Rosé All Day Spritz Rosé + Grapefruit with Bubbles

Okay, I'm going to be blunt: Rosé All Day are not kidding when they say "+ grapefruit" because there's A LOT of grapefruit here. And that wouldn't be a big deal in the middle of July or August when it's hot as hell and if this thing was chilled ice cold, because it would be completely crushable and I would just abuse that 4 pack of cans so easily it's ridiculous. But it's September and starting to get chilly here so you know what I did? I took an inexpensive Cava, that I knew I could trust to provide some wonderful bready yeastiness, and mixed them together. It was pretty damn enjoyable. I'm not even joking. Improvisation!

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Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut Champagne, January Wine Pick

It's January of 2020 so it's time to toast to the New Year! My wine pick of the month is Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut Champagne, which has been one of my favorite bubblies for many years. It's pale yellow in color with aromas of green apples, pears, lime peel, and toast. On the palate it's medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and a bright acidity. For flavors it's heavy on the lime with teammates of red berries, brie crust, and ginger. This is an excellent deal in Champagne for the price, and just one hell of a wine!

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $45

Rating: 4.5/5 = Recommended / Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.

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Wine Quickie: Clos Saint Sebastien Collioure Empreintes 2017

I was unable to get to this bottle during the Garnacha Day chat on Twitter with #WiningHourChat, but I'm finally getting to it now! Collioure is an AOC within the Banyuls region of southern France, and for red wines they focus on GSM blends (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre). This one is medium bodied with  a lush mouthfeel, balanced acidity, and soft tannin. It's very nice with notes of strawberries,  raspberries, dark chocolate, graphite, and a lovely savory finish. I'm glad that this was the odd-man out that night, because I am really enjoying it all on its own.

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Wine Review: Château Bellevue Monbazillac 2011

Oh, dessert wine! Yesssssss! Alright, here's the thing, I have never been into sweets. Candy has never appealed to me and I absolutely despise cake (except for carrot cake). My junkfood has always been the salty stuff. Chips and cheese, man. Those giant jugs of UTZ Cheeseballs? I could devour that whole thing in one sitting. Anyways, my point is, I don't like sweets but I love sweet wine! And dessert wine is like friggin' heaven, I'm telling ya right now! All you dessert wine producers out there should be sending me some of your dessert wine because it's guaranteed to get a good review. Just saying.

Monbazillac is an AOC in southern France that makes sweet dessert wine around the village of Monbazillac, and even though the Monbazillac AOC wasn't established until 1936, they've been doing their thing with dessert wine for a very long time. Monbazillac's wines are said to be similar to Sauternes but tend to have more Muscadelle in the blend.

This guy right here is from Château Bellevue, which was built in the 17th century, and is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle, using the traditional methods of producing Monbazillac. One interesting thing I found while searching for information: Ponton d'Amecourt is the name of the family that has owned the Château since 1972, and their ancestor Gustave invented the helicopter in 1861. Neat!

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It's #GarnachaDay 2019! (Part 1)

That's right! A whole day dedicated to Garnacha! The other day I was lucky enough to be invited to taste five Garnacha's in celebration of the grape along with a whole bunch of cool people on the #WiningHourChat hashtag on Twitter (thanks to @WinesofGarnacha and @TheWiningHour). It was very fast paced but a lot of fun! Here's a little bit about the wines that we tried. Happy Garnacha Day, my fellow wineos!

Let's start with Spanish Garnacha:

The Clos Dalian Garnacha Blanca 2018 really took me by surprise. Light and crisp and refreshing but with lively fruit of apples and pears. It was my second favorite of the evening. Beso de Vino Old Vine Garnacha 2016 is your typical entry-level Garnacha meant for quaffing with pizza or whatever. You're not going to sit there and analyze it because it's pretty basic, but I really liked it! It's fruity with plums and cherries, and there's some chocolate and caramel there too. Evodia  Old Vine Garnacha 2017 was better than I thought it would be. The last time I had Evodia, it was on a decline as production increased. It's still not as good as it used to be, but it's improved. I noted blackberries, strawberries, and tea.

