May 10, 2018

DOMAINE DE DURBAN Beaumes-de-Venise Rouge 2016

(Beaumes-de-Venise, Southern Rhône, FR) $19

To anyone who knows their southern French wines, Beaumes-de-Venise is usually an explosion of apricots in the form of a fortified sweet muscat-based wine. This wine is its secret cousin—a juicy, dry red made from grenache, syrah and mourvèdre grapes born of vines nearly 50 years old. I think of it as a delicious, sexy, every night Côtes-du-Rhône, only better and at a fraction of the price. Just waiting for some lamb chops or sausages thrown on a grill. (14.5% abv)

89 points KM

Available at Kermit Lynch

In the Veneto region of Italy appassimento means:

A. Minimal intervention winemaking, where as little as possible is done during the winemaking process

B. Some of the grapes are “passed over” or left behind, so that only the best grapes are used

C. The grapes are spread on mats or left to hang in cool lofts to dehydrate them

D. “Thankfully the year has passed”— it’s a traditional Italian toast given at the end of the harvest

Appassimento is the natural dehydration of grapes to achieve concentrated flavors. Two techniques are used. Grapes can either be laid out in the sun on mats to dry or hung in cool, airy lofts so the natural breeze dries them. Both are commonly used in the Veneto for dry and sweet wines. Dry wines made from dried grapes become very full in body, complex, and relatively high in alcohol. Amarone is one of the greatest examples made through appassimento techniques. Amarone is traditionally a bold, dry wine, fermented until there is little residual sugar remaining. Recioto wines are also made in this way but retain sugar at the end of fermentation giving them their character sweetness.

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DOMAINE DE DURBAN Beaumes-de-Venise Rouge 2016

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