The Wines of This Week's Tasting:
Hot Weather BBQ Tasting
June 22, 2022
White
2021 City Limits Roussanne
Wine from the Roussanne grape is bright and spicy in the northern Rhone. In the south, it shows lush and exotically tropical, sometimes even succulent, but always with an intriguing herbaceous note. Washington winemaker Morgan Lee's version combines the best of both regions with nice intensity, middleweight, enlivening acidity, and distinctive herbal spice.
Color: pale yellow-green; Mouth: thick and smooth to the tongue, not heavy bright green plum, very long bright spice; Very Good Plus $21.99, 19.99 by the case 5 cases only
Rose
2021 Weingut Iby Lehrner Rose Blaufrankisch
From Austria is a fresh fruit spicy example, balanced and versatile. It would be nice if all wineries were this classy, creative, and fun. The family was among the leaders in restoring the quality image of Austrian wine.
Salmon Pink. Strawberry, raspberry, and cherry with a citric lift. Currants with spicy acidity. Pleasant and vibrant with a creamy texture and flinty finish. Very Good Plus 17.99/bottle, case $189 (15.75/bottle)
2021 Montenidoli Canaiolo Rosato
Monte Nidoli towers over the Tuscan village of San Gimignano. Elisabetta Fagiuoli owns and runs an estate of 200 hectares of wild forest and 24 hectares of vines. She grows a special clone of the red-stemmed Tuscan variety Canaiolo for her Rosato. It is a wine with soul and both a feminine and masculine character. This speaks of balance and long life.
Salmon pink. Raspberries and violets, a note of orange blossom. Full, very dry, with crisp modulated acidity. Long mineral complex finish. Excellent 24.99/bottle, Case 251.88, 20.99
Red
2018 Caravaglio Nero du Munti
The perfect BBQ wine comes from grapes grown inside the caldera of a volcano. Nino Caravaglio and his wife grow the grapes for just that wine on the island of Lipari off the coast of Sicily. They live and make the wine on the volcanic island of Salina next door. Nino's family settled here over 600 years ago. The grape is Corinto Nero. This wine is like a Sangiovese with a Salvador Dali mustache.
Bright ruby. Dark cherries, roses, and caper blossoms swirl around an exotic spice. Shows a layered texture and a balanced finish. Versatile. Excellent 24.99/bottle Case 251.88, 20.99 the case
Two variations of Syrah-based wines
2018 Groundwork Syrah Central Coast is like their Counoise we offered a few weeks ago. It is a wine of clarity but with more depth and dark fruit. A pure expression of the grape and like a more modern version of northern Rhone Syrah, it slides smoothly over the tongue but with enough dark power to compliment spicy marinades.
Color: purple-black; Aroma: juicy forward, intensely fruity, vibrant, good depth like a more modern northern Rhone, heady deep, earthy, fresh, and spicy; Very Good Plus 22.99; Case, 19.99
2019 Ste Pauline Terrasses du Larzac Clos du Serres
This has been one of our heartier Rhone-style favorites over the last few years. The l;arzac Terrasses are Languedoc’s relatively higher altitude cooler wines just west from Montpellier. They echo more expensive Cotes du Rhone commune wines but with finer delineation and just as much power. The 2019 Pauline is particularly good, rich, intense, and powerful all at the same time.
Color: Medium-dark; Aroma: Head and rich, heady dark and full; Mouth: ripe, clean light currant raspberry, juicy, clean acid, delineated over dark rich Syrah; Very Good Plus 22.99; case 19.99
Hot Weather BBQ case $235
Or make your own;
Mix any twelve bottles or more at the case discount price
Order by phone at 617.367.8605, or reserve here: order@federalwine.com
Please pass this on to any friends who are wine enthusiasts!
- Len Rothenberg
FREE DELIVERY!
downtown on orders more than $75;
in Greater Boston on orders more than $199
