December Wine Club
Wines for Gathering and Celebration
Welcome back, everyone! This is Grandiflora’s last wine club release for 2021 and we have some solid holiday picks for you. As we move into the dark season in the Northern hemisphere our normal rhythms get disrupted and shift, and we find ourselves outside of the ordinary. For some, it’s a more social and family oriented season, and some of us enter a long struggle with the darkness. I like to have wines that embody depth and versatility on hand at times like these, and these two are an exact fit in completely different ways. The first is a biodynamic dry sparkling white from Alsace, supporting any dish or conversation with crisp, clean acidity, minerality, and aromatics. The second is a dark, rich, brooding red — or black, or blue, depending on who you ask — from coastal Croatia, contrasting and anchoring whatever it happens to come across. Stay tuned after the article for a few important announcements as well!
Domaine Bott-Geyl, Cremant d’Alsace ‘Paul-Edouard’ Extra Brut
Region focus: Alsace
Alsace occupies a significant position in the geopolitics of Western Europe as well as a favorable location for winegrowing. The nearby Vosges mountains shape the flows of both rain and empires, and Alsace as well as neighboring Lorraine have been pulled back and forth across French, Prussian, and German imperial lines for the last 200 years. Many of these sleepy fairytale villages were destroyed during the World Wars and had to be painstakingly rebuilt.
Despite the intergenerational storms that come from living in a strategic valley, the overall climate and geology of Alsace is sunny and bright, benefiting from the orographic effect of the Vosges. Similar to California’s Central Valley, the mountains produce a warm, dry continental climate ideal for growing grapes. Geologically, Alsace benefits from other regions along the Rhine, where the folding and uplift processes that created the Vosges accumulated, separated, and deposited a huge diversity of soil types, giving winemakers a broad and colorful palette to work with in their blends.
Producer Focus: Domaine Bott-Geyl
Bott-Geyl is a historic producer in the town of Beblenheim, officially forming in 1953. The Geyl family has made wine in and around Beblenheim in the middle of Alsace since 1795, and the current winemaker, Jean-Christophe Bott, continues the tradition. Starting in his mid 20s in 1993, Jean-Christophe immediately began conversion of the vineyards to organic and then biodynamic farming, achieving full certification in 2002. They farm 15 acres across Grand Crus and 4 Lieux-Dits. Emerging as clear leaders, Bott-Geyl works with the Biodyvin organization to educate other winemakers in biodynamic viticulture, and one result of this educational effort is in the bottle we have for you this month.
What we love about the Cremant d’Alsace Extra Brut
Bott-Geyl seems to be occupying a mentorship role within the organic and biodynamic vigneron community in Alsace, and is directly supporting small growers on the path to certification by making this cuvee out of Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir purchased from them. By performing the exacting Champagne method vinification, Jean-Christophe allows his growers to specialize in natural viticulture, leading to excellent quality both in the vineyard and the cellar. This cuvee is made with no dosage — that is, no sugar added to increase foaminess and alcohol content — and 24 months of aging, well beyond the requirement for the Cremant d’Alsace appellation. The result is beautifully dry while retaining the fruity aromatics of perfect ripeness and firm, bracing acid complementing the richness that develops with extended aging. This is very close in quality to a grower Champagne and deserves the comparison. Pair with nearly anything, especially good conversation.
Skaramuca, Plavac Mali 2019
Next up, we have a raisinated red from the sunny and beautiful Dalmatian coast of Croatia.
Region Focus: Dalmatia, Croatia
Croatia is a relatively new country but an old wine growing region, dating back to Greek settlement of the Dalmatian coast. Dalmatia is still an important region for Croatian wine and stands up to comparison with Tuscany. Caressed by Mediterranean breezes and bathed in sunlight, it’s easy to imagine Greek merchants choosing this string of fertile archipelagoes to grow wine grapes and olives. The first modern geographic designation for wine within Croatia was Dingac in 1961, on the Pelejesac peninsula, where Skaramuca grows their grapes.
This region differs significantly from Tuscany in the severity of its geology and climate. While Tuscany has a mild climate with rolling hills and fields growing on calcareous clay, Dalmatia has steep slopes and cliffs carved into a limestone karst. This permeable and soluble subsoil does not lend to rich soil formation, which makes it useful for growing crops that thrive under difficult conditions — such as wine grapes and olives.
Producer Focus: Skaramuča
Skaramuča begins officially in 1992, immediately following Croatia’s independence, but the family has been growing grapes in Dalmatia as far as they can trace back — there is still a vineyard that had been named for the family before the 20th century. Ivo Skaramuča was the first on the peninsula to leave the cooperative in Dingac and built the winery business at a time when the peninsula was depopulating rapidly after the war. His son Igor, trained as an agronomist, now runs the winery with his sister Ivana and brother-in-law Branimir, and I feel comfortable crediting the current team with Skaramuča’s success as an exporter. Ivo was very much a traditionalist, resisting new cellar and vineyard technologies at the expense of the business, and Igor seems to have found a way to connect this traditional style of winemaking to the international natural wine market, which we very much appreciate.
What we love about the 2019 Plavac Mali
Plavac Mali is indigenous to the Dalmatian Coast, resulting from a cross between Crljenak Kaštelanski, the ancestor of Zinfandel, and Dobričić, another Dalmatian grape. This cuvee is 100% Plavac Mali, dry farmed, hand harvested, and sprayed only with sulfur before rain as necessary. The grapes are slightly raisinated, resulting in a rich and dark extraction after only 8 days of maceration. Aged in stainless steel before release, this is Skaramuča’s mid tier wine, a more relaxed style than the appellation-level Dingac or Postup but a more natural handcrafted production than their entry level Plavac.
This Plavac Mali is robust, rustic, and earthy, with exceptional concentration and round, fruity aromatics to balance its intensity. The depth of flavor makes it worthwhile to sip it slowly and contemplatively as it opens up and breathes, ideally by a roaring fireplace.
Announcements!
First, we will be celebrating the 1 year anniversary of Grandiflora’s opening on December 3! Drop by for a casual hangout with music by From Overseas, a local artists’ gallery, tarot readings by yours truly, and of course the best curated natural wine list in the Hampton Roads.
Second, we will be closed from January 3 to January 19! We will be serving Turkish Breakfast on January 2 and then closed for the next 2 weeks.
Last but not least, there will be no wine club release in January! We will be back to our regular schedule in February with more exciting wine for you!
Hope to see you soon,
Jason
edit: the original version of this post stated the vintage of the Plavac Mali as 2017. The vintage you’re getting in this release is the 2019!
