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On the banks of the River Duero, Toro is one of Europe's most extraordinary viticultural resources. Dominated by sandy soils unfavorable to the root-eating phylloxera louse, many of the vines here are ungrafted: at Pintia, two-thirds grow on their own roots, which is extremely rare outside a few parts of Australia and South America.
The region has its own strain of Tempranillo, called Tinta de Toro, which has adapted to the harsh climate here at the western ed of the plateau of Castile. With small berries and thick skins, Tinta de Toro can withstand the intensely hot, dry summers, but these useful characteristics can yield rustic wines if left unchecked.
Just like the vines, Toro's wineries have themselves needed to adapt to the conditions so they can express this remarkable place in a more refined way. Grapes arriving at Pintia are immediately chilled, and a cold maceration takes place before fermentation, which itself is kept cooler than the fermentations at the Vega Sicilia properties in Ribera del Duero, all to favor fresh fruit character over what could otherwise be overbearing tannin.
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Patrick Piuze- a Montreal native- took the region by storm when he arrived over decade ago. He worked for Leflaive, Jean-Marc Brocard and Jean-Marie Guffens before starting his own label in 2008, and has very quickly come to be counted among the legendary names of the region. The guy is hella-good fun to hang out with... and while that may sound like an irrelevant detail, it is not: Piuze works with purchased fruit, and his great relationships with the growers of Chablis have allowed him access to choice parcels in all of the great sites.
As for technique, he is a maverick. While 90% of Chablis is machine-harvested, he harvests everything by hand, a paramount factor in the quality of his wines. While most cellars use a pneumatic press, he uses a vertical one because he likes the initial blast of oxygen for the wines in hopes of preventing pre-mox later, a way of thinking also espoused by Jean-Marc Roulot.
While most vintners make one blended cuvée from mixed sites for their villages wine, Patrick obsessively crafts no fewer than EIGHT different villages-level wines, each giving a distinctive expression of terroir. In our tastings together, he touts them as the qualitative peers of his 1er Cru’s, and with good reason—they are extraordinary. To make wines this way, Patrick has become a walking encyclopedia of the terroir of the area. On our recent visit to his winery, Patrick explained that Chablis is made up of rolling hillsides and valleys. The tops of the plateaus are generally Petit Chablis, north-facing vineyards are generally village-level Chablis and south-facing vineyards are 1er Cru; the Grand Cru hill has direct west/south-west exposure. The vineyards on the left bank of the Serein River generally have more clay and produce richer wines; here you find the villages of Courgis, Chichée, and 1er Cru vineyards: Forêts, Butteaux, and Vaillons. The vineyards on the right bank have much less clay top soil and more limestone – this is where you find the Grand Cru, also the villages of Fleys and Fyé and the 1er Cru, Montée de Tonnerre, and Fourchaume. The right-bank wines are characterized by an intense minerality and more lean fruit in comparison to those from the left bank.
In the cellar, fermentations are spontaneous and go at their own pace. The village level "Terroir" series wines are fermented and aged mostly in old stainless steel tanks that are not temperature controlled. Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines are fermented and aged in used barrels for ten months. The barrels are always from high-acid years, currently 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010. Patrick explains that the first year that the barrel is used, there is not only an exhange of oak to the wine, but also of the wine to the barrel. So he avoids barrels that were first used in a warm vintage, thereby avoiding tropical notes from the barrels to his wine. All wines go through malo naturally. In some years, fermentations finish after two and a half weeks and in others, they last three months. The village level wines are bottled in the spring and 1er Cru and Grand Cru wines are bottled in July. All wines are bottled with a very gentle clay filtration.
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Laurence Ployez is a third-generation winemaker at her family's estate, which was established in 1930. Ployez-Jacquemart owns 2.15 hectares of Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards in Ludes and Mailly-Champagne in the Montagne de Reims, known for its classic chalk slopes; in addition, Laurence purchases Premier Cru and Grand Cru grapes from 12 hectares of vineyards from growers that the family has worked with for over 20 years. All of the work in the vineyards is done by hand, from the beginning of the growing season until the grapes are harvested.
