di Montalcino, 2013 $49.99 $45.99 on 3 or more bottles. There’s nothing better of a summer evening than a big steak off the grill (or out of the cast iron skillet) with a bottle of Brunello. This Collemattoni is great now, but only going to get better with time. -Josh Want to get more offers like these straight to your inbox? Sign-up for our newsletter already! As loyal subscribers already know, the newsletter is not only the best place to get first crack at your favorite, hard-to-find wines at special discounts but it’s also where we go in depth about the producers, vintages, regions and trends in the world of fine wine. We send it once a week on Wednesday, unless, you elect to receive more. You can do so by using the form below or, here, if our site’s sophisticated technology isn’t functioning as described. ;)
NYC: This Week's Tastings!
Virgil Kaine Whiskey Thursday, June 14th, 5-7pm Founded by two Southern chefs, Virgil Kaine makes whiskeys that balance traditional Southern elegance and aesthetics with cutting-edge culinary know-how. Today we will taste: We'll be tasting: Virgil Kaine, Robber Baron, Rye Virgil Kaine, High-Rye, Bourbon (Rip Track) Exploring the Wines of Bordeaux with Coline Friday, June 15th, 5-7pm Classic Bordeaux will never go out of style. There's good reason, too—the wines are powerful and soulful. They speak to a centuries'-long history of precision winemaking. Please stop by to taste some of our favorite, affordable Bordeaux wines with the lovely Coline. We'll be tasting: Château Poujeaux, Moulis-en-Médoc, 2004 Château Puy Arnaud, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, 2014 Château Maison Blanche, Montagne Saint-Émilion “Les Piliers de Maison Blanche”, 2014 New California Wines Saturday, June 16th, 2-4pm You may not know how much we love California wines, considering the wide variety of French, Spanish, and Italian wines that we stock. But we do! Especially when they are well-made, in a style reminiscent of those Old World wines, without too much oak or manipulation. We've picked out a few of our favorites to pour for you, including a field blend of too many white grapes to count, a rosé made from Portuguese grape called Touriga Nacional, and a carbonic Zinfandel we've written about more than once. Please, stop by for a taste! We'll be tasting: Shebang, North Coast White “Cuvee IV”, NV Arnot-Roberts, Rosé, 2017 Broc Cellars, Vine Starr Zinfandel, 2015
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