Holiday Season Wines

The holiday season is upon us. The celebrations provide opportunity to sample a number of wines, something I could not do independently without the rest of the crowd to help finish the bottles. Also, the endless parades of food provide interesting possibilities for pairings. Some of the wines have been on this blog previously, and some may appear in upcoming posts. So here are the highlights of the last weeks, in the order tasted.

Helfrich Alsace Grand Cru Riesling, 2006. I have been on a search for wines from Alsace and have been having a difficult time finding options which I liked, predominantly because of residual sugar. This wine was the true "find." I has aromas of violets and white fruits, a nice floral bouquet but you can smell the minerality of the wine. The taste follows through on the flowery theme with a nice sense of pear or nectarine. This is well balanced by crisp acidity and minerality. It was a special purchase in the Pa state store system and is a good choice; I cellared a 6 bottle case. Great wine and a great price.

Ehrhart Cremant d'Alsace degorge le 25.08.2010. This is another "find." I used it as the sparkling wine at Thanksgiving and it has become a staple through the rest of the season. It is labeled as chardonnay. The mousse has fine, uniform bubbles which persist well in the flute. The nose is clean and fruity, with a hint of green apple. The taste is green fruits and citrus with an almost creamy texture in the mouth. The acid and mineral are well balanced with the 12.5% alcohol level. It is dry. I really like this wine.

There was an easily forgettable white Beaujolais which I tried just because it is so uncommon; there are only 500 acres of white grapes planted in the region. This wine was pure chardonnay, no aligote was in the blend. It was good, but certainly would not stand up to its northerly neighbors.

Domaine Pral "Au Pays des Pierres Dorees" Beaujolais 2009. Red obviously, and all Gamay. This is a very nice wine example of Beaujolais. The color is bright red and clear. The nose is floral and red cherry bubblegum. The tastes match the nose and the finish is well balanced. I picked this up as an experiment and I am glad I got a couple of bottles. This is not the Morgon in the cellar, but it is great to drink while waiting for that to age. This is a good and flexible wine.

Les Hauts d'Acantalys 2008 Lirac (white). This is actually produced in Tavel with grapes sourced from Lirac (remember, Tavel is rose wine). I really liked this wine. The aromas are of fruits and flowers, the taste is well balanced with white stone fruits, pears, and citrus. It is well balanced with nice minerality and acidity. The stated blend is 58% grenache blanc, 28% clairette, and 14% bourboulenc. I only bought 2 bottles of this and I intend to go back and get a case. It is a wonderful white southern rhone wine. This was the bottle for sipping while cooking on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. It was consistent for 3 days after being opened.

Domaine Cherrier et Fils Sancerre 2008. This was the first wine opened for the "early" arrivals on Christmas day, and for the uninitiated it provided a fine example of its region- citrus and grass. I like this wine, as did everyone else. It was a good prelude to beginning the party with the cremant previously described.

Pierre Amadieu Gigondas "Romane Machotte" 2007. I blogged about this wine a few months ago and chose it as the main wine for dinner. It went well with all of the courses- onion soup, salad, ham, potatoes gratin, and roasted haricots verte with garlic. Plenty of young fruit but just enough tertiary aromas and flavors to be interesting with the entire meal. Again, I really like this wine and patiently anticipate what it will do over the next 5 years.

Clare Luce Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2006. Again, this is a wine discussed months ago. It was a wonderful contrast to the Gigondas and went well with second servings.

Something had to stand up to dessert. Chateau de Veyres Sauternes, 2003. This may be regarded as infanticide, but it went quite well with the sweets. The wine is just beginning to gain some darkness, the nose is floral, with fruit and honey. And, the honeyed taste of botrytis comes shining through. The sweetness is nicely balanced by the acidity and alcohol. This is a wine sitting in the cellar for a long while to come. We had not tasted it in a year; it is coming along well.

And for the clean-up crew... Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Young, red fruits, pepper, and smoke. This gives a slightly different meaning to the clean up.

My thanks to the intrepid group of tasters and eaters who made this wide range of samplings possible. Obviously, without a group there would have been a lot of waste. I have noticed that the rubber stopper in the remaining cremant popped out during the night but the mousse is still quite good. The last of the Sancerre did not deteriorate sitting on the counter over night. Posts will be coming on my search for wines of Alsace in Pennsylvania, a collection of Sancerre tastings, and maybe a midwinter comment on the rose wines of Tavel. Best wishes to all for a safe and joyous holiday season. And a light snow has just begun to fall.

chablis

DOMAINE WILIAM FEVRE 'VAUDESIR,' GRAND CRU CHABLIS, 2005

this has an incredibly crisp nose with green apples, one can smell the flintiness. the mouth has high minerality and acidity, well balanced by the fruit.

