Luscious and craveable, Broc Cellars Love Red wine delights our customers from vintage to vintage with this alluring red blend.
Specializing in “site specific” wines from biodynamically grown grapes and minimal intervention, Chris Brockway is a winemaker from whom we buy every drop of wine we can.
Broc Love Red is a wine you can easily enjoy by itself, or at the table with flank steak and roasted potatoes, butternut soup, fried chicken, pork tacos, BLTs, burgers… it is quite versatile (and delicious!)
In the summer, you can even give it just a hint of a chill to enjoy during the warm weather.
Next time you need a new wine to try or a wine gift for under $20, snag a bottle of Broc Cellars Love Red. You won’t be disappointed!
Broc Cellars | Love Red Blend | 2016 | $17.99 / 750ml
VITICULTURAL AREA: The grapes come from 50 to 70 year-old vines in Solano County’s Green Valley. This area is tucked between Napa and Suisun Valley. Syrah comes from Parenti and Wirth Ranch. Valdiguie comes from Parenti, Wirth and Frei Vineyard. Carignan comes from Frei and Parenti Vineyard. The grapes of each vineyard grow in clay loam soils and come from dry-farmed and head-
pruned vines. Our wines are made naturally, meaning no use of inoculated yeasts or bacteria. We use only native yeast to spark fermentation. We do not add any powdered tannins or enzymes.
WINEMAKER’S NOTES: The fifth bottling of Love Red’s grapes were harvested in the second week of September to preserve the grape’s natural acidity. The Carignan and Syrah were 100% destemmed and fermented in stainless steel tanks. The Valdiguié went under carbonic fermentation in stainles steel. Aged for 8 months in neutral French Oak barrels and blended before bottling.
Bellalua is the pinnacle of all the Languedoc has to share: Passion, Know-how, and Joy for Life. This blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache boasts a magnificent pale color and aromas of violets, citrus, and peach tree flowers. The aromatic essence of Syrah ideally mingles with the sweet fruity Grenache, which combine to create a subtle wine that will transport you to the South of France. Enjoy it by itself or with all light fare dishes.
Every estates’ wines change from one year to another depending on the characteristics of the harvest, quality of wine making, even if is from the same producer and from the same terroir, each year’s batch is unique. Soil, weather, geology, varietals, and the style of wine making used, are all decisive yet variable factors that give each wine a unique character. I travel several times a year and visit every estate and try every wine I purchase. When you choose #besteurowines you choose the best taste and value for traditional small estate French and Spanish wines.
– JP Bourgeois
30 Days of Rosé | #18 | MIP | Made in Provence | Cinsault-Syrah-Grenache Rosé Wine | Côtes de Provence | $16.99
We adore Rosé. We buy multiple kiddie pools worth of Rosé. We don’t buy stacks of every Rosé much less give it the special treatment of a fabulous home garden picture (Kate!! <3 ) so when we stack a Rosé, it’s because it we want to make sure it lasts for more than a hot minute over here. MIP – Made in Provence Rosé whispered to us through our nose, and yelled in our mouth “buy a lot!” so we stacked it. Enjoy!
The estate with its eight hectares of vineyards at the foot of the Mont Saint Victoire in Puyloubier, near Aix-en-Provence, was created by Michel Fabre in 1979. The children’s arrival in the business (Virginia in 2005, followed by Aurélien in 2009), brought fresh impetus to the running of the family estate. Since then, the estate’s work methods and winemaking practices have been completely overhauled. This process of change has in particular led to major investment in cellar technology (press with protection against oxidation, cross-flow filtration system, bottling line with protection against oxidation), as well as in vineyard machinery (latest generation wine harvester, hydraulic cultivator), but above all to changes in the estate’s sales and marketing strategy. The young Fabre generation has succeeded in implementing a modern, technology-focused and unique approach to winemaking while conserving the authenticity of this large and still family-run estate. The vineyards are being expanded with the planting of new grape varieties to enable diversification of the product portfolio.
A refreshing, easy-to-drink wine and guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Vinification method: Immediate pressing under oxygen-excluding conditions. Fermentation at low temperatures.
Ageing: Four months on fine lees.
Tasting: Very light rose petal coloured robe. Pleasant and powerful bouquet with notes of white flowers and small yellow fruit. This is a wine with a delicate mouth feel which is ideal as a pre-dinner drink on a summer evening or as an accompaniment to light meals.
Food pairings: Ideal with light meals, salads, BBQs and with Provençal-style cuisine in general. Perfect for a before-dinner drink with friends. Try with grilled Mediterranean seafood.
