MCF Rare Wine

A November Favorite Returns

This one's perhaps a bit verbose, but stick with me!

Since I've been open (offically 7 years now, btw), there are certain wines that we offer every year, with unwavering enthusiasm for not only their quality, but also for how well they fit the season in which we offer them.

These are the 'Mark Your Calendar' wines, as I often refer to them because, well...you get the picture...

For November, the two biggest MYCs are probably Bois de Boursan's Chateauneuf Cuvée Tradition, which I'll be offering later this week, and a producer who's become synonymous with Thanksgiving here at MCF, Analemma.

I honestly, whenever asked, cannot think of a wine that tackles every flavorful aspect of a Thanksgiving table better than Analemma's Rosé of Pinot Noir from the Atavus vineyard in Columbia Gorge.  

This deep, broad, deceptively substantial and wonderfully-textured wine is a Rosé in the sense that it's, yes, a pink wine made from red grapes, but to call it a Rosé just doesn't quite tell the full story.

In much the same way that calling Valentini's Cerasuolo a Rosé would, calling this beautiful bottle a Rosé is almost a knock.  Saying so kind of pigeonholes it to the 'hot afternoon poolside lunch' arena...one it would certainly excel in, but one where it ultimately isn't allowed to hit its full stride with a meal.

In fact, I avoid stocking it in the Summer precisely because it's so much more than that.

Another fact - I tasted this glorious 2015 back in June or July and it wasn't even ready yet.  It was still primary and aloof, not showing any of the earthy, cheese-y, pink/orange-fruited brilliance that is now flowing from the glass.  This textured pink and orange profile, combined with the savory, autumnal nuance lurking in the middle/finish is what makes it so unbeatable this time of year.

It has the weight to carry the bigger, more savory/spicy elements and the liveliness at the back to cut through the gloriously fatty flavors on your plate.

Despite the weight and complexity, though, it's still a wine of introspection, meaning that it draws you in and commands that you pay attention to it in order to really get the full experience.

Not to get too long with this offer, BUT this year, there's even more to the Analemma/November celebration.  Their sparkling Blanc de Noirs 2012, made from the exact same grapes from the exact same vineyard has truly arrived this year.

The first two vintages of the BdN were really solid, but this 2012 has blossomed and reached an entirely new level.  The 2010 and 2011 did an admirable job emulating the racy, energetic, laser-beam style of the low-dosage grower Champagnes, but the 2012 bottling has figured out (and acknowledged) who it really is.

It's almost hard to explain just how much this wine has transformed this year.  The flavors are richer, meatier and way more profound than they ever were.  It's loaded up with the same broad, textured pink fruits and underlying savory elements that I just described in the Rosé, but, being that it's a sparkling wine, it's a bit brighter and more exuberant.

It's not so much that these wines represent the same song sung by two different voices...in this case, I think it's more that the same voice (the vineyard) sings the same song, but in two different settings.

The Rosé, with its introspective personality draws you in, like a songwriter rendition gently voiced through a studio microphone, and  to 'get it' you need to shut up and listen. 

The ebullient Blanc de Noirs, though, is that same person, this time belting out un-mic'd in a cavernous concert hall, where every overtone is allowed to reach full breadth and reverberate across the palate...and you can't help but be bowled over by the experience.

Reds and whites typically rule the day, but if ever there were two wines to prove that, YES, you can serve Rosé and Sparkling wines at a meal like this, Analemma has produced them...

...again...

So, show off to your fellow diners just how much of a truly enlightened wino you are by blowing their minds (and yours) with something that isn't red or white.

There's a Monday offer for you to chew on...


Matt Franco

MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street
New York 10011
mcf@mcf-rarewine.com
212.255.8870
www.mcf-rarewine.com