For a printable PDF of this weekend’s notes, click here!
Antonelli ‘Trebium’ Trebbiano Spoletino 2020
Origin: Sagrantino, Italy
Retail: $21.95 | Sale: $19.76
The estate has been in the Antonelli family since 1881. Although originally from Spoleto, the family transferred to Rome five generations ago.Filippo Antonelli has been at the helm of the estate since 1986. He divides his time between Montefalco and Rome where he manages another family wine estate, Castello di Torre in Pietra. Trebbiano Spoletino is a typical grape varietal from the area that stretches between Trevi, Montefalco and Spoleto, from massale selection of the best old Trebbiano Spoletino vines, grown according to the vine training system between maple trees. Intense straw yellow color tending to gold. A nose of intense and persistent impact, fruity and floral; one recognises almond and hawthorn blossom, citrus and tropical fruit with a slightly spicy finish. On the palate it is structured and very tasty. With a full acidic structure, typical of Trebbiano Spoletino, and merges into a perfect and amazing balance with the other elements. Excellent persistence and length.
100% Trebbiano Spoletino
Ameztoi Rubentis 2021
Origin: Getariako Txakolina, Spain
Retail: $21.95 | Sale: $19.76
The iconic Ameztoi Rubentis rosé is a field blend of the local, indigenous hondarrabi zuri and hondarrabi beltza varieties, grown on traditional trellises high on the slopes rising above Getaria, an ancient Basque fishing village on Spain’s rugged northern coast. In the 2000s, when almost all of the other local wineries gave up on the indigenous red hondarrabi beltza vines, the Ameztoi family retained their old vines, in turn, lending their rosé such exceptional vibrancy and complexity. Rubentis, the region’s first pink wine, was inspired by the historic claret style wines which were once produced in the area long before the current global craze made rosé famous. The backbone of the blend comes from an old hondarrabi beltza vineyard planted in 1840, preserved by the Ameztoi family for generations. Ameztoi Rubentis is an authentic original, a wine that is often imitated but never replicated. We have moved through our first five case allocation and only have 10 more for the summer
50% Hondarribi Beltza and 50% Hondarribi Zuri
Domaine Richaud Côtes du Rhône Nouveau 2021
Origin: Cairanne, France
Retail: $21.95 | Sale: $19.76
If you've heard of Cairanne, one of the best terroirs in the vast Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Appellation, it's probably because of Marcel Richaud. Richaud comes from a vine growing family who'd historically and prosperously sold grapes to the local cave cooperative. So it came as a shock when Marcel, only 17 at the time, told his father he wanted to become a "vigneron indépendant". To his senior, this was incomprehensible and felt very risky: nothing to gain, more work and less pay. Undeterred, Marcel started with 14 hectares of his aunt's vines, producing his first vintage at 19 years old in a dilapidated cellar with no roof. He quickly made a name for himself in the nascent Parisian natural wine scene of the early 1990's and eventually began incorporating his father's cooperative vines into his eponymous production. The nouveau is a fresh interpretation of young vines from the estate. Fermented carbonically with bright and lovely cherry aromatics with a candied peppercorn finish. Lithe and fresh but with a great red fruit persistence that carries through for a long finish. Give it a chill!
50% Grenache, 10% Counoise, 10% Cinsault, 20% Mourvèdre and 10% Carignan