 Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
Many choices of Rose to be had for Memorial Day, wanted to offer one out that may not get as much recognition as it should at first look. A lot of people would look at this label and think 'Cassis? Like Creme de Cassis? Must be sweet.' That famously sweet blackcurrant liqueur was created originally in Burgundy, while this dry Rose comes from the Mediterranean Coast near the town of Cassis. So no relations there. If anything, Cassis has the most in common with its neighbor Bandol just to the East, with a similar port and amphitheater-style hills surrounding the city, framed by one of the largest bluffs on the coastline. The soil in Cassis is heavier with limestone than in Bandol, which has made it more attuned to making white wines and Roses. Quality here is consistently higher than most Cotes de Provence out there, there just aren't that many producers so we don't 'know' them as well as we should. Fresh strawberry and citrus skins on the nose, crisp almost to the point of showing some salinity on the palate with lots of quenching watermelon and cherry skin coming through, and a lengthy refreshing finish. This will stand up to lots of foods because of the body and fresh acidity, as well as be super refreshing chilled down on its own.
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 Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
Even though Puglia is one of the oldest wine growing cultures in Italy, now working into its 5th millennia, it's one of the least recognized and followed by modern consumers. After the European phylloxera epidemic in the late 1800s devastated the vineyards, the region was slow to replant, and the largely agricultural zone felt heavy pressures after both WWI and WWII that slowed their development even further. In recent years most of the world has grow familiar with their most prevalent and successful grapes Negroamaro and Primitivo, but there are still secrets there to unearth. Susumaniello is among the lowest planted varietals in the region, but has seen a considerable bump in popularity as more focus has come to embracing native varieties. This isn't just a fun wine because of the rarity, but because it's REALLY good, a noticeable step up from the winery's more everyday Negroamaro and Salice Salentino. Where many of the wines here are juicy but a bit simple, Susumaniello is deeper and more complex, layering in more black fruits and spice, even a bit of tannic structure in with the polished mouthfeel. Loads of warm raspberry and blackberry on the nose with pepper and dried spices, very fleshy on the palate but not cloying thanks to the fine tannin that allows a bit of savory tones to get in and firms up the finish. It has a bit of a character like a classic California 'Field Blend' that has a fair mix of other varieties in the vineyard that provide another layer to a mostly Zinfandel base. A great match with grilled foods and spicier rubs or smoked meats.  Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
The high times for Rose wines is getting into full swing, and there will surely be many options for big fun and inexpensive values. It's important to us to feature this one when we can, not just because we love everything Bedrock, but because it's among the most 'serious' Roses going, and this level of artistry deserves recognition. The name is in honor of Lulu Peynaud, historical matriarch of Domaine Tempier in Bandol, who is considered THE preeminent source of great Rose since they first bottled one in 1943. The high percentages of Mourvedre give these wines distinct acidity and intensity not found in most Provencal Roses, which is what Bedrock looks to emulate. The team at Bedrock use specific old blocks of Mourvedre and Grenache (some over 100 years old) that could easily be utilized in wines more than twice the price, but are dedicated to harvesting them early to preserve the acidity and making a wine worthy of its namesake. The nose is always a tight combination of both red and white fruits, some high tone citrus, and even some Provencal herbal notes (may be a form of synesthesia brought on by the background story, but I'm going with it). On the palate is where this shines so much more than others, with penetrating acidity and a sense of structure usually absent in a Rose, giving lots of fruit skin texture to the flavors, even a touch of salinity to the lengthy finish, always a big flavor without feeling thick in the mouth or heavy in any way. A great food wine that stands up to tuna steaks and cedar plank grilled salmon, and actually keeps quite well for several years after vintage, though not to the epic lengths of its namesake.  Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
Pretty much since the inception of the Virginia wine industry, Gabriele Rausse has been an important name as a viticulturist, winemaker, and general source of wisdom. Even this far along in his career, you can also add the term 'innovator' with the wines from the Vino Dal Bosco project. The wines here follow a lot of the 'natural wine' movement while still displaying traditional flavors and character, creating unique wines (especially in Virginia) without being oddballs. These projects see a lot of effort and love in their production, the only drawback being they tend to be done in fairly small volumes, so they can come and go fairly quickly. This Malvasia technically falls into the 'orange' or 'amber wine' category, in that it sees nearly two weeks on its skins during fermentation, but the pale skins don't create any color change, nor does the 4 months aging in small amphora under no sulfites. It does create a much drier and lower alcohol character to the wine that usually found with Malvasia, and makes for a truly fascinating glass. Lovely perfume of Spring flowers and pulpy white fruits as soon as it's opened, but you also get the note of grapeskin which tempers the fragrance and keeps it from registering too much sweetness. There's nice body from the time on the skins and amphora aging, and nice acidity giving freshness to the fruit on the palate giving the flavors distinctly crisper character that the aromas may have let on. The finish is lean and clean, almost minty in coolness especially when there is a nice chill on it, and this goes down so easily it won't have time to warm up. A great warm weather sipper for those that want something a little different, and awesome to pair with lightly spiced seafood like a fish taco or fresh ceviche. |
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
September 2023
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