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Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

A wine blog written by the experts from The International Wine of the Month Club

What to look for in June 2019

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In June, The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series will feature an exceptional Côtes-du-Rhône from the outstanding 2018 vintage, Domaine de Cabasse Cuvée Marguerite, also known as Marquerite de Cabasse, and three other superb selections from around the world. Drinking a glass of the 2018 Domaine de Cabasse Cuvée Marguerite Côtes-du-Rhône constitutes a true sensual pleasure. “Sensuous, expressive, harmonious, juicy, and downright charming” describe Benoit Baudry’s gregarious Cuvée Marguerite Côtes-du-Rhône. Steeped with a deep crimson color and ebullient aromatics imbued with scents of cranberry, woodland berries, and hints of garrique and wild Provençal herbs, the 2018 Domaine de Cabasse Cuvée Marguerite Côtes-du-Rhône offers a gracious opening act that flows seamlessly onto the palate. Thanks to the natural methods of viticulture and production practiced at Domaine de Cabasse, the 2018 Cuvée Marguerite offers purity of flavor, subtle charm, vitality, and a natural, crunchy, mouthwatering finish.

Our next Premier Series feature is the 2017 Pedroncelli East Side Vineyards Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc, a classic rendition from this venerable estate on its 90th anniversary. Enjoyable upon release, the 2017 East Side Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc offers up a bright sun-splashed color and an attractive set of aromatics replete with soft citrus scents, hints of pineapple, and dried honey. Round and mouth filling, the wine’s aromatic profile re-emerges on the palate, offering a pleasant mélange of tropical fruits with a citrus twist. Comprised of a percentage of the prized Musqué clone of Sauvignon Blanc, Pedroncelli’s East Side Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc is not overly herbaceous; instead, it exhibits a pleasant roundness that complements the grape’s natural acidity.

Next in this month’s quartet is the exceptional 2016 Château Andron Médoc Bordeaux. Born in an outstanding vintage in Bordeaux, the 2016 Château Andron Médoc provides an exceptional glass of traditional Médoc – rich, savory red wine with bold flavors and nary an edge. Moreover, one can enjoy this wine without having to take out a home equity loan or a serious line of credit. From its deep purple color and its enticing perfume one could easily imagine this to be a Médoc costing two or three times the price. Even costlier, perhaps, once they have tasted the wine. Better still, dark fruit flavors infused with sweet savory notes and a pleasant earthiness coat the mouth and delight the palate. The 2016 Château Andron provides a dense mouthful of wine that is beautifully balanced and ready to enjoy now.

Completing this month’s Premier Series offerings is the delicious 2017 Maison Gilles Noblet St. Véran from one of Burgundy’s consummate winemakers, Gilles Noblet. Unfortunately, so little of this St. Véran is made and demand for it in Europe remains high. Consequently, only a paltry pallet or two make it to our shores each year. However, this year we were able to secure just enough of this special St. Véran to offer it to a limited number of our members. The 2017 Maison Gilles Noblet St. Véran exhibits Noblet’s seductive signature: a delicious white burgundy with a bright sunny color, an intriguing bouquet of acacia blossoms, mountain apples, and soft mineral tones followed by mouthwatering palate appeal. With aeration, Noblet’s St. Véran expands on the palate and caresses the senses with ripe fruit, pinpoint minerality, and laser-like precision. Enjoy!

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is proud to offer three exceptional wines in June from opposite ends of the world, beginning with the stunning 2017 Domaine de Cabasse Gigondas from a winery that consistently over-delivers. The 2017 Domaine de Cabasse Juncunditas Gigondas is a delicious full-bodied Gigondas that is both sensual and complex. A blend of 70% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, and 15% Syrah, this exceptional Gigondas highlights the beauty of the 2017 vintage throughout the Southern Rhône. Black cherry, wild berry, and hints of fennel waft from the glass. Lush and soft upon entering the mouth, the 2017 Juncunditas Gigondas expands in the mouth, spreading its beautiful ripe fruit, subtle dark chocolate tones, and silky tannins like a peacock’s tail across the palate. Sensual, savory, and superbly textured, Domaine de Cabasse’s knockout 2017 Juncunditas Gigondas is hard to resist. Plush and long, yet finely balanced, one could hardly imagine a finer young Gigondas than Domaine de Cabasse’s 2017 Juncunditas.

