Wine Club: Cheers to the New Year!
EM DRINKS WINE
Twenty-twenty three, a year of great wines, great food, and even better friends. When reflecting on the past year and setting my intentions for the year to come, one of my goals is to continue to learn more about wine and take you along on that journey. That is why for this month’s wine club we take a look at lesser known grape varieties and producers!
Saludos
Wine Club: 2 Bottles
Humus ‘Branco’ and ‘Tinto’ Lisbon Portugal • Arinto, Fernao Pires • Touriga Nacional, Castelão
This Humus set is an incredibly strong start to the wine club this year. Producer Rodrigo Filipe sends us wine from his family vineyard in Lisbon, Portugal. Firstly, the name. Humus is a word that refers to dark organic matter that is in soil. Having humus in your soils is an indicator of healthy, fertile soils. Before this name, the family estate was Encosta da Quinta, changing to Humus later for a short and sweet wine label.
Rodrigo Filipe’s grandfather acquired the land that Filipe now farms in 1960. Originally, Filipe’s grandfather would sell the wine that he made to bigger houses that would produce the wine in Lisbon and Porto. In 1988, Filipe’s father started to sell his own wine from grapes grown in an old village vineyard and also from the oldest vines of Filipe’s estate, planted in 1991. Rodrigo Filipe was studying to become an engineer and had no intention of becoming a winemaker, until his father asked him to help out in 1999 and he fell in love with producing wine. He has no formal wine training but as we will see when tasting these wines, that is of little significance with the marvelous expressions of these local grapes that Filipe has produced. In addition, Filipe farms organically, without any additives in any of his wines.
Humus Branco, upon first inspection, is radiantly golden in color. On the nose, there is a healthy bouquet of peach blossoms, a distinct green vegetal note, and dried rich earth, coming from the red clay and limestone soils of the vineyard. On the palate, this wine is much more soft and subtle. The complex nose tastes of a refreshing, light and bright white white with a great salinity and well balanced acidity. I get more fresh citrus fruit on the palate, like green apples and a bit of the peach blossoms from the nose. I could easily drink down a bottle of this wine without a second thought. I would pair this wine with just about anything due to its well-balanced and lighter nature but a great creamy seafood pasta, or bacalhau, a common dish in Portugal that is codfish that has been dried and salted. The grapes in this wine are Arinto and Fernao Pires. Arinto is a portuguese white grape variety that contributes to the higher levels of acidity and citrus fruit notes in this wine. Fernao Pires, also known as “Maria Gomes” in some parts of the country, increases the complexity of this wine with exotic fruit and full aromatic notes.
Humus Tinto, is a deep ruby red with purple hues. On the nose, it is deliciously leathery and again I get the rich earthy soil coming up from the glass. On the palate, this wine is very dry and the tannins are soft but structured. Just like the white, this wine is refreshing and very medium bodied. I would pair this wine with grilled and savory foods like beef or colorful peppers. The grapes in this wine are Touriga Nacional and Castelão. Touriga Nacional is considered to be one of the best grapes that comes from Portugal, with low yields making this grape even more coveted. This red grape variety is also a big part of the blend of grapes that is used to make Port, and after dinner fortified sweet wine. Castelão is another red grape variety that gives its wine nice structure and acidity.
Wine Club: 3-4 Bottles
Immich-Batterieberg ‘Detonation’ Mosel Germany • Riesling
Ahhh, Riesling! Such a divisive grape variety that acquired such an infamous reputation. At Cork, we have a wine tasting coming up called “Not your Granny’s Riesling” and this wine is our aperitif. Germany is one of my absolute favorite countries when it comes to winemaking due to its latitude, producing higher acid wines. Head winemaker Gernot Kollmann from Immich-Batterieberg family estate has been in charge of vinification and management of the winery since 2009. His goal? Create a spontaneously fermented, single-vineyard Riesling that is….DRY!
Riesling as a grape is so beautiful. Its expression can be that of high acidity and floral aromatics, and when dry, can be crisp, refreshing, and very easy to pair with food. Riesling Detonation is pale straw in color. On the nose there are notes of fresh spring flowers and honey that make me want to lay down in a field and fall asleep in the sunshine. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied with notes of candied honey, pear, and peach.
The Immich family is one of the oldest wine growing families on the Moselle river. Their history with winegrowing dates all the way back to 1425! The steep slopes of the vineyard allow for the vines to develop a rich resistance and quality nature. The name of the vineyard Batterieberg, references the Napoleonic Wars, at which time, the vineyard was a military battery. This is paid homage on the bottle of the wine with the cherubs shooting from a cannon.
Cantina Fongoli ‘Bicunsio’ Umbria Italy • Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Montepulciano
Lastly, and not remotely least, Cantina Fongoli ‘Bicunsio.’ This regal wine is sophisticated and amazingly produced. Biodynamically farmed in the Umbria region of Italy (right in the middle of the country), producers Decio Fongoli and Angelo Fongoli are 3rd and 4th generation winemakers. They honor the tradition set-forth in their family, even going as far as preserving artifacts and archives in the cellar of their property from the winemaking history on their estate.
The blend of grapes in this wine are Sangiovese, Sagrantino, and Montepulciano. Sagrantino is indigenous to the region of Umbria, even more specifically grown in Montefalco, and its expression grants dry, leathery, spiced plum and cranberry notes to wine.
With this bottle specifically, a minimum of 2 years in large Slavonian oak casks, aged between 5 and 70 years. A testimony to the fact that good things take time. Upon first inspection, this wine is a deep ruby red, with an intense nose. This wine is filled with spice, cherry and red fruit, as well as blackberry. There are also hints of herbaceousness and delicate floral traces. This wine would pair well with red meat mains and fatty mature cheeses.
