SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW FROM THE CAPE

South Africa isn’t new to wine, having started viticulture somewhere around the 1630s. It isn’t new to us either as we started to explore the wines soon post apartheid. A lot of folks have given them a spin and it’s hard for us to know where to start. There are people out there open to the idea while others still think about the parochial bottlings with very aggressive flavors that pushed them in another direction.

It probably isn’t news for us to tell you that there are some exciting things going on down there. Current favorites include the Tania and Vincent Careme Terre Brulee Chenin Blanc Swartland 2020 from Loire maestro Vincent Careme. We’d had consistent good luck with Chenin from this part of the world and you can find some very tasty examples like this one for under $10.

Recently we were reacquainted with a high performing, well priced Sauvignon Blanc under the Bayten label. This wine achieved ‘legendary’ status under a different moniker, Buitenverwachting, as a multiple 90 point scorer and a Spectator Top 100 or 2 along the way. Classic Cape Sauvignon at a great price.

We hadn’t seen it in a while and found they had gone through a couple of changes. Now in a different shaped bottle under the name Bayten Sauvignon Blanc Constantia 2020 (with the intimidating Afrikaner name, Buitenverwachting, reduced to small, light print) it soldiers on doing exactly what it has always done…providing a sleek, delicious, well-priced option in Sauv. Blanc. Bright and lively from the get-go, it delivers a good blast of tropical fruit and grapefruit with well infused minerality. Clean, driving and a bargain at this price, like the good old days but easier to say.

Speaking of transplants, we had not seen the Topiary Chardonnay Franschhoek Valley South Africa 2019, a complex and fresh wooded Chardonnay in a Burgundian style made by Philippe Colin (yes, that Philippe Colin). The purveyor told us that Philippe was in the process of retiring and moving here permanently. If he can make things like this at this kind of price, we’re all for it.

The grapes are handpicked early in the morning to retain freshness, the must is settled and the alcoholic fermentation starts with wild yeasts in a stainless steel tank for 1 week, before to be transferred into 450L (double a traditional barrique) Rousseau Piano oaks (French). Then, the malolactic fermentation is done naturally during the following 12 months with batonnage (lees stirring) done every 2 weeks. There’s definitely a Burgundy spin to the apple, spice and toast flavors, and a more ‘old school’ (like before global warming) snap of underlying acidity.

BREAKOUT EFFORTS FROM ARGENTINE STAR RICCITELLI

“Winemaking,” says Matías Riccitelli, “is not for cowards.” A breakout star from a young age, Riccitelli was brought up in a family and region steeped in winemaking. He was born in Cafayate, Salta, a small village in northern Argentina where winemaking is everything… an omnipresent trade and way of life in arguably the highest vineyards in the world. He grew up between Cafayate and Mendoza, studying and working with his father and mentor, legendary winemaker Jorge Riccitelli. From there, he went on to travel much of the wine world, learning along the way, and returned to Mendoza to serve as chief winemaker for two of Argentina’s top wineries, Fabre Montmayou and Bodega Norton.

His boutique property was founded in Las Compuertas ((3600 feet above sea level…the highest area of Lujan de Cuyo) in 2009. There they have 20 hectares of ungrafted old vineyards that were planted at the beginning of the XX Century (between 1927 and 1930). Everything is harvested by hand, and most wines see concrete vessels for fermentation and or aging. There is a good amount of whole cluster fermentation being used now as well.

We had the good fortune of running into Matias’ wines very early on. A very small (one man show actually) importer from whom we purchased many vintages of Fabre Montmayou, wines with uncanny class and presence for their modest fares, one day presented us with a wine curiously named ‘The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree’ Malbec, among Riccitelli’s first efforts under his own label. The reference was to him vis-à-vis his winemaking father and it was clear from that moment on that ‘Mad Matias’ (see picture) had mad skills.

We’ve been following him since that time and have seen him grow and define his style, all the while looking like he was having too much fun. We can’t say that even having a pretty good reference point for his wines prepared us for the pair of wines we tasted recently. The Ricitelli Cabernet Franc 2018 and Malbec Pie Franco 2018 bowled us over with their broad, supple, mouth-filling fruit and unexpected sense of refinement. These are substantial, absolutely packed wines with a gushing fruit component, palate authority, yet at the same time nimble. They were both impressive and delivered the kind of richness one expects from a sizable Argentine red, but with plenty of nuance and dimension.

