Elie Wine, Author at Elie Wine Company

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

$175 “The Salvador Dali” Wine-Aid Package – 6 Bottles Spanish Red Wine (All Included and Delivered)

Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí believed that “a real connoisseur does not drink wine but tastes of its secrets.”

Introducing The Salvador Dali, a $175 Wine-Aid package that includes six bottles of very real Spanish red wine illustrating the lushness and balance that can be found from the Mediterranean Sea to the lower slopes of the Pyrenees. The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor the 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Dali’s paean to wine, The Wines of Gala, was first published in 1976 as a follow-up to his cult 1973 cookbook Les Dîners de Gala. The book explores the pleasures of the fermented grape in text as well as sensuous and subversive visual works by the artist. Dali categorizes the wines “according to the sensations they create in our very depths” and this Wine-Aid selection might very well fall under what he would consider “Wines of Joy.”

Included in The Salvador Dali Wine-Aid box is two bottles of each:

1) Mas l’Altet “Avi” (Valencia, 2011) Regular Price $35

The husband-and-wife team of Alfredo Esteve and Nina Coolsaet are the heart and soul behind Bodega Mas l’Altet. The couple’s five acre vineyard is situated in the southern portion of the DO Valencia in a microclimate that benefits both from the cooling effect of high elevation and the warmth of the nearby Mediterranean Sea. “Avi” is a blend of mainly Syrah with a large portion of Cabernet Sauvignon and a touch of Garnacha and Merlot. Deeply aromatic and bountiful with ripe fruit, the fitness of the vineyards are evident in each rich, concentrated glassful. As you might suspect, with only five acres, yield is miniscule. Only a few hundred cases are produced each vintage.

2) Domaines Lupier “El Terroir” (Navarra 2014) Regular Price $34

Domaines Lupier have been garnering international accolades from their first vintage in 2008. They produce 100% Garnacha wine from 27 separate plots, with vines ranging from 68 to over 100 years old (the oldest vineyard planted in 1903), at elevations up to 2,500 feet. This is the northern region of Navarra, more specifically, the cool and mountainous sub-zone of Baja Montaña, where wines can show harmony of ripeness and freshness with all the precision of an oceanic climate. “El Terroir” is aromatically complex with layers of floral, cherry, and spice. A sip is superbly balanced and practically begs another in short measure. It puts to mind Château Rayas – another 100% old-vines, Grenache-based wine from the legendary producer in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

3) Artuke “Pies Negros” (Rioja, 2017) Regular Price $24

One of the most exciting producers in Rioja right now, Artuke is brothers Arturo and Kike de Miguel Blanco, third generation viticulturalists. With less than 55 total acres of vineyards distributed over 32 different plots these two young men have completely refocused the family winery to cultivate small vineyard plots in and around their village of Ábalos in the high elevation foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. “Pies Negros” is a blend of mostly Tempranillo with a small amount of Graciano from vines as old as 95 years. The wine is especially pretty on the nose with a heady floral scent wrapped around candied fruit and cinnamon. A medium-bodied sip is generous and swells through the midpalate to finish with a touch of earth.

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

$240 “The Baudelaire” Wine-Aid Package – 9 Bottles Red Bordeaux, 3 Bottles White Bordeaux (All Included and Delivered)

You have to be always drunk. That’s all there is to it—it’s the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.

But on what? Wine, poetry or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk.

And if sometimes, on the steps of a palace or the green grass of a ditch, in the mournful solitude of your room, you wake again, drunkenness already diminishing or gone, ask the wind, the wave, the star, the bird, the clock, everything that is flying, everything that is groaning, everything that is rolling, everything that is singing, everything that is speaking…ask what time it is and wind, wave, star, bird, clock will answer you: ‘It is time to be drunk! So as not to be the martyred slaves of time, be drunk, be continually drunk! On wine, on poetry or on virtue as you wish.’ – Charles Baudelaire

Introducing The Baudelaire, a $240 Wine-Aid package that includes a mix of nine bottles of red Bordeaux and three bottles of white Bordeaux. The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor the 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet and essayist, and one of the major innovators in French Literature. We thought Baudelaire would be a nice contrast to our 6-pack Wine-Aid “The Brillat-Savarin” as Baudelaire once criticized Brillat-Savarin’s famous food book The Physiology of Taste because he felt there simply was not enough attention paid to the wine.

