The Champagne Society October 2020 Selection: Champagne Lancelot Pienne

Champagne Lancelot Pienne “Instant Présent” Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Price for The Champagne Society members: $59

“Gilles Lancelot produces lean, light, bright and crisp, spring-like Champagnes of remarkable purity and freshness. The style…is perfectly dry, pure, very refined, straight and mineral. These are elegant, and rather lean and filigreed rather than big, mouth-filling Champagnes.”

— Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

Based in Cramant, Gilles Lancelot comes from a long line of growers. He farms 22 acres of vines spread over 55 parcels along the northern sector of the Côte des Blancs, the Côteaux Sud d’Epernay, and into the Marne Valley. The average age of his vines are 40 years old with the oldest over 60 years.

Gilles farms his vines sustainably, with careful monitoring of his multiple parcels. Fermentation is done only in steel or glass-lined concrete vats in order to have the clearest expression of the wines and dosage is minimal.

A member of Les Artisans du Champagne — one of the more elite of the bands of growers in Champagne — Gilles’ annual production averages less than 6,000 cases, allowing him exacting control to produce the best possible Champagne. The proof is in a bottle of “Instant Présent.” 100% Chardonnay from vines averaging 40 years of age growing along the Côte des Blancs as well as from Monthelon and Mancy, two villages south of Epernay in the Côteaux Sud d’Epernay. The wine is aged on its lees for 30 months before disgorgement and has a dosage 7 grams. It is ideal as an apéritif: fresh, lifted, chalky, and full of white and yellow orchard fruits.

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Posted on 2020.09.21 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne  |  Read more...

Wine-Aid: $255 “Three Shades of Tempranillo” — 12 Bottles from Rioja’s Rising Star, Artuke Bodegas y Viñedos (All Included and Delivered)

Easily one of the most exciting producers in Rioja right now, we never tire of the wines from brothers Arturo and Kike de Miguel Blanco, third generation viticulturalists that produce wine for Artuke Bodegas y Viñedos. Each new vintage illustrates just how much growth and improvement can be accomplished when your singular focus is creating wines of freshness and purity that speak of place.

Modern Rioja’s storied history began in the mid-1800s when local winemakers adopted the methods of Bordeaux and began aging their wines in wooden casks. Since then, the region has tended to spotlight the amount of time the wine spent in oak barrels, effectively putting a supporting actor in the leading role. But in June of 2017, The Consejo Regulador in Rioja announced the introduction of a “Singular Vineyard” designation to be known as Viñedos Singulares. Now the quality of Rioja wine can be linked to a specific terroir.

In practice, these “Singular Vineyards” are nothing new for Arturo and Kike. These two young men have completely refocused their winery to cultivate small vineyard plots in and around the village of Abalos in the high elevation foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. Yet they currently have no plans to adopt the new labeling to their own wines, believing that the laws were thrown together too hastily, without enough study of the soils and history of the land.

With less than 55 total acres of vineyards distributed over 32 different plots, Artuke is a family affair. Their father still helps with vineyard maintenance, and their mother will always have a plate of food at the ready for hungry family members and visitors alike. Their wines clearly reveal the characteristics of the Alavesa sub-zone, the northernmost and smallest of the three Rioja sub-zones, where the cooling influence of the Atlantic Ocean meets the warmer interior. This unique climate has the effect of ripening Tempranillo grapes with slightly thinner skins, yielding wines with superb fruit and balance.

The price for this Wine-Aid package includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor a 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Included in “Three Shades of Tempranillo”:

2 Bottles “Finca de los Locos” (Rioja, 2015) Regular Price: $36

Arturo and Kike’s grandfather was regarded as crazy (loco) for purchasing this single vineyard located on a high terrace around 1,600 feet in elevation overlooking the Ebro river in Baños de Ebro. The plot consists of nearly 40-year-old vines growing in a sandy, gritty soil over a chalky limestone subsoil. A blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Graciano that is aged for 13 months in both 500 and 3500 liter French oak barrels, this wine shows it’s Atlantic climate mainly on the palate as ripe red fruit immediately turns crunchy to lead into a lengthy mineral finish. Aromatically complex, a noseful is rewarded with plums, minty herbs, dark chocolate, baked earth, and cherry blossoms. You could do worse things than pairing “Finca de los Locos” with some fatty red lamb chops.

