WINE TASTING: NEW ARRIVALS from Barbaresco, Friuli & Piedmont
Presented by ERIC BROEGE
Belmont: FRI. MAR. 20, 4:30-7pm
Concord: SAT. MAR. 21 12-6pm
Estates include: Ca’ de Baio, Ferrando, DeForville, & I Clivi (see above for wine info).

2004 I CLIVI Bianco Degli Arzillari Venezia Giulia $14.99
2007 DEFORVILLE Piemonte CHARDONNAY $17.99
2007 FERRANDO Canavese Rosso “La Torrazza” $19.99
2004 DEFORVILLE Barbaresco “Loreto” $39
2005 CA’ del BAIO Barbaresco “Asili” Special price $48
2005 CA’ del BAIO Barbaresco “Marcarini” Special price $45

WINEMAKER TASTING with PIEROPAN from VENETO, Italy
MON. MARCH 16, 4-6pm BELMONT STORE

The ancient walled commune of Soave is the home of the exalted PIEROPAN estate. The winery was founded by Leonildo Pieropan in 1890 and the family continues the tradition of excellent wines, including their single-vineyard Soave Classico wines, La Rocca, Calvarino. Fighting the tidal wave of high-volume jug wine, Pieropan has always embraced quality and shown the world just how great the wines of Soave can be.

2007 PIEROPAN Soave Classico $17.99

2005 PIEROPAN “La Rocca” $45

2006 PIEROPAN “Calvarino” $32

2004 PIEROPAN “Le Colombare” Recioto

2004 PIEROPAN “Ruberpan” $50

The visit will mark the premier of Ruberpan, which is the first red produced by the estate. It’s a blend of 60% Corvina with the balance being Corvinone, Rodinella, and Croatina from Valpolicella vineyards acquired by the estate.

Introducing… NEW & EXCLUSIVE PORTFOLIO from Italy’s MARCHE region. JOIN US for a wine tasting SAT. MARCH 14, 2-5 pm (Belmont & Concord)

The story of these wines begins with a chance encounter…a year ago, Mirco Gaggioni was visiting the Boston area– he is from Marche, Italy; his wife is from Acton, MA. While strolling through West Concord, he came into VINTAGES, and was very surprised at the tremendous selection and quality of our Italian wines. He introduced himself and we agreed to taste his portfolio of wines from the Marche region.
Now it was our turn to be surprised–we immediately recognized the quality and uniqueness of Mirco’s properties. VINTAGES found an importer to bring in the wines and they have just arrived! Yet another example of how VINTAGES works to find distinct, unique wines and introduce them to our customers and our market, continuing to broaden the selection of quality Italian wines in Massachusetts.

VINTAGES is very excited to introduce these exclusive wines from Le Marche to our customers and to the U.S. market! We hope they are not “exclusives” for long – our goal for all these great wines is for them to find the larger audience and exposure they deserve. By the way, did we mention– these wines are EXCELLENT VALUES!

NEW to our market, from LE MARCHE, ITALY:
The Marche region is located in central Italy along the eastern, Adriatic coast. Long known for excellent VERDICCHIO white wines, Marche’s other native grapes are attracting notice and gaining popularity. Elegant, fragrant, stylish wines are the calling card of this new portfolio.

2007 FIORINI BIANCHELLO del METAURO “Vigna Sant’ Ilario”  $12.99
Fine and complex white wine from the Bianchello grape; delicate fragrance, fresh ripe fruit and a pleasing minerality on the finish. Vineyards are situated on hillsides overlooking the Metauro river.

2007 CONTI di BUSCARETO Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi $15.99
Low yields and stringent selection of grapes create a classic example of this historic wine from Le Marche. Straw-colored, with white flower aromas, vibrant, crisp fruit on the palate.

2007 CONTI di BUSCARETO Lacrima di Morro d’Alba  $17.99 100% Lacrima Nera; unique, aromatic, grape with ruby color. Opens with aromas of rose petal and red berries, followed by light woodsy and spicy aromatics. Fresh fruit flavors, soft tannins, and persistent floral and fruit notes through finish. Amazingly beautiful!

