Triple 91-Point Rioja for $15.99!
Every year, each vineyard on the planet gifts us with a new crop and a unique wine. While that is awesome for wine lovers like us, it makes it brutally challenging for importers and distributors to manage their inventory. Just because there's a big crop one year doesn't mean that consumption goes up, and the task of keeping a balance between supply and demand is a real bear.
What does this mean for you? It means there are some really great deals to be found!
A few days ago one of those opportunities came our way. The wine is from a dry-farmed family estate in Rioja that has been owned since the 1930s by winemaker Carmen Pérez-Garrigues and her family.
Seriously engaging, her 2022 Villota "Selvanevada" Red has earned impressive reviews from Wine Spectator, Vinous, Jeb Dunnuck and our own team. Knowing we could bring it to you for $15.99, we snapped up every case we could get. Read on for the details, and for a 2022 Grüner Veltliner from the great Bernhard Ott, then click the Big Green Button to get in on the fun!
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2022 Villota "Selvanevada" Tinto
Rioja, Spain
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The 2022 Selvanevada is dark-colored, dark-fruited, richly-textured and just plain yummy, with aromas and flavors of black cherry, black raspberry and dark flowers complicated by cocoa, clay and limestone. If tasted blind, we’d likely guess this to be a $25 wine, which makes sense as that is the price Wine Spectator quotes it at. Today, however, it flies for nine bucks less!
“No question, this is a bodega to watch closely.”
- Vinous, April 2021
Vinous has had their eye on this winery for several years now, and we can fully appreciate why. Given the old vines, primarily Tempranillo, there is real complexity, beauty and pleasure here. If this is modern Rioja, we are all in.
Wine Spectator, Vinous and Jeb Dunnuck are all onboard here. Including the rating from our team, that is FOUR scores of 91 points!
“The 2022 Selvanevada Tinto is terrific, with a ripe, medium to full-bodied, concentrated style revealing a darker core of fruits, some leafy herbs, graphite, and spicy notes, solid mid-palate depth, and ripe, building tannins. A serious wine, it will evolve for a decade. Maturity: 2024 - 2034.”
- 91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (7/3/2024)
“This offers red and black fruit notes and a cool herbal dimension that sharpens the aromas. Fine-grained tannins and good tension support a juice core, leading into a full, expressive finish with a touch of camphor. The 2022 is well balanced and clearly defined. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2037.”
- 91 Points, Vinous - Joaquin Hidalgo (5/2025)
“This fluid red offers a pleasingly plump core of chopped black plum and raspberry flavors reined in by a sinewy frame of fine-grained tannins. Fragrant hints of lavender, rooibos tea leaf, vanilla and dusty spices lace the fruit profile and linger on the finish. Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Drink now through 2029. 7,000 cases made, 2,000 cases imported.”
- 91 Points, Wine Spectator (12/31/2024)
As mentioned earlier, Wine Spectator quotes $25. At 36% less, today's price BLOWS AWAY every online listing. Lots of goodness here for sixteen bucks!
Vin Chicago Price: 15.99
Special Buy on Serious Grüner Veltliner from Bernhard Ott!
2022 Bernhard Ott "Fass 4" Grüner Veltliner
Wagram, Austria
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While the family behind Villota has had stewardship of their vineyard since 1930, the Ott family has been farming and making wine in Wagram, Austria since 1889.
Bernhard Ott is the fourth generation and has run this storied property since 1993, when he took over from his father. Inspired by a 2006 tasting with Aubert de Villaine at Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Bernhard became a leader in Austria of biodynamic farming and winemaking. His wines are known for their purity, complexity and natural energy. Everything is done by hand, with only wild ferments and minimal human intervention.
We’ve met and tasted with Bernhard over the years and have regularly featured his wines, including his premium single-vineyard bottlings, which are among the country’s top wines and sell for over $60. We are also fans of his entry tier bottling that goes for around $22.
The “Fass 4” that we have today sits between those wines and typically sells for around $35 to $40. Today, a special year end buy allows us to bring it to you for less.
His 2022 "Fass 4" is decadent, with the generous ripeness of the vintage delivering yellow apple, plum and white raspberry flavors along with white pepper, river stones, radish and salinity accents that complete the tasty character. Brisk and energetic, there's a soft drinkability here that Grüner drinkers will love!
“Complex and focused, with nuances of kiwi, durian and ruby grapefruit and featuring hints of white pepper and wet stone. Long and graceful on the finish, delivering impressively spiced character with shaved ginger and savory mineral.”
- 91 Points, Wine Enthusiast (3/1/2024)
“A focused, linear white, with a chiseled core of green apple and pear set against a firming wall of mineral notes, while a green herbaceous thread weaves through. Flecks of white pepper and racy acidity lend a taut feel as intensity builds on the dry, mineral-laced finish. Drink now.”
- 90 Points, Wine Spectator (11/30/2024)
“Ott's 2022 Grüner Veltliner Fass 4 is a classic again, a typically light, bright and refreshing Veltliner with mouth-filling yet also vibrantly fresh fruit and a savory and even saline finish. It has a very good, textured and finely mineral finish. Highly stimulating. 12% stated alcohol. Screw cap. Tasted in August 2023. Drink Date: 2023 - 2030”
- 90 Points, Wine Advocate (5/30/2024)
Online listings range from a low of $31 at another Chicago retailer to a more typical $36 to $40 in other markets. Today's price blows them all away. A wonderful opportunity here on a serious Grüner!
Vin Chicago Price: 25.99
