Responsible Indulgence--April 2022
Responsible Indulgence—NWCG Wine Club
April 2022 Wine Notes
Spring has arrived, and it is just in the nick of time. Don’t pack up all your sweaters just yet, Mother Nature is not that simple. We can still enjoy a few more days of cool weather, there will be sun and warmth, and rain, and wet, cooler windy days, as the transition into a new season is neither easy nor quick. April is the cruelest month, teasing us with blue sun filled skies but cool temps and then heavy rains that soak our earth and prepare our gardens. Yes, May flowers, green grass, vegetable shoots, tomatoes in August, they all depend on this month of torturous teasing unpredictable weather, so layer up and think variety. This is my theme for April—so the wines in this month’s selections range from fresh and crisp to dark and brooding, and everything in between.
To begin with, the wines of Tintero were just released, and this is a treat for you Super Value 3 pack folks. This is a family owned and run winery that is now run by the fourth generation in the same traditional methods of local production. Marco Tintero and his wife Cinzia run the estate now in the heart of Moscato country. While the majority of their plantings are devoted to the Moscato grape, they also make a handful of other wines with the same devotion to light, fresh, and delightful wines. Included in that are the three wines featured in my Value Three Pack. This is a real treat. These wines are released in the US and disappear quickly! All of the wines are non-vintage due to regulations in the region.
Tintero Bianco is a blend of Favorita, Arneis, and Chardonnay that are fermented separately and then blended and completed only when an order is filled. They do this to maintain freshness. This wine tastes like fresh spring rain on our first blades of green grass. It is the joy that I felt yesterday in the warmth of our first truly warm spring day. The final vinification step is to add a bit of Moscato, which sets off a second fermentation in the bottle, so we get a light frizzante on the wine. I love this wine chilled with a panino and a salad.
Tintero Rosato is made by direct press, which means that it is Rosato made with intention. No disrespect meant to blends or blead offs, you know I love all of those wonderful pink wines, but this is Barbera pressed and made like a white wine. The color comes from the Barbera skins, and it is the very softest pink. He adds a little Arneis which provides acid and minerality, and well fresh fruitiness—think apples, stone fruit, but also a touch of honey. Lastly, a little Moscato, again this gives the orange blossom and freshness. The result is a lightly frizzante, fresh, complex Rosato that will pair wonderfully with foods, great as an aperitif with cheeses of all sorts, but also could be nice with a roasted pork loin or some grilled artichokes.
Tintero Rosso varies from vintage to vintage dependent upon what the yields are, but generally includes Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, and Cabernet Sauvignon is some combination and always delivers a delicious approachable, enchanting glass of food friendly wine. It is fermented after a cold maceration and fermented in stainless, which maintains a freshness, and is bottled unfiltered, which optimizes flavor. The wine is supple, and has a combination of red and black fruit, berry and cherry with some brambly fruit, likely from the Cab and Nebbiolo. It also has a backbone that makes it more interesting than its mid-teen price point might suggest. It is wonderful with as a sipping red with a cheese and charcuterie board, great with pizza, but also works well with more complex dishes.
Sandy Cove Sauvignon Blanc is a new one for the shop. Admittedly, I am not always keen on SB from New Zealand because I find the grapefruit citrus and acidity too high to be pleasant on the palate, and I find other regions more favorable. That said, never and always are not in my vocabulary. When done right that hyper and intense citrus and acidity has enough fruit and minerality and body to carry it off. Such is the case with this wine. It is balanced and elegant after its short aging on the lees. Lees are the sediment thrown off from the yeast cells, which may not sounds super appetizing, but it gives texture and complexity, and richness of flavor to wines. It gives the wine a complexity but also adds a layer of flavor that invokes bread, toast, cream and stone. No, I haven’t licked any stones lately, but taste the wine, you will see what I mean! Enjoy this one with a salad and some salmon tartar with some Dijon, or with sushi.
JiJiJi is a blend of Malbec and Pinot Noir. A seemingly unusual blend this works. The result is a balance of vibrancy and robust flavor. The vineyard is located at 4600 feet above sea level in stony soils, so the vines have worked hard to produce good fruit and takes character and minerality from the stony and calcareous soils. The wine is easy drinking, smooth, with supple tannins and loads of fruit on the midpalate. A little lift from acidity on the finish, after red fruits and orange peel and mushrooms dance with cocoa and flint. This one would like something richer to pair with, so give it some fat and some salt, maybe a burger!
