September Wine Club
WINES
2020 Tenuta San Marzano, ‘Edda’ Bianco, Salento IGP, Italy
2008 Château Gaby, Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, France
2018 Tenuta di Biserno, ‘Il Pino’, Toscana IGT, Italy
2020 TENUTA SAN MARZANO
’Edda’ Bianco, Salento IGP, Puglia, Italy
Chardonnay (60%) - Fiano (20%) - Wild Muscatel (20%)
Located around the Salento area in Puglia on the heel of Italy’s boot, Tenuta San Marzano produces fantastic wines from a range of grapes including both international and native Italian varietals. The ‘Edda’ Bianco is one of the most surprising and delightful Chardonnay-based wines to hit my tongue in the last two years. Bright, crisp, and full of surprising mineralogy, this wine is a very interesting and unique take on Chardonnay. The blending of local grapes like Fiano and Wild Muscatel help to provide the wildness and acidity that makes this wine such a special surprise. Four months aging in French oak and on the lees (the dead yeast cells leftover after the fermentation), the wine boasts a full-bodied mouthfeel and feels like a ripe melon in your mouth. Aromas of peaches, lemon, and dried apricots dance with light floral notes, ultimately mixing with soft and sweet spices and an expressive acidity. This sun-baked region of Southern Italy may not be known for Chardonnay, and while this is not a ‘classic’ Chardonnay in the Burgundian sense, it is a truly delightful sensory experience! It’s a favorite.
Serve chilled, around 50ºF
Drink: 2022-2025
Food pairings: Fish, roast chicken, cheese, complex salads or drink alone.
Puglia / Salento IGP
Salento is the larger area within Puglia that essentially makes up the entire heel of the boot of Italy. It is noted for its intense limestone soils and warm, sun-drenched mediterranean climate that give the regions wines incredible ripeness and mineralogy. As an IGP wine (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) and not a DOC/DOCG wine, producers are able to create wines from a wine range of grapes and in any number of styles from white and red to rosé or sparkling.
2008 CHÂTEAU GABY
Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, France
Merlot (80%) - Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) - Cabernet Franc (10%)
Canon-Fronsac is part of the famed Right-Bank in Bordeaux, near the communes of Pomerol and Saint-Émilion. While Left Bank Bordeaux wines are known for their powerful and graphite-laded Cabernet Sauvignon based blends, the Right Bank is the home of some of the world’s finest Merlot and Cabernet Franc-based wines in the world. Château Gaby has long been a leading property in the region, making wines since the 1600s. The winemaking and growing is all organic and the Merlot thrives on the clay-rich soil of the region. 2008 was an under-the-radar vintage for wines from Bordeaux squeezed in between the historic vintages of 2005 and 2009. The sunny and dry summer without extreme temperatures led to ripe and happy grapes that produced wines of elegance and subtlety rather than intensity and power. There is still plenty to grab your attention in this wine, though! Classic velvet-like tannins from the Merlot are bolstered by the earthiness of the Cabernet Franc and the color and structure of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromas of plum, blackberry, black cherry, black pepper, and notes of wet earth make the wine almost ‘Burgundian’. The wine is in the midst of a great period in its evolution and should continue aging well over the next decade.
Open at 60º-65ºF and let the wine interact with some oxygen or decant.
Drink: now-2030
Food pairings: Pork chops, hamburgers, steak frites, duck. Can work with a fatty fish like salmon if sauced and seasoned appropriately. Avoid spicy food pairings.
2018 TENUTA DI BISERNO
’Il Pino’, Toscana IGT, Italy
Merlot (38%) - Cabernet Franc (27%) - Petit Verdot (23%) - Cabernet Sauvignon (12%)
The landscape of wine in Tuscany is no doubt dominated by Sangiovese. In the 1960s and 70s, a group of winemakers began to change that with the creation of the ‘Super Tuscans’. These were wines that utilized international varietals, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc to create Bordeaux-styled wines in the unique soils and microclimates of Tuscany. While many of the wines incorporated native Italian varietals (including Sangiovese), others were pure Bordeaux-style blends. Such is the case with the ‘Il Pino’ from Tenuta di Biserno. Within view of the Thyrrhenian Sea and the island of Corsica on the west coast of Tuscany, Tenuta di Biserno’s wines are full of ripeness, minerality, and an incredible amount of depth and complexity. The soils here are a mix of ancient sea beds, iron-rich clay, and a volcanic base layer. While temperatures can be quite warm to hot in the summer, the proximity to the sea and the constant breezes help to provide moderation and keep a good level of acidity in the grapes while allowing them to get fully ripe every year. These elements contribute to the uniqueness of the Bordeaux varietals when they come from this part of the world. A beautiful ruby color introduces this wine. Powerful aromas of plum, cedar, tobacco, pepper, cherries, blackcurrants, and a bouquet of herbs erupt from the glass. On the palate, the spices are very present with the earthiness of the Cabernet Franc making itself known as well. Give this wine time to open and it is a showstopper. A long finish leaves one thirsting for another sip.
Serve at 60º-65ºF. Decanting is possible but let this wine mature slowly. Perhaps open an hour or two before service and enjoy a sip as you wait for dinner, or just slowly work through the bottle over a period of time, letting it change with each fresh pour.
Drink: best after 2024-2032 but excellent now with some time.
Food pairings: Rich and fatty meats on the grill, herb crusts, smoked and cured meat as well. This wine begs for food along with it.
