Author: Seth Barlow

Shamrock Selections is a monthly subscription service that brings you the best wines from around the world. Each month’s selection is carefully chosen by the team of sommeliers at O’looney’s. They keeps a keen eye out for wines that are unique, rare, and new to our market. Shamrock Selections is ideal for enthusiasts and explorers who delight in finding hidden gems and trying new, exclusive vintages. Each month, you can join us on a journey of sampling and learning about some of the greatest wines in the world. Each selection of wine comes with detailed tasting notes and food pairing suggestions from our team.

Imagine yourself in the scenario that I (and this is Seth writing) found myself in last October: I’d just spent almost 18 hours traveling from Little Rock to Frankfurt Germany, I’d been unable to get more than two hours of sleep the previous night due to jet lag, and I had just sat through a four-hour tasting of some 30ish wines without so much as a cracker. Belive me when I tell you I was a mess in more ways that one. 

I was starving and looking for food when I left my morning marathon tasting. I couldn’t get my phone to work so I pulled into the first roadside restaurant I could find. That restaurant was the Restaurant Leopold in the town of Deidesheim and, as I would soon come to find out, was attached to the winery of Weingut von Winning (weingut is German for winery). 

I’d actually heard of von Winning before, as they’re the only German winery to specialize in sauvignon blanc, so needless to say I had a glass of it with lunch (schnitzel, of course). After lunch and several glasses of water, I wandered into the winery and found myself at their tasting bar. The servers were happy to see an American sommelier at their bar and asked if they could pour me a taste of something special. Never one to turn down free wine, I said “of course!”

The wine they poured me was the 2016 vintage of the wine you’re getting today, their 1er lager riesling from the Paradiesgarten (garden of paradise) vineyard. By now, you’re likely familiar with 1er being written on French wine labels to distinguish a wine from a “premier cru” vineyard site. It means the same thing on German labels, though in this case 1er is pronounced “erst” (rhymes with first). The Paradiesgarten vineyard is located just north of the restaurant/winery on a hill overlooking the town of Deidesheim. It’s perfectly situated to collect day-long swaths of sunlight making for dazzling dry riesling. 

I fell in love with this wine in Germany and I knew that I had to get it into your hands. Now, some nine months later, we’re finally making it happen! What first struck me about this wine is the way its flavor profile is in a constant state of evolution in the glass, like there are swirling clouds of lime pith, peach fuzz, and slate all combining in a category five hurricane. This is absolutely the kind of wine that you can come back to over and over again throughout the course of an evening and find something new each time. 

As this is a dry riesling, you might want to rethink some of the spicy pairings riesling is often known for. I’ve now drained a few of these bottles and, out of all the pairings I tried, I thought it was at its best with sushi. I also tried this with some lovely homemade Korean barbeque with spectacular results!

Also, if you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to pick up a bottle of the von Winning rosé. It’s a rosé of pinot noir, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s my personal (and hopefully yours as well) wine of the summer!

We keep a running list of wines featured in Shamrock Selections over the past few years, and sometimes, when mulling over what wines we should search out for future months, it’s helpful to look back and see what we’ve done in the past. In doing so, it’s easy to see that there’s one red grape that has been featured more than any other in the history of Shamrock Selections — syrah. 

This is for several reasons, a key one being that loving syrah is practically a requirement for employment at O’Looney’s, but the largest reason is that syrah, regardless of where it’s grown, is often undervalued when compared to other, flashier wines like pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon. Take France’s northern Rhone Valley, where syrah reigns supreme; the region’s most expensive wines top out at around $300-$400. Compare that to regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy where bottles from top producers can easily come in at over $1,000 and you begin to see what I mean. 

Out of all the regions in France that grow syrah, there’s likely no greater place to look for great value wine that the small region of Saint-Chinian. Located due east of Toulouse, in the mountains above the Mediterranian, Saint-Chinian is a commune of about 1,800 people that can trace its history back to the Romans (who thankfully introduced grapes to the region almost 2,000 years ago). 

