Responsible Indulgence: September Wine Notes
Responsible Indulgence—September Wine Notes
“Keeping it Real”
I am sipping my morning coffee as I sit writing these notes, and it is with great pleasure that I have returned to a cup of hot coffee, which means the morning air is cool and crisp and the hot days of August have passed. I could not be happier about this fact. I love all four seasons, embracing the culinary opportunities of each (not to mention the wardrobe changes!), but I welcome fall above all the others. It is still warm enough to jump in the ocean and there are still a few summer tomatoes lingering at the farmer’s markets, but where August inspired me with raw veggies and the grill, I am ready to turn the oven on again and start roasting all things! It is admittedly, my preferred cooking method for a few reasons, not the least of which is the ease of cleanup, but it is truly about flavor. Roasting brings out an essential intensity that I love to pair with wines. The September selections for the shelves and the club reflect this current culinary preoccupation. As I think about my selections this month, there is also a recurrent theme—approachable wines with intensity and personality that are authentic representations of the typicity of their region of origin. I guess I was seeking a little consistency amidst a time of unrest, unknown, and unpredictable weather, so open a bottle with friends around the table and join me in some comfort.
To begin with, the Super Value wines inspire me to grab a Pat’s Pastured whole chicken and roast it with some root vegetables. Hands down, Pat raises the best chicken available to us in Rhode Island. You can buy one at the farmer’s markets around Rhode Island, but you can also grab them at Windmist Farm in Jamestown. If you haven’t stopped into Martha’s farm, go immediately. It is a treat to take time out of your day and visit the farm, say hi to the goats, sheep, chickens, take in the pastoral landscape, which is so lush and green right now, and then stop in the shop and get your farm fresh eggs, all sorts of meats from Martha’s lamb (the best I have ever eaten) to Pat’s chicken to a wide variety of cuts of steak and pork. There are usually a few treats like local honey, jams, and on a few weekends (soon!) homemade sugared doughnuts and fresh pressed apple cider.
I recently learned a trick that I am so pleased to pass along. Preheat your oven to 450 with a steel pan in the oven, also preheating. While it preheats, prep your chicken with your choice of rubs or treatments. For me, I have been introducing heat into my menus, so I am going to rub it with harissa and sprinkle it with some dukkah. Salt the inside of your chicken liberally and throw a rough chopped onion and lemon inside the cavity of the bird. When the pan and oven have preheated, pull the pan out, add a healthy pour of olive oil and drop the bird in there. Put it in the oven for an hour, and that is it! I am telling you, Pat’s chickens are big, and one hour is all it takes. The skin is crispy, the meat is juicy and tender. In the hour that the chicken cooks, fill a roasting pan with rough chopped root vegetables—carrots, beets, parsnips, celery root, and even those radishes, throw in halved shallots, too and drizzle with olive oil and hit them with lots of salt and cracked black pepper (yes, all of these spices are available at the shop!), and add that to the oven. They will need an hour, too, so shop quickly and get them in there, or prep in advance. This is a simple meal that your prep time should be quick and clean up easy.
Meanwhile, your wines. This meal will feed 4-6, so plan on using all three of the Super Value pack—don't fret, we have more! All three of the wines could pair with this meal, so selecting just one is easy, too. Go for what you feel like. The 2020 Poggio Al Genepri Rosé is a dry rosato from Bolgheri, Tuscany, home of the SuperTuscans. It is a Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It has a boldness of flavor and texture that I find very complimentary to the spice and savory quality of this meal. Fresh, bold fruit on the front, a touch of tart cherry and a wonderful salinity on the finish. If you are coming to mine for dinner, get there a little early, I will open this one while I am cooking with a little chunked parmesan. The 2020 Domaine les Tuileries Chardonnay and her big brother the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon come to us from the south west of France.
Domaine les Tuileries is owned and operated by David Codomié. He is passionate about what he does and is committed to organic farming and producing approachable, classic and well-made wines. Farming organically pushed him to the small appellation of Cevennes, just west of the Southern Rhone in France. The fruit for this easy-drinking, well-balanced Chardonnay is pressed immediately upon harvest, followed by fermentation and aging in stainless steel. It is fresh, fruit-forward, and mineral-driven, with good acidity. It has the essential quality of a chardonnay that I love, green apple, Asian pear, tropical fruits, and lots of minerality. The Cabernet Sauvignon also exhibits the typicity of the region with black berry notes, aromas of spice that will sing with the dukkha, and a soft vegetal note that balances the intensity of its fruit. It has solid structure and good acidity. It out-performs its modest price point!
