by Keegan

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.

This month, we’ve got two incredible red wines to keep you warm on these cool January nights!

The Moro family has been tending their vineyards in Spain’s Ribera del Duero for almost 100 years. For years, they sold their grapes to other winemakers, and it wasn’t until 1988 that they made their own wine. Emilio’s son José invested the family’s entire savings in winery equipment, so there was little turning back. Today, the winery produces some of the most complex and delicious wines from the tempranillo grape in the Ribera del Duero. This wine, the “Emilio Moro,” is the flagship wine of the Bodega and it’s a perfect example of the region’s typical style. The tempranillo grapes for this wine underwent a 28-day long maceration and were then allowed to age in barrel for a full year before bottling. I’m always impressed by the combination of freshness and ripeness I find in these wines. Leather, dark tomato sauce, mushrooms, and strawberry compote notes are combined with fresh red apple, wet stone, and violets, making this a very complex wine. On the palate, it is full-bodied but still fresh and lively with a kick of acid. Tempranillo always makes me crave mushrooms and, to that end, I can think of no better pairing that grilled ribeye covered in jaeger sauce (mushroom gravy).

For those who were Shamrock Selection subscribers in 2015, you might remember that we had the fantastic Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay just over a year ago (The 2014 vintage of that wine was recently named the best white wine in the world by Wine Spectator Magazine).  Now we are bringing you the Pinot Noir which received that distinction back in 2010. The Evenstad Reserve is a hand selection of the very best barrels each vintage produces. The extreme lightness of color can be deceiving, but don’t let that fool you; this is a magnificent wine bursting with ripe cherry and strawberry note. It is one of the most elegant pinot noirs I’ve ever tasted. It is so light and elegant that it glides across the palate, leaving a lingering, mouthwatering finish that makes you crave more. For a wine this good, it is best to go with the most classic and most simple pairings. Sauteed duck breast with tart cherry chutney would be the perfect way to elevate this wine. 

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here. 

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.

This month, we’re highlighting the second round of wines that we imported directly from France. These wines are so special, and they’re unlike anything you’ll find on our shelves, or anywhere else in Arkansas, for that matter. A theme you will notice this month selections, and in previous selections is “old vines”. As vines age, the size of their grapes become smaller. This, in turn, results in a wine is more concentrated and complex. Old vineyards are rare and finding two wines from vineyards that are over seventy years old is a real treat.

This is the second time we’ve had a wine from Domaine D’Aupilhac and we’re thrilled to bring you another of their fantastic wines. The domain is owned by Sylian Fadet, whose family has been farming this land since the nineteenth century. The “Les Servières” is a truly amazing wine. The vineyard was planted in 1900 on extremely rocky terrain composed of clay and limestone. The resulting wine is deep and complex with ripe flavors of strawberry, cherry and an underlying savouriness. Composed entirely from cinsault, this is the greatest example of the grape I have ever tasted. I recommend decanting the wine as it’s a bit tight and angular at first sip. Given just a few minutes to breath, it opens up to reveal a great depth of flavor and remarkably smooth texture. I’d recommend enjoying it with hearty winter food like pot pie and roasts.

If you happened to guess that “Vielles Vignes” is French for “old vines” you’d be right. The vines here are all over seventy years old and were originally planted in the 1930s by Michel’s grandfather. Today he farms these old vines with the help of this two sons Guillaume and Roman. When I taste this wine I am immediately transported back in time to a summer I spent in the alps of Switzerland and France. The grape here is jacquere and it has that fresh crispness of mountain air combined with a surprising richness from a wine grown so high in the mountains. Drinking it makes me crave a big pot of fondue or raqulette.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here. 

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.

This month we’re highlighting exciting new wines that have never been available in Arkansas until now. For the first time, O’Looney’s was able to order wine directly from France specifically for Shamrock Selections. This has allowed us to deliver some really knockout wines to you that we just couldn’t get any other way.

