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Celebrating 30 years of winemaking, Mitch Cosentino and championship golfer, Fred Couples, launched Couples & Co., a small producer of wines designed to accompany fine world cuisine. After an in-depth tasting of preliminary blends with Cosentino in 2008, Couples knew he had found the right partner. "We are producing limited production wines designed to accompany fine world cuisine. But wine that also works artistically and stands on its own," says Couples of Cosentino. Their wine venture is called pureCru Napa Valley, beginning as what Cosentino refers to as "a winemaker's wine project," and evolving into a venture that takes Cosentino back to his roots. "I had been reminiscing about a small, hands-on entity where I could do it all myself again, like I did in the beginning," he says. Sangiovese is an odd duck in California, yet the examples we've tasted from here are spectacular. It is the premium grape in Italy's greatest Chiantis, and because of the similar climate, does extremely well here. The warm days and cool nights are just like what this grape is used to in its native lands, located in the Tuscan hills of Italy. When properly grown, it produces a rich, full-bodied wine of intense color and flavor. This selection is truly a tribute to its great Italian heritage. The grapes for this wine are 60% from Napa Valley and 40% from Lodi. The Napa grapes produce the elegance and supple structure of the wine while the Lodi counterpart is the power and the glory. The wine was aged for two years in oak barrels and was originally sold for $32.00 per bottle. You won't confuse this with a Sangiovese from Italy, and that's just fine with us. It is pure California with its upfront, forward fruit and spicy, cherry-scented nose and mouth feel. The finish is long and extracted with a plethora of flavors held in perfect check by the balanced tannins and acids. A natural with pork loin in a mustard sauce. November 2011 Vintners Series Newsletter (.pdf) Wine of the Month Club Vintners Series November 2011 from Wine of the Month Club on Vimeo. |
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