2015 Chapillon Siendratt

Our Marquee Discovery From Prowein

For those who wonder why we don’t just sit around in the States waiting for wines to fall into our lap, why it is worth it to send our wine team halfway across the globe, and why personal relationships matter above all else, this 2015 Chapillon Siendra is your answer. Wine Access clients went crazy for our first offer from Chapillon, and given its stunning price-to-score ratio — $16.99 for a ripe, vibrant, and rich Spanish gem that James Suckling gave 92-points — the Siendra should fly into their cellars just as fast. Watching an offer like this one develop, from a handshake in Dusseldorf to the moment bottles are shipped to you, is what reminds us that the twelve-hour flights and long weekends are all worth it. Read on to learn how we secured this wine, but don’t miss out on one of our marquee discoveries of this year’s Prowein. Simply a can’t-miss case-buy.

Navigating an event like Prowein, in Dusseldorf, Germany, where nearly 7,000 wineries convene to show off their wines to buyers from all over the world, demands long hours and serious stamina: Master of Wine Matt Deller tasted upwards of 500 wines at this year’s event — a lifetime’s worth of wines to most people, but still just tiny fraction of what Matt tastes each year. So, to cut through the noise and get straight to the wines that really light up the scoreboard and will have Wine Access clients clamoring for more, it helps to have friends in the right places.

This year, Pierre Courdurié was that friend. The Bordeaux garagiste, owner of Robert Parker-favorite Château Croix de Labrie in Saint-Émilion, led Deller to Christophe Chapillon, who headed south from France over a decade ago and hasn’t looked back. He has parlayed his French savoir-faire and 185 acres of vines in prime Spanish territory, and in a decade has left his stamp on the region of Calatayud.

Pierre marched Deller past hundreds of wineries pouring their wares, and delivered him to Christophe Chapillon — “You won’t believe the prices when you taste the quality,” Pierre said as he hustled Matt through the crowd.

Dominated by gorgeous old-vine Garnacha grown in the arid climes of Aragon, southeast of Rioja, the 2015 Siendra proves Pierre right. The old-vine Garnacha is raised in the stony soils of Chapillon’s Calatayud vineyard, with extra backbone provided by Cabernet and Syrah. It has a gorgeous acidic lift, a fine minerality, and has been mellowed by 12 months in oak. Don’t miss out.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.50%
• 15 mins
• Drink Up
• 80% Garnacha7% Cabernet Sauvignon7% Syrah6% Merlot
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork