MCF Rare Wine
A Springtime Sampler
Even though it was a blustery 37 degrees in NYC this morning, it's still Spring and sales of 'Spring-y' wines have begun to really pickup. And, since almost everything I've been sending lately have been from the 'serious/collectible' category, I thought a 'Springtime Sampler' of sorts was in order.
So here's the order!
Barbadillo Palomino Fino Mirabras 2017 $24/btl -
To Sherry drinkers, Bodegas Barbadillo needs no introduction as one of the most historic producers in the region. While they make dozens of classic styles of Sherry, it's this little beauty known as 'Mirabras', that I've been really digging lately. It's 100% Palomino Fino from their 50-year old Cerro de Leyes vineyard in the Santa Lucía Pago. The grapes are very lightly sun-dried before pressing and then fermented in Manzanilla butts before being aged for 18 months in a combo of stainless/concrete tanks where flor will develop. The resulting wine is fresh, fragrant and briny, but also exhibits hints of the textured, nutty/savory oxidative elements, all of which come together to create a wonderfully exotic white that checks a lot of boxes in terms of versatility. The icing on the cake is that it evolves nicely over the course of three or four days, too. While, for me, it screams for a big board cheese/salumi/olives, etc., this combo of freshness and texture would be great with anything spicy or, especially, with some sushi.
Barone de Villagrande Etna Bianco Superiore 2019 $20 -
Mount Etna is easily the hottest wine real estate in Italy right now, arguably in the world. Many very famous names from other regions have been snatching up property on the slopes of this volcano over the last few years. The Nicolosi family of Barone de Villagrande, however, have roots in the region dating back to the 1600s and, when the DOC was established in 1968, Carlo Nicolosi Asmundo played an integral roll in its creation. Because the unique terroir of Etna allows pristine vineyards to flourish without the need for any treatments, Villagrande has been farming organically since before anyone can remember, though they have been certified since 1989. This, their 'baseline' Etna Bianco Superiore is outrageously good for the money. The fresh, lively, aromatic elements blend seamlessly into the savory, cheese-y, textural mid-palate, before heading down the long, focused, mineral finish. It's liquid proof that there's just no substitute for centuries of experience.
Cardedu Bianco Bucce 2019 $25 -
The Bucce (meaning 'skins') is a wonderfully quirky and wildly gluggable orange wine from one of our favorite producers in Sardegna. It's a blend of Vermentino, Cannonau and Nasco, and to go along with the lovely exotic fruits and texture that you typically expect from this style of wine, it also accents more of the briny/herbaceous elements that you expect from the region. The floral, linear freshness keeps it very light on its feet.
M Sokolin Dolcetto d'Alba Superiore Dosset 2017 $25 -
Mitch Sokolin is a former sommelier-turned-winemaker who, while based in Australia, has produced 'one-off' project wines from sourced organic fruit in Australia, Italy, Spain and Georgia, the first of which was a Rufete-based red from Castilla y Leon. This, his second 'edition' of organic Dolcetto sourced from Monforte d'Alba, is as beautifully ethereal, delicate and earthy as I've seen Dolcetto get, and is just begging to be chilled down a few degrees and enjoyed in the most carefree way possible. That's not to say that it isn't a 'serious' wine, but juice so casually enjoyable should be...casually enjoyed...
Markowitsch Sankt Laurent Rothenberg 2011 $29 -
For something from the 'there's something you don't see every day' category, here we have a ten year old, sub-$30 red made from Austria's indigenous Sankt Laurent varietal. (I'll let the whole 'ten years old and under $30' thing sink in for a moment...there...) While it may seem like a bit of a curveball, I assure you that this curveball is positively delicious, offering all kinds of savory, tobacco-y dark fruits in a wildly complex and fully-mature package. The tannins are fully resolved, and the jucier elements of the fruit have given way to all the secondary nuance you look for in a mature wine, while everything is held upright by the zippy acidity so characteristic of Austrian reds. It all comes together nicely as a perfect combo of maturity, complexity and freshness.
Adega Sernande Tinto Vertixe 2018 $32 -
Vertixe, Gallego for Vertigo, is a reference to the rather dizzying view from atop the steeply pitched vineyard that sits high above the river Sil in Galicia, where the Mencia for this beautiful, juicy and earthy wine comes from. As is the case with most of the new producers in this most unique part of the wine world, winemaker Orly Lumbreras and partners Maria Aira Pumar and Antonio López Casas created the Adega Sernande out of a passion for, and desire to preserve, Riberia Sacra's winemaking heritage. The all-Mencia Vertixe is bright, lively, juicy, supple, herbaceous, mineral and possesses and out-of-control level of quaffability. It's your quintessential chiller-red, yes, but with underlying stuffing and complexity like this, it's also more than that. For fans of the more supple style of, say, Laura Lorenzo, this one has your name all over it.
You may order by emailing info@mcf-rarewine.com or calling 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870
