Beaubourg Le District NYC Wine Tasting

Beaubourg Le District NYC Wine Tasting

During our weekend visit to NYC we dined at Le District, a collection of three different French Markets and wine and dining options. Like Eataly, where we ate earlier in our trip, the Italian focused destination for all things Italian, Le District is a destination for all things French.

Le District has four different restaurants Beaubourg, classic French Brasserie, Le Bar featuring bar food and an extensive wine list, Bar A Vin offering 32 different rotating wines that can be paired with over 200 cheese and home made charcuterie, and L'Appart, a Michelin-star restaurant with a weekly, seasonal changing menu prepared under the direction of notable Chef de Cuisine Nicolas Abello.

The Market District features a series of market settings - a Boulangerie, Delices du chef, Bar a Frites, Cheese and Charcuterie, Rotisserie, Boucherie & Poissonnerie.

The Café District offers several settings for enjoying French specialties in an authentic village market and cafe setting - café patisserie, and Café Gourmande serving coffee delights, pastries, crepes, chocolates, and a broad assortment of French treats.

The Garden District simulates a French village with its range of markets shops including fresh produce, fresh flowers, daily essential grocery items, and a broad range of epicurean delicacies.

We dined at Beaubourg, an outdoor cafe serving their weekend brunch menu. We ordered

Soupe À L’Oignon, French Onion soup with Gruyère Gratin and Sourdough. Alec had the Jambon De Paris, ham and cheese croissant with gruyère and field greens.

I ordered the cheese and charcuterie board with a selection of cheese and pates - Pâté de Foie 

and Pâté de Campagne

. 

Camembert Fermier (cow)

 Bleu D’Auvergne (sheep) 

Perail Papillon (sheep)

Humboldt Fog (goat) 

Tomme Crayeuse (cow) 

Tomme de Chèvre Muscadet (goat)

 Pâté de Foie 

Pâté de Campagne

For our wine selection we ordered from the extensive winelist this Echo de Lynch-Bages Pauillac. 

There is an broad selection of wines by the glass, and an extensive wine list showcasing French wines from modest to extraordinary First and Second Growths from outstanding vintages. There are more than a hundred carefully chosen labels, mostly in the $100 to $400 range, and also some outrageous selections such as Chateau Petrus 1982 for $7500.

Following our recent trip to Bordeaux, I was hoping for a St Julien and was tempted by the Second Growths, Château Ducru Beaucaillou ($360), Château Gruaud-Larose ($260), two of the estates that were highlights of our tours, a broad selection of Chateau Talbot vintages, and several second labels of some top producers Pichon Lalande and Lynch Bages. In the end we chose this Echo de Lynch-Bages, the second wine of Lynch Bages, one of favorite producers we visited during our trip.

Echo de Lynch Bages, 2nd label Lynch Bages Pauillac 2014

We actually ordered and were served the 2014 vintage release which was decanted and served in a carafe. When we asked for the bottle to capture a picture, they presented the 2015 and were told we consumed the last remaining '14. 

We visited the Lynch Bages estate in Pauillac this summer. It was closed due to extensive construction. We'll look forward to visiting on a future trip. 

Like I wrote regarding the wine selection we ordered the night before last, in good vintages, like 'all boats rising with the tide', the second labels of top producers are also good and can offer great value relative to the first label grand vin. 

We ordered Echo de Lynch-Bages, their second label, which offeres enjoyable drinking and early gratification when young. 

This was bright ruby colored, medium-full bodied, bright vibrant black currant, black berry and ripe plum fruits with accents of cassis, classic Pauillac graphite, and hints of herbs and earthy leather. This is a blend of  73 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 27 % Merlot and is reported to be the highest percentage of Cabernet since the 2001 release. 

RM 91 points. 

This got 92 points from James Suckling, 91 points from Vinous, and 90 points from Wine Spectator. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2108513

https://www.ledistrict.com/ 

Pavillon Leoville Poyferre 2014

Pavillon Leoville Poyferre 2014

Following a casual dinner at Eataly on our NYC weekend getaway, we walked back to son Alec's apartment along the highline in trendy Chelsea. We stopped in at the Chelsea Wine Cellar and picked up this St Julien Bordeaux for casual sipping after dinner.

We toured Châteaux Leoville Poyferré in St Julien Bordeaux during our recent visit to the region, hence we were eager to taste this label from the producer.

Pavillon de Léoville Poyferré is the second wine of both Châteaux Leoville Poyferré and Moulin Riche. Made from younger vines, it is balanced, fruity and easy to drink.

