Give the Gift of Catalan Wine

The weather outside is frightful. Surprise your favorite wine drinker with a virtual trip to coastal Spain where these three charming wines will lubricate the imagination and transport them to the breezy Mediterranean shores and Barcelona cafés of the autonomous community of Catalunya. Not only are these wines of utmost quality that typify the region, they will also be attractively boxed and wrapped to make a perfect gift for a holiday gathering or to place under a tree.

VallDolina Cava (Brut Nature)

The visionary winemakers Raimon Badell and Ferran Gil of Masia Can Tutusaus combine superior geography with their artistry and skill to craft this sparkling white wine made in the Champagne method. Here is a scandalously drinkable wine that radiates aromas of apple blossom, wheat crackers, and sunshine, with a complex finish that sometimes doesn’t exist in sparkling wines twice the price.

Billo 2010 Priorat – SOLD OUT

At the age of 22, while many young men are still shotgunning cheap beer with their buddies, young winemaker Blai Ferré Just purchased two small lots in Priorat to start Billo. He purposely limits output, relying only on the finest fruit grown in his vineyard. For 2010, this means only 6,500 bottles were produced, and only about a third of that imported to the United States. The result is a wine of intensity, ripeness and balance.

Pas Curtei 2009 Penedès – SOLD OUT

Partners in marriage and in the vineyard, Irene Alemany and Laurent Corrio met at the University of Burgundy in Dijon and apprenticed in vineyards in both France and California. Irene’s father insisted they use the family vines to begin their own operation. The rest, as they say is history. The 2009 Pas Curtei is a full-bodied wine with red and black fruit aromas. Only 8,500 bottles were produced, 600 made it to the U.S.

Bon Nadal i Feliç any Nou!

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Posted on 2013.12.18 in Spain DO, Penedes, Priorat DOQ, Catalunya, Cava  |  Read more...

Affordable Grower Champagnes

$59/bottle

While we can certainly appreciate the engineering that goes on in a huge Champagne house that can produce millions of bottles a year and make it all taste the same, that’s not what we’re looking for in a glass of bubbly. We’re more interested in vineyard selections and old vine cuvées that speak of place and the particular aesthetics of the producer.

This holiday season you’re not going to find sizable end caps of yellow label stuff at Elie Wine (frankly, we have too many good bottles stocked to make room for that kind of wine). What you will find is an elaborate selection of small-production Champagnes, primarily Premier and Grand Cru, and from small producers to individual growers who are deeply connected to the particularities of each of their vineyards, and that vinify each vintage carefully in the search for balance.

We’ve always advocated drinking Champagne for more than just special occasions, and we still do, but we also know that this is the time of year when folks like to go all out. Whether it is for a gift, to pair with an elaborate meal, to ring in the New Year, or to christen the yacht that Santa left under the tree, we’ll have you covered.

Stop by the shop this Saturday to sample from three specially priced grower Champagnes and browse the rest of our inventory for your holiday bubbly needs.

Champagne Didier-Ducos – Brut L’Ablutien

SOLD OUT

A blend of 80% Pinot Meunier, 15% Chardonnay, and 5% Pinot Noir from third-generation vintners. The vineyards are located about 4 miles outside Epernay in a little-known area tucked away between the Vallée de la Marne and La Côte des Blancs called Les Coteaux Sud d’Epernay. Aged at least 3 years in the Didier-Ducos cellars.

Champagne Gérard Loriot – Brut Tradition

SOLD OUT

100% Pinot Meunier from about 18 acres of parcels spread over the old lands of Mesnil-le-Huttier, Leuvrigny and Festigny, all located in the heart of the Marne Vallée. A true Champagne produced using traditional practices and the knowledge of Maryse, Gérard, and their son Florent.

Champagne Serveaux Et Fils – Carte Noire Brut

Martine and Pascal Serveaux, helped by their children, raise this blend of 65% Pinot Meunier and 35% Pinot Noir from 29 acres of vines located in the central Marne Vallée.

Cheers!

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Posted on 2013.12.13 in Saturday Sips Wines, France, Champagne  |  Read more...

Limited Production Pinot Noir from Rising Star in Beaune

There is a “new school” of winemakers in Burgundy. In the vineyard, they’re focusing on more sustainable methods of cultivation while endeavoring to grow the most promising fruit. In the cellars, they are aiming to make wines as precise as possible (tasting more of terroir than fermented grape juice), and gently extracting finer tannins that allow the wines to be consumed younger yet still capable of long-term development in the bottle.

This year we’ve already explored wine from two of these Burgundian young guns: Sylvain Pataille in Marsannay and David Moreau in Santenay, from the extreme north and south of Côte d’Or, respectively. It’s only a geographical coincidence that we’re now highlighting an exceptional young winemaker working between the two in Beaune.

David Croix was hired on as winemaker at Maison Camille Giroud while still in his early twenties. Along with his work making the wine, he soon went on to become managing director, gathering plenty of good press along the way, including emerging talent of the year in 2008 by respected magazine Bourgogne Aujourd’hui. In 2005, with a few investors, he purchased property adjacent to the Giroud holdings and started making wine under his own name.

The vineyards of Domaine des Croix consist of parcels in Savigny, Pommard, and Corton-Charlemagne, plus five Beaune Premiers Crus; Teurons, Grèves, Cent Vignes, Bressandes and Pertuisots. They are all in process of converting to full organic cultivation. Production is tiny, with an average of only 1,500 cases produced annually.

