Aroma
Gamey
3 bottles with this note
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Wine Aroma Kit
Develop your palate with the canonical reference for gamey and related notes.
Ridge Monte Bello 2019
Ridge Vineyards (Otsuka Holdings)
Ridge Monte Bello 2019 is resilience distilled into wine. For over fifty years, Paul Draper and his successors have proven that California can produce wines of profound elegance.
Marqués de Riscal Reserva 2019
Herederos del Marqués de Riscal (est. 1858)
Marqués de Riscal went against the grain before “going against the grain” was even a concept in Spanish wine. When Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga founded the winery in 1858, he did something heretical: he brought a French cellar master from Château Lanessan in the Médoc to teach Rioja producers Bordeaux techniques. He imported French grape varieties alongside the native Tempranillo. The result was Spain’s first modern winery, and in 1895, Marqués de Riscal became the first non-French wine to receive an Honorific Diploma at the International Wine Exposition of Bordeaux. The 2019 Reserva — 94% Tempranillo, 21 months in American oak — is a masterclass in Rioja’s unique marriage of Spanish soul and Bordelais discipline. At $20–$25, it’s one of the great values in European wine.
Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2020
Famille Perrin (5th generation)
Beaucastel is Châteauneuf-du-Pape at its most complete. While most producers lean heavily on Grenache, the Perrins give Mourvèdre equal billing — and it shows in the wine’s structure, depth, and remarkable aging potential. The galets roulés — those iconic smooth river stones that carpet the vineyards — are more than photogenic; they store daytime heat and release it at night, pushing grapes to full phenolic ripeness. Organic since the 1950s and biodynamic since 1974, Beaucastel was farming this way decades before it was fashionable. The 2020 vintage scored 97 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.