Unlike most producers in Champagne, she strives to keep the characteristic of each vintage even in her NV blends and only uses a very small amount of reserve wine, if any at all. Only first press juice goes into the Ployez-Jacquemart wines. A light filtration is used for wines produced in vats, but no filtration is used on wines aged in wooden barrels. The wines undergo a very slow bottle fermentation in a 25-meter-deep cellar, giving them extremely fine bubbles. Wines are aged nose-to-punt, or sur pointe, in lieu of being aged on their side; aging sur pointe provides the antioxidative and aging benefits of the lees while not allowing the wines to become too rich from the lees contact. When the wines are ready to be disgorged, after up to 12 years in the cellar, only a very minimal dosage is added, typically 3-4grams per liter. Ployez-Jacquemart's goal is to leave the structure of each wine intact, allowing the true character and personality of the harvest to shine through.
Ployez-Jacquemart is regularly recognized as a top producer by Peter Liem, Jancis Robinson, Revue de Vin de France, View from the Cellar, The Wine Advocate, and The Wine Spectator.
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Back in Italy in 2012, at a previous company—during what now seems like a previous lifetime—I was courting a Lambrusco producer. It wasn’t meant to be, but this producer said, “you should meet my cousin.” If you know Italy and its ionic bond-like familial ties, you know that these types of re-directions can go either way, completely fizzling or exceeding all expectations. Paolo Crotti of Podere Giardino met me at VinItaly, in the burgeoning ‘organic growers’ section. He didn’t have a stand, but he brought one bottle and we tasted rogue in a corner. I found Paolo and the wine honest and open, neither one trying hard to be something. I love healthy, lively, “whole wheat,” everyday wine, and this was it.
But Podere Giardino is not simply a vineyard and winery. It’s a polyculture farm, wine being a small slice of the pie—or, more apt, a small shard of the cheese. Siblings Paolo, Federica, and Marco wear many hats, shifting from commercial duties, vineyard work and wine production, or tending to their milk cows. Give them a call and you’ll likely hear a cow moo or a tractor purr in the background.
Fifty hectares are owned, only five of which are dedicated to grapevines. The rest of their land is for pasture for forage for the cows, grains and cereals, fruits and vegetables, and some uncultivated woods. Of course, being a stone’s throw from Reggio Emilia, they make excellent Parmigiano Reggiano. Paolo has been known to bring vacuum-packed boulders of cheese to NYC. The farm also sells raw milk, both in bulk and via a milk-dispensing vending machine at local farmers’ markets—insert some bills and fill up your vessel…
Ah, right, I’m supposed to be talking about wine…
The vineyards, like the rest of the farm, are certified organic. The grape varieties are the local ones: Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Lambrusco Marani, Lambrusco Salamino, Lambrusco Oliva, Lambrusco Maestri, Lambrusco Grasparossa, Malbo Gentile, and Ancellotta. For a few generations, grapes were sold to the local cooperative winery, made up of 300 grower members. As one of only three families farming organically, they felt it was time to break free from the co-op, and in 2007 made their first estate-bottled wine, a Charmat-method red Lambrusco called Suoli Cataldi, named for the sandy clay soils of the area. Since then, the range has expanded, including an increased exploration of metodo ancestrale, secondary fermentation in bottle, without disgorgement or sulfur. The wines delightfully toe the fine line between feeling natural and territory-driven.
We welcome Podere Giardino, which, though new to Bowler, feels as though it’s coming home to roost.
-Kevin Russell, Italy Portfolio Manager
BOWLER E-Zine Issue 4 | January 2022: Compost Cookery with Foradori, Hoch, Bucklin, and Podere Giardino
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Robin Pollard, former executive director of the Washington State Wine Commission and, more importantly a local coffee roaster, returned to the industry she once led with the release of the 2015 Pollard Vineyard Cabernet Franc.
Teaming up with her life partner, Chris Camarda of Andrew Will Cellars, Robin seeks to express her high elevation Yakima Valley vineyard though her favorite grape - Cabernet Franc. Chris Camarda is on the Mount Rushmore of great Washington State winemakers, and Pollard Cab Franc is just another wonderful example of his deep understanding of the area.
The fruit comes from Robin’s 10 acre estate vineyard located in the Upper Yakima Valley, which she purchased in 2014. The vineyard, sitting at 1150 feet on a southwest facing slope, is planted to half Cabernet Franc and one quarter each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes in silt-loam soils.
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Porter Creek is owned by Alex Davis, who biodynamically farms his low-yielding, hillside grown vines in the Russian River Valley.
The winery got its start in 1977 when Alex's father George Davis purchased 40 acres of land off Westside Road in what would eventually become the Russian River Valley AVA. Seeing that it was an ideal location for growing Burgundian varieties, George planted 10 acres of Chardonnay in addition to the 12 acres of Pinot Noir already on the land. The winery was bonded in 1982 and for the next 15 years, George paid no attention to the ever-changing wine trends and simply worked to express the unique terroir of the Russian River Valley.