Our next June Collectors Series offering is the renowned 2015 Fisher Mountain Estate Chardonnay. In the same realm as Hanzell, Kistler, Kongsgaard, and Lewis, the 2015 Fisher Mountain Estate Chardonnay is a wine for the most discriminating Chardonnay drinker and nothing short of a tour de force in winemaking. Bright yellow in color with a glint of the sun, it offers stunning aromatics in the form of daffodil, forsythia, and a whole host of spring flowers infused with gentle spice and vanilla tones from the finest of oak barrels. Soft, silky, and beautifully textured in the mouth, this Chardonnay has it all, offering a seamless stream of pure fruit, subtle spice tones, and a long, nuanced finish that left us begging for more. Sophisticated and crowd-pleasing, it will be hard to top Fisher’s 2015 Mountain Estate Chardonnay.

Completing this month’s Collectors Series is the 2015 Rustenberg Peter Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon, an iconic South African wine that pays tribute to the member of the Barlow family who bought the farm in 1941 and restored the property to its former glory as a world-class wine estate. The Peter Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon emanates from the estate’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard of the same name. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is the estate’s most powerful, long-lived wine, a wine of deep color and bold flavors. Blackberry, cassis, and dark cherry scents and flavors infused with a pleasant herbaceousness permeate this sophisticated Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon, which bears more than a passing resemblance to classified Bordeaux from the prized Saint Julien and Pauillac appellations. Endowed with rich tannins and a pleasant patina of oak from a 24 month hiatus in French oak barrels (of which nearly two thirds were new), this hand-picked, handcrafted wine bears the mark of the outstanding 2015 vintage in Stellenbosch.

Enjoy!

Is 2018 Another Great Bordeaux Vintage?

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It seems that those with a vested interest in Bordeaux wines are forever declaring yet another “vintage of the century” or at the very least extolling the virtues of the most recent vintage over previous ones. Since vintage makes a difference, and vintage is especially important to the quality of Bordeaux wines, one has to ask: Just how good was the Bordeaux vintage in 2018? More importantly, what are the chances the wines will live up to the early hype heaped upon them? Will the 2018 Bordeaux wines be any more thrilling than those from the last several vintages, especially those from 2015 and 2016?

Weather determines the overall quality of a vintage. While some wine regions enjoy climates that limit the vagaries of a vintage, others are not so fortunate. The weather in Bordeaux varies enormously throughout the growing season and from one year to the next, as the 2018 Bordeaux vintage can certainly attest. In 2018, Bordeaux experienced devastating hailstorms, excessive rain, severe drought, and an extended harvest into late October. Consequently, one could easily conclude that the weather Bordeaux experienced in 2018 was highly unfavorable and, because weather largely determines the quality of a vintage, the resulting wines will turn out to be equally unimpressive. However, for the châteaux that did not lose their entire crop in 2018 to Mother Nature’s whims, their 2018 Bordeaux reds may be the finest they have ever made.

It is true that the spring and early summer weather in 2018 brought many Bordeaux owners to tears and made others wonder if they would have even a few barrels to make. In fact, quite a few Bordeaux châteaux lost everything to hail and early summer rains, which wreaked havoc in the vineyards and limited crop size throughout Bordeaux. In Bordeaux, the old adage “June makes the quantity, August the style, and September the quality” surely rang true in 2018. Add exceptional weather in October that extended the growing season so that the Cabernet Sauvignon could bask on the vine to perfection and 2018 may turn out more exceptional red Bordeaux wines than anyone could ever have imagined by looking at the weather charts. While hail and torrential rains early in the season dramatically cut production, the excessive rain allowed the vines to cope with the drought conditions that developed later in the summer and fall. The results are extremely concentrated red Bordeaux wines with ripe tannins and higher than average alcohol levels. Early tastings out of barrel indicate that many Bordeaux châteaux have indeed produced their finest wines to date. The bad news is almost every châteaux has a lot less wine to sell and prices will be high due to the exceptional quality and extremely small harvest. So where does that leave the consumer?

