portfolio
Wine Vintages
Chão do Prado Bucelas 2020
Portugal ➜ Lisboa VR ➜ Bucelas DOC 12.5% ABV
12.5% ABV
A signature wine of Bucelas with great dimension, with notes of tart calamansi orange, grilled apricot and roasted nuts. Its lively character complements all manner of fish and seafood, fried chicken or dry-rubbed pork. In its home region, its famously served with roasted garlic rabbit. Full details
Murgas Touriga Franca 2019
Portugal ➜ Lisboa VR 13.5% ABV
13.5% ABV
Murgas Touriga Franca DOC Lisboa is made from the grapes of the Arneiro vineyard, in Bucelas, in calcareous soils on a slope exposed to the west. Ruby in color, it shows aromas of raspberries and fresh currants, wrapped in notes of pink pepper and woodsy mushrooms. The mouth is enveloping, with very soft but structuring tannins. It ends long and very serious, bringing together the attributes of the great red wines of the region. Full details
Murgas Bucelas 2018
Portugal ➜ Lisboa VR ➜ Bucelas DOC 12.5% ABV
12.5% ABV
Murgas DOC Bucelas White is a wine of vitality and sapidity. Its notes of grilled white peach and beeswax are complemented by the vibrant minerality typical of Bucelas. Its lively character makes it a refreshing companion to a wide variety of fish and seafood, chicken and pork. Age-worthy, it can be enjoyed now through 2030. Full details
Quinta do Avelar Bucelas 2015
Portugal ➜ Lisboa VR ➜ Bucelas DOC 12.5% ABV
12.5% ABV
This wine is firm, bright and resolutely mineral, with notes of apple skin, grilled apricot and roasted nuts. Its power and mature elegance are marked by a distinct maritime influence. Enjoy through 2035 with fish and shellfish, grilled pork, chicken, charcuterie and cheeses. Full details
Casa Brina Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato 2015
Italy ➜ Piemonte ➜ Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG 12.0% ABV
12.0% ABV
Strikingly aromatic, with notes of rose petal, violet, black cherry and bitter almond, Casa Brina Ruchè di Castagnole Monferratto boasts a classic Piemontese structure and complexity, its firm tannins reminiscent of Nebbiolo (at a fraction of the price). With air, it takes on a gentle spice and rustic elegance. Approachable now, it should age well for more than a decade. Full details
Cocchi Alta Langa Rosa 2012
Italy ➜ Piemonte ➜ Alta Langa DOCG 12.5% ABV
12.5% ABV • Méthode Traditionnelle
DOCG Alta Langa is the top appellation for sparkling wines in Piemonte. The requirements are very strict, including use of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and at least 30 months for the second fermentation in bottle. Full details
Cocchi Alta Langa Bianc d’ Bianc 2010
Italy ➜ Piemonte ➜ Alta Langa DOCG 12.5% ABV
12.5% ABV • Méthode Traditionnelle
DOCG Alta Langa is the top appellation for sparkling wines in Piemonte. The requirements are very strict, including use of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and at least 30 months for the second fermentation in bottle. Full details
Domaine de Rombeau Rancio Sec 2010
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Côtes Catalanes IGP 16.5% ABV
16.5% ABV • Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
The lightest of the Rombeau Rancio secs, the 2010 is distinguished by its cepage and its shorter elevage, with an increased percentage of Macabeu and, atypically, a small amount of Muscat à Petits Grains (roughly 10%) added to the foundational Grenache blanc and Grenache gris. Vinified in tank with native yeasts, then transferred to an assortment of old barrels, foudres and glass demijohns for 12-18 months aging outdoors. A portion is then returned to the cellars, which rest above ground and lack temperature control, while another portion remains in the "barrel forest" outdoors until the time of blending and bottling. Full details
Cocchi Alta Langa Bianc d’ Bianc 2009
Italy ➜ Piemonte ➜ Alta Langa DOCG 12.5% ABV
12.5% ABV • Méthode Traditionnelle
DOCG Alta Langa is the top appellation for sparkling wines in Piemonte. The requirements are very strict, including use of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and at least 30 months for the second fermentation in bottle. Full details
Domaine de Rombeau Rancio Sec 2009
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Côtes Catalanes IGP 16.5% ABV
16.5% ABV • Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
The 2009 Rombeau Rancio sec is the most complete and balanced of the Rombeau Rancio secs, displaying the pronounced umami funk of 2008 with the lighter touch of 2010. It was vinified in tank with native yeasts, then transferred to an assortment of old barrels, foudres and glass demijohns for 12-18 months' aging outdoors. A portion is then returned to the cellars, which rest above ground and lack temperature control, while another portion remained in the "barrel forest" until the time of blending and bottling in mid-2016. Full details
Domaine de Rombeau Rancio Sec 2008
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Côtes Catalanes IGP 16.5% ABV
16.5% ABV • Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
The most evolved of the Rombeau Rancio secs, the 2008 exhibits a pronounced "rancio funk" while nevertheless retaining its complexity and rough good manners. It was vinified in tank with native yeasts, then transferred to an assortment of old barrels, foudres and glass demijohns for 24 months' aging outdoors. A portion was then returned to the cellars, which rest above ground and lack temperature control, while another portion remained in the "barrel forest" until the time of blending and bottling in mid-2016. Full details
Domaine du Dernier Bastion Maury Rancio 2008
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Maury AOP 15.5% ABV
