Thomas Calder Importer Tasting
Saturday, March 25th
2-4pm
256- 469-7980 to Reserve!
Absolutely gorgeous wines from Burgundy, Champagne, & Loire Valley!
Presented by special guest, Allaina Lawrence
Founded in 2002, Thomas Calder Selections represents a collection of hand-picked, family-owned estates in France, Spain and Switzerland. Owned and managed by Thomas Calder, an American living in Paris since 1996, we have amassed an impressive portfolio of top quality domaines.
NV Champagne Barrat Masson Grain D'Argile Non-Dosage, Champagne, France $66.99
Displays qualities of dried fruits (pear, white peaches) along with nuances of slightly roasted hazelnuts. 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay. Vineyards – 7 hectares of estate vines in Bethon in Villenauxe-la-Grande – Côte de Sézanne. Soils: Clay and chalk (70%) Winemaking: Hand harvested, each parcel pressed separately and fractionally using traditional Coquard press. Fermentation at low tempertature (16C) in stainless steel tank & oak barrels.
Champagne Barrat-Masson is the project of Aurélie Barrat and Loïc Masson, a wife and husband team who farm seven hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in on the slopes of the Sézannais in Champagne Côte de Sézanne region.
2020 Isabelle et Denis Pommier, Pinot Beurot Grain de Survie, Brugundy, France $29.99
Located in Poinchy, near Chablis, the estate now covers 16 hectares. The growing quality of their wines makes it one of the estates with the best value for money. Under the influence and with the help of the greatest, the Raveneau brothers, they produce very harmonious wines that are rich, deep and endowed with great minerality.
Produced from a pinkish gray grape evoking the homespun with which the robes of the monks of Cîteaux were made, the Pinot Beurot comes from vines located in Volgré near Joigny. It is a white wine with a very powerful character that keeps very well.
It is part of the estate's "Grain of survival" range. This was born following strong climatic hazards which damaged most of the harvest twice in a row. The result was wines made from grapes that were rigorously selected and vinified with minimal intervention.
Definitely an atypical wine within an AOC preferring wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc. Pinot Beurot finds its place here with this monovarietal wine which reveals all its aromatic potential.
2020 Domaine Pattes Loup, Chablis Vent d'Ange, Burgundy, France $51.99
Domaine Pattes Loup is one of the most exciting estates to emerge from Chablis in recent years (Pattes Loup means "wolf paws"). Thomas Pico started his tiny estate in Courgis in 2005, just outside of the village of Chablis, under the wings of his friends and fellow organic Chablisiens, Alice and Olivier de Moor. He inherited 2.4 hectares of vines from his family’s estate, which historically produced correct, but uninspiring wines. Motivated to take a qualitative leap in a new direction, and against the wishes of his father, Thomas immediately began a program of strict yield control and a conversion to organic viticulture. This is a rarity in Chablis and a feat of extreme diligence in this often inhospitable vinegrowing region.
For a young winemaker, Pico is wise beyond his years. His drive and passion to express the soul and spirit of his land reminds us of icons like Anselme Selosse. These wines are the essence of “Chablis”, but not in a pop-and-pour with oysters kind of way. They are wines to savor and let unfold slowly in the glass or decanter. They have a truly unique character not only in their briny minerality but also in a complex and vinous quality that comes from the natural and slow evolution from vineyard to bottle over many years. Overall, there is a true sense of vitality to the wines, and a textured density that can only come from dedicated work in the vineyards and transparent winemaking.
2020 Domaine De Pave Eclat Insolite St Porcain Blanc Sec, Loire Valley, France $21.99
Grapes: 100% Tressallier (AKA Sacy)
Vineyard/Cellar Stats: organic farming; high altitude vineyards on alluvial soil/sand/gravel soils; vinification in stainless steel tanks; unfined/unfiltered with minimal So2 at bottling only; 12.5% ABV
Tressallier, also known as Sacy, is a French grape local to the Saint-Pourçain appellation that generally gets blended in with Chardonnay, due to the shortage of the variety after phylloxera blight in France (there are only 50 acres planted worldwide to this grape). So, pure Tressallier is a rarity, which is sad because it’s so freaking good, especially in Julien’s hands. Electrifyingly bright with crazy minerality and just a touch of creaminess, it’s bone dry and tastes like lemon muddled with thyme and underripe stone fruit. Sort of like Chablis, with a texture and minerality that tastes like you're drinking glacial water filtered through crushed oyster shells.
2020 Domaine De Pave Seduction St Porcain, Loire Valley, France $21.99
The Saint-Pourçain region runs along the west bank of the Allier River, which meets up with the Loire near Nevers; this is well south of Pouilly/Sancerre, in the “upper” reaches of the Loire Valley, which tends to be forgotten in discussions of the region’s wines. Domaine du Pavé is run by Julien Nebout, whose family estate, Domaine Nebout, has been a fixture in the region.
2021 Gregoire Hoppenot Fleurie Origines, Beaujolais, France $17.99
Hoppenot is a young winemaker who worked for in Burgundy and Beaujolais for Chapoutier’s Maison Trenel before spending time with Pierre Chermette in 2017. He farms organically and vinifies whole-cluster, and though he uses very little sulfur, the wines are decidedly classical. This is an approachable but elegant wine sourced from from a few lieux-dits in Fleurie. Bright, polished fruit with exception lift and balance from this ripe, concentrated vintage.
2021 Gregoire Hoppenot Morgon Corcelett, Beaujolais, France $29.99
Grégoire Hoppenot describes the workload required for his 0.7 hectares of 35-year-old vines in Morgon as “epic”. It’s a magnificent-looking site, steeply sloped (30% gradient) at almost 400m elevation with a south to southwest orientation. The soils are stony and shallow, with pieces of granite littered throughout.
Following 15 days of whole-bunch fermentation with ambient yeasts in concrete vats (60hl) the wine was rested for eight months in both large oak foudre and mature Burgundian barrels that had previously seen five vintages.