French Wine Tasting!
Thursday, July 20th
Exquisite Wines of Burgundy, Jura, & Savoie! Featuring Reknowned Producers, Sauzet, Tissot, & Quenard. A Heavenly Line-up You Want Do Not Miss!!
French Wine Tasting
Le Petit Bijou
Thursday, July 20th
4pm - 6pm, $20
With Special Guest, Allaina Lawrence of International Wines
Call 256-964-7980 to Reserve!
NV Tissot Arbois Cremant De Jura Extra Brut, Jura , France $29.99
An abiding staff favorite from Stéphane Tissot's biodynamic estate in Arbois, this crémant is a blend of 55% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 10% Poulsard and Trousseau. The interplay between the dry, mineral complexity and rich generosity make this an incredible Champagne-alternative. Opulent aromas of raw honey and baked red apple lead to flavors of tangy yellow fruit, crisp apple, toasted almond, and quince on the persistent finish. Amanda Bowman
NV Tissot Arbois Cremant De Jura Rose Extra Brut, Jura, France $29.99
The Crémant rosé from Stéphane Tissot’s biodynamic estate in Arbois is fantastically refined, structured, and fully-dry. This is a blend of directly-pressed Pinot Noir, Trousseau, and a bit of Poulsard. The robe shows a vibrant pink hue with orange flecks in the glass. The nose offers aromas of crushed raspberries, delicate quince, orange blossom, and ripe strawberries. The palate is lush and fruit-forward, yet dry with a fine mousse, minerals, and subtle notes of brown spice. We love this sparkler for its ability to strike a perfect balance between complexity and easy enjoyment. This is unequivocally the Champagne of beers of Crémant. Amanda Bowman
2021 Andre & Michel Quenard Chignin " Les Roches De La Soveyarde" Blanc, Savoie Chignin, France $21.99
There is a stereotype about the wines of Savoie wherein they all taste like ice-cold spring water from a gurgling mountain stream you stumbled upon in an enchanted meadow just after zipping down a ski slope. This meadow typically has a fondue bar, to which local artisan cheesemakers carry the fruits of their labor via horseback exclusively for your enjoyment. The crisp white wine you sip impeccably cuts through decadent melty rinds, all while a fresh Alpine breeze provides invigorating contrast to the brilliant sunshine of this most perfect day.
Alas, I am here to tell you that not all of Savoie’s wines taste like that. But this one most certainly does. The fruit is freshly picked, the flowers are in full bloom, and you can feel the stones from the rocky mountainsides crunching underfoot with each sip. Mouthwatering, and oh-so-satisfying.—Anthony Lynch
2018 Tissot Arbois Savignin Sous Voile, Jura, France $64.99
The Tissot family produces a very large range of 'small batch-single site' wines. The winemaker Stephane is infectiously passionate and enthusiastic, intense, intelligent and all charasmatic. Tissot is a talented and individualistic producer.
The Tissot Savagnin is one of the benchmarks of the Jura region.
It takes 33 months in barrel under flor (‘Sous Voilé’) to reach the point of bottling. When it's ready, it's one of the great drinking experiences - a cavalcade of round, toasty fruit and nuts, a sweeping cloud of sea spray, and a pure, intense saline minerality which drives hard and long through the palate.
33 months 'sous voile'!
2021 Etienne Sauzet "Jardin Du Calvaire" Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Blanc, Burgundy, France $69.99
Etienne Sauzet's 'Jardin du Calvaire' is a biodynamically cultivated vineyard planted at an altitude of 450 metres, at the end of a steep path called ‘la route du Calvaire’ (the Calvary route, an indication of its steepness) which is planted with vines owned by Benoît and Emilie. The grapes from the vineyard are all hand harvested and manually sorted for pressing. Fermentation, using only indigenous yeasts, takes place in stainless-steel tanks for approximately three weeks. The wine was then aged for 12 to 15 months in French oak barrels (15% new), before spending a further three months in stainless steel vats to settle before bottling. In keeping with Etienne's signature winemaking style, the Hautes Côtes de Beaune Blanc 'Jardin du Calvaire' has a very precise, fresh nose with notes of citrus, white flowers and delicate mineral undertones. On the palate, there are notes of white pepper, vanilla and herbs. It has a lively acidity with a long saline finish.
2021 Andre & Michel Quenard Chignin Gamay " La Voie Sarde", Savoie Chignin, France $21.99
The Quenards have been making wine just west of the Alps for almost a century, and today they represent one of Chignin’s essential family domaines. André and Michel are now largely retired; Guillaume, the next generation, oversees the vines and the cellar, producing stellar wines from this off-the-beaten-path region. Even though he fashions this cuvée from the Beaujolais’s star grape variety, this is very much Gamay from Savoie, and not its neighbor more than a hundred miles to the northwest. With notes of mixed black and red fruit and a spine of minerality, Quenard’s Gamay is crunchier, more aromatic, and more succulent than most bottles you’d find in Beaujolais. Après-ski doesn’t get much better than this.