April Wine Club: Taste the Earth

It’s almost wine club time again! We’re super pumped to focus on earthy reds this month.

What does earthy mean, you may ask? Most broadly, it means the wine has flavors and aromas that remind you of nature. One of the more common ones is “forest floor,” very common in pinot noir and malbec. Another is “moss,” very prevalent in chianti and other wines made with sangiovese. A third is mushroom, ranging from truffle to button, a key to good dolcetto. Often times herbal tones fall into the “earthy” category as well, particularly sage.

For this month, we chose one wine from the old world (Spain) and one from the the new world (Chile). Check ‘em out below!

Bodegas Arrayan Red Blend 2014 from Spain

This wine has a lot of everything, including boatloads of earthy, herbal and black pepper tones. Expect cigar box and leather as well.

It’s a bit of an outlier in the region it’s from. Méntrida, in central Spain, is known for garnacha. With this wine, the blend is 30% syrah, 30% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petit verdot. The petit verdot is particularly pronounced and supplies a good amount of the earthy quality.

Erasmo Red Blend 2010 from Chile

Not only does this wine taste like earth, but it is a stark reminder the the Earth always has the final say. During the harvest of this vintage, the most violent earthquake the world has seen in at least the last 50 years hit the coast of Chile. It’s epicenter was nearly exactly where these grapes were grown. The earthquake delayed the harvest, resulting in a level of ripeness and richness that, prior to the quake, the winemakers of the area had not strived for. It changed not just what this vintage would have otherwise tasted like, but also the philosophy of the growers in the area.

The wine is a blend of 60% cabernet sauvignon, 10% cabernet franc, 25% merlot, and 5% syrah aged in French oak barriques for 18 months. Alongside earth and herbal tones, you’ll find vanilla and balsamic notes. The wine is quite rich, so make sure you have some hearty food to match. May we suggest some grilled portobello mushrooms?

We look forward to seeing you Sunday. The release party will start at 3pm and will go to 6. We’ll have other earthy reds from other regions we love, plus some tasty bites to accent the flavors of the wine. ¡Nos vemos el Domingo!