Petit Chablis

The meal last night called for minerality and acidity, or a delicate red wine. I went with 3 options- a wonderful Sancerre, a red cotes du Beaune, and a young Petit Chablis (2010). For me the winner as a pairing for the meal was the Petit Chablis from Domaine d' Elise.

The wine is a clear light straw color. On the nose it has incredible fruit with green apples and citrus, but a sense of secondary aromas of sur lees aging as well. The mouth shows wonderful minerality and honed acidity. The acidity lingers on the palate. In sum I liked this wine and will find more. It is young and seems to have structure to age a bit.

The producer, Domaine d' Elise, has a single 13 hectare plot which abutts the Chablis Premier Cru of Cote de Lechet. From the terroirist perspective it does have credibility. It is tank fermented and aged.

I tasted the remains of this bottle this morning as a follow up and nothing was lost- still apples, citrus, lees, vibrant acidity and striking minerality. It is more Chablis than Petit Chablis.

Beyond words

So this one is outside the blog's price point, but it was excellent and provides a reference point for comparison for the wines posted.

A bit of the Loire

These three give a nice expression of their region and years.

annual caymus dinner

every year this weekend corresponds with when i get my "new caymus." this year it was, of course, 2009. we tasted it blind with two other wines- caymus 2006 and la fleur de haut-bages liberal 2000 (pauillac). the 2009 was first, the 2000 last. the idea was to show the stylistic differences in old and new world cabernet based wine.

the 2009 caymus was dark, fruity, and balanced. the tannins were quite soft and in spite of its alcohol level it had no "burn" to it on the finish. it is quite drinkable now.

the 2006 caymus was uniformly dark, the nose was more complex than its younger sibling's, there were hints of tertiary flavors, the tannins were soft, and it was balanced.

the 2000 pauillac made its point. the wine has not lost any color. the nose is quite complex, with fruits, leather, and cedar. it is well balanced, but the tannins continue to need to soften. this wine has years to last in the cellar- it was great with food but it will continue to improve with age. i am not even going to try the first wine of haut-bages liberal (2000) for a couple of more years since the second one is still youthful.

just for comparison's sake, i put in a ledson 2002 russian river valley reserve zinfandel. nice contrast.

sun dried tomato tapenade
cheeses from the pyrenees and savoie
seared ahi tuna
onion tart
grilled beef tenderloin
grilled squash with onions stewed in tomatoes
tomato, basal, and mozzarella
strawberry and blueberry tart

and the closer is pictured above...

vacqueyras rose

Sols : calcaire, argilo-sableux

Cépages : Grenache 70%, Cinsault 30%

Age moyen des vignes : 35 ans

Rendement : 36 hl / ha

Production annuelle moyenne : 7 000 bouteilles

Vinification : Vendange manuelle avec tri sur table. Assemblage de rosé de saignée et de rosé de pressurage direct. Elevage sur lies fines 6 mois en cuves.

Accords mets et vins et conseils de dégustation : A déguster avec modération dans l'année. Sera l'accompagnement idéal des repas d'été ( apéritif, salades, grillades…) et la cuisine orientale ( tajines )

c'est tres bien. pour ce soir, c'est l'aperitif avec les formages...

no posts for a while, sorry about that

sorry, i have been a bit reluctant to post lately because of an excessive level of political correctness. i am on vacation, so it is "safe" to put one up. there have been a plethora of great wines over the last few months; i hope over the next week to hit at least several of them.

first, here is a great tasting i put together to emphasize that california whether they get it or not is actually starting to express terroir. clare luce abbey 2006, gott 6 2006, j lohr carol's vineyard 2006, and caymus 2006. yes, this was all about cab. the flight expressed the soils and "climat" of napa, everything from the hot valley floor with alluvial soil to the cooler hillsides. aside from the caymus, the other 3 are under the $25 dollar price point. clare luce abbey was sold after the 2006 vintage, i addressed this in a previous post. if you want to play wine games and learn a bit about soils, this is nice grouping and it is entirely reasonable to replace the cla and caymus with other wines, just focus on valley floor, hillside, and how far up the napa valley the source is located.

