Inaugural VIP Tasting for Locker Members
by Zach Bingham, Wine Director
AN EVENING TO REMEMBER
On Thursday, March 21st, we hosted our first tasting event exclusively for our Wine Locker Members, featuring thirty-five wines from around the world selected, accompanied by an exquisite spread of complimentary charcuterie and cheese, and assorted appetizer favorites from our dinner menu.
The following recap contains some highlights from the tasting: stand-out selections were most popular among our members, as well as some personal favorites from Zach’s notes on the evening. The full list of wines is still available for purchase for those who were unable to attend
We want to thank all of you for being a part of this exceptional program, especially those of you who took time out of your work week to join us, and we look forward to welcoming you all again soon and often, to share in the camaraderie and community of hospitality that our team dedicates themselves to every day and every night.
A very special thank you to our partner suppliers at Breakthru Beverage and Aspect Fine Wine:
Ellie Sexton, Ashley Lehr, Mina Abdelmasih, and their colleagues.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE?
We’ve charted our members’ top picks, based on orders received following the event. Hover over each section of the chart below to see how your fellow Locker Members’ favorites compared to yours:
MY PERSONAL PICKS
Among the most rewarding roles I play are community builder and connector: curating and enhancing our shared experiences through the mutual appreciation of the wonderful world of wine.
While it is safe to say that every wine I chose for the evening could be deemed a “favorite,” a handful of selections emerged to make an indelible mark. I have compiled some brief background and personal tasting notes for my four standouts.
These thoughts are truly a mirror of my own, personal experience, shared here as an expression of humble gratitude and authentic excitement to be in a role of service to you all.
2022 August Kesseler “Lorch” Riesling (Rheingau, Germany) | $40 per bottle
The August Kesseler winery is located in the Pinot Noir heartland of Assmannshausen, in one of the most prestigious wine-growing areas for Riesling - the Rheingau. Riesling is the best-known and most important German white wine variety.
Like Pinot Noir, Riesling prefers the cooler climatic wine-growing regions (cool climate wine regions). Riesling feels particularly at home on the barren steep slopes along the river valleys.
The winery was founded in 1924, and when August Kesseler took over from his parents, he was only 19 years old. Back then, the Kesselers produced primarily bulk wine, and the area covered was not larger than 2,5 ha. Under August Kesseler’s guidance, the estate now ranks among the flagship vineyards of the Rheingau area and enjoys international recognition. All of the winery’s sites are classified Erste Lagen and Grosse Lagen by the VDP – the equivalent of Premier Cru and Grand Cru, respectively.
With the cascading light of sunset on the patio at Old Vines infusing just enough warmth in the evening breeze to make this lush-yet-brisk Riesling such a remarkable sensation, I became smitten with this wine from the first sip until late in the afternoon, enjoying a small glass with the staff after the evening had concluded. Ripe golden apples balanced by zesty lime; not a hint of petrol but a beautiful flintiness akin to the region, and a perfect flourish of nectarine and perfect acidity balanced the moderate 9.7g/L of sugar remaining in the wine. I am sure this will be a new favorite of mine all summer long.
2021 JL Chave Selections “Offerus” Saint-Joseph Rouge (Northern Rhône, France) | $38 per bottle
If there is one thing to be said about Saint-Joseph, it is: “pay attention.” Despite being overshadowed by its siblings in the Northern Rhône (looking at you, Côte-Rotie, Hermitage, and Cornas), Saint-Joseph offers a quality and a value in its own right, one that should be emphasized both independently of, and in comparison to, the neighboring Syrah in the region.
Jean-Louis Chave, a man so universally revered and respected that he is known and referred to simply by his initials, has been named one of the most cerebral and hard-working winemakers in the Rhône Valley. The Chave family has produced wines in the Rhône Valley continuously since 1481. And when Jean-Louis took over his family’s domaine in 1993, he immediately set about reclaiming, re-terracing, and re-planting many of his family’s hillside vineyards in St. Joseph – many having been abandoned since phylloxera struck in the early 1900s. a
To distinguish between the wines of his own domain, and those of more purchased fruit (as he patiently awaited these reclaimed sites to bear mature fruit), he established the “JL Chave Selections” label. The first vintage of the Jean-Louis Chave Selection label in 1995 came entirely from St. Joseph. At first, Jean-Louis purchased fruit from growers he knew well, sourced from parcels within the historic limits of the St. Joseph appellation. As his new vineyards started bearing fruit, the “Offerus” became more estate-owned vineyards and less purchased fruit.
