: 2007 PETTRONE SANGIOVESE MENDOCINO COUNTY
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 2007
DOMAINE DE REGUSSE ALIGOTE VDP DE MEDITERRANEE
It is rare in France to see the Aligote grape
used in a tasty value wine. The vast majority of Aligote is planted
in Burgundy, where it plays a distant second fiddle to Chardonnay
and is commonly uprooted to be replanted to Chardonnay. It’s
only in the Chalonnaise area of Bouzeron that Aligote gets a featured
role, and even there it is only the very best bottlings that receive
much praise. In much of Eastern Europe, however, the grape is
fairly fashionable in making clean, bright tasting everyday wine
and sparkling wines from Bulgaria to Azerbaijan, and it is from
these wines that this wine takes its cue. Grown in the Provencal
region of Cotes de Luberon, Aligote does a wonderful job of maintaining
its natural acidity, showing off vibrant peach and Mediterranean
citrus flavors over a decently ripe texture and clean tangy finish.
This is an ideal wine for Spring salads and light seafood, and
a must have for the warmer seasons ahead.
Regular price $10.99, $9.34/case
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2006 TERRA VENTOUX COTES DU VENTOUX ROUGE
You are likely to hear the two following phrases in abundance
over the next year from Wine Warehouse in Select Six’s,
Insider Picks, and various other specials we do: 1) “The
newly arriving 2007 wines from the Rhone are RIDICULOUSLY good,
and are great buys!” 2) “The ONLY thing wrong with
the 2006 vintage in the Rhone is that it came sandwiched in between
two ridiculously good vintages, and the wines are great buys!”
It’s going to be an embarrassment of riches, with immense
diversity in flavors and styles found even in the value wines
between $10-$20. To help you sort through them, keep in mind the
2007s for the most part are very rich and dense in fruit and will
be great for aging or drinking now with a good deal of decanting,
while the 2006s are less dense and intense (but only compared
to 2007), more subtle, and while definite candidates for aging,
don’t NEED it as much, and many of the value wines are hitting
a great drinking phase right now. Case in point is a wine like
this, hailing from the Cotes de Ventoux just over the Dentelles
Mountains from Gigondas and Vacqueyras, known primarily for making
wines of Cotes du Rhone quality. Syrah based, this wine shows
a rich color and deep plum and blueberry fruit on the nose, with
hints of smoke and spice in the background. The mouthfeel is plenty
rich for the money, but has just started to drop some of the youthful
fatness, entering a silkier phase where the red fruits don’t
show as much jammy character, favoring more dusty spice and hints
of cocoa. This won’t make terribly old bones in anyone’s
cellar, but will provide endless amounts of great drinking over
the next few years, perfect for any sort of hearty meats as well
as well herbed poultry or game.
Regular price $11.99, $10.19/case
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2005 THOMAS HENRY ZINFANDEL NAPA VALLEY
The Zinfandel grape is usually pigeonholed as making jammy, ultra-ripe
and high octane wines that either wow you or overwhelm you, depending
on your preferences. We always enjoy playing ‘Myth-buster’;
in last month’s Select Six we took it on at the $20+ range
with the Loxton Zin, and this month we take on the value range.
Bargain Zins tend to be very fruity and one-dimensional, so to
find one with complexity and nuance like this is a real treat.
Coming in under 14% abv, the fruit flavors are present but don’t
dominate, giving you hints of briar and spice, even a touch of
smoke and pepper. We also like that this Zin has a bit of age
on it, a sign that it was built with good tannins often missing
in inexpensive bottlings, giving the wine very suave, almost Cabernet-like
structure under the red berry fruit. This is an ideal barbecue
wine, and a good sipper for folks that like Zin but aren’t
in the mood for the high test rocket fuel usually found out there.
Regular price $12.99, $11.04/case |
2006 LAURENT TRIPOZ MACON LOCHE
Most of the vintage related hype in Burgundy tends to center around
the success of the reds, and many people believe that the quality
of the white wines is very closely connected to the quality of
the reds. In truth, the quality of reds and whites in Burgundy
are very much independent of each other, especially those from
the far South region of the Macon. While the reds have swung from
the very average 2004s to the epic in 2005s and back again to
average in 2006, the white wine vintages have remained very steadily
excellent across that time span. The Macon in particular has done
quite well, avoiding many of the extremes in climate that brought
on most of the roller coater variability in the Cote d’Or.
This is a prime example of the quality 2006 has, from a favorite
producer of ours over the last few years. Fully biodynamic production,
which is rare to find in Burgundy for a reasonable price, this
house routinely produces wines of great ripeness and full texture
without intrusive oak, and this vintage continues to set the bar
of quality even higher. Bright gold color, with aromas full of
pears, apples and white fruits that intensify on the palate. While
there is no showing of oak, the texture on the palate is fairly
rich, with very fine acidity that gives the wine a refreshing
sense while not detracting from the wine’s easy drinkability.
This is almost deviously easy to drink on its own, but excels
at the dinner table as well.
Regular price $16.99, $14.44/case
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2007 THIERRY DELAUNAY VDP DU VAL DE LOIRE SAUVIGNON BLANC 'TYDY'
Domaine Joel Delaunay has been a favorite producer
of ours for several years now, making a broad spectrum of Loire
favorites, especially their Sauvignon Blanc from Touraine, good
enough to make anyone forget about Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume within
$5 of them. Thierry is the newest generation of Delaunay working
with the family domaine, and has taken to creating a wine of his
own using purchased fruit from outside the Touraine appellation,
but still fashioned to their exacting standards. The resulting
wine is one of the best values we’ve seen from the Loire
in quite some time, which is saying a lot, but no more than what
we would expect from this producer. Round moist fruit aromas jump
from the glass on first pour that built in citrus intensity as
the wine opens. In the mouth the wine is equally juicy, lacking
only a bit of the penetrating minerality of the Domaine bottlings.
Loire fans will want to snatch this up by the handful to drink
all year long, bright enough to match wonderfully with all sorts
of lighter foods, yet round enough to be enjoyed on its own.
Regular price $11.99, $10.19/case |
2007 GROTTA DEL SOLE GRAGNANO DELLA PENINSOLA SORRENTINA
Owner and winemaker Gennaro Martusciello is famous for making
odd wines at Grotta del Sole, basing most of their production
around the many ancient and largely unknown grapes scattered throughout
the Campania region. While this ‘oenological archeology’
may not result in wines that are destined to become world wide
moneymakers, they do provide vinous snapshots into the culture
of the region, wines with a true and distinct sense of place.
Gragnano is a blend of four local red grapes: Piedirosso, Aglianico,
Olivella, and Sciascinoso, of which Aglianico is the only one
to see any sort of play outside this region. The local Neapolitan
crowd call Gragnano ‘Pizza-Cola’ in reference to its
fizz and cola-like aromas, but also for its insanely perfect ability
to go the classic local pies, easy on the sauce but long on fresh
mozzarella and basil (no deep dish here, please). Black cherry,
cocoa powder, and cola aromas mix with a distinctly rustic Italian
herbal note in the background to give the wine a sense of dried
fruit instead of juicy fruit. In the mouth the fruit hits with
a distinct grapey-ness, but the lingering carbonation helps lift
the fruit off your palate, making room for the savory, slightly
dusty and tannic finish that REALLY starts your mouth salivating
for the next sip or the next slice.
Regular price $14.99, $12.74/case
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