The region is known in France for its wines, but they’ve never really caught fire in the international wine scene, likely being upstaged by all that pretty Provencal rosé, which, really, is all the better for us, because, were the region more famous, a winery like Mas Champart would be a household name. Isabelle and Matthieu Champart, a husband-and-wife team, began growing grapes in 1976, but it wasn’t until 1988 that they actually bottled their first wine. Matthieu still looks after the vineyards while Isabelle makes the wine. 

This wine the “Causse du Bousquet”, (roughly translated as “limestone plateau of the little forrest”) is a blend of 74% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 4% Cinsault, 6% Mourvèdre, and 10% Carignan, and the result is an inky black wine with richness and depth. At four years old, this wine is just a baby. You could easily lay this down for another 15 years and let it really develop. If you do, or even if you don’t and decide to give it a long decant one evening, you’ll find a delicate balance of smokiness (from all that syrah) with the flavors of wilderness that is southwestern France. There’s an air of savory herbs, like sage and rosemary, and even a hint of violets from the carignan. Underneath it all, there’s the grenache supplying a current of cherries pie and fresh blackberries. When you think of food, lamb and beef are classic pairings. If you’d like something a little more experimental, try it with Mexican mole, Morrocan tagine, or even that delicious north African fried chicken that you get for dinner at The Root on south Main Street! 

Want to join Shamrock Selections? There’s still time to subscribe in order to get next month’s selections. Use the link below to subscribe!

Shamrock Selections is a monthly subscription service that brings you the best wines from around the world. Each month’s selection is carefully chosen by sommelier Keegan Sparks and his team. He keeps a keen eye out for wines that are unique, rare, and new to our market. Shamrock Selections is ideal for enthusiasts and explorers who delight in finding hidden gems and trying new, exclusive vintages. Each month, you can join us on a journey of sampling and learning about some of the greatest wines in the world. Each selection of wine comes with detailed tasting notes and food pairing suggestions from our team.

I’ve always thought that when trying something new, be it a new wine, a food, an experience, or anything else, you have to try it twice. Once to get a feel for it and a second time make confirm (or not) the first experience. That’s exactly what I had to do with this wine, and I’m so, so, so glad that I did.

Clos Sainte Magdeleine is something of hallowed ground for many wine lovers, with their blanc and rosé (they don’t make any red wine) easily ranking among the best wines of France regardless of style. Cassis is an ancient village sitting directly on the Mediterranean coast (see photo of the winery above) just a few miles south and east of Marseilles. It was founded in the sixth century B.C. by Greek fishermen who first brought ugni blanc grapes to the area. Today, ugni blanc makes up 30% of blend, where it’s joined by marsanne, clairette, and bourbelanc to make a wine that is so lively and fresh, it’s like having a samba band playing a set your mouth.

Just a month into my journey into wine, now almost three years ago, I tasted this wine for the first time. Keegan and Jonathan were both so excited that we had gotten that I couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss was about. Let’s just say that I was a little less than impressed. To my untrained palate it seemed thin and harsh, all jagged, pointy edges with little, if any, fruit. Was it a bad bottle? Did I not know enough about wine at the time to appreciate it? The later is most likely – I was a complete novice to any wine that wasn’t moscato.

It wasn’t until this last spring on a trip to Portland that I would get the chance to revisit this wine. I found a restaurant that was pouring it by the glass….and proceeded to accidentally drink a full bottle. Now that my palate had become accustomed to well-made, dry wines I recognized that what I first interpreted as a razor-sharp edges was actually the brilliant, lifting acidity. The fruit that I had missed before now showed as electrifying notes of papaya, pineapple, and guava.

You’re getting the 2017 vintage today and I encourage you to drink it quickly (Not that this wine can’t age, in fact, it should drink well for the next 5-7 years), before the weather changes. This is a bottle of summer water and it deserves a dinner on a patio. Pair it with seafood and shellfish. It’s just begging for moules frites or oysters.

