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Tag: Cabernet Sauvignon

  • On Vacation with Mas de Daumas Gassac Rosé Frizant

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    While on a late summer vacation in Provincetown, we were introduced to an amazing bottle of wine – Mas de Daumas Gassac Rosé Frizant. Ptown is a perfect place to search out a special sparkler, especially one that further enhances the feeling of being in such a beautiful place (no small task).

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    On one of our walks through town, we stopped into a wine shop hoping to uncover a gem. We picked up what looked like an interesting bottle and heard, "It's my favorite wine in the store, right now!" It was Jerry, official wine geek at Glass Half Full on Commercial Street in Provincetown, and we soon learned that he has very good taste!

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    Realizing we'd found a sparkling wine with a singular taste (90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Manseng), we had to share a taste with our vacationing neighbors. They were so impressed that everyone planned on buying some the next day. The best comment was from the woman who put down her just emptied glass and simply said, "Lovely."

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    The winemaker says, “A genuine rosé wine … with lively fine bubbles … smooth fruity aromas … ideal apéritif, delightful with desserts … very fresh thanks to its low alcohol content.” (11 % by Vol.)

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    Ellis Wharton Wines calls this rosé, "A pretty, sparkling, and uplifting pink … less intense fruit from young vines."

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    Even if you’re not on vacation, when you taste this amazing sparkler, you’ll feel as though you are. And, we can’t think of a better way to ring in a new month. Cheers!

    Our Monthly Tradition began with a Sparkling Resolution!      

    Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

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     Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

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  • Plan Pégau 2009 “Baby Chateauneuf du Pape”

    A couple of bottles of Plan Pégau 2009 were sitting in our wine rack. This wine had been introduced to us as a "baby Chateauneuf du Pape" by Howie Rubin at Bauer Wines. 

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    A few nights later, Gretchen Jones (@moralbeast) mentioned a great Cote du Rhone that she was enjoying. That sent me to the rack to pull the Plan Pégau and plan a meal around it. 

    As students of wine, we learn by researching the wines that come our way. We had already been told that this was from one of the great Chateauneuf du Pape winemakers, Laurence Féraud from Domaine du Pégau. Her wines can run four to five times the $14.99 price tag on this one.

    The importer, Hand Picked Selections (HPS) says the 2009 Plan Pégau, "offers a true and loud echo of the flavor and style of Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A perfect illustration of the HPS mantra of quality, character and value, it always seems to have a bit of that magic Châteauneuf funk!"

    We paired it with a rib eye after reading a comment from Wine & Spirits Magazine that this wine was, "…a red to sink your teeth into…mouthfilling and delicious, the vinous equivalent of a good aged steak." 

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    From the moment we opened the screwtop, Plan Pégau made an impression. Photographing it was torture. It has a big presence and was sending out enticing aromas that made us want to get straight to tasting. 

    From this one we learned about rapé.

    Blogger Edmonton Wine Host ran a post on Plan Pégau and reported that it might contain some rapé from Pégau. He explained, "Rape means left over juice, skins or crush from a previous harvest. Also can be a winery way of 'disposing' of extra juice from an excellent harvest."

    We knew about second labels, like Oregon superstar producer Owen Roe Winery's O'Reilly's line. Now we know about another way to hunt for unexpected quality at a great price. Find out if it is the baby sister in a great family.

    We plan to buy more!

    If you see this wine at a good price, grab it. We loved it and expect it will be just as good over the next couple of years. 

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    Details:
    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.