News from Vinestone Wine Company

FEATURE WINES

The following wines will be on feature and open for tasting for two weeks beginning August 6th.

Fresh fun summer sipping and a couple more French values!

Stone Paddock 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand $21.00 (down from $23.00!)

Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc is not as unapologetically intense as its Marlborough counterparts, offering more subtlety with passionfruit, pear and citrus flavours mingled with mineral aromas. Technically speaking, the original vinestock hails from Sancerre and Bordeaux, the two great French Sauvignon Blanc regions. Lower yields produce fruit with good balance between varietal herbaceous notes and ripe, tropical fruit flavours and 90% of the juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks with the remaining 10% barrel fermented in two-year-old French oak barriques. Left on the lees for two months to enhance weight and complexity, this mineral driven Sauvignon style reflects its French influence, with a slight bitterness on the finish. It's all about the oysters and goat's cheese salad with this one.

Mulderbosch

Mulderbosch 2008 Rose, Stellenbosch, South Africa $19.95

Some say summer is rose season. The legendary Mulderbosch estate in South Africa delivers a beautiful, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon version. A lively, bright and clear pomegranate colour with complex layers of strawberry, cherry, roses and fresh peaches on the nose, it has a spicy, slightly peppery flavour. To accomplish the delightful colour from an otherwise dark grape, the winemaker cold macerates the grapes for a short time, then lets the free-run juice off, giving a vibrant, yet translucent colour to the wine. Serve this bottle of fun well chilled and with summer salad, or fresh seared tuna steaks.

Domaine de Regusse 2007 Pinot Noir, Vin

de Pays des Alpes de Hautes Provence $20~ Regusse

I'm always on the look out for great value Pinot Noir, as it isn't easy to find. Domain de Regusse is the biggest wine growing estate of the Hautes-Alpes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence with 242ha of vineyards. With their ability to experiment more, the region turns out everything from classic Grenache based wines to more modern PInot Noir. The variety of micro-climates is spread over different soils and the Pinot Noir yields a ripe and fruity style with a full body and silky texture - not your typical French Pinot in style or price!

Camplazens 2007 Grenache
Vin de Pays d'Oc, France $20.00
We're going to have to call this the "all year 'round" wine, as last time we featured it I was flogging it for Thanksgiving turkey. It'll work great with heavier fare as well. Sourced just west of the Rhone, this 100% Grenache from close to La Clape in the Languedoc zone is soft in tannin, but has a full body and rich character with red berry fruit, dark earth, smoked meat, dill and wild herb aromas. "Camplazens" translates as "camp of pleasure". Need I say more?