Everyday Bistro Sippers and ‘One Today One Tomorrow’ Duos
It is December, 2020 is almost over. YES!!!!!
That said there are still 4 weeks left and you need some wine. Back in October we featured our Little Bird inspired Sipper Pack. This week we are featuring a few more great French “Bistro” wines. Wines that scream BISTRO. These are the type of wines we loved to pour by the glass at Little Bird, wines that may seem a little familiar, but surprise you with their energy and their richness of heart. All are responsibly grown, made with intention, and abounding in surprises. All of these wines surpass the standards of their appellation.
We are also featuring 2 duos. Both of these duos are 2 of the same wine. Brunello from Stella di Campalto, and Sancerre from Pascal Cotat. They are wines that taste amazing today and will age for 20+ years and change and evolve. The duos would make a fun addition to your cellar, and/or an amazing gift to a wine-loving friend.
For other Holiday Gifts, Wine and otherwise, check out our pop-up shop at Canard!
TO ORDER select your wine bundle of choice, follow the steps to securely order your wine. All payments will be processed ahead of time through our website.
Once you order they will be available for pickup at Le Pigeon Tuesday through Saturday, beginning on Wednesday, December 2nd, from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. You can pick them up from our front door, or we can bring them out to your car. If those times do not work for you, please let us know and we can arrange an alternative. Shipping is available as well. Please call after placing your order.
We are all in this together, and when you’re drinking good stuff, well hey, you’re keeping it classy.
Bistro Sippers 6-Pack, Part Deux, $125 (Available on December 2nd)
Back in October we featured our Little Bird inspired Sipper Pack. This week we are featuring a few more great French “Bistro” wines. Wines that scream BISTRO. These are the type of wines we loved to pour by the glass at Little Bird, wines that may seem a little familiar, but surprise you with their energy and their richness of heart. All are responsibly grown, made with intention, and abounding in surprises. All of these wines surpass the standards of their appellation.
We miss Little Bird Bistro, god knows how much I do, and we know many of you reading this miss it too. Here’s a chance to buy some wine, and drink like you are back on SW 6th Ave. surrounded by Little Bird’s robin’s egg blue walls, plants, and mirrors.
– Andy
Petit Chablis, Domaine Bernard Defaix 2019, Yonne, Burgundy
Domaine Bernard Defaix was started with a meager 2 hectares of vines in 1959, but has slowly grown to 27 hectares, including parcels in some of the 1er and Grand Cru vineyards. This bottling is sourced from lower lying vineyards planted to stony soils that achieve ideal ripeness for Chardonnay. The certified organic grapes are fermented in stainless steel and bottled after 8 months to preserve freshness. It is pale in color and bursts from the glass with aromas of lemongrass, yellow apple and crushed rocks…it drinks better than a lot of Chablis that are twice the price!
Anjou Blanc, Les 3 Poiriers, Domaine des Terres Blanches, 2018, Loire Valley
Celine and Benoit Bilet craft playful and soulful wines from their tiny winery in the town of Oiron in the Loire Valley. This “3 pear trees” bottling is 100% Chenin blanc planted in Quartz soils with some sand and marl intermixed. The fruit is slowly pressed and goes through fermentation in neutral barrels with sulfur only added at bottling. This energetic Chenin pops from the glass with smells of quince, beeswax, and crushed rocks. Rich at first, but with underlying acidity. Can a wine pair with everything?
Vin de Sables, Gris di Gris, Domaine Figueirasse, 2019, Provence
Gris di Gris de Sables is a unique rosé that is a local specialty of the Camargue region of Provence. The Saumade family has been growing grapes in the sandy soils just 200 yards away from the Mediterranean since the early 1900s. They farm organically and plant various grains between the rows of vines to keep the sandy topsoil from eroding away. This salmon colored rosé is produced from a field blend of Grenache Blanc, Gris, and Noir and a little Cinsault. It is slowly pressed to extract just a touch of color and tannin from the red grapes. Open this on a rainy Oregon evening and instantly get transported to the Mediterranean coast with aromas of pomegranate, lime zest, ginger and dried herbs.
Bourgogne Rouge, Domaine Jean-Baptiste Lebreuil, 2017, Burgundy
The Lebreuil estate started with a meager 2 hectares in 1935 and has slowly grown in size to its current holdings of 9.5 hectares, all around the village of Savigny-lés-Beaune. We have loved Lebreuil’s highly perfumed, suavely textured Savigny wines for years and this Bourgogne has all of those great qualities but in a more accessible package. This wine is sourced from 3 vineyards just outside of Savigny and is fully de-stemmed before fermentation. Half of the juice ages in neutral oak and half ages in stainless steel to preserve freshness. This classic Burgundy smells of red cherries, forest floor and flowers and is a perfect match for a roasted chicken.
Vin de France (Gamay), Clos du Tue-Boeuf, 2019, Loire Valley
This crunchy Gamay is produced by brothers Jean-Marie and Thierry Puzelat. The brothers took over their domaine from their father in the early 1990s and quickly converted to organic then biodynamic farming. They have become strong leaders in the natural wine movement and have influenced a generation of Loire winemakers who have come after them. This thirst-quenching Gamay is fermented with whole clusters in a “carbonic” style that accentuates the crunchy fruit. It smells like ripe blackberries and raspberries with some earthy funk…try it with a light chill!
