< Tasting Notes

Wines For Cool Summer Nights - July 2025

Whether its around the BBQ or inside with AC, here we humbly present wines to share at all your summer gatherings!

(**NOTE - Links are embedded in each winemaker’s names to direct you to their respective websites. Know thy vintner!**)

TENUTA IL NESPOLO ‘Vino da Sete’ Bianco 2022 * Piedmont, Italy
’Vino da Sete’ is Luca Amerio’s playful ode to thirst—an unfiltered, unpretentious field blend of Cortese, Favorita, and Moscato. Fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel and bottled under crown cap with no fining or filtering, it’s all about freshness, aromatic lift, and low-key texture. The wine is dry but expressive, with notes of lemon blossom, green pear, and a soft herbal edge. No oak, no additives, no need for overthinking—just a crisp, aromatic wine built for simple pleasure and long pours.

Luca Amerio is a third-generation grower in the Monferrato hills of Piedmont. After studying oenology, he returned home to take over his family’s vines—but with his own vision: organic farming, native grapes, low-intervention winemaking, and a deep love of co-fermentation. At Tenuta il Nespolo, Luca bottles field blends that are playful, expressive, and deeply rooted in the land. His wines are charming but not simple—made by hand, full of energy, and built to bring joy.

Grape(s) - 43% Cortese, 42% Favorita, 15% Moscato

Flavors - Peach skin, lemon pith, white flowers, and a splash of salinity. Slight haze, light fizz, and dry as a bone. If sunshine had a flavor, this might be it.

Serving - Pair it with anchovy toast, fried zucchini blossoms, or a lemony shaved fennel salad. Ideal drinking conditions include a breeze, a dappled patch of shade, and a picnic blanket you don’t mind getting a little wine on.

Album Pairing - KHRUANGBIN – ‘Con Todo El Mundo’ - 2018 * Like the wine, this album is groove-forward, unfussy, and perfect for sunshine-soaked afternoons. It’s got that laid-back, low-intervention chill vibe—globally inspired, rhythmically interesting, and wildly easy to enjoy without needing to overthink a thing. You can, nay you should, sip and sway at the same time.

QUINTA DO JAVALI ‘Clos Fonte do Santo’ Stone Vineyard 2019 * Douro, Portugal
’Clos Fonte do Santo’ is a rare, high-altitude expression of the Douro—light in body but rich in character. Made from a field blend of over 30 native varieties, many co-planted in a single 90-year-old parcel, the wine is fermented with native yeasts (some whole-cluster) and aged in concrete and steel to preserve purity and minerality. At just 12.5% ABV, it defies the Douro’s reputation for heft, instead offering freshness, elegance, and a clear line of schist-driven energy. It’s a deeply site-specific wine with an old-vine soul.

António Mendes and his son António Jr. are redefining what Douro wine can be. At Quinta do Javali, they farm biodynamically on steep, terraced slopes and vinify each parcel separately in their minimalist, gravity-fed cellar carved into the rock. They eschew industrial winemaking in favor of native fermentation, long macerations, and minimal intervention—often even relying on wild boars to till the soil. Their wines are soulful, boundary-pushing, and deeply expressive of the Douro’s wild beauty and complexity.

Grape(s) - Co-planted field blend of approximately 33 (30+) indigenous Portuguese grapes (Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Rufete, etc.) from 90‑year‑old vines!

Flavors - Bright ruby in the glass; vibrant aromas of ripe strawberry, blackberry, and plum flow into savory wild herbs and saline schist minerality. On the palate, it’s sleek and energetic—red fruit framed by fresh acidity, gentle tannin, and a subtly earthy, rocky core. Elegant and light-footed, yet undeniably Douro.

Serving - Enjoy this wine alongside grilled sardines, lamb meatballs with mint, or a juicy tomato‑and‑herb salad. Best shared outside under late‑day sun, with a breeze in your hair and a cast‑iron pan somewhere nearby.

** AUDIOPHILE LP OF THE MONTH CLUB VINYL**

Album Pairing - YO LA TENGO - 'I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One' - 1997 * Just like the wine—this album is dense, soulful, a little wild, but not overwhelming. I Can Hear the Heart... has a layered, meandering beauty: at times soft and introspective, at times psychedelic and unexpected, but always honest and full of texture. A la this Douro field blend, it’s a slow reveal—earthy, tender, and hauntingly beautiful once you sit with it.

