Thomas Calder Selections
Wine Tasting
Friday, January 26th
Le Petit Bijou
Call 256-964-7980
Profound new arrivals in Burgundy and Beaujolais!
Thomas Calder Wine Tasting
Le Petit Bijou
Friday, January 26th
4pm - 6pm, $20
With Special Guest, Allaina Lawrence of International Wines
256-964-7980 to Reserve
"Founded in 2002, Thomas Calder Selections represents a collection of hand-picked, family-owned estates in France, Spain and Switzerland. Owned and managed by Thomas Calder, an American living in Paris since 1996, we have amassed an impressive portfolio of top quality domaines."
2022 Isabelle & Denis Pommier Bourgogne Chardonnay, Burgundy, France $25.99
Fresh pear and apple, citrus, toasted hazelnut. The palate is crisp and slightly creamy, with lemon zest and pear layered on stony minerality. Isabelle and Denis Pommier are committed to farming organically, and are among the few estates in the region who hand harvest nearly all of their fruit. Isabelle and Denis began their winery in 1990 when they took over two hectares of family vines in and around the Chablis village of Poinchy, first releasing wine in 1994. Chardonnay with 15% Pinot Beurot.
2022 Isabelle & Denis Pommier Bourgogne Pinot Beurot, Burgundy, France $25.99
The Pinot Beurot comes from a rosé gray grape that evokes the bure with which the dress of the monks of Citeaux was made. It comes from vines located in Volgré near Joigny. Very floral and not very acidic, it is of a great aromatic complexity presenting a beautiful roundness always supported by a nice freshness and a beautiful persistence. It is a white wine of a very powerful character that keeps very well.
2022 Isabelle & Denis Pommier Bourgogne Pinot Noir "Grain De Survie", Burgundy, France $32.99
Pinot Noir
MED-BODIED, STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, BLACK PEPPER, MINERAL, NEUTRAL OAK
We were somewhat surprised to learn that Isabelle and Denis Pommier’s organically farmed 16 hectare estate in Chablis (est. 1990) near the village of Poinchy is one of the very few in the region to hand-harvest a significant portion of their production! Although most known for their distinctly mineral and terroir-driven Chablis, they also make a small amount of Bourgogne Rouge, such as the beautiful and energetic “Grain de Survie,’ which is equal parts fruit, floral, and earth.
ECOLOGY : Organic
2022 Gregoire Hoppenot Beaujolais Blanc, Beaujolais, France $23.99
Grape: 100% Chardonnay
Winemaker Gregoire Hoppenot doesn't grow any Chardonnay across his nine hectares of vineyards between Fleurie and Morgon, so for this Beaujolais Blanc he uses grapes offered to him by another organic grower in Crêches-sur-Saône (in northern Beaujolais, just south of Burgundy's Mâcon).
After hand-picking, the grapes are fermented with wild yeasts in stainless steel tanks. A little bit of sulphur is added after malolactic fermentation. No oak here, so expect bright, punchy, fruit-forward and citrusy flavours.
Gregoire might not make another Beaujolais Blanc any time soon, so get in before they're gone for good.
2022 Gregoire Hoppenot Fleurie Origines, Beaujolais, France $18.99
Winemaker Gregoire Hoppenot is a born and raised Beaujolais native, and with quite a pedigree of employment under esteemed wine houses like Chapoutier’s Maison Trenel and Pierre Chermette, we’d say this guy knows what he’s doing.
This Gamay is an approachable and elegant natural wine. Bright red berries, currants, and a hint of rose petal on the nose with a palate that’s playful and juicy, but this wine still has loads of sophisticated structure thanks to the silky tannins and the granite-y, mineral finish. Young but ready to impress, put a light chill on it for a real treat!
2020 Jean-Hugues & Guilhem Goisot Irancy `les Mazelots` Rouge, Burgundy, France $41.99
Biodynamic. Single vineyard Pinot Noir from 100-year-old vines. Irancy is a small hamlet with just over 300 inhabitants, situated roughly equidistant between Auxerre and Chablis.
Goisot has a paltry 0.5 hectares in the lieu-dit of Les Mazelots, and his viticulture and vine age are now delivering serious depth and flesh. In the context of Irancy, this wine is a superstar. These are some of the oldest Pinot vines in France and produce outstanding, super-mineral, savoury wines with irresistible energy. In the past, these could be big chewy wines that were hard to approach young, but Guilhem Goisot has brought more plushness and seduction in recent years as he has learned to tame the tannins and intense minerality of this terroir.