Hello, Feastlings.
Our good friend and former dining room manager Dylan Higgins graces us this month with his presence at a tasting of wines among the pines. Arizona might be one of the states in the Four Corners, but for our money, the spot where Italy, Austria and Slovenia converge makes for better wine production. On Sunday, September 24, Dylan brings with him two wines from each region, and we’re certain you’ll find something more than a little intriguing among them. If you’ve got an eyebrow up right now, it’s the perfect moment to give us a call and reserve a seat at the tasting. It’s at 3:30 pm, it costs a mere $30 plus tax and tip, and each wine is paired with a special treat that’s meant to compliment it. Web and email reservations won’t hold a spot for you, so we recommend giving us a call at 326-9363 to guarantee yourself a seat at the tasting of high-altitude, high-value wines. Please do join us.
Alpine Wine
2015 Leth “Steinagrund” Grüner Veltliner, Fels am Wagram $18.00
Planted in the gravelly soil that’s the former riverbank of the Danube, Leth’s Stainagrund Grüner Veltliner is rich and lush, with ripe peach and buttery apple flavors, followed by a long, spicy and cream-filled finish. It’s fermented entirely in stainless steel, but rests for three months on the lees, imbuing the wine with an understated richness.
2014 Movia Rebula (Ribolla,) Sbrda, Slovenia $32.00
Late grape harvesting, hand-picked with a short period between the picking and fermentation – 2 hours maximum. Fermentation is completed in wooden barriques where wine matures on its own lees without decanting. Until it is bottled no sulphur or any other conservation additive is used. Thus the wine has gone through all natural processes and becomes sound and stable naturally. Inviting golden to amber color, which speaks of longer skin contact. Nose is amazingly rich for Ribolla, with gooseberries and blackcurrants dominating over gentle piny and fine oaky notes. Very dry, medium bodied with touch of tannins and salty savory character and lot of life. This is a homage to Ribolla, the oldest variety in Brda. It is excellent to approach now, but will be great in next decade until 2025.
2011 Leth “Felser Weinberge” Lagenreserve Riesling, Wagram $19.00
Its six years in bottle bring a rich, petrol nose to the forefront, while its acidity has begun to move to the background, pushing forward round, minerally notes.Fresh, pure stone fruit aromas, much finesse and substance on the palate. Noticeable but fine minerality notes. Perfectly balanced sugar-acidity level, racy and lingering finish.
2010 Movia Pinot Noir, Sbrda $41.00
100% Pinot Noir, hand-picked, fermented in large fermentation tanks with natural yeast, maceration takes place from 3 to 4 weeks till the completion of fermentation until the cap of grape skins sinks to the bottom of the tank and clears the wine naturally, the wine is thus ready for a long and fully active life in barriques, without decanting, quiet fermentation is completed in wooden barriques where wine matures on its own lees without decanting, matured in barriques up to or 4 years. Rich and lush, fruity but funky.
2011 Sartori di Verona “Regolo” (Corvina,) Rosso Veronese IGT $11.00
This exceptional wine honors Regolo, the patriarch of the Sartori family and cofounder of the firm. Only the best grapes are selected in the vineyard. Gentle pressing of the grapes is followed by skin maceration at low temperatures for 8 to 10 days. In the February following the harvest, the wine goes through the rispasso process, resting on the pomace of Amarone, its illustrious cousin, which enhances both the wine’s aromatics and aging potential. After malolactic fermentation, aging takes place for approximately 18 to 24 months in mediumto large-sized oak casks followed by a minimum of 4 months bottle refinement before release.
2013 Allegrini “La Grola” (Corvina/Oseleta) Veronese IGT $33.00
Allegrini’s “La Grola” is the extraordinary result of the meeting of two great personalities: the hill of La Grola and the Valpolicella’s autochthonous grapes. The excellent exposure of the vineyards, which enjoy the sun’s warm rays and the cool breezes that come from nearby Lake Garda, allows the grapes to produce their very best. Careful, craftsman-like aging in the cellar yields a red wine with great elegance, harmony and finesse that can evolve positively for over a decade.