North Berkeley is honored and proud to have THREE partners named to the Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries list for 2016 — what a showing! This list is the who’s who of worldwide wineries that consistently perform and have wowed Wine & Spirits tasters over the past year. Drum roll, please! Here’s our winners.
The Wine Spectator lauds the Arlaud family’s efforts in 2014, highlighting their Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru: a wine to which they give a nearly 30 year aging window, given its concentration and complexity. A truly grand cru, indeed!
John Tilson of the Underground Wineletter named rosé wines from both Francois Cotat and Chateau de Pibarnon as “some of the best young rosés” he’s ever tasted.
“Another standout, the 2006 Brut Millesime is stellar. This is an especially broad, creamy Champagne built on textural richness. Lemon oil, white flowers, smoke, almonds and baked apple are some of the signatures…”
Stephen Tanzer of Vinous Media recently wrote an excellent report on white Burgundy from the 2014 vintage, and since we have many of these wines now in our warehouse, we can only concur with Stephen’s positive assessment
Our newest partner in Campania, Azienda Agricola Vadiaperti is on a roll. Just this month his peerless Fiano di Avellino ‘Aipierti’ was named a Critic’s Pick at Wine & Spirits.
We’ve loved this older-vine Morgon over the years because it just keeps giving: gorgeous and fleshy when young, Calot Morgon ages stupendously, shining with five to even 10 years of cellar time. And think about it: How many Burgundy wines can you name that hail from 100-year-old vines on terroir that should essentially be “premier cru” and still cost under $30? We thought so.
Steel clearly runs in the blood of the Murgo clan. But for good reason, as they’ve cultivated vines and olives under the fiery gaze of Etna for more than a century. Many times the volcano has destroyed their vineyards and property, and regularly covers the family home in layers of ash. Yet as the brothers told us, this is the price one pays for the privilege of growing vines on Etna’s slopes.