So we doubled the amount of bottles in this Wine-Aid package in Baudelaire’s honor.

Included in The Baudelaire Wine-Aid box is three bottles of each:

1) Château Peyrabon (Haut-Médoc 2015) Regular Price $25

Château Peyrabon is a Cru Bourgeois property owned by Patrick Bernard, who is related to Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier. It is somewhat of an unusual estate due to having vineyards in both Pauillac and Haut Médoc. Since its purchase in 1998, Peyrabon has both increased in size and improved in quality. A blend of around half Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder split between Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the wine is laden with scents of blackberry, raspberry, and cold wet stone. A medium-bodied palate with tensile tannin and a fine freshness makes this a versatile red for pretty much any meal.

2) Château Le Temple (Médoc 2015) Regular Price $21

Third generation winemaker Denis Bergey’s 37 acre Château Le Temple estate is full of that Garonne gravel. The average age of his vines are around 35 to 40 years old. Older vines along with a focus on sustainable viticulture and the highest quality of fruit are the keys to producing this fresh and delightful wine. Ripe red cherry and cranberry fruit are the driving aromatics with just a hint of cedar and tobacco. On the palate it is harmonious with a medium-body, fine tannin, and a crisp acidity. Just right to pair with a burger.

3) Château La Hase (Bordeaux 2015) Regular Price $15

Christine & Jean-Yves Millaire use organic and biodynamic methods to farm their vineyards on the right bank of the Dordogne river near Fronsac. Millaire had previously worked for Patrick Moulinet at Château Haut-Brisson in St-Émilion. The parcel named “La Hase” (a female hare) is done so in honor of Millare’s grandfather, who taught him the art of hunting. This Merlot-based wine is fresh, fruity, and poundable. It’s a fantastic wine to pair with a makeshift dinner of cold cuts and cheese.

4) Clarendelle Blanc (Bordeaux 2018) Regular Price $23

Clarendelle hails from the properties of Domaine Clarence Dillon, owners of the renowned estates Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion. Although made more for everyday drinking, the production of Clarendelle is attended to with the same care as the domaine’s more famous bottles. The 2018 is composed of one-third each of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle. The nose features attractive floral aromas as well as tropical nuances of peach and pineapple. The rich, spicy Sémillon and Muscadelle add minerality and body.

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

Everything Is Gonna Be Alright

Italy was one of the first countries hit hard by coronavirus. Gripped by a countrywide lockdown because of rocketing numbers of cases, Italians did what they could to boost their morale and began spreading a slogan of reassurance: “Andrà tutto bene” – everything will be alright.

Clearly, this pandemic has not been good for events of any kind. But things will eventually return to some type of normalcy: restaurants will be open, winemakers will be visiting, we’ll be “Saturday Sipping” again. We are just as excited about hosting a new wine event as you are about attending one.

In the meantime, we encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

The good news is that we are already seeing signs that social distancing is paying off. So hang in there a little longer, and remember: Everything Is Gonna Be alright!

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

$150 “The Brillat-Savarin” Wine-Aid Package – 6 Bottles of Red Bordeaux (All Included and Delivered)

“A meal without wine is like a day without sun.” — Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Introducing The Brillat-Savarin, a $150 Wine-Aid package that includes a mix of six bottles of red Bordeaux from three different producers. All wines are from the “Left Bank” of the Gironde Estuary and take advantage of Bordeaux’s famous Garonne gravel. The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor the 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was the French philosopher of the kitchen who effectively founded the whole genre of the gastronomic essay. His book, The Physiology of Taste, is the most famous book about food ever written and has been continuously in print since 1825. These wine selections are as classic and civilized as Brillat-Savarin’s prose.

