We hope you can join us on Thursday May 26th as we welcome MFW Wine Company for our latest in-store tasting. Between 6pm and 8pm (though we often go a little later) we will be pouring three delicious and unique offerings from the MFW portfolio: a crisp biodynamic rose from Beaujolais, a bargain of a red blend from Italy, and a unique, textural Portuguese white that really impressed us. Each is also a brand-new arrival into the store - which will make this week's tasting especially informative. Pop in, say hello, and check out these tasty offerings!
Bernard Vallette - La Rose Gorge VDF 2021
100% Gamay from Beaujolais VDF. Crisp, refreshing, and easy-to-drink, what else do you need in the summer? From a 6.5 hectare Demeter certified Biodynamic estate.
From the deep south of Beaujolais in the village of Lachassagne, where the soils are clay and limestone as opposed to granite, Bernard Vallette is biodynamically farming 6.5ha of land passed down through his family from his grandparents. The grapes are all hand harvested and fermented with native yeasts using carbonic maceration and a comparatively lengthy aging in stainless steel. The resulting wines are charming and immensely drinkable in their youth, but also develop nicely with a few years of age. No additions in the cellar (including sugar) and just a touch of SO2 at bottling.
Isola del Satiro - Terre Siciliane Rosso 2020
A crowd pleasing, organic blend of Nero d'Avola (70%) and Perricone (30%). Juicy with red and dark berries, hints of spice, great balance, and just enough structure to be a very versatile food pairing.
"On March 4, 1998 in the nets of the same fishing boat that had one year previous pulled in the bronze left leg, was recovered the full torso of a seven foot dancing satyr from the sandy sea floor at 1600 foot depth. The small fishing village where the bronze torso that dates back the Hellenistic period was discovered not far from the Spano family’s vineyards and thus makes for the inspiration behind “Isola de Satiro” (Island of the Satyr)."
Quinta do Montalto - Nao Condenado Vinho Branco 2020
Name translates to "Un condemned" Sourced from Luís de Sousa’s 150 year-old “backyard” vineyard (predominantly Fernão Pires). Honeyed, dried apricot, slightly vegetal, ginger, rose petals - a textural and unique skin contact wine you have to try. Vinified in stainless steel without temperature control, bottled unfiltered after 4 months in tank.
Quinta do Montalto not only dates back to the year 1880 (five generations) but is one of very few wineries that makes a beautiful local wine from the 1100s in the same traditional way it has always been made. In general, their wines are labeled Vinho Regional Lisboa, because they are in farthest-north area of Lisboa (previously Estremadura), between the villages of Ourém and the famed Fátima (where the Blessed Virgin Mary was said to appear to three children in 1917). Montalto is perched in the middle of 50 hectares of certified organic land, and just 15 hectares are vineyards--the rest is dedicated to fruit, gardens, and forest. All of their native varieties are beautifully illustrative of the grapes and area, as they use native yeasts for the fermentation of their Medieval and red wines, very neutral oak, and light filtering methods. Montalto wines are pure, expressive, an incredible value, and a wonderful representation of what the region is known for.