 Brand new wine to the store, arriving at the perfect time to get into your late Spring/early Summer drinking rotation. Chenin Blanc is one of the noble grapes of the Loire, reaching its most noted levels in Vouvray to the East of Tours and Anjou to the West. Sandwiched in between are the regions of Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur, which are best known for producing Cabernet Franc but do have the occasional smattering of Chenin planted here and there. When done well they deliver a very clean style of Chenin, not as honeyed as Vouvray can be, and are usually surprising values. This small producer manages about 40 acres spread around several really diverse terroirs around the central Loire all with either sustainable or organic certification and was an immediate must-have when we first tasted several weeks back. Pure pretty aromas of white flowers and light peach with a mix of minerality and dried beeswax. The palate has leesy weight but not sugar weight, so you get that crystal clean mouthfeel full of bright fruit and a long tingly mineral finish. There's the potential for this to open up with more flowery aromatics and a bit of added weight to the palate if you are patient once you pop the cork, but that may be hard to do with how charming this is right from the get-go. A killer wine with everything from a cheese plate to pork and chicken dishes, just great to have in your warm weather arsenal.
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 Falanghina is one of the noble and ancient varietals of the Campania region surrounding the city of Naples. Historically it doesn't tend to reach the exalted heights of Greco or Fiano, more of the intro/first course wine that sets the table for the evening's meal. But when it's good it's delightful, and in the right hands it can be great like this one is. Third generation owner/winemaker Alexia Perlingieri has established their family vineyards as the class of the Solopaca region, further North among the mountains from where Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino are made, and with less volcanic soils underneath. Still, with their high quality of farming and using the 'right' clone of Falanghina that naturally delivers more minerality, they deliver one of the most distinctive and exciting versions of the wine in Campania. Dry white peach, almond skin and wet stone aromas with a touch of green apple or grassiness that sort of parallels a Loire Sauvignon Blanc, but only slightly. The palate is much rounder and juicier than most Falanghina you will come across, really delivering the long distinctively mineral citrus flavors, finishing fresh and nervy. Another great all-purpose seafood wine that will pair with anything citrusy and fresh.
 Let's speak some truth here: Anybody that turns up their nose at drinking Primitivo/ Zinfandel because they think it is a sweet or low character grape are completely missing out, and may need to have their heads examined. OK, maybe not THAT far, but goodness gracious you need to put those thoughts aside and give these beauties a try. Pietraventosa is a newer winery started in 2005 using family vineyards inherited by their grandparents in the Giolla del Colle region just outside Bari. Bringing modern technology to their ancient vineyards the focus was always on quality, specifically identifying and developing older strains of Primitivo that were more quality capable as opposed to the more prevalent high yielding strains. The results are striking, creating a wine that is noticeably less jammy and extracted but still delivering every bit of complexity you could ask for. Deep black berries on the nose with lots of dark spice, tar and tobacco notes that just keep rolling out as the wine opens up. The palate is dark and has plenty of body but is not thick feeling at all. If anything. it is surprisingly elegant and pushes a bit of citrusy chocolate orange note from the acidity through the finish, as well as a little dusty cocoa from the fine tannins. A great wine for grilled foods, and an all-time favorite with most forms of BBQ styles and spice levels.
 Another week of Insider's Picks, another white wine brought back from the brink of mediocrity at the hands of a visionary. Much like the Spanish Verdejo of two weeks ago, the Melon de Bourgogne grape that makes up Muscadet in France was long thought to be a very simple grape. Light, higher acid and without a lot of natural intensity, it spent most of its existence creating extremely straightforward, largely uninspiring wines that only served to compliment the oysters and seafood of the region. Enter Marc Ollivier, owner/winemaker of the Domaine, who in the late 80s became one of the first producers of 100% estate grown wines in Muscadet, and began focus on the unique and subtle subdistricts, creating single vineyard wines from several of the oldest parcels in the appellation. Most importantly, he began to emphasize extensive 'sur lie' aging for all his wines, where the wine is kept on the yeasts and fine particles of the grape after fermenting to add body and texture. It's a time-consuming process, and almost nobody thought Muscadet was worthy of the effort, but thankfully Ollivier saw beyond that. With some of the bottlings now approaching near-ludicrously long sur lie time before bottling, the process is now the norm for any decent Muscadet and has influenced many white wine producers around the world. This is their 'entry level' wine made from blending their estate fruit with a few adjacent friendly vineyards, but speaks of everything wonderful about Muscadet. Light lemon and seashell aromas with a distant crunchy pear skin tone, seemingly straightforward at first. The big win for this wine is on the palate where all that lees aging really shows its stuff, pulling surprising body out of thin air without compromising the dry citrus zing and almost salt water tone on the finish. It adds length, intensity, and makes it beyond perfect for peak Spring oysters, or pretty much any briny seafood you can think of.