The Riccitelli Cabernet Franc Vinedos de Montagna 2018 was an experience unto itself, and one of the most engaging examples of the varietal we had tasted in a long time, perhaps even historically relevant in that we couldn’t remember anything quite like it. Yes it was varietal, but in all the best possible ways. It filled the sense with abundant hedonistic fruit if you didn’t want to pay close attention, but there was a lot else going on as well. A singular effort in its stylistic bent.

Luis Gutierrez said this of Matias, “Matías Riccitelli keeps turning out some of the most exciting wines from Argentina…”

Of this particular bottling Luis wrote, “The intensely spicy and peppery 2018 Viñedos de Montaña Cabernet Franc is an aromatic expression of the grape, where I also found floral nuances and some herbs. The flavors were pungent and penetrating, with good depth and small-grained tannins. It was produced with grapes from two different vineyards, one in Los Arbolitos in Chacayes at 1,150 meters above sea level and the other one in Campo de los Andes at some 1,300 meters in altitude. I loved the nose, and the palate was nothing short of phenomenal also, nicely textured and with serious tannins, spicy and herbal, and with a dry, austere finish…94 points.”

The Riccitelli Malbec Vinas Viejas Pie Franco 2018 is clearly no ordinary Malbec in the glass. It has all the size one need, but also a tenderness on the palate, great purity, and well woven in complexity. This is Malbec at another level that comes from ungrafted old vines. There is simply more depth and nuance anyway, and Matias got it all in the bottle.

Luis’ notes tell the story, “The traditional and juicy 2018 Viñas Viejas En Pie Franco Malbec was produced with grapes from old, ungrafted Malbec vines from different places within Mendoza and therefore planted on different soils, clay, rocks and limestone. This felt quite traditional, with good ripeness but keeping its poise and balance, with oak that is present but not invasive. The palate is medium to full-bodied and portrayed the varietal tannins that tend to be quite soft and fine grained…93 points.”

The scores are great, but these are more than ‘numbers’. We see them as special works of distinctive vinous art authored by a budding, if a bit unbridled superstar. They are reference point efforts. Sorry we couldn’t get more.

VALUE CABERNET FROM AN OLD AMIGO

One might question devoting time to a lengthy piece about a wine in this price range. But some of the story is very important by way of differentiation. There are a lot of wines in this kind of price range that are trying to get your attention, but many are concocted labels that, bluntly, aren’t very good. It matters that we have sold Benegas wines in the past, dating back 10-15 years, and we have a history with them.

They have a history as well. Tiburcio Benegas founded Trapiche winery in Mendoza in 1883 and it was sold to the Pulenta family in 1971. Frederico Benegas Lynch lived at the Trapiche winery until it was sold, then in 1999 bought the Fincas Libertad winery which was one of the family’s former properties and Benegas winery was founded.

The key point is that this is a producer with a long history, not some made up ‘brand’, and they make surprisingly soulful wines at a number of price levels. That’s what we recalled about them from our previous experiences at the old location, and that is still true today. Simply, we can’t do this in California for this kind of price because we don’t have the terroir, mature vineyards or appropriate economics to do so. We’ve made that point before so we’ll leave it at that. You can get surprising good Cab outside the U.S. for not a lot of coin if you take the time to look and are willing to ‘kiss a lot of frogs’. We do that for you.

The Benegas Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza Luna 2019 is 100% Cabernet from Finca Libertad situated at 2800 feet elevation and harvested at lass than four tones an acre, less than a lot of Napa producers who sell their wines for a lot more. This Cab sees four months in barrels to round it out. A great option for under $15, we’re glad to have Benegas back around as we hadn’t seen them in some time. Black fruit, round tannins, surprising substance and a unique chocolate/earth that is particular to a number if the Benegas reds, what’s not to like? There’s surprising character here for a mere $12.

It got nice notes from James Suckling as well, “Pretty, vivid Cabernet Sauvignon with dark currant, fresh tobacco and hints of cedar on both the nose and palate. Medium body, lightly fine tannins and a delicious finish. ..92 points.”

