The Friday Follies Thanksgiving Edition?
Everyone has an opinion about the best wines to serve for the traditional American Thanksgiving. But Thanksgivings these days are rarely what Norman Rockwell envisioned back in the day, are they? Flavors are fresher, brighter and more international. And even if you do have Aunt Lucrecia’s famous yam casserole with the burnt marshmallows on top, the overall effect is a lot more wine friendly- at least at our house. We love this holiday, though, and between us, we chose some of our favorites for your Friday Follies perusal. Any and all of these would be happy to find a place at your holiday table this year- or any other table you have! It’s a really fun set of wines. And, just to make it extra fun, order a case of 12 bottles, mixed and matched, and we’ll include the shipping.
Thanksgiving from all your friends at PRIMA!
1)2018 Antica Fratta Franciacorta Essence Rose
Friday Follies Special $44.99
The Franciacorta appellation couldn’t be any more picturesque; it’s right on Lake Iseo with mountains all around plus the snow-capped Alps towering in the background. Some of Italy’s finest sparkling wines are produced here, but only about 15% of them ever leave the country. Tucked into the side of a forested mountain in the Monticelli Brusati northern section of Franciacorta, Antica Fratta was originally an old monastery that was transformed into a country villa in the 1850s. The owner, a knight and local wine merchant, dug wine caves right into the hill behind the villa. After his passing, the property and caves fell into disrepair. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that it was renovated to become the Antica Fratta Winery we know today. The caves, unusual for this region, provide additional space to age sparkling wines on their lees for longer than the appellation requires, and the bubbles are only released when the winemaker feels they are ready. It’s all about patience. At Fratta, they produce several styles of Franciacorta, but what all the wines have in common is lovely concentration and amazing elegance. They are also marvelous showcases of their unique terroir. The 2016 Antica Fratta Franciacorta DOCG Essence Rosé is a blend of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Nero, aged on the lees for 36 months and in bottle for another six months prior to release. Unlike Champagne which allows a percentage of still Pinot Noir to be added for color and complexity, Franciacorta Rosé must be made with sparkling wine only. Its depth and complexity comes from a slightly warmer climate that allows the grapes to ripen more fully while still maintaining great acidity, and some skin contact with the Pinot Nero prior to fermentation. This is a delicate but very complex wine with berry and citrus fruits, toasty brioche, and a creamy, persistent mousse. This was the other of our favorites, and because we couldn’t decide which we loved more, we’ve decided to love them both! This gorgeous Rose drinks wonderfully as an aperitivo or to celebrate, say, the arrival of a Tuesday. With food, though, this will truly come alive. We were thinking a duck breast with a bit of a cherry gastrique, the classic Risotto Milanese or, what a perfect wine for Thanksgiving!
2)2022 Domaine Francine et Marie-Laure Serrigny
Bourgogne Aligote
Friday Follies Special $31.99
As old school as their label, this ancient property near the town of Savigny-Les-Beaune has been run since 1995 by Marie-Laure Serrigny and her younger sister Francine who hew to tradition as closely as possible in order to properly do justice to a legacy of old vines that would be the envy of anyone in Burgundy. The oldest on the entire property are neither Pinot Noir nor Chardonnay, rather two positively ancient parcels of Aligote planted sometime just after the turn of the twentieth century, during Burgundy’s post-phylloxera restoration. At well over the century mark, these vines produce the most prized wine in the cellar, a white that shows just what is possible when inspired winemaking and old vines come together. Aligote is (in)famous for its pronounced acidity and intense minerality. In the olden days, that would be just about all you’d get! But, thanks to climate change, recent summers are yielding riper fruit and, therefore, better concentration, so Aligote is finally having its moment in the sun (if you will). But Aligote gets to another entirely different level here. Fermented on its native yeast and aged in older barrels, the approach is deceptively simple for a wine with this much depth and character: Great shimmery pear and Golden Delicious apple fruit, a beautifully subtle texture that expands as the wine warms and all of Aligote’s hallmark acidity. Are you looking for a white that will stand up to all the flavors of a traditional American Thanksgiving? This might be your wine! And, with this much chutzpah going for it, you should buy enough to serve for the next 10 Thanksgivings! Only 200 cases were produced!
Everyone’s favorite martyr returns! Poor Saint Damien, dead since 287, is now known as the patron saint of doctors, and his visage graces the label of one of the most exciting wineries in the southern Rhone Valley……..
