Chateau Saint-Pierre Rose’ 2011

                                               DOMBEK photo © 2012

Chateau Saint-Pierre
Rose’ 2011
Côtes de Provence, France

40% Grenache, 60% Cinsault.

Summer is a fabulous time to enjoy rose’!  I have been enjoying them and can hopefully start relaying them to you here, amidst much busy activity! 

Pale salmon pink in color, this is classic Provençal rose’.  The light color comes from very brief contact with the skins of the grapes (in this case grenache and cinsault).  Summery, with a bouquet of fresh sun kissed berries, along with notes of white peaches, rainier cherries and apricots on the nose and palate, this is crystal clean, vibrant and refreshing.  While long on aromatics and having plenty of character, this is subtly balanced and altogether pleasant and unpretentious, truly a delight!   Finesse and an elegant bottle to boot!  Enjoy with Mediterranean-style cuisine in your own favorite summer locale.  Also pleasing on the pocketbook at around $12.99/btl!  Commencer à boire!

                                                                          DOMBEK photo © 2012

Located in Côtes de Provence in the southeastern part of France on the Mediterrean Sea, the Château Saint-Pierre domaine apparently dates back to the eleventh century. "Recent rehabilitation work in the cellar has turned up vestiges of a church dedicated to Saint Pierre that had belonged to foulques, the lord of les Arcs. This wine comes from a 10th century priory with a lovely church and courtyard garden in France's Cotes de Luberon appellation."  As Tabitha from CRUSH Distributors points out ... "it certainly appeals to the romantic in us. And romance, especially summer romance, is what the delicate and nuanced Chateau Saint-Pierre de Rosé is all about."

Sunday Brunch!

I love Provençal rose’, always elegant with dry finish. Enjoying with family and friends even better ... More to come!

This wine is brought to us by CRUSH Distributors and imported by Luxe Vintages.  Find here in Portland at Rosemont Markets, Old Port Wines and RSVP.

Parés Baltà Calcari 2010

                                                                           DOMBEK photo © 2012

Parés Baltà

Calcari 2010

Penedès, Spain

100% Xarel.lo 

Light lemon yellow in color, this wine has a schisty minerality on the nose; so much so that one truly senses terroir here, along with Mediterranean influences due to its close proximity to the Sea. I for one would love to be sitting on a hillside terrace next to the Mediterranean while sipping this, with oysters on the half shell - Heaven! Herbaceous & sexy with white pepper and a touch of limeade citrus on the palate, this is beautifully clean with a crisp, dry finish. Simple, straightforward and elegant, yet with enough complexity to please, and balance to spare, this is delicious and perfect for a hot summer day. Don’t let the austere label scare you!

Xarel.lo is the major grape for Cava, Spain’s sparkling white wine made in the methode Champenoise (Champagne method).  It contributes great body and wonderful acidity.  Parés Baltà is a family-owned winery in the Penedès region located in Catalonia in the northeast on the coast of the Mediterranean.  Winemaking in the Penedès has deep roots.  Amphorae and Egyptian wine jars uncovered at archaeological sites suggest that wine was introduced here by the Phoenicians some seven centuries BC. 

The Parés Baltà winery dates back to 1790.  They have vineyards on five estates, situated around the winery and in the mountains of Penedès.  Cultivating in an ecological way since their inception, they have been certified ecological/organic since 2004.  The cork is in fact stamped “organic”.  They tend their own flock of sheep to fertilize soils and have beehives to encourage pollination.  Actual winemaking is in the hands of two women, Maria Elena Jimenez and Marta Casas, oenologists and wives of grandsons Joan and Josep of original winemaker Joan Cusine Hill.   For more detailed information on their winery, wines, history, etc.:  http://www.paresbalta.com/default2.asp

I adore Spanish whites in summer and hope to bring you more in the near future!

This wine is brought to us by Easterly Wines, Belfast, ME. and imported by Broadbent Selections, Inc., San Francisco, CA.  You can find it in Portland at the Browne Trading Co. ($17/btl) and  Downeast Beverage, Commercial St.  Bresca on Middle St. also carries it and last I knew so does the Cantina on York St.