Between tariffs and how the dollar is performing things are getting a bit expensive in this industry! I anticipate that you see the set turn more often than in years past as I change out items that I feel have gotten too pricey. My goal is always to find the best wine for the money so I will stay busy tasting.
There are still a lot of great deals and closeouts I have been finding and I have some treasures stashed away for the next couple of months. This month features a lot of Spanish and Languedoc wines because they still have so much bang for the buck but I promise I won’t feature Spain into the ground. While the Alpine Red Blend from Pax isn’t on the tasting docket this month, my Maverick rep Luke will be pouring French wines on March 6 including two from Savoie. He will be pouring a 100% Monduese and a Jacquère to get you in the Alpine state of mind.
Milenrama
Rioja Blanco 2024
Reg. Price $15.99
Sale Price: $11.99
White Wine of the Month
Bodegas Borsao
Viña Borgia Garnacha 2023
Reg. Price $15.99
Sale Price: $11.99
Red Wine of the Month
While I will make sure that the red and white wines of the month are not always from Spain, they are still delivering incredible values despite the difficulties with trade. Bodegas Borsao is located in the Campo di Borja, a region nestled in the transition zone between the Ebro River plains and the Sistema Ibérico mountain range and their winemaking history goes back to the 1200s. The Cistercian Monastery of Veruela was the driving force behind bringing viticulture to the area and they continued to be involved up until the 19th century and were even the ones for replanting after phylloxera. During their history they bought up a lot of land to put under vine, even buying an entire village according to their records in 1453. In the 1950’s economic hardships were plaguing the region so small farmers teamed up to form cooperatives which still makes up most of the production in Borja. In 1958 the Borja Cooperative was founded and within that was the original Borsao brand. In the 1980’s quality over quantity became more important and they stopped focusing on bulk wine and turned their attention to Garnacha where it remains today. Viña Borgia is their quaffable, approachable style of Garnacha that is made with organic grapes and is fermented in stainless steel. The resulting wine is bright and fruit forward with a medium body and notes of cherry, raspberry, red plum and subtle licorice on the finish. Enjoy this with book club, pizza, or items off of the grill.
Préambule
Picpoul de Pinet 2024
Reg. Price $17.99
Sale Price: $13.99
Going into Spring is such a great time of year to enjoy Picpoul, your favorite white grape from the Languedoc that you have never heard of. Picpoul’s home is in France although today it is grown in California, Australia and Texas of all places. Australia wanted it to pair with all of their oysters and since it buds late it needs somewhere with a warm, long growing season. In France it has a long growing history in the Languedoc and along with Clairette Blanche and Cinsault it is one of the oldest grape varieties in the region. Picpoul was incredibly popular before phylloxera but when they were replanting the vineyards they decided to primarily focus on other grapes since Picpoul is sensitive to powdery mildew. Préambule Picpoul de Pinet is made by Cave de l’Ormarine, a cooperative in the Languedoc and the vineyards are about 40 meters above sea level on chalk and limestone soils. The grapes are destemmed and macerated on the skins for a short period to provide texture and the wine does not go through malolactic fermentation so it retains its vibrant acidity. This wine is refreshing and crisp with a slight saline quality to compliment the melon and citrus rind. Enjoy this with seafood, pesto dishes, salads and more.
Pax Mahle Wines
Alpine Red Blend 2023
Reg. Price $21.99
Sale Price: $17.99
Every so often there is a winemaker that is so incredible and so talented that they transcend their original brand and become industry wide idols. Buyers and wine professionals talk about them in hushed, reverent tones by name while most winemakers live in relative anonymity. Pax Mahle is one of those winemakers to the point that someone just has to say that Pax was involved and everyone’s ears perk up. Pax and his wife Pam moved to California in 1997 to work in the wine industry and Pax was on the retail buying side traveling to vineyards and tasting wines. That experience quickly led him to fall in love with vineyards and he founded Pax Wines in 2000 and specialized in Syrah. He has created his own brand as well and kind of just bopping here and there, consulting or making one of projects with grapes that excite him ever since. This blend is French grapes that grow in Savoie or in the foothills of the Alps and he has created this playful, quaffable, chillable red blend. The lighter bodied wine is a blend of 35% Trousseau Gris, 25% Monduese Noire, 15% Gamay, 10% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache and 5% Trousseau Noir that is begging for a chill. Notes of sour raspberry, lingonberry, strawberry, cracked pepper and savory herbs make this incredible food friendly.
Château Saint Cyrgues
Costières de Nîmes Rosé 2024
Reg. Price $21.99
Sale Price: $16.99
The Costières de Nîmes is one of my favorite regions generally speaking because I love Grenache of all colors and the prices are quite reasonable. A lot of vineyards and producers farm organically or biodynamically in the area due to the favorable climate which is another easy reason to love them. While their other wines are great, the region as a whole really knows how to make a killer rosé and I would like to call this “Exhibit A” to prove my point. Château Saint Cyrgues was built on the ruins of the Church of Saint Cirice de Marge in 1654 and viticulture began at the estate over a century ago but the majority of vines there today were planted in 1971 or more recently. The estate is a perfect blend between family history and innovation since the current proprietor Loïc Ferraud comes from six generations of winemakers. He took over the estate in 2014 from his father Jean-Pierre Ferraud and promptly converted everything to organic farming to respect and showcase the terroir and brought other innovative ideas like making an orange wine and aging a wine underwater. While this wine had no aging underwater, it is a beautiful blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache that is macerated on the skins for 36 hours before being pressed and undergoing malolactic fermentation for texture. The finished wine has great body and texture that compliments the salinity that runs throughout along with notes of strawberry, melon and dried herbs.
Maz Caz
Red Blend 2022
Reg. Price $25.99
Sale Price: $16.99
It’s only fitting that there are two wines from the Costières de Nîmes side by side since I was just talking about how much I love the region. Winemaker Michele d’Aprix fell in love with winemaking in the 90’s and got a degree in enology and viticulture from UC Davis in California before she hit the road to find an internship in France. She started with an internship in Burgundy before she took the plunge to move to Bordeaux. 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. The wine only sees stainless steel so they retain brightness and freshness without the heaviness of oak. 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 all purpose wine.
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
