Eden Mylunsch
Eden Mylunsch
Last midweek I was perusing one of my local Whole Foods stores (I live equidistant between about six of them) looking for some cracked wheat and stumbled upon a pile of 2017 Foregone Conclusion, a Texas High Plains Alicante Bouschet made by Southold Farm + Cellar. It was priced about $20 and the alcohol level indicated that it was about half that at 10.64% alcohol. WTF, why not give it a try? What if it’s good? Turns out it is pretty good. Thierry Allemand isn’t going to be looking over his shoulder, wondering who’s gaining on him (he probably did that with Hervé Souhaut a long time ago), but it has that kool-kid Gamay thing going on, what with 50% Whole Cluster and 50% Carbonic Maceration with natural yeasties and no oak allowed in the village while the wine undergoes élevage. It’s light and kinda on the edge of going over the edge but pretty good bang for the buck. And yeah, Texas. They’re down there by Austin and they do a lot of biodynamic stuff. They used to be in NY but the neighbors got jealous that the wines were better than anything else around there so the Southhold folks moved to Texas, where the neighbors are more into being inspired than furthering the tall poppy syndrome. Their entire lineup is excellent, but the pricing pushes them out of the daily drinker range for anyone whose oil well hasn’t come in yet.
And then I was in Colorado Springs yesterday looking for a bottle to accompany grilled salmon and grilled halibut and found a shop called Newton Wine & Spirits that was in a fancy strip mall but was stocked like it shoulda been splitting time coexistence in Brooklyn and Costa Mesa. Lots of edgy wines from all the right winemakers from all over the world interspliced with expensive, big-ass Napa cabs and shit you see selling below cost if you buy by the case at Kroger or CVS. The owner knows his clientele, but exhibits the appropriate evangelical zeal that favors the niches of the wine world. Likely the only place in town where you coulda bought a bottle of 19 Crimes and a bottle of La T“che (DRC sold out, they’ve still got 19 crimes in stock though).
Anyhow, I’d brought a bottle of perfectly decent Terre Dorées Beaujolais up to the counter and proceeded to get sucked into a conversation with the owner and wound up leaving with a Yann Bertrand Pur Oh!rigine and a Smockshop Band Columbia Valley Red Wine. Smockshop is a thinly disguised subsidiary of Hiyu Wine Farm and about the red wine, the winery says “This is the first bottling from a multi-vintage blend of varietals with origins in Bordeaux and the Southern Rhone.” Other than being concerned about their use of the word "varietals" in this context, the wine was impressive for $25. It tasted like a really good modern St. Joseph, albeit one with its sights set on Chateauneuf-du-Pape, what with it weighing in at 14.5%. If you chill it down a little it carries its weight well. Last night I’d have called it as Syrah had I been tasting blind, and given the dearth of info, I might as well have been wearing a justice-inspired blindfold. Really interesting wine though, and at this price the only thing in their lineup I could even consider affording (I’m cheap but I’m not free).
Winemaker/Viticulturalist/recently-resigned Master Sommelier Nate Ready was probably voted “most likely to grow up to be Randall Grahm” by his high school classmates, but Nate’s functioning at a level that MENSA geeks can only aspire to be functioning and is making great (if risky and expensive) wines that are beginning to receive the attention they deserve. This one isn’t a daily drinker either, unless your daily dietary regimen consists of beef and lamb and the occasional root vegetable, but it’s interesting stuff and I was happy to put some money into supporting his efforts. No kickstarter campaign needed here, just buy the wine.
-Eden (the shop's proprietor seemed impressed when I mentioned that I knew Nate back while he was studying comparative dramatic poetry philosophy or some such at Pepperdine,aka: The Home of Malibu’s Deepest Thinkers)
And then I was in Colorado Springs yesterday looking for a bottle to accompany grilled salmon and grilled halibut and found a shop called Newton Wine & Spirits that was in a fancy strip mall but was stocked like it shoulda been splitting time coexistence in Brooklyn and Costa Mesa. Lots of edgy wines from all the right winemakers from all over the world interspliced with expensive, big-ass Napa cabs and shit you see selling below cost if you buy by the case at Kroger or CVS. The owner knows his clientele, but exhibits the appropriate evangelical zeal that favors the niches of the wine world. Likely the only place in town where you coulda bought a bottle of 19 Crimes and a bottle of La T“che (DRC sold out, they’ve still got 19 crimes in stock though).
Anyhow, I’d brought a bottle of perfectly decent Terre Dorées Beaujolais up to the counter and proceeded to get sucked into a conversation with the owner and wound up leaving with a Yann Bertrand Pur Oh!rigine and a Smockshop Band Columbia Valley Red Wine. Smockshop is a thinly disguised subsidiary of Hiyu Wine Farm and about the red wine, the winery says “This is the first bottling from a multi-vintage blend of varietals with origins in Bordeaux and the Southern Rhone.” Other than being concerned about their use of the word "varietals" in this context, the wine was impressive for $25. It tasted like a really good modern St. Joseph, albeit one with its sights set on Chateauneuf-du-Pape, what with it weighing in at 14.5%. If you chill it down a little it carries its weight well. Last night I’d have called it as Syrah had I been tasting blind, and given the dearth of info, I might as well have been wearing a justice-inspired blindfold. Really interesting wine though, and at this price the only thing in their lineup I could even consider affording (I’m cheap but I’m not free).
Winemaker/Viticulturalist/recently-resigned Master Sommelier Nate Ready was probably voted “most likely to grow up to be Randall Grahm” by his high school classmates, but Nate’s functioning at a level that MENSA geeks can only aspire to be functioning and is making great (if risky and expensive) wines that are beginning to receive the attention they deserve. This one isn’t a daily drinker either, unless your daily dietary regimen consists of beef and lamb and the occasional root vegetable, but it’s interesting stuff and I was happy to put some money into supporting his efforts. No kickstarter campaign needed here, just buy the wine.
-Eden (the shop's proprietor seemed impressed when I mentioned that I knew Nate back while he was studying comparative dramatic poetry philosophy or some such at Pepperdine,aka: The Home of Malibu’s Deepest Thinkers)