The nose is subtle but complex white pear, white flowers, chamomile, fresh melon and a hint of ocean brine are all there. At first, there is a lot of tension on the palette. The body is light with racy acidity, but there is also a round creaminess to the texture. The wine is very tart, but give it time to breathe and warm up a bit and that tension is relieved and it becomes really sublime. When it comes to pairing a wine like this I like to go two ways. First is to match the intense acidity with similar dishes like oysters with lemon or sushi. The second path is to pair it with heavier cream sauces. Fried catfish with tartar sauce comes to mind as a uniquely southern pairing. When it comes to serving a wine like this I recommend chilling it ahead of time then decanting it and leaving it out of the refrigerator to warm up just a bit.

The Bretons are one of the most interesting families in wine. They have been farming their twenty-seven acres of vineyard organically for over two decades. The “Les Galichets” is one of their single vineyard wines named for the gravel soil in the vineyard. The nose is bright with expressive notes of green pepper, tart cherries and a hint of smoked meat and spice. On the palate, it is quite dry with light body and refreshing acidity. The tannins are surprisingly fine for Cabernet Franc which can often be very rough and rustic. This will be the wine I pour at my family’s Thanksgiving celebration. It is perfect for pairing with the huge diversity of flavors on a Thanksgiving table. No need to get fussy with this wine. Just pull the cork and enjoy.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here. 

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 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.

You may not be familiar with bonarda (this is my first experience with the grape) but it’s actually the second most planted variety in Argentina. I was intrigued by the chance to try a new grape and I was delighted to find that it’s downright delicious. Bonarda is very late ripening and needs a warm climate, like that of Argentina or its native Italy, to develop fully. The Tupungato mountainside where it is grown is the perfect environment for bonarda because it has long warm summers but it also has cool nights. This allows the grape to ripen while retaining freshness. The winemaking is designed to accentuate that freshness along with the true varietal flavors. It is fermented and aged without any use of oak and is released early. The result is a wine with a distinctly smoky character that reminds me of syrah, though the fruit is much more lush and the tannins are less intense. For food pairings, look no further than Argentinian style rotisserie chicken or steak served with chimichurri.

Ridge Vineyards is one of my all time favorite estates. I say estate because they are committed as much to excellence in the vineyard as they are in the winery. They really believe in expressing the true character of the place the grapes come from. To achieve this, every effort is made to limit human influence on the wine. Biodynamic and organic farming are practiced throughout their vineyards, and irrigation is only used in instances when the life of the vine is threatened. Even in 2014, the third straight year of drought in California, with only 18’ of rainfall, no irrigation was used. The winemaking is as hands-off as possible. The back label of the bottle says it perfectly “Ingredients: Hand harvested, sustainably grown grapes; indigenous yeasts; naturally occurring malolactic bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective SO2.”

All this meticulous work results in a magnificent wine, a field blend of old vine zinfandel, petite syrah, carignan, and mataro. The Lytton Springs is stylistically similar to wines that were common before prohibition. Upon first opening, the aroma is very tight with an intense note of graphite. As it has time to breath a myriad of aromas and flavors are revealed; cedar, tobacco, cherry cola, ripe and dried strawberries, cocoa, red apple, and pear notes are all present. This is one of the most complex wines I’ve tasted in quite some time. On the palate, it’s rich without being heavy, with strong but elegant tannin and a finish that seems to go on forever. What I like even more about this wine is its ability to work with many different dishes. I enjoyed it with General Tso Chicken which I usually find too spicy for red wine but was a delightful match. I encourage you to try it with something unusual.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here. 

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 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.

The Barkan Winery has been operating for over 100 years, making it one of the oldest continually operating wineries in Israel.  It was fully upgraded and modernized in the year 2000 and now farms over 2,400 acres throughout Israel from the hills surrounding Jerusalem to the mountains of Galilee. For their reserve cabernet sauvignon, the grapes are sourced from two vineyards in the Galilee region. This is the coldest region in Israel and that cool climate helps the grapes ripen more slowly and retain acidity, which is key to a balanced wine. Once the grapes are picked and fermented the wine is aged for 20 months in oak. The aroma is bright with note of ripe plums, cherries, and blackberries, along with a note of spice from the oak aging. The fruit persists on the pallet but is replaced by a distinct earthiness on the finish. The wine will improve with time in a decanter but is also delicious right after opening. As you would expect from cabernet sauvignon grilled meat is the best pairing, I think lamb chops would be lovely.

