Hello, Feastlings.
Our end-of-the-month tasting this month will be led by our erstwhile dining room manager, Dylan Higgins. Dylan now works for Alliance beverage, and he’ll be here this Sunday, February 28, at 3:30 to pour six wines for you that hail from Southern France. There’s some tasty stuff to be had here, and relatively inexpensively. While the tasting itself is $30 since each of the wines comes with its own food pairing, four of the wines can be had for $15 or less. There’ll be two more upper-end wines as well, and we’d be delighted to have you join us to taste them all and enjoy the snacks we make to go with them as well. Just give us a call at 326-9363 and we’ll save you a spot (as usual, web and email reservations won’t hold you a place.)
The South of France
2014 Domaine de Pouy IGP Côtes de Gascogne $11.00
Domaine de Pouy is located in the foothills of Pyrénées, near the appellations of Madiran and Jurançon, about two hours southwest of Bordeaux. The cold fermentation of Ugni Blanc from the Bas-Armagnac region captures vibrant aromatics and guards freshness. The wine has a penetrating floral green apple fragrance, and is loaded with refreshingly crisp and flavorful fruit.
2014 Domaine de Gournier, IGP Cévennes $12.00
Domaine de Gournier was purchased by the Barnouins, a family of viticultural pioneers who cultivated rootstock and introduced low-yielding clones into the region. Today, Maurice Barnouin is one of the most important landholders in the appellation, farming 180 hectares of IGP Cévennes. Maurice’s vineyard holdings spread out among 13 communes. Today 33 hectares of his holdings are certified by ECOCERT. The Viognier is stainless steel fermented with some bâttonage. Bright color. Intensely flavored wine with aromas of white flowers, a hint of tropical fruit in the nose and a very-well balanced palate.
2012 Juliette Rosé, VDP de Mediterranée $14.00
70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, Juliette comes from the Provence region of Southern France, home of the most exquisite and traditional rosé wines in the world. Produced at the maison of Domaine de La Sanglière, Juliette is a true expression of a traditional Provençal rosé wine. The Rosé is refreshing and elegant, bone dry wine, with layers of lively fruit and a bright, smooth finish.
2010 Walden Côtes du Roussillon Rouge $15.00
Hervé Bizeul founded Hervé Bizeul & Associés in 1998. The company works with small growers to elevate the quality of their wines and bring them to market. This hybrid of a co-op and marketing firm uses the name Walden as a tribute to Henry David Thoreau. Walden (the wine) is similar to a high quality Côtes du Rhône with deep color and an intense aroma of red fruits and chocolate mousse. This unoaked blend of 30% Carignane Noir, 30% Grenache Noir, 30% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre is a broad, rich-tasting red with luscious berry and plum flavors as well as interesting smoky notes with hints of licorice, cream, and mocha on the refreshing finish. It is extremely easy to drink despite its richness and complexity.
2009 Santa Duc Gigondas $36.00
Domaine Santa Duc was first established in 1874 in the Southern Rhône cru of Gigondas. Yves stopped selling the crop off to négociants in 1985 in favor of bottling his own wine instead. The winery was recently certified organic in 2012. Yves practices de-budding early in the growing season to lend rigor to the fruit, leaf-pulling to increase circulation, and early harvests to preserve freshness. Yves farms 12.5 hectares of lieux-dits throughout Gigondas.
2012 Bila-Haut “Occultum Lapidem” by Chapoutier, Côtes du Roussillon Villages $30.00
“The 2012 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France Occultum Lapidem offers dark, mineral-laced aromas and flavors of smoked earth, licorice, wild herbs and blackcurrants to go with a firm, structured and age-worthy profile on the palate. Comprised of mostly Syrah, from schist and gneiss soils, and aged in tank and demi-muid, this superb 2012 has solid mid-palate depth, ample tannin and a beautifully focused finish. It’s a superb value that will be even better in another year or so, and have 12-15 years of ultimate longevity.”- Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate