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Tag: Pinot Noir

  • Our December Terroir Toast Is Gruet Sauvage Rosé from New Mexico  

    Today we’ll travel to New Mexico (in spirit) to taste the terroir in Gruet Sauvage Rosé sparkling wine. When we declared 2020 the year of terroir in our selection of wines for our monthly toast with sparkling wine, we didn’t know that this was a year when we would seldom leave our condo, except in spirit.

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    December is a time of looking back. We selected this wine in memory of our last gathering with friends on March 1st, and our excitement about a new restaurant, Grand Tour, from the team at our favorite hangout, Select Oyster. 

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    In February, we tasted The Gruet Sauvage Blanc de Blanc at Grand Tour and decided to make it our wine of the month for March.

    We also decided we hadn't seen enough of our roof deck crew over the winter and hosted a gathering at Grand Tour in their delightful, tiny dining room on the second floor. 

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    What fun we had as we tasted our way through the menu to decide on the items for our party! We hold out hope that next Spring (after their winter hiatus) we'll be able to return to order takeout and perhaps, one day, sit at the bar. 

    Our Toast This Month

    Today’s toast will be to the friends who gathered that day, to the great restaurant team that has always taken such wonderful care of us at Select and Grand Tour, and to Michael Serpa, the man behind these two restaurants, and his newest offering Atlantico Boston. 

    We'll also toast to all the restaurant folks, delivery people, and other service workers who have helped us this year.

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    What We’ve Learned About Gruet Sauvage Rosé

    • 100% Pinot Noir which is our favorite grape for sparkling wines!
    • 12.5% ABV which is a bit high for sparklers!
    • No Dosage which should make it crisp!

    Wine Enthusiast wrote:

    “The aromas are fresh in this pale-salmon sparkling wine, showing yellow cherries, lillies and fresh baked rolls. The bubbles are pillowy in feel, while bright, tingling acidity wakes up the palate that offers flavors of brioche, lemon zest, juicy strawberry and cherry. It finishes on notes of yeasty brioche and preserved lemon.” 

    Trying wines from different places, made with various grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

    Our bottle of Gruet Sauvage Rosé was delivered to us by Urban Grape for ~$25.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post: Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino

    Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino

  • We’ll Toast October with Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé

    It's been twelve years since we featured Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé. We have a birthday to celebrate in October and decided to splurge and treat ourselves to this old friend of a wine. Perhaps one day we may be able to again raise a glass of wine with friends the way we once did. For now, all we can do is wishfully set out a few extra glasses and set up a virtual toasting session.

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    Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne also happens to fit our year of terroir. It has been made by the same family since 1818, and two of the grapes in our bottle are from particular family vineyards. Here is what the house is posting in the current blend notes:

    • 40% Chardonnay sourced from the best Crus in the Champagne region
    • 30% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne
    • 30% Pinot Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and the southern slopes of Epernay

    They are proud of the high use of Pinot Meunier, saying that it gives the wine a creaminess and structure if appropriately grown and fermented. We will be looking for this in the glass as we do our toasting.

    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

    IMG_4079

    We highly recommend this article on Wine Searcher about this month's wine.

    10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Billecart-Salmon

    Our bottle was delivered to us on sale for $74.99 (generally about $100.) from Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors.

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    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

     

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • We’ll Toast October with Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé

    It's been twelve years since we featured Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé. We have a birthday to celebrate in October and decided to splurge and treat ourselves to this old friend of a wine. Perhaps one day we may be able to again raise a glass of wine with friends the way we once did. For now, all we can do is wishfully set out a few extra glasses and set up a virtual toasting session.

    IMG_4074

    Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne also happens to fit our year of terroir. It has been made by the same family since 1818, and two of the grapes in our bottle are from particular family vineyards. Here is what the house is posting in the current blend notes:

    • 40% Chardonnay sourced from the best Crus in the Champagne region
    • 30% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne
    • 30% Pinot Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and the southern slopes of Epernay

    They are proud of the high use of Pinot Meunier, saying that it gives the wine a creaminess and structure if appropriately grown and fermented. We will be looking for this in the glass as we do our toasting.

    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

    IMG_4079

    We highly recommend this article on Wine Searcher about this month's wine.

