France

Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile 2011 Review – A Fine Riesling

Our first Trimbach Riesling was a Grand Cru sampled at Wine Bar George at Disney Springs in 2019. It was truly one of the finest Rieslings we've ever had and helped cement our love affair with all things Alsace.

A little while later, we found another Trimbach bottle in our local liquor store- the Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile 2011. While this one came with a fairly sufficient sticker price ($70 in 2020), we reflected on how much we enjoyed our earlier Trimbach, threw caution to the wind, and picked it up all the same.

Then we decided to crack it open on a Monday night just because we can.

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Durand Reserve Sancerre 2018 Review – A Light Intensity

Sancerre, France, is all about Sauvignon Blanc, and we've heard that wines from this region are among the favorites of some of our closest wine friends.

So naturally we picked up our first bottle, Durand Reserve Sancerre 2018, with great anticipation. Unfortunately, the lighter flavor intensity of this one fell a bit flat for us.

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Vins Contes Poivre et Sel 2019 Review – Berries and Caramel

The Vins Contes Poivre et Sel hails from the Loire Valley of France and features a grape varietal that was completely new to us when we received the bottle- Pineau d'Aunis (90%, rounded out with Gamay). This one ended up being fairly low tannins, low ABV, and offered a nice berry blend flavor overall.

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Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthal Rully 2017 Review – Fruit and Barrel

While we would typically like a bit more body and complexity in our reds, the Domaine Vincent Dureuil-Janthal Rully came through with a wealth of red fruit flavors as well as subtle undertones of clove and other earthy characteristics.

The steak we paired this one with was perhaps a bit too strong in the meat department, but the morel mushrooms as a side worked out beautifully.

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Mathilde Chapoutier Grand Ferrage 2018 Review – A Lovely French Rose

Our first rose from Provence was the Mathilde Chapoutier Grand Ferrage 2018 which was a blend of many grapes including Grenache, Cinsaut, Syrah, and Vermentino (listed as Rolle).

While this one had a relatively light flavor profile, we enjoyed the bottle of this all the same- especially with a heaping plate of homemade paella!

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Chateau de Montfort Vouvray 2018 Review – A Lovely Semi-Sweet Wine

If we were told to randomly pick a favorite French white, odds are good it would be Vouvray. This wine (comprised of Chenin Blanc grape) is often loaded with intense flavors that run the gamut from dry and acidic to sweet and mellow.

One bottle we absolutely fell in love with was the Chateau de Montfort Vouvray. We had first had a 2017 vintage of this one and immediately rushed out to purchase the 2018 vintage to enjoy shortly thereafter. In this review, we're going to be speaking on the 2018 vintage which we paired with a seafood feast.

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Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer 2017 Review – An Intensely Floral Wine

We have a soft spot for Gewurztraminer as this grape can offer some wonderful flavors with interesting floral notes that you do not get with many other varietals.

It only took a couple of sniffs and sips of the Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer 2017 for us to realize that this bottle had all that (and then some) and was among the most intense Gewurztraminers we've had to date!

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Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon-Milly Lamartine Clos du Four 2016 Review

We recently celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary, and so naturally we were looking for a wine to pair with a special dinner. Our menu included a cheese and charcuterie board, crab cakes, and black cod so we were looking for a dry white wine.

We chose a 2016 Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon-Milly Lamartine Clos du Four, a Chardonnay from the Maconnais region of Burgundy (arguably the region's most popular grape, and our first Chardonnay from Burgundy). While we didn't end up being terribly big fans of this wine, it did pair nicely with our seafood dinner.

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