Chassagne-Montrachet – Noble Chardonnay

2012 Bachelet-Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet
Price: $55/bottle – SOLD OUT

Montrachet, the “bald hill,” produces the finest expression of the Chardonnay grape anywhere on earth. It’s difficult to imagine that the poor, thin soils over hard limestone of these otherwise nondescript, gently sloping vineyards are capable of such a feat. This hill, and the vineyards surrounding it, are so well regarded for centuries of superior wine production that the nearby villages of Chassagne and Puligny gained permission to hyphenate their names with Montrachet. Indeed, with the inclusion of neighboring Meursault, no other region on earth boasts this concentration of great dry white winemakers and vineyards.

It’s in Chassagne-Montrachet that the esteemed, family-owned estate of Bachelet-Ramonet produces benchmark white Burgundy. The Domaine has a little over 30 acres in some of the finest vineyard parcels in the area, including holdings in the Grand Crus of Bâtard-Montrachet and Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. Since taking over the estate from his father-in-law, Jean Bachelet, winemaker Alain Bonnefoy, who runs the domaine with wife Marie-Paule and son Arnaud, has overseen a shift to even more focused work in the vineyards and the cellar. Believing wine is made on the vines first, Bonnefoy has established a natural approach to viticulture and its on display in his taut, elegant wines. Grapes are handpicked and fermented in barrel (minimal new oak) for 14 to 16 months.

Although yields in the Côte de Beaune for the 2012 vintage were unusually low, the grapes were balanced and concentrated. The 2012 Bachelet-Ramonet oozes aromas of juicy pear and sea spray. In the mouth it shifts from fat white fruit to citrus to a lengthy mineral-like finish.

We’re pleased to have acquired a small amount of Bachelet-Ramonet’s Chassagne-Montrachet produced from four parcels beneath the village. We’re even more pleased to offer it at this great price.

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Posted on 2015.02.26 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

A Taste of 2012 Nuits-St-Georges

2012 Domaine Odoul-Coquard Nuits-St-Georges “Aux St. Jacques”
Price: $59/bottle

Due to challenges with weather and other natural influences, the 2012 vintage in Burgundy yielded only a fraction of a normal harvest. The good news is that thanks to poor flowering many of the grapes were small, so the ratio of skin to juice was usefully high, resulting in wines with excellent structure and depth. The majority of skilled burgundy producers have created 2012 vintage wines that are delightfully pure and unforced. The bad news is that, with a string of low-yielding years, Burgundy isn’t getting any cheaper, which makes this deal on an outstanding Nuits-St-Georges even more compelling.

Taking over winemaking responsibilities from his father, Thierry, in 2009, third generation winemaker Sébastien Odoul farms a little over 20 acres of land in the Côte de Nuits, including a handful of Grand and Premier Cru plots. As with all serious growers, Sébastien is meticulous in the vineyard. His cellar practices are minimal intervention so the wines articulate the terroir of individual sites. You may have picked up a few bottles of Sébastien’s elegant 2011 Morey-St-Denis that we brought in at the end of last year. That wine was charismatic and we sold out of around 13 cases in just a few weeks.

After tasting Sébastien’s 2012 Nuits-St-Georges “Aux St. Jacques” we promptly secured the lot – and with Burgundy “the lot” typically consists of a few cases. The lieu-dit “Aux St. Jacques” is in the zone Vosnoise, to the far north of the commune and bordering Vosne-Romanée. You could toss a stone into “Aux Réas” from there. It is a wine with all the sturdiness you expect from Nuits-St-Georges, yet hinting at the fleshy richness of Vosne-Romanée. The nose is layered and exuberant, with hallmark aromas of bright red fruits and fresh earth. While there’s no reason not to drink it as soon as you get home, it will evolve in a cellar for years, likely developing notes of leather and truffles as it ages.

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Posted on 2015.02.19 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

Champagne for Lovers

Stop by this Saturday to sample some outstanding Champagne ideal for sharing with your sweetheart or anyone that just loves good wine. Pickup a bottle or two at a special Valentine’s Day discount. For those of you that can’t make it stop in today or Friday for a taste of some bubbly.

If you’ve spent any time with us at Elie Wine Co. you likely already know our commitment to stocking Champagne from small producers and individual growers/winemakers. Year round we source top quality bottles from the most famous region on earth for sparkling wines, because we believe Champagne should be enjoyed on a regular basis. Life itself is worth celebrating.

You can be assured that our Champagne wasn’t delivered a few days before the key holidays of New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day. Even the most everyday wine will benefit from a little peace and quiet after all the jostling incurred from the various shippers and handlers. Which is why we purchase by the case (usually multiple) instead of single bottles, and do our best to make sure the wine is well-rested before it comes alive in your glass.