Included in The Brillat-Savarin Wine-Aid box is two bottles of each:

1) Château Anthonic (Moulis-en-Médoc 2015) Regular Price $33

Château Anthonic is one of the oldest estates of Moulis-en-Médoc, the Left-Bank appellation adjoining Margaux. Today the Château’s organically cultivated vineyards span over 74 acres and are mostly planted on the clay-limestone soils of the Moulis plateau. These soils are complemented by parcels of sandy-clay and Garonne gravel which add complexity to this unique terroir. A blend of 70% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the wine is matured for 12 months in oak barrels, of which 25 to 33% is new. Blackberry and woodland scents highlight this intense and elegant wine.

2) Château Peyrabon (Haut-Médoc 2015) Regular Price $25

3) Château Le Temple (Médoc 2015) Regular Price $21

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

$220 “The L’Ona” Wine-Aid Package – 12 Bottles of Spanish Wine (All Included and Delivered)

We encourage you to take advantage of our back door pick-up or free delivery. We can easily process the payment of your purchase over the phone and load you up without you needing to get out of the car. Or we can deliver it to your doorstep for free (within a reasonable distance of our shop) and leave it there for you to bring in at your convenience.

We’ve been having a little fun tying our Wine-Aid packages to authors but this one is a little more personal. Many of you already know that the majority of Spanish wines we carry are imported by VIN°VI & CO, a Ferndale-based wine importer that has collected a portfolio of distinguished, passionate producers from some of the most exciting wine production regions in Spain. Barcelona native Núria Garrote i Esteve leads the operation but perhaps more importantly, she’s also my wife.

When we are visiting winemakers throughout Spain and France, our young daughter Ona is often with us, exploring the vine rows and smelling our tasting samples. Working closely with a few of her winemakers to select fruit and determine maturing regimens, Núria has assembled a few special collaborative cuvées named after Ona. These are wines available only in the North American market, and each wine has a story to tell.

Included in The L’Ona Wine-Aid Package are 12 bottles of wine, 10 red and 2 white:

Six Bottles RED — Ona (Priorat 2016) Regular Price $22

Priorat is one of the most progressive winemaking regions in all of Spain. Its special reddish and black slate soils (called llicorella in Catalan) are key to the singularity of the region’s wines. Priorat has become known for upscale wines intended for the cellar that reveal an insight into time and place after years of development.This is the landscape in which the young winemaker Blai Ferré, in collaboration with Núria, created the Ona bottling.

Ona is Priorat in the raw, a wine of intensity and balance with little elaboration. It is a classic Mediterranean blend of 40% Garnatxa, 40% Syrah, and 20% Carinyena. Cultivation is organic and the harvest is hand-picked and hand-sorted. Half of the wine is aged in stainless steel vats and the other half in French oak for eight months. We’ve found that it’s a wine that always outperforms its price level and it’s versatile enough to be paired with a simple cheese plate to roast lamb and everything in-between. Blai Ferré likes being self-sufﬁcient and doing everything himself. He produces a scant 500 cases of Ona, bottling the rest of the harvest in other cuvées.

Four Bottles RED — Ona (Penedès 2015) Regular Price: $17
Two Bottles WHITE — Ona (Penedès 2015) Regular Price: $17

Núria’s relationship with the visionary winemaker Raimon Badell of Masia Can Tutusaus began when she sought out his award winning Cava and brought it into the U.S. Almost all Cava production is centered in the Penedès region of Spain, a short distance west of the city of Barcelona. But it’s the mountainous sub-zone of the Massís del Garraf, where soil and microclimate yield fruit with the concentration and balance required for singular, world-class, sparkling wine.

Raimon believes in making contemporary wines that respect Mediterranean culture without becoming mired in convention. Certified biodynamic in Spain, he has the utmost respect for his vines and soil and it shows in every glass.

Ona (Penedès 2015) Red

On one of her many visits with Raimon at his vineyards Núria tasted a unique red wine that was being produced only for consumption by Raimon and his friends. The grape was Marselan – a variety created by crossbreeding Cabernet Sauvignon with Grenache. The exuberant red fruit ripeness of Grenache and the elegant structure of Cabernet Sauvignon was fitting for the Ona label.

