Indulgence—NWCG Wine Club 

June 2021 Wine Notes 

It is that wonderful fertile and at times, equally frustrating “shoulder season” when the weather shifts dramatically from one moment to the next, at lunch I want a crisp salad and by dinner time, I want something that will take the chill away.  Either way, I am happy to be garnishing, cooking, seasoning liberally with the fresh herbs that are spilling from our potted garden on the steps.  My warmth comes from fresh chives, garlic, spring onions, and fresh spring radishes that give my salads bite and spice.  My culinary inspiration comes from the simplicity of these herbs this month, and the wines that pair best  with them are all an example of tipicity of place and character.  Surely my selections for June are a reflection of an attitude of acceptance of the place where we live and the fresh produce that nature gives us. 

To begin with, the Value 3 pack offers you a red, a white, and a rosé for the season—freshness is a critical component in all three, which is a reflection of acidity but also the way in which the wine is vinified.  The NV Broadbent Vinho Verde made under the watchful gaze of Bartholemew Broadbent maintains the freshness and spritz of its traditional character by minimizing malolactic fermentation and by bottling immediately and shipping in refrigerated containers.  Broadbent is committed to the idea that his wine will taste as it would if you were sitting in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal.  The grapes, 50% Loureiro, 40% Trajadura, & 10% Pedernã, are pressed gently and co-fermented to allow for the flavors to marry before bottling, when they get an injection of CO2 to ensure that spritzy quality.  This is a simple wine that is easy to throw back when the sun is shining brightly upon us and the imminence of summer warmth is encouraging us to build a beautiful salad from early lettuce and radishes! Similarly, the 2020 Cherche Midi rosé is traditional Provençal style, smooth, approachable, and easy like a porch swing in a summer breeze.  Light and easy drinking with a touch of white peach, melon, and just a bit of minerality that gives the wine a nice soft texture. If you enjoy Provencal rose, this one is for you! 

For those cooler moments of early summer, enjoy a glass of 2019 Antonio e Raimondo Piemonte Barbera. The dark, berry nose is seductive, the wine is fresh, soft, and alluring on the palate. The Barbera grapes are grown on the hills of Alba in the Piedmont in Northern Italy, where the sun is hot in the summer, but the cooling Alp effect and the regions continental winter climate means that wines maintain their freshness. This is an ideal choice for when you fire up the grill and get a little char on some thick cut porkchops.  I tried it last night with Shartner Farms Green Pepper Jelly rubbed on the pork before grilling, boiled new potatoes with loads of butter and fresh chives, and a big salad of greens from Paradise Farms with thinly sliced radishes, spring onions, and thyme finished with a malt vinegar dressing.  The Barbera was silky and easy, elevating a simple Tuesday night supper! 

To round out the Value Wines for June, I added a few other gems that are intended to illustrate traditional character. 2019 Pallus Halozan White comes to us from the steep hills of Stajerska in Slovenia where the long cool winters and hot dry summers produce fruit that is intense and very aromatic, light and fresh.  The wine has a youthfulness on the palate that invokes for me the crack of the bat, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the sounds of summer fun.  Halozan is a blend of Welschriesling, Riesling, Chardonnay, Furmint, and Pinot Blanc, producing an intriguing complex flavor that blends tree fruits, with citrus and minerality.  You could enjoy this as an aperitif, all on its own, but it would be lovely with a platter of fresh, young goat and sheep’s milk cheeses.   

