Rioja for Your Backyard BBQ

August 25-31, 2014
2012 Artuke Maceración Carbónica
Price: $18.99/Bottle – SOLD OUT

What is classic red Rioja wine? Is it the the Gran Reservas aged for years before bottling and full of dark, raisin-like fruit with amazing complexity? Or is it the light and fruity wines preferred by Basques in the northern sub-zone of Alavesa?

The answer is both.

An ideal wine for this Labor Day weekend, 2012 Artuke Maceración Carbónica is an example of the latter. Carbonic maceration is a wine-making technique used to enhance aromatics and produce light, fresh, fruity wines. Artuke Maceración Carbónica is a blend of mainly Tempranillo grapes, fermented and aged in cement and stainless steel. Candied red berries follow behind a burst of violets and cinnamon on the nose. There is minimal tannic structure (the grippy finish that’s desired in many types of red wines) which allows this wine to take a deeper chill. It’s quite versatile pairing with food: grilled tuna, pretty much anything made with zucchini, fried chicken, gooey cheese sandwiches, and pizza, just to name a few.

Artuke is the contraction of the names of Arturo and Kike (nickname for Enrique) de Miguel Blanco, young growers and winemakers in the historical Basque province of Álava. Over the last few years they have completely remade their winery to focus on small vineyard plots in and around their village. While their top cuvées, some from single vineyard sights, are highly rated and sought after, the easy drinking Maceración Carbónica is more of an homage to their grandfather who made wine in this style many years past.

We’re looking forward to featuring their winemaking methods and philosophy in a future email about another Artuke cuvée that we offer, Pies Negros (black feet), named for the traditional stomping of the grapes. This is a technique they also apply to Maceración Carbónica and one they believe softens the wines, versus the violent crushing of the grapes through a mechanical press. They are one of the few wineries in Rioja that still use this traditional method.

- - -
Posted on 2014.08.24 in Spain DO, Rioja DOC  |  Read more...

Wines of Sun and Stone – Corbières

August 4-10, 2014
Maxime Magnon – La Vallée du Paradis “La Démarrante”
$26.10/bottle – 10% off regular price of $29 SOLD OUT

The Hautes Corbières – a massive, wind-swept limestone block only good, agriculturally speaking, for growing vines, raising sheep, and gathering exotically scented honey touched by the essence of wild rosemary. This is one of the wildest and most sparsely populated regions of southern France. Small villages are linked by narrow, winding roads and around every bend the ruins of an old Cathar castle. But what seems like a land lost in time is actually one of the most exciting wine regions in the world.

It was only a few decades ago that the Languedoc-Roussillon was known mainly for its cheap and plentiful wine. Yet the best growers have proved that the region has far more to offer and continue to push the quality envelope. This reawakened focus on excellence over quantity is attracting young winemakers from all over France. Like native Burgundian, Maxime Magnon, who is reclaiming old-vine plots in high-altitude vineyards to produce wines that not only speak of the land from where they come but also made in a way which emphasize purity of the fruit and immediate drinkability. Wines of sun and stone.

Magnon cultivates his vines with respect for nature and the soil. Although what stands for soil here is mostly just pure rock and Mediterranean shrubland (garrigue). A few cattle serve for weed control and fertilization. He’s certified organic, but also incorporates biodynamic practices into his vineyard management. In the cellar, sulfite usage is minimal and strictly governed. He has studied under some of the most respected winemakers in France and it shows in the wines.

The 2012 Vin de Pays de la Vallée du Paradis “La Démarrante” is Magnon’s easiest drinking cuvée. A light ruby blend of Cinsault and Carignan that does not adhere to appellation rules and therefore designated “country wine”. It’s brimming with juicy strawberry and floral notes and the most subtle hints of spice. This is a silky red wine with lively acidity that will also take a chill well. It’s almost Beaujolais-like in attitude and perfect for pairing with summer fare.

We’ll also have Magnon’s top two cuvées from Corbières A.O.C., 2012 Rozeta and 2012 Campagnès. Rozeta is particularly unique, from Carignan vineyards that are dispersed with numerous varietals of older vines, namely Grenache Gris, Macabou, and Terret, which are all picked and fermented together. Campagnès is a single vineyard of hundred-year-old Carignan, and is the most age-worthy in his line-up. These wines show similar approachability as La Démarrante but have more concentration and structure. These wines are aged in second-hand, Burgundian barrels sourced from a producer in Chassagne-Montrachet.

- - -
Posted on 2014.08.03 in France, Languedoc-Roussillon  |  Read more...

Saturday Sips: Modern Day Classic

2005 Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial
Price: $85/Bottle – SOLD OUT

Modern Rioja’s story begins around 1850 when landowner Luciano (eventually the Marqués de) Murrieta, who had studied winemaking in Bordeaux, rented a Bodega in the town of Logroño and put his wine into well-coopered wooden casks. Locals sneered at this practice as they believed it was an unneeded and particularly expensive, yet the wine improved in the barrel.

