It was great to get Celine back to taste some of the Vintage 59 selections. We picked some of her favorites that were perfectly suited to this cooler/sometimes downright colder whether that we are enduring against our own wills! That's okay, it is December 2008 and it should be cold now.
The CHATEAU DE CALADROY 2005 Cotes de Roussillon Villages " Cuvee Les Achistes ", $17.49 is a wine that Celine told me really appealed to women : that each time she would taste it women would buy it. I bought it without even tasting it, believing Celine. I knew that I would get a chance to try it. In the meantime I took her word and ordered some for the store.
Each time that I would recommend the CHATEAU DE CALADROY I would quote Celine and I get some really positive feed-back from customers after they tried it. That made me feel pretty confident about it and wanting to try it all the more.
Well, I got my chance when Celine was due next to do an in-store wine-tasting and I proposed immediately to her that this would be one of the wines that she would pour. We also decided to pour some of the CHATEAU HAUT-MONPLAISIR 2005 Cahors red 100% Malbec, $19.99 from the Lot region, just south of Bordeaux, France. This Cahors I was quite familiar with already having sold many prior vintages of it. Roy Cloud, the president of Vintage 59 Imports had introduced me to it years ago and we have done really well with it each and every time that we buy and put it on our shelves.
This Cotes du Roussillon Villages is amazingly smooth and almost creamy elegant. It has accents of so many things but the core of it is full, supple and pleasing on the palate. I think almost everyone will enjoy it, male or female. This is one bright red wine star and very versatile. It's especially nice as well with all this cold air coming our way : sure to warm the cockles of one's palate even before sliding/dipping down into one's throat! Smooth-sailing for one and for all!
I was especially interested in selling it because it's made with 100% Malbec and I want our customers to realize that this is where the Malbec got it's start and not in Argentina. I'm just tired of people not knowing this and I want some Cahors to sell these days as I truly believe that many of our customers would really like them. I seem to be correct, we are always selling out of Cahors.
Of course we sell so much more Malbec from Argentina than we do from France. I do hope that our small effort for the French Malbec does mean something in correcting this misconception. It has. It is a bigger, more spicy, more gutsy and rustic wine than the Cotes du Rousillon Villages and best when served with food. Enjoy with almost anything piping-hot/steaming from the grill.
We opened this Mathias et Emile ROBLIN ( Vigneron a Maimbray ), 2006 Sancerre white, $30.99 when one of our customers Regi asked what else Celine offered in the Vintage 59 portfolio. I mentioned this Sancerre immediately and opened it within a minute of this question being raised. I thought that Regi would buy it immediately and was just the wee bit disappointed when he did not. Oh well, chaque un son gout ( to each his own ) and that's okay. We found other things for Regi that evening to buy. I was thrilled to re-taste this ROBLIN Sancerre. It reaffirmed my first impressions of the wine : that again here was another 2006 white from France of elegance, breed, concentration and amazing richness and versatility of flavors. Wow. This is certainly worth buying at least one bottle. We do have it now in stock at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com Tel: 202-363-4265 ).
We also tasted an excellent unoaked white burgundy MACON LA ROCHE-VINEUSE ( under $20 a bottle ) which I will write more about a bit later. Stay-tuned for that.
I took some pictures during the tasting. Here they are : I hope you like them.
Thanks Celine for tasting with our customers. All the wines showed well and we had a very successful tasting in part thanks to your enthusiasm and big smile and warmth. Cheers, Happy Holidays to you and your family and to all our customers. TONY
UPDATE : As is my usual fashion I got this typed, proofed and posted just after midnight ( Wed. December 10th, 2008 - actually Thursday Dec. 11th, 2008 ) and now it is Thursday, December 11th, 2008 ( at 8:08 AM ) and I realize I forgot to mention Celine poured at our Annual BUBBLY tasting yesterday.
It was a blast! We had ten people pouring over 40 bubblies in the store and the store was so filled that hardly anybody could move with so many of us there trying to get from table to table and enjoy these various bubblies.
Celine poured two Grand Cru champagnes that shone last night : the " new " to us BARRAUT and the ever-popular dry rose SOUTIRAN. They both showed fabulously and we sold a number of bottles of each. I think that in fact the BARRAUT will be used shortly to celebrate one of those really special moments in life that comes just once for most of us. I can't wait to hear more soon! Stay-tuned.
Celine also poured an inexpensive bubbly from the Loire Valley which people loved that sells for under $15 a bottle called BOVE. Thanks Celine, merci et a la prochaine. Viens nous voir quand tu veut et bonne vacances a Paris avec ta famille. TONY
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