Wine Focus for July: Hot Weather Reds!

[Robin Garr]

It's summer all over the Northern Hemisphere now, with the solstice past and those lazy, hazy days of summer stretching well into the evening hours.

What red wines do you pull out when the ambience just doesn't seem fitting for burly, high-alcohol blockbusters? We're looking at hot weather reds to see us through July, those crisp, fresh, lighter bodied reds that we might even drink with a light chill. Beaujolais fits, of course, but so do a lot of Loire, Austrian and even German reds. Chill and cool it and tell us about your picks!

[Jenise]

Bob and I were working in our overly warm garage the other night and stumbled over a sixpack of 2012 Stoller pinot noir (Oregon) that should not have been left there. OOPS. Stoller is a name I've known for years but can't recall ever buying their wines before running into this at a tasting and opting for six bottles because I wanted to give the proprietor who hosted it some love. It was unfortunately the only wine he served that I found drinkable, and as well it was the only pinot in the lineup, so I couldn't swear I'd have chosen it under better circumstances. You've all been there, I'm sure!

So anyway, I moved five into the cellar and put one in the inside fridge to cool off and drink later. But later never came, and the next day Robin, David and I were weighing this as a potential topic, so the next night I pulled that wine out of the fridge and served it immediately just to see 1) what it is I bought and 2) gauge the chillability of a ripe-year pinot noir. Other than Beaujolais, I never consider chilling red wine even when the weather suggests it might be refreshing--instead, I just find myself drinking white and rose all the time.

Well, darn if it wasn't good. The wine was very purple and openly rich/ripe, not light at all and between color and ripeness very different than I remember it. Not a lot in the way of tannins which seems to be key to whether or not a red will take the chill--I remember, in another lifetime, drinking a lot of Hearty Burgundy that a good friend always kept in the fridge. It was so successful in fact, however undeliberate at first, that I think I'll feel the urge to chill again!

I like this topic in view of the heat wave we are having at present (c.35°C today). It gives me an excuse to go out and buy some more Loir riverside wines from Pineau d'Aunis .

[David M. Bueker]

I would call Pinot Noir my go-to hot weather red, but I drink it year round.

2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (7/1/2015)
Well this is my last bottle, and I am sorry to see it go. After an uninspiring childhood the '08 Bearwallow continues on a path of positive development. The balance is excellent, and while it still has quite a bit of deep berry fruit, it also has a set of aged elements that continue to develop. I would not go so far as sous bois, but there is a touch of earthiness and warm herbal aromas that add complexity. If I had any more bottles I might let them rest for 3-4 more years. The positive development of this bottling gives me confidence in aging the other Bearwallow wines.

Wish I could join Tim in his search in northwest France but guess Marche will have to do .

TN: 2011 Velenosi Rosso Piceno Superiore Il Brecciarolo.

Second bottle in the past month, $20 Cdn, 13.5% alc, good nat cork.
Light violet rim nice depth of color here. Nose inviting...cherry, spice, black fruits, touch of alcohol. ..."raspberry from across the table".
Soft tannins, medium bodied, juicy fruit, spice, pepper. lively acidity. Red fruits, hint of balsamic something?
*** good with whisky beef skewers.

2012 Tommolo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ($6.99 Trader Joes, Alcohol level 13%). An extremely fruity Monte despite the ridiculously low price, it has a body similar to a Crux Beaujolais. It is a great every day drinker with or without Italian food.

We matched it with fennely Italian sausages, and penne in tomato sauce.

Cabernet Franc is a great summer red. My favorite is from Paumanok Vineyards on Long Island and is not widely available. However, there are many great substitutes from the Loire and other places around the globe.

I've been a big fan of Berger's liter Gruner Veltliner for years, and decided to order their Zweigelt this spring. You can't beat a liter of light, refreshing red that retails around $17. The 2013 Berger Zweigelt is very light and has a carbonic fruity-freshness to it with herbal notes, but lacking the spicy backbone that I've found in other Zweigelts. I found it pleasant at room temperature, but it completely livened up with a good chill. (Disclaimer: I sell this wine.)