absolutely no oak here; put this zip up against an over-oaked and flabby california chard and compare what shows its terroir and style.

this is in the $70 range; la chabliaienne has a number of excellent and representative wines in the price range of this blog. the point is that this is a GRAND CRU for $70, look at other high quality chardonnay based wines and make a real comparison.

of course, this was followed by a Premier Cru Mersault ($40) and a Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne ($80).

hiatus

there have not been posts lately because i have been working through the french wine society curriculum and doing the course in washington, dc. amazing experience and a huge number of wines.

as a post for tonight, Domaine Marcel LaPierre Morgon, 2009. this is a really exceptional wine. it is a beaujolais, but it absolutely has nothing to do with nouveau. this is a cru beaujolais and is meant to age. admittedly, drinking this wine young was infanticide but it certainly gave us pleasure. the color is a vibrant and clear red. the nose is of spicy red fruits- cranberries and raspberries. there is a nice and well balanced minerality and acidity with a silky finish. the wine is meant to age but certainly is enjoyable in its youth. with food, there was a distinct peppery taste to the wine. it stood up well to the meal (a variant of the classic chicken with 40 cloves of garlic).

Marcel LaPierre has an interesting history. he inherited the family vineyards and initially followed the course in beaujolais. then he decided the direction the region was taking was not consistent with the land, the grapes, and his heritage. he broke with tradition and became progressively more natural in his handling of his wines (the web site and local writings say he does not use sulfur, but our bottle lists sulfur on the label). it took a number of years for his wisdom to be acknowledged. this is the thirdd vintage of his wine i have had and it is consistently wonderful. i look forward to how my cellared case will age.

sadly, Marcel LaPierre passed away a month ago of melanoma. the domaine passes on to his son.

this is a wonderful example of cru beaujolais designed to age, evolve, and express the land of its origin. the producer has the courage to follow a traditional path to produce an exceptional wine. we too often think of "nouveau" when we hear the word beaujolais and such a patterned response limits our possibilities and does not do justice to the region.

that said, this thursday is the third thursday of november...

a two post night, montagny

the wine is Domaine Faively 2005 Montagny, Domaine de la Croix Jacquelet.

sorry, no neat photos to go with this one because it always seems to be gray when we visit this region... that said, there is nothing gray about this wine.

montagny is the southernmost village of the cote chalonnaise. the only varietal permitted is chardonnay. the vineyards are on marly soils: limestone with clays. the vines are relatively young. no new oak is used.

the wine is pale yellow, without a hint of oxidation.

the nose is expressive of fresh scents of orchard fruits, particulary green apples.

the mouth has intense minerality which is followed by a fine balance between the acidity and the concentration of fruit intrinsic to the wine. the finish is persistent and lovely, with hints of citrus fruits. the balance between the acidity, the minerality, and the fruit intrinsic to the wine is persistent and lovely.

this is a delicious wine and has the potential for short term aging and evolution. on the second night the bottle was open it had evolved to become subtle and sublime in its fruit, minerality, and acid.

this is a very nice wine and one which i have in our cellar for the short term. nothing wrong with this; it is a wonderful example of its terroir.

Gigondas!

The bent of the blog has become decidedly French. That is my taste, but also I feel the wines I am choosing represent an expression of the grapes, the style, and the land from which they arise. These are old world styles, not new world fruit bombs which have such an expression of fruit that their subtlety and and nuances are lost; there is balance in these wines from which we can learn regardless of our tastes. Foods and wines are learning experiences and an opportunity to discover: wine games. Thus the missive ends and the review begins. The comments are based upon a bottle opened last evening.

The wine tonight is a retasting of Pierre Amadieu Gigondas 2007 "Romane Machotte" which was opened last evening and stood up to a spicy Thai meal. The producer is based in Gigondas, but has offerings sourced elsewhere in the Southern Rhone. We have tasted many of these and find them uniformly pleasing.

This wine is a dark ruby to purple in color without any brick at the edge of the glass; it remains young.

The nose initially has sweet blackberries and black cherries, which progresses to hints of vanilla, herbs (thyme, rosemarie), and earthiness; with time it exudes a sensation of dried fruit confit- fig and prune.

The mouth has a wonderful minerality with supple tannins. The tannins softened overnight but remained prominent and well balanced.

The finish is well balanced with a nice acidity. In the nose one gets the dried fruits and tar.

I assume the terroir of this wine is limestone gravel. The blend is 80% grenache and 20% syrah. I have driven past both the Machotte and the Romane vineyards.

I have tasted the 2006 vintage of this wine as well as the Vacqueyras from 2006 and 2007. The 2006 had more harsh tannin. This does seem to soften with age but the overall wine is not as elegant as the 2007. I generally find Vacqueyras to be more rustic than Gigondas and this seems true with the Pierre Amadieu wines. The full portfolio can be found at their web site: www.pierre-amadieu.com.

