Wines
Rich, ripe and intense, with a lively acidity keeping the spirited tannins on a short rein, the mountain wines of Lokoya, Cardinale, la Jota and Mr. Brave combine power with elegance. Listen to Winemaker Chris Carpenter (interview on FOOD & WINE TALK WSFG) as he talks about his work with Jess Jackson and about the serious and rewarding task of working block by block to produce the amazing Mountain Wines of Napa, CA. at a recent tasting in Miami Beach. These are unique and seriously-endowed wines meant for collectors/connoisseurs who have the patience to wait for them.
The following wines were poured:
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A French study testing 300 French wines has found that 90% of 300 French wines tested had traces of harmful pesticide residues left from the chemical treatment of vines. Read full story here
Winemaker Bernard Portet made history when the first Clos du Val vintage in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District came 8th in the legendary Judgement of Paris in 1972, and when the same ‘72 vintage came out on top at the 1986 rematch. Now after four decades as the co-founder and presiding winemaker at Clos du Val Winery, it looks like his idea of retirement is not confined to a boat or a golf course. His idea of retirement is actually to continue making wine. Except that, this being the 21st century, he does it from “a winery without walls” or a virtual winery.
At a recent tasting in Miami, the 2010 Ñandú Malbec ($17), the 2008 Heritance Cab ($28) and the 2010 Heritance Sauvignon Blanc ($18) show a consistency of style with mellow fruit and a smooth finish.
F&WT Bernard, you can be counted among vintners like Warren Winiarski who founded Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Carl Doumani who established Stags’ Leap Winery in 1972, pioneers who transformed Napa Valley from a sleepy agricultural backwater into a wealthy, world-renowned wine region. Yet you were born in Cognac France from a long line of wine makers. What made you come and stay in Napa Valley?
F&WT How different was working in Napa from working in France?
F&WT Now you make different wines than those you made at Clos du Val, like Ñandú, an Argentine Malbec you founded in 2004 with your son Olivier. And of course your own wine brand Heritance – a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc that have balance, complexity and a long finish — for which you buy the best grapes from trusted producers. And no winery to give you a headache! What are the advantages of a winery without walls?
F&WT Your father was technical director at Château Lafite, a grand cru in Bordeaux. So you were born and raised in the vineyard and the wine business. Is this how you acquired your sense of terroir and your concept that wine is made in the vineyard.?
F&WT where does the name of the label Heritance come from?
Elegance, complexity, finesse, style is what one invariably finds in a bottle of Château Lassègue, from the prestigious Grand Cru from St. Emilion.
So what’s else is new? The prices. They’re surprisingly affordable!
Together with Jess Jackson, veteran winemaker Pierre Seillan and his wife Monique are owners of several fine wine estates in the US, Italy and France. Chateau Lassègue in Bordeaux, in the heart of St. Emilion, is one of them.
![]() This 18th Château built on a beautifully restored 17th century villa sporting sundials (originally installed 250 years ago so vineyard workers could track time while working), in turn built over Roman ruins in Saint Etienne de Lisse, is an important estate of over 84 Grand Cru acres of red grapes planted in a variety of soils, from the foothills to the hillsides of St. Emilion.
I stress the variety of soils because winemaker Pierre Seillan’s philosophy is based on what he coined “micro-crus.” Not only is each parcel thoroughly analyzed and planted according to the soil’s properties, “and you can imagine the diversity of soils you get in 80 acres in Bordeaux, where plots are usually quite small,” Monique Seillan was quick to point out at a recent wine tasting where she poured newly released and to-be-released vintages. “Here, each block or mini-plot is harvested separately and vinified in separate barrels.
And those are another story: to get the best for each of his wines, Pierre Seillan even picks the trees from selected forests for his barrels, before working on how long to heat the staves and on the intensity of the toasting which will affect the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of the wines.
All of the above demands imposed by his perfectionism are in addition to the strict regulations and production restrictions imposed on St. Emilion Grands Crus such as reduced yields, high sugar content at harvest -with the exception of Merlot, and a period of at least 14 months storage at the producer’s before being released.
This labor of love and precise wine-making-style was evident at the vertical tasting of Château Lassègue and Château Vignot, both Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 2005 through 2008. Both traditional Bordeaux blends from old vines (Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) are elegant, complex, well-balanced and the true expression of St. Emilion, yet so different from each other.
