Tag: sparkling resolution

Ameztoi Hijo de Rubentis 2015 a Sparkling Txakoli for our November Toast

This month we're trying a new take on one of our favorite wines, Ameztoi Hijo de Rubentis 2015. We were checking out the wines at Formaggio South End when we spotted an odd looking bottle from Ameztoi – one of the best producers of our beloved Txakoli wines. We finally realized that the bottle was shaped and capped as a full sparkling wine.

We just happened to have a couple of bottles of the regular Rosé Txakoli on hand. We may just open both styles to experience the difference. (Links to some of our posts about other Basque wines are in related posts below.)

On closer examination of the label, we spotted the words "Méthod traditionnelle Champenoise." Most Txakoli wines are frizzante or a bit fizzy. This is enhanced by a high pour (we use a special Txakoli pourer ) to encourage the wine to foam. This one would call for our favorite Champagne stopper because it is a full-fledged sparkler.

Here's what we learned about this wine:

The importer says:

"Hijo de Rubentis means 'Son of Rubentis.' This sparkling rosé txakolina is sourced from the same vineyard as the Ameztoi Rubentis but the grapes were picked 10 days early to ensure a lower base alcohol. Secondary fermentation occurred in bottle.

Vinification Méthod traditionnelle. Aged on the lees for 14 months.

Tasting Notes Bright pink grapefruit color with fine and persistent bubbles. Floral aromas with notes of red fruit and raspberries on the nose. The wine is cheerful, fresh, elegant and persistent with a hint of red fruit.

Pairing Salmon, sushi, other seafood, delicate cream sauces and desserts.

Grapes 100% Hondarribi Beltza

Vine age 20 – 150+ years

Soil Sand and clay

Farming Lutte Raisonnée "

We purchased our bottle at Formaggio South End for ~$28.00

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

We look forward to raising a glass of this variation of an old favorite.

Related Posts:

Poured from On High, Txakoli Rose Is a Great Seaside or Seafood Wine

Basque Country Supper: Recreating Happy Memories

Txakolina Extends Summer Fun

Check Out Our Wine List for Thanksgiving & Holiday Gatherings!

Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast …

A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

Here Are All the Wines We've Covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

November 1, 2017
Ameztoi Hijo de Rubentis 2015 a Sparkling Txakoli for our November Toast

This month we're trying a new take on one of our favorite wines, Ameztoi Hijo de Rubentis 2015. We were checking out the wines at Formaggio South End when we spotted an odd looking bottle from Ameztoi – one of the best producers of our beloved Txakoli wines. We finally realized that the bottle was shaped and capped as a full sparkling wine.

We just happened to have a couple of bottles of the regular Rosé Txakoli on hand. We may just open both styles to experience the difference. (Links to some of our posts about other Basque wines are in related posts below.)

On closer examination of the label, we spotted the words "Méthod traditionnelle Champenoise." Most Txakoli wines are frizzante or a bit fizzy. This is enhanced by a high pour (we use a special Txakoli pourer ) to encourage the wine to foam. This one would call for our favorite Champagne stopper because it is a full-fledged sparkler.

Here's what we learned about this wine:

The importer says:

"Hijo de Rubentis means 'Son of Rubentis.' This sparkling rosé txakolina is sourced from the same vineyard as the Ameztoi Rubentis but the grapes were picked 10 days early to ensure a lower base alcohol. Secondary fermentation occurred in bottle.

Vinification Méthod traditionnelle. Aged on the lees for 14 months.

Tasting Notes Bright pink grapefruit color with fine and persistent bubbles. Floral aromas with notes of red fruit and raspberries on the nose. The wine is cheerful, fresh, elegant and persistent with a hint of red fruit.

Pairing Salmon, sushi, other seafood, delicate cream sauces and desserts.

Grapes 100% Hondarribi Beltza

Vine age 20 – 150+ years

Soil Sand and clay

Farming Lutte Raisonnée "

We purchased our bottle at Formaggio South End for ~$28.00

Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

We look forward to raising a glass of this variation of an old favorite.

Related Posts:

Poured from On High, Txakoli Rose Is a Great Seaside or Seafood Wine

Basque Country Supper: Recreating Happy Memories

Txakolina Extends Summer Fun

Check Out Our Wine List for Thanksgiving & Holiday Gatherings!

Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast …

A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

Here Are All the Wines We've Covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

November 1, 2017
September’s Toast with Champagne Robert Barbichon Blanc De Noirs

This month we are chilling a bottle of Robert Barbichon Blanc De Noirs. It's an organic, biodynamic, grower Champagne from a small producer. You may have noticed that we toast with a lot of wines similar to this one. Like many of you, there are flavor profiles, business philosophies, importers, and regional terroirs that we prefer over others. This wine checks a lot of boxes on our preference list.

Humboldt Importers describe this wine maker well, "Located in the Cote des Bar in the Aube region to the southeast of the Marne, the Barbichon family have been growing Champagne grapes for 4 generations. Today Robert Barbichon produces a range of elegant, stylish Champagnes with bright mineral-driven fruit and just a hint of toast."

And (here's the part we especially like) Humboldt Importers characterize the Blanc de Noirs Brut NV as, "Crafted of pure Pinot Noir, it exhibits a creamy nose filled with bright white fruit, chalk/mineral notes and a crisp, elegant finish. 100% Pinot Noir from the Cote des Bar."

One of the fun things about this bottle is that it's a "Transatlantic Bubbles Selection." This is a new import category to us. But reading about their love of sparkling wine and the places where their selections are served makes us open to other wines from their portfolio.

They say:

"Transatlantic Bubbles LLC. specializes in finding and importing grower-producer Champagnes that offer superior quality at a better cost to the customer. We are a trusted supplier in the growing niche market for recoltant-manipulant Champagne."

We're looking forward to raising our glasses to the extension of this lovely summer that we have declared, "… will not end until October 15th, at the earliest!"

We purchased our bottle of Champagne Robert Barbichon Blanc De Noirs Brut at City Liquors in Cambridge for ~ $45.

UPDATE: (09.02.17) We had such high hopes for this Champagne and, well … at the risk of stooping to a cliché, "It exceeded our highest expectations!" We chilled the wine to ~ 55ºF and began tasting while enjoying some thinly sliced pork loin, pepper-flavored boursin, Jasper Hill Moses Sleeper (cows milk cheese inspired by French Brie), figs, and local cherry tomatoes – why skimp?

This combination added to the enjoyment of the Barbichon Blanc De Noirs Brut which only improved as it warmed.

Penny was haunted by a flavor she was experiencing tasted in the fruit of this wine. Then she realized it was like the charred, caramelized pineapple served with our Jamaican jerk chicken wings plate at Little Donkey. I liked the wine's yeasty character and hints of chalk.

We both agreed that the full, rich, round, "elegant finish" remained throughout our meal. And, the best news, we saved some more of this lovely bottle of bubbles for today.

We are buying another bottle the next time we find this little gem!

Cheers!

Related Posts:

Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast …

A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books …

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino, Screengrab from Transatlantic Bubbles LLC

September 1, 2017
August Pops Open with Jo Landron Atmosphères Sparkling Wine from the Loire
We look at each new month as a gigantic bottle of sparkling wine just waiting to be uncorked!

And, since the label of our August bottle of bubbles from Jo Landron Atmosphères appears to feature a figure leaping with joy, as if launched from atop a just opened magnum, well … we couldn’t resist.

However coincidental all of the this may seem, our selection does remain true to our Sparkling Resolution of selecting a worthy wine to toast the arrival of a new month.

In 1990, when my father Pierre Landron retired, he told me, “Make quality, it will always pay off.” – Jo Landron

Jo Landron Atmosphères Sparkling Wine from the Loire is 80% Folle Blanche, 20% Pinot Noir has some tasty Tasting Notes to recommend it:
- The quintessence of freshness
- White peach combined with floral notes of jasmine
- Mineral notes driven by the ocean influence displaying saltiness
- Very refined bubbly and zesty finish.
(A Thomas Meunier Selection)
- distinctive minerality – vital and balanced
- perfectly acidic and rich in texture and beading
- fragrant notes of lemon zest and oil
- hints of red apple … strawberry
(Ooh, my favorite!)
- 100% Estate, biodynamically grown and hand harvested
- impressive depth and clarity
- racy citrus and fresh peachy fruit
- lots of rocky, earthy complexity
- deliciously bready texture
- crunchy fresh finish also makes it extremely food friendly
- label, designed by the unconventional French artist Michel Tolmer
Bibendum Wine Co.
- "The aromatics are … delicate, floral, with a white stone and white peach character …
- A very gentle palate
- some lightly honeyed fruit cast against a minerally background
- A very attractive wine, a delicately poised style, but with plenty of acid and grip to give it form."
Chris Kissack, winedoctor.com

Now you know why we can’t wait to try this highly praised wine!