Lightish young red Burgundy can make an excellent summer wine served close to "cellar" temperature of c.14-15°C. This is not a Burgundy but a PN produced in Normandy quite close to our home but it performed this role perfectly with an evening meal outside on the terrace paired with chicken in a chaud/froid sauce but warmed.

2012 Les Arpents du Soleil Rouge - France, Normandy (7/4/2015)
Quite light colour and the last glass a bit cloudy. The wine was medium bodied, which was more than the colour suggested, and there were attractive red fruit and Pinot aromas and flavours together with fresh moreish acidity and underlying gras. The finish was quite firm and showed hints of caramel from the 50% barrique ageing which IMO needs some more time to integrate properly. This wine is produced a few KM down the road from here and seems an excellent substitute for generic or village Burgundy. Good now with some potential for improvement. I tasted the 2014 from barrel and tank and it seems very promising.
Posted from CellarTracker

Very nice Tim, you are so fortunate to be living where you are. Wonder if you are planning a trip to the Loire Valley this summer...Chinon, Bourgueil, Sancerre, Vouvray, aaagh the list goes on .

Very nice Tim, you are so fortunate to be living where you are. Wonder if you are planning a trip to the Loire Valley this summer...Chinon, Bourgueil, Sancerre, Vouvray, aaagh the list goes on .

Kids and grandkid visiting in August want to visit Nantes which is just by the Muscadet area .

[Jenise]

I've been a big fan of Berger's liter Gruner Veltliner for years, and decided to order their Zweigelt this spring. You can't beat a liter of light, refreshing red that retails around $17. The 2013 Berger Zweigelt is very light and has a carbonic fruity-freshness to it with herbal notes, but lacking the spicy backbone that I've found in other Zweigelts. I found it pleasant at room temperature, but it completely livened up with a good chill. (Disclaimer: I sell this wine.)

I appreciate that wine, too, for all the reasons you mention.

Certainly what I was craving when instead we drank a 2007 GLA Wine Co. 'Deluge' WA state cabernet blend, a portion of a magnum leftover from the 4th. Which was actually quite nice at this point in it's life with fairly resolved tannins, so it took to a refrigerator chill quite nicely.

[David M. Bueker]

A bight, fresh Pinot does the trick yet again...

2012 Ceritas Pinot Noir Escarpa Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/8/2015)
In a word: elegant.

This does not show much in the way of structure, but it has bright, red fruit and a hint of finishing spice. The balance of fruit and acidity is on point, so it can likely age on that balance. It will be interesting to follow this wine over the next several years to see where it goes.

2013 Nicolas Rousset Macon Rouge "Vin de Soif"

The name says it all. Lovely crisp fresh juicy fruit vibrant wine. Even if it wasn't literally hot today, this is a perfect hot weather red wine.

at a BYOB dinner with friends Monday night, a lightly chilled bottle of 2013 Loring Santa Lucia Highlands PN went very nicely with an interesting assortment of foods..No notes but my impressions of the wine pretty much mirrors David's notes on the Ceritas..PN..No clue whether it will be an ager or not..I doubt that my stash will last long enough to find out

tonight, 2007 Sojourn 2007Sangiacomo Vyds PN..Perhaps not the ideal summer red but drinking very nicely tonight..Wd drink this one 12 out of 12 months /year..Glad I still have a stash left

I have just opened the 2010 Fattoria Rodano Chianti Classico, quite a big wine here indeed. $22 Cdn, oh 14.5% alc..ouch. Very dusty tannins, excellent structure, cherry naturally on nose and palate.There is some tobacco and herbal element here too alongside some big black fruits. Thought it would be a light summer red...aaagh well .

The first bottle was no lightweight and works well as a winter wine with a warming stew but it also did a fine job on a summer evening with a barbecue meal of lamb chops, mergez and assorted veg.