Ona (Penedès 2015) White

The superior geography of the Massís del Garraf, and the high quality of the Xarel-lo (pronouced shah-REHL-loh) grapes grown at the estate, led Núria and Raimon to bottle a still version of Xarel-lo with all the intense aromatics, yellow fleshy fruit, and freshness that the variety has to offer.

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

$165 “The MFK Fisher” Wine-Aid Package – 6 Bottles of “Natural” Wine (All Included and Delivered)

There’s a communion of more than our bodies when bread is broken and wine drunk. — MFK Fisher

Introducing The MFK Fisher, a $165 Wine-Aid package that includes a diverse mix of five bottles of red and and one white wine made with strict organic and biodynamic cultivation techniques, spontaneous fermentations with indigenous yeasts, and very little to no sulfites used in the process. The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor the 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Born in Albion, Michigan, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher was a pioneer of food writing. It often served as a framing device in her works, which combined a signature mix of culinary, historical and sociological trivia leavened with remembrances, sometimes surprising, always perceptive, of her life and loves. You’ll find the wines in this package are as soulful and natural as MFK Fisher’s prose.

Included in The MFK Fisher Wine-Aid box is one bottle of each:

1) Château du Hureau “Fours à Chaux” (Saumur-Champigny 2014) RED Regular Price: $35

Philippe Vatan and his daughter Agathe use organic and biodynamic farming techniques and low yields to coax richness and terroir out of their vineyards. The name “Fours à Chaux” translates to “lime oven” as the soil of the vineyard warms up easily and manages to produce the ripest of fruit in every vintage. The age of the vines varies between 20 and 50 years. 100% Cabernet Franc, the wine ages for anywhere between 11 to 18 months in foudre.

2) Maldivinas “La Movida Granito” (Viño de la Tierra de Castilla y León 2013) RED Regular Price: $33

Old-vine Spanish mountain Garnacha, “La Movida Granito” is a tribute to the decomposing granite soil from an organically cultivated, 4.5 acre vineyard of 90 year old vines at roughly 2,600 feet elevation. The wine is fermented by native yeasts in one concrete tank, with a percentage of whole clusters to highlight the characteristics of the fruit, and then aged in neutral oak barrels before bottling. Aromatically complex with layers of floral, berry, and spice.

3) Domaine Ostertag “Les Jardins” Pinot Noir (Alsace 2016) RED Regular Price: $32

100% Pinot Noir collected from three parcels located in Epfig. The vines are planted in two soil types: sandstone as well as clay and sandstone. André Ostertag is one of a handful of Alsatian growers realizing the potential for Pinot Noir in the region and this is a wine with a vibe all its own. Dry and sunny summers give the wine a fruit density while Alsace’s cooler, continental climate is revealed by a juicy acidity. Bright cherry fruit and herbal, woodsy earth tones shine through a silky coat. It is simultaneously unique and varietally correct.

4) Domaine de la Méchinière “Cot” (Touraine 2017) RED Regular Price: $24

Valérie Forgues purchased Domaine de la Méchinière in the late 90’s. All 39 acres are cultivated organically and she maintains the purity and freshness of her wines through strict hygienic practices and temperature control. The grape variety Côt is also known as Malbec, a staple variety in Touraine. Valérie’s vines average 50 years old and grow on clay-limestone soils in the heart of the Cher valley. Fleshy and bright, her Côt is filled with juicy blackberry and cherry fruit.

5) Almaroja “Cielos y Besos” (Arribes 2016) RED Regular Price: $20

Winemaker and Englishwoman Charlotte Allen holds 15 acres in western Spain on the border with Portugal. “Cielos y Besos” is mostly organically-farmed old vine Juan García, a variety native to the Arribes del Duero and the most widely planted red grape in the area. The wines of this variety are characterized by wild berry fruit, fine tannins and good acidity. The remainder is an eclectic mix of tempranillo, rufete, bastardillo chico, bastardillo serrano and garnacha (to name but a few) with a few kilos of white grapes thrown in for good measure.

