Wine! From Cantina Sauvage, With Love, to You!
What is all of this playful looking color, sitting in glass in the glass, with cute labels, and catchy names and that curmudgeony guy? . . Stix and Bugs? What the ^#$%#$% is that?
I'll tell you! This is summer in a glass! In every way! frothy party wine in red, white, pink, and sparkling! Well, mostly anyway . . .
#1 Since we're on it, let's start with Stix & Bugs $19
This is Piquette! What is Piquette? It is a low alcohol sparkling wine produced from the pomace of the primary production, where water is added to the already pressed must, along with a bit of unfermented must and/or some kind of sugar for the yeast to feed on and spark another fermentation. The result is a light, low alcohol sparkling wine that is perfect for drinking in the summer sun, out on the lake, by the ocean, on top of a mountain, on the roof of your building, while taking a walk with your love, kind of wine. This one is about 10% alcohol and has a fuck-ton of aromatics and dimension for something so seemingly frivolous. It comes from Sanctum, a producer on the Slovenian side of the Styrian region of Austria Stajerska! Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt, andPinot Noir, make up the blend for this froth party.
#2 Also from Sanctum, Lisica- $24
(Fox in glasses on the label) Jesse says, foxes in glasses on the label mean it is a guaranteed sell-out. Who doesn't love a fox in glasses? 100% Pinot Noir, also Stajerska. Beautifully aromatic, this is a lovely, fresh and rustic style of Pinot Noir, the characteristics of which, bely its approachable price. Chill it down a bit! The wine is naturally made, with little to no added sulfites, except at bottling, to settle it all down.
#3 Krontiras Malbec- $21
Stunning? Multi-dimensional? The Moniker on the label reads thus: Space and Time . . .It's Time for the Universe to Expand in Your Mouth . . . I couldn't agree more! A dollop of this gulpable seed bed for the soul is enough to convince me. This is a Todd Pick (trademark here). Todd is a good friend of mine, (that's right, I'm callin' you out, son!) who likes to drink red wine the way I like to drink lagers. Simple & pleasurable, this is the kind of wine Todd would love.
It's right on the edge of getting serious but then steps back from the precipice and says, "Look, give it a sniff, give it an eye, swirl it in the glass and see the violet color, then just shut up and drink!" and i do, and so does Todd. Whenever I ask him what he thought of a wine, he says, after looking up for a moment, to a corner of his brain, "Yeah, It was Good" Thank you Todd!
Okay, these last two wines veer from the path above . . . maybe they're not the party wines in the picture . . . maybe, they're just a bit more serious, so put on your shoes and a clean pair of underwear, get your glasses on and get studious, mthrfckr!
From Catalunya, this is Celler Talcomraja! BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!
I had the good fortune of first tasting these back in February with Owen, when they had just come in as samples for him, and he was deciding whether he wanted to work with them or not. Maybe it was that I tasted them in the midst of some Georgian Wines that had been open already over a week, yet even in that miasma, the stunning quality of these wines shown through, like sun through the rain clouds of that cold dank day. And luckily, he brought them in! Talk about dimension and universes expanding in the mouth... these wines are a parallel universe, expanding in a rain puddle. Put the microscope to them and see for yourself!
#4- 6 Vincles-$35
100% Pansa Blanca aka Xarel-lo, a grape you may know as a component of Cava and found increasingly on its own, in some of the more stunning cuvees to come out of the Penedes and greater Catalan region. In this case, grape takes on the dimension and profile of Chenin Blanc for me. Pears and honey, bees wax and bunnies (for rhyming affect) no bunnies really....sunny? Stunning! Truly! There is nothing hindering in this wine, so lovely and worth your time, worth you taking a moment, sitting down and considering . . .
#5 Rial Negre-$35
a blend of primarily Garnaxa, with some Merlot, Cabernet, and a bit of Syrah(?) this wine takes me to a place I can't quite pinpoint. Northern Rhone, for its austerity and elegance; Priorat for its minerality and structure; Beaujolais for its brightness of fruit, levity, and rusticity . . . it's all there! Not a massive wine, no! But sinewy and full of mind power . . . it can move mountains and crack stone with its focus. And at the end of it all, set a vase of flowers on the table for dinner.
As always,
Get in touch with me here Cantina Sauvage with any questions/orders
four bottles brings me to your door IN SEATTLE! Outside city limits, the request is six bottles!