Wine Club Selections
Fireside Wines for Festive Nights | December 2024
SPARKLING:
NICOLA GATTA Cuvée Nature, NV * Lombardia, IT
Nicola was born in Gussago, in the very center of the Franciacorta sparkling wine region. He grew up in a wine producing family, but after being introduced to the natural wine world he decided to start producing wine with as little manipulation and intervention as possible. Nicola practices biodynamic farming and he takes this philosophy into the wine cellar with spontaneous fermentation, no added sulfites and minimal intervention. The soil of Gussago is very similar to the most important French Champagne regions, and Nicola's mission is to produce world-class sparkling wines by renouncing the overly restrictive Franciacorta D.O.C.G. rules and regulations and following his own wine making path to incredible results.
Grape - 80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir
Flavors - All the class, complexity, and creamy texture you would find in the best Champagnes. This elegant cuvée shows aromas of rich apple, salty, leesy yeast, and white flowers.
Serving - ‘Tis the season to splurge a little. Right? This bubbly beauty is the PERFECT pairing for a bit of caviar, any sort of cured meats and salty cheeses, or just to raise a glass and toast with friends.
Album Pairing - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - ‘We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service’ - 2016 * Bubbles and Hip hop…maybe not exactly the pairing you were expecting? But Nicola’s disregard for the rules of Franciacorta results in such a perfect wine that I could only think of these MC mavericks and the utter brilliance of their final album. Both the wine and the tracks are a breath of fresh air that deserve to be enjoyed together!
WHITE:
JEAN-FRANÇOIS MÉRIEAU ‘L’Arpent des Vaudons’ Sauvignon Blanc, 2022 * Touraine, FR
It sometimes seems like Jean–François Mérieau’s mind goes faster than his hands. Although he already produces some of the most respected and sought after wines of the Touraine, he’s not satisfied and is currently looking for new ways to express the old vines and rich landscape that is the Domaine Jean-François Mérieau. Unlike most Touraine producers, the vineyards are in conversion to organic certification. The winery is based on a rich history that stretches back for generations and it’s not unusual to see three generations in the winery at the same time. The name "Arpent" refers to the small parcels of 60-year-old Sauvignon Blanc vines, harvested by hand and fermented with indigenous yeasts, that create this stunning wine.
Grape - 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Flavors - The nose is inviting, marked by revitalizing notes of grass and white fruits. It delivers a refreshing and crisp profile on the palate of apple, pear, honey, and minerals culminating in a rounded and graceful finish. All the liveliness you seek in a Sauvignon Blanc, but with beguiling depth and stunning structure as well.
Serving - Fresh seafood, white sauced pastas, & tinned fish…oh my! Or Salad Lyonnaise? Or a Waldorf? Seriously, you can’t go wrong.
Album Pairing - THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE - ‘Rules’ - 2009 * This is an album that I have loved for a long time, and oF COURSE it had to be paired with a beautiful white wine! And the ‘L’Arpent des Vaudons’ is just the one. 3-dimensionally expressive Touraine Sauvignon Blanc will dance along your palate as this Indie-Pop-Disco joy of a record fills your ears.
RED #1 :
BOFFALORA ‘Pietrisco’ Valtellina, Nebbiolo, 2018 * Lombardia, IT
This is an absolute jewel of a Nebbiolo - endowed with promise, richness and depth. Using fruit from his oldest vines, some at 100 years of age, Giuseppe Guglielmo’s ‘Pietrisco’ (gravel stones) is made in very large, old wood vessels for about 15 months, and transferred to stainless steel before bottling the following year. Serious, with heady licorice-edged finesse, this beautiful ruby-colored, spicy wine will impress the most discerning Nebbiolo advocate, but it in no way attempts to duplicate Barbaresco or Barolo. ‘Pietrisco’ is its own dazzling self - a mountain red of distinction, focus and clarity grown a mere few miles from the Swiss border.
Grape - 100% Nebbiolo
Flavors - Classic intense aromas of red cherry, roses, leather and tar, followed by a thrilling level of acidity and tannin, give this wine an alpine featheriness that places it’s origin squarely in the mountainous valley of Valtellina.
Serving - Here is the holiday feast wine for you! Serve with roast tenderloin in rich red wine demi-glace. Or braised beef short rib, clinging to its sauce atop creamy polenta. Or perhaps you fancy some roast game accented with a cherry chutney. Go wild!
Album Pairing - BUILT TO SPILL - ‘There’s Nothing Wrong With Love’ - 1994 * ‘Pietrisco’ is an amazing Nebbiolo, but also unmistakably just a little different from its flashier Barolo cousins. Unapologetically different. Proudly different. Undeniably brilliant in its rougher edges. I may as well be describing Built To Spill right now. Their sound and this wine are a match made in heaven! Plus, I can totally imagine winemaker Giuseppe Guglielmo and front man Doug Martsch getting along brilliantly amongst the vines somewhere in the Alps, just loving life together.
RED #2:
DOMAINE LA LOYANE Lirac, 2019 * Rhone Valley, FR
Romain Dubois started his winemaking career on the property at the age of fifteen under the advisement of his father, from whom he has inherited 75 acres of mostly old vine parcels in Lirac and Tavel. When you look at Romain it is hard to believe that he has completed over twenty vintages! This is someone with experience and knowledge of the region’s terroir that belies his young age. This single vineyard Lirac release comes from an area called “Les Theys”, a site that boasts the oldest grenache vines (150 years young!) in all of Lirac and that imbues the wine with an elegant structure which is absolutely singing right now.
Grapes - 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah
Flavors - Restrained on the nose, aromas of blackberries and mulberries are woven with violets and eucalyptus. Rustic tannins persist through the palate, adding texture to flavors of blackberries, blueberries, black plum, clove and stony dry soil.
Serving - LAMB! Or a perfectly seasoned and grilled NY Strip. This robust wine is ready to stand tall alongside your rich winter main courses, for sure!
Album Pairing - AMY WINEHOUSE - ‘Back to Black’ - 2006 * The wines of Romain Dubois are expressive of a an old soul in a young man’s body. Expressive, playful yet brooding, mature and complex. Seasoned and experienced. And perfect to enjoy as the deeply impactful voice and undeniable soul pours out of Amy Winehouse on this album, which she released right after her 23rd birthday. Old souls unite!
REMINDERS
To celebrate our valued club members we offer 15% off all food ordered on pick-up Tuesdays.
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.
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