60 Days of Rosé #11 | Peyrassol Côtes de Provence Rosé | #LOU | $14.99
If you’re looking for a perfectly dry, everyday Provence rosé without the higher price that Chateau de Peyrassol commands, their #LOU rosé is the answer!
A blend of Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah, this Provence rosé is a perfect apéritif. #LOU is a soft, fresh pink color, and leaves a trail of gooseberry, raspberry and white blossom in its wake.
The delicately spicy nose reverberates on the palate with red berries and peach, and transitions to brighter, more more citric tones on the finish.
What’s also awesome is that you can drink this wine without worrying about a sulfite headache! Peyrassol adheres to strict organic guidelines in the vineyard, eschewing synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides for natural methods. The wines are a beautiful expression of the region’s clay and limestone terroir, capturing the very essence of Provence: fresh, refined & elegant.
60 Days of Rosé #10 | Jenny & Francois Selections | “Gaspard” Organic Touraine Rosé | $16.99
This organic wine is gorgeous from start to finish! The intense salmon pink sunset hue and playful label will catch your eye, and when you pop it, all your other senses are rewarded. The nose is precise and angular, like a well-cut diamond, with an appealing steeliness. Swirling around and above that core is a perfume of nectarine, peach, and green strawberries, with light hints of toasted cashew and dried apricot.
Take a sip, and your mouth is filled with mouthwatering fuzzy nectarine and peach pit notes, backed by super high-toned acidity. The only problem with this wine is that it’s hard to share! If you must share though, this wine pairs incredibly well with BBQ’d pork, grilled chicken & peaches, or spicy duck.
Jenny & François is one of our favorite natural wine importers, and Gaspard is a Jenny & François Selections house label. This means that the grapes are sourced from a winemaker in France’s Loire Valley, who makes the wines to their specifications.
60 Days of Rosé #10 | Les Chemins de Bassac Isa Rosé | Côtes de Thonges | $17.99
The weather is looking absolutely perfect for Mother’s Day this Sunday, and what better way to complete brunch than with a beautiful bottle of French rosé? We highly recommend Les Chemins de Bassac “Isa” Rosé… for you AND your Mom 🙂
Made with Grenache, Mouvedre and Syrah grapes that are certified organic, this light ruby-salmon stunner tastes like a basket of perfectly-ripe strawberries, raspberries and cherries. It’s balanced on the palate, with medium body, a smooth mouth-feel and a crisp, dry finish.
At $17.99, it’s an affordable way to show your Mom how awesome she is, and what great taste you have!
Isabelle and Rémy Ducellier took possession of this 19th century estate in the mid-nineties and have been producing a stunning array of wines ever since. The Chemins de Bassac vineyards are 100 meters above sea level and located near the village of Puimisson, which is 12 km north of Béziers, hence the vineyards benefit greatly from the nearby Mediterranean Sea.
Soil: Limestone & clay, large stones across well-drained topsoil
Varieties: Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre and Syrah
Vinification Method: The grape bunches are completely destemmed and each variety is vinified separately in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve the freshness of the fruit and all of the individual flavors and aromatics. The saignée method is utilized in making this cuvée and the final blend is racked statically. Fermentation lasts for a month at temperatures below 20° C. The wine rests in tank until early spring when it is bottled and released.
Tasting Note: A light ruby-salmon in the glass, it is fully loaded with depth, complexity and personality. On the palate rich, lively strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavors are present. It shows impressive balance, medium body, a smooth mouth-feel and a persistent, crisp, dry finish.
Pairing: Grilled fish dishes, as well as hearty garden salads and summer pasta dishes.
The Winery: Wilde Farm was a place long before it was a wine. Built in 1907 on the estate of Samuel Wilde, a successful coffee and spice trader, Wilde Farm began as a horse farm, with a generous kitchen garden of vegetables and herbs. It is of the Colonial Revival style popular at the time. The edifice itself is purposefully constructed, with hand-hewn floorboards, chestnut moldings, high, plastered ceilings and strong, honest lines. Much like its eponymous wine, the house was expertly crafted of honest materials and made to age gracefully. About twenty years ago, my wife and I took over custody of Wilde Farm. There we have raised three beautiful boys, in the only home they have ever known.
Wilde Farm makes wines from old vines and exceptional vineyards. Quantities are very small. Our wines are bright, balanced and made by hand. They emphasize a balance of acid and fruit. As an added bonus they age great.
