As always, we are tasting wines and discovering new and exciting bottles. Over the past few weeks, we have found some great new items that we have been incredibly excited to share with you, but they didn’t necessarily fit in with our week’s theme. So this week, we decided that we could wait no longer! Tonight we will be tasting a stellar lineup of new wines. Whites, rosé and reds from every night values to the super schmoozy. This is guaranteed to be a great tasting and we are sure you will leave with some fabulous new friends.
2004 Weingut Hirsch Zöbing Riesling, Kamptal, Austria $21/$18.90/$16.80
Importer Terry Theise says that Johannes Hirsch’s wines “Have bootie and can shake it!” This wine is definitely getting its groove on with racy acidity, stellar minerality and a punch of power. The Zöbing village in the center of the Kamptal region is blessed with incredibly rocky soil, which gives the wine its incredible balance. Johannes Hirsch is a passionate young winemaker, who was the first in Austria to put all of his wines under screwcap and one of the first to join the biodynamic wine fraternity when it started two years ago. Because of these decisions he has often accidentally found himself at the center of undesired controversy, which is unfortunate as he has never been trying to make a political statement with his practices. He’s just trying to make the best wines possible. Pair this with goat cheese, sashimi or a starry night!
2007 Azienda Agricola Fiorini, Tenuta Campioli, Bianchello del Metauro, Le Marche, Italy $17/$15.30/$13.60
As Hannibal marched down the slopes of the Alps to the north with his legions of elephants he began descending into the eastern plains and foothills of the Apennines on the Adriatic coast of the now Italian peninsula. This is partly where the story of Bianchello or Biancame del Metauro begins; according to Tacitus, an important Roman senator and historian of the first century, it was because of overconsumption of this delicious wine that Hasdrubal, Carthaginian general and younger brother of Hannibal, and his army was defeated on the banks of the Metauro river. Today the DOC of Bianchello del Metauro is one of the few northern Marche wine appellations that is seeing a revival and qualitative growth. Enter the Fiorini family of the small village of Barchi, on the sloping foothills of the Apennines yet overlooking the Adriatic just a few miles away. For three generations since Luigi Fiorni planted the first vines in 1930 the family has been dedicated to the typicity of their local territory. Today the matron Carla Fiorini is the caretaker and winemaker of this small 100 ha estate. As a wine, bianchello or biancame is light on its feet and nervy when young, but the locals enjoy this wine after a few years of aging, which mellows the fruit and makes it a great food pair with subtle dishes like poached fish or light, lean white meats.
2008 Muga Rosado, Barrio del la Estacion, Rioja, Spain $12/$10.80/$9.60
The story of Bodegas Muga is full of legendary figures including the current owner Isacin Muga, that has taken over the family estate first planted in 1922 by his father. Located in Haro, the epicenter of “La Rioja Alta” or “upper Rioja”, Muga has become an iconic producer that has helped to solidify the importance of this now well-known Spanish region. When many people think of rose or in this case “Rosado” they will almost undoubtedly think of the industrial byproduct known as white zinfandel. Well, we urge you to try a world class Rosado, especially from Spain. Spain has a knack for producing some of Europe’s most interesting and affordable roses that feature bright fresh fruit flavors of strawberry and raspberry with a classically refreshing salinity and acidity. The salinity or saltiness often comes from the regions distinct soils of clay and limestone that have eroded from the nearby Sierra de Cantabria mountains, giving the wines a unique edge. This Rosado features 60% garnacha, 30% viura and 10% tempranillo and is briefly macerated before being aged for 2 months in the traditional Rioja method, old American oak barrels. Of course this is lovely with tapas!
2007 Domaine La Guintrandy, Vieilles Vignes, Côtes du Rhône, France $12/$10.80/$9.60
The historic Guintrady estate is located directly west of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the commune of Visan. Records of wine production at the Domaine date back to 1000 AD and it has been family run since 1850 with Marie-Claude and Olivier Cuilleras, currently the fifth and sixth generation owner/winemakers. For those of you fluent in Visigoth, you will surely recognize that the name Guintrandy comes from the Visigoth word Guntran. This wine is Grenache driven as are almost all Côtes du Rhône, but there is about 10% carignan as well which gives the wine a savory meatiness that seemed almost Italian in style to us. Produced from old vines, unfined and unfiltered this is an alluringly rustic wine, that we immediately fell for. Olivier and Marie-Claude also limit sulfur additions to the bare minimum to help preserve the natural expression of the grape. This is a perfect wine for summertime grilling or a simple plate of olives and cheese.
2004 Tenuta Caparzo “La Caduta” Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy $30/$37/$24
Brunello di Montalcino in one of the pillars of Italian wine and the shining star of Tuscany. It is in the town of Montalcino that the sangiovese grape reaches its zenith. The term Brunello, which translates in local dialect to “nice dark one” refers to a specific clone of sangiovese, known as sangiovese grosso, a larger berry than in the style of sangiovese used in Chianti. Due to its prestige and rarity, Brunello tends to have a hefty price tag attached. For us mere mortals, there is good news. Since 1984, the DOC of Rosso di Montalcino was established which still must be 100% sangiovese from within the zone, but only requires 6 months ageing in oak and one year in bottle before release. The result is Baby Brunello at 1/3 to ½ the price of it’s older sibling. Even better news is that occasionally a Rosso comes along that really gives Brunello a run for its money. This stunning single vineyard offering from Caparzo is just such a wine. The La Caduta vineyard located in the western part of the zone stands at 300m above sea level, with great sun exposure and is a mix of schist and sandstone. They exceed the barrel ageing requirements by an additional 6 months in French barrique and the result is one of the most concentrated and complex rossos we have had.
2002 Azienda Agricola Paolo Bea, Rosso de Veo, Montefalco, Umbria, Italy $55/$49.50/$44
The true test of a wine master is not in the great harvests but rather in the difficult and uncertain ones. Many great and humble producers will tell you that in a great year anyone can make great wine, but in a cold and rainy year as it was in 2002 in central and northern Italy a small and delicate crop must be handled with much more care and a lot of patience. As the hail and rain continued through September of 2002, Paolo and son Giampiero simply looked at their fields of old vine sagrantino, shook their heads and waited. It wasn’t until late October that they began harvest, trying to get every ounce of ripeness out of the berries, 40% of the crop was lost. Once the wine was vinified they were again stupefied as the color was so light that it resembled more a rose then a bold red that they are accustom to. They waited. Giampiero, son and now winemaker, decided to leave the wine to rest, first 20 months in stainless, another 10 in botti, and finally 30 months in bottle, declassifying it to Vino da Tavola, just hoping the wine would turn around. The magic of the Beas finally happened and the once thin and light wine had become the usual burly, red-blooded treat that they are known to produce. Since they did not make their other wines in this vintage are fortunate here to have a blend of the best vineyards and fruit in a wine that is more approachable both in drinking ability and affordability! A classic blend of 65% sagrantino, 25% sangiovese and 10% montepulciano.
