Shantay You Sleigh 6-pack

Nakkal Simple Rosé Pet-Nat 2024 Canelones, Uruguay

A sparkling dark rosé made of 100% Tannat from organically farmed vineyards Hand harvested, fermented in concrete with native yeast. Bottled in the middle of fermentation with crown cap to preserve bubbles. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with zero SO2. Chill it well and pop it open to enjoy aromas of salted dark cherries and rose petals, and an almost-but-not-quite-sweet inviting fruitiness. Gets the mouth watering for future feasts!

Express Winemakers Great Southern Chardonnay 2022

Note pulled from December wine club: Hand harvested from four blocks across two Chardonnay vineyards, this is 94% Mount Barker and 6% Denmark (both Great Southern sub-regions) from 25-35 year chardonnay vines. Wild yeast fermentation is done in an array of size, shape, and composition of vessels. Post fermentation, the wine spent a brief duration on full solids (skins and lees), picking up phenolics and color. The various lots were then racked to a blending vessel prior to bottling.

Flint, blossom, primary stone fruit aromas, and a whiff of skatole (in a good way) make for a somewhat atypical chardonnay, though familiar apple, and citrus peak through. Being unfiltered, it presents cloudiness as proof. While unusual, this a very good version of chardonnay, and is an example of what sets Express Winemakers apart: a refusal to play it safe in producing an eclectic lineup of wines that pushes the envelope of traditional winemaking.

Catch & Release Middle Child Riesling 2023

55% Riesling, 37% Chardonnay, 8% Chenin Blanc | 150 cases produced

The Chardonnay is fermented on the skins for 14 days in stainless steel. The Riesling and Chenin Blanc are foot tread and macerated on the skins for two days before being pressed and moved to stainless for primary fermentation. Aging is in a mixture of stainless & neutral oak for 10 months. 100% native yeast, unfiltered, dash of SO2.

Bright citrus, white flowers, lots of lip-smacking acidity, a touch of caramel…it is lovely and lively and might be a bit of an understated overachiever.

Quinta dos Santos Escolhido Tinto 2022, Algarve, Portugal

A light-to-medium bodied Portuguese blend (some ratio of Negra Molé, Touring Nacional, Sousâo, and Bastardo) from Portugal’s southern coast that exudes a raisiny but sea-breezy-fresh nose, and plums and cocoa powder on the palate.

Oscar Navas Batussa Negre Terra Alta Red, Spain 2023

A blend of 90% Trepat and 10% Macabeu organically grown at 400-500m over clay and calcareous soils. Grapes are hand harvested, with carbonic maceration in stainless steel tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with a little bit of SO2.

Fresh, mineral-driven, a touch herbal, a trace of tannins, very food friendly.

Prima Piuma Monferatto Rosso (Grignolino Barbera) 2021

Prima Piuma is a low intervention, organic line of wines created by Summer Wolff in collaboration with Azienda Agricola Gaia with a goal of making “fun, fresh, real wines priced for everyday drinking.” Gaia is a beautiful, organic estate located just two hills over from Cascina Iuli (where Summer and her husband, Fabrizio Iuli, reside) in the Monferrato. The Rosso is 70% Grignolino 30% Barbera fermented & macerated for 8 days in stainless with indigenous yeasts. Maturation is in concrete with no fining. This is a lively, captivating red with loads of ripe strawberries and raspberries accented by scrubby herbs and rocky minerality. It’s a satisfying fatty/protein pair.