Beethoven, German Food, and Montpeyroux

2010 Domaine d’Aupilhac Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Rouge
Price: $126/6 ($21/bottle) SOLD OUT

Last night was a good night to be a fan of classical music and food in Detroit. To launch Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Beethoven Fest, the public was invited to a 14-hour Piano Sonata Marathon featuring back-to-back performances of all 32 solo piano sonatas by Beethoven. The Artist’s fingers were flying — sometimes attacking, sometimes caressing the keys. Listening from the back row of the Music Box of the Max M. Fisher Music Center we went from calm and sleepy to battle ready and back again in a matter of minutes.

Local food pop-up Schnäck was there with a short but quality menu of German food, wine and beer. We particularly enjoyed a celery root schnitzel topped with sour cream and salmon roe with a refreshingly simple carrot salad on the side. They make a damn fine pretzel, too. Reasonably priced food and a free Beethoven Sonata marathon is the good life on a budget.

We’re always looking for experiences like these that exceed expectations relative to price. Indeed, the night before last we opened a bottle of 2010 Domaine d’Aupilhac Montpeyroux Rouge. Here is a wine with loads of structure, tannin and acidity in balance, and lively with ripe fruit, leather, tar and dusty stones. At times juicy but mostly dry with promises of developing remarkable complexity over several years in the cellar.

Hardworking winemaker Sylvain Fadat believes that effort in the vineyard has the most influence on the quality of his wine. On terraced land 1200 feet above sea level with southwest sun exposure, he coaxes 35 year old vines to root deep into soils of limestone, clay, scree, and blue marl with prehistoric oyster fossil deposits.

The resulting blend of 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Carignan, 25% Syrah, 10% Grenache, and 5% Cinsault is about as good a Coteaux du Languedoc that you’re going to find for the price. Keep your eyes on the commune of Montpeyroux as one of the leading terriors in the region. This wine may not be so inexpensive for long.

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Posted on 2013.02.08 in France, Languedoc-Roussillon  |  Read more...

2009 César Príncipe

Price: $330/6 ($55/bottle)

A dense, purple glassful of 2009 César Príncipe exudes aromas of spice, ripe fruit, minerals, and before long a field of violets. Even now, when there is cellar potential for another 15 years, ripeness mediates the significant concentration and structure so that a sip is succulent.

This is the new Cigales. At 2,500 feet, in the harsh, dry landscape just north of the Pisuerga River and the old city of Valladolid, Tempranillo grapes grow thick-skinned. Previously known for its sturdy dark-pink wines, of local interest only, several producers are taking vines over a half-century old and making age worthy wine — Ignacio Príncipe, of Bodegas César Príncipe, chief among them.

Other neighboring producers describe their vineyards as being similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Pomerol. That’s pretty good company to keep when you’re talking wine. But there is more to winemaking than just growing and fermenting grapes in a promising region, as Vinovi, U.S. importer of César Príncipe, expresses:

“Picasso had his brush. Heifetz had his bow. Ignacio Príncipe has his pruning shears. A virtuoso in the vineyard, he wields his sharpened blades like a sculptor. Blink and you’ll miss it. Snap. Crackle. The hands blur. In less than 45 seconds, a voluptuous vine is pruned to its concentrated essence, three fundamental branches remaining to form a ‘seat’ with enough strength and structure to hold the weight of a man should he need a place to rest. Now it is nature’s turn. The less promising buds have been sacrificed for those more likely to produce glory in the glass. How does the winemaker know which is which? That’s why it’s called the art of winemaking.

‘I strive to unlock the magic of the vine,’ says Ignacio.Bodegas César Príncipe is located in Cigales, a small, fast-rising region just north of the well-known Ribera del Duero. The cognoscenti know that Cigales winemakers like Ignacio are creating masterpieces from Tempranillo. Made from 60- to 70-year-old vines, his wines have true density, and they are certainly fit for the cellar. Yet they also offer harmony when young and immediate gratification. Intense fruit, lively acidity and pleasing tannin all come together to deliver maturity. Yes, this is wine making as it should be. Ignacio is a hands-on producer. Not every winemaker is as comfortable with his hands in the soil. But then, not every winemaker is an artist.”