Back in February we took a figurative trip down to Argentina with the Bramare malbec, and at the time Keegan and I both remarked to each other that we should explore more of South American wine. Now, some seven months later, we’re staying true to our word.

While Argentina has had great success with malbec, Chile has become a mecca for cabernet. In the 1800’s when phylloxera was ravaging the world’s vineyard’s, many French winemakers moved to Chile, a country whose geographic isolation protected it against the deadly pest. These winemakers began planting the classic grapes of Bordeaux, mainly cabernet and merlot and now we’re reaping the fruits of their labor.

This wine comes from the Maipo Valley, Chile’s equivalent to Napa: the heart of cabernet production. Like cabernet from around the world, it has characteristically high tannins and acid, but where Napa shows intense dark fruit like plum and blackcurrant, the Maipo Valley shows warm, baked red fruits. Look for notes of baked figs, cooked raspberries, and earthy cherries.

It spent a full year in French oak barrels which have imparted a subtle spiciness to the wine. For me, this always shows itself most on this finish. I’d suggest that after your swallow a sip, exhale through your nose. This is always where I pick up the hints of oak, the subtle hints of cardamom, clove, and vanilla.

As we begin to move into cool(er) weather, this is the kind of wine that I’ve been beginning to crave. Plenty of structure and fruit, but lacking the overwrought intensity that some cabernets can have. In short, it’s a wine that won’t feel too heavy when it’s still regularly in the high 80’s. Pair it with red meat or anything from the grill.

Want to join Shamrock Selections? There’s still time to subscribe in order to get next month’s selections. Use the link below to subscribe!

Shamrock Selections is a monthly subscription service that brings you the best wines from around the world. Each month’s selection is carefully chosen by sommelier Keegan Sparks and his team. He keeps a keen eye out for wines that are unique, rare, and new to our market. Shamrock Selections is ideal for enthusiasts and explorers who delight in finding hidden gems and trying new, exclusive vintages. Each month, you can join us on a journey of sampling and learning about some of the greatest wines in the world. Each selection of wine comes with detailed tasting notes and food pairing suggestions from our team.

By now, you’re well accustomed to the idea that Keegan and I try to structure each month’s selections around a central theme, and this month that theme is “exploration.” When explaining Shamrock Selections to potential members, I always want to reinforce that our goal is to nudge our members out of their wine comfort zones. Think you don’t like chardonnay? Wait till you try 1er cru Chablis. Think Barolo isn’t every bit as good as cabernet? Let this Vietti Castiglione change your mind. Keegan and I are always on the lookout for ways in which to show you something as fresh, new, and exciting as we can, but sometimes, that means pushing ourselves outside of our own respective wine drinking bubbles. With that being said, I hope you enjoy these wines for the sense of adventure that they instilled in us.

I’ve been a fan of Lioco for several years now, snagging a few bottles of their wines when I would find them in cities like Memphis, New Orleans, or Dallas. When they finally began distribution to Arkansas in April, I knew that at least one of their wines would make it into your hands.

Kevin O’Connor and Matt Licklider founded Lioco in 2005, fusing their last names into a portmanteau for the winery’s name. They were tired of the rich, over-extracted wines that had become commonplace in California in late 1990’s and wanted to make nuanced and balanced wines that were inspired by the French wines they had first fallen in love with.

Unlike many other wineries, Lioco doesn’t own massive vineyards nor do they produce an “estate” wine. Instead, Lioco fosters long terms relationships with grape farmers to use fruit from some of northern California’s best vineyards. The Lolonis vineyard, from which this valdiguie is harvested, is located in the Redwood Valley AVA in Mendocino County, approximately two hours north of Sonoma Valley. The vineyard is farmed by Athans Poulos and his wife Denise, and while they grow chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, carignan (which we also carry), it’s their valdiguie that’s my personal favorite.

