Good morning, friends, and please welcome us back to my first Wine Advisor e-letter since August 19. My apologies for missing two issues this month. As you might have guessed, Covid-19 finally came to visit our house, and the fatigue associated with even a “mild” case knocked me down for a few weeks.
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A dark-purple blend of six (hence the name) traditional Southern Rhône grapes led by Grenache Noir, Boutinot “Les Six” Cairanne offers ripe raspberry and black pepper aromas. Ripe red- and black-fruit flavors add mineral notes of clay on the palate. Mouth-filling and sharply acidic, its juicy fruit adds firm tannins and a touch of peach-pit bitterness and the warmth of 14.5% alcohol.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Boutinot “Les Six” Cairanne on Wine-Searcher.com.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from Cairanne.
Learn more about Southern Rhône red blends and find many more wines and vendors at this Wine-Searcher link. Read article.
A few months ago, Neil Duarte participated in a Zoom tasting – one of the features of the Covid pandemic – of Amarone wines from the Brigaldara Winery in the Verona area of Italy. He’d been shipped the wines a few weeks previously, and now they were settled and ready to rate. Here’s what he learned. Read article.
“What kind of wine did you bring?” I get the question a lot when I take a bottle along to a gathering with friends who might not be as nerdy about wines as I am.
This time my answer drew a laugh: “It’s a weird red wine,” I said.
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A man’s profile on the label of Hermann Moser 2018 Niederösterreich Zweigelt bears the English phrase, “the red cherry.” The attractive scent of this classic-style Zweigelt shows tart cherries and cranberries, leading to black fruit on the palate. Made without oak, it’s light bodied, bright, crisp and acidic. Tannic astringency and stony minerality linger in a long finish.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Hermann Moser Zweigelt on Wine-Searcher.com.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines made from the Zweigelt grape.
For more information about Austria’s Niederösterreich region and links to wines of the region, follow this Wine-Searcher link. Read article.
In 1899 two travelers from Piedmont, one an engineer named Sella and the other a lawyer named Mosca, visited the island of Sardinia. There they fell in love with the potential of the island for winemaking. Neil Duarte had never been to Sardinia, but he got hold of six Sella&Mosca wines from the importer, and here’s his report. Read article.
How much does a wine bottle weigh? How much should a wine bottle weigh?
Apparently it depends on who you ask.
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Made from 100% Albariño grapes, Abadía de San Campio Albariño shows a clear bright straw color with a golden hue. Appealing apple scents at first open up with time in the glass to pineapple and stone fruit. Fresh and bright on the palate, its white-fruit flavors add distinct citrus notes, tartly acidic lemon and lime, mouth-filling and tart, with a prickly hint of carbonation in its long finish.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Abadía de San Campio Albariño on Wine-Searcher.com.
Learn more about the Albariño grape and find more wines and vendors at this Wine-Searcher link.
Follow this Wine-Searcher link to find listings for dozens of other wines from Spain’s Rías Baixas region. Read article.
Sometimes finding exactly what you want at the wine shop can be a challenge. So it was for me when I went looking for a Loire Valley Chenin Blanc the other day.
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Mary Taylor’s Pascal Biotteau Anjou Blanc is a delicious Loire white wine made with 100% Chenin Blanc. It’s a clear, light gold color with a flash of brassy green, and it breathes appealing scents of honey that lead into fresh, juicy apricot. It’s an interesting and complex wine, a pure, un-oaked introduction to Loire Chenin Blanc.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Pascal Biotteau Anjou Blanc on Wine-Searcher.com.
Learn more about the Anjou wine region in the Loire at this Wine-Searcher link.
This Wine-Searcher link provides information about the Chenin Blanc grape, with links to dozens of wines made with this variety. Read article.
