Responsible Indulgence—November wine notes
Well, in case we had any doubt about the arrival of winter, this week’s wintery mix has quieted those misguided hopes. Let’s approach this like good strong New Englander’s, who embrace change and welcome the quiet cold of winter, as it makes us even more fierce. Self righteousness will keep us warm! If that doesn’t work, I have some great wine in this month’s selections to ease the pain, and if the Farmer’s Almanac is right, we will need some wine to get through this winter (as if 2020 hasn’t already given us reason to drink!). My thoughts for this month’s selections were more full-bodied and complex wines that satisfy with a meal while also warming us and adding an element of spice or heat to the dish. I like fall and winter foods for the variety and hardiness, but I still enjoy whites and roses in the cooler months. Don’t discount the brightness of fruit in a glass of Txakolina or Verdicchio, the exotic fruits are not relegated to summer dishes, but rather add an element of freshness and sunshine to a pan roasted pork loin, for example. I hope you enjoy all the wines, and always they inspire you to eat, drink, and think.
What for a forthcoming email about events exclusive to club members, I have lined up a few winemaker’s for Virtual Tastings this winter!
Cheers, Maria
Value Wines
2019 Saint Peyre Viognier, Southwest France. This wine stands out because of the intensity of fruit. When I think about winter whites, more complex, more flavor, more body, this is what I think of. There is an intense floral and honey suckle aromatics that draws you in, with subtle aromas of apricot and vanilla. The fruit on the front palate is ripe and rich, lush on the midpalate, and finished with a clean citrus freshness. It has been a favorite of many customers who are willing to try a grape they have not heard of before. Trust me, once you add Viognier to your repertoire, you will be a happier wine lover. This would be great with pan seared, roasted pork chops or with roasted vegetables and farro!
2019 Secateurs Rose, Swartland, South Africa. The Badenhorst family has been making wine for three generations, and they consistently produce wine of character and balance. This is a generous rose that is built to enjoy with food. The aromatics are of red fruits, spice, and rose water. The palate enjoys a lush full mouth feel with notes of currants and blood orange, with a light lingering citrus finish. Enjoy this as an aperitif or with pan roasted whole sea bass, stuffed with dill and lemons.
2018 Chateau Jouclary Rouge, Languedoc, France. This is the new release, and I had to include it for a number of reasons. First, it is a wine that I have know since I opened me doors, twelve years ago this month, and so it has a special place in my heart. I like to change my inventory, but when something is good, there is no sense in changing. If the Southern Rhone and Bordeaux had a love child, this is what it would be. Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, so powerful in flavor, but not huge in style. Still structured and balanced. Think ripe brambly fruits and a touch of plum and then a nice subtle lingering spice that warms you and makes you want another bite of those short ribs! Yes, goo big with this one, or enjoy it with some aged Gouda.
2019 Arrieta Rioja Javen “Herrigoia,” Rioja, Spain. This super value red is made from grapes grown on 50 year old organic trained bush vines in the Rioja Alavesa. It is 85% Tempranillo and 15% Malvasia. This is yet another small family winery that produces quality wine that is responsibly farmed and vinified, it is inexpensive, and the flavor is nothing shy of delicious. They use a carbonic maceration in open concrete tanks, which produces a very fresh, juicy, and playful style of wine. The flavor is impactful, but the body remains light and there is a wonderful freshness that will liven your winter table. It is easy to drink, but not withour complexity. Tart and fresh, but also dark and dusty, blackberries dominate the palate with a subtle cherry sweetness and spice. Serve it chilled with brunch on Sunday!
2019 Belisario “Cabraccio” Verdicchio, Le Marche, Italy. While this family run winery is one of the largest that I work with, with nearly 300 hectaires of vineyards. They work responsibly. All grapes are grown on the property with sustainable methods. They are committed to quality and integrity, and they produce one of the best values that I have recently come across. The Cabraccio is 100% Verdicchio fermented in stainless steel tanks without any exposure to oxygen, which preserves the flavor, aroma, and freshness. It is light in color with aromas of citrus, ocean water, and white flowers. So inviting on the nose. The wine is very lean on the palate, and while I questioned including it with winter whites, in the end, I think it works because of its bracing acids and savory salinity on the finish. It is a food wine, and with seared sea scallops it would sing!
