3CUPS Blog

François Pinon, Vouvray Petillant Brut

20.99 bottle / $18.89, 10% Off This Weekend

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I predict you will need a great dry sparkling wine in the upcoming week. It's affordable, but tastes fancy... 

The Man... The wines of François Pinon are considered among the finest of Vouvray. François, a former child psychologist, took over the estate from his father in 1987, and has steadily made a name for the estate over the past 10 years. He is a serious winemaker whose main focus is "to keep the typicity of both the appellation and the vintage" in all his wines.

The Wine... Vouvray is the name of a town and the surrounding AOC. Vouvray, the wine, is always white and always Chenin Blanc, but beyond that can vary greatly from dry to sweet to sparkling. Pinon's sparkling Vouvray is a beautiful expression of Chenin Blanc. It has a nice texture, good balance, a pretty and grapey character and a lengthy finish.

The Farm... Pinon farms organically. He applies no chemicals to the vineyards, plows to keep down weedy growth. New plantings are started by selection from the vineyard, rather than purchases from a nursery, keeping the genetic makeup of his vines consistent. His vineyards total 14 hectares, and are spread around his home in the Vallée de Cousse, about 5 miles northeast of the town of Vouvray. His soil is varied, some clay and silica on a base of limestone with some flint, and the area is rated among the top sites in the appellation for Vouvrays of distinction and long life.

At our wine class last week I mediated a lively discussion about classic French grapes. 3 whites and 3 reds were tasted and talked about, and the consensus was... there was not a dud in the group / no real duds were uncorked. But one bottle really shone.

The Cabernet was ripe to be sure, but not at extravagant or exaggerated in its flavors. Come by today or tomorrow or Sunday and you can taste this classy red before you buy. I say buy a case (I would say that) and uncork a bottle or two a year. Really get to know Chateau Aney. Or take this perfect Christmas dinner wine to whatever you'll be dining and make the folks at the table very happy...

2005 Chateau Aney

Haut Medoc

$26.99 bottle / $24.29 (10% off this weekend)

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The Wine... "Nose from the underground...sinister bite. You descend into its sinister depths." Kermit Lynch's tasting notes on Chateau Aney are above my caliber of writing. So I won't stand in his way, other than to add this is the real deal. Not a petite chateau, indeed. For more from Mr. Lynch on the estate, check out Adventures on the Wine Route from your local library. Incidentally, this red spends 12 months in barrel and is from vines with an average age of 25 years old.

The focus is on farming in this week's flights. We are offering a trio of Biodynamic red wines for $6, or three Biodynamic whites for $7. All are exceedingly tasty, and quite healthful if used properly. I tend to think solely about flavor when drinking a wine, but it is nice to know the fruit for these wines was raised right and contains no dubious substances. Want to know more about Biodynamics? Read on...

3 Things About Biodynamics…

1. What is It?... The system of Biodynamic agriculture is based on a series of lectures given by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in 1924, but includes techniques and philosophies that were in use long before they were organized under this name. Biodynamics is a method of agriculture which seeks to actively work with the health-giving forces of nature, and build a farm to work as its own ecosystem or organism. The more self-sustaining a farm becomes, the better the quality of its products. People, animals, insects, plants and land co-exist beneficially and harmoniously. Biodynamics is the oldest non-chemical agricultural movement, predating the organic agriculture movement by some twenty years and has now spread throughout the world.

2. In the Vineyards… Biodynamics recognizes that great wine starts in the vineyard, and caring for the soil is where it all begins. The grape vines capture the terroir with their roots and leaves to create wines of diversity. No herbicides, insecticides, or chemical fertilizers are used, but organic enrichment of the soil is a fundamental practice. All the grapes are hand picked, which is not simply a Biodynamic practice but an important part of better wines.

3. In the Cellar… Practicing natural vinification is basically the art of noninterference or minimal manipulation… no commercial yeasts are used, no chemical additives, no acidification or adding of sugar (chaptalization). The wines are often unfined and unfiltered, as a method of maximizing their complexity immediately and as they age. To achieve balance, none of the new technologies are used. The attempt is to create what one winemaker called, "true wines with original taste and complete transparency."