 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.
Petit Manseng is most noted as the most noted variety from Southwest France -particularly Jurancon- for making their famous late harvest wines as well as dry wines. In recent years it has grown in interest for use in many areas of North America, particularly Virginia as we continue to seek out grapes that can thrive in our environment. Fragrant in similar ways to Viognier, Petit Manseng keeps its natural acidity better and has a thicker, stronger skin, which are traits that make it very favorable for making both dessert wines as well as skin contact style dry wines. That's important in Virginia, where it can be very difficult to predict what our season will be month to month (even week to week, it seems sometimes) and it is paramount for winemakers to have flexibility. Joy Ting is the Research Enologist/Extension Coordinator with the Winemakers Research Exchange, which is a collective of winemakers and industry professionals experimenting with all aspects of wine production to create better wine results in Virginia. Under her own label Joy puts the results to the test, with great wines as an end product; 2020 was a trying vintage for many in Virginia, so the quality here is particularly impressive. Definitively dry in style this vintage, the aromas are all stone fruits and tropical white fruits, cooler and less flowery than a Viognier but no less pretty. The palate has great weight and texture for a dry white wine, vibrant natural acidity tempered a bit by aging on the lees for almost a year that brings out loads of pear and mineral notes across they juicy finish. A great pairing with rich buttery/creamy seafood or white meat dishes as it both stands up to and cuts through and stands up to the weighty sauce, as well as complex Asian cuisine.
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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.
If you have enjoyed a Sicilian wine over the last 25+ years, you probably owe a debt of gratitude to the COS winery from the region of Vittoria. First formed by three friends in 1980 (the name formed by the first letters of each of their last name), their winery was among the very first at the time to reintroduce a focus on quality and regional terroir to an island that had largely become known for bulk wines. Their theories on organic farming, indigenous varieties in old vineyards, and improving traditional winemaking techniques with modern know-how have influenced all of Sicily (the Mount Etna are in particular) as well as many other wineries across the Mediterranean. Their influence on the next generation of winemakers is immediately evident as well; the niece of Giusto Occhipinti (the 'O' in COS), Arianna, has had her own label since the 2006 vintage, and is largely considered one of the best modern voices in Italian winemaking. Frappato is an important native grape in much of Sicily and parts of Calabria, and is the perfect wine to introduce people to the uniqueness this region holds. Frappato is soft and spicy with a fruit character that is similar to Primitivo or Zinfandel, but also light and fresh, restrained in alcohol and tannin, which also can garner comparisons to fine Cru Beaujolais. COS ages this wine in their large collection of concrete vats to let the natural brightness of the grape show through as well as their use of native yeasts to create a wine that truly delivers a taste of the region. Snappy fresh cherry and floral raspberry skin aromas, a lovely mouth-filling texture from time aging on the skins and being bottled unfiltered, but not thick at all or overpowering on the finish. Great to pair with a gourmet pizza or a spicier chicken dish, and just about anything that has sun dried tomatoes in it.  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.
This has definitely been the 'Summer of Rose' around here, as evidenced by the near-solid wall of pink wines at the front of the store. A bit weather related for sure, but there's also an immense amount of great quality being offered these days, and from more unique sources than ever before. These aren't just rehashes of the same recipe, but distinct interpretations with regional character, like this one from e headwaters of the Mosel/Moselle River in the Lorraine region. Most producers in this tiny (<300 acres total) appellation tend to make more 'basic' wines, tasty but simple and unassuming, meant primarily for local consumption. Some are starting to explore taking a more intensive role in their winemaking, being more vigorous in the vineyards and modernizing in the winery, to make a more 'worldly' wine that can stand up to the scrutiny. Domaine Migot is definitely at the front of that movement, which first started bottling estate wines in 2013 by a young Camille Migot, but using vineyards his family had farmed for 13 generations. This style of Vin Gris/Rose is the signature wine of the region, made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay, and Migot elevates the style to its very best form. Super pale color in the glass belies the bright intensity on the aromas, lots of zesty and tangy citrus and fresh herbs lightly sprinkled in. The palate is silky and fairly full with loads of energy from the cool climate and strong limestone soils really drive the tartness into the fruit tones. At less than 12%abv you would think it would be a lot milder, which a lot of wines from this region are, but the work at all phases really makes this wine shine. Fans of Sancerre Rose should definitely take a look at this as it hits many similar notes.  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.
Probably too hot today to think about anything else but a wine that can be served with some serious chill to it. And chill we will, with a lovely Rose from one of our favorite regions in the Loire. Cabernet Franc is king here, and the red wines are phenomenal, but the Roses are underappreciated and sneaky brilliant. The grape is naturally fragrant and polished in texture without a lot of aggressive tannins, and the cooler climate tends to provide a nice spine of acidity that keeps it from feeling too soft and flabby. Olga Raffault is a long standing organic producer from the portfolio of legendary importer Louis/Dressner, and their Rose comes from a mix of several younger/replanted parcels in vineyards used for their single site red wines. Very salmon-y color in the glass, the aromas are full of cherry skin and succulent herbs as well as an almost citrusy or melon peel tone. The palate is rounder and juicier than a similar Provencal Rose but just from a mouthfeel and texture point of view, polished and silky but still very dry and quenching with just a tickle of acidity and crispness to the finish. The palate is crisper straight out of the fridge, but the aromas pop more the longer it's open, so you can find your happy balance as you sip on it over some snacks or light dinner fare. |
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
October 2024
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