Jean-Marc Espinasse, Owner & Wine-Maker of ROUGE-BLEU 2007 " Mistral " red Vallee Du Rhone & 2008 " Dentelles Rouge Du Mediterranee,Tasting 3/9/10

Quel mystere?!?


Things went so smoothly this Tuesday early evening on March 9th, 2010 as I we at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008, Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, www.clevelandparkwine.com). It had already been a full day with writing and posting the store e-mail and having checked wines in for tomorrow's " Big Theme " Washington State wine-tasting of 33-34 wines and five reps pouring with two more assistants.

This picture above looks just like the part : everything in place with an owner/wine-maker Jean-Marc Espinasse and our local French rep Charles from William's Corner Imports. Customers tasting and both Frenchmen explaining and adding to their enjoyment with facts about the wines themselves ( one " new " dry Grenache rose and two red Rhone blends of Grenache and ) and perhaps a story or anecdote. This was all very normal for us. We always receive wine-makers and owners to taste their wines with our customers. That's just what we do : plain and simple because we do not sell points and review and sell instead the opportunity to connect with the people behind the wines themselves and the purchasing of their wines afterward because you come away with more having both tasted the wine and met the actual people involved in their creation.




But I am straying from my original mystery : what was different about this particular tasting? I was there with my handy Canon camera taking this picture of Jean-Marc from above to try and capture all of him and here I have him talking to a customer and seeming really relaxed and " chez nous/ at home " in Cleveland Park. I like that, really I do.

But let me retract a bit here. There were already people here for the wine-tasting. Some had received my store email that had been posted around 3:30 PM this afternoon. I had already mentioned the tasting and dinner afterward with Jean-Marc at DINO at the corner of our block twice now. This time, however I finally had a copy of the menu and was able to post it as I had the past Saturday night when leaving the store run into owner Dean of DINO restaurant. We spoke quickly, he invited me to the dinner and told me he had still another ten or so seats available for the dinner. That's always nice as I like to advertise dinners like this , especially great-value wines like this one which included the two reds of Jean-Marc ( the Dentelles 2008, $18.49 and the Mistral 2007, $21.99 ) and an appetizer/amuse-bouche, two courses and a dessert of Tiramisu for $50 a person all-inclusive. That's a deal in my book.




It was busy when Charles and Jean-Marc showed up at the store just before 5 PM. I was busy getting some wine for a customer I believe and there were customers arriving for the tasting as well as just to buy something already and so my hands were full and Charles saw everything set up at our tasting table and the two of them arranged quickly themselves and their affairs around the table and they were off pouring and speaking about Jean-Marc's "new " dry Grenache-based rose that he had brought as a sample for people to taste even though there was none of it yet for sale. Was this the mystere and the solution to it : Jean-Marc had a sample of the rose that he brought all the way from France himself? Do other wine-makers and owners not do this? No, they do indeed so this could not be what was exactly different.

And as busy as it was I was pondering this " new state of affairs " and marvelling as well and not really focusing on it ( enjoying it, whatever this " it " was thoroughly ) but much too busy to analyze just yet the situation.

It was certainly running smoothly and it was fun, there was energy in the air, lots of conversation and lots of people milling about and gathering in groups as they tasted Jean-Marc's three wines.

And then there was the couple that had come all the way from Sydney, Australia with their mother I believe to meet Jean-Marc because their daughter had worked with Jean-Marc!?! Wow, this was pretty amazing, really. Maybe this was the mystery and I had finally solved it?




I am going to post this now and continue it later today. In the meantime read it and enjoy the pictures and stay-tuned for more on this " mystere "/ 2-hour wine-tasting at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and later dinner at DINO. Cheers et a plus tard mes amis ... TONY

Armando Castagnedi, Owner Of TENUTA SANT' ANTONIO, Valpoliceela In Veneto, Italy Tastes Current Vintages @ Cleveland Park 3/2/2010 W/ Arielle Monaco

This was a really great visit for me and I felt a tremendous bond with Armando after having spent about an hour with him tasting his current vintages, taking my many digital photos, drawing quick portrait sketches of him and more. I loved the wines : I loved the man. This was very special for me as Amando makes wines that really speak to me : cry soft and soothing lullabies, stit the soul with heat and earth and sweaty dust and have that grit and grip and tug that starts right away with an intoxicating bouquet od heat and dried fruits, sun-saturated pips and grape skins, shriveled bunches of grapes that are reduced to their essence of the vine and the roots and land and everything above that beats down mercilessly for months upon them. I love this reflection/connection of land and sky and sun and impoverished soils that drain well but are so hard on the roots that start off tender but have to harden more than the soil and rocks, minerals and dust and mud/clay itself. Ahhh, the toil and the life of a bunch of grapes hanging for their dear life on a vine that is attacked incessantly and harshly from above and from below.





