April 2024 Newsletter Wines
Florence has been famous for textiles longer than it has been famous for wine. The city became a center of wool production in the 13th century, and together with founding the modern banking industry, the city also pinned its wealth on the production of wool, silk and velvet worn by nobles across Europe in the late middle ages. That fame never exactly faded, so when the Fashion-famous Inghirami family were looking to buy a vineyard in Chianti in the 1970s, they were looking to dip into Florence’s “new” thing: wine. They selected the historic Gignano estate in Chianti, once owned by Caterina De Medici. Today, of the 600 hectare property, 200 are devoted to olive groves and 50 to vineyards. Much of their vineyard is devoted to Chianti, but for the Seta Toscana Rosso, Sangiovese is blended with one quarter each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, for a rich, dark, wine with much to offer to Pizzas, grilled meats, and cheesy pasta dishes. Cranberry, black cherry, a splash of vanilla and all the herbs in Italian seasoning mark the nose, while the palate is etched with a black charcoal pencil in tannins, with black plum and blacker cherry, tarry earth and dried herbs.
Picture, if you will, that iconic scene (meme?) of an extremely excited Pippin Brandybuck exclaiming “It comes in pints?!” at the Prancing Pony when he learned humans drank from bigger mugs than hobbits. That is the sort of excitement we at Liner & Elsen feel when we discover that Vinho Verde “comes in red?!”. I’m not here to question the marketing acumen of whoever decided to call their large, northern Portuguese region “Green Wine” under the assumption it was clear they were referring to the impossibly green countryside, rather than the sometimes green-tinted white wines the region generally produces. I’m only here to talk about this wonderfully quaffable red made from the native Vinhão grape with an earthy nose of sandstone, cranberry, rhubarb, dried strawberry, freshly harvested hay and charcoal. I want to sing the praises of this wine so silky and crisp and fresh you might miss the delicious notes of earth and crunchy cherries, cranberries and oranges. This wine is fresh; it pairs with smoky charcuterie boards and barbecues on a hot day. A light chill would not be out of place.
Quinta Varzea da Pedra Obidos Arinto 2021 $19
The countryside north of Lisbon is dotted with small wine regions that all bathe in Atlantic wind and rain. Grapes here generally struggle to ripen and much of the wine is distilled for brandy. However, the area also features hills like the chalky clay Serra de Montejunto, behind which the vineyards of Obidós shelter. Tomas and Alberto Emidio’s organically farmed Quinta Verzea is dedicated to Arinto in this marginally warmer microclimate, where this grape can wrap its incandescent core of acidity with a little more texture and complex flavor. The brothers only put the un-pressed free-run juice into this cuvee, and after wild yeast fermentation, they age it on its lees in steel for 11 months to give the wine more body. The resulting wine offers aromas of pear butter and peach with wildflowers and thyme and sage growing out of granite. The palate has wonderful tension between leesey creaminess and crackling salty acidity, with bold, ripe flavors of peach and orange that linger through the finish. When pairing seafood dishes, think of the intense flavors of Ceviche or the creamy richness of lobster under béchamel.
Sardinia’s most cherished white variety is Vermentino, the grape shared with all the shores of the Ligurian Sea, Provence, Liguria, and Tuscany. Mario Bagella’s family have been growing grapes in the Sorso district of northern Sardinia for as long as anyone can remember. His father was the first to make wine from their grapes, and Mario has taken the vineyard to organic and low intervention practices. His vines are old, nearly a century old, and the hills of Sorso form an amphitheater to channel the ocean breeze through vineyards that might otherwise overheat. This wine is fermented without added yeast and ages in stainless for somewhere between 8 and 12 months. After savor-lined aromas of pineapple and orange, the wine arrives on the palate hearty, full and with a light waxiness that helps the flavors stick to your gums. Flavors like apricots, peaches, salted orange, and an earthy note of limestone chalk on the finish. The wine pairs best with the sort of armored shellfish whose existence in the human diet says poignant things about what hungry humans will do: Lobster, crab, and shrimp.