Now for French Grenache:

Unfortunately I was not able to get around to opening the Clos Saint Sebastien Collioure Empreintes Rouge 2017 but I plan on it soon, and I'll make a quickie about it too. That Terrassous Rivesaltes 6 Year, though! Oh my goodness! This is a white dessert wine and it was the best out of the bunch. Everybody kept saying that it was like Tawny Port from France and they are not wrong. Sweet and absolutely beautiful with caramel, raisins and almonds. Spectacular.

Thank you Li for including me! I'm looking forward to doing it again! Happy Garnacha Day, everybody, and I'll be back with a Part 2 later today!

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Wine Review: Domaine Laurens Pierres Rouges Marcillac 2016

Domaine Laurens was founded in 1975 right in the heart of the Marcillac wine region. They have 21 hectares of land and produce red, white, and rosé wines. Wait, Marcillac? What the heck is that? Marcillac is in the Aveyron department of southern France, near the city of Rodez. I don't think I've ever had a wine from Marcillac before. Maybe I have and just don't know it or recall.

And the same can be said for the grape that this wine is made from: Fer Servadou, AKA Fer, Pinenc,  and Mansois. It's mostly grown in the southern France regions of Marcillac, Gaillac, and Béarn. According to Wikipedia, "Fer is French for iron (Latin Ferrum), a reference to the very hard and 'iron-like' wood of the vine's above ground canopy".

Have you even heard of Fer Servadou? I'm sure I have at some point in my studies but had forgotten about it, and I've certainly never have had a wine made from it.  So without ferther servadou (see what I did there?) let's pop this bottle open!

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Wine Quickie: Mas de Cadenet l'Echappée Belle Côtes de Provence Rosé 2018

I really liked this Rosé and my wife liked it even more! It's got a zippy and refreshing personality that just makes me smile. On the nose there's rose petals, grapefruit skin, and Fruity Pebbles; while on the palate there's strawberries, citrus, and peach. The bright acidity gives this fruit-forward rosé a big uplift into happiness, and the long-lasting finish is wonderful. Thumbs up from this guy (and his lady)!

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Wine Review: Georges Vigouroux Pigmentum Malbec Rosé 2018

The Vigouroux family has been owned by Chateau Haute-Serre since 1887 and have been champions of the Malbec variety in Cahors and beyond the entire time. It's currently headed by Bertrand-Gabriel Vigouroux and shows know signs of leaving the family any time soon.

I love me some Cahors. Old World, rustic, Malbec from southern France. I once saw a video where a dude took a huge ass jug half filled with Cahors Malbec, filled the rest with water, and it didn't thin out even a little. That's how deeply pigmented Cahors Malbec can be, and that's why it's called the "Black Wine of Cahors".

Buuuuuuut this one is a Rosé, which I was pretty excited about, only to have that excitement unfortunately be short lived. I didn't like it.

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Wine Review: Château Peyros Madiran 2014

Madiran is a village in the Haut Béarn region of Gascony, France, that mainly produces wines from the Tannat grape. So we're talking about highly tannic stuff coming out of this village. Wines that chew your steak for you.

Where Château Peyros now sits used to be a convent and the steeple still stands at the top of their slopes. Their wine is a bit different than it's colleagues thanks to it's unique soil for the area and own little microclimate. Not only is it the only vineyard in Madiran that benefits from full southern exposure, but the land is rocky with lots of pebbles and clay. That last part sounds PERFECT for a little bit of Cabernet Franc action, and Château Peyros takes full advantage of that. They have 49 acres of vineyards with 70% of it planted with Tannat and 30% planted with Cabernet Franc.

Their 2014 Madiran is 80% Tannat and 20% Cabernet Franc, with the average age of the vines between 40 and 50 years, and it spends a whole year aging in oak barrels (40% new).

