Responsible Indulgence, February 2022
February 2022 Indulgence
NWCG Wine Club
I have heard a theory about how time feels more accelerated the older that we get. I can’t articulate for you the exact statistics, but it has something to do with the depletion of the time we have left. I wonder if it isn’t more to do with a growing appreciation for what we have and that which is so easily lost. In this period of a global pandemic, time has become more precious, and it seems like time is just flying by. The wine club is my calendar of sorts, and it reminds me of how quickly the months and years pass. It is a wonderful reminder to seize the moment, take a sip and slow down. I hope that the delivery wine will do the same for you.
Our weather has gotten considerably colder, and I am finding myself eating like a lumberjack despite the reality that I don’t labor to support my calorie intake. Luckily, keeping warm and brisk walks seem to be doing enough for me! I have been enjoying warming winter stews, hearty soups, and roasted...well, everything. Roasting is hands down the best approach to cooking anything. I am sure I have sung the praises before, but you are going to hear it again and again. It brings out intensity of flavor, invites broader wine pairing possibilities, and typically can be accomplished in one pot, so clean up is easier. With that style of cooking in mind, I compiled the following wines to come to the table with me.
For February Value Wines, I began with something refreshing to have while I prep. The 2020 Casa Smith ViNo Rosé is light and fresh and tastes of sunshine, which we could use more of these days. It has a vibrancy that elevates my spirit! There is a touch of strawberry and cheery notes that translate onto the palate, and a racy acidity and a supple mouth feel that makes you want to snack on some salty pistachios while you cook. As you snack and snip, go ahead and prep some winter vegetables—mushrooms, squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, and other roots. Just clean them, and roughly chop them. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment, toss the vegetable with olive oil, mince some garlic and throw it in there, sprinkle with your favorite dried herbs or spices, and pop into a preheated 400 degree oven. Fast and furious, let’s roast those veggies.
While they roast, for about 25-35 minutes (totally dependent upon the size of your chop), go ahead and open up your white or red to go with dinner. Keep an eye on the oven, you want there to be a browning of the outside and I highly recommend turning them twice during the roast, to get a more even browning on the outside.
For whites, you have two wonderful options, 2020 Legado del Moncayo Garnacha Blanco from Campo de Barja, La Balsa vineyard. This is a whole cluster press, so the wine has lots of flavor, and it spends some time on the lees prior to bottling which gives it texture and softness that I love. It also has enough acidity to make it a great pairing for all sort of full-flavored foods, like those roasted vegetables. If you are seeking something even richer, try the 2020 Nemorino Blanco, a blend of 50% Trebbiano and 50% Semillion. There is a very gentle floral note on this one that is so appealing. It is compelling and complex, honey, wildflowers, salty notes, touch of yeast, and all with a fruit forward and acid backbone that comes together in harmony with a nice long mineral finish. It also has a fabulous opera reference on the label!
If your dinner includes a protein, like roasted cod, which I love to add on top of the vegetables, about half way through the cook time, drizzle with good oil and lots of cracked black pepper, then I suggest you go for a light body red. I know conventional thinking would say white, but who wants to be conventional these days? The 2020 Luyt Pipeno Pais “Coronel del Maule” will appeal to both the white and red wine drinkers in the crowd. It is rustic but light, flavorful, but easy going, fresh, bright, and very tasty. It is a blend of Pais and Cinsault, dry harvested bush vines on decomposed granite soil, and perhaps those vines work a little harder than most, which I think gives the wine its intensity. there is a real pop of tart cherry that you can almost chew on. Think Chilean Gamay, and pop that liter and enjoy every drop.
You may have decided to add a roasted pork loin to the dinner, which can of course be thrown right into the veggies, just do it straight from the beginning and check the meat temp for doneness. I like to cook my pork to 125 degrees internal temperature, then allow it to rest for 10 minutes under some foil, it stays moist that way. If this is the case, or maybe another read meat, you have two more full bodied reds to select from 2016 Alpha Zeta Ripasso della Valpolicella and the 2018 Domaine d'Aupilhac Lou Maset. The wines are both built with some structure from tannins, and they are equally full bodied, but the flavors are decidedly different. The Ripasso has loads of black fruit, ripe and even a bit stewed, raisoned and wonderfully layered. The Languedoc red is more rustic, dark brambly fruit, a bit more moody and wonderfully dark.
The 2020 Caprice de Clementines Rosé kicks off the February Select Wines with both a pop of color and flavor. Equal parts Grenache and Cinsault give the wine expression with a gentle, elegant delivery. It is enough to give a meal some backdrop, like a soft winter sunset, or it would make an excellent aperitif to wet your whistle before dinner. I love this one with some Pico, a French goat cheese that is soft and ripe and runny. The flavors sing together!
