Georges Duboeuf 2015 Beaujolais Nouveau On November 19, 2015 wine aficionados across the U.S. celebrated the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. Since this French wine first came to the U.S. in 1982, Beaujolais Nouveau Day has been an annual celebration to honor the end of harvest and offer the first taste of the new vintage. Released at 12:01 a.m. on the third Thursday in November per French law, Beaujolais Nouveau is a bright, flavorful red wine made from the Gamay grape. Each year, Georges Duboeuf unveils a new wine label. The 2015 label depicts the lush Beaujolais vineyards and bright, celebratory colors of the harvest. Georges Duboeuf is a producer of…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc De Blancs N.V. This is the last in a four-part tasting series from a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne event led by Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja, and in my opinion I saved the best for last. Today I am commenting on Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc De Blancs N.V. Billecart-Salmon is a medium-sized champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, near Epernay. Founded in 1818 with the marriage of Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, it is one of the few to remain family owned. Most all of the Champagnes produced undergo a process of Disgorgement (getting rid of the dead yeast from fermentation) and adding a Dosage, topping off…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé N.V. Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart 1999 This is the third in a four-part tasting series from a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne event led by Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja. Today I am commenting on two Champagnes; Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé N.V. & Billecart-Salmon Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart 1999. Billecart-Salmon is a medium-sized champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, near Epernay. Founded in 1818 with the marriage of Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, it is one of the few to remain family owned. The excellence of Champagne BILLECART-SALMON is due to the knowledge of its men who cultivate with rigor an estate of 100 hectares…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut N.V. Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois N.V. This is the second in a four-part tasting series from a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne event led by Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja. Today I am commenting on two Champagnes; Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut N.V. & Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois N.V. The family motto: “Give priority to quality, strive for excellence”. This motto is evident at the family garden, which was redesigned in 1926 in a French style under the guidance of Charles Roland-Billecart. The idea of his project was to create a garden at the heart of the village, enclosed by walls surrounded by lime trees primed in to a…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve N.V. I recently went to a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne tasting hosted by my favorite wine shop, Stew Leonard’s Wines. Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja (photo below), was leading the tasting and provided excellent insights into six of the Billecart-Salmon Champagnes we tasted. Over the next several postings, I will comment on all six Champagnes I tried, just in time to provide some insights should you want to stock up before the holidays. Stay tuned for the remaining 5 reviews in coming posts! Billecart-Salmon is a medium-sized champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, near Epernay. Founded in 1818 with the marriage of Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, it…
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Chateau Gloria 2008 Saint-Julien Created by Henri Martin, Chateau Gloria, is the only one of its kind as this 50-hectare vineyard was put together piece-by-piece over a number of years, through the purchase of plots exclusively from grands crus classified in 1855. The origin of the terroirs, the care taken over the growing and the vinification all help to explain its world-renowned quality. A vineyard covering 50 hectares, with an average vine age of 40 years, spread across three areas, in the middle of Beychevelle and then in the west and the north of the appellation (bordering Pauillac) on soil made up of Gunzian gravel covering a layer of clay…
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Chateau Palmer 2006 Alter Ego In 1938, four Bordeaux families – Sichel, Mähler-Besse, Ginestet, and Miailhe – all active in the Bordeaux fine wine trade – joined together to buy Palmer and restore it to the rank it deserved. Two of these families have since left the estate, leaving the Sichel and the Mähler-Besse families at the helm. Since their acquisition of Château Palmer, the families of shareholders have applied single-mindedly the key principles that contributed to the prosperity of this great wine: authenticity, quality and constancy. Originally from the Netherlands, the Mälher family were successful in the textile and the wine business. Having settled in Bordeaux with his wife…
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Chateau De Sales 2009 Pomerol Chateau de Sales, situated in the Right Bank appellation of Pomerol, is an estate with a long and prestigious history. Owned by the same family for over 500 years, the chateau is the largest in Pomerol with 47 hectares of vines. The soil of Chateau de Sales is characterized by an omnipresence of iron oxide, called “crasse de fer” locally, which gives the wine a distinct personality. The majority of aging for Chateau de Sales wines takes place in traditional concrete tanks, spending only 6 months in oak barrels, to preserve the wine’s qualities of freshness, fruitiness and terroir expression. Chateau de Sales has been…
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Chateau Canon Clos Canon 2009 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Chateau Canon can trace its modern history, which began in 1760 when it was Jaques Kanon, a privateer who made his fortune capturing English ships for Louis XV. In 1996 the world famous Fashion House Chanel purchased the Chateau and initiated a period of investment and renovation. Chateau Canon was managed by John Kolasa who also managed the Wertheimer’s other Bordeaux property located in Margaux, Chateau Rauzan Segla until 2015. Much of the progress in the wines, vineyard and cellars of Chateau Canon was due to multiple decades of work and effort from the team of Chateau Canon, which was headed by John…
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Chateau Les Trois Criox 2010 Rouge The family of Patrick Léon always dreamed to make their own wine. Their dream became a reality in June, 1995 when the beauty of landscapes called them to a place called ” The Three Crucifixes “. Chateau Les Trois Criox, Three Crucifixes for three children (see top of wine label), a nice symbol to make a reality of this dream. Patrick LÉON is associated with some famous wines of Alexis Lichine, Rothschild, Opus One in California and Almaviva in Chile. The Castle of The Three Crucifixes, where a 1712 engraving in the stone of an arch in the cellar, manifests the rank of the…