Now in the midst of my monthlong birthday celebration we also picked up our monthly club wines from The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan and we did have some wine tastings during the month as well and I am like a kid in the proverbial candy store.

The first wine is the Spelletich Cellars Zinfandel Reserve Amador County 2017 from the Spelletich Family Wine Company.  Spelletich Family Wine Company started in 1994, and their first three wines were: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Bodog Red (which became their immensely popular blend thirty years later).  They have three brands and a thriving custom crush business.  They produce about two hundred fifty cases per year from grapes sourced from Napa vineyards.  The custom-crush arm of the company which produces wine for clients from crush-to-bottle and everything in between.  A family-owned business with three generations working together.  This wine is pure Zinfandel from Alviso Vineyard in Amador County and was aged for twelve months in a blend of American and French Oak.  A medium garnet red wine that offers notes of dark plum, black cherry, blackberry, prunes along with cedar, chocolate, coffee, caramel and cinnamon.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displays tones of blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry, prunes, chocolate in a “jammy” wine with integrated tannins and finishing with a medium-count finish with fruit, chocolate and tobacco leaf.

The second wine from the club is Tua Tua Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand 2023 by David Clouston.  In a small coastal village in New Zealand there is a legend about a mysterious seashell called Tua Tua.  It is said to represent good luck and prosperity and is kept and revered as a talisman.  David Clouston crafts distinctive, innovative Marlborough wines that reflect the valleys where they are grown.  His grapes are grown on the clay soils of the high-density planted Brookby Hill Vineyard along with select sites in the Awatere and Wairau Valleys.  His winemaking techniques include native fermentation, aging in concrete egg tanks, large oak cuvées, a range of French Oak barrels, and clay amphora.  The wines are bottled, unfiltered and unfined to preserve complexity and texture.  This wine is pure Sauvignon Blanc and is described as a delicate straw-like hue that offers notes pineapple guava, elderflower, currants and wet stones.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displays tones of kiwi, passion fruit, pineapple, pink grapefruit and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and lime zest. 

And while we were there picking up the club wines, we were also poured some a tasting of La Bioca “Zabalda” Barbera D’Alba 2022. La Bioca is a small vineyard estate comprised of nine hectares located in the hills of Langhe, in the municipalities of Monforte d’Alba, Novello, La Morra and Barbaresco.  Zabalda is named after the prior owner of the vineyard and is pure Barbera.  Barbera is usually thought of after Barolo and Barbaresco and is thought of as an alternative to the other two.  All around Alba are rolling hills and Barbera vines thrive on the chalky, limestone-rich clay soils, and the best vineyards are sites closest to Barolo.  This wine is pure Barbera, the fruit is manually harvested, destemmed and cool fermented in temperature-controlled Stainless-Steel tanks for about eight days and then an additional maturation for six months. A reddish-purple wine that offered notes of cherries, raspberries, and blueberries with additional notes of lavender and roses.  On the palate this dry, medium-bodied wine displayed tones of the fruits, juicy acidity with fine tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and spices.