Wine friends,

Both of today’s wines just got high scores from a major international wine critic. If I were to go into specifics, we’d have to pay a hefty subscription fee. (You can figure out the details on the winery's Facebook page. Just scroll down a bit). 

As many of you know, I don’t usually put much stock in wine scores. 

There are many reasons, but the biggest is that wine critics are asked to taste too many wines in too little time. An evaluation of the first wine of the day is never the same as an evaluation of the 20th wine. Everyone’s palate tires without a break – even if you spit everything you taste. I’ve watched wine critics work up close, tasting, scoring, and writing about one wine after another. It always turns into a comedy after about 15-20 samples.

But that doesn’t mean the critics always get it wrong. Indeed, this major critic got today’s wines right. I might quibble a bit that the numbers could be higher, but on the whole, the scores are very favorable at these price points. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t see them on Cortese’s social media).

What this means to us is both wines will soon be in very high demand. As a result, our allocations may end up being smaller than I’d hoped. Sigh. I know many of you loved the previous vintage of both wines. 

Please get your orders in early.

Giuseppe Cortese 2021 Langhe Bianco Scapulin

Cortese’s 2021 Langhe Bianco is a Chardonnay-based white that’s vibrant, fresh, and full-bodied. It’s slightly more focused and mineral than the 2020 many of you received in April shipments. The 2021 Scapulin shows hints of apple, lemon, stones, and hazelnut, all singing together in harmony. The inviting saline finish keeps you coming back for more. Is there a more Burgundian white made outside of France?

Giuseppe Cortese 2019 Barbera d’Alba Morassina

The 2019 Cortese Morassina is a structured and savory red wine with plenty of dark fruit and a persistent finish. There’s less overt oak than the 2018 vintage, reflecting a harvest that brought ideal ripeness and, ultimately, pure fruit expression in the glass. This wine is herbal, lightly tannic, and very drinkable. 2019 was not just a banner year for Nebbiolo in the Langhe; Barbera may have fared even better overall. This wine makes a great case for 2019 Barbera.

To order, just click one of the blue links above and follow the prompts.

At a tasting event earlier this year, I asked Tiziana (Giuseppe Cortese’s daughter) if anyone else in Piedmont makes Chardonnay in a similarly precise, savory, almost Burgundian style. (I don’t throw around the B-word lightly). She smiled briefly and rolled her eyes as if to say, “I don’t think so, dude.” Soon after, we were talking about opportunities for collaboration.

The Cortese family produces about 65 thousand bottles of wine per year, eight thousand of which are Barbera Morassina and eight thousand of which are Langhe Bianco Scapulin (which is the only white wine Cortese makes).

Here’s a short video from the producer on the extraordinary Scapulin. 

Here’s the Cortese estate on the map of northwestern Italy.

I’d look to pair the Barbera Morassina with a meat-based stew, or a dish with braised meat. One option from Piedmont would be rustida, a traditional pork stew.

The Scapulin is a great match for most fish or chicken dishes. In my house, we regularly have it with spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams).

As of today, despite the recent critical accolades, these two delicious Giuseppe Cortese wines are not otherwise available in North America.

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

Receive a $25 credit for every referred member after the purchase of their first bottle.

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected]. 

How it works: 

After clicking one of the links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. When there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This is the 13th offer of our 2023 fall season. Through the first week of November, we plan to send offers on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

We ship in increments of 12. With 18 offers this season, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of the fall season offers, we can hold your wines until the next offer season – spring 2023.

Wines offered in the fall will ship in late November-early December for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. – but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.