As always, it is a pleasure for me to visit the staff at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  For just under thirty dollars a month, we get two wines, one from the Old World and one from the New World, and I also get a chance to see how the new addition is coming. 

The wine representing the Old World is Chateau Gaillarteau Bordeaux Rouge 2022 from the Dubourg family.  The winery is in Mourens, in the Entre-Deux-Mers district in the Bordeaux region.  The Dubourg family is committed to using traditional methods of harvesting and maintaining the vine; as well as modern methods of winemaking with micro-oxygenation and thermos-vinification.  The district Entre-Deux-Mers is only used for white wines, while the red wines use the more generic and encompassing Bordeaux Rouge.  The vines for this estate are about twenty-five years of age and planted on alluvial soil, which is clay and limestone.  The wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine is fermented and aged in Stainless-Steel vats.  The wine is described as being deep purple in color and offering notes of blackberry, plum and black cherry and with hints of cedar, spice and tobacco.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine displays tones of dark fruit and spices blending well with soft tannins and a rich finish.

  The wine representing the New World is Three Wine Company Old Vines Zinfandel Contra Costa County 2021.  Three Wine Company is a family winery focused on sustainable growing with Matt Cline and his wife keeping everything running smoothly.  He has a passion for preserving the historic varietals of the region, Zinfandel, Mataro and Carignane.  In 2014, Cline and an alliance with the City of Oakley, environmentalists, and historians stood up to the State of California to save historic and high-quality vineyards.  This vineyard is a relic of growers and winemakers from previous generations and is found in their “field blend” of ancient vines still producing fruit, and of mixed heritage.  Contra Costa County AVA is directly east of San Francisco to the Sacramento-San Joaquim River Delta (and Contra Costa is Spanish for “opposite shore”).  At the beginning of the 20^th Century, a significant proportion of the county was vineyards, but during Prohibition, many vineyards were replanted.  Hence there are gnarled old vines planted over a hundred years ago on deep free-draining, sandy soils; the defining feature of the terroir.  The county has a hot climate that is moderated by the bays, which allows it to have a long growing season.  The wine is a blend of seventy-seven percent Zinfandel, fourteen percent Petite Sirah, six percent Carignane, and three percent Alicante Bouschet.  The wine is described as a deep inky-purple wine that offers notes of currants, dried cranberries and dried herbs.  On the palate this firm-bodied wine displays tones of red fruits, orange zest, white tea, and white pepper blending with grippy tannins, rough wood and a dry finish of fruit and terroir.