Jouclary Rouge is a perennial favorite around here, and rightfully so. It is exemplar of my own ethics of wine. The wines are made in Cabardes on the southern slopes of Montagne Noir in the most southern outcropping of the Massif Central. It is a unique climate situated between Atlantic and the Mediterranean. I often describe this wine as Rhone meets Bordeaux, and they also describe it as a place where there is wind from the west and wind from the east. That wind helps contribute to a wine that lasts longer on the vine, growing more slowly to complete phenolic ripeness, developing flavors and character. This is a wine that bespeaks a quality that far outstretches its price. It is complex, balanced, intense, and elevates a meal. I love their new label that celebrates the wines power and elegance. Because it has depth of flavor and ripeness of fruit along with long lasting tannins and a lifting acidity, the wine can pair with a wide variety of foods, but I suggest that you pan sear a pork chop in
For the Select Wines, I want to elevate the game a little, so you will find a bit more complexity and intensity with some possibility for aging.
D'Alfonso del Sordo estate began its history in 1860 when the winemaker Ludovico D’Alfonso was allowed to begin a vineyard and make wine on the property of a land baron named Antonio Del Sordo. In the early 1900’s, the name D’Alfonoso del Sardo was created when Antonio’s son Giovanni adopted Felice D’Alfonso, thus fusing the two families together. Today, Gianfelice runs the estate with his family and works with a focus on local grape varietals, biodynamic farming, and traditional methods of wine production. This white wine is Catapanus and the grape is Bombino Bianco. It is a rare Italian varietal that is pale straw in color, with tropical fruit and savory notes on the nose. It is bright and lively on the palate with a minerality that suggest savory on the finish. It is a very compelling and satisfying white that would handle all those challenging Spring favors very well, so bring out your veggies for this one. Grill some asparagus, roast some brussels’ and beets, add a crisp salad, and some thick, crusted bread, and enjoy!
D'Alfonso del Sordo Casteldrione is made from 100% Nero di Trioia, which more than likely you have not heard of. I love that. This is a wonderful wine from Puglia and is medium to full bodied with intense and impactful flavors of blackberries and a little tart cherry, and dried cranberry. The finish is earthy and has moderate tannins, which makes it great for foods that are a little fatty and salty. It is ideal for tomato sauces, so macaroni and meatballs is my go-to for this wine, but burgers, impossible or not, and steaks would definitely work.
Ostatu Rioja Blanco is 85% Viura/15% Malvasia all old vines grown and vinified organically. Technically the wine is an orange wine, though there is not a color to the juice, but it spends some time on the skins, which gives it body, complexity and tannins. So, for those of you red wine lovers seeking a white that really satisfies, you have found your wine. I recently had a Rioja Blanco and was struck by how much the nose suggested Chardonnay, but the body was so unique. It is dry, full bodied, with richness of texture and depth of flavor—think stone fruit, melon, lemon curd, and also minerals, saline, and lively acidity. This is one you could lay down, but drink this one, and save others. Can you tell I love this wine? Enjoy it with a frittata or some roasted fish, but could handle lighter meats, too.
Clementine Rosé is admittedly a repeat for the club, but worth revisiting. Truth is that we are still waiting on sufficient rosé for the club, and they are coming but not quite yet. When I found a little stash of this wine still available, I grabbed it because while it is wonderful upon release it maintains a freshness while developing some interesting flavors as it spends a little time in the bottle. It is worth considering how a well-made rosé ages a little. I would not suggest holding on to this for more than a couple of years, but it is offering a more mature expression now that has depth of flavor and a softened acidity that is very pleasant and alluring. Still lots of summer berries with candied lemon peel, but now a shift in the acid makes the citrus more like blood oranges dredged in sea salt.
La Clarine Farm Gamay is an example of California doing it old school, all whole cluster, foot-stomped, open top ferment. The wine maker claims to be channeling for Brun, and I commend the efforts. It is delicious. There is an alluring deep color with expressive aromatics—strawberry, tomato leaf, tobacco. It is light on the palate with a smooth richness of texture on the finish, earthy and satisfying. It needs a little air, so give it a little time to open up for you. Serve it chilled with lighter fare, like duck, chicken, or vegetable curries—the fruit is perfect for that spice. Only 119 cases of this made, so enjoy it!
