July 2021 | Enthusiast Club
by Caileen Brison
2019 Domaine Pieretti - Coteax Du Cap Corse Blanc
From the Importer
Lina is very precise about farming and while some of her vineyards are certified organic, others she finds too inaccessible to be 100% organic. Regardless, the farming is clean and responsible.
The winemaking is simple and straightforward. The only thing she does that might be considered a winemaking 'trick' is to cool the fruit down before fermentation. She harvests early in the morning and then leaves the grapes in a cold room for a bit before processing the fruit. The reds undergo spontaneous fermentation and the white and rosé are innoculated with a cultured yeast from the property. Most wines see only steel. Lina is a charming but direct woman, something that I am sure has served her well as one of only a few women making wine in Corsica. Her wines reflect this personality as well as the water, wind and rocks that define the Cap Corse.
About the Wine
Varieties: Vermentino
Appellation: Coteaux du Cap Corse
Vineyards: Estate vineyards. Coastal plots. Clay and Schist soils.
Vine Age: 25 to 30 years old
Farming: Lutte Raisonée. She has some vineyards certified organic, others she prefers to not certify but farm as close to organic as she feels she can.
Winemaking: Hand harvested at the coolest point of the day. Put directly into cold storage to drop temperature even more. Fermented and aged in stainless steel. She innoculates the ferment with yeast cultured from her vineyards.
From Caileen
In the glass the wine has a light golden apple color with a gleaning core. The nose throws generous tones of gardenia flower, lemon oil, thyme oil, sea salt, and jalapeno jelly. There’s a perfectly balanced profile of savory green tones with bright tropical tones, which makes this a white wine sure to please the masses. The wine also holds profile incredibly well - the wine on day one and day two are essentially identical. Structurally the acid is very soft and continues through the entirety of the palate with the dimension coming from an almost phenolic contribution of crunch. On the finish, the wine exhibits flavors of light coconut and caramel. For serving, I suggest you drink this Vermentino now – 2026, serve with scallops, and have zero regrets.
NV L'Austral - Jolie Brise
From Caileen
The Jolie Brise Vin Mousseux Brut Nature from the Loire Valley is everything I could ever want in a Brut Nature rose – the Cab Franc/Chenin Blanc blend has a beautiful deep watermelon color with a vibrancy to match the profile. On the nose the wine is fresh picked strawberries, rhubarb, and Luxardo cherry. Despite the highly enjoyable fruit profile, this wine is not all fruit and rainbows – there’s also violet oil, lavender oil, and raspberry sorbet. The wine finishes with a caramel and sea salt profile and the mousse lasts for days. Somehow this wine made it to day two, and the staying power is incredible – the bubbles were still vibrant, the fruit profile was still targeted, and I still definitely wanted to drink it all. For food pairings I might suggest rabbit rillettes if you’re feelin’ fancy, or a braut with kraut if you’re feeling not so fancy. You truly cannot go wrong with this wine. Enjoy right now, serve chilled, and have a great time.
2018 Dunites Syrah - Spanish Springs
From the Producer
The 2018 Syrah comes from a steep east facing block planted to the Alban clone at Spanish Springs Vineyard. The grapes were hand harvested on the morning of November 6th after a long-cool growing season. Clusters were partially destemmed with 42% of the whole clusters included in the fermenter. Fermentation began slowly without the addition of sulfites or cultured yeasts and after two weeks the wine was gently basket pressed to neutral French oak puncheon for ageing. Following 18-months in barrel, the wine was racked to tank prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Robust berry and black cherry aromas are complimented by savory pepper, herbal, and floral notes. The palate is elegant with soft, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Enjoy!
From Caileen
I hesitate to call a wine “perfumed” because I feel like folks can have a very strong and negative reaction to that, but this wine is very perfumed (but fear not!). The wine has a lovely bouquet of white pepper oil, flint, gardenia, quince paste, and black pepper oil. As a varietal, Syrah can range from a pepper cracker to a field of lavender on a windy day and I love that this wine touches on both of those aspects. Structurally, the wine has impeccable balance with integrated, soft tannins and a tense acid to hold up the boldness that Syrah can carry. The wine feels lifted and sings beautifully over time – I spent time with this wine from opening to three days after and I enjoyed every sip. Due to the high acidity of this wine, I think food pairings for this could be more versatile than typical Syrah pairings. You can go with the traditional pairings of grilled meats, but I also encourage you to flirt with well-seasoned pork belly or speck with quince paste and herbed chevre. Never underestimate the power of high acid reds to be versatile food wines. Drink from now – 2030/2, serve close to 60F, and serve in an all-purpose red glass.