The story of valdiguie (VAL-dee-gay), like that of many obscure grapes, is one of mistaken identity. In France, the grape never gained popularity outside its native Languedoc-Roussillon region. It was often grown under the name Gros Auxerrois and was typically blended into other local wines to increase color and aroma. In California however, the grape, under the name “Napa Gamay” gained modest popularity in the mid 20th century. The grape itself has no real relation to gamay, the grape grown in Beaujolais, but its light-bodied style and heady aromas made for resemblance enough in an age before genetic testing. It wasn’t until 1980 that “Napa Gamay” was found out to be valdiguie, and regulations were set in place that forced all wineries to use the name valdiguie on labels starting in 2007. In the intervening years as cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir became more popular, wineries began ripping out their decades-old valdiguie vines to plant grapes that would be more profitable. As a result, only a handful of valdiguie vineyards remain in California, with the Lolonis vineyard having some of the oldest know vines (some planted as far back as 1945).

The wine itself a dark, inky purple in the glass. This is definitely a wine that will stain your teeth. In the glass, there’s an explosion of blue and purple aromas. Imagine crashing a truck full of blueberries into a field of violets. On the palate, there are still those opulent fruit flavors, blueberry, fig, blackberry, but there’s also an undercurrent of freshly smoked cigar and worn leather. For food pairings, I think you’ve got almost the entire world at your fingertips. I’ve had this wine several times, each with a different meals: roast beef, grilled chicken, and vegetarian lasagna.

No, that’s not a typo, this wine really is from Arkansas. Charleston, Arkansas to be exact. Winemaker John Trickett and his Circle T winery are something of a legend in local wine circles. In the spring I got to meet him, tour his winery, and taste the first and only wine he ever made: the Rock House Red. Made entirely of syrah, John sought to imitate the wines he loved from France’s northern Rhone Valley and to do it, he used the only land available: his family’s homestead from the 1800’s.

My meeting with John turned into a profile for the July issue of Arkansas Life magazine. You can read the feature here, and I hope that you’ll take the time to do so. John’s story is a magical one and emblematic of the love and passion that so many winemakers put into their wines. Sometimes we think so much about what to do with a bottle of wine once we open it that we forget that it was made by someone for whom it was their life’s work.

Instead of writing more about the wine (surely one article is enough), I asked John if he might say a few words:

Want to join Shamrock Selections? There’s still time to subscribe in order to get next month’s selections. Use the link below to subscribe!

Shamrock Selections is a monthly subscription service that brings you the best wines from around the world. Each month’s selection is carefully chosen by sommelier Keegan Sparks and his team. He keeps a keen eye out for wines that are unique, rare, and new to our market. Shamrock Selections is ideal for enthusiasts and explorers who delight in finding hidden gems and trying new, exclusive vintages. Each month, you can join us on a journey of sampling and learning about some of the greatest wines in the world. Each selection of wine comes with detailed tasting notes and food pairing suggestions from our team.

By now, you’re no stranger to my monthly stories of how Keegan and I try to plan these wines months in advance only to have the plans almost always fall apart. Well, this month, I’m happy to say that we’re finally able to give to a wine that we’d hoped to have in your January allotment: Dow Late Bottled Vintage Port.

Better late than never, right? That really is the case with this wine, as Port, especially this one, is such a fascinating category. Port wine is the traditional fortified wine of Portugal.

Though there are several different grape varieties used for Port, they are typically all harvested, crushed, and fermented together in the same vats. In Portugal these vats are called lagers and are large, shallow, open-top granite basins. Over the course of several days, the grapes are crushed in the lagers and are eventually transferred to tanks to ferment. Unlike other wines, Port doesn’t undergo a complete fermentation. Once the wine reaches an ideal sugar level, brandy is added to stop the fermentation process in its tracks.

