Splendidly opulent, and floral, with blueberry and blackberry notes intermixed with camphor and licorice, the 2005 Costieres de Nimes Vieilles Vignes looks to be a real sleeper of the vintage and a terrific example of Costieres de Nimes that should drink nicely for 7-8 years.
Patrick Lesec, the Frenchman who spent an important segment of his life in Santa Barbara, does a stunning job of accessing wines from old vineyards and putting together sensational blends in the southern Rhone. Everything is treated with respect for the regional typicity and character of the grapes. His strengths are the Chateauneuf du Papes, his Cotes du Rhones, as well as Vacqueyras and Gigondas. I haven’t reviewed everything that I’ve tasted, but just about anything with the Patrick Lesec label on it deserves a try as the prices are uncommonly fair for wines of such high quality. What I do find about them, since I purchase them myself, is that since they are made with minimal exposure to oxygen in a very reductive way, they often seem dormant, even dumb, when first released in the bottle. But, since they are bottled unfined and unfiltered, the full character does come forward, although it usually requires 2-4 years of bottle age, especially for the bigger wines from Chateauneuf du Pape. In any event, I consider this an unheralded source for top quality wines from a high-class negociant dedicated to artisinal winemaking.
The brilliant 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Galets Blonds is the star of these Chateauneufs. A blend of 92% Grenache and 8% Syrah was aged in foudre, tank, and small oak barrels (about 20%). Its dark ruby/plum/purple-tinged color is followed by a big, sweet nose of kirsch liqueur, herbes de Provence, and an oil of pepper-like character. Concentrated and full-bodied, with an old vine essence to its personality, this super Chateauneuf du Pape tips the scales at 16.5% alcohol. This is undeniably one of the stars of this irregular vintage. It should drink well for 12-15+ years.
注意事項：
The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape (15.2% alcohol, with essentially the same technical statistics as the 2005) is a completely different animal in terms of tasting. Opulent, full-bodied, and lush, it tastes as if someone had blended 65% of the 2003 with 35% of the 2005, and 2006 was the result. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with a sweet nose of framboise, raspberries, garrigue, spice box, and earth, the wine is gorgeously concentrated, with low acidity, and very ripe but high tannins. The overall impression is one of opulence, generosity, and a sexy, hedonistic style of Chateauneuf du Pape that puts it among the very finest of the vintage. Nevertheless, I still suspect 2-3 years of bottle age will be essential, and this wine will keep for 25 or more years.
This remains one of the irrefutable reference point estates for traditional Chateauneuf du Pape. The wine is always aged in a battery of foudres in the air-conditioned and humidified cellars. Vincent Avril told me that yields have been very low since 2003 at Clos des Papes, with 24 hectoliters per hectare in 2003 and 21 hectoliters per hectare in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Alcohols have consistently been above 15%, with the highest in 2003, and lower but still above 15% in 2004, 2005 and 2006. This estate has produced one of the great Chateauneuf du Papes of the 2006 vintage, and to my taste, it is a sexier, more hedonistic, and compete wine than even the 2005. Of course, the classic blend is 60% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah and the rest very small percentages of Vaccarese, Counoise, and Muscardin.
The Le Petit Vin d’Avril (two-thirds from the 2005 vintage and one-third from 2004) is juicy, with loads of crunchy cherries and new saddle leather notes with some pepper, flowers, and spice. It’s a vin gourmande, as the French would say, and best drunk in its first several years of life.
This exquisitely run estate continues to turn out wines of great fragrance, richness as well as flavor authority and integrity. The yields are always among the lowest in the appellation. While they have 87 acres and can produce as much as 8,000 cases of Chateauneuf du Pape, the yields in 2003 were 23 hectoliters per hectare, in 2004, 22 hectoliters per hectare, and in 2005, 21 hectoliters per hectare. Their best value, and it’s one heck of a bistro wine, is the non-vintage concoction of Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, and Carignan actually cropped at an amazingly low 32 hectoliters per hectare.
● 以上價格包含5％營業稅 ● 開始配送日期：2008.08月底 ● 好消息!! 即日起凡單次購買金額超過NT$15,000元,即贈 "Wine Symphony" Logo 3入葡萄酒保溫袋一只、單次購買金額超過NT$30,000元,即贈 "Wine Symphony" Logo 4入酒杯(肩背)手提包、好禮任選一!
中秋烤肉特惠專案
活動期間： 2008-08-09 ~ 2008-10-31
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SR050106
Bodegas Izadi
2006
Rioja DOC Crianza blanco (80% Viura y 20% Malvasia)
These two maps, size 59 X 22.8 inches ( 精裱木框 156cm x 64cm ), 比例尺 1: 20,000. They are a perfect reference guide for any Burgundy lover in addition to beautiful works of art. Thanks to rigorous precision, color-coding for wines and appellations, and clearly delineated boundaries of named plots, these maps combine perfect readability with an elegant visual presentation. They are both decorative and authoritative. With the aid of these maps, the user can move among the vineyards along the very same paths that the vignerons take when working on their vines.
"Vineyard maps of such precision and such beautiful detail simply haven't existed until now." Hugh Johnson
"For Burgundy's Côte d'Or, the beautiful wall maps of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune by Sylvain Pitiot ( 大德園釀酒師 ) and Pierre Poupon are unsurpassed for their precise yet highly legible detail and clean, sophisticated design." Peter Liem, Wine & Spirits Magazine
Experts recommend acquiring a good map. "Burgundy is marketed and sold on the basis of geography; some familiarity with how it is laid out would help," says Allen Meadows (burghound). Bernie Sun (Head Sommelier, Montrachet Restaurant, New York City) recommends the Sylvain Pitiot map, "I have it on my wall at home," he notes. "When you see the region as a whole, you can start to understand why all the different sites are so important." Beverage Media, January 2005
活動期間： 2008-07-28 ~ 2008-12-31
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WA0801
WineSymphony
Atlas Des Grands Vignobles De Bourgogne map set ( Côte de Nuits + Côte de Beaune )
