Here I go with my unintended themes again. I had planned to do the Goats do Roam and the Maz Caz Cotes du Rhone together but it looks like I am also back on my South Africa kick with the white wine of the month.
I am very excited to announce that there is another Zoom wine tasting coming up! We will be hosting one with Michele D’Aprix, wine maker at Maz Caz in France. We will be hosting the tasting on Sept. 12 and there will be another email with additional information shortly.
Cheers,
Sarah
The Gatekeeper
White Blend 2019
Reg. Price $14.99
Sale Price: $9.99
White Wine of the Month
I love how much South African wine is changing and growing. I said a couple of years ago that I had been most impressed with the quality in South Africa and the strides they had made and it holds even more true today. I appreciate that they are perfecting their style on the grapes that grow well there like Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet and Shiraz but they are also experimenting and planting some weird stuff. The Gatekeeper is a great white blend that combines both coinciding endeavors while simultaneously being the perfect style to toe the line between summer and fall. The Gatekeeper is the brain child of the Kloovenburg Estate which is located in the Swartland region of South Africa which is a large area with hot, dry areas as well as coastal areas. The current custodial family is the Du Toit family and they replanted a lot of the vineyards in 1997 and breathed some more new life into the winery in 2015 when they appointed young, female winemaker Jolandie Fouche to take over. The Gatekeeper white is a new venture for the winery and the vines were planted when Jolandie took over. It is a blend of 50% Chenin Blanc, 20% Rousanne, 10% Verdelho and 20% Grenache Blanc that is surprisingly zippy and crisp given the Rhone power houses that add to the blend. The wine sees a combination of stainless steel vats and neutral French oak during aging that give the wine layered complexity and texture but no malolactic fermentation takes place. That means that the wine keeps its zippy, green apple acidity. The wine has notes of citrus zest, green apple, under ripe stone fruit and hints of white flowers. Enjoy this with anything from creamy pasta dishes to roasted chicken with squash.
Goats do Roam
Red Blend 2019
Reg. Price $14.99
Sale Price: $10.99
Red Wine of the Month
The Goats do Roam white blend went over so well when I featured it over a year ago that I still carry it in the store. When my rep told me that they had special pricing on the red counter part I knew that I had to jump on it! Goats do Roam comes from Fairview, a working farm in South Africa that owns all of their own vineyards, a rarity in the country. The vineyards are spread out over Paarl, Darling, Swartland and Stellenbosch and the winery has had the Integrity and Sustainability seal since 2010. Fairview, originally called Bloemkoolfontein, was settled in 1693 and was acquired by Lithuanian immigrant Charles Back in 1937. His son Cyril took over in 1955 and his son Charles Back II joined him in 1978. From the beginning Charles II wanted to do things a little bit differently and started planting different varietals such as Viognier, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah as well as making artisanal cheeses. In 2014 Charles II was awarded the International Wine Challenge Lifetime Achievement and that was just the start; now he is the most awarded South African winemaker. The Goats do Roam is named after some mischievous goats that got out of their pens and roamed about the vineyard and the wines are styled after the Rhone Valley. The wine is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Shiraz and Tempranillo that are aged in oak until the perfect balance is achieved. Notes of dark cherry, wild blackberry, dark plums and baking spices make up the nose on this beauty. Enjoy this with anything off of the grill or roasted meats as we get into fall! This with short ribs from the crock pot sounds like a perfect night after work.
Luigi Baudana
Dragon Langhe Bianco 2018
Reg. Price $26.99
Sale Price: $19.99
While Piedmont reds get all of the fame and glory the white wines produced in the area are nothing to turn your nose up at. One of my favorite white wines from the area is the Dragon from Luigi Baudana and it is not typically available for me to buy so I stocked up and hopefully will have some for a while. Luigi Baudana and his wife Fiorina cared for the property for over thirty years together but the family has been in Piedmont for so long that Luigi and Fiorina don’t have any records of just how long ago they settled there. The estate only has 2.6 hectares (6.4 acres) of land and they are lucky enough to have some land in some very sought after crus including the Baudana and Cerretta crus. Luigi and Fiorina didn’t have children so in 2003 they started looking towards the future of the estate and began looking for someone to carry on their legacy. Through friends of Aldo Vajra they found his son, Giuseppe who started with them in 2008 and took over the reins in 2009. He continues to carry on their legacy and be a guardian to the estate while implementing the organic practices that the Vajra estate uses. The Dragon white is a blend of 45% Chardonnay, 30% Nascetta, 20% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Riesling that is whole cluster pressed and only sees stainless steel. Nascetta is an heirloom white varietal in Piedmont that is becoming more and more popular among traditional vignerons eager to save this under cover super star. This blend is a perfect transition to fall wine and will pair beautifully with roasted dishes, fall vegetables and squashes while being refreshing on a hot day. Notes of kiwi, lime zest, Asian pear and subtle flower notes paired with refreshing acidity and pronounced minerality will have you coming back to this one.
