Tio Pepe En Rama – Pure and Natural Fino Sherry

Price: $19.99/bottle SOLD OUT

A few weeks ago we held our annual Sardinada where we dined on sardines flown in from Spain paired with Tio Pepe En Rama. The pairing was ideal; one might even argue that there was some magic involved. The truth is that fino sherry is a versatile food wine that won’t overpower the delicate flavors of simply prepared seafood, goes naturally with olives, almonds, and cured meats, and even holds its own against aggressively spiced ethnic dishes.

Although Tio Pepe En Rama is produced in strictly limited quantities, we made sure to get our share. You may have missed the Sardinada but you can stop by the shop tomorrow for a taste of pure and natural Fino. Consequently, you might even be inclined to grab a fillet or two of fresh northern Michigan whitefish for dinner.

Tio Pepe Fino En Rama

In October 2012, González Byass head winemaker Antonio Flores chose 100 barrels from just two of the ancient Tio Pepe soleras (the traditional system for blending and aging sherry). This selection was to identify butts which would develop a particularly thick, compact and consistent flor (yeast covering) to impart the distinctive aromas and flavors that characterize a great fino.

Autumn in Jerez was warm and rainy followed by a mild winter which allowed the protective layer of flor to thrive. Of the original 100 casks, only 67 were selected for their finesse and intensity, and then bottled in spring when flor growth was at its thickest. The result is Tio Pepe En Rama — fino sherry in its most natural and delicate state; unfiltered, unclarified and fragrant with yeasty bread, almonds and citrus.

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Posted on 2013.08.09 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Sherry/Jerez  |  Read more...

We’ve Provided the Red & White for your 4th of July – You Provide the Blue

13 Cántaros Nicolás 2010, Price: $15.99/bottle – SOLD OUT

Ca N’Estruc 2011, Price: $12.99/bottle) – SOLD OUT

This time of year parties tend to start early and last long after the sun has gone orange behind the trees. Firing up the outdoor grill is all but mandatory and the last thing you want to do is run out of wine. So whether you’re planning your own big, backyard bash, or you just want to make sure you’re generously provisioned when you arrive at a friend’s home (Who isn’t glad to see the person that shows up with arms full of wine?), we’re offering special prices on a couple of food-friendly Spanish wines that are easy on the wallet and sure to please everybody.

Red

13 Cántaros Nicolás 2010 – SOLD OUT
100% mountain Tempranillo from 20-year-old vines in D.O. Cigales (a stone’s throw from Ribera del Duero). Organically cultivated and hand-picked, 13 Cántaros is fleshy and ample with intense aromas of red fruits, plum, jam and spices. It should pair well with simple beef hamburgers, smoked sausages, spicy, dry-rubbed ribs, and everything in-between.

White

Ca N’Estruc 2011 – SOLD OUT
A blend of Xarel•lo, Macabeo, Muscat, Garnatxa Blanca, and Chardonnay from D.O. Catalunya that borders France in the far northeastern corner of Spain. Ca N’Estruc is organically cultivated and manually harvested. Pale yellow with a greenish hue in the glass, a sip is crisp and dry with aromas of ripe peaches and pears and a subtle note of herbs. Drink it with grilled zucchini, shrimp, or just drink it while you’re grilling.

& Blue

We’re a wine shop, we don’t sell anything blue. But here is a simple recipe for classic blueberry clafoutis if you need a dessert without much fuss.

Cheers and Happy 4th of July!

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Posted on 2013.07.01 in Spain DO, Catalunya, Cigales  |  Read more...

A Fairly Priced, Quality Red Burgundy from Marsannay

Price: $49/bottle – SOLD OUT

In a superbly written essay about the spirituality of wine, Michigan-born novelist, poet, and wine enthusiast Jim Harrison discovered a secret French bible that declares: to drink red wine after dark is to fight off the night in our souls. We tested this assertion with a bottle of 2011 Domaine Sylvain Pataille Marsannay Les Longeroies and have concluded that the theory is applicable to drinking red wine before dark and during sunset, too.