6) Can Sumoi “Xarel-lo” (Penedès 2018) WHITE Regular Price: $27

Can Sumoi is a new project from Pepe Raventós and Francesc Escala to create vibrant wines from the mountains of the Baix Penedès in the Catalunya region of northeastern Spain. This is a wine of elegance, crunchy apples, herbs, and minerals greet your nose prior to a sip of rich fruit built on a solid structural foundation. Produced from 100% Xarel·lo, a grape indigenous to Penedès that most sparkling wine drinkers will recognize as the principal variety that makes up Cava. After fermentation the wine sees a twice-weekly batonnage for three months before bottling without additives or filtering.

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

$250 “The Pablo Neruda” Wine-Aid Package – 6 Bottles of Red (All Included and Delivered)

“I like on the table, when we’re speaking, the light of a bottle of intelligent wine.” — Pablo Neruda

Introducing The Pablo Neruda, a $250 Wine-Aid package that includes a diverse mix of six bottles of red wine from some of Europe’s most significant producers, all ready to drink. The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor the 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

One of the most influential poets of the Americas, a “Whitman of the South” if you will, Pablo Neruda wrote what is perhaps the finest poem ever dedicated to wine. He was most well known for his odes and love poems, and you’ll understand why when you read it here.

You’ll find all of the wines in this package as sensual as Neruda’s poetry. Included in The Pablo Neruda Wine-Aid box is one bottle of each:

1) Domaine Saint Patrice “Vieilles Vignes” (Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016) Regular Price $59

The unique character of this wine comes from the diversity of its many terroirs. A blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. In the cellar, maceration and fermentation are done in concrete tanks. Aging takes place over 14 months in concrete vats, large oak foudre, half-muids, and barrique with a further 12 months after bottling. On the nose are luscious red and black fruits with a hint of kirsch beneath warm terracotta and mint. A sip is simultaneously ripe and pulsing with wiry energy.

2) Domaine des Roches Neuves “Clos de l’Echelier” (Saumur-Champigny 2015) Regular Price $59

Biodynamically cultivated from a seven acre, walled vineyard of 40 year old vines in the commune of Dampierre sur Loire. Soils are very thin clay over Turonian limestone. 50% whole cluster fermentation before 12 months aging in 1,200L foudre and 600L demi-muid and then six months in bottle. A glass is filled with the sappiest black raspberry fruit with aromatic hints of herbs and rain.

3) Domaine Ragot “La Grande Berge” (Givry, Premier Cru 2014) Regular Price $42

This Premier Cru parcel is located along a rocky, east-facing slope in Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise. Aging takes place in French oak (30% new) for between 12 and 15 months. Grande Berge produces wines that are known for their subtlety and finesse and this 2014 is a prime example. A glass is bursting with aromatics, the foremost a heady floral component reminiscent of Chambolle-Musigny. Alongside are fresh berries, red licorice, and baked stone. A sip is simultaneously concentrated and spry, with a long, energetic finish.

4) Maxime Magnon Rozeta (Corbières 2016) Regular Price $38

A native of Burgundy, Maxime Magnon’s approach to produce wines that not only speak of the land from where they come but also made in a way which emphasizes purity of fruit and drinkability couldn’t be more apparent in the 2016 vintage of “Rozeta,” a field blend of Carignan, Grenache, and Cinsault from vines of 50-60 years in age. A glassful exudes heady aromatics of strawberry jam and pink floral arrangements that rise above subtler scents of fennel frond and dusty earth. A sip is concentrated red fruit on a fine frame of coiled energy that unfolds over the course of a lengthy, mineral finish.

