Tag Archives: pinot noir
Champagne Gatinois, Aÿ Grand Cru, Brut Tradition, Champagne, France, NV, 12% abv. C$60
Here is a champagne from deep in the Marne in tiny Aÿ, located to the east of Épernay. This is a 90% Pinot Noir based champagne with 10% Chardonnay, but it’s 100% Grand Cru and grown on the 7.3 ha … Continue reading
Pinot Noir, Cumières Rouge, Champagne Geoffroy, Coteaux Champenois AC, Champagne, France, 12.5% abv.
This is actually THE bottle that is the pictured headliner on this very site. I snapped that picture in June 2014 when visiting Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, his lovely wife and tribe of spirited daughters in Aÿ. The cork used is a traditional … Continue reading
Iron Horse Ranch and Vineyards, Winter’s Cuvée, Sebastopol, Green Valley of Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, 2008, 13.5% abv.
We visited this winery in the beautiful Russian River Valley and its 65 ha of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in 2013. While there, we purchased two bottles – both for children’s high school graduation celebrations. When the second one … Continue reading
Gaston Chiquet, Tradition Brut, Premier Cru, Dizy, Champagne, France, RM, 12.5% abv, NV (Magnum) @ Marquis Wine Cellars
A grower-producer from the cool named, Dizy located just north of Épernay, the Chiquet family has been growing vines and making Champagne for generations. The current crop of Chiquets include brothers Antoine and Nicolas with Antoine’s daughter Marion. Their 23 ha … Continue reading
Jacquesson, Cuvée No. 736, Extra Brut, Champagne, France, 12% abv, C$75 @ Marquis
A celebrated Champagne house in operation since 1798, Jacquesson has been owned since 1974 by the Chiquet family and is located in Dizy, just north of Epernay. The family owns 31 ha of vineyards throughout Aÿ, Avize and Oiry, all Grand Crus, … Continue reading
Pinot Noir, Fort Berens, Lillooet, BC VQA, 2012, 13.5% abv, C$26
How is this possible? A Canadian winery poised at 50.5 degrees north latitude – just outside the usually accepted outermost limits of vinifera grape growing. Yet, there Fort Berens lies, thumbing its nose at the non-believers, and producing quality Pinot … Continue reading
Champagne Marie Courtin, Résonance, Extra Brut, Pinot Noir, Polisot, Aube, France, 12% abv, disgorged May 2013, C$90
Champagne – bubbles, blended parcels of wines, large famous luxury brand companies. Right? Well, it has been that way for a long time for the internationally marketed mega brands. There has, however, been a resurgence in the grower Champagne market that has come … Continue reading
Foxtrot, Pinot Noir, Foxtrot Vineyard, Naramata Bench, Okanagan VQA, BC, 2010, 13.6% abv, C$50
Pristine, precise, pleasureable – this is not your average Okanagan creation. Kudos to winemaking husband and wife team, Gustav Allander and Nadine Allander for this thoughtful Pinot Noir – one of several outstanding versions created since Foxtrot’s inception in 2003. … Continue reading
Tantalus, Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley VQA, Kelowna, BC, 2010, 13.4% abv
Christmas is fast approaching and I always love to have a Pinot alongside the turkey and cranberry sauce. Gamay wines, Pinot Noirs and even Cab Francs go swell with holiday bird. They’re light enough and the tannins are subtle to … Continue reading
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