I enjoyed this wine and would strongly recommend it. Although I think it has the potential to age for 5 to 10 years, it certainly is enjoyable now. I would recommend the 2007 over the 2006 if one has a choice (I suspect a case of 2007 will find its way to my cellar, some for now and at least half for later). The best on-line price I could find was $17.99. I got mine in the Pa shop for $19.99; there is a Perrin et Fils offering at the same price and I preferred the 2007 Amadieu. This is an excellent wine and worth a try, it is a great learning experience.

As a disclaimer, I love the wines from this region. Nothing in this post is to discredit any producer or village. My comments relative to Gigondas and Vacqueyras are simply my sensory way of distinguishing their wines- I like both equally as is evidenced by my cellar.

HAVE LUNCH AT LES FLORETS IN GIGONDAS!!! Order the Domaine du Garrigue, experiment with the year.

cigar guy head wrap man from the ryder cup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK7JlGIIx3A

golf fans, this is the guy in the background on tiger's hosel rocket...

i know, it has nothing to do with wine.

cdp blanc, linkedin, how one learns

mike e mailed me after the last post with a wonderfully considered response. in sum, we should not let ourselves be overwhelmed by the "fruitbomb" of a younger wine. wines evolve with age be they red or white. part of this evolution is unique secondary aromas. decanting older wines- the same as giving them over night open- allows many of these to dissipate. i am going to decant my next bottle of white just as we now do with nearly all the red we drink.

thank you for the exceptional response mike.

white chateauneuf du pape, linkedin, and fws

this is pulled from linkedin and the french wine society group. it is a nice educational piece on the whites. conventional behavior is to drink these wines young at 2 or 3 years, but this argues for letting them age. i have chosen a basic cdp blanc at 4 years for comment and it is still going strong. no oxidation, fruitiness has softened, wonderful balance. this is under $20 in the pennsylvania stores.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Obscure but Worth Seeking Out | Lettie Teague on Wine - WSJ.com online.wsj.com

The reds of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are famous, but the little-known white wines of the region offer many surprising rewards, says Lettie Teague

2 comments

Mike • I am so happy with this article , because it describes what I have said so many times before and still do with all my witnesses on Wine safari with me. I was 13 years PR manager of Beaucastel, have learned the knowledge about wine from Burgundy, sinking down in the southern Rhonevalley. What Marc Perrin has to say to you is comming from me , because I have learned the family Perrin that the old whites were interesting.
In the period I was the PR manager , so many peoppkle were able to join me to taste old whites from Beaucastel uptil 1980. First experimental year of Rousanne Veille Vignes. Dear Frank and Lettie, I was at domaine Pradelle in Croze Hermitage and the let me taste their white 2008, 2002 and a 1979 . I was in heaven. That 1979 reminded me a lot to the few 1980 Rousanne Veilles Vignes I tasted at the time working for Beaucastel. Lately even I had a simple Sablet Côte du Rhone Villages 2002 from domaine Goubert in Gigondas and it is tasting very good for such a style of wine. It is only; "What is rearly seen, is not well known" and therefor not regonised! I am convinced of the fact that whites keep better than reds. If I had the money for a wine-auction, I bet my money on 30 year old white wine instead of red-wine. That is to say , if you like to drink it "one day", If it is for you "poststamp" collection, than it becomes another thing. I do agree with Leslie that you should avoid the period, when a white wine "seems" be totally oxidised. Keep it a few years more and it comes back on its feet again. This can differ from one wineregion, grapevarietal...etc
4 days ago





Matt

• reading this over a glass of perrin et fils cdp blanc "les sinards" 2006. light straw color, nose of pear and melon, the palate has nice minerality with a sense of fruit, the acid is nicely balanced with a hint of lemon on the finish. there is something of a "twist" at the end i can't figure out but it seems to dissipate with time in the glass. brett? the bottle was opened last night, and it is much nicer today. i think i will let a couple of these sit and see what they do over time.

wow sancerre!

yesterday was an afternoon in the kitchen and cooking required something to open the palate. amuse bouche for the evening was roasted figs on chevre. soup was a mild cucmber gaspacho. grilled tenderloin with "grape picker" potatoes with a baby lettuce and herb salad for the meal. cheese course was a pungent soft (unknown french origin) cheese, a brie, and smoked gouda. dessert was a tarte tatin. the wines for the meal were to be a young caymus (2008) and an older one (2000) with chateau segur sauternes 1998 for dessert (they say sauternes, but it is quite close to barsac, i must look at the geography).

there are a lot of tastes in the preparation of that meal. generally, i think working with that mix of foods calls for a crisp white wine with great minerality and acid. WINE FOUND!

