What Is the Value of a Painting from a Dead Master? The Last Vintage Ever of a Wine from An Impossibly Steep Vineyard - An Aromatic Trip

It is with deep sadness and regret to announce that today's wine, the 2015 Gilles Berlioz (Domaine de la Partage) Chez l'Odette Chignin, which can be had for as little as $27.99 a bottle on the 4-pack is the last ever vintage for this wine. Gilles told me on my recent trip to France that the parcel is too hard to farm because it is too steep. We visited the parcel and I could not even imagine for 1/10th of a second farming this parcel. And then adding in biodynamic/organic viticulture and all the love they give the the soils at Berlioz, it's amazing they managed to make this wine at all. With the 2014 long gone and in the the hands of many happy clients, the 2015 is a stunning swan song of an old vine Jacquere that is possibly the finest Jacquere I've ever tasted.  That is a stupid price for one of his top cuvees. He only makes 100 cases or so and I have a tiny allocation today.

My notes on the the mineral component of the nose dove into expletives as it was so intense, multi-dimensional and vivid only curse words came to mind. When a wine smells this good, one can go primal. The nose is very nutty with airy sea mineral scents, oh my god is this aromatic. Also fresh alpine flowers. Insane complexity. So deep, such a mineral grip, concentration and power, the depth is gorgeous. The finish dissipates and only truly begins once it you think it ends. This is an incredible wine and the last of its kind.  On the palate, there is incredible delicacy and texture along with such a juiciness factor it is unlike any Jacquere as the acidity is very high as this is from a very steep solo parcel of somewhat youngish vines planted on very solid limestone. There is fruit, but this wine is about minerals, juicy minerals and texture. Nothing else to say except it is the last remnants of a genius.

Odette is the name of the lady that Gilles rents the vines from. The grapes create a very dense juice and the yields are cut to around 28-30 hl/ha. He also uses less sulfur here than in his other Jacquere Cuvee Ja Ja. The minerality that results is striking as limestone is just go good and works so well with certain white grapes. The finish is so long, so winding and so complex.

As you approach the small wine village of Chignin it is hard not for your jaw to drop out of your mouth. Situated at the foot of the Alps these hills are majestic with some vineyards at the same slope and exposure as some sites in the Mosel. They are that steep. Chignin is part of the great Savoie wine region, which is one of the coolest places I have visited in recent memory. There is a majesty to Chignin. It does not seem real. Almost like a place out of Lord of the Rings. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to represent, what I think is one of the greatest producers of not just the Savoie but one of the greatest producers in France, and that person is Gilles Berlioz. Gilles has been available in limited quantities over here for many years. In fact, I bought the wines when I was in New York retail for a while. At max, only 2 or 3 cuvees came into the United States and all of it to New York City. The thing is Gilles Berlioz makes many more cuvees than that. I had always heard great things about the cuvees that don't come here. It always seems the cuvees that don't come here are better. Possibly because they are too high priced at the estate to then crank through the 3-tier system and become the first $50 wine from region x. It happens a lot I notice with the Loire, Beaujolais and now Savoie as these are what I call "ceiling regions" where the market has established a price ceiling. Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux don't really have that, so prices can be crazy exorbitant and no one bats an eye. But in the ceiling regions there is so much value to be found because no one wants to become that guy who charges so much more than anybody else. So no one raises their prices and 3-tier focused importers and distribs only carry wines that work for them in this paradigm. At Fass Selections we want the best wine for the money and I am obsessive about seeking value, and I think with these incredible, never before imported, special cuvees from Gilles Berlioz I have hit the jackpot.

Gilles Berlioz is wildly popular amongst the Parisian wine bars and tastemakers. One thing that I admire about the French approach to wine is that there are incredible wines in regions outside of Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux. Why? Because great winemakers find the best terroir, work their butts off and make incredible wine. The French know this, we are still getting to know that idea.

2015 Gilles Berlioz (Domaine de Partage" Chignin "Chez l'Odette" - $29.99 ($111.96 4-pack) (LIMITED)