Late Bottled Vintage Port is, as you might have guessed, a wine that comes entirely from a single vintage (2011, in this case). The “Late Bottled” aspect of the wine comes from the fact that the wines is left to age in barrel for 4-6 years as opposed to vintage port which is aged in wood for only 2.

2011 has come to be recognized as one of the top Port vintages in recent years, with some even naming it one of the top five vintages in the last century. In fact, Dow’s 2011 vintage Port was named the number one wine in the world by Wine Spectator magazine when it was released in 2014.

For those of you who have yet to try Port, I think you’re starting off on the right foot with this one. When I tasted it I was surprised by its complexity, managing to be both dark and intense, yet also somehow spacious and bright. There are, of course, notes of red fruit and tannins here, but I was caught off guard by flavors of spiced persimmons and fresh chocolate shavings.

It’s a striking wine, and I almost want to call it “elegant,” though I’m afraid that might connote that this is in any way a light bodied wine. Instead, I’d call it “regal,” much like a queen on her throne, bathed in opulence. Chocolate desserts and bleu cheese are the classic pairings and you’ll see why with this wine. I’d also recommend trying it with a dessert like almond torte or white chocolate cheesecake. Though I have no proof of this, something deep inside me wants to try this with Mexican mole sauce. It’s a pairing that seems so right and so wrong at the same time. I’ll let you know once I’ve come to a decision.

Unlike vintage ports, this LBV is ready to drink now and should be consumed within about 2 week. After opening, store it in your refrigerator to extend the drinking window.

Granted, Spring is still a few days away, but it’s definitely what Keegan and I had in mind when we found this chardonnay. This isn’t the racy, light wine for a stifling summer heat, but instead a chardonnay with enough weight and body to stand up to those Spring days that still require a heavy jacket.

Screen Door Cellars has been a favorite of ours for a few years now, and you might be familiar with their exceptional Russian River Valley pinot noir or rosé of pinot noir, both of which we carry.
The passion project of Bobby and Shannon Donnell, Screen Door Cellars was founded in 2012 with 100 cases of pinot coming from their first vintage. Since then production increases have seen the addition of single vineyard pinots as well as, in 2015, their first ever vintage of Chardonnay.

The ASERN vineyard was bought by Shannon’s parents in 2013 who named it after their grandchildren (Alex, Savannah, Emma, Robert and Norah). Located in the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley, it was planted with Spring Mountain clone chardonnay in 1991. The Green Valley of the Russian River is a sub-American Viticultural Area (AVA) of the Russian River Valley, meaning that it’s located completely within the legal boundaries of the Russian River Valley AVA. It’s widely known to be the region of the valley that receives the coldest temperatures, making it ideal for chardonnay, pinot noir, and especially sparkling wine (For those of you familiar with the locale, sparkling wine producer Iron Horse Vineyards is just down the road).

On first whif, you’ll notice that this isn’t your grandma’s chardonnay. While it’s no butter bomb, it’s not the lean and minerally chardonnay of Chablis either. Instead, it has a style that’s entirely it’s own. The fruit notes skew yellow and golden – think yellow apple skins, overripe pears, quince, and pineapple gummy bears (you know, those clear Haribo ones). But it’s the non-fruit notes that I find so fascinating. This chardonnay is downright spicy. Cardamom, baked clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg, even a little fresh vanilla pod. It’s both humble and ferocious. A real Reba McEntire of a wine (especially in the music video for “Fancy”). Naturally, I’m completely obsessed with it.

As for pairings, this wine is a diva so it’ll need something strong to keep up with it. I’m thinking lobster in vanilla and butter sauce, or maybe a nice pasta primavera, now that our gardens are starting to look a little greener. I think you could also do a chicken in a roasted mushroom sauce that would just kill at the dinner table. Either way, I’ll be accepting your dinner invitations regardless of what’s on the menu.

Want to join Shamrock Selections? There’s still time to subscribe in order to get next month’s selections. Use the link below to subscribe!