It was great to get Olivia Bombart back again to taste her excellent selection of French country wines : two from the Pays D'Oc and one from the Coteaux du Bergerac, a two-hour inland drive from the town of Bordeaux : Cyrano de Bergerac's home. I also like to think of Steve Martin the actor playing an American version of Cyrano in the movie " Roxanne "! Does Steve Martin enjoy wine? I bet he does. he was brilliant in this movie in my most humble opinion, really.
It was fun to get Olivia to taste with her customers. She also had some wines for Mike Martin and me to taste : both French and Greek wines. I was amused to taste them all ( they had been open since Thursday ) and preferred the ATLANTIS red from Greece : for me it blew all the others away except for perhaps the red Coteaux de Bergerac red ( a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon ) that we were tasting.
The three wines that Olivia tasted with our customers were : the Cuvee PAREDAUX " tradition " 2007 red and white ( both $12.49 ) , both Vin de Pays D'Oc. The white I loved for it's extra body and weight and flavors of both Vermentino and Terret. Wow, impressive and a great food wine. The red is a dry blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Mourvedre 20%, Syrah 20%, Grenache 20% and 10% Carignan. Mike really liked it and commented how easy it would be to drink, drink a lot of because of how smooth and forward it was. I agree. He also tasted the CHATEAU CAILLAVEL 2003 Cotes de Bergerac ( 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot ). Mike preferred the Cuvee PAREDAUX for more casual enjoyment. I really liked the grip and the grit, the more contact of the Bergerac. I wrestled me a bit more to the floor - shook me up a bit more : made me have to interact with it a bit more than the silkier, more red berry/grape fruit-forward Pays' D'Oc red. They were four years apart : a 2007 versus a 2003. That makes a big difference. But to be really fair I think it is more the type of thing that when the mood and weather are different, as well as whatever meal one is enjoying then I would chose one or the other. However, now with the temperatures plunging more precipitously I would enjoy definitely more the Bergerac and the ATLANTIS Greek red when we get it back in another two week's or so.
Thanks Olivia for coming to pour your wines. They all sold well at the tasting. Come again soon. Oh, we will have a double-tasting at the end of March ( Sat. 28th 4-7 PM ) with Olivia and Sotiris Bafitis that are colleagues and friends. We will taste then at least two Greek wines with Olivia ( wines that I was introduced to by Sotiris years ago! We will also taste some French with Olivia. With Sotiris we will taste some of his excellent Grapes Of Spain ( Aurelio Cabestrero ) portfolio of Spanish wines that I just recently blogged about. Join us, never any charge.
As I mentioned in my earlier blog that I posted yesterday about Scott Peterson the owner / wine-maker of DRUMMER Napa CA. wines , Scott came by to say " hello " and to thank me for the blog I had just posted about the LONGBOARD and the DRUMMER wines. It was nice to see him again and he tasted with Olivia. There is a picture that I took of them here in this blog.
I will write more about the other wines from France that Olivia tasted Mike and me on during her Friday tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I have to find my notes that I left at the store. The red-burgundy labelled one you see her pulling from her bag to taste us on is amazingly rich and complex and thickly-lushly layered and will go a long way to warming someone on these days where it's so cold when the wind blows! It's like a really delicate, mild tawny port almost -only deeper in color - perhaps a blend of tawny and ruby would be the best way to describe it - and not quite as sweet. It could have been the Saint Chinian that she tasted us on her last visit before this Friday tasting?!? So many questions to resolve and so little time!
I hope you like these pictures. As you can see Olivia was busy pouring for most of the three hours. I like the picture of the brunette facing me with a glass in her hands and the broad smile she is wearing as I click the button on my Olympus camera. Her brunette-red-accented hair, bright smile, plastic glass of red wine, the deeper-hued pink scarf and just the suggestion of lip gloss ?!? It's such a winning picture and captures the mood of the tasting and that moment when you combine a person and a taste of wine that hits the spot so perfectly you just have to smile and feel happy. I should have asked her name. Oh well, she may read this later as I said I would be posting her on the blog.
By the way I watched last night the Oscars with my wife and son and Steve Martin did appear on the show to present two awards with Tina Fey. He was there playing himself and not a modern day version of Cyrano de Bergerac as he was in " Roxanne ". He should have won an award for that portrayal.
Merci Olivia d'avoir goute tes vins Vendredi soir au magasin avec nos clientele. C'a bien marche. Et a la prochaine a la fin de Mars au magasin pour la prochaine degustation avec des vins Francais, Espanol et Grek.
Cheers, TONY
As I mentioned in my earlier blog that I posted yesterday about Scott Peterson the owner / wine-maker of DRUMMER Napa CA. wines , Scott came by to say " hello " and to thank me for the blog I had just posted about the LONGBOARD and the DRUMMER wines. It was nice to see him again and he tasted with Olivia. There is a picture that I took of them here in this blog.
I will write more about the other wines from France that Olivia tasted Mike and me on during her Friday tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. I have to find my notes that I left at the store. The red-burgundy labelled one you see her pulling from her bag to taste us on is amazingly rich and complex and thickly-lushly layered and will go a long way to warming someone on these days where it's so cold when the wind blows! It's like a really delicate, mild tawny port almost -only deeper in color - perhaps a blend of tawny and ruby would be the best way to describe it - and not quite as sweet. It could have been the Saint Chinian that she tasted us on her last visit before this Friday tasting?!? So many questions to resolve and so little time!
I hope you like these pictures. As you can see Olivia was busy pouring for most of the three hours. I like the picture of the brunette facing me with a glass in her hands and the broad smile she is wearing as I click the button on my Olympus camera. Her brunette-red-accented hair, bright smile, plastic glass of red wine, the deeper-hued pink scarf and just the suggestion of lip gloss ?!? It's such a winning picture and captures the mood of the tasting and that moment when you combine a person and a taste of wine that hits the spot so perfectly you just have to smile and feel happy. I should have asked her name. Oh well, she may read this later as I said I would be posting her on the blog.
By the way I watched last night the Oscars with my wife and son and Steve Martin did appear on the show to present two awards with Tina Fey. He was there playing himself and not a modern day version of Cyrano de Bergerac as he was in " Roxanne ". He should have won an award for that portrayal.
Merci Olivia d'avoir goute tes vins Vendredi soir au magasin avec nos clientele. C'a bien marche. Et a la prochaine a la fin de Mars au magasin pour la prochaine degustation avec des vins Francais, Espanol et Grek.
Cheers, TONY
1 comment:
so great olivia
dreams come true
sincerly, benjamyn , paris
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