Friday July 17th - Sunday July 19th
All Day long!
There are lots of folks who import wines; it’s rare to find one with a track record and portfolio like Eric Solomon’s. His propensity for ferreting out great wines and greater values from Spain and France has kept him in the ranks of the top importers for nearly two decades. His Spanish portfolio is legendary; other than Stephen Metzler and Jorge Ordonez, no one had greater insight into the juggernaut that Spain was about to become, and no one has built a more brilliant Spanish portfolio. Eric has Niepoort from Portugal, the most dynamic producer in all the Douro Valley, if not in Portugal.
But his French book may be scarier still, especially if you're an importer trying to compete with him. The stable includes Chateau Tirecul in Monbazillac, Jean Paul Droin in Chablis and Roger Champault in the Loire. Solomon’s experience in southern France pays off with fantastic values in the Languedoc and Roussillon, as well as the southern Rhone: Domaine de l’Hortus, Clos du Prieur, la Casenove, Clos des Fees, Lafage and Matassa, among others.
In the sourthern Rhone, Domaine de la Janasse, Roger Sabon, and Domaine Marcoux in Chateauneuf-du-Pape are all the rage at the moment among the critics, and for good reason. They make utterly lush and delicious wines, and yet they are not wines that have sold their souls (ya know, with high alcohol, over-extraction, too much oak and the like) in order to get blessedly high scores from he-who-must-not-be-named. These wines are rich and impressive but they not only retain their souls, they HAVE soul. Character. Personality. Whatever.
The last several vintages have been excessively kind to the Rhone, especially the southern Rhone. 2004 (lovely), 2005 (stunning, amazing), 2006 (rich and decadent) and 2007, a vintage even he-who-must-not-named loves and raves. So do I. The 2007's are, well, I have coined a new word to describe them: sickdiculous.
Solomon's book is an embarrassment of riches. We are delighted that he lives in Charlotte and that we have the opportunity to offer so many of his fabulous wines. And we are even more excited to show his 2007 Rhone's this Saturday.
Here are just some of the wines we will be tasting this weekend:
2007 Giraud Tradition Chateauneuf du Pape
2007 Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge
2007 Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc
2007 Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Rouge
2007 Janasse Cotes du Rhone-Villages Terre Argile
2007 Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape “Cuvee Chaupin”
2007 Sabon Chateauneuf du Pape “Cuvee Prestige
Happy Tasting and we will see you this weekend!
Doug Frost, MW MW
Master of Wine & Master Sommelier
No comments:
Post a Comment