Spanish Wine Sale

Stop by this Saturday to taste a few fantastic Spanish wines and enjoy discounts on any Spanish wine in the shop – 15% off on six or more bottles. It will be an ideal time to replenish the cellar, grab yourself a special bottle that has developed with some age, or just stock up on everyday wines for the holiday weekend.

John Radford, author of The New Spain, makes the claim that Spanish wine is more vibrant, happening, and fascinating than it has ever been. We could not agree more.

Although Elie Wine Co. is first and foremost a French wine shop, we are fiercely proud of our thoughtful selection of Spanish wines that include everything from inexpensive, easy-drinking wines to cellar-worthy, world-class wines. It’s a selection with an emphasis on small producers that control the winemaking process from vineyard to bottle.

Like husband and wife team, Irene Alemany and Laurent Corrio, true garagistes producing a range of world-class wines in the Alt Penedès, the most inland and mountainous subzone of the Penedès wine region of Catalunya. The two are recognized as being among the top winemakers in all of Spain. All of their wines show classic French techniques expertly executed with a Mediterranean soul. With plenty of big fruit up front, a deep structure, and long finish, their cuvée, “Pas Curtei” (~$24), is much like a Grand Cru from Saint-Émilion. It is a small production blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Carinyena, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Like brothers Carlos and Juan Rodríguez, along with star winemaker Fredi Torres, who started Sílice Viticultores to harness the soaring slopes of the Ribeira Sacra appellation for the purpose of making great wines. Production is tiny, only 1,020 cases of their cuvée “Sílice” (~$25) were made in the 2015 vintage. It’s a blend of 80% Mencía, 5% Garnacha Tintorera, 5% Albarello, 5% Merenzao, and 5% Godello. The grapes are hand-harvested (there is no alternative in these vertical vineyards) and vinified using indigenous yeasts. The wine is matured in a 17-year-old, 4,000-liter oak foudre they purchased in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The result is a wine of ripeness, concentration, and balance, with aromas of juicy wild forest berries, sweet cherries, wanton flowers, smoked tea, and loamy earth.

Like visionary winemaker Raimon Badell of Masia Can Tutusaus who makes more than his award winning Cava from the mountainous Penedès sub-zone of the Massís del Garraf, where soil and microclimate yield fruit with superb concentration and balance. The native Xarel-lo grape is considered the backbone of Cava’s unique character, Raimon extracts all the intense aromatics, yellow fleshy fruit, and freshness that the variety has to offer for “Ona Penedès White” (~$14) a still wine. For “Ona Penedès Red” (~$14) Marselan, a rare grape variety created by crossbreeding Cabernet Sauvignon with Garnacha is used. The wine shows both the exuberant red fruit ripeness of Garnacha and the elegant structure of Cabernet Sauvignon, its vibrancy and freshness illustrating why a new breed of winemakers have begun planting this variety across the Mediterranean, although it is in the higher altitude, cooler regions like Massís del Garraf where it shines.

And many, many more.

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Posted on 2017.06.28 in Saturday Sips Wines, Spain DO, Penedes, Ribeira Sacra  |  Read more...

Seriously Drinkable Cru Beaujolais

We’re taking a couple weeks off from our epic 2014 Bordeaux tasting adventures to feature a few wines appropriate for patios and 4th of July parties.

In 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.

Guy Breton makes his wines as a reflection of his character – honest, affable, and down-to-earth. He took over the tiny family domaine of just over seven acres from his grandfather in 1986. Until that point, they were selling their fruit to the large cooperative wineries which dominated the region. Following the example of traditionalist Jules Chauvet, Guy Breton returned to the old practices of viticulture and vinification: never using synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvesting late, rigorously sorting to remove all but the healthiest grapes, adding minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and refusing both chaptalization and filtration. He produces a scant 3,000 cases annually.

All prices are based on the purchase of six or more bottles.