Indeed, we had such a good time two weeks ago in quest of quality wine from the far corners of Burgundy that we wanted to get right back to the pursuit. So this week we travel by glass to Marsannay, the opposite end of the Côte d’Or, and the northernmost appellation of Côte de Nuits.

Marsannay is quite unique in the region. It is the only village-level appellation which may produce rosé wines. And although vineyard sites have been noted there since as early as the seventh century, there was a lengthy period of time when they were used mainly to supply simple wine made from Gamay grapes to the city pubs of Dijon. But that time is long gone. Today’s Pinot Noir based Marsannay is closer in style to nearby Gevrey-Chambertin, if slightly more rustic.

It is passionate winemakers like Sylvain Pataille, himself a darling of the French Press, that are creating wines of merit from this lesser-known region. After studying in Bordeaux, Pataille worked as a successful consulting enologist in Burgundy while establishing his own domaine, starting with 2.5 acres in 1999. Presently, he works 34 acres of organically certified vines (with some biodynamic practices) that include Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, and Aligoté, for a total production of 4,500 cases a year on average, Les Longeroies being a tiny portion of that total.

At the domaine, grapes are hand-picked and sorted both in the vineyard and cuverie. Vinification is done in stainless steel and fiberglass tanks with indigenous yeasts. Aging takes place over 12-18 months in a maximum of 30-35% new oak, more for structure than aroma. Pataille is very flexible in regard to new oak, preferring the vintage to guide the amount used, rather than he forcing the vintage into a predetermined formula.

The Lieu-dit (a single plot of land that has demonstrated terrior) of Les Longeroies is considered one of the finest terriors of Marsannay. It is made up of limestone, marl, clay, stone and gravel, and shared by noted domaines such as Denis Mortet and Bruno Clair. Pataille’s 2011 bottling from this parcel had a large percentage of whole cluster fermentation and shows generous aromas of wild, Lake Superior blueberries and huckleberries at their peak of ripeness. It is a polished wine, yet you don’t know whether you should drink it or use it as a crêpe topping. A glass is overflowing with brilliant, concentrated fruit and an enduring acidity that indicates this vintage should develop in the cellar over the next 10-15 years.

But you need not wait that long. Open a bottle as you please. Some time with air will reward the patient drinker with more and more luscious fruit, and perhaps even a brightening of the soul.

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Posted on 2013.06.28 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

Commemorate Bloomsday with a Sample of 2011 David Moreau Santenay Cuvée ‘S’ (and a Gorgonzola Sandwich)

Price: $39/bottle SOLD OUT

“Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods’ roes.”
– James Joyce, Ulysses

Leopold Bloom is clearly a man of appetites. As the fictional protagonist of the James Joyce novel, Ulysses, Bloom spends a day kicking around Dublin, Ireland as a kind of contemporary Odysseus. In a passage that made the non-fictional establishment Davy Byrne’s Pub famous, Bloom orders a Gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of Burgundy.

So what better way to observe Bloom’s June 16th, 1904 wanderings, and one of the most important works of Modernist Literature, than with Burgundy? We won’t sell you any cheese or bread, because we’re a wine shop. But this Saturday we will have a small spread of complimentary Gorgonzola sandwiches to go along with samples of 2011 David Moreau Santenay Cuvée ‘S’.

Santenay is the southernmost appellation in the Côte de Beaune, where the limestone ridge of the Côte d’Or begins to thin. Although wine from Santenay is sometimes considered rustic compared to more northerly appellations, earthy and wild might be more appropriate descriptions. The best can be captivatingly aromatic, and priced far more reasonably than more recognized regions. Young winemaker David Moreau seems to be harnessing every bit of his talent there to create wines of distinction.

You could say that David Moreau practically breathes wine. He began his vocational training as a youth at the Lycee Viticole de Beaune, a boarding school focused on wine studies. After graduating with an oenology diploma from the Institute Jules Guyot at the University of Burgundy, he completed numerous internships with the likes of François Perrin of Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Aubert de Villaine of Domaine Romanée-Conti, to name a couple. He even did a stint in New Zealand to wrap his brain around New World wine.

