Newsletter
November 15, 2019 – December 11, 2019
A Season of Bounty
While summer might seem the most generous of seasons, it is fall when the harvest must be brought in and stored for the winter. By buying large quantities, we store your wine for you, but we need to alert you if shortages occur. Due to recently applied tariffs on French, German, and Spanish wines we may run short on some of our favorite values.
Côtes du Rhône
2017 Côtes du Rhône ‘Laurent B.’ (Domaine Brusset)
Sale Price $11.99 – $122.30 case of twelve
The ‘Laurent B’ is a classic Côtes du Rhône blend with Grenache leading the pack. An astonishing pre-tariff value. Get it while you can.
Royal Rioja
2016 Rioja Crianza (Viña Real)
Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
A superb vintage of Crianza from Viña Real, the 2016 is powerful and polished, with a hint of oaky spice and beautiful berry fruit.
The Shape of Pinot Noir
2017 Pinot Noir (Contour)
Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
Beneath the lovely garnet color of this California Pinot Noir lies a depth of foresty spice and raspberry fruit. Super with the big bird.
Climbing Burgberg
2018 Wachau Grüner Veltliner ‘Burgberg’ (Lagler)
Sale Price $15.99 – $163.10 case of twelve
The steep vineyards hugging the Danube’s Wachau region are an Austrian treasure. Lagler’s Burgberg Grüner Veltliner is a deep, dry, minerally white that perfectly balances peachy fruit and peppery dryness.
Our Pick for Cab
2017 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon (Broadside)
Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
Broadside’s Paso Robles continues to be our best recommendation for Cabernet value. The 2017 is fresh and lively, yet big and balanced.
Charnay de Chardonnay
2018 Mâcon Charnay ‘Franclieu’ (Jean Manciat)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
Jean Manciat is a meticulous grower of Chardonnay. His Mâcons are crisp and concentrated, lean and long. The 2018 Franclieu is a classic.
Beau Villages
2018 Beaujolais-Villages ‘Prémices’ (Dufaitre)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
We love Beaujolais-Villages year-round for its pure deliciousness, versatility, and value. But at this time of year the wine really shines. It’ll bring together all the traditional dishes of the Big Meal, but it’ll also complement a wide range of foods from charcuterie and cheese boards to butternut squash lasagna to roast pork loin. Made without sulfur from a single parcel of organic Gamay vines, this elegant, silky red is fragrant with peonies and warm spices. Crushed berries and slate mingle seamlessly in this wine for all occasions.
Big Bag of Grapes
2017 Vin de France (Terre Métissée)
Sale Price $10.99 – $112.10 case of twelve
We’re still trying to get our minds around this blend from Terre Métissée. Winemaker Dom Briol takes Malbec, Syrah, Braucol, Grenache, Négrette, Carignan, and Mourvèdre and creates a spicy, fruity, smooth, and long wine with multiple food-matching capabilities.
Listed prices are honored through December 11th, 2019. We will not honor mistyped prices. Vol. 43, No. 12
PTG
2017 Bourgogne Passetoutgrain (Georges Lignier et Fils)
Sale Price $19.99 – $203.90 case of twelve
A charming, early-drinking red, Passetoutgrain is loved but not always respected, since its grapes can come from the more pedestrian neighborhoods of Burgundy. But both the Pinot Noir and Gamay in this aromatic (think spicy raspberries) blend come from the not-so-shabby Morey-Saint-Denis. Tangy and earthy, this is the Burgundy to have with your coq au vin.
Cerdon and Pie
2018 Cerdon du Bugey (Renardat-Fâche)
Sale Price $21.99 – $237.50 case of twelve
Cerdon is a Methode Ancestrale sparkling wine from the Bugey region in mountainous Eastern France. Made from the red grapes Gamay and Poulsard, it is fermented in the bottle and left slightly sweet and low (8%) in alcohol. Its fresh, lively berry fruit makes for a perfect aperitif and an equally fine accompaniment to a fruit tart. At this time of year we feel it will make a wonderful match with apple and pumpkin pie.