$27 Guy Breton Morgon “Vieilles Vignes” 2014 SOLD OUT

Guy Breton’s principal wine, the Morgon “Vieilles Vignes” is sourced from 2.5 acres of 80 year old vines in the Saint Joseph and Grand Cras subzones of the appellation, which give fine, stony wines. A high-lying sandy parcel contributes more complexity, structure, and acidity to the blend. After fermentation, the wine is aged on fine lees in Burgundian barrels (of at least the third passage).

~$23 Guy Breton Régnié 2013 SOLD OUT

Guy Breton’s Régnié is sourced from the hills between the Côte de Brouilly and the Côte du Py of Morgon, around the village of Régnié-Durette. Guy’s grandfather handed down the two parcels that go into this wine: one with 100-year-old and the other with 35-year-old vines. The shallow soil of sand and decomposing stones gives the vines easy access to the bedrock, creating firm wines with more grip and acidity than in Morgon.

Juicy Beaujolais Rosé

~$16 Château Thivin Beaujolais Villages Rosé 2016 SOLD OUT

The 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. 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.

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Posted on 2017.06.21 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Beaujolais  |  Read more...

2014 Bordeaux PART V, Saint-Estèphe

This Saturday we will be continuing our tasting series of the excellent 2014 vintage in Bordeaux. Our fifth shipment takes us to the northernmost of the great “Left Bank” appellations, Saint-Estèphe. These are the classic Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends that put Bordeaux on the map centuries ago, from classified “Second-Growth” wine to an everyday “Cru Bourgeois.”

Because of the warm autumn in the 2014 vintage there have been claims that declare it a Left Bank vintage, thanks to the later ripening qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon versus the earlier ripening Merlot. Taste for yourself, we’ll have an assortment of these wines open to taste this Saturday. All prices are based on the purchase of six or more bottles.

Although Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate ratings don’t factor into how we select the wines we carry, we do understand that many drinkers find them useful. You’ll see the ratings for the 2014 vintage of each wine following the text.

~$23 Château Lilian Ladouys
Classified Cru Bourgeois. Jacky and Françoise Lorenzetti acquired the estate in 2008. They quickly launched a vast re-parceling program and constructed a new semi-underground vat house. (90)

~$32 Château Meyney SOLD OUT
With the consultation of Hubert de Boüard of Château Angélus the 2014 vintage of Chateau Meyney is quite possibly the best wine produced in the history of the estate. (90)

$34 Château Les Ormes-de-Pez SOLD OUT
One of nine “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels” as classified in 2003. Owned by the Cazes family, who are also well known from their more famous Pauillac estate, Château Lynch-Bages. (89)

~$41 Château Lafon-Rochet
Since purchase in the late 1950s by the Tesseron family, this classified “Fourth-Growth” estate has continually improved. Today, it’s Basile Tesseron continuing the focus on quality. (90)

~$43 Château Phélan Ségur
One of nine “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels” as classified in 2003. In 2011 the estate finished extensive renovations in their wine making facilities and cellars, shifting to smaller stainless steel fermentation vats that allow for more precise vinification on a parcel by parcel basis. (91)

$119 Château Calon-Ségur
Classified “Third-Growth” estate. Very recent renovations allowing vinification on a parcel by parcel basis and a completely new, 100% gravity-fed vat room illustrate the commitment to quality at Calon-Ségur. (92)

~$49  Les Pagodes de Cos (second wine of Château Cos d’Estournel) (90)
$153 Château Cos d’Estournel (94)
Classified “Second-Growth” estate. Cos d’Estournel’s recently renovated world-class cellars are operated entirely by gravity to allow for pure and complete expression of their extraordinary terroir adjacent to Château Lafite-Rothschild.

$187 Château Montrose
Classified “Second-Growth” estate. One of the leading properties of St.Estéphe that produces some of the longest-lived wines in the Médoc. Recent multi-million dollar renovations make Château Montrose not only one of the most modern estates in the world but also one of the most sustainable. (96)

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Posted on 2017.06.15 in France, Bordeaux, Saturday Sips Wines  |  Read more...