5) Sonho Lusitano Vinhos “Pedra e Alma” (Alentejano 2013) Regular Price $35

“Pedra Y Alma” (Stone and Soul) is Sonho Lusitano Vinhos reserve wine produced only in the best years and from the oldest vines on the property. It is a blend of Trincadeira, Arragonez, Alicante Bouschet, and Grand Noir that is aged for two years in new French oak barriques. The 2013 vintage saw a late harvest that began in searing heat and ended in rain. It was a highly successful year for Trincadeira and the estate picked the old vine fruit just before the weather broke at the end of September. It is a tight-knit but generous and well-balanced red that will keep on giving.

6) Clos de Mez “Château Gaillard” (Morgon 2013) Regular Price $30

Marie-Élodie Zighera Confuron’s Clos de Mez is a certified organic estate. Marie’s wine is made with indigenous yeasts, no temperature control, no insulation, and long fermentations with the stems. Maturation takes place in both old barrels and concrete. The soil in Morgon is rich in iron oxide with traces of manganese and volcanic rock, helping to create full-bodied, powerful, toothsome wines. “Château Gaillard” is the name of the lieu-dit where the 80 year-old vines grow to produce this cuvée. Aromas of ripe cherry, apricot, plum, and spice lead into a palate that is robust and fleshy.

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

SOLD OUT $150 “The Hemingway” Wine-Aid Package – 6 Bottles of Red (All Included and Delivered)

Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary. — Ernest Hemingway

Introducing The Hemingway, a $150 Wine-Aid package that includes a diverse mix of six bottles of red wine from some of Europe’s most significant producers, all ready to drink. The price includes tax and delivery, as well as a 10% discount. We will also honor the 10% discount on any bottles you might wish to add to the Wine-Aid package.

Life was “A Movable Feast” for Ernest Hemingway, and if you know anything about him, you know that he drank. A lot. Or at least he wrote about drinking a lot. He used drinking as a tool in his work to express mood and explore the cultures of the many places he traveled and resided. Certainly, a good wine that speaks of place is central to that place’s culture.

You’ll find the wines in this package could have easily made it into the pages of an Ernest Hemingway story, were he around today to drink them. While you sip you might even imagine his terse writing style expounding on the hilltop villages of Umbria, the slopes of the Côte-d’Or, or the brushy scrubland and marine aqua blue Mediterranean Sea of northern Corsica.

Included in The Hemingway Wine-Aid box is one bottle of each:

1) Domaine Léon Barral (Faugères, 2014) Regular Price $32

Didier farms about 75 acres of vines using biodynamic practices. All wines are hand-harvested, hand-sorted, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and have no sulfur added. This Faugères bottling is a blend of 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, and 20% Cinsault from vines aged 40 to 70 years old. After fermentation, the wine is aged for 2 years in cement and stainless steel cuves. The aromatics are joyous with black cherries, cocoa, herbs and flowers. A sip is filled with fruit yet nimble on the palate, elegant even, with a finish of sun-baked stone.

2) Domaine Jean-Claude Regnaudot “Clos des Loyères” (Maranges, Premier Cru, 2014) Regular Price $29

Didier Regnaudot’s very old Pinot Noir vines grow out of the steep hillsides on the southernmost edge of the Côte de Beaune. “Clos des Loyères” comes from a 0.6 acre Premier Cru vineyard parcel planted with vines over 40 years old. The soil consists of Jurassic substrate, mainly black/grey marl. Grapes are hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard. The wine is aged in oak barrels (40% new oak, 60% one or two years old) for one year before being blended into stainless steel tanks and aged for another 3 months. Dark and firm, aromas of cherries, cocoa, and cinnamon precede a mouthful of ripe fruit followed by a long and wiry finish.

3) Domaine Giacometti “Cuvée Sarah” (Patrimonio Rouge 2016) Regular Price $29

Winemaking is possibly at its most extreme in the dry, scrub-covered landscape of Corsica’s Désert des Agriates. It is there, in the appellation of Patrimonio, that the isolated estate of Domaine Giacometti coaxes wonderfully balanced wines from this rugged swath of land on the northern end of the island. Named after winemaker Christians Giacometti’s daughter Sarah who now helps run the winery the wine is comprised of 100% Niellucciu (genetically identical to Sangioveses) harvested from 45 year old vines and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless tank. The wine is aged for 12 months on fine lees in 500 liter barrels from two to seven years old. Aromatically complex with ripe fruits, sweet spices, and undergrowth, a sip is full-bodied, elegant, and supported by ripe, pleasant tannins.

