France Flashcards
Dominique Joseph Vigneron Le Petit Saint Vincent 2020
Saumur-Champigny, 100% Cabernet Franc from within the sub-region of Saumur in the Loire Valley. Medium body with crisp acidity and fresh fruit flavor. Approachable and food friendly from concrete fermentation and aging. Aromas of pepper jam, red licorice, and chili pepper flakes.
Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Les Claux 2020
Red GSM blend (equal parts Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) blend from southern Rhone, created by a respected winemaker in Chateauneuf du Pape. It offers lots of red fruits (cherries, raspberries), spice and garrigue, as well as medium to full-bodied richness, a rounded, sexy texture and sweet tannin.
Domaine Serge Laporte Sancerre Les Boursicottes 2021
White Sancerre (100% Sauvignon Blanc) from the Loire Valley. Seven generation family winemaker. Refreshingly crisp, loaded with citrus, with a touch of herbs and honey and a striking mineral finish.
Peyrassol ‘La Croix des Templiers’ Rose, IGP Mediterranee 2020
Predominantly Cinsault and Grenache with small amount of Syrah and Carignan, from Southeast France, along the Mediterranean coast. Notes of red berries and cherries with undertones of garrigue and minerality, with a touch of greenness.
Domaine de Pallus “Les Pensees de Pallus” Chinon 2017
Les Pensées de Pallus is made from half a dozen plots on the shallower mid slopes; soils are sand on chalky tuffeau. Since 2013 it has only been made from the best vines within these plots, to raise quality and communicate terroir. Made from biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc, it is fermented in concrete wine tanks using indigenous yeasts, and aged for 12 months in barrels, then 6 months back in the wine tanks.
From the very best plots, the 2017 Chinon Les Pensées de Pallus offers a pure, fragrant bouquet of ripe, dark blackberry and cherry, as well as mulled spice, floral and black tea leaf aromas. Fresh and peppery, with vibrant acidity.
Tertio de Montrose Tertio de Montrose Saint-Estephe 2016
Château Montrose is a well-regarded and critically much-lauded wine estate and was ranked as a second growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, and is regarded as one of the very best properties at that level. Aged for 12 months, with 15% new barrels.
Deep garnet red colour. The intense nose reveals spicy notes, and a bouquet of fresh fruit aromas accompanied by toasted and grilled notes. Clean attack. Full and delicious on the palate with generous tannins and great freshness on the finish.
Domaine du Bouchot ‘Terres Blanches’ Pouilly-Fume 2019
Fumé is French for ‘smoky’. It denotes the struck gunflint aroma that characterizes the local Sauvignon Blanc wines, thought to be derived from the Pouilly-sur-Loire limestone and flint soils. Terres Blanches, white chalk soil, give this wine a textured, mineral edge. Notes of juicy pears cut with lemon zest.
Chateau Massereau ‘Cuvee K’ Bordeaux Superieur 2010
Château Massereau makes use of natural and traditional wine-making methods: no chaptalisation, acidification, filtration, fining, additives, or manipulation. Once bottled, they hold the wine in their cellar for eight to nine years in order to give time to cabernets and petit verdot to develop their structure and refine their tannins.
Deep ruby color, raspberry and cherry on the nose and powerful on the palate with silky bold tannins. Bottle ageing brings cassis, liquorice, pepper and leather.
Jean-Luc Mouillard ‘Bas de La Chaux’ Cotes du Jura 2018
100% Chardonnay from a single 3-acre parcel named La Chaux. The farming ethic is one of lutte raisonnée, or pragmatically sustainable. No herbicides or pesticides or chemical fertilizers are employed. The initial fermentation takes place in steel with the Malo-lactic conversion taking place during aging in older barrels, and both are normally spontaneous.
This wine sings with fresh yellow apple, Meyer lemon, and white flowers, and the finish has the creamy texture of pedigreed Chardonnay. The wine is a product of Jura’s alpine foothills—their elevation and their limestone—making for a delicious combination of elegance and minerality.
M. Chapoutier Les Meysonniers Crozes-Hermitage 2019
With history dating back to 1808, Maison M. Chapoutier is one of the most recognizable – and sizeable – producers in the Rhône Valley. Michel Chapoutier eschewed the use of traditional, large format chestnut foudres for aging, instead moving toward smaller oak casks with shorter aging periods. He also advocated keeping the wines unfiltered and unfined, and to work with only biodynamically or organically grown fruit across all of the vineyards.
100% Syrah from 25+ year old vines on south-facing alluvial slopes. Vinification and 85% of aging takes place in concrete to preserve freshness. From 1996, all M. Chapoutier labels have included braille in honor of Maurice Monier de la Sizeranne, who created a form of modern abbreviated braille, and was the original owner of the Chapoutier vineyard in Hermitage.
Nose: red fruits, blackcurrant and raspberry, followed by violet aromas. Palate: ample and round, final of stewed fruits and vanilla.
Domaine Clos de Rocs ‘Les Barres’ Pouilly-Loche 2020
Pouilly-Loche wines are leaner than their counterparts in neighboring Pouilly-Fuisse and carry a hint of earth, yet they are quite rich in mineral, with enough fruit density to properly support the robust structural elements. 100% Chardonnay from organic processes with no use of chemicals. Fermentation and aging take place in a combination of stainless-steel tanks and large neutral oak barrels, and the wines are rested on the lees and undergo malolactic fermentation. Mineral and savory with subtle fruitiness of apple, quince and lemon with citrus peel.
Justin Girardin Santenay Vieilles Vignes 2020
100% Pinot Noir from Santenay, Burgundy’s southernmost village within the Côte de Beaune. From 50-year-old vines, aged 12 months in 15% new French oak barrels. This is a delicate yet rustic wine marked by a raspberry and blackcurrant aromas and flavors.
Patrice Rion Cote de Nuits Villages Vieilles Vignes 2019
Domaine Michèle and Patrice Rion is a small, family-run winery specializing in red wines, located just below the slopes of Nuits-Saint-Georges in Burgundy. Vines are cultivated using natural agricultural practices (for example, they do not use weedkillers) and they hand-harvest into small baskets and sort scrupulously by hand.
This red wine, made from Pinot Noir, is fermented in open stainless-steel tanks for around three weeks, then matured in oak barrels, with about 5% new oak, for 15-16 months. The vines (with average vine age of 45 years) are situated in the village of Comblanchien, in limey, sandy soil with lots of small stones. Accessible in its youth, the wine is a deep, sparkling purple with aromas of small red fruits, notably raspberries and sour cherries. The wine is supple due to round tannins and immediately drinkable, with a bright freshness and a light, silky texture
Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose, Provence 2021
Established in the 1930s, Domaine Tempier is one of the most significant producers in the Bandol appellation of Provence, and is imported by Kermit Lynch. Made with 55% Mourvèdre, 25% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, the wine is bursting with ripe, juicy Provençal fruit, savory herbs, and perfumed flowers.
Hampton Water Languedoc Rose, France 2019
Hampton Water is a high-profile and critically-acclaimed rosé brand. From cofounders Jesse Bongiovi, Jon Bon Jovi and Languedoc-based producer Gérard Bertrand comes this rosé made from 60% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 15% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah.
A light garrigue character sits atop the bouquet of this dainty and pretty sip, with underlying tones that suggest white raspberry, currant and strawberry hull. The palate is light and vibrant, with brisk acidity and tangy citrus and tart-berry flavors that lend additional verve and lift through the close. It gains extra depth from 30 to 60 days maturation in French oak barrels.
