The Wine Hit List, Early Summer Edition: Estadio, Apéro, Dauphine, and More

There is much more on offer at Estadio, Logan Circle’s OG spot for Spanish tapas, beyond patatas bravas and txakoli. So live a little and try a mountain grown pét-nat rosé from Alfredo Maestro, perhaps a Rioja from Remelluri if the grilled or cured meats are on order — and of course glasses of sherry throughout the meal are a must.

Recaredo Terres Brut Nature Gran Reserva, 2014 ($71)
Champagne snobs can be such a bore, but an enlightened few will let you in on the stunning pleasures of the cavas from Recaredo. This estate has been growing and producing cava since 1924 (and they’re among the few cava producers in Penedès to be certified biodynamic) using all estate grown, native Catalonian grapes, doing all the work by hand. This 2014 vintage brut nature was aged over five years on its lies, developing a savory richness and persistence — just what you want with your tortilla Española and croquetas.

El Maestro Sierra Amontillado 12-Year Sherry  ($11/glass)
You might consider El Maestro Sierra an early (19th century) disruptor in Jerez: When the region’s top barrel cooper took it upon himself to produce his own sherry, he was met with hostility from the entrenched aristocracy which dominated the trade. Fast forward to 1976, and El Maestro Sierra became the first entirely woman-run sherry producer in a historically male-dominated region. Part of their success is due to their bodega’s prime location, high on a hilltop with a clear exposure to the Atlantic’s cooling winds. This along with deep reserves of well-aged sherry that put many larger bodegas to shame. Enjoy this salty, nutty amontillado with all forms of cured pig, or even with creamy bomba rice with mushrooms, manchego, and truffle butter.

Tucked into the parlor room of a historic Georgetown row house, you’ll find Apéro, a café by day and posh Champagne and caviar bar by night. It all was conceived by Elli Benchimol, a longtime sommelier who has without exaggeration taught over a thousand wine professionals in D.C. over the past two decades.

The current Champagne bottle list is comprehensive, with scores of mostly grower bottles at the most reasonable prices, rewarding curiosity and substance rather than trophy collecting. There are combos as well: $50 gets you a glass of Champagne with full caviar service and a box of savory waffles; $20 gets you a glass of sparkling wine with deviled eggs.

Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Brut Champagne NV ($115)
This Bouzy producer derives a  ravishing salmon color for their rosé (like the “eye of a partridge”) from macerating pinot noir grapes on their skins for about 24 hours — a largely forgotten technique that David Vesselle resurrected from his ancestors. That brief skin contact changes the game on the palate: Think dried roses, orange peels, and white pepper. (Also think duck confit with morel sauce, which is what’s on our mind.)

Cidrerie du Vulcain Cidre De Fer Extra Sec, 2018 ($46)
Vintage cider made from heirloom apples foraged in Fribourg, Switzerland, is how we’d like to start every visit to Apéro. De Fer, a variety of apple that traces back to 19th-century Germany (known there as Bohnapfel) offers aromas of a fruit tart baking in the oven, with the texture of mineral water, and a savory fino sherry finish. Consider adding some pâté with crispy Liège waffle and onion jam, or gougères with caviar, and you’ve got yourself a treat.

For quite some time, we’ve been looking forward to once again spending candlelit evenings at Primrose, knocking back glasses of pét-nat, ’80s new-wave on the stereo, the occasional breeze coming through the open patio doors. The wine list is less exclusively French than in times past — with new arrivals ranging from Lightwell Survey’s coferment of Virginia blaufrankisch and vidal blanc, to skin contact gewürztraminer from the Czech Republic, and a full list of 17 or so wines available by the glass.

Chateau Deluxe Rock Pop Naturel, 2020 ($15/glass)
Trust Kyle Lattimer, a former food truck chef turned winemaker of the cheekily named project Chateau Deluxe, for unpretentious yet intentful sparkling wines from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The Rock Pop Naturel is a pét-nat that mixes pinot noir, riesling, gamay and skin-contact chardonnay — with the tart, tropical fruit of Hi-Chew candy, and sustained fizz of, yes, Pop Rocks. So it’s guaranteed to spark joy alongside most things, whether gambas al ajillo or French toast.

