Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.
This past week included a smattering of things from here and there, as well as a few more top bottlings from Portugal.
According to my philosophy, if you have the option to start with Champagne, you should always do that. So shall we? This week I can recommend the Bollinger Special Cuvee, which I think is an excellent bottle of anytime Champagne that sits nicely in price and refinement between more affordable bottles and those that are really expensive. If you can afford to drink Dom Perignon or Krug Grand Cuvee all the time, great, but if you want a Grand Marque Champagne that is more within reach, Special Cuvee is a good bet. You can find it on sale for as low as $70 or $80 sometimes. That’s not exactly affordable, but given its reliable quality, it’s a lot more within reach than the aforementioned wines that are close to three times the price.
Now I know that most people like to finish with sweet wines, but I’m throwing in a “sticky” here at the start just because I want to make the point that it’s a wine of meditation as much as it’s a wine of dessert. I’m talking about the Vin de Constance from Klein Constantia in South Africa. Most people don’t realize the length of South Africa’s wine history, which stretches back centuries. And during that history no wine has been more celebrated than Vin de Constance. This late-harvested and air-dried Muscat de Frontignan (aka Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) was one of the world’s great luxuries, sought after by the royal and the rich alike for more than two centuries. This wine does the trick that the best sweet wines do, which is to be both rich and effortless to drink at the same time, while offering a technicolor rainbow of flavors on the palate.
I also tasted a number of wines from Virginia this week, including a Petit Manseng from Paradise Springs Winery, which has the interesting distinction of having a winery both in Virginia and in Santa Barbara. The Petit Manseng grape has made something of a name for itself in Virginia, where it deals well with the East Coast humidity and heat, while retaining reasonable acidity. Paradise Springs ages this one in a concrete egg, to excellent stony effect. More from Virginia as we move into the reds.
But before we do that I want to share a couple of wines from Nicolas Jay in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, a joint venture between Jean-Nicolas Méo (of Burgundy’s Domaine Méo-Camuzet) and music entrepreneur Jay Boberg (co-founder of IRS Records). This week I’m recommending their lovely “Affinités” Chardonnay, blended from various parcels around the valley, and its companion, “l’Ensemble” Pinot Noir. Both are refined, graceful, and tasty.
Now to the reds from Virginia. Afton Mountain Vineyards offered their T’19 red blend that walks a lean, fresh line that leaves a savory more European impression on the palate. Michael Shaps Wineworks also has a red blend that is more oak inflected, but also has that medium-bodied character that makes it bright and refreshing on the palate.
Here in California Petit Verdot usually ends up being a pretty intense, heavy wine, but to think that’s just the characteristic of the grape would be a mistake, as the bottling from Virginia’s Bluestone Vineyard demonstrates. While the fruit is bright, the wine doesn’t have the heaviness that its California cousins often demonstrate, and its tannins are very well restrained.
Let’s finish this week with three interesting wines from Portugal.
The Reynolds family emigrated from England to Portugal in 1824 and became successful merchants sending products back to England, including olive oil, cork, and Port wine. They purchased a number of estates,…
Source : https://www.vinography.com/2024/08/vinography-unboxed-week-of-8-18-24
