By Liz Miller, West End Wine Manager
As another year flashes before our very eyes, Spotify has been keeping tabs on our listening habits with their infamous “Wrapped” feature. Apparently, Björk’s “Big Time Sensuality” was my most listened to song, and since I decided to take the plunge and listen to their complete discography, Depeche Mode was my most listened to artist. According to Spotify, April was my “Pumpkin Spice Zolo New Wave phase”, June was my “Psychedelic Permanent Wave Synthpop season”, and August was my “Goth Synthesizer EBM moment” - I get a kick out of the A.I. generated genre titles.
This year has also marked a milestone in my personal journey with wine. This was my first full year as a buyer for Hop City, I passed my WSET II with distinction, I curated a wine program that I look forward to sharing with my incredible regulars, and twenty two newsletters, eleven monthly tastings, and a partridge in a pear tree later, I have decided to share my 2024 “wine wrapped”.
If you want to taste these five wines, alongside fifteen of my other favorite wines since my tenure with Hop City began nearly two years ago, then what are you waiting for!? Join us for this year’s holiday wine tasting extravaganza!
RETA “Quebrada Seca” Chardonnay $57.99
When Marcelo Reta came to Atlanta earlier this year, we met him at Wood’s Chapel BBQ in Summerhill. I don’t typically eat BBQ with a fork and knife, so I quickly glanced around the table to gauge any opportunity to use my hands like the uncivilized person I am. According to my South American partner, Chileans use a fork and knife to eat anything from sandwiches to french fries, and Marcelo and his cohorts were no exception to their regional etiquette. Once he told us that Iron Maiden was his favorite band however, I knew we were in good hands, and that I could loosen up a bit. Iron Maiden was also his first concert - that was the year they were banned from playing in Chile, so Marcelo took a bus to see them perform in Argentina instead. Then out of the corner of my eye, a sparkling stream of white wine was poured into my glass, and with the first sip - the entire room erupted in “oohs” and “ahhs” as we dazzled in the magic that was taking place on our very tongues. On its own, “Quebrada Seca” Chardonnay could stand up to the likes of a fine Bourgogne blanc in a blind tasting - but whatever was happening with the marriage between the wine, charcoal, sauce, and meat was a beautiful thing. This is an extraordinary wine that may well be the standard-bearer for all Chardonnay grown in Chile.
Stolpman Vineyards “Uni” (60% Chardonnay, 40% Roussanne) 27.99
I originally chose this as a slightly weighty, yet high acid white wine to pair with a crab dish that the chefs at BoVino prepared. To my surprise however, this wine was last year’s vintage, and had evolved into a beautiful umami wine like the creamy yellow reproductive glands of the wine’s namesake. When Peter Stolpman was in town, we tried this year’s vintage, and it lacked that delightful umami-intense note that I had fallen in love with before. He told me not to worry - but to give this wine another year to fully express itself. He personally hoards bottles of this wine to drink when they have fully evolved into the hedonistically rich wine that it is meant to be.
Bodegas Los Bermejos Listán Negro Rosado 32.99
If I had to choose one wine in the shop to take to a desert island, this would be it. First of all, the grape vines are planted deep beneath the nutrient rich volcanic soils of the Lanzarote. Between the Lanzarote’s barren, volcanic landscape and the deep pits of grape vines smattered along the coast, the region looks almost alien. This rosé is electric and bright, with flavors of strawberry guimauves, sea shell, and a slight smoky note that provides an extra layer of complexity. This is the kind of rosé that you pair with dinner.
Jose Luis Ripa “RIPA” Vino Rosado Cosecha 35.99
I first bought this wine after a Dive night hosted at Larakin last year. I was working there at the time, and the last bottle had been sitting on the shelf of our cooler for far too long. I bought it to drink with good company, and to make room in the cooler for the new cool kid on the block. As soon as we opened the bottle, however, we were all taken aback by the magic that lay within. This aged rosé is from the husband of Maria Jose López de Heredia of the famed Spanish winery Bodegas López de Heredia. It’s graceful, yet complex - displaying notes of cherry blossom, freeze-dried strawberry ice cream, toasted almond, and bay laurel.
Phelan Farm “Autrement” (40% Gamay, 40% Mondeuse, 20% Pinot Noir) 49.99
Everyone in the wine community has that one wine that changed their perspective of what wine can be - “Autrement” was that wine for me. This wine remains a true love of mine after a previous wine buyer recommended it to me as a “unique treat” to drink on my birthday. It’s brimming with herbal and earthy notes like eucalyptus, tarragon, marjoram, tree bark, and tobacco - but with a sour cherry core.