Pax Mahle makes Wilde Farm wines. He has a light touch and a craftsman’s approach. Together, we work hard to ensure that Pax has the best materials available and that as a team we screw it up as little as possible. We source grapes from old vine, low yield sites, where soil, climate and honest farming practices allow for a full expression of the type of grape and the place the grapes come from. We only offer vineyard designated wines (so far).We pick when the grapes are ripe and ready. Yeasts are ambient, oak is neutral and fermentation happens at its own pace. We sometimes include stems in the primary fermentation, when it makes sense. We bottle our wines unfined and unfiltered. We sell them when we think they are delicious.
Winemaker’s notes: Vibrant and fresh with a compelling depth of aroma of effusive cinnamon laced black red & blue fruits. The palate is loaded w/ fresh fruit, spice and a supple core of spicier fruit. Weighty and textural this is really delicious served w/ a chill.
Alcohol: 12.4%
pH: 3.48
Cases Produced: 70
Fox Hill Vineyard: Wilde Farm Dolcetto comes exclusively from The Fox Hill vineyard, located just south of the town of Ukiah on the Talmage Bench. The soils are well-drained, with high concentrations of gravel and sandstone. Fig, apple and plum trees dot the grounds, as well as an acre of olive trees. The Dolcetto we source comes from the cooler, tree-shaded, north-west facing slopes. This wine goes through complete carbonic fermentation with native yeasts and is raised naturally for only 6 months in neutral french barrique with no sulfur added.
60 Days of Rosé | #08 | Amplify Wines | “Pink Flag” Rosé of Counoise | Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California | $21.99
This wine is crazy. And by that we mean, crazy amazing! “Pink Flag” rose from Amplify Wines is really unlike any other rose we’ve tasted this year. I mean, that hazy crazy beautiful color alone is mind-blowing! When you pour a glass and hold it up to the sun, you notice how its silken texture flows and shimmers in the most summery, let’s-get-on-a-boat-right-now kind of way. Take a sip, and your palate is pleasantly shocked with an amped up grapefruit brightness, which is perfectly tempered by refreshing salinity and satiny, nutty richness. You should definitely drink it while listening to Wire’s influential album of the same name 🙂
How do they do it? Well, the way this wine is made is very, very unusual. Husband & wife winemakers Cameron & Marlen Porterage 50% of the wine under flor, using a method similar to that used to make Vin Jaune or Sherry. This contributes the sea salt, almond, saline character. The other half of the wine is more reminiscent of classic Bandol rosé. The marriage of these two styles makes for a very complete, savory rosé, one that expresses a new side of the Santa Barbara’s famed Camp 4 Vineyard through the Counoise grape.
Our enjoyment of this wine is even greater because of the ethos of Cameron & Marlen, who were born and raised in Santa Barbara County. They believe in native yeast fermentations; neutral vessels for fermentation and aging; no additions of any kind except for minimum effective sulfur dioxide; and farming that seeks to establish a healthy ecosystem, enhancing and supporting the natural characteristics of a given place.
The exploration, and elevation, of their California growing region has been their life’s work. They first bonded over a shared love for wine and music, and Amplify is a natural extension of this marriage between their two greatest passions. As winemakers, they seek to amplify the voice of site and enhance the most singular characteristics of a given vineyard, marrying a sense of place with a sense of style. They embrace the happy accident, letting intuition guide their hand, with their creative spirit and palates as their primary tools.
Amplify Wines “Pink Flag” rosé is extremely limited. The winery produced 81 cases of the 2017 vintages, and this is the first time it’s ever been available in Vermont. Only a handful of cases are available across the whole state! It’s hard to miss this wicked cool label on our expansive “wall of rosé” copper bar display – come and snag yours today!
60 Days of Rosé | #07 | Kivelstadt Cellars | Twice Removed Rosé | Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino County | $17.99
We have been utterly enchanted by the elegant wines lovingly ‘hand-and-foot-crafted’ by Kivelstadt Cellars.
We kicked off our snapping up of Kivelstadt Cellars wine with the craveable KC Labs Syrah. Once we got that luscious syrah on our shelves, we said “We need more wine!” as we often do and asked for every drop available to us.
Soon after us pushing the button on more Kivelstadt, Mother of Invention | White Rhone Blend, Old Wyves Tale | Carignane, and Native Son 2016 | Charbono established their shelf space within our popular ‘Natural & Native’ wine section.
When you think about the hundreds of thousands of places in the US to purchase wine… 876 cases Kivelstadt Cellars Twice Removed Rosé is incredibly rare (aside from being delicious!) so claim your bottle while you can.
This blend of 60% Carignane and 40% Grenache is styled after its Provençale cousins from southern France. The grapes are harvested early, then lightly foot stomped and allowed to cold soak overnight to extract color and texture before the juice is pressed off and fermented in stainless steel. This bone-dry rosé possesses vibrant acidity, notes of strawberry and watermelon and a hint of kiwi on the finish.
