Domaine South
French Wine Tasting
Spectacular New Arrivals from Loire Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhone Valley!
Special Guest, Allaina Nielsen of International Wines
Friday, September 4th, 4pm - 6pm
$20 per person
256-759-9952 to Reserve
The Wines
2025 Matthieu et Renaud Mabillot Reuilly, Loire Valley, France $27.99
Winemaker: Matthieu and Renaud Mabillot
Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc
Matthieu and Renaud Mabillot work about 8hectares in Reuilly and are at the center of the region’s revival. The relatively warm climate (as compared to the Loire Atlantic or Touraine), silica-sandy top soil and Kimmeridgian bedrock provide favorable conditions for opulent, fruited, mineral Sauvignon. The brothers also allow ferments to run their course naturally and age the wines on the fine lees for several months. They practice their finessed style of winemaking in the community chai, which they had a hand in building.
Alive with aromas of ginger and molasses cookies, ripe honeydew, and wet stone. It drinks fresh like a roll in an orchard meadow: white flowers, grass and perfectly ripe fruit. Terrific aperitif or for the picnic crudités.
2024 Domaine Les Carmels "Copain Comme Cochons", Bordeaux, France $24.99
Copains comme Cochons 2023 is a refreshing and vibrant Cabernet Franc Blanc de Noir hailing from the Bordeaux, Cadillac region.
This Vin Méthode Nature wine is crafted from manually harvested grapes, undergoing direct pressing before vinification and aging in sandstone amphorae, a process that imparts a unique mineral character.
With a pale straw hue, the wine exudes a captivating aroma of lemon peel, lime, and citrus zest.
The palate is dry, with dominant primary flavours of citrus fruits, fresh ripe pineapple, and a subtle herbal freshness, showcasing a pure and vibrant spirit.
The wine’s refreshing, moderate acidity invigorates the senses, creating a lively and balanced profile.
At just 11% alcohol, this wine offers exceptional drinkability and purity, making it a delightful aperitif or a perfect companion to light summer dishes.
2025 Isabel Denis Pommier Chablis, Burgundy, France $49.99
The estate of Isabelle and Denis Pommier was founded in 1990 when the Pommiers, a young couple at the time, decided to take over two hecrates of their family’s land to produce their own wines. It took them a few years to get it down right, and their first bottled release was in 1994. The estate now spans 16 hectares of vineyards with appellations ranging from Petit Chablis all the way up to thier three Chablis premiers crus of Fourchaume, Cote de Lechet and Troesmes (a sub-parcel in Beauroy).
Soil: Kimmeridgien in Chablis and Portlandian in Ligny le Chatel. Viticulture: AgriBio certified since 2010. Farms organically and manually works the soils. Vinification: Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in tank. Aging: Aged on the lees in tank for 6 months.
An excellent Chablis, with lovely minerality! 60% of the wine is matured in stainless steel barrels and 40% in oak barrels. Pale lemon colour in the glass. On the nose citrus fruit, peach, apricot, wet stone, grass. On the palate oily texture with flavours of lime, lemon, pear, butter, chalk. High minerality, slight and pleasant acidity. Medium-long finish.
2025 Domaine Pique-Basse L'Ambigu Rose, Rhone Valley, France $22.99
Further breaking the mold for Provence winemaking, la Mongestine produces their wines with minimal intervention. None of the wines see sulfur until bottling. Native yeast fermentations allow the estate to showcase the different terroirs of their estate. They avoid barrel aging preferring inert tanks and amphora, which allows for micro-oxygenation but does not obscure their terroir.
A blend of Merlot and Vermentino farmed organically on hillside slopes, handpicked, fermented with native yeasts, and bottled with minimal sulfur. A simple approach to winemaking to produce an exemplary and delicious rosé. This is Provencal rosé rebooted.
2024 Domaine Pique-Basse La Brusquembile Roaix, Cotes-du-Rhone Village, Rhone Valley, France $22.99
Olivier Tropet’s vines grown in the tiniest Côtes-du-Rhône Village appellation, Roaix, are as soulful as they are impressive. Just northeast of Rasteau and north of Gigondas, his organic certified and Demeter certified (2022) vineyards grow on a large, freestanding hill with vines terraced up to 350m. The pinnacle has sedimentary deposits of limestone and marl with eroded limestone (now fine white sands) and limestone-rich clays, and further toward the bottom lie coarser and heavier clays and river alluvium. The grapes are hand-harvested, the fermentations natural and without stems, and the aging is done mostly in 500l French oak barrels and concrete vats. La Brusquembille is a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Carignan.
Roaix sits in France’s Southern Rhône Valley on the northeast side of the appellation just to the east and north of Rasteau and to the north of Gigondas, which sits just across the Ouvèze Valley. While it shares the same basic grape varietals as its better-known neighbors, there are a number of important distinctions between other appellations in this area and Roaix that make this tiny Côtes du Rhônes village an interesting prospect for those who want less boozy southern French wines that still taste of their place.
2022 Domaine Guion "Candide" Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France $22.99
"This wine expresses the natural characteristics of Cabernet Franc without frills or fuss with its aromas of red fruits, mineral flavors, a certain freshness accompanied by a slight tannic structure, it can be tasted now or kept for 4/5 years." - Stéphane Guion. The 2022 Candide shows a deep, vivid black/red color with bright rim with intense, pure aromas of cassis, black raspberry and blackberry confit (a little brighter than the 2019 and 2020), stone and violets - very deep and ripe but still bright with earth and minerals as well. The palate is medium-bodied, finely textured, quite chalky with saline mineral flavors that have a firm grip on the very pure blackberry and black cherry liqueur fruits, which continue in the long chalky finish, which somehow remains light and balanced. This "drink-young" cuvée is quite serious in 2022 and will benefit from a day open or a few years in the cellar, drink until 2032+. A sensational value, of course... DL