It was great to meet Michael Shaps after hearing about him for so many years and selling his wines at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com , www.clevelandparkwine.com , on Facebook at : clevelandparkwine&spirits ) for just as many years.
I had heard the words so often of : " wine-maker ", " consulting oenologist " , " Virginia " , " Monticello " and " French burgundy " so long and I thought that he was actually French for a long time.
Anyway Michael it was great to finally get you into our store in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. on Saturday, October 16th, 2010 between 1-5 PM to taste with our customers. Both your Virginia and French burgundies were well-received and sold quite well . Thanks for making the time in your busy schedule to taste with our customers that are more-and-more embracing the excellent wines of Virginia and often going around visiting the many local wineries on the weekends.
I am always handing out the maps that they send me listing many of the wineries with lots of information and where they may be found clearly marked on these maps. I am thrilled to be able to help our customers with a map and send them on their merry ways with recommendations, names , etcetera.
I will write more tonight when I get home from work but for now I am going to post these pictures and give you all a chance to enjoy them before I finish this blog. It's now Thursday morning here at home at 9:11 AM on October 28th, 2010 and I have to be off to work now. Cheers, TONY
As I said, this was really a wonderful tasting and it was a pleasure to have you in the store Michael. You tasted seven wines in all : three from Monticello, Virginia and four from burgundy, France. They were all under your name except for the WINEWORKS 2009 Viognier ( $16.49 ) which was bright and lively, medium-to-light-bodied and showing beautifully with-or-without food. I could have sipped on it outside of Byblo's Cafe across the street and watched the colorful pageant of life go by just across Connecticut Avenue N.W. from our store with one of Mark's " Byblo's Sampler or his " Chunky Chicken ( love the coldness of the sandwich and the crunch of the fresh grapes! ) or his Chicken and Cheese ( love the melted cheese and the moist, grilled onions and the seasoned chicken ) wraps. Trust me, you have to try this sometime. Too bad that Mark does not have a liquor license to do this. The view is grand, the wine is divine ...
Michael and Mark Congdon from J.W. Sieg poured Michael's MICHAEL SHAPS Petite Verdot 2008 ( $29.99 ) and his MICHAEL SHAPS Chardonnay 2008 ( $29.99 ) both from Monticello, Virginia. They were both excellent and really showing well on this past Saturday. Being a lover of reds I would have to give the Petit Verdot the edge here, at least for me. Both were forward and fleshed and rather filled with sunshine and warmth and charm. I could easily have a glass or two of the Petiti Verdot before the food arrived. With the Chardonnay a glass before the meal would be lovely.
I got a chance to express to Michael around all the activity and tasting that I believe that the Petit Verdot will ultimately be the red grape variety that will make Virginia famous. I explained that I thought this because with the red Cabernet Franc there is always a French comparison to be made with the excellent Loire Valley reds from the towns of Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Bourgeuil, St. Nicolas de Bourgeuil and Chinon. However, with the Petit Verdot there is no wine in Europe or anywhere else to compare it to.
When I met wine-maker Thinas from BOSCHENDAL, Franschoek, South Africa this last weekend we talked about the Petit Verdot made in South Africa. He told me that it needed to be blended. I did like the barrel samples that I tried of the Petit Verdots on my visit there two years ago to South Africa with importer John Morrison that is South African and grew up around Capetown. We visited his friend Curly the wine-maker of HILLCREST wines made just outside of Cape Town and I loved his barrel sample of Petit Verdot. He was going to blend it and not make one.
We also visited Rolf the winemaker at BLAUUKLIPPEN and he had an excellent example of a Petit Verdot for me to taste. So did Carter ( is this name correct ) at MORESON and again he had an excellent example from the barrel for me to taste. However, none had projects to make a Petit Verdot. Virginia is well on the way to making may fine Petit Verdot dry reds. Michael, yours was delicious and round and fleshy and forward and really hard not to like or to find flaws with. Bravo!
I will continue this soon as I have the French burgundies of Michael to write about next : 1) the SHAPS & ROCHER Meursaul 2007 ( $51.99 - worth every penny, euro! ), the 2) SHAPS & ROCHER Pinot Noir red burgundy 2008 ( $18.99 , elegant and delicate and so silky smooth ), 3) the SHAPS & ROCHER Cotes Du Nuits Villages 2007 ( $27.99 , again extremely polished and elegant ) , and the 4) the SHAPS & ROCHER Vosne Romanee 2005 ( On Special for $64.99 ; again extremely polished with some mineral and spice to really create conversation and make one pause and reflect exactly what were the flavors evolving in the glass as the bouquet called-reached out to one ). Cheers et a plus tard, TONY
No comments:
Post a Comment