For the remaining Value wines, my theme remains consistent—approachable but still compelling. I went further south to Portugal for a white that is crisp and fresh. The 2017 Assobio White, a blend of several traditional Portuguese grapes, comes from Herdade do Esperäo, a winery steeped in tradition in the Alentejo Montado ecosystem in Portugal. This is admittedly one of the largest producers that I work with, but their integrated and organic approach to wine and agriculture keeps them on my list! The 2017 white has wonderful aromatics with citrus and tropical fruit notes on the palate. According to José Luis Moreira de Sliva “The 2017 vintage offers a riper fruit aroma and more texture on the palate, resulting from an extremely hot and dry year, but maintaining the freshness that is typical of Assobio wines.” I would enjoy this one with roasted cod, simply done with lots of olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little smoky paprika, on a bed of potatoes tossed with black cured olives and onions. Par-boil the potatoes, then toss with other ingredients, use loads of cracked black pepper, and the put a thick piece of cod on top, squeeze a lemon over the whole thing, and roast at 375 for about 30 minutes.
For second tier Value Reds, I am thinking about a pork loin. My favorite way to cook this comes from my dear friend, Katie Ellis, who would wrap a piece of prosciutto around just about anything and roast it! And, in this instance, she could not be more right in that impulse. Stuff the loin with gorgonzola, toasted pine nuts, and chopped dates, wrap it in prosciutto, and tie it with butcher string, roast at 375 for 12-15 minutes per pound or until your thermometer reads 135. While it rests for 10 minutes tented it will continue to cook but remain juicy. Slice it and serve with something green, like broccolini, which can also roast on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil, or sauté it, but keep it simple. Then grab either of the reds—or both! The NV Elvio Tintero Rosso is a value priced wine that will surprise you with its finesse. It is a blend of mainly Barbera, with a little Nebbiolo and Dolcetto and just a pinch of Cabernet Franc. This is an all-purpose red that is good natured and easy going. It actually works well as a cocktail wine but shines with a wide variety of dishes. It has a great balance of crowd-pleasing fruitiness and bright acidity with some light tannins, all of which makes it great for this dish.
The 2020 Montfrin Cherche Midi Rouge should be your second bottle with this meal. You know that I am never one to suggest over-indulgence, but this dish needs a lot of red wine to keep us heart healthy! This fun easy-going red is a bit bolder than the last, and not surprisingly with a Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon blend from the southwest of France. The name Cherche Midi translates in French to a “noon seeker” or more to the point, a friend who is seeking a free lunch, but I prefer to think of these friends as people who seek good company and a shared meal, so let’s welcome them and offer a glass of this friendly, organic, delicious red.
For the Select Wines, I want to celebrate some perennial favorites; again, these are wines that are consistent, classic, and require no fuss. The rosé was too good not to include in both levels, so I have already sung its praises, but I will add that it is a rosé that can handle tomato, which is not true of all of them. It is that time of the year to take advantage of abundant tomatoes, and there is little I like more than a freshly roasted tomato sauce. This is a dish that is intense and impactful with very little work. I am going to share my secret, and that is don’t work so hard, just roast and blend them. Seriously, put the whole tomatoes top down (don’t worry about coring or peeling) in a large roasting pan, like the one you use for Thanksgiving Turkey. It should hold a flat of tomatoes, roughly 10 pounds. Preheat your oven to 400. Cut the top of a whole head of garlic and place it cut side down in the pan with the tomatoes. Pour a lot of good olive over it, 2 cups is my flavor choice, but you decide for yourself. Roast for an hour until the tomatoes have split and begin to brown on the skin. If they don’t split, feel free to pierce them to help them along. You need the juice. Take a potato masher and squish them gently and roast for 30 minutes more. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. you will be able to pull the core and the skins from the tomatoes easily now, do that, then blend them using an emersion blender. I add a big bunch of parsley and (are you ready for this???) a stick of butter. In all the time it takes to roast, you can rest, read, sip on that rosé, or go for a run, because you know what is coming next, right? PASTA!