    10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Billecart-Salmon

    Our bottle was delivered to us on sale for $74.99 (generally about $100.) from Gordon's Fine Wines and Liquors.

    IMG_4080

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

     

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2020 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • We’ll Toast August 1st with Happy Memories of Bollinger Champagne

    Thanks to a great assist from some very nice people, we'll toast August 1st with a favorite – Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne. This is our year of terroir and Bollinger, for us, is the center point for the flavor, aroma, balance, and everything else we want from a champagne. When we enjoy other wines from this region, it's the memory of this wine we use for comparison.

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    While we'll be raising our glasses at home with friends on computer screens, in our minds we'll travel back to the many times we've enjoyed a bottle of this wine on the deck in Provincetown. Today's photos are all from another time and place.

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    Another type of terroir brings a distinct note to the wine in these bottles. Namely, the years of reserve wine from the same land that is blended to give us that Bollinger Special Cruvee style.

    On their site the vineyard explains:

    "The Bollinger vineyard covers 178 hectares, most of which are classified Grand or Premier cru. Pinot Noir predominates, a demanding grape variety with an intense character which forms the backbone of the Bollinger style. Continuity of style is ensured by an exceptional collection of over 700,000 reserve magnums, making Bollinger the only champagne House with such a wide and precise palette of aromas for their blends. As a guarantee of supreme quality, the best crus are vinified in wood thanks to a stock of 3,500 small, aged casks. The House lets its wines mature for twice as long as the appellation requirement. This is not out of vanity, but because a great wine needs the luxury of time to develop its full character."

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    We'll do a special toast this month to the excellent team at Gordon's Wine in Downtown Crossing (39 Temple Place) who helped Penny put together (and keep us safe by delivering) a box of special bottles as a gift for Ed. Here's to Tyler, Val, Jack, and our delivery driver.

    We purchased our bottle at Gordon's on sale: $54.99. If that sale is still on, this would be a great time to stock up and be ready for your next special occasion.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2012 Penny Cherubino 

  • We’ll Toast August 1st with Happy Memories of Bollinger Champagne

    Thanks to a great assist from some very nice people, we'll toast August 1st with a favorite – Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne. This is our year of terroir and Bollinger, for us, is the center point for the flavor, aroma, balance, and everything else we want from a champagne. When we enjoy other wines from this region, it's the memory of this wine we use for comparison.

    6a00e54fc42bb88834016767f252d4970b-800wi

    While we'll be raising our glasses at home with friends on computer screens, in our minds we'll travel back to the many times we've enjoyed a bottle of this wine on the deck in Provincetown. Today's photos are all from another time and place.

    6a00e54fc42bb88834016767f20185970b-800wi

    Another type of terroir brings a distinct note to the wine in these bottles. Namely, the years of reserve wine from the same land that is blended to give us that Bollinger Special Cruvee style.

    On their site the vineyard explains:

    "The Bollinger vineyard covers 178 hectares, most of which are classified Grand or Premier cru. Pinot Noir predominates, a demanding grape variety with an intense character which forms the backbone of the Bollinger style. Continuity of style is ensured by an exceptional collection of over 700,000 reserve magnums, making Bollinger the only champagne House with such a wide and precise palette of aromas for their blends. As a guarantee of supreme quality, the best crus are vinified in wood thanks to a stock of 3,500 small, aged casks. The House lets its wines mature for twice as long as the appellation requirement. This is not out of vanity, but because a great wine needs the luxury of time to develop its full character."

    6a00e54fc42bb88834017742ccf34f970d-800wi

    We'll do a special toast this month to the excellent team at Gordon's Wine in Downtown Crossing (39 Temple Place) who helped Penny put together (and keep us safe by delivering) a box of special bottles as a gift for Ed. Here's to Tyler, Val, Jack, and our delivery driver.

    We purchased our bottle at Gordon's on sale: $54.99. If that sale is still on, this would be a great time to stock up and be ready for your next special occasion.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2012 Penny Cherubino 

  • Argyle Vintage Brut 2013 Is Our choice to Toast October 2018 with an Old Favorite!

    We've made Argyle Vintage Brut 2013 our choice for October in this year of favorite sparkling wines!