Domaine Cherrier et Fils 2008 Sancerre. this is a village wine not a single vineyard offering, but it really shows everything there is in a Sancerre. the color is a pale yellow. the nose is citrus- lemon and lime, with a hint of melon. there is a flinty minerality and crisp acidity. the finish is clean and pure citrus fruit, maybe kiwi.

the wine stood up to the aromas and tastes of the kitchen. it is spot on for the price range of the blog and is a wonderful example of its terroir. great wine and i would highly recommend it.

day in burgundy photos

that would be baptiste with his grand cru corton charlemagne... wonderful and i would love a couple of cases.

lynne and david, www.burgundydiscovery.com. these folks have a wonderful program and i would strongly recommend them.

these are small producers and they make a wonderful range of wines. my tasting notes are previously published. there will be some additional photos from my phone, once i can get itunes to move them.

french wine society 2010 video!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24_J1zCQvhs

as part of the ongoing gradual posting of the conference here are the out-takes. great video julian, i agree that it should be annual.

written during a glass of 2008 Domaine LaFond Roc-Epine Lirac.

i am 3 months behind on posts...

a wonderful rainy day in burgundy

I am going to go out of chronologic order for today’s posting, and I am going to hope that some of the photos will load, but given that i have lost internet twice during this post it is unlikely. It has rained here in Nuits St Georges since yesterday afternoon so there are not many photos, but the few are quite nice. I realize I may run out of adjectives in this post, because everything was perfect.


Today was Burgundy Discovery Tours day with David and Lynne Hammond (www.burgundydiscovery.com). We “found” them last year and had a great trip through les Hauts Cotes and this year we arranged to do their “Hidden Secrets” tour. The general format is 2 or 3 producers before lunch and then a single visit afterwards. They have an excellent sense for smaller producers who define the terroir of their grapes and who make wine with what nature has provided. Last year they provided us with the beginnings of an understanding of this complex patchwork of a region and they expanded upon that this year. They are a marvelous couple who can provide access to producers one never could find alone. I highly recommend them.

Lunch both years has been at a spectacular restaurant in Savigny-les- Beaune, Le Morgan; this is an excellent restaurant which is a true one person show, the chef does everything and does it well. We had planned to visit Le Morgan for dinner if we did not have lunch there. This is a great restaurant with exceptional food. It is officially on our list for the next time we visit les Cotes de Nuits.

First producer, Domaine Jean-Pierre Bony operated by Fabienne Bony (www.domainejpbony.com). Seven wines were tasted beginning with a barrel tasting of the 2009 Nuits St Georges village wine. This was followed from the barrel by her 2009 1er Cru “Les Pruliers.” I enjoy barrel tasting such as this because it gives the opportunity to learn about the wines in their youth. Both were ruby and clear, with red cherries; the 1er cru was more rounded an balanced even at this young age. Following this we had the 2008 Bourgogne, 2008 Nuits St Georges, 2008 Nuits St Georges “les Damodes,” and the 2008 1er Cru Nuits St Georges “les Pruliers.” This was a wonderful flight of wines showing the progression of complexity of the wines, going from red cherries and fruits in the Bourgogne to delicate dark cherries with a hint of spice in the 1er Cru. My favorite was the single parcel village wine “les Damodes.” This is adjacent to a ranked vineyard of the same name, and has all the complexity of a 1er Cru. We finished with a flowery 2009 Aligote; I enjoyed this as a conclusion to the tasting. Her USA importer is ill-defined, which is a shame. The wines are excellent and would show the American consumer the true nature of the region.

Second producer, Baptiste Gay. This was a predominantly white wine tasting ending with a red offering. The initial wine was 2009 Bourgogne Aligote. This was less floral on the nose and had a touch of oak. It was an excellent example of the grape’s range of flavors. This was followed by 2008 Pernand-Bergelesses “les Belles Filles” single plot village wine. This displayed the apples and citrus of chardonnay with a nicely balanced minerality and acidity. The third wine was 2007 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru “Sous-Fretilles.” This was had greater minerality, but the malolactic fermentation had balanced the mineral with the acids and fruit into a very nice wine. Very nice wine, that was written because of the wine which followed it: Corton-Charlemangene Grand Cru 2007. This was an extraordinary wine with a wonderful minerality and nose of green apples. If there was a way, I would take a substantial amount of this back to cellar. The mineral and acid were balanced, unlike the sometimes “electrical shock” of chardonnay from Chablis. This was an exceptional wine. The final wine was 2008 Pernand-Vergelesses “les Boutiers,” a red wine. This showed strawberry, red raspberry, and some spice with soft and well balanced tannins. This producer does not have a web site or e mail address but can be contacted through the Hammonds. His wines are stunning. I am unable to locate a US importer, and by the way the grand cru wine is 45 euro and the others all are under 15 euro just to keep things in perspective.