For the reds, I wanted to provide the option of something a bit lighter than the Barbera and another that would offer a richer wine for a cooler summer evening.  The 2020 Aupa Pipeño is a blend of Pais and Carignan from the southern Maule region of Chile.  It is made traditionally with intention to produce a classic example of old world style Pipeño. It is light in color with bright berry notes, aromatic herbs on the nose that smell like you are sitting among my potted herb garden.  The fruit on the palate is easy, bespeaking a summer moment in itself.  I suggest a slight chill on this one, so you really get the lift from its lively acidity.  It would be wonderful with grilled fish or lighter meats and vegetables, but I am going to enjoy it with one of my favorite Greek treats, grilled tomato and feta drizzled with olive oil and fresh lemon juice and torn pieces of fresh basil!   The 2020 Domaine de la Patience Merlot takes the palate in another direction! Variety is the spice of life, they say, and I want to give you a lot of options, since mother nature does the same. This wine comes from a very small family estate in Costieres de Nimes, and it is named after the aromatic herb La Patience that grows wildly all over the vineyard.  Like this herb, growing naturally where he was born, Christophe Aguilar makes wine that is steeped in tradition, in a vineyard that was farmed by his grandfather.  The wine has deep cherry notes and a dark purple color, it smells of ripe plums and lots of herbs, which translates for me onto the palate—plum, blackberry, and fennel, sage, and thyme.  I want grilled sausages, bell peppers and eggplant, tahini, and couscous with preserved lemons with this wine. 

The Select Level wines are intended to further exemplify traditional methods and the resulting character, so these wines should please you with some familiarity or provide a sense of distinct traditional flavors and styles.  To begin with, a classic Southern Rhone rosé, 2020 Gour de Chaule Rosé is made from a direct to press method.  The juice spends a short period of just hours on the skins and a cold stabilization follows.  The wine is crisp and fresh, and yes, it is dry, which means there is no residual sugar.  It has a darker hue than many rosés from the region, but the Cinsault, Grenache, Mouvedre blend results in wine that is dominated by flavors and aromas of fresh macerated strawberries and a hint of mint.  This one is best enjoyed all on its own, in my opinion, though it can handle food, it is almost a shame to muddle it!  For food, grab the Gruner! In 2007 Christina returned to her family’s estate in Carnuntum just east of Vienna to make wine simply and naturally, as her family has done for generations on the land.  She uses what one might call a primitive wine making technique that gives the wine a suggestion of simplicity but not without tension and nerve.  The wine is a joyful expression of Gruner that has a real vibrancy to it that balances the somewhat richer “melony” fruit on the front palate.  I like the crisp pear notes with lemon zest, and that touch of peppery spice on the finish that makes the wine an ideal pairing for Indian or Asian spices. Keep a few bottles of this 2020 Christina Gruner Veltliner on hand this summer!  

For another aromatic summer white that would pair well with your spicy dishes, try the 2020 Otto’s Constant Dream Sauvignon Blanc. It has all the ripe and zesty grapefruit, lemon, and lime with peach and melon notes that New Zealand SB is known for.  If you find yourself typically grabbing a French Sauvignon Blanc, give this new world wine a try.  You will see the distinction immediately.  Otto’s SB is less flinty or earthy than its French counterpart, and it has more tropical fruit and citrus notes.  It is refreshing, tart and crisp.  It is the flavor of the waves turning onto the dry beach sand—if one could bottle that!  

For reds, I have included three distinctly different styles reaching across cultures and continents to provide you with some choices to handle June’s unpredictable weather! For a lighter meal after a hot afternoon on the water, grab the 2020 Rogue Vine Pipeno Tinto; when you need something a little weightier for grilled meats, enjoy 2019 Fitapreta Touriga Vai Nua Tinto; and, when you need to warm yourself or seek a little more elegance, open up the 2016 Chateau Vieux Chevrol.   

Leo Erazo and Justin Decker began making Rogue Vine Pipeño Tinto in 2011 in a garage in Concepcion, Chile, where they met while teaching at the University.  They make wines from the Nipas and Guarilihue subregions of the Itata Valley, from hillside vineyards that are dry-farmed bush-vines, some of which are over 100 years old and the soils are comprised of decomposed granite with a mix of clay and quartz.  The winemaking is simple and natural, which means using native yeast, concrete globes, old barrels, with minimal or no sulfur prior to bottling (like all the wines that I curate for you!).   These guys are focused on promoting the rich culture and history of this region’s rural farming community, and the result is a very traditional light bodied red that is a blend of Cinsault, Pais, and Carignan.  It is easy to drink, but don’t mistake that for simplicity.  The wine is compelling, so sip it on its own before pairing it with those grilled meats and vegetables. 