And, as always, you’re invited to help us celebrate the arrival of a new month with all the hope and promise that it will be the very best ever! Here’s to August!

We purchased our bottle of Atmosphères Sparkling Wine at City Liquors in Cambridge for ~ $20.

And, Here’s More About:

Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino
August 1, 2017
August Pops Open with Jo Landron Atmosphères Sparkling Wine from the Loire
We look at each new month as a gigantic bottle of sparkling wine just waiting to be uncorked!

And, since the label of our August bottle of bubbles from Jo Landron Atmosphères appears to feature a figure leaping with joy, as if launched from atop a just opened magnum, well … we couldn’t resist.

However coincidental all of the this may seem, our selection does remain true to our Sparkling Resolution of selecting a worthy wine to toast the arrival of a new month.

In 1990, when my father Pierre Landron retired, he told me, “Make quality, it will always pay off.” – Jo Landron

Jo Landron Atmosphères Sparkling Wine from the Loire is 80% Folle Blanche, 20% Pinot Noir has some tasty Tasting Notes to recommend it:
- The quintessence of freshness
- White peach combined with floral notes of jasmine
- Mineral notes driven by the ocean influence displaying saltiness
- Very refined bubbly and zesty finish.
(A Thomas Meunier Selection)
- distinctive minerality – vital and balanced
- perfectly acidic and rich in texture and beading
- fragrant notes of lemon zest and oil
- hints of red apple … strawberry
(Ooh, my favorite!)
- 100% Estate, biodynamically grown and hand harvested
- impressive depth and clarity
- racy citrus and fresh peachy fruit
- lots of rocky, earthy complexity
- deliciously bready texture
- crunchy fresh finish also makes it extremely food friendly
- label, designed by the unconventional French artist Michel Tolmer
Bibendum Wine Co.
- "The aromatics are … delicate, floral, with a white stone and white peach character …
- A very gentle palate
- some lightly honeyed fruit cast against a minerally background
- A very attractive wine, a delicately poised style, but with plenty of acid and grip to give it form."
Chris Kissack, winedoctor.com

Now you know why we can’t wait to try this highly praised wine!

And, as always, you’re invited to help us celebrate the arrival of a new month with all the hope and promise that it will be the very best ever! Here’s to August!

We purchased our bottle of Atmosphères Sparkling Wine at City Liquors in Cambridge for ~ $20.

And, Here’s More About:

Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino
August 1, 2017
Spending Time with a Sparkling Old Friend This July – Argyle Vintage Brut

Well look who stopped by to help us ring in July – a sparkling old friend from Oregon who goes by the name of Argyle Vintage Brut 2013!

While we’ve had a long, happy relationship through the years, it’s been awhile since we’ve shared each other’s company.

This Pinot-forward sparkler comes from Argyle’s Grower Series and promises a rich, round peach nature helped along by “… the complexity of honey, cherry kernel and lingering anise.”

The balance and focus of the finish is said to come from the wine’s “… dynamic acid backbone and edgy minerality.”

Just this past April, Wine Spectator awarded the 2013 Argyle Vintage Brut 89 Points, praising it as “Crisp and precise, with apple and pomelo aromas and sleek, tangy flavors that finish with vibrancy. Drink now. —T.F.”

Hmm … Sounds a lot like the old friend we remember. We also remember meeting Argyle's Founder Rollin Soles (in the Argyle photo above) at Bauer Wine & Spirits. (Check out: "Argyle's Rollin Soles Talks Wine with BostonZest" in Related Posts below.)

Catching up after time apart can mean a bit of uncertainty. Maybe one or both of you have changed? We’ll let you know how it goes.

Until then, “Here’s to July!” and our Sparkling Resolution!

The Facts:

Vintage Brut | 2013 Willamette Valley AVA

Bottle Fermented, Aged on the Yeast,

60% Pinot Noir — 40% Chardonnay, ABV: 12.5%

We purchased our bottle of Argyle Vintage Brut 2013 on sale for $20 at Bauer Wine & Spirits.