The final producer was Domaine Michel Martin (www.domainemartin.fr), who was the smallest volume producer of the three making approximately 16000 bottles a year. This tasting consisted of six wines, and a seventh which I purchased and am drinking as I write. Again, this began with the red wines and finished with 2009 Savigny les Beaune Blanc from the barrel; this was a wonderful floral wine with citrus notes, the acid is mild and well balanced. The wine is 100% pinot beurot, which I have now learned is also pinot gris. The 2008 is slightly softer and more round than the young 2009; this wine was the perfect finish to the sturdy flight of red wines tasted. This began with 2006 Chorey les Beaune, which was aromatic with red cherries and tannin; it spent 18 months in oak. The next wine was 2007 Savigny les Beaune, which again showed red fruits and pepper. The third red was 2006 1er Cru “Teurons,” which had red cherry and spice and was better balanced. The fourth red was 2007 Beaune 1er Cru “Clos du Roi,” which added more spice and an earthy notes. As a closing comparison we had the 2005 Chorey les Beaune, which had jammy red fruit and was less tannic. All of these reds had prominent tannin at this point, but the 2005 showed they round out nicely with time. These were excellent wines all under 20 euro.

This is NOT the Burgundy I may have complained about at times, this is a exciting charming place with wines which express the terroir. The producers are small and linked to their wines. These are not the wines one reads about in the "major wine publications" of which only 50 cases have been imported at $500/bottle. Unfortunately, I cannot find importers for any of these extraordinary wines, but maybe someone will read this and take a look at these options rather than the large volume bland negociant wines we see on the shelves in Pennsylvania.


This was an outstanding day of tasting, I did not even mention the wines from les Hautes Cotes which we had with lunch. These are three excellent producers who make extraordinary wines. It is unfortunate that it seems none of their wines can make it into the US market; maybe importers need to look for these “hidden secret” type producers whose wines reflect the grape, the terroir, the climat, and the hands of the vigneron. All excellent wines. Kudos to Lynne and David for a wonderful day.

more st laurent des arbres

these were from the same walk.

now, what we really want instead of a rant about destruction of vineyards is a wine update.

Domaine Pelaquie 2007 Laudun Cotes du Rhone Rouge. This is a great wine at an exceptional price. We tried to visit the producer in St Victor la Coste, but they were closed and they do not seem to answer their telephone. It is a dark wine with red fruit and spice, nice balance, and a polished finish. The producers have been in business for a long time. I will try to get the details of the USA market, but I recall seeing this wine available in the States. Their white offerings also are wonderful, and express their origin well. I strongly recommend this producer.

old vines in st laurent des arbres

we have arrived in burgundy; it is gray and raining just in time for harvest, the internet connection stinks, and i have been working on just getting this post to load for an hour. the posts will be somewhat disorderly if this problem persists. there are a couple of southern rhone items still to put up and of course our next days here.

the previously posted photos, without caption or text, are from a stroll along the vineyard roads in st laurent des arbres. three years ago we noticed neglect of some of the vineyard parcels, two years ago some vines were dead, and last year there was a sign announcing that parcels were to be developed for housing. this had to have been politically approved. inquiries at the mairie give no timeline for construction.

it is sad to see wonderful old vines destroyed. this is land which produced aoc lirac, but it is more valuable to convert for construction. some of the parcels are just barren, others have been planted to sunflowers. can those be made into wine like dandelions? it seems we just cannot co-exist with our environment. maybe i am wrong and the wine from these plots was poor.

CdP picts

The Mistral has stopped, for now

The posts are a couple of days behind, it is Thursday and today's topic is Tuesday... The Mistral stopped blowing and today has been still, so that is my excuse. The topics coming are for this post a trip through the other side of Chateauneuf du Pape and a post which will follow on a very nice provencal rose from our trip to St Remy yesterday.

There are not words enough for Chateauneuf du Pape. We have vacationed here now for 5 consecutive years and the region enchants us. I have come to measure much of what I tasted based upon this region, and specifically upon Chateauneuf. These are wines which are good young, but given age they can become spectacular with their nuances. As we all know, there are 13 grape varieties allowed in red CdP. These red wines tend to be dark in color, have a nose of black cherries and red fruits, licorice, and leather- I find some of them peppery or smoky as well, the acids and tannins are well balanced. As they age I sense more dried fruit and leather or tobacco in many of the wines.