Château Vignot wines, from the clay-sandy gravel foothills of the Côtes de St. Emilion are truffle-like earthy, fruity, rich with chocolate and delicate violet, good acidity and soft tannins. Chateau Lassègue, from 50-year-old vines planted on the estate’s hillside with calcareous clay soils and limestone, yields opulent, well-balanced and shimmering lush wines with some minerality, smooth tannins, an impressive structure and a fantastic length.
Great food wines, they pair beautifully with seafood as well as grilled steaks and desserts and can be consumed now or aged for another 20 years.
Having being under new management for less than the required time for classification, while bound by all the production regulations and restrictions, Lassègue is more flexible when it comes to pricing than a Cheval Blanc or Le Pin.
![]() Les Cadrans de Lassègue, Château Lassègue, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2008 ($30) 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. This second label aged 8 months in French oak, while still young, evolved into a delicious, unique wine with jammy tones of dark fruit, licorice, great acidity and subdued tannins.
'Lassègue', Château Lassègue, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France 2007 ($80) (68%Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon). Round, perfect, with smoky, toasty nose and hints of tobacco, fresh black fruit, spices and chocolate and a long and aromatic finish.
'Lassègue', Château Lassègue, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France 2006 ($80) Powerful, elegant but still closed, requires a couple more years to achieve its full potential.
'Lassègue', Château Lassègue, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France 2005 ($150) (60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Balance, elegance and complexity is what characterizes this opulent wine with minerality peaking through the blend of rich, aromatic Cabernet Franc, dense and concentrated Merlot and powerful and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon.
Château Vignot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Château Lassègue, France 2008. This to-be-released promising wine from 40-year-old vines grown in the clay-sandy gravel foothills of the Côtes de St. Emilion will peak in 2017, but can certainly be opened before.
Château Vignot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Château Lassègue, France 2007 ($60) Cedar, coconut, leather, cherry and brandy meld into a soft and round wine with ripe tannins and a long finish.
Château Vignot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Château Lassègue, France 2006($60) rich, complex, aromatic and mature with dark fruit in the nose and mineral overtones, solid tannins
Château Vignot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Château Lassègue, France 2005($75) A vintage that will be remembered in Bordeaux yields a wine that is powerful and elegant with a nose of cashews, oregano, plums resulting in a charming mouthfeel, strong aromatics and a lively acidity.
Regardless of the legal requirements for labeling, the name Champagne will always be in the back of our minds, ingrained in our collective memories and triggering that Pavlov reflex when we yearn for the ultimate luxury of cold, crisp, ephemeral and elegant bubbles that only a Sparkling Wine can provide. However, the offering beyond the universe of Champagne is vast and flexible when it comes to the many different quality productions of sparkling, the geographic diversity and the consumers’ pocket sizes. Here is a good choice of price-conscious, elegant Champagne stand-ins; from yeasty and fragrant sparklings from Sonoma, CA; silky crémants from Burgundy, fresh fall apple-tasting crémants d’Alsace; or crisp and fresh proseccos from Italy, all in the $ 30 to $15 range. They are all energizing and enjoyable as aperitifs and stand up well to an entire meal, holiday or not. Cheers
Valdo Oro Puro, DOCG, Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy ($14.00) Freshness, with a spicy thread of ground ginger, cardamom and balsamic weaving through tropical notes of pineapple, tangerine, white peach and a delicate almond note typical to Prosecco is what you will get from this well-balanced straw yellow Prosecco with a fine perlage, a frothy mousse and a floral finish. A good pairing with starters, with delicately flavored dishes and seafood. Zonin Prosecco Brut, Veneto, Italy ($15 - $18) A delightful fresh, fruity and aromatic nose, with hints of white peach, mineral and honeysuckle characterizes Zonin’s Proseccos — Zonin also makes a popular "Special Cuvee". The straw yellow sparkling has a fine and creamy froth. It is dry with soft tropical fruit and honeyed apple flavors melding with a pleasantly nutty background. The finish is long and softly complex. A Well-balanced wine made with 100% Prosecco or Glera grapes is ideal as an aperitif or throughout a meal.