* (07.04.2017) Update: As spectacular as ever! Great body with nice Pinot-forward character. Shared with friends as we all raised our glasses to toast the arrival of July! Already have another bottle on-ice and ready to go!

Related Posts:

Argyle’s Rollin Soles Talks Wine with BostonZest

March Sparkles with Argyle’s 2001 Extended Tirage Brut – It’s a Sure Thing!

Oregon’s Argyle Brut to Light-Up July!

Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photography: © 2017 Penny Cherubino

July 1, 2017
Spending Time with a Sparkling Old Friend This July – Argyle Vintage Brut

Well look who stopped by to help us ring in July – a sparkling old friend from Oregon who goes by the name of Argyle Vintage Brut 2013!

While we’ve had a long, happy relationship through the years, it’s been awhile since we’ve shared each other’s company.

This Pinot-forward sparkler comes from Argyle’s Grower Series and promises a rich, round peach nature helped along by “… the complexity of honey, cherry kernel and lingering anise.”

The balance and focus of the finish is said to come from the wine’s “… dynamic acid backbone and edgy minerality.”

Just this past April, Wine Spectator awarded the 2013 Argyle Vintage Brut 89 Points, praising it as “Crisp and precise, with apple and pomelo aromas and sleek, tangy flavors that finish with vibrancy. Drink now. —T.F.”

Hmm … Sounds a lot like the old friend we remember. We also remember meeting Argyle's Founder Rollin Soles (in the Argyle photo above) at Bauer Wine & Spirits. (Check out: "Argyle's Rollin Soles Talks Wine with BostonZest" in Related Posts below.)

Catching up after time apart can mean a bit of uncertainty. Maybe one or both of you have changed? We’ll let you know how it goes.

Until then, “Here’s to July!” and our Sparkling Resolution!

The Facts:

Vintage Brut | 2013 Willamette Valley AVA

Bottle Fermented, Aged on the Yeast,

60% Pinot Noir — 40% Chardonnay, ABV: 12.5%

We purchased our bottle of Argyle Vintage Brut 2013 on sale for $20 at Bauer Wine & Spirits.

* (07.04.2017) Update: As spectacular as ever! Great body with nice Pinot-forward character. Shared with friends as we all raised our glasses to toast the arrival of July! Already have another bottle on-ice and ready to go!

Related Posts:

Argyle’s Rollin Soles Talks Wine with BostonZest

March Sparkles with Argyle’s 2001 Extended Tirage Brut – It’s a Sure Thing!

Oregon’s Argyle Brut to Light-Up July!

Our Sparkling Resolution

Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photography: © 2017 Penny Cherubino

July 1, 2017
We Toast June with Sparkling Rosé “Turbullent” Domaine Serol

The shopping is done and Sparkling Rosé “Turbullent” Domaine Serol is our choice to toast the month of June.

Translate the word "Turbullent" from French to English and you find that it means: boisterous and unruly. "Is that a good thing to say about a wine?" you ask. "Why not?" we reply.

Grab some happy time beads and your own bottle of a boisterous and unruly sparkler and join us as we say goodbye to May and hello to June.

We'll be clinking glasses of this well-regarded 8.5% alcohol by volume wine. So while the wine may be a bit rowdy, our June 1st group should be good-natured and fine to walk home.

Well Regarded!

Here are a couple of opinions on this wine:

Wineauthorities.com says:

"This is Robert Serol's most fun take on Gamay, but its delightful effervescence belies some serious thought and effort. Made in the méthode ancestrale, this lovely sparkling wine comes from 100% hand harvested grapes, followed by natural fermentation with no chaptalization (added sugar). …so pour it generously to kick off your next dinner party. It's electric pink lemonade for grownups, and a great introduction to Pet-Nat."

K&L Wines describes it as:

"Light, bright pink, with a frothy mousse spicy red currant, blood orange and rhubarb on the nose. Juicy, expansive red berry preserve flavors are given a dry edge by a slow-building talc-y note. Manages to be both sweet and nervy, and finishes with very good thrust and lingering raspberry and strawberry notes. This would be great with stinky washed-rind or blue cheeses."

We picked up our bottle at Formaggio South End for just under $20. Their description is above.

