November Staff Picks

Dominique: ’03 Domaine des Baumard Loire Valley, Quarts de Chaume .375L $26.99 Also available in .750L for $51.99 Domaine des Baumard is the most well known estate and incontestably one of the best producers in the appellation of Quarts de Chaume. The estate called "Logis de la Giraudière" is nestled in the heart of Rochefort-sur-Loire, a small enchanting village on the southern bank of the Loire River, where the Baumard family has produced wine since 1634. An appellation since 1954, Quarts de Chaume’s reputation can be traced back to the middle ages. Jean Baumard bought the estate in 1955, immediately restructured the vineyards and made it a flagship of the appellation. In 1957, he bought 5 hectares of vineyards in Quarts de Chaume and added 15 hectares of Savennières in 1968. He devoted his life to his passion for winemaking, even teaching it in university. In 1990 he retired from producing but not teaching. Since 1987, his son, Florent Baumard, has been in charge of the property and the winemaking. Meticulously following his father’s methods, respecting the expression of each terroir and adding his own techniques, he has achieved a portfolio of very consistent wines with explosive aromas and great depth. Baumard Quarts de Chaume is made solely from "Botrytised" (affected by noble rot) Chenin Blanc grapes harvested from 35 years old vines. In October, the rows are harvested 2-5 times and the time between each harvest varies from 5 to 10 days, depending on the quality and ripeness of the grapes. Florent Baumard's careful supervision has resulted in a balanced, gently sweet and structured liquid gold sweet wine that can age for 10 to 30 years with no difficulty. 2003 was a great vintage, although generally lacking a bit of acidity, it offers great concentration and complexity. This Domaine des Baumard is a treat for your palate and is highly sought after due to its very limited quantity. It is the perfect wine to sweeten Thanksgiving, Christmas and any other cold winter night. It is an excellent match with foie gras, poultry, blue cheeses (Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola), apples and also chocolate. And if it may trigger your interest, Wine Spectator just rated it 96 points. Enjoy! Justin: ’01 Rémirez de Ganuza Rioja Reserva $51.97 This is one of the great 2001 Riojas from the great 2001 vintage. It hails from one of the most exacting and passionate producers in Rioja, owner and founder of the Bodega, Fernando Rémirez de Ganuza. He keeps the estate and it's winemaking facilities in immaculate shape with the goal of producing the best wines possible. An expert in the vineyards of Rioja, he firmly believes a great wine requires great raw materials. The heart of his efforts are the 60 hectares of old vine vineyards he gradually acquired in Rioja Alavesa. The vines average 60 years in age and range from 30 to nearly 100 years in age. His first vintages were in the early 1990s and 1994 was his first commercial release. He deeply believes in rigorous grape selection and his selection table and methods are legendary in Rioja and the most demanding I have encountered anywhere. Not only are the grapes selected for health and ripeness with great care, but the "shoulders," the squared tops of the grape clusters are separated from the "feet," the bottom tip sections of the bunches. Only the "shoulders" are destemmed and fermented for use in the reserva wines, while the feet are kept whole and made into his young, carbonic maceration wine Erre Punto (R.). Fernando's obsession with quality and detail combined with his outstanding vineyards make it clear why his wines are consistantly excellent, even in less praised vintages. Rémirez de Ganuza Reserva is a "modern" styled wine known for its deep black cherry flavors, great depth throughout and, above all, elegance. The 2001 is a superb edition. Deep ruby/purple in color it features deep black cherry aromas with notes of jammy strawberry, raspberry and hints of smoke. On the palate the cherry flavors are at once bright, refined and deep and are accented with notes of chocolate, vanilla, toasty oak and minerality. Additional flavors of mixed red berries, blueberry, wild herbs and hints of licorice come forward as its opens and reveals its inner ripeness. The mouthfeel is supple and silky and it shows great palate presence from beginning to end. The tannins are very fine and lead into a long finish. The overall effect is of great elegance and great purity. It is beautiful now, but will benefit from further aging. This is serious Rioja, and seriously good. Donald: ’01 Château de Fosse-Seche Saumur Rouge $23.99 Grown organically on an ancient vineyard site loaded with calcareous limestone and dark mineral infused soil, the legendary vineyards of Saumur—located southwest of Touraine in the very heart of the Loire Valley—have been praised by everyone from Rabelais to Rousseau and Dumas to Duras. The 2001 Chateau de Fosse-Seche Saumur Rouge is an extraordinary blend of Cabernet Franc (80%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) grapes from an exceptional vintage. With dense rose and round velvety plum tones that linger just beneath a rich dark forest floor on the nose. On the palate this wine exhibits ripe dark plum, boysenberry, a hint of savory spice and autumnal bramble tones that precede a glancing suggestion of French oak and lead pencil framing the angular and relatively austere finish. This is a highly elegant—naturally made—Saumur Rouge that fans of our ever expanding Loire Valley wine section are buying up in cases, and for the uninitiated this is an ideal introduction to wines from this famed region. A perfect accompaniment to the upcoming Thanksgiving Day feast this wine has enough fruit to highlight even overcooked turkey with all of the traditional trappings. And yes it also work very well with Pork Loin stuffed with dried apricots, and even river fish.

