Think about vintage wine, and you might envision a wealthy wine enthusiast lovingly fondling dusty bottles and ruminating on their relative worth. But for most of us, does vintage even matter?
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Perrin “Nature” Côtes du Rhône is made with certified organic grapes, as the name “Nature” implies. It’s a field blend of Grenache and Syrah in undisclosed proportions. It’s very dark reddish-purple with a garnet edge. Grenache shows itself in a delicious raspberry aroma with subtle black and white pepper shyly hiding in the background. Juicy and ripe on the palate, its flavor blends red berries and dark cherries in a good but not overbearing acidic structure.
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Check prices and find vendors for Perrin “Nature” Côtes du Rhône on Wine-Searcher.com.
Learn more about the Côtes du Rhône and browse dozens of vendor offerings for the region at this Wine-Searcher link. Read article.
When Neil and his wife Terry finally got to Italy recently, they visited the Hic et Nunc winery, whose wines Neil wrote about in May. Today’s column focuses on their winery visit and the wines they tasted there. Read article.
A couple of months ago I told you about a delicious Provence rosé that I chose to beat the August heat. It’s October now, no longer over 90º, but there’s hardly a sign of autumn around here, and it’s still plenty warm enough to enjoy a good rosé. Try this Château Lancyre Languedoc Rosé.
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A blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, and 10% Cinsault, salmon-color Château Lancyre “Le Rosé” Languedoc Rosé breathes subtle scents of fresh raspberries doing an alluring dance with the mixed-herb scents of rosemary and thyme that’s called “garrigues” in Languedoc. Surprisingly full for a rosé, it fills the palate with red-berry and herbal flavors structured with gentle but ample acidity.
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Check prices and find vendors for Château Lancyre “Le Rosé” Languedoc Rosé on Wine-Searcher.com.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link for dozens of other wines of all colors and styles from Languedoc’s excellent Pic St.-Loup. Read article.
Take a deep sniff of a wine you like. Then sip and sense more aromas through your palate. This is how we enjoy wine. But I’ll bet you’ve never thought of this: Are you taking one deep breath or a series of short breaths … or both? Are you smelling with both nostrils?
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Bonpas 2019 Grande Réserve des Challières Ventoux offers the characteristic aromas and flavors of the Southern Rhône and Provence in its mix of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre grapes plus a splash of Carignan. Ripe raspberries show up first in the aroma, but juicy black plums are there too, with notes of freshly ground black pepper showing as the wine opens up in the glass.
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Oddly, Wine.Searcher.com shows only Canadian vendors for Bonpas Grande Réserve des Challières Ventoux.
If the Ventoux Grande Reserve de Challieres is hard to find, check Wine’Searcher for the similar Cotes du Rhone Reserve de Bonpas.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from Ventoux. Read article.
“One of my favorite wines!” My friend Meghan Levins, a local chef, jumped happily into the discussion when I posted a photo of today’s featured wine, a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, on social media. “Even the cheap stuff is awesome!”
“Exactly,” I posted back. “I’ve never seen a pricey one.”
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Bennati Castellano Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a good, food-friendly Italian red, a bit on the rustic side, as is typical of the affordable wines of this region. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Dark reddish-purple in the glass, it offers pleasant dark cherry-berry aromas. Flavors follow the nose with blackberries and tart cherries shaped by pleasant mouth-watering acidity.
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You may have a hard time finding the Castellano label. Importer Emanuele Magnani tells me it was originally designed for sale to a group of restaurants, but now is available in limited quantities in a few states. However, it’s very similar to Bennati’s Ca Brigiano Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which you’ll find at this Wine-Searcher link.
You can also browse this extensive list of other wines from Casa Vinicola Bennati on Wine-Searcher.com.
Finally, you can follow this Wine-Searcher link to look for scores of other wines of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, virtuallly all of them affordable and worth it. Read article.
Here in the Ohio Valley, summer isn’t showing any signs of leaving us. But we’ve got nothing on the West Coast wine country, through California and on up to the Pacific Northwest, where record temperatures have roasted the region and summer wildfires are burning again.
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