Cafe Stella 3932 Sunset Boulevard

Subtle and delicate, juicy red fruit and orchard fruit. Zesty acidity and long finish.

LOCALITY: FRANCE – Rhône APPELLATION: Saint-Joseph GRAPE VARIETY: Syrah WINEMAKER: Jean-Baptiste Souillard VINEYARD: 0.1 ha. planted in the early 1970s and 2000s over granite soil. Facing east and 300m elevation. VITICULTURE: Organic (not certified). WINEMAKING: Nearly 100% whole-cluster fermentation over ambient yeast for 2 to 3 weeks with regular pump-overs. AGING: Aged for 13 months in used oak barrels. BOTTLING: Neither fined nor filtered.

The winemaking process includes a 12-day maceration period with whole clusters in gridded vats, followed by fermentation using native yeasts. For aging, the wine is matured for 12 months in neutral oak barrels. Bright purple color in the glass. The nose is very pure, characterized with violette flowers and blackcurrant. The palate is full of blackberries and racy notes, with a long and bright finish.

The winemaking process includes a 12-day maceration period with whole clusters in gridded vats, followed by fermentation using native yeasts. For aging, the wine is matured for 8 months in vats and 15% in neutral oak barrels. Pale purple color in the glass. The nose is complex and spicy with blueberries and violette flowers notes. On the palate, a rich, musky and mineral wine characterized with a silky and round finish.

LOCALITY: FRANCE – Beaujolais APPELLATION: Fleurie GRAPE VARIETY: Gamay WINEMAKER: Valentine and Stéphane Mathieu VINEYARD: : 0.41 ha. located in lieu-dit Les Labourons. Planted in 1951, 2008 and 2016 over degraded granite soils. North and west facing at 360-410m elevation. VITICULTURE: Organic (in official conversion). 3 different training systems are used: goblet, éventail and double cordon de royat. WINEMAKING: 100% whole cluster fermentation over ambient yeasts for 2-4 weeks with semi-carbonic maceration in concrete tanks. 1-2 pump-overs per day. SO2 added after malolactic fermentation. AGING: Aged for 8 months in used barrels. BOTTLING: Neither fined nor filtered. Approx. 25-30 mg/L total SO2.

Expressive aromas of black raspberries, dark cherries, licorice, garrigue and dried rose petals. Ready to drink! A generous, expressive, and fruit-driven wine with a focus on purity and southern Rhône charm. It is noted for its approachable style, silky tannins, and well-integrated balance, making it enjoyable in its youth but capable of aging for several years.

Vaulorent is a part of Fourchaume, one of the best known Premiers Crus of the Chablis. It is the only Premier Cru growing on Grand Cru hill, beside the Grand Cru Les Preuses. The chardonnay is grown on Kimmeridgian soils and fermented with natural yeast. The alcoholic fermentation and maturing occur on the lees in oak for 14-15 months. The wines undergo full malolactic fermentation. Aromatically the wine is perfumed with fresh stone fruits such as apricots, peaches, yellow apples, as well as lemon zest and a touch of clotted cream. On the palate the wine is much more creamy and full-bodied, drinking beautifully upon release and predicted to age wonderfully.

Demougeot’s Pommard comes from 1ha of vines between two parcels: En Boeuf planted in 1979 on medium slope with a south/southwest exposure at 305-325m on limestone bedrock with a shallow rocky topsoil of clay and alluvium, and La Rue au Porc planted in 1948 on a flat surface with at 240m on limestone bedrock and deep red clay topsoil. Cellar notes: Destemmed and vinified in cement & steel with the must chilled to 8?C prior to the 2-3-week natural fermentation with almost no extractions. The wines are then pressed, settled overnight and gravity fed into 90% old (10% new) 228L French oak barrels where they age unmoved without sulfites until bottling.