at the moment, i am sipping a 2010 tavel domaine des carteresses. this appears to be a private producer who vinifies at the tavel commune winery. i have tried several bottles of this and there seems to be some bottle variability. that said, this is a nice tavel from a great year. i would recommend it. courtesy of guillaume at chateau trinquevedel i had the opprotunity to taste 2010 from the tank in january and taste the grapes in the vineyard in september. my impression is that 2010 tavel will absolutely be the "greatest pink you will ever drink." i am looking forward to my september trip and hope to do a massive tasting of 2010: look for trinquevedel and the other top producers to shine in this vintage.

now to the purpose of this post, a celebration for jill's taking the cfa level 3 exam today. i have ruminated over the wines for tonight for weeks; jill has had indigestion over the arbitrary level 3 test for months. as i write, she is half finished with the afternoon session.

dinner tonight is at spring mill cafe in conshohocken- google it and check out the menu. this is our go to french option and it NEVER fails. i have gone to spring mill since it opened, it only gets better and i highly recommend it. never have i had a less than exceptional meal there.

ok, so i have put a long lead out into the wines for tonight. i have opted to go with some old stuff. when we get home (i will pick her up) we open iron horse 2007 wedding cuve; this is a really nice california sparkling wine which seems to have a good potential to age over the short term. for dinner we will have a 1990 dom perignon followed by a 1998 reserve chateau st michel chateauneuf du pape which i brought back from our january trip. the 1998 vintage in cdp, in my eyes, was a turning point in style for cdp. the year was hot and the grapes were optimally ripe. stylistically, i think this is when the "modern" cdp's really began. the st michel is a nice intermediate between a totally modern wine and the traditional style, and based upon what "madame" at st michel has taught us it should be wonderful (for the cdp, always age at least 12 years). the option was 2005 chateau pignan, the second wine of chateau rayas, which i viewed as infanticide.

so, that is it. in the cellar is a great tasting (done) of provencal rose which i will post. also coming is a neat mix of sauvignon blanc tastings: the funk in this is the concept of pyrazines which give that nasty or maybe unique hint of green pepper. look at rambling california sauv blanc, benzinger duel canopy management, a stony sancerre, and a new zealand sauv blanc. maybe pyrazines are not always a fault (we did a cab tasting where the most novice of the group sniffed and said, "green peppers and i hate them," it was from chile and a wonderful pick up).

no pictures today, sorry. look for the wines and the pairings. i will post the old wines from tonight (no, not doing the ancient krug this evening).

valentine's day

About N.V. Billecart-Salmon Rose Champagne Blend

About the Winery Billecart-Salmon
Champagne Billecart-Salmon was founded in 1818, with the marriage of Nicholas Francois Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, and is run today by their descendent, Francois Rolland-Billecart. The firm owns 74 acres of its own vines, and buys in grapes from another 346 acres as well. Ninety percent of the fruit comes from within a 20-mile radius of Epernay, with some 35 crus contributing.

About this Vintage
Appearance: Its pale and bright pink colour is adorned with warm glints of gold and its delicate slowly rising bubbles give it a persistent mousse.
Aroma: This cuvée unveils a subtle aroma leading to an elegant, delicate bouquet of fine notes of red fruits and
zest of citrus fruits.
Palate: Its special method of vinification gives this cuvée a light, elegant flavour, followed by a fresh finish with a taste
of raspberry.
Serving: This rosé champagne is an ideal partner as an aperitif and can also accompany a dish of wild salmon or
sushi. For dessert, it will add a sublime touch to red fruit flavours.

Vacqueyras- Domaine Montirius 2006

A.O.C. VACQUEYRAS MONTIRIUS "Le Clos"
La parcelle unique de 8.5 hectare de vigne située au début du plateau des Garrigues s’élève au dessus de la plaine du Comtat, avec de tous côtés sur ses pentes 11 ha de bois de chênes centenaires qui le protègent et l’isolent du reste de l’appellation.
Il y règne un micro climat et une atmosphère particulière où la pluviométrie y est plus faible qu’ailleurs.
www.montirius.com

the wine of the evening is 2006 Domaine Montirius "Le Clos." This is a wonderful wine consisting of 50% grenache and 50% syrah. it is an opaque inky purple. the nose has both red and dark fruit, with hints of fig, pepper, and smoke; the fragrance of the garrigue surrounding the vineyard is readily evident. nothing is lost on the taste as the fruits, smoke, and pepper carry through. there is a perfect balance of fruit, tannin, mineral, and alcohol as the wine finishes. this coats the mouth and lingers with a hint of spice for several minutes. it is a great wine for superbowl sunday, and should match well with the pizza and salad this evening. that said, it would be wonderful with a more complex meal of roasted meat and provencal vegetables. this is a very nice wine and one i hope to add to my cellar.