Twice Removed feels like family. Not like the family you know, more like distant cousins, back from adventures abroad. Made straight from whole cluster pressed grapes, not with the extra juice destined for the drain. Once you get to know this Rosé, you’ll feel like old friends.
Jordan Kivelstadt / Winemaker
Our Story – Kivelstadt Cellars was founded for our love of amazing California vineyards. After leaving a career in consulting in his early twenties, Jordan Kivelstadt traveled the world making wine in California, Australia, Chile and Argentina.
In 2007, Jordan made 125 cases of Estate Syrah. He drew inspiration both from his winemaking experiences in the new world and his family’s passion for European cuisine, art and wine culture. Hence our focus became exploring the product of incredible California vineyards, with a nod toward the rich history and balance of the old world wines that came before us.
Since the inaugural 2007 vintage, our production has grown to 3,500 cases annually. We strive to create wines of intrigue that maintain a fun and approachable style and challenge the status quo of conventional California wines.
Overview – Years ago Kivelstadt Cellars was only an idea, the idea that people deserve to drink wines with soul. These wines would come from vineyards with heritage , farmed with the utmost respect for nature , and fermented with low intervention . A combination of these ideals has evolved into a lifestyle. A lifestyle which vintage after vintage results in delicious wine’s which pay homage to California’s terroir. Doesn’t everyone love rose? When it’s made like this it i s the perfect thing to quench your afternoon thirst! Produced from grapes picked only for rose this elegant wine will go head to head with any bottle from Frances famed Provence.
Grape Details – A little known fact is that Carignane doesn’t originate from Southern Frances Languedoc Roussillon, the region that made it famous. The grape actually evolved in North – East Spain’s Aragon region where it is know as Mazuelo. Carignane is vigorous, highly productive, late budding; mildew prone, late ripening and produces wines that are high in color, tannin, acid and flavor. All of these characteristics make it perfectly suited for Norther n California and extended life.
As these vines get older and older, their fruit gets more and more concentrated. Grenache Noir or Granacha Tinta in Spain is an ancient variety that has undergone many mutations effecting berry color (Blanc, Gris and Rouge can all be found). Grenache has long been thought to originate from Spain, but current DNA analysis has started a debate as to whether it originated in Spain or Sardinia, where it is called Cannonau. Grenache Noir is Frances Second most widely planted gr ape, which implicates its importance in Frances wine tradition. It is also the base of Southern Rhone Blends from famed regions such as Chauteauneuf-du-Pape. This relatively early budding, but late ripening grape is great for hot climates (such as California!).
Color is dependent on yield and can range from light and bright to dark and brooding. A fun Viticultural fact is that Grenache is highly resistant to eutypa die back, which explains it’s miraculous longevity.
Soils – Venturi Vineyard is located just north of Ukiah, in the Calpella Valley, on predominantly Pinole gravelly loam soils. Containing a mixture of sandstone, shale and quartz, these deep, well – drained soils were formed from alluvial flows, depositing fist – sized stones along the way. Highly deficient in organic matter, the moderately acidic soil pH allows for optimal nutrient uptake to allow the vines to thrive. Pinole soils are some of the most sought after soil types in Mendocino County. Farming: Larry Venturi is a 3rd generation farmer tending to vines planted on his family’s historic site in Calpella (Ukiah), in Mendocino County. Planted in the late 1940’s, this nearly 70 year – old vineyard is still amazingly healthy and produc tive. The vines are head trained and have been dry farmed since inception. Farming is certified organic.
Vintage – 2017 was a tumultuous growing season to say the least. It was the first season in many years that had significant rainfall in the winter and spring. This provided a much needed respite from the years of drought that had plagued California. A very hot August kicked harvest off quickly, but September was relatively mild and cool. There was a devastating fire late in the season, which tore through vineyards and more importantly impacted the lives of many California.
Vinification – The Grenache and Carignane were harvested on the same day from Venturi Vineyard. We foot stomped the grapes in the picking bins, put dry ice on top, wrapped the bins with shrink wrap and left the m to soak overnight. This enabled us to extra just a pit of color out of the grapes. We love our rose to be a dull pink to Salmon color. Next the fruit was pressed whole cluster and co – fermented in stainless steel tank. After primary fermentation ended , the wine is racked off of the lees and malo lactic fermentation is blocked.
Tasting Notes – The wine is light and steely with a vain of acid all the way through. Aromas are punctuated by bright cranberry and savor herbs. By using grape varieties made fa mous in the Rhone we attain a mid palate that makes this perfect with light food or alone!
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