Lexington:
Bora Tier
Honoro Vera Merlot
You'll find sweet cherry, dark chocolate, a touch of mint, and vanilla on your first impression, but as the wine opens up, the cherry and mocha truly sing. The lively fruit is complemented with soft velvety tannins and silky mouthfeel. This gives you that warm, bedroom feeling providing the perfect setting for this coming Valentine's Day.
Lauren Eylise - The Most
Six Hats Chenin Blanc
This pale yellow gem of a wine has pineapple and ripe peach aromas on the nose and a lightly spiced core. Its refreshing acidity makes for fun and a long finish. Treat this as your ode to summer when you're needing that extra dose of sunshine.
Ben Abraham - Satellite (Walk + Sing)
Baron de Ley Tempranillo Rioja DOCa
Stewed red fruits, sweet spices, savory herbs, and a balsamic background are well balanced with the plush texture. Well-integrated tannins and gentle acidity keeps this wine balanced and fresh. The perfect wine to sit and cozy up to with a warm blanket and a crackling fire.
Sam Smith - Too Good At Goodbyes
Le Mistral Tier
Trefethen Riesling
Floral aromas of orange blossom and jasmine are complemented by fresh notes of green apple and grapefruit. This bright, yet luscious wine evolves on the palate with flavors of nectarine, white peach, and Honeycrisp apple. The beautiful acidity and minerality provide an invigorating finish. A fun wine to enjoy any time with or without food, dancing alone or chatting with friends.
The Lumineers - The Ballad Of Cleopatra
Domaine Rimbert Cousin Oscar
Grape Varieties : Cinsault, Pinot Noir. The grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and undergo a gentle maceration for only three days for light extraction. The wine is spontaneously fermented with natural indigenous yeasts, and then aged in tanks. It is lightly filtered and fined and then bottled the following spring with a minimal addition of sulfur for preservation. Grab that wine when you're in your feels and need that balance of soaking in it and also need that lift. It is a simultaneously pensive and fun wine.
Labrinth - Jealous
Trefethen Family Vineyards Dragon’s Tooth
Bold, dark fruit aromas of blackberry, plum, and boysenberry are complemented by notes of clove, nutmeg, and cedar. Generous on the palate, the lively acidity and youthful tannins add depth and energy leading to a long and concentrated finish. Feeling moody and sexy, and want that release of worshipping your partner, grab this wine and take them to church.
Hozier - Take Me To Church
Louisville:
Bora Tier
Konrad Hähn Riesling 2021 Qualitätswein, Mosel, Germany
This is a fun wine that was made in collaboration with one of our distributors, Cutting Edge. They have a wonderful relationship with the winemaker, Konrad Hähn, and subsequently have a label that is exclusive to them. Konrad Hähn's vineyards are on steep south-facing slopes in a warm micro-region of the Mosel valley. This allows the fruit to fully ripen and provide lovely depth to this Riesling.
This is a dry riesling with minimal traces of residual sugar. It has a beautiful bouquet of zesty apple, white grapefruit, pineapple, and white honeysuckle and subtle earthy mushroom. It has a nice medium finish and pairs wonderfully with a lively lunch with friends.
Food Pairing:
Kale and red leaf lettuce salad with Heyday Coconut Curry Chickpeas
Three Little Pigs Pork & Chicken Liver Pate with Truffles on crusty bread
Domaine Bibich CRNO Syrah 2019, Dalmatia, Croatia
This is a fun history lesson- Domaine Bibich vineyards are over 500 years old and in a rich wine growing portion of Croatia. After the Croatian Independence War in the1990s, most of the vineyards were destroyed, but Alen Bibic started fresh in a different area of his plot and worked to redevelop the highly respected brand it is now. The new sites have typically unpleasant growing conditions including high winds and infertile soils which actually is ideal for wine grapes.
Domaine Bibich practices organic farming and low intervention winemaking using spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts and leaving the finished wine unfined & unfiltered.
This is a fun expression of Syrah, giving lovely notes of blackberry, cracked pepper, and crisp graphite. Medium bodied with smooth tannins lends to a very drinkable wine for enjoying both with or without food! This is a fantastic wine to share with friends at a dinner party or as a sexy night in with your partner.
