Summer-Aid: $270 “The Uncommon Burgundy” — Explore Out of the Ordinary Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with 6 Bottles (All Included and Delivered)

What makes these Burgundy wines uncommon?

For one it is the apparent dual existence of Chassagne-Montrachet. The commune is recognized for producing some of the best white wines in the world but it has a long history of creating substantial red wines that are quite often compared to the vibrant Nuits-Saint-Georges to the north.

And when was the last time you tasted a Premier Cru wine from the commune of Montagny? Located at the southern end of Côte Chalonnaise, where the warm continental climate and limestone-concentrated soils help create full-bodied wines with fresh acidity, the appellation exclusively produces white wines made from Chardonnay.

Included in The Uncommon Burgundy Wine-Aid Package are two bottles of each:

The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor a 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Vincent Girardin “Les Vieilles Vignes” (Chassagne-Montrachet RED 2017) Regular Price $55

The quality of the wines produced at Maison Vincent Girardin are upheld by its “Très Haute Couture” code of winegrowing practices. The fruit comes from vineyards managed according to the following principles: No herbicides or insecticides, deep ploughing, use of natural composts from farms in the Burgundy region, high trellising for better photosynthesis, and manual harvests with sorting in the vineyard and in the vat room. “Les Vieilles Vignes” is 100% Pinot Noir from 50 year old vines situated around the village of Chassagne-Montrachet. Aged for 14 months (10% of new oak) it is a meaty wine with a structure reminiscent of wines from Côte de Nuits.

Domaine Langoureau “Les Voillenots Dessous” (Chassagne-Montrachet RED 2016) Regular Price: $45

Husband and wife team of Nathalie and Sylvain Langoureau farm about 24 acres of prime vineyards mainly in the Côte de Beaune villages of Saint-Aubin, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet. This is a heart and soul garagiste operation based in the tiny hamlet of Gamay, nestled between Puligny-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin. Although Chassagne-Montrachet is renowned for its white wines, the commune produces just as much red wine. “Les Voillenots Dessous” is 100% Pinot Noir and a superb value from a parcel located on the border just below the village of Chassagne-Montrachet and across a lane from the Premier Cru parcel of Les Places.

Jean-Marc Boillot (Montagny Premier Cru WHITE 2018) Regular Price: $40 

After vinifying 13 vintages at Domaine Henri Boillot (his family’s estate), Jean-Marc Boillot left to pursue his own fortunes. He became the winemaker for Olivier Leflaive for the next four years while also producing wines bottled under his own label. Today, Jean-Marc runs his domaine from his grandfather Henri Boillot’s house and cellars in the village of Pommard. He has inherited some of Burgundy’s most exceptional parcels from both Henri Boillot as well as his maternal grandfather, the late Etienne Sauzet. His Montagny Premier Cru is 100% Chardonnay. Fermentation and aging take place in oak barrels (30% new) with weekly bâtonnage to build a rich and powerful white wine.

We are committed to providing you with your wine needs in the safest way possible. We do encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

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Posted on 2020.07.28 in France, Burgundy, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

More Wine-Aid Packages

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Posted on 2020.07.27 in France, Spain DO, Italy  |  Read more...

Summer-Aid: $235 “Homage to Catalonia” — Taste the Terroir of Northeastern Spain with 12 Bottles (All Included and Delivered)

From breezy Mediterranean shores to Barcelona cafés to the towering peaks of the Pyrenees, the autonomous community of Catalonia is a land of diversity. These places and cultures have inspired poets, artists, and winemakers.

This week’s Wine-Aid package starts in the ancient wine country of the Penedès Plain, then into Priorat, one of the most progressive winemaking regions in all of Spain with its special reddish and black slate soils (called llicorella in Catalan), and finally to the slopes of the multi-peaked Montserrat range. A glassful of any one of these wines brings the region to life at your dinner table.

Included in Homage to Catalonia Wine-Aid Package is four bottles of each:

The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor a 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Alemany i Corrio Principia Mathematica (Penedès 2018) Regular Price: $26

Passionate wife-and-husband winemakers Irene Alemany and Laurent Corrio’s “Principia Mathematica” is crafted from 100% Xarel·lo (shah-REHL-loh), a grape indigenous to the region that most sparkling wine drinkers will recognize as the principal variety that makes up Cava. 55 year old Xarel·lo vines see fermentation in new French oak barrels of 228 and 700 liters. A third of the wine is then aged for nine months in stainless steel on the yeast (sur lie) with the remaining two thirds aged in oak barrels with occasional stirring (battonage). The result is a wine of freshness and depth that fully expresses a Burgundian style of winemaking alongside high coastal Mediterranean terroir.