 It isn't often that we as wine drinkers get the opportunity to taste the wine that is the not just the standard bearer for a region but the literal starting point and touchstone for the grape variety as a whole (a least not without having to spend a ton of $$$). For most of its history Rueda and Verdejo were most noted in Spain as producers of a Sherry substitute during the Moorish empire occupation of the Jerez region. After the phylloxera epidemic in the late 1800s, there was an effort to make more 'everyday' white wines from Verdejo, but the grape has issues making wines that survive and transport very well, at least at that time, so they largely fell into obscurity until the 1970s. Angel Rodriguez' family had a small plot of Verdejo on their Martinsancho vineyard that had survived phylloxera, and used those cuttings to replant the entirety of their 25 acres starting in 1972. The family was one of the primary names to help establish the Rueda appellation in 1980, and the cuttings from their property have been used to replant most of the region. Thankfully technology has also progressed with the Verdejo grape, allowing it to overcome its shortcomings to produce much more stable and even age-worthy wines like this. Fans of Semillon from Australia and Semillon-heavy White Bordeaux will LOVE this, as it has a lot of the dry and waxy texture that those wines historically feature. Bright and zesty aromas of green apple and citrus that grow more peachy and white fruited as it opens up, strong but not perfume-y. The palate is really where it's at, long and lush with lots of lemon/lime fruit and that lingering skin finish that sets this apart from the more typical everyday versions of Verdejo. A killer wine for Spring salads and fresh seafood dishes, and can handle some cream or fat as well.
 There is likely no wine region in the world whose reputation was 'done dirty' in the 1970s worse than Lambrusco. Sure, the name was popular; you say '**** On Ice!', and many people will still be able to respond 'So Nice!' But that was the sweetest version of Lambrusco and by far the least distinctive (or even most popular style in its Emilia-Romagna home). It is like having your only exposure to red meat be from a fast food chain's burger. The wines are actually dynamic, usually quite dry, and very deserving of more attention. Sorbara is the name of both a grape used to make Lambrusco as well as a subregion, both of which are considered elite sources of quality. This version is also made using the older 'Frizzante', so not as much pressure and carbonation as the Prosecco-style Charmat method. While it looks to lose its carbonation quickly in the glass, it will maintain a bit of prickliness on the palate for a while. Very pale salmon in color, the aromas are of impressively fresh strawberry fruit and strawberry leaf, as well as a background of tart citrus. The palate is juicy, savory and racy all at the same time with refreshing salty tingle to the finish, which is EXACTLY what you want this type of wine to be when you pair it with salami, roasted vegetables, and sauces or dishes finished with Parmigiano Reggiano.
 A new vintage marks the return of one of our favorite finds from last year, as well as example #132 from us that not ALL Californian Chardonnays are the same or should be thought of as such. The wines from Ian Brand and his Paysan label are everything we love about Californian wine and winemaking; full on 'farmer wines' that are sourced from unique and often under-rated parts of the state, always showing off the distinct character of the pockets of Monterey and the Central Coast he pulls from. The cool climate and coastal influences on vineyards in this area tend to provide grapes with more natural acidity. All too often the winemaking choice with this fruit would be to beat that acidity out with lots of malolactic fermentation and oak barrel aging, but invariably that would make them just taste like fruit from everywhere else. Paysan choses to embrace that local character with mostly neutral barrels and a sensitive hand to the use of malo, just enough to buff off some of the rougher edges. Rich lemon curd and fresh melon aromas with a little flinty tone, definitely smelling more of the vineyards near Salinas than whoever the barrel makers may have been. The palate is rounder than you would expect, more leesy and warm Californian fruit at first but settling into a fresher citrus and mineral filled palate that finishes clean, juicy and more than a bit mouth-watering. A perfect wine to crush on all Spring and Summer long.