We’ll be tasting a couple of Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne including the charming and creamy 1999 Billecart-Salmon. It’s a heady blend of some of the best Grand Cru sites of the Côte des Blancs: Chouilly for finesse, Avize for power, and Mesnil-sur-Oger for structure and longevity. And the tiny production Lancelot-Pienne, filled with crunchy white fruits and vigor. With a mere 10 acres in the Côte des Blancs, specifically the grand cru village of Cramant, Gilles Lancelot is tending Chardonnay vines from plots with a long history of creating wines of elegance.

In the spirit of the day, if you purchase Champagne we’ll give you a complimentary “Olive Ewe” bon bon* (dark chocolate filled with olive oil caramel and sheep’s milk cream ganache) made by local chocolatier, Alexandra Clark. Her store, Bon Bon Bon, is located in Hamtramck and she has a lively mix of bon bon flavors and a fanatical following.

Even if you’re not romantically involved, like any good holiday, the meaning of Valentine’s Day is flexible enough to cover just about anyone’s fancy. Let the Finnish version of Valentine’s Day be your guide. It’s called Ystävänpäivä, which translates into “Friend’s Day.” What better justification for a Champagne dinner than good friends?

*while quantities last

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Posted on 2015.02.13 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Champagne  |  Read more...

Rare Grapes of Spain

Pardevalles “Albarín Blanco”
Price: $18.99/bottle

Pardevalles Gamonal “Prieto Picudo”
Price: $23/bottle

Join us this Saturday to sample a red and white wine from the rare grapes of DO Tierra de León.

The Alonso family of Pardevalles is one of the pioneer winemakers of southern León. Their vineyards and 300 year old cellars are near the town of Valdevimbre at around 2,400 feet in elevation where the grape varieties Prieto Picudo (red) and Albarín Blanco (white) thrive.

One of Spain’s most fascinating indigenous varieties, Prieto Pecudo is highly aromatic with fleshy bright fruit and good acidity. You might compare the Pardavalles Gamonal to a Cru Beaujolais from a vintage that achieved full ripeness (and then some). While it’s a joyous wine full of bursting berries up front it shows a more serious side with the concentration and pure, lengthy finish you often find in wines twice the price.

Pardevalle’s seven acres of Albarín Blanco were planted in 2004 for the purpose of recovering this indigenous grape which was on the edge of extinction. But the wine is far more than a rescue mission for an obscure variety. The Albarín Blanco is an exuberant wine brimming with tropical fruits and a clean, citric finish. Drinking a bottle will instantly transport you somewhere with palm trees and beachside cafés.

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Posted on 2015.02.04 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Tierra de Leon  |  Read more...

Paolo Scavino’s 2010 Barolos

Paolo Scavino owns 56 acres scattered among the most prestigious crus of the Barolo district. They produce highly sought after wines of exceptional quality that star on top restaurant wine lists throughout the world. Here is an opportunity to try three of the finest wines of Barolo in a mixed 6-pack from the cool 2010 vintage which produced “transparent, vibrant Barolos that pulsate with tension, crystalline purity and site-specific nuance.” Italian wine authority Antonio Galloni claims, “…2010 is the greatest young Barolo vintage I have tasted in 18 years of visiting the region and a lifetime of buying, cellaring and drinking these wines.”

Third generation winemaker Enrico Scavino is the heart and soul of this historic estate founded in 1921 by Lorenzo Scavino and his son Paolo. Rigorous care of the vineyards and passion for terroir has always been a family tradition and Enrico’s daughters, Enrica and Elisa, are joining their father in the pursuit of expression, complexity and elegance in all of their wines. As with most all winemakers at this level, the Scavino’s core belief is in superior grapes over anything that’s done in the cellar. Thus, the focus is on the cultivation of the vines to produce the best fruit possible.

Significant strides in viticulture and winemaking have made today’s young Barolos more approachable than they have ever been. We suggest a mixed 6-pack of Paolo Scavino’s Barolos that includes two single-vineyard wines as well as one blend for a fascinating peek into the 2010 vintage.

2 bottles – Bric del Fiasc (96 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) – SOLD OUT
The first single vineyard expression made by Scavino in 1978. The famous Tortonian and Helvetian soils of Barolo are intertwined in the Fiasco vineyard creating a complex terroir. A classic expression of Nebbiolo that will develop over the next couple decades.

2 bottles – Barolo Carobric (91 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) – SOLD OUT
A mix of three crus (Cannubi, Rocche di Castiglione and Bric del Fiasc), Carobric is focused and precise with great fruit intensity and a vibrant length.

2 bottles – Barolo Bricco Ambrogio (94 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) – SOLD OUT
Enrico Scavino purchased this little-known, 10 acre, south-facing vineyard in 2001. It has since lived up to its potential and then some. Floral aromatics over a balanced and silky core.

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Posted on in Piedmont, Italy  |  Read more...

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