Consumers will have a chance to look at Bordeaux’s white wines this year but will have to wait for the 2018 Bordeaux reds to come of age. However, smart consumers and all Bordeaux, Cabernet, and Merlot enthusiasts ought to be purchasing as much of the 2015 and 2016 Bordeaux reds as they can find. Quality across the board, from the lowliest Petit Châteaux to the finest Grand Crus, is exceptional. No matter how great 2018 may turn out, the 2015 and 2016 red Bordeaux wines are already in bottle and they are the real deal. Don’t miss out!

Salud!
Don

What to Look for in April

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In April, The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is excited to offer four exceptional wines from around the world, beginning with Edgebaston’s 2016 Pepper Pot crafted by David Finlayson, South Africa’s highly acclaimed winemaker. In the 2016 Pepper Pot, Finlayson has fashioned his finest Pepper Pot to date as scores from Vinous (91 points) and James Suckling (91 points) will attest. A lip-smacking, palate-pleasing blend of Syrah, Carignan, Tannat, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and Grenache, the 2016 Pepper Pot brims with the savory scents of blackberry, mulberry, and exotic spices. Equally rewarding is Pepper Pot’s smooth, rich flavors, which fill the mouth and caress the palate. An enticing blend of berry fruits, garrigue, orange rind, and savory woodland flavors all come to fore in this smooth medium-bodied red with just the right amount of acidity to leave the palate refreshed and ready for more. Without a doubt, the 2016 Pepper Pot is a crowd pleaser as well as one of the planet’s great red wine values.

Our next Premier Series feature is the 2017 Martinsancho Rueda Verdejo from Spain’s greatest producer of Verdejo, Angel Rodriguez. Rodriguez was responsible for reviving Verdejo’s fortunes in the 1970s. The 2017 Martinsancho is the last vintage Angel presided over, as he passed away in early 2018. Like its mentor, the 2017 Martinsancho is full of energy and shines in the glass with a bright sunny color. Refreshing minerality, laser-like precision and purity emanate from every draught of this wine, while pungent aromas of citrus and lemon zest, spring flowers and liquid stones seduce the nose and prepare the palate for the sensual fruit and floral tones that grace the mouth. Underpinned with a crisp, racy herb-tinged minerality and perfectly balanced natural acidity the 2017 Martinsancho enlivens the senses and finishes with subtle yet complex flavors. In fact, nothing detracts from the purity and freshness of this wine, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons that noted wine critic Robert Parker Jr. once made this comment about Martinsancho: “This is the best dry white table wine I have tasted from Spain.” Come and taste the legacy!

Next in April’s world tour of wine is the 2016 Château Ducasse Graves. Born during a superlative Bordeaux vintage, the 2016 red Graves epitomizes Graves’s classic style by exhibiting a deep purple robe and offering enticing aromas of black fruits, cassis, mulberry, unsmoked tobacco and supple earth tones that tantalize the nose and satiate the palate. Dry, yet rich with the quintessential savor of Graves, the 2016 Château Ducasse offers a wealth of blackberry and currant fruit, cedar, herbs and wood smoke on the palate to complement its firm tannins. Bolder and more structured than in previous vintages, the 2016 Château Ducasse can be enjoyed now or cellared for several years.

Completing this month’s Premier Series portfolio is Sherwood’s 2015 Waipara Riesling, a wine that was splendid upon first release but is even better now as Wine Enthusiast’s stunning review and 91 points will attest. From the wine’s brilliant sunlit hue to its graceful exit down the throat, the 2015 Sherwood Waipara Riesling truly shines. Entrancing scents of apple, peach and apricot waft from the glass and settle in the soul of this concentrated Riesling. Pure fruit and floral flavors emerge in the mouth to tantalize the palate. Rich and concentrated, yet lively and long, the 2015 Sherwood Waipara Riesling makes a stunning case for Waipara as a source of world class wine. Endowed with a delightful fruitiness and a winning outgoing personality, it’s easy to imagine consuming the better part of a bottle of this magical Waipara Riesling without much more than a notice, but there is a lot more to this Riesling than a good quaff.