PEDRO PARRA: SUPER RARE SUPERSTARS FROM ITATA

As you go down the wine road, you will continue to find stories that are more obscure and more unique. That doesn’t always mean ‘great’ from a wine perspective, but it certainly can as it did here. One has to marvel at the story of Pedro Parra, a minuscule producer in an obscure part of southern Chile who has become something of a cult hero based on his terroir-driven work with, of all things, Cinsault. Truth be told, these are two of the most impressive efforts with Cinsault we have ever run across, though admittedly the book of ‘great Cinsault’ is more of a pamphlet. His international reputation is pretty amazing as well considering he only makes about 100 cases of the two wines we are featuring today.

It all starts in the certainly-not-mainstream areas of Itata and Bio Bio about 500 kilometers south of Concepcion near the ocean. Pedro was born in this area and has returned here to live and create some waves in this obscure corner of Chile. One of Parra’s consistent quotes is, “You cannot grow terroir.” Terroir is a facilitator and Pedro, a specialist in the field, is particularly taken with the various forms of granite and schist here.

This is an area ‘lost in time.’ A difficult place to visit for centuries, with no roads, steep slopes, rain, and forest, that constant isolation was responsible for a strong local commitment to viticulture and wine. It was totally disconnected with the modern wine evolution that happened in Chile over the last 40 years. This isolation is the key factor for this terroir. No Bordeaux varieties invaded and no high yield production with irrigation was installed. That kept the area pure, pristine, and unique.

The two varieties most widely planted in Itata are Cinsault (45-70-year-old vines) and País (60 to 120-year-old vines). Pedro’s showcase wines, named for jazz musicians because they are ‘complex and innovative, are single-vineyard Cinsaults. For space reasons, we’ll defer to Wine Advocate reviews from Luis Gutierrez which cover technical notes as well.

The 2018 Pedro Parra y Familia Monk is “…another single-vineyard Cinsault, the 2018 Monk is also named after a jazz musician, Thelonius Monk…All of these wines had a native fermentation with some 30% full clusters, and in this case, the élevage was in 1,500-liter oak vats for just under one year. To me, this is the most complete of the three single-vineyard bottlings, and in a way, I see some similitude with the Imaginador bottling. It’s also the most elegant and mineral as well as serious, balanced, terribly precise and long. 1,170 bottles were filled in March 2019…94+ points.”

Pedro Parra considers John Coltrane an innovator and creative jazz musician, after whom he named the 2018 Pedro Parra y Familia Trane, a single-vineyard Cinsault from a plot of highly decomposed granite soils. It fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts and some 30% full clusters and matured in 1,500-liter oak vats for 11 months. It’s extremely chalky and perhaps a little rounder and gentler compared with its siblings. It has a little more concentration and clout, but at the same time, it doesn’t reach the elegance of the other two. There are some similitudes here, because they all come from granite soils that mark all of the wines very much. 1,188 (bottles) were filled in March 2019…93 points.”

Conceptually these are a bit of a walk on the wild side. But they are delicious, distinctive, extremely rare one-of-kind efforts that merit attention. We’ve certainly never seen Cinsault with this kind of flair. Geek alert.

A JUICY VALUE FROM DOWN UNDER

The wine world seems to still be trying to leave Australia for dead on the big stage, but Oz keeps rolling out hits that fly in the face of the standard rumors about the balance, performance and aging potential that seem to effectively counter them. As people who were in at the beginning of the great Australian invasion at the turn of the century, we are still among those that think the category holds too much promise to ignore. Here we are with ‘public enemy number one’, the category most pointed to in facilitating the decline in Australian wine’s fall from grace, Barossa Shiraz and, to that, we say ‘nonsense’.

We’ll give you a short analysis of the main reasons we think Australian wines fell from grace in the marketplace. First was the breakdown of the classic ‘big Shiraz’ wines but, as we have said, a lot of the blame there has to fall on growers with old vines that decided they needed to have their own labels. We have proven on many occasions that ‘the players’ have excellent balance and age just fine (like the older Greenock Creeks we offered recently). Then there was a period where everything that came in seemed to be another leafy, undernourished red that was supposed to show restraint and be food friendly. The problem was that they weren’t very engaging in the first place.