Guimaro Ribeira Sacra Tinto Mencia comes to us from the esteemed Jose Pastor Selections book, which tells you something about the quality of the wines. Okay, there are endless importers of wine, but only a short list of truly good importers out there, and he is one. There isn’t a bad bottle in the book, full stop. This steep terraced and difficult vineyard is one of the most treacherous to work and most beautiful to see. Pedro Rodrigues is the wine maker who has elevated these wines. He comes from a long line of farmers, and named their winery Guimaro in honor of their grandfather, who’s nickname it was. It means rebel, and the work to return to old-fashioned techniques, reclaiming a Mencia of past is part of this rebel tradition. Pedro works toward organic certification while cultivating traditional varietals. His wines are remarkable, and I am so happy to have them on the shelf and as part of the club. The Tinto is old vines Mencia along with a small amount of co-planted native varietals. All hand harvested and simply treated, with no oak. This joven is meant to be enjoyed now, but will reward you if you held it for a few years. It is lush with loads of red fruit and spice, and a talky slate minerality that gives the wine a very seductive silky texture. Enjoy this with roasted or grilled meats.
For those of you who enjoy the Collector level, you are in for a treat.
Brea San Valentino is a remarkable wine with such intensity and depth of flavor that you need to sit down before you drink it. I can tell you that you will love this wine now, but if you can wait, it will get better for about 25 years, at least. They make big Umbrian wines with very long macerations, so the wine needs time. That said, you can decant and enjoy it now. It is 70% Sangiovese with Montepulciano and Sagrantino to round it out. The don’t make a lot, and I get only a case annually, so it went to the club first. It is an exuberant wine with abundance on the nose, spice, black fruit, cedar and sandalwood. There is a gamey-ness to it, the Bea funk, I call it, and it has a compost nature to that smell, always already on the edge, but it is only on the edge. It is the scent of volatility and natural wine, but this wine is meticulously clean. It is ideally suited for full flavored dishes, like osso buco, cassoulet, roasted duck, but you can absolutely create a rich vegetarian kale and gruyere gratin that would be delicious with this wine.
Vadiaperti Coda de Volpe is the white that I chose to accompany Bea in the April pairing, and it is equally wonderful and complex. Since the end of the 19th century, this wine family has been advocating for the wines of Irpina, an historic region in the north of Campagna, where Fiano originates from. Raffaele Troisi now oversees the production of wine at the family estate, where he continues the work of his father before him. That is to celebrate the single varietal production of Finao and Coda di Volpe. His high-altitude vineyards and pure volcanic soils combine to give the wines their unique terroir driven character. They are fresh with lean precise fruit and finesse, texture, and complexity. This is a serious white. Enjoy it with oysters or shellfish dishes, maybe some fresh ravioli tossed with butter and herbs, pea risotto, or barigoule.
Need a recipe? Saveur offers this Barigoule recipe, and it is easy and delicious. Would be great with this white!
Ingredients
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 oz. snow peas, trimmed
1⁄3 cup fresh peas
6 baby carrots with green tops, tops trimmed to 1″, carrots peeled and halved lengthwise
1 bunch pencil asparagus secured with a rubber band, trimmed
1⁄2 tsp. coriander seeds
1⁄4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
4 bulbs baby fennel, trimmed and halved, or 2 medium fennel, quartered
4 bulbs spring onions, greens thinly sliced, white onions peeled leaving stem end trimmed and attached, and halved
4 cups vegetable stock
10 sprigs thyme
5 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 tbsp. sherry vinegar
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Maldon flake sea salt, for garnish
Instructions
Bring a 6-qt. saucepan of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, cook snow peas, peas, carrots, and asparagus until crisp-tender, about 1 minute each for peas, and 2–3 minutes for carrots and asparagus. Transfer vegetables to an ice bath until chilled; drain, discard rubber band from asparagus, and set aside.
Wipe pan clean and toast coriander seeds over medium-high until fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Add 1⁄4 cup oil; cook garlic until golden, 3–4 minutes, and, using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl. Cook fennel and white onions until golden, 6–8 minutes; transfer to bowl with garlic. Add sliced onion greens, the stock, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaf, and vanilla bean; simmer until reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Strain stock and return to pan; whisk in remaining oil, the vinegar, salt, and pepper, and heat over medium. Stir in all reserved vegetables; cook, covered, until vegetables are heated through, 2–3 minutes. Divide vegetables between bowls and ladle broth over the top; garnish with cilantro sprigs and sea salt.
I hope that this all inspires you to eat, drink, and think,
Cheers, Maria
Your Wine Lady