Wine down your work week and get your week-end off to a good start with Asheville’s Best Wine Tasting every Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. With summer almost behind us and cooler temperatures upon us, we’ve added some new, fuller style whites and a several new, bold and rich reds to the roster. We can’t wait to share these exciting wines from Italy and France with you this Friday.
We’ll start with the 2013 Chateau Recougne Bordeaux Blanc, a classic blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon fermented entirely in stainless steel. The Sauvignon Blanc shines through in the form of green apple and citrus and the Semillon adds texture and richness to this delicious white. Up next, the 2012 I Lauri “Tavo” Pinot Grigio hails from Italy’s Delle Venezie zone. Ripe, round, and fuller bodied than many Italian Pinot Grigios, it exhibits aromas and flavors of golden apple, peach, pear and white floral notes.
Moving into the reds 2011 I Lauri “Bajo” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a pure “comfort wine.” Juicy black cherry, raspberry, currant and spicy oak notes make this juicy and inviting a wine a great one for drinking solo or with friends and/or food. As mentioned in the introduction, the 2011 Plantamura Primitivo “Black Label” is made with grapes from older vines and sees 6 months of aging in oak barrels. Deep, rich, full bodied and loaded with black cherry, blackberry, plum and spice notes, it’s an impressive wine at an impressive price. We’ll finish up with another bruiser of a red, the 2011 Domaine Le Couroulu Vacqueyras “Cuvée Classique,” a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre. For a Vacqueyras, it’s pretty silky and smooth, with pretty cherry and raspberry up front, but it finishes with classic Southern French rusticity in the from of peppery, herb and mineral.
Tasting wines are 10% off by the bottle, 15% off if you mix six of them, and 20% off if you mix twelve of them!
The Wines
Prices range from $10 to $20 per bottle
1. 2013 Chateau Recougne Bordeaux Blanc
(Bordeaux, France)
2. 2012 I Lauri “Tavo” Pinot Grigio
(Delle Venezie, Italy)
3. 2011 I Lauri “Bajo” Montepulciano
(Abruzzo, Italy)
4. 2011 Plantaumura Primitivo “Black Label”
(Puglia, Italy)
5. 2011 Domaine Le Couroulu Vacqueyras “Cuvée Classique”
(Southern Rhone Valley, France)