Friday, April 12th
Le Petit Bijou
French Wine Tasting
w/ Thomas Calder Selections
Gorgeous wines from Alsace, Jura, & Savoie!
Call 256-964-7980
"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."
French Wine Tasting
w/ Thomas Calder Selections
Le Petit Bijou
Friday, April 12th
4pm - 6pm, $20
With Special Guest, Allaina of International Wines
256-964-7980 to Reserve
2022 Labbe-Pont Royal Rose, Savoie, France $18.99
This tiny estate is run by the Labbé cousins, Alexandra and Jerome. They took over the farm from their parents who had worked it for decades and turned the estate into a thriving winery. The 10 hectare estate is located in the village of Abymes, one of the crus of the Savoie appellation. Abymes lies under the dramatic Mont Granier, one of the highest cliffs in France. The Labbé wines are known for their vibrant fruit, snappy acidity and incredible value.
2020 Labbe-Pont Royal Abymes, Savoie, France $16.99
100% Jacquere
Crisp, bone-dry. Salted, mineral-laden apple, white pear, and lemon. Long finish that gets even longer with oxygen. Especially food-friendly, great with charcuterie. Patio pounder. Drink this outdoors in the summer with someone worthy of your time and wine.
2022 Bénédicte et Stéphane Tissot Arbois Chardonnay `patchwork`, Jura, France $44.99
Chardonnay from Arbois, Jura, France; medium bodied and dry, crazy busy and mineral driven with layers of honey, apples, cashews, and cream, with hints of lemon citrus, almonds, and smoke, medium plus acid, and a long full opulent finish. Org, Bio
2018 Labbe-Pont Royal Mondeuse, Savoie, France $16.99
Comprised of 10 hectares, Domaine Labbé is located 15km south of Chambéry, a village famous for its Vermouth and cheese. Vinification practices preserve both varietal typicity and freshness – the cellar temperature is controlled, fermentation occurs through indigenous yeasts in non-reactive tanks/foudres.
The Savoie region is an Alpine region in Eastern France neighboring Switzerland with many of its vineyards lying close to the Rhone River as it winds its way from Geneva southward. 1,725 hectares are under vine in the Savoie, two-thirds of which are white, but very little of its wines are found outside of the region as they are mostly consumed locally, given the region’s popularity as both a winter and summer vacation destination.
2022 Bénédicte et Stéphane Tissot "DD" Arbois Rouge, Jura, France $36.99
A blend of 40% Trousseau, 30% Poulsard and 30% Pinot Noir from 35-year-old vines farmed biodynamically and planted on soils of limestone and Trias era clay. The vinification style brings to mind the first wines of André Tissot, nicknamed DD! The Trousseau and Poulsard grapes are destemmed by hand, followed by maceration in century-old casks for three months, whereas the Pinot Noir undergoes one month of whole bunch maceration. Bottled without fining, filtration, zero added sulphur.
Stéphane Tissot took over the beautiful family estate from André and Mireille Tissot in 1990, and in over thirty years has accomplished a colossal task to reach the summit of the Jura and become a model far beyond the borders of France. After converting the entire vineyard to organic farming in 1999, the estate was certified biodynamic in 2004.
2022 Domaine Barmes-Buecher Pinot Noir Reserve, Alsace, France $39.99
The Pinot Noir Réserve comes from multiple plots of varying age, mostly east-facing parcels in the Rosenberg, where the clay-limestone and marly sandstone give this Pinot Noir its length and elegance. Most of the vines were planted more than twenty-five years ago by François Barmès, in sélection massale from vineyards in Burgundy. The grapes were 100% destemmed, fermented in stainless steel, and matured for 10 months in three to five-year-old barriques. In a good glass, this soft-edged, ruby red Pinot Noir is a perfect example of a wine that puts on weight over time. Sun-warmed red cherries, freshly crushed cranberries, and discreet orange citrus move in and out of the foreground, with fleeting hints of pomegranate, eucalyptus, and cardamom as the nose evolves in the glass. On the palate, the wine is supple and medium bodied, with a silky core of sweet Pinot Noir fruit seasoned with saline limestone minerality, framed by a lingering, soft, fine-grained finish. And like every other high quality, terroir-expressive Pinot Noir, if you give it a few minutes in the glass, the sous bois and fresh hay that perfume the warm summer breezes in the hills above Wettolsheim will remind you exactly where the wine was grown. Drink now–2035.