Browsers Red Wine Club
THIS QUARTER'S RED SELECTION
After several bottles over the last week, I can confidently say that the 2021 Due Santi Rosso is the best wine we have ever made. I tasted it on its own and against bottles that are twice its price, and each time I was more impressed. The nose is classic Due Santi with red and black fruits encased with forest herbs and hints of graphite and coffee. As it opens (several hours of decanting) it begins to reveal this lengthy impression of Dutch Cocoa and medium-roasted coffee. It reminds me of Tiramisu but without the guilt and the mess. This is as complex and refined as any wine I have tasted from Lazio since the 1994 Colle Picchioni Vigna del Vassallo (another story indeed). What a testament to the team at UD Rome. Bravo!
A near 50/50 Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot - The 2021 Rosso is the result of a near-perfect growing season. Our vines have matured, and our viticulture is world-class. The resulting fruit is ripe with intense black fruit flavors encapsulated by perfect acidity and subtle herbs that dance across the palate. This is a serious wine with potential for 15+ years of aging. Yet, it opens quickly and offers a lengthy and silky dose of that “yes this is what I want in a red wine”. We are quite proud of Claudia, our winemaker, and the team at Due Santi.
We dedicate this vintage to our leader in Rome, the giant one, Dr Peter Hatlie. For without his tieless pushing this dream would never have been realized. Cheers to Peter and to all of us who love Due Santi. Enjoy this with all things from the grill.
50% Merlot 50% Cabernet Sauvignon
For our first red-only club offer we are offering a limited library release of the 2019 Due Santi Rosso to taste alongside the 2021. I think the similarities are clear, but the difference in the wines with only 2 years bottle age is a joy to experience.
This beautiful Rosso is the beneficiary of perfect weather and a superb growing season in the spring and summer of 2019. The final product is a wine with extraordinary character, complexity, and sense of command. It is deep purple in color and rich and satisfying in taste. On the nose, there are complex and seductive hints of dark-blooded forest fruits, just enough but not too much leather, and then a hint of smokey wood aromas from our newly acquired casks. For our Cabernet Sauvignon lovers, this year’s DSR gives you more to enjoy than in past vintages, in effect elevating the smoothness of the Merlot with some pleasant action and indeed transgression on the part of its Cab Sav counterpart. Weighing it at 13% alcohol, this wine is generous to the final drop. Break out the primal cuts and dare we say, the veal for this bad boy. $34.99
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This wine is a big bad boy! The richness here stands alone against California cabs at 5x the price. Blended with 30% Syrah (also from 40+ year vines), this 2019 Cab/Syrah is a hearty, full-bodied wine. Its electric purple color is captivating, it's a visual clue to the richness in the glass. The aromas are clean, pure and powerful; it has plummy and blackberry notes, with hints of tobacco and spice mingling. The palate is Cabernet-dominant, with the Syrah contributing finesse and roundness to the sturdy structure. Tell your friends to bring their biggest wines to dinner and see how this one compares (at a fraction of the cost)
It translates simply to, "my father's vines," as the Cabernet Sauvignon was planted by Roger Marès in the 1970's. Making wine has been an art and family tradition for current proprietor, Cyril Marès, who can trace his ancestry's vinous spirit back to the late 18th century. Roger and his father owned a vineyard in Bordeaux's Haut-Médoc, which inspired him to plant the variety a few years after founding Mas des Bressades in the Costières de Nîmes in 1964. Cyril has been at the helm of the property since 1996, after completing enology school, plus stints at Chalone in the US and with Bordeaux VIPs Bruno Prats and Paul Pontallier. Marès has garnered praise as being one of the region's superstars for many years.
Burgers (with lots of cheese) – Ribeye with lots of buttery potatoes – or just go on a little bender before your kid’s soccer game. $21.99
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2019 Cantine Bonelli “Tesor” Guttornio Riserva
What a fun and compelling red from the home a ragú and ravioli! Aromas of bright wild cherries, cloves, good leather, earth, and chocolate. Rich in aromatic complexity, the palate is firm and fuller bodied, though it has a silky and elegant facet to it as well. All in all, it's a super interesting Old-World red. We break this out when streaming content and in need of a little escape.
Gutturnio is a newer DOC in western Emilia-Romagna. The wines that come from Gutturnio are red blends of the familiar Barbera and the lesser-known Croatina. The 2019 Gutturnio TESOR is made from 60% Barbera and 40% Croatina. The Croatina's role in the blend is to give the wine some flesh and softness, and it succeeds! Not out of the question rock this with Mac and Cheese or an obscene pile of chicken nuggets. $22.99
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2019 Domaine des Aspras Côtes de Provence Rouge “Les Trois Frères”
The big soft, rich wine from our offering this time. The Les Trois Frères Rouge is a well-balanced red that displays rich berry nuances, which you would expect from this region, with a distinctive structure that speaks of Aspras' terroir. An equal blend of Grenache and Syrah, these grape varieties are grown on parcels of iron-rich red earth soils. It exhibits generous blackberry and tangy black currant notes that give way to sweet spices on the finish. It has an appealing medium-bodied weight to it with no detectable traces of oak.
Michael Latz has His Three Sons, Raphaël, Alexandre and Sébastien - Les Trois Frères. The three brothers represent the third generation of Latz' who have participated in the viticultural endeavors at Domaine des Aspras. Michael's parents settled in Correns, France in 1961 after fleeing Nazi Germany by way of the Belgian Congo. After the death of his father in 1971, Michael, an agricultural engineer by training, returned home to help his mother run the domaine. He was a natural, and soon after they began to sell their own wine rather than selling off their grapes. Michael's interest in organic farming became a driving force. He became mayor of Correns in 1991 and by 1995 he persuaded the entire village to switch to organic production. He calls himself a "humanist winemaker" and believes strongly that teaching children about food production, consumption and waste is vital for the planet's future. This wine sings with Pizza, Pasta or Duck with Lentils
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2020 Vignobles Arbeau – Braucol