As the second wine of Leoville Poyferre it is available at a fraction of the price of the grand vin thereby representing significant QPR - quality price ratio. Tonight at Chelsea Wine Cellar, this was almost 1/5 the price of the grand vin, albeit a relatively recent release 2014 vs. an slightly aged 2010 vintage. Never-the-less the price differential is substantial relative to the wines.

I have written in these pages numerous times that in top vintages, as 'all boats rise with the tide', where in good or great vintages second labels can be very good and therefore offer substantial savings or QPR relative to the grand vin flagship labels, which will command much higher prices.

Châteaux Leoville Poyferré on the shelf at Chelsea Wine Cellar is shown here.

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, flavors of currant, blackberry and black cherry with notes of bell pepper, olive, spice, with hints of oak, vanilla, smoke, tar and tobacco.

RM 89 points.
 https://www.chelseawinecellarnyc.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2370672

http://www.leoville-poyferre.fr/en/ 

A Visit to Château Gruaud-Larose

A Visit to Château Gruaud-Larose St Julien-Beychevelle Bordeaux

Another one of the key visits on our trip to the St Julien Appellation (AOC) in Bordeaux was Château Gruaud-Larose, a 2ème Cru Classé or 'second growth', one of fifteen Deuxièmes Crus (Second Growths) as classified in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

During our spectacular week in St Julien, we visited Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, and Léoville-Poyferré, three other second growth St Julien producers, and Fourth Growth  producers Château Beychevelle and Château Branaire-Ducru. As with all the others, we hold or have consumed a selection of Gruaud Larose dating back several decades to the early eighties.

This label is one of the key holdings in our cellar collection consisting of more than a dozen vintages spanning three decades dating back to 1980 including the birth year vintages of each of our kids, 1981, 1982, 1985 and 1990. We hold many vintages in large format bottles including 3 liter double magnums which we served at daughter Erin's and son-in-law Johnny's wedding.

As I've written in these pages, Gruaud Larose was on our small select set of St Julien producers to visit during our trip to the region. As is our custom on wine region trips, learned from many trips over many years, its important to focus and not over schedule. Too many folks try to see areas that turn out to be far apart, and they spend much valuable time in transit, or worse, arrive late for cherished appointments. As such, we learned to focus on just one appellation per trip, set priorities ahead of time, and schedule only key activities based on objectives for the trip.

Château Gruaud Larose is one of the most historic estates in the Médoc dating back to 1725 when Abbot Gruaud bought just under 125 acres of land and planted vineyards. Since then, four families have succeeded one another at the head of Gruaud Larose: the Gruaud and Larose families, the Balguerie and Sarget families, the Cordier family and the Merlaut family.

Abbot Gruaud passed the property to his nephew, Chevalier de Gruaud who passed the estate to his son-in-law, Joseph Sebastian de La Rose who renamed the property Gruaud La Rose or Gruaud Larose. He also gave his name to another massive Bordeaux estate, Chateau Larose Trintaudon.

In 1812, the family was forced to sell Gruaud Larose to retire their debts, the property was sold to Pierre Balguerie, Baron Jean Auguste Sarget and David Verdonnet.

Shortly after the official 1855 Classification of the Medoc, control of the property was split further among their descendants, but remained intact until 1867 when it was split into Château Gruaud-Larose-Sarget (after the Baron Sarget) and Château Gruaud-Larose-Faure (after Adrien Faure, who married one Sophie Bethmann, heiress to a portion of the estate). The wine they produced was bottled and sold as Chateau Gruaud Larose Sarget.

Baron Sarget constructed the château on the property in 1875. The other half of the original vineyard remained with the Bethmann descendants. The wines were bottled and sold as both Chateau Gruaud Larose Faure and Chateau Gruaud Larose-Bethmann at different times.

The two château were reunited by the Cordier family, who purchased the Sarget piece in 1917 and the Faure piece in 1935 and the château became a centerpiece of the Cordier properties along with Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey and Château Talbot. 

The Cordier family had been negotiants since 1886. They acquired the Bethmann family holding in 1935. This allowed the Cordier family to recreate the original estate and the wine was renamed Chateau Gruaud Larose.

In 1983 it was purchased by the Compagnie de Suez, and in 1993 it was sold to the French conglomerate, Alcastel Alstom. In 1997 it was sold to Jacques Merlaut who also owns other Bordeaux properties under the name of the Taillan Group including Chateau La Gurgue, Chateau Haut Bages Liberal, Chateau Citran, Chateau Ferriere and Chateau Chasse Spleen. The Merlaut family introduced sustainable development and organic farming methods in the vineyards.

