Toothe And Nayle, Reclaimed
TASTING NOTES: “The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts from the glass with aromas of plum, black cherry, sandalwood and tobacco leaf. A luscious mouthfeel delivers velvety flavors of black fruits, boysenberry, crème de cassis, mocha and vanilla with hints of gravelly stone. Plump tannins unfold into a soft, enveloping finish.” (AbV 14.5%, pH 3.80)
VARIETALS: Cabernet Sauvignon
BARRELS: 10 months in French oak barrels (25% new)
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Tooth and Nail
The phrase “tooth and nail” is older than you’d think — English speakers have been fighting that way since at least the 1500s, when Thomas More used it (spelled “toothe and nayle,” which I now want back) to mean defending something with absolutely everything you’ve got and nothing else. No swords, no strategy, just whatever equipment you were born with.
What gets me is that other languages pictured a completely different animal doing the fighting. French has “bec et ongles” — beak and claws — same all-out, no-weapons energy, except somewhere along the way the mental image shifted from a person biting and scratching to what I can only assume is a extremely committed chicken defending her patch of yard. I like that there’s apparently a whole multilingual tradition of describing fierce resolve by imagining barnyard animals losing their minds.
ICYMI, you have two choices:
Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from this sale, the page you’re on right now, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year (October)!
Want Protected Summer Shipping and don’t think heat will be a problem? Order from the sale linked here! We’ll still try to get them to you with as little travel time as we can.
Some places get absurdly hot during the Summer, and in particularly unpleasant circumstances, it can damage a wine. Most people get theirs no problem, but there are a couple each Summer that fall victim to the sun no matter how fast we get them to you. If you’ve experienced that before or are afraid it’ll happen to you, we’ll hold your order for you until October, if you order from the Summer Hold sale. We are reasonably sure things will be cooler then.
