Tag Archives: French wine

Thirsty Thursday: Olivier Leflaive, Les Setilles, Bourgogne Blanc, France 2011

Posted on June 5, 2014 by waywardwine

This Thirsty Thursday we drink Chardonnay. Wait! No! Keep reading! I lied. It is not Chardonnay, it is magnificent, fabulous, white Burgundy.

Now, yes, white Burgundy must be Chardonnay. But you try and grow any grape in Burgundy. Any grape. No matter how hard you try, the resultant wine will taste of Burgundy. Why?

The weather in this eastern French valley sucks. The soil sucks. Vineyards are smaller than American homes. Traditions and rules are painfully restrictive. Wine-making is stuck in the past. And everyone looks pale, angry, and old. Continue reading →

Posted in Chardonnay, EMPTIED BOTTLES | Tagged Bourgogne, Burgundy, chardonnay, France, French wine, Leflaive, Olivier, wine | 2 Comments

Grenache Blend, Cuvée de Peña, V.d.P. Pyrénées-Orientales FR 2008 3L

Posted on January 9, 2012 by waywardwine

While I wait for my wine to age in tank, it’s time to consider the world of boxes. While I recorded this, I found that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate newsletter gave Cuvée de Peña’s 2009 Red a 90 point score … Continue reading →

Posted in EMPTIED BOTTLES, Grenache Blend, Red, TOOLS TOYS & TIPS | Tagged 3 litres, bag in box, box wine, Catalan, cuvee de pena, French wine, Poussez ici, Pyrénées-Orientales, Pyrenees, Robert Parker, Spain, Wine Advocate | 1 Comment

Syrah, “Syrocco” Domaine des Ouleb Thaleb, Thalvin (Alain Graillot), Zenata, Morocco 2008

Posted on September 20, 2011 by waywardwine

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Jordan and more to follow. While revolutions burn through Arabia and North Africa, one monarch has quietly avoided wholesale annihilation. King Mohammed VI of Morocco. His de jure constitiutional parliamentary monarchy kinda, sorta works. When … Continue reading →

Posted in EMPTIED BOTTLES, Red, Syrah | Tagged Africa, Allain Graillot, Arab Spring, Atlas Mountains, Casablanca, Domaine des Ouleb Thaleb, European Union, France, French wine, Hassan II, Humphry Bogart, Mohammed VI of Morocco, Morocco, Rabat, Rick's Bar, Rick's Café Américain, Thalvin, United States, Zenata | Leave a comment

Chenin Blanc “Triple Zéro” Jacky Blot, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, Montlouis, Loire NV

Posted on July 18, 2011 by waywardwine

I’ve wrestled with sugar before. No, not in that way. Grow up. I’ve introduced a dry Lambrusco, a dry rosé, a few dessert wines and fought to keep yeasts converting sugar with my own wines. This week, a wine that … Continue reading →

Posted in Chenin Blanc | Tagged 1907, Alcohol by volume, Champagne, chaptalization, chenin blanc, Christian Prudhomme, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups, French wine, Jacky Blot, Lambrusco, Loire Valley, méthod ancestrale, Montlouis, Mouton-Rothschild, Opus One, petillent, Ripeness in viticulture, Sparkling wine production, Sugar, Taille aux Loups, Tours, Triple Zéro, wine, yeast | 1 Comment

Grenache/Syrah, Clos Chanteduc, Côtes du Rhône, France 2009

Posted on April 25, 2011 by waywardwine

Clos Chanteduc is delicious. Drink it. End of story. Or is it? In 1984, now famous chef Patricia Wells left America to live in Provence. She watched her first harvest from the villa in idle bliss, but was soon shocked. … Continue reading →