Berlucchi Cuvée '61 Brut Rosé, Franciacorta DOCG, Italy ($17 - $20) In the 60’s Franciacorta in Lombardy became Italy’s sparkling wine answer to Champagne. Berlucchi Cuveé ’61 is definitely a French-inspired sparkling wine, made in Italy and specially marketed in the US. Made with Méthode Champenoise or Metodo Classico with 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir, it was fermented 6 months in stainless steel and 12 months in bottle before disgorging. After disgorging, the bottle was aged two more months in the cellar before release. Pale pink, the wine is full-bodied. Complex, fragrant and lively on the nose with wild red berry fruit and ripe stone fruit with the body, acidity and tannin of Pinot Noir for texture, the Rosé is crisp and rich with elegant bubbles and generous fragrances of apple and pear and notes of tropical fruit and spices. Exceptionally fresh with a velvety texture, well-balanced with a lively froth and elegant bubbles Rosé is festive and drinkable with a broad range of foods.
JCB No. 39 is the quintessential marriage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sourced from three renowned appellations in Burgundy: Saint-Aubin, Saint-Romain and Saint –Véran. And there’s a romantic story behind this refined pale yellow wine in a beautiful black bottle. The delicate and silky yet bone-dry crémant with whiffs of toast and yeast and fresh aromas of white peaches, crisp apples, with lovely bubbles and a creamy froth, has a long and elegant finish with slight honey citrus notes. Great on its own, for a toast or an aperitif, it pairs beautifully with food. Each JCB wine is known by a number. And each number has deep significance for Jean-Charles Boisset, the collection’s creator and namesake. The year was 1939. Germany had just invaded Poland and France was rallying its troops to come to the aid of their ally. While this world of chaos was unraveling, a young couple had fallen in love. They married the day before he set out to serve, and although the wait was long and painful, she knew he would return safe one day. After three adventurous years, he returned home to the loving and faithful arms of his wife and now three-year old daughter, who he was just now meeting for the first time. The couple is the grandparents of Jean-Charles Boisset of Boisset Family Estates.
J Brut Rosé NV, Sonoma CA ($38) The J Brut Rosé in the sexy bottle labeled with a stylized J is made with a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris from Alexander Valley and Russian Valley in Sonoma, CA where hills and benchlands provide a diversity of soils. The soft peachy pink color leads to a crisp, dry and mellow wine with a steady stream of fine bubbles, with flavors of red berries, orange, Meyer lemon peel and hints of almond. It is elegant and lively, perfectly balanced with a lingering finish that makes you yearn for more and more….
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Even though it is a common Italian surname, say Ferrari and you’ll conjure images of fast and furiously expensive Italian made sports cars, symbols of luxury and wealth.
No less iconic is Ferrari Metodo Classico, an Italian sparkling wine produced at the foothills of the Alps in Trento DOC, a region in the Val d’Adige bedecked by the beautiful Lake Garda with names like Val di Cembra and Valle dei Laghi at 1000 to 2300 ft. above sea level.
The Cantine Ferrari winemaking company founded in northern Italy’s Trentino region in 1902, over a century ago, by Giulio Ferrari has earned a worldwide reputation as the premier source of luxury metodo classico sparkling wines from Italy. The metodo Ferrari is essentially the same as le methode Champenoise, with the wine being aged for four to five years.
Ferrari’s best-known wines – Ferrari Brut, Perlé and Giulio Ferrari – are blanc de blancs, meaning they are made from 100% Chardonnay, apparent in their remarkable delicacy and finesse.
A pioneer in Italian viticulture, Giulio Ferrari was the first Italian winemaker and viticulturalist to dedicate his vineyards almost entirely to Chardonnay – and by 1906 the awards had begun to roll in. Ferrari is a 22-time winner of the Tre Bicchieri award, Italy’s highest wine accolade, with the most recent honor going to the 2005 Ferrari Perlé Nero bottling in 2012.
In 1952, Giulio Ferrari, not having any children, entrusted his company to friend and local merchant Bruno Lunelli. Today, the third generation of the Lunelli family is overseeing 300 acres of prime estate vineyards in Trentino and production, in the hands of a capable team of eight winemakers, is led by chief winemaker Marcello Lunelli, four agronomists and members of the family.