Look at this smile in the picture above on Armando's face : it tells a great story. It's his moment to finally relax and reap his rewards that are very hard to earn and take lots of time and perseverance and patience. He can tell that I am enjoying his wines and getting into the spirit of what he is doing and accomplishing with his unwavering dedication. His whole family must live this life as intensely as he does. I look forward to meeting your family some day Armando and asking them about the life of a wine owner and wine-maker in the Valpolicella region of Veneto. Italy? And I expect that you make some extra virgin olive oil as well?

As we sampled I asked you many questions about the wine and food combinations and you had immediate responses that you wrote in your own handwriting on the back of the list of wines that Arielle had typed up and offered to me so that I could easily take notes on them. Thank you Arielle, that is a very smart thing to do for each account as many of them see lots of people each and every day. I know that I do and it is great to have a reminder of wines names with vintages and prices all gathered together on one sheet of paper.






Armando and I tasted from TENUTA SANT' ANTONIO : one white ( a 2008 Soave, $13.49 ) and three reds ( a 2007 Valpolicella DOC " Nanfre ", $14.99 ; a 2006 Valpolicella Superiore " Ripasso " DOC " Monti Garbi ", $25 : and a 2006 Amarone della Valpolicella DOC " Selezione Antonio Castagnedi ",$48. I enjoyed each and every one of these four wines.






The 2008 TENUTA SANT'ANTONIO Soave DOC " Fontana ", $13.49 I wrote : " Smooth, good, soft, no bite. Very elegant, a touch of dusty dryness nut not tart, good accents of citrus ". I'd enjoy this with a meal and I may buy some when we need some Soave in our store. WE already have three good Soave whites so we don't need another right now.

I asked Armando about what foods he would recommend with this soave and he said : fish : branzino, grilled fish, halibut. Also grilled tuna for me in interessante! "





Turning now to the three reds I started by tasting the 2007 TENUTA SANT' ANTONIO Valpolicella DOC " Nanfre " which is a dry red blend of 70% Corvino and 30% Rondinella. It's made in 100% stainless-steel from the young vines. I wrote in my notes : " Very bright/ bright/ crisp / fresh / toasty-roasted cherry-some dusty dry, touch of " grip "/grit - fermented low temperature to have " more fruity " - have extraction - stay in stainless-steel.

I asked Armando what he would serve with this " Nanfre " and he wrote : " come si dice - pasta, pane e salamie. Carni bianchi! " I like that, no waffling here at all.




With the TENUTA SANT' ANTONIO 2006 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso DOC " Monti Garbi " I wrote : " Love the " mouth-feel " - Wow!! Great - my " fave " so far! Great, elegant : Corvino 70% / Rondinelle 20% / Croatina 5% and 5% Oseleta. So smooth - so nice to let it simply sit on your palate / tongue and work it's magic... "



With the 2006 Amarone della Valpolicella DOC " Selezione Antonio Castagnedi " ( named after his father Armando had a whole lot to say. I simply wrote as I listened and quickly copied his thoughts and words : " lovely, great , lovely and balanced ". Then I had no time for any more of my thoughts as Armando spoke with passion and conviction and very quickly. He spoke of this Amarone as the " most important wine at our farm. It represents a " new style " for food/ grilled bifstek/ Fiorentina. Great for me. The sugar of this wine is not too high with balance and fruit-fresh ".




In Italian on the back side of this paper I had Armando write about this new Amarone style : " Per il suo equilibrio vengono apprassise per un periodo pius conto quin di cambia l'espressione verso un frutto piu fresco e piu bevibile. "




About the Ripasso I had Armando write in Italian what he was telling me in English : " E il vino per it tavolo in generale perche e molto bilanciato fra zucchero acidita e alcol. Per tutti i piatti! "




Armando told me that the Ripasso 2006 spent time in new French oak for one year plus in others, older, too - 500 liter barrels. He talked about the importance of the barrels being clean.




As I said I really enjoyed this interaction that we were having together. This meant a whole lot to me as I snapped away quickly at all of these pictures and many more that I do not have time to include here. I will save them for a rainy day in the future.




For more technical information you may go to : Armando Castagnedi +39 348 859 0643 Azienda Agricola Tenuta Sant' Antonio di Castagnedi Massimo, Armando, Paolo e Tiziano , Via Ceriani 23 Localita San Zeno Tel : +39 045 760 0383 Fax : +39 045 617 1098 www.tenutasantantonio.it and : info@tenutasantantonio.it.