You have three tasty reds to choose from, all of which will handle this sauce well, standing up to its fruit and acidity while bringing to it an intensity and spice. 2019 Bolet Cantarelus Ull de Libre starts me up...(I hope you are hearing Charlie’s drum intro right now), with 100% organic Tempranillo from Catalonia. It is all hand harvested and undergoes a natural fermentation in stainless steal, which gives it a wonderful freshness and intensity. It is, of course the bright acidity that makes the wine ideal for pairing with tomatoes, but it also gets a short time in oak, which gives the wine its magical aromatics and touch more tannins. The tannins and acidity balance the ripe fruit on the front palate which makes this wine score big points with me. Similarly, the 2018 Sesti Monteleccio has both richness and brightness. In truth, I would be hard pressed to suggest another red under $30 that delivers this level of quality. It is simply delicious, intense and thoughtful, while wrapping you in comfort. The vines are planted in oceanic sediment, tended to by the father daughter team, Guiseppe and Elisa, and produced under the strict guidelines of the biodynamic rules. This wine is succulent and structured, it is delicious now, but could lay down for a few years, if you can wait for it!
If you are looking for something fleshier, try the 2018 Presqu’ile Syrah. This is a sustainably farmed Syrah that uses partial whole cluster ferment to create a complex and robust wine. It has a lot of juiciness on the front palate with wonderful berry notes which then reveal some cracked pepper and savory flavors of herbs. It has a nice spice on the end, which makes it friendly to our tomatoes, but with this one I am reaching for a tomato focaccia.
I have been working on this recipe for a while, and the trick is patience and an ungodly amount of olive oil. I use fresh yeast, which you can get at most Whole Foods or local specialty markets. If you live locally, call Kathy at Newport Specialty, she has it. You need about 2 TBSP of yeast and 2 cups of hot water (run the faucet until you naturally have to pull your finger away because it’s too hot to your touch), let that sit and pitch for ten minutes. (The remainder of the yeast I cut into pieces and freeze for future use.) I use a Kitchen Aid mixer, but you can do this all by hand if you are ambitious. Take 4 cups of flour, make a well and pour the water/yeast mix into it, turn on the mixer on the lowest speed, add a ½ cup of good quality olive oil. You want to get this dough as wet as you can, while it still holds together. It will pull away from the sides of the bowl, and once it does turn up the mixer to a medium speed and allow it to knead the dough for 5 minutes. Remove from the bowl and work with your hands a little, form into a ball and put in a well-oiled bowl with a damp towel over it. Allow to rise for an hour or more, then press it flat and push your fingers into it, making dimples, folding, folding, folding, making dimples each time, and drizzling with olive oil. After a couple hours of this, shape into a square and leave it alone in a square or rectangle baking dish to rise a final time. I use a lasagna pan, so it is thick. It will rise to the top of the pan, the last time that I make the dimples is just before putting it into a preheated 400 degree oven, and I take warm salted water and dip my fingers into it before pressing them into the dough. That makes for pockets in the bread. Drizzle olive oil on the top, sprinkle with Malden salt and arrange ¼" tomato slices on the top. Then bake for 40 minutes. It is truly beautiful. Pour yourself a glass of Syrah and enjoy!
This focaccia would be a great pairing with both the whites in the Select Level, as both have full flavor and a bit more body than the wines that you have been enjoying this summer. I included the 2018 Esperão Reserve White because it really underscores the quality and finesse that Portuguese wines can deliver. It is a classic Alentejo white, but this is likely a new experience for you. It was a hot late growing season which produced a ripeness on the wine, making it bold, but still maintaining freshness and intense aromatics. It has texture and complexity that would satisfy the most devoted red wine drinkers, and you know who you are. As I mentioned earlier in the notes, this is a winery that produces a large total production, but they make each individual wine with care and a hand-crafted approach—certified organic and sustainable. This is a blend of Antão Vaz, Arinto, and Roupeiro, fermented in both stainless and oak, and aged on fine lees before bottling, all of which contributes to a complex and tasty wine with a balance of citrus and stone fruit, subtle oak and a little spice and herbal notes. It is rich, but still fresh and balanced. It is a food flexible wine, but it wants some food—it can handle all those tomatoes that I talked about, but also could stand up to most meat dishes, too.
