Wines By The Glass Flashcards
Pierre Sparr Brut Reserve Cremant d’Alsace, FR
80% Pinot Blanc / 20% Pinot Auxerois
Alsace has been celebrated for its lovely, dry white wines for centuries, but it has gained a reputation for enticing traditional method sparkling wines in recent years. In the heart of Alsace’s finest district, the Haut-Rhin, Maison Pierre Sparr follows a 300-year tradition of winemaking that began during the reign of King Louis XIV. The devotion to the land, the attention to the smallest detail, and the uncompromising quest for excellence is in every bottle bearing the Sparr family crest.
Light yellow with green reflections and fine, glittering pearl beads: the nose offers aromas of galia melon, sweet woodruff, and dried mango, with minerals and hints of nuts. The soft mousseux leaves a pleasant feeling on the palate, accompanied by a racy, powerful body and crisp, lemony acidity that brings freshness to this Cremant. With time in the glass, it opens further to a complex sparkling brut, finishing with a long aftertaste.
Gratien & Meyer Brut Rose Cremant de Loire, FR
100% Cabernet Franc
This wine is all about freshness, vinosity, and gastronomy. The salmon-pink coloring of this Cremant de Loire Rose is essentially produced by macerating Cabernet Franc grapes. This single grape variety gives a balanced wine with silky tannins.
Very fine salmon-pink color and fine breading. The nose offers subtle aromas of raspberry and strawberry with a hint of redcurrant. Fresh and smooth in the mouth, with an excellent sense of balance and a base of red berries including raspberry and blackcurrant.
In 1864, Alfred Gratien established his cellars in the old tuffeau limestone galleries of the Saumur hillside. Originally an excavation site, stones dug from these quarries by ‘perreyeurs’ (or quarrymen) from the 12th century onwards were used to build many of the region’s important monuments (most notably the Chateau de Saumur). The quarries had been abandoned for a number of years when Alfred Gratien bought the estate and took over 10 hectares of vines and 5 km of galleries. He was then able to devote himself to producing fine sparkling wines in Saumur. Later in the same year he also moved into champagne production after setting up a second house in Epernay.
Shortly afterwards he met Jean-Albert Meyer, a wine-grower’s son and a native of Alsace. Once these two enthusiasts had met, the business experienced a real boom, enabling Alfred Gratien’s work to continue over the long term. In 1884, Monsier gratien began work on Chateu Gratien, which would not be completed until after his death in 1885. His widow then appointed Jean-Albert Meyer as a general manager of the cellars.
Rootdown Rose of Sangiovese Mendocino County, CA
100% Sangiovese
This light-bodied wine is dry, clean, and refreshing. Crisp acidity and a little nip of tannin give it a very lively texture that carries lean plum and peach flavors.
Organic. Sourced from Janes Vineyard in Mendocino County. Soil: Talmage series which consists of very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils formed in alluvium from mixed sources. Direct-presses and settled. Spontaneous fermentation starts in steel and then goes to neutral Oak to finish.
Correggia Arnies Roero, IT
100% Arnies
Roero’s sandy marine soils allow for the preservation of acidity and successful farming of white varieties, especially the indigenous Arneis. Arneis in Piemontese dialect translates to ‘little rascal’ as it is a difficult grape to ripen. It loses acidity rapidly as it ripens making it difficult to preserve the fresh acidity which makes the wine so crips and enjoyable. Correggia takes a unique approach with his Arneis to get the best from the fruit. He makes an early pass when the wine is just ripe to preserve the acidity and then goes back into the vineyards a week or two later as the fruit ripens to show a richer fruit profile. He then blends the lots together to make a wine with ripe melon and stone fruit along with tart green apple and citrus. All of these flavors dance over a firm mineral core.
The Way Back Sauvignon Blanc
The Way Back is a collaboration between Tim and Jenn Wanner (Colorado Wine peeps) and Kenny and Lynn Likitprakong (Hobo Wine Co., etc.) The project came to light over several family surf trips. No one has any real skills beyond mankind and selling wine, but we al wanted to do something together so came The Way Back. The goal is to produce real wine at an everyday price point that doesn’t break any budget. Our Sauvignon Blanc vineyard is from an organically farmed vineyard in Mendocino. The winemaking is straight-forward; All native yeast fermentation, aging in stainless steel, and bottled in simple package. Where does the name come from? We were all on a trip together, dragging our seats around and we were reminiscing about being little kids ourselves and our parents had big station wagons and all of us kids would fight to see who got to sit in the “the way back” the third row of rear facing seats in a big 70s station wagon. There weren’t any car seats back then. We would just bounce around in the way back.
Floral, tropical fruit, mildly citrusy, and grassy.
Chateau D’Epire Chenin Blanc Savenierres, Loire Valley, FR
100% Chenin Blanc
Layered and schisty, this wine’s dark, earthy tone points to the complex beauty it may achieve with age. The fruit is a little mature, in a bruised-apple way, but it also has crunchy-green-pear-freshness. Give it a year or two for those elements to meld. -Aplril 2019
Aged in chestnut casks. The rise of stainless steel sadly put many such coopers out of business, but fortunately the team at Chatea d’Empire can still count on one reliable chestnut purveyor. This material is an excellent match for a schist-born Chenin Blanc, as it accentuates the wine’s stony austerity without imparting any woody flavor. The 2018 blend also includes a couple barrels each of acacia, highlighting Chenin’s subtle floral tendencies, and old oak, exalting it fleshly structure with nary a hint of vanilla or toast. With a rigid backbone of acidity and bone-dry finish recalling fresh walnuts, this is quintessential Savennieres.
