With Labor Day coming up we as much as we hate to admit it, it is almost the end of the summer. Sure, the season officially ends on September 22 with the autumnal equinox, but with constant back-to-school sale advertising it’s hard to stay optimistic. One of the things we really love about this time of year is having the beach pretty much to ourselves. With multiple family and friends living on the ocean’s edge we often wrangle invitations for late summer barbecues, and we never show up without a few bottles of wine in our hands.
It’s still hot during the day, so we serve well chilled whites with appetizers but at night it cools down just enough to enjoy some big reds with grilled meats. The kids are back in school and at soccer practice, so forget about grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and instead visit your local butcher and ask her to remove the bone from a leg of lamb and marinate it with olive oil, thyme, rosemary, and lemon juice for the best herb roasted lamb you’ve ever had. And while you’re at it, ask her to toss a few porterhouse and ribeye steaks into the bag as well. A late summer barbecue with the best cuts of meat deserves the best wine; here are our picks for the perfect end of summer fête.
-
Valadorna 2018 Toscana IGT Tuscany Italy
This enticing Italian red blend comes from Tenuta di Arceno located in the Tuscan hills. It is situated in southern Chianti Classico in Castelnuovo Berardenga near Siena. The estate is 2,500 acres large with approximately 10 percent of it planted with vines and even less planted with olive trees. The plantation is equally split with just about 50 percent local Sangiovese vines and 50 percent international varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Valdorna 2018 is garnet colored in the glass with aromas of black licorice, red plum, and whiffs of dark cocoa powder. The tannins are pleasantly grippy and there’s a strong backbone of minerality that supports flavors of blueberry, cherry, vanilla, and brown baking spice.
Buy Now: $115
-
Saints Hills 2018 Plavac Mali Dingac Dalmatia Croatia
A few decades back Ernest and Ivana Tolj decided to build a winery and committed themselves to making the finest Croatian wines from indigenous grapes. They hired Michel Rolland to help make this stunning wine produced from Plavac Mali grapes grown in Dingač on Dalmatia’s Pelješac Peninsula. In the glass it is inky garnet colored with aromas of red plum, red currant, and black raspberry with chewy tannins and flavors of plum, red raspberry, crushed oyster shells, and cassis.
Buy Now: $56
-
Louis Latour 2022 Pernand-Vergelesses En Caradeux Premier Cru Côte de Beaune Burgundy France
The village of Pernand-Vergelesses is less than two miles away from Aloxe-Corton village and the famed Corton hill. It has similar rocky, limestone, and flinty soils yet few people know that it produces quality wines at a fraction of the cost of the Corton hill wines. The En Caradeux vineyard faces east towards the Corton hill and soils composed of flint, marl, and stone that give the wine its characteristic minerality. This 100 percent Chardonnay is aged for 10 months in 25 percent new French oak barrels and has aromas of toasted hazelnut, grilled almonds, white peach, and lemon curd. Bracing acidity and flavors of yellow peach, apricot, lemon zest, and Granny Smith apple are present in the mid palate. Don’t delay, less than 500 cases are imported into the U.S. market.
Buy Now: $80
-
Jean Leon 2016 La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva Penedes Spain
Jean Leon was one of the first winemakers to grow French varieties in Penedes; he planted the Cabernet Sauvignon vines that still produce the fruit for this delightful wine with his friend Jaume Rovira in 1963. Jean Leon 2016 La Scala is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon that is macerated for 17 days and allowed to undergo alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks followed by malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. It was then aged for 28 months in French oak and was bottled in June of 2019. It has intense aromas of Christmas baking spices, black plum, and cherry preserves with great mouthfeel and velvety tannins and flavors of plum, blackberry, and cassis.
Buy Now: $85
-
Flora Springs 2021 Wild Boar Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley California
Grapes for this Cab come from a very small block in owner John Komes’s home vineyard in the Rutherford AVA. It has been in his family since 1977 and is surrounded by a forest of redwoods and old oak trees. Flora Springs Wild Boar Cab has aromas of ripe cherry, garrigue, and black plum with plush tannins and flavors of toasted hazelnut, cassis, blackberry, and dark chocolate.
Buy Now: $150
-
Donum 2019 Single Vineyard Estate Chardonnay Carneros Sonoma California
Donum is the Latin word for “gift,” because the winemaking team considers wine to be a gift from the land and it takes the responsibility of keeping the land healthy and productive very seriously. To that end, Donum has achieved one of the most difficult certifications in organic farming, the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) status for its estate vineyards. Donum Carneros Estate Chardonnay 2019 has aromas of lemon zest, lime pith, dried apricot, and white peach with flavors of lemon curd, tropical fruits, and a pleasant burst of bitter almond in the lingering finish.
Buy Now: $90
-
Blue Rock Winery 2019 Best Barrels Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley California
First settled by Italians that once worked at Italian Swiss Colony winery, Blue Rock was called Villa Maria Winery until it was closed during Prohibition. Kenny and Cheryl Kahn purchased the estate in 1987 and are committed to making quality wines from vineyards surrounded by 140-year-old olive trees. The Blue Rock team chooses to age its wine in barrels made by Tonnelleries Nadalie of Ludon-Medoc because they are crafted with tightly grained French oak staves that have been seasoned for three years. The wine ages for 28 months in barrel and has aromas of black raspberry, graphite, and ripe cherry. It has pleasantly chewy tannins and flavors of black currant, cocoa powder, and a touch of cherry vanilla in the long finish.
Buy Now: $107