At Fitaperta in Alentejo, Antonio Maçanita rides a fine line between tradition and innovation.  His process is traditional and natural, so he maintains the flavor profile of Portugal’s national grape—Touriga National but he employees a carbonic method that maintains a freshness that is a surprising new take on this wine.  Via Nua, loosely translates to “going naked,” or for Antonio this means no blending and no oak.  Instead, his short elevage happens in stainless steel, so the wine showcases the regional plushness with a lighter expression.  I absolutely love this wine.  Fruit, floral, and finish, it is Touriga, but its style is so wonderfully surprising that it makes for a whole new way of knowing this grape. Rich intense flavors—blackberry, plum, and blueberry, comingle with lighter fresh flavors of anise and rose petal.  It is the perfect wine for a cheese and charcuterie plate, so why work any harder than that?  If you are inspired to throw something on the grill, I suggest pork with this one, it wants the sweetness of that meat! 

I cannot resist throwing in another Merlot for your June table because it has that ideal balance of freshness and intensity of fruit flavors.  This one comes to us from the lieu-dit Chevol, at Chateau Vieux Chevol, where the Champseix family has been making wine the same way for many, many generations. What is popularized now at “natural” wine making is an age old tradition for this family run winery, which means to make wine that grows from grapes that flourish naturally and produce delicious wine with minimal intervention from the wine maker. (Yes, this is my mantra, and you have heard it before, but it bares repeating.) Jean-Pierre explains that the acidity of the clay soil of his area naturally gives freshness to the wines, as well as its fragrant aromatics.  To maintain those elements in the wine, the land is worked by hand, the grapes are all hand harvested, and fed by gravity into stainless steel fermenting vats, after press, the wine undergoes a gentle, untouched elevage for a year, and then is allowed to settle for natural clarification without filtering.  All of this simple work produces a Merlot, with just a pinch of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, that is supple with plum, berry and cherry notes, firm but approachable tannins and a wonderfully juicy fresh style.  This one is food flexible, you can enjoy it with a lamb chop on the grill with some rosemary and thyme, or you can get creative in the kitchen and pair this some a Szechuan Steak—it can handle the heat! 

For a couple of wines that suit the Collector, I included two very special reds that will elevate your early summer table. The 2017 Mullineux Syrah Swartland is a perfumed and alluring Syrah from South Africa.  It has surprising spicy citrus notes that are balanced with black fruits and violets.  It is elegant and rich but with restraint, so it has powerful flavor without a heavy handedness.  What I find so compelling is its silky texture that is supple and also fresh because of the wine’s natural acidity.  The wine is a true expression of the shale and shist soils, allowed to showcase itself because of the gentle, whole cluster fermentation with indigenous yeasts.  Again, this is natural wine, without intervention or manipulation, and the result is a natural intensity that is balanced by freshness, making these ideally suited to enjoy with food.  Syrah is made with lamb on the mind and South Africa is known for their braai, so fire up the grill for this one, and harvest loads of those herbs—sage, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.  I want earthy flavors with this wine. 

2002 Chante Alouette Cornell St Emilion is yet another Merlot in the June mix, and one with nearly twenty years of bottle age.  It is a treat to get my hands on something with age, so when another case of this popped up, I jumped at the chance to put it back into the club for June.  If you are lucky enough to have been a member for the last year, you may remember this one (and you will be happy to see it again).  The wine is holding its freshness while showing all the style and maturity of its age.  Chante Alouette Cormeil is situated in a tiny lieu dit, just about a mile from the magical medieval city of Saint Emilion, where the Deloi family has been organically farming since 1818.  Samuelle is the winemaker now, and she is continuing the traditional methods of farming and vinification that her family established long ago.  She makes a gorgeous wine—layered, nuanced, subtle, with richness of flavor and texture.  Mostly Merlot, but with a small amount of Cabernet Franc and an even smaller amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is juicy, with a combination of black and red fruits, mint and sage herbal notes, and a tertiary layer of leather and tobacco.  It calls for meat, but I would avoid the grill with this one, its mature elegance would pair better with a pan seared steak, or some thyme sautéed mushrooms for a vegetarian option...that said, I think I will have both! 

