Because my partner Shannon is out-of-this-world, she got first dibs on the wine sample pool for celebrating her recent birthday. Shannon has very specific tastes and makes no bones about expressing them—she favors Grenache reds and, well, we didn’t have any. Doh!
BUT… she also favors German Sekt (yet another reason she’s a keeper!), which luckily we did have lurking in the basement sample boxes.
So here’s a quick view into what we imbibed to toast Shannon successfully completing another trip around the Sun (and looking good while doing it):
NV Markus Molitor ‘Molitor’ Riesling Sekt Brut (Mosel, $20)
Like a lot of perennially underappreciated wine styles, this one punches a bit above its fighting weight class. Dry in style and in personality, there’s plenty of biscuit, lemon rind, and yellow apple to love here, and a persistent finish that’s way longer than ought to be expected for a sparkler in the $20 range. Toasty, with nice yeast action and admirable depth, it stays elegant while remaining deliciously pungent and vibrant.
2018 Newton Vineyard The Puzzle (Napa Valley, $125)
An amalgam of fruit—77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot and 4% of Petit Verdot/Malbec—as well as vineyards sources (including Mt Veeder, Spring Mountain and Yountville), hence the name. This is basically the Newton flagship red, and it’s very much a SEX B-OMB. Sultry, silky, savory, seductive, supple, showy, and probably a lot of other adjectives that begin with an “S,” this one goes down very smooth. The tannins feel ample but the chains are looooooooong. This is a red built to impress right out of the gate, almost overflowing with an embarrassment of riches in its black and blue fruit flavor profile. Dried herbs, graphite, and wood spices all get in on the action, too. It’s worth the price of admission simply from the hedonism perspective.
Cheers!