I think that I will post what I have written and downloaded so far as to not get things bogged down and forgotten as I see lots of people daily and I take all my tastings/ meetings very seriously. And as I said I felt a real bond with Armando and want to get things rolling from my side.




Both the TENUTA SANT'ANTONIO 2007 Valpolicella DOC " Nanfre " and the 2006 Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso DOC " Monti Garbi " Veneto reds are on our shelves at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. If you read this and are local stop by and pick up a bottle of each. You will be very happy that you did, indeed.




Cheers to one and to all and to Armando : grazie e a presto! TONY




Look at the incredible red hues, oranges and rich browns - lovely brick reds as well as deeper garnets, too. Let's have a glass right now to celebrate life and being alive to enjoy it!




In the picture above Armando you are studying my every move very carefully. In the picture below you are relaxed and enjoying my photographic and artistic " antics ". Thanks for giving me some room to move here.




As in the picture below I love to include the wine with the owner and wine-maker when possible to show the tangible connection/relationship between the two.




In the picture below Armando is speaking equally with his hands as he is with his gestures and words. I like that a lot. He's focused here as he is telling Arielle and me something very important I am sure. What was it Arielle? Do you remember what Armando was saying at this moment? Help me out here. There was so much to absorb and so little time.





I always like the wine owners and wine-makers to sign something and in this case it was the sheet of wines that Arielle provided me with early as we first met, Thanks Arielle.




Below are the three quick portrait sketches that I did of Armando at the end and which I handed him as my gift to him and for sharing such a memorable and meaningful moment with me and Arielle. I loved it.




Below Armando is holding up one of these three quick pen portrait sketches that I did of him just before it was time for him to leave and go to his next appointment with Arielle. I keep them with me a long time and I appreciate no one being in such a hurry when they come to Cleveland Park. There is so much to share and so little time to do it. Oh well, I'll take gladly what I can get.




Grazie Armando and I look forward to selling your wines at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits. Here's a glass raised to us and to the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

Paolo Librandi Here In Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits Again, March 4th, 2010 W/ Jody Jackman Of Winebow Tasting Current Releases

It was great to see Paolo Librandi once again as I believe this is now his third visit to Cleveland Park? Is that correct Paolo? And now you are engaged and about to get married, too in July I believe? So many wonderful things happening all at once and your wines today on this afternoon visit sure did taste wonderful. I really enjoyed all of them and I am happy to say that three of them are now back in the store and ready to be purchased. We sold some of this past weekend as a matter of interest and I am very pleased about this.




Paolo, I think you came on Thursday with Jody Jackman of Wine bow Imports. That would make it the 4th of March, 2010. And what is wonderful, too is that Katherine the young lady that had been asking for your LIBRANDI wines of Calabria, southern Italy was at the store on Saturday evening and I rang them up at the register for her, recognizing her once I saw what she had on the counter before me. I told her that we also had the Riserva Ciro LIBRANDI dry red ( $19.99 ) and she said that she would buy it, too. I called out to Chris Barker to get a bottle off our shelf and bring it to me and so Katherine that evening walked away with three bottles of LIBRANDI dry reds ( two of the regular dry red Ciro ) and that made me happy indeed. I was smiling from ear to ear - widely - exultantly inside - beaming, really as she walked away and out our front door. This is good business : everyone is happy this way. Everyone here got what they wanted and so what more could you ask for?!?




I love these two pictures above and below of both Paolo Librandi ( owner of LIBRANDI wines in Ciro, Calabria, southern Italy - go to my previous blog on Paolo Linbrandi at both LIBRANDI and also with owner Miriam Caporali of TENUTA VALDIPIATTA - two separate blog entries for - for more info and pictures ) as well as Jody Jackman from Winebow Imports. I like how the Librandi " Ciro " indigenous white really brings out the warmth of their smiles along with the help of the strong ceiling lights above filtering through/reflecting from both golden-colored wine and my Reidel wine glass.

Being an active artist I notice these types of things and hope you don't mind my sharing them with you? Let me know your thoughts any time. There's a place below to leave comments and I welcome them. It all adds to the moment.




Jody, you look fabulous here in this picture above? Have I already mentioned this? yes, I have : but I like saying it again as it's so true.




I must have been moving my Canon digital camera above as the image came out blurred here. It's got life though reflected in a jarring and flushed/rushed sort of way in the Reidel glass. It's like vibrating here : raw light and energy that will fuse into emotion: translate into emotion/ conviction? I like it.