We are doing our best to ‘make Australians great again’ in the minds of consumers because we believe in the wines and have long time relationships with a number of labels. Today’s offer is one of those. The Kalleskes have been working their Greenock farm for longer than anyone we know in California, some 150 years or seven generations. They farm sustainably and not only organically but biodynamically. They were certified back in 1998, long before it was the topic it is today. Winemaker Troy Kalleske has been at the winemaking helm of his family’s winery for almost two decades . It was Troy and his brother Tony that created the Kalleske label back in 2002. They’ve had plenty of time to figure things out.

That same Troy Kalleske makes the Nietschke wines. Johann Nietschke and Johann Kalleske both arrived in Barossa to established vineyards in 1838. Somewhere around 1968 the families came together with the marriage of John Kalleske and Lorraine Nietschke, hence the connection here. A number of years after the establishment of Kalleske Wines, Troy wanted to showcase some of the dedicated high-quality growers from across the Barossa Valley so the Nietschke Shiraz was born, named in honor of his mother Lorraine.

The winery calls the Nietschke Jack Shiraz 2017 (named for ‘great uncle’ Jack) a ‘modern Shiraz with a twist’. There’s a little something extra with a dash of Petite Sirah (5%) blended in for added complexity. All grapes are from the Barossa Valley including the renowned Greenock sub-region where vines are low-yielding and are grown in shallow, sandy loam soil over deep red clay, providing ideal conditions for these varieties. The juice spent a year in a combination of French and American hogsheads (300L barrels), some new and once used. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

We know a lot of you will think this an ‘unwieldy red’ when you see Barossa Shiraz. That is the conditioned response that the media has encouraged. Not true. Sure, this wine has some muscle and a ton of dark red fruits. But the weight and richness here present themselves with polish and balance. The Petite Sirah adds a little black pepper to the mix and threads of darker fruits. Full throttle, yes. But under control and packed with character. Nice notes from James Suckling, “Blackberry crumble, elderberry pie, vanilla and baking spices. Full body, some nice juicy tannins and a chewy finish. .. 91 Points.” All that and a sub-$20 price tag.

A LITTLE BIT OF LIQUID HISTORY from DOWN UNDER

This is a quick note to call your attention to a number of morsels that arrived from the iconic Australian producer Greenock Creek. We were heavily involved with these wines when they were first imported by Grateful Palate right around the ‘turn of the millenneum’. Greenock Creek was an established entity that really vaulted to fame as the wines received huge initial press from Wine Advocate as they came to the U.S. market. We’d go so far as to say that Greenock was a notable catalyst in the whole Aussie boutique movement that was exploding at the time.

The short story was that Dan Phillips was advised on certain labels to seek out on his first buying trip to Australia. One of the recommendations was Rockford Winery and, in pursuing that label, Dan met winemaking superstar Chris Ringland who was at the time also the winemaker for Greenock Creek wines that were being produced at Rockford. The rest is history.

In any case, these wines came from the Grateful Palate library and were all made under Ringland’s tenure. The reviews are consistently spectacular and the wines are are excellent representatives of their genre. A lot of the knock on Australian wines after the ‘golden era’ of the first decade after they established a strong beachhead here was that they don’t age. We beg to differ.

In all fairness, a lot of the bad rap on Aussie wines was based on a second wave of less established labels that benefited from the goodwill established by proven producers like Greenock Creek, Rockford, Clarenden Hills, and Kay Brothers. A number of them were from growers who wanted to have labels and may not have been ready for ‘prime time’.

The Greenock wines are a testament to the fact that the truly exceptional Aussie reds age very well, thank you. Have a look at this little slice of Australian wine history when the wines were made by an Aussie winemaking legend who has his own label now that sells for $400+ per bottle. Quantities, as you might imagine of library bottlings, are limited. There weren’t huge quantities in the first place. Good hunting. These are very rare.

SEE THE GREENOCK CREEK OLDIES

SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN A SAUVIGNON BLANC

This might get a little confusing. But these days in the wine world people are broadening their traditional horizons in order to achieve distinctive quality. That can sometimes be an international effort, as it is here. This is a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, made by a French guy, with a French name on the label, fermented with specific Japanese sake yeasts. Of course there’s a story.

