By Jeff Maisey
A couple of years ago, Annette Stone of The Green Onion restaurant in Ghent turned me on to the portfolio of vinos produced by French-based winemaker Mary Taylor.
With the tagline “think outside the grape,” Taylor’s statement of purpose is inspiring: “Having worked with European wine for over two decades, I’ve come to love the nuance and diversity of Europe’s extraordinary wine regions, from the tiny villages of France and Italy, to the countryside vineyards of Portugal and Spain. As a result, I also love the European system of ‘place name’ or ‘appellation,’ which designates the geographical origin not just of wine, but cheese, olives, and butter as well.”
As you might imagine, each of the wines under the Mary Taylor umbrella has a unique story, and that’s an added value — along with the nice price — I find irresistible.
For Castilla Y Leon, Mary Taylor contracted with winemaker Pedro Gonzalez Mittelbrunn, a professor of viticulture at the University of Leon — his native home in northwestern Spain.
Mittelbrunn has dedicated himself to researching and reviving nearly extinct indigenous varieties Albarin and Prieto Picudo. He plants vines that range in age from 20 to 100 years old in very challenging pebble, clay, and dry soils with little annual rainfall. In keeping with tradition, the branches of these organically maintained plants lie on the group and produce low yields in the high plains of El Paramo Leones.
One of the aspects I enjoy about this red wine is you’re having a rare taste of the past.
This bottle of Castilla Y Leon is made with 100% Prieto Picudo grapes, resulting in a deep red hue with a truly uniquely strong taste and full-bodied character.
For wine collectors, some reviewers suggest this is a cellarable wine that’ll peak in flavor in 2032. It’s also complexly delicious right now.
Double Date with Honig Cabernet Sauvignon
Lynn and I met up with friends Brian and Ashley Strattner one recent evening for dinner at Todd Jurich’s Bistro in Norfolk.
Brian is quite the wine enthusiast, has a locker at his nearby country club, and is active in a monthly wine club.
Since he order the meatloaf and I selected a filet of beef, we scoured the wine list for a reasonably priced (under $100) bottle of red to share while the ladies sips their cocktails.
We settled on the 2021Napa Valley produced 2021 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Cab was most enjoyable, full of balanced berry and plum flavor and a light cherry scent to the nose.
The liquid enhanced the flavor of my beef.
Two thumbs up.
A Light Italian Red at blanca Food + Wine
Anxiously anticipating the revamped dining room at blanca Food + Wine in Norfolk, we scored a later evening table reservation to avoid the primetime dinner crowd. Norfolk diners are early birds, after all.
The refurbished, permanent structure space is certainly an improvement and offers a low-lighted room with a homey appeal and what seemed to me as a flat sage green wall coloring with shelves adorned with a cluster of wine bottles, small framed artwork, unlit candles on gold holders, and a centered silver/pewter bowl. The room also features white tiled wall space and a traditional black/white chess board tile floor.
To go with the halibut I ordered, I veered from the obvious white wine paring and instead selected a light-bodied red — the Luigi Giordano Dolcetto d’Alba 2024 from Italy’s Piedmont region.
This young, expressively fresh vino offered soft tannins and sensual aromas of cherries and blackberries. A nice drink-now table wine that won’t disappoint.