Celebrate the Arrival of Spring with a Floral, Fruity Spanish Red

Price: $25/bottle

Tulips and crocuses are busting out of the earth, robins are flitting around looking for fat and tasty worms, the sun is shining (mostly), and the grill is softly calling your name. Whether you’re into big hunks of meat cooked slow and low, or quick and simple burgers and sausages, or even thick cuts of marinated yellow squash, it’s about time to cook some food outside.

Elie Wine Co. won’t sell you any sausage, because we’re a wine shop. But we can provide a first-rate bottle to drink with your meal.

Ledo .8 is an ideal wine to transition into warmer months. Produced from mencía vines ranging in age from 15 to 80 years old, and aged for 8-12 months (Crianza) in French and American oak, it’s redolent of wildflowers, earth, and ripe red fruits. It’s purple and easy to drink, yet has the structure and finish to remain interesting through an entire bottle.

The wine comes from the singular subzone of Corullón in the DO Bierzo — a small, ancient region in the northwestern corner of Castilla y León, almost on the eastern border of Galicia, which is due north of Portugal on the Atlantic coast. Mencía is indigenous to this area and grows well from soils of clay and slate.

Winemaker Alberto Ledo is serious about his fruit. Cultivation is organic, yield is minuscule, and the grapes are hand-picked and hand-sorted. About a quarter of only 550 cases of Ledo .8 produced make it to the U.S.

Try it with a grilled lamb burger flavored with salt, pepper, a bit of grated onion, and a touch of freshly ground cumin and coriander. Throw in a handful of pine nuts if you’re feeling fancy. Serve with a simple salad, a few big glasses of wine, and good friends.

We’re not the only ones that like Ledo .8 with food. You can also find it at Slows Bar BQ, Pizzeria Biga and Atlas Global Bistro.

Stop by the store anytime this Saturday and we’ll pour a taste for you.

Bodega Alberto Ledo

Cheers and Happy Spring!

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Posted on 2013.04.05 in Spain DO, Bierzo  |  Read more...

Sample 3rd Growth Bordeaux from 2010

By most accounts, the 2010 vintage of Bordeaux either meets or exceeds the greatness of 2009. We’ve already taken a few deliveries of this fine vintage and want to get tasting right away. Stop into the store anytime this Saturday to sample two from Margaux, the commune that boasts the greatest concentration of classed growth properties in Bordeaux. Both wines we’ll be pouring are 3rd Growth in the 1855 classification.

Château Giscours – SOLD OUT – The vineyards at Giscours are spread over four gravel outcrops in Margaux, with slightly sandy, pebbly soil. In summer the vines see a leaf thinning and green harvest to push up the quality of fruit, which is harvested manually, destemmed and fermented plot by plot. The wine then goes into oak barrels for up to eighteen months. The blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot.

Château Desmirail – SOLD OUT – Desmirail’s vineyards feature gravelly soils that characterize the left bank of the Gironde. The fruit is hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyard, and then fermented according to the plot of origin. The wine sees oak for 12-18 months, with one-third of the barrels new each year. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.

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Posted on 2013.03.28 in Saturday Sips Wines, France, Bordeaux  |  Read more...

Sample Northern Rhone

SOLD OUT

All day Saturday we’ll be pouring samples of three selections from Domaine Durand with special one day in-store pricing. Have a taste of 2010 Saint-Joseph “Lautaret” (250 cases produced), 2010 Cornas “Prémices” (330 cases produced), and 2011 Syrah (Collines-Rhodaniennes).

This up-and-coming small estate consists of 32 acres of vines across the appellations St. Joseph and Cornas and is run by brothers Eric and Joel Durand. Methods are sustainable, yields are moderate, and the approach is geared towards producing wines of elegance, subtle power, and great purity.

This is a great opportunity to experience small vineyard, small production Northern Rhône. Hope to see you.

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Posted on 2013.03.13 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Northern Rhone  |  Read more...

Life is Short; Drink Good Champagne

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Posted on 2013.03.04 in France, Champagne  |  Read more...

2011 Maxime Magnon Corbières Rouge Rozeta

Price $150/6 ($25/bottle) SOLD OUT

Drinking wine is like taking a long road trip. You can stay on the highway and reach your destination as efficiently as possible, or you can leisurely navigate the two lane roads that course through town and countryside. Get off the main arteries and you’ll mostly find the predictable regional wares, good and bad. But occasionally something will surprise you. In this spirit, here is a Languedoc red wine produced by a native Burgundian via the Cru Beaujolais, Morgon.

Following in the footsteps of his tutor, the celebrated Jean Foillard, winemaker Maxime Magnon uses some biodynamic practices on his certified organic parcels. He allows sheep to graze the vineyards for weed control and fertilization. He utilizes whole cluster fermentation and does not add sulfur during vinification.

“Rozeta” is mostly Carignan from 50-60 year old vines growing out of the schist and limestone of Hautes Corbières, on the border of Fitou. Grenache, Syrah, Grenache Gris, Macabou, and Terret vines are dispersed throughout the Carignan and all of these grapes are picked and fermented together to make an old school field blend. Aging is done in second-hand, Burgundian barrels sourced from a producer in Chassagne.

The resulting wine is a pretty, clear, cranberry color in the glass. Aromas of strawberry leather, candied citrus peel, and spring wildflowers rise above a hint of garrigue. A sip is juicy and tangy on a wave of delicate minerality. Pair it with a subtly spiced dish of something roasted and a few Röyksopp tunes for an evening of blissful passage.

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Posted on 2013.02.14 in France, Languedoc-Roussillon  |  Read more...

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