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Wine Quickie: Domaine Chantepierre Lirac 2017

Lirac is a subregion of Côtes du Rhône, France, and this wine is a blend of 45% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre. It's got a full body and rich mouthfeel with tamed acidity, soft tannin, and fantastic umami. There's aromas and flavors of black cherries, blackberries, leather, licorice, and mint. This is just a wonderfully easily approachable CDR GSM for $18. And, as I've found with most Grenache based wines, it does benefit from seeing a slight chill.

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Wine Review: Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis 2016

Ooooh Chablis! Isn't white Burgundy just one of the greatest things ever? I friggin' love it! Another thing that makes this bottle so special is that my favorite regular customer gave it to me when she bought a case. Thank you, Deborah!

So, in case you don't know, Chablis is unoaked Chardonnay from the region of Chablis in Burgundy, France. The Bichot family can trace their lineage back to the 1350's but they've been in the wine business since 1831. They have four estates in Burgundy; one in Chablis (Château Long-Depaquit), one in Côte de Nuits (Domaine du Clos-Frantin), one in Côte de Beaune (Domaine du Pavillon), and one in Côte Chalonnaise (Domaine Adélie). All of their vineyards are sustainably grown. Not only do they have those estates of their own, but they're also a negociante who also buys grapes and juice from others to produce more wine.

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September Wine Pick: Chateau de L'Aumerade Côtes de Provence Cuvée Marie Christine Cru Classe Rosé 2017

Oh my goodness, September is going to be a fun month! There will be wines from France, a few Proseccos from Italy, and two American Vermouths. Alright, wines from France may be an understatement because there's a TON of those, and every Tuesday in September will feature a Rosé from Provence, France. Let's call it "Rosé Tuesday".

I'm finishing up my three-part Sake series for this month's long-read article, and I'll even be reviewing a canned sake. CANNED SAKE? WTF? Garnacha Day is on the 20th so there's that. And, as always, additions will be made as the month moves along. I might even review your face, so stop looking at me like that.

Anyways... we're living on borrowed time here for summer weather, so my wine pick of the month is this refreshing Syrah / Grenache Rosé while the sunny days last!

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Best of Spring 2019!

It's officially summer so here are the Top 5 wines that I reviewed this spring!

I reviewed A LOT of wines in the spring, but I was still surprised to see that I handed out EXACTLY five 5/5's. That’s pretty high. And three of them were from one producer! Altaneve dominates the list!

#5. AIX Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Rosé 2018

Region: Provence, France
Review Release: June 1st, 2019 (Wine Pick of the Month)

The color of the wine is just a gorgeous pomelo pink. The floral character on the nose is right up front along with vanilla, and then you get aromas of strawberries, watermelon, citrus, and black pepper. For a Rosé it's got quite the intriguing nose. On the palate it's medium bodied with a borderline rich mouthfeel, perky acidity, and grainy tannin. Watermelon is the head flavor in charge with strawberries, citrus, and black pepper riding along. But citrus takes the wheel on the finish with black pepper looking to spice things up.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $18

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#4. Altaneve (Sparkling) Rosé

Region: Veneto, Italy
Review Release: March 21st, 2019

It's a very light salmon color. I absolutely love the nose. There's some breadiness over aromas of rose petals and Fruity Pebbles (don't even try to act like that's a bad thing). On the palate it's got a crisp and clean acidity but the wine still has a creamy mouthfeel. There's flavors of strawberry yogurt and peaches, and an uplift into green apples on the finish. Outstanding.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $33

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#3. Julia Samara 2016

Region: Galilee, Israel
Review Release: June 16th, 2019

The color of the wine is a deep purple. On the nose, oh my goodness, the chocolate! THE CHOCOLATE! There's also plums, raisins, rose petals, black table pepper, and pencil shavings. This wine has an fantastic nose. In fact, SPOILER ALERT, it has a fantastic everything! It's medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel, soft tannin, and perfectly balanced acidity. There's flavors of plums, black cherries, root beer, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. Then it finishes with plums and chocolate and some heat from the alcohol.