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is thrilled to reveal April’s three award-winning wines. Beginning this month’s three nation tour is Union Sacré’s 2016 Squire Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, a wine that arises from one of California’s heretofore unsung gems. Enclosed in a clear bottle that reflects its brilliant ruby red robe, the 2016 Union Sacré Pinot Noir looks good and tastes even better, that is if on account of its intoxicating aroma you can take your nose out of the glass long enough to taste it. Scents of crushed raspberries and strawberries mingled with hints of forest woodlands and a silky minerality make the 2016 Union Sacré Pinot Noir hard to resist. Better still, the wine’s enticing aroma emerges on the palate along with touches of spice and a crispness that keeps this Pinot Noir fresh and engaging all the way through to a smooth succulent finish. Yes, Union Sacré’s 2016 Squire is a royal beauty just waiting to be discovered.

Our next April Collectors Series offering is the 2016 Château de la Crée Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru, the recipient of numerous 90+ point ratings. Montagny is home to many of Burgundy’s most delightful and exuberant white wines. Made from 100% Chardonnay from Premier Cru vineyards, Château de la Crée’s 2016 Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru wears a fashionable golden color and offers fresh aromas of acacia flowers, almonds, apple and citrus blossoms as well as youthful juicy flavors to delight the palate. In the finest Montagny fashion, Château de la Crée’s 2016 Les Tourelles comes across sleek and juicy, yet surprisingly rich. In the mouth, pure beautiful Chardonnay fruit laced with hints of hazelnut, nutmeg, and a distinctive minerality comes neatly wrapped in a fine patina of French oak, which adds subtle creaminess to the wine’s bright acidity and considerable structure. Refined and richly flavored, the 2016 Château de la Crée Les Tourelles Montagny Premier Cru starts and finishes with panache.

Rounding out this month’s Collectors Series is the 2011 Valenciso Rioja Reserva. Valenciso is no stranger to The International Wine of the Month Club as Valenciso has consistently fashioned the finest Rioja Reservas for more than a decade, seemingly in defiance of the vagaries of each vintage. In 2011, Valenciso’s Rioja Reserva has once again risen to the top. A hot, dry year in which superb selection and a reduced crop yielded a bolder and more concentrated Rioja Reserva than usual makes the 2011 Valenciso Rioja Reserva a clear stand out as well as a candidate for both early drinking and extended cellaring. Valenciso’s supreme balance, elegance and refinement remain front and center in the 2011 Rioja Reserva. Produced from 100% organically farmed Tempranillo from the bodega’s holdings in Rioja Alta, the 2011 Valenciso Rioja offers an amplifying aroma redolent with floral, fruit, and spice tones. Tightly constructed around a core of polished tannins, the wine explodes in the mouth, filling the palate with persistent red and black berry flavors that wrap around a cache of cinnamon, sandalwood, and vanilla from 18 months in French barriques. The recipient of multiple awards and 90+ point ratings, including 95 Points – Tim Atkin MW, Special Rioja Report 2018, every serious wine lover and collector should have Valenciso’s 2011 Rioja Reserva on their table and in their cellar.

Enjoy!

Great California Wine Bargains of 2019

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The number of California wineries continues to explode and given the recent spate of excellent vintages, both quality and bargains abound. Although California has suffered through a number of drought years which has resulted in many smaller than average crops, the proliferation of new wineries coupled with greater attention to viticulture and appellations other than Napa and Sonoma guarantee plenty to like. Moreover, one need not be a multi-millionaire to enjoy the Golden State’s viticultural fortunes.

Boutique family owned wineries are firmly behind California’s most exciting wines. However, many long established California wineries are also re-inventing themselves by establishing vineyards in locales heretofore out of their realm and by growing a wider range of grape varieties. Blends have become popular again and Rhône varietals, such as Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, have gone mainstream, both as individual varietals and in blends labeled GSM.