15.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
Produced only in exceptional vintages, the Domaine du Dernier Bastion Maury Rancio is pure Grenache noir, selected from the estate’s oldest vines. Fermented in a 200-year-old concrete tank, the wine was aged in a 1,000-liter tonneau for eight years, then placed on the rooftop under glass and exposed to the elements for a final year prior to bottling. The resulting wine exhibits warming complexity and reverberative depth, its mellow rancio character embroidered on flavors of spiced cherry, caramelized orange, fruit cake, fig, walnut, coffee and cocoa. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Rimage ‘Diadème de la Coume’ 2008
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified
From a tiny, roasted parcel within what is perhaps the most prized of all of Domaine du Mas Blanc's vineyards, Coume del Mas, the Banyuls Rimage ‘Diadème de la Coume’ 2008 has been produced in just two vintages and is notable for its diffident, smoky character, thought to be the result of ash from an adjacent fire. Its east-facing, 1.5-hectare vineyard sits at 350 meters altitude, overlooking the sea. Soils are the classic poor brown schist and decayed shale, and yields are just 15 hl/ha. The ‘Diadème de la Coume’ is 90% Grenache noir, 5% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls ‘d’Antan’ 2008
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
Recalling his grandfather’s fondness for the old wines aged in chestnut barrels, third-generation winemaker Jean-Michel Parcé commissioned two 500-liter barrels from a stand of chestnut trees on his cousin’s property in Roussillon. Once common in cellars throughout Europe, chestnut is now rarely found. More porous than oak, it requires greater attention on the part of the winemaker, but managed well it can impart structure married to a fat, exuberant, oxidative expression, full of generosity and rustic charm. Full details
Domaine Fontanel Rancio Sec 2007
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Côtes Catalanes IGP 17.0% ABV
17.0% ABV • Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
This is a rare example of what is one of the oldest forms of winemaking, once found throughout the Mediterranean and now preserved by Catalan tradition on both sides of the French-Spanish border. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented with native yeasts, without fortification. The youngest vines informing this wine date from 1946; the oldest from 1908. Exposed to the elements and aged for many years in partially filled oak barrels, the resulting wine has what the Roussillon locals call le goût de soleil, the taste of the sun: dry and concentrated, with complex rancio flavors of walnuts, cocoa and curry spices. This wine slumbered in barrels until May 2018. Full details
Domaine du Dernier Bastion Maury Rancio 2007
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Maury AOP 15.5% ABV
15.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
Produced only in exceptional vintages, the Domaine du Dernier Bastion Maury Rancio is pure Grenache noir, selected from the estate’s oldest vines. Fermented in a 200-year-old concrete tank, the wine was aged in a 1,000-liter tonneau for nine years, then placed on the rooftop under glass and exposed to the elements for a final year prior to bottling. The resulting wine exhibits warming complexity and reverberative depth, its mellow rancio character embroidered on flavors of spiced cherry, caramelized orange, fruit cake, fig, walnut, coffee and cocoa. Full details
H&H Verdelho Single Harvest ‘Q.G.’ Madeira 2007
Portugal ➜ Madeira DOC 20.0% ABV
20.0% ABV • Fortified, Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
The H&H Verdelho Single Harvest 2007 is a colheita bottling: an early-bottled vintage wine. This is unique among Madeira wines: a single-vineyard wine produced exclusively with estate fruit. The wine was aged for 12 years in ancient casks at the H&H cellars at Câmara de Lobos. It combines a vineyard signature of shimmering acidity and hints of eucalyptus with the depth of concentration and elegance for which H&H is renowned. One of the four “classic” Madeira varieties, Verdelho is meio seco—medium-dry—and highly versatile at the table. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls ‘d’Antan’ 2006
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
Recalling his grandfather’s fondness for the old wines aged in chestnut barrels, third-generation winemaker Jean-Michel Parcé commissioned two 500-liter barrels from a stand of chestnut trees on his cousin’s property in Roussillon. Once common in cellars throughout Europe, chestnut is now rarely found. More porous than oak, it requires greater attention on the part of the winemaker, but managed well it can impart structure married to a fat, exuberant, oxidative expression, full of generosity and rustic charm. Full details
Domaine Jorel ‘La Garrigue’ Rancio Sec 2003
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Côtes Catalanes IGP 16.0% ABV
16.0% ABV • Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
Manuel Jorel’s first Rancio sec was the result of the scorching 2003 vintage and amongst the most unique in the Sotolon Selections portfolio. His small parcel of Macabeu grapes began to shrivel on the vine; he picked the grapes and set about making an ‘orange wine’ with them, leaving the emerging wine on the skins for 28 days. It began to oxidize and he feared the wine lost, but with the advice of an old-timer, he racked the wine into old Rivesaltes casks in the corner of his second cellar (which then doubled as a garage, or garrique). Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls ‘Collection’ 2002