Viré-Clessé
2017 Viré-Clessé (Domaine de Roally)
Sale Price $27.99 – $285.50 case of twelve
Before the Viré-Clessé appellation was created, Henri Goyard made free-spirited Mâcons from the villages of Viré, Montbellet, and Chardonnay. They were absolutely fantastic white Burgundies that flew way under the radar. Today the estate is owned by the Thevenet family, whose wines are considered the top in the district. Instead of absorbing Roally into their Bongran estate they have honored Goyard’s legacy by making this rich and wonderful Viré-Clessé. The 2017 is ripe and round, crisp and dry, with delicious flavors of freshly baked bread and roasted apples. A great Chardonnay for a roast chicken.
Goes with Schlutzkrapfen and Turkey
2018 Weissburgunder ‘Schulthauser’ (St. Michael-Eppan)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
The winemaker’s name is Hans Terzer. One name for the grape variety is Weissburgunder. The vineyard site is named Schulthaus. The winery’s website states that the wine is a perfect match with Schlutzkrapfen. So of course it comes from Italy, where cooperative wineries in the Südtirol are more than capable of making delicious and affordable wines from many different varieties. We featured this wine in the summer and sold out, so because we know it’s also great with turkey we bought more. We emphatically suggest having this exquisitely balanced Pinot Bianco, with its crisp orchard fruits and long dry finish, with any foods on the Thanksgiving table. Or with Schlutzkrapfen, a half-moon shaped, spinach-stuffed pasta known in the rest of Italy as mezzelune.
Lunar Landing
2014 Lunar (Movia)
Sale Price $29.99 per Liter – $305.90 case of twelve
Due to the higher bottle price of most orange wines, we never thought we’d be able to offer one in these pages, much less the Lunar from Slovenia’s esteemed Movia winery. But a change of wholesalers and the resulting need to clear their inventory provided a price we couldn’t pass up. So we bought the rest of the 2014 vintage. The terms ‘orange’ and ‘amber’ refer to the range of colors that develops when white wine grapes are allowed to macerate on their skins for a period of time. Extended contact with the skins provides pigment, tannins, and phenolic compounds that result in an intriguing array of aromas, flavors, and textures. The color of shimmering gold, the Lunar is an organic blend of Chardonnay and Rebula, aka Ribolla Gialla. It’s an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of flavors, full of peach and caramel in one sip and freshly baked bread and nuts in another. Movia’s Aleš Kristančič is an eighth-generation winemaker whose family vineyards predate the modern border between Italy and Slovenia. Naming his wine Lunar was an homage to the lunar phases (and subsequent atmospheric pressure) that guide its harvest, aging, and bottling. He believes that the Lunar is at its best after ten years. Normally priced at $45.99, the sale price for the liter bottle makes it tempting to buy two: one to enjoy now and the other to revisit in five years.
Pfalz Noir
2017 Pinot Noir (Koehler-Ruprecht)
Sale Price $19.99 – $203.90 case of twelve
The emergence of Pinot Noir from Germany has been a wonderful surprise. To us Koehler-Ruprecht’s 2017 is a dead ringer for a fine red from the Côte de Beaune. The gentle, mineral-inflected raspberry fruit and fine, racy tannins make this a long and elegant red.
Fronsac
2015 Fronsac (Château Arnauton)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
The right bank Bordeaux district of Fronsac is located to the west of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol on the Dordogne River. Given its location, it has long been considered a value wine nestled among pricier neighbors. The 2015 Arnauton is a generously full, dry Merlot packed with plummy fruit and soft ripe tannins. This will match elegantly with a rib eye and a blue cheese topping.
Super Volcano Falanghina
2018 Falanghina ‘Sabbia Vulcanica’ (Agnanum)
Sale Price $17.99 – $183.50 case of twelve
Campi Flegrei, which lies to the west of Naples, has since Roman times been a productive agricultural region. The many volcanoes in the area have left an amazingly fertile soil. Even today the Agnanum winery lies on an active, albeit flat, super volcano. The wines made here from vines between 60 and 100 years of age are Roman legacies made in a modern winery. This white Falanghina is fascinating, with its burnt gold color and fresh and salty apricot fruit. Savory and delightful with any and all seafood pasta dishes.