I am going to focus on two parts of our day: first, our visit to Clos St. Michel (which is an annual event for us) and our dinner. Sadly, as I mentioned in a prior post, La Mere Germaine has been sold and is not yet reopened. I have always viewed that as the village's center-piece restaurant. With it gone, my only reason to go into the village is to get photos or to visit; otherwise, I can entirely stay out of the old village except to pass through. That said, we had a wonderful dinner at Chateau les Fines Roches and we would highly recommend it. The ambiance is excellent, the food was well prepared, and the service was impeccible. We could not eat outdoors- which we previously had done- because of the Mistral.

Every year we visit Clos St Michel, speak with the "madame," and taste the wines. She has done a vast amount to educate us about CdP. Our cellar reflects this fact with a reasonable vertical of their wines. This year we began with the 2008 CdP Blanc (straw colored, a nose of honey, fruits, and flowers, well balanced acids and minerality, and a fine finish with a reminder of the fruit and honey). After that we tasted the 2006 CdP (dark, red fruits and black cherries, tobacco, and a bit of tannin- still young and needs to rest of a bit in the cellar). We finished with Reserve 2000 CdP which is just beginning to hit its peak. The fruits are taking on a different character with more dried fruit aromas, there is a more pronounced smokiness, and the tannins are softening; we have this in the cellar and are going to hold it for a bit longer. Madame reminded us, that for her taste, it is best to age Chateauneuf for at least 12 years. She previously had made this point to us, but unfortunately we have been drinking these wines while they are young- very good but not at their prime. We finished the tasting with their Cotes du Rhone which is designed to drink now- Camille 2009.

Clos St Michel is a reliable producer and the wines are good. We have aged them and they are predictable in how they will evolve. I strongly recommend them. They can be obtained at most "Total Wine" stores in the states. Although it is fun to drink them young, save the majority for what they become with aging.

Chateau les Fines Roches. We have had pleasant meals there previously; and when the opportunity to dine on their terrace has been present the ambiance has been impressive. Our meals were outstanding- they clearly have elevated themselves to a high level of quality. Atypically, we ordered the same meal. Amuse bouche was a miniture croc monsieur with a cheese puff. There was a wonderful gazpacho. The salad was simple but perfect. The entree was pork tenderloin wrapped in a very lean ham with polenta. Dessert was roasted figs with vanilla creme. For the wine I went with the 2005 Fines Roches. Although young, this paired with the meal perfectly. I had wanted to have the 1993 Henri Bonneau, but this was not a financial reality.

The wines from CdP are consistently excellent, and I think they improve every year. There are some producers who follow a more traditional style while others adopt a more modern taste; I absolutely see a place for each and appreciate the nuances they bring with them. Our drive-by of Beaucastel was predictably unsuccessful; they previously had told me that they would be unable to accommodate us because of the harvest. I met others who had tried to visit earlier this summer and were turned away because of inability to accommodate everyone requesting a reservation. They are on the other side of CdP which I previously had never visited.

Rencontres du genre deux cheveaux...

alors, pas certain qui était le plus en difficulté, mais j'ai reçu la photo. tavel.

a particularly special tasting in Tavel

this is a reposting with some spell checking of last evening's post. the mistral is howling and the sky is a glorious blue. sorry about ipad's version of how to spell some things, i hope i have corrected it all.


we headed south this morning on the a6 and got to watch about 400km of jammed northbound traffic. ah, the route de soleil at this time of year; i hope it will be better going northward next week when we are going that direction, otherwise we take the 6 hour rural route to nuit st george. our original plan had been to visit the southern parts of burgundy and make some stops in the northern rhone, but we had an appointment in tavel at 1600 that was not to be missed. we arrived at domaine du moulin in st laurent des arbres (our base for all of our trips, kudos to antoinette and otto, our exceptional hosts), unpacked, and hit the road. the original plan had been to taste in tale tomorrow, but when offered 30 out with harvest impending one takes it. there was a specific vigneron we wanted to visit based upon the french wine society meeting last month. we tasted several wines from tale today, but i only am going to write about one very special producer and his wines.

we in les etats unis do not appreciate rose wines. tavel is exclusively rose wine. the wines spend a significant period of maceration before being run off, pressed, and blended. this gives a nice extraction of color and an impressive "backbone" of the fruits used. tavel is not about how "pale" can a rose be made, and it is fermented dry unlike the "blush" wines made in the states. this is serious wine. the design is for it to be drunk young, but one of the wines today was specifically designed as a "vin gastronomique," and has the potential to age and evolve; unfortunately, this specific cuvee is not imported into the states.

tonight's feature is hateau de Trinquevedel and its owner, winemaker, and 4th generation producer, Guillaume Demoulin. we had the opportunity to tour the vineyards and his impressive family chateau with him. the property was built by his great grandfather Eugene in the 1930's and he inherited it beginning in 2006. the tasting was four wines. his tavel is macerated and fermented in old cement tanks. maceration is 12 to 48 hours.

