Holiday Pack Tasting Notes

Domaine Rietsch Crémant d'Alsace Extra Brut

Tasting Notes

Austere, cerebral, buoyant and mineral driven. Apple skins, lemon, and vanilla.

Good to Know

GrapeAuxxerois, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris

RegionAlsace, France

WineryDomaine Rietsch

SoilClay-limestone

Vintage2018/2019 (with 2020 juice added)

FermentationChampagne Method, a.k.a. Traditional Method

Winemaker Profile

"Grassing, surface tillage and planting of green fertilizers are the centerpieces of our cultural conduct. They allow the native flora and fauna to create a balanced environment and promote the expression of the terroir."

Converted to organic farming in 2008, Domaine Rietsch has been producing wine since the 1970's and has familial roots in the Mittelbergheim region since the 17th century. Over the last decade, Domaine Rietsch has become particularly committed to producing "natural" wines by way of winemaker Jean Pierre Rietsch - an approach to winemaking which they describe as "respectful as possible to the vines and the earth."

Fossil and Fawn Chardonnay

Tasting Notes

Bazooka bubble gum wrappers, gravel driveways, and beautiful stone fruit.

Good to Know

GrapeChardonnay

RegionWillamette Valley, Oregon

WineryFossil and Fawn

SoilFine glacial loess and marine sedimentary loams

Vintage2021

FermentationSpontaneous

Winemaker Profile

"We aren't too interested in bold manifestos or style declarations - our goal is to make wines that we like."

What started out as a single-site bottling for their family vineyard to serve as a sales pitch for potential grape buyers, Fossil and Fawn became a full blown wine label in 2013. Jim Fischer and Jenny Mosbacher focus on making wines they like using a low intervention approach to winemaking that, put simply, let's the vineyard "do the talking."

Monticelli Bianco

Tasting Notes

Pecorino rind, overripe pineapple, orange pith, cedar, bitter nut, cherry tomato acidity, grandma’s pie, hay, structured tannins.

Good to Know

GrapeGarganega and Trebbiano di Soave

RegionVerona, Italy

WineryIl Roccolo di Monticelli

SoilCalcereous

Vintage2020

FermentationSpontaneous

Winemaker Profile

"This production method requires a great understanding of the rhythms of nature, whose extraordinary beauty is revealed. Therefore, the relationship man - territory - wine acquires great importance."

Born out of the restoration of an old family vineyard, Silvia Monticelli seeks to pay tribute to the land and its biodiversity, making wines which are meant to be authentic expressions of the soil from which they are grown.

Hannes & Claudiu Rosa

Tasting Notes

Fucking good. Poppy and effervescent. Raspberry, watermelon, fruit punch and slate.

Good to Know

GrapeGrauburgunder, Muller Thurgau, Portugieser, and Dornfelder

RegionPfalz, Germany

WineryMonticelli Bianco

SoilLimestone and red sandstone

Vintage2021

FermentationCo-ferment of two white and two red varietals, maceration and semi-carbonic.

Winemaker Profile

Hannes and Claudiu are a true dynamic duo who give an extraordinary sense of vitality and perspective to their occupation, creating some of the most animated and beautiful wines we've tasted. Based in the Southern edge of the Pfalz and close to the Alsatian border, they farm and cultivate wine which has been in Hannes' family for over two generations.

La Vinoterie Red Red Wine

Tasting Notes

Bright and beautiful, but asking to be chilled. Bits of blackberry, old furniture, cigar and herbs.

Good to Know

GrapeCabernet Franc, Grolleau, Chenin Blanc

RegionL’Anjou Noir, France

WineryLa Vinoterie

SoilSchist, slate, spilite, and other dark rocks

Vintage2020

FermentationWhole cluster maceration

Winemaker Profile

With the formation of his solo label, La Vinoterie, in 2017, Jean-Marie Brousset has since pushed the boundaries of conventional winemaking, deploying unusual techniques and grape blends to masterful effect, creating wines which are both systematic in their approach to quality and stirring in their essence.

La Syrah de La Pinède

Tasting Notes

Beautiful dark fruit gives way to velvet dreams of pine trees and baking spices.

Good to Know

GrapeSyrah

RegionCorbières, France

WineryDomaine Fond Cyprès

SoilBlue marl

Vintage2020

FermentationSpontaneous

Winemaker Profile

Founded in the early 2000's by couple Laetitia Ourliac and Rodolphe Gianesini, the wines of Fond Cyprès are a thoughtful reflection of the regional aesthetic, and in their words "highlight the concentrated expression of a grape variety attached to its plot." The wines of Fond Cyprès are soulful expressions that beautifully exemplify the magic of natural winemaking.