Limited Addition
By David Keck
Limited Addition is the first brand created by Bree and Chad Stock under their Constant Crush company. We’ve written about their wines in our blog before (click HERE), but have some super new and exciting wines that just hit the warehouse.
The first wine on offer follows a hip new trend that really started with the folks down at Wild Arc farm in the Hudson Valley. Well, it REALLY started in France a long time ago, but it has recently been revived and now all the cool kids are doing it. PIQUETTE is essentially a wine made by using water to extract more sugar from already-pressed grapes, essentially making a second wine that is low-alcohol, light in body, and 100% chuggable. Talking with Chad about this process is a lesson in winemaking and tasting. He and Bree made Piquette in 2019 and ended up just drinking it with friends (who raved about it!), but weren’t happy enough with the results to sell it. In 2020, Chad worked on perfecting the ratio of must to water, the selection of fruit with bright acidity and character that would carry the wine, and enough alcohol to still have some weight. Thus we have the 2020 Grenache/Cab Franc Red Piquette. According to Chad and Bree: Black pepper, grapefruit, cranberry-tea, totally smashable, the ultimate day-drinking beverage, and then some, wild berries and herbs.
A return of the favorite from last year, the 2020 Grenache Rosé is truly a wine that punches well about its weight. A dark rosé, this wine reminds us of everything that Grenache can be: white peppery, spicy, savory, and rich—but in the rosé form we get just a touch more acid and lightness on the palate. One of our house favorites, it’s possible we buy as much as we sell—from the Stock family: Call it climate, call it fate, this wine always tastes of pine resin, amaro, red citrus, sea spray, and bad decisions.
Left to right: 2020 Grenache/Cab Franc Red Piquette, 2019 Cab Franc Field Blend, 2020 Old-Vine Muscat/Pinot Gris Co-Ferment, & 2019 Old Vine Cabernet Franc
It seems that the PetNat (Petillant Naturel, naturally sparkling wine that is created by bottling a wine before it’s finished fermenting so that it finishes in the bottle, releasing CO2 to add the bubbles), is starting to pop up in a lot of places in the US winemaking scene, and Bree and Chad have produced a truly delicious addition to the category. 2020 Cab Franc Field Blend PetNat (Naturally Petulant?).
According to Bree and Chad: Three clones, two California heritage, one of Chinon origin. Harvested together to unleash the youthful power of the fruit through a rose sparkling lens. Fuzzy peaches, tomato leaf, minestrone soup, candied orange peel, and white tea.
We also still have some of the 2019 Cab Franc Field Blend from this same vineyard and it is drinking beautifully.
Next up is a wild co-fermentation (grapes picked and fermented together, creating a little science experiment of joined forces) of Pinot Gris and Muscat. Pinot Gris is naturally quite rich in Oregon, with lots of stone fruit and nutty character. In contrast, Muscat is extremely floral and aromatic with a lighter body. 2020 Old-Vine Muscat/Pinot Gris Co-Ferment. The Limited Addition read on this: Let deliciousness be your guide, we did. 40+-year-old vines bring the power and we don’t mean George Foreman, we mean Mike Tyson with the need to perform after all these years. Honeysuckle, candied ginger, red apple, orange zest, quince, salty red papaya, nori- umami.
Finally, we have a one-of-a-kind, already-sold-out-at-the-winery, brilliant and serious wine from Bree and Chad. I’ll let their description explain this wine as it’s quite unique and truly outstanding. 2019 Old Vine Cabernet Franc: Self-rooted Pinot noir vines planted in 1993 grafted over to Cabernet Franc vines in 2016. Why? Because this little rocky bench produced some not-so-great Pinot Noir and it was mutually advantageous for both the farmer and us to graft the vines over to something else. Cabernet Franc ripens at the end of the season in the Willamette Valley, in late October, grapes that ripen in harmony with their chemistries and that have the chance to hang into the coolest weather resulting in layers of complex flavors without the boozy alcohols and tired dead fruit flavors. Amazing aromatics savory black olives, raspberry leaf, sanguine and gamey, sea-salt dusted violets, and a presence.
We’re honored to work with Bree and Chad, and couldn’t be more excited for these new releases! They didn’t make much wine in 2020 due to the fires, so get it while you can, and we’ll keep buying as much as we can for Vermont. Other states didn’t get any wine this year, so we’re grateful that the Stock Fam prioritizes our mightly little state.