Understanding and celebrating typicity does not preclude us from enjoying and commending innovation.  In fact, just the opposite.  We appreciate creativity when it is an intervention into an ongoing conversation.  All of these wines provide an education into the character of particular grapes from specific places, the wonderful world of wine allows for this conversation to be never-ending, so let’s keep it going. 

Cheers, happy summer time eating, dinking and thinking, 

Maria 

Wine Club is Ready!!

 Responsible Indulgence—May 2021 

As I mentioned in the email that announced the release of the May Club Wines, my theme for May is Spring Rain, a hint of Summer Sunshine with one last Winter Breeze. I am such a New Englander, can’t help but talk about the weather!  That said, we are here on May Day, having survived another winter, and there is abundant sunshine, our vegetation is starting to pop, greens are alive, hyacinths are perfuming the air, and I have a skip in my step. I had a salad last night made with fresh local lettuce that was so flavorful and crisp, which was followed by an herbed risotto that was filled with freshly cut herbs from the pots just outside my friend, Camille’s kitchen.  We enjoyed that along with some perfectly grilled steaks and a glass of the 2016 Lyre White. It is rare that we get to try something with a little bottle age, particularly a white, and this one is a treat.  It is still singing with freshness and character.  So often the commonly held belief is that white should be enjoyed on release, but this, like so many rules, is just not true.  So go ahead and throw on some white jeans and enjoy a glass of this wonderful aromatic white from the Southern Rhone.  There is a nice richness to this white that comes from the varietals, Grenache Blanc, Uni Blanc, and Viognier, that in harmony give the wine its freshness and abundant fruit balanced with richness of texture and depth of flavor.  You will want an extra bottle, and I recommend that you grab one quickly, as I only have a couple of additional cases! 

Along with the Lyre, in the Value Super 3 Pack, you will enjoy the newest release of 2020 Tintero Rosato and the 2017 Quinta da Roga, which fulfill the thematic the summer warmth and winter breeze, respectively.  The Tintero will surprise you with its touch of effervescence on the tongue, dancing across your palate like a spray of ocean water.  It has all the lovely berry fruit of a Piedmont Barbera based rosato with a little sparkle to brighten the freshness.  Enjoy this as a starter to your meal along with some cured meats, or take it along on your first beach afternoon to refresh you!  Later open up that Poente to bring a little warmth to your meal.  This is a red blend from the Douro region of Portugal, with Touriga National, Touriga Franca, and Sousao (which is just fun to say!), and it captures the depth, warmth, and lushness of the region in a balanced and delicious red.  This wine can handle a lot of different meals without overwhelming because while having intensity of flavor, it is stylistically lighter than one would expect.  Try it with pan seared pork chops or get busy in your kitchen and make some Portuguese Wild Boar Stew that is specific to the Douro Valley, where this wine hails from. 

For the Value 6 pack, you also received, the 2018 Piquemal Tradition, the 2016 Barriobera Crianza Rioja, and the 2020 Tintero Bianco.  These continue my theme, bringing joy to our May table in three distinct ways.  If you have a hankering for a medium bodied red with lots of red berry fruit and a touch of spice on the finish, grab that Piquemal.  Grown and produced in the Laguedoc-Roussillon region of France by a female wine maker, who brings elegance to a region that is known for power.  The wine is dark in color and has alluring aromatics, particularly a lovely anise that I cannot resist.  The supple mouth feel and tannins make my mouth water in anticipation of a bite of ratatouille with a roasted porkloin made with loads of  fresh fennel.  The wine is traditional in its style and flavors, unmistakably Southwest of France, but adds an elegance that elevates the wine far beyond its mid-teen price point.  The Barriobera is a red built more like a fortress, intense Tempranillo, aged two years in oak barrel before bottling—it is big in flavor and style with good tannic structure and acidity that still maintains its freshness and zippiness.  It is ideally suited for grilling, and we are all dying to get out there and start up that charcoal (or maybe you do it all winter?).  The char of the grilled foods, from asparagus to steak will pair up to the intensity of this rioja and its surprising charred tomato paste note that I get on the finish.  Let me know if you taste it too! 