Blai Ferré “Ona” (Priorat 2016) Regular Price $22

Blai Ferré’s Ona is Priorat in the raw, a wine of intensity and balance with little elaboration. It is a classic Mediterranean blend of 40% Garnatxa, 40% Syrah, and 20% Carinyena. Cultivation is organic and the harvest is hand-picked and hand-sorted. Half of the wine is aged in stainless steel vats and the other half in French oak for eight months. We’ve found that it’s a wine that always outperforms its price level and it’s versatile enough to be paired with a simple cheese plate to roast lamb and everything in-between. Blai produces a scant 500 cases of Ona, bottling the rest of the harvest in other cuvées.

Ca N’Estruc Negre (Catalunya 2016) Regular Price $14

Francisco Martí is co-owner of perhaps the finest wine shop in Spain, Vila Viniteca, located in the El Born district of old Barcelona. Yet he has spent much of his life in the vineyards of the Ca n’Estruc estate that lies on the slopes of Montserrat at over 500 feet in elevation. The Vineyards are ideally orientated to optimize sunshine and hold some vines that are close to 80 years old. Ca N’Estruc Negre is a blend of Garnatxa, Samsó (Carinyena), and Ull de Llebre (Tempranillo) grown in alluvial soils. Ripe raspberries and cherries underneath a hint of rosemary make this one of the more interesting everyday value wines that you’ll find.

We are committed to providing you with your wine needs in the safest way possible. We do encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

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Posted on 2020.07.22 in Spain DO, Penedes, Priorat DOQ, Wine-Aid Packages, Catalunya  |  Read more...

The Champagne Society

Welcome to The Champagne Society

Congratulations! In the coming months you will be drinking some of the best Champagne and sparkling wines known to humanity.

As a member of The Champagne Society, you’re in a select community of like-minded folks that appreciate the exceptional in wine and in life. Meet and mingle at dinners and events at hip local venues that are arranged exclusively for The Champagne Society.

All selected wines are from passionate grower/producers or small houses that are deeply connected to the particularities of each of their vine parcels and believe that wine is made in the vineyard first. Many of these wines are highly allocated and we quite often only have access to a few cases of a particular cuvée. The Champagne Society will enjoy wines that quite often aren’t available in any other wine shop in Michigan.

As a member of The Champagne Society you’ll receive the following benefits:

• Every other month we will select a bottle of Champagne for you, ready for pickup or delivery by the 10th of the month. Expect a new bottle every April, June, August, October, December, & February.
• The price will be $50 – $90 per bottle, which includes a significant discount from our store price (at least 15% off). Your credit card will be charged when the bottle is ready for pickup or delivery.
• With each bottle we’ll include the details of the producer and the cuvée via email and on our website.
• You have the option to pick up your bottle at the store or we can ship it to you.
• No membership fees but we ask that you commit to at least six bottles.

If you’re interested in joining the Champagne Society please give us a call at 248-398-0030 or email elie@eliewine.com

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Posted on 2020.07.21 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne  |  Read more...

The Champagne Society August 2020 Selection

Champagne Joseph Perrier “Cumières – La Côte à Bras” Blanc de Noirs (Premier Cru, Brut Nature 2010)

Price for The Champagne Society members: $85 (regular price $99)

Champagne Joseph Perrier owns 51 acres of vineyards, situated in the heart of the Vallée de la Marne on the right bank of the River Marne, around the villages of Hautvillers and Cumières – both classed at an impressive 93% in the Échelle des Crus system. Founded in 1825, the estate has been owned and run by the same family since 1888. Current proprietor Jean-Claude Fourmon represents the fifth generation. The estate’s cellars stretch almost two full miles and date back to the Gallo-Roman period.

Vallée de la Marne is noted for its powerful Pinot Noir grown on south-facing slopes. Naturally, Champagne Joseph Perrier’s vineyards are mostly planted with Pinot Noir. Indeed, the limited release “Cumières – La Côte à Bras” Blanc de Noirs is 100% Pinot Noir from a single parcel named La Côte à Bras in the Premier Cru village of Cumières. The wine is aged a minimum of seven years and there is no added sugar after disgorgement.

Winemaker Notes:
“A quiet autumn peacefully guided the vines towards the winter break. January experienced very cool temperatures that continued until March.  Flowering was delayed due to some cool nights in June. After that the heat arrived and the month of July ended with some violent storms. The grapes had plenty of water but the September sun dried the soil. The late ripening resulted in berries arriving at the press with very good sugar levels.

The appearance is of yellow gold straw, with amber highlights. The nose opens with tangy, delicate and captivating aromas revealing notes of freshly squeezed citrus fruits – grapefruit and mandarin. The palate is vinous and with plenty of attack, with pronounced mineral notes. The finish is long and harmonious, dominated by a zesty lemon freshness so characteristic of Joseph Perrier.”

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Posted on 2020.07.20 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne  |  Read more...

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