As midnight passed by on New Year's Eve, B. and I enjoyed our first glasses of Champagne of the year (picture shot later with what was left of the bottle). Aren't our new Mikasa "Open Up" glasses nice ? They were one of my Christmas gifts to B. (OK, that was a gift for myself too...). The design is perfect to taste and enjoy the wines (not only the young wines, I think) and they are made with a new, revolutionary material called Kwarx (deemed unbreakable...that's good for me). I spotted them in a store among many other wine glasses and immediately loved the design. When I bought them I thought Mikasa was a japanese brand but it is actually french and the new alloy was developed by its mother-company ARC, a french glass giant created in 1825.
Last december 14th, Pierre Jancou (formerly owner of the wine bar La Cremerie) and Claude courtois, a Loire natural winemaker, had a book-signing event at the Café De Flore in Paris for their new book "Les Cailloux - Le Paradis" the first tome in a collection named "Le Vin des Poètes". The book is a collection of poems with a wine setting. The Café de Flore, located on the left bank, is an historic "café littéraire" frequented by artists and writers (especially from the late 40's to the 70's). Of course, Claude courtois' wines were also among the guests...
Recent find : Prima Terra (estate's name) Cerico 2004, a 90% Grenache-10% Syrah aged one year on its lees. Unfiltered. A very small cuvée (500 bottles) from vineyards on narrow terraces (link:see pic on top) on steep terrain. Supple, very gourmand, glides in the mouth. The estate (3 hectares) is located in Riomaggiore, in the region of Cinque Terre in Northern Italy. Winemaker : Walter de Batté. 18 Euro.
Another outstanding wine : La Biancara (Veneto), Merlot 2003. Vintner : Angiolino Maule. Refined, with lots of complexity and length. 16-year old vines. vinified 25-30 days in open-top foudres, then one day to rest in a vat, and back in a foudre for 2 years. unfiltered and unsulphured. 15 Euro.
I've seen quite a good number of table spittoons, but this one has such a slender design... Now, who would spit Selosse's wines anyway ? Whatever, is it because of the bubbles or something else, I feel that people tend to spit less when tasting Champagnes...
We tasted two cuvées :__Initiale. Intense nose, a bit oxydative, darker-than-usual color with golden and greeninsh reflexions. Neat mouth.__Brut Rosé, a 90% Chard-7% Pinot Noir.
A Rhone tasting with 40 guest wineries was held at the end of 2006 in Paris. Named "Rhone en Seine", it featured a great selection of estates. One of them made my day, with a particular wine : Domaine Georges Vernay Côte Rotie "Blonde du Seigneur" 2004. Syrah (with a bit of Viognier). Nose : deep black cherry notes, a pleasure. Very classy mouth, with fluidity and refinement. This is good.
I've often wondered where all the spit wine goes, in the professional wine tastings. Sometimes clerks go from table to table and empty them in a sink. Here, at the "Grand Tasting" held recently in the Carrousel du Louvre, I fell upon this improvised (and artistically drapped) wheeled tank.
Anyone to emulate Sideways' main character and drink this odd blend (what a nightmare)?...
The Sultan asks the Baron of Münchausen to convert to his religion, but the latter refuses, saying he then would have to stop drinking wine. To that, the Sultan confesses that he indulges in drinking (secretly) a heavenly Tokaji....
The mohammedans have a record of difficult relations with wine. Their holy book even explicitly curses those who brew it, sell it, crush it, bottle it and drink it (what about blogs?). But as this scene from the 1943 german fantasy epic suggests, many found ways around the rule. I wish there could be more of them enjoying wine (and proud of it) to counter the growing crowd of litteralists in their midst...
The 1943 german movie, which has a Wizard Of Oz/James Bond touch and was shot as the Third Reich was sinking, has an incredible photography (especially paintings-like female portraits).
Being a long time Woody Allen fan, I always wondered why he sounded so pessimistic and depressed in his interviews. After watching Deconstructing Harry, a movie about a neurotic writer unfaithful to all his women, I briefly thought I had the answer : He does not drink wine. In this scene with Elisabeth Shue, he is served a full glass but does not touch it, all the while gesturing and arguing.
But my theory crashed when I saw this scene of Everyone Says I Love You where along with Goldie Hawn he repeatedly sips this red wine glass...
happy new year! I'm looking forward to seeing your blog this year. have a nice year.
Posted by: hikalu | January 11, 2007 at 04:57 AM