Today, there are few Rioja wines that can match the elegance and power of Marqués de Murrieta’s most venerated label only made in the best vintages, Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial. The 2005 is a blend of 89% Tempranillo and 11% Mazuelo (aka Cariñena) from “La Plana”, their finest single vineyard site at 485 meters elevation. The wine ages for a period of 30 months in 225 liter oak barrels, with at least 10 months in new oak. It then matures for a further two years in bottle before being released. Luis Gutierrez of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate calls the 2005 Castillo Ygay “a classic among classics” and “a true vin de garde which develops complex notes of violet and meat with time in the glass.” The Peñín Wine Guide says it’s the best 2005 Gran reserva of Spain and gives it a robust 95 points (if you’re keeping score).

The Marqués de Murrieta bodega is located in the western subzone of Rioja Alta just south of the poplar-lined River Ebro. The immense wall of the rocky Sierra de Cantabria to the north holds the Atlantic winds at bay. Where the grand hillsides aren’t covered in vines there are handsome pastures for cattle and sheep. Scattered about are thickets of juniper, boxwood and holly. Oak, beech and pine grow in the highlands.

Besides its role as the capital of La Rioja, the city of Logroño is the center of the wine trade here. It’s also diverse with shopping, nightlife and, of course, food. The Calle del Laurel and surrounding streets are crammed with over 50 tapas bars each specializing in only two or three unique bites. The local nickname for the tapas circuit is La Senda de los Elefantes, or the Trail of the Elephants, because of the way people walk if they’ve done all the bars. It seems every sit-down restaurant there offers roasted lamb scented with dried vine shoots that are periodically thrown onto the fire. We figure the wine pairing is obvious.

Stop by the shop this Saturday for a taste.

- - -
Posted on 2014.08.01 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Rioja DOC  |  Read more...

Fleshy Portuguese Mountain Red – Alentejano VR

July 28 – August 3, 2014
2012 Sonho Lusitano Duas Pedras Alentejano
Price: $19.99/Bottle – SOLD OUT

As a distinguished wine writer and author of five books on Portuguese wine, the British-born Richard Mayson has championed Portugal as a treasure trove of varied terroir and indigenous grapes with world-class potential.

He fell in love with Portugal in 1979 when he worked for a summer at a restaurant in Algarve. As early as 1989 he had identified the under-the-radar Portalegre sub-region in the Alentejo in the south as an ideal breeding ground for great wine: The high altitude of the Serra de São Mamede mountain range, the moderate climate and the stony soil all promised to produce excellent wines.

Richard purchased the Quinta do Centro vineyard in 2005 and created Sonho Lusitano (“Lusitanian Dream”) with partner Rui Reguinga, a winemaker and consultant. From the start Richard aimed to make a splash on the international stage with wines firmly rooted in the local terroir.

Duas Pedras (two stones) is named after the schist and granite soil. It’s a blend of 60% Touriga Nacional and 40% Syrah bottled with minimal wood aging to most capture the character of the fruit. Dark crimson and dense in the glass it radiates aromas of smoked meat and flowers. A drink is big, earthy, and filled with rich blueberry and dark cherry flavors to finish with just enough structure to balance all that fruit. We’ve also discovered this wine will take a slight chill so it’s quite versatile in the warmer summer months.

And if you’re into a good story, read Richard Mayson’s account on how his own estate in Portugal gradually took hold.
Richard Mayson Living the Dream Part 1
Richard Mayson Living the Dream Part 2
Richard Mayson Living the Dream Part 3
Richard Mayson Living the Dream Part 4

- - -
Posted on 2014.07.27 in Alentejo, Portugal  |  Read more...

Pinot Noir Purity in Northern Côte de Nuits

July 21-27, 2014

2011 Domaine Sylvain Pataille Marsannay Les Longeroies

Price: $49/Bottle – SOLD OUT

We’ve already written a fairly extensive piece about Sylvain Pataille’s Marsannay Les Longeroies. It’s over a year later and we’ve found the wine is drinking even better. It’s still young, full of nerve, and singing of juicy berries, but it’s slightly more integrated. It truly is a wine that will reward a drinker now and for years to come.

Sylvain Pataille is one of a handful of producers in Marsannay that are illustrating how this most northerly appellation in the Côte de Nuits is capable of producing wines of purity and expression. We also carry his Marsannay from the Clos du Roy lieu-dit that is even more ambitious a wine, and when held up against Les Longeroie a nice comparison of different climat within Marsannay. Pataille himself believes that it’s only a matter of time before both lieux-dits are given Premier Cru status.

- - -
Posted on 2014.07.20 in France, Burgundy  |  Read more...

previous   -   next