Collection: Wine Share Picks

The 6 wines for this month are all of a transitional ilk – bearing elements that reflect September’s stop-start motions of seasonal change. Beginning in the Loire, we have a classic cuvée with 5 years of age on it already, the often-underappreciated Cheverny Blanc bearing the cépage that crosses Sauvignon Blanc with the native variety Menu Pineau (in lieu of Chardonnay). This rendition is from Luc Percher and is a bit broader, slightly moreplush than its Chardonnay-bearing cousins and a bit more distinct than them also – a particular treat from the middle Loire. Next is the Brand Bros’ eminently lovely ode to the old school Pfalz table-liter of Weissburgunder (aka Pinot Blanc). Racy, supremely refreshing in its minerality and with the extra 250mL to make it thru a whole meal. Rounding out the ‘non-reds’ is a fascinating, high-elevation Andalucían delight composed primarily of the Pedro Ximenez grape (that usually goes into classic sherry from the region) – salty, savory tempered by real citric verve. For the reds, we begin – as any wine club’s first foray into Fall must – with Beaujolais. From Domaine David-Beaupère, there is the treat of his 2021 Trois Verres. The Gamay here is farmed in Juliénas, so it is technically Cru Beaujolais though this bottling isn’t about density, gamey-ness, or breadth that tries to turn this joyous fruit into something more ‘serious’ but rather an ode to its lightness. Fleet of foot, fresh, wild strawberries and rosey all over. Next is a wine to balance the buoyancy of the Beaujolais – Julie Karsten’s biodynamic expression of a Côtes du Rhône (from the Southern Rhône). The wine is all manner of garrigue/herb-laden sweet fruit while of course being completely dry and with a medium-length. A table red incarnate, the wine finds loads of gastronomic friends this time of the year with the harvest table full of spice and scrubby herbs and gamey food meant for pairing with Rhôneish juice. Finally, we have a beguiling charmer from Emilia-Romagna, the land of Lambrusco, in Emilio Montesissa’s still, monovarietal Syrah: it is the darkest wine of the bunch yet retains such tangy lift it can satisfy nearly any drinker. It is Syrah, yes, but it is moreso Emilia-Romagna. There is a sottobosco, earthy, nearly bretty center of the wine with the kind of electric acidic lift you’d expect of the region’s sparklers, what otherwise can turn the dark, purpling liquid in your glass into something thirst quenching.