    We almost always have a bottle of this outstanding sparkler in our wine rack, so we pulled one out to chill and to toast one of our favorite months of the year.

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    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month! Here's some basic info about this one.

    The Facts:

    Vintage Brut | 2013 Willamette Valley AVA

    Bottle Fermented, Aged on the Yeast,

    60% Pinot Noir — 40% Chardonnay, ABV: 12.5%

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    The last time we reported to you on this particular vintage of this particular wine, we said:

    "As spectacular as ever! Great body with nice Pinot-forward character. Shared with friends as we all raised our glasses to toast the arrival of July! Already have another bottle on-ice and ready to go!"

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    Here's to October 2018! Raise a glass of one of your favorites with us! And, while you're toasting, raise a glass to a great winemaker Rollin Soles!

    Related Posts:

    Argyle’s Rollin Soles Talks Wine with BostonZest

    March Sparkles with Argyle’s 2001 Extended Tirage Brut – It’s a Sure Thing!

    Oregon’s Argyle Brut to Light-Up July!

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

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    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Argyle Vintage Brut 2013 Is Our choice to Toast October 2018 with an Old Favorite!

    We've made Argyle Vintage Brut 2013 our choice for October in this year of favorite sparkling wines!

    We almost always have a bottle of this outstanding sparkler in our wine rack, so we pulled one out to chill and to toast one of our favorite months of the year.

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401b8d291d312970c-800wi

    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month! Here's some basic info about this one.

    The Facts:

    Vintage Brut | 2013 Willamette Valley AVA

    Bottle Fermented, Aged on the Yeast,

    60% Pinot Noir — 40% Chardonnay, ABV: 12.5%

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401bb09aab7a0970d-800wi

    The last time we reported to you on this particular vintage of this particular wine, we said:

    "As spectacular as ever! Great body with nice Pinot-forward character. Shared with friends as we all raised our glasses to toast the arrival of July! Already have another bottle on-ice and ready to go!"

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401bb09aab81e970d-800wi

    Here's to October 2018! Raise a glass of one of your favorites with us! And, while you're toasting, raise a glass to a great winemaker Rollin Soles!

    Related Posts:

    Argyle’s Rollin Soles Talks Wine with BostonZest

    March Sparkles with Argyle’s 2001 Extended Tirage Brut – It’s a Sure Thing!

    Oregon’s Argyle Brut to Light-Up July!

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Toasting July with Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne

    For July we would like to reintroduce you to a lovely bottle of Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne. This year we're having a great time shopping in our own wine rack and enjoying old favorite sparkling wines for our first-of-the-month wine toasts.

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    Above is a photo from a couple of years ago when we first wrote about this wine in our post: 

    Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne – One Happy Surprise!

    Click over there to find out how a mistake made in a moment of hurry had a happy ending.

    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since New Years Eve 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

    IMG_0494

    Our bottle of Charles de Cazanove Rosé is a blend of 15% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier, and 15% Côteaux Champenois Rouge. The blend will vary from year-to-year as the winemaker tries to achieve the house style. We're always happy when we see a high percentage of Pinot Noir in a bottle. And, we love wines of great value. This one should be about $35. 

    K & L Wines always has great and reliable descriptions of wines. "This rich, round rosé is a truly affordable luxury. Although thus far off the radar of wine critics, I think it's the best wine from de Cazanove, with its lovely strawberry color and aromas. Full-bodied but nicely balanced, this wine will make a great aperitif or pair well with a charcuterie plate or after-dinner fruit salad."

    Then they include this quote which makes us happy about opening an older bottle.

    "… 91 points Wine Spectator, Refined, with well-meshed acidity providing a backbone for delicate flavors of dried currant, graphite, green plum, meringue and grapefruit zest. Fresh, smoke-tinged finish. Drink now through 2020."

    Our friends at Bauer Wine & Spirits often have this wine in stock.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2018 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Toasting July with Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne

    For July we would like to reintroduce you to a lovely bottle of Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne. This year we're having a great time shopping in our own wine rack and enjoying old favorite sparkling wines for our first-of-the-month wine toasts.

    6a00e54fc42bb8883401b8d16f2b1a970c-800wi

    Above is a photo from a couple of years ago when we first wrote about this wine in our post: 

    Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne – One Happy Surprise!