The notable Georges Pauli is régisseur and winemaker and has been on staff throughout all these changes. Eric Boissenot serves as consulting winemaker to the Chateau.

The Gruaud Larose Chateau and estate sits just outside the village of St Julien-Beychevelle at the southern end of the appellation located on the plateau to the west of Château Beychevelle. on the opposite side of the D2 Route from Ducru Beaucaillou and Leoville Barton.

The vineyards of Gruaud Larose have the highest point of elevation on the Saint Julien plateau and has a distinctive 'tower' which serves visitors a vantage point to view the entire estate.

The tall tower stands out as a landmark and can be seen from across the region. Interestingly, while the toward provides a view of the entire estate, little can be seen of the village or beyond or of the neighboring Chateau due to the trees.

The tower sits atop a modern contemporary hospitality center that overlooks the property. It includes a welcome center, gift shop, wine bar and tasting center. 

On display is a vertical collection of Gruaud Larose in magnums spanning thirty-three vintages.

The vineyard has not changed much since it was created in 1781 and is the same today as it was when it was classified as a Second Growth in the 1855 Classification of the Medoc. The Chateau has a culture as a family organization with employees working at the chateau from father to son and from mother to daughter.

The 200 acres of vineyards are planted in the Bordeaux sanctioned varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%). The vineyards are adjacent to those of Chateau Talbot and Chateau Branaire Ducru which have smaller parcels. The property is divided into 110 parcels with the best terroir found in the 2 sections that surround the chateau and that adjacent to the park.

Chateau Gruaud Larose has a terroir of the St Julien legendary gravelly soil with quartz and a higher proportion of clay than that closer to the river, with more sand and limestone down deeper below.


The average age of the Gruaud Larose vines is 46 years with some of the Cabernet Sauvignon dating back more than 80 years.

Chateau Gruaud Larose is one of the few Bordeaux estates with a hail reduction canon, a high tech system system with radar that fires when hail is detected. The canon fired shock waves serve to break up the oncoming hail thereby protecting the delicate grape vines. We heard the canons firing in the the night  during a thunderstorm passed through the area.

Chateau Gruaud Larose vinifies the wine in a combination of 30 oak vats ranging in size from 55 to 115 hectoliters and 32 concrete vats that hold 50-100 hectoliters. The malolactic fermentation takes in place in cement vats and oak tanks.

The wine is then aged in an average of 85% new, French oak barrels for about 18 months with the duration and percentage and treatment of new oak determined based on the characteristics of the specific vintage.

Chateau Gruaud Larose on average produces close to 18,000 cases of Saint Julien wine each year.

Like most quality Bordeaux labels, like all boats rising with the tide, Gruaud Larose releases it best wines in the great Bordeaux vintages such as 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2005, 2000, 1990, 1986, 1982, 1961, 1959 and 1945. Gruaud Larose produced exceptional releases in 1961, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 2000 that were considered some of the best representations of the vintage.

Gruaud Larose maintains a library in the cellars that contains the leading vintages as well as age-worthy vintages that date back as early as the middle of the 19th century.

Chateau Gruaud Larose is known for wines that are concentrated, complex, full-bodied and long-lived, best consumed after several years of aging, typically at least 12 years or more, and often reach their peak maturity and optimal drinking window after 15 years and often last 35 years or more after the vintage release.

When young they tend to be tannic, tight and closed and should be decanted for 2 to 4 hours to soften and open. Older vintages might only need decanting so as to remove the sediment.

Mature, Gruaud-Larose with proper bottle ageing becomes more integrated and elegant with characteristics of complex concentrated black fruits, cedar, spices and licorice.

As part of our tasting and tour we were served a vintage 1999 release of Chateau Gruaud Larose, and a  Sarget de Gruaud Larose 2012.

Chateau Gruaud Larose produces a second wine, Sarget de Gruaud Larose that was introduced starting with the 1981 vintage. The wine is named for the Sarget family, previous owners of the estate who sold their interests to the Cordier family in 1917.

The second wine is comprised of grapes not deemed worthy of or suitable for the grand vin and is produced to be more approachable and at a more affordable price point. Reserving and dedicating the best prime grapes for the flagship label results in the highest possible quality achievable from the estate vintage release.

https://www.gruaud-larose.com/en/

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

This Les Granières de La Nerthe is the “second” wine of Château La Nerthe, made from younger vines from the Estate. This is a Rhone style blend in the following proportions:  45% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, 8% Cinsault, and the balance of 5% from “others”. While these are the typical primary varietals of a CDP, it should be noted that the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation rules allow for up to thirteen specified varietals to be included in the blend. Their second label is aged for a shorter period of just 6 months in a combination of cement vats and larger oak foudre that results in a more fruit forward style of Châteauneuf.

