Steven Graf x FiFi Wines
French Wine Tasting
We are very excited to present the wines of Natural Importer, Steven Graf in partnership with Grassroots! We are seeing just a tiny trickle of these gorgeous wines, very special and small production!
Friday, April 5th
Le Petit Bijou
Call 256-964-7980
French Wine Tasting
Le Petit Bijou
Friday, April 5th
4pm - 6pm, $20
With Special Guest, Beth Farris of Grassroots Wines
256-964-7980 to Reserve
2021 Montesissa Emilio "Rosissima", Emilia-Romagna, Italy $28.99
Where - Emilia-Romagna, Italy, What - Metodo Tradizionale
Body - Medium, Style - Smashable
A local blend of Barbera & Bonarda this rests on its lees over winter before being bottled for secondary fermentation. Tart red fruits, a fine bubble and total refreshment. A tad more depth and complexity than your classic Emilia-Romagna Pet Nat.
BY 1930, THIS ESTATE ESTABLISHED ITSELF 3,000 METERS UP IN THIS EXCELLENT TERROIR. IT IS ALSO HOME TO LA STOPPA AND MASSIMILLIANO CROCI WHO ARE CLOSE WITH THE ESTATES NEXT GENERATION WINEMAKER, ELISABETTA. ON THE FRONT OF HER WEBSITE, IT SAYS, "FROM THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF OUR TERRITORY, FROM THE LOVE FOR OUR VINEYARDS, FROM OUR RURAL CULTURE, OUR WINES ARE BORN SPONTANEOUSLY.”
ELISABETTA IS THE KIND OF WINEMAKER WHO IS CULTIVATING AN ENVIRONMENT ON HER FARM, OF WHICH THE WINE IS BUT ONE PRODUCT. BIODYNAMICS, FOR HER, IS REALLY ABOUT CULTIVATING NATURE TO ITS MOST CONTENTED STATE.
2020 Domaine la Taupe - Vdf "Surin", Loire Valley, France $34.99
Vdf "Surin" 2020
VARIETY : Sauvignon Blanc
TERROIR : 35-75 year old vines Parcel from “Le Paradis”, argilo/calcaire
HARVEST : hand picked, earlier beginning of harvest for this vintage that continued through mid September.
VINIFICATION : Surin is pressed directly after the grapes are harvested. The juice stays 5 days in tank with some solids before going into barrel for 12 months. Unfined, unfiltered.
2022 Clos des Mourres - Pompette VDF Blanc, Rhone Valley, France $28.99
This Pompette Blanc is made of equal parts of Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Bourboulenc that are co-fermented and allowed to go through partial malolactic fermenation. In the glass this white blend is mineral-driven, with good acidity and a purity of fruit that is a signature of the best white wines of France. I think most people tasting this blind would call it Chenin Blanc, and I can totally see why—the texture is waxy and the fruit is in the melon family, with lavender florals, and lifted aromatics. Pair with grilled pork chops or sweet and sour chicken!
2022 Les Cortis "Naxide" Blanc, Bugey, France $36.99
varietal(s): 95 % Chardonnay / 5% Rousette
style: white
farming/cellar: 500m in altitude Limestone, Marl and Granitic bedrock, stony soils. Organic, biodynamic. Fermentation in stainless steel. 10 months aging on fine lees, then right into bottle.
round and leesy, delicate minerality, almond skin, citrus zest. as charming as the label.
region: bugey, france
Domaine Les Cortis is Isabel Coiffier and Jeremy Decoster. Though their domain is brand new (first vintage in 2016), Jeremy’s years of experience with some of the world’s most venerated, natural winemakers has been evident in his first wines. After years working with Agnes and Olivier De Moor, Lilian Duplessis, and others, the couple settled in the Bugey region of the French Alps, between the peaks of the Juras and Mont Blanc, home to families of lynx and deer. They are 500m up, on top of a rich blend of varigated soil. Everything is done by hand, biodynamically, organically and with minimal sulphur.
2021 Maxime Troncy - Les Souriants Vdf “Gauloiserie”, Beaujolais, France $28.99
GRAPES: GAMAY, GAMARET (GAMARET IS A VARIETAL ORIGINATING FROM SWITZERLAND, A CROSS BETWEEN RESCHENSTEINER, A GERMAN CROSSBREED FROM THE LATE 30', AND GAMAY)
SOIL: CALCAREOUS SOILS WITH CLAY AND PEBBLES DEPENDING ON THE PARCEL. GRAPES COME FROM LOWER ON THE HILL WHICH HAS LESS CALCAREOUS SOILS THAN HIGHER ON THE HILL. GAMARET FROM TRONCY’S FAMILY’S VINES.
WINEMAKING: HARVEST BY HAND. A BLEND OF "ALLÉGRESSE" 2021) WITH GAMARET (50/50). GAMARET IS DESTEMMED, 10 DAYS MACERATION.
FROM THE IMPORTER STEVEN GRAF: MAXIME TRONCY COMES FROM A FAMILY WINERY. IN 2013, HIS FATHER BEQUEATHED HIM SOME VINES TO WORK WITHOUT CHEMICAL INTERVENTION. IT'S A SIZABLE PLOT OF ABOUT 10 HECTARES, BUT THE PLAN IS TO CONVERT THE WHOLE ESTATE, SO THESE ARE WINES WE HOPE TO HAVE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME. THE VINES VARY FROM 70 YEARS OLD TO LESS THAN A DECADE OLD.
2022 Chateau la Peyruche - AOC Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux “1603”, France $34.99
We're starting the year off easy with a delightful new winery in Côtes de Bordeaux, namely, Château La Peyruche. The Château goes back to 1603, and has continuously been the fertile ground of grapes, vegetables, grass for livestock and flowers for honey. Today the proprietors are a father and son interested in regenerative farming, and making wine the way they did before Modernization.
The estate is named after its limestone bedrock, which lies beneath a gentle exposition with varying degrees of clay. As goes the typical parking-lot style of terroir common to Bordeaux proper, this is a much more exciting place for wine with power, finesse and elegance.
We've begun simply with their first completely natural cuvée (spontaneous fermentation and no added SO2). It's a fruity, velvety Merlot with all the bite that the place suggests. It is delicious, affordable, and sure to win the hearts of Bordeaux dads and natural wine cousins alike.