we began with 2008 Trinquevedel. the year was difficult because of the weather, but good work was done in the cellar. the wine had good color, a nose of red fruits, and nice mineraltiy, and it finessed distinctly with strawberries; there was a hint of hotness at the end. this was a nice wine from a tough year, and it set the stage for wonderful wines to follow.

next was 2009 Trinquevedel. the year was outstanding, and the work in the cellar was great too. this wine's color is bright pink. it has a much more prominent red fruit nose with spicy red cherries, red raspberries, and a hint of strawberry. the acid, mineral, and fruit balance perfectly. the finish is cherry and raspberry. i thought this wine was outstanding.

following this we had Les Vignes d'Eugene 2008. this is a rose that is built to age. it is produced only from selected vines and is not imported into the states. this wine had a hint of orange to its color, probably from the oxidative nature of the grenache and clairette. the wine's nose was complex, with dried red fruits and spice, the balance was perfect, and it finished with raspberries. there was a hint of toffee to this wine. i know of two bottles coming to the united states.

the last wine was guilaume's 2009 Cotes du Rhone; next year this should become AOC Lirac, the bulk of the wine is his grenache grown in lirac and he will have his mouvedre to blend from there soon. this is a fresh and fruity red to drink now. it is a very nice wine which i suspect will become more serious once it can be labeled from the AOC Lirac. this wine had a really difficult act to follow given the roses we had just tasted; we are drinking it now and finding a potential and complexity in it we did not appreciate initially. getting to revisit this wine tonight shows me that it hits the target as a wine to drink now with summer food in warm weather. it perfectly matches its intended target.

this was an absolutely spectacular visit and tasting. this is a true family enterprise now in its 4th generation. the wines are excellent and express the nature of the people who produce them. these are special wines, they show the character of the soil and the soul from which they come. kermit lynch is the usa importer. i would love to see these wines on the shelves in pennslvnaia next spring (2010 is going to be a good year). jill says, "you can't get these wines in pennsylvania, and there is a problem with that." i agree, this is serious rose, a real wine.

i strongly recommend this wine. if the opportunity to visit the property presents itself, i would say it is a must do. everything about Trinquevedel is special and unique.

www.chateau-trinquevedel.fr
Posted by matt at 12:47 PM 0 comments Links to this post

TAVEL

tonight's post is without pictures. we have an internet connectivity problem and i cannot figure out how to get the photos from my pc to the ipad, and the download would chew up my entire data plan that said, it was a great day with special wines. i will put the photos and original text of the post up when i get connected.

we headed south this morning on the a6 and got to watch about 400km of jammed northbound traffic. ah, the route de soleil at this time of year; i hope it will be better going northward next week when we are going that direction, otherwise we take the 6 hour rural route to nuit st george. our original plan had been to visit the southern parts of burgundy and make some stops in the northern rhone, but we had an appointment in tavel at 1600 that was not to be missed. we arrived at domaine du moulin in st laurent des arbors (our base for all of our trips, kudos to antoinette and otto, our exceptional hosts), unpacked, and hit the road. the original plan had been to taste in tale tomorrow, but when offered 30 out with harvest impending one takes it. there was a specific vigneron we wanted to visit based upon the french wine society meeting last month. we tasted several wines from tale today, but i only am going to write about one very special producer and his wines.

we in les etats unis do not appreciate rose wines. tavel is exclusively rose wine. the wines spend a significant period of maceration before being run off, pressed, and blended. this gives a nice extraction of color and an impressive "backbone" of the fruits used. tavel is not about how "pale" can a rose be made, and it is fermented dry unlike the "blush" wines made in the states. this is serious wine. the design is for it to be drunk young, but one of the wines today was specifically designed as a "vin gastronomique," and has the potential to age and evolve; unfortunately, this specific cuvee is not imported into the states.

tonight's feature is chateau de trinquevedel and its owner, winemaker, and 4th generation producer, guillaume demoulin. we had the opportunity to tour the vineyards and his impressive family chateau with him. the property was built by his great grandfather eugene in the 1930's and he inherited it beginning in 2006. the tasting was four wines. his tavel is maceratined and fermented in old cement tanks. maceration is 12 to 48 hours.

we began with 2008 Trinquevedel. the year was difficult because of the weather, but good work was done in the cellar. the wine had good color, a nose of red fruits, and nice mineraltiy, and it finessed distinctly with strawberries; there was a hint of hotness at the end. this was a nice wine from a tough year, and it set the stage for wonderful wines to follow.

