Before any of you ardent Francophiles protest, we are aware that Bastille Day actually came and went on Tuesday, July 14… However, I am a firm believer in the “Birthday Week” concept and decided we could extrapolate the concept and continue the celebration of France’s Fete Nationale for a few more days. We will therefore be transforming from Bottega to Boutique for the evening and featuring an All French line-up!

Read on for the Lineup…

2006 Ch. Peybonhomme Les Tours Cru Bourgeois, Premières Côtes de Blaye

Across the Gironde River from the Medoc and north of St. Emilion and Pomerol lie the districts of Bourg and Blaye.  These two regions may lie in the shadows of their more famous neighbors today, but they were actually exporting their wines before the Medoc was even drained! This area is seeing a resurgence these days with younger winemakers moving in and offering some fantastic value in Bordeaux that wouldn’t be possible given the real estate costs of the Medoc. The soils here are predominantly clay over limestone and thus merlot is favored over cabernet sauvignon and franc.  There is also a bit of malbec planted here, which is rare to find on the other side of the river these days.  Jean-Luc Hubert is the man behind this wine and he has worked tirelessly to restore the old stone buildings on the property as well as convert all the vineyards to organic farming.  The estate just produces this one wine and it is a perennial Bottega favorite.  Great structure and dark fruit would make this a great wine for steaks on the grill.

Domaine Renardat-Fâche Cerdon Methode Ancestrale, Bugey

Back to Bugey! The region of the Altesse tasted earlier. We couldn’t have a tasting and not have something frothy and fun to finish the evening.  Many of you have been clamoring for this wine’s return and it is finally back!  Alain Renardat and his son Elie craft this festive, frothy, semi-sweet pink wine that is a local tradition. The wine is a blend of gamay and poulsard.  The grapes are hand harvested, pressed and fermented in cold vats until they reach 6 degrees alcohol.   At that stage the wine is lightly filtered, bottled and allowed to continue its fermentation.  This traps the CO2 in the bottle without the addition of yeast in bottle as you would for Champagne.  The wine only reaches about 7.5% alcohol and retains its grapey sweet fruitiness.  This is a perfect wine to serve as an unexpected aperitif or as a light, refreshing dessert wine.  Could someone please bring me some chocolate covered strawberries?

Cave de Saumur “Les Pouches” Saumur, Loire Valley

In 1957, 40 grapegrowers in the Saumur region decided to take their destiny into their own hands and formed a cooperative. They situated themselves in the heart of the vineyards on the top of the Saint Cyr en Bourg hill and carved beautiful cellars (check out the pictures on their website or go and visit!).  The group, which recently celebrated their 50th year, remains committed to preserving the traditions of the area and constantly improving quality.  They focus on cabernet franc and chenin blanc, which are particularly suited to the tufa stone (calcium carbonate deposits) and the regional climate.  The region is best known for it’s sparkling wines in a style called Saumur Mousseux that is fruitier and flirtier than Champagne.  This particular wine is a delight of a chenin blanc!  It is a grape that lends itself to both dry and sweet styles and while this one is decidedly of the former, it hints at rounder fruit tones.  Perfect with a platter of fruit and cheese and of course a baguette!

2007 Domaine Franck Peillot Roussette du Bugey, Montagnieu, Bugey

Ok, there is a lot to explain about this wine.  Let’s start with where we are.  We are in the village of Montagnieu in the region of Bugey in the eastern part of the Ain departement, close to Savoie at the Southern tip of the Jura range.  This region is best known for poulet de Bresse, the only poultry to have it’s own AOC.  On to the grape.  It is  roussette, locally called altesse.  Only a few patches of this varietal still exist and you can actually make Roussette de Savoie with any of the local grape varietals, strangely enough.  This is why Peillot puts both names on the label to signify his commitment to using 100% roussette.  The grape is thought to be a relative of Hungarian Furmint, which is famous for the sweet Tokaji wines.  The grapes are farmed organically, the yields are kept very low and the grapes are allowed to fully ripen.  The result is a full-bodied white with incredible complexity.  The winemaker is Franck Peillot who recently took over the estate from his father and continues four generations of winemaking at this estate.  He is passionate about introducing the world to the potential of this unique grape as well as the local red, mondeuse.

2007 Domaine Fougeray de Beauclair Bourgogne Rouge, Marsannay, Burgundy

So this wine was an all time favorite where I used to work prior to life at the Bottega.  It finally occurred to me that it would be fun to bring it on board here and introduce you all to such a tremendous value red Burgundy.  The domaine started in 1979 when Jean-Louis Fougeray made his first cuvee from just ¼ hectare in Marsannay for a total of 500 bottles.  He worked in admin by day and worked the vines at night, his true passion.  The family had a strong friendship with the Clair family of the renowned Clair-Dau estate and in 1986 Bernard Clair upon his retirement decided to lease his 11ha to Fougerays and Fougeray de Beauclair was born!  Jean-Louis’s daughter Laurence and her husband Patrice are now running the show.  They are practicing what is known as lutte raisonnée or the “reasoned struggle”  this means that they try as hard as they can to be organic and avoid all chemicals. They utilize pheromones instead of pesticides and use certified organic compost.  The wine has lovely red fruit and just a hint of spice, it always tastes happy to me!

2006 Domaine Michel Lafarge Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, Côte du Beaune, Burgundy

One of the first things you learn in the wine business is that Red Burgundy is always Pinot Noir.  Then eventually you discover that that’s not quite entirely true. There is a little thing called Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, which allows the gamay grape (best known for starring in Beaujolais) to join in the party as well.  These can be very simple quaffers, which is what I love about them, but in the hands of a master like Lafarge you get so much more as well.  The Lafarges have been making wine in Volnay since the 18th century and are truly one of the great producers. They make just over 200 cases of this unique wine and it is a great opportunity to check out the domaine’s style.  This is a wine that transports you to the rolling hills of Burgundy and makes you wish you had a picnic basket in hand and an afternoon filled with sunshine and friends.