Max Caz
Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2017
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $13.99
I am very excited to feature the Maz Caz red here and enable a Zoom wine tasting featuring the white and rosé as well with wine maker Michele D’Aprix on September 12 at 4pm. I will send out an additional email with more information and the Zoom meeting ID. Michele fell in love with wine in the late 90’s and interviewed for a job at Dry Creek Cellars in Sonoma despite having no wine making experience. She credits the multi tasking she learned at the bartending job she had at the time in securing the job at Dry Creek. She later graduated from UC Davis with a degree in enology and viticulture and studied under French wine making consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt. She worked with Stéphane for four years before he introduced her to Pierre Bernault in 2008 who is the owner of Château Beauséjour in Bordeaux. He was looking for help at the winery and she was looking for a place that she could start making her own wine and it was a perfect fit. Today she splits her time between her home in New York and Bordeaux and she is the only American born woman wine maker in Bordeaux. Michele now has many different projects in Bordeaux, Spain and the Costières de Nîmes in southern France. Maz Caz is her Costières de Nîmes project since she wanted to see a Mediterranean influence on the grape varietals that she got used to working with in Spain. The Maz Caz red is a blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah that is organically farmed, hand harvested and made with natural yeasts. Only 500 cases are produced a year and Michele takes the liberty of a pairing suggestion on the label. Well balanced with notes of wild berries, dark cherry and subtle earthiness make this a perfect fall wine.
Château de Montfrin
Cherche Midi Rosé 2019
Reg. Price $16.99
Sale Price: $12.99
This is a brand new rosé this year courtesy of Paris Wine Company, a small importer who focuses on organic farming, hand harvesting and minimal intervention in the cellar. While most of the estates they represent have their own land and make their own wine Paris Wine Company also facilitates a relationship between small farmers and winemakers. Cherche Midi is one of these pseudo negociant wines that is specially blended for Paris Wine Company by Benjamin Beguin and Aurore de Fleurieu in southern France. The grapes come from organically farmed vineyards in between the Rhone and Gardon rivers that are planted on alluvial soil. The wines are meant to be fun, easy drinking and a great value and I think they hit the nail on the head with this one. Cherche Midi means “noon seeker” in French and is a colloquialism for someone who is trying to get a free lunch. The wine is a blend of 50% Carignan, 40% Caladoc and 10% Merlot from vines planted in 2014. While the vines are quite young that is perfect for making delicious, quaffable rosé that won’t break the bank. Caladoc is a grape that I had never heard of before but it was created in 1958 by Paul Truel at a French agricultural research facility and is a cross between Malbec and Grenache. While not sanctioned for use in AOC designated wines it is often grown in the Languedoc for rosé. The finished wine is light and refreshing with notes of watermelon, cantaloupe, under ripe stone fruit and wild raspberry. This is the perfect picnic wine and even has a screw cap like all rosé should.
Schloss Gobelsburg
Cistercien Rosé 2019
Reg. Price $20.99
Sale Price: $16.99
We have explored rosé from all over the world this summer but one of my tried and true wines is this one right here. Schloss Gobelsburg started as a monastery in 1071 and the monks were granted land in the Heiligenstein & Gaisberg vineyards in 1171. In 1786 the estate was absorbed by the Kammern winery and Eva and Michael Moosbrugger were granted the wine making and viticultural contract in 1996. With the help of Michael’s mentor Willi Brundlemayer (one of the best producers of the area) it has returned to its former glory and Michael was named “Winemaker of the Year” in 2006 by the Austrian magazine Falstaff before being named “One of the Top 100 Wineries of the Year” by Wine and Spirits Magazine in 2009 and 2010. The estate still has land in Heiligenstein & Gaisberg which are the crème de la crème in the Kamptal in addition to being the oldest documented sites. Both vineyards have since been elevated to Erste Lagen, or a First Growth of the region. The Cistercien rosé is an homage to the monks that first inhabited the estate and the wine is a blend of Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Pinot Noir that is all farmed sustainably. The grapes for the rosé come from cooler vineyards to retain the precious acidity and the grapes are gently pressed with the skins to prepare for fermentation. This is a very versatile wine that can be drunk by itself on the patio or pair beautifully with food. Notes of wild cherry, fresh berries and watermelon are balanced by its intense minerality and acidity. If I still have some of this in November grab it for Thanksgiving dinner!
I can’t wait to explore these wines and more with you!
Pop into the store for all of your beverage needs and don’t forget about our in store tastings!
Beer Tasting Thursday 5 pm to 7 pm *On hold for Covid*
Wine Tasting Friday 4 pm to 7 pm *On hold for Covid*