Also called Pineau de Loire and Pineau d’njou. Chenin Blanc is an expressive white French varietal that makes beautiful dry, sweet, and sparkling wines. Traditionally grown in the Loire valley, the wines made from this varietal are typically labeled geographically. Vouvray Chenins are are traditionally medium-sweet; Savennieres Chenins are typically bright and crisp; Coteaux du Layon Chenins like Bonezeaux and Quarts de Chaume are among the world’s most sought-after sweet wines, and the sparkling Chenins of Saumur are perfumed and delicious. What all of these iterations of the grape have in common is their ability to age, a gift bestowed upon them because of the grape’s naturally high-acidity.
Les Allies Chardonnay Burgundy
Bright notes of lemon, chalk, and stone aromas. Medium bodied with hints of apple and herb flavors as this builds on the palate. Intense and long, gathered together by a vivid structure.
Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, CA
100% Pinot Noir
Aromas and flavors of strawberries and raspberries joined by anise and clove in mouth filling intensity.
Red fruit on the nose and palate - pomegranate, cranberry, and raspberry - with blueberry, baking spices, and Earth in the mix as well. A good deal of Oak comes through.
Chateau De Pizay Gamay Morgon Beajolais, FR
100% Gamay
The 2019 Morgon reveals fresh black fruits and firm tannins with a complex palate. Powerful, yet supple, fresh, clean, and fruity. The majestic Chateau de Pizay, built in the 15th Century, stands in the foothills of the Beajolais mountains in Southern Burgundy, surrounded by its 100 acres of vineyards.
The Boujolais wines produced on the estate are remarkably fresh and fruity. From a storied estate coming up on its 100th anniversary, Pascal Dufaitre has continuously worked to improve and create vivid, lush wines. In fact Chateau de Pizay was one of the first 200 wineries to become HVE3, the highest level of certified sustainable in France. They are based in Morgon and this is their primary focus, with right cherry notes and an approachable character perfect for all occasions. The 10 Crus, from north to south are St-Amour, Julienas, Chenas, Moulin-a-vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnie, Brouilly, and Cote de Brouil ly. Each one has its own personality, its own charms.
Talenti Sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino, IT
100% Sangiovese
This baby Brunello is full of red fruit notes and has a meaty, leathery quality. Pairs well with pizza but not just for any old pizza - but for the one you craft yourself in the privacy of your own kitchen (preferably topped with mushrooms, pepperoni, and roaster peppers).
Rosso di Montalcino is the younger sibling of Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello must be aged for at least four years after the vintage before it can be released. That’s quite an investment of time and money, and if things do not go smoothly in certain vintages, producers may end up with little wine to sell.
That’s where Rosso di Montalcino comes in. It requires only one year of aging before it can be released, which gives producers something to sell as they await the Brunello.
Rosso is also a way of improving the Brunello. Instead of using younger vines or vines from lesser sites in the more expensive, prestigious Brunello, which might compromise its quality, they can go into the Rosso.
Daniell Conterno Nebbiolo, Langhe, IT
100% Nebbiolo
Brilliantly ruby red in color with soft orange notes. Delicate floral aroma with hints of leather and raspberry. Rich flavor with complex tannins. Bright acidity, singing it Nebbiolo-ness with black tea, dried flowers, citrus rind and earthy notes.
Langhe Nebbiolo is a red wine in the Piemonte region of northern Italy. It is one of the a number of sunsets for specific grape varieties and styles within the Langhe DOC.
It is generally considered as a junior version of Barolo and Barbaresco. The wines can still share much of the full bodies character and structure of its bigger siblings. They also have similar floral aromas and subtle notes of red cherry.
Luminus Malbec, Lujan De Cuyo, Mendoza, AR
100% Malbec
This is full of express brairy and dried raspberry flavors that carry light smoke and sandalwood notes. Hints of dried mint show midpalate, presenting a long, lush finish of cardamom and nutmeg. A sumptuous expression of Malbec.
Luminis’ main objective with this lien of wines is the show the distinctive characteristics that our own grapes grown in Lujan de Cuyo, part of the High Mendoza River region, are capable of expressing. The department of Lujan de Cuto has historically been the most important area to cultivate grapes for quality wines in Argentina and it is home to the most important and known Argentien wineries.
Reaching almost 3,300 feet above sea level and located only 20 kilometers outside the capital of the province of Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo is, as its city slogan says, “The Land of Malbec.” Located on a lower altitude valley and experiencing higher temperatures across the year, Lujan de Cuyo tends to produce more “Masculine” wines when compared with those coming from the valley de Uco area. Our objective, here at Luminis, is the capture these differentiators and offer them through our Lujan de Cuyo line of wines.
Ex Libris Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia valley, WA
Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot
Ex-Libris Cabernet Sauvignon leads with its beautiful, plummy/cassis fruit, but there is also a bit more restrained and structure (and Bordeaux spirit_ than your typical domestic Cab: On the palate there are cassis, earth, sandalwood, and cigar box notes with a beautiful backbone of acidity and tannin to balance. Ex-Libris is a Latin term for “from the library”, and was the guiding principal for this proprietary project. Through connections with some top wineries in Washington, we were able to go into their vaults and secure some superlative lots of wine from top vineyards. The goal of the project is to produce wines that drink like 30-40 bottles, but sell for under 20.
For most vintages, this Bordeaux blend contains all five of the main varietals, including Cabernete Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbex, and Petit Verdot. The wines is sourced from several top sites in Washington including the Sheridan Vineyard (made famous by Andrew Wills single vineyard bottling) Champoux, Goose Ridge, and Coyote. The wine is aged for 22 months in the predominantly French Oak, with about 15 new.