VARIETAL Chenin Blanc SOIL TYPE Sandstone over green & crimson Ordovician Schist VINEYARD 5.8 ha. East/South-east Facing 30 year old vines Widely spaced vines (5,000 plants per hectares with grass cover) HARVEST By Hand / Manual VINIFICATION Slow Fermentation 24-48 Hours Maloactic Fermentation Partial Aging in Barrel FARMING PRACTICES Agroforestry (integration of trees), winter grazing animals and vineyard chickens to eat snails in spring (their droppings stimulate and enrich soil life), Arbustra (where vines, trees and animals cohabit. TASTING NOTES Aromatic liveliness (influence of the wind), and acidity on the palate with good volume and a touch of bitterness (influence of the sand).

VINEYARD DETAILS Rosso di Mezzo is harvested from a 35-year-old (2024) single vineyard in Passopisciaro composed of 80% Nerello Mascalese and 20% Nerello Cappuccio on a north-facing gentle slope at 600m on volcanic bedrock with medium-deep sandy and rocky topsoil. CELLAR NOTES 100% destemmed and naturally fermented up to 32°C max. for 10-12 days with few and short pumpovers (depending on the vintage) and aged 20 months in steel (and a small quantity in old barrels) before a light filtration at bottling.

VINEYARD DETAILS Profumo di Vulcano is harvested from 70-130-year-old (average of 100 years) Nerello Mascalese (75%), Nerello Cappuccio (15%), and 10% of Alicante, Francisi, Carricante, Grecanico, Minnella, on a north-facing gentle slope at 600-650m on volcanic bedrock with shallow sandy and rocky topsoil. CELLAR NOTES 100% destemmed and naturally fermented without temperature control for 14 days with no extractions and aged 20 months in old 500L French oak. No fining or filtration.

Carlone’s Boca DOC is 85% Nebbiolo (from 8 biotypes and counting) and 15% Vespolina planted between 1973-2008 with a south/southwest exposure at 400-460m on volcanic bedrock and rocky, sandy volcanic topsoil. CELLAR NOTES Fully destemmed natural fermentation (30 days for Nebbiolo, Vespolina for 14-18 days). Aged 18 months in mostly old 25hl Slovenian oak botte. No fining.

Notes of toast, smoke, sesame seeds, smoky bacon, spices, herbs and ripe berries. It is a wine they started producing in 1991, and the change in style also influenced the quality approach and selection of vineyards, grapes and oak for the barrels that they later applied to other wines. It has a polished palate with very fine tannins, chalky and elegant. It’s a more approachable vintage, round, velvety and soft, though perhaps without the aging potential of 2021, but it’s very pleasant. It’s long. They didn’t bottle the 2020 from Aro, so some of those grapes might have finished in this bottle. It was bottled in December 2022. -JS

Floral, spicy aromas with hints of underbrush. Juicy, well-structured red fruit with great vibrancy and length on the palate. A long finish is marked by hints of herbs, coffee bean, and tomato leaf.

VINEYARD DETAILS The Riesling, Weissenkircher Ried Buschenberg is located in the center of the Wachau on the Danube left bank on south/southeast-facing, extremely steep terraces at 330-430m. Planted in 1979, the bedrock and topsoil is mica schist. CELLAR NOTES Grapes are macerated up to 24 hours (depending on ripeness, with riper grapes receiving less time), then pressed over 6-8 hours, tank settled for a day and naturally fermented at 24˚C max and aged for 9 months in mostly old 640L Stockinger acacia barrels. Malolactic is inhibited by low temperatures, and the first sulfites are added at bottling. It’s filtered but not fined.

VINEYARD DETAILS Located in the Wachau’s coldest left bank area, the Spitzer Graben, the Riesling Elsarner Ried Brandstatt is on south-facing, extremely steep terraces at 440-480m. Planted in 1979, repaired in 2009, and with new plantings made with Buschenberg cuttings, the bedrock and topsoil is mica schist. CELLAR NOTES Grapes are macerated up to 24 hours (depending on ripeness, with riper grapes receiving less time), then pressed over 6-8 hours, tank settled for a day and naturally fermented at 24˚C max and aged for 6-8 months 300L old oak barrels. Malolactic is inhibited by low temperatures, and the first sulfites are added at bottling. It’s filtered but not fined.