2006 CONTI di BUSCARETO Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi “Ammazzonte” $25
“Ammazzonte” is the top white wine of this estate. This late-harvest selection of Verdicchio grown at high elevations is hand-picked at full ripeness to showcase the distinctive characteristics of this grape variety. Silky, smooth texture; burgundian elegance and minerality on the finish – outstanding!

JOIN US for a tasting of these Le Marche wines  next Saturday, March 14!

Join us for a taste of terrific wine values from SPAIN! Saturday, March 7, 2-5pm in both West Concord and Belmont stores.

WINE TASTING “EVERYDAY SPAIN”
SAT. MARCH 7, 2-5pm Belmont & Concord
Featuring the wines of importer ERIC SOLOMON, European Cellars
It’s been our pleasure over the years to know importer ERIC SOLOMON, travel to Spain with him, and be introduced to the many regions and varietals of this exciting viticultural hotbed, where great, storied winemaking traditions are carried out by grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but also where the avant garde thrives — in wine as well as in food. Eric has been a pioneer, a creative and visionary importer who has seen the great potential of ancient vineyards that had produced little more than low-grade cheap brandy, overlooked and undervalued sub-regions that had yet to be realized, and of course, his unparalleled championing of the Priorat - not to mention his partnership and collaboration with his wife Daphne Glorian of Clos Erasmus.
Eric has been a driving force in bringing the many faces of Spanish wine to the American market. And although he represents some of the greatest cellars in Spain, his greatest accomplishment might be the wealth of terrific value wines $9-$18. An amazing embarrassment of riches, wines from 80-year-old vines in small case lots, made with care and attention to detail. Aesthetics can be argued, traditional versus modern — but one thing can’t be disputed: no one has brought such a diversity of quality wines, grapes, and regions to the daily table– a far cry from the innocuous mass-produced wines found at these prices.

Whites
2007 BODEGAS VALDESIL Godello “Montenovo” $13.99 (Valdeorras) 100% Godello from Galicia in northwestern Spain.  Light gold-colored, it has an enticing nose of mineral, melon, and lemon curd. Creamy textures, ripe, and intensely flavored, this tasty effort can be enjoyed now.

2007 CONCLASS Verdejo (Rueda) $12.99
100% Verdejo.  Pale gold. Exotically perfumed bouquet of citrus and orchard fruit aromas, along with salty minerals, pungent herbs and white pepper. Sharply focused lemon, lime and pink grapefruit flavors are impressively concentrated and pure, with bright mineral snap on the back end. The long finish boasts outstanding clarity and cut. These vines, reportedly 70-100 years old, are planted on 30 meters of chalk.

Reds
2006 ESPELT Saulo $12.99 (Emporda)
Blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Carinena from the Emporda region in northeastern Spain near the Pyrenees.  Dark ruby-colored, it has a fragrant bouquet of licorice, black cherry, and blueberry. This leads to a succulent, ripe wine with loads of pure fruit, a seamless texture, and excellent length.

2005 CASTELL dei REMEI “Gotim Bru” $13.99
A signature wine of Solomon’s Spanish value portfolio. Blend of 60% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot aged for 10 mos. in French and American oak. Purple-colored, it provides a fragrant nose of spice box, tobacco, blueberry, and blackberry–terrific!

2006 BODEGAS ALMENSENAS “La Huella de Adaras” $14.99 (Almansa)
Blend of 60% Garnacha Tintorera, 30% Monastrell, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Purple-colored, it delivers aromas of spice box, black cherry, and blueberry. On the palate it is slightly lean and structured with just enough fruit for balance.

2005 BODEGA MUSTIGUILLO “Mestizaje” $15.99
Blend of 70% Bobal with the balance equal parts Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Cabernet. Purple in color, the wine offers aromas of pain grille, damp earth, vanilla, black cherry, and black currant. Thick and chewy on the palate, the wine has excellent depth and concentration leading to a tannic finish.

2004 CAPCANES Costers del Gravet $16.99 (Montsant)
Blend of 50% Cabernet, 30% Garnacha, 10% each Carinena & Tempranillo from higher elevations in the mountains of Catalan. Purple colored, Gravet opens with an attractive perfume of pain grille, minerals, spice box, black currant, and black cherry. This is followed by a layered, full-bodied wine with gobs of sweet black fruits, a plush texture, and a pure, lengthy finish.