Jean-Louis devotes as much time to his wines under the selection label as he does to the domaine wines (if not more) and it shows. Their quality is a testament to his belief in those appellations and the need to champion a wide range of wines from a region.
Currently, over 60% of the fruit for Offerus comes from the estate Syrah vineyards of the Domaine Chave collection. Its hallmark representation of the St. Joseph appellation is shown in its lithe and refreshing expression of the Syrah grape, notably closer to a refined Premier Cru Red Burgundy in its finesse, freshness, and flexibility. Truly remarkable red fruit tones of raspberry and redcurrant are balanced by plush oak and silky tannins from open-air oak fermentation, creating a soft and luxurious white pepper and stewed strawberry mid-palate with a finish that leaves the palate refreshed rather than restrained. Worthy of cellaring for another 7-8 years, this was drinking beautifully on Thursday evening, and can easily grace alongside a food pairing for a wide variety of our menu items at Old Vines.
18 Penfolds “St. Henri” Shiraz (South Australia) | $150 per bottle
2018 was considered a delightful vintage year for all of South Australia’s wine-growing regions – which is extremely remarkable and worth considering, given that Penfolds meticulously uses its 180-year-old history to source fruit from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Robe, Padthaway, and Port Lincoln estate and grower vineyards to craft this “time-honored and alternative expression of Shiraz.” The first vintage of St. Henri was released in 1888 under the label Auldana Cellars St. Henri Claret, though it disappeared around the beginning of World War I, only to be revived under the Penfolds label with the first commercial release of the Penfolds “St. Henri” Shiraz in 1957. It was in the 1990s, however, that its distinctive style was meticulously crafted.
Today, it remains a celebration of fruit-driven Shiraz, a powerful reminder of the concentrated fruit within South Australian vineyards without any new oak used in the vinification process. Ripe and forgiving in its youth, it ages gracefully, as well. I was particularly eager to share this wine with you all, given the wonderful vintage notes in the region, the prowess and international acclaim awarded to both the winery and this release (93-99 points across all major critical platforms, if you are interested), and personally, I find that this wine is an exciting addition to the repertoire of full-bodied, luscious, richly-structured of any red wine lover.
2018 Fait-Main “Bettinelli Sleeping Lady Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, California) | $260 per bottle
One of two wines we showed on Thursday as part of the cult-collective project Fait-Main from Benoit Touquette, a masterful winemaker in the Valley who has amassed a staggering twenty-eight 100-point wines in his career so far, I was immediately enamored with the Old World style (Left-Bank Bordeaux, specifically) finesse that this release provided.
This is no surprise, given that Benoit grew up in Lyon and fell in love with Bordeaux wines while working a mobile bottling line in the region to pay for grad school. He left France to intern with Andy Erickson (of Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, and To Salon Vineyard Co., to name a few), followed by a mentorship with renowned winemaker Michel Rolland. Benoit has established his own reputation style with Fait-Main, which translates to “hand-made” as a commitment to singularly meticulous expressions of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, while maintaining a partnership at Realm Cellars.
I first encountered the Sleeping Lady Vineyard while tasting with Julien Fayard several years ago, and I have had a particular fondness for wines made from this vineyard whenever they are (rarely) available. The classic indicators of the site are prominent in this release, as well, with fresh violets and lavender on the nose, and a distinctive graphite undertone that continues into the refreshing yet powerful palate, rounded out by blackberry preserves and a delightful umami flourish.
A dominating 75% new French Oak cooperage regimen is masterfully masked with tannins as velvety gruff as they are silky smooth – a tip of the hat from Benoit’s prowess and respect for the property and what it demands. With roughly 300 cases produced in this vintage, and currently listed as a “past collaboration” on Fait-Main’s website, signifying it as an even more prestigious addition to any collection or experience of enjoyment.
STOCK YOUR LOCKER … OR YOUR CELLAR
Limited quantities of the wines we tasted are still available, at special “Wine Locker member only” pricing. If you wish to order, kindly complete this form and return it by email to me at zach@oldvineswinebar.com
As always, thank you for your support.
~Zach
