April 2024
WINE OF THE MONTH
Every month we give a little spotlight time to a hidden treasure, a wine we think you should meet (and hopefully fall in love with). To encourage the introduction, we offer the wine at 25% OFF the bottle price for the given month.
L'Esprit des Pères de L'Eglise 2021 Rouge
Vin de France // Reg $16.99 | 25% OFF = $12.74
Blend of Grenache & Cinsault. Bright red fruit on the nose — cherries & raspberries, violets & earth. Medium-bodied. Lots of fruit on the palate: dark plums, black cherries, blackberries. Nice, pleasantly dry finish. Perfect spring wine!
The Gradassi family’s original winery is in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In 2017, they bought several plots in the town of Saint Laurent des Arbres to diversify the range: AOC Lirac, AOC Côtes du Rhône and Vin de France. This wine comes from those properties.
JENS’ TOP PICKS.
Every month Portalis owner Jens Strecker picks 5-10 wines that he thinks are outstanding … for any reason he chooses. Here are his picks (not in a specific order) made with early spring in mind.
Cordero di Montezemolo 2021 Langhe Arneis
Piedmont, Italy // Reg $21.99 | Mixed Case $17.59
100% Arneis from Langhe. Vinified in stainless steel tanks. A delightful Arneis with aromas of peach, dry apricot, lemons & green apples, with floral notes. Flavors of pears, apricot, citrus, with hints of minerality. Great acidity all the way through the long finish. Delicious, easy drinking, but still an interesting white wine!
Spring Seed Wine Co. 2019 Scarlet Runner Shiraz
McLaren Vale, Australia // Reg $22.99 | Mixed Case $18.39
The winery says: ”A cracking McLaren Vale shiraz, ... medium-bodied, fruit -driven and lightly oaked style. Lovely balanced tannins and hints of red and black fruits on the nose and palate.” 100% organic. I really like what's coming out of Australia right now, and this wine is a good example at a great price. —Jens
Parigot & Richard NV Les Origines Crémant de Bourgogne Brut
Burgundy, France // Reg $37.99 | Mixed Case $30.39
Rich, ripe, golden apples & fresh pear with just out of the oven yeasty brioche... but energetic!! Full & mousse-y on the palate with a fun, citrusy-lime acidity on the finish. Really tastes like a well-made Champagne!
Kracher 2022 Grüner Veltliner
Burgenland, Austria // Reg $23.99 | Mixed Case $19.19
Minerals on the nose (water over rocks). Absolutley tongue-tingling acidity. Almost effervescent. Flavors of nectarine, citrus, lime, grapefruit. White peppery finish. Good with sausages, salads & pork. Killer Grüner Veltliner.
Photo: Gerhard Kracher with his vines
Ovum 2023 Big Salt
Oregon // Reg $22.99 | Mixed Case $18.39
Blend of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc & Muscat. Known for its amazing aromatic nose, this wine is still citrusy fresh in the mouth with a little sea salt spray on the finish.
Photo: Winemaker Ksenija Kostic House pictured with co-owner husband John
Darby 2022 Purple Haze
Columbia Valley, Washington // Reg $24.99 | Mixed Case $19.99
"Proprietary Red Blend led by Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon. AVAs: Wahluke Slope, Red Mountain, Royal Slope and Rattlesnake Hills. Aged 14+ months in French + American oak barrels." Great wine. Freshly bottled. Needs to open a little. Nose is killer: herbal, blackberries, blueberries, elderberries. Garrigue! Fuller bodied. Blackberries, black plums, blueberries. Acidity is phenomenal. A little dark chocolate on the long finish. That wine is nuts!!
Photo: Darby English, owner/winemaker
Nielson 2022 Chardonnay
Monterey & Santa Barbara, California // Reg $21.99 | Mixed Case $17.59
Peach, apricot, pear but dry on the nose. Pear, apples, citrus. Beautiful balance. Not super rich or buttery, but still has some lucsiousness. Winemaker says: Pear tart on the finish. Really delicious, refreshing Chardonnay.
Murgas 2019 Touriga Franca
Lisboa, Portugal // Reg $23.99 | Mixed Case $19.19
100% Touriga Franca… a blending grape showing off! Lighter in body... full of flavor! Nose of subdued spices (clove?) & fruit. So inviting. Flavors of blackberries, black currant. Very soft tannins on the finish. Little spice. Absolutely delightful wine.
Gassier 2023 Côtes de Provence L'Esprit Rosé
Provence, France // Reg $21.99 | Mixed Case $17.59
Blend of Syrah, Grenache, Rolle, Semillion, Cabernet & Cinsault from clay and limestone vineyards near Aix-en-Provence, close to the Mediterranean Sea and at the foot of the Sainte-Victoire Mountain. "The rocky bar of the Sainte-Victoire mitigates the vivacity of the Mistral."
Fuller-bodied with some depth. Lots of red fruit (strawberry field, red raspberries), white flowers, cantaloupe, citrus with a spicy note on the finish. Acidity, complexity, fruit. This winery makes $100 rosés, and this one doesn't taste that different from the fancy ones. Seriously.
Mas de Flauzières 2019 Vacqueyras Le Pilou
Southern Rhône, France // Reg $23.99 | Mixed Case $19.19
50% Grenache and 50% Syrah from stony and clay-limestone soils. Aged 18 months in oak barrel. “Roasted aromas of coffee, cocoa, mixed with black fruits and licorice. Wine presenting a very nice balance, at the same time full, concentrated, and fruity, with a very long finish and full of freshness. Drink with Marseillaise beef, spicy meat, or Asian cuisine as a pork with caramel for example, but also with Valais raclette or roast quail.’ —Jérôme Benoît, winemaker.