Bodegas César Príncipe

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Posted on 2013.02.06 in Spain DO, Cigales  |  Read more...

Les Vignes Oubliées 2011 Coteaux du Languedoc Terrasses du Larzac

Price:$35/bottle SOLD OUT

In Languedoc, high up on the schist and sandstone soils of the Larzac plateau, cool summer nights help wine grapes mature slowly and steadily. Nearby, sheep bred for the production of Roquefort cheese graze serenely. Up the road, folks living in the quiet village of Saint Privat go about their daily routines. It’s here in this idyllic setting that four vignerons and winemaker Jean-Baptiste Granier are producing a charming and delicate wine.

Les Vignes Oubliées has a nose of mixed berries on top of subtle notes of pepper and dried herbs. A sip is balanced through a range of fresh fruits across silky tannins and then all rounded in the end with a packet of spices. Though drinking perfectly well presently, these bottles promise to age gracefully for a decade or more.

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Posted on 2013.02.01 in France, Languedoc-Roussillon  |  Read more...

2010 Mas Champart Causse du Bousquet

Price: $29/bottle SOLD OUT

Had you been a civil engineer in 2nd century BC working on The Via Domitia (the first Roman road through Gaul linking Italy and Hispania) you might have quenched your thirst by drinking wine grown in and around Saint-Chinian. From this ancient winemaking region in the Languedoc comes a heady yet inexpensive red — 2010 Mas Champart “Causse du Bousquet”.

Aromas of sweet cherry, wet stone, and twigs occupy a glass leaving behind the mere suggestion of licorice. Medium-bodied and firm, with enough structure to cellar for a few years, though flawless presently. We happily drank a few glasses with local J & M Farm smoked pork chops and some good company.

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Posted on 2013.01.25 in France, Languedoc-Roussillon  |  Read more...

Jacquesson NV Brut Cuvee No. 735

Price: $350/6  SOLD OUT

You don’t need the holidays or even a special occasion to celebrate life with good Champagne. But we know this time of year folks are looking for a quality bottle of bubbly. So we thought we would share one of our favorite non-vintage Champagne selections.

While most non-vintage Champagne is made up of several individual vintages blended with uniformity in mind, the aim of Jacquesson’s 7-Series is to emphasize the best qualities of a given year. The Cuvee No. 735 is comprised of 72% 2007 first-press juice. And though non-vintage Champagne producers are only required to age their products for fifteen months, by the time Cuvee No. 735 was released in March 2012 it had a full four years of bottle age, including two-years after disgorgement. It is fairly priced Champagne that can also show the particular character of a year. It is the vintage non-vintage.

Although technically a Champagne “House”, brothers Laurent and Jean-Herve Chiquet operate Jacquesson much like a “Grower” operation. Besides their own organic and sustainably farmed 77 acres of vineyard (severely pruned for low yields), they work closely with their neighbors to supplement from an additional 27 acres, all in Grand Cru and Premier Cru areas.

This attention to fine detail shows in a glass. A fleshy blend of 47% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 20% Meunier embraces each and every one of your senses. From the satisfying pop of the cork to the last, creamy swallow, you journey across orchards of pear blossoms, rocky outcrops, and a bakery full of warm brioche.

Sure, you might save a few bucks with the NV Champagne that you see on all of the grocery store end caps this time of year but you’re not going to get anywhere near the freshness, vitality or pure drinkability of Jacquesson NV Brut Cuvee No. 735. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (92 pts) calls it a “deep, satisfying Champagne”. We couldn’t agree more.

Champagne Jacquesson

Elie Wine Co. wishes you a warm holiday filled with friends, family, and fine wine.

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Posted on 2012.12.20 in France, Champagne  |  Read more...

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