I ended up with a fair bit of French in the newsletter this month and I really thought long and hard about whether I should put most of them in the November newsletter. While most of the wines this month would make great turkey day wines they are also all restrained, light on their feet and ready to go with the lighter summer fare!
Bouchard Aîné & Fils
Chardonnay 2019
Reg. Price $14.99
Sale Price: $9.99
White Wine of the Month
The Cali style Chardonnay from Castle Rock last month went over very well and the Chardonnay this month is much more reserved. Like I’ve always said, Chardonnay is such a chameleon! Bouchard Aîné & Fils was founded in Burgundy in 1731 by Michel Bouchard after he moved to the area to get into the textile business. He quickly pivoted to being a wine broker and the rest is history. The family has had a presence in Burgundy since and have also bought land in the Languedoc area where they source some grapes for their vin de France wines. Vin de France doesn’t have a particular region or appellation named so they can source the fruit from anywhere in the country so for this bottling they supplement the harvest from Burgundy with some fruit from further south. This represents an amazing value since you get all of the winemaking expertise and attention that you would for any of their higher end bottlings but for a fraction of the price. This wine is 100% Chardonnay that ages on the fine lees for about 6 months for texture and complexity and only a small portion is aged in oak barrels. The majority of the wine is aged in stainless steel and when the two components are married together it is the perfect balance. Green apple, white flowers, caramelized pineapple and burnt sugar are met with citrus notes and vibrant acidity that rounds out the body. This will pair beautifully with food and is perfect for groups!
Crios
Malbec 2019
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $9.99
Red Wine of the Month
Malbec has come a long way in the seven years that I have been in the industry and thank goodness for that. So many of them used to be overly fruity, picked too late, over oaked and just tasted like blueberry pie with no sense of place or finesse. Argentina has had a reckoning in the last few years and they have changed up a lot of what they were doing. Now they are planting vineyards at higher elevations to keep the fruit cool and retain more acidity and they are also picking earlier. The wines are being aged in primarily neutral barrels instead of new American oak and the wines are showing much more artistry and balance. Susana Balbo is almost synonymous with Malbec and she is also a badass; she wanted to study nuclear physics in Bariloche on the western border of Argentina but her traditional family wouldn’t let her leave Mendoza. She decided to follow the family business of agriculture and study oenology even though at the time there were no women winemakers. In 1981 she received her degree in oenology and became the first woman in Argentina to do so. In 1999 she achieved her lifelong goal and started Susana Balbo Wines which Crios is a branch of. Crios was born out of love for her children and was at one point one of the most iconic Malbec labels. The label has since been updated along with what’s in the bottle. While the wine used to spend 9 months in a blend of French and American oak now only 40% of the wine spends time in neutral oak. I was blown away when I tasted this recently. It is incredibly light on its feet with vibrant acidity, medium body and shows notes of raspberry, violets, cacao and subtle spice notes.
Zacharias
Assyrtiko 2020
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $14.99
I have been bringing in a lot of great Greek wines lately and one of my favorite producers recently has been Zacharias. Zacharias is from Peleponnese in Southern Greece and the very hot Mediterranean climate is perfect for growing tons of fruit! Zacharias Winery was started in 2002 by Elias Zacharias but he had been making wine and studying agriculture for much longer than that. He graduated from the Agricultural University of Athens and loves to give back to his community so he has been offering people his agricultural services since 1974. He wants to use his agricultural skills along with modern wine making techniques to get Greek wine on every table and showcase what the region can do! The vineyards span a staggering 40,000 square meters and the vast majority of those are within Nemea where there are some vineyards that were planted in 1960. He focuses on indigenous varietals with funny names, this one being Assyrtiko (ah-sir-tee-ko) that is beautiful and mineral driven with notes of white flowers, citrus rind and under ripe apricot. Enjoy this with fish, grilled pork or a veggie pesto pasta!
Domaine du Salvard
Unique Pinot Noir 2018
Reg. Price $19.99
Sale Price: $15.99
The Loire valley is a pretty overlooked region in France, especially for their reds! Most people are familiar with Sancerre and shop the region for their Sauvignon Blancs and Chenin Blancs but the rest of the wine is mostly ignored! I am here to change that by introducing you to this killer Pinot Noir that drinks substantially above its price point. Domaine du Salvard is one of my favorite producers of Cheverny blanc, a white wine that is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay but the yields have been low the past several years so I can never get my hands on it! Several years back they started the Unique label featuring 100% Sauvignon Blanc and 100% Pinot Noir and they knocked these wines out of the park. The Pinot Noir comes from vineyards that are 10-20 years old, the grapes are destemmed and the wine only sees stainless steel so you get a pure expression of the fruit. This wine is youthful and fresh with notes of wild strawberries, bing cherries. resinous herbs and black tea. If you like the lighter style of Burgundy or Willamette you have to try this one! If it was from Burgundy or Willamette it would be $30!
Schloss Gobelsburg
Cistercien Rosé 2020
Reg. Price $24.99
Sale Price: $18.99
Last month I featured the Vajra rosé which is one of my favorites every year and now it’s Gobelsburg’s turn. Schloss Gobelsburg started as a monastery in 1071 and the monks were granted land for vineyards in 1171. It wasn’t until 1996 that Eva and Michael Moosbrugger were granted the wine making and viticultural contract but with the help of Michael’s mentor Willi Brundlemayer (one of the best producers of the area) it has returned to its former glory. The estate 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.
Maison L’Envoye
Beaujolais Rosé 2020
Reg. Price $18.99
Sale Price: $13.99
The last of the French wine this month is this beautiful little rosé from Beaujolais. Hopefully Beaujolais is overcoming its reputation from its awkward teen years of the banana candy Nouveau styles because the region is making some incredibly beautiful wines. Like Argentina they have changed the farming and winemaking methods to continuously make better wine year after year. Maison L’Envoye is one of the bigger négociants in Burgundy and they have expanded to other regions known for terroir driven Pinot Noir. Négociants are organizations that purchase fruit and oversee the farming practices but none of the land belongs to them. They may have their own wine making facility but for some négociants even those are rented out or on a contract basis. Maison L’Envoye was founded by Mark Tarlov in 2011 with Old Bridge Cellars and the wines they have been producing show the level of expertise from this team. The Beaujolais rosé is 100% Gamay that is in contact with the skins for 8 hours for color and complexity. The wine ages on its fine lees for 5 months in stainless steel before bottling and the finished wine is elegant and delicate with notes of under ripe stone fruit, melon and wild strawberry.
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