Côtes du Rhône Villages, Cuvée Laure, Domaine Rabasse Charavin, 2018 Southern Rhône
Domaine Rabasse Charavin is helmed by mother-daughter team Corinne and Laure Couturier who farm 40 hectares of some of the finest Côtes du Rhône terroirs including Cairanne and Rasteau. The traditionally made reds are fermented and aged in concrete tank and never fined or filtered in order to preserve the complexity and character of the grapes. This wine is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Cinsault and has aromas of smoky, mulled berries and dried herbs, it’s a great match to any meaty roast or braise.
One Today & One Tomorrow; Brunello di Montalcino, Riserva, Stella di Campalto, 2013, 2 bottles $385
This is a wine that tastes amazing today and will age for 20+ years and change and evolve. There is magic in wines like this that possess that unique trait of being remarkably delicious over decades. That is why we are offering it as a 2 pack. Drink one soon, and save the other for as long as you can.
There are just a few producers that both defy and define their appellation. Their wines taste like no others, yet they are unmistakably products of their terroir. Producers like Raveneau in Chablis or Henri Bonneau in Châteauneuf-du-Pape come to mind. For Brunello Soldera has long been an example, but now joined by Stella di Campalto. Brunello from Stella di Campalto is so ethereal, lifted, and complex, that it seems to take on an identity beyond the typical sternness and structure of Sangiovese Grosso grown in and around Montalcino. However, as one contemplates the wine it clearly can be from nowhere else. It represents the pinnacle of what is possible for the region and grape variety from which it is produced. In 1992 Stella took control of the estate, formerly called Podere San Giuseppe, outside the village of Castelnuovo dell’Abate in the Southwestern part of the Brunello Zone. This area is known as a warmer sub-zone but high elevation vineyards and a close by river help mitigate temperatures. She has been farming organically since the beginning and was one of the first producers to receive biodynamic certification in the region. Stella’s wines are Brunello for the Burgundy lover…they have silky texture, lots of depth and unbelievable perfume. These characteristics are coaxed out through gentle handling of the fruit…it is never pumped over and only moved via-gravity flow. The wines are aged in a mix of large and small barrels but new oak is avoided in order to preserve the natural perfume of the Sangiovese grape.
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Stella Campalto, 2013, Tuscany
2013 was a banner vintage in Montalcino! In vintages like this, where conditions are nearly perfect, winemakers get a unique opportunity express the grape and land as they find most pure, that is not dictated by to them by poor weather or unforeseen climatic events. Stella’s deft hand really shines in 2013 and this wine’s aromatics are unbelievable…dried cherry, strawberry, wet leaves, white pepper. The list goes on. The palate is soave and mouth-coating. Although this wine has the tannins to age for decades, they are so finely knit, you have to remind yourself they are even there.
One Today & One Tomorrow; Sancerre, La Grande Côte, Domaine Pascal Cotat, 2019, 2 bottles $140
This is a wine that tastes amazing today and will age for 20+ years and change and evolve. There is magic in wines like this that possess that unique trait of being remarkably delicious over decades. That is why we are offering it as a 2 pack. Drink one soon, and save the other for as long as you can.
For years we have felt that the Sauvignon Blancs produced by Pascal Cotat are some of the best and most age-worthy white wines from France. The many bottles we buy and store each year of his different cuvées speak to that. They are simultaneously structured and energetic, complex and undeniably refreshing, and while they can be drunk on release, they truly age and improve exponentially for years. His wines (along with his cousin’s) stand out and above nearly all others from Sancerre. We have tried to guess what Pascal’s secret to making such magical wines is to no avail. His formula, if you call it that, is not a secret. It is an old-school combination of organic farming, fermentation and aging in used large oak barrels, and vineyard holdings in the top terroirs of the region. The allocations for these wines are usually miniscule but this year we were lucky to get our hands on a bit extra, and we happy to share the wines with you. Drink one soon with some peak season Pacific NW seafood, and lose the other for a few years to enjoy with a more substantial dish.
Sancerre, La Grande Côte, Domaine Pascal Cotat, 2019, Loire Valley
Pascal is known for pushing ripeness and being one of the latest to harvest fruit in the appellation which gives the wine texture and complexity, but don’t think for a second that lack acidity! The La Grand Côte vineyard is owned by Pascal and his cousin François, his domaine also produces a La Grande Côte, so it is a family monopole if not one of a single domaine. The vineyard is a steep north-facing plot of 60+ year old vines in thin soils of Kimmeridgian limestone and clay. His wines are a high-wire act balancing ripe yellow and stone fruits with a strong vein of acidity and minerality. The wine shows aromas of lime zest, fresh pear, and light herbs. It is juicy and penetrating, with lots of mineral expression. Textured yet very dry with flavors of stone fruits and crushed stones.
Holiday Bird Boxes – On Sale NOW
We’re bringing the cheer a little early this year. Announcing a very special Holiday Bird Box! This four person box has everything you need to celebrate in style. You can order yours NOW and pick up on December 23rd from 12 to 4 p.m. Plus, we have several exciting Holiday wine packs for sale.
The Holiday menu features a Sear at Home Duck Breast; Duck Leg Confit; Black Truffle & Maple Glazed Yams; Chestnut & Mushroom; Wild Rice Gratin; Duck Liver Parfait; Radicchio Salad; and Chocolate Cherry Buche de Noel for dessert ($250 for four people).
One Today & One Tomorrow; Brunello di Montalcino, Riserva, Stella di Campalto, 2013, 2 bottles $385
One Today & One Tomorrow; Sancerre, La Grande Côte, Domaine Pascal Cotat, 2019, 2 bottles $140