next was 2009 Trinquevedel. the year was outstanding, and the work in the cellar was great too. this wine's color is bright pink. it has a much more prominent red fruit nose with spicy red cherries, red raspberries, and a hint of strawberry. the acid, mineral, and fruit balance perfectly. the finish is cherry and raspberry. i thought this wine was outstanding.

following this we had Les Vignes d'Eugene 2008. this is a rose that is built to age. it is produced only from selected vines and is not imported into the states. this wine had a hint of orange to its color, probably from the oxidative nature of the grenache and clairette. the wine's nose was complex, with dried red fruits and spice, the balance was perfect, and it finished with raspberries. there was a hint of toffee to this wine. i know of two bottles coming to the united states.

the last wine was guilaume's 2009 Cotes du Rhone; next year this should become AOC Lirac, the bulk of the wine is his grenache grown in lirac and he will have his mouvedre to blend from there soon. this is a fresh and fruity red to drink now. it is a very nice wine which i suspect will become more serious once it can be labeled from the AOC Lirac. this wine had a really difficult act to follow given the roses we had just tasted; we are drinking it now and finding a potential and complexity in it we did not appreciate initially. getting to revisit this wine tonight shows me that it hits the target as a wine to drink now with summer food in warm weather. it perfectly matches its intended target.

this was an absolutely spectacular visit and tasting. this is a true family enterprise now in its 4th generation. the wines are excellent and express the nature of the people who produce them. these are special wines, they show the character of the soil and the soul from which they come. kermit lynch is the usa importer. i would love to see these wines on the shelves in pennslvnaia next spring (2010 is going to be a good year). jill says, "you can't get these wines in pennsylvania, and there is a problem with that." i agree, this is serious rose, a real wine.

www.chateau-trinquevedel.fr

pinot noir in gevrey chambertin

pinot noir in gevrey chambertin

a walk through gevrey chambertin

to be fair, it was sunday afternoon and not everyone was open. jill was recovering from open skies, and i needed to take some pictures. 2 gigs of photos later i have some great shots and did some even better tastings. as i write this we are working on a phillippe leclerc 1998 chambolle musigny "les babillaires." this was one of the numerous wines i had when i visted them; they appeared to be in the middle of a private tasting but accommodated me, particularly after i pointed out this would be my fourth tasting with them. the result was an over the top grouping of wines which i absolutely would recommend and only wish i could put a case of each in my cellar.

i am including photos of the soil and the status of the grapes for the folks who care.

this began with 2007 chambolle musigny les babillaires. nice young wine which i think will mature wonderfully. our second visit to gc was that year. the second wine was the one i am drinking now, chambolle musigny les babillaires 1998. this is a wonderful and delicate ruby wine with a nose of red cherries, a taste of ripe cherry and a hint of pepper, and a perfectly balanced finish. this is a great wine which i think shows the gentle and subtle nature of the aoc.

this was followed by 2007 gevrey chambertin "en champs." this is a nice wine and i would drink it starting in a couple of years. it opens the "flood gates" relative to the finishing wines.

the next to last wine was the 1er cru la combeaux moines. this was a big wine and still quite young. it will be wonderful in about a decade; i wish i could take a couple of cases home. we tasted this vineyard in 2007 and 2008 during our visits, as well as some older offerings. it is a well made and special wine.

the wine i bought to pack and take home was 2003 1er cru les cazetiers. although monsieur said it was ready to drink now, i found its beginings excellent but the tannins were still a bit strong for me. this bottle will get about 5 years in the cellar and then i think it will be perfect.

i find this stop to be a wonderful pause before we move south. tomorrow's agenda has some white options (not all chard's) and a progression from syrah based reds to what i think is the ultimate rose wine from tavel. stay tuned.

open skies, the a6, and chablis, then...

so, open skies out of newark was ok. it really was not their fault that tsa took apart my entire camera case and made me go through the machines three times. i really do not understand why the woman had to take apart my camera bodies and got finger prints on the mirrors, or why her supervisor refused to allow me to prevent her from trashing my nikon cameras. that is not the fault of open skies and at least i made the flight after all of the hassle. i saw no signs that all camera equipment had to be disassembled and place in basins, and it really does not explain why she had to take apart camera bodies...

that said, we decided to go to chablis on our way to gevrey chambertin. ok, there are x grand cru vineyards around the village. it was market day and a hoot. we got a croton of chevre from a wonderful lady and based it on which of the "varieties" she recommended. white wine, pale, fruity nose of green apples, steely minerality and well balanced acid. i like chard and this takes it to an entirely different level. but the higher level came when we got to gevrey chambertin. as i write this i am pushing a 40 hour day and i had an afternoon of tastings to almost end all (kelly m's french wine society morning remains the best ever).

the internet here is slow to upload photos, the next post will be the highlight of my afternoon walking gevrey chambertin. and, dinner will be at chez guy.