Deep Discounts on New Arrivals of 2014 Red Burgundy – From Everyday to Grand Cru

We’ve just received one of our last shipments of directly sourced 2014 vintage Red Burgundy and we are offering these new arrivals at a huge discount of 20% off the regular shelf price.

Stop by the shop this Saturday to sample an assortment of these wines and stock up for the summer or the cellar. Mix and match as you please, minimum six bottle purchase to be eligible for discount.

Domaine Heresztyn-Mazzini

A domaine reborn. Domaine Heresztyn has been a family business since 1932 and although Florence Heresztyn had worked there for 13 years prior, 2012 marks the first vintage under the reorganized domaine that now belongs to Florence and her husband Simon Mazzini, a winemaker from Champagne who has worked at the domaine since 2003. They both began their influence in 2007 when they introduced whole bunch fermentation, which has become a fundamental principle at the domaine. Their approach in 13+ acres of vineyards spread across the villages of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, and Chambolle-Musigny is both lutte raisonnée and organic, depending on the plot, with the intention of going fully biodynamic.

$28 Bourgogne Pinot Noir 
Declassified Gevrey-Chambertin from the “Champ Franc” climat and vines planted in 1986. Easy drinking and deliciously seductive. 430 cases produced.

$60 “Vieilles Vignes” (Gevrey-Chambertin)
Assembled from a range of Gevrey-Chambertin climat including, Billard, Es Murots, La Platière, and Puits de la Barraque from vines as old as 70 years. Complex and highly elegant on the palate. 540 cases produced.

$68 “Les Songes” (Gevrey-Chambertin) 
From the Gevrey-Chambertin climat En Songe and Les Gueulepines with vines planted between 1926 and 1952. Great complexity along with nice freshness. 160 cases produced.

$96 “La Perrière” (Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru) 
From the Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru climat of “La Perrière” with vines planted in 1982. The finest of Heresztyn-Mazzini Gevrey Premiers Crus, elegant and harmonious. 150 cases produced.

$96 “Les Champonnets” (Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru) 
From the Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru climat of “Les Champonnets” with vines planted in 1972. Deep and dense with light floral notes and well-suited for aging. Less than 100 cases produced.

$96 “Les Millandes” (Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru) 
From the Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru climat of “Les Millandes” with vines planted in 1972. Structure, elegance, with a complex bouquet. 150 cases produced.

$200 Clos-Saint-Denis (Grand Cru) 
From the Grand Cru climat of Clos-Saint-Denis with vines planted in 1980. Rich, complex, and elegant – A great wine for the cellar. 80 cases produced.

Domaine Richard Manière

Richard Manière is third generation winemaker at his family’s 19 acre estate located in the village of Vosne Romanée. He cultivates his vineyards with the philosophy of “lutte raisonnée” (reasoned struggle) applying treatments with the overall health of the vineyard in mind. Indeed, all production methods used are for the goal of revealing the delicate purity of the terroir, including limited yields, hand-picking at harvest, traditional vinification, and elevage in barrel. These wines are ideal examples of superior terroir and excellent winemaking at value prices.

$48 Fixin
Fixin is one of the most overlooked villages in Burgundy. A high quality Fixin is similar in character and structure to its neighbor to the south, Gevrey-Chambertin – robust, long-lived, and earthy.

$68 Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée’s glory lies in its remarkable blend of richness and perfume, vibrant fruit and a profound structure.

$88 “Les Damodes” (Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru)
From the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru climat of “Les Damodes” located in the northern part of the appellation, just to the south of the Premiers Crus appellations of Vosne-Romanée.

$104 “Les Suchots” (Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru)
From the Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru climat of “Les Suchots” that many claim to be the most noble of all the Vosne-Romanée Premiers Crus, in the best hands nearing Grand Cru in quality.

$144 Échezeaux (Grand Cru)
From the Grand Cru climat of Échezeaux, one of the largest Grands Crus of the Côte d’Or and known for its approachability.

