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Idlewild The Bee Flora and Fauna White Wine 2017Proprietor Sam Bilbro has spent virtually a lifetime around wine. His family owns Marietta, while brothers Jake and Scot are behind the reborn Limerick Lane. At Idlewild, Sam Bilbro focuses on Italian and other less well-known varieties. In addition to these wines, I also tasted the, Arneis Fox Hill Vineyard, Vin Gris Dry Creek Valley and Grenache Gris Gibson Ranch. The best wines in this range are compelling, and point to a bright future. ANTONIO GALLONI, www.vinousmedia.com
Having had a relationship with the Bilbro family as importers of the Marietta wines some years ago we were delighted to find youngest son, Sam, was behind this new venture, Idlewild. In many ways the wines are the anitpathy of what so many believe Californian wines are supposed to be. Hunting out heritage stands of Italian and Rhone varietals (mostly in Mendocino County) Bilbro makes extremely interesting wines characterised by texture, savouriness and subtlety. Skin contact is a part of the wines as is a relatively non-interventionist approach; both indicative of the preferences of the younger brigade of Calfornia producers. PWS
The 2017 White The Bee Flora & Fauna, is a classy, polished wine to drink now and over the next few years. Green pear, mint, white flowers and light tropical overtones all grace this very pretty, expressive wine. The Muscat in particular adds an attractive aromatic flair. ANTONIO GALLONI2017Arneis, Cortese, MuscatUSA362$63.00 As low as $56.70 -
Petit Pittacum Mencia 2022We have been enamoured with the mencia based wines of Spaces northwest since first we tried them. Their beautiful lifted nose spiked with mineral accents that flowed onto graceful pallets raked with fine granit like tannins an earthy savouryness at the edges. They are something akin to cru Beaujolias crossed with the finest reds of the loire and we just cant get enough.
Bodegas Pittacum is owned by the Terras Gauda operation and is situated in Argaza in the heart of Bierzo and made from grape sourced from small plots of organically grown 90 year old vines grown in clay soils on steep slopes.
Glace fruits with crème de mure and raspberry coulis flecked with granitic mineral shards. Mid weight styling come from slippery red fruits and a gentle burst of freshness that comes not from acidity but from a deep mineral vein soaked up from the long roots and rocky slopes. Its like a bowl of mixed berry smashed onto rock and is absolutely delightful. If you have not had the wines of the region or mencia this is a belter of an introduction.
2021menciaSpain355$30.00 As low as $27.00 -
Cesar Marquez Parajes del Bierzo Mencia 2021The super affordable 2021 Parajes really overdelivers in this cool year. It was produced with grapes from up to 45 different plots in nine villages, trying to capture the essence of Bierzo. This regional red mixes soils and altitudes, mostly very old plots and therefore planted with a field blend with a majority of Mencía but also around 10% Alicante Bouschet and 5% whites or other reds like Bastardo, Souson or Estaladiña. It fermented by plot in stainless steel and plastic bins with some full clusters, indigenous yeasts and variable macerations, ranging between 15 and 60 days. Seventy-five percent of the volume matured in 225-, 400- and 500-liter barrels and the rest in a 5,000-liter oak foudre. It's aromatic, floral, perfumed and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It is round and juicy, with very fine tannins and depth and complexity, corresponding to a much more expensive wine. A bargain. He harvested quite early in 2021, and the wines have moderate alcohol. 29,504 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2022. LUIS GUITIERREZ, Wine Advocate
2021menciaSpain355$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Massimo 2022Comprising of almost all Mencía with just a dash of Tempranillo and Sousón, this expressive, light bodied wine captures the very essence of Ribeira Sacra, grown on slopes above the River Sil so vertiginous they can only be worked by hand. Flavours of blueberries, blackcurrants, and herbs with fresh, lifted acidity. BARRICA WINES
2022mencia, tempranilloSpain471$43.00 As low as $38.70 -
Envinate Lousas Vinas de Aldea Mencia 2022The bottled 2022 Lousas Viñas de Aldea is aromatic, extroverted, open and immediate, floral, perfumed and expressive, with a juicy and round palate. It's fleshy and round, still with 12.5% alcohol on the label but possibly a tad riper than the 2023 sample I tasted next to it. It's a very approachable vintage for this cuvée. 25,200 bottles and 360 magnums produced. It was bottled in November 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate
There are some incredible things happening in Spanish wine right now and one of the producers at the heart of this revolution are Envinate. A project between four winemakers who met studying oenology in Alicante in the mid two thousands bonded around a shared ideology and desire to explore and express the underappreciated terroirs of Western Spain. Envinate has since risen to become one of the icons of 'New Spain' a movement which is has reached a crescendo in recent years as young producers strive to craft wines that showcase a patchwork of Spanish terroirs, using indidgenous grapes farmed fastidiously and rendered into wines without artifice.2022menciaSpain471$54.00 As low as $48.60 -
Cesar Marquez Parajes del Bierzo 2022César Márquez Parajes is a coupage of the most prestigious and unique Bierzo plots. Old vines grown as they used to be, without using pesticides or chemicals that can damage the natural balance of the terroir. Each of the plots is worked separately according to their needs and the harvest is carried out manually.
In the winery, 50% of the grapes used to make César Márquez Parajes are destemmed. Then they are pressed in the old-fashioned way, with feet, so that some of them stay whole during fermentation. Fermentation is spontaneous with the grape’s native yeasts. Once the must becomes wine, it is pressed and placed into 225 and 500 litre barrels separately. After 12 months the barrels are emptied and the different wines are combined.
César Márquez Parajes remains true to its roots. A wine that overflows with natural elegance as a result of the quality of the raw material and the expertise of the makers. Freshness with enveloping smoothness. DECANTER
2022menciaSpain355$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Algueira Mencia Ribeira Sacra Risco 2019Merenzao is the same variety as Trousseau (and Bastardo in Portugal) and was probably brought to Ribeira Sacra by the Cistercian monks who set up camp here in the Middle Ages. Algueira’s Merenzao vines have an average age of 80 years and are rooted in a steep slope of gneiss, quartz and slate in the Amandi Gorge. The fruit sees a wild yeast, 100% whole-bunch ferment, is pressed by foot and aged for 12 months in old oak and some local chestnut vessels.
The result is an extraordinary, unique wine with a complex perfume of finely detailed fruit characters that recalls wild cherry steeped with blood orange, rose and a tincture of wild herb. There’s more colour and muscular density from the solar year, yet it remains super lucid and tender and finishes long, leaving behind a lick of elegant tannin and a perfume of sweet red berries and smoky minerals. This is one tasty Bastardo!
2021menciaSpain355$125.00 As low as $112.50