ADVERTISING: Advertorial — A productive week
As you all know, Mary and I, in any given week, taste a lot of wine. As life goes though, only a small percentage of what we taste stands out as truly remarkable. So many of the wines we taste have a sameness about them, and while few we taste are bad, about the same percentage that are bad are really great and get our attention. Add in the value part of the equation, is the wine worth it and will customers pay that, and, well, you get the idea.
This week though, and we do have weeks like this, was exceptionally productive. We found and brought into the shop six new selections that we found to be delicious. Here they are!
The Non-Vintage Brut Rosé Champagne from Pierre Trichet ($58, Wine Club Price $52.20) is a lovely grower Champagne that is one of the best we have had in some time. The wine is darker than many rosés from some extended skin contact with the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier components. The aromas show light biscuit notes along with fresh spring strawberry. The bubbles are fine and tight with more ripe berry flavors across the palate, leading to a dry, crisp and clean finish.
The 2019 Comtesse de Malet Roquefort Bordeaux Blanc ($18, Wine Club Price $16.20) is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc like most white wines from Bordeaux. The wine, though, is anything but typical, showing great depth and layering of flavors and aromas. Much of Europe, including Bordeaux, are in the midst of a string of very good to great vintages starting with 2015, and 2018 and 2019 are garnering even more attention for Bordelaise wines. Notes of apple and broiled citrus dominate the nose, along with saline based minerality, while the palate is sleek with wonderful texture and body. The palate shows notes of tangerine, lemon and stone fruit before the acid kicks in on the finish, lending great crispness.
The 2018 Comtesse de Malet Roquefort Bordeaux Rouge ($18, Wine Club Price $16.20) is the red blend version from the same winery and every bit as tasty. The blend on the red is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the classic Right Bank mix from Bordeaux. Like the white the wine, it over delivers for the money, with mild, dusty, earthy aromas backed by ripe cherry and mocha. The palate shows ample tannins framing more cherry and plum fruit flavors that lengthen the finish and keep the fruit perfectly balanced.
The 2018 Château Chapelle d’Aliénor Bordeaux Rouge ($25, Wine Club Price $22.50) is the “big brother” of the Malet Roquefort wines above, and is a similar Right Bank blend. Like the Malet Roquefort wines it shows the extraordinary tension between fruit and tannins that keep everything in balance. The Chapelle d’Aliénor shows a bit more oak and is richer on the palate, with a silky sleekness to the wine that we found extraordinary.
The 2017 Red Burgundy from the Cotes de Nuits made by Dominique Guyon ($42, Wine Club Price $37.80) is a lovely Pinot Noir for a reasonable price by Burgundian standards. The nose is a combination of mild morel mushroom earthiness along with aromas of ripe Bing cherry. The palate is well developed for young Burgundy, showing how great vintages are affecting wines across the continent. The palate flavors are ripe and rich, with notes of crushed, ripe cherry and soft, integrated tannins provide great depth to the wine, lengthening the finish. It is one of the most approachable Red Burgundies we have tasted in some time and for Pinot Noir lovers it should not be missed.
The 2016 Marina Cvetic Montepulciano d ’Abruzzo Riserva ($38, Wine Club Price $34.20) comes from our friends at Masciarelli and is being closed out here in the North Idaho market. The wine would normally retail for $60, so after tasting it we jumped on the wine. It is a spectacular and robust example of Montepulciano as a varietal, showing rich flavors of dark berries, ample tannins and near perfect palate weight. The wine will definitely benefit from some time being open and if you really want to soften the wine some you may want to decant it. Having said all that, it is a wine to be lingered over and savored as it opens up in the glass.
We had great fun this past week discovering so many new wines that impressed us and that we are certain you will enjoy. While these weeks happen rarely be sure and come by the shop to try all of our new arrivals.
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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of the dinner party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The dinner party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018. George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop. You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.