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Notes
- 1. ‘Be troubled,ye carelessones.’ Near Beziers in SW France the land slopes gentlyto the shores ofthe Mediterranean.Oysters are a delicacy, and the white wines are made to accompanythose saltyparcels of flavor, Les Costieres de Pomerols,a co-op near Beziers, is well known to everyone for their Picpoul di Pinet. Lastwinter while on the eastcoastduring a snowstorm Irecalled my delightful visit to the winery by sampling their livelyblend of Vermentino,Grenache Blanc, and Rousanne ove r, yes, freshly shucked oysters.What a treat! Mechanical late night harvestwith manual plotand soil selection, HB 2014 Languedoc Blanc is fermented in stainless after minimal skin contact(2 hours),controlled temps,no malo and several months aging on the lees.Deliciouslyfresh perfume,lively on the attack, mixed notes of peach and quince.Clean, fresh finish.12.99/750. With temps in the mid-80’s to low 90’s, Mont Gravet 2014 Cötes de Gascogne Blanc is a mustfor sipping on the deck with a plate of fois gras or thinly sliced saucisson sec.Notes oflemongrass in the perfume,lemon tart. meringue and mineral on the attack and a fine fresh finish.8.99/750. Vincent2013 Pouilly-Fuisse Marie Antoinette. The second label for well known Chateau Fuisse, and named after Jean Jacques Vincent’s mother Marie Antoinette Vincent. The grapes are sourced from several vineyards including younger vines from Le Clos, Les Brulés and Les Combettes atChateau Fuisse.Stainless steel fermentation with only 25% seeing any maturation in wood.Tasted lastweek: Tropical fruit perfume,expressive of banana,mango,orange. Lovely full bodied mouthfeel.Macadamia nutnuance.Muscular steelyarmature.Finishes long with lingering orange- melon flavors.32.99/750. http://frederickwildman.com/national/winery/j-j-vincent Catherine et Pierre Breton 2014 Rosé ‘La Ritournelle’. One of my favorites. 100% CabernetFranc grown on 1ha of gravel. Direct press(notsaignee). Stainless steel fermentation.Non filtered butgiven a lightfining with diatomaceous earth. Beautiful orange-pink with greatclarity. Perfume is reminiscentofthe orange groves I used to play in when I was a child.Tart Valencia and blood orange in the attack with strawberry/pomegranite nuance and a note of cream. Nicely constructed scaffolding showing stoniness and providing grip.Pepperynotes round out the finish.An outstanding effort!22.99/750. Two reds to round out this edition of Notes. Domaine Brazilier Coteaux du Vendòmois 2014. Pineau d’Aunis,CabernetFranc,and Pinot Noir fruit grown on 25ha of clay and limestone soil.Mechanical harvest,hand sorting.Wasn’table to find out much else except that they vinify “traditionally” which could mean almostanything.It is however, all fruit, no wood.Light transparentbrilliantred. Perfume is pepperywith subtle watermelon notes.Focused:watermelon,currant,and peppery. Finishes with tart acidity. 14.29/750. Chateau Lafond 2012 Canon Fronsac. Who says they can’tmake great affordable wine in Bordeaux? Well, here ‘tis! 80% Merlot, 20% CabernetFranc. 350 year old chateau situated on chalk soils atthe top of the hill in Fronsac. Young vines. Manual and machine harvest.Fruit is sorted on a table then pumped for crushing and a briefinitial maceration.Fermentation for 10 days with. remontage twice daily, followed by a secondarymaceration,malolactic fermentation,and racking into barrels.Garnetred and brilliant.Red currants,plum and violets in the nose.Gravelly, pencil lead in the body with suave anise.Very good length on the end with grip and power.17.99/750 2 nd label of Chateau Mazeris.http://www.chateau-mazeris.com/ At our next sitting I will be featuring Ridge Vineyards.We will taste a vertical(vintages to be determined) ofMonte Bello and new vintages of, among others,Lytton Springs,Three Valleys, and Geyserville. A representative from Ridge do the presentation.Time and date to be announced in these pages.