THE LITTLE NELL ASPEN APRES SKI À LA NICHE NICHE
THE WINES…
Robert Weil 2018 Kiedricher Riesling Trocken
This village wine (VDP.Ortswein) is produced from parcels of younger vines in the estate’s three hillside sites in the village of Kiedrich. It is lively and effusive, with balanced acidity and a stately Baroque body. Charming stone fruit aromas and citrus flavors are woven into a refined minerality giving it the versatility to accompany a wide variety of cuisine.
Varietal Composition: 100% Riesling
Vineyard Sources: Kiedrich Gräfenberg, Klosterberg & Turmberg
Appellation: Rheingau
Soil Type: Phyllite, loess, loam
Age of Vines: 25 years average
Farming Practices: Sustainable – no herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizer
Eleni et Edouard Vocoret Chablis Le Bas de Chapelot 2018
As the name suggests, this vineyard is located beneath the Premier Cru of Chapelot, a sub-climate of Montée de Tonnerre made famous by Domaine Raveneau. This is the Vocorets’ largest holding, at 3.2 hectares. This is always a village-plus wine, with density and weight that approaches Premier Cru level. Being towards the foot of the slope meant much of the crop was lost to frost in 2017, but in the warm and dry 2018 summer the deeper and cooler soil here proved a real benefit, preserving freshness to counter the wine’s natural power and breadth.
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: Chablis, Burgundy
Vineyard Sources: Chapelot
Soil Type: Clay, Limestone, and Kimmeridgian
Age of Vines: 40 years average
Farming Practices: Organic
2017 Alvaro Palacios "Les Terrasses" VV Priorat
Produced with grapes from 80 different vineyards in eight villages and therefore is a regional wine. 2017 was a warm and ripe year that produced powerful wines. This 2017 is 55% Garnacha with 44% Cariñena and a 1% pinch of white grapes that fermented in concrete and oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in barrique and oak vat for 11 months. This is the earthiest of the bottlings, and it has some rustic touches from the Cariñena, which gives it its personality. 2017 was their earliest harvest ever (the first time they ever started harvesting in August!). They used a little more new oak, yet the wine is not oaky or excessively ripe. There is no room for sweetness here, and the wine is clean, reflecting very healthy grapes and very elegant tannins, quite transparent, not dry, but rather juicy.
Varietal Composition: 55% Garnacha with 44% Cariñena
Appellation: Priorat, Spain
Vineyard Sources: Priorat
Soil Type: 100% slate called Llicorella in Catalan
Age of Vines: 30+ years average
Farming Practices: Harvesting is all done by hand. The estate vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically. Head pruned vines "poda en vaso". Soil worked by mule.
Thierry Germain Saumur Champigny Rouge Cuvee Domaine 2019
Serious wines are produced at this estate run by the charismatic Thierry Germain. His approach is closer to a Burgundy wine-maker than a typical Loire producer. This 50-acre domaine, situated in a superb viticultural location in the appellation of Saumur Champigny, has been a winery since 1850. Germain, from a long line of Bordeaux winemakers, arrived here in 1991, attracted by the region’s perfect balance of grape varietal, climate and terroir, which he considers one of the finest in France.
The vineyard is worked in a natural way with the goal of keeping the vine and the soil at its healthiest and Thierry has become a fully-fledged advocate of biodynamics. The harvest is manual, selecting grapes at their very ripest level. Vinification is handled in small batches with bottling unfined and unfiltered.
Varietal Composition: 100% Cabernet Franc
Appellation: Loire, Saumur-Champigny
Vineyard Sources: Priorat
Soil Type: tuffeau-based sandy and clay/limestone soils.
Age of Vines: average age of 25 years
Farming Practices: Manual harvesting only, coolish fermentation temperatures (16-24 degrees Centigrade) in order to preserve aroma and freshness.
