Saturday, December 4, 2010

Sam & Jean Gagliolo Bring Us Current DE LOACH & LYETH California Releases To Sample & Buy For Cleveland Park Wines First Week Of December 2010/Cheers!



It's always good to see you Sam and Jean : you make a good working team and I always like to speak French with the both of you. You also always have a good bottle or two for me to enjoy a sip here and there and then there's our conversation that spans ten plus years that we have known one another. I have known you Jean since the days in the nineties when you cooked at La Nicoise restaurant in Georgetown ( the one where everyone served you on roller skates and there was a cabaret performance each evening - fun , the Pisaladiere tart with white onions and olives and herbs and spices you made Jean was excellent ) and Sam you have been calling on Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com, also on Facebook now at : clevelandparkwines&spirits ) since 2000 if not longer.






All the wines I tasted from DE LOACH were excellent though I did not care as much for either the oak in the 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay ( but to be fair that has never been a style I enjoy very much even though it has been very popular now for years and DE LOACH makes an excellent example of one ) pictured above or the Central Coast 2008 Pinot Noir . Perhaps with food it would be fine but there was something about it that seemed unresolved to my taste then. I was sampling the 2008 vintage of Pinot Noirs from DE LOACH today.

I liked quite a bit the Sonoma Pinot Noir and found it to be quite the deal. We always have something from DE LOACH on our shelves and it's time to think about bringing some of these " new " vintages to the store as it is already the first week of December, 2010. I will speak to Chris Barker about this later today when I am back at the store. I'm home now on a very cold yet a bright and clear day filled with sunshine late autumn's morning that feels more like winter now. I enjoyed my walk, however very much with my dog a little while ago.




The Fleur De Lyeth I found to be quite excellent and for the money of On Special at $10.99 I think we have to get that back immediately as it sold very quickly and we are presently sold-out of it as of this past weekend. Jean sens us some this week!




I liked the color ( look at it above ) - lovely deep ruby; I loved the mouth-feel and the various taste sensations that all added nicely to the whole impression of this Fleur De Lyeth dry red California table blend.




Look at the color of the DE LOACH Sonoma Pinot Noir above : nice. Being an artist I notice this type of thing and like to draw attention to it because so often we are all in a rush and barely stop to take a few seconds to notice and to really smell these enticing, charming, fragrant bouquets, too.




Stop and smell the fruits - the grapes - the roses all in the bouquets of these four DE LOACH Pinot Noirs : they are quite distinct and will appeal to you on different levels and in your various moods and evoke different reactions to some of the many desires that lay latent and ready to be born inside each and everyone of us.




I also liked the Canadian " Neige " apple ice wine that I tasted at the very end : elegant, refined and balanced. Beautiful really with a little bit going a really long way. No need to rush through it : take your time - always try and take your time and let the colors, the clarity's, the reflections from the surfaces of the wines with lights and darks and images along with smells all work their many charms on you. Yes, linger, go back, pause, close your eyes, take a sip, hold it, move your tongue ever so slowly through your mouth, hold your breath, sway your head ever so slowly back and forth, swallow a little bit at a time always leaving some to taste and experience what happens next. Then as you swallow the last drop smack your lips to see what acids surface at the end and pause for the long finish in the wine : luxuriate in that finish.




Enjoy and stretch out the experience and taste and smell all of the wine and not just half or less. You've paid for it : get it all and not just wee bits.





This was a fun serendipitous tasting of DE LOACH, LYETH and the Canadian " Neige " apple ice wine. Thanks Jean and Sam and Happy Holidays 2010 to you and your families as well as a Happy New Year 2011. Cheers, TONY

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