MADSON Pinot Noir 2022 * Santa Cruz Mountains, California
This is coastal California Pinot at its most restrained and expressive. Grown across cool, foggy vineyard sites tucked into redwood groves and mountain slopes, Madson’s 2022 Pinot Noir balances vibrant red fruit with savory, forest-driven nuance. Wild fermentation (some whole cluster), aging in neutral French oak, and no fining or filtering keep the wine bright, tactile, and honest. There’s no gloss here—just soft structure, lifted aromatics, and a natural rhythm that mirrors the fog-draped slopes where it’s grown.

Madson Wines is a collaborative project led by Cole Thomas, who works closely with small growers in the Santa Cruz Mountains to produce terroir-focused, minimal-intervention wines. Cole’s winemaking emphasizes farming first—working organically, often biodynamically, with a deep respect for site. In the cellar, he lets each parcel speak: native yeasts, gentle extraction, and aging in well-loved barrels that allow fruit and soil to lead. His Pinot Noirs are known for their purity, lift, and emotional resonance—quiet wines that stay with you.

Grape(s) - 100% Pinot Noir

Flavors - Pale ruby with an earthy perfume—wild cherry, raspberry bramble, forest floor, and dried herbs drift forward. The palate is energetic with bright red fruit, a savory tomato‑leaf note, gentle rose‑petal tannins, and a thread of minerality that runs through the finish.

Serving - Best poured alongside wild‑mushroom risotto, foraged sage‑butter pasta, or grilled salmon with herb salsa. Perfect for quiet, intimate dinners on an overcast evening—maybe candle‑lit, definitely barefoot.

Album Pairing - NICK DRAKE - ‘Pink Moon’ - 1972 * Understated, haunting, and layered—Pink Moon drifts like morning fog over hillside fruit. Its acoustic poignancy and poetic hush mirror the wine’s quiet energy, wild-frog temper, and subtle complexity. both the wine and album handsomely reward those who lean in close.

COWHORN ‘GSM’ 2021 * Applegate Valley, Oregon
Cowhorn’s 2021 GSM captures the rhythm and balance of the Southern Rhône, but with a distinctly Oregon pulse. Each grape—Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre—is harvested, fermented, and aged separately to preserve its character: Syrah brings structure and spice, Grenache adds lift and freshness, and Mourvèdre lends savory grounding. Native yeasts, neutral oak, and minimal sulfur keep the texture soft and the fruit clear. This is a wine of intention and restraint, letting the vibrancy of the Applegate Valley’s high-desert climate and serpentine soils shine through with clarity and grace.

Founded in 2005 by Bill and Barbara Steele, and now under the stewardship Mini Byers, Cowhorn was among the first five wineries in the United States to achieve biodynamic certification. This pioneering commitment reflects a deep belief that regenerative agriculture is vital not only for producing exceptional wines but for restoring and protecting the environment. Relying on native yeasts, minimizing additives, carefully timing fermentations, and bottling according to lunar cycles, they allow the natural energy of the land and its rhythms to shape all of their wines. Every decision reflects a deep commitment to land and life—producing wines that are clean, elegant, and unmistakably of their place.

Grape(s) - 49% Syrah, 36% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre

Flavors - Pops with raspberries, black cherries, and fresh currants, before unfolding to savory layers of bay laurel, wild sage, hibiscus, and crisp rhubarb. The palate is energizing — bright acidity, supple yet present tannins, and a lingering savory-mineral thread that echoes Applegate’s rocky soils.

Serving - This wine thrives by the fire! Think herbed lamb chops, grilled sausages, or a cast-iron pizza with wild mushrooms. Best enjoyed while evening light fades into the pine trees — but conversation continues around the embers.

Album Pairing - THE WAR ON DRUGS - ‘A Deeper Understanding’ - 2017 * Both the juice and and this album are densely packed. Cinematic, sprawling, and full of momentum. The textured guitars and glowing synths echo the wine’s lifted red fruit and savory herb layers—slow-building, soulful, and made for long walks or longer dinners.

REMINDERS

• To celebrate our valued club members we offer 20% off all food ordered on the day you pick-up. 

• If you can not pick up on the pick up dates please contact mckay@barmiriam.com and we will hold your allotment offsite and can arrange for a future pick up.

• Email mckay@barmiriam.com to buy more single bottles or a case with special club pricing.

• Queen Anne Bottle Shop is open Tuesday-Saturday from 3:00pm — 8:00pm.

• Wine pairs best with friends. Tell your friends.