Cider

 

C-Squared Cider 'Ella' Denver, Colorado $7.98

 

C-Squared Cider coming out of Denver is an unstoppable force of impressive quality ciders. Ella is a refreshing style of IPA cider, a dry hopped flavor similar to the style used with beer production.  Using Ella hops (from Australia) and Azacca hops (from the United States), this cider has a very interesting and complex palate. Ella gives off fantastic floral and spice notes on the nose, whereas Azacca brings out more of a citrus and mango essence in the cider. 500ml

​

​

Bubbly

​

Domaine Thevenet et Fils, Blanc de Blancs Vin Mousseux de Qualite Brut, Burgundy, France $38.98

 

A family run winery, Domaine Thevenet et Fils is centered in the village of Pierreclos at the heart of the Macconais.  Jean Claude Thevenet inherited the family domaine, a mere 3 hectares, in 1971 and grew it to its current 30 hectare holdings.  Importer Neil Rosenthal has worked with the family since 1982 and has seen consistently impressive quality and purity throughout the years.  In 2008, Jean Claude passed away, unfortunately at the early age of 54, but his wife and three sons continue to uphold his legacy. 

 

Often many consumers think of sparkling wine from France as only coming from Champagne, however, there are many delicious well-crafted sparkling wines from other well respected appellations in France.  Domaine Thevenet’s Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay crafted from 20 year old vine harvested from parcels in the village of Serrieres on the border with Pierreclos. The vineyards are west facing and planted to sandy soils. 

 

A delicious, expressive, dry Chardonnay, the Blanc de Blancs possesses an attractive honeyed note for added richness but overall is a gorgeously fresh, sparkling Chardonnay presented in a light-bodied, delicate format.

​

​

White

​

2014 Birichino, Malvasia Bianca, Monterey, California $25.98

 

Alex Krause and John Locke founded Birichino in Santa Cruz, California in 2008. Drawing on a combined four decades making wine in California, France, Italy, and beyond, Krause and Locke seek to craft wines with the perfect balance of perfume and poise.  Sourcing from a number of carefully farmed, family-owned, own-rooted 19th and early 20th century vineyards planted in more moderate, marine-influenced climates, their focus is to safeguard the quality and vibrancy of their raw materials. 

​

Birichino, Malvasia Bianca is a blend of 95% Malvasia Bianca and 5% Muscat Canelli. Muscat Canelli’s honeysuckle, orange blossom, and nectarine aromatics lock in beautifully with the jasmine, lime zest, and rocky density of the Malvasia providing just the right amount of breadth and lift, without weighing it down. A finely fashioned, floral and more serious side of Malvasia, this wine is bone dry and flatters an array of cuisine.

​

2015 Pieropan, Soave Classico, Veneto, Italy $29.98

 

The Pieropan winery was founded in 1880 in the heart of the medieval village of Soave.  The Pieropans are both the founding family of the Soave zone and the benchmark for producers of Soave Classico.  In the 1930’s, Pieropan was the first winery to bottle a wine with the Soave name on the label, and the family repeatedly advanced Soave winemaking, including creating the first single vineyard Soave. 

 

The 2015 Soave Classico is a blend of 85% Garganega and 15% Trebbiano di Soave.  Fermented and aged in glass lined cement tanks, this delicate wine has notes of fresh cucmber and sage balanced by flavors of green apple and citrus.  Hints of lime zest and salinity give the wine a lovely mineral texture.  

 

2014 Michel Bouzereau, Bourgogne Aligote, Burgundy, France  $33.98

​

The Bouzereau family has cultivated vines in Meursault for seven generations, an appellation located in the Cote de Beaune within the commune of the Cote d’Or in Burgundy, France. Despite containing no Grand Crus, there are more top producers in Meursault than in any other commune of the Côte d’Or.  Its wines are typically rich and savory with nutty, honeyed hints and buttery, vanilla spice from oak use during aging. 

