European Wine Tasting
Grower Champagne, Rioja Alta, & Classic Burgundy!
Friday, May 23rd
Domaine South
Call 256-759-9952 to Reserve
European Wine Tasting
Domaine South
Friday, May 23, 2025
4pm - 6pm
$20
Special Guest, Beth Farris of Grassroots
256-759-9952 to Reserve
The Wines
NV Haton Champagne Brut Classic, Champagne, France $45.99
Grape: 60% Pinot Meunier and 40% Pinot Noir
Producer: Currently owned by René Haton; Champagne Haton has remained family-owned and operated since it was founded in 1920
Region: Vallée de la Marne, Champagne (France)
In the Cellar: Dosage : 10g/L; Aged for 2 years in bottles
Farming Method: Working with trusted farmers, the Hatons vinify their parcels separately and then carefully begin the blending process. The result is meditative and soulful wine.
Tasting Notes: A toasty, creamy, and rich Champagne with lively acidity. Pretty notes of cherry filled pastries.
2023 Domaine Gueguen Bourgogne Aligote “La vigne De Marie Louise”, Burgundy, France $21.99
The 2023 Domaine Céline & Frédéric Gueguen Bourgogne Aligoté “La Vigne de Marie-Louise” is a refined and expressive white wine that beautifully captures the vibrancy and precision of the Aligoté grape. This cuvée honors family heritage and reflects the purity of its terroir.
Terrior: From a vineyard planted in 1965 by Céline’s grandparents in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, the vines are old massal selections rooted in Portlandian limestone soils with a northwest exposure. This setting contributes to the wine’s freshness, structure, and underlying minerality.
Fresh aromas of stone fruit, lemon crème, green apple, and hazelnut, with a subtle saline edge. Light to medium-bodied with crisp acidity. Notes of citrus, pear, and a chalky minerality unfold with elegance and clarity. Smooth texture and a clean, focused core Bright and lingering, with refreshing citrus and a saline mineral finish that mirrors its cool-climate origin.
2023 Sierra da Tolona Rioja Blanco, Spain
High up in the foothills of the Sierra de Toloño, in Rioja Alavesa, Sandra Bravo works in some of the oldest, and highest altitude vineyards in Rioja, growing Garnacha, Tempranillo, Viura and some Graciano. In her small winery in Villabuena de Álava, where she works with steel, anforas, and old wood, this young winemaker translates the mountainous landscape into pure and expressive wines. She harvests multiple varieties from micro-terroirs over many small plots that together form a fresh, beautiful image of the area.
Sandra Bravo's white comes from old vines grown in the high altitudes of the Sierra de Toloño (650 meters). Made in stainless steel it keeps fine aromatics and acidity, showing the fresh side of Viura.
2021 Mary Taylor Agenais Vigneron Laplume Rose, France $15.99
Opens with a wildly aromatic display: honeyed florals, cherries, crushed nectarines and exotic spices. It’s round and pliant, with ripe orchard fruits propelled by juicy acidity. Balanced inner sweetness while cleaning up well, with inner florals
IGP Agenais was established in 2011 to capture the typicity of the wines from the Lot-et-Garonne area of Southwest France. This rosé from the lovely Christophe Avi, our source of Buzet wines, is made from his younger Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon vines. It offers nuanced notes of minerally orange blossom, wet stone, and lime leaf, with lots of grip.
2023 Charles Pere & Fils Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy, France $30.99
Dark purple accents are reminiscent of peony flowers and the depth of certain roses. Its fruity nose evokes cherry and raspberry, evolving towards licorice to undergrowth, often with some spicy accents. Soft tannins with finesse and a long-lasting finish.
Fully destemmed, then vatted for about 15 days and aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Grapes are picked by hand and transported in small crates in order to prevent berries from being crushed. With the same concern for quality, bunches and grapes are sorted again as soon as they reach the cellar.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
In the heart of the Hautes Côtes de Beaune appellation, Charles Père et Fille is a family-owned and operated estate based in Nantoux. A multigenerational domaine that gained momentum in the 1960s with the purchase of new vineyards and that start of bottle sales in France. In the 1980s, François’s son Pascal Charles joined the estate team. Together, they expanded the estate, planting new vines and replanting vineyards. Today Pascal and his daughter Pauline manage the domaine, which now covers 14 hectares under various appellations.
2022 Sierra da Tolono Rioja, Spain $24.99
The mountains of Sierra de Toloño, with their clay and limestone rocky-soils, are perfect conditions to grow Tempranillo. This is Sandra Bravo's "workhorse", the wine that points the way to some of the most elegant expressions of Rioja Alavessa we've encountered. Harvested by hand, mid-October, the wine ferments spontaneously and then ages for 8 months in neutral barrels, and a little bit in amphorae. It is bottled unfiltered and unfined. Spicy, textured, and mineral.