About Domaine Sainte Lucie:
Early September is when the harvest is due to commence. The winemaking cellar is fully disinfected, the vats are descaled and the equipment is set up to receive the grapes. At Domaine Sainte Lucie, harvesting starts around 5th September. During a three-week period, the cellar operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure that the expression of our terroir and our work throughout the year are transferred to the wines.
For the majority of our wines harvesting is done mechanically and at night so that the harvested grapes are cool (reducing the energy required for cooling). The cooler the harvested grapes are, the less transfer of colour there is from the grapes to the juice. The current trend in Provençal rosé leans towards wines with a pale coloured, glistening robe. Our up-to-the minute harvester has in-vehicle technology enabling the grapes to be harvested whole, without damaging the vineyard.
The grapes are then quickly transferred to the winemaking cellar in stainless steel hydraulic-flow bins. A natural approach to protecting the grapes is implemented right from their arrival at the cellar. Our processes are driven by our sustainable winemaking principles, which aim for the lowest addition of sulphites possible.
Growing characteristics: Use of sustainable agricultural practices
Winemaking characteristics: Vinification under oxygen-excluding conditions with no sulphites added at harvesting and low-temperature fermentation to avoid denaturing the flavour of the grapes and the character of the wines.
The winemaking process – technique & tradition
Several winemaking techniques are implemented at the winery. For the rosé wines, which account for the major part of our production, either immediate pressing or skin-contact maceration is used. However, there is also a third winemaking technique, which is specific to our estate. This secret technique is of course what gives our wines their specific profile.
Pressing or maceration – Rosé wines
Our rosé wines are produced using one of two techniques: immediate pressing or maceration. Immediate pressing is employed. As soon as the grapes arrive at the winemaking cellar, they are protected with dry ice and cooled. The harvested grapes are entirely destalked and lightly crushed.
The juices extracted at pressing are again cooled to facilitate settling. This settling stage, known as débourbage, consists of allowing the rosé grape must, which is full of plant debris and pulp, to clarify naturally by settling. Débourbage takes from 12 to 24 hours depending on the maturity of the grapes.
Once the very clear juice has been separated from the rest, the sediment is filtered out, enabling a highly aromatic juice (known as the suc de la vigne) to be obtained.
It is only once this clarification stage is complete that the fermentation of the grape must can commence. Alcoholic fermentation at low temperatures, lasting 15 to 20 days at a constant 16°C, helps to preserve the future wine’s aromatic potential. During fermentation, vats are checked three times a day and the contents tasted regularly.
Fall is here, sounding the alert in craniums for people to start drinking full-bodied red vino (although, I drink hearty reds all year).
The Sinister Hand from our friends at Owen Roe becomes increasingly popular as the leaves turn – a perfect transitional wine to ease you from summer to autumn. The soft tannins and bright raspberry notes of Grenache says summer is still kinda here but fleeting, while the richness of Syrah starts to prepare your palate for robust wine, harvest meals, and evenings around the fire.
Help yourself to the bounty of our Owen Roe wine harvest while you can, like many other seasonal consumables, once Sinister Hand is gone, it won’t be back until next year.
This generous fusion of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsaut is easily approachable while displaying undeniable complexity. The Grenache portion of the blend contributes cranberry and raspberry candied fruit notes, while the Syrah fragment delivers darker fruits and savoury characteristics. Mourvedre enhances the structure and richness of the body and provides delicate aromas of violets. Our partially carbonic macerated Cinsaut brings liveliness and tropical fruit flavors to the blend.
THE STORY
Long ago, during the 17th century, the O’Neills and O’Reillys were two revolutionary Irish families. They formed a rowing competition to reserve rights to some highly regarded land. The two rowing teams agreed that the first to touch the land, after rowing across the lake, would become ruler of the land. O’Neill’s boat was falling behind so a member of the crew grabbed his own sword, cut off his hand and threw it ashore, winning the title to rule the land. This land still remains in the family.
Aged 10 months in 30% new French oak barrels and 70% neutral
Stephen Tanzer | 90 Points
This lively, perfumed Washington State blend of southern French varieties of fers musky scents of candied red berries, wild herbs, violet and cedar. It’s juicy, savory and persistent, with compelling spicy/herbal lift to its dark cherry flavor. Some fruit from cool Columbia Gorge adds verve. – Stephen Tanzer
10/15 – Thursday – 4:00-6:00p – Vermont Wine Merchants Fall Wine Tasting – Beverage Warehouse Tasting Bar – FREE
The rich colors and cozy sweaters of fall have inspired us to collaborate with Vermont Wine Merchants, one of our fine wine distributors, to bring you a hand-picked selection for your tasting pleasure.
Whether you prefer Chardonnay, Syrah, Carmenere, Sauvignon Blanc or Grenache, or don’t even know what you prefer, find out your next new favorite wine!
