Thursday, May 8, 2014

Spring Wine Tasting at Le Caveau - Thursday May 8th 2014

Spring Wine Tasting at Le Caveau - Thursday May 8th 2014

1) 2012 Domaine Guillot-Broux Mâcon-Villages - $19.99
100% Chardonnay farmed biodynamically (certified organic) - Natural wine

Pale straw in the glass with pretty tropical fruit and brioche scents.  The palate is elegant and rich with white citrus fruit and notes of minerality framed by a round texture and vibrant acidity.

From 10-80 year old vines, all the grapes are harvested and sorted by hand in the vineyard before going to the winery.  The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in oak.  Only native yeasts are used.  The wine rests in oak for 6 months and spends 5 months in enamal lined vats before it is bottled.  It was the first vineyard converted to organic farming in Burgundy in 1954.

*we were the first people in GA to taste this wine, they only had 4 cases of this wine.

2) 2012 Dönnhoff Estate Riesling Trocken Nahe - $22.99
100% Riesling farmed sustainably

This wine has a floral nose with ripe citrus and fresh herbs.  The palate is precise, with tart lime and a strong mineral core of structure to complement its elegant dry finish.

This wine comes from the steeply sloping vineyards of the middle Nahe region.  The vines grow in stony, weathered volcanic soils of porphyry and melaphyr with small amounts of slate and quartzite, producing some of the more notably smoky and stony Rieslings.  Sourced mostly from the Grand Cru sites of Felsenberg (90%) Hermannshohle, and Leistenberg.  The grapes are hand harvested, fermented with native yeasts, and matured in stainless steel vats and large oak barrels.

3) 2013 Calstar Cellars Pinot Meunier Rosé Russian River Valley - $19.99
100% Pinot Meunier farmed sustainably

This wine shows notes of peach, golden delicious apple, strawberry and mango with rosewater and undertones of warm cinnamon and vanilla.  Secondary notes of banana, fresh hay, and papaya round out the ripe, fruit-forward nose.  Medium bodied, with some dry extract and fresh strawberry-like tannins filling out the mouth.

This is the first time this Pinot Meunier Rose from Christinia's Vineyard in the Russian River Valley was made, and only 83 cases were produced.  Fruit was crushed and the juice was left in contact with the skins for 4 hours then pressed.  Fermentation with native yeast was 80% tank (to preserve the fruit) and 20% neutral barrel (for mouth feel).

4) 2012 Domaine Rimbert 'Les Travers de Marceau' Saint-Chinian - $16.99
40% Carignan,
30% Syrah, 25% Cinsault, 5% Mourvedre farmed sustainably
Ruby in the glass with purple highlights.  The nose is packed with crushed red berry, plum, blueberry and notes of saddle leather backed by crushed stones.  The palate is supple as it delivers red and black fruit flavors backed by silken minerality and a deft touch of acidity.  
*deceptively light

From 60 year old vines, the grapes are hand-harvested and de-stemmed before they are gently pressed.  Only indigenous yeasts are used, the varietals are fermented separately in tanks before the final wine is blended.  The wine is bottled using gravity and undergoes a slight filtration.

5) 2012 Olivier Cousin 'Pur Breton' Rouge (Anjou) - $24.99
100% Cabernet Franc farmed biodynamically (certified)
Ripe plum, juicy cherry, red apple core and chalk tones dominate the nose.  Crushed strawberries mixed with invigoratingly fresh Bing cherry and red apple flavors explode on the palate.

From 40 year old fines, the grapes are hand-harvested, brought to the winery by a horse, de-stemmed, and gently pressed.  Only natural yeasts are used and the juice undergoes an extended maceration.  Aged in old oak barrels.







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