Producers
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When founding partner Mary Taylor first fell in love with wine in the early 1990’s, it was the European classics that truly spoke to her and stole her heart. As a young professional selling French and Italian wine, first in the New York wine auctions and then as a merchant, she quickly learned to appreciate wine in the “Old World” way— not as a luxury good reserved for special occasions, but a living agricultural product that belongs to everyday life.
Today, Mary Taylor Wine’s mission is to unlock the world of European “appellation” wines by working with individual growers in multiple villages— from Bordeaux to Nîmes to Valençay— who produce exceptional, regionally-distinctive wines at extremely accessible prices. Farming is inextricably linked to making distinctive wines and all of the growers that Mary Taylor works with farm responsibly; most are certified sustainable by HVE and others are certified organic and practicing biodynamic.
Each Mary Taylor wine is a faithful ambassador of its geographical origin, true to local traditions, and the vision of the individual farmer who bottled it, whose name is listed on the front of every bottle. Mary Taylor Wine offers affordable wines of genuine quality and integrity (no shortcuts) that will bring the magic of their “terroirs” to life wherever you choose to enjoy them: at a dinner party, next to the grill, or even just on a quiet night at home.
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The Mas de Cadenet estate is located at the base of the Sainte Victoire mountain (the mountain that Cézanne made famous through his paintings), in the heart of Provence. A family estate, it has been owned and run by the Negrel family for seven generations.
Sainte-Victoire is a sub-appellation of the Côtes de Provence which was granted its own AOC status in 2005; twenty-two winemakers (including Mas de Cadenet) fought for their AOC status for 15 years, and rosé from this region is widely understood to be the best of those produced in Provence. Mas de Cadenet's 45 hectares of vineyards are situated 250 meters above sea level, with a southern exposure: 40 hectares are located in AOC Sainte-Victoire and 5 hectares in AOC Côtes de Provence. Rosé is their primary focus, and at 60% of their total production, making an exceptional rosé is clearly a priority; they also produce vin rouge (30% of their production) and vin blanc (the remaining 10%).
Sainte-Victoire is also noteworthy for a "gentleman's agreement" in effect here: the vignerons of Saint-Victoire have all elected to practice organic viticulture. As with all of their neighbors, striking a balance with nature is central to the Negrel family's philosophy, and their vineyards have been certifed organic since 2013. The average age of their vines is 35 years old, with the oldest vines now over 70 years old. The age of the vines is a key factor for the wines consistency and quality; the yield of the wines is naturally kept low to ensure high quality of the wines (45 hl/ha in average). www.masdecadenet.fr Image:
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Nothing encapsulates the next generation of Penedes - quite literally in this case - as the work of father and son team Joan and Joan Vendrell at Mas Goma.
The estate is located in Les Cabanyes, in the heart of the Penedès, a historic and traditional area of the viticulture. The property has been owned by the Vendrell family since 1918 and has been growing grapes and producing wine on and off since then. The new era started in 2009 when Joan Vendrell (the son), who handles the business side of things, and Joan Manel Vendrell (the father), who has 30 years of winemaking experience took control.
Only the oldest vines are used to make wine on the estate, and they currently sell grapes from younger vines to other producers in the area. In the cellar everything is fermented with native yeasts, little to no sulfur is added depending on the cuvée, and everything is unfined and unfiltered.
These wines are laser-focused and run a range of different styles, from long-aged cavas to seriously refreshing still wines in liter bottles. Some wines have just arrived, and we are thrilled to share them with you.
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For more information on Mateus Nicolau de Almeida, please visit Selection Massale.
Available in California.
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For more information on Meles Augustín Normil, please visit Selection Massale.
Available in California.
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For more information on Menaud Distillerie, please visit Selection Massale.
Available in California.
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In 2010, after having dedicated the previous 20 years to the recovery and maintenance of his vineyards—not to mention a lifetime to winemaking—Pedro Merayo established Bodegas y Viñedos Merayos. The Merayo family has always been strongly linked to the world of wine and they have owned one of the most important wineries (Bodegas Merayo, closed c. 1989) in the region for decades. However, in the late 1980′s, Pedro Merayo decided to take time off from winemaking to concentrate his efforts on the care and maintenance of the family vineyards. After the great changes of the late 1990′s, including the creation of new wineries and the modernization of existing ones in the context of an international market, the family decided to return to its roots.
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Leonel Hernández (Don Gil), a third generation maestro mezcalero, produces his mezcal in San Pablo Villa de Mitla, a town and municipality in Oaxaca. It is famous for being the site of the Mitla archeological ruins and is part of the Tiacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region.
Mezcal Local is made with 100% agave Espadin, harvested after 10 years. The agaves are cooked underground for 3 days, ground using an Egyptian mill, and then fermented in wooden vats for 10 days. During the distillation process agave hearts, as well as a combination of fruits (apple, peach, banana and orange), are added to the still. The heart of the agave acts as a natural purifier and the fruits add a wide range of distinctive flavor notes. This mezcal is distilled twice in copper.
Mezcal Local is a vegan mezcal de pechuga (pechuga translates to breast in Spanish). This means the finished mezcal is redistilled with local fruits, grains, and nuts, and a raw chicken or turkey breast is hung over the still, cooking in the emanating vapors, supposedly adding to the spirit’s final flavor.
These mezcals are usually made in small batches according to old family recipes and served during special occasions such as harvest, weddings, funerals and festivals.Due to lack of protein, as Local only uses fruit during distillation, the CRM will not allow the Pechuga classification on the bottle.
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Andrea Mufatto and Gerardo Michelini started their winery in 2019 alongside their son Manuel Michelini. They are situated at the foot of the Andes in one of the highest elevations of the Uco Valley where the soil contains some of the richest components of calcium carbonate and granite in all of South America. This particular sub region is at the highest, most western portion of Gualtallary and goes by the name La Cautiva. At Michelini i Mufatto they strive to make some of the most unique wines of Argentina and the wines show tension, elegance and balance. They are currently working with Semillon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. The trio also makes wine in Uruguay and Spain and they are the first family in Argentina to import small production wine from Europe.
This profile and tasting notes were edited from the Brazos Wine website, along with the pictures used. For more information please visit: Brazos.
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The Michelini family is not short of terroirs to explore in their native Argentina, and brothers Gerardo, Matias, and Juan Pablo continue to amaze with the amount and quality of the projects they get involved with in South America. Zorzal, Gen del Alma, Passionate Wines are just some of the labels they are associated with, and that have helped change and shape the current viticultural landscape of their native country. Now Gerardo has gone a step further and has taken his family craft and vision to Spain.
With the help of his wife Andrea Mufatto (formally the winemaker at Gen del Alma), and their talented son Manu, he is making terroir-driven wine at one of Spain’s most exciting regions, Bierzo. It was César Marqués, and Raul Perez, both visionary winemakers and Bierzo natives, who instigated the Michelinis to start producing in the area. They now have their own winery in Toral de Merayo, a two centuries-old building made of the stones that shape the mountainous landscape, and here they parked some old foudres, and even some amphorae made by the master of clay, Juan Padilla.
They farm their very old vines organically (soils in the region are mostly clay with slate and quartz) and the range of wines includes a village level with fruit from different plots, a couple of paraje (lieu-dit) wines, and the prized cru of El Rapolao.
Manu is the young winemaker, and he takes a traditional as well as an experimental approach: the reds are foot-stomped in the amphorae, sometimes with whole bunches, and they also ferment in clay. The aging is done in a mix of vessels, amphorae as well as used oak and chestnut barrels, and the wines see short macerations of less than 20 days, followed by aging in neutral French and American oak barrels.
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