2018 Substance Cabernet Sauvignon “Elemental,” Washington State, US. Charles Smith reinvents himself, once again, and as always with a crowd pleasing wine. I include this cabernet in November selections because you will love it. It is big, bold, and chewy. It is not just big, it has layers of flavor and structure that hold all of this compelling wine together. Black cassis, plum, fig, dark cherry, tobacco, and even some tea leaves and mushrooms. I know that sounds like a lot, but CS knows what he is doing, and the wine is harmonious. It wants big flavor to stand up to it, so get a mix of mushrooms at the farmer’s market and sauté them with butter and shallots, eat them alone or as an adornment to a steak, but either way, have a glass of this cab with them.
Select Wines
2017 Vaglio Malbec “Chacra,” Mendoza, Argentina. Vaglio is a project of Jose Lovaglio Balbo, who comes from a family of prominent wine makers. He wants to highlight the terroir specific to different microclimates in Mendoza. He produces single vineyard wines from a number of different sub regions and soil types. He works with minimal intervention and minimal wood, so the wine is big, but still balanced and nuanced. The wine is dark and brooding in the glass with aromas of dark fruits and buttery caramel. It is supple in the mouth, rich, ripe, smooth, and earthy. The oak gives it some tannins, but they are soft and satisfying, and offer structure to a big wine. It finishes with mushroom, earth and walnuts. It would be wonderful with cheddar, chutney and a sauccison sec, or pair it with a grilled bone in Ribeye and smashed potatoes.
2018 Chateau Magneau Graves Blanc, Bordeaux, France.
Today, Graves is one of Bordeaux’s most dynamic areas. The biggest revolution has occurred in the quality of Graves dry white wines. Graves white are now more aromatic, fresh and well made; some of them with a distinctly exotic edge, with tropical fruit and a New World tang. - The Bordeaux Atlas, H. Duijker & M. Broadbent
The wines of graves are well known for their elegance, beauty, and quality. This Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle is spot on. It has an extroverted and seductive bouquet. Ripe stone fruit blended with melon and rich citrus and a lean minerality on the finish. It is the blend that makes this harmonious progression of flavors work so well. That is intentional. Each varietal is fermented alone in stainless to preserve the integrity of each in aromatics and flavor. The wines are blended before bottling the spring after harvest. I love this one. I would serve this with pan seared halibut and sauteed winter greens.
2019 Ametzoi Txacolina, Basque Region, Spain. This is a brand new one for the shop, and I fell fast for the ripe fruit and high acidity of this delicious Spanish wine. The winemaker is a pioneer, and in fact, is responsible for the first rose from the region. For his Txakolina, he uses a very traditional, old school approach to wine making. The wine is fermented in stainless steel to maintain a delicate, effervescent character and its signature mousse, which simply cannot be achieved through modern methods. Ignacio’s wine has abundant tropical fruit on the nose, it is light and fresh with a touch of natural effervescence, and there is a wonderful complexity of flavors. This is not a rich wine, but it is complex, so it hit the mark for my theme. It’s intensity of flavor takes me to warmer climes, and that is just fine. Try it with stir fry or take out sushi, turn up the heat;)
2019 Bisson “Bianco dele Venezie” Vino Frizzante, Liguria, Italy. I resist favorites in the shop. For one, I really do love all of my wines and cheeses, but let’s be honest (I mean, even my brother knows I am Sal’s favorite!), it is impossible not to be partial to one or two. The long and short of it is that I love this wine. I love it so much, I should marry it! Why, you ask. Well, to begin with, the bottle is curious with a traditional beer cap closure. I love the irreverence of that! Then pop it, and immediately, the salinity hits you like an ocean spray on the Ruggles bend of the Cliff Walk on a stormy day. In the glass it sparkles, and the fizz settles into a soft bubble that is gentle on the tongue. The wine tastes of a pear that has ripened to just the beginning of fermentation. There is sweet and sour, tart and refreshing fruit and effervescence that leaves the palate clean and ready for the next bite. It is nothing short of divine. It is a wonderful aperitif, but it is great with fatty foods like a bahn mi or croque monsieur. Thirsty?
