France

Chateau de la Ragotiere Muscadet Sevre et Maine 2016 Review

We first heard about Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie in our WSET classes. This wine hails from the western part of the Loire Valley near the ocean and is considered to be a cool-to-moderate maritime climate- perfect for a white grape such as this one.

But it is the Sur Lie element that makes this one the most intriguing because the wine is aged on the lees to give it a bit of added character in the glass (something you do not see in many muscat variants, or at least, something we haven't seen much of). Naturally, as soon as I spotted this bottle from Chateau de la Rogotiere in the store, I had to buy it to give it a shot.

While would say that the lees elements in this bottle are not as intense as others we've had since cracking this one open, it adds a nice complexity to the wine all the same.

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Cave de Tain Hermitage 2014 Review – A Stellar Syrah

The more I drink wines from the Rhone region of France, the more I start to realize how much I love the area and the grapes that are grown there.

This is especially true of the Syrah from the Northern Rhone as places like Hermitage, Cote Rotie, and others make some of the finest styles of this wine you can ever have.

Cave de Tain's Hermitage 2014 was no different and was a delightful bottle all around that we enjoyed with a burger of all things!

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Domaine de l’Envo Bulles de Muscat 2019 Review – Delightful Pet Nat

Sometimes we open pet nat (pétillant naturel) wines with a bit of hesitation. As these bottles are unfiltered and finish their fermentation in the bottle, we often don't know what we're going to get. Lots of lees flavor? Maybe. Bubbles? Most likely. Funkiness? It happens especially if they are naturally fermented too.

As it turns out, Domaine de l'Envo's Bulles de Muscat from Alsace, France, hit just the right notes for all the categories. Strong flavors that were nuanced by the pet nat production style.

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Clos du Roy Fronsac 2016 Review – Surprisingly Tannic

The Clos du Roy Fronsac is a primarily Merlot-based wine (90%) with just a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blended in for good measure (5%) of each.

We quickly noticed two things after opening this one. On the nose, it was incredibly perfumed and on the palate, it was significantly more tannic than we expected.

You guessed it, we opened this one too soon.

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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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