2019 Gossamer Cellar Negroamaro – Uncommon and Delicious!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
Gossamer Cellars located in Murphys, California is one of the gems of the Sierra Foothills. Their tasting room is located at 419 Main Street. Gary and Sue Grant are the owners with Gary making the wine and Sue graciously hosting guests in their quaint tasting room.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The etymology of the word gossamer originated in Middle English as “goose summer” or “gos mer”, late summer warmth, when the geese where in prime condition to be eaten! Over time it has morphed into an adjective “gossamer” meaning “light, delicate or tenuous” like a butterfly wings. Thus on the bottle of Gossamer Cellars a delicate butterfly or fairy is depicted with butterfly wings. To this end, it is appropriately named as Gary Grant purposely “flitters from varietal to varietal” making unique, high quality and lesser known wines for those open to experience the vast world of wine!
Their “motto” written in chalk in their very tiny tasting room sums up their goal and lifestyle “Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you” (Anonymous). See the complete story at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2019/01/18/gossamer-cellars-a-unique-find/ .
This is about one of their wines called Negroamaro that I pulled from the cellar for dinner. Grown in the Sierra Foothills, this grape is a dark-skinned and best known in the Puglia region in Southern Italy (the heel of the boot). The name Negroamaro translates “dark, bitter”. The typical characteristics are red cherry, forest fruits, licorice and tobacco. With aging (5-10 years) the wine can develop aromas of black pepper, prunes, earthy notes, blackberry and dried thyme.
The Wine “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine on the eyes was not as dark as some of the Italian Negroamaro wines but don’t let it fool you. It possessed a purple and crimson hue and was medium to medium heavy viscosity. Aromas of plum, dark cherry were prevalent. In the mouth, besides dark fruits, licorice and tobacco, a tinge of green pepper was present along with an almost bitter rhubarb or cranberry but with food, a latent slight sweetness of the plum & cherry came forward. The finish was dry with both medium to medium-heavy tannins and acid. Definitely an “old world” flavor is what you are left savoring. This is a hearty wine to be enjoyed with food as opposed to a sipping wine. Price is $28 and you can be transported back to Italy! Only 105 cases were produced. The wine was aged in four barrels, one new French oak and three neutral French oak. The grapes come from a vineyard near Placerville, California. Approximately only .001% of California grapes harvested are Negroamaro!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine was decanted for two hours before serving and really helped opening it up and flushed out some of the typical “bitterness” of this varietal. This wine at the 42nd Sierra Foothills Wine Competition won Double Gold!
The Food and Wine Pairing “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Pulled from the cellar last night to have with dinner as the bold, acidic flavor of the wine allows it to cut through the fats, oils and richness of the Bolognese sauce. The sauce was started at 9 am and left simmering all day on the stove. Ingredients included lean hamburger, ground Italian pork, bacon, chopped celery, chopped carrot, minced garlic cloves, olive oil, chopped onions, chopped fresh thyme, red wine, bay leaves, beef broth and tomato puree. Served with whole wheat spaghetti pasta and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese and accompanied by garlic French bread. The good news, it was an exquisite, perhaps the best of the year, food and wine pairing bringing one back to Italy.
This wine definitely made my annual Best Wines Tasting during the year. The list is published mid-December yearly with categories under $50 and above $51/per bottle.
Sláinte,
Michael