I hope that you all enjoy Thanksgiving as much as we do. It is a wonderful time of family, friends, food and,of course, wine. After a token 5 km turkey trot, we all gather in the kitchen for much of the day, cooking, sampling, eating hors d’oeuvres, oogling over the new lives that have joined us since the last family gathering– we have 30-somethings whom we treasure. It is a glorious day that begins with “bloodies” or sparkling, and ends with a feast and bottles of red and white at the table.
We have lots of recommendations that we think of as welcome companions to our festivities. We’ll be opening the first two whites and the first two reds this Friday, November 16th, from 4:30-6:00 at the shop. Come by to try them.
Sparkling
Moirots, Cremant de Borgogne, NV ($18.99)
80% Pinot Noir, 20% Aligoté
- hand-harvested from 2.5 hectares in the Cote Chalonnaise
- gentle bubbles, enchanting flavors
Raventos i Blanc, Blanc de Blancs, 2015 ($20.99)
42% Xarel-lo, 38% Macabeo, 20% Parellada
- biodynamic from 40 year old vines
- always vintage; 18+ months on the lees
- minerality and fruit combine in this elegant, quiet beauty
Giordano, Nebbiolo Brut ($32.99)
100% Nebbiolo, all from Barbaresco
- organic
- 335 cases
- Brut Nature, which means absolutely dry
- ever-so-slightly rosé
- energetic, full-bodied, joyous–yummy!
White
Luneau-Papin, La Grange, Vieilles Vignes, Muscadet, 2017– $17.99
100% Melon de Bourgogne
- 45-year old vines, hand-harvested
- almost paradoxical combination of ripe fruit (orange and pear) with intense minerality
- tension and depth
Can Feixas, Penedes, 2016–$14.99
40% Parellada, 36% Macabeo, 18% Chard, 6% Malvasia
- 300 acres, mountainous-northern most Penedes
- Parellada known locally as “montonec,” grape of the mountain
- Fragrant, stoney, clean, fresh; interesting and delicious
Citluk, Zilavka, Herzegovina, 2014– $18.99
Zilavka is a variety native to the Balkans, found in Croatia, Serbia , Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina
- fascinating history of survival against all odds, first phylloxera in early 20th century,
- two world wars, vineyards replanted in 1957, then devastating war of the 1990s, which was also a “war against the farmers”
- Currently only 2500 acres of vineyards in Herzegovina
- Zilavka is nutty, fruity and crisp
Poggio, Timorasso, Colli Tortonesi, 2016– $24.99
100% Timorasso, a rare Piemontese variety with fewer than 75 acres in all of Italy and none elsewhere
- organic– not certified, but no chemicals ever used
- hand-harvested from 15 hectares at 2,000′ elevation
- beguiling aromas, medium weight yet with a beautiful lightness on the finish
Red
Perez, Ultreia, Saint Jacques, Bierzo, 2016– $17.99
Mostly Mencia, with Bastardo (Trousseau) and Garnacha Tintorera (Alicanté Bouchet)
- organic (not certified)
- vines between 75-118 years old
- There is a pure, elegant, silky, easy to sip, long finish
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay, Sierra Foothills, 2016–$19.99
100% Gamay
- 3000′ elevation, hand-harvested,
- indigenous yeast, all stainless steel, no fining or filtering, 400 cases
- so much flavor concentration for a medium-weight wine, from dark cherry to earth, tea and spice.
- It gets better over time.
Sincette, Groppello– $21.99
100% Groppello
- biodynamic certified
- 11 hectares
- indigenous yeast, no filtration
- floral, fruit and a beautiful savory note keep bringing us back to this wine
Domaine de la Butte, “La Haute de la Butte,” Bourgueil, 2016–$ 28.99
100% Cabernet Franc
- organic certified
- 14 hectare, hand-harvested, indigenous yeast
- destemmed, foot-trodden which is the gentlest crush– does not break seeds
- love the chimerical shift from fruit to graphite to savory all wrapped in just a medium-weight wine with a long finish extended by the lively acidity.