August Newsletter: 2012 Antoine Jobard P-A, Three Generations of Quenards, For the Cellar

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

Highlights from this month’s newsletter…

DOMAINE ROBERT-DENOGENT

by Dixon Brooke

For some reason, extended élevage is much more common in the Mâconnais than in the Côte d’Or, with many producers exceeding as a matter of course the farther north’s average of eighteen months in barrel. The small supply compared with the enormous demand has surely been a contributing factor in the Côte d’Or, with exceptions limited to the occasional wine that individually demands more time. Surely the growers in the Mâconnais have also been driven to experiment more in order to compete with their northern brethren. For the first time, Jean-Jacques and Nicolas Robert decided to leave two of their 2011s in barrel for thirty months to see how the wine developed. Wanting to hold some 2011 back to sell along with the small 2012 and 2013 harvests, they figured it might as well stay in barrel rather than going into bottle. You will be excited by the results.

2011 POUILLY-FUISSÉ “LA CROIX”

CUVÉE MISE DE 30 MOIS

Classic La Croix blue schist character is heightened in this most racy and linear of all Denogent cuvées, with the extended aging bringing more structure and rounding out all the sharp edges. Beautiful to enjoy now, it can also be cellared for five-plus years.

$42.00 per bottle $453.60 per case

2011 POUILLY-FUISSÉ “LES REISSES”

CUVÉE MISE DE 30 MOIS

The heavy clay and limestone soil of Les Reisses resembles that of the Côte d’Or much more than most of the Roberts’ other vineyards. The expression here is of deep composure and solidity, a golden Chardonnay with reserved yet slowly soaring aromas, a full-bodied and persistent palate, and a vein of chalk holding things together with just the right touch.

$45.00 per bottle $486.00 per case

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 A TYPICAL SAMPLER 

by Clark Z. Terry

Typical” has such a pedestrian connotation in English—after “nice,” it is the next worse way to describe something. But in terms of wine, typique is meant to convey much more than being simply normal or standard. If someone says, “Ce vin est typique,” this is a declaration that the wine displays the terroir and traditional style of a region or village. The best English equivalent would be to say that a wine is “classic.” For the vignerons who have looked to previous generations for inspiration, few compliments are better than to affirm that a wine is perfectly typical.

A sampler of wines showing typicité could have many variations, but here we’ve focused on French reds. The villages are no doubt recognizable, and the wines represent benchmarks of quality and typicité.

per bottle

2011 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert” • Charles Joguet

$52.00

2011 Gevrey-Chambertin • Domaine Maume

65.00

2011 Côte Rôtie “Nève” • Blended by Kermit Lynch

74.00

2010 Gigondas “Terrasse du Diable” • Les Pallières

49.00

2011 Bandol • Domaine de la Tour du Bon

36.00

2008 Pomerol • Château Gombaude-Guillot

69.00

Normally $345.00

Special Sampler Price

$276

(a 20% discount)

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