Tasting Note: 2005 Les Cailloux Chateauneuf-du-Pape

First impression of sweaty socks, prosciutto, and wool.  Followed by green, herby aromas, possibly Herbs-du-Provence.  Stones.  Also anis, more specifically the yellow anis flowers growing by the side of the road we walk to work.  As it opens further, some fruits come out, mostly cherry and wild raspberry.  Wet wool remains in the background.  A hint of bret.  The palate is seamless, in fantastic balance.  Acid is noticeable, and it accompanies the other components but does not overshadow anything.  Tannins have a soft fur quality, like Violet (Sarah’s parents’ dog, a super cute miniature schnauzer) after a bath.  Long, long, long finish of red licorice and raspberry dark chocolate.  A great introduction to Chateauneuf.

 

Tasted on Sept. 14, 2008, and paired with Red Pepper, Potato and Fig Curry. 

Tasting Note: 2007 Roger & Didier Raimbault, Sancerre

First impression is fruity.  As it opens, aromas of white stone/limestone/chalk, sweet asparagus, freshly cut lush grass, gooseberry, passionfruit, lemongrass.

The palate is super fresh, with razor beam, mouthwatering (‘gleek inspiring’) acidity.  Lemon dominates palate.  Fantastic Sauvignon Blanc. 

 

Tasted on Sept. 13, 2008, paired with Rob’s guacamole

Tasting Note: 2006 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas

Dull ruby color.  Upon opening, reductive aromas of burnt rubber.  Followed by dried cherry, prune, a mineral quality like rain on cement; cigar ashtray filled with dried fruits.  Possibly cooked cabbage.  On the palate, sweet tart acidity, thin body, watery tannins.  A simple, easy chugger, disappointing. 

Tasted Sept. 12, 2008

Gigondas Day to Day

 Bonjour all! 

 Over the weekend we moved from the gite in Gigondas where we have been since our arrival to our new residence, Valcombe.  It is our ‘petit chateau’; a small house a short walk to the winery, neighboring some of the estate syrah vines.  It is just the right size for two, and fully equipped.   We are breaking in the kitchen, making use of fantastic local goods.  Gigondas has a tiny market in town, and we love shopping there, when it is open (we still haven’t figured out their hours, but that’s assuming they keep them).  It is surprisingly well stocked, and we can get almost everything we need there.  Our favorites right now are the melons (small, cantaloupe looking and tasting, but sweeter), and the local figs.  And if you can make it before they close for lunch, fresh baguettes.  Being in Provence, we are in the in the heart of France’s agriculture region, and are very much benefiting from its bounty.  Even the uncultivated land is teeming with deliciousness.  Wild blackberries grow outside our door, and we have found peaches, currants, rosemary, anis, and others on walks.  And we are hoping to experience the holy grail of Provencal scavenging, the truffle.  The season doesn’t start until November, we’ll keep you updated.

Tasting Note: 2005 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas

Deep ruby red.  A very tight nose of leather, black cherry, graphite, and hot stones.  High toned peppermint and menthol lift.  As wine opens, a floral note comes through along with blueberry. This wine need major decanting time (1-3 hours)  to really show its goods.  Initial attack is extremely dense on palate, but not at all heavy.  Tannins coat teeth and mouth like ultra-fine grade sandpaper, very polished.  Mouth puckering acidity.  Finishes long with smoke (not from oak). 

Pair this wine with some serious meat.  I'd like to taste this again after 5 years of bottle age. 

Grenache, Syrah, & Mourvedre blend 

Tasting Note: 2007 Chateau Saint Cosme Gigondas Rosé

Coppery salmon in color.  Almost ripe raspberry and strawberry fruit.  Freshly diced fennel bulb and river rock minerality add layers to the delicate fruit aromas.  There is a hint of pepper/clove spice. The medium(-) bodied frame finishes with juicy acidity, citrus-y grapefruit, and bone dry. Again, nicely balanced and refreshing.  

100% Mourvedre, 13.5% alc

Paired nicely with "Modified" Costa Rican Gallo Pinto with Lizano- sautéed garlic, onion, red bell pepper mixed with black beans, cilantro and warm quinoa topped with Worchester/Tunisian hot red pepper sauce.   

Tasting Note: 2007 Chateau Saint Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc

Honeydew melon, tropical fruit salad - lots of pineapple and orange rind on nose.  Super clean and fresh and complex.  Candied almonds (right at the point where the sugar starts to melt), custard-y.  Viscous mouthfeel! Well balanced acidity and medium/full bodied.  Unlike many USA viogniers, this wine has absolutely no heat or bitterness on the finish.  

A blend of 30% Viognier, 30% Roussane, 20% Marsanne, 10% Clariette, 10% Picpoul de Pinet.  13.5%alc.  At this price (7.50 Euros), I'll take a case please.  The obscure rhone varieties, Clairette and Picpoul, bring balance and fresh acidity to make this blend complete.