 The Mencia grape is one of the great success stories from the modern era of Spanish wine over the last 40+ years. Found exclusively in the furthest Northwestern corner of the country, it bridges into Old Castile in the region of Bierzo and up into the mountains of Galicia, with very different wines made from the mountains to the foothills and lowlands. The wines here were largely overlooked as being too inconsistent, light and simple at times when consumers were looking for bigger and bolder tastes from Spain, but improved winemaking and broader consumer tastes have really brought out the best of this region. Mencia draws a lot of comparison to Cabernet Franc (so much so that a Cab Franc clone existed in some vineyards as Mencia for well over 100 years before it was discovered and ferreted out), and versions like this from the higher river banks of Valdeorras tend to show a lot in common with Cab Franc from the Loire. Cool floral notes of red fruits and subtle herb aromas get bolder and more red-fruited as it opens up, with a nice earthy character gained from some of the grapes being fermented with full clusters, a technique often used to make the more earthy and structured styles of Syrah and Pinot Noir around the world. Bright flavors on the palate that mix both savory red fruits and pops of citrus, and a little bit of unique 'local character' that shows up thanks to a small portion of rare native grapes co-fermented in to provide a field blend identity. Fans of lower abv red wines should definitely get Mencias like this on your radar, a killer pairing with well-herbed meat dishes like a marinated pork loin.
 As Americans on the East Coast, we probably have the least amount of familiarity with the Margaret River and Western Australian wine regions than any other. Getting from Perth to here is just about literally the longest trip a wine could make to get here, so for effort and cost of transport we see very few examples beyond 1-2 of the blue chip producers that are already expensive anyway. From that lens alone this becomes a TREMENDOUS value, and what's in the bottle is worth every minute of the trip to get here. The region is very coastal, heavily influenced by the Indian Ocean, with conditions more akin to some of the cooler Californian regions. Cabernet Sauvignon here is much less oozy and heavy, instead showing more restrained and structured characteristics, even Bordeaux-ish in some ways. Dark currants and leathery red fruits on the nose that get deeper and more peppery as it opens up, this is definitely a style of Cabernet that isn't in a rush to show everything off at once. The palate has surprisingly nice acidity that adds of tart red fruits into the mix, and the tannins are equally fine and persistent to give this a refreshingly long finish. At only 13.5%abv some may think it's going to be restrained or lean, but this is a very complete wine and packed with character and complexity, something that should be on every Cab fan's reference list.
 Most people's knowledge of Gattinara comes from the production of a couple producers that dominate probably 75% of the exported wines. Like most of the other appellations in the Alto Piedmonte at the foot of the Alps, Gattinara is largely rural and lost much of their production and reputation after World War II. Most of the vineyards were family farms, not wineries, and cooperatives like this one were vital for production otherwise the vineyards would have been completely forgotten. This co-op has been serving Gattinara since 1908 drawn from 40 family plots, primarily for the production of this flagship wine. This true field blend (the exact % of each varietal is not known as all the varieties are harvested by the families and co-fermented) is primarily Nebbiolo with a generous portion of Barbera along with some Vespolina and Uva Rara. Fresh and savory with dried cherry and cool restrained herbal aromas, this is fiendishly drinkable from one sip to the next, with lots of juicy energy and no hard edges that are usually seen with the more Alpine versions of Nebbiolo. Dry but not dry-ING, the Barbera and other varieties really contribute to the immediate drinkability here. The unbottled tanks at the winery are famously sold to locals bringing jugs and demijohns for their 'weekly drinker' refills. This will likely make it into many of your rotations as well.
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The Best of the Best.We offering free tastings on these wines in the store every Thursday and Friday, and a 10% discount off the retail price through the duration of the day. Come on by and give them a try! Archives
March 2026
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