The iconic Ameztoi Rubentis rosé is a field blend of the local, indigenous hondarrabi zuri and hondarrabi beltza varieties, grown on traditional trellises high on the slopes rising above Getaria, an ancient Basque fishing village on Spain’s rugged northern coast. In the 2000s, when almost all of the other local wineries gave up on the indigenous red hondarrabi beltza vines, the Ameztoi family retained their old vines, in turn, lending their rosé such exceptional vibrancy and complexity. Rubentis, the region’s first pink wine, was inspired by the historic claret style wines which were once produced in the area long before the current global craze made rosé famous. The backbone of the blend comes from an old hondarrabi beltza vineyard planted in 1840, preserved by the Ameztoi family for generations. Ameztoi Rubentis is an authentic original, a wine that is often imitated but never replicated.
An example of the vintage handled well. Apricot, ginger, marzipan and white peach. Yet the wine never drifts into sweet fruited excess. Dry and salty. A skein of saline perk melds with a belt of mineral torque, keeping everything on the straight and narro...
A profoundly complex blend of crushed blackberries, violets, spice orange peels and sage makes the 2022 Nebbiolo Clarè J.C. a total knockout on the nose. Silky and enveloping with a pretty inner sweetness up front, this impresses further as a wave of w...
Hot off the press... Lettie Teague’s column this week features dry Riesling and we have her #1 pick in stock at a very good price!
#1 2021 Pewsey Vale Single Vineyard Estate Eden Valley Dry Riesling, $20. "Australia is home to some terrific dry Rieslings, and Pewsey Vale is among the country’s best-known makers of Riesling. This is their crisp, lime-inflected, reasonably priced take."
We have Lettie’s #3 pick as well...