Now he manages nine hectares, formerly known as Domaine Jean Moreau, taking over for his grandparents and making his first vintage in 2009. David is currently labeling the produce of five hectares under his own label, and the remaining four under the label of his grandparents. He aims for as little intervention as possible in the cellar and describes his methods as sustainable viticulture.

Santenay Cuvée ‘S’ is named in honor of David’s grandmother, Simone, who still assists in winery operations. It is comprised of 100% Pinot Noir from 50-year-old vines that produce small and highly concentrated millerandés grapes. The fruit is hand-picked and sorted both in the vineyard and cuverie. Aging takes place for 12-18 months in 33% new oak. Total production of the cuvée is a scant 10 barrels, or 250 cases.

The resulting juice is full of luscious fruit aromas that develop with time in the glass. Over the course of a few hours, our tasting team picked out macerated raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, and at one point the wine smelled like a fat, Michigan four-berry pie in the most positive sense. A sip bursts with juicy acidity that turns into a complex and persistent finish. We’ll be keeping an eye on this domaine and young winemaker. We suspect that after you have a taste of David Moreau Cuvée ‘S’, you will too.

If Burgundy and Gorgonzola sandwiches at our shop aren’t enough to satisfy you, on June 20 the Gaelic League of Detroit is hosting a Bloomsday event that includes music, spontaneous audience recitations of favorite passages from Ulysses, and other “insightful” fun.

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Cheers!

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Posted on 2013.06.14 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

2007 Pascal Jolivet Pouilly Fumé – Quality Loire Sauvignon Blanc for a Song

Price: $99/6 ($17/bottle) SOLD OUT

Our good friend Yorick tends toward the melodramatic. Just the other day, while hanging out here at the store, he bellowed, “Why, then the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will open!”

The exclamation was a bit odd, considering we had been discussing cheeses. But that’s Yorick for you. Apparently he had been contemplating oysters for some time because he then selected a bottle of 2007 Pascal Jolivet Pouilly Fumé off the shelf, a natural pairing with oysters and other delicate seafood.

Situated just across the Loire River from Sancerre, and planted with vines since the Roman Era around the fifth century, Pouilly-Fumé is known for balanced, structured white wines made exclusively from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. Sauvignon Blanc is also known locally as Blanc Fumé for the grey, smoky bloom that grows on the skins.

The house of Pascal Jolivet was founded in 1987 and owns over 70 acres of prime vineyards spread across the appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé. Pascal Jolivet is a firm believer in natural winemaking and practices environmentally friendly techniques in both the vineyard and the cellar.

Pascal Jolivet Pouilly Fumé comes from 20 acres in 3 separate vineyards owned by Jolivet in the villages of Tracy, Les Girarmes, and St. Andelain, with additional sourcing from Les Loges. These parcels constitute a large diversity of glacial soils, differing from village to village. The wine is fermented with native yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel. All parcels are vinified separately until final blending and bottling.

The 2007 is presently a golden glassful containing aromas of sweet hay, melon, and wet stone. Medium-light in weight, a burst of fresh and persistent acidity hits the midpalate and eventually turns into a lengthy, mild citrus peel finish.

A couple of weeks ago Yorick selected a fascinating Languedoc red wine labeled as a mere Vin de France from Hérault. We sold out within hours of publishing that email. Now is a chance to purchase a Pouilly Fumé that is drinking ideally, with some mellowing from age yet still possessing juicy acidity, and priced low enough so that you can buy more oysters, or a sweet sword with which to open them. If you’re in no mood for shucking, it pairs equally well with Crottin de chèvre out on the patio with friends.

About Yorick

Our good friend Yorick is a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy, wont to set the table on a roar. He is well versed in fine literature and wine. We’ve asked Yorick to join the team at Elie Wine Company and periodically browse our inventory for some hidden gems — sometimes obscure, always a good value — and share them with you. Alas, poor Yorick! He cannot hold his wine, or much of anything for that matter. But he does have exquisite taste.

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Posted on 2013.06.04 in France, Loire  |  Read more...

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