In 1997, George handed wine-making responsibility to his son, Alex. In addition to growing up working along side his father at the winery, Alex studied Enology at Fresno University and spent several years in France working with renowned wine makers including Christophe Roumier and Marcel Guigal.
Although the style at Porter Creek has remained true to George’s original vision, one major change Alex made was the transition of their vineyards to biodynamic farming. Rigorous attention is paid both to the soil and the vines to ensure the entire vineyard is operating in harmony. The results are pure, balanced wines that speak strongly of their source, not just the hand that got them into the bottle.
The winery produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the 20-acre estate vineyard, and also purchases fruit for the Zinfandel, Carignane, Syrah, Viognier and a few other variety wines.
In the cellar, Alex uses about around 30% whole cluster on the Pinot Noirs, while the whites are direct pressed. Following a 3-4 day cold soak (for the Pinots), native yeasts are used for fermentation which happens outdoors in stainless steel tanks. Aging is done in 25-30% new oak.
Click here to read Bram Johnson's review of Porter Creek Vineyards!
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Praesidium is a 7-hectare estate in the Peligna Valley, the genetic birthplace of the Montepulciano grape. Enzo Pasquale, his wife Lucia, and their kids, Antonia and Ottaviano, are the last winegrowers of the village of Prezza. The village itself sits on a rocky outcropping that has a near-360° view of the surroundings. It makes sense, then, that the name Prezza comes from the Latin verb praeesse (to preside), and that the village was the “Praesidium” (defense garrison) of the Peligni tribe, an Italic people who eventually acquiesced to Rome.
Praesidium is also one of the main reasons I’m selling wine today. They’re responsible for my first real lightbulb, epiphanic “wine moment.” Every once in a while someone asks me, if I were to become a wine director, which estates I would have to have on the wine list, my list of heartthrobs. I usually struggle to answer—there’s so much great wine out there. But, Praesidium would make the cut, without a doubt. This one’s personal.
In 2002 and 2003 I lived in L’Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo.
When meeting people all around Italy, I would be asked, “L’Aquila? That’s in Abruzzo, right? What are you doing there?!” The answer to that question is a story for another time; I’m still not sure even I fully know.
I know I was playing and teaching music, and that I was young and broke. Wine was a simple accompaniment to a meal, nothing to think much about—it was on most tables in Italy twice a day, right? The €2 supermarket Montepulciano from a co-op was doing us just fine. A few years earlier in school in the States I had friends who ironically, but happily, showed up to parties with jugs of Carlo Rossi ‘Paisano.’ I didn’t turn down those pours.Someone I must have trusted told me that a rowdy bar called Ju Boss (Abruzzese dialect for il Boss!) had the greatest collection of the wines of Abruzzo in a back room. Was that possible? The same place that served hard-boiled eggs and where every night it seemed fights broke out, spilling into the streets? Going from Ju Boss the bar to Ju Boss the enoteca was like going from C.B.G.B. to the set of Masterpiece Theatre.
I asked the guy working there for a recommendation. He steered me to the Praesidium Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva. I don’t remember the vintage, because that wouldn’t have been something on my radar at the time. The bottle seemed heavy and impenetrably dark. There was a wax seal near the neck and a symbol of a castle on the label. It seemed special enough. I was told to open it an hour before and drink it with an aged pecorino.To spend 20-something Euros on this bottle of Praesidium was a departure for me, a real splurge and a considerable expense at the time. I drank it with some friends from my apartment building. They didn’t really care for it, but it stopped me in my tracks. Until then, I didn’t know wine could do that—its intensity, its earthiness, its originality, and its seamlessness with an aged, almost funky cheese were startling. Yes, it was delicious, but the experience was more jolting than that.
In 2007 I was on tour and we played L’Aquila, in a theater that was a deconsecrated church built in the 900s. I went back to Ju Boss’ cantina. Now I recognized some other great bottles from other great producers. I picked up another bottle of Praesidium. This time I remember the vintage—2001. This time I opened the bottle several hours before, leaving it open in our hotel room. This time I got an even stronger pecorino. Now I knew how to love the wine.
