Joe's Winos Wine Club september 2015

Chateau de la Ragotiere

1er Cru de Chateau Old Vines Selection 2013 Muscadet Sevre et Maine

When many American wine drinkers see Muscadet on a label their minds immediately go to “Muscat” or “moscato” which is unfortunate. This wine shares absolutely nothing in common with the negative connotations that this comparison brings.  First, Muscadet is an area of the Loire Valley of France & not a grape type. This region produces beautifully crisp wines using the Melon de Bourgogne grape. This particular wine is bright, racy, dry & crisp. The old vines (between 40-60 years of age) produce a mineral inflected wine that gives notes of limestone, chalk & ocean.  It makes sense then that the perfect pairings with this bottle are shellfish of any kind especially oysters. 

Pairings:

Oysters on the half shell, any shellfish.

Domaine Albert Bichot

2012 Savigny Les Beaune, Burgundy

Burgundy seems to be a region that people are timid about exploring. Perhaps it is due to the high prices that this area historically commands for its top tier bottles. Thankfully now we have access to exceptional wines being brought into the U.S. by newer importers that are offering very aggressive & value focused pricing.  Savigny les Beaune used to be an area of Burgundy where you could always count on finding good wines at good prices. Unfortunately even their wines have gone up which is why we were thrilled to come across Albert Bichot’s.  It has classic earthy notes, beautiful dried tart cherry, a lusciously silken texture & beautifully bright acid. 

PAIRINGS:

This would pair perfectly with duck confit, cedar planked salmon & Baba Ganoush.