Sardinia’s most cherished red variety is Cannonau, a local clone of Garnacha that arrived long ago from Valencia. Sardinia has proved to be a welcoming home for the grape, and it tastes distinct from its mainland cousins. In Mario Bagella’s seaside vineyards in northern Sardinia, Cannonau develops slowly and maintains a note of acidity that the grape is prone to losing in warmer climates. The cool ocean winds help, but so does the soil, a pale chalky limestone that prompts acid development in these grapes just as the limestone soils of Burgundy do for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Mario has a hands-off approach to viticulture; since his vines are almost 100 years old they don’t need much help, and he lets fermentation occur naturally. The resulting aromas of all this (in)attention are pure terroir: smoky soil, cherry and strawberry fruit leather, rose petals and mediterranean herbs. The palate is luxurious but clear-headed, with ripe red berry fruit, sage, and lightly roasted coffee with a gentle grip of tannin. If Bagella’s Vermentino covers your needs for seafood dinners, his Cannonau is a neat fit for gamey stews with beef or venison, earthy risottos and savory mushroom dishes.
JL Denois’ domaine is just a short way south of the city of Carcassonne. His main claim to fame is his sparkling Cremant de Limoux. He was among the first to grow Pinot Noir for Languedoc’s signature sparkling wine, and he has approached this deceptively simple Vin de France with the same iconoclastic nature. This area is pure Languedoc: roundabouts on all the main roads are adorned with the signature garrigue plants rosemary and lavender. However, the Pays Atlantique is not far away, and the organically farmed vineyards for this wine feature Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), and Cabernet Franc (10%). The aroma is as complex as the label, with notes of plum, cinnamon, garrigue, wild picked Maine blueberry, and tobacco leaf. The palate is filled with fleshy black fruits, pepper and forest floor and savory herbs. Full bodied and gently wrapped in tannins, this is an eminently quaffable wine for burgers, pizzas, and barbecues.
Fausto and Cinzia Cellario are third generation winemakers, so they have learned with experience that Piedmont’s once famous Grignolino variety has only one single drawback. The traditional 750ml bottle is not big enough to contain a wine this delicious. Thus, this one comes in a liter. Cellario works with an eye-popping 24 different grape varieties, and they are a surprisingly large producer – with about 30 hectares of vineyard – considering they’re family owned, use only native yeast fermentation, minimal sulfur, and farm organically. Their wines are always fresh, bright and berry scented, but there’s an argument that their freshest and brightest is this Grignolino, or Grino. Cranberries, raspberries and ruby red cherries burst from the glass with an edge of oregano and pepper that helps to set the scene in Piedmont. The palate is light bodied but full-flavored, juicy and crisp, with more crushed red berries and a surprisingly strong note of tilled clay earth. The finish is savory. Charcuterie on a sunny day is the natural choice, but even when it’s raining and you’re eating leftovers, this Grino will still do.
We don’t fully understand how Tim Malone does it. Sourced from a temporal vortex with a price tag from 1999, this Willamette Valley Pinot Noir offers old school character, classy suave texture, and impressively complex flavor. Tim has been making wine in the Willamette Valley since 2007, first as J Christopher’s assistant winemaker before devoting himself to building his own wine label full time in 2015. From the start, his wines have shown excellent balance, with clean cut flavors built around a burbling core of acidity. Another hallmark of Tim Malone’s wine is the top tier vineyards he works with. For this wine, the fruit comes from two very well known Willamette Valley vineyards: La Colina in the Dundee Hills and Lia’s Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains. High elevation character shines from the glass, with aromas of chalky clay soil, plump red cherries, black raspberry, sage and white pepper. The palate is fresh and inviting, yet still substantially weighted, with notes of the cherries that stain your fingers and dried herbs. This Pinot matches with traditional chicken or duck dishes, and it’s good enough to wow your friends for a weekend get-together.
The Grandes Lignes is a vineyard in Leon Boesch’s domaine with very long rows of Riesling vines. It is the shorthand name given by the vineyard crews who have to walk fifteen minutes out of their way around the ‘long lines’ to get the vines. Whoever chose to plant those vines on the slopes above the village of Soultzmatt must have known something we don’t, because even after 11 generations, the Boesch family hasn’t changed it, and the Riesling grown in these long lines is scintillating. Using biodynamic farming and low intervention in the cellar, Boesch wines shine with undimmed terroir, and the characteristically dry style of Alsatian Riesling is perfectly captured in this versatile bottle of wine. Aromas of green apple, lemon verbena, key lime, ginger, granitic minerality and salt give way to a palate that is taut like a violin string humming with the energy of the E string and echoing with flavors of lemon and green apple and orange. Fresh yet full bodied, this is classic dry Riesling fit for seafood stews, ceviche, thai curries (not too spicy, since the wine is dry) pork dishes, pugnacious cheeses, and of course, Choucroute.
