Greek Feast from T-Oinos, a Perfect Latour and the Lusher Side of Burgundy: Weekly Tasting Report

308 TASTING NOTES
Thursday, Jan 30, 2025

James and Stephane Derenoncourt take in the views of the T-Oinos's Clos Stegasta vineyard, which is 460 meters above sea level on Tinos.

The booming music and all-night, high-octane parties of Greece’s Mykonos island seem a million miles away from the pristine vineyards of T-Oinos, a winemaking project on the island of Tinos, but it’s only about a half-hour away by speedboat to get there. It’s a pet project of French consulting enologist Stephane Derenoncourt and his Greek friend Alexandros Avatangelos. It’s not surprising that when Derenoncourt retired last year, it was T-Oinos that he focused most of his “retirement time” on. It arguably makes the best wines of Greece from its incredible vines planted mostly on granitic soils.

James, his wife, Marie, and Associate Editor Claire Nesbit visited T-Oinos a couple of years ago and spent a large part of a hot summer day in August walking the vineyards, which are about 460 meters high, and later tasting a range of wines. And they were amazed by the quality of the bottles, especially compared with most of the hundreds of other Greek wines they tasted the same week.

The T-Oinos wines have such great focus and complexity, both white and red. Derenoncourt’s subtle hand in winemaking finesses so much sophistication and grace from the indigenous grapes used in the wines, including assyrtiko for the whites and mavrotragano for the reds. The single-vineyard wines from vines planted in soils of clay and pulverized granite under the Clos Stegasta Rare label, such as the T-Oinos Mavrotragano Cyclades Clos Stégasta Rare 2022, are clearly the best, although they cost double the price of other wines from T-Oinos at about $150 a bottle.

James tastes the latest Chateau Latour releases with CEO Frederic Engerer.
The Château Latour Pauillac 2016 received a perfect score from James.
A broad view of the cellar at Chateau Latour.

Check out five of the latest bottles from T-Oinos rated below, including a complexly dry and minerally rosé made from malagouzia, assyrtiko, mavrotragano and avgoustiatis. The wines are sold through Bordeaux negociants as well as by normal vendors.

James also rated in this weekly report some soon-to-be released wines by Bordeaux First Growth estate Chateau Latour. They include the 2016 Chateau Latour, which he called “a benchmark” and compared it to the legendary 1982. It’s already very attractive now because of the wine’s superb balance and ultra-fine yet intense tannins. It highlights how many of the 2016s are already pulling away from the 2015s because of their classic Bordeaux structure of fine tannins and complexity.

We don’t normally reveal scores in our weekly reports, but James insisted on posting that the Latour 2016 is rated 100 points – a perfect wine. James also tasted the 2020 Pauillac de Château Latour and 2019 Les Forts de Latour Pauillac. All three of the wines should be released in about a month on the world market.

Left: Senior Editor Stuart Pigott (left) said winemaker Caroline Frey (right) has taken the wines produced at Chateau Corton to a higher level. | Right: The stunning Caroline Frey Corton Grand Cru Clos du Château Monopole 2023.

THE LUSHER SIDE OF BURGUNDY

Last week we reported on the Rhone wines Senior Editor Stuart Pigott tasted with winemaker Caroline Frey. She is also the owner of a domaine in Burgundy that was recently renamed after her. It is based at Chateau Corton in the village of Aloxe-Corton, and although the building hasn’t changed since Stuart first visited back in 1992 (the domaine then had a different name and was under different ownership), the wine quality has.

As good as the wines of the 2020 vintage were that Stuart tasted, those from the 2023 vintage were in another league. This is the first vintage for the new young cellarmaster, Axelle Piska, and nowhere was her work and that of Caroline Frey more evident than in the Caroline Frey Corton Grand Cru Le Clos du Château Monopole 2023. It beautifully expresses the dark side of Burgundy, and in spite of the wine’s enormous structure it is extremely energetic with an amazing velvety texture, as well as incredible length.

The entire row of 2023s were impressive, but the Caroline Frey Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2023 deserves special mention because of the exceptional quality for this humble appellation. Achieving a depth and harmony more like that of a village wine was achieved by blending wines from three village appellations – Ladoix, Monthelie and Savigny-Les-Beaune.

High-altitude Burgundy pioneer Boris Champy standing in front if the geological map of France in his tasting room.

Domaine Boris Champy in Nantoux is totally focused on achieving remarkable quality in locations hitherto considered third-rate, something that climate change makes possible more frequently than a generation ago. Here, 2023 looks to be the best vintage since Champy took over these vineyards in 2019. The star of the range is the Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Bignon 421 2023, with its haunting aromas of black and sour cherries and incredible floral complexity. It rolls over your palate in one extraordinary wave. The vineyard site lies at 421 meters above sea level.

The Maconnais is a subregion of Burgundy that was long focused on the production of modestly priced, lightweight alternatives to the bigger and more expensive whites from places like Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. The Paquet family is dedicated to helping it gain parity of reputation with those big names. The Domaine Famille Paquet Saint-Véran Les Cras 2022 achieves this goal and is very focused on the taut and positively austere medium-bodied palate. The integration of oak is spot on. This is surely a producer we will hear a lot more about.

Winemaker Frederic Mugnier of Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier showed a number of wines from recent vintages during an evening devoted to his work.

