KLINKER BRICK 2019 ALBARIÑO

LODI, CALIFORNIA

Klinker Brick is a family run winery working with vines that their ancestors planted as far back as the early 1900’s. They specialize in Zinfandel (which we carry), but this stunning Albariño is a perfect example of the Klinker Brick philosophy to challenge the status quo.

 Albariño is most commonly associated with Spain and is actually thought to have originated in Southern France, but it really shines in California where the days are warm and the evenings are relatively cool thanks to the Delta Breeze.

Aromas of stone fruit jump from the glass and lead into a rich midpalate with rounded flavors of white peach and generous minerality. The finish is bright and clean with notes of lemon and citrus.

Klinker Bricks are highly prized, partially vitrified bricks that grace many of the historical buildings in Lodi. Chosen by Craftsmen architects in the 1920’s for their distinctive qualities, including unique shapes and dark, rich colour, they are denser and heavier than regular bricks. Klinker Bricks are named so due to the metallic sound they make when banged together.

ISTINE 2018 ROSATO DI TOSCANA

TUSCANY, ITALY

For decades the Fronti family has specialized in vineyard development and management for famous Tuscan wineries. The family also owned small vineyard plots in the Chianti Classico area. Some bulk wine was produced, but it wasn’t until Angela Fronti graduated from Enology school and convinced her father and uncle that they needed their own label that Istine was born. Their first wine was the 2009 Chianti Classico, of which less than 250 cases were made with fruit from the eponymous Istine vineyard.  

This is probably a bit redundant to say, but “rosato” is Italian for “rosé”. This particular expression is made from the Sangiovese grape, which is the same grape used to make Chianti and the most important grape in Tuscany.

You’ll find lots of red fruit on both the nose and palate. Cherries, plums, strawberries, watermelon Jollyracher, and then a touch of apricot and some savoury flavours in the form of tomato leaf and salinity.

40 KNOTS 2018 GAMAY NOIR

COMOX, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Island wine!!!

Located on 24 stunning acres, 40 Knots is the largest winery in the Comox Valley, and one of the largest on Vancouver Island. With striking views of land and sea, 40 Knots crafts wines distinctly shaped by this windswept, sun-soaked microclimate.  The grapes have been biodynamically farmed since 2014 and are harvested by hand. The wines are skillfully crafted using traditional methods and low intervention. The ultimate goal is to let the unique terroir shine through, vintage after vintage.

This Gamay goes through carbonic maceration and spends a bit of time in neutral, French oak barrels.  At only 10.3% alcohol this juicy little number tends to disappear quickly!

But don’t think that means it isn’t a serious wine, there are layers and layers of flavour! Ripe strawberries, tart cranberries, juicy raspberries, pomegranate and a touch of sugared pink grapefruit are met with earthy notes of clove and beetroot.

FIELD RECORDINGS 2019 FREDDO

PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA

Field Recordings is winemaker Andrew Jones’ personal catalog of the people and places he values most. Spending his days as a vine nursery fieldman planning and planting vineyards for farmers all over California, Andrew has stood in just about every vineyard on the Central Coast. Due to his day job, Andrew often gets first dibs on small lots of premium fruit to use for this project.

If that first paragraph makes you feel like you have déjà vu, don’t worry, you’ve probably read it before! This is the second time a Field Recordings wine has been in the BRICKS 6!

This time though, we’ve got a single varietal wine. Like the rosé in this instalment, Freddo is 100% Sangiovese; unlike the rosé though, this is from California. And of all the grapes planted in Cali, Sangiovese accounts for a mere 1%, so this is a pretty special wine. Like the Gamay, this goes through carbonic maceration. It’s lively and begs to be chilled so much so, that when it is, the FREDDO on the label turns blue! Kinda like a Coors Light. No joke!

The earthiness associated with Sangiovese is here, but the carbonic gives this wine an aroma of candied strawberries which transfers to the palate where it’s met with flavours of cranberries, cherries and oregano.

CELLER DEL ROURE 2018 VERMELL

VALENCIA, SPAIN

If you’d visited Celler Del Roure when it first opened in 1995 you would’ve taken a tour of their modern, minimalist, cellar full of stainless steel tanks and new French oak barrels. These days though, the tour now includes a glimpse into the past, where an ancient winery once existed. A subterranean cellar was dug into the bedrock below the estate, the winding halls lined with dozens of amphorae embedded into the earth. Many of which have been joined by stone channels carved into the rock, serving as the most rudimentary form of gravity flow. A few amphorae have cracked over time, but most remain in perfect condition! These amphorae are now a part of the viticulture at Celler Del Roure and are highlighted with this particular wine! Made of 70% Garnacha Tintorera (which is a teinturier grape) and 30% Mandó this wine is fermented in stainless steel and then aged for 4 months in the ancient underground amphorae.

The result is a medium bodied wine with grippy, well integrated tannins and notes of black cherry, blackberry clove, and mocha.

CRAVEN WINES 2019 CABERNET SAUVIGNON

STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA

Craven is a collaboration between husband-and-wife team, Mick and Jeanine Craven. Between the two their experience in the wine industry is nothing short of lacking!

They met while working a vintage in Sonoma, California back in ‘07. In ‘11 they decided to settle in Jeanine’s home town of Stellenbosch to create a project of their very own, and Craven Wines was born! They keep the focus on low intervention, single site wines, and in Mick’s words they practice “fucking rad ass farming.” 

2018 was the inaugural vintage for their Cabernet Sauvignon and unlike more traditional Cabs that are heavily oaked and have tons of tannins, this is much more elegant and refined. The grapes were fermented as whole-clusters (pretty unconventional for Cab) and after a short time on skins the wine is transferred to large, neutral oak for aging. The result is one of the prettiest Cabs I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting! Cassis and blackberries are abundant and complimented with notes of cocoa, black pepper, eucalyptus and a touch of smoke.

-Erin Loader