These are great holiday wines that pair with anything from smoked salmon to roast turkey.
Ferrari Brut, non-vintage (100% Chardonnay, $25. 12.5% vol.). Medium bodied, soft and creamy with an appealing yeasty toast aroma on the nose with hints of fresh and dried fruit, wild flowers and minerality balanced by a lively acidity with a touch of pineapple and a faint taste of fresh crusty bread in the mouth. It pairs well with appetizers, light pastas and seafood.
Ferrari Perlé 2004 (100% Chardonnay, $35. 12.5% vol.).) This is a vintage Blanc de Blanc made with handpicked chardonnay grapes harvested by hand. This wine has spent 5 years on yeast and exhibits a particular intense and delicate bouquet with scents of almond blossom, ripe apples, a faint spiciness and a hint of freshly baked bread. In the mouth it is well rounded yet crisp and elegant with fruity notes of fresh apples, a touch of citrus and the aromatic flavors typical of Chardonnay.
Ferrari Perlé Rosé 2004 (70-80% Pinot Noir; remainder Chardonnay, $75).
Ferrari Perlé Nero 2005 (100% Pinot Noir, $90).
Giulio Ferrari 2001 (100% Chardonnay, $100).
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- Written by Simone Zarmati Diament
Marius, a wine as good as the stories about it
Marius 2010 Blanc by Michel Chapoutier, Le Pays d'Oc, France
For over 200 years the house of Chapoutier has been producing prestigious wines in the Rhône Valley, wines like Hermitage, Côte Rôtie, Chateauneuf du Pape, Saint-Joseph, Crozes Hermitage.
So I never thought much of opening a bottle of white called “Marius” with an odd-looking label depicting a man from the turn of the 20th century, originating in the generic appellation of Pays d’Oc.
The blends stated on the label, Vermentino and Terret, the screw cap, the name Marius evoking the robustly regional naïf novels of Marcel Pagnol, spoke to me of an easy little white wine to quaff one’s thirst on a hot summer day under a canopy of vine leaves, preferably with good company. So I put it off.
But after all it was a Chapoutier product, so on a whim I decided to open the wine which I first used in a hearty tomato and anchovy sauce for a pasta I was going to have to dinner. Then I cooled the wine and sat down to taste…
Marius 2010 Blanc by Michel Chapoutier, Le Pays d'Oc, France ($13.99). I was amazed. I could hardly believe that a wine with a pale yellow color with green tints and 12% alcohol could yield such enticing aromas of fresh citrus and ripe fruit and present such an elegant and fruity attack on the mouth balanced with a good minerality, a good acidity and complex hints of rich ripe fruit and a long and elegant finish.
The blend Vermentino and Terret is not your everyday occurrence. Chapoutier chose the Terret for its vivacity and the Vermentino for its smoothness and elegant and floral aromas to express all the warmth and richness of the South of France.
Marius advises to serve this wine between 52 and 54°F as an aperitif or with a meal . I had the wine at 60F and it was perfect with just about anything I had, from the pasta with the robust sauce to later a grilled chicken breast.
Go to www.mariusbymichelchapoutier.com and enjoy the stories, funny and very well written in the vivid style of the buoyant 19th century. You will know how the Chapoutier Father and Son felt when seeing the Tour Eiffel at the 1900 World Fair in Paris where they were showing their wines, and much more…
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- Written by Simone Zarmati Diament
I don’t know why one has to wait for the holidays to open a bottle of good amaretto!
The distinctive bittersweet almond taste (although it contains no almonds or nuts) of this liqueur is intriguing and almost addictive and the amber color is beguiling in cocktails as well as on the rocks. Amaretto's "secret formula" is unchanged since 1525, and its production remains in Saronno, Lombardy, in Northern Italy where the famed Amaretti biscuits come from.
Disaronno has been in production since about 1900 and the company describes its amaretto Disaronno Originale — it was called "Amaretto di Saronno" (Amaretto from Saronno) until a copyright issue on the name Saronno, forced the company to rename it — as an infusion of "apricot kernel oil" with "absolutely pure alcohol, burnt sugar, and the pure essence of seventeen selected herbs and fruits"; the product does not contain any almonds or other nuts. The amber liqueur is presented in a unique square faceted Murano glass decanter with a distinctive stopper.
