Newsletter
November 15, 2018 – December 12, 2018
Burgaud Bojo
2017 Beaujolais-Villages ‘Les Vignes de Lantignié’ (Jean-Marc Burgaud)
Sale Price $12.99 – $132.50 case of twelve
The Beaujolais-Villages from Jean-Marc Burgaud is always a fantastic value. This 2017 gushes with bright berry fruit and crisp, lively tannins. In a nutshell, it goes with everything. Outside of a nutshell it goes with turkey.
Lugana by the Lake
2017 Lugana (Ca' Lojera)
Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
Schäfer-Fröhlich
2016 Nahe Dry Riesling (Schäfer-Fröhlich)
Sale Price $11.99 – $122.30 case of twelve
With its apple and slate flavors dry Riesling is an amazingly versatile food wine. This 2016 from Schäfer-Fröhlich in the Nahe is such an intense and crisp experience that it will pair with all the sweet and savory foods of Thanksgiving and any hot pepper-laden dishes from Southeast Asia.
Mallory and Benjamin’s Macon
2017 Macon-Uchizy (Talmard)
Sale Price $14.99 – $152.90 case of twelve
In the Macon it’s hard to keep your Talmards straight without a scorecard. Here we have Mallory and Benjamin from the village of Uchizy. There 2017 benefitted from a sunny, dry harvest to create a ripe, full-flavored Chardonnay with delightful orchard fruits and a nutty dry finish.
Le Pur Fruit de Malbec
2017 Cahors ‘Le Pur Fruit du Causse’ (Combel-La-Serre)
Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
The popularity of Malbec from Argentina has revived the region of Cahors in southwest France. Combel-La-Serre’s Le Pur Fruit cuvée is a ripe, rich, and juicy Malbec with a lively dry mineral streak. This is a fruity, turkey-friendly wine for the season.
Monferrato
2016 Barbera del Monferrato ‘Rosso Pietro’ (Valpane) Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
Vinho Biologico Verde
2017 Vinho Verde (Mica)
Sale Price $12.99 – $132.50 case of twelve
Another Part of Tuscany – Montecucco
2016 Montecucco Rosso (Campi Nuovi)
Sale Price $14.99 – $152.90 case of twelve
Montecucco is a hillside area in Southwest Tuscany that benefits from its elevation and its proximity to the sea. Here Campi Nuovi produces organic wines based on the Sangiovese grape. Only 750 cases of this Rosso were produced in the 2016 vintage and the wine is a beauty. The Sangiovese (80%) is augmented with Cabernet and Merlot to produce a firm and ripe Tuscan red to match with mushroom-stuffed raviolis.
Melon B.
2017 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine (La Louvetrie)
Sale Price $13.99 – $142.70 case of twelve
Listed prices are honored through December 12th, 2018. We will not honor mistyped prices. Vol. 42, No. 12
While Napa Valley has long been the premium place for Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley grows some of California’s best Pinot Noir. The concept behind Banshee is to capture the full ripeness of Pinot Noir fruit and bottle it while it’s fresh and lively. The 2016 Banshee is a generous, richly fruited Pinot with cherry and raspberry fruit and soft, dusty tannins. This month’s price is also the best it has been in years.
Nearly every day we are asked for a good bottle of Spanish Tempranillo. Our first thought is either Rioja or Ribera del Duero. While both regions are dominated by the Tempranillo, the wines can be vastly different. Generally speaking Rioja is a cooler climate and the wines are labelled according to age designations such as Crianza and Reserva. Ribera del Duero is a more extreme climate, with temperature swings from hot daytime to cool nighttime giving the wine more color and power. Producers here can use the Crianza and Reserva designations, but Emilio Moro instead designates by the vines it farms (between 15 and 25 years in age) to make this full-bodied, Ribera del Duero. This 2015 has been aged in oak for 12 months, but the rich, plummy fruit integrates seamlessly with the oak. The result is a beautifully balanced, ripe red with gorgeous purple fruit and smooth supple tannins.
The Castellanis of Ca’ La Bionda are totally devoted to their exceptional hillside vineyards. Their monetary investment into the terraced and re-terraced slopes appears to go way beyond what they can receive from what they charge for their wines. The Casal Vegri is a case in point: a single-vineyard Valpolicella in the heart of the Classico zone. They could make an Amarone from this site, but they believe this vineyard is ideal for this one Cru. The 2016 is neither heavy nor dense, but the aromatics and balance are truly superb. Lovely aromas of plum, rosemary, and sage lead to a palate of earthy truffle flavors and a gravity-defying finish.