One of my favorite California off the radar wineries that offers superb quality is Fisher. Fisher’s Mountain Estate Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon constitute some of the tastiest and most endearing Chardonnays and Cabernets we have come across in recent years. Fisher’s wines are not cheap, but far more recognizable California Chardonnays and Cabernets sell for a lot more and deliver much less. Fisher’s wines are hard to come by but worth the price.

Union Sacre’s 2016 Squire Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir from longtime friends Philip Muzzy and Xavier Arnaudi is not exactly on the tip of everyone’s tongue yet; these guys have crafted an exceptional Pinot Noir for under $40.00 that positively rocks. Look out Russian River! You have some real competition from Santa Barbara and points south.

Pedroncelli remains a stalwart family owned Sonoma County winery that consistently puts good wine in the bottle at a very fair price. Known for more than 90 years for their Zinfandels, Pedroncelli has been quietly bottling small lots of knockout Petite Sirah in addition to first rate Sauvignon Blanc. The moral of this story is “search for the small batches and little known bottlings from established California wineries.” Therein lay the values and troves of undiscovered gems.

The 2016 Andronicus from Napa Valley’s Titus Vineyards is one Bordeaux blend that should not be missed. Priced around $30.00 a bottle, this beauty combines the best of Cabernet Sauvignon (at 66%) with varying amounts of Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Andronicus sells for a fraction of the price of Titus’s fabulous award-winning Cabernets and Merlots but is every bit as rewarding in its own right, and it’s ready to drink from the moment the cork is pulled. We are sure to see more of this beauty.

Salud!
Don

What to Look For in March 2019

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In March, The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is proud to offer members four special wines from iconic producers from two hemispheres.  This month’s odyssey begins with the charming, easy to like 2013 Laderas de Cabama Rioja, an elegant, fragrant Rioja from Valenciso that brings out the feminine side of Tempranillo at the same time that it offers bold flavors and impeccable balance.  Luis Valentin’s magic touch with Tempranillo shines through in the 2013 Laderas de Cabama.  Produced from 100% Tempranillo, this wine delights the nose with savory scents of woodland berries, pomegranate, dried leaves, and exotic spices.  In the mouth, the wine displays a smooth round feel that carries the wine’s spicy cherry and blackberry flavors to a delightfully fresh conclusion.  In true Rioja Alta fashion the 2013 Laderas de Cabama unfolds beautifully in the glass, revealing layers of complex flavors and a freshness rarely seen in other Riojas.  Once again, Valenciso has released a wine that strikes a perfect balance between fruit and structure that is ideal for drinking now!

Our next feature this month is the 2017 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc, a traditional blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that comes across as the quintessential white Bordeaux.  The 2017 vintage yielded exceptional quality white Bordeaux wines and the finest Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc to date, thanks to the Gabards’ expertise with Bordeaux varietals and a late spring frost in 2017 that drastically reduced yields in 2017 but increased quality.  The wine’s bright glint in the glass makes a fine first impression that is quickly followed by a savory bouquet redolent with the scents of freshly cut melons, citrus, herbs, and orchard fruits.  The wine’s sensual appeal continues in the mouth, where deep drafts of melon, citrus and minerals combine to embrace the palate.  In the mouth one also tastes and feels the roundness and superb texture that Semillon imparts to the wine.  Fresh, layered, and artfully balanced the 2017 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc offers plenty of flavors before finishing with verve and vigor.

This month’s next feature is the 2015 Nugan’s Scruffy’s Single Vineyard Shiraz, a wine that is anything but scruffy or even slightly hard around the edges.  Named for Nugan’s Shiraz Vineyard Manager, the 2015 Scruffy’s Single Vineyard Shiraz shines from the moment it is poured.  This a deep purple potion that offers spicy blackberry, cherry, and currant aromas infused with hints of violet flowers and Asian spices that woo the taster.  The wine’s beautiful olfactory carries through on the palate, where it offers a mélange of succulent dark berry and fruit flavors, dried flowers, and delicate spice tones.  Silky soft in the mouth but never flabby this Shiraz exhibits just the right amount of gentle ripe tannins to seal the deal.  The 2015 Scruffy’s Single Vineyard Shiraz over delivers in every respect, offering the class and breed one normally associates with the finer Syrah based wines from France’s Rhône Valley.  Enjoy!