Another classic, the 2018 Champalou Vouvray from the Kermit Lynch portfolio is a stunner. Catherine and Didier Champalou set out to join in a long line of wine makers on both sides of their families. Both fiercely independent they set out to do it on their own in the early 80’s, and they have since made a name for themselves, and it is no surprise that they have. This Chenin is produced on 21 hectares of clay, limestone, and siliceous soils (say that ten times fast!), sustainably farmed and reliance on moon cycles traditionally associated with biodynamic viticulture. The wine is elegant, laser sharp but also shows a tenderness that is very compelling. For this wine, I might want potatoes and leeks on my focaccia, but I will save that recipe for my cooking demo. (To view it, follow me on IG @newportwinenchz. I will send out an email, too.)
Lastly, for the Collector’s Level this month, I want to mimic a perfect fall day—still feeling the warmth of the sun with a cool breeze that scrapes those first fallen leaves along the pavement. To do that, I choose the 2020 Tempier Rosé for you to enjoy now, and the 2015 Domaine Leon Barral Faugéres “Jadis” for you to hold.
The Tempier is a favorite of mine that I look forward to each summer, and I have yet to be disappointed. They make rosé very, very well. It is a wonderful story, that charts the beginning of a tradition, establishing the legitimacy of an appellation, and the inspiration for an astonishing portfolio. The Tempier (Peyraud) Family is interwoven into the history of Bandol and that of Kermit Lynch. They celebrate terroir, and I would argue that they produce one of the finest examples of a remarkable rosé, as well as some damn fine reds. Mouvedre is the prominent grape, blended in other regions, but here allowed to dance freely and wildly, and it does!
Here are Kermit Lynch’s notes:
“Of all of the domaines we represent, no other serves more as our cornerstone, stands more in the defense of terroir, and is more intricately interwoven with our own history, than that of the iconic Peyraud family of Domaine Tempier. The pages that Kermit has written about them alone rival those of his dear friend, Richard Olney, who wrote the definitive history of the domaine and was the first to introduce Kermit to the family in 1976. Their story might be considered mythic if it were not true.
When Lucie “Lulu” Tempier married Lucien Peyraud in 1936, her father gave them Domaine Tempier, an active farm that had been in the family since 1834, near Le Plan du Castellet, just outside the Mediterranean seaport village of Bandol. Tasting a pre-phylloxera bottle of Domaine Tempier Bandol (a wedding gift from his father-in-law) inspired Lucien to research the terroir of Bandol extensively. Up until that point, old vineyards planted with Mourvèdre had been systematically replanted to higher-yielding varietals. However, more research not only showed its historical roots to the area, but the grape proved to be more resistant to oxidation, producing wines with great aging potential. By 1941, with the assistance of neighboring vignerons, Lucien worked with the I.N.A.O. (Institut National des Appellations d’Origines) to establish Bandol as its own A.O.C. Needless to say, large-scale replanting of Mourvèdre ensued, and Bandol now requires a fifty percent minimum in all reds. Lucien will forever be celebrated as the Godfather of Bandol, but also as the man who revived Mourvèdre to its former glory. Raising deep and structured wines of such refinement and longevity has made Domaine Tempier truly a grand cru de Provence.
Lulu and Lucien raised seven children, and nourishing family, friends, and wine lovers at table is a regularly celebrated tradition at the domaine. Much of that is attributed to Lulu, the beautiful, Marseillaise materfamilias who has carried on the great Tempier family ritual of serving guests fresh, cool rosé, hearty, soulful reds, and copious amounts of delicious homemade Provençal cuisine. Her traditional hearth cooking has attracted attention throughout France, even bringing Alice Waters over from California to learn in Lulu’s kitchen. When Lucien retired, sons François and Jean-Marie shared management of the domaine with François in the vineyards and Jean-Marie in the cellars. The two made a formidable team. Though Lucien passed away in 1996, and his sons have now since retired, the torch has been passed to the young, energetic, and talented Daniel Ravier, who has just the right savoir faire to carry on the great tradition and style of the domaine.
