December 2021 | 6 Bottle Club
Welcome to the December 6 Bottle Club from MYSA Natural Wine!
A note from our founder:
Happy Holidays Friends!
I had a blast putting together this month's wines and hope you love them! Speaking of blasts, make sure to let your bubbles rest, particularly Just Peachy, store it standing up and be VERY delicate when you open it! You'll see in my video that mine exploded on my (but I had no choice because I had to get these videos out ASAP!)
This group is so fun with amazing aged bubbles from Clos Lentiscus, a fun experimental wine from our friends at Old Westminster, a delicious Orange from some of the last winemakers we met before COVID, 2 French reds that feel very seasonal and finally a Rioja unlike what you'd expect that's also perfect for making Glögg!
Enjoy and Happy New Year!
Holly Berrigan - Founder, MYSA Natural Wine
- Petit Ours - Matthieu Barret
- Negrette Fronton - Anne Arbeau
- Herrigoia Rioja Tinto DOC - Companon Arrieta
- Nomos Vinho Verde - Penho Wines
- Just Peachy - Old Westminster
- Brut Nature Méthode Traditionelle Rosé - Clos Lentiscus
- Wine Evaluation Sheet
Petit Ours - Matthieu Barret
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Northern Rhône - France
Description:
To gain a bright expression of fruit flavors, grapes from younger vines were chosen. 15 days spent on its skins in a concrete tank followed by 9 months of aging. Medium-high tannin with a smooth finish. Red berries with plum, blackberry, cherry, and earth.
Pairings: Grilled Meat, Aged Cheese, Lamb
Serving Temperature: 50°- 55°
About Matthieu Barret 
"In Beaune, Matthieu Barret discovered immediately his proclivity with organic viticulture and with living ecosystems. Beginning with the first vintage in 2000, Matthieu worked principally in the vineyard, applying his hand with organic viticulture. Not content with his end result, in 2006 he decided to radically change his vinification process by using less barrels and replacing them with concrete eggs. His ongoing evolution and pursuit of purity and expression continue to dominate his chais.
In 2012, he stopped using machines in Cornas and replaced them with mules, horses, and manual labor. He also started to create ‘green spaces’ around the farm, digging watering holes to nourish an ecosystem with a diversity of species. ie: vines and the forest, meadows and woodlands.
According to Matthieu, the plant is happier in a wild environment rather than in a desert comprised of only vines. This diversity brings a distinct identity to his grapes; when the vineyard biome is treated with respect, he says, this balance is easier to maintain.
Matthieu owns 11 ha in Cornas with of the total 150 ha in the AOP, including his monopole ‘Vallée du Coulet’ in the northern most part of Cornas, most famous for its impossible steep grade and its exposure to Le Mistral. Le Mistral is a famous current of wind that blows from Lyon and ends in Provence. It’s a maddening wind, that keeps this vineyard spectacularly dry even in times of rain. - T Edwards"
Negrette Fronton - Anne Arbeau
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Fronton - France
Description:
Negrette isn't a typical grape to find outside of bulk wine from Southwest France, but this is an epic example of what it can do when it's given the love and care it deserves! Anne Arbeau, mother and PhD in Fluid Mechanics took over her family's wine business in 2004 and never looked back! With semi-carbonic, this wine is juicy to the max with bright fruit and violets to start then a heartier finish with leather and pepper.
Pairings: Stews, Duck, Pork
Serving Temperature: 50°- 55°
About Anne Arbeau
Together, Anne and Géraud Arbeau, brother and sister, are continuing to write the family history begun by their ancestor Pierre a century ago. Care of the vines, winemaking and the sales side as well, the pair never stop. Staunch defenders of the values of the South-West to which they are deeply attached, Anne and Géraud sell Fronton wines from the Capitole in Toulouse to the United States, from the Place Nationale in Montauban to China… In short, to the four corners of the earth. - Vin de Fronton
Herrigoia Rioja Tinto DOC - Companon Arrieta
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Rioja - Spain
Description:
Natural Rioja wines are rare and we are very excited to include this one for you in your club this month! It's a perfect nod to what you expect Rioja to be while also having 15% white grapes that take it to a new level we love.
We'll also be using this Rioja to make Glögg for the holidays! Click here for our recipe.
