Linaria Tempranillo-Garnacha 2021
Here’s a simple, tasty red for weeknight burgers or take-out, full of cherry pie flavors and a sweetness that rounds out the palate without becoming cloying. Appealing herbal notes of tarragon and rosemary emerge after the wine has a chance to stretch. Alcohol by volume: 13 percent. Bottle weight: 420 grams (Light).
Imported by Artisans & Vines. Distributed locally by Artisans & Vines and LK Wine Tours & Sales.
Churchill’s Estates Grafite Branco 2021
Portugal’s Douro Valley is of course best known for port, and in the last 30 years or so for sturdy red table wines. The Douro’s white wines are a sleeper category that should feature prominently in any discussion of “minerality” as a wine characteristic. The Churchill’s Grafite Branco is at once delicate but not shy, fruity yet stony and focused, and vibrant with an energy that carries it through a long finish. And like many well-made wines, it defies the myth that wine begins to die when the cork is pulled. As I update this tasting note, I am enjoying the last few sips of the bottle that has been sitting under my desk at room temperature under a vacuum pump stopper for weeks and the wine is still delicious. The grapes are rabigato and viosinho, two native Portuguese varieties that to my knowledge have not yet become en vogue in the United States. ABV: 12 percent. BW: 420 grams (Light).
Imported and distributed locally by Elite Wines.
Cordant is a Paso Robles-based winery specializing in wines from California’s Central Coast. This wine is not cheap, and it is available only from the winery. But it’s one of the best Rhone-style white wines from the United States that I have tasted, and worth seeking out. Rhone-style whites are typically based on roussanne and marsanne, sometimes with viognier, and they are often flabby and dull, with the sensation of drinking melted candle wax. The Resolution from Cordant is grenache blanc (trendy now in California), viognier, roussanne and picpoul blanc (becoming more trendy by the year). The grenache blanc and picpoul lend acidity and energy to the wine, while the roussanne and viognier contribute honeysuckle and jasmine aromas with just enough leesy waxy lanolin for texture. This wine showed me something new with every sip, and it kept developing over several days in the bottle. Bravo. The winery is moving to lighter bottles, as in its fine pinot noir and chardonnay from Santa Barbara County — Bravo for that, too. ABV: 14.4 percent. BW: 700 grams (Heavy).
Available from the winery.
Prices are approximate. For availability, check Wine.com, Wine-searcher.com and the websites and social media feeds of the wineries, importers or distributors. You can also ask your local retailer to order wines from the distributors listed.
