Domaine South
European Wine Tasting
Featuring Grape Expectations
Special Guest, Kate McElvoy of Rush Wines
Friday, July 3rd, 4pm - 6pm
$20 per person
256-759-9952 to Reserve
We just received a shipment of some very special, exclusive new arrivals from France and Spain! Bandol Rosé, Tavel Rosé, Gigondas, Rioja Reserva and more!
The Wines
2025 Chateau de Font Vive Bandol Rosé, Provence, France $19.99
Philippe Barthe's vineyards directly border those of Tempier and Terrebrune (last week he had to coordinate the removal of a large tree which sat half on Tempier's vineyard and half on his vineyard).
Philippe's 2025 rendition is everything you want in the category, with delicate notes of raspberry, citrus rind, garrigue, and spring flowers, backed up by the crunchy minerality that makes Bandol so memorable and ageworthy.
2025 Domaine Pelaquie Tavel Rose, Rhone Valley, France $17.99
The "First Rosé of France" and of the Cotes du Rhone, famous since the 10th century, Tavel wines were present on the Pope's table when the papacy was located in Avignon in the 14th century. This wine is produced with a number of wine varieties. Smooth, generous and fruity, with an amber-shaded color of incredible intensity, it shows hints of topaz-colored reflections on aging. Its connoisseurs appreciate it young and fresh, richly telling of all the scents and flavors of the southern French hills.
Cinsault and Grenache noir.
Ernest Hemingway famously drank a bottle of Tavel each day, but if everyone in the San Francisco Metro area consumed just one bottle of Tavel per year that would wipe out the appellation's total production!
Tavel is tiny.
Winemaking
Before the pressing, the hand-picked grapes are put in stainless tank for few hours of maceration. The free run juice and the press juice are blending together for a thermo regulated fermentation at 18° degree for 20 days.
Domaine Pelaquie's electric-pink hued flagship release. The calcerous slopes that Luc Pelaquie's vines root into provide an interesting saline/mineral component that sets Pelaquie Tavel apart from most of the wines in the category.
2019 Chateau Hanteillan Cru Bourgeois, Bordeaux, France $14.99
"The 2019 d'Hanteillan is endowed with superb depth and tons of personality. Dark cherry, plum, licorice, smoke and chocolate fill out the wine's frame effortlessly. Rich and sumptuous, but without being over the top, the fleshy and inviting 2019 has so much to offer. It should also be a steal for this level of quality. 90-92 points." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous 6/20
"This wine comes from a 114-acre property planted on an extension of the deep gravel of Saint-Estèphe. The wine is richly textured with tannins and black fruits as well as a touch of licorice. It will develop well and should be ready from 2025 (reviewed at $39). 90 points." - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, 7/22
2020 Vignobles Marie Maria 20 Madiran 'Novel', France $14.99
100% Tannat bottling, and after an extended time in bottle this gutsy release is just singing from the glass. We try not to use all caps on this channel, but this is a situation where we probably should:
"Gorgeous plump blueberries swell and bound across the nose and palate with tightly wound tar-infused tannins and a refreshing acidity. Exuding effortless charm and elegance. 95 points." - Decanter (WWA) 6/24
Despite winemaking at this address being very classical, this release always shows massive amounts of black/blue fruit in the best of ways, making it a satisfying discovery to hand to your "big reds" crowd for what will be a memorable experience with something new for everyone involved, in a wine that is basically impossible not to like.
2022 Roucas de Saint Pierre Gigondas, Rhone Valley, France $26.99
Roucas de Saint Pierre's 2022 vintage flagship Gigondas bottling, an unfiltered and beautifully textured release that even Wine Advocate's Yohan Castaing called "seamless and enveloping," and Yohan Castaing hates Rhone wines! (Yohan, Bordelaise by birth, hates Rhone so much that the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation recently threatened him with a defamation lawsuit which is hilarious)
Our most trusted Rhone voice (Jeb Dunnuck) was at the same time also gushing, calling Roucas de Saint Pierre a can't miss:
"Readers should jump on the 2022 Gigondas, a ripe, concentrated, medium to full-bodied Gigondas that does everything right. A blend of equal parts Grenache and Syrah, it has ripe red and black fruits, some peppery herb, licorice, and garrigue nuances, ripe tannins, and terrific balance. It's a classic, incredibly satisfying 2022 that should have an easy 10-12+ years of prime drinking. The tannin quality is really top-notch. 94 points (reviewed at $60)." - Jeb Dunnuck, 12/24
2016 Hermanos Hernaiz Rioja Alta Reserva, Rioja, Spain $49.99
The Hermanos Hernáiz ‘Finca La Emperatriz’ Tinto is a high-quality “classic Roja” red wine from Rioja Alta, Spain, crafted by brothers Eduardo and Víctor Hernáiz. The vineyard has a 40 cm layer of white river stones over sandy-loam subsoil. This provides excellent drainage and optimal sunlight for the bush-trained vines. The vines are aged 50 to 65 years and are grown at a low altitude of 570 meters above sea level. It is celebrated for its elegance, balance, and expression of the unique terroir.
Varietals: 70% Tempranillo, 28% Garnacha and 2% Viura
Elaboration: Sorting table. 100% destemmed and 40% crushed, the grapes (Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Viura) ferment in concrete tanks after a 5-day cold soak. Fermentation uses indigenous yeasts with daily pump-overs and lasts 20 days. Post-fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrels, aging for 18 months in 60% first-use French oak and 40% second-use American oak.
Tasting Notes: Deep ruby in color, this wine has an elegant aromatic profile with ripe black fruits, black pepper, and hints of cocoa and cinnamon. Full-bodied and well-structured, it balances power and polished tannins. The palate features a blend of red and black fruits, minerality, and a long, savory finish.
"The top red is the 2016 Finca la Emperatriz Gran Vino Tinto, the finest and most elegant red I remember tasting from the property. It's a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 28% Garnacha and 2% Viura, where Garnacha and the white Viura have an important role to provide some acidity and freshness, even in a cool year when the wines had more natural freshness than in previous vintages. It's a selection from the older vines on sand, gravel and boulder limestone soils from La Emperatriz estate, and it fermented destemmed with some 60% uncrushed grapes in concrete vats and matured in 60% new French barriques and the rest in used American oak barrels for 18 months. It's classical Rioja but with clean and precise aromas and flavors, still young. 41,876 bottles, 660 magnums and some large formats produced. It was bottled in June 2018. It should develop nicely in bottle. Drink 2019-2036. (reviewed at $60)." - Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 6/19