Pairings: Chicken, Burger, Barbecue
Serving Temperature: 50°- 55°
About Companon Arrieta
El mozo wines is a small family project with more than 40 years of history located in lanciego (rioja alavesa). We have 9 hectares of vineyards spread over 18 small plots all in lanciego, we base our project in traditional, sustainable and organic viticulture and the winemaking as natural as possible. We work and we respect each and every one of the vineyards that our parents and our grandparents left us, all are little gems, that in some cases were planted more than 70 years ago. The special orography of lanciego, crossed by three streams with their respective ravine and replanos. These 18 combinations of the variants altitude, soil, variety and guidance. We try to offer to this global world these microwines of lanciego aka bodegas compañon arrieta
Nomos Vinho Verde - Penho Wines
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Vinho Verde - Portugal
Description:Having met these folks at Vella Terra before COVID, we were STOKED to find out de la Vina was bringing them in! Their take on Vinho Verde is so elevated and delicious, even spending some time in oak and skin contact, we can't wait for you to try it! Lovely aromatic non-traditional Vinho Verde with fresh citrus, including oranges, and lovely acidity.
Pairings: Tapas, Charcuterie, Grilled Meat
Serving Temperature: 48°- 52°
About Penho Wines 
Penho wines are garage wines produced from grapes grown in Quinta de Penhó, located in the Vinho Verde region, in northern Portugal, where family vineyards are located. We take care of the vineyard in an organic way and our goal is to produce the best wine from our grapes. The wine is produced in the most natural way possible, with minimal intervention, resulting in unique natural wines with very low levels of sulphite. - Vella Terra
Just Peachy - Old Westminster
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Maryland - USA
Description:A coral-colored and slightly effervescent wine made from 65% Albarino, 19% Pinot Gris, 7% barrel fermented peaches, 7% wild cider, 2% Chambourcin! Fresh aromas of peaches, floral, nectarines, and arugula. Super tasty till the last sip! Fruity notes of lemon, plum, and apricot.
Pairings: Pulled Pork Sandwich, Cheeseboard, BBQ
Serving Instructions: 45°- 50°
About Old Westminster
"The Baker family, established in 1985, didn’t always know they would spend their lives making wine together.
Jay & Virginia, founders of the family, always dreamed of working with their children and preserving their farm. In 2008, all three of their children – Drew, Lisa and Ashli – were away at college, and they found themselves empty nesters. It was time to either put their land to work, or move on.
Upon discovering that grapevines have an affinity for rocky soil, elevation, abundant sunshine and a steady year-round breeze – all characteristics of their land – the family explored the idea of planting a vineyard and starting a winery together.
Today, Jay & Virginia support their children in the family’s wine business. And, as you can imagine, they’re enjoying the view. Not just of the flourishing vineyard, but also of the energy and determination they see in Drew, Lisa and Ashli building this great thing together. They love their children’s synergy and their ambition to put Maryland wine on the world map.
Drew is Old Westminster’s vigneron. At age 22 he planted the first 7,600 grape vines on the family farm. Each year he travels the world studying his craft and honing his skills. Drew is an entrepreneur and a leader; he pours his energy into growing great American wines on the family’s Maryland farm. The second in line is Lisa (27), Old Westminster’s talented winemaker. Lisa, a chemist by education, has been crafting some of the best wines in Maryland since she was 23 years old; wines that are not only a pleasure to drink, but also reflect the region’s unique geologies and climate. Her experience making wine stretches from the hills of northern Maryland to Sonoma, California. She loves exercising her passion for science through the art of crafting delicious wines. Then to tie it all together, there’s Ashli, the youngest. She’s Old Westminster’s “people person”. She’s passionate about building an exceptional, wine-centered experience at the Tasting Room by sharing the stories of our wines, connecting visitors with their local farmers and making sure everyone leaves with a smile.
Drew, Lisa, and Ashli are young, smart and eager to jettison every negative stereotype ever leveled against Maryland wine, and replace them with wines of renown, forging a new reputation for wine in the Old Line State."
Brut Nature Méthode Traditionelle Rosé - Clos Lentiscus
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Penedes - Spain
Description:
Serving Instructions: 42°-48°
About Clos Lentiscus 
Manel Arinyó (aka the bubble man) is making some of the most exciting sparkling wines—not just in Spain but in the world.
If you were to blindly taste Clos Lentiscus, it is a real probability that you’d think you were tasting grower Champagne. Pepe Raventós from Raventós i Blanc is a strong advocate that the Penedès terroir produces sparkling wines of profound mineral expression that can compete with the best in the world; Manel’s Clos Lentiscus cuvées greatly support Pepe’s case.
In 2001, Manel and his brother Joan returned to their family’s 14th century estate Can Ramon after the death of their father. Conventionally farming the land, their father sold the fruit instead of commercially selling wine. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Can Ramon had a successful history of selling wine to France and the American colonies (factors such as the Spanish Civil War, phylloxera and industrialization ultimately lead to its decline). Clos Lentiscus was created to recover the brilliance the estate once enjoyed and to continue the work of past generations.
Wine Evaluation Sheet
Want to have some fun evaluating and taking note on your wine? Check out our natural wine tasting sheets we made special for the club!