Amador County is located about 100 miles east of Napa Valley in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. All of the vineyards are above 1,200 feet with some over 2,000 feet in elevation. This cabernet franc is treated to 27 months in 85% used and 15% new French oak barrels which allows the wine mellow and develop without picking up too much oak flavor. The result is a wine that is balanced with the classic cabernet franc note of green pepper along side a gorgeous ripe strawberry flavor. The time in oak has allowed the tannins to soften giving this wine a really pleasing texture. The wine is ready to drink right out of the bottle and it would benefit from a slight chill. I would recommend about 20-30 minute in the refrigerator just before serving. I think either chicken or pork with a cherry sauce would be an excellent pairing for the wine.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here. 

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 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.

Join us Saturday, September 10 from 1-3pm for a chance to taste these amazing wines! At the tasting you’ll be able to choose from the wines below. Also on Saturday, attendees can join Shamrock Selections at 50% off their first month!

The aromas of dark cooked fruit, blackberry, black cherry, and plum all abound. There are also hints of cedar, cigar wrapper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and tar. The fruit persists on the palette but is more dried in character. Tannin, acid, and alcohol are all on the higher side with just a hint of bitterness making this an intense experience. When I close my eyes, I almost feel transported to a tiny town in the Italian hillside. There’s a rustic quality to this wine that’s both ephemeral and fleeting, like it harkens back to a more rustic era. I imagine an Italian grandmother serving to her family with a meal of grilled meats or pasta sauce of charred tomatoes. There’s a sundrenched quality to this bottle that makes it perfect for warm nights around a table with friends.

This sauvignon blanc from the small, Loire valley village of Quincy is unique is the range of subtle spices that it offers. Though the predominant fruit on this wine is mostly ripe apple and peach, you’ll find notes of Asian five spice, saffron, Indonesian satay and yellow curry. Of course, there is the seemingly essential grassiness of the varietal, but here it’s more refined that one might find in a wine from New Zealand or even California. I can imagine it pairing perfectly with a salad with goat cheese and a topping of fried prosciutto (my newest addiction). For those looking for a heavier dish, try it paired with white fish under a buerre blanc sauce.

Steele’s Pacini vineyard was planted in the 1940’s, meaning that those vines have moved passed the stage of being “old vines,” and are almost “ancient” (old vines are typically over 40 years old while ancient denotes vines over 70). Graphite and dried strawberries and cranberries dominate both the nose and the palate, with an ample husk of dust and earthiness encasing the wine. It was aged for a year in oak before bottling, as evidenced by the rounded tannins that glide over the wine’s finish. To me, this wine is calling for food: pizza, lasagna, calzones; all hearty things that leave a little grease on the plate.

The nose on this wine is extremly complex. Myer lemon and golden apple combine with hints of parmesan, smoke, lanolin, clove honey suckle, and wet stone. The flavor is just as enticing. The wine is quite rich and round with a hint of tannin coming from the oak aging. This is a wine that must be served with very rich food. Lobster with butter, shrimp scampi, or even foie gras would be absolutely wonderful parings. Another couple things to note is that it will really benefit from decanting and being served around sixty degrees.

The Musar winery is one of my favorite in the entire world. They make some of the most beautiful, complex, and unique wines in the whole world. The”Hochar” is named for the family that owns Chateau Musar. This is their “second wine” which is designed to be more approachable young. It is composed of 50% cinsault, 30% Grenache, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% carignan. When the wine is first opened the aroma is dominated by rich cedar and spice. As it is allowed to breathe more and more complex notes of leather, cigar, graphite, blackberry compote, dried plums, dates, lavender, and anis are reviled. On the pallet the tannin is quite pronounced and slightly rustic. The fruit is fresher and tarter on the pallet with a distinct dusty texture. The finish is persistent and drying. An excellent wine to pare with roasted lamb or barbecue. I highly recommend decanting the wine ahead of time and tasting how it evolves over the course of a meal.