I note that I visited the historic Château La Nerthe (right) during my Châteauneuf-du-Pape tour back in 1998, so I follow and collect this producer's wine. Château La Nerthe have been producing wines at the Estate since 1560. The label seemed to disappear from our market for a couple years so I was happy to see it reappear on the shelves at Binny's, our local wine merchant. 

That said, their premier label Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee des Cadettes is now at a new price point at $125 per bottle, significantly higher than what I would consider to be comparable benchmark wines such as Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape or Chateau Vieux Telegraph. I should note it was reduced to a sale price to be more comparable to those other labels. I purchased some at the lower price. At less than half the price however, Les Granières de La Nerthe does offer CDP at a more affordable QPR (quality price ratio). These are two other Estates that I visited during this trip that I also collect for our cellar. Interestingly, the 2015 Beaucastel contains all thirteen of the CDP grape varietals.

While I was delighted to discover this second label of La Nerthe in our market, I admit I was a bit disappointed by it, perhaps due to my lofty expectations, or hopes. I was excited to try this so I bought some and made a point to pick up some BBQ brisket on the way home to try the combination. Perhaps, or apparently, my expectations were unrealistic, comparing it to the flagship first label.

Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Granières de la Nerthe 2013

This was garnet colored with a slight brownish hue, not due to deterioration, somewhat opaque, medium bodied, lighter than I expected. The flavor profile is what Wine Spectator aptly referred to as "racy red currant and raspberry coulis flavors, enhanced by twinges of blood orange, tea and singed sandalwood". 

WS gave it 90 points. I give it 88 points due the lighter body, more subdued fruits, and narrow flavor profile. I believe this might also be due to the higher percentage of Grenache in the blend over the more fruit forward Syrah which we tend to favor. I'll try it again tonight after opening and settling and see if there is affect.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2494536

http://www.chateaulanerthe.fr/

Papillon and Legende at Indigo Springfield

Papillon and Legende at Indigo Springfield

Visiting valued client in Springfield (IL), the account team dined at Indigo Restaurant. Following our tasting of Clio last month, I took another big bold expressive wine, BYOB, Orin Swift Papillon Bordeaux Blend which we matched up against Barons de Rothschild Légende from the wine list to accompany our beef steak dinners.

Indigo with their whimsical fun Blue Dog gallery offers a nice atmosphere for a business dinner, a special occasion or intimate dinner date. As always, the Indigo staff were professional, proficient, accommodating and attentive. The steaks were done to perfection and this evening they served an imaginative gorgonzola laced roasted potatoes accompaniment. The sushi entree left something to be desired and should be avoided in favor of their traditional midwestern faire.

Papillion is a Bordeaux Proprietary Blend from Dave Phinney, of Orin Swift Cellars, producer of a range of imaginative and bold wines that showcase the range and diversity of the best of Napa Valley wines.  Orin Swift perhaps is best known for The Prisoner series of wines which he sold a few years ago. He now focuses on and produces his higher end selections including this bold but polished red blend. 

David Swift Phinney began his wine journey back in 1995 when he traveled to Florence, Italy and discovered and got hooked on wine. After university graduation in 1997 he worked as as temporary harvest worker at Robert Mondavi Winery.  Setting out on his own, in 1998 he founded Orin Swift Cellars named for his father’s middle name Orin and his mother’s maiden name Swift. He spent his early years making wines for others and developing a line of Zinfandel based wines under his own label from fruit sourced from others. 

I've written about how Phinny is one of the more fascinating studies in wine branding. In his Orin Swift line, he shows why he is known for and recognized by his imaginative, creative, if not mysterious, even weird branding with his artistic naming and labeling of his wines. His line-up reads more like a series of mystery novels than a flight of fine wines - Abstract, China Doll, Mannequin, Machete, Mercury Head, Mute, Palermo, Papillon, Slander, Trigger Finger, and Veladora.

Mercury Head is his premium label Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and simply features a US mint original Mercury Head dime affixed to the bottle in place of a label. I've written in these pages about Machete with its series of labels with a dozen different photos of a mysterious woman brandishing a machete in various poses, many featuring a vintage Cadillac Eldorado.

