![]() New vintage of an old favorite, a producer we've known since the earlier days of the Rhone Rangers/ Hospice du Rhone events out in California. We also love when we can knock down a few misconceptions about wine reputations, in this case the one of Syrah being a heavy or oversized variety. A lot of that has come from when Syrah is grown in the warmer climates of the world, Australia especially, which encourages faster and more intense ripening along with less acidity, lending itself towards bigger fruit character and more alcohol. It also makes for easier farming for the grower (generally less disease/environmental issues) so you tend to find it easier to make more volume and value oriented wines in this style. Cooler climates invite more savory notes into the fruit, even bacon or wild game, and while they can still be big and intense it isn't from extreme extraction. The cooler climate Syrah can also have a very silky velvety tannin similar to Pinot Noir but with bolder flavors for the price point (a lot of 'inexpensive' Pinot is goosed with Syrah to fill in their otherwise thin body). For the price point this has everything you could want from this style of Syrah, approachable and complex without a lot of oak or weight getting in the way. Snappy raspberry and black cherry nose with little notes of black pepper, anise and dusty cocoa shifting through. The red fruits definitely pop but there's no sweetness or heat to them at all. The palate is more savory than expected with more of the gamey notes in with the black fruits, and a fine dusty tannin to the finish that even has a snap of acidity that gets some tart fruit skin notes in at the last. Very food friendly without the weight or aggressive tannins. so work it in all winter long.
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![]() This is the time of year that Beaujolais is at the forefront of wine drinker's consciousness. Today is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, so there is plenty of excitement for that. But we always like to remind people of the REAL Beaujolais, the Beaujolais that is great all year round, and can actually maintain and age in the bottle for several years or more in the bottle with ease. Importer Kermit Lynch gained considerable fame in the 1980s bringing over several of the most influential producers in the region (the 'Gang of Four') that set the standard for all wineries since then from the great Crus of the region. Along with his top level producers Kermit also need a great 'everyday' wine, someone that followed the same standards of quality as the others (single domaine, native yeasts, minimal/no SO2, older organically farmed vineyards) but could do so at a more reasonable price. Domaine Dupeuble joined the KL stable in the late 1980s, but has existed since the early 1500s in the very southern end of the Beaujolais region (actually closer to the suburbs of Lyon than the Crus of Brouilly and Morgon). This is always THE textbook example of what good classic Beaujolais should be, outclassing the character of even the Cru bottlings of the more mass produced brands. Color and consistency of a basic Bourgogne Pinot Noir, the nose is all violets, rose petals, dried raspberry and dark cherry skins, completely absent of bubble gum aromas. The palate shows off the unfiltered nature by giving the texture some dusty weight, but also has minimal tannins to allow the clean lip-smacking red fruits and light peppery notes show through. The perfect lunch time wine with cold cuts and lightly gamey meats all year round, but of course a start at Thanksgiving with pretty much everything you can throw on the table at it. ![]() To help boost the mood for the impending holiday season, we're featuring a wine from our recent Thanksgiving Wines email, to give you a chance to taste one of our recommendations for yourself ahead of the Big Meal. Valpolicella in and of itself is a great choice, one of the great everyday food reds of the Veneto region. The 'Ripasso' designation helps to take it up a notch, combining the freshness of Valpolicella with the famous dried grape wine of the region, Amarone. When the raisiny grapes are being pressed to make Amarone, the winemaker has to be more gentle than usual to avoid breaking the seeds that can add unwanted bitterness. This leaves a lot of untapped flavor in those pressings, which can be unlocked by steeping the pressings in regular Valpolicella wine (which has gone through the fermentation process while the Amarone grapes were drying out). The bump in character is immediately noticeable, but at only a small fraction of a price increase. Deep mahogany in color, with lots of dark cherry and raspberry fruit on the nose and some dusty cocoa, rich with a bit of savory poking through. The palate has great weight with just a touch of raisiny grip to the tannins, mostly plush and velvety that gets lots of the raspberry tones across the tongue, but no sense of sweetness to it at all, even a hint of tartness to the finish. A bit fleshier than many wines on the Thanksgiving list we sent out, but the relative silkiness of texture in with the richness of the fruit won't overpower any other dishes at the table. INSIDER'S PICK: 2022 STOLPMAN VINEYARDS 'LA CUADRILLA' SANTA BARBARA COUNTY (Vinous 92points) $25.9911/2/2023 ![]() New vintage of an old favorite, and though the blend and the label change from vintage to vintage it remains one of the most consistent values for Rhone varietal blends coming out of California. Stolpman Vineyards is one of the very few wineries to employ their vineyard staff year round, not only insuring the high quality of work with their vines, but allowing the families to have consistent work and stable living situations. The vineyard manager went so far as to begin a program of assigning workers small vineyard blocks, or Cuadra, in addition to their regular work to immerse themselves in learning vineyard management for themselves. In 2009 Stolpman began bottling wine from these parcels to make La Cuadrilla (now at least 10% of the winery's yearly production), and the profit from this wine goes back to the workers. As Stolpman is renowned for their Syrah, that grape makes up the majority of the wine each vintage, but the blends vary depending on the success in each cuadra; Sangiovese has been a unique inclusion frequently for this Rhone-esque blend, and this vintage marks the first use of Mourvedre in some time. Minimal oak presence gives the wine plenty of room to let loose the natural fragrance, and the inclusion of stems during fermentation brings out more of the earthy or savory side. Dark cherry skins, raspberry, hints of smoke, black pepper and anise on the nose that get more and more flowery as it opens up. The palate is less extracted than usually expected from Californian Rhones, delightfully so, giving the dark spice and tobacco leaf notes more of the stage with the red fruits, and a clean tartness to the finish. This is big on flavor but not a palate-stainer, with lots of new complexity to find every trip to the glass, great for big roast meat dishes. |
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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