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imported by Millesime
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imported by Millesime |
| Two things we love at EVS are small producers and small importers. Why? Because both pay attention to their wines rather than trying to exploit some market niche or catch the latest trend. And contrary to logic these small houses often make and import wines at much better prices than their big batch cousins. This Saturday, we will feature a nice line up of small wineries from the Rhone, the Languedoc, and Cahors brought to us by local importer Millesime. These producers pay a lot of attention to organic, biodynamic and sustainable growing practices. They also pay a lot of attention to quality. These wines, while not given much attention by the American wine press, have garnered some big medals in France. Dan Houston will be on hand to pour the wines and tell you more. Stop by and check them out. |
| 2006 Domaine Ollier-Taillefer Faugeres Blanc “Allegro” $18 |
| This 5th generation family estate in the northeastern part of the AOC Faugères appellation in central Languedoc, Southern France is run by brother and sister Luc and Françoise Ollier, A blend of Rolle and Roussanne, the Allegro is herb and mineral packed with an oily nutty richness and lots of subtle nuances like white flowers and beeswax. The wine is unoaked so the flavor comes through clean and pure. |
| 2005 Les Quatre Filles Cotes du Rhone, Rouge $11 |
50% Grenache, 40% Syrah, and 10% Carignan. |
| 2004 Montagne d'Or, Seguret $15 |
| From his family’s small holdings of vineyards at Séguret in the Southern Rhône, Alain Mahinc makes the Montagne d’Or from low yield, older vines which he bottles unfined and unfiltered. The wine is deeply colored, rich, spicy and complex with really deep and suave velvety tannins The 2004 received the Coup de Coeur, the highest rating by the Hachette Guide in 2007. |
| 2001 Benedetti, Chateauneuf du Pape, $35 |
| Christian Benedetti's grandfather Nicolas Benedetti immigrated from Italy in 1930 and married a daughter of a wine grower in Chateauneuf du Pape. Today Christian's son, Nicolas, after having finished wine school, helps his father at the domain. The domain owns 3 hectares of Chateauneuf du Pape and 5 hectares of Cotes du Rhone with some of the vines being more than 100 years old. The wines from Benedetti are organic. The Chateaunuef is made from 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre and 5% Cinsault, aged in barriques. It won the Medal d’Or in the Concours des Vignerons Independants de France. The wine is complex and layered. It’s tasting great now and is ready to drink. |
| 2005 Clos d’un Jour, Cahors “Un Jour sur Terre” $25 |
| Monsieur Azemar who purchased Clos d’un Jour in 1999 has definite ideas about making his wine. All manual low yield practices are applied in the vineyard: the grass is allowed to grow (if it can) and larger, thirstier weeds are removed by hand, no compost or other amendments are used, the vines are cut back and green pruned to 5-6 bunches each. The only chemicals employed are the elements sulfur and zinc. The grapes are manually harvested and sorted in the field, then transported in cagettes, like in Champagne, to minimize any bruising. The wine is stomped & punched down by foot for four weeks before press. Here is where it gets weird: the wine is aged 18 months in terra cotta jars! This permits "a slow and continuous oxygenation due to the pores of the clay, fixing the tannins and anthocianes contributing to the roundness and balance of this wine." The result is a thick, rich, smooth, Malbec packed Cahors with an explosive bouquet that mixes red fruits and violets with licorice and cacao. The 2004 received the Coup de Coeur from Hachette. |