as usual, to me the mix of ripe fruit, spice, mineral and long peppery finish in this wine takes me straight away to vacqueyras. the wines of this aoc contain a lower percentage (generally) of grenache and a higher percentage of syrah, thus the pepper, spice, and smoke. when i taste these wines my mind goes directly to thoughts of rustic rural wine; to me this is a sense of wildness as compared with the more polished and refined wines of gigondas (minimum 80% grenache) and the huge polished wines of chateauneuf. i love the wines from all three aoc's, but vacqueyras always is special and seems always to identify itself.

the domaine is biodynamic and "Le Clos" is located on the plateau, on predominantly clay soil. vinification is in cement and possibly stainless steel.

shopping this wine on line would suggest that the united states importer has managed to make quite the profit. it is available in pennsylvania shops for $25.99 but can be had in europe for substantially less. even at the inflated pennsylvania price it is a bargin because it leaves many of its more distinguished and expensive neighbors in its "wake."

i strongly recommend this wine, only leave a dozen bottles for me. i will put this up against a chateauneuf or gigondas in a tasting as a great part of wine games.

the Goats of Vacqueyras

we were driving along and thought that we were the one's doing the sightseeing...

of course there was a "cave" across the street. more to come.

hazard a guess?

This is an amusing item we found in Chateauneuf du Pape, but the only sizes were for kids.

http://www.tahttp://www.tavel.tm.fr/images/TerroirsA.gifvel.tm.fr/images/TerroirsA.gif

tavel in pictures, completed

Most of the literature describes 3 main soil types:light filtering sandstone, fluvial sand and shingle; chalky gravel and red clay, red clay and quartzite shingle. As the geologic map and the photos show, there are more. Many vineyards will have more than a single soil type as one walks up the slope. The Tavel website describes two main soils, galets and lauses (which are to the west, www.tavel.tm.fr), and goes on to describe pebbly sandy soil at the foot of the slopes. The cross section of this is well illustrated in the geologic map and in the photo of the hillside cut.

The grape types are: Grenache, maximum of 15% Cinsault, Clairette white and Rosé, and 10% maximum of Picpoul, Calitor, Bourboulenc, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Carignan. Maceration is allowed typically for 12 to 24 hours. Minimum alcohol is 11%, and some sources indicate that there is a maximum alcohol level as well.

This is true rose wine. It is fermented dry, if one closes their eyes the tastes are of red fruits. In the States, we have been trained that rose wine is like- white zin, with residual sugar making it sweet and fruity. This is a dry wine. Most are made to be drunk young, although a few are designed as gastronomic wines and are intended to be age worthy. The color is vivid pink, partridge eye. The nose yields flavors of ripe red fruits- strawberry, cherry, and raspberry with some white pepper notes. The taste is crisp with well balanced acid and mineral and a lingering finish of the fruit. Some of these wines, particularly those intended to age, undergo malolactic fermentation and have a rich creamy texture which coats the mouth.

Although we are conditioned to think of rose wines for summer pairings, I think they can be drunk year round. I do feel they are best with fresh produce and simply prepared meals.

The wines of Tavel have been identified as the "King of Rose" because they have over the years been favored by French royalty- from Phillipe le Bel, through the Avignon Popes, to Louis XIV. "Les habitants de Tavel n'ont ni commerce ni industrie mais ont une grande ressource dans la vente de leurs vins qui par leur grande qualité sont infiniment recherchés."
(Extrait des rôles de la capitation 1734)

Unfortunately, Tavel was one of the first French regions impacted by phylloxera. It recovered and in 1902 established a strong wine syndicate. In 1936 it was granted AOC status. Presently, there are approximately 40 producers of Tavel wine, comprised of predominantly independent vignerons with some large firms and a fine cooperative. I have had the good fortune of tasting the wines of over half of these producers as I attempt to understand the breadth of this commune. The majority make fine wines; unfortunately, it is not always possible to meet the individuals behind the wines.

