Simon’s Pick, June, 2008: 2007 Cotes de Provence Rose, “Tradition” Chateau Saint-Pierre
Larchmont, Provence, Rosé, Simon's Pick
We love that Simon Cocks even sounds British in the way he writes (”langoustines,” anyone?). Here, he helps us get into the summer mood by picking out a great Rosé for us, for only $14.99 a bottle. Pick it up at Larchmont Wine in LA, or check Wine-Searcher for a retailer convenient to you.
Simon says:
Those of us not on expense-account fly-aways to Cannes and its lovely environs can only dream of languishing in a café by the harbor, a soft breeze in our face and a platter of langoustines in front of us waiting to be devoured…
Given the travel-decimating strength of the Euro, what to do? The sun and breezes we have, the shellfish can be arranged, the quaint cafe will have to be imagined, but you can approximate the gastronomic experience with help from this delightful rose, just like the one they’d pour for you in Saint-Tropez.
A blend of 60% Cinsault and 40% Grenache, this is a luscious, yet dry rendition of the classic Provencal rose. It has delicate ripe wild baby strawberry and juicy watermelon fruit in abundance on the nose, is light in body and cut through with mineral-laden acidity, making it a perfect thirst-quenching wine for summer-drinking purposes.
Pair with bouillabaise, grilled squid, appetizers of any stripe and even Indian or Thai fare. –SC
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get your wine on
2007 Breggo Cellars Pinot Gris, Wiley Vineyard
We’ve fallen in love with a Pinot Gris from Breggo, whose Rosé was part of the Sonadora (aka Wannabewino) Bloggerpack and whose wines we have the utmost respect for. The PG is classic cool climate, with a nice crisp acidity and plenty of aromatics. A scant 225 cases or so were made of this wine and we snapped this up while we could get it. Sure to sell out from the winery. Score some Scholium.
2005 Scholium Project Satripies of the East Red Blend
This is an enticing blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Petite Sirah. If our sources are correct, it contains fruit from Margit’s Vineyard, which is connected to Randy Hall of Wine Biz Radio. Yay for great wine with fruit from a great guy! Score some Scholium.
NV Louis de Grenelle Saumur Sparkling Cab Franc
Here’s one for both the wine geeks and for the masses - it’s fairly obscure (a sparkler made from 100% Cab Franc, from importer Jon-David Headrick) and it’s delicious. It’s got some sweet-tart red fruit and great texture. And it’s affordable at $18 a bottle. Franc-ly, I’d like to try a sparkling Cab Franc!
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freshly pressed
Bonus Bottle of the Week: 2005 Jack William “The King” Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley:
Last week we experimented with an incentive…order a certain dollar amount, and get a bonus bottle with your order. We started off with a bang (or maybe a shake) with some wines from Mollydooker. It was a great success — all the Gigglepot Cab is gone, though nobody really went for the sparkling Shiraz — so we’re going to make this a semi-regular thing. We’ve also decided to call this our “Bonus Bottle” program.
Here’s our offer for Bonus Bottle number two. We’re moving closer to home this week, with the 2005 Jack William “The King” Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley. When we first carried this, it retailed for $37 a bottle and we felt it was a steal even then. We far prefer this wine to Silver Oak and Jordan, two Alexander Valley perennials that are more about hype and brand name than integrity of the juice.
A couple of weeks ago, we got the last cases available from our distributor and were able to lower the price to $27 as the vintage was being closed out. So the wine went from a great value to an even greater one. And you can make it an even better deal — in fact, a veritable steal.
Make a purchase of $85 or more, and use the code “king” during check-out to get a bonus bottle of this fantastic Cabernet with your order. In fact, the way our coupon codes work out, you’ll also be saving a penny off the total. Limited quantity of bonus bottles available. When the supply runs out, the code will stop working. So go get yourself some wine and a bonus bottle now!
Bonus Bottle of the Week: 2005 Jack William “The King” Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
WBW #50: Picnicking in October with Elio Perrone’s Bigaro
Simon’s Pick 10/08: 2007 Cotes-du-Rhone Villages, Cuvee Jules, Andre Andrieux
wine jargon
Frizzante
From Wikipedia: Frizzante is an Italian wine term term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial secondary fermentation in tank. You might notice a light fizz or tingly sensation on the tongue with a Frizzante wine, compared to the more carbonated sensation that more fully sparkling wines yield.
Scorekage
Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.
grapewise
domaine547 In the Blogosphere! Imbibe Magazine Unfiltered
Check out this blog post where they actually refer to somebody from d547 as a “wine expert.” Shocking! In any case, the Imbibe blog offers a nice recipe to go along with one of our wine recommendations. Enjoy!
The 89 Project
We’ve joined a group of bloggers (wannabe critics, some have said!) as part of “The 89 Project,” an effort to explore the complicated matter of the 100 point system of evaluating wine. Go take a peek at the 89 Project blog, which has apparently already started a bit of controversy (and we’ve yet to make a post!). It’s interesting stuff.
domaine547 In the Blogosphere! Imbibe Magazine Unfiltered
The 89 Project
d547 In the News! Pasadena Star
