A Tale of Three Wines...

 

The Goddess of Wine and JD started off Tuesday at their home-away-from-home, the Savory Palette in Morro Bay. Our little group of "Paletteers" tries to meet every Tuesday afternoon to catch up on the week's events, trials, and tribulations, while supporting our local wine bar. 

I found this modest 2017 Vin de Pays, a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot from Triennes, a project from two Burgundians, Jacques Seysses, founder of Domaine Dujac, and Aubert de Villaine, joined by their Parisian friend, Michel Macaux. They looked for land in the south of France, and in 1989, found the Domaine du Logis de Nans in the Var, north-east of Marseille.

The wine was deep purple in color; the nose delightfully rich in baking spices and red fruit. We paired it with an artfully made cheese plate, but had to leave earlier than usual, so we put a cork in the bottle and took it home. The tasting notes from the winery suggest that this could be aged another 10 - 15 years. Hmm...not so much, but very tasty now.

We had arranged to meet our friend, and one-time winemaker, Shawn, at Bueno Tavola in Paso, and we brought a bottle to share. We opened the Palmina 2012 Nebbiolo Rocca, hoping it would still be good. Was it ever! Named after winemaker Steve Clifton’s two boys, Roman & Luca, it is Palmina’s signature wine. 

The color was a bit bricky, showing some of its age, but the wine was aromatic with overtones of orange peel and rose petals. The bouquet carried through to the palate with savory notes of rosemary. The wine was still surprisingly tannic, opening up and pairing beautifully with my veal scallopini, while retaining its fresh, tart finish. Wow. Probably could have stayed in the bottle even longer. But I'm glad we drank it!

We took our time over dinner and then decamped to the grand opening of Vin13, a new wine bar in Paso, fronted by our friend, Troy Tucker, a seriously tatted sommelier with extensive experience and a great palate.

Troy was pouring Champagne to celebrate, in this case, a wonderful selection from Champagne Geoffroy, "Empreinte", a vintage (I think he said 2008, but I could have misheard) aged sur lies for an amazing 137 months. You read that right. Almost 12 years on the lees. An astonishingly complex blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this wine stopped us in our tracks. Great freshness and yeasty aromas initially, of course, followed by notes of flowers (roses? peonies?), never-ending mousse, a flinty minerality, and what is called a "persistent" finish. 

We all agreed we would be happy to drink a lot more of this lovely wine, but some of us had to go home.

Just another day in the life of the Goddess and JD! It's a tough job, but we're happy to do it!