The Wines of This Week's Tasting:
Well-Priced, Less-Usual Summer Whites
July 1, 2026
2025 Les Rocailles Apremont
A dry mountain wine from the Savoie uplands of eastern France, this is a delightfully cool counter to hot weather. All local Jacquere grapes, it’s very light on the palate but carries a minerality that gives it more character than most lighter-bodied wines. A perfect aperitif, it’s also a great hot-weather companion to fish, chicken, and salads.
Aroma: light, clean, very pretty, light, fresh flinty; Mouth: rounded, fresh flinty, good acid, mouth filling, fine and; long, long; Very Good Plus
$21.99; Case, $18.99
2024 Suavia Soave Classico
Suavia is one of the leaders in quality and terroir expression in this small, hilly Classico zone to the east of Lake Garda. There, the three Tessari sisters use their state-of-the-art facility to express the nuances of their native terroir through Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave, the two local grapes. Their wine has an enjoyable, fleshy-fruit texture, a hint of complexity, clean minerality, and mouthwatering acidity.
Aroma: Juicy white peach, sliced pears, fresh herbs, and lemon peel. Mouth: Medium-bodied, tangy, orange zest, peach, melon, and marjoram. The best Soave wines, like Suavia, can take some age and, in so doing, develop notes of chamomile, marmalade, and honey. Very Good Plus
$17.99, Case 15.99
2023 La Val Rías Baixas Arantei Albarino
Albarino from the single vineyard Arantei, one of the oldest of that grape in the region. The vines are planted in clay mixed with alluvial and gravel soil to produce a fruit-driven, layered wine with generous aromatics.
Aroma: Gala apples, lemon, grapefruit, lychee, fresh fennel, crushed sea shells, and a hint of flint. Mouth: Medium body, balanced acidity & salinity, tangy citrus, pear, apple, fresh herbs, creamy lees texture, crisp finish for a classic Albarino. Very Good Plus
$28.99, Case $24.95
2023 Ste Cosme Mini Cosme, Sauvignon Blanc Viognier
St. Cosme, a top Rhone producer, calls this a mini version of their more expensive whites. Certainly mini-priced, it is generous in quality. It’s rounded, fleshy, and full, with the Sauvignon Blanc adding breadth and depth to the more floral Viognier, resulting in an extremely pleasurable medium-bodied wine.
Mini Cosme capped our pleasure on the lawn at Tanglewood for last weekend’s Paul Simon concert. It will be just as fine in your backyard or on the beach, with George Strait, Taylor Swift, or the Boston Pops, not to mention a wide range of light summer foods. Great for larger gatherings too Very Good $15.99, Case $13.99
2024 Jules Taylor Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
“This is not Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc,” I said to Jules Taylor at our dinner with her last month. I meant it as a compliment, and she took it as such. Much better than the light, less ripe, aggressively grassy Sauvignon blancs that we get too often, at very little more money, it is full and rounded, drier than most California versions, not as austere as the French. Very satisfying with many seafood dishes, even just by itself.
Aroma: Sweet and intense, very ripe and forward, fullish rounded, heady and very ripe, lemony but ripe; Mouth: Very deep and fleshy, medium bodied, clean acid, ripe finish, good length; Very Good Plus
$21; Case, $17.95
2024 Arnaud Combier Blanc-Sain Chardonnay
Grower Arnaud Combier is a maverick. While this wine could have been Macon, Beaujolais Blanc, or Bourgogne Blanc, it is simple French wine. No doubt he does something that disqualifies it from bearing more normal labels, but whatever it is, it makes for a unique wine of substance, richness, and depth. It is complete in a way that many others aren't, with barrel fermentation and aging so well integrated that you don’t taste it but feel it in the wine’s amplitude and depth. An extraordinary wine at a very reasonable price; it will pair well with even substantial summer dishes.
Aroma: heady and rich, barrel, heady, and savory; Mouth: bright and rounded b barrel, light acidity, clean fine acid, ripe, nice light to medium bodied, the barrel gives it oomph; Very Good Plus
$25.95; Case, $21.95
Len Rothenberg
Summer Whites Case, two each of the above wines - $269 $229(19.08)
Or mix any 12 of your own bottles at their case price
People who come to the tasting get any bottle(s) at the discounted price
Order by phone at 617.367.8605, or reserve here: order@federalwine.com
Please pass this on to any friends who are wine enthusiasts!
- Len Rothenberg
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