Pascal Granger La Jacarde Beaujolais Blanc 2017

The Domaine Pascal Granger is located in the hamlet of Les Poupets within the village of Juliénas in the heart of the finest sector of the Beaujolais district. This estate has been in the Granger family for over two hundred years, dating to Napoleonic times, and has passed from father to son continually. The domaine encompasses 14 hectares with vineyard holdings in the home village of Juliénas and extending through the neighboring villages of Jullié, Chénas, La Chapelle de Guinchay and Leynes. All harvesting is done manually and treatments in the vineyards are minimal with weed-growth tolerated between the vines. Beaujolais-Villages Blanc La Jacarde: The only white wine produced at this domaine, the Beaujolais Blanc is sourced from vines in the village of Leynes just south of the villages of Chaintré and Fuissé, a notable area for the production of wines produced from the Chardonnay grape. This single vineyard site of “La Jacarde” is planted to old vines and was formerly part of the Domaine Bernard Dalicieux, the first Beaujolais producer to grace the RWM portfolio. Upon Dalicieux’s retirement, we helped arrange the purchase of this prestigious vineyard site by Pascal Granger. The wine, vinified in stainless steel, is dry with citrus and almond notes, not as flamboyant nor as powerful as the best of the wines from the neighboring appellations of Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint Véran but quite distinguished and satisfying nonetheless.

Parpinello San Costantino Cannonau di Sardegna DOC

The winery “Poderi Parpinello “and the vineyard were born from the Parpinello family passion for vines and wine; a love that has grown over three generations. The company has one main goal: to implement years of professional experience in the cultivation of high quality grapes and to produce wines of particular flavours and characteristics. To do this the company utilizes the most modern winemaking technology available today, with the aim to maintain the respect for the typical and unique nature of the wines, while at the same time reinforcing the connection to the Sardinian territory. Cannonau is the most important and exclusive red grape wine, natural to Sardinia. It is thought to be the oldest wine in the whole of the Mediterranean. Deep red in colour, hints of mature red fruits with a note of spices, dry, pleasant flavour and elegantly full-bodied Perfect with traditional Sardinian cuisine such as red meat, game and cheese!

Fenouillet Terres Blanches Beaumes de Venise Rouge 2015

The brothers Soard, Patrick and Vincent, own and operate this impeccable domaine the cellars of which are situated in the village of Beaumes de Venise, in the shadows of Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail. They trace their lineage as vignerons back to their great-grandfather, Casimir Soard, whose wines were winning medals as early as 1902. Their grandfather, Louis Soard, specialized in the production of the celebrated Muscat de Beaumes de Venise during the 1950s and his son, Yvon, father to Patrick and Vincent, continued to work and expand the vineyards in Beaumes de Venise and the surrounding communes, although he rendered his grapes to the local cooperative rather than vinifying and commercializing the wines of the domaine. In 1988, Patrick and Vincent, with the encouragement of their mother, Nicole, decided to renew the fame of the estate and constructed the chai and cellars necessary to vinify and bottle the full range of appellations available. In 1989, at the outset of this project, we had the good fortune to encounter the family and we immediately engaged to be their importer for the American market. The vineyards of the domaine are scattered over seven different communes, including, of course, Beaumes de Venise and the surrounding villages. The appellations include Vin de Pays de Vaucluse, Ventoux (vineyards in the communes of Saint Hippolyte, Piniere, Aubignan and Barroux), Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and Beaumes de Venise (vineyards in Beaumes de Venise, La Roque Alric and Suzette). The Soard family has always farmed with great concern for the environment and now all of the wines produced at the domaine are certified “organic”. Beaumes de Venise Rouge Les Terres Blanches: This is the most important wine of the domaine in terms of production and the wine that we feel offers exceptional value for its quality. It is, then, the workhorse of the estate. The vineyards are situated on the massif of the Dentelles de Montmirail and much of the vineyard surface is laid out in terraces to accommodate the steep slope of the hill. The soil is clay and limestone and the “encepagement” is 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre (more or less). Harvest and vinification is done parcel-by-parcel and the final blend is done after a long cuvaison designed to obtain the finest and most profound extracts. The wine is bottled unfiltered after eleven months of aging in cement cuves. Annual production is on the order of 30,000 bottles of which 3600 to 4800 bottles are shipped for our use in the USA. Certified organic.

 

Duc Des Nauves Bordeaux Rouge 2016

What a joy it is to have access to the “second wine” of such a singular estate—one that boasts the same rigorously natural vineyard management and cellar practices as Chateau Le Puy itself. The Amoreau family acquired this nine-hectare vineyard in 2006, and immediately began employing biodynamic practices (Duc des Nauves is certified biodynamic as of the 2015 vintage). Planted to 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the vineyard is situated on the same Asterie-limestone mother rock as those of Le Puy, but at a slightly lower altitude—80 meters above sea level compared to Le Puy’s 110 meters. The topsoil is slightly sandier and less clayey here, and it is a bit deeper than at Le Puy—between 1.0 and 1.3 meters. In the cellar, Duc des Nauves is both fermented (spontaneously, of course) and aged in cement, and bottled without filtration after one year. This 2015 is stellar, its Le Puy bloodline showing in its aromatic exuberance, silky and harmonious palate, and overall seamlessness. It brims with the vigor and generosity of the great 2015 vintage, but it is in no way overripe or out of balance. One would be hard-pressed to find a Bordeaux at this price offering more pleasure, life, and complexity.

Our Wine Wednesdays, include one *free sample from each of our hand selected fine wine features (up to four wines). New wines are chosen each week.

*tasting free with purchase of $10 or more per guest