    Click over there to find out how a mistake made in a moment of hurry had a happy ending.

    Trying wines from different places, made with different grapes, and produced by different methods adds spice to our monthly ritual. Since New Years Eve 2007 we have raised a glass of sparkling wine to greet each new month!

    IMG_0494

    Our bottle of Charles de Cazanove Rosé is a blend of 15% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier, and 15% Côteaux Champenois Rouge. The blend will vary from year-to-year as the winemaker tries to achieve the house style. We're always happy when we see a high percentage of Pinot Noir in a bottle. And, we love wines of great value. This one should be about $35. 

    K & L Wines always has great and reliable descriptions of wines. "This rich, round rosé is a truly affordable luxury. Although thus far off the radar of wine critics, I think it's the best wine from de Cazanove, with its lovely strawberry color and aromas. Full-bodied but nicely balanced, this wine will make a great aperitif or pair well with a charcuterie plate or after-dinner fruit salad."

    Then they include this quote which makes us happy about opening an older bottle.

    "… 91 points Wine Spectator, Refined, with well-meshed acidity providing a backbone for delicate flavors of dried currant, graphite, green plum, meringue and grapefruit zest. Fresh, smoke-tinged finish. Drink now through 2020."

    Our friends at Bauer Wine & Spirits often have this wine in stock.

    Related Posts:

    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

    Here are all the wines we've covered. Since this is a category, this post may appear at the top. Just scroll down for more.

    What's on your Food Lover's Shopping List?

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2018 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

  • Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier Is Our Choice for a 2018 New Year’s Toast

    Some years we do a long search for a special sparkling wine, finding a rare bottle that we will experience for the first time. This year, at our first shopping stop, we ran into an old favorite that brought back great memories of past toasts, so we went with it – a bottle of Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier!

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    This is a year when we want to think about past wines as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Sparkling Resolution we made back in 2007 and have kept ever since. We said New Years was not often enough to toast to the good things we had experienced in the past and what we looked forward to in the future, so we should raise a glass of sparkling wine for the first of every month. For 10 years we have happily kept that resolution and many of those wines have been featured here. 

    By the way, while some of our featured wines are hard to find, this one is widely distributed. If you are thinking of bringing this bubbly to someone special as a New Years gift, see if you can find a bottle in the impressive copper box with a magnetic cover. It will cost $70 – $95 but is definitely worth it!

    Maceration

    We discovered this Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier years ago at Upstairs on the Square. (Sadly now gone from the great restaurant scene.)  It was on the wine list at a price that was so reasonable that we asked one of our favorite bartenders to check that it was right. It was and we enjoyed this on a number of visits over the years. It will be great to toast 2018 and our memories of the great staff and collection of regulars who shared that bar with us.

    About this wine from the winemaker:

    Grape varietal: Pinot Noir 100%

    Crus: 10 different crus located mainly in the South and North areas of the Montagne de Reims – including the famous Côte de Bouzy – notably from the finest crus of Ambonnay, Bouzy, Louvois and Tours-sur-Marne.

    The grapes from carefully selected plots are sorted and destemmed before vatting. The maceration – lasting from 48h to 72h depending on the harvest – helps the extraction of the colour and the development of the full aromatic richness of the Pinot Noir.

    Ageing: 5 years minimum.

    Flacon

    What the reviewers say about Cuvée Rosé from Laurent-Perrier:

    K&L Wines

    "Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from a total of ten 100%-rated grands crus villages, this Champagne gets its glorious pink color and rounded red fruit flavors from a process known as "saigneé," in which the skins of the grapes are left in contact with the juice for three days. Laurent-Perrier's Cuvée Rosé not only makes a delicious apéritif, but is also a good match for a variety of different dishes. (Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer)"

    Wine Enthusiast

    "Orange-pink in color, this dry wine has some good bottle age that has rounded the corners and allowed toast to join the red fruits and orange zest flavors. A complex background of acidity, structure and final tautness makes this wine ready to drink now."

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    Our Sparkling Resolution is covered in this post : Join Us as We Toast…

    A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

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    UpStairs On The Square Still A Well Rounded Favorite

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    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: Top photo ©2017 Penny Cherubino, Others courtesy of Laurent-Perrier