Rare and Old Wines of Niche Niche

The Wines…

1. Champagne Corbon, Blanc De Blancs, Grand Cru Avize Brut, 2007

   From their small Domaine in Avize the Corbon family fashions resolutely old school expressions of Champagne. Low yields, long elevage, and blocked malolactic fermentation, they are bright, precise, taut, and nervy. The Corbon family have farmed their six hectares of vines in Avize for four generations, but it wasn’t until 1971 that Claude Corbon began bottling his own wine, shortly after taking over the estate. In 2006, he passed the reins to his daughter Agnès, who continues the family tradition today. The vineyards are mostly situated on east facing slopes and 95% of the vines are the Chardonnay varietal (hence, the Côte des Blancs name). The soils in the area are typically a thin layer of top soil, beneath which lies the chalk that gives these wines their unique expression of minerality and terroir.

   The wine is vinified in the traditional method, with 8 months elevage in stainless tank (no malolactic) and 8 years in the bottle on the lees. No fining, filtering or cold stabilization.

   Vivid yellow. The nose displays lively, mineral-laced orchard fruit and floral aromas, with hints of toasty lees and white pepper emerging with aeration. Chewy and dry on the palate, offering bitter pear skin, melon and Meyer lemon flavors and a hint of licorice. Stretches out on a finish that hangs on with strong stony intensity

2. Georges Lignier et Fils Morey-Saint-Denis Blanc, 2014

   The domaine is led by Benoit Stehly, nephew of Georges Lignier, who worked at the domaine for a decade alongside his uncle, before assuming control of the work in both the vineyard and the cellar in 2008. His approach is very traditional, as he seeks to achieve maximum aromatic concentration, above nearly all other characteristics, including structural or color concentration. To achieve this, techniques such as a slightly later harvest and 80% destemming are employed. At the Villages level, the wines are raised in older barrels, while the 1er Crus see 30% new oak, and the Grand Crus 50% new oak. Since 2010 the wines are neither fined nor filtered. Overall, the domaine counts sixteen hectares encompassing 50 parcels, across 17 appellations in both white and red, with vine-age averaging over 50 years.

   From a tiny planting of Chardonnay in the “Clos Solon” lieu-dit producing only 600 bottles or so annually; 2012 is only the second harvest for the domaine; barrel-fermented and aged with an underlying earthiness and rusticity that makes for an intriguing expression from one of the rare white wines of the Cote de Nuits.

3. Balgera Valtellina Superiore Valgella 2003

   Balgera is a boutique winery located in Chiuro, one of the wine growing villages of Valtellina area, in the region of Lombardia. The Valtellina is a very small wine-producing region (3 million bottles total annual production) in the mountains north of Milan, just south of the Alps that borders Switzerland.  The winery has a wine history dated back to 1885 when Pietro Balgera started the winery. Today, Paolo Balgera is the 4th generation wine maker. He took over in 1983, being only 20 years old. The winery offers classic old world styled highly fragrant Valtellina wines, made from the Chiavennasca variety, also known as Nebbiolo in Piedmont region. Valtellina is a vast mountainous area including few sub-zones. Balgera offers wines from these sub-zones, namely: Sassella, Grumello, Inferno and Valgella.

   A Blend: 95% Nebbiolo, 5% other local varieties such as Rossola Nera, Pignola.  Soil consists of decomposed morainic rocks, including granite, serpentine and gneiss, formed into terraces on the steep north face of this east-west valley at 400-500 meters above sea level; soil pH is acidic. The harvest takes place in the middle of October. The grapes are destemmed and lightly crushed, the fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts, the wine is macerated for a total of about 12 days, then spends a year in tank and 10 more years in large (10,000L) barrels.

   Notes: very intense herbal/berry aroma, a fascinating rendition of Nebbiolo, aged in large barrels giving a hint of expensive leather, high-toned, super wine. Moderate tannins, very fine structure.

4. Prunotto “Occhetti” Nebbiolo d’Alba 1999

   Prunotto’s vineyards extend over an area of approximately 65 hectares (161 acres) in the territories of The Langhe and Monferrato and are subdivided into smaller parcels of land and single vineyards where red wines are produced.

   A historic wine from the Prunotto estate produced since the 1970’s. Soils are characterized by superficial sand, stratified levels of gravel and layers of clay and limestone that give the wine elegance and soft tannins. 

   1999 began with temperatures back to normal levels after two unusually warm winters. Healthy amounts of snow fell in January and March, helping to restore water reserves in the subsoil. Bud-break was on time and mild weather with plenty of rain meant an initially rapid growth of vegetation. Frost damage was limited to low-lying, lower quality vineyards. Continued rain meant that peronospora was a common problem in mid-May. June, however, brought hot, sunny weather alternating with storms. This pattern continued into July. August was unusually cloudy and often cool, but the weather turned around in September to allow a good final ripening and harvesting period for the late-ripening black grape varieties.

   Harvested grapes were destemmed and crushed upon arrival in the cellar. Maceration on the skins took place over a period of 7 days at a maximum temperature of 29 °C (84 °F).  Malolactic fermentation was completed before winter. The wine was aged for approximately 18 months and then bottled.