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white wine
Italy’s great white hopes
2009 Vietti Roero Arneis (Piedmont)
Before our grand tasting we alerted you that Vietti’s fresh 2009 Arneis ($19.99) would be on hand and it was a crowd pleaser indeed. It was the top selling white wine of the day thanks to its clean crisp essence of pear and almonds.
If whites were in the minority, they were not short on quality, for far more than fridge quaffers.
The 2008 Alois Lageder Riff pinot grigio showed p.g. at its crisp northeastern best, full and aromatic, only $9.99 which should shame plonck producers on both sides of the ocean.
For pinot bianco, a dear favorite of mine. The 2007 St. Michael-Eppan Schulthauser had full body and Germanic complexity, crisp minerality, great aroma of peach and flowers, with earthy fruitiness of apricot. Rich for $15.99
Best deal of whites from Planet V, the 2009 Marchetti Verdicchio for Castelli di Jesi in the Marches, crisp, fun and more character than you ever found in a fish bottle ($12.99).
2009 Shaya (Rueda, Spain)
2009 Bodegas Shaya Shaya (Rueda) $13.99
“My favorite month is here (my name was no coincidence), and to celebrate I plan on eating lots of fresh seafood. After all I live in Florida right? Its time for a white wine and Verdejo has been calling my name. Shaya is a new project from the dynamic duo of Juan Gil and Jorge Ordonez. It is absolutely delicious. Besides the obvious hints of melon and apple, it reminded me of the Jamaican Grapefruit that I ate on vacation this May. If you’ve never tried one, it tastes like a heavenly mix of a orange, kiwi and grapefruit, similar to the flavors I picked up in the Shaya Verdejo. Shaya is refreshing, crisp and dry and a perfect match to ceviche!”
90 Points, Summer Martin
Staff Selection, June 2010
Also: 91 Points, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
2009 Kung Fu Girl Riesling (Columbia Valley, Washington St.)
2009 Kung Fu Girl Riesling Evergreen Vineyard $11.99
“Kung Fu Girl Riesling. Laugh not, grasshopper. Inside the bottle is an orchard where all the fruit is ripe now. Taste of the peach, the mango and the lime. Splash in the bubbling brook. Only then will you know pure riesling and find the path to the valley of Columbia. And bliss.”
93 Points, Chris Sherman
Staff Selection, June 2010
Kudos to Rhett. He knows his wines.
2008 Mas Carlot Clairette ($9.99)
I have to give kudos to my associate Rhett Beiletti who has recently turned me on to a couple of great wines that I had not previously heard of. He continually finds great wines that are sometimes obscure yet always satisfying. The 2008 Mas Carlot from 100% Clairette grown in southern France is as fine a white wine as you will ever find for $10. It’s beautifully aromatic with mineral and citrus elements that ebb and flow. On the palate it is persistent, refreshing and delicious. Also check out Domaine d’Oupia’s 2007 Minervois. It is rich and full but also exhibits complexity and interest rarely found for the price. In fact I tell everyone it’s the best value red in B-21.
- Steve