The Honest Pour with John Lenart

Austin Hope was destined for the vineyard since he was in the fourth grade. Preferring to work in the dusty vineyard under the blazing sun of the Paso Robles summer, handed out by his father as punishment for poor behavior to school work, Austin Hope began his career in wine from an early age. Today, Austin handles the wine making for the numerous labels of the Hope Family Wines portfolio.  He approaches wine making with a sensibility and understanding of balance like only a select few winemakers of his generation do.  It’s this understanding that makes his Treana Blanc, a white Rhone blend, one of the most intriguing wines I’ve tasted this year.

Now available on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Play. Click Subscribe above.

Check out our sponsor Fooditor.com,  the total Chicago food experience, bringing you the stories of Chicago’s chefs, restaurants, and people who make food all over town, in words, pictures, video and audio. Read local– read Fooditor.com.

Austin Hope, Winemaker, Hope Family Wines (Photo Credit Celeste Hope)

2015 Love and Hope Rosé

A collaboration with celebrity chef Tim Love. This pale salmon rosé shows delicate aromas of under ripe strawberry, white flowers,  and good minerality. The fruit is balanced beautifully on the palate by bright acidity with a complex, slightly herbal finish.

SRP: $20

2014, Treana Blanc

Golden hues to a slightly green rim. This white Rhone blend presents a demure nose of melon which gives way to a flinty minerality.  Restrained flavors of tropical fruit are enhanced by well integrated floral notes, bold minerality and balanced acidity. Amazing structure and weight. I loved this wine.

SRP: $30

2014, Treana Red

Deep and intense inky color leads to a ruby rim. Bold dark fruit aromas of cassis, blueberry and blackberry with a touch of mint let you know this is a big wine. Lush berry flavors are balanced by good acidity and velvety fine tannin. Alcohol seems to be a bit hot.

SRP: $45

Bottle images courtesy of Hope Family Wines

It seems that every year China gobbles up a bigger share of the world’s best wines. Yet when it comes to producing great wine, China makes none. Until now. It would seem in a country so vast that a great wine growing region must exist. The minds at Moet Hennessy thought so too and sought it out. After years of research they settled on the foothills of the Himalaya, high in the Yunnan province, and charged Maxence Dulou, with creating a world class Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards exceeding 8500 feet in elevation.

Now available on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Play. Click Subscribe above.

Check out our sponsor Fooditor.com,  the total Chicago food experience, bringing you the stories of Chicago’s chefs, restaurants, and people who make food all over town, in words, pictures, video and audio. Read local– read Fooditor.com.

              Maxence Dulou, Estate Manager, Ao Yun

2013, Ao Yun, Cabernet Sauvignon

An impressive first vintage. Dark plum aromas combined with complex earthy notes of mushroom, green pepper, spices, and dried violets. The texture is super velvety, suggesting a wine of much more maturity. Dark berries and plum compote flavors combine with a unique earthiness that is neither like Bordeaux or California cabernet. Decent, yet not bold acidity backs up a super long finish of velvety tannins.

                           SRP: $300

When it comes to Burgundy the name of the producer on the bottle might just be the most important piece of information. Some producers make a scant barrel or two per vintage fro a single vineyard. Others, like Maison Louis Jadot make wines from across Burgundy, ranging from Chablis to the Mâconnais. The challenge is to maintain the terroir from each bottling. Frederic Barnier, winemaker at Maison Louis Jadot, tells me how he embraces this challenge and others while we sample wines from the upcoming release of the 2015 vintage.

Now available on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Play. Click Subscribe above.

Check out our sponsor Fooditor.com,  the total Chicago food experience, bringing you the stories of Chicago’s chefs, restaurants, and people who make food all over town, in words, pictures, video and audio. Read local– read Fooditor.com.

Frederic Barnier, Winemaker, Maison Louis Jadot

2015,  Louis Jadot Domaine Duc de Magenta Morgeot Clos de la Chapelle Monopole Rouge, Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru

Very floral nose highlighting good minerality and a bit of perfume.While round and rich this wine shows more earth than fruit on the palate. The fruit notes are stone fruit backed up by citrusy acidity.

SRP: $120

2015 Louis Jadot Domaine des Heritiers Boucherottes, Beaune Premier Cru

Rich and bright almost magenta in color. An explosion of berry and violet on the nose. Very Pommard in style. A tannic attack reveals earthiness and mixed fresh red berries, leather, cola, and nice acidity.

SRP: $50

2015 Louis Jadot Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits

An absolutely stunning nose that screams “YES!” This is what Grand Cru Burgundy is all about. Elegant all around. On the palate this wine has all of the hallmarks of a classic in it’s infancy. Great fruit, silky tannin, and bold acid are all present yet still not integrated. The flavor of this wine should become more harmonious with a few years of age. Worth the wait.

SRP: $250

2015 Louis Jadot Chateau des Jacques Moulin-a-Vent Clos de Rochegres, Beaujolais

Super fun and fruity nose. Still super young and showing a bit more earth up front but slowly reveals flavors of luscious red berries. Bold tanning and forward acidity. Super long finish.

SRP: $35