The legend of DISARONNO dates back to 1525, when Renaissance artist and Leonardo da Vinci pupil Bernardino Luini was commissioned to paint a fresco in Saronno. To portray the Madonna of Miracles, he chose as his muse a beautiful local innkeeper. She repaid the honor by giving the artist a flask of a fragrant and delicate amber liquor known as amaretto.
Disaronno can be served on the rocks, in shots, as part of a cocktail ( check out the DiSaronno cocktail competition in LA http://lacocktails.com/2012/05/25/disaronno-mixing-star-la-regional-competition/ ) or with a Cola drink or apple and cherry juice. I love to mix it in cookie dough and cakes.
But here are cocktail recipes for the coming holidays:
SMASHING PUMPKIN
Place all ingredients into a mixing glass. Dry shake (shake without ice so as to 'whip' the ingredients together). Then shake again with ice. Strain into a rocks glass without any ice. Top with freshly grated cinnamon.
A BLOODY GOOD TIME
1 ½ ounces Cazadores Añejo.
1 ounce DISARONNO
1ounce fresh blood orange juice
2 ginger dials (muddled)
½ ounce lemon juice
¼ ounce simple syrup
soda
In mixing glass muddle ginger dials with lemon juice. Add simple syrup; blood orange juice, DISARONNO, and Cazadores Anejo tequila. Shake and strain into a highball over fresh ice. Top with soda, fold & stir into cocktail. Garnish with lemon wedge.
Just on time for the holidays: the DISARONNO2012 Holiday Gift Set with two Italian-designed glasses etched with the iconic DISARONNO bottle image and logo packaged alongside a 750ml bottle of DISARONNO and a list of signature cocktail recipes. The limited-edition set is available nationwide throughout the holidays for approximately $25.99.
http://www.disaronno.com
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- Written by Simone Zarmati Diament

Needless to say, I opened it right away to see if it was still as good as I remembered it.
Without even letting breathe I poured myself a glass and immediately was amazed by the brilliant deep garnet/violet red color and by the aroma that pervaded the room.
As sensory memories tend to do and in typical Remembrance of Things Past style, the first sip took me back to St. Supéry in Napa where a few good years ago I had stopped to visit and have lunch with the then director-vintner Michaela Rodeno.
We had tasted the St. Supéry Elu line of wines, red and white, among them the Red Meritage 2000 (80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot – all estate grown), at a delightful luncheon after which we visited the art gallery from which came all the labels.
Today, in 2012, the wine was younger and more expressive with a wonderful harmony and intensity in the aromas of cherry-vanilla, rose petal and cassis. It was fresh and lively in the palate with juicy blackberry, red currant and black cherry notes mingled with subtle mint and spice, ripe and supple tannins well balanced with an elegant acidity. The wine was delicious and rich without being overpowering and the finish was long and lingering.
Michaela is no longer at St. Supéry — she is now at the Board of Marin Bank — and the 2000 vintage is sold out, but this outstanding wine with great balance which was so lovely when we first tasted it gives full meaning to the mention “will only improve over the next few years or should age nicely…”
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- Written by Michael Dietsch - Serious Eats
The Serious Eats Field Guide to Orange Liqueur
Not all orange spirit is curaçao, or Cointreau… What is triple sec? Which is the best orange liqueur or triple sec?
Excellent guide to the much maligned orange liqueurs.
Read more...
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- Written by Simone Zarmati Diament
On a tour to Europe that culminated in France, dancer Rodney D. Strong’s glittering leaps across the stage dazzled the audiences. But upon returning to the US in 1951, he confessed that the highlight of his four years of dancing in Paris as member of choreographer George Balanchine’s troupe and the American School of Ballet was his experience with French food and wine. He went on saying that rather than become an old dancer, he’d much rather become and old winemaker… He did; finding in Sonoma county friends, love, marriage to a former ballerina and the versatility he needed as an artist and as a serious winemaker.
