Murray Hill Girl Wine

We had to get to bed early on our first night in NYC because the next day, we had a tasting for the update to Vinologue Dalmatia with this Croat fellow named Krešo who works for Vinum, an importer of Balkan wines here in the US.

The tasting went fine and it was nice to see that most all of these wines coming in to the US from Croatia have increased in their level of quality and consistency. As we got to talking, Krešo let us know that he was part of a release party for a wine he’s helping to market for Van Diemens. The wine itself is from a Slovenian winemaker and imported only for this store. This is a quite genius wine on many levels. For starters, it’s mighty affordable with a red made from Pinot Noir and a white made from Welschriesling/Sauvignon Blanc selling for $12. That’s not bad, but it gets better.

Previously unbeknown to us, there is a section of NYC called Murray Hill which is seemingly comprised of 75% women who all sound like they’re from the San Fernando Valley, talking through their noses and saying things such as, “Like, you know.”, “Oh. My. God.”, and “Duh”. Being based in California where, in addition to statewide arrogance, we thought we had created this manner of talking, so it was quite a shock.

Playing upon this, the gang behind this wine did a smart move and created, “Murray Hill Girl Wine” in both a red and a white. The genius of it is that they’re both immediately approachable wines so the “like, you know” crowd will immediately approach them. Secondly, they’re quite affordable. Thirdly they are only being sold in Murray Hill, which is a stunt you can pull in a place as dense as New York.

Krešo told us that they’ve been selling without any problem. We enjoyed the white a good deal and found it to be well-balanced. The red is much the same way, although probably a touch fruity for our palate which drifts more towards the bold California manner of making wine. The red is also exceptionally light in color. For the untrained eye, one might even think it to be a “pink” wine, although in reality, it’s actually the color that Pinot Noir is supposed to be when it’s not darkened up by Syrah or something else to make it look more like how red wine is supposed to look.

However it all plays out, it’s a pretty clever stunt that they’ve pulled off and we would wish them well in the endeavor, but they seems to have little need for that given how well it’s going.

As a side note, after pumping us full of wine, we headed down to Kafana in Alphabet City which is some of the best Serbian food we’ve ever had. If you’re in NYC and want to try this type of food, we highly recommend it as the place is also very cute and you hear a lot of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian spoken there.

Ancestral Wine Cellar - Khikhvi 2014 95
First harvest of Khikhvi. Light apricot notes, peach skin, lemon peel. Citric in the mouth, fresh, lively acidity, vibrant. Very holistic, full and deliciously good.
100% Khikhvi · 12% · 30GEL
95

Petriaant Marani - Khikhvi 2015 94
Bruised red apple, touch of lemon peel, limestone minerality, and some white pepper notes at the back of it. High acidity and full in the mouth. Luscious, involving, elegant wine.
100% Khikhvi · 14% · 25GEL
94

Domaine Augustin - Adéodat Blanc 2016 93
Lemon and white peach, strong kick of salinity, and toasted notes. Very fleshy and full on the palate, peach notes more prominent as well as Meyer lemon, medium plus acidity and a lengthy finish.
100% Grenache Gris · 14.5% · 20EUR
93

AA Badenhorst - Secateurs Red Blend 2012 93
Forest bramble with ripe red fruit, touches of cherry, ripe red plum, tiny bit of prune, cumin, anise, black licorice, wet cement mineral note, underlying fig jam. Crisp medium plus acidity, medium tannins, medium plus length, medium alcohol, overall medium plus body that’s ripe and lively but super fresh and balanced at the same time. Bit of rugged wildness to it but doesn’t get out of hand. Easy to drink but with just enough underlying complexity so that it stays interesting.
56% Syrah 27% Cinsaut 6% Grenache 4% Cabernet Sauvignon 7% "Others" · 13.5% · 12EUR
93

Domaine Treloar - Motus 2015 93
Dark ruby, minor rim. Big, mighty bouquet of red cherry and other brambly forest fruit, vanilla, almond blossom, orange peel, and cocoa. Rich and full on the palate with a wealth of tannins still integrating, leading into a crunchy, lingering finish.
80% Mourvèdre 10% Syrah 10% Grenache · 14% · 14EUR
93

Domaine of the Bee - Cuvée 2015 93
Ruby with minor garnet rim. Rich red fruits with an underpinning of ripe plum, orange peel, licorice, cocoa. Broad, round tannins with a touch of toast and sweet cocoa in a long finish. Manages to stay very light on the palate despite the higher alcohol.
50% Grenache 50% Carignan · 15% · 25EUR
93

Tchotiashvili - Khikhvi 2014 93
Apricot, yellow peach, orange peel, and a touch of honey. Quite complex aromatically. Orchard fruit much more prevalent in the mouth with young apricot notes. Rich and elegant, touch of astringency in the finish.
100% Khikhvi · 13.1% · 28GEL
93+

Domaine Augustin - Adéodat Rouge 2015 92
Medium ruby. Fresh red cherry, raspberry, and young strawberry, lifted and breathy, saline tinge along with light stoniness and rosemary and garrigue. Fresh red fruit on the palate, medium acidity but still light on the palate, fresh, and while the alcohol sticks out a little, holds and excellent, long finish.
Grenache Carignan Mourvèdre · 14.5% · 20EUR
92

Domaine Fontanel - Prieuré 2014 92
Dense ruby with brick flecks. Crisp red fruits, lifted by a waft of volatility making for a light nose with a spicy licorice and leather component. Crisp and lively with red cherry fruit in the mouth and a nudge over medium acidity. Nice, lingering finish.
50% Syrah 25% Grenache 25% Mourvèdre · 14.5%
92

Cave Abbé Rous - Cornet & Cie Blanc 2016 92
Peach, orange peel & blossom, honey, dried apricot, and a hint of green apple. Very nicely balance in the mouth, green apple notes more prevalent, medium plus acidity and a lengthy finish. Fresh, lively, very pleasing wine to drink.
60% Grenache Gris 25% Grenache Blanc 5% Marsanne 5% Roussanne 5% Vermentino · 14.5%
92