This Week's Tasting
Light, Lite, Lit - Lighter Summery Values
August 10, 2022
Lighter summer wines this week. Don't be put off by the low prices of many. Their concentration, intensity, and character punch above their light weight class.
 | Federal WineLine Wednesday, August 10, 5 - 6:30 Light, Lite, Lit - Great Summer Values
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Lighter summer wines this week. Don't be put off by the low prices of many. Their concentration, intensity, and character punch above their light weight class.
Think all inexpensive New Zealand sauvignon blanc is raw and grassy? You haven't met the 2020 Wildsong. Its vineyard is in milder Hawkes Bay, not in colder windswept Marlborough, the source of most bulk versions. The wine is also easier on the palate, smooth and composed, but not lacking in Sauvignon's assertive mint.
Dr. Kontantin Frank, the Finger Lakes iconic winery, thinks outside the box. They named (and underpriced) their clean, crisp, unoaked chardonnay Salmon Run, even though, to the best of my knowledge, salmon have never run, waked or swum in Lake Cayuga. More daring, they decided to marry the two most iconic white wine grapes together in a wine. No Montague and Capulet wedding this; the Salmon Run Chardonnay melds two opposites well, the dry, creamy notes of green apple alternating with the assertive acidity of Finger Lakes Riesling. It zings, and they underpriced it again (please don't tell them I said that.)
Someone thought the Lafage Cotes de Roussillon Centenaire Blanc was like a white burgundy at a lower price. I must differ. Although it has the body and structure of good white burgundy, it comes from warmer Roussillon in the French south. It shows the apple crispness of its Grenache Blanc and the evocative aromatics of the rarer Grenache Gris. Hundred-year-old vines give it its name and a concentration well above its price point.
People have been asking us Vinho Verde this summer. We've come up with one in spades. Unlike the light, thin versions of the wine, the 2021 Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho Contacto Vinho Verde; is an intense version with a minerality and intensity of the grape called Albarino, hut across the border in Spain's Rias Baixas. It, like some of the other wines this week, is less expensive than its Spanish neighbor's version.
Many people ordered the Terre Nere Rosato when Peter offered it last week, but we were able to get a little more. Rosato from Terre Nere that Peter described last week, but we were able to get a little more.
For barbecue, the 2020 Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero Finca Resalso shows tempranillo character in a full, fleshed, almost lush rendition. Its black fruit is delicious, with just the right structural underpinning.
White
2020 Wildsong Sauvignon Blanc; Aroma: lightly grassy, clean pretty, fresh, lemony clean; Mouth: clean, fresh, slightly minty, sweet fruit, clean light fresh, lemony fresh, light and refreshing, citrus finish, good length; Very Good 13.99; Case, 11.99
2020 Dr. Konstantin Frank Chardonnay- Riesling Salmon Run; Aroma: on first note Chardonnay, the next Riesling; Mouth: juicy and lively bright acid edged, but full in the mouth; Very Good 14.99; Case, 12.99
2021 Lafage Cotes de Roussillon Centenaire Blanc; Mouth: juicy and bright,t clean, firm, clean, and racy fine acid good length; Very Good Plus 18.99; Case, 15.99
2021 Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho Contacto Vinho Verde; Aroma: soft and generously fruity, a touch of lime and flint; Mouth: thickish bright acid, zesty, fine, nicely fleshed, intense lime; Very Good Plus 23.99; Case 20.99
Rose
2021 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Rosato: Bright pink. Freshness and complexity with plum and flowers accented with spice. The net effect is luminosity with refined joy. Very Good-Excellent 23.99 Case 20.99
Red
2020 Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero Finca Resalso; Color: very dark; Mouth: juicy bright, intense, nicely fruity, bright acid, intense, fruity, and forward; Very Good Plus 19.99; Case, 16.99
8-10 Light Lite Lit Case $199
Mix any twelve bottles or more at their case discount prices
Order by phone at 617.367.8605, or reserve here: order@federalwine.com
Please pass this on to any friends who are wine enthusiasts!
- Len Rothenberg
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