Wines included in this set:

2020 Luis Seabra, Xisto Ilimitado Tinto, Duoro, Portugal

30% Touriga Franca, 20% Tinta Amarela, 20% Tinta Roriz, 10% Rufete, 10% Tinta Barroca, 5% Malvasia Petra, 5% Donzelinho Tinto

Luis Seabra was born into a coffee-farming family in Angola. Today, he is a beacon of the “New Portugal” renaissance in winemaking. For two decades, he has been at the forefront of a cultural shift in Portuguese winemaking, championing a movement of young, independent winemakers reclaiming historical vineyards, grape varieties, and traditional techniques. Luis’s illustrious career includes his groundbreaking work at Niepoort, where he launched a revolutionary dry wine program in 2004, challenging centuries of fortified wine tradition. In 2013, he founded his own winery, dedicated to proving that fresh, elegant, terroir-driven still wines can thrive in a region dominated by large, internationally-owned producers. We’re so pleased to have procured this wine, a delicious field blend from two high-elevation sites on opposite sides of the Duoro River; the “kitchen sink” of indigenous grape varieties are co-fermented in wood and aged in barrique. The wine is medium-plus concentration or inky ruby with peppery, dark fruit, smoked meats, and wet earth flavors we expect all with beautiful elegance, grace, and vibrant acidity that makes this truly special.

2021 Domaine de la Chanteleuserie, Cuvée Beauvais, Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France

100% Cabernet Franc

Just outside the village of Benais, in the heart of the Touraine, sits the lovely Domaine de la Chanteleuserie. This "place where the larks sing," as the name means, is perched on a limestone plateau in an idyllic landscape. The seventh generation farm this estate in this homeland of Cabernet Franc. Bourgueil is among the most age-worthy of the Loire Valley's reds, and the wines from this estate are no exception. These wines have a suppleness and generosity of fruit that sets our hearts on fire! This "Cuvée Beauvais," is from one of Bourgueil's greatest sites and 50-year-old vines. We scooped up every single bottle in the state the instant it hit our palates! The wine is perfumed with ripe, lush blackcurrants, black raspberries, graphite, rich dried earth, mushrooms, roasted peppers, rose petals, tobacco, and cedar. On the palate, it is dry, with a medium body, silky smooth medium-plus tannins, and acidity to make your mouth water and elongate the earthy and ripe dark fruit finish.

2021 BLANKbottle, Master of None, Western Cape, South Africa

57% Grenache Noir, 23% Cinsaut, 10% Fernao Pires, 3% Chardonnay, 3% Chenin Blanc, 2% Pinot Noir, 2% Pinotage

Winemaker Pieter Walser makes exciting wines! His winery name is telling once you know that he rarely makes the same wine twice. Sometimes he does--he has a few vineyards that he's committed to, but he sources grapes from over 60 vineyards and 38 different varietals in South Africa, which gives him an enormous playground for inspired quality winemaking. The name of this wine is a play on the phrase 'Jack of all trades, master of none.' However, we are quite sure the cult following for his wines (us included) can attest to how original and delicious his wines are. The name refers to the fact that working with 38 grape varieties from 60 vineyards, it’s impossible to be a master of all. This wine is a playful blend of red and white grape varieties spontaneously fermented, with the grapes sourced from across the Cape. It’s medium concentration of ruby, bright and bursting with energy and notes of crunchy rhubarb, strawberry, tart red cherry, purple flowers, and a walk outdoors in the fall. It’s dry, juicy, and medium-bodied, with low tannins and medium-plus acidity. Enjoy it at cellar temp.

2019 La Kiuva, Arnad-Montjovet, Valle d'Aosta, Italy

70% Picotendro, Gros Vien, Neyret, Cornalin, Fumin

La Kiuva (lah kee-OO-vah) is a cooperative winery with 50 grower members in the heart of the Aosta Valley, Italy, bordered by France to the west and Switzerland to the north. The Aosta Valley is renowned for its ability to deliver fresh but highly complex alpine wines. With some of the highest-lying vineyards in the world, the growers of La Kiuva are devoted to cultivating distinctive grape varieties like the local clone of Nebbiolo, known as Picotendro. La Kiuva’s growers do all their vineyard work by hand, by necessity. Their 15 hectares of vineyard slopes are so steep that they are inaccessible to tractors. Their wines are fresh and wonderfully drinkable. This wine has a light concentration of ruby. It’s delicate, intense, and complex all at the same time! Notes of fresh and savory spiced red cherries topped with balsamic and savory herbs. Notes of bright earth and mushrooms share the stage. It’s bone dry, with ample and smooth tannins, medium body, and medium-plus lifting acidity. It’s so good! A treat for Nebbiolo lovers.

2022 Illahe, Grenache, Wahluke Slope, Washington State 

100% Grenache

ILLAHE is a small family winery, drawing its name from a local Chinook word meaning “earth,” “place,” or “soil.” This exceptional winery practices natural winemaking, utilizing a team of Percheron draft horses to cultivate their vineyard and harvest grapes. They harness solar power and collect rainwater, crafting wines without additives or filtering, allowing the true essence of the fruit and vineyard to shine. The grapes for this delicious Grenache come from Washington’s Wahluke Slope, aptly named for its Native American roots, meaning "watering place." Winemaker Nathan Litke approaches this Grenache with the same care and technique he uses for his acclaimed Pinot Noir—a light touch. This wine has a medium concentration of ruby and is abundantly aromatic, with notes of ripe and juicy red, purple, and blue fruits, orange zest, juniper berries, fresh herbs, and hints of black peppercorn. It’s dry and medium-bodied with light and smooth tannins and a fruit-forward finish. We’ve secured the entirety of what’s available for our Wine Club members, plus a few extra bottles for this special set.

2021 Moric, Blaufrankish, Burgenland, Austria

(100% Blaufrankish)

Across the border, you’d call it Lemberger; for a while, everyone was calling it Gamay, but in Austria, in the hands of one of their premier winemakers, you call it Blaufränkisch. Roland Velich of Moric tends to the ancient native grape variety with reverence, not only because it has been compared in taste and quality to some of Beaujolais' finest Crus, but because of its resilience in what the French call goût de terroir. Velich’s finest wines come from terroirs at the boundaries of winemaking, where challenging climatic conditions produce grapes whose vines root deep in rich Burgenland soils; the goût, or taste, comes from an organic encounter with nature. 2021’s Blaufränkisch is a gorgeous, unpretentious, yet age-worthy wine. It is medium-concentration of ruby with aromatic notes of ripe dark fruit—cherry, plum, and berries intertwined with mushrooms, tea leaves, savory herbs, and floral. The palate is dry, medium-bodied, with medium, youthful tannins, and singing acidity.