The reds this month are all closeout wines so once they are gone they are gone! They are all great values and won’t last the whole month. The white wines are two beloved past features and a *mostly* un-oaked Chardonnay from Oregon as part of my campaign to show you that Chardonnay is not the enemy.
My new Classic Beverage company rep Anthony will be pouring the Herència Altés in his Iberian Peninsula tasting on Friday, January 6. My RNDC rep Jen will be back on Friday, January 20 to pour the Stoller Chardonnay and some other goodies.
La Lisse
Chenin Blanc 2024
Reg. Price $16.99
Sale Price: $12.99
White Wine of the Month
Macarico
Rosso del Vulcano 2021
Reg. Price $19.99
Sale Price: $12.99
Red Wine of the Month
We’re starting weird this month with the reds before I get into more common blends. Macarico is from Basilicata in southern Italy, more or less the arch of the foot. Basilicata is not well known to the masses although it should be. The region only has one DOCG and about 90% of the production is red wine from indigenous varietals although the most unique aspect of the region is the massive extinct volcano Mount Vulture. When Mount Vulture erupted about 133,000 years ago it covered the area in a layer of ash that has since turned into tuff, a type of soil that can produce vigorous yields and helps hold onto water from the spring rains. The vigorous soils are a good match for the main grape of the area, Aglianico del Vulture which is known to be incredibly low yielding. The cone of the Volcano also helps regulate temperatures since during the summer hot air will blow in from northern Africa but the evenings and nights bring cool air down from the mountain with a diurnal shift of around 35 degrees some days! Aglianico is an incredibly late ripening grape and harvests may be happening with snow on the ground so it is not suitable to most regions but it has found a good home in southern Italy. The vineyards for this wine are all farmed biodynamically and this wine was a steal at regular prices since it is declassified DOC fruit that was hand harvested. Maceration and fermentation takes place in stainless steel before aging in used oak barriques for 12 months in caves carved from the tuff soil. This is a bold, rich red wine without being overly jammy, we are in Italy remember. Enjoy this with comfort foods, stews and a fire.
Herència Altés
Garnatxa Blanca 2024
Reg. Price $21.99
Sale Price: $16.99
Grenache Blanc is one of my favorite white grapes and I really can’t get enough of this one. Nuria Altés grew up in the region of Terra Alta in Catalunya, just south west of Monsant and Priorat. Terra Alta is one of the largest wine growing regions in Catalunya but it is widely unknown other than by Picasso who featured the area’s mountains in a number of paintings. Nuria Altés grew up in her family’s vineyards where they had been growing grapes for generations and selling them to local wineries. She wanted to change that and bring attention to the wines of Terra Alta so in 2010 she started purchasing grapes from her father and founded Herència Altés. She and her partner Rafael de Haan have been purchasing vineyards of their own and have gone from 14 hectares to 60 and want to highlight the “panal” soil of the region. “Panal” is primarily a chalk and sand topsoil over a bed of clay and limestone that is low in nutrients but retains water incredibly well. All of the vineyards are certified organic and harvest takes place by hand. The Garnatxa Blanca is 100% Grenache Blanc from a mix of young and old vines that is solely done in stainless steel tanks but they stir the lees for body and complexity. The wine is refreshing and deliciously complex; notes of under ripe stone fruit, melon, Asian pear and golden apple give way to balanced acidity and subtle minerality. Drink this with sushi, Asian noodle dishes, grilled pork chops, risotto, salmon and roasted mushrooms.
Domaine La Réméjeanne
Les Terrasses 2020
Reg. Price $27.99
Sale Price: $17.99
Grenache is my most drank grape by far, I don’t even have to think very hard to know that it’s true. I mean I have a Grenache Blanc that I love right next to this one! While some grapes like Aglianico have very specific needs and demands to thrive, Grenache seems to get along just fine most places. It’s home is Spain where it grows absolutely everywhere but it also thrives in Sardinia, California and most notably in southern France. Grenache does the heavy lifting for *most* blends in the Languedoc (although I will contradict myself shortly on that one) but it is by far the King of the Rhône. It is the main grape in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Côtes du Rhône. Domaine La Réméjeanne is a family run estate now on the third generation located in the village of Sabran with hillside vineyards surrounded by natural forests. The estate is cooler than the surrounding area and the whole process from start to finish is done with love for the land; the estate has been organic since 2010 and everything is done by hand from pruning to harvest. This wine is a blend of 50/50 Grenache and Syrah that is fermented using indigenous yeasts and is fermented and aged in concrete, my favorite vessel. This is really just an incredible bottle of wine, I would happily pay the regular price for it. I got the last six cases of it and it absolutely will sell out this month, even if that means I am just taking the rest home. It has the ripe, dark notes typical of Grenache without becoming overblown and the Syrah is vibrant, acidic and bursting with berry notes without being gamey. Truly a match made in heaven.
Stoller
Chardonnay 2023
Reg. Price $24.99
Sale Price: $19.99
I know, I know, everyone hates Chardonnay right now. Which I really don’t understand because we are arguably seeing the most balanced, least oaky buttery Chards in the market as a whole the last 3 ish years. Oregon Chardonnay is typically less oak forward than California styles and this Chardonnay from Stoller only has 9% of the wine see any oak. I would love to keep talking about rocks and Oregon has a particularly interesting geological landscape and history due to the Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age. Scientists believe there were at least 25 massive floods with water flowing at a rate of 10 cubic kilometers per hour, 13 times the rate of the Amazon River. Needless to say, that shook up things up a bit and the Oregon wine regions are divided with the differing soil types in mind. Stoller is located in the Dundee Hills which is known for their Jory soils, a fertile and well draining soil with silt, clay and loam. Stoller has the largest contiguous vineyards in the Dundee Hills at a whopping 400 acres, 225 of which are planted to vineyards. Like the vast majority of Oregon wineries they are very dedicated to sustainability including cover crops, oak grove preservation, LIVE and LEED certifications and more, all as a family run estate. Their Chardonnay is done in 82% stainless steel, 9% concrete and only 9% of NEUTRAL oak with some lees stirring for texture but there is no oaky buttery here, just ripe pear, lemon curd, tropical fruits and a slightly herbaceous finish.
Château Maris
Minervois La Touge 2019
Reg. Price $28.99
Sale Price: $18.99
The Langeudoc has always seemed pretty magical to me. Large swaths of vineyards on the Mediterranean Coast interspersed with the “garrigue”, the wild scrublands of oak shrubs, thyme and lavender that thrive in the limestone soils and drought. The Languedoc is the largest wine producing region in the world with about 700,000 acres under vine and a lot of the vineyards are organic or biodynamic, partly I’m sure because of the agreeable climate for that but also because a lot of the people pushing for higher quality in the area believe in it. No small part of this is due to Gerard Bertrand, a powerhouse producer in the area who is a world leader of biodynamic farming with about 930 hectares (2,298 acres) of biodynamic vineyards. After travelling through wine regions all over the world working with revered oenologists, winemaker Robert Eden fell in love the area and with Château Maris. He ended up buying the property in 1997 and converted it to organic and biodynamic practices and has achieved many certifications regarding sustainability. Château Maris has 45 hectares of vines with southern exposure on soils comprised of schist, sandstone, quartz and limestone while the vineyards enjoy cool breezes coming from the Pyrenees. La Touge is a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache that doesn’t seem to see any oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. The wine is reaching a more savory, bloody style where Syrah is taking the lead. Dark plum, savory herbs, cassis and crushed violets balance the untamed character of the Syrah.
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 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Wine Tasting Friday 4 pm to 7 pm
