Friday Sips

For 15+ years, many of us have enjoyed the 10 buck wonder that is Chateau Haut-Rian's ever-popular white Bordeaux in the green & white label and now for the first time ever, we are offering the super-deluxe Cuvee Excellence from Michel Dietrich. Having visited Haut-Rian three of the last 4 years and watching the progress of this wine I felt it was time to pull the trigger and bring some in and I promise, if you like the workhorse wine, you will definitely love the upper-level version.

Made with 100% Semillon from 70-year-old vines from the estate's best clay and chalk soils and aged in oak, the 2012 is quite an over-delivering and ample number. Varietally strong revealing fragrant pear, fig and lemon scents that surrounded hints of vanilla and underlying mineral. Lots of depth, richness and palate coverage with no shortage of jaunting energy that slices into the swath of texture that is present, this is very vinous, extending to the finish that exudes luxury and class. Haut-Rian's Cuvee Excellence is serious juice best enjoyed over the next 3-4 years with scallops, sole in a cream sauce or a well-ripened farmhouse Camembert.

Cuvee Prestige is Michel Dietrich's luxury red…and it's all of 17 bucks!! Super-seductive aromas of generous plum and blueberry with finesseful scents of sandalwood, fine herbs and after another year in bottle, developing some floral aspects. Ripe, mouth filling, darker-toned, vinous and seemingly an Elvis black velvet kind of wine. Building complexity as it moves and seduces the palate, the energy from the limestone soils becomes present, especially on the lingering, smooth finish.

A rather upscale offering for not a lot of money, this wine will also develop well with some cellaring. Drink over the next 6-8 years with rib-eye, grilled duck, numerous cheeses and lamb shanks then tell your friends that Haut-Rian's Reds are as proficiently good as their whites!

Earlier this year on my visit to France I had a chance to visit this Domaine that is also known as Domaine Laventureaux. Located in the village of Lignorelles in the northern portion of Chablis, this estate, founded in 1979 and with higher elevation than around the village of the Chablis, is prime terroir for Petit Chablis. The Lavantureux family excels in this category. The difference between Petit Chablis and Chablis is not its size but its soil, Petit Chablis is grown in Portlandian soil versus Kimmeridgian.

Lucien Beau, named after young brothers David & Arnaud Laventureaux's uncle, is a terrific new addition to our 20-buck white Burgundy lineup. Pure as hell, this is Petit Chablis with stunning depth and detail. Perfumed flint, floral and with stylish underlying fruit. Excellent palate coverage is present in the mouth and deftly balances richness with brisk minerality. More stony aspects arrive as it opens and follows into a finish with persistence and character. Very likable and easy to latch on to. Quite a step up from many in this category, enjoy this white with oysters, mussels and especially fresh crab.

We normally wouldn't uncork a wine of this caliber on our Friday Sips Tastings. Given the season we decided to uncork a couple of bottles meaning that if you love the greats of Syrah you might want to show up on the early side before the 2 bottles are on ‘E'... 2009 through 2013 in the Northern Rhone Valley will all prove to be very fine vintages. Along with Clape, Domaine Voge is one of the two grand old producers in Cornas, a small Syrah appellation that is finally getting recognition for its greatness and deservedly so, these are collectible wines which age impeccably.

2011 very ably follows 2010 for this leading Domaine and their Les Chailles cuvee delivers thrilling and profound tones of cracked pepper, violets, smoked beef, and undertones of chocolate-covered cherry. In the mouth, it shows a lushness of fruit that is still youthful, but also shows the telltale minerality and backbone-structure of the region. The finish is young and exuberant, but seems to go on for an eternity. There is tremendous aging potential for those who collect. If you are adventurous uncork one now with a steak slathered in a melange of peppercorns, but for best results give it until the end of 2016 and then enjoy it over the next decade after that. This beauty has 94 points from The Wine Spectator if one really needs reassurance of its greatness.