Rounding out this month’s Premier Series selections is the sunny, straw-colored 2016 Domaine Talmard Macon-Chardonnay from the birthplace of Chardonnay in the heart of Burgundy’s Maconnais.  From its ebullient straw colored robe emanate orchard scents of ripening apple and pear, coupled with soft floral tones reminiscent of acacia and mimosa.  Interlaced among the wine’s floral aromas is a beguiling limestone minerality, the very calling card of the finest Maconnais Chardonnays, thanks to the region’s unique terroir.  And to everyone’s delight the 2016 Domaine Talmard Macon-Chardonnay carries its delightful olfactory onto the palate.  Imbued with a wonderful smooth texture and bearing a host of savory orchard fruit flavors, minerals, and lemon zest this bone dry, medium-bodied Macon-Chardonnay leaves the mouth invigorated and refreshed.  .

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collector Series is proud to deliver three truly exceptional wines this month from three of the planet’s most prized appellations. Leading this month’s Collector Series is the 2015 Mauritson Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, a wine that has garnered a cult following among consumers and critics alike (93 Points Wine Spectator).  The 2015 Mauritson Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel is not only delicious and easy to drink it offers a degree of complexity rarely seen in Zinfandel.  A superb blend of 95% Zinfandel and 5% Petite Sirah Mauritson’s 2015 Dry Creek Zinfandel positively sings from the glass, offering a beguiling bouquet of blackberry, black cherry, and exotic spices.  Redolent but not overpowering, this medium to full-bodied, sleekly structured Zinfandel offers up an enviable array of flavors to match its seductive bouquet: blackberry and blueberry fruit infused with vanilla, baking spices, and bramble unfold seamlessly in the mouth.  One can hardly resist this bold flavored handsomely made Zinfandel, its innate charm, and explosive finish.

Next up is the exceptional and rare 2017 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc.  Grand Tinel has been on a roll in recent vintages with its Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc and their 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is perhaps the finest to date.  From this light straw-colored wine, which holds more than a glimmer of the shimmering Provencal sun, emerges the seductive scents of tropical fruits: pineapple, guava, and lime infused with subtle hints of wild herbs and minerals.  On the palate, the wine truly blossoms, revealing a lush creamy texture backed by a bright citrus vivacity that makes it hard to resist and the ideal companion to bring to table.  Unlike so many white wines whose flavor profiles appear wrapped up mainly in the bouquet, it is the center of this intriguing Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc that makes it special.  This classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is ideal for drinking now and over the next several years.

Completing this month’s Collector Series is the 2016 Consortium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  Born in a perfect vintage in America’s premier appellation for Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Consortium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is already an absolute delight to drink.  Bold but not brazen, this superbly crafted Cabernet exudes exceptional flavor, charm and precision.  From the moment it reaches the glass, the 2016 Consortium begins to work its magic by offering beguiling scents of blackberry, Morello cherry, plum, and hints of bay leaf, all of which come wrapped in a well-integrated patina of oak.  The 2016 Consortium Cabernet doubles the pleasure in the mouth as the wine’s beautiful olfactory wells up on the palate, providing rich black and red fruit flavors infused with deft touches of bay leaf, dark chocolate, and tobacco.  Fine ripe tannins support the wine’s complex flavors and provide impeccable balance and mouthfeel.  Enjoy!

 

Zinfandel: America’s Own Grape

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Zinfandel has been dubbed “America’s own grape” despite or perhaps on account of its obscure heritage and its immigrant status.  Like the vast majority of Americans, Zinfandel’s ancestry and roots hail from lands far away.  Zinfandel’s DNA points to Eastern Europe and the Primitivo grape variety whose origins lay in Croatia and more recently Italy, which may in part account for its popularity among the Italian immigrant population that began flocking to our shores, both east and west, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Finding favor in California among a welcoming immigrant tide in search of a grape capable of producing wine with both a body and a soul in a climate conducive to its production should come as no surprise.