Post Toast Update:

We both enjoyed this highly sippable wine. It goes down easy with a summery, fresh fruit opening note. As your glass empties, you sniff the lingering aroma and find yourself reaching for the bottle to pour a bit more.

June 1st turned out to be one of the best weather evenings this spring. We gathered a group of friends on the roof deck to join in our toast to June. Everyone brought a favorite beverage to lift a glass.

Naturally, we wanted to have more opinions of our wine of the month, so we passed out samples and even those who preferred different types of wine seemed to like this one. Fans of sparklers were happy to take a second glass and this was one of the bottles the group emptied before the evening was done.

Related Posts:

Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast …

A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

Here Are All the Wines We've Covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photography: © Top photo 2017 Penny Cherubino, Corks photo courtesy of Domaine Serol

Related articles

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

West West Blue Cheese & Brooklyn Brewery's K is for Kriek

June 1, 2017
What Better Way to Welcome May then with a Paul Chollet Crémant Brut Rosé!

Get a jump on all the May celebrations and join us to toast the arrival of one of our favorite months!

On a recent visit to Provincetown, we spied a bottle of Crémant Brut Rosé and wondered if it just might have the poise and finesse to help us enjoy keeping "Our Sparkling Resolution."

I wouldn’t say, “we’ve never met a crémant we didn’t like,” but almost! It’s a nice value bottle of bubbles that’s often just as satisfying, and perhaps not as intimidating, as Champagne.

Paul Chollet Crémant De Bourgogne Brut Rosé is described by its winemaker as having fine bubbles with a creamy and persistent mousse. The delicacy of the Rosé can be seen in “the very beautiful robe of a shiny and delicate pink” – sounds like poise to me.

The characteristics of the Pinot Noir are “marked by notes of red fruits, raspberry and ripe[ness].”

The cuvée of Pinot Noir, “gives us the balance, the generosity and the power of the Pinot Noir Bourguignons” – anyone for finesse?

“This ideal aperitif wine is very popular with a chocolate or fruit dessert or a tatin tart.”

Can’t wait to hear that cork pop!

We purchased our bottle of Paul Chollet Crémant De Bourgogne Brut Rosé at Glass Half Full in Provincetown for around $20.

Imported by: Winebow, Somerville, MA

Related Posts:

Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast …

A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

Here Are All the Wines We've Covered. Since this is a category this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photography: © 2017 Penny Cherubino

Related articles

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

Happy Birthday to Poppy as She Turns Three

May 1, 2017
What Better Way to Welcome May then with a Paul Chollet Crémant Brut Rosé!

Get a jump on all the May celebrations and join us to toast the arrival of one of our favorite months!

On a recent visit to Provincetown, we spied a bottle of Crémant Brut Rosé and wondered if it just might have the poise and finesse to help us enjoy keeping "Our Sparkling Resolution."

I wouldn’t say, “we’ve never met a crémant we didn’t like,” but almost! It’s a nice value bottle of bubbles that’s often just as satisfying, and perhaps not as intimidating, as Champagne.

Paul Chollet Crémant De Bourgogne Brut Rosé is described by its winemaker as having fine bubbles with a creamy and persistent mousse. The delicacy of the Rosé can be seen in “the very beautiful robe of a shiny and delicate pink” – sounds like poise to me.

The characteristics of the Pinot Noir are “marked by notes of red fruits, raspberry and ripe[ness].”

The cuvée of Pinot Noir, “gives us the balance, the generosity and the power of the Pinot Noir Bourguignons” – anyone for finesse?

“This ideal aperitif wine is very popular with a chocolate or fruit dessert or a tatin tart.”

Can’t wait to hear that cork pop!

We purchased our bottle of Paul Chollet Crémant De Bourgogne Brut Rosé at Glass Half Full in Provincetown for around $20.

Imported by: Winebow, Somerville, MA

Related Posts:

Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast …

A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

Here Are All the Wines We've Covered. Since this is a category this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here are three of our favorite wine books.

The Food Lover's Guide to Wine

The New Wine Lover's Companion

The Wine Bible

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

Photography: © 2017 Penny Cherubino

Related articles

Michael Serpa Selects Champagne Jacquesson Cuvée 736 as Our Sparkler for June 2015

Happy Birthday to Poppy as She Turns Three

May 1, 2017