Patrice: ’02 Château Lynch Bages Pauillac, Bordeaux $33.97 The Château Lynch Bages had its beginnings in the early part of the 17th century. First owned by Bernard Dejean the property changed hands numerous times before settling into the current ownership under the Cazes family. Today the firm is managed by Jean Michel Cazes who is assisted by his lovely sister Sylvie. Situated on the gravelly slopes of the Gironde Estuary the vineyards are planted with 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Many believe that the wines of Lynch Bages can stand tall with the “super seconds” of Bordeaux at a fraction of the price. The sexy 2002 Lynch Bages starts with lush aromas of cassis, vanilla and Asian spices. Velvety flavors of currant, plum and tar coat the palate ending in a long, expressive finish. This is a spectacular holiday or special occasion wine. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Sam: ’04 Bodegas José Blanco Argentina, Malbec “Andalhue Organico” $9.99 Andalhue is the name given to the wine made from the property of Bodegas José Blanco. The property, consisting of seventy acres of rich, highly elevated soil exclusively planted with the Malbec grape, is young, owned by Don José Blanco and operated by the noted winemakers, Hector and Pablo Durigutti. The brothers Durigautti control the entire winemaking process, from the vineyard preparation to the final bottling. The impressive Andalhue is grown organically, using no pesticides or chemicals at all during the process, and contains only naturally occurring sulfites. The wine is aged in concrete vats covered with epoxy. The vineyards produce approximately 12,000 cases annually. The resulting product is a pure, rich, fruit-driven wine. Not long ago we were privileged to taste this fantastic wine at PJ’s. The perfume of this wine is so richly intoxicating, it is hard to put into words…I guess if I had to, I would just say to you: Imagine yourself surrounded by blueberry fields! The wine itself is a dark bluish-purple with tinges of red velvet. Dark, pure fruit abounds in this wine, with deep, mouth-filling tannins on the finish. It is quite serious and powerful, and a definite must-have with a fine steak Tartare or with leg of lamb. There is the potential to age for a few more years, but I could not see myself holding onto this wine for long. It is that good. Chris: ’01 Archery Summit Pinot Noir “Premier Cuvée” $29.97 If you don’t think Oregon Pinot Noir is up to snuff, then you probably haven’t tasted some of the better examples from that lush, green state in the last couple of years. Against some of the best and pricier Oregon Pinots, Archery Summit’s 2001 “Premier Cuvée” Pinot Noir recently performed quite well in a blind tasting, even coming pretty close to an excellent village Burgundy. The vineyards located in the north part of Willamette Valley, in the Red Hills of Dundee, steep hillside sites are densely planted with Dijon clones, between 2,100 and 4,800 vines per acre. This wine uses fruit from four estate vineyards: Red Hills Estate, Arcus Estate, Renegade Ridge Estate and Archery Summit Estate. Partial whole clusters (35%), natural yeasts, controlled temperature fermentations and manual punch downs were used to make the wine, which was aged in 83% new French oak barrels for 10 months. The wine was gently moved by gravity through the state-of-the-art facility to protect its delicate aroma and flavor characteristics. With deeply alluring, funky barnyard and tangy, red cherry aromas the wine becomes ripe, juicy, crushed red and black cherry flavors on the palate. The wine has a charming juicy character on the palate, but its components are well mannered and balanced, and the finish is extremely long. This wine is a great match for duck, sushi-grade tuna or venison with blackberry compote. Although this Pinot wasn’t seen in “Sideways,” it is worthy of a place on your table. And see how fast it turns into an empty bottle…