For $24 this is absolutely killer. KILLER. Mark it up! Perfect score!

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $24

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#2. Altaneve Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore

Region: Veneto, Italy
Review Release: March 24th, 2019

The color of the wine is a very pale yellow. The nose starts off as very floral, and beyond that there's honey and keylime pie. The mouthfeel is wonderfully soft and creamy. There's a little bit of sweetness but it still has a refreshing briskness to it. On the midpalate there's flavors of lime and apple, and on the finish it's pears and ginger and a nice coating of that touch of sweetness.

Oh man. This may be the best Prosecco above $25 that I've ever had. It's fantastic!

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $30

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#1. Altaneve "Z" Prosecco Superiore

Region: Veneto, Italy
Review Release: March 28th, 2019

And hot damn this is some good bubbly! It's pale yellow in color with tiny bubbles. When I first opened it there was one stream of bubbles that went up the side to the top and it was pretty cool. There's aromas of freshly cut pears, white peaches, and white flowers. On the palate it's creamy and fluffy with just the right amount of acidity and tingle. The mouthfeel is perfect. Then for flavors you've got pears and lime peel and a touch of green herbs. That may all sound really simple but when combined all together it's just phenomenal.

Godamnit. You know what? I never thought that I would say that you should drop almost $50 on a Prosecco. Never in a thousand years. That's Champagne territory. Yet here I am. The quality is worth even more than what you pay for.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $46

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

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Wine Review: Chateau Lamothe Castéra Cuvée "Margaux" Bordeaux 2016

Chateau Lamothe Castera, located in the village of Roquebrune in the Entre-Deux-Mers area region of Bestides, 50 miles from Bordeaux, has been producing wine since the 15th century. Nowadays, Claire and Renaud Jean run this 190 acres winery in the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur AOP. The Vineyards, composed of 30 year old vines of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are sustainably farmed.

This is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, the vines are planted 300 feet above sea level, and  the wine spent 12 months aging in stainless steel tanks. Notice the quotes with "Margaux" because this is technically a Bordeaux AOP and not designated as a Margaux, although the juice is presumably from Margaux but for some reason it doesn't meet the requirements to carry the Margaux designation. Thus... it's only $17.

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Wine Review: Domaine de Châteaumar Cuvée Vincent Sélection Côtes-du-Rhone 2017

Châteaumar had been around since the 11th century and has been passed down for generations within the family, now with Jen-Feix and Frederic Souret managing he vineyards today. Their estate is located in the heart of Côtes-du-Rhone, just outside or Orange, where they have 25 acres on stony clay-limestone soil. They also own 12 acres in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

While this Côtes-du-Rhone is from southern Rhone, which is normally mostly Grenache with Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cinsault blended in there, while it's northern Rhone that's all about the Syrah, this guy breaks the mold and is made from 100% Syrah. The vines are 50 years old or older on parcels that border Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the vineyards are sustainably farmed, and the wine spends 8 to 10 months aging in concrete tanks.

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Wine Review: Domaine des Gerbeaux Mâcon-Villages 2018

Owned and run by Béatrice and Jean-Michel Drouin since 1979, Domaine des Gerbeaux is located in the village of Solutré-Pouilly. Their families both come from a long line of winemakers and they own a total of fifteen acres of vineyards over different regions in the Mâconnais; from St. Véran, to Pouilly, to Solutré. All of their wines are biodynamic but aren't biodynamic certified.

This is 100% estate farmed Chardonnay from 30 year old vines 1400 above sea level, was completely unoaked, spent six months aging in stainless steel, and saw full malolactic fermentation.

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Wine Quickie: LOVE by Léoube Rosé 2018 and The Bridesmaid's Guide to Rosé

If you like Provence rosé you should enjoy this one because it's everything you want out of the category. Made from 50% Grenache and 50% Cinsault, it's light and crisp and refreshing with strawberries, white peaches, and citrus with a bright and lively acidity that begs for snacks. Excellent for summertime day drinking on the patio.

