June Wine Club Selections

June's Wine Club Selections: Brought to you by The Rose

DOMESTIC:

Quivera 2013 Sauvignon Blanc

This 100% Sauvignon Blanc is composed of various pickings from lots located within the 32 square mile Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. The grapes are picked in different stages of ripeness to create a final product which expresses all the nuances of Sauvignon Blanc. All grapes are organic or biodynamic and are partially sourced from estate fruit. Lightly crushed and fermented with native and commercial yeasts for three to eight weeks, this wine is then aged on the lees in neutral oak and stainless steel. This lovely summer wine carries the characteristic grapefruit and grass of sauvignon on the nose and goes down with the right balance of melons, elderberry, body and acidity. Serve it on ice with a citrus and fennel salad this summer.

Beckmen Vineyards 2012 Cuvee le Bec

This Rhone Blend (43% Grenache, 34% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 8% Counoise) is made of biodynamically farmed estate fruit from a 356 acre hillside plot overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley. This wine is tobacco, white pepper and sweet spice on the nose. On the palette it has a juicy attack while the ranch's rich concentration of limestone soil and Ballard Canyon's cool, maritime microclimate makes for a wine with balanced minerality. Pop this bad boy open the next time you throw steaks on the bbq. No one will be mad about it.

INTERNATIONAL:

André and Michel Quenard 2014 Vin de Savoie Les Abymes

This 100% Jacquère comes from the Alpine town of Abymes in Savoy. The AOC of Savoy (located on the border of France and Switzerland) contains two Cru designations, Abymes and Apremont (Morbid piece of trivia: both towns were respectively named "ruin" and "bitter mountain" after a landslide burried 1,000 - 5,000 people in 1248 -- the land was left untouched for a few hundred years until grapes were planted). In the glass, this wine gleaned from 50 year old grapes planted in marl and limestone soil is full of savory herbs and apple. Balanced acidity and minerality make it perfect for some fatty charcuterie and nutty cheeses.

La Basia 2012 La Botte Piena

This 80% Gropello, 10% Barbera, 5% Sangiovese and 5% Marzemino is from the DOC of Valtènesi in Lombardy between Verona and Milan. The Domaine of La Basia was founded by the late Elena Parona, a dedicated agronomist, who created a fertile ranch producing not only wine grapes, but olive oil, honey, corn for polenta, flour and more. Her son, Giacomo, now runs the winemaking program and made this blend featuring the native grapes Gropello and Marzemino using only stainless steel. The resulting wine is a light-bodied red low in tannins and loaded with bright juicy cherry flavors. FYI: The name "La Botte Piena" comes from the Italian saying "Vuole la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca" -- the general sentiment of which loosely translates to "You can't have your cake and eat it too." However, one of us here at The Rose double majored in Italian and Gender Studies and she can tell you that it literally means: "He wants the full barrel AND the drunk wife." We see you, Italy. We see you... (The Rose recommends drinking this wine with your drunk wife over a Napolitano style pizza. Maybe one with Speck on it ;)