Papillon features on the label (pictured) an image of third generation grape grower Vince Tofanelli's hands taken by the producer's friend and world famous photographer Greg Gorman. 

Papillon is a classic Bordeaux blend, Papillon features all the Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, the heavy weight weighs in at 15.1% alcohol. The grapes are sourced from Napa Valleys sub-appellations Oakville, Rutherford, and Howell Mountain, from top vineyards such as Stagecoach and Morisoli.

Robert Parker gave the 2013 release 95 points and this 2014 wine 94 points and noted "forest floor, graphite, blackcurrant, blackberry fruit and spring flowers with a full-bodied, unctuously textured, deep, rich pure wine".

This was dark garnet colored, full bodied, complex, bold, powerful, concentrated, almost jammy with rich black fruits tones - blackberry, black raspberry, hint of black cherry, with a layer of anise, dusty cedar, hints of graphite, mocha and loamy earth with firm textured tannins on a long lingering finish. This probably needs a couple years to settle and will be interesting to watch it age over the next decade.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2292084

http://www.orinswift.com/Papillon


Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) St. Émilion Légende 2013

Légende is a second label from the legendary Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) producer. Of course they're best known for their classic 'first growth' Chateau Lafite Rothschild. But they also produce a wide range of more than a dozen labels for the wider general marketplace consumer - most from across the Bordeaux region.

The Legende family of wines includes more everyday selections from Bordeaux, one blend from the Bordeaux region, two from the left bank Medoc and Pauillac appellations, and this right bank offering from the St. Émilion appellation.

This 2013 may not be a fair representation of the label since it was one of the most difficult weather condition vintages in three decades. A wet spring, two hail storms in July and August that damaged the grape vines, followed by intermittent rains leading up to the harvest made the weather condition among the worst since the frost of 1991.

The challenging conditions of the 2013 season required meticulous work in the vineyards and very strict selection in the winery to produce this release which they considered an over-achievement under the circumstances rendering what they referred to as supple, with a gentle, crisp structure.

This was dark ruby colored, light-medium bodied, somewhat austere with delicate subdued black currant and raspberry fruits with a layer of pain grillé (toast), with hints of floral, tangy spice, smoke, tobacco leaf and leather.  In the style of the 'right bank', this is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2613407

http://www.lafite.com/en/the-collection/legende/the-wines/legende-saint-emilion/

 http://www.indigocuisine.com/

Le Cadet de Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru 2012

Le Cadet de Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru 2012

We picked up pizza for a stopover quick dinner with the kids and grand kids, so I picked up this second label Grand Cru for casual sipping. We're big fans of the primary Chateau Larmande label and this was the first time I've seen this second label so was I anxious to try it.

The second label carries the same distinctive design and branding of the mauve colored foil and similar styled label as the main label (shown below).

Chateau Larmande is one of the oldest producers in the Libourne dating back to the 14th century.

In the eighties they created this second label le Cadet de Larmande which actually raises the quality of the Grand Cru Classe first label, since the lesser portion of the crop is bottled separately here. One-fifth of the production, 20k of 100k bottles end up in the second label. At roughly half the price of the prime label, even the second label provides reasonable value QPR.

The 2005 vintage of the first label is one of the better drinking labels in our cellar right now and provides great QPR for the vintage.

Le Cadet de Larmande St Emilion Grand Cru 2012

Open and allow it to breath for a while to let off the heat and funky fruit, which after settling, loses its flabbiness and is much more approachable. In fact, it was better the next day. Dark inky garnet colored, slightly lean, medium bodied, bright forward black berry and black cherry fruits with lively acidity are a bit tart on the front palette with a bit of alcohol 'heat' on the initial opening, but it settles down to a layer of tangy spice which turns to tones of creosote, smoke and a hint of anise on the moderate tannin finish. Drink it with pasta, pizza or hearty cheeses.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2314763

Chateau Larmande is one of the oldest estates in St. Emilion. Documents exist that help date this Right Bank property all the way back to 1585!
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/st-emilion/lamande/

Chateau Larmande is one of the oldest estates in St. Emilion. Documents exist that help date this Right Bank property all the way back to 1585!
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/st-emilion/lamande/

Chateau Larmande is one of the oldest estates in St. Emilion. Documents exist that help date this Right Bank property all the way back to 1585!
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/st-emilion/lamande/

Chateau Larmande is one of the oldest estates in St. Emilion. Documents exist that help date this Right Bank property all the way back to 1585!
Read more at:http://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/st-emilion/lamande/