Thursday, September 14th
4pm - 6pm
Take the European Tour!
Wine tasting featuring gorgeous wines of Spain, France, & Switzerland!
Call 256-964-7980 to Reserve!
European Wine Tasting
Le Petit Bijou
Thursday, September 14th
4pm - 6pm, $20
With Special Guest, Robert Gunn of Pinnacle Imports
Call 256-964-7980 to Reserve!
2017 Gramona 'La Cuvee' Corpinnat Brut , Spain $25.99
Organic / Biodynamic. Grape varieties: Xarel.lo (50%), Macabeu (30%), Chardonnay (15%), Parellada (5%). Age of vines: 35-50 years old
Sourced from 13 growers/members of Aliances per la Terra, an organization established to promote organic and biodynamic farming in the Penedes. Currently, all these growers are certified organic, and 12 a certified biodynamic.
Tasting notes: The nose has medium intensity with elegant floral notes wrapped in stone fruit such as peach, apricot, golden apple, lemon peel, closed by a shy note of raw almond. The palate has a round entrance, medium enveloping body, crispy carbonic texture. In the retro-nasal route citrus memories return, the apple, the almond. Very refreshing and long finish.
2022 Domaine Filliatreau Saumur White 'Lena Filliatreau', Loire Valley, France $25.99
100% Chenin Blanc. From a combination of certified-organic estate fruit and some sourced fruit. Whole-cluster press; fermentation with native yeasts in tank; aged in tank on its fine lees until spring following the vintage. It is a dry style (though there may be a gram or two of residual sugar in some vintages). The wine is named for owner-founder Paul Filliatreau's Swedish wife Lena.
Very dry, with racy acidity on the palate that balances out a subtle nuttiness that adds surprising complexity to such an excellent value.
2021 Fernand & Fils Coteaux du Giennois Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley, France $22.99
Yves and Fernand Thibault are well known winemakers in Coteaux du Giennois, the region that abuts Pouilly Fumé to the north, sharing very similar soils. Fernand and Sons is a new venture, named after their Grandfather who bought land here in the 1920s. This example comes from a recently bought vineyard that has the famous Silex soil, flint and sandy soil, found in the best sites of Pouilly Fumé.
It's a sauvignon blanc with a lovely floral, ripe gooseberry nose with hints of leafiness and stony notes and a complex almost creamy long palate with mineral notes and a fresh citrus and saline finish, really impressive.
2022 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Rose 'Les Jeunes Vignes', Loire Valley, France $25.99
Pinot Noir may be most closely associated with Burgundy, but it also finds a home in the Loire valley where it thrives in the chalky soils of Sancerre. This rosé is 100% Pinot Noir, and it shows a wonderful aromatic profile of strawberries and citrus fruits and a fresh, well-balanced palate. Crisp minerality gives this beautifully balanced wine structure and length.
Brought to fruition by Henri Bourgeois over 50 years ago, the vineyards lie on some of the most rugged hillside terrains, offering the best exposures in the Loire Valley.
2019 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Rouge 'Les Baronnes', Loire Valley, France $29.99
Smooth, round, and with a nice texture, this Sancerre lets the Pinot noir express itself with fullness and a lot of charm. Very aromatic, it gives off flavors of cherry and strawberry and subtle woody notes. Its structure and acidity will ensure a good aging for 5 to 7 years.
2019 Chandra Kurt 'Dole' Red Bland, Valais, Switzerland $47.99
65% Pinot Noir and 35% Gamay, planted on limestone and slate soils in the heart of the Valais near Sion. Dôle is the local name for this style blend and Chandra’s version has a graceful and aromatic espressions. Grapes are hand harvested, fermented in stainless steel tanks and later undergo a 10 day maceration. Aged 9 months in stainless steel tanks.
Based in Zürich, Chandra Kurt is Switzerland’s foremost wine writer, educator, and critic. She has authored more than 20 books on wine, including Chasselas – from Féchy to Dézaley – A journey to discover the treasures of the Vaud vineyards and the annual guide Weinseller, along with her wine magazine Weinseller Journal.
She assembles each project first by understanding the vineyards, then guiding the winemaking to be as minimalist as possible. Thus, what is in the bottle is a pure reflection place and variety. While this may seem overly academic, it is a great way to begin to understand that the complexity of Swiss wines is truly worth exploring.