Our Final Quarterly Sale of the Year begins
Friday November 29th and runs through Sunday December 8th
Details: 10% off six bottles; 20% off twelve bottles. Wines of the Month (back page), fortified wines (Port, Sherry, Vermouth, etc.) and sparkling wines may be included for a 10% discount. Blue tagged (NET) wines and jug wines (1.5L and 3L) are excluded.
Specialty Foods
Giving Thanks for Triple Creams and Triple Milks
Four Fat Fowl ‘St. Stephen’ $25.99 per lb
(Regular Price $27.99)
Délice de Bourgogne $14.99 per lb
(Regular Price $15.99)
Champlain Valley Triple Cream $24.99 per lb
(Regular Price $25.99)
Caseificio dell’Alta Langa ‘La Tur’ $10.99 per piece
(Regular Price $11.99)
Triple creams hold their own all year, but the holidays are prime time for these decadent cheeses. A triple cream is a soft, bloomy-rinded cheese that has had cream added to the milk, so that the butterfat content is higher than that for brie and other similar cheeses. They are perfect for entertaining and special occasions as they are decadent, easy to pair, and have broad appeal. We have three cow’s milk triple creams this month as we dive into the busy holiday season, plus an equally indulgent mixed milk cheese to round them out.
In recent years, American creameries have been producing worthy examples, proving that high quality milk is key. St. Stephen is from Four Fat Fowl Creamery in Stephentown, NY. They add cream from the same herd of Jersey cows that produced the milk, which is naturally high in butterfat. The 8 oz. wheels have a pillowy rind, while the silky paste has a delicate flavor reminiscent of sweet cream.
Délice de Bourgogne is a classic example of a French triple crème. This larger format wheel features a thin rind that provides an earthy and slightly bitter contrast to the buttery and tangy interior.
Champlain Valley Triple Cream from Middlebury, VT is certified organic and comes in individually wrapped 4 oz. crottins. Fresh cream is added to cultured whole milk and then hand-ladled into the molds. The small size gives a larger rind-to-paste ratio, meaning a stronger and earthier cheese.
Finally, we have La Tur from Caseificio dell’Alta Langa in the Piedmont region of Italy. This soft-ripened treat is made
from a blend of cow, sheep, and goat’s milk. Though not a triple cream, it is still buttery and rich. The blend of milk types and the Geotrichum candidum cultures on the rind make it a little funkier and more complex than the triple creams.
For food pairings, contrast the flavors and textures with fresh fruits (like berries or grapes), nuts, or honey. Sparkling wines are a perfect beverage choice for triple creams (the bubbles literally cleanse the palate between bites), but if you happen to be stocking up on white or red Burgundy for Thanksgiving, those will work just fine too!
Wines of the Month — November 15, 2019 through December 11, 2019
2018 Corse Blanc (Terra Santa)
Sale Price $7.99 – $86.29 case of twelve
This full-flavored blend of Vermentino and Chardonnay hails from the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. Completely dry and zesty, it will match with spicy seafood and full-meal salads.
2017 Malbec ‘Clasico’ (Altos las Hormigas)
Sale Price $8.99 – $97.09 case of twelve
Altos las Hormigas crafts fresh and richly fruited Malbec. Their 2017 Clasico combines plummy fruit with balancing earthy tannins. Great with a shepherd’s pie.
2018 Ventoux (L’Arbre des Vignes)
Sale Price $8.99 – $97.09 case of twelve
L’Arbre des Vignes is a fruity, ripe Grenache from the slopes of Mount Ventoux. Have with a Provençal pistou with beans and garlic.
2018 Minervois (Le Bio Balthazar)
Sale Price $8.99 – $97.09 case of twelve
Organic Syrah (80%) and Grenache make up the blend in this favorite Languedoc red. Have this spicy, earthy, dry red with a long-braised lamb stew with root vegetables.