Three French Hens
White Blend 2020
Reg. Price $15.99
Sale Price: $10.99
White Wine of the Month
I’ve said it before and I’l say it again; white blends never sell as well as red blends and I cannot wrap my head around that! France is a wonderful land full of smelly cheese, crummy cars, large vineyards and good bosses and it is so interesting to me that some regions in France only allow 100% varietal wines and others primarily make blends. Burgundy and Loire Valley make 100% varietal wines but everything south of those areas focuses on blends and if the French say blending grapes is a good thing you know it’s true! Three French Hens is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Vermentino from the Languedoc region in southern France from Importer giant Boutinot. The Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino are a perfect pair because the citrusy notes from the Sauvignon Blanc are balanced by the body and tropical notes of the Vermentino. Notes of pear, apple, pineapple and citrus zest pair beautifully with balanced acidity, medium body and no oak influence. Is it off color to recommend this with roasted chicken with rosemary and squash? Otherwise enjoy it with fish, appetizers, smelly French cheese and white pasta sauces.
When & Where
Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Reg. Price $14.99
Sale Price: $9.99
Red Wine of the Month
One of the distributors I work with has been bringing in some mind blowingly good Australian wines at unreal prices. I brought in the Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from MWC Wines that is brought in by the same importer but I couldn’t believe it when I tried this Cab. While there are still some uninteresting, overly fruity bulk wines made in Australia featuring various animals or poking fun at criminals it is time to start talking about the progress they have made. It is time to discard the old, tired stereotype of critter wines and start focusing on the amazing juice that the country is making currently. When and Where is made in the Riverland area within South Australia, the largest wine region in Australia. While South Australia is known for their hot regions like Barossa this Cabernet is picked earlier and is incredibly well balanced. The wine comes in at 13% alcohol and is done entirely in stainless steel so it is fresh, balanced and shows the purity of the beautiful fruit they are growing! Notes of dark plum, cherry, fig and dried flowers make this a super crowd friendly Cab. Take this to BBQ’s, dinner with friends and late nights on the patio.
La Salita
Chardonnay 2020
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $13.99
The Natura Chard I featured last month is one of my best selling Chardonnays because it is affordable, organic and un oaked. While that rich, buttery style can be done beautifully a lot of Chardonnays today are toning that done and focusing more on letting the fruit and terroir speak. La Salita is a project from Giuliana Imports, a giant on the wine scene in Colorado that focuses on wines from Piedmont. Quite a large chunk of my northern Italy set comes from Giuliana Imports and they have relationships with growers there spanning almost three decades. La Salita is a negociant project started by Guiliana Imports that showcases the land and the relationships with growers in the area. While Piedmont is overwhelmingly known for red wines the Chardonnay is what blew me away the most! Maybe it’s just that I’m a sucker for a good Chard. All of the La Salita wines are hand harvested and the Chardonnay is grown in the sandy soils of Asti. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then 90% of it continues in stainless on the lees and only 10% of the wines ages in old, neutral oak. The finished wine has incredible texture and minerality with notes of Asian pear, golden apple, melon and bright acidity.
Viña Eguia
Rioja Reserva 2016
Reg. Price $24.99
Sale Price: $17.99
I have featured a lot of more affordable, brighter styles of Tempranillo in my newsletter that have gone easy on the oak and this is not one of those! I had a different delicious Spanish red planned that I bumped to next month because I wanted to get this on your table at the start of BBQ season! Viña Eguia was founded in 1973 in Elciego, a town in Rioja that borders the Basque region so they named their winery “Eguia”, the Basque word for truth. The grapes for the Reserva come from vineyards with an average age of 25 years and fermentation takes place in stainless steel. To be labeled as “Reserva” the wine has to be aged at least three years, one of which has to be in oak so the wine is aged for two years in American oak, 30% of which is new. American oak is much more bold in flavor profile than its French counterpart so oak lovers, this is for you! The wine is bottled and aged for another year so there is incredible depth to these, especially for the price. Notes of vanilla, coconut, baking spices, fig, wild cherry, licorice and dark plum make this perfect for grilled and roasted meats, mushrooms, stews, pasta and cool nights by a very contained fire pit.
Skouras
Zoe Rosé 2021
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $14.99
Domaine Eugène Carrel
Savoie Rosé 2020
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $14.99
Last month we did Domaine de Pellehaut from Gascony so this month we are shooting up catty corner to Savoie for another great 2020 rosé. Savoie is a small region nestled between Beaujolais and Switzerland and Domaine Eugène Carrel has been managed by the same family for six generations. They have about 60 acres of vines planted on the slopes of Mont de Chat and Charavez and the vineyards enjoy elevations of almost 1,000 feet. The rosé is a blend of 80% Gamay and 20% Mondeuse, a French red grape that almost went extinct after the phylloxera epidemic wiped most of it out. It was once a widely planted grape variety but vineyards weren’t replanted with it so now most of the plantings are in Savoy in eastern France. There is quite a bit of speculation on its relationship to other grapes and some even thought it was identical to Refosco from northern Italy although that has been disproved. It drinks sort of like Grenache and makes medium bodied reds with good acidity but mainly seems to make its appearance in rosé. The wine is done entirely in stainless steel on the lees and this is one of the best 2020 rosés that I have bought this year. It is still drinking incredibly fresh and has intense minerality, wild strawberry and raspberry.
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
Wine Tasting Friday 4 pm to 7 pm