When you need a palate cleanser or perhaps you decided to grill some fresh local scup for dinner, grab that 2020 Tintero Bianco Secco, it is a dry, slightly fizzy, fruity white that would make a great aperitif.  The Tintero wines come and go so quickly, that I gave you both the rosato and the white, so you would not miss out.  These will sell fast, so if you love them, let me know to hold some back for you.  Elvio Tintero blends Favorita, Moscato, Arneis, and Chardonnay to give this wine a serious mouthwatering expression, with loads of fruit—apricot, peach, citrus, apple, oh my! After gardening all day, you need something refreshing, so have this one chilled and ready to go.  The spritz, created by a small dose of unfermented Moscato at bottling, will delight you! 

The Select Wines for May follow the same theme, combining some lighter wines to refresh the palate, a couple medium bodied wines for elegance, and a couple with a bit more muscle to satisfy a hankering for greater intensity.  To begin with, the 2018 Big Flower Petit Verdot Rosé has all the freshness that we want in a rosé, balanced that with an intensity of flavor.  It is packed with deep berry notes, and for me, I get wild Maine blueberries.  It is not the big sweet blueberry that we get at the supermarket, but rather the earth, blueberry with just a hint of sweetness, and throw in some watermelon and these lively floral aromatics.  It will pair beautifully with a Mother’s Day brunch! You could follow the rosé with Ginny Poval’s Bordeaux Blend, 2016 Arboretum, which I also included for an interesting counterpart to her rosé.  The Arboretum combines four of the five Bordeaux blending grapes—Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot, and (that’s right) Petit Verdot, the very same grape used for the rosé.  As with all of her wines, they are organically farmed in Stellenbosch at an altitude of 200 meters of largely granite soils. Like most wines that I carry, she hand harvests to ensure quality and care, gently pressed after fermentation is completed, and then oak aged for about a year before bottling.  It is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant, so expect some tobacco notes on the nose and an intensity of flavors like plum and cassis with some tannins for structure. You can certainly add this one to the brunch, as well; it likes the richness and fat of cheeses, eggs, bacon, and pairs great with charred leeks on the grill. Mom will enjoy it, and so will you!   

The other whites in the May selections, include 2020 Cerro La Barca Vegas Altas Orange wine and the 2018 Tendu Vermentino from Matthiasson.  I offer these to you for two distinct wine experiences, but also because these are not easy to get your hands on, and as club members you get those before anyone else.  This is a chance to learn a little while enjoying two delicious wines.  The Vegas Altas Orange is made with a native Iberian grape called Cayetana and comes from the Extremadura region of Spain, and is made with skin contact, which gives it its orange name and color.  Orange wines are all the rage right now but are a very old, traditional method of making white wines with red wine methods.  In other words, rather than going directly to press, the grapes macerate for a period of time while fermenting to give the juice color, flavor, and tannins, just as red wines are made.  The result is a deeply aromatic, richer, very flavorful and more intense white wine that often has color ranging from light amber to orange and even to brown.  The wines are very interesting and quite delicious.  This one is dry, with a touch of orange marmalade for me, lots of citrus, and a hint of pulp, finishing with a little earl grey tea.  I am curious what you think, and I am certain you will love how refreshing this wine is. Try it with a big spring salad, sushi, or a big bowl of ramen. 

For a contrasting white wine experience, chill the 2020 Tendu Vermentino.  Interestingly, I would recommend similar foods with this wine, but this is not all that surprising, as it has similar flavor profiles just packaged differently.  Where the Vegas Altas is nurturing and comforting, the Tendu is pretty.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that pretty means simple.  This wine is deliciously complex.  The aromatics sing of spring hyacinth and daffodils, and the fruit is full of citrus—more lime and grapefruit than orange—and green apple, and it also has a subtle almond paste (not so much sweet as richness with a little nutty thing) on the finish and loads of minerality.  I love this wine, and highly recommend.  If you are a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, you may have a new summer favorite! 

