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 haven’t done any official research on the topic, but I’d be willing to wager that after December, May is the second busiest month of the year. Everyone is graduating or going to events or on their first bit of vacation. With all of that in mind, we wanted to give you some wines that you could slow down and relax with as this month’s Selections.
How many times have Keegan and I told you that we’re always looking for unusual wines and unheard of grapes? Well, this month, in the two blends we’ve collected, there are 7 different grapes used with 6 of them being (to our count) completely new to Shamrock Selections.
So, sit back and relax and enjoy these wines. They’re superstars on their own, but in tandem, as part of a meal, they really shine.
Prats & Symington Post Scriptum de Chryseia Douro 2013
Who knew they made wine in Portugal that wasn’t Port? Well, you probably did, but have you actually had any of it? If not, you’re in for a treat.
This month’s wine is an interesting blend of 4 grapes: 59% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca, 5.5% Tinta Roriz, and 5.5% Tinta Barroca. The blend really hangs its hat on Touriga Nacional (tor-REE-ga na-see-o-NAL). This is the grape most commonly used in Port production, but here it’s presented in a dry style. The result is big, bold wine with lots of grip and tannin. There are lots of violet, date, and plum notes with a strong hint of blueberry pie crust on the finish.
The second most prominent grape in the blend, Touriga Franca, is where this wine gets is ink-like color. This is definitely a wine that will leave your lips a shade or two darker. On its own, Touriga Franca can best be compared to Zinfandel with its dark color and milder tannins. Here it delivers a very strong note of black cherry.
The remaining two grapes are popular blending grapes for Portuguese wines, both dry and fortified. Tinta Roriz is the Portuguese name for the Spanish grape Tempranillo which you got to experience in your January selection.
If you’re like me and you’ve been finding excuses to use your backyard grill, this is the wine for you. It’s big and bold enough to handle almost anything you might want to pair with it, from steak to brats. This wine is cravings a hearty meal and company.
Lightning CDP Blanc 2015
CDP stands for “Chateauneuf du Pape,” a wine-growing region along France’s Rhone river. Châteauneuf du Pape is generally known for its red wines, but they also produce a rich white wine that I absolutely love. This isn’t that. But it’s close and it’s delicious!
This is the same blend that you’d find in France, but produced in Napa Valley. The blend here is 55% Grenache Blanc, 30% Piquepoul Blanc, 15% Marsanne.
Piquepoul Blanc is light-bodied grape common in southern France. In many ways, it’s quite similar to Pinot Gris, but with a more herbal character. For me, it’s the two full-bodied grapes in the blend that make this wine so interesting.
As the name suggests, Grenache Blanc is the white version of the red grape Grenache. Here it adds the wine’s tropical notes; papaya, pineapple, guava. Marsanne, on the other hand, gives the wine its unique texture, a subtle viciousness that makes the wine seem heavier or more mouth-coating than many others.
We recommend serving this wine only slightly chilled as many of its herbal aromas are so light that they’ll be easily hidden by a colder temperature. The high acidity of the wine means that it will pair nicely with most foods. I imagine it going well with salads and fish. The herbal notes in the wine would go especially well with a herb roasted chicken.
As always, we hope you enjoy this month’s wines. We’ve already started hunting for June’s selections and we think we’ve found something you’ll love.
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