June Newsletter: Rosé Time, A Provençal Gem, Comtesse de Cherisey P-A

The June newsletter is now available.
Click here to download the pdf.

Highlights from this month’s newsletter…

PARIS RESTAURANTS 2014

by Kermit Lynch

Planning a vacation in Paris? Consider renting an apartment this time. For starters, you’ll save a hell of a lot of euros every morning avoiding hotel petits déjeuners, which are overpriced. Gouging, that’s what I call it. Plus, you can cook at home, take a break from constant restauranting, get to know a neighborhood, live in Paris like a Parisian. Check out a site like vrbo.com for rentals.

I came back with some restaurants to recommend and one to avoid. All have websites with contact info.

Often, I’ve found myself complaining about the difficulty of finding classic French cuisine prepared properly. Bouillabaisse today can mean nothing but a fish soup, boeuf bourguignon nothing but chunks of beef in a winey sauce, and your coq au vin isn’t even made with a coq. They should call it poulet au vin. Believe me, folks, there was a good reason it was made with roosters. It seems like nouvelle cuisine came along and the French turned their backs on their tried-and-true masterpieces.

Go to L’Assiette in the 14th. I had a real, old-fashioned cassoulet, so delicious I ate too much. And they have the best tête de veau I’ve tasted in decades. I had stopped ordering it (same with andouillettes), but after a couple of meals at L’Assiette, I had enough confidence to give it a try. Speaking of veal, their ris de veau was heavenly in terms of texture and flavor. It’s a funky little place; wear what you like. …read more >

 

Place de la Concorde, Paris, France       © Gail Skoff 

DON’T MISS it SAMPLER

by Clark Z. Terry

We do our best to import just enough of each of our wines. However, small vineyards and old vines can produce miniscule amounts of wine, and sometimes they sell out quickly. A number of these limited-availability, once-a-year selections just hit our shores, and we wanted to call your attention to them—raise their profiles, so to speak. Here’s your chance; don’t miss out.

per bottle

2012 Terrasses du Larzac Rouge • Les Vignes Oubliées

$32.00

The forgotten vines from the Languedoc’s most up-and-coming appellation. Old-vine Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan planted at 1,000 feet above sea level produce this deep, chewy red.

2011 Blagny Rouge 1er Cru “La Genelotte” • Domaine de Cherisey

62.00

Blagny rouge is a rarity these days, especially one from Pinot Noir vines that date back to 1934. This one will also age gracefully (we’ve had experience tasting back to the 1998), making de Cherisey’s rouge one of our great red Burgundy values.

2011 Chinon “La Croix Boissée” • Bernard Baudry

39.00

The most structured and complex of Baudry’s line of Chinons. Undervalued, it is a true prize that has decades of aging potential.

2012 Languedoc Blanc “Sainte Agnès” • Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup

23.00

Sainte Agnès has elegance and grace on the level of the stunning whites of Patrimonio in Corsica.

2012 Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc “Dessus les Gollardes”

Domaine Pierre Guillemot

40.00

White Burgundy that’s not entirely Chardonnay?! Les Gollardes is 70% Pinot Blanc, and the result is at once familiar and exotic.

2010 Riesling “Clos Mathis” • Domaine Ostertag

42.00

Many great wines come from granite soils, and the Clos Mathis fits that bill. Chiseled, refined, and pure—notable complexity.

Normally $238

Special Sampler Price $190

(a 20% discount)

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