Feb 28
A visit to Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri, by Chris Wilford
While reflecting on my visit to the Remelluri estate located in the town of Labastida in the north of Spain’s famed Rioja region the words “a special place” kept popping into my head. I must admit that I find the phrase a bit cliché. That said, I just couldn’t shake it. Like a sip of a wine you didn’t think you would like but couldn’t stop thinking about, it simply lingered in my mind.
After the fourth course was served, the waiter informed us that we still had four more. I looked at Fernando from across my plate of pan-roasted Sea Bass with spinach and roasted potatoes (Lubina Mediterranea), and then at the waiter, who walked away without a revelatory smile or laugh. ”You’d better call our next appointment,” I said, and took a bite; though after the Calamares with avocado and tomato, the quesadilla with lobster and shrimp and the Tomate al Escabeche, I wasn’t sure I had room for any more…And though we were actually almost through with our tasting menu at Chef Luis in New Canaan, Connecticut, we had yet to meet with the man, Chef Luis, himself.
Domaine de Suffrene, Mouvedre 70 ans
Before attending Vinisud in Montepellier, our team visited Domaine de Suffrene in Bandol. In the family for multiple generations, Domaine de Suffrene is situated on sandy-silt-laden, calcareous and clayey soils, with vines that extend over 45ha between the municipalities of Cadiere d’Azur and Castellet. With Cedric Gravier now driving the train, in 1996, the estate went from selling grapes to cooperatives to producing and bottling wines under its namesake. Here, the cultivation is traditional, with old vines that are pruned during the green harvest in July, to allow for yields of 40 hl/ha, when the grapes are harvested by hand.
Spring is in the air! Hit the pavement downtown and celebrate with a bottle or two of wine. We’ve a short list of tastings this week, but we’ve got the weekend covered:
Tonight:
David’s pouring at the Golden Rule, 457 Hudson St. (at Barrow), 5:30-8:00 PM
Lagar de Costa Albarnino
Jelu Malbec
Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir
Feb 22
Vinisud 2012. One of the most comprehensive and well organized wine expos.
We’ve just received a few photos from JP, who attended Vinisud 2012 this past week with Patrick (our French Portfolio Director) and our visionary leader, TEB. Hosted in Montpellier, France, Vinisud is a Mediterranean wines trade fair that features French producers from Lanquedoc, Roussillon, Provence, the Rhone Valley, Corsica and South-West, alongside wineries from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco and Algeria. As noted in the images below, Vinisud is also well attended by a number of our producers…
Feb 21
As the sixth generation vintner at Domaine Roger Belland, Julie Belland has full responsibility at her father’s winery and vineyard; 2009 was her first solo vintage. ”Julie runs the Domaine and makes the wines…she’s a young dynamic woman in a male-dominated scene,” says Patrick Burke, our French Portfolio Director.
With 23 hectares to cultivate, Domaine Belland has avoided herbicides by using ploughing to control weed growth for the past 20 years. This practice, used in conjunction with grass sown between the rows of vines, has enabled the Bellands to fight erosion and control yields, to produce complex, concentrated wines.
My travels on the Metro North, via the New Haven line, brought me to Martel Bistro & Bar, in Fairfield, Connecticut. Owned and run by Francophile Marty Levine, the restaurant is a French-American Bistro that caters to a local audience. ”In Paris, normal everyday eating is informal and lively,” says Marty, as he sips coffee at the bar on a cloudy winter day. ”Yet, Americans think of French dining as formal and stuffy. I wanted to bring that style to this restaurant. I wanted to be aware of where we are–in America, in the suburbs–to know my customers…they’re not going to eat rabbit tripe. [Martel is] an interpretation, not a copy, which would have been disastrous.”
The other week, Georgia and I dropped by to see Dorian, the Albanian proprietor at Medi Wine Bar, an intimate Mediterranean spot on 9th Avenue, between 53rd and 54th. Cozy and rustic upstairs and down, with stone washed walls, countryside tables, and hanging glass lamps, Medi offers a regional menu with small plates and entrees, and over 50 wines by the glass. Showcasing the expected alongside the up and coming (and ancient!), Medi offers wines from Italy, Spain and France, with representation from Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, Israel and Lebanon. Having passed by Medi a number of times, I was glad to have finally entered; it’s a warm reprieve from the soulless establishments that line the bulk of 9th Avenue.
Georgia’s Staff Pick–An Alternative Pink for Valentine’s Day
Rose Champagne? Provence Rose? It’s been done before…but here’s something a little more interesting for today’s holiday:
Pascal Pibaleau “La Perlette” Sparkling Grolleau NV
Pascal farms organically, biodynamically and has the largest holdings of Grolleau – a nearly extinct, traditional Loire red grape. This is a method ancestral, frizzante style with native yeasts and no sulfites. Bone dry with hints of raspberry, strawberry and a nutty almond finish.
I love the whimsical, romantic label (both a vine and a woman blowing bubbles) … and everyone likes an attractive price!
The other week, Angelo Ferrio of Cascina Ca’ Rossa was in town from Roero, Piemonte for the Slow Wine Guide Publication Party, a tasting event that showcased 60+ of the 1,800 wineries that are included in the current guide. Following on the heels of the snail, the Slow Wine movement is an extension of Slow Food, with origins that lie with Gambero Rosso, with whom Slow Wine published Italian Wines for 20+ years, before parting ways in 2010. ”When it first started, many years ago,” says Angelo, “it generated possibilities for people to learn about small wineries…it put small producers on the forefront, the guide, the tasting…but over time things change, and as a consequence the guide has changed.”
|
Theme: Linen by The Theme Foundry