Parallel to that “American in Paris”- returning-to-California story is the saga of the Klein family who migrated to San Francisco from New York City at the beginning of the 20th century to be decimated by the earthquake and rebuilt itself through the surviving children and grandchildren. The latter, who had been involved in California agriculture for four generations, added business acumen to the art of winemaking and are since 1989, in charge of the remarkable Rodney Strong Winery in Sonoma county. Their passion for sustainable farming practices, solar power and other green business practices have led them to become Sonoma County’s first carbon neutral winery and the producer of exquisite wines.
Vintner Tom Klein captured the elegance of Bordeaux and the exuberance of the Pacific Coast in the two splendid wines from the Alexander Valley Collection he recently released: Symmetry 2009, a Bordeaux-style Meritage, and Alexander’s Crown 2009, a Bordeaux-style Cabernet, while claiming Bordeaux as their style, express the terroir where they come from, the vegetation and the diversity of Alexander Valley’s agriculture.
Rodney Strong Symmetry Alexander Valley, Sonoma 2009 ($55) They call this Bordeaux-blend a Meritage. 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec, 6% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, have all been hand-harvested, sorted and fermented separately and aged in French oak for 6 months before being graded and selected for Symmetry. The blend is then assembled and the wine is aged from 12 to 18 months before bottling. The result is a harmonious, concentrated, and elegant full-bodied wine with an opulent bouquet of blackberries, currants, sweet spices, and a hint of violet blossom, which unfolds on the palate with layers of black fruits, dark chocolate and spice. Rich and silky in texture it delivers a long and powerful finish. It definitely has the backbone for years in the cellar and promises an interesting evolution in the bottle. 15.5% alcohol content.
Rodney Strong Alexander's Crown, Alexander Valley, Sonoma 2009 ($75) . 100% cabernet sauvignon. Established in 1971 and recognized as the first vineyard in Sonoma County to produce a single vineyard cabernet sauvignon, Alexander's Crown is perched on a hill rising to about 350 feet in the south-center of the Alexander Valley just west of Jimtown. The top of the hill, block 1, is red in color, and produces the most intensely flavored wine. Harvested on the morning of October 5 at the end of a perfect growing season, and after 23 months in French oak barrels — 40% new — The Crown is definitely an opulent wine, with floral notes and intense depth, ripe flavors centered on red fruit, and rounded tannins superbly balanced with a fresh acidity which adds brightness to the sumptuous and long finish.
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- Written by Simone Zarmati Diament
At a recent tasting* of a few 2011 Beaujolais wines, 79-year-old Georges Duboeuf, thin and straight in a formal blue jacket and tie contrasting with a grown, but well-combed mane of grey hair, enthusiastically proclaimed: ”2011 was a fabulous year. It was already hot by April and we had to harvest on August 22, instead of in the middle of September as we normally do.”
And when asked about the effect of intense heat that the change in climate in bringing about in Beaujolais, "the King of Beaujolais" smiled cryptically and said: “Gamay loves heat. The hotter it gets, the more sun there is, the more concentrated and better the wine gets.”
And indeed, from the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Village 2001 and the Georges Duboeuf Morgon Jean-Ernest Descombes 2011 to the Moulin à Vent, Domaine des Rosiers and the Georges Duboeuf Juliénas Château des Capitans 2011, the northernmost property in Beaujolais which Dubeouf owns with his partner of 30 years, Bill Deutsch of Deutsch Family in the US, all the wines we tasted were full-bodied, aromatic and complex and all under $20.00!
The grape Gamay is very versatile as it acquires the properties of the terroir where it is grown, whether at 200 meters above sea level to relatively flat land. “The wine’s quality depends on the talent of the winemaker and the attention to detail of the wine growers,” explained Mr. Duboeuf as he described the close relationship he keeps with his wine associates.
Born in a family of winemakers in Pouilly-Fuissé in the Loire Valley, Georges Duboeuf started his own business in 1957 with a group of 45 producers and went on to become a négociant in 1964, with the company Les Vins Georges Duboeuf. Today, the company works with over 20 wine co-ops and 400 growers in the regions.
Passionate about Gamay, Duboeuf feels that Beaujolais and its 10 grand crus (premium lands producing top wines-- from north to south, the ten Cru Beaujolais are Saint Amour, Juliénas, Chenas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnie, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly) is producing wines that compete with the more expensive wines of its more exclusive neighbors in the Rhône valley. The Crus are a few dollars more than Beaujolais village per bottle, but all of these wines are very good values.