4) Thierry Germain Cuvée “Thierry Germain” (Saumur Champigny 2016) Regular Price $24

Raised in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, at the family winery of Château Yon-Figeac, Thierry Germain set out on his own at the tender age of 23 to make his name in the more challenging climate of northern France. Although receiving accolades nearly from the start, his winemaking style has gone through several stages over the years, ultimately eschewing all new oak and blowsy fruit for precision and sense of place, and eventually becoming known as one of the top producers in the entire Loire valley. 100% Cabernet Franc from the small enclave of Saumur Champigny on the left bank of the loire. Sappy blackberries and rain, this is a wine made for happy funtime patio drinking. Try it with a grilled burger.

5) Scacciadiavoli Rosso (Umbria IGT 2014) Regular Price $22

The Scacciadiavoli estate is a true family operation. The property spans about 320 acres. 90 of those are dedicated to vines. The soils are sandy schist and marly clay soil of medium depth, highly suited for quality viticulture. Their Umbria Rosso is principally Sangiovese with a small percentage of Merlot. Aromas of ripe fruit lead into a drink that is delicate and fresh. It is matured for several months in steel tanks to preserve its fruity aromas. This is a pizza wine. A movie night wine. A quarantine eating too much cheese wine.

6) Bertrand-Bergé “Origines” (Fitou 2014) Regular Price $21

Fitou Montagneux is a patch of mountainous schist fifteen miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea in southern France. Jérôme and Sabine Bertrand have been steadily improving the reputation of this appellation (one of France’s first) through the excellence of their own wines. The Bertrand’s offer the affordable cuvée “Origines” as a starting point to enjoying the terroir of Fitou. A blend of 60% Carignan and 40% Grenache aged for 18 months in concrete, “Origines” delivers juicy ripe black fruits accented by clean earth.

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

The Champagne Society April Update — Free Delivery and “Wine Aid”

These are challenging times and we are committed to providing you with the finest wines available to humanity in the safest way possible. The April selection from the Champagne Society is coming up next week and we wanted to let you know that we are offering free delivery to your porch so that you can continue to maintain proper social distancing. Please reply to this email with your street address if you would like to take advantage of this option.

Surgeon general, Dr. Jerome M. Adams, along with the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, have indicated that there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is being spread through the mail or package delivery. Even so, know that we are obsessively disinfecting every surface in the shop, including the bottles that go our for delivery and pickup, and ourselves.

Wine Aid

Price for Champagne Society: $250 (Regular Price: $293.62) The price includes tax and delivery, as well as the Champagne Society’s usual 15% discount.

Since we’ll already be heading to your doorstep, we thought you might want to take advantage of a special offer we are extending to our Champagne Society members that adds five bottles of red wine to your bottle of Champagne.

“Wine Aid” is a diverse mix of five bottles of red wine from some of France’s most significant producers. Included in the “Wine Aid” Box is one bottle of each:

1) Bertrand-Bergé “Jean Sirven” (Fitou 2013) Regular price $79
Extremely low yields produce this Mediterranean estate’s crown jewel named after winemaker Jérôme Bertrand’s great-grandfather. A blend of 45% Carignan, 45% Syrah, and 10% Grenache aged for 18-20 months in new French oak barrels results in a heady and concentrated wine loaded with fruit and capable of developing for over a decade if you can keep it out of your glass now.

2) Domaine Saint Patrice “Vieilles Vignes” (Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016) Regular Price $59
The unique character of this wine comes from the diversity of its many terroirs. A blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. In the cellar, maceration and fermentation are done in concrete tanks. Aging takes place over 14 months in concrete vats, large oak foudre, half-muids, and barrique with a further 12 months after bottling. On the nose are luscious red and black fruits with a hint of kirsch beneath warm terracotta and mint. A sip is simultaneously ripe and pulsing with wiry energy.

