Domaine Michel Magnien
100% Pinot Noir. Coteaux Bourguignons, Burgundy, France 2018
Domaine Magnien has always been one of the most compelling, and unique, Burgundy producers that we carry at Swirl so when we were informed on a small parcel of Coteaux Bourguignons available at a price we could offer for our wine club we had to jump on it! Typically his offerings fall in the $75+ range which is what makes him such a cool producer: you see most winemakers in Burgundy 'play it safe' and make wine more traditionally to protect their pricey investment. This is why you will almost never see a certified organic, and definitely not biodynamic, wine - to truly revitalize the soil in a natural way the producer needs control of the land surrounding the vines. In Burgundy it is not uncommon for several different people to own even as small as 3 rows of vines, all with their own farming practices. Way back in 1946 the vision of producing wines in Burgundy with a more natural approach was born. Through patience, and land acquisitions, they accomplished this dream in 2008 to become fully organic. In 2015 they took it a step further when Frederic Magnien took over and became certified Biodynamic in the vineyard, while in the winery making the wines with limited sulfur and in amphora. What we have here is a natural wine made in one of the most classical appellations, Burgundy. The wine we get as a result is such a pure expression of Pinot Noir! The vineyards that go into this wine are all from the hills overlooking the Cote de Nuits which are known for more brooding red fruit tones. Without oak, or any pretense, we get elegant layers of black cherry woven with earth and clove spices all while having this crushed velvet texture, thanks to the amphora. Great with many different dishes, but exceptional with braised chicken and mushrooms. A perfect yule-time dinner wine!
Edaphos "Alder Springs Vineyard"
100% Petite Arvine. Mendocino County, California 2019
Edaphos, in Greek, loosely translates to base, or ground. This is a beautiful name, and mentality, for a winery. It can hold so many meanings: from speaking on the soil and what it gives to the fruit, and ultimately, the wine or for how a wine maker should be humble and grounded: making wine without pretense. What I love about Edaphos is they go to the very heart, or base, of what makes wine so wonderful: diversity. Wine is not like a bottle of soda, where every time you have one it tastes exactly the same. Quite the opposite: there are so many factors from different years, varied climates, unique soil types, and a diversity of different grape varietals! Of all the wines they produce, this is one of our all time favorites. Alder Springs Vineyard is better known for varietials such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but planted on it's steep and high elevation regions is a rarity: Petite Arvine. Switzerland's high elevation, steep terraced Alps is the home to this plucky varietal. It needs to be grown in such conditions to thrive, but once it does (and the wine that comes from these low yielding vines) is well worth it. The wine itself is immediately welcoming on the nose with bouquets of white flowers and warm chamomile tea with a hint of candied grapefruit that unfolds to a structured body of honied apricots with hints of rhubarb that all lead to a crisp, drying, finish with a hint of salinity. Now if only there was a warm cheese fondue to have this with and you'd be set!
Melville "Estate Vineyard"
100% Syrah. Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California 2017
Syrah is a curious thing. It can take on so many different roles that it makes it difficult to build confidence in buying a new and different producer/vintage/region. Even within regions it can be varied! The very clear distinction is between a lean, peppery, violet with hints of olives Syrah versus one that is opulent and giving with blackberry compotes, creme de cassis, and gamey nuances. Those two wines described are very different, but what if there were a 'Goldilocks'? A Syrah that so encapsulates both pepper and powerful, mouth filling, fruit?? Cool climate Californian Syrah has always had that potential, and no one more consistently, and wonderfully, embodies that than Melville. To make things even more enticing: the 2017 is our favorite vintage yet! The nose immediately draws you in with freshly cracked pink peppercorns that are dusted over baked plums with a blackberry drizzle that develops even further on the palette with an opulence and depth that adds powerful violets and balck currants to the equation all leading to a finish that retains the cracked pepper and plums till the last drop. This wine is sexy. Classically this would pair beautifully with lamb. Personally? We enjoy it all on it's own, to fully appreciate every cerebral taste.
Vina Bouchon "Salvaje"
100% Pais blanc. Secano Interior, Maule, Chile 2019
Chile, as a wine producing region, has been having some growing pains as it works on forming it's identity in the wine world. Chilean Carmenaire took the world by storm several years back, but sadly it has become much less popular compared to Argentinian Malbec. So what is an up-and-coming wine producer supposed to do? Well. Chile has one major advantage, unlike the manicured vineyards of Europe their vineyards are much younger, and more wild. The Bouchon family took this to heart and when they found the ancient varietal of Pais growing intertwined in the forest surrounding the vineyard, they knew they had to make wine from it! Long, long, ago this used to be how grapes were cultivated, and grew in the wild. They would climb up into the branches of trees, ever searching to expand and gain sunlight. The experiment was a massive success and prompted them to search deeper. That's when they found a handful of tree-growing vines that had mutated and were producing white grapes! What we have here is something that could not be replicated anywhere else, and a truly special bottle of wine. It carries this wonderful tone of honeysuckle and peach puree with loads of lemon pastry filling and the ever so slightest dusting of baking spices all leading to a silky finish. An excellent addition to spicy dishes where the fruit is a welcoming, refreshing, addition!
H. & C. J. Feist Vinhos
1995 Vintage Port Wine. Oporto, Portugal
Well: our first Port wine offering! We've never featured a Port on the Wine Club before because, generally speaking, it is firmly a dessert wine. This particular expression felt, to us, like the perfect cross between being a dessert wine and just a yummy rich/full bodied wine! Most people are familiar with tawny ports that are fortified with Brandy and aged in barrel for 10+ years. Ruby ports, on the other hand, only spend around 2 years in oak after being fortified and then aged in bottle giving fresher fruit tones, versus tawny's more oxidative carmelly qualities. On very special years a winery will declare some casks to be exceptional and will designate them as a single vintage port - these are typically regarded as some of the most age worthy wines in the world. When we tasted the 1995 from Feist we knew it was something special. 1995 was a very warm, ripe, year and it shows from the stunning, and massive, amounts of cherries and strawberries that are so pleasant to the nose while being enveloped with a rose liqueur body that has subtle hints of vanilla and chocolate covered raspberries all leading to a long finish of perfectly ripe red cherries. While classically a port like this pairs well with chocolatey desserts - it is equally at home with rich, fatty, meals. Personally? We love this wine with Southern food - hello fried chicken!!
Cave de Tain "Grand Classique"
100% Syrah. Crozes-Hermitage, Rhone, France 2015
We are at it again with Syrah, but from an entirely new angle! Crozes-Hermitage is the perfect combination of all things that make the Northern Rhone wonderful: blessed by warm days and cool nights thanks to its location near the river, we get a wine that is bursting with crunchy red fruit and hints of black and white pepper. Whereas our featured Californian Syrah is rich and black-fruit driven, here we have something more playful and red-fruit driven! Think rich Pinot Noir, but with some vivacious pepper and spice box to make it a bit more erathy. We get bright cranberries and fresh roses with french white peppers and thyme that wafts through the palette with more seductive red fruit and a long finish of tayberries! A perfect match for a delicate pork dish and roasted vegetables. Quite fun to taste next to the Melville and compare just how different, yet delicious, they are!