France: Wine, French Wine Regions, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, & More Profiled
Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose is dusty with cherries. On the palate, light cherries. OK finish. Certainly a fine Pinot Noir. This retails for around $25 which is a fair price. Varietally correct. Will work with a wide variety of foods. Probably won't improve but should cellar well for another 10 years.
Upon first tasting, this wine wasn't giving up a thing. Really tight. But after an hour or two of air and multiple other pours being taken, this finally started to open up and show something. That said, drink this quick or be prepared to wait a while before revisiting as if not shut down, it is getting there quickly. Deep ruby in color. The nose has black cherries with rocks and dust. With air a bit of a floral note. On the palate, this is almost jammy but not quite with black cherry fruit. A nice minerality underneath. It is delicious and only going to get better from here. It ne
This wine has notoriously been slow to come around. This is a very masculine but classic Bordeaux. This was decanted for sediment (not a lot) and then allowed to breathe for an hour or so, it opened nicely although the best days are still ahead for this wine. Purple in color. The nose has cassis, tobacco, some earthiness and a fair amount of oak coming thru as cedar and slight fresh cut timber. On the palate, this was tight initially. Eventually opening up to show a classic, if still on the young side of mature, Bordeaux. Cassis, black licorice, black cherries and slight earthiness.
Golden in color, lots of small bubbles. The nose is yeasty with some ginger. On the palate, this has a slight sweetness to it. More so than one might expect from a Brut. Bright acidity. Creamy texture. Drinks easy. Very food friendly. Fun way to liven up a party.
This is from the Arbois region in the Jura Division of France (just to the west of Switzerland). It is cool there and getting grapes ripe presents challenges. This is definitely a love it or hate it wine. Made from the Trousseau grape. Light ruby in color, some Rose's are deeper in color. The nose is bright rhubarb with some cranberries. On the palate, this is tart rhubarb and slight cranberries. It is light bodied and easy but has a concentrated depth at its core. Would work well with a limited number of foods. Definitely a wine to geek out and observe the subtleties. This would
This is a Chenin Blanc based sparkling wine that is infused with Peaches. It is not meant to be a serious wine that should be cellared for long term. It is made to be a fun wine, buy it, take it home and pop a cork. At $13, it does this nicely. Deeper golden in color. The nose is unmistakably - peaches. Duh! There is a slight effervescence to the wine. The peaches carry thru to the palate. Light bodied and easy drinking. Nice for a party.
From a top producer in the Loire Valley, this is a basic Sauvignon Blanc. For $16, this is a nice value. Light green/gold in color. The nose is a bit dusty with some pine notes. With air a bit of grass and minerals emerge. On the palate, this is like eating sweet tarts. It has a dry but sugary quality to it. Tart citrus. It took some getting used to but then it drank fine. Long finish. Worked great with an assortment of cheeses which really helped the wine come together.
This is an Eau-de-Vie ariginally made by Leonard Humbrecht back in 1976. It was bottled in 2017 by his son Olivier and purchased at the winery a few weeks later. This bottle had been opened last winter and about halfway consumed. It seemed a perfect drink to finish off an Alsatian Gewurztraminer tasting. Deep red-orange in color. The nose has a lot of alcohol. There is also some peach schnapps and lychees and a dried tea note. On the palate, this is warm. 63.1% Alcohol will do that. After the first sip it was welcoming though. It has a nice depth and complexity to it. Certainly,
Light golden in color. The nose has lots of minerals and slight lime notes. A bit of lychee. On the palate, this is dry. Nice minerality. Medium bodied. More mineral driven on the palate. This was a very impressive wine. It works well with foods of all kinds. At $20, this is a great value.
This wine is quite sweet. How good the wine is depends on if you are ready for it and if you like sweet wines. Light silvery gold in color. There are a slight amount of bubbles in the glass on opening but they are resolved quickly. Great nose of Lychees with minerals and apricots. Full bodied. Oily texture. This is quite deep and tightly layered. It unwinds in the glass in layers of apricots, minerals and sweet syrup. This would be quite at home with an array of blue cheeses for dessert. There is enough acidity to carry it thru some spicy food as well. Its best days are in front