This Saturday we’ll be pouring samples of 2011 Domaine des Croix Beaune Premier Cru Les Bressandes from what industry folks are calling David’s best vintage yet. Here is a wine that just about hums with precision. Violet and spice twist out of the glass in little vortices of intoxicating aroma. A sip is all concentrated fruit that spreads out into fine-grained tannins and a persistent finish. You’ll want to stop in for a rare chance to taste this wine. We have just a few of the mere 280 cases produced.

Price: $79 per bottle

We’ll also have a few other wines from Domaine des Croix for purchase including Beaune Premier Cru Les Cent-Vignes, Corton Grèves Grand Cru, and we even have a case of the white Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, of which only 70 cases total were produced.

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Posted on 2013.12.06 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

The Perfect Thanksgiving Wine?

Paul-Marie & Fils Pineau des Charentes Vieux 

Price: $79 per bottle – SOLD OUT

The perfect Thanksgiving wine is good wine. And we have plenty of that.

Seriously, don’t fret over finding the perfect wine to pair with dinner. If you find yourself stressing out about wine, you should probably drink a little more wine — responsibly, of course.

Thanksgiving is about celebrating the bounty of the harvest with family and friends, and sometimes watching huge men in tight pants impose bodily harm upon each other on a football field. Sparkling wine pairs with all of these things. If you insisted on a general wine pairing for everything on your table, besides Champagne or Cava, we’d probably steer you toward a rich Verdejo from Rueda, Pouilly-Fumé, or even Costers del Segre for Riesling, and Pinot Noir from Burgundy or Gamay from Beaujolais for red.

While we’re not going to suggest a specific wine for your Thanksgiving dinner, we do want to turn you on to a medium-sweet, fortified wine that we think will resonate with just about everything on the dessert table, as well as liver pâté and intensely flavored cheeses, much in the way of Sauternes. We’re talking Pineau des Charentes.

The geographical zone authorized for the production of Pineau des Charentes AOC is practically identical with that for Cognac. But if you’ve never heard of it, the reason is probably due to the fact that ninety percent of the Pineaux that’s made in the Charentes region is consumed in the Charentes region. Of the remainder, approximately eighty percent goes to Belgium. There’s precious little Pineaux left to export to the U.S.

Sourced and bottled in minute quantities, Paul-Marie & Fils Pineau des Charentes Vieux is a White Pineau des Charentes made by adding Grande Champagne Cognac (the highest level Cru within Cognac) to lightly fermented sweet grape must. Alcohol level is maintained at 17% by volume to inhibit further fermentation.

The exact origins behind this particular bottling are unclear. What we do know is that it is certified “Vieux”, meaning that, by law, the blend must have been aged in oak casks for a minimum of five years. Apparently, this certification was obtained years before the actual bottling, so it’s possible it’s closer to “Tres Vieux”, or 10 years of cask aging. The particular composition of grapes is also unknown but most likely 100% Ugni Blanc.

What we know for sure is that there were only 700 bottles produced and numbered, and that we have a large percentage of that tiny amount. And we know that it is a remarkable drink, colored a vibrant tawny, verging on copper, and overflowing with aromas of dried fruits and honey. The sweetness is balanced by a deep acidity layered through with a soft nuttiness. It ought to transform the obligatory slice of pumpkin pie into a magical experience.

Paul-Marie & Fils Pineau des Charentes Vieux will also make a fine gift for the Cognac drinker, the cigar smoker, a housewarming, and especially a holiday potluck dinner. We’ll even wrap it up pretty for you.

Stop by the shop on Saturday to have a taste.

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Posted on 2013.11.22 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, French Rarities  |  Read more...

2010 Château Haut-Bages-Libéral Bordeaux — Rich and Heady Pauillac

Price: $79 per bottle SOLD OUT

Late autumn in Michigan can be brutal or charming. Last night was an example of the latter. As I found myself lingering outside, enjoying a tender wind and the radiant moon, I was reminded of a poem written long ago by the legendary Matsuo Bashō:

Clouds come from time to time —
and bring to men a chance to rest
from looking at the moon.

Naturally, the moment called for Bordeaux.

A bottle of Château Haut-Bages-Libéral was just the thing. Intense with aromas of cedar, black currants, and rich, dark earth, it is clearly a young wine that could benefit from a couple years in the cellar (a couple decades even, if you’re patient). Full of dense fruit and finishing with epic length, its power is balanced by elegance. Enough so that it is easily enjoyable today. Famous wine pundits call it one of the best efforts from this estate since the notable 1982 vintage.

The finished blend is 72% cabernet sauvignon and 28% merlot from average 35-year-old vines grown in deep gravels from the Quaternary Period on limestone‐clay substrate. The juice is vinified in stainless steel tanks and then aged 16 months in oak (40% new).

The wine produced at Château Haut-Bages-Libéral was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855. We believe that it would easily be elevated to Third Growth if the classification was revised to reflect current quality levels.

We are deep with 2010 Bordeaux. Stop by tomorrow to sample this overachieving Grand Cru Classé and browse our inventory of close to 80 different wines from this exceptional vintage — all ideal for drinking when not looking at the moon.

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Posted on 2013.11.15 in France, Bordeaux, Saturday Sips Wines  |  Read more...

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