4 Bottles “Pies Negros” (Rioja, 2018) Regular Price: $25

A blend of mostly Tempranillo with a small amount of Graciano from vines as old as 95 years, from vineyards in the village of Ábalos. Pies Negros means Black Feet, a reference to the archaic method of crushing the grapes using one’s feet. Fermented with indigenous yeasts, most of the wine matured in 500-liter oak barrels for one year, with about one-quarter kept in concrete. The wine is especially pretty on the nose with a heady floral scent wrapped around candied fruit and cinnamon. A medium-bodied sip is generous and swells through the midpalate to finish with a touch of earth. A fantastic value that would pair beautifully with anything you’re grilling this autumn.

6 Bottles “Artuke” (Rioja, 2018) Regular Price: $16

“Artuke” is made with the carbonic maceration method, a wine-making technique used to enhance aromatics and produce luscious, fresh, fruity wines preferred by Basques in the northern sub-zone of Alavesa. It is a blend of mainly Tempranillo grapes with about 5% of the white grape, Viura, from vineyards in the village of Baños de Ebro. The wine is fermented and aged in concrete for close to six months before bottling. It smells like a four-berry pie. This mouth-watering red wine takes a relatively deep chill which makes it a versatile pairing with all types of food: tuna, pretty much anything made with zucchini, fried chicken, gooey cheese sandwiches, pizza, etc…

We are committed to providing you with your wine needs in the safest way possible. We do encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

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Posted on 2020.09.16 in Spain DO, Wine-Aid Packages, Rioja DOC  |  Read more...

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Posted on 2020.09.15 in France, Spain DO, Italy  |  Read more...

Wine-Aid: $165 “The Other Cabernet” – 3 Types of Cabernet Franc from 3 Producers in the Heart of the Loire (6 Bottles, All Included and Delivered)

Stone rarely looms as large in French life as it does along the Loire River Valley. The generous and celebrated local supplies of malleable limestone (tuffeau) are responsible for both grand old castles and Cabernet Franc-based wines that are lively and bursting with juicy black raspberry fruit. Yet the soils are as varied as the expressions of Cabernet Franc that come from these areas with the potential to produce France’s most refreshing, elegant, and profound versions of this grape variety. The center of it all are the appellations of Saumur-Champigny, Chinon, and Bourgeil, three of the most important sub-regions for red wine production in the Loire — all producing 100% Cabernet Franc wines.

Our latest Wine-Aid package features wine from three producers covering all three of the key appellations. These are wines that are genuinely refreshing and intense, perfect for the transition to autumn.

The price for this Wine-Aid package includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor a 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Included in “The Other Cabernet” — 3 Types of Cabernet Franc from 3 Producers in the Heart of the Loire Valley Wine-Aid Package are two bottles each:

Château du Hureau “Fours à Chaux” (Saumur-Champigny 2014) Regular Price: $35

Fifth generation vigneron Philippe Vatan and his daughter Agathe use organic and biodynamic farming techniques and low yields to coax richness and terroir out of their 20 plots covering just under 50 acres. The wines see long fermentations with indigenous yeasts. The élevage lasts from 10 to 20 months deep in the tuffeau cellars in a combination of demi-muids and foudres. All of these factors contribute to the elaboration of Cabernet Franc wines that are aromatically complex with the hallmark Saumur-Champigny scents of black raspberry and earth. “Fours à Chaux” is produced from two plots in its namesake vineyard consisting of mixed sand and clay soils above a chalky limestone bowl that gets prolonged sunlight during the ripening season.

Catherine & Pierre Breton “Trinch” (Bourgueil 2018) Regular Price: $27

Catherine and Pierre Breton farm 27 acres of vines just east of Bourgueil in the village of Restigné. The couple first introduced biodynamic practices into their viticulture in 1994, just after receiving their organic certification in 1991, and have become international icons for the natural wine movement in an area where the climate and soil can make organic viticulture difficult. While their wines are completely natural and unadulterated, their meticulous work in the vineyards and the cellar ensure that the wines are also consistently pure. “Trinch” is named after a German expression meaning “cheers” championed by the poet and philosopher François Rabelais. The wine is vinified in stainless steel with a cold maceration and is full of juicy fruit balanced by soft tannins and low alcohol.

Domaine Bernard Baudry “Le Domain” (Chinon 2018) Regular Price: $24

Bernard Baudry is easily one of Chinon’s best producers. In 1975 he decided to start his own estate with five acres of vines in the village of Cravant-les-Coteaux. Today the estate is 79 acres and Bernard’s son, Matthieu, works with his father to continue producing the consistent, high-quality wines for which the domaine is celebrated. The Baudry vineyards have been organically farmed since 2006. Harvest is done 100% by hand and post-harvest all fruit is de-stemmed and placed into gravity-fed vats where fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts. The fresh and structured “Le Domaine” is a mix of fruit from vineyards of sand over limestone and gravel.

We are committed to providing you with your wine needs in the safest way possible. We do encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

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Posted on 2020.09.09 in France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

Summer-Aid: $265 “The Other Burgundy” — The Delectable Wines of Beaujolais (8 Bottles Red, 4 Bottles Rosé, All Included and Delivered)

Feast your end-of-summer senses on our latest Wine-Aid box that features a selection of wines that represent a marriage of grapes and ground that the French regard as mystical. It’s in the sandy clay soils over granite of Beaujolais that the Gamay grape finds its truest expression, in the right hands producing red wines that are fresh, vivid, light and fruity, yet possessing a soulful depth and sense of place. It is a wine that is somehow simultaneously uncomplicated and consequential.

The wines of Beaujolais are especially appropriate for a long Labor Day weekend as they drink particularly well with a slight chill and pair nicely with just about every type of fare, from grilled hot dogs with corn-on-the-cob to lamb steaks with roasted garlic and rosemary potatoes.

The price for this Wine-Aid package includes tax and delivery, as well as a 15% discount. We will also honor a 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Included in “The Other Burgundy” — The Delectable Wines of Beaujolais Wine-Aid Package are two bottles each:

Château de Lavernette “Le Clos” (Beaujolais-Leynes 2017) Regular Price: $33

The commune of Leynes and its old four-story Château de Lavernette lie at the crossroads of Beaujolais and the Mâconnais. “Le Clos” comes from the estate’s best parcels of Gamay — a little over four walled acres planted between 1957 and 1967. Leynes is one of thirty-nine villages entitled to use its name within the Beaujolais-Villages appellation. “Le Clos” is produced traditionally in older barrels using predominantly whole cluster fermentation but there’s also usually some de-stemmed fruit depending on the vintage conditions.

Château Thivin “Reverdon” (Brouilly 2018) Regular Price: $26

A benchmark domaine in the Côte de Brouilly, the Geoffray family has been farming their steep, south-facing slopes of decomposed pink granite for over a century. Château Thivin “Reverdon” is from the Reverdon sector of Mont Brouilly, an area known for producing wines of great finesse. It is produced using whole cluster fermentation for about a week and then aged in concrete tank for eight months for a wine that is simultaneously joyous and expressive of place.

Domaine Robert-Denogent “Cuvée Jules Chauvet” (Beaujolais Villages 2017) Regular Price: $25

In 1988, Jean-Jacques Robert took over 12 acres of his grandfather’s vines in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy just outside the village of Fuissé and soon came under the influence of one of the masters of terroir-focused Beaujolais, Marcel Lapierre. “Cuvée Jules Chauvet” is made from a three acre parcel of Gamay vines in a 15 acre vineyard that was owned by the late Jules Chauvet – a legend for his pioneering work with organic viticulture in Beaujolais and his leadership in the French natural wine movement. The wine is made with rigorous sorting in the vineyard and minimal intervention in the cellar and then aged for 16 months in seven-year-old barrels.

Clos de Mez “La Dot” (Fleurie 2013) Regular Price: $24

Vines have been in Marie-Élodie Zighera Confuron’s maternal family for four generations but she is the first of the family to produce and bottle the wines under her own name. “La Dot” is so named because it was a dowry gift for Marie’s grandmother’s wedding. It is a five acre plot of pinkish granite soils near the famous lieu-dit of Grille Midi in the south of Fleurie. The average age of the vines is close to 50 years old. Aromas of iris, violet, rose, and red fruit eventually give way to notes of spice. It is a wine of body, elegance, and finesse.

Château Thivin Rosé (Beaujolais Villages 2019) Regular Price: $20

The fruit for Château Thivin Beaujolais Villages Rosé is sourced from a 2.5 acre plot of 50 year old vines. It is produced by direct pressing the grapes and allowing the skins to macerate with the juice for one day before vinification in cool, temperature-controlled stainless-steel cuves. The result is a rosé with delicate fresh fruit aromas and juicy flavors ideal for pairing with light summer al fresco meals. A crowd-pleaser for certain, this is always one of our top selling rosé wines.

Pierre-Marie Chermette Rosé “Griottes” (Beaujolais 2019) Regular Price $19

Strict traditionalists, Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette were among the first in Beaujolais to use sustainable agricultural practices, shunning the use of chemicals in the vineyard and encouraging as much life in the soil as possible. The wines are made with minimal intervention: wild yeasts, minimal sulphur additions, and no filtering if possible. Their poundable, Gamay-based rosé is pale in color but deep in flavor. Fruit and flowers on the nose are enhanced by a hint of gravel.

We are committed to providing you with your wine needs in the safest way possible. We do encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

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Posted on 2020.09.02 in France, Beaujolais, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

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