There will be more to come on this project, which I think will take a few years. Now I have to understand why "blogger" published the post in mid sentence. Or, is it just another Vista quirk?

Tavel in Pictures

Most of the literature describes 3 main soil types:light filtering sandstone, fluvial sand and shingle; chalky gravel and red clay, red clay and quartzite shingle. As the geologic map and the photos show, there are more. Many vineyards will have more than a single soil type as one walks up the slope.

The grape types are: Grenache, maximum of 15% Cinsault, Clairette white and Rosé, and 10% maximum of Picpoul, Calitor, Bourboulenc, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Carignan. Maceration is allowed typically for 12 to 24 hours. Minimum alcohol is 11%,

trip through Tavel

no high speed internet so no photos yet. winter in the vineyards is a beautiful time.

the wine purpose of this entire visit to learn more about Tavel and hopefully to taste some 2010's which had recently been assembled; then there were those who thought it was all about new year's eve in paris. the celebration on the champs de mars lasted only a few minutes and the walk down the champs elysees was where the real party was. most important, making the january 1 train to avignon.

monday's plan was to begin at 1030 with a visit to Trinquevedel. i have looked forward to this for a number of reasons. first, Guillaume is exceptionally personable and communicates information about his property, his wines, and the region well. second, the property is beautiful and i expected would provide a great opportunity for pictures. Finally, i was looking forward to the wines.

Guillaume had surprises for us.

the first wine was his 2010 Tavel/Chateau de Trinquevedel which he had drawn off of the tank for us this morning. the wine had been assembled within the last month and is waiting to be bottled in march. the wine was a robust pink throughout the glass and clear. the aromas were of flowers and red fruits. the taste was flowers, red raspberries, strawberries, and a hint of white pepper. the finish was a wonderful balance of mineral and acid. it is young and will evolve further on the fruit and flowers side in the months before we see it. i look forward to enjoying this during the coming year.

the second wine was 2009 Tavel/Chateau de Trinquevedel. we have had this wine for the last 7 months and it was a favorite. it is a very similar pink throughout the glass and clear. the fruit and flower aromas are complex, with an enticing floral beginning followed by impressive fruit. the taste backs this up, and again there is a subtle finish of white pepper. the balance on the finish is crisp acid and mineral with a perfect balance. i am glad i have several bottles of this left in the cellar.

the third wine was Guillaume's gastronomic wine, Tavel/Les Vignes d'Eugene 2008. we previously have tasted the 2007 and have some of it in our cellar. this wine spends a year aging in cement tanks before being bottled. the wine is not as intensely pink toward the edges of the glass as the previous wines, probably because of the nature of grenache and its age; the color is beautiful. the nose is of red fruits with a background of flowers. the taste is raspberry, strawberry, and a touch of garrigue. the balance of mineral and acid is smooth. the wine coats the mouth with a feeling of fullness and lasts for several swallows. Guilaume explained that he allows this wine to undergo a malolactic fermentation. the wine is designed to age and for food. i am excited to see this again- i am planning the tasting this summer with the full list of wines above from my cellar.

as a surprise, Guillaume has produced a late harvest wine from a parcel of grenache blanc and clairette on a sandy hilltop. the grapes were harvested in mid-october with a single pass through the vineyard. some of the grapes had botrytis (he had identified the potential for this in the plot he had chosen). harvest was at 22%. the wine is a pale yellow and has a sweet and fruity nose. the taste immediately shows the honeyed nature of the botrytis, along with white fruits. the balance on the finish is a luscious blend of sweet, acid, alcohol, and fruit. and, the wine is called VENDAGE OUBLIEES, the forgotten harvest. this is a great aperitif or dessert wine and i look forward to watching it evolve. as it was just bottled there are no other reviews on it- you see it here first. Guillaume produced only 1000 bottle of this nectar, and 6 fewer remain as of this writing. this is a wonderful wine and i think represents a creative effort from the producer.