I love the deep garnet/cherry toasted-reflective red color in the Reidel glass below of one of your dry indigenous red wines Paolo. You're a bit tentative in the picture as I probably took so many all in a row and it's hard to smile equally in all of them. I still really like this picture above and it's composition. I especially like how the ceiling light above cuts through the bit of red wine at the back of the glass and makes it look like the Yellow Brick Road in the movie " The Wizard of Oz ". Do you see it, too? Or is it just me and my really active and creative imagination going on about nothing? NO!!!! It's there. Where are we off to Paolo? Let's discuss this further over a glass of your LIBRANDI Gravello Val Di Neto Paolo.




I like the color, too in the picture above. It's got a lovely rustic, rusty brown nail grip, grit and grind that speaks of sun-bleaching as it warms the cockles of this liquid red wine's throat that will in it's own way sing and cry and rant and rave and pave a path of many ways and reveal the core of the relationship that existed that year between those select vines of LIBRANDI'S wherever they may be : on hill or in a undulating valley or ravine. I haven't seen the terrain of Calabria yet. What does it look like Paolo? How do the vines, the roots, the earth and the sun and wind and rain all interact normally in Calabria?




I loved this LIBRANDI " Gravello " Val Di Neto above. It was my favorite of the wines tasted here this afternoon with Paolo and Jody. It spoke to me volumes and I could easily have enjoyed the whole bottle over the course of the rest of the day before the sun's light bid us " adieu " and the reflection from the moon of the departed sun bathed us, depending on cloud formations or not in it's light. Let's take a bottle down to Spices again Paolo, just like we did the last time and let's call Miriam to come join us. I'd like that a whole lot.

I really liked both the weight and the concentration of the full canopy of moods and attitudes/latitudes of the many red grapes that baked I would believe in the intense sunshine until night brought the much-needed relief of dark and cold to equalize the blaze of the preceding hours. I am only guessing here of course but then these many red orbs hanging in bunches as they do day-in and day-out must have to have a break from all their work, frantic at times I am sure as they try to either hide from the intense rays of sunshine as to not bake : as well as dig deeper from a hard and unforgiving poor soil that did not want to make room for anything at all. So, how survive? How thrive? How?




The picture above is of stark grades of dark and light : almost as if candle light here. The contrasts are deep and far apart and yet they do meld and mesh well. I like the circles in the Reidel glass and I love the ceiling lights above that really do seem to be of a real light from a fire or a flame. It's a bit hard on Paolo's features. Sorry Paolo : it's all for the sake of art.

This LIBRANDI Gravello Val Di Neto has all the highs and the lows as well as all the spaces and places in between that I can fit myself , starting with my palate and tongue and continuing on with each and every sense of mine, every limb and every thought and fantasy, too. This is a bit of a stretch, I know : but the wine makes me feel as if I can and that goes to a wonderful state of mind and senses that equates to an incredible feeling of attaining and wanting to attain many of the limitless possibilities that lie there very present if dormant in each and everyone of us. I like / more, I need that. Wine is an incredible catalyst for me : my drug of choice.

I feel the LIBRANDI Gravello calling out to me : calling me by name and what more could I ask of a wine? Not much.





I love the starkness and edgy/fuzzy-mixed-with-light-and-motion feeling of the picture of Paolo above. I get a bit of warrior quality here with this profile of Paolo's almost as if he has just returned from a successful battle campaign waged , fought hard for and won? Maybe I am confusing all of that with selling and promoting well one's family's wines today?!? Sure, that must be it.

I really love the red color of his wine above " transparent and light-infused that looks almost like tints of tomato reds and which I believe is the LIBRANDI " Duca San Felice " Riserva 2005 ( $19.99 ) here that was amazingly smooth, elegant, refined and subtly-nuanced and reserved almost to a fault. It would be ever so easy to enjoy glass after glass and probably it would not really go at all to your head. It's always been the best-selling of all of the reds but this vintage of 2005 is more refined and elegant than I ever remember it being? Has the style changed some here with this Riserva Duca San Felice or is it simply the vintage? Please let me know Paolo : I forgot to ask you this afternoon as I was so busy snapping pictures away and doing my sketches and helping customers, etcetera.


Having said all of this I don't want to take away from the other wines : they are all excellent, too. It's just that for each and everyone of us one wine speaks louder and more directly and profoundly than the others and that's simply the way that it is.

Besides the LIBRANDI Gravello I tasted in order these other LIBRANDI wines : 1 ) the Ciro dry indigenous white, the 2 ) dry Ciro indigenous redd, the 3) Duca San Felice Riserva Rosso 2005 ( $19.99 ), the 4) Gravello Val Di Neto, the 5) Magno Megonic Val di Neto 2005 I believe? I am home on my day-off, Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 9:47 PM as I type this and so will finish this from work tomorrow. It all takes time and I forgot to bring my paperwork home with me which included my notes. Oh well, that failed to happen so I have to rely on my memory and ad-lib things as best that I may.