Fast forward to 2011, fully bitten by and smitten with the wine bug, at a house party in Rome. It was the book release celebration for a writer whose focus was vini naturali. My Roman Holiday was coming to a close and I was about to head back to NYC to start a “real job” at a brand new wine importer/distributor. I saw some bottles of Praesidium at the party and said to a friend, “I love these wines. I wish I could somehow sell them in New York.” He said, “Talk to Ottaviano. That’s him right there. Yeah, right there. That’s the Praesidium guy. He’s super nice.”
He was, indeed, super nice. I couldn’t believe this humble, soft-spoken guy was responsible for such mind-blowing wines. It was the beginning of a long connection, which sometimes took different, but parallel, paths. Like some cousins, we didn’t always call, we didn’t always write. Yet I always felt like Praesidium’s ambassador on my side of the ocean.
Meticulous organic farming, a protracted growing season, low yields, long aging in cellars carved into the mother rock of Prezza, and late release all combine beautifully to express the power and freshness of this continental, mountainous terroir.
The Pasquales are a lovely close-knit family, quietly doing things their way without compromise, since 1988. I am thrilled to re-introduce their wines.-Kevin Russell, Italy Portfolio Manager
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Señor Don Primitivo Quiles is one of the great figures of Spanish wine. His bodega in Monovar, established in 1780, is the oldest in Alicante, if not in all the comunidad Valenciana. They have been a family-owned winery for over 100 years and maintain of the oldest soleras on the market, dating back to 1892. Their wines are highly valued treasures in wine cellars all over Europe and a source of pride for the winemaking industry in Alicante.
The Fondillon is 100% Monastrell harvested in late October or November then placed in a solera system that began in 1948. The Cono 4 is a joven style made in large cono foudres, and represents a great expression of the warm Alicante climate yet also very earthy and complex: it's also one of the best deals in our book!
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Produttori del Gavi’s origins trace back to 1951 when 83 families banded together to combine their strengths into a cooperative. The group is essentially made up of these same growers to this day, with just twelve more being admitted to the group since inception. The vineyards of member/growers are spread all over the Gavi DOC territory in 11 municipalities covering 200 hectares of land from Tassarolo to Bosio; such coverage allows the production of various “Cru” bottlings.
The soil through this zone is heterogeneous and varied and in this way the Cortese grape expresses many different characteristics. Visit Produttori’s growers and you’ll see plenty diversity, from stark white soils made of tuff and limestone due to the marine origins of the area, to tomato colored soils made of clay and rich in minerals due to the alluvial origins of some areas, especially around San Cristoforo.
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Thank you to importer Louis/Dressner for this profile of the Puech Redon estate:
We were introduced to Domaine Puech Redon by Eric Texier, who as of 2017 is helping proprietor Cyril Cuche make unpretentious, unsulfured wines from his meticulously farmed land.
Puech Redon is a large property: in total 380 hectares are split between 200h of cereals, 52h of vines and over 100 of woods and garrigues. Cyril's grandfather acquired this land in the aftermath of World War 2. Under his father, the property was farmed conventionally for 30 years. Cyril, seeing the potential of such a large, contained area, decided from the get-go that it had great potential for organic agriculture and prioritizing biodiversity:
"It was a choice I imposed on myself. Besides the incredible bore of working conventionally, with it's by the book itineraries traced step by step by lobbyists for large phytosanitary corporations, I wanted to prove that within organics, you could work in poly-culture on a large surface and still be profitable. I learned to feed the soil and not the plant, I reclaimed the link that unifies the farmer to his land. The vines have been worked organically since 2008, and the cereals since 2010. Over the last decade I've been able to observe the immense consequences of such work. The effect of a culture without chemicals on such a large surface is truly impressive: for the soil, the plant but even more so the animals that had deserted us slowly coming back to our lands."
For winemaking, minimal-intervention was evident in Cyril's philosophy but not obviously attainable. After a chance meeting with Eric Texier, the two instantly hit it off. Through a bond of shared experience, they agreed to collaborate on the vinifications. In 2017, a limited amount of pet-nat from Cinsault was produced under the name "Pour de Vrai", a 100% Cinsault called "L'Apparente" and a minuscule amount of white wine from Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne. While distinctly southern, the micro-climate of the area is actually quite cool and the wines are rarely above 12.5% when harvested at optimal maturity.
From 2017 to 2021, Cyril had been selling the majority of his grapes to a négociant, slowly ramping up estate production every year. But in 2022 he decided to start renting his cereal fields and over 30 hectares of vines, solely focusing on roughly 16 hectares of his best terroirs. Without the pressure to work the rest of his sprawling property, we only expect the wines to become more focused and precise.
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