the final wine was 2009 Trinquevedel Cotes du Rhone Rouge. this is 100% grenache from Guillaume's plot in Lirac. the wine is a robust garnet color to the edges of the glass. it has a fruity nose and a light and fruity taste. the finish is smooth. it was not intended to be a wine to age, it is to drink now while the other's age and it meets the purpose for which it was designed precisely. this wine will change in the next 2 years as Guillaume has planted mourvedre in Lirac and once it is producing suitable fruit the wine will be changed into an AOC Lirac.

i am going to save other Tavel wines for a later post. the exceptional wines, extraordinary hospitality, and creativity shown at Trinquevedel merits this discussion be limited to the single producer. i purchased a number of wines to use for future tastings and enjoyment on this visit. remember, VENDAGE OUBIEES. photos to follow.

pelanquie

difficult. possibly after our trip through tavel.

terroir terrier and pictures of soil

still, no high speed internet so the actual photos cannot yet be posted, i will do a new post with them.

we took the d4 to tavel this afternoon and then wen past the "back side" of chateau d' aqueria on our way to avignon. i did not have the gps on so i really cannot comment on the total elevation change but based upon the soils i think we saw every type of soil in tavel. it is absolutely amazing to drive less than a kilometer and go from galets to decaying limestone, to a slope wash mix. each soil contributes to different taste profiles in the grapes. looking at dirt and rocks as we drive has become a fascinating pastime.

on our way back the house we stopped at le cave des lirac/de saint laurent des arbres in st laurent des arbres to pick up wine for this evening and for our meal. (www.cavelirac.fr). this is the co-op for the commune and we have visited regularly for 6 years. the wines uniformly are very good and sometimes excellent. our choices today were: "arcane" 2009 blanc, a blend of grenache blanc, clairette blanche, and bourboulenc; lirac cuvee jean XXII 2007, grenache and mourvedre; and, monseigneur de la rovere, 2009, syrah and grenache with a small amount of mourvedre. le degustation, c'est gratuit. i think these wines will round out over the next several years and be exceptionally good.

after our out of body experience yesterday at gare de lyon, we are actually considering taking the tgv back to paris. the issue here is not what happens once one gets on the train but rather the process of boarding. paris was a confusing mess and i would hazard to say that amtrak keeps travelers more aware of the status of their trains. the electronic information boards were not working. the train was delayed by over 90 minutes and we were told to board the trail on voie 17 which turned out to be entirely wrong. in the end, we had a wonderful and efficient two and a half hour ride to avignon in spite of our trials and tribulations from 1045 until 1230. there was no information about the status of trains. i think this is an issue of infrastructure. once on the train it is amazing. the arrival in avignon was beyond easy.

lunch in avignon

sorry,no photos today because the high speed internet is out so this has to be posted via ipad. a post will come up with the photos in the future.

it is january 2 and we survived a couple of days of being over-fed in paris; then a new year's day departure from gare de lyon via tgv for avignon; and now we are here, at the home base of phylloxera in the 1860's. that says a lot when the topic is lunch in avignon. the mistral is howling. we took great photos from the "dom" today, and the north side was exceptionally blustery. jill decided as we walked back down past the palais des papes that soup d' oignon and a unique wine was in order.

the restaurant was "le domaine" and the soup was l' oignon des cevennes. it was a great soup and certainly fortified us.

the wine: my original choice was henri bonnaurd palette but they were out of it; i have never seen an aoc palette in the states. my second choice was a vacqueyras- Chateau Fontclos, Reflets de l'ame 2008. this was a great wine and paired well with our meal. the wine was red to the edge of the glass, the nose was red fruit and spice, and the taste followed through with wonderful cherry, raspberry, smoke, and soft tannins. this was a well balanced and well made wine, although i suspect it will be best over the short term. i always view vacqueyras as the "wild child" of the sacred trinity of chateauneuf du pape, gigondas, and vacqueyras; i look for the spice and rustic nature of the wines. this one did not disappoint although it was much more polished than what i expected. there were no rough edges to this wine. the year, 2008, was difficult but this wine certainly proves that a good producer can make an excellent wine in a problematic year. we were here for harvest in 2008 and certainly would never have expected this level of quality from the wines of that vintage. kudos to the producer.