LATE SUMMER CRUSHABLES

The expected and the unexpected.

A Gamay, a Provence rosé, a crisp white. That's the expected part. Here's the rest.

The Gamay comes from Simon Gastrein in Rhône, France - not Beaujolais, where Gamay is king, but a bit south of it, in country known for big, tannic, pepper-driven reds. A former chef making delicate Gamay here is a little bit of a rebellion. It's bright and fruity and dangerously easy to drink, but with more structure underneath than Gamay usually bothers with.

The rosé is where it gets good. Provence rosé is a summer cliché - there are throw pillows about it. But this one isn't made to be rosé. It's made by saignée: as a red wine begins fermenting, a little of the juice (10–20%) is bled off and becomes this. The rosé is the by-product. The red left behind gets more concentrated for it - you'll see that wine later. So you're not drinking a wine designed for the pool. You're drinking the beautiful accident of someone making a serious red.

The white is Ugni Blanc - a grape almost nobody bottles on its own, mostly because it's hard to make sing. Guilhem Scarlata makes it sing: crisp, mineral, a little floral. Pairs with everything, needs nothing.

Three wines. When they're gone, they're gone

2 Bottles: Ugni Blanc | 2025 vintage | Cevennes, France

2 Bottles: Gamay | 2022 vintage | Rhone, France

2 Bottles: Grenache, Carignan | 2025 vintage | Provance, France