I had this last night, and thought of you!
It’s a smokey autumn day and not in the best way of smoke…but in the way that limits visibility to two miles, if that, and renders all form into a hazy mist of non-definition. And yet, the sun shines! And haven’t you heard? Chenin Blanc . . . IS THE BEST GRAPE EVER! I could write a wine list devoted to this most amazing of varietals, and it would hit every slot! I’m serious.
That’s why, we’re going to lead off with
1. Chateau de Plaissance, Ronceray, Anjou 2020 $34- from the Quarts de Chaume , a zone known more for its late harvest sweet wine than a wine like the Ronceray. BTW, Ronceray is a hill where several vignerons make dry Chenin. There is no AOP for dry Chenin in the Quarts de Chaume and so bottlings of the dry wine are bottled as AOP Anjou. (Yeah, knowledge!)
Here is a wine that I sat and sniffed in the glass for a L O N G time before even taking a sip . . . Katsura Tree . . . one of the scents I love about autumn! If you go out on a walk right now, and suddenly smell burnt sugar, or baking yams, or roasted marshmallow, that is the Katsura Tree. That tree was in my glass! The scent of this tree is one of the things I love most about Autumn around here and will probably be the scent that I remember as I descend into dementia . . . I’ll be yelling Katsura! Katsura! Katsura! There was also a movie made in 1938 called, Aizen Katsura, The Tree of Love and Yearning . . .Anyway, that, and the smell of roasted hazelnuts, in a glass, with a hint of smokiness, which could well have been coming from the outside air… Maybe this will give you an idea of why I love wine! Because it reaches out, across boundaries, and touches on so many things. as art is wont to do… and truly, that is what I search for, when I taste wine… and rarely does one have a coming together of these desires with such sublimeness.
2. Slavcek, Sivi Pinot, Vipavska Dolina $26- Franc and Alenka Vodopivik, are the stewards of this most amazing property in the hills of the Nova Gorica, crafting naturally made wines. The property has been in existence since 1769. I’ve brought the Sivi Pinot in whenever it is offered and this is the new vintage! This is Pinot Grigio with just a few days of skin contact, giving the wine the blush of this morning’s smokey pre-dawn haze . . . a soft brassy pink imbues the wine, which, on the palate, is the taste version of its appearance. What does this mean? Dried herbs, like tarragon and freshly mown grass, intermingling with un-ripe peach, juicy, firm, and slightly sweet, but with that little acidic zing that makes the mouth water.
3. Cruse Wine Co. Monkey Jacket Red Blend, 2019 North Coast CA. $27- (Schooner with orange paint splotch) Michael Cruse is the progenitor of this is blend, led by Valdiguie, with Carignan, Tannat & Saint Laurent, among others! Grapes are sourced from several vineyards around the North Coast of California, many of which are old, some of them ranging over a century. The wine has a light touch of fruit pressed into concrete for fermentation, and elevage taking place in old french barrels. I love these pleasurable “country” wines, which I liken to Cotes du Rhones, or Beaujolais Villages. This cuvée is light, with great acid, and minerality, and super live fruit.
4. Los Chuchaquis, Negrette, 2020 San Benito County CA. $27- (Scary spirit tree in the photo) Negrette! What?! Inky purple, dark and opaque in the glass….a grape known mostly in the Southwest of France in Fronton . . . Ryan Stirm makes this from the the Stiletto vineyard in San Benito County, part of the meagre 10 acres planted to this grape across the whole state. Maybe you’ve never had Negrette? It would be understandable, because there is not much of it even in its homeland, but, what I will say about this lovely black grape, is that its dark color belies a levity on the palate that, while yes, the fruits are dark, it channels an herbal energy and light that, looking into the darkness of the glass, one would never suspect. Ryan is definitely one of the new guard of California, who is honoring seriously old school, traditional wine making, as unfuctwith as possible, who realizes that wine is made in the vineyard and not in the winery, in a manner of speaking.
That’s it for this middle part of October!
4 bottles brings me to your door
6 bottles outside Seattle!
Order here: Cantina Orders
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Much Love,
Marc