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Village 2001 ($9.99) – a brilliant purple color and aromatic complexisty with blackcurrant, cherry, peach and subtle floral notes. It is rich, fleshy, round and elegant and was perfectly paired— as were the next two wines — with the robust tastes of a Mediterranean dish of grilled pork loin topped with a fragrant salsa verde, akin to a garlicky pesto, with Greek-style farro salad spiked with crumbled Feta cheese, Kalamata olives and lemony diced tomato and cucumber salad. Photo © Jean-Luc Mège
Georges Duboeuf Morgon Jean-Ernest Descombes 2011 ($15.99) Brilliant garnet in color this full-bodied wine exhibits an aromatic nose of violet and black fruit notes with cherry scents. Well-structured, its robust tannins are tamed by the lively acidity and the concentrated fruitiness of the wine ending with a lingering finish.
Georges Duboeuf Juliénas Château des Capitans 2011 ($18.99) A tamed wine with vanilla and roasted coffee on the nose, it deployed in the palate hints of raisins and dried fruit stew with a finish of dark fruit and spices.
Georges Duboeuf Moulin à Vent, Domaine des Rosiers 2011 ($17.99) Solid garnet color with notes of black fruit and subtle aromas of vanilla, this full-bodied wines is seductive, elegant, sophisticated and with a good tannic structure. This wine was splendidly paired with an über hamburger in a brioche bun as well as a masterful dessert of chocolate fudge topped with sea salt, olive oil, a sourdough crostini and accompanied by a deep tasting espresso parfait.
* the tasting was held at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink restaurant in the Design District, Miami.
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- Written by Simone Zarmati Diament
It’s no wonder KAPPA Pisco recently won the prestigious Double Gold Medal at the 2012 San Francisco Spirits Competition. It was also awarded a Double Gold Medal in the “Packaging” category for its stunning and strikingly sober midnight blue bottle designed by the renowned designer Ora-Ito http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/oraito.html.
Kappa is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet and is at the source of many scientific names — in mathematics, the kappa curve is named after this letter and in astronomy, Kappa Crucis, HD 111973) is a star in star cluster NGC 4755. It is at the same time a giant, aggressive salamander in the Japanese folklore; a hairy, scary legendary creature in the Finnish folklore, and the name of another giant; Frank Kappa, photographer of the great wars of the 20th century — whose works I recently saw at an exhibition in Verona, Italy; just to mention a few acceptations.
The Kappa we’re talking about is a pisco named after the star in the Southern Cross constellation, produced by The House of Lapostolle — of the Marnier Lapostolle family who produces the famed orange liqueur Grand Marnier. This is an ultra premium pisco coming from the Elqui Valley in Chile, made from two varieties of aromatic Muscat grapes: Moscatel Rosada and Moscatel de Alejandría, grown in Lapostolle-owned vineyards.
The pisco industry in Chile — a bone of contention with their Peruvian neighbors who have long claimed that pisco is theirs — has grown both in quality and in quality in the past few years. The many pisco distilleries are now going through more elaborate double and even triple process of distillation, aging in wood barriques for longer periods of time to obtain more complexity and depth of flavors.
In Kappa, the double process of distillation and the techniques of vinification used in Cognac results in a smooth 85% proof pristine liquid with subtle fresh citrus flavors, delicate notes of honeysuckle and rose petal flavors in the mouth, and a menthol and verbena finish.
Just out for the summer, Kappa is great for making refreshing fruit cocktails and of course the classic Pisco Sour. Just like Cognac it is great with tonic water, a few drops of lemon and a couple of mint leaves.
Classic Kappa Pisco Sour:
- 2 fl oz (8 parts) Kappa Pisco
- 1 fl oz (4 parts) Lime juice
- 1/2 fl oz (2 part) Simple Syrup
- 1 egg white
- 1 dash bitters (get creative here, try Fee Brothers celery or barrel aged whiskey bitters) -Shake hard or blend with ice and strain into glass. Top the Kappa Pisco Sour foam top with the aromatic bitters.
$34 to $36 / kappapisco.com
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