A SLURPABLE but SEROUS winter white

ON PRE-ARRIVAL SALE NOW

I thought I might not have a new white wine available to offer you until sometime early next year but a few days ago my outlook changed. For some of you this will be immediately recognizable, and if not, you'll make friends with this bottle very quickly.

This is a wine of threes. It is uniquely and equally blended among three grape varieties--Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. And it harkens three different regions of France--Burgundy, the Loire, and Alsace. It is so unique that Emmanuel Rouquette, its maker, playfully calls it "Blanc de Blancs"--a sparkling wine term--even though it is good o'l still dry white wine.

Puits de Compostelle Blanc (de Blancs) 2015

On pre-arrival at just $13

5% further off on 6-packs, 10% off further on solid cases

Emmanuel is the de facto king of Burgundy's tiniest appellation, the Charité-sur-Loire. There are exactly 7 independent wineries here, and every one of them looks to him for support and guidance. With only 4 hectares of his own vines (from a total of 60 for the whole appellation), Emmanuel has a real gem on his hands. The Loire river is only 20km away, Chablis is an hour north, and Beaune a bit more to the east. I like to think of his vines as a vortex of sorts, nearly in the middle of France, and nearly in the middle of its most famous vineyards.

Have you ever stood in one of those places? Where you look around and realize you're somewhere special, and think "this just feels right?" This is one of those places.

Puits Compostelle is a country winery through and through, but it also turns out beautifully polished white wine at its very best. Each of the varieties shine. The Sauvignon gives a citrusy and lemongrass aroma, the Pinot Gris a soupçon of apple and pear, and the Chardonnay a dose of bright acidity and a slightly waxy texture. It's one of those white wines that if the varieties were bottled separately might be selling for $20-25/bottle. But put them all together? Half that.

The art of winemaking right? When the whole is better and cheaper than the sum of its parts...

Ready, set, go. Emmanuel is preparing our order now and I expect the wine about a week or two into December. To order please reply to this email with your request: "Three", "Sixer", "Solid Case"--no limit. I think you'll enjoy this gorgeous white throughout the winter and of course into next Spring when temps again begin to rise.

Bon weekend!

Dan