Wines of the Week: 
2017 Alphonse Mellot Cotes de la Charite Chardonnay Normally $24.99–$21.24 15% Off This Week ONLY! 2014 Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia Macan Rioja Tempranillo Normally $112.99–$96.04 15% Off This Week ONLY! * * * About the Wines of the Week: 2017 Alphonse Mellot Cotes de la Charite Chardonnay Normally $24.99–$21.24 15% Off This Week ONLY!  .jpg)
About the Winery The Mellot family originally gained recognition back in 1698 because César Mellot was appointed as Wine Advisor to Louis XIV. Today, this century old winemaking tradition is perpetuated by Alphonse Mellot, father and son, the 18th and 19th to bear the name. Its exceptional quality has led to it being officially classified as a unique category amongst the Sancerre wines. The Domaine comprises one single vineyard of over thirty hectares. Its ideally exposed location on the south-western tip of Sancerre, its chalk soil and its specific sub-soil are all perfect conditions for the cultivation of the vine. 
About the Wine Unheard of that there is a Chardonnay in the Loire-let alone by a renowned Sancerre producer. This Chardonnay is coming straight from the Loire Valley, very close to Sancerre actually. Medium to full body structure, great notes of stone fruit with great acidity as the backbone. Amazing wine for such a price. * * * 2014 Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia Macan Rioja Tempranillo Normally $112.99–$96.04 15% Off This Week ONLY!  
About the Winery Vega Sicilia and Benjamin de Rothschild began the Macán project 10 years ago with the steady acquisition of parcels in Rioja, purchased from small farmers. In this way, they quietly built up what is now a sizeable holding of 120 hectares, all within 10 km of the village of San Vicente in the Rioja Alta. (The name “Macán” is derived from a traditional name for the people of this sub-region of Rioja.) We are in prime Rioja territory here: near the foothills of Sierra Cantabria, at the northern limit of the region's vineyards. This cooler zone produces small berries with fresh acidity, bringing structure to offset the power of the fruit. Each year, the winery aims to produce two wines, Macán and Macán Clasico, in a tradition they took from Bordeaux, where it is standard to produce a “first” and a “second” wine; the first is made with lots that show more potential, and the second is more expressive and easy to drink when young. This is perhaps the most notable influence of the Rothschild family on the project, because otherwise all viticulture and winemaking is in the hands of the Vega Sicilia team. The style of the wines is certainly not ‘traditional’ Rioja– for example, after trials, they decided against American oak. Perhaps the term Neo-Classical is most apt, with complex mineral-infused fruit and discreet oak influences, underpinned by a fine but firm structure. 
About the Wine Situated on 40 year old vines, harvest took place the last week of September through the first week of October and in spite of the high temperature episodes and sporadic rainfall, the grapes were very high quality. After harvest, the hand-picked grapes are fermented for 10-15 days in French oak barrels. Then the wine is aged extra fine grain oak barrels for 16 to 18 months and sits in bottle for at least three years before its release. When first poured, this wine is fleshy with density, but at the same time, it is fresh, concise and deep. This wine is ready to drink now however, also has a potential ageing window of approximately 15-20 years if kept in ideal conditions. About 5,500 cases were produced for the world. * * * Also Tasting Today: 2017 Eduardo Torres Acosta Pirrera Rosso IGT Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese $59.99
 
About the Winery Eduardo Torres Acosta first learned to make wine in his native Canary Islands, where his father had a small plot of vines at home on Tenerife. In 2012, he moved to Sicily to intern with Arianna Occhipinti in Vittoria and then headed north to Mt. Etna, where he worked in the cellar at Passopisciaro. It can be tough for an outsider to break into this community, but Eduardo gradually gained access to some small parcels of vines to rent (and eventually buy in some cases) and farm with his own hands. His first vintage was 2014, produced out of the Occhipinti cellar, a disqualifier from the Etna DOC; though he has since built his own cellar in Etna, he has opted for a variety of reasons to continue with the Terre Siciliane IGT classification for his four bottlings. Eduardo is devoted to the old mixed plantings of local varieties found at higher elevations on the cooler north face or versante nord of Mt. Etna. His holdings are a modest 4.5 hectares, scattered among eight contrade, or districts, on variations of sandy volcanic soils. Most of the vines are pruned in alberello, i.e. as bush vines, some freestanding and some trained onto wires. Many of the free-standing, gnarled “old timers” have required intensive rehab on Eduardo’s part, an ongoing project and passion of his. Yields are naturally low. Farming is wholly natural and winemaking minimalist, allowing the wines to be the most pure reflection of widely varying vintages and volcanic soils. Eduardo harvests manually, uses a lot of whole clusters in the vinifications, ferments spontaneously with no temperature control, uses little to no sulfur, ages in concrete and old wood with minimal racking, and bottles without filtration. The production quantities are quite small for three of his four wines. 
About the Wine 90% Nerello Mascalese/10% other. This remote, rocky half-hectare gained the name “Pirrera” for its extreme stoniness, a result of the breaking up of a 1614 lava flow. Eduardo spent several years rehabilitating these beautiful 50-year-old bush vines on this previously abandoned site. There is the whole crazy spectrum of Etna varieties, with a preponderance of Nerello Mascalese plus Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante, Garnacha, Minnella, Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia and more. Pirrera ripens a week or two later than Acosta’s “Versante Nord” parcels, thanks to its 850-meter elevation. 15-day maceration. 28 months of aging in concrete tanks and old barriques. Miniscule production. * * * Cocktail Recipe of the Week: 
Grave Digger Ingredients: 2 ounces Downeast Original Hard Cider
1 ounce Stellum Cask Strength 114.48 Proof Bourbon Whiskey
Ginger ale, to fill
Crushed ice Directions: In a 12-16 ounce tumbler or high ball glass, combine the hard cider and whiskey.
Fill the glass with crushed ice. Fill with ginger ale. Cheers and Enjoy! * * * Snack of the Week: 
Tickler English Cheddar Pleasantly playful and seriously sharp, we like to think Tickler’s name derives from the flirtatious dance of salty, sweet, and fruity that lingers on your palate after every taste. Tickler is crafted from local pasteurized cow's milk harvested from the lush Devon milk fields. After the 40 pound blocks have been made with traditional cultures they are aged a full 18 months, during which an unusual depth of tangy, sweet flavor develops. The cheeky company loves their award winning cheddar so much that they specially created a beer that provides the ultimate pairing. A bitter blond ale should do the trick of balancing Tickler's nutty sweetness. * * * | 