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
Harvested from the Domaine du Mas Blanc’s oldest Grenache vines, the Banyuls ‘Collection’ 2002 is a special subset of its Banyuls ‘Vieilles Vignes.’ Hand-harvested and trodden by foot, it was fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts and aged in 650-liter oak demi-muids for 10 years. A single 225-liter barrel was then diverted from bottling and set aside for continued elevage as part of the estate’s library of its most important wines. Dubbed ‘Collection,’ only three vintages have been previously released to the public. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Rimage ‘La Coume’ 2001
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls Rimage ‘La Coume’ 2001 comes from what is perhaps the most prized of all of the domaine's vineyards: Coume del Mas, celebrated not only for its Rimage ‘La Coume’ and ‘Diadème de la Coume’ but as the source of the historic Banyuls ‘Cuvée St. Martin’. East-facing, the 1.5-hectare vineyard sits at 350-meters altitude, overlooking the sea. Soils are the classic poor brown schist and decayed shale, and yields are just 15 hl/ha. ‘La Coume’ is 90% Grenache noir, 5% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah. Full details
H&H Sercial Single Harvest Madeira 2001
Portugal ➜ Madeira DOC 20.0% ABV
20.0% ABV • Fortified, Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
The H&H Sercial Single Harvest 2001 is a colheita bottling: an early-bottled vintage wine. Bright and deep, this edition could easily be mistaken for Verdelho but for the saline/sea smoke signature of its Sercial fruit. More off-dry than dry, its caramelized apricot, tangerine and almond flavors mask impressive extract, the result of its extended time in canteiro. Sercial is the palest and the driest of the classical madeira varieties. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Collioure ‘Les Junquets’ 2000
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Collioure AOP 12.7% ABV
12.7% ABV
One of three single-vineyard Collioure “crus” produced by Domaine du Mas Blanc, ‘Les Junquets’ comes from a steeply-terraced, west-facing parcel of the region’s celebrated schist soils. Vinification is traditional: Old-vine Syrah and a small section of Marsanne and Roussanne (which together comprise 10% of the blend) are hand-harvested from miniscule yields, trodden by foot and fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts. Matured in old Bordeaux barrels for at least one year, this wine boasts great dimension and savory mineral depths, with notes of cassis, smoked venison and garrigue herbs underscored by a telltale iodine signature. Enjoy with all manner of roasted game, porcini mushroom or risotto. Capable of continued improvement over the next 10-12 years. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Collioure ‘Clos du Moulin’ 2000
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Collioure AOP 13.4% ABV
13.4% ABV
One of three single-vineyard Collioure “crus” produced by Domaine du Mas Blanc, ‘Clos du Moulin’ comes from a 1.8-hectare plot, southeast-facing, on the banks of the river Baillaury. The soil is schist mixed with gravel and sand. Vinification is traditional: Mourvèdre and Counoise (10%) are hand-harvested from goblet vines, trodden by foot, and fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts. Matured in old Bordeaux barrels for at least one year, ‘Clos du Moulin’ is simultaneously dark and brooding, carnal and oceanic. Notes of blackberry, dried blood, cured tobacco, tapenade, violet and bay leaf speak to the grandeur and savagery of this unique terroir. Enjoy with spit-fired lamb, smoked duck and truffles. Capable of continued improvement over the next 12-15 years. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2000
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
A selection of the estate’s oldest Grenache vines, the Banyuls ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2000 was hand-harvested and vinified traditionally: crushed by foot and fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts, it was aged for 10 years in 650-liter oak demi-muids before bottling. Always limited, a small portion of its production was set aside for inclusion in the estate’s library of its most important wines, a practice inaugurated by Dr. André Parcé in 1947. Full details
Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls ‘Collection’ 2000
France ➜ Roussillon ➜ Banyuls AOP 17.5% ABV
17.5% ABV • Fortified, Oxidative
Harvested from the Domaine du Mas Blanc’s oldest Grenache vines, the Banyuls ‘Collection’ 2000 is a special subset of its Banyuls ‘Vieilles Vignes.’ Hand-harvested and trodden by foot, it was fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts and aged in 650-liter oak demi-muids for 10 years. A single 225-liter barrel was then diverted from bottling and set aside for continued elevage as part of the estate’s library of its most important wines. Dubbed ‘Collection,’ only three vintages have been previously released to the public. Full details
H&H Boal Single Harvest Madeira 2000
Portugal ➜ Madeira DOC 20.0% ABV
20.0% ABV • Fortified, Fully Oxidized, Oxidative
The H&H Boal Single Harvest 2000 is a colheita bottling: an early-bottled vintage wine. Atypical for the house, this is reserved and surprisingly understated, imbued with detail and quiet confidence. Clove, cherry, brown sugar and rancio notes beckon from the glass. In the mouth, it’s supple and focused, a rich caress of pixilated Boal flavors enjoined to a long and refined finish. One of the classic white grape varieties of Madeira, Boal is meio doce: medium-sweet, thought to offer Madeira lovers the ideal combination of elegance and richness. Full details