2009 Domaine Valambelle Faugères Florentin Abbal - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Faugères (7/9/2015)
This is a robust, dense and flavourful Faugères with 60% Syrah in the blend with Carignan, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Colour is deep and quite opaque. The nose shows dark fruit and wet leather. The palate is quite full bodied with dense rose tinted brambly dark fruit, liquorice, dark chocolate and sprinklings of spice leading to a very firm and ripely tannic finish. Compared with the first of three bottles nearly a year ago, this bottle had developed (positively for me) showing much more spice and anise with the brambly primary fruit more in the background. There is an entry level stable mate, Millepeyres, which is less dense and more herbal and spicy. Both lack the great refinement which some at Faugères, e.g. Alquier, obtain in their Syrah dominated cuvées but both good+ in their own way and good QPR, this one at c.€12.


We served this second wine, also outdoors, with a mixed Mediterranean salad containing tuna, sardines, olives, etc. and again it worked well. (I think that I already posted a TN on a first bottle in a recent Italian WF.)

2013 Braida (Giacomo Bologna) Grignolino d'Asti - Italy, Piedmont, Asti, Grignolino d'Asti (7/10/2015)
Light in both colour and body; indeed more like a dark salmon tinted and slightly weighty rosé than a red. Nose with soft red fruit and struck match aromas. The lightish palate was very easy drinking with herbal and more soft red fruit notes, fresh acidity and an agreeable gentle bitterness on the finish giving support. Initially served cool but warming up quite fast outdoors on a fine evening, it had enough acidity and balance to support the higher temperature.


Posted from CellarTracker

Faugères is tough to find up here Tim but did come across one the other day downtown. Have to say I am really enjoying the TdF and the views of Normandy and Brittany on the races extensive coverage.

I think of Gamay wines, especially Beaujolais cru, as a terrific summer red. This was a 2010 DOMAINE DES NUGUES FLEURIE labeled as 13% alcohol by volume. Raspberries are prominent on the nose and palate along with flowery hints I look for but don't always find in wines from this commune. An easygoing wine which could pair with a variety of main dishes, I think it might be particularly companionable with roast fowl-- chicken, Cornish hen, duck or quail. It's slightly puckery on the finish, but I like this, maybe a bit less than the 2009 Cote de Brouilly I had in late June. I still find this a good QPR.

2011 Domaine des Pothiers L'Integrale
Structured and layered yet juicy gamay from the Cote Roannaise that was a splendid (chilled) accompaniment to a large platter of raw fish with various accompaniments for sushi rolls.

Some of the obscurer appellations in France's South-West are good sources of summer reds; Fronton from near Toulouse, Marcillac with its growing number of admirers, Gaillac and so on. An outstanding feature of these is the use of local grape varieties which contribute original flavours not found elsewhere. The grape in Fronton is Négrette but many growers consider it too original and dumb it down by using the latitude allowed in the rules to put in 50% of other varieties, notably Syrah. Not here -

2013 Château la Colombière Fronton vinum - France, Southwest France, Fronton (7/13/2015)
This Fronton (100% Négrette) is the estate's entry level wine and delicious for quaffing. Medium- body with round red fruit, a sprinkling of spice, leathery tang, lively acidity and gently bitter finish but not much tannic structure. Livelier, I think, but less full and less velvety than the excellent Dom.Le Roc Folle Noire d'Ambat '12; that may be a function of vintage. Good+ wine and good QPR at <€8.

Posted from CellarTracker

Tim`s excellent mention of Gaillac had me searching around here!

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52401&p=427768&hilit=gaillac#p427768

Will have to take the next flight to London if I wish to acquire some Marcillac .

2013 Idlewild Valdiguié Enzenauer Vineyard was a light-colored and light-bodied red that we served slightly chilled. Bright red fruit, a pronounced mineral streak, vibrant acidity all make this an easy to drink wine that pairs well with food. At $18 a bottle, it's more than ESJ Bone Jolly, but makes for an interesting change of pace.

Mark Lipton