Staff Picks: What to Drink This Week
Things our staff thinks you should consider trying!
2020 Meinklang Burgenlandwhite, Osterreich, Austria *Biodynamic - $19.99
Once again, in an effort to somehow summon the Spring that just won't arrive, I'm drinking liquid springtime from the Austrian-Hungarian border. Meinklang is an original, family-run mixed farm, set in the middle of the World Heritage Site of the National Park Neusiedlersee, on the Eastern side of the Neusiedlersee Lake, bordering directly on the Hungarian lowlands, where life’s diversity and complexity are celebrated. 50% Gruner Veltliner, 40% Welschriesling (no relation to Riesling), 10% Muscat with only 11% ABV, Burgenlandwhite is a light and refreshing white wine with aromas of citrus and white flowers on the nose. Light, clean and refreshing with lovely notes of lemon, lemongrass and green apple, bright acidity and a touch of minerality. A real Austrian gem!
-Angie
2017 Bouchard Pere & Fils Santenay Rouge - $40.99
2017 marks a beautiful, terroir-driven, vintage of Burgundy — across the Cote De Beaune we saw graceful Pinot Noirs with signature tension and ageability. Santenay, in the South of Cote De Beaune, is marked by its limestone soils and warm/dry summers, producing some of the more rustic Pinot's of Burgundy. The '17 Bouchard Santenay is deliciously taught and acid-driven with notes of tart cherry & currants, bold minerality, and a soft yet intriguing smokiness. Certainly a red Burgundy that dazzles for the price!
-Katrina
2020 Emilio Bulfon Cianoros - $21.99
Emilio Bulfon has focused his winemaking on reviving indigenous grape varieties in Friuli, Italy. Cianoros is a grape varietal that he brought back to life and it is reminiscent of Nebbiolo, without the tannin. It shows aromas of rose petals and red cherries. This cherry fruit shines through on the medium-bodied palate. One of the most drinkable reds I have had recently without food due the extremely mild tannin and pure red fruit profile. Try this springtime red with a slight chill and some light grilling fare.
-Rob
2020 Thevenet Pere et Fils Saint-Veran 'Clos d' 'Ermitage' - $28.99
I'm sure, like me, you're wondering if this Winter will ever end. I've allowed the gray malaise to delay this entry until the last possible minute and now there appears to be a crack in the weather letting in some light and warmth. Nevertheless it's been nearly impossible to think about 'Spring wine' so I'm just going to talk about white Burgundy. It took me years to realize that Chardonnay from Burgundy is the king of all wines. I know many wine drinkers, probably you, think of white Burgundy as a contradiction in terms but these regal wines have a wide breadth of styles and are capable of concentration, depth, intensity, elegance and the overarching noble characteristic of all Burgundian wines: balance. So even with creeping prices putting prestige bottlings on the aspirational list, there is still a good argument for drinking burgundy in the Spring and every other season. Thevenet's single vineyard Saint Veran is a perfect reminder that relatively simple wines can have traces of the grace, intensity and complexity that eludes very expensive wines from other parts of the world. This unoaked Chard born of 70+ year old vines, while still a bit wound up and young, exhibits vibrant citrus and minerality, pear and orchard fruits and a light florality while remaining a refreshing pleasure to drink. Keep digging, there are still lovely Burgs for us common folk.
-Dave
2020 Anne Sarda, Cabrerisse, Carignan, IGP Coteaux de Cabrerisse, Languedoc, France - $18.99
This delicious red wine, from owner and winemaker Anne Sarda, is made from 100% Carignan. She hand-harvests the grapes from her vineyard of 40 to 60-year-old Carignan vines in the small "country wine" area of Coteaux de Cabrerisse (a subregion of Corbieres in the Western Languedoc), employing certified organic viniculture practices from soil to bottle. Native yeasts are used in concrete fermentation and old concrete vats are used for aging (some well over 100 years old), allowing the wine to soften without any oak influences. The resultant wine has lovely aromas of ripe red fruit and muted herbs that lead you to a palate of cranberry and cherry with hints of baking spices. It is all a beautiful balance of red fruit, lifted acidity, and just the right amount of tannic grip. This wine punches well above its weight and is a great value at $18.99 a bottle.
Santé!
-Patrick