Well, the wedding season is coming up and Rosé season is already here! And even though I'm a dude, I think it's kind of a cool idea to match the wine being served with the dresses worn by the bridesmaids! Check out this idea I received from a Provence promotion:

Peach – Like the Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Château Barbebelle Héritage and the ethereal and romantic palette chosen by the actress Kirsten Dunst.

Melon – A dynamic nuance like this LOVE by Léoube Rosé, the same chosen by the Social Media phenomenon Emily Ratajkowski.

Mango – A lively color like the Côtes de Provence La Londe Château les Valentines Le Caprice de Clémentine and the personality of the supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio.

Pomelo  - A vivacious hue like my wine pick of the month Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Rosé, and Katherine Heigl’s dress in the romantic comedy “27 Dresses”.

Pretty cool idea, huh?

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Wine Review: Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées Pinot Noir 2017

What can you say about Louis Latour other than they make some damn good wine? You really can't go wrong with their juice on any of their tier levels from introductory to high end. And they've been around for over 220 years! Since 1797 they've been based in Burgundy, France, but they recently decided to expand their operations further down south to...

Beaujolais?!? YUP! They bought up 50 acres of vineyard land in Les Pierres Dorées (the southernmost region in Beaujolas), ripped up the Gamay vines, and planted their specialty... Pinot Noir! They felt the specific altitude and clay-limestone soils would be perfect for the varietal. And what I've got right here is the result of that initiative.

This is 100% Pinot Noir from sustainably farmed vineyards in the villages of Morancé and Theizé, between 918 to 1246 feet above sea level on clay and crinoidal limestone soil. It was fermented in open vats, and spent 10 to 12 months aging in stainless steel tanks and medium toasted French oak by the Louis Latour cooperage. 

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June Wine Pick: AIX Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Rosé 2018

Here we go! It's finally June! I don't have a long read article planned for this month because I'll be doing a ton of learnin' about Saké. But here's what I have penciled in right now: Wine Bloggers Off-Topic returns for a second installment (email me at joeycasco80@gmail.com if you want to participate) and Tippsy Saké returns to the blog with a very special Facebook promo. There will be full rated reviews on four French wines (this Provence Rosé, a rather Pinot Noir from Beaujolais, a white Burgundy, a CDR, and a Bordeaux), four Israeli wines, and two from Hazelfern Cellars out of Oregon. The quickies that are scheduled right now include another Rosé, Red Barn canned Sangria, and Tio Pepe Sherry. And, of course, things will be added as we move along. It looks like we're in for another great month on TheWineStalker.net!

And because we're finally here in lovely June, my wine pick of the month is the refreshing 2018 Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Rosé, which is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault. If you want some good "HEY! We made it out of the depressing cold and rainy times!" celebration wine then this is it!

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All Hail Riesling, The Ruler of the Rhine and Our Hearts!

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net!

German wine is a wonder and dangerously close to not being possible. The position it holds on the planet and its altitude makes it cold for most of the year, so the plant growing season is longer and more drawn out than most wine varieties can handle, and they won't ripen in time before winter. But thanks to the long days, the vines see plenty of sun. The best wine growing regions in the country have slate soil and steep slopes along the Rhine River and its tributaries like Ahr, Nahe, and especially Mosel. The slate soil absorbs both direct sunlight and the reflected sunlight off of the rivers to warm the grapes above, and those rivers also help to moderate temperatures. But even still, it takes some special grapes and vines to handle the German climate.

So the entire world is lucky that Germany spawned one of the noblest of grapes: Riesling. Physically the vines's tough wood can handle the climate like a champion, and its fruit has the right amount of sugar and acidity to make world class wine in it as well. This is the varietal that makes me smile more than any other. Let's take a bow for Riesling, the ruler of the Rhine and our hearts!

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