We are true fans of Pinot Blanc. Versions from Alsace, Alto Adige, and the Wachau can be thrilling. We knew there were fine pockets of Pinot Blanc dotted all over Germany, but it has been a while since we have had one like this. The 2017 from Koehler-Ruprecht is a totally dry Pinot Blanc, yet it’s rich in fruit, textured on the palate, and sprinkled with minerals. This is superb winemaking. Excellent with shellfish. 
One significant recent change in Piedmont wines has been the improvement in quality of the basic Nebbiolos. The last twenty years has seen an increase in Nebbiolo plantings, so now there’s enough to fill the marketplace in most price ranges. Tannin management is key in making a Nebbiolo destined to be drunk young. In this bottle Ballarin takes precocious Nebbiolo fruit grown in the Barolo zone and presses it lightly, extracting neither too much color nor too much tannin. They age the wine briefly, half in small barriques and half in larger barrels. This rounds and softens the wine into its ready-to-drink shape. And we do mean shape, because this 2015 is a beautifully textured, transparent red with lovely rose petal and raspberry flavor and just enough recognizable tannin to teach a lesson on Nebbiolo. This light and lively red is perfect for a plate of cheese and charcuterie. Or with a full throttle mushroom-stuffed ravioli with oxtail ragu.
Where did a few growers of Côte de Beaune white Burgundy go when vineyards in their backyard became too expensive? To Rully in the Côte Chalonnaise to the south. You may remember the Bouzeron Aligoté from Chanzy a few newsletters back. This month we have their 2015 Rully, a flinty, crisp, dry Chardonnay with rich depth and a smooth, long finish. This is a fine pairing with an oven roasted salmon with leeks and lentils.
At some point in its history Prosecco exploded from being a regional frothy beverage into a mass-produced major industry. Nearly all Prosecco is made by the Charmat method, in which the fermentation that produces the bubbles occurs in large stainless steel vats. This produces the charming young fruit and soft bubbles that make Prosecco such an easygoing aperitivo. Adami’s Proseccos have always been a step above. Their Col Credas is a seriously dry Prosecco with superb precision. This time we recommend their charming ‘Sul Lievito’ which harkens back to the pre-industrial style of Prosecco in which the secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle. This results in amazingly fresh orchard fruit aromas and a slight cloudiness due to its lees contact. This is barely a commercial concern at Adami. They devote only 1% of their production to this style, and only 13 other producers in Valdobbiadene continue with this tradition. It is recommended to serve this wine with food. We think a seafood risotto would be ideal.
There are many uses for Champagne. Recently we saw the Red Sox spray some kind of sparkling wine all over the locker room after defeating the Dodgers. Des Linden reportedly sipped Champagne from her running shoe after winning the Boston Marathon. And did you see the weather that day? Congrats forever Des! We’re with her. Drink it don’t spray it. And use the vessel of your choice. Lately we’ve been using regular wine glasses instead of flutes in order to get more aroma and better mouthfeel. Quenardel is our latest find in good-value true Brut Champagne. Located in the village of Verzenay on the Pinot Noir-friendly Montagne de Reims, Quenardel makes a toasty, rich Champagne with true vinosity. We think of this style of Champagne as a food wine, but of course it’s also great on its own before a meal.
One of the newest cheeses from Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA, Sophelise is a product of their commitment to creating high-quality cheeses that uniquely reflect the rich environment of their Berkshire farmland. A gooey washed-rind cheese, its unique pungency is the result of being washed with bourbon from nearby Berkshire Mountain Distillers. It is simultaneously yeasty, earthy, sweet, meaty, and creamy, making Sophelise a cheese that invites contemplation and conversation.
Westfield Farm has been making award-winning farmstead cheeses in Hubbardston, MA since 1971. Their Classic Blue Log is truly unique: made with pasteurized goat’s milk, its dense and creamy center is surrounded by a fuzzy gray-blue coating of Roquefort mold. The peppery bite of the blue rind balances out the clean and tangy flavors of the interior. Perfect for a cheese plate!
Eidolon is a young, bloomy-rind cheese based on traditional French cheeses like Chaource and Coulommiers. Made with certified organic cow’s milk at Grey Barn on Martha’s Vineyard, the paste is moist and cakey, creamier towards the rind. A herd of entirely grass-fed Dutch Belted dairy cows imbue this cheese with the seasonally shifting flavors of the pasture.
Arpeggio is a raw milk, semi-firm cheese modeled after Taleggio. An initially bright, fruity flavor gives way to a complex mix of grass and mushroom. The Robinsons have been producing cheese on their certified organic farm since 2009 and in that time have received multiple awards for their delicious cheeses.
2017 Pays d’Oc Sauvignon/Viognier (Le Petit Balthazar) 
2017 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Gran Sasso) 
2016 Douro (Flor de Crasto) 
2017 Verdicchio di Matelica ‘Vardi’ (Fontezoppa)