Another favorite simple meal for this time of year is a root vegetable gratin. All you need is 1-2pounds of root vegetables of your choice—I like Kohlrabi, both russet and sweet potatoes, and turnips, but you really can do whatever you like. Slice thin or use a mandolin, layer with 1 cup of gruyere, and pour 2 cups of milk over it. Salt and pepper ever layer and then top with the last bit of cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes uncovered. Make a simple green salad, and enjoy. With that you can do a lot of different wines depending on your mood. It maybe an obvious choice, but the 2019 Denis Meunier Vouvray, Expression de Silex, Chenin Blanc from the Loire would pair great. It has a precision to it that produces a pure, lively and crisp chenin that has layers of flavor that will stand up to the layers of richness in any dish, but particularly this gratin. This young vigneron is makes old school Vouvray that will make you swoon from your first sniff of the complex aromatics to the last drop of this honeyed nectar.
There is a second very compelling full-bodied white in our Select picks for February, the 2015 Winslow Family Chardonnay from Russian River. As you would expect from the Russian River Valley, where I think great Chardonnay’s are produced, the wine is robust, full bodied, but with lively acidity to balance the fruit, crisp citrus and apple flavors with lush texture, and a rush of minerality to finish. This is a new one for us, and I love it. Yes, it sees oak, but the integration is seamless, and a great example of oak used wisely.
For our reds, which would also compliment the gratin, but would be equally wonderful with a whole roasted chicken—which I rarely go a week without.
I could not resist a little surprise for you, and I hope you love it too. The Sanctum Piquette Stix & Bugs is a Blaufrankish dry frizzante from Slovenia. All the cool kids are loving this stuff, and you will too. It is a fun casual sparkling red with berry and forest floor aromas. It is fresh and light but has a curious depth of flavor intensity with lots of fruit and earth notes. It is great with food but can be enjoyed on its own. This is a spectacular example of a trendy wine that is done right. It is clean, fresh, and delicious, albeit a little weird. This is actually a second pressing of sorts. Piquette is made by taking Pomace from winemaking and soaking it in water for 1-2 weeks and then pressing it again. This 2nd pressing then ferments naturally in the bottle, producing a light bubbly and very low alcohol wine. It’s fun!
The 2019 Perez Bierzo Tinto “Ultreia St Jacques” is a Mencia heavy blend from Castilla Y Leon, and it is a project of two great wine makers’ techniques. It is a whole cluster fermentation with a long fermentation which results in a fresh but full-flavored Bierzo. Innovative, old world techniques may sound like an oxymoron, but it is true, they are making use of traditional techniques with a modern sensibility to make a delicious wine that is impactful in flavor and elegant in style. The fruit is gamey and concentrated but not heavy.
Similarly, the 2018 Vila Voltaire "je suis tombé par terre” is a bush vine Carignan, Grenache, Cab, Merlot blend that rocked my world. It is a unique blend that introduces Rhone and Bordeaux together to produce a robust, complex wine with a lot of character. It has a dark ruby red color that is immediately alluring, inviting you in like dark red velvet curtain that suggests it will envelop you in comfort. And, it does. Think loads of brambly dark fruit, forest floor, minerality that invokes a walk in the woods after a heavy snowfall (or maybe that is just where we are right now!). Hints of cherry and licorice, touch of spice, and a little vanilla tells me that there was some oak, though used sparingly so as to allow the bright fresh fruit to shine. Therein lies the cool thing about this wine. The fruit is fresh, not dried or cooked, as the color might suggest, so the wine has a nice freshness that balances the full body and flavor.
For our Collectors, I decided to take a more focused look at one Cru in the Beaujolais, Morgon. Eric Asmiov argues, and I agree, that Morgon produces some of the best wines coming out of the Beaujolais, and they are also more readily available in our market, so it is a good Cru to get to know. I suspect that the amount is a direct result of the style of the wine, it has a lot of depth and character and flavor for a Gamay, and that appeals to my customers, for sure. You have three to choose from, 2016 Domaine Cote de Berne Morgon Grand Crus, the 2020 Guy Breton Vielles Vignes Morgon, and the 2020 Lapierre Morgon. While the Beaujolais is often thought of as approachable, easy wines, these three will challenge that idea. These are Cru Beaujolais with a depth of character and richness of texture. There are complex aromas, red and black fruit, earth, and gamy notes, the wine on the palate is so satisfying, with a wonderful silky texture. Keep it simple and stick to the bistro meals for these wines and let them shine. Yes, a slight chill on these reds is advisable.
I am going to feature the wines of Beaujolais for our Makers & Mongers Virtual Tasting on Friday, February 18th. Join me with Jon LoPresti and Pascal Schildt in a one hour discussion of the wines of this very special region, specifically featuring the wines of Domaine Cote de Berne with the winemaker! Jon will give some menu ideas for pairing!!
To purchase the wines, contact me at maria@newportwinecellar.com or click here. As club members, you are welcome to participate.
Makers & Mongers Package: $95, serves 6-8 people, includes 3 wines—2020 Domaine Cote de Berne Beaujolais Blanc (Chardonnay), 2019 Domaine Cote de Berne Morgon Grand Cras & the 2019 Brouilly, Brillat Savarin, Rustic Bakery Crackers, Paté Compagne, Marcona Almonds, and a spread for cheese.