This Week's Tasting
Ye Gods! and Other Light Finds for Summer Heat
May 17, 2023
Mountains and sea relieve the summer heat, so that's where we went (and some places in between) for reasonably priced summer wines.
 | Tonight - Ye Gods! and Other Light Finds for Summer Heat Wednesday, 5/17/23 5:00 - 6:30pm
|
 |
Ye Gods! & Other Light Finds for Summer Heat
Mountains and sea relieve the summer heat, so that's where we went (and some places in between) for reasonably priced summer wines. Six of our favorite yummy lighter-bodied wines:
White
2021 Michel Thibaut Cotes du Jura Chardonnay
An Affordable Clean Cult Chardonnay
Chardonnay aficionados have made wines from the cool French Jura mountains cult favorites over the last few years. Prized for their lightly mineral-inflected clean cut, they have become more popular and more expensive. We found this one to have the characteristics of its more costly cousins and a value for the coming hot season.
2021 Michel Thibaut Cotes du Jura Chardonnay; Aroma: Light but heady, nicely rich with green apple spice; Mouth: Clean herbal overtone, full mineral long pure, no oak; Very Good Plus $23.99; Case, $19.99
2021 Menpe Bizkaiko Txakolina
Seaworthy wine from Spanish Basque Country
It's bright and expressive. Your first sip of Txakolina will make you feel like you just splashed your face with cold seawater on a hot day. It is a wine for discriminating enthusiasts. You'll find tangy acidity, freshness, salinity, lime zest, and green apple, among other things.
2020 Hasi Berriak Menpe Bizkaiko Txakolina: Very Good to Excellent 21.99/bottle case 18.99
Orange
2021 Holzer Invaders
Austrian Surprise
It's not as aggressive as the name would imply. It's not aggressive but a nicely rounded, balanced Contact one from the Mueller Thurgau grape. It has the nice roundness that everyone will like, with the lightest hint of tannic Burr on the finish that devotees of skin-contact white wines love.
2021 Holzer Invaders Orange MT; Color: Pale; Aroma: Very rich, intense, great depth, juicy heady, rounded; Mouth: Bright rose-like, clean, fresh, long., the lightest note of tannin on the finish; Very Good $18.99; Case, $15.99
Rose
2022 Gueguen Bourgogne Pinot Noir Rose
Another Value from our Chablis producer
A couple of weeks ago, egans Bargain price Chablis like Bourgogne Blanc sold out in a few days. We liked this value in Sancerre-like Bourgogne Rose just as much. It is bone dry, with a nice minerality offset by pretty Pinot Fruit. Give it a little time in the glass to fully enjoy its summertime refreshment.
2022 Gueguen Bourgogne Pinot Noir Rose; Aroma: Crisp flinty dry, very fresh light pinot with an herbal accent; Mouth: Juicy, rounded need high acid, clean crisp; Very Good Plus $21; Case, $17.99
Red
2022 Boucard Nom de Zeus!!!
Ye Gods!
Nom de Zeus!!! (the closest English equivalent is Ye Gods!) deserves all its three exclamation points.
The label does not, can not tell you that it is a cabernet franc from Touraine because it flouts many of the French naming rules. It does proudly state that it is sans soufre, has no added sulfur.
That is part of the reason it's so fresh and lively. It will put a lighter-bodied lift to your tongue even lightly chilled on a hot day.
Although Ye Gods! nicely captures the enthusiasm that this wine brings to the palate, that is not how this classic French exclamation came back into French pop kulcha - Nom de Zeus became au courant when translators of the Back to the Future films used it for Doc Brown's "Great Scott." We like to think that he would have liked this wine. We love it.
2022 Boucard Touraine Nom de Zeus!!! Sans Soufre; Color: Medium dark; Aroma: Heady firm, dusty and soft, clean, rich and full; Mouth: Bright nice rounded acid, smooth and mellow with a spicy Franc cut; Very Good $15.99; Case, $13.59
2019 Ormanni Chianti Classico
An Ancient Tuscan
The Ormanni estate was founded in the heart of Chianti Classico in 1200. The vineyards are in Barbarino Val D'Elso on the road from Castellina. The wines tend to be elegant in style and food-friendly
2019 Ormanni Chianti Classico: Bright ruby. Vibrant fruit framed by flowers and spice. Medium-bodied and interestingly complex. Very Good Plus Plus $19.99; Case, $16.99
5-17-23 Light Summer Case: Special, two each of the above wines - $208
or
Make your own case of any twelve bottles at their case prices
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