Susan that works with Tom Calder's French and now European selections was in the store at the same time almost and waiting to see me ( she's got the yellow scarf on - Jody has the pink scarf ) and so I invited her over to taste along with me. I like including everybody when I can : I believe fervently that it greatly adds to any one's experience this sharing of the moments and thus stays with us longer as we make more contacts and connections.




Look at this wonderfully clear and reflective quality of red above being poured into my glass from the LIBRANDI bottle of wine? It has various hues of red and I like the movement and motion as well as the pattern as it flows into the Reidel glass : the circles, the reflections off the clear Reidel glass as well as the green neck of the foil on the bottle top : green and red - complementary colors that give a nice yin and a yang here of forces that work both together and apart? I also like the small bit at the bottom of the tasting Reidel glass and how it comes forward against the thick bright white crystal glass in all it's clarity and reflective brilliance. This is, of course the artist speaking in me. Please humor me : I can't make any of it go away. It's here to stay ...

I really liked the LIBRANDI Ciro dry indigenous white : it's clean and bright and flavorful and distinct. It's also really well balanced and easy to enjoy with or without a meal being medium-to-light-bodied with good acidity and minerals and citrus but neither sharp or tart or cloying. It's a pleasure to drink: and the prices on it and it's red counterpart are very reasonable for everyday enjoyment.

In the picture below I have Paolo seen through the green glass of this LIBRANDI Ciro dry white. It's perfect as one can actually see through the color of the wine as well as the color of the green glass. I like it when I remember to take pictures of the owners and the wine-makers through the bottles of their wines. Sometimes I get an incredible picture : other times I get interesting contrasts of light and features distorted and seen through or masked by glares in the glass as here with the bridge of the nose between Paolo's eyes. I like it : there's a warmth and a glow and a cozy feeling of saturated and absorbed light from the ceiling that is made palatable and welcoming here though the yellow-green fusion of glass and light. I almost forgot to mention the intense yellow/mango color found in the LIBRANDI " Ciro " label itself that is very attractive and pleasing all on it's own. It, too adds immensely to this picture and warm feeling above.

What do you think? Do you like it?






I liked also how appealing the simple dry indigenous Ciro LIBRANDI red was here on this afternoon. Again it was very approachable and enjoyable all by itself. I am sure that at some point I would have become hungry drinking it but I have a good sense that I could have enjoyed a glass or two in conversation with Paolo and Jody before any food made it's entrance?




Here's the quick portrait sketch that I made of Paolo before he and Jody left to go to their next appointment. I did it and am glad that I did. When I saw Paolo again awhile earlier as he and Jody got settled and we spoke of past meetings he asked if I was still sketching and making portraits? I said I was and that I would do another of him before he left. I did two on this visit. The last time I did two of him when he was seated across from me a year or so ago with Patricio and Miriam Caporali of TENUTA VALDIPIATTA ( Montepulciano, Tuscany ) at Spices Asian restaurant down at the other end of our block.

When I gave the two quick sketches of this afternoon to Paolo he said that he would include them with the two that he already has. Thanks Paolo, I'm glad that you still have them : that pleases me enormously.




The last wine that I sampled was the LIBRANDI Magno Megonic Val Di Neto 2005 dry indigenous Calabrian red. I liked it very much for it's elegance, poise and style and superb finesse. It was so nice to sip all on it's own but I felt too coddled and pampered by it. I wanted to be more jostled and shook and turned round and knocked a bit senseless and to the ground if you get my meaning. I like a wine to chew on me some like the LIBRANDI Gravello does and after just having thoroughly loved that in the Gravello it was a bit of a let-down for me being served right afterward. I think for me it would have worked much better if the order had been reversed here. I think I would have sung it praises more if this had been the case. But that's just me : I am sure that it will be a big hit with many and I will consider bringing it to the store again perhaps towards the end of the year when things start to get cold again. Jody, why don't we work it into one of your in-store/wine-tastings?




I loved Jody's idea to place my quick portrait sketches of Paolo with his back to me and the camera. We will have to work more on this idea Jody : it's a great one with lots of artistic possibilities. I'm pleased with these fun pictures.




Thanks for stopping by Paolo. Come again anytime. Let's get you back the next time for an in-store/wine-tasting of your current inventory with Winebow the next time that you come to Washington D.C. ? Let me know and we may organize this early so that we may let everyone know. Grazie et a presto Paolo .... TONY