Domaine South
French Wine Tasting
Gorgeous autumnal delights from Loire Valley and Bordeaux!
Special Guest, Kate McElvoy of Rush Wines
Friday, October 16th, 4pm - 6pm
$20 per person
256-759-9952 to Reserve
The Wines
2025 Domaine Lavigne Saumur Blanc, Loire Valley, France $23.99
The color is a beautiful pale yellow color. Open, fine and delicate nose with aromas of white peaches. Expect white flowers, citrus, green apple/pear and a lovely mineral freshness with enough fruit to make it immediately appealing. Ideal with shellfish, meunières or creamed fish, grilled red mullet, puff pastries.
100% Chenin Blanc, from Domaine Lavigne in Varrains, just south of Saumur.
The Lavigne family has been making wine for three generations; Pascale and Antoine Lavigne-Véron now run the estate. Their 2025 Saumur Blanc is a dry, fresh white. The estate describes the traditional bottling as Chenin from limestone soils, fermented traditionally in tank.
Chenin is one of the great food wines of France—excellent with seafood, shellfish, goat cheese and lighter poultry. Approachable Loire Chenin without the price tag of a top Savennières or Vouvray.
2024 Couly-Dutheil Blanc de Franc, Loire Valley, France $32.99
Vin de France | 100% Cabernet Franc
Yes—a WHITE wine made from Cabernet Franc! It looks like a rosé, but this is essentially a Cabernet Franc treated like a white wine. Couly-Dutheil describes it as an intentionally unusual wine born from the personality of their Cabernet Franc juices. The grapes are pressed directly and fermented/aged in stainless steel to preserve freshness and fruit. The wine can actually show a very pale pink/orange-gold hue because of the red-skinned Cabernet Franc. Aromatically, think red berries, English candy, bright acidity and a slightly savory/herbal edge.
Couly-Dutheil is one of the historic names of Chinon, founded in 1921 and still family operated. The grapes come from sandy/gravelly soils near the Vienne.
2021 Thunevin "Presidial" Bordeaux Blanc, Bordeaux, France $22.99
Jean Luc Thunevin started the whole "garage" movement back in 1989. Garage wines are small production wines from tiny parcels of vineyards that are tended to as preciously as orchid gardens. Jean Luc bought a tiny parcel on the "wrong side of the tracks" in St Emilion. From this parcel a few vintages later he proved to the venerable St Emilion establishment.
The Présidial Blanc is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle.
Expect citrus, grapefruit, white flowers and fresh acidity, with Sémillon providing a little more body and roundness and a savory/mineral finish. Excellent with oysters, shrimp, grilled fish, salads, goat cheese and lighter appetizers.
2020 Thunevin "Presidial" Bordeaux Rouge, Bordeaux, France $22.99
This is a round and approachable Bordeaux showcasing ripe black cherry/plum, dark fruit, soft tannins and good freshness.
Thunevin is the négociant house founded by Jean-Luc Thunevin, the famously unconventional Bordeaux producer behind Château Valandraud. Présidial was created to make a modern, fruit-forward Bordeaux at an accessible price rather than trying to compete with the classified-growth wines. Historically, the blend has been heavily Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Thunevin became famous for challenging the traditional Bordeaux hierarchy. Présidial is a great example of that philosophy: good Bordeaux without the Bordeaux price/ceremony.
2022 Chateau Puy Galland Francs Cote de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France $21.99
Château Puy-Galland in the Francs-Côtes de Bordeaux appellation, which is only 10K east of Saint-Emilion. Located in the rolling, green part of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, the Francs-Côtes de Bordeaux shares the same warm climate and clay-limestone soils similar to the best Right Bank vineyards. Bernard Labatut is the third generation to work the vines at Château Puy Galland. His 29-year-old son is starting to take the reins.
Francs is one of Bordeaux's less-known appellations, but it sits on some of the region's higher, limestone-rich terrain. 50+ year old vines on right-bank clay-loamy soils. VINIFICATION: Traditional vinification. Aged 12 months in oak barrels.
Black cherry and cocoa notes. Fleshy and round with full, jammy blackberry fruits, soft tannins, and spice from wood aging.
2019 Couly-Dutheil Chinon Baronnie Madeleine, Loire Valley, France $38.99
100% Cabernet Franc.
Baronnie Madeleine is one of Couly-Dutheil's more structured “Chinon Passion” wines, coming from more serious, complex terroir than their entry-level Chinons. The 2019 vintage gives it plenty of ripe fruit while retaining Cabernet Franc's natural freshness. Rripe raspberry, cherry, violet, pepper and subtle herbal notes. Tannins are silky rather than aggressive, with the freshness that makes Chinon so food-friendly.
The 2019 is drinking beautifully now and should continue to develop.
Wonderful with roast chicken, duck, pork, grilled meats, charcuterie and goat cheese.