Wine Club: An Early Spring!!
EM DRINKS WINE
Happy February! Although the month may have one more day this leap year, Punxsutawney Phil has not seen his shadow, so we are (hopefully) in for an earlier spring! Regardless, one thing always remains the same even as the seasons change, the need for more good wine! So let’s spring into this wine club :)
Saludos
Wine Club: 2 Bottles
Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon
Campagne Sarrière ‘Petit Grain’ Rhône France • Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Clairette, Chardonnay
Let’s take a trip to the south of France, shall we? Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon, located at the southeastern most part of the Rhone Valley in France, is home to the Côtes du Luberon AOC. This lesser-known AOC was only officially established in 1988, and is broken down into 36 villages within the protected park zone.
Producer Ludovic Blairon started his winery in this AOC in 2017, after working for other domains in the nearby wine region of Provence. Blairon has plots within the villages of Peypin D’Aigues, St Martin de la Brasque and La Motte d’Aigues, which are all located on the south side of Mount Luberon. Also in this region, there is the Mistral wind. This is a northwestern wind that blows so strong through southern France, that even the trees have started to grow sideways in some areas. This strong wind creates a sunny microclimate in the area, when compared to the rest of France, by clearing the clouds from the sky in record time. With Blairon having his vineyards on the southern side of the mountain, he is part of the rain shadow, or protected from the harshest wind while still taking advantage of the other benefits that the winds can give to the plants. This is especially important as the primary grape in this wine is Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. This grape variety is susceptible to mildew diseases, therefore the wind and sun help to dry the vineyard and keep the plants healthy.
Ludovic Blairon is a certified organic producer who follows biodynamic principles. He believes in low intervention winemaking, this means for him, that the land is never plowed or interfered with, but rather the grass is cut twice a year and left alone otherwise. The thinking behind this practice is to keep the natural flora and fauna in contact with the vines to create a greater biodiversity. With greater biodiversity, as the thought goes, comes greater wine by the diversification of the terroir.
The first wine for the wine club this month is a blend of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Clairette, and Chardonnay. Upon first inspection, this wine is a pale straw color with secondary hues of gold and silver. On the nose, this wine is fresh and fruit-forward. I get notes of honeysuckle, orange, and fresh apricot. On the plate this wine is refreshingly light with a really nice acidity, and lovely white floral notes. I would enjoy this wine with a light lunch of toasted sesame crackers, soft cheese, and ham.
Defermo ‘Concrete’ Rosso Abruzzo Italy • Montepulciano
In life there is no saying which direction we may move forward. We may set out on one path, only to find that it merges with another that is new, unexpected, and exciting. This was the case for winemaker Stefano Papetti Ceroni and his wife and co-proprietor Eloisa de Fermo.
Ceroni grew up with a passion for wine. In Europe, where the drinking regulations are a bit different than those here in the states, Stefano began buying and smelling wines at a very young age. He slowly progressed to drinking the wines that he bought with his friend and fellow oenophile, Federico Orsi.
Ceroni began his early twenties in law school with absolutely no ties to the agricultural world. He grew up in Bologna, Italy and moved to Abruzzo to attend school, where he met the love of his life, Eloisa. It was a trip to Eloisa's family farm that inspired Ceroni to manage his own plot of vines, that had been cared for closely over the years by a paid contadini who worked for the the de Fermo family.
The farm has records of viticulture all the way back to the 9th century (one of the oldest in the area) and over the centuries that followed, was meticulously cared for by monks. The original vine training systems of the farm are Cordon de Royat and alberello, but almost all other vineyards in the area switched to pergola training after WWII to increase their yields, but not the Defermo farm. Although producing less overall, the care and attention given to the Defermo grapes is yet another factor that sets them apart from others in the Abruzzo area.
Ceroni dreamed of having his own winery but lacked the funds and time, as he and his wife had careers and children in Bologna. Weekend trips were all that he clung to until the discovery of a wine cellar in an abandoned farmhouse on the property. After a minimal restoration, the technology of those winemakers that came before on the property granted Ceroni his dream, his own winery.
This Defermo ‘Concrete’ Rosso, is named for its aging vessel. Spending 10-11 months in concrete without temperature control, fining, filtration, or sulfur added. 100% Montepulciano, this wine is ruby red in color, with moderate tearing on the sides of the glass. On the nose, this wine has aromas of dark juicy black and red berries, and organic notes of dried grass. On the plate this wine is dry, with a nice young tannin structure, and tasting notes of strawberry and the same dried herb notes as on the nose. This wine is a very easy partner to any dinner or even lunch preparation. I would personally enjoy this wine with a very savory and light steak dish or even a roasted veg dish of carrots and potatoes.
Wine Club: 3-4 Bottles
Yohan Moreno ‘Pigato’ Languedoc-Roussillon France • Vermentino
Hailing from the Languedoc region in the south of France, Yohan Moreno is part of the Corbières AOC. The Corbières region can be divided into two land types; the flatlands, which is part of machine driven and yield conscious farming, and the higher elevation manual harvested hillside terrain. Moreno grows his grapes primarily in these higher elevation areas. The wine that is produced by Yohan and his grandfather, an 80 something year-old man working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week is all certified organic.
Pigato, as this wine is titled, is an interesting name for the grape of Vermentino. Although thought of as two different grapes, due to the difference in coloring on the outside, these two are the same grape. The difference? Pigato has freckled spots on the skins, while Vermentino does not. The word “pigato” comes from “pighe,” a word from the local dialect for freckles!
As is typical with Yohan Moreno, this bottle is visually stunning. A soft yellow wax top matches the colors on the playful label, a label that reminds me of a summer afternoon lunch. On the nose, summer time is confirmed with the first sniff. The peach from the front of the bottle comes up from the glass and coats the nose with the sweet scent. I also get the salinity of an ocean breeze that starts to make my mouth water. On the plate this wine is stunning. The peach on the nose comes through and there is the addition of lemon and honey crisp apple. This wine is very nicely balanced with a zippy acidity that will make this bottle easy to finish. My ideal meal with this wine would be an afternoon by the water or outside on a patio with friends. I would love to eat any sort of fresh white fish like swordfish or cod. Even without a full meal this wine would be delicious with walnut-filled dates wrapped in bacon, a sweet and savory tapa.
Azienda Agricola Casagori ‘Sui Sogni’ Tuscany Italy • Sangiovese
Literally meaning, “on dreams,” Sui Sogni is 100% sangiovese and I’m feeling like I’m on cloud 9. This wine is aged for 12 months in french oak tonneaux and Slavonian oak, very large format barrels. Matteo Gori and his wife Benedetta took out a government loan to take over the farm that they now own in Tuscany, Italy. Previous to the couple, the farm was owned by another Italian family that was ready to retire and pass along the land. After a decade of careful farming, the Gori couple released their first vintage.
This wine specifically is Matteo’s wine. What he would consider “the dreamer’s wine”. The grapes for this wine were taken from the highest elevation plot on their land, surrounded by an oak forest. The solid is iron rich, red clay soil with marine sediments. The Gori vineyard utilizes the natural yeast coming from the vineyard, thus the wines undergo spontaneous fermentation and are not temperature controlled during the fermentation process.
On the nose, this wine has clearly (and deliciously) had time in oak. Notes of vanilla and tobacco hit the nose with a memorable aroma. On the palate, this wine retains the oaked elements found on the nose and beautiful red fruit like cherry and red currant. I would pair this wine with a creamy beet agnolotti or a spiced lamb dish.