After returning home to Germany, Stuart attended an event at Erno's Bistro in Frankfurt to celebrate winemaker Frederic Mugnier of Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier in Chambolle-Musigny, one of Burgundy’s most famous domaines. It was organized by Mugnier’s German importer, Delicious Green, which is owned by Eva Fricke, who is also one of the leading wine producers of the Rheingau region. Their connection is a long one, with Fricke having worked the 2010 harvest with Mugnier.

The nearly perfect Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 2015 from Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier

Mugnier showed a number of wines from recent vintages, of which the Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 2015 is almost perfect. The interplay of chalky minerality, great concentration and finesse means a dreamy texture through the spectacularly long finish. The Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchal 2017 proves that not all the beautifully crafted wines from this producer are horribly expensive.

Egon Muller IV from the Saar subregion of the Mosel was the guest of honor at the Mugnier evening. He showed an amazing botrytized riesling, the amazing Egon Müller-Scharzhof Riesling Mosel Scharzhofberger Beerenauslese 1983, which is enormous powerful and rich but has a luminosity that makes it one of the supreme expressions of this great vintage in the Mosel.

Some of the 2022 Etude releases that Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery tasted for this week's report.

ETUDE'S PRIESTLY INTERVENTION

Carneros, a California wine region that bridges the stylistic and geographical divide between Sonoma and Napa, has been home to Etude since its founding in 1982. In a recent tasting with Associate Editor Ryan Montgomery, Etude’s head winemaker, Jon Priest, discussed his philosophies and emphasis on sourcing fruit from Carneros’ cool-climate vineyards – where heritage clone pinot noir thrives – and Napa Valley’s storied terroir, where cabernet sauvignon reigns supreme. His commitment to minimal intervention in the winery ensures that each vineyard’s character is expressed with purity and finesse in bottle, which brings both approachability and ageability.

The 2022 vintage posed challenges for winemakers due to the extreme heat, yet Etude’s 2022 pinot noir releases remarkably transcend the conditions of that growing year. This was particularly evident in the Etude Pinot Noir Carneros Grace Benoist Ranch Heirloom 2022, a wine that showcases depth and precision while maintaining freshness and purity, bringing balance and tension.

Etude's dedication to pinot noir rubbed off on their cabernet sauvignons from Napa, especially their 2021 estate releases. 2021 was an excellent vintage, sitting between two rather difficult seasons. Priest captured the best of the vintage while bringing an approachability to the wines upon release. The Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021 has layers of depth with a seamless tension and a polished finish that highlights a soft touch in the winery. Achieving a balance between structure and longevity while ensuring immediate drinkability is no small feat, yet Priest navigated this with exceptional skill in 2021.

Chris and Kathryn Hermann founded 00 Wines 10 years ago in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where they focus on chardonnay and pinot noir.

OREGON'S BURGUNDY VIEW

The latest releases of from Oregon vintner 00 Wines are from the cool and long 2022 growing season, which produced some electric chardonnays and silky pinot noirs. 00 Wines was founded 10 years ago in the Willamette Valley by first-generation winemakers Chris and Kathryn Hermann, who have long been influenced by top producers in Burgundy. Their philosophy for chardonnay in particular is more Burgundian than American – it’s all about texture and extraction from the skins, with a long press cycle to provide skin contact, taking inspiration in particular from the likes of Coche Dury.

Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt tasted their terrific 2022 chardonnays, including the VGW (Very Good White). It’s a blend of Willamette Valley chardonnay, with a large proportion of fruit from the cool Eola Amity Hills district, and it’s immensely concentrated, fresh, textured and creamy, with salty and smoky undertones. The most impressive wine in the lineup, though, was the 2022 Eola-Amity Hills Seven Springs chardonnay, a single-vineyard expression from Dijon clones. It’s layered, creamy and mouth-filling, but tense, energetic and vivid at the same time, showing wild aromas of cardamom, miso and white fruit.

The highest-rated of the 00 Wines Associate Editor Claire Nesbitt tasted was the 00 Wines Chardonnay Willamette Valley Eola-Amity Hills Seven Springs 2022 (second left).

The more full-bodied and reductive 00 Wines Chardonnay Willamette Valley Chehalem Mountains 2022 is produced from Wente chardonnay clones that were planted in Oregon before the introduction in the 1980s of the now-common Dijon clones. Many of the Wente vines were ripped out as they failed to ripen in Oregon’s cool climate, but the Hermanns told Claire that many vines across the valley have now been regrafted to Wente now with warmer growing seasons. These Wente clone vines, common in California, grow larger grape clusters (about twice the size of those from Dijon clones) and tend to ripen later than the Dijon clones.

The Kathryn Hermann Cuvée 2022 is the same wine from the Chehalem Mountains appellation, but it’s aged for two years in barrel rather than one. It’s wonderfully mineral, nutty and salty, all at the same time, with praline, sesame seed and wild-herb aromas.

Claire also tasted the beautifully silky, pure and aromatic Yamhill-Carlton Shea Vineyard 2022, a pinot noir from one of the most renowned vineyards in Oregon. Each grape for this wine is hand cut off their stems with scissors to leave the whole berry with its pedicel (individual grape stalk) intact – a laborious method inspired by Lalou Bize Leroy in Burgundy – before fermentation in clay amphorae and then aging in barrels.

– James Suckling, Stuart Pigott, Ryan Montgomery and Claire Nesbitt contributed reporting.

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated during the past week by James Suckling and the other tasters at JamesSuckling.com. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Some will be included in upcoming tasting reports.

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.

Sort By