It is very exciting to see some unique varietals being produced in some of California’s best wine regions. Typically known for chardonnay and pinot noir the Russian River Valley is one of Sonoma’s coldest sub-appellations. Vermentino is most widely planted on the island of Sardinia. The wine is highly aromatic with aromas of ripe peach, apricot, golden delicious apple, and lilies. On the pallet it is fresh and lively with more tropical fruits. Lime, kiwi, and more crisp apple. The wine will go great with summer salads and is a wonderful foil to this sudden hot weather. Serve well chilled.

One thing I love about Oregon winemakers is they aren’t afraid to try new things. This Gamay Noir fromGrochau Cellars is a fantastic example of that. The winemaker, John Grochau, is using an uncommon grape and a blend of old and new world techniques to makes something that is truly unique. The aroma is bursting with bright cherry and strawberry aromas that are balanced by warm toasty notes of cinnamon and clove along with a really interesting hint of freshly cut stem and leaf. The wine is light but is rounded out by somewhat aggressive tannins. I recommend chilling the wine slightly. 15 minutes in the freezer should get it to the perfect temperature. Those tannins will be a perfect match to fattier foods like duck breast, charcuterie or even barbecue.

This Riesling is totally DRY and is much more mineral driven than its German or Washington state counterparts. The Trimbach family has been at it since 1626, so they now a thing or two about how to make a good bottle of wine. I was lucky enough to meet Jean Trimbach at a tasting last summer in which we tasted through some older vintages of his Rieslings. I was absolutely blown away by the beauty and complexity of those wines and I wanted to share that experience with you. The 2013 vintage is a classic example of a Trimbach wine. Wet stone minerality dominates the nose with hints of honey, cedar, white flowers, and lemon. The palate is DRY with racy acidity and a gripping texture, like biting into a Granny Smith apple. The finish is persistent and DRY. Enjoy this wine at around 50° with classic Alsatian dishes like sausage and sauerkraut, or be adventurous and pair it with sushi or even curry.

Winemaker Piero Incisa Della Rocchetta grew up in Tuscany surrounded by the vineyards that his family owns, the same vineyards that produce the greatest of all “Super Tuscans” – Sassicaia. After his formal education and brief tenure managing one of his family’s wine estates he moved to Argentina to make wines in the Río Negro region of Patagonia. Once there, he discovered several old vineyards and set about revitalizing them through organic and biodynamic viniculture. The wine I’ve selected is called Barda which literally translates “on the ridge,” and is a blend of several of the estate’s vineyards. You’ll notice the wine is demure and elegant with ripe cherry, cranberry, and slightly earthy aromas. On the pallet the wine is extremely light with a mouth-watering acidity that’ll make you want take another dink. I recommend chilling it slightly and serving it with grilled salmon.

Grüner Veltliner is the national grape of Austria. It’s crisp and refreshing with mineral aromas, lemon, and a hint of white pepper. The wine is dry and light with a bit of a grip on the mid palate and a clean finish. Serve well chilled with green vegetables like asparagus, brussels sprouts, and artichoke.

After thirty years of making wine for other people, Adriana Cerda partnered with her son Eduardo Reiner to make her own wines. In 2005 she bought a vineyard planted with sixty year old riesling and carignan vines. It’s unusual to see carignan outside of southern France and even more rare for it to be bottled on its own. Meli is unique because of its growing location and the extremely old vines the fruit comes from. The product is a wine that’s concentrated without being heavy. It has complex aromas of both ripe and tart blueberries, cherries, and cranberries which are complimented by a perfumed floral note and a hint of herb. On the palate the fruit continues to dominate with gritty tannin that will help balance out fattier dishes like pork chops.

With an expressive nose containing hints of laurel, spicy clove and a pleasant note of rosemary, this wine also exudes a layer of deep red fruits. On the palate, it’s fresh, with sweet tannins and a full-bodied flavor that ends in a lovely, lingering finish.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here.

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 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.