Tasted on 2 Sept, 2008.  Paired with Chick Pea and Kale Coconut Curry.   

Reims

After our stay in Paris, we decided to spend a weekend in Reims, the center of the champagne region.  Again, the beginning of the trip was interesting, due mostly to hauling our bags through the Paris Metro stations.  Sarah's bags took a couple hard falls down the stairs of Metro stations, all the while damning the lack of escalators.  The most humorous part, in hindsight, would probably be Sarah getting stuck in the Metro entrance turnstiles.

Upon arrival in Reims, we were able to find a hotel easily, and set out on discovering Champagne. 

We headed out on foot for our first Champagne house, Taittinger.  It was a bit of a walk, but an interesting one.  Reims is a very old city, but the architecture is varied, due to the heavy bombing the city endured during WWI especially and WWII.  You can walk past the newer, more modern buildings (very basic, seemingly cheaply done and flat) that is in stark contrast with the neighboring ornate and classic architecture.  The reigning symbol of the city, Notre Dame, is also very modified.  It stands now much as it did in the days when it was the place for the coronation of French kings, and during the triumphant moments of Joan of Arc.  During WWI the church was nearly destroyed, and was rebuilt largely by donations from Americans who loved Champagne  (a great book to read on 

 the history of Champagne is Champagne: How the World's Most 

Glamorous Wine Triumphed over War and Hard Times by Don & Petie Kladstrup).

Taittinger was a fantastic experience, with a very informative tour.  The three pictures are from the caves of Taittinger at a depth of 14 meters.  The caves are older than the city of Reims, with some parts dating back to the 4th century, having been dug out by the Romans.  The caves remain at a constant cool temperature, and the chalk that forms the caves retains a constant high humidity as well.  What the pictures reveal that we could not tell in the caves was the green mold growing on the walls.  At the end of the tour was a tasting, and we really enjoyed this house's nonvintage brut.

Tasting Note: 2005 Domaine Les Pallieres Gigondas

Ruby red.  Nose opens with obvious raspberry and garrigue (herbs de provence). Perfumed with cedar chest stocked with old blankets.  Lots of vanilla, warm baking spices.  On the palate, this wine has elegance and firm structure.  Finishes with raspberry infused dark chocolate.  

Les Pallieres is a collaboration between Berkeley importer Kermit Lynch and Domaine Vieux Telegraphe.  Made from 60 year old vines.  

Tasted 31 Aug., 2008

Paris

Hello!  We have had some internet issues the last couple days - there has been a couple storms in the area, and as our Gite manager put it 'there was storm, so sometime internet work, sometime not'.  Well, it is working now and we are going to take full advantage.  

Here are a couple of our favorite pics from Paris.  We flew into Paris, and stayed for five days.  It was Sarah's first time to the city, Rob's second, and loved the introduction to French culture.  We had a bit of a rocky start - our flights had to be rescheduled due to delays, and when we finally made it to Paris our bags had not.  So our first day in Paris was not a glamorous one, as we did our sight seeing in the same clothes we had been traveling in for two days (but to our surprise, the airline was really great and we had our bags delivered to our hotel the next afternoon, plus they gave us money to go shopping for new clothes - imagine the Griswolds in European Vacation).  We still had a fantastic day, dirty as we were, walking around the city.   The first place we went was Notre Dame, and Rob got a great snap of the gargoyles and flying buttresses.  

Our wanderings also took us to the Louvre, and the picture on the left is Rob next to the entrance.  We didn't go in, but went back on Friday evening, when it is free for young adults (that includes Sarah), and discounted for the adults (Rob).  We had read how huge the museum is and it is best to have a plan going in, but we didn't, and yes it is very big and recommend a plan for sure.  We did see the famous Mona Lisa, the Code of Hammurabi, and the Rubens gallery, but there was a massive amount of people also there for the discounted rates, and in some of the rooms the heat was stifling.  We didn't stay for long, but promised ourselves we would be back, next time with a plan.  Hopefully.

During our stay, we visited the Rodin Museum, a real treasure.   His sculptures are exhibited in a garden, with a small museum in the middle containing some of his other work and his personal art collection.  At left is Sarah in front of the Burghers of Calais.  

From the Rodin Museum we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  It was a cloudy, kind of chilly day, but loved seeing the famous landmark.

We woke one morning to rain, and thought rain boots would be appropriate for a walk to breakfast.  

Our Paris trip continued to be wonderful.  We went to the Picasso Museum, to the neighborhood of Montmartre where we had espresso at the cafe from the movie Amelie and went to Sacre Couer.  Ate lots of baguette sandwiches and stopped for many cafe allonges.

Au revoir!