As we round the corner out of Summer and into Fall in this very odd year we would like to thank each and every one of you for being supporters of Nectar. Looks like we still have a few good weeks of patio weather upon us so get down here and enjoy with your favorite glass or bottle of wine or a delicious craft pint. Tastings have returned with our featured beer tastings on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month and our featured wine tastings on the 2nd and 4th Thursday. Join us September 10 as we taste the wines selected for the September wine club. See the notes below!
Looking for a fun new place to brunch? Check out Bark, A Rescue Pub and their Saturday, Sunday Brunch.
This month’s wine club selections feature wines Greece, Italy, California and Washington.
WHITE #1 – Hedges DLD Rhone White (WA) $24.99 – Hedges is Washington’s Red Mountain Chateau. Known mostly for their affordable CMS red blend Hedges also makes several higher end estate red and white wines. The DLD Rhone White. The blend is 62% Marsanne and 38% Viognier. This wines were produced in a combination of steel and new oak barrels. The six oak barrels that were used went through malolactic fermentation with lees stirring every three days. This helps produce a full and robust mouth feel of pear, peaches, ginger spice, vanilla wafer and honeydew.
WHITE #2 – Lyrarakis Assyrtiko Viola (GR) $19.99 – Our first ever Greek offering in the club. Assyrtiko is the wine grape and the region is from the Eastern area of Crete. Complex aromas of citrus and white fleshed fruits with notes of ginger. Marvelously ripe grapes have given this wine a crispy and rich mouthfeel with a mineral and chalky character. Organic and biodynamic.
RED #1 – Tenudo Guado Tasso Il Bruciato (IT) $29.99 – One of the best prices you will find on this Antinori project from the Tuscan Coast. There’s a very fresh array here of thyme, newly picked blackcurrants, iodine, crushed stones and sea salt. The exuberant fruit is matched nicely to fine and elegant tannins, which paint a compact and neat picture on the medium-to full-bodied palate. 94 Points James Suckling; Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah.
RED #2 – Starmont Merlot (CA) $26.99 – Many people dismiss Merlot but don’t count this guy out. 90 Points Wine Enthusiast the wine is 85% Merlot and Blended with 15% Malbec. The wine is reductive and high toned, with fresh acidity lifting its otherwise intensely built layers of clove, toasted oak, cedar and iron. Red-currant flavor provides a worthwhile contrast and crisp finish. I promise you’ll be back for more.
RED #3 – Decoy by Duckhorn Limited Pinot Noir (CA) $28.99 – Crafted using grapes from the finest Pinot Noir regions on the Sonoma Coast, including the Russian River Valley, Green Valley, and Carneros, this alluring wine combines silky sophistication with a bright cool-climate energy. On the palate, soaring flavors of blackberry, red currant, cherry, cedar, and sweet baking spices glide to a long, vibrant finish; 92 Points Wilford Wong
PREMIUM WINE – Lancaster Estate Winemakers Cuvee (CA) $79.99 – Look this big boy up! The 2016 Winemaker’s Cuvée is medium to deep garnet-purple in color and scented of cassis, blackberries and preserved plums with suggestions of cedar chest, wood smoke, dried herbs and tapenade plus a waft of charcoal. Full-bodied with tons of black fruit and wood-inspired flavors, it has a solid line of ripe tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long. 94 Points Robert Parker; 97% Cabernet 3% Merlot