New Wines for the Labor Day Weekend
A bevy of new wines has just arrived in the store for the Labor Day Weekend:
Domaine Berthet-Bondet Cotes du Jura. French. White wine. $28.00
In 1985, Chantal and Jean Berthet-Bondet took over a domain that had not been producing wine for 50 years and brought it back to life. The domain spreads on 10 hectares, 5 in Chateau-Chalon and 5 in Cotes-de-Jura appellation.
A composition of limestone and red and gray marne confers both power and great finesse to these wines. The winemaker practices low yields and “lutte raisonée” in the vineyards; that is, minimum use of insecticide and anti-fungal treatments, and a total abstention from defoliants; grass grows freely between the vine rows here. The classic wine of the Jura is the “vin de voile,” a technique otherwise practiced only by Spanish sherry producers. During barrel aging, casks are only partially filled, or ouillé, with wine. This provokes the formation of a film of yeast on the exposed portion, protecting the wine from oxidation and giving it a unique flavor of dried fruits and nuts.
When we tasted this delicious white wine, my taste buds were immediately reminded of an old Burgundian Montrachet. Whilst the balance of acidity is terrific there is abundant flavors of dry white stone fruit. Amazingly the length remains on the palate for well over a minute; there is a lovely oily waxiness that is so reminiscent of great white Burgundy without the onslaught on your wallet. A terrific wine for BBQ fish or a pork tenderloin cooked ‘pink’ with Swiss Chard and golden raisins.
Valdadige Terra dei Forti Enantio. Italy. Red wine. $26.00
I have always sought out the Pinot Griogio’s from the highest elevations of the Alto Adige because they remind me of the Sound of Music – Julie Andrews running through the Alpine meadows without a care in the world. PGs from the Adige mountains just south of Austria are the most exquisite expression of PG from anywhere. So when one of our importers walked in with a red wine from Valdadige I was intrigued. Even more so when he told us the grape was called Enantio – I had never heard of this wine before, and I had certainly not knowingly ever drunk it. So we were off to a good footing, and he didn’t let us down. The wine is intriguing; it beguiles you with a depth of black fruit that I wasn’t expecting, then hits you with some deep earthiness and then lifts you back up with surprising acidity and juice. Similar to the Jura, these grapes are slightly dried before beginning their journey to the bottle. Once pressed the wine then lies in barrels for 15-18 months – that’s a long time without receiving any revenue! Even then the wine is allowed to rest in bottle for a further 3-6 months before being released. All this smacks of super-expensive, but I thought that at $26.00 you actually got a hell of a lot of wine for not much hurt. Try it this weekend and surprise your guests.
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