THURSDAY NIGHT TASTING 6-8 PM
It's officially Spring! Despite the snow, we can celebrate the longer days and shorter time until warmer days. Until then, let's drink. Let's drink big and bold flavors to the last of the cold weather. Before we know it, we'll all be drowning in a sea of rosé, so let's gulp down some cold weather wine while we still can. Join us and our pal Alvaro from Polaner Selections for some soul-warming wines and a cider (one of the best there is). Plus, as always, bread and cheese!
ERIC BORDELET POIRÉ AUTHENTIQUE, NORMANDY, FRANCE
In the 80s, Éric Bordelet was one of the most influential people in the Parisian wine scene, as the sommelier at the Michelin Three Star restaurant of l’Arpège in Paris. However, his native Normandy called him, and he handed over his wine duties at l’Arpège and returned to the orchards of Normandy. Like wine, great cider is a reflection of the underlying terroir of the orchards, the quality and the variety of the fruit trees planted, the yields in the orchard, and the age of the trees. Eric makes cider from both apples and pears, but tonight we drink his certified biodynamic hand-picked pear cider made from 50 year old trees, with 40-50 varieties of heirloom pears. This cider is sparkling, off-dry, and wonderfully aromatic, that "works brilliantly with goat cheese." $20
DOMAINE DE L'ECU MUSCADET SEVRE ET MAINE ORTHOGNEISS 2015, LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE
So maybe you don't think of Muscadet as a "winter white"... and I'd say you're right, it's a wine for all seasons. But Domaine de l'Ecu makes quite a few different Muscadets and the Orthogneiss is the the one with the broadest shoulders of the bunch. The first time I had this wine I remember quite clearly that the Rolling Stones were playing and I thought to myself, what a perfect moment. A real stand-out of a wine that's layered, complex, almost creamy but with a razor-edged acidity... similar things could be said of great rock n roll. The Domaine has been certified organic for 40 years and demeter biodynamic for 20! Fresh apple and smoke, lemon zest and stone. Drink with a steamy pot of mussels or chilled shellfish. Like I said, great for all seasons. $28
CHATEAU CANTELAUDETTE GRAVES DE VAYRES ROUGE PRESTIGE 2014, BORDEAUX FRANCE
I hate to admit it, but there are some wines I just don't think about all summer... I almost never grab a Bordeaux to drink unless it's cold and there's some red meat on my plate. But this little diddy is such a sweet choice for right now. Perhaps it's the higher price tag of some (Bordeaux) that doesn't inspire me to open them, but this great value at $19 is affectionately referred to as a "baby Graves", and what's more Spring-like than baby things?! Baby flowers, baby bunnies, baby birds, baby Bordeaux! 100% Merlot from a plateau between Bordeaux and Libourne overlooking the Dordogne River. Dry, full-bodied, with notes of flowers and plums with soft minerality. A great choice for lamb... more baby things! $19
LUCA MALBEC 2014, UCO VALLEY - MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
Laura Catena was born a 4th generation vintner in Mendoza, Argentina in the late 60s. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in the late 80s, and then a Medical degree from Stanford. She is the general director of her family's estate Bodega Catena Zapata, owns her own winery Luca, named after her son, and is a practicing emergency medical physician at the University of California in San Fran. Laura also pens wine books in her spare time! Talk about a modern woman. Wow. Ungrafted old vines in high elevation vineyard sites is what Luca is all about. The 2014 Malbec is said to be the best vintage of this wine with "harmony" "precision" and "elegance". Notes of blackberries, chocolate, spice, and walnuts. Unfined, unfiltered, and hand-picked. $35