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Posted on 2017.06.08 in France, Saturday Sips Wines, Burgundy  |  Read more...

2014 Bordeaux PART IV, Margaux & Moulis-en-Médoc

This Saturday we will be continuing our tasting series of the excellent 2014 vintage in Bordeaux. Our fourth shipment moves north up the “Left Bank” of the Gironde Estuary to the renowned appellation of Margaux and its neighbor Moulis-en-Médoc. These are the classic Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends that put Bordeaux on the map centuries ago, from classified “Second-Growth” wines to an everyday Haut-Médoc situated near the appellation of Margaux.

Because of the warm autumn in the 2014 vintage there have been claims to declare it a “Left Bank” year, thanks to the later ripening qualities of Cabernet Sauvignon versus the earlier ripening Merlot. Taste for yourself, we’ll have an assortment of these wines open this Saturday. All prices are based on the purchase of six or more bottles.

Although Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate ratings don’t factor into how we select the wines we carry, we do understand that many drinkers find them useful. You’ll see the ratings for the 2014 vintage of each wine following the text.

Haut-Médoc

$17 Château Sénéjac SOLD OUT
Located near the vineyards of Margaux, Sénéjac’s modern-era reputation for quality continued when it was bought by Lorraine Cordier, whose family also owned the famous Saint-Julien property, Château Talbot. (90)

Moulis-en-Médoc

~$38 Château Chasse-Spleen
One of nine “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels” as classified in 2003, and one of the top two producers in the Moulis-en-Médoc appellation (alongside Château Poujeaux). (91)

Margaux

~$30 Château Siran SOLD OUT
One of nine “Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels” as classified in 2003. Château Siran has been the property of the Miailhe family since 1858. In 2007, fifth generation Edouard Miailhe took over the management of this estate that recently completed a thorough renovation and modernization of their cellars. (91)

~$33 Château Labégorce
Château Labégorce was bought by Hubert Perrodo in 1989. In 2009 the vineyards from Château Labégorce Zédé were incorporated into Labégorce. Today Hubert’s daughter Nathalie Perrodo manages the estate. (93)

~$41 Château Ferrière
Classified Third-Growth owned and managed by the same family that owns Château Gruaud-Larose, Château Chasse-Spleen, and Château Haut Bages Liberal. (89)

~$48 Château Prieuré-Lichine
Classified Fourth-Growth purchased in 1951 by the great Bordeaux visionary Alexis Lichine. The estate has seen a recent renovation and modernization of their cellars and wine making facilities, giving them the ability to vinify their wine on a true parcel by parcel basis. (89)

~$46 Château Kirwan
Since 1925 this classified Third-Growth property has been owned by the négociant firm, Schröder and Schÿler, yet managed as a family estate by the late Jean Henri Schÿler and now his three children. (91)

~$50 Château Cantenac-Brown
Cantenac-Brown is a classified Third-Growth estate that has blossomed under the direction of winemaker José Sanfins. (92)

~$59 Château Malescot St. Exupéry SOLD OUT
Classified Third-Growth purchased by the Zuger family in 1955 who subsequently replanted nearly all of the vineyards. Today, it is Jean-Luc Zuger who owns and manages this meticulously maintained and quality driven estate. (92)

~$63 Château Brane-Cantenac
This classified Second-Growth estate has been owned and managed by the Lurton family since 1950. Under the direction of the current owner, Henri Lurton, large portions of the vineyard were replanted, vine densities increased, and drainage systems improved. (92)

~$73 Alter Ego de Palmer (second label of Château Palmer) (90-92) SOLD OUT
$289 Château Palmer (94)
Although classified as a Third-Growth estate, Château Palmer is recognized as one of the top wines not only in Bordeaux but in all the world.

Bordeaux Blanc

$289 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux SOLD OUT
Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc dry white wine produced in small quantities from Château Margaux, one of the five “First-Growth” estates in Bordeaux. (93)

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Posted on 2017.06.02 in France  |  Read more...

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