Nonetheless, Zinfandel produces a wine quite different in California from Primitivo and its Croatian and Italian forbearers, and nowhere is that more apparent and welcome than in Sonoma County – the spiritual home of Zinfandel.  In Dry Creek Valley and along the banks of Sonoma County’s Russian River, Zinfandel relishes the cooling Pacific breezes that funnel up the appellation’s canyons and valleys as its fruit basks in the long dry summer afternoons, which not surprisingly bring the grape to the pinnacle of perfection.  Amador County, Lodi and other California locales also call home to America’s quintessential varietal where Zinfandel’s deep rich colors, intense berry, bramble, and herb flavors, high alcohol, and lush tannins result in wines that fill the mouth and satisfy all of the senses, yet there is more to Zinfandel than strength and vigor.

One of Zinfandel’s keys to success is its extraordinary lifespan, which enables it to produce quality fruit well into old age.  In fact, the oldest Zinfandel vineyards (many in California are in excess of 100 years of age) are the most prized.  Another attribute of Zinfandel is its versatility.  Zinfandel can take on the role of chameleon, equally capable of becoming a light pink quaffable wine such as White Zinfandel, or a deep, dark intense potion of incredible proportion, or something altogether different in the refined style of classic claret.

As an immigrant to our shores, Zinfandel embodies the American experience.

It is a grape that has transformed itself over the last century and a half and honed its own unique identity, an identity that is continually evolving and infinitely open to interpretation.  In the eyes of its many admirers, Zinfandel has become a bigger, better, more complex grape since its arrival in America with “a can do attitude” and an identity all of its own.  This year, why not take a tour of America and discover America’s own grape.  Enjoy!

Salud!
Don

What’s Coming in February 2019

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In February, The International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is excited to offer our members four outstanding wines from around the world, beginning with the 2017 Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie Minervois. Ripe, round, and beautifully textured, the 2017 Plaisir d’Eulalie highlights this renowned Languedoc estate’s inimitable terroir, old vines, and expert winemaking in yet another exceptional vintage. Savory scents of black cherry and plum, intertwined with hints of violet, Provençal herbs, and black pepper greet the nose and continue to develop and impress for hours. Juicy red and black fruit flavors mingle with hints of garrigue and violets to fill the mouth and grace the palate, while soft, ripe tannins frame this seductive red and carry the wine’s pleasing surfeit of flavors to a fulfilling finish. The 2017 Château Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie is a wine for those who appreciate a pure unadulterated red wine that displays both beautiful fruit flavors and an authentic taste of its place of origin. For those seeking such a wine, they need look no further than this superb country wine from France’s oldest wine producing region.

Our next Premier Series feature is the bold and complex 2017 Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay, a wine that bears more than a passing resemblance to the traditional Napa Valley Chardonnays of the 1970s – the very wines that challenged France’s superiority with Chardonnay and established California as the New World’s premier wine producer. The 2017 Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay offers enticing aromas of apple, apricot, coconut, orange peel, and toasty oak. In the mouth, Rustenberg’s Chardonnay is equally rich and balanced. It fills the mouth with complex fruit flavors tempered with hints of marzipan and fresh acidity, all wrapped in creamy oak from a 12 month hiatus in barrel. Add the further complexity imparted by wild yeast fermentation in barrel and Rustenberg’s 2017 Stellenbosch Chardonnay presents itself as world class wine and a real Chardonnay lover’s dream.

Next among this month’s exceptional features is the 2015 Château Barreyre Bordeaux Supérieur. With ideal growing conditions throughout the 2015 vintage, and traditionally very low vineyard yields, Château Barreyre has produced the château’s most prodigious wine to date. The 2015 Château Barreyre weighs in at a whopping 15% alcohol and is packed with color and mouth-filling flavors. It wears a deep purple robe and offers a seductive set of aromatics. The savory scents of blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, and hints of cedar and fresh forest floor come to fore. In the mouth, the wine’s haunting aromatics reappear to grace the palate. Carried on a bed of smooth-textured tannins, one hardly notices the power this wine packs until the wine has slipped ever so easily down the throat. Bold and beautiful but never brash, the 2015 Château Barreyre is a joy to drink now, though it will undoubtedly continue to improve in bottle for at least several more years.