Viña Marty is named for owner/winemaker Pascal Marty. Pascal’s road to Chile went through a number of interesting and high profile stops along the way. After graduating from the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology in 1982, Pascal served as winemaker for Baron Philippe de Rothschild in Bordeaux, was later moved to California to work at Opus One, then was sent to Chile to work at the budding project between Baron Rothschild and Concha y Toro, Almaviva. That in itself is quite a resume. Vina Marty was born in 2008.

The story of this wine stems from a unique fermentation idea of using a specific Japanese yeast typically part of sake fermentation. This particular yeast strain allows fermentation to happen at lower temperatures than traditional yeasts used in winemaking, whuch further preserves the fruit character of the juice and somehow lends itself to a particular, unique clarity of flavor. According to the winery, only members of the Japanese sake guild are allowed access to this yeast, and they are permitted as the only non-Japanese member.

So what does that mean? Well, it isn’t necessarily a blatant difference you would notice if you didn’t know the story, but the results are intriguing. The aromatics are somehow brighter and cleaner, and there is a certainly an elevated aspect to the flavor profile. Super fresh, with an almost grain aspect along with more traditional citrus and dry tropical fruit notes. Also note that this yeast strain doesn’t get along with sulfur, that additions are minimal, which may serve to give this wine its very clean lines.

Bright and engaging, there’s no ‘green’ here either, just inviting fruit and a lifted feel on the palate. It got James Suckling’s attention as well. He wrote, “Fermented with a sake yeast selection, this has a fresh, lime and mango-pastry nose with a fluid, gently creamy palate. Fresh and balanced. Drink now…91 Points.”

It also boasts a 94 point score affixed to the bottle from a publication called ‘Descorchados’, essentially South America’s version of ‘Wine Spectator’. In the end, it’s a different approach that works, and has produced a delightful and well-priced version of this varietal that should find a appreciative audience.

DASHWOOD SAUV. BLANC RIDES AGAIN: WS 90, $10.98

There are wines for all reasons. But that is perhaps one of the hardest things to manage. There are a lot of wines out there that are designed to merely function at a ‘price point’. There’s a not a lot of style or dimension. We aren’t really interested in those. But we are perfectly aware that people don’t necessarily all drink ‘top of the category’ stuff every single day. There is a great need for dependable ‘go-to’ wines for most of the days of the week. The problem is, in these days of ‘sensationalist media’, people don’t necessarily react to things that aren’t referred to as ‘best ever’.

Still, we like to keep everything in perspective. We aren’t going to tell you that this Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is the ‘greatest ever’. But we are going to tell you that this is one of the great, dependable, ‘staple’ Sauvignons on the market… sometimes. We have had great runs with Dashwood over the years. They don’t make the ‘cut’ every year, but when they hit it they are one of the best values around. This is one of those times.

The 2019 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc checks all the boxes for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. You’ve got bright flavors and zing, but also some richness and texture that a lot of examples lack. There’s a citrus backbeat here but also tropical and stone fruit tones that make the first impression. There is a great variation in the personalities of Kiwi Sauvignons on the market, but this one has broad appeal in that it is pretty easy going and doesn’t touch any of the flavor extremes that the genre can have. A lot of credit perhaps belongs to the 2019 vintage, which one of the other Kiwi pieces we researched called a special vintage. But the juice is ample and friendly in a category where some examples can make your eyes water.

It isn’t just us either. Even the ‘tough guy’ Wine Spectator gave this one a 90 point score, no small thing for a low priced Sauvignon Blanc, with comments “Aromatic and distinctive, with a thread of honeysuckle and litsea oil mingling with Meyer lemon, peach and apricot flavors that are generous and intense through the finish, showing a touch of savory sea salt. Drink now.” At $10.98, it will fit into most budgets nicely.

TASTY, NEW VALUE KIWI SAUVIGNON BLANC

There’s always a bit of hesitation when we promote something relatively ‘normal’. After all, nearly two decades into internet and email outreach marketing, it seems like every offer is making the claim of ‘best ever’ or ‘best buy ever’. Let’s be honest. Not every wine made is going to change the world. But sometimes you just want a delicious, proper, well-priced wine to drink without fanfare or consideration. This is that.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as a category has established itself as a strong candidate in the value category for Sauvignon Blanc. The thing is that selecting among the available labels can be a bit of a minefield if you are just looking at labels. A lot of value bottlings lean a little too far to the vegetative side of the spectrum, with dominant flavors of asparagus and cabbage. Others have searing acidity. There are also those that try to cover it up with residual sugar. It’s not easy to find one with honest fruit, bright but not overbearing acidity, and a pleasing flavor profile. When you find one like that, with a easy to swallow price, that’s news.

