July 2025
The Month of
Summer’s Long Days
Three reds for the long days of July, all chillable for outdoor heat. A Côtes du Rhône from one of the appellation’s defining houses. A Bourgueil Cab Franc from one of Loire’s biodynamic anchors. And a serious Brunello to mark the night the heat finally breaks.
Selections from a past month — availability may have changed.
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01
The Weekday Wine · Under $20
E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2022
Côtes du Rhône, France
Dark cherry and crushed black pepper on the nose, with a generous mid-palate that finishes drier than the warm fruit suggests. E. Guigal has been making Rhône wines since 1946, and the regular Côtes du Rhône bottling — what they make most of — is the wine the appellation gets known by. The 2022 is a Syrah-led blend with substantial Grenache and a touch of Mourvèdre, made from grapes purchased across the southern Rhône and blended in their cellars at Ampuis. Serve it slightly chilled and it drinks like the easiest red on a July evening. Under twenty dollars.
TASTING NOTES
Dark cherry, black pepper, dried herbs
PAIRS WITH
Grilled lamb skewers, ratatouille
GRAPE
Syrah-led Rhône blend with Grenache + Mourvèdre
DRINK WINDOW
2025–2028
Vintage Context
Southern Rhône 2022 was a hot, dry vintage that pushed accessibility forward — the wines are riper and earlier-drinking than the more structured 2021. Guigal’s négociant role means they could blend across many parcels and keep the freshness up; the 2022 CdR is drinking beautifully now and won’t reward extended cellaring.
Build the Board
via Murray’s Cheese
A July board for Rhône red — Pyrenees rusticity, southern French canon
Ossau-Iraty AOC · Jambon de Bayonne 9-month · black-cherry confiture · Marcona almonds · pain de campagne
02
The Saturday Pour · $20–$50
Catherine & Pierre Breton Bourgueil 'Trinch!' 2022
Bourgueil AOC, Loire Valley, France
Crushed raspberry, pencil shavings, and the pyrazine green-pepper lift that pure Cabernet Franc carries in cooler climates. Catherine and Pierre Breton have been farming Bourgueil biodynamically since the 1990s — Trinch! is their entry-tier cuvée, sourced across multiple parcels, fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, no oak. The result is Cab Franc in its lightest, most pure-fruited form: a wine you can chill for thirty minutes and pour outside on a July evening without feeling like you’ve abandoned seriousness. The label name is the sound of a glass meeting another glass.
TASTING NOTES
Crushed raspberry, pencil shavings, green pepper lift
PAIRS WITH
Charcuterie spread, grilled mushrooms, herb-roasted chicken
GRAPE
Cabernet Franc (100%)
DRINK WINDOW
2025–2030
Vintage Context
Loire 2022 was a warm, dry growing season that gave Cabernet Franc more weight than usual — the fruit profile shifts toward darker berries while keeping the variety’s pyrazine signature intact. Breton’s organic-and-biodynamic farming and old-vine parcels weathered the heat well; the 2022 Trinch! is on the fuller side but still vibrant.
Build the Board
via Murray’s Cheese
A weekend board for Loire Cab Franc — Selles-sur-Cher and the French canon
Selles-sur-Cher AOC · Époisses de Bourgogne · Délice de Bourgogne · Jambon de Bayonne · saucisson sec
03
The Splurge · $50+
Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2021
Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy
Black cherry, leather, dried Mediterranean herbs, and the structured tannic grip that proper Brunello earns from at least two years in big botti. Argiano sits at the southern end of Montalcino, on the warmer side of the appellation, where Sangiovese ripens fully without losing its lift. The estate has been making Brunello since 1881; current ownership brought money for the cellar but kept the historic farming. The 2021 has a long aging window — easily fifteen years — but a glass tonight, with a dish that demands it, is the point of pulling the cork. Outdoor late-July dinner; the night the heat finally breaks.
TASTING NOTES
Black cherry, leather, dried Mediterranean herbs
PAIRS WITH
Bistecca alla Fiorentina, braised lamb, aged pecorino
GRAPE
Sangiovese Grosso (100%)
DRINK WINDOW
2026–2040+
Vintage Context
Montalcino 2021 was the cooler vintage Tuscan producers had been hoping for after the warm sequence of 2019-2020. Argiano picked at moderate brix, and the resulting Brunello has classical Sangiovese tension — bright cherry, fine tannin, length without weight. Built for a decade-plus in the cellar.
Build the Board
via Murray’s Cheese
A Splurge board for serious Brunello — Northern Italian premium against Tuscan Sangiovese
24-month Parmigiano Reggiano · Taleggio Ciresa · Robiola Bosina · Prosciutto di Parma 20-month · Speck Alto Adige IGP
Subscribers get a weekly pick that never hits the site — a fourth bottle, every Thursday, in The TERROIR Letter.
“Cab Franc, Grenache, Sangiovese — three for the long days.”
— The TERROIR Editorial Desk
Producer Spotlight
COS
Vittoria, Sicily — the pithoi-fermented natural-wine pioneer, founded 1980
Three twenty-year-old enology students pooled their Vittoria vineyards in 1980 and named the estate for their initials — Cilia, Occhipinti, Strano. They were among the first modern Italian producers to revive ancient amphora vinification. Forty-five years later, COS remains the canonical reference for natural Sicilian wine.
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