Beyond our affection and the enduring bonds of our friendship, objectively the celebrity of Domaine Tempier also lies deep in the soils of Bandol. Variations of clay and limestone soils between the vineyards produce wines that are undeniably world class. Whether it is the cult following they have established through their refreshing, age-worthy rosé (once praised by Robert Parker as the greatest rosé in the world), their Bandol Blanc, or the distinctive cuvées of Bandol rouge, the wines of Domaine Tempier stand as the proud benchmark when talking about Provençal wines. Through their passion, pioneering, and advocacy for Bandol, the Peyrauds have become legendary. We are fortunate to have their wines serve as the flagship of our portfolio, and even more grateful to have the Peyrauds and their extended family as cherished friends. If any wine can be said to have soul, it’s Tempier.”
It is a wine with much to offer, and I receive only 3 cases of it, so enjoy it with someone you love!
Similarly, Didier Barral also claims mythic status in the world of wine. This is a Syrah that turned me on to Syrah, before I began to truly understand wine. Syrah is a special grape that requires some time to develop a comprehension of its complexity and depth. Barral’s Jadis will, in the words of Mavis Staple, “take you there.”
Again, the importer’s notes serve so well...
“Didier Barral represents the thirteenth generation to grow grapes in the tiny hamlet of Lenthéric, within the confines of the Faugères appellation deep in the heart of the Languedoc. While his forebears made a living off of cultivating the vine, Didier took the family business to the next level when he began estate-bottling and commercializing his wines on a larger scale in 1993. Named for Didier's grandfather, Domaine Leon Barral is a beacon of revolutionary winegrowing: shortly after founding the domaine, Didier decided that biodynamic practices were the best choice for farming his thirty hectares of vineyards. He has pioneered numerous innovative agronomic techniques with the goal of establishing his vineyards as a self-sustaining ecosystem. This Renaissance man, naturalist, and biodynamic maven commands tremendous respect among his peers for his visionary approach to topics like soil management, pest control, and drought mitigation in his vineyards.
Incorporating biodynamic practices necessitates enormous investment and an uncompromising work ethic. With so much land to farm, it is fortunate that Didier has so much help. His workers of choice? A team of twenty cows, horses, and pigs that roam the vineyards during winter, grazing the cover crops while adding natural fertilizer to the soil. Without compacting the earth the way a tractor would, the animals effectively cultivate healthy microbial activity, bringing mushrooms, ants, ladybugs, earthworms, and other essential life forms, which add important nutrients while aerating the soil. This is the concept of sustainability at its finest, where the ecosystem thrives from the symbiotic relationships Didier has fostered amid the vines.
This approach ultimately translates to tremendously powerful, complex, and age-worthy wines inflected with an earthy mineral note from the schist soils of Faugères. Most of Didier’s vines get full southern sun exposure; in this Mediterranean climate where summer heat waves and drought are constant during the growing season, pruning in the gobelet style shelters the grapes from the blistering sun. Most of his vines are very old—some up to ninety years of age—keeping yields naturally low. Once in the cellar, Didier’s harvest is cared for with the same zeal, although he would consider the wine all but finished once it leaves the vineyard. This level of artisanship was once nearly extinct, had it not been for Didier and the profound influence he is having over other viticulteurs who now see how his work ethic and ideology translates to results.”
Didier Barral is one of the champions of the biodynamic movement in France and is highly respected among his peers for his uncompromising respect for the environment in which he lives and works—meaning the entire ecosystem surrounding his vineyards. Didier’s red Faugères, grown in rugged schist soil, displays power, rusticity, and incredibly fresh, pure fruit. Treat it as you would the wines of Gramenon and Magnon—organic, living beings that demand care and respect. His Faugères ages beautifully in a good cellar.—Kermit Lynch
The wine is intense and invokes for this avid reader the experience of reading philosophers or some of my favorite Modernist novelists, whose dense prose often deeply satisfies and completely mystifies, only revealing itself after I am willing to open myself up for the possibility, and then my mind can soar. I suggest lamb for this one, and you know where to find it!
Cheers, Maria