3)2022 Domaine Saint-Damien Cotes du Rhone Villages ‘Plan de Dieu’ Vieilles Vignes’
Friday Follies Special $21.99
80% Grenache, 15% Carignan, 5% Mourvèdre. Domaine Saint-Damien is in Gigondas, and is owned by the Saurel family who farm 24 hectares, half of which are in Gigondas proper. In addition to making a stable of really great, meticulously crafted Gigondas cuvees, they make several cuvees of really delicious, quite serious Cotes du Rhone too. All of the wines here are real old school efforts that rely on ripe (but not over-ripe) fruit fermented and aged in old casks and concrete tanks. There’s no screwing about with new wood, high alcohols or flashy winemaking technique. 2022 is another classic vintage that produced classic wines and, at a property like this, they are classics indeed! The vintage brought with it beautifully defined fruit, great levels of natural acidity and rich, robust tannins. Mature vines made particularly intense wines. The Plan de Dieu is sourced particularly old vines from the lower terraces of a single vineyard in the commune of Violès and brings forth lifted aromatics that are packed with black Provencal olives, fresh black truffle, bitter chocolate, white pepper and some clove-y spice to go along with a mouthful of hoisin sauce, plum jam, black cherry and garrigue-tinged earthy, herbs and spices. It’s a Cotes du Rhone Villages that drinks like a Gigondas; a bottle now to serve with that Thanksgiving turkey, beef or lamb dishes or, better still, you can hide a few bottles deep in a dark cool place and let it do its thing for a few more years. Very highly recommended.
4)2018 Hanna Winery Zinfandel, Sonoma County
Friday Follies Special $24.99
Frank Rothstein, PRIMA’s ‘Minister of Value’ has uncovered a particularly exciting deal on this delicious old school Zinfandel from the Hanna Winery, located in the picturesque Alexander Valley of Sonoma County. Hanna Winery, established by Dr. Elias Hanna in 1985 and now managed by his daughter, Christine, made the wise decision years ago to concentrate on developing the best estate vineyards in the rocky hills that surround their winery and hospitality center. They also had the foresight to hire a very talented and progressive winemaker, Jeff Hinchcliffe, who developed and advanced sustainable practices (now certified) throughout the entire winemaking process. Over the years, Hanna has grown in size, now owning 600 acres, of which 230 acres are planted to vines, in appellations that include Alexander Valley, Bradford Mountain in Dry Creek Valley, their Home Vineyard in Russian River Valley and the Moon Mountain AVA in Sonoma Valley. Their reputation has also grown, beginning with their award-winning Sauvignon Blanc and now producing excellent, terroir-driven Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and other reds. For us, though, it was always their SB and Zin that we loved the most. The 2018 Hanna Zinfandel, Sonoma County, is sourced from six separate and distinct blocks all on mature vines. The winery style has always been to create a brighter style of Zin; one with forward fruit, supple texture and moderate tannins and alcohol strength. This particular bottling, a classic of the old school style we associate with Hanna, was originally destined for the European market, but when the COVID19 pandemic shut everything down, the winery set it aside in the aging cellar. This Hanna Zin, now with a few years of bottle age, has developed into a beautifully complex and silky red wine, a wonderful example of the excellent, very balanced 2018 growing season. The thing about Zin like this, as it ages, it becomes more and more like a fine bottle of Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignon than a full-throttle, in-your-face Zin and that’s a good thing! It’s now a delightful red that can be enjoyed on its own or with all kinds of food. We immediately imagined burgers off the grill but I think anything with lots of savory or moderately spicy flavors would work. You decide. Released at over $40, the winery made us an offer we couldn’t refuse and we get to offer the 2018 Hanna Zinfandel at only $22.99 per bottle.
Wait! You’re tired of Zin? We can help……
5)2022 Alinea Carignan, Breedekloof, South Africa
Friday Follies Special $24.99
And now for something completely different! Carignan from South Africa! Those who love the fruitiness of Zinfandel with their Thanksgiving fare should particularly pay attention to this absolutely lovely, fruit and earth-driven red that has both immediate appeal and a surprising amount of polish and sophistication at the same time. And, unlike a lot of the Zins we taste these days, there is great balancing acidity as well. Alinea is the nom-de-plume of Natasha Jacka, a young woman who gave up on a promising career as a fine-dining chef to pursue ‘the beginning of a new train of thought’ in wine. She put away her knives, worked full time at a winery and then put herself through enology school, graduating at the top of her class in 2020 and commencing work on her life’s dream. The Carignan comes from the warmer, interior Breedekloof appellation, not far from Paarl, near the Breede River. Here she found the perfect older, head-pruned Carignan vines with which to fashion this snappy, delightfully fruity red with plenty of wild strawberry, raspberry and pomegranate framed by the barest kiss of neutral oak barrel and plenty of the necessary crunchy acidity to carry you along through your entire Thanksgiving meal. We thought it was delicious and a unanimous choice to include in this offer. Alinea, by the way, is imported by PRIMA alum Peter Andrews and we had a great time this morning tasting through all of his great stable of South African wines. This, though, we all agreed, would be the perfect red for the season and the price is definitely right!
