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No. 48: August 2019

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No. 48: August 2019

The Wine Recommendations

Alba Viticultores
2017 Campeonisimo Ancestral

Where Sanlúcar, Andalucia, Spain
Grape Palomino Fino
Ag Organic
SO2 None added
Price$110
Fernando Angulo is part of the new wave revitalizing this Jerez triangle. Many of their wines come from purchased grapes but this comes from the home plot, palomino fino from the famed pago Miraflores. Made with Nuria Renom of Bar Brutal, it has 10 days of skin maceration in old Manzanilla bota (500 liters) then is bottled using the ancestral method and hand riddled for 7 months before disgorgement. A gentle bubble, but a strong wine. It raises the senses and preps for the next step with a little iron-like reduction and a splash of citrus. It’s a hell of a lot of money but worth it to further the cause. Imported by Selections de la Viña.

Béret et Compagnie
NV Oh! Nice!

Where Loire Valley, France
Grape Pineau d’Aunis
Ag Biodynamic
SO2 Minimal
Price$34
It says NV but it’s the 2010 vintage. This is another fabulous entry from Bruno Ciofi’s négoce project. It’s a brilliant sparkler from the cellars of Xavier Cailleau’s Domaine Bois-Brinçom. It’s a pineau d’aunis rosé, made in the ancestral style (think pet’nat) that was bottled to be a gentle bubble, in the style called crémant. The wine was aged on the lees for seven years and disgorged in 2018. No reduction, just a purity of spirit and taste. The clarity from acid makes me want to crown this the summer of 2019 fizz. Lots of life here, a touch of sweet fruit on the attack that immediately goes dry, the wine is lively and wholly digestible. Imported by Grand Cru Selections.
No. 48: August 2019 The Wine Recs