3) Domaine des Roches Neuves “Clos de l’Echelier” (Saumur-Champigny 2015) Regular Price $59
Biodynamically cultivated from a seven acre, walled vineyard of 40 year old vines in the commune of Dampierre sur Loire. Soils are very thin clay over Turonian limestone. 50% whole cluster fermentation before 12 months aging in 1,200L foudre and 600L demi-muid and then six months in bottle. A glass is filled with the sappiest black raspberry fruit with aromatic hints of herbs and rain.

4) Domaine Ragot “La Grande Berge” (Givry, Premier Cru 2014) Regular Price $42
This Premier Cru parcel is located along a rocky, east-facing slope in Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise. Aging takes place in French oak (30% new) for between 12 and 15 months. Grande Berge produces wines that are known for their subtlety and finesse and this 2014 is a prime example. A glass is bursting with aromatics, the foremost a heady floral component reminiscent of Chambolle-Musigny. Alongside are fresh berries, red licorice, and baked stone. A sip is simultaneously concentrated and spry, with a long, energetic finish.

5) Maxime Magnon Rozeta (Corbières 2016) Regular Price $38
A native of Burgundy, Maxime Magnon’s approach is to produce wines that speak of the land with emphasis on purity of fruit and drinkability. This philosophy couldn’t be more apparent in the 2016 vintage of “Rozeta,” a field blend of Carignan, Grenache, and Cinsault from vines of 50-60 years in age. A glassful exudes heady aromatics of strawberry jam and pink floral arrangements that rise above subtler scents of fennel frond and dusty earth. A sip is concentrated red fruit on a fine frame of coiled energy that unfolds over the course of a lengthy, mineral finish.

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Elie Wine — Leave a comment

The Champagne Society – April 2020 Selection Domaine Comte Abbatucci “Cuvée Empire”

Domaine Comte Abbatucci “Cuvée Empire” (Vin de France Extra Brut, 2015)
Price for The Champagne Society members: $76 (regular price $89)

“Cuvée Empire” is a blanc de noirs sparkling wine produced in the traditional method from 100% Barbarossa, a red/pink variety. Fermentation takes place in a 12,000 liter foudre and the wine is aged on its fine lees for four months. A secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle for another year. The Extra Brut dosage is 4 grams/liter. This is easily one of the most unique sparkling wines in the world.

Although the island of Corsica is France’s most southerly vineyard area, it is surprisingly not its hottest. Elevation and wind modify the realities of latitude, demonstrated by the remarkable freshness of the best of Corsica’s white wines, and the almost Burgundian grace of its best reds. With a rediscovery of indigenous grape varieties and a focus on quality production, Corsica is one of the most exciting wine regions in France right now.

Easily one of the top producers in Corsica, Jean-Charles Abbatucci creates majestic and fiercely unique wines from the granitic western coast of Corsica. He has created a pristine poly-culture ecosystem on his estate south of Ajaccio that includes groves of olive trees on ancient terraces, and large swaths of untouched forests. Jean-Charles believes in following even the most offbeat biodynamic practices to the letter. He goes so far as to drive a tractor around his vineyards, playing traditional Corsican polyphonic songs over loudspeakers to the vines and the herds of sheep foraging through them.

Located in southern Corsica, in the heart of the Taravo Valley, and at an altitude of about 300 feet, many of the estate’s vines come from cuttings of indigenous varieties sourced decades ago by his father (then President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Corsica) from peasant farmsteads in the mountainous and remote interior of the island. Including the vines that produce the fruit for the “Cuvée Empire.”

Jean-Charles is so dedicated to the idea of returning to the culture of traditional Corsican vines that he has completely eschewed the appellation system and currently bottles all of his wines under the Vin de France label. In a recent interview, he says, “At first I didn’t leave completely, I just began the Cuvée Collection of old varieties and bottled them as Vin de France. But five years ago I decided the system was just too restrictive, too limited. We are in a time where agriculture is disappearing and we need to support the traditions that make us who we are.”