6)2023 Evening Land Salem Wine Company Pinot Noir, Oregon
Friday Follies Special $24.99
Anyone making their own wine should think of their wine label as a sort of business card. It creates a first impression and, as they say, you only have one chance to make one. This wine, created by our very good friends at Evening Land Vineyards, was presented to us several vintages ago and, though we thought the wine was excellent, the package was, shall we say, drab. Well, maybe even worse than drab. But when the newest vintage of the same delicious wine was presented to us the other day, we had a completely different impression. This was a label I would love seeing on the counter anytime! And with the quality of the wine even better than the last time we tried it and a price tag equally as compelling, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship! The picture on the label, of course, finds its inspiration from ‘The Red Fuji,’ one of Hokusai’s 36 Ukiyo-e woodblock print views of Mount Fuji made during the early nineteenth century. Here, though, the iconic mountain is replaced here with Oregon’s own Mount Hood and, wrapped around this excellent bottle of Pinot, well, I think I am in Willamette Valley heaven. Bottled as a sort of second label for Evening Land, this too is 100% from the Seven Springs Vineyard, the Eola-Amity Hills vineyard that has been the heart and soul of Evening Land from the start. Essentially a barrel selection of wines that don’t make it into the other cuvees, like its far more expensive brethren bottled under the Evening Land label, it too was farmed organically and biodynamically and saw sixteen months in wood before bottling, although, in practice, none of it was new. Made in a take-me-now style for immediate gratification, this is a Pinot all about its snappy, front-and-center dark, mulberry-infused fruit, its focused and forward aromatics and its crunchy, lively finish. Fun and fruity enough to enjoy all on its own in the backyard with your feet up (and dreaming of Mount Fuji), there’s plenty enough chutzpah as well to make it a fine partner with grilled salmon, all sorts of poultry dishes and even some burgers off the grill. Priced very well, this is one to buy by the case and drink a ton of over the next three or four years.
Wine importation works in strange ways. Even though we sold the 2022 vintage of this wine earlier last summer, the 2021 hadn’t yet arrived. Lovers of this wine will find an awful lot to get excited about here! Sangiovese and roast turkey? Gotta be good, right?
7)2021 Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino
Friday Follies Special $29.99
Sure, Uccelliera’s popular Rosso di Montalcino is one of the top examples of Tuscan Sangiovese every vintage- it is even always notably successful in what are considered less-successful vintages- but in a near-perfect, historically exciting vintage like 2021, we have something extra special: a punchier, zingier, richer Rosso than even the benchmark 2016. We think it’s could be one of the best ever produced at this august locale! Located in the warmer southern section of Montalcino- right across the street from the equally famous Ciacci Piccolomini where Uccelliera owner/winemaker Andrea Cortonesi used to man the cellar, this artisanal cantina has earned an enviable reputation for its rich, dramatic Brunello di Montalcino (the 2019 of which we still have in stock) and a Rosso that wa-ay over delivers for the price. Always made for immediate gratification, the 2021 Rosso will, indeed, thanks to its very dark, rich black cherry and dried blueberry fruit and lovely cinnamon spice, certainly gratify immediately, but with its great natural acidity and concentrated fruit, we think it will be a great cellar candidate as well. Old bottles of Uccelliera Rosso never disappoint. But make sure you get to drink all summer long with steaks, chops and anything else from the grill. Very highly recommended.
Vinous: Darkly alluring, the 2021 Rosso di Montalcino slowly comes to life with a beguiling blend of mentholated herbs, pine shavings and dried strawberries. This sweeps across the palate with textures of pure silk, soothing all that it touches with ripe red fruits and rosy inner florals guided by vibrant acidity. It finishes structured, potent and long, punching well above its weight class, as licorice mingles with savory spices through the youthfully tense finale. This is next-level Rosso di Montalcino. In a word, spellbinding. 93 points
Wine Spectator: Rich, vibrant and complex, this Rosso delivers cherry, raspberry, iron and Tuscan scrub flavors. This is harmonious and firms up nicely on the finish. Fine aftertaste. Drink now through 2030. 2,933 cases made, 1,000 cases imported. 92 points