Sharing wine

2025. 11.

Dear Kahi and Wonjin,

It is great to share these wines with you. I hope you enjoy exploring them. I bought each bottle with intention at the time, but for some reason I had not been able to open them until now. Let me know which one you enjoy the most and what stood out to you. As I put this list together, I found myself getting curious about how these wines taste now.

Joonki

2017 Domaine de la Vougeraie Pinot Noir Bourgogne Terres de Famille

  • France, Burgundy

  • Pinot Noir

  • This is the Pinot Noir grape with all its ardor and delicacy, its vitality andsensitivity, its authenticity, thanks to these plots in Gilly-lès-Cîteaux, a stone's throw from Le Clos de Vougeot and our Vougeot vines, combined with a touch of rusticity from the Côte de Beaune. It was in Vougeot that the Cistercian monks stored their wines, and Terres de Famille combines different plots to provide the flame of the sacred fire to the excellence of the Pinot Noir grape. (From the producer’s website)

2013 Cantine Bonacchi Brunello di Montalcino Molino del Piano

  • Italy, Tuscany, Brunello di Montalcino

  • Sangiovese

  • Aromas of cherries, flowers and spices rise out of the glass. Full body, powerful and tannic. Chewy yet polished. A tight and impressive young wine. (James Suckling)

  • JS: I bought this mainly for the 2013 vintage, even though I didn't know the producer. I’m hoping it’s still drinking well.

2017 Digioia-Royer Borgogne Rouge

  • France, Burgundy

  • Pinot Noir

  • Hand-harvested from 30-year-old Pinot Noir vines in the Bourgogne region, with well-drained soils and low yields of 40–50 hl/ha. Destemmed and crushed, the grapes ferment in stainless steel tanks with temperature control. After 15 days of maceration, malolactic fermentation occurs, followed by 12 months of aging in 25% new and 75% used French oak barrels. Concentrated, full, and round palate. It offers enticing notes of dark cherry, raspberry, earthy mushroom, and a hint of spice. (From the producer’s website)

2019 La Kiuva Rouge de Vallée

  • Italy, Valle d’Aosta

  • Nebbiolo and some other grapes

  • La Kiuva Rouge de Vallée is an expressive, high-altitude red wine from the Valle d’Aosta in northwestern Italy. This blend, predominantly composed of the local Picotendro (a regional Nebbiolo variant), alongside other native varietals, showcases the alpine terroir's cool-climate brightness, lively minerality, and nuanced aromatics.

    A medium ruby with garnet reflections, translucent and vibrant in the glass.

    The nose opens with red cherry, wild strawberry, and dried cranberry, enhanced by hints of alpine herbs, rose petal, and a subtle note of forest floor. Earthy undertones and a delicate spice from oak aging provide added complexity.

    On the palate, this wine is medium-bodied with bright acidity and fine tannins. Juicy red fruit flavors of raspberry, red currant, and a touch of pomegranate create a lively profile, with layers of dried herbs, subtle smokiness, and a mineral edge. This wine's structure balances finesse and freshness, reflecting its mountainous origins.

    The finish is refreshing and persistent, with lingering notes of red fruit, herbal nuances, and a faint touch of minerality that echoes the cool climate. (Binends)

2016 Cascina Ballarin Barolo

  • Italy, Piedmont

  • Nebbiolo

  • The Viberti family has not entirely lost their sharecropper roots in Piedmont, when they grew fruit, nuts, and grains amidst the vines to scrape together a living. Today they produce a delicious and affordable Barolo from their prime Nebbiolo vines in La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, and Novello. The 2016 vintage spent 26 months in barrels and another 12 in bottle to create an immediately pleasurable dry red with lovely flavors of cherries, cacao, and toasted hazelnuts. It’s wonderful right out of the bottle, but even better when left to breathe for a couple of hours. (Wine and Cheese Cask)

2022 Ponte da Barca Alvarinho Loureiro

  • Portugal, Minho, Vinho Verde

  • Alvarinho

  • The vinification method used for white wines is the must's fermentation at a controlled temperature, after the grapes are pressed without the other parts of the brunch. It's the bica aberta method. Citrus color and aroma of tropical fruits with citrus notes, fresh with floral nuances, dazzles and captivates by its minerality, complexity, balance and persistence.

2019 Baia’s Wine Tsolikouri, Qvevri Wine

  • Georgia, Imereti

  • Tsolikouri

  • Baia’s Wine Tsolikouri is a full-bodied, dry white wine from Imereti. Made from Tsolikouri by Baia Abuladze according to local tradition, with citrus, chamomile, and earthy elegance. (GHVINO)

  • JS: If you haven’t tried Georgia’s Qvevri wine, I hope you enjoy new experience.

2018 Marco De Bartoli Sicilia Vignaverde

  • Italy, Sicily, Sicilia

  • Grillo

  • Curiosity, observation, experimentation and respect for identity and diversity. All this is Samperi, and Vignaverde is its fresher wine: Grillo in its younger, fragrant and lively expression, the fruit of a territory that never stop surprising.

    3,500 Grillo vines per hectare, originally planted in 1996 in Contrada Samperi, Marsala, and trained with the single Guyot system. The yields are of 60 tons per hectare, harvested starting the second-third week of August. The grapes are picked and selected by hand and soft pressed. The must obtained will naturally decant under cool conditions for 48 hours. The limpid run starts fermenting with to wild yeasts, at controlled temperature and with a minimum addition of sulfites, in stainless steel vats. The wine continues aging on its own lees for 6 month, always in stainless steel. (From the producer’s website)

2018 William Fèvre Chablis Champs Royaux

  • France, Burgundy, Chablis

  • Chardonnay

  • #66 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2020 William Fevre's Champs Royaux Chablis is impressively precise, delivering a nose of citrus fruits, flowers, green apple and flinty flavors of wet stone in the mid-palate with a beautifully clean finish. Fresh, supple, it is marked by mineral notes, typical of the appellation. A perfect accompaniment for shellfish menus, grilled fish, oysters, and sushi - but would also work well with many roast chicken recipes seasoned with fresh herbs such as thyme or tarragon.

2020 San Michele Appiano (St. Michael-Eppan) Sauvignon Lahn

  • Italy, Alto Adige

  • Sauvignon Blanc

  • The Sauvignon “Lahn” of the St. Michael Eppan winery is a wine of superior class, made exclusively with Sauvignon grapes grown on hills around the district of San Michele. It is an elegant, refined, tasty and rich wine with a good aging potential. It is a white wine with a nice intense straw-yellow color; its nose has hints of honey with a slight aftertaste if fruits and spices, with mineral notes. With a good freshness and acidity, it’s perfect to drink in an evening with friends accompanied by fish startsers, white meats, fresh cheeses and savory cakes. (la Cave)

2019 Bodegas Naia Rueda Naia

  • Spain, Rueda

  • Verdejo

  • The Verdejo grape of Rueda is Spain’s near equivalent to Sauvignon Blanc. Naia is well-balanced, citrusy, and minerally, and a fine match for a vegetable paella. (Wine and Cheese Cask)

2022 Domaine Bousquet Sauvignon Blanc

  • Argentina, Mendoza, Velle de Uco, Tupungato

  • Sauvignon Blanc

  • Also from Argentina, the organic Bousquet winery has made a fresh, lively, dry Sauvignon Blanc that is ideal for fish and salads.

2024/10/23