The descriptions found below are the ones our members will find with their monthly shipment of two bottles of fine wine from the French Wine Club.
Red: Pelican 2003
Laurence Feraud of Domaine du Pegau in Chateauneuf du Pape blended this wine from her husband's vineyards in Costiere de Nîmes, on the border between Rhone and Provence.
The name may sound peculiar, but there is a story behind it: her Irish importer got into a squabble with his partner, a lawyer, and lost his business. He asked Laurence to create a great wine for him to get started again. She came up with the blend we are enjoying now. There is a crane that spends time in the backyard of Pegau and the Irish importer is a birder. However he couldn't see himself calling the wine "crane" so he suggested Pelican. Laurence put the label together quickly and voilà! Pelican was born.
Pelican is a very small production of a 50% Syrah and 50% Grenache blend. It has aged in Stainless steel tanks. It has a super ripe aroma of black cherry and cassis, with a hint of spice. The fruit carries through on the palate, with notes of bacon and tomato from the Grenache and a touch of black pepper from the Syrah. It is lush, opulent and soft with a long finish.
Enjoy it with red grilled meat. It goes surprisingly well with seafood, as well as with anything with tomato sauce. A wine to drink in the next 3 years.
To order, click here: Bottle ($14.75), Case ($141.60 - 20% off!).
White: Ballade en Straminer 2002
Looking at the bottle for the first time, one would conclude: “This is an Alsacian wine!” But then the name seems odd for a wine: “Ballad in the [Gewurz]Straminer” (according to the dictionary, a ballad is "A light, simple spirited poem in short stanzas, narrating some popular story".)
The key to the mystery is that this wine is not made in Alsace, but in Languedoc. A short while ago we tasted the Chardonnay of Domaine de la Bachellery.
This time I would like you to discover their Gewurztraminer.
Through alliances and reversals of fortune, Bachellery has belonged to different owners until the 80s, when the Julien family, which counts several generations of winegrowers, bought it. For almost 25 years since, Bernard Julien has been ruling the estate, renewing the vineyard and vinifying himself his "cuvées".
Domaine de Bachellery is located near the city of Béziers, on the first hills (210 feet high) parallel with the coast. This is a clayey and chalky "terroir" with a lot of pebbles, and even stones sometimes. The Béziers area is one of the most dry in the Languedoc-Roussillon, thanks in part to strong winds such as the Mistral (blowing from the north) or the Tramontane (blowing from the north-west).
Ballade en Straminer is harvested when over-ripe, at night when the temperature is at its lowest. It enjoys a very high protection against oxidation, and is completely destalked. The wine is kept in stainless steel tanks, maturing on fine lees all winter long. It has a nice light gold color, an intense nose of rose and litchi. It has a fleshy and sweet exotic palate. It goes well with fresh foie gras, Asian dishes, chocolate cake and duck with orange sauce.
To order, click here: Bottle ($14.75), Case ($141.60 - 20% off!). |
Previous Wine of the Month Selections:
October 2004:
Red: Réserve Grand Veneur, Côtes du Rhône 2003
White: Domaine Trois Frères, Chardonnay 2002
September 2004:
Red: Merlot d’Hauterive 2002
White: Domaine des Cassagnoles, Cuvée Gros Manseng 2003
August 2004:
Red: Domaine du Sacré-Coeur, St-Chinian 2000
White: Domaine de la Bachellery, Vin de Pays d'Oc 2003
July 2004:
Red: Shiraz 2002
Laurent Miquel Nord-Sud
White: Viognier 2003 Laurent Miquel Nord-Sud
June 2004:
Red: Clos de L'Escandil 1999, Minervois La Livinière
White: Domaine Lalanne 2002, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne
May 2004:
Red: Les Domaines Paul Mas “Vignes de Nicole” - Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah 2001
White: Les Domaines Paul Mas “Vignes de Nicole” - Chardonnay-Viognier 2002
April 2004:
Red: Cuvée de Pena 2001
White: Vin de Pays de l'Aude: La Noble
March 2004:
Red: Côte Chalonnaise 1999
White: Domaine Schlumberger, Pinot Blanc 2002
February 2004:
Red: Château la Bastide, Cabardes, 1999
White: Domaine de Rieux 2002
January 2004:
Red: Julienas 2001
White: Domaine de Molines 1999, Vin de Pays du Gard
December 2003:
Red: Château Castegens, Côtes de Castillon 1998
White: Domaine de Molines 1999, Vin de Pays du Gard
November 2003:
Red: Moulin d'Eole Costières de Nîmes 2001 (Languedoc-Roussillon)
White: Vouvray 1999, Domaine du Clos de l’Epinay, Cuvée Marcus (Loire Valley)
October 2003:
Red: Domaine du Vieux Chêne, Cuvée des Capucines, Côtes du Rhone 2001
White: Ile La Forge, Viognier 2002, Languedoc-Roussillon
September 2003:
Red: Château Reysson 1998, Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc
White: Château les Tuileries 2002
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