Wine Talk by Art of the Table
August 3, 2010
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As you all know, we get in a lot of new stuff often.
We do our best to keep carrying your favorites, but one of the things that we feel make us stand out from the crowd is our ability to refresh the wine shelves and provide new and exciting things for our customers to try.
Lots and lots of factors play into the fine wine world. A bad vintage is a year of pause for many, wine makers can come and go and totally change the way the juice is made under the same label (this can be a great thing...or sometimes, not so much).
All this is somewhat besides the point though. The main thing is, we really care what goes on our shelves and we taste new things with certain frequency to provide the best we can offer. We also revisit what is on our shelves to make sure the quality is as we remember and we can be certain you are getting the absolute best bottle for the money you pay.
If you are looking for a $15 bottle, you'll find the super options here. If you seek a bottle $100 or more, we provide you with exciting options that will be sure to please. What ever it is you seek, we are here to help.
And now, some of Brandon's new favorites!
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New Standout Reds
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| M. Chapoutier Bila-Haut
$14
This stand out wine from the Cotes du Roussillion is a new passion of ours on the excited rack. It's spicy and raw, but with loving attention to quality and balance. Absolutely no stem inclusion goes into the juice, providing you with loads of fruit quality, but not jammy fruit. It's bone dry with soft tannins and aromatic spices that start off the nose and go deep into the finish on the palate.
Comprised of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. A food wine all day long, we've found Bila Haut to be very enjoyable with grilled flank steak rolled with spinach and feta cheese, then topped with a Mediterranean relish of kalamata and green olives, fresh garlic, parsley, mint and shallots. Sided with fire roasted purple potatoes, it was universally good for all who partook. (It's also been known to be very good out of a paper cup during band practice.)
Dovetail Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon-Ashley's Vineyard
$68
An incredible Cab from Napa Valley. This is by far one of the best California Cabs we have come across in a long time. We were astonished when we saw the price was under $100, let alone only retailing at $68! What we love about this wine is its style. It doesn't hit you over the head, it's not huge. It's actually somewhat soft for a cab.
Michael Logan, the winemaker was inspired by a story of woodworking to come up with his name, is also infatuated with Pinot Noir - it's great as well. His love for grapes in general make his wines amazing. For this Cab, he prunes back his vines to only one cluster per shoot.
That's unheard of!
His love for this single vineyard Cabernet is evident in that it is lush and slightly more herbal than you would expect a cab from Napa to be. This wine displays aromas of black tea, berries and potting soil, while the palate carries the black tea and blackberry with a sturdy tannin structure and honest acidity. It can be enjoyed with an array of foods, from red meats to hearty vegetarian dishes,
but this wine is a stand alone all star.
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Two Friulanos to Ponder
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| A li'l history...
Friulano for many years was named Tokai Friulano in Italy's region of Friuli. This was so until recently the producers of the golden dessert wine Tokay in Hungary claimed it was too confusing for consumers to purchase the correct bottle.
The complaint was successful.
At the end of 2007, the world changed for Tokai Friulano. The actual varietal is known as Sauvignon Vert. Also, on a complete side note, Sauvignon Vert was mistakenly planted in Chile for decades as Sauvignon Blanc until the 1980's. Pretty cool, huh?
Di Lenardo "TOH!" Friulano-Friuli, Italy
$17
We love the fact that after the name change, the winery started to call this wine TOH! as a slight slap-in-the-face to the wine industry over the confusion. Renegade politics aside, this is really wonderful wine. Fleshy and full bodied with citrus tones and astonishing minerality, the aromas are mostly muted, with almonds and slight, but pleasant leafy greens. The palate is wet with a dry finish causing the minerality and citrus tones really shine. The low acidity is what makes this wine fantastically unique. A dream wine for paella....really, it's scary how good the combo is.
Borgo "M" Friulano-Friuli, Italy
$17.25
This  presents much more stylistically traditional Friulano, with present acidity on the palate and more balance of green and citrus notes. Now, understand when we say "green notes", we don't mean vegetal or unripened flavors. In a Friulano, it happens to be a very grand thing. It isn't easily describable, but the flavor is almost grassy and leafy. It counterbalances spice and rich flavors incredibly well, without being sweet. Aromas of white flowers and peach skins also set up the citrus structure to follow. Olive oil based pasta dishes with loads of fresh veggies, seafood and grated hard cheeses go very nicely with this wine.
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The Staff @ Art of the Table
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