: 2007 MAS DEL PERIE CAHORS 'LA ROQUE'
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CHATEAU GAILLARD SPARKLING TOURAINE BLANC 'CUVEE CHARLOTTE VOYANT'
The Loire is one of the great unsung regions of
the world for making inexpensive but high quality sparkling wines.
The cool climate gives the wines plenty of acidity to work with,
making them bright and refreshing, but they purposely don’t
try and make the wines high end to compete with Champagne, so
they maintain an ease and simplicity about them, mirroring in
some ways the apple and pear ciders from Normandy just to their
North. The Loire is also the heart of the organic and biodynamic
farming movement for wines, and you find many small, extremely
competent producers like this creating quality wines using very
traditional means and methods. This wine is predominantly Chenin
Blanc, which is the grape for sparkling wines from Vouvray (another
store favorite), but unlike Vouvray this wine shows off the drier,
earthier side of the grape. Aromas of white fruits and flowers
are accompanied by a yeasty or grape skin note and hints herbs
and mushroom. In the mouth the fruit is much brighter, but the
dry earthy flavors still show through, drawing out more complexity
and lengthening the finish. This is a great value for a holiday
bubbler that is miles away from generic fizzy pop wines.
Regular price $13.99, $11.89/case
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2006 MADISON RIDGE MERLOT SOUTH EASTERN AUSTRALIA
As we reach Christmas party season, we all attend get-togethers
with a broad spectrum of wine and beer appreciation. While we
are always fans here of unique out of the mainstream wines that
will shock the populace, we understand the need for a good ‘safe’
wine as well, something that will bring smiles to as many people’s
faces as possible. Australian Merlot may not be the most intellectually
inspiring wine choice, but it’s rich, smooth, and drinks
well above it’s price point, which is difficult to say about
any of the abundant ‘critter labels’ out there today.
Instead of heavy, jammy, one dimensional fruit we have some nice
subtle earth notes and a touch of acidity to lift the cherry,
plum and blackcurrant fruit aromas and flavors. Merlot from Australia
that actually tastes like Merlot instead of Shiraz or Cab; what
a novel concept! It’s a great pop and pour wine for any
get together.
Regular price $9.99, $8.49/case
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2008 MONTEFORTE D'ALPONE 'FROM VERONA' ROSSO DEL VENETO
It may be a little early for romantic wines with hearts on the
label (though be sure to bookmark this one for Valentine’s
Day), but it’s never too early for a tasty wine value. The
label plays up the story of Verona’s most famous love story,
Romeo and Juliet, while the juice in the bottle brings together
the unusual union of the well known Merlot grape and the rare
local grape Raboso. The blend of grapes achieves a much higher
level of success than Romeo and Juliet did, and with significantly
less bloodshed. Juicy and soft red fruit show through on both
the aromas and the palate from the Merlot, with the Raboso giving
some earthy, woodsy notes on the finish that are distinctly Italian.
An ideal lighter to midweight wine for meats and red sauces.
Regular price $9.99, $8.49/case |
2007 CANTINA NALS MARGREID PINOT GRIGIO ALTO ADIGE 'PUNGGL'
This is a wine that we have worked with for quite a few vintages
without missing a beat, featured once or twice in past Select
Six’s, and been a cornerstone of our Italian white wine
selections. This is a smallish producer in the Alto Adige region
of Italy, which presses right up against the mountainous Austrian
border and seemingly has more in common with Germanic cultures
and wines than Italian. One of Italy’s most famous exported
Pinot Grigios originates from here as well, and while we won’t
mention it by name, you can certainly find it on most any chain
store’s shelf costing $5+ more per bottle than this one.
Funny, because Cantina Nals sells fruit to this winery, fruit
that didn’t make the cut for this wine, yet you get charged
more to drink their wine. Ripe round texture shows off the peach
and white fruit of the grape with a nice line of acidity keeping
everything from coming across tropical and heavy, as well as a
light touch of oak aging to give the wine some creaminess on the
finish. This is a great cocktail wine or for dished with a bit
of creaminess to them.
Regular price $16.99, $14.44/case
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2008 PERRIN ET FILS COTES DU RHONE BLANC RESERVE
The Perrin family is well known in the Rhone as
the owners of Chateau Beaucastel, one of the oldest and well regarded
estates in the region. Their top bottling is known throughout
the world as one of the finest Chateauneuf-du-Papes made, and
the excellence in quality shown in that wine extends to all the
wines the family makes. At the recent wine dinner we sponsored
at the Clifton Inn, featuring wines from both the southern Rhone
and their Paso Robles, California property of Tablas Creek, their
wines shone from top to bottom. The evening started with this
wine, a simple yet delicious blend of classic white Rhone grapes,
aged in tanks to preserve freshness, and built to accompany a
wine array of lightweight dishes. Fresh white fruit and flower
aromas with just a hint of citrus pith and seashell give way to
a very clean and refreshing burst of crisp citrus on the palate
bolstered by nice acidity. White Rhones like this are rare at
any price, but ones of this quality and energy for under $15 are
a real treat.
Regular price $12.99, $11.04/case |
2006 LA BASTIDE ST DOMINIQUE COTES DU RHONE 'LES ARGILES ROUGE'
One of the great things about wines from the Rhone is the diversity.
The terrain is varied and undulating providing multitudes of vineyard
possibilities, with parcels of various grape varieties at various
ages of maturity, you have and endless spectrum of choices to
create a wine that fits your desires. And when the weather cooperates
the way it has for the last several vintages, it’s almost
too easy to make them really good. This particular wine will likely
never see a review from any of the major wine critics, even though
the wines from Bastide St Dominique frequently get very strong
recommendations. This bottling is from a single plot of older
vines just above the Chateauneuf-du-Pape borders and created just
for the importer, who just so happens to be based here in Charlottesville,
making us EXTREMELY lucky and overjoyed. A tank aged blend of
predominantly Grenache with smaller amounts of Syrah, Mourvedre,
and Carignan, the wine shows off the classic Rhone wildness, featuring
deep red fruits and ample garrigue herbs on the nose and rich
warming flavors in the mouth. The one thing this bottling may
lack in comparison to the much hypes 2007s from the Rhone is the
aggression and extra intensity, which in many cases is a plus.
That, along with an extra year of evolution in the bottle, places
this wine firmly at its apex of drinkability, able to be popped
and poured pretty much at a moment’s notice with a hearty
dinner or with special guests.
Regular price $18.99, $16.14/case
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