Completing this month’s Premier Series offerings is the 2016 Steve Bird Gisborne Pinot Gris, a wine that makes a bold statement right out of the bottle with Pinot Gris’s natural tint – a bright luminescent golden yellow color. From the color, one might almost think an unctuous wine awaits a beckoning sweet tooth, but not so. Fresh, clean aromas reminiscent of pear and white peach imbued with a hint of exotic spice greet the nose. In the mouth, one immediately realizes the magic in this wine is not in the form of sweetness. Steve Bird’s single vineyard Pinot Gris offers a wealth of subtle fruit flavors, a gentle flinty minerality, and an impeccable texture and mouthfeel. Moreover, touches of spice and refreshing acidity lead to an immensely satisfying finish that made tasting panel members beg for more.

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Collectors Series is thrilled to offer three special collectable wines in February, beginning with the rare 2016 Domaine Chamfort Vacqueyras from the Southern Rhône Valley. As a blend of 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and 15% Syrah, the 2016 Domaine Chamfort Vacqueyras is a powerful yet polished wine of great character from old vines, many of which are in excess of 50 years of age. Deeply colored, full-bodied and packed with flavor, the 2016 Domaine Chamfort Vacqueyras displays a heady bouquet of dark fruits, anise, garrigue (the amplifying herbal scents and savors of the Provençal landscape), pepper and spice. Moreover, the wonderful 2016 vintage in the southern Rhône has endowed the 2016 Chamfort Vacqueyras with additional elegance. Rich in fruit and long on flavor, this youthful but complex Vacqueyras is already chock full of hedonistic pleasure, yet further reward awaits those with the patience to afford this wine an additional year or more in bottle. An outstanding effort from Domaine Chamfort, Vasco Perdigao’s 2016 Vacqueyras deserves a place on every Rhône lover’s table as well as a cool resting spot in the cellar.

Our next February Collectors Series offering is Emile Beyer’s 2016 Grand Cru Eichberg Alsace Riesling, a highly allocated, truly exceptional, delightfully dry Riesling that is meant to be enjoyed at table with a splendid meal. Emile Beyer’s 2016 Grand Cru Eichberg Riesling offers a beautiful aroma and a wealth of complex flavors, beginning with an enthralling potpourri of spring flowers, honeysuckle, orchard fruits, hauntingly delectable spice tones, and an engaging minerality, all bolstered by bright acidity. Balanced acidity with the mouthwatering freshness of lemon zest adds crispness and lift to the wine’s long, explosive finish. With a glass of Emile Beyer’s Eichberg Grand Cru Riesling, put aside all preconceived notions of the noble Riesling varietal and discover the grape’s true beauty, without the residual sugar.

Rounding out this month’s Collectors Series is the 2016 Chappellet Mountain Cuvée from master Napa Valley winemaker Phillip Corallo-Titus. The 2016 Chappellet Mountain Cuvée is a delicious crowd-pleasing Cabernet blend (51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 13% Malbec, 9% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc). Dark purple in color, packed with rich fruit, and endowed with ripe tannins that beautifully frame the wine’s cornucopia of complex flavors, the 2016 Chappellet Mountain Cuvée raises the bar for Napa Meritage offerings. The wine’s enticing bouquet reminiscent of classified Bordeaux gives way to a wealth of black currant fruit, cedar, dark chocolate and a pleasant touch of earthiness that many other California Cabernet based wines seem to lack. Bold but not brash, the wine unfolds in the glass as it breathes, revealing plenty of appealing fruit and finesse along with ample structure to allow it to evolve further for several more years. More than just a good solid Cabernet, the 2016 Chappellet Mountain Cuvée is truly an outstanding effort from Phillip Corallo-Titus and the folks at Chappellet. Enjoy!

The International Wine of the Month Club

The International Wine of the Month Club | 1-800-625-8238 (Outside USA call: 949-206-1904) | P.O. Box 1627, Lake Forest, CA 92609