This blend of syrah, mourvedre, and grenach is a stunning example of the quality that the Languedoc can offer. It has aromas of dried strawberries, roasted tomatos, smoke, leather, cocao. On the palate it is heavy yet nimble like a boxer. The tannins are pleasing and tamed by its five years of age. It was the perfect match for filet mignon and cremini mushroom risotto. I highly recommend decanting the wine ahead of time for optimal enjoyment.

The nose on this wine is extremly complex. Myer lemon and golden apple combine with hints of parmesan, smoke, lanolin, clove honey suckle, and wet stone. The flavor is just as enticing. The wine is quite rich and round with a hint of tannin coming from the oak aging. This is a wine that must be served with very rich food. Lobster with butter, shrimp scampi, or even foie gras would be absolutely wonderful parings. Another couple things to note is that it will really benefit from decanting and being served around sixty degrees.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here.

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 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.

The aromas of dark cooked fruit, blackberry, black cherry, and plum all abound. There are also hints of cedar, cigar wrapper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and tar. The fruit persists on the palette but is more dried in character. Tannin, acid, and alcohol are all on the higher side with just a hint of bitterness making this an intense experience. When I close my eyes, I almost feel transported to a tiny town in the Italian hillside. There’s a rustic quality to this wine that’s both ephemeral and fleeting, like it harkens back to a more rustic era. I imagine an Italian grandmother serving to her family with a meal of grilled meats or pasta sauce of charred tomatoes. There’s a sundrenched quality to this bottle that makes it perfect for warm nights around a table with friends.

This sauvignon blanc from the small, Loire valley village of Quincy is unique is the range of subtle spices that it offers. Though the predominant fruit on this wine is mostly ripe apple and peach, you’ll find notes of Asian five spice, saffron, Indonesian satay and yellow curry. Of course, there is the seemingly essential grassiness of the varietal, but here it’s more refined that one might find in a wine from New Zealand or even California. I can imagine it pairing perfectly with a salad with goat cheese and a topping of fried prosciutto (my newest addiction). For those looking for a heavier dish, try it paired with white fish under a buerre blanc sauce.

Steele’s Pacini vineyard was planted in the 1940’s, meaning that those vines have moved passed the stage of being “old vines,” and are almost “ancient” (old vines are typically over 40 years old while ancient denotes vines over 70). Graphite and dried strawberries and cranberries dominate both the nose and the palate, with an ample husk of dust and earthiness encasing the wine. It was aged for a year in oak before bottling, as evidenced by the rounded tannins that glide over the wine’s finish. To me, this wine is calling for food: pizza, lasagna, calzones; all hearty things that leave a little grease on the plate.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here.

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 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 am so thrilled to finally share this wine with you. It has taken several months to finally have it delivered. The Musar winery is one of my favorite in the entire world. They make some of the most beautiful, complex, and unique wines in the whole world. The”Hochar” is named for the family that owns Chateau Musar. This is their “second wine” which is designed to be more approachable young. It is composed of 50% cinsault, 30% Grenache, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% carignan. When the wine is first opened the aroma is dominated by rich cedar and spice. As it is allowed to breathe more and more complex notes of leather, cigar, graphite, blackberry compote, dried plums, dates, lavender, and anis are reviled. On the pallet the tannin is quite pronounced and slightly rustic. The fruit is fresher and tarter on the pallet with a distinct dusty texture. The finish is persistent and drying. An excellent wine to pare with roasted lamb or barbecue. I highly recommend decanting the wine ahead of time and tasting how it evolves over the course of a meal.

It is very exciting to see some unique varietals being produced in some of California’s best wine regions. Typically known for chardonnay and pinot noir the Russian River Valley is one of Sonoma’s coldest sub-appellations. Vermentino is most widely planted on the island of Sardinia. The wine is highly aromatic with aromas of ripe peach, apricot, golden delicious apple, and lilies. On the pallet it is fresh and lively with more tropical fruits. Lime, kiwi, and more crisp apple. The wine will go great with summer salads and is a wonderful foil to this sudden hot weather. Serve well chilled.

Want to learn more about Shamrock Selections? Click here.