2018 Deforville Dolcetto d’Alba. The DeForville wines also have a special place in my heart. I visited the winery in 2014, and the family welcomed me as if I were royalty, inviting me into their home and their winery, making me a treat and the very best cappuccino that I have ever had. Their warmth is felt in their wines, each one invites you into the glass , to the table, to the conversation. The Dolcetto is arguably the most food friendly of all of their wines. It is intensely and powerful visually, aromatically, and on the palate, but also has a soft touch that means it can pair with lighter foods, too. I get a lot of tart rip cherry and blackberry, touch of blue berry, and then a wonderful earthiness. It is juicy, but also has tannins that make it well balanced. My go to for this is lamb chops, pan roasted with lots of rosemary.
2018 Mas de Gourgonnier Rouge, Provence, France. I fell for this tall glass of water long before I owned a wine shop, and truth be told, it could be responsible for that career change. If you have ever heard the term Garrigue, which describes the quality and character of Provencal wines, but have wondered exactly what that means, drink this and you will know. Garrigue refers specifically to the low lying brush that is common to most Mediterranean regions, but when we are talking about wine, it means more than that. It means a particular smell of the region, a taste that is associated with wine, and the texture of the wine. When the wind is warm in the season just before harvest, you can taste it—it is chalky, herbaceous, ripe with summer sunshine, and dry from the Mistral winds that dry the grapes. Take the ripe juice of that warm climate, and imagine those flavors swirling in your glass. Did you just swoon? The perfect dish is a roasted chicken with herbs de Provence, a pan full of vegetables that have roasted in the drippings under the chicken and a loaf of crusty bread.
Collector Wines
2008 Lopez de Heredia “Tondonia” Rioja Reserva Tinto, Rioja, Spain. This is a winery whose central message mirrors my own. From their website,“Our current and future promises can be summarized by two ideas that have always epitomized López de Heredia: Professionalism, as artisan winemakers, offering the consumer a distinctive product of supreme quality. Ethic, promoting the well being of all those who work within our bodega by contributing to the happiness of our friends and customers and giving to society the best of our hopes and dreams.” This is a special wine, and you will be rewarded for patience, though you will not suffer, should you decide to drink it now.
The vintage was solid for Rioja, favorable weather through harvest, and the wine reflects that. I is wonderful that after 135 years of wine making, they can hold a wine until it is ready to enjoy. The color is vibrant and deep red with an amber quality. The nose is sherry like, with dried fruit and vanilla, The palate is rich, dry, and smooth with nuanced flavors of cherry, fig, tobacco, mushroom, dried leaves, and earth, The tannins are still firm, but softening and support the concentrated and complex flavors. After each sip, I like to exhale and enjoy the lingering flavors of earth, spice, and vanilla. This is a satisfying wine. It wants a big, rich meal, like Olla Podrida!
2019 Gorrondona Blanco Txakolina, Basque Region, Spain. This winery is located in the region of Bakio (basque Region), in the far northern most part of Spain, in a valley between two Mountains—Sollube and Jata, where it sits at about 500m above sea level. The vineyard is sloping, so very difficult for growing and harvesting, but that always makes for better wines. The family farms organically and uses traditional pergola shaped planting to allow for natural cooling and drying by the wind. This allows for longer hang times, and for the fruit to reach its phenolic maturity before being picked. This is important for the balance of flavor and the balance of Ph and acid in a wine. In other words, this gives the wine character and personality that is unique to the soils in which the vines are grown.
This white wine, while light and fresh, is complex and unique. It combines crisp freshness with exotic fruits and minerality and lingering floral notes. Because of its complexity it has a roundness in the mouth with a good balance of acidity and structure.. The varietals 95% Honborrrabi Zuri and 5% Mune Mahatsa produce an extremely expressive wine that would lend itself to a winter meal of stewed vegetable or roasted fish.