Domaine Des Deux Clés, Clés en Main Rouge, 2019 ($17/glass)
After years working as an oenologist for other estates in the Languedoc, Gaëlle & Florian Richter found a property of their own up in the hillsides of Corbières with cooler northerly exposures. The typical playbook of the region is for broad-shouldered, top-rated wines, but the Richters found a more finessed approach, through  gentle extraction of their biodynamically farmed old-vine carignan and syrah. The crushed stone and wild herb notes are just what you want with your bavette steak au poivre.

One silver lining of the pandemic era was Maydan’s expansion — allowing the party to spillover to their courtyard-alley, and giving more space to enjoy their sui generis take on Mediterranean, Levantine, and Caucasian cuisines. Their wine list is just and diverse — and thoughtfully curated to match the intensity of their food. Featured prominently are the wines of Georgia and Lebanon.

Tchotiashvili Amber Kisi ($76)
If we have to pick one grape for Georgian amber wines, we’re on team kisi. And Tchotiashvili’s, made from low-yielding mountain vineyard fruit, raised in buried qvevri, has an exceptional verve and fruit intensity to balance the more exotic spice. We’re not kidding in saying this has got the best qualities of Bonne Maman apricot preserves and Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea, and pairs with just about everything, from grilled halloumi to branzino with red shatta, orange and sumac.

Musar Hochar Pere et Fils Bekaa Valley Red, 2018 ($80)
The second wine from the legendary Lebanese estate of Chateau Musar seems to have more savoir-faire than its more intellectual older brother (which typically wants a long decant, or a decade in the cellar). This blend of cabernet sauvignon, cinsault and grenache drinks much like a left-bank Bordeaux if it went backpacking across the Mediterranean. It naturally pairs with all the hearth fired eggplant, lamb and kebabs.

If you, too, are ready to dump your athleisure in the bin in favor of something dry-clean-only, here’s the place for a posh night out, feasting on chef Frank Ruta’s timeless haute-American cuisine, with wines to match. Their list is divided into the Classics, with strong selections from Burgundy, Rhone, and Piemonte, and the Neo Classics, which feature coastal new California pinot noir and chardonnay. In either case, there’s approachability to the selections that suits early summer dining.

Ceritas Trout Gulch Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, 2016 ($138)
Ceritas is among the growing raft of culty wines out of California marked by understatement and precision, rather than gaudiness and hype. The Trout Gulch vineyard, up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and only 3.5 miles from the Pacific, makes for a chardonnay that’s slow to ripen, and maintains a brilliant tension of sunny California fruit balanced by bracing energy and marine notes from the ocean proximity. Everything you want in a bottle alongside Ruta’s seafood dishes.

Château Thivin Côte de Brouilly, 2019  ($78)
These days, Thivin is a throwback to the days when cru Beaujolais were some of the most thrilling, accessible wines out of France. (They still are, but demand has outpaced supply.) So we’re all the more thankful for this Côte de Brouilly, especially how it displays the recent hot vintages in stride — crackling with mineral edge, and whifs of violets and gunflint.

Downtown’s entrancing homage to New Orleans, from Chef Kristen Essig, has just arrived to much fanfare, and for good reason; fried hog’s-head cheese and seafood gumbo are proven to improve quality of life. (OK, maybe not, but we believe so.)

On the wine list you’ll find solid options for entertaining clients over dinner, or parents visiting from out of town, but also no shortage of surprises hidden in plain sight: Bandol rosé from La Bastide Blanche, a Graacher Himmelreich spätlese riesling from Willi Schaefer, and the singular Catalonian wines of Els Jelipins.

COS Pithos Bianco, 2018 ($98)
Guisto Occhipinti of COS has been among Sicily’s pioneering natural winemakers since the 1980s, and in a sea of shiny new orange wines, Pithos Bianco can fly under the radar these days. Made from grecanico grapes, macerated on the skins and aged for 7 months in terracotta amphoras, the resulting wine offers a refreshment reminiscent of Arizona honey and ginseng iced green tea, mixed with citrus sun dried on the Sicilian coast.

Bénédicte & Stéphane Tissot Arbois Traminer Ouillé, 2016 ($126)
The Tissots don’t make much of their traminer (the archaic term for savagnin), since most is used to make their vin jaune, so we don’t think twice before snatching up a bottle. Few Jura producers so consistently achieve the Tisssots’ signature balance of ripping acidity, saltiness, and dense fruit concentration (think salt-cured lemons and green mangos). If there’s soft shell crab available, you’ll sincerely regret not having some with this wine.