If you are looking for a red that is lighter than the Arboretum, the 2019 Domaine de la Cote de Berne, Morgon Gamay from Beaujolais is popping with cherry fruit, a soft acidity, and light tannins, all of which provides a gentler option.  Following a long standing family history of winemaking that dates back to 1870, Rémi Sadrin uses a semi-carbonic maceration in concrete vats to produce a lovely approachable red that is wonderful just to sip on or will elevate a meal.  Semi-Carbonic is a method of wine making that allows the fermentation to begin without destemming or crushing the grapes, which results in is a more gentle expression of fruit.  It is often used with Gamay, and I love these wines for their flexiblity, playfulness, and freshness.  For a bit more intensity, you also have the 2018 Gaspard Cabernet Franc.  In Goldilocks terms, this one is just right.  This Loire Cabernet Franc is medium bodied, but has a wonderful intensity of flavors that range from strawberry to bell pepper to pencil lead and chili paste. (No, I don’t eat pencil lead, but I have licked the tip, and so have you, so you know what I am talking about!)  It has more tannins than the Gamay, which give it texture on the finish and a dryness on the palate, so pair it with some fat to offset that, like Lyonnaise potatoes or baked pasta. I love lasagna with Cab Franc!! I  also like my Cab Franc with a little chill on it, just leave it in your wine fridge, or pop it into your regular fridge for about 30 minutes before your drink it.  Both Gamay and Cab Franc have abundant fruit, which lend themselves to the Spring Table, so get to your local farmer’s market and start cooking! 

For those who opted for the Collector’s Wines this month, you have a real treat ahead.  The Bret Brother’s wines from the southern areas of Burgundy are made in very small production and are very hard to get your hands on: they come and go in a snap!  For a little twist this month, I am highlighting the white, while the baby brother red tags along for the ride.  The 2014 Morgon, Les Charmes is the red and is from Beaujolais, and the 2015 Soufrandiere, Pouilly-Vinzelles  Climat Les Quarts is a stunning Chardonnay from the Macon.  These are wines that transport you to the land and culture of the place.  The Bret Brothers, two brothers who returned to the place of their childhood to make wine together, believe in terroir, and they love the Pouilly-Vinzelles for its unique expression of place.  “Why not walk, listen and smell ? You are in the middle of the ploughed vines of la Soufrandière in Pouilly-Vinzelles Climat « Les Quarts », this terroir we think is one of the best in Burgundy, because we are deeply in love with it, but it could be that we have deep conviction. The earth here is soft, aerated, smelling of liquorice. It is alive. The Terroir is present, simply, surely. The climat « Les Quarts » is undoubtedly the best of appellation Pouilly-Vinzelles. 
 
The almost magic position of the South-East facing 40 to 68 year-old vines of Chardonnay here, plus the living clay and limestone soil (Bajocian with a lot of siliceous crystals) give birth to wines for the long term. A great Burgundy wine : a citrussy mineral nose and balance, complexity and richness in the mouth.” bretbrothers.com  This Chardonnay is a show stopper for me with its balance of richness and delicate character.  It is classic Chardonnay done so well that you want to sip it slowly to make it last.  This wine has the capacity to pair with a wide variety of foods because it is so spectacular, full flavored and rich, but I would suggest roasting some local monkfish with a spring risotto. If you can find some ramps, work with them, as their herbal bitterness contrasted to the fruit in this wine would be delicious. 

The Gamay, like so many wonderful Cru Gamays from Morgon has a leaning toward the character of Pinot Noir because of the more prevalent tannin structure.  These old organic vines give the wine character and complexity and depth of flavor that ranges from red berries to dark cherry and a little herbal quality that I just love.  These flavors start on the nose, this one has serious aromatics, so enjoy that before your first sip, but you won't be able to resist her charms very long!  I want stuffed roasted meats with this one, along with a big pot of barigoule, so go out and find some baby artichokes! 

Enjoy all the wines & give me feedback!  Remember to Eat Drink & Think! 

Cheers, Maria