The Matahiwi Sauvignon Blanc 2019 from Wairarapa is a new name for us, but it checks all the boxes and then some. First, this stuff is estate bottled and is sustainably farmed. Those are phrases you don’t often hear associated with wines in this price range. The crop size is smaller by the nature of the terroir, and they augment the ripening process by leaf pulling to give the grapes better exposure. The harvest the vineyard over different periods to collect the grapes in varied stages of ripeness so that they have a broader palette of flavors with which to construct their final blend.

Having not tasted this house before, we can’t speak historically. But it sure worked in 2019. Tropical fruit, white stone fruit, gooseberry and lime covers the flavor profile with fresh underscoring acidity adding the appropriate ‘zip’ through the finish. James Suckling picked this one out of the pack as well writing, “A very fresh and zesty sauvignon, offering flinty and fresh passion fruit and limes and flowing to a smoothly fleshy, mango and peach palate. Drink now. Screw cap…90 points.”

Tasty, easy drinking, and, at $9.98, not a major financial commitment. Will it change your life? Probably not. But having something this agreeable at this kind of price is never a bad thing.

UNIQUE ‘HOUSE WHITE’ STEAL FROM ARGENTINA

We surely understand the passion some people have in wine that makes them want to do it for a living. We had and still have the same fire. But the reason they call it the wine ‘business’ is because it is just that. We have seen a number of people get in only to find out that, for any number of reasons, they have to get out.

The nice lady importer that sold us this wine was one of those stories. But the uncertainly of the last year (tariffs, pandemics, and politics, oh my) will ultimately claim a lot of casualties. But kudos to her that she hooked up with a couple of pretty sensational labels while she was at it. Onofri was one of those ‘winners’. But even under perfect market scenarios selling a blended white from Argentina with a long name wasn’t going to be any picnic. But this was a true diamond in the rough that just needed a little understanding.

We were not familiar with the winery or the wine when it was presented to us, but we became fans immediately. The term ‘white filed blend from Argentina’ had no meaning to us. It isn’t a particularly common practice. But we were intrigued with the juice. The nose showed tropical fruits, green banana, floral notes, and that whiff of lemon drop and peach that called to mind something from the Loire Valley.

In the mouth there was ample fruit and texture, but also great lift and just the right nip of acidity to the finish, surprising complexity of flavors and a compelling delicacy and presence. This is somewhere between a Vouvray and a ‘big kid’s’ Vinho Verde, yet it shares none of the grape varieties with either of those. Delicious and dangerously quaffable, as we did our research, it turned out that the actual composition of the wine was a complete surprise.

The grapes come from Los Chacayes near Tunuyán in the central Uco Valley at about 3000 ft. elevation. The blend is pretty unique for this part of the world, 50% Chardonnay, 25% Marsanne, and 25% Rousanne (we haven’t seen a lot of white Rhone varietals from there, period). This tasty little gem spent 12 months in French oak, 20% new, the rest 3^rd and 4^th pass, though we found the oak almost imperceptible (that’s good).

There’s the usual script about how Mariana Onofri “has worked with some of the top winemakers in Argentina”, and she spent a decade “making wine for various private vineyard ownership projects.” That doesn’t tell us a lot but what’s in the bottle sure does. There wasn’t a lot of information out there (the first name that appeared on our Google search for the wine was…ours) but somehow this small production project cast a wide net getting reviews from both James Suckling and Decanter Magazine.

From Decanter, “Creamy, silky texture and rich finish. Appealing stone fruit character with hints of dried apricot. Finish is persistent and delicious…91 points.”

From James Suckling, “This has a very attractive array of fresh white peaches with almonds and a mealy note. Smooth, lemon and peach-flavored finish. Drink now…93 points.”

‘Persistent and delicious’, si! For our part we are able to offer the delightful Onofri Alma Gemela White Field Blend Valle de Uco 2017, perfectly worth its $22 list tab, for the silly price of $9.98. A perfectly intriguing ‘house white’ candidate, while it lasts.