Food Pairing:
Sfoglini Reginetti Pasta in Christian Potier Morel Mushroom Wine Sauce
Hellenic Farms Fig Salami with Smoked Paprika and Aleppo Pepper
Evolúció Blaufrankisch 2018, Burgenland, Austria
Sustainable and low intervention farming is at the core of Evolúció's practices. This blaufrankisch has pronounced sun-dried raspberries and a pleasant baking spice funk that is oh so desired in a blaufrankisch. With its light body, bright acid, and funky tart fruits, this wine plays with your summertime desires while keeping you warm and satisfied for the last few weeks of winter.
Food Pairing:
Brins Cherry Chai Jam
Fine & Raw 70% Dark Chocolate with Alderwood Smoked Salt
Le Mistral Tier
Clot de les Soleres Chardonnay, Penedés, Piera, Spain
The Clot de les Soleres winery and vineyard practices ecological and biodynamic farming and winemaking in a very rich way. White grapes are planted at the highest vineyards to help with ventilation and the prevention of botrytis. They practice green pruning (pruning by hand) and do not plow the fields to create vegetation competition which helps with irrigation and allowing for beneficial fauna to graze. They use a method of sexual confusion which redistributes pheromones for the maintenance of unwanted insects rather than using pesticides. It's so interesting how the different vineyards and wineries use these biodynamic tactics to naturally maintain their product!
During vinification, racking is performed during the descending moon phase and is then aged on its fine lees in stainless steel for five months before bottling, which they do without fining or filtering or any additives.
You'll find this chardonnay has some traditional qualities like lemon, melon, and a bit of butter from the malolactic conversion. However, its more surprising characteristics include lychee & honey notes and a bit of residual sugar. The mouthfeel is creamy and full bodied with pleasant brightness and light effervescence. This is that perfect wine to go with your amuse bouche on the patio before dinner (as long as the weather cooperates)!
Food Pairing:
Lotsa Pasta Asiago Almond Spread
Patagonia Lemon Olive Spanish White Anchovies
Clai Ottocento Bijeli, Istria, Croatia 2016
This orange wine is wonderfully special for a few reasons. Ottocento Bijeli is a blend of [primarily] native Istrian Malvazija (Malvasia) which is macerated for two weeks in wooden barrels before Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio (which gives the pink hue) are added.
Clai practices organic and low intervention farming and winemaking with their focus on quality over quantity. They grow dense vineyards at a high elevation near the Adriatic Sea and green prune to low yield so all the nutrients are concentrated to the remaining fruit. During the vinification process, after they add the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio, the grapes are punched down at minimum three times a day so all the juice and skins are incorporated and the wine has the opportunity to develop the full potential of flavor and color. They allow indigenous yeasts and enzymes to ferment the wine and encourage natural malolactic conversion for softness. Wooden barrels are used for fermentation and the juice is aged in oak for a minimum of two years before bottling.
This wine is very special to the winemaker and the Clai family personally recommends Ottocento Bijeli be served at 55-60 degrees fahrenheit to truly experience the wine's full flavor and texture! Of course, you do you if that isn't your thing.
You'll taste lovely orange peel, lemon curd, honeysuckle, fresh tea leaf, salty-flinty mineral. The texture is very well rounded and supple, with a lasting finish.
Food Pairing:
Conservas de Cambados Clams from Galicia in Brine
Linguini Aglio E Olio using Graza Sizzle
La Bascule "Bottum'Up" Rouge 2020, Languedoc, France
This blend of Grenache and Mourvedre from the south of France is the brain-child of FiFi (négociant) and Domaine Léonine (winery). Fifi had a literal hand in harvesting the grapes and blending in the winery. During vinification, the juice underwent a short carbonic maceration period and then was aged in neutral oak barrels. Unfined, unfiltered, and no addition of sulfur.
You'll find dark red fruits with a small candied cherry quality (which comes from that carbonic maceration) but they transition to ripe cherries and raspberries on the palate along with rose, smoke, and bark in the background. Phenomenal wine to go with food or to drink by itself! Treat yourself with this one when friends are over- it's a lovely wine for social hour! (And serve it slightly chilled, maybe 50 degrees fahrenheit).
Food Pairing:
Louisville Vegan Jerky Shelby Park Honee BBQ
Torsken Blackcurrant and Raspberry Swedish Candy Fish
January's wine club artist is Sazi @sazi.k.t
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