December 2024 | Enthusiast Wine Club

La Grange Tiphaine 2022 Nouveau Nez

The Nouveau Nez is a sparkling Chenin Blanc made in the traditional method of petillant naturel and disgorged for clarity. Shockingly and noteworthy, this wine is made without added sulfur, a process that enables a winemaker to have greater control over the stability of the wine. The fruit for this bubbly comes from clay and silica soils atop limestone and is 100% Chenin Blanc. The wine is also made without any added sugar, making the final wine bone dry and quite taut. Right off the pop the wine is very bright and high toned like passionfruit, underripe pineapple, orgeat, cardamom, and saffron. On the palate the wine is aggressively dry making this the perfect food companion for rich foods. The mid palate has tons of savory notes like hard mineral water, sourdough bread, and saffron that hold strong over hours. Magically, I had some wine remaining on day two and was also pleasantly surprised to find the wine was somehow better today than yesterday. The mid palate was more fruit dense and the minerality was even more pervasive. I would love to have this wine with super fatty ramen, a spicy Thai dish, or banh mi. Drink now – 2030 and serve in all-purpose stemware at refrigeration temperature.

Fontchene 2021 “Les Antiques” Alpilles Rouge 

Hailing from the quaint but powerful land of Alpilles – the same terroir as Trevallon – the Fontchene wines hold extreme power and finesse at a fraction of the price. This blend comes from estate parcels of selection massale plantings farmed biodynamically and is composed of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault with small portions of Merlot and Syrah. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in stainless steel prior to aging in stainless steel vats for 18 months. The resulting wine is delicate and red on the nose with aromas of pomegranate, white cherry, white raspberry, and violet oils. The palate carries depth with tonality of blueberry compote, quince, white tea, bergamot, and flinty texture. Structurally the wine has tight but integrated phenolics and moderate acidity, making this a wine that I feel almost anyone will enjoy. After ~30 minutes both the nose and the palate are more integrated and the liftedness of the cinsault really starts to shine bright red (Rudolph?) with undertones of spearmint and cinnamon. On day two the wine really starts to feel like the holidays with notes of potpourri and a Christmas candle and the phenolics start to fall out a little and cause a softer overall profile. Overall, I prefer the wine on day one. Nothing inherently bad changing with the wine, this is just a personal preference. Drink now – 2034, serve alongside Shephard’s pie, chanterelle pizza, or soft cheeses and whole grain crackers. Serve in all-purpose stemware at cellar temperature.

Ameal 2022 Loureiro

This organically farmed white wine from Portugal is the sole love and passion of this estate. Situated on the Atlantic side of Portugal, Ameal crafts Luroeiro that is more akin to Muscadet Sevre et Maine than what you would consider cliché “Vinho Verde”. On the pop you can tell that the wine needs some time to open still as it shows a little reduction. However, given some time (~30 minutes) this wine blossoms to a gorgeous bouquet of preserved lemons, lemongrass, and grapefruit. The palate is loaded with bone dry salinity sand minerality (it’s like licking a brick of salt!) and that is unwavering. After several hours the wine is even more fruit forward with notes of dried pineapple, wonderful lees contact, and dandelion pollen. The wine screams for seafood, salt, or brine to the point where I don’t’ recommend drinking this wine without food. Serve alongside hard parmesan cheese, oysters, grilled scallops, or tinned fish and pickled vegetables. Drink now – 2030 and serve in all-purpose stemware at refrigeration temperature.