Things are rolling in the door as we prepare for the holidays. Here’s a few of the new faces.
Whites
2019 Vignerons Proprietes Associes, Ozilhan Reseve Cotes du Rhone Blanc $13
40% Grenache, 30% Viognier, 16% Clairette, 8% Rousanne
Floral fragrances, and lime flower, The palate is round and fleshy in the mouth, nice acidity. Well balanced with warm summer apples. Organic
2018 Domain Brichot, Les Pierres Blanches $13
50% Gros Manseng, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Ugni Blanc
This crystalline wine expresses itself on a nose of acacia flowers, a superb fruit of wild peaches and a very fresh mineral finish. “We persevere in the search for the mineral and floral expression of this wine.” 8 months aging on fine lees with stirring. Organic
2019 Villa des Croix, Picpoul de Pinet $15
Aged on its lees for a minimum of 4 months to add structure, weight, body and complexity, this wine has citrus aromas combined with floral notes in the nose. It is fresh, lively and thirst-quenching in the mouth.
2019 Clos Henri, Petit Clos Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc $16
A French winemaker takes on NZ Sauv Blanc. Notes of soft gunflint and seashell tuck beneath bright citrus and stone fruit, grass and dried green herbs. The palate strikes a lovely balance between texture and zingy acidity. Flinty, mineral nuances run beside juicy citrus right to the long finish. Organic
2018 Cá dei Frati di Dal Cero, I Frati Lugana $21
Trebbiano
A complex, lees aged Trebbiano from older vines. It has concentrated but fresh perfume of white flowers, peaches and ripe lemons. On the palate it has excellent depth and balance, richness and a lovely crisp, lively finish.
2019 Antoine de la Farge, Les Petites Roches, Pouilly-Fumé $27
Sauvignon Blanc
Les Petites Roches has beautiful citrus and smoky notes. Fuller-bodied with beautifully balancing acidity. A great break from your usual Sancerre.
2016 Laurent Cognard, Montagny 1er Cru, Les Bassets $38
Chardonnay
Montagny Les Bassets 1er Cru is the flagship wine of the domaine. A full, ripe wine, this is rich in white fruits, but balanced by bright acidity. Produced in a vineyard close to Buxy, it has a taut edge, plenty of honey and lemon flavors, and a touch of toast. Was $45 now $38
Reds
2017 Stefano Massone, Piedmont Barbara $10
A soft and supple Barbera. Was $15, now $10
2017 Casata Monticello, Barbera d’Asti Superiore $11
A complex little Barbera for very little money. Aging for one year in wood barrels adds class and body.
2018 Vignerons Proprietes Associes, Ozilhan Reseve Cotes du Rhone Rouge $13
60% Syrah, 40% Grenache
Ripe red fruits, raspberries, black cherries, integrated spices and lush finish. Organic
2018 Casa Contini, Verso Rosso Salento $14
60% Negroamaro, 35% Primitivo, 5% Malvasia Nera
From Puliga, this Salento has notes of dried fruit, plums and spice with a silky texture and structured elegance. Verso is a very full-bodied, luscious wine made with a small percent of ‘appassimento’, or raisined, grapes.
2018 Luigi Bosca, Mendoza Malbec $15
Deep ruby red color, with aromas of ripe red fruit, spices and black pepper. The palate intensity is complemented by the softness and sweetness of tannins. Full-bodied and well structured. Was $20 now $15
2019 Vendrell Rived, Montsant Serè $18
80% Garnatxa, 20% Carinyena
From the younger vines of the estate. Red fruit, mostly cherries create a very captivating nose while the airy structure is full, but not firm. Very classy wine, with good complexity for this price.
2019 Pierre & Rodolphe Gauthier, Soif de Jour Bourgueil $20
Cabernet Franc
Run by a father-and-son team who make fine, age-worthy wines from organic cabernet franc. Jour de Soif is their entry-level bottle, made from younger vines, which are nonetheless still 20 years old. You can sense the structure of the other cuvées in the fine tannins that give shape to this otherwise fresh and juicy wine. Organic
2017 Anton Bauer, Feuersbrunn Zweigelt $20
This Zweigelt drinks like a young, Northern-Rhône Syrah on holiday in Burgundy. Cherry fruit with berry undertones, fine aroma; on the palate multi-layered –a vegetable touch joins the young berry fruit to add additional fine spice. Organic
2014 Château Falfas, Côtes de Bourg $29
55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec
Dense and dark, with notes of blackberry, anise, coffee, and chocolate, but also smoke and spice, and a lingering finish that you won’t soon forget. The wine is elegant with good acidity and minerality (clay and limestone soil). Its bouquet of ripe dark fruits, violet and light spices is vibrant and fresh on the palate. This is full body wine with a nice texture and moderate tannin. Biodynamic
2015 Pelissero, Barbaresco Nubiola $45
Racy and exuberant on the palate, with terrific fruit density, the 2015 Barbaresco Nubiola captures the exuberant side of the year nicely. Fruity and floral notes that go from the ripe red fruit to the officinal herbs. Soft, tasty, velvety at the same time, leaves on the taste buds a note of sweetness and roundness typical of ripe grape with a slightly dry and astringent closure that distinguishes the Nebbiolo.
2017 Clos des Brusquiéres, Châteauneuf-du-Pape $45
60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre
70+ year old vines An assertively perfumed bouquet evokes red berry preserves, exotic spices and candied lavender, along with a chalky mineral quality that builds as the wine opens up. Sweet, seamless and energetic in style, offering lithe raspberry, cherry and spicecake flavors that show wonderful clarity and back-end cut. The mineral and floral components drive a very long, appealingly sweet finish shaped by smooth, harmonious tannins.
2015 Chateau Cantemerle, Haut Medoc $58
64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
From a 5th Growth estate, the Cantemerle show impressive richness and clarity of red and dark berries. Lightly spiced-pastry aromas, too. The palate has a very crisp, polished and groomed tannin texture, as well as super fresh flavors that carry long.