 

Michel Bouzereau comes from a large winemaking family and has in the past held the post of President of the Burgundy Growers Union. He is a huge proponent of the traditional way of making wine, fermenting in cask and aging on the lees for nine months. Michel’s son, Jean-Baptiste is now in charge of the eleven hectare estate, and whilst respecting his father’s traditionalism, has instilled a lively, modern freshness in the wines as well. 

 

The Aligoté grape has been grown in Burgundy since the 17th century and flourishes here. Granted its own AOC in 1937, Bourgogne Aligoté, Aligoté accounts for 6% of all vines in Burgundy and has a long history here as one of the two local white varietals along with Chardonnay.  Pale gold in color, Aligote offers aromas of white-fleshed fruit, white blossom, peach, lemon, linden, acacia, hazelnut, green apple and citrus.  On the palate it is very fresh with hints of salinity and high acidity that ensures the wine lingers on the palate. 

​

​

Red

​

2013 Domaine Alain Chabanon, Petit Merle aux Alouettes Merlot, Languedoc, France $31.98

 

Born to teacher parents, Alain Chabanon owes his early love of wine to his father.  Following his undergraduate studies, Chabanon spent five years studying agriculture in Bordeaux and Montpellier.  Returning to the land of his birth, the Languedoc, at the end of the 1980s, Chabanon bought his first parcels of vines between Jonquières and Montpeyroux.

 

Chabanon seeks to create wines that ooze intrinsic personality while displaying subtle and elegant qualities that become increasingly more complex over time.

 

100% Merlot from 26 year old vines grown on rocky soil, Le Petit Merle aux Alouettes reveals itself with red current, blueberry and blackberry aromas accompanied by bay leaf, sage and a hint of balsamic and anise. The wine is wonderfully fresh with smooth tannins and refined mouthfeel.

 

2014 Domaine Sylvain Petaille, Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy, France $47.00

 

Marsannay is at the top of the Cote d’Or, north of Gevrey-Chambertin and Fixin and just south of Dijon.  The appellation stretches over three villages – Chenove, Marsannay and Couchey. 

 

Sylvain Pataille is a young passionate winemaker from Marsannay, however he is not from a winemaking family.  With no vineyards passed down to him, Sylvain had to start from scratch when he felt he wanted a domaine of his own. He went to wine school in Beaune at the age of 14 and then to wine university in Bordeaux in order to become an oenologist.

 

A member of a small group of upcoming producers who are taking Burgundy to the next level.  Sylvain and company are constantly exploring the environment, soil, vines, and winemaking in order to find better ways of making wines that represent the detail and expression of specific sites. 

 

Since the 2014 vintage Sylvain decided to avoid sulfur treatment during the winemaking process with just a touch at bottling. This technique yields wines that burst with flavor immediately upon release and the 2014 vintage shows this brilliance.  As a Marsannay producer, Sylvain’s wines offer delicate power with silky texture and freshness. Bright berries and crushed red flowers and a light dusty earthiness leap from the glass on the noes and palate.

 

2014 A Tribute to Grace, Grenache Vie Caprice Vineyard, Santa Inez Valley, California  $66.98

 

A Tribute to Grace Wine Company was started by a New Zealand born winemaker, Angela Osborne, in 2006 when she moved to California with a dream of making Grenache.  New Zealand’s climate, too cool to ripen the sun-loving grape, sent Angela on a search through Spain, southern France, southern Australia and eventually to California.  In 2007 she sourced her first Grenache fruit from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard nestled high above the Pacific Ocean and 33 miles inland.  All of the wines are single vineyard sourced to maintain authenticity and remain 100% Grenache.  

 

The Vie Caprice Vineyard is planted in the Santa Inez Valley to the Alban Grenache Clone. This vineyard produces a wine of amazing depth and purity with notes of boysenberry, choke cherry, anise and fennel.  This is a beautiful, delicate, high-toned wine.