Spring in Veneto is lovely. The weather turns all at once, vegetables like artichoke and asparagus come out under a thick blanket of flowers, and the air turns aromatic and dewey. The name Valpolicella comes from the Latin phrase Vallis Polis Cellae, Or “Valley of many Cellars”, a nod to the prominence wine had always enjoyed in this part of Italy. Tenuta Sant’Antonio is the work of the Castagnedi brothers, who purchased the property outside of the village of San Bricco in 1989 with the aim of revitalizing the character and quality of the estate’s wine. This Nanfrè comes from a vineyard named for the original farmer Gianfranco, and the blend of Corvina and Rondinella offers up a delicious slice of springtime in a glass. Aromas of red cherry, cranberry, tangerine peel, and cinnamon lead into a palate of juicy red berries and rich blossoms. It is a light and easy wine for similarly light pasta dishes, curried chicken salad, dishes with eggplant or artichoke, and vegetarian soups, or polentas under tinned fish.
Fred Loimer’s Grüner Veltliner speaks of place with a clear and assured voice. He converted to biodynamic farming beginning in 2006, and speaks of his farm with the full spirit of Rudolph Steiner’s intentions, as a “closed operating organism”, where no part of the farm can be considered separate from the whole. Fred and his son Lois work vineyards in the Kremstal region, near the city of Langenlois, where gently rolling hills crested with forest all wear skirts made of vineyard. Loess soils predominate, a free draining type of soil that encourages concentrated wines. The nose shows impressive complexity: classic Gruner notes of snap pea and white pepper, with lemon and lime and bay leaf and wintergreen and tarragon in support. The palate is ‘vertical’, filling but not heavy or tiring, with elements of lemon and orange, with a touch of salt that lingers on the finish. This is another wine that wants to be friends with all sorts of food, whether you’re cooking asparagus or duck, a stew or a salad, seasoning with paprika or fish sauce, this chameleon of a wine will likely fit the bill.
Les Pentes de Barene’s winery is in the tiny village of Pimbo, with one street and zero traffic lights. Nearby, the Adour river winds its way through clay and sandstone countryside laced with hills, forests, and farms on its way to Bayonne and the Atlantic Ocean. To the extent any appellations in France’s southwest are well known, Tursan isn’t one of them, though it abuts Madiran and Jurançon. For people more accustomed to looking for cities on maps, “a bit north of Pau” is the best we can do in this deeply rural quarter. The rare white wine from Tursan is a blend based on the Baroque grape, found nowhere else. Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc round out the other half of the blend. Always fun, in great vintages this wine is entrancing, with clear-cut flavors and rich textures not quite like anything else. Aromas of apple sauce and pear butter, beeswax and apricot and yellow rose petals come before the lush, seamless palate with apple and pear mixed with baking spices and a touch of almond on the finish. The acidity is fresh, the finish is bright. Lovers of Jurançon, Chablis and dry Chenin will find something to love in this wine, and if your next meal includes some sort of pâté, Tursan is essential.
Arabilis
Allison and Kenny McMahon's precise and mineral-struck Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is a wine to know. They will be joining us on April 13th at the Winemaker's Barrel to taste through a selection of their latest releases. These four wines will be available all month long.
Sourced from four Eola-Amity Hills vineyards: Stiling, Pearlstad, Björnson, and Eola Springs. Lean and refreshing, with strong slate driven minerality and asian pear.
Drawn from a vineyard in the Columbia Gorge on volcanic soil, this is all Wente clone Chardonnay, and offers a classic combination of sunshine and flint. Pear and melon notes, Meyer lemon and salty minerality come through with a lightly creamy, energetic palate.
The Pearlstad vineyard in the Eola Hills sits on ancient seabed sediment, and produces an opulent yet cleanly cut style of Chardonnay with yuzu fruit, apricot, and wildflower notes. Decanting is recommended to let the wine's aromas and flavors bloom.
Sourced from the Zenith and Sojeau vineyards in the Eola Hills, this Pinot Noir offers a mix of deep, rich fruit, umami notes like bone broth, and a selection from the spice cabinet: clove and cardamom. Like all Arabilis wines, it offers equal doses of intensity and poise.