discovery red

augustus was the first vandelle to move to l’étoile in 1883.  six generations later, philippe possesses the same passion for this terroir.  from a very young age, he walked the vineyards by the side of his grandfather, joseph.  in this way, the vandelle family has passed their winemaking secrets from father to son, teaching each new generation the methods of limiting yields, grape maturation, alcoholic fermentation, and aging ‘sous voile.’ the domaine is a follower of ‘l’agriculture raisonnée’ aka sustainable agriculture. this wine is made from 100% trousseau, a native grape to france's jura region, tucked between burgundy to the west and switzerland to the east. it light with red berry fruit and lively acidity but a slight vanilla streak makes it super satisfying!

vigneti vumbaca is a relatively young property headed by christian vumbaca, who left the hustle and bustle of rome to take over his mother and uncle’s estate in cirò in calabria in the ‘toe’ of italy. he’s quickly established himself at the forefront of calabria's new wave of talent, capturing gambero rosso's much sought after 'tre bicchieri' award for the 2019 vintage, and the magazine’s editors lauded christian for his ‘range of high quality and original wines.’ this 100% gaglioppo is fresh, supple and pure fruited with dried fruit, orange peel and with spicy and leather accents and grippy tannin.

catarina vieria’s love for nature was instilled in her from a young age - her grandfather on her mother’s side was a wine producer and merchant, and her grandfather on her father’s side was in agriculture and also owned several vineyards in alentejo. her father ‘s company movicortes group, purchased the estate in 2000, and after the viera family took over the winery, they made a conscious decision to not only invest in the land and produce higher quality wine, but to also invest and make sustainable contributions to the development of the region. inspired by her love and respect for her grandparents, her father and her family, her connection with nature, and a true and unwavering passion for wine, catarina strives to create wines that are elegant, complex and strong. this blend is 40% touriga nacional accented with aragonez (aka tempranillo), alicante bouschet and trincadeira. it’s named mariana because from the from the rocim winery, you can see the tower of beja castle which is where mariana alcoforado, a cloistered nun, wrote her famous ‘letters of a portuguese nun’, a book of love letters to her french lover who came to portugal to fight in the portuguese restoration war in the 1600s. we love a good nun wine story!!! this vibrant but textured red blend is full of red berry fruit accented with some spicy notes.

the joan d’anguera estate was originally founded in 1820, in the village of darmós. the brothers who run it today, josep and joan, represent the seventh generation! they farm a total of about 40 hectares of vineyards split into four parcels, all of them certified biodynamic (demeter) since 2012. like so many new-generation spanish vintners, the brothers were blessed with some seriously old vines to work with and made organic and biodynamic farming their first order of business upon taking over in 2000. their entire range of wines is characterized by exceptional purity and finesse, owing not just to healthy, naturally farmed fruit but to low-intervention practices in the cellar.  this carignan accented with syrah is complex and refreshing with loads of minerality!