|
When we launched our wine club in March of 2006, our first featured winery was Château Saint Jacques d’Albas, a beautiful estate in the heart of the Minervois appelation of Southern France. Twenty nine months and, thanks to you, thousands of bottles of their wine later we are ready to place our tenth order with this fine winery. Graham Nutter, the ebullient owner (he will be in Toronto in early November) is extending two special offers to celebrate the occasion - he is reducing the price of his extremely popular and delightful 2007 Rosé and introducing a new, very attractively priced red, the 2007 ‘Clos de Garric’. The all-in price for both the Rosé and the Clos de Garric, a blend of new vines Syrah and Carignan is only $14.95!!
Here are our latest offerings from Château Saint Jacques d’Albas:
2007 Rosé - 13.5% Alc. by Vol. $14.95/$179..40 for a case of 12
This fresh, dry beauty is made of equal parts Syrah and Grenache. It has a wonderful, vibrant colour and a full fruity aroma. It tastes of strawberries and raspberries and has a nice, crisp lively finish. This is a wine for all seasons. It is a splendid apéritif and goes well with mixed grills, paella and Asian cuisine. This is the tastiest, fullest Rosé yet from this winery ... highly recommended. Order some now.
2007 ‘Clos de Garric’ Minervois Red - 13.5% Alc. by Vol. $14.95/$179.40 for a case of 12
As noted in the Revue du Vin de France, 2007 was a wonderful vintage for the Languedoc … perfect conditions under which to launch a new wine. Graham has been waiting for this opportunity to demonstrate the high quality of wine his new vines can produce. Clos de Garric is a blend of Syrah and Carignan. It is a delightful, fruity, well-balanced wine with surprisingly good structure and depth. The first bottling of 10,000 will occur at the end of November - 6,000 have already been sold to a chain of Irish pubs in France! Order your first edition Clos de Garric now!
2005 Le Domaine Minervois Red - 13.5% Alc. by Vol. $19.50/$234.00 for a case of 12
From the glorious 2005 vintage, this edition of "Domaine" is made of 20% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 40% Carignan. It has been traditionally fermented for over twenty days and the Syrah aged in barrels for more than six months. The noted wine writer Matthew Stubbs says, “Very aromatic, spicy good plummy fruit, some concentration, smoky and slightly herbal. Rounded integrated style with elegant finish." This is a very expressive, well balanced wine that is drinking well now and will keep quite happily for several years. Order some now.
2003 Le Château Minervois Red - 13.5% Alc. by Vol. $26.00/$156.00 for a case of 6
Graham has released a little of this gorgeous wine from his reserve cellars for us. Made from 60% Syrah (in oak barrels for over twelve months) and 20% each of Grenache and Carignan, this wine is drinking wonderfully right now. It is deep ruby red with an aroma of fresh red berries, liquorice and Provençal spices. We have pulled the corks out of several bottles of this winner over the past month and we and our guests have been delighted by it each time. Order this ready-to-drink beauty now.
2004 Le Château Minervois Red - 13.5% Alc. by Volume $27.00/$162.00 for a case of 6
This excellent wine is made from 70% Syrah and 15% each of Grenache and Carignan. The Syrah rests for 12 months on oak. Yields are a miserly 35 hl/ha. This easy drinking, medium-bodied wine is deep ruby with a taste of ripe raspberries, liquorice, Provençal spices, black pepper and a hint of vanilla. It comes from a cooler year than the 2003 and will cellar longer. Acclaimed by Jancis Robinson, it exhibits a fine balance of fruit and plush, velvety tannins. This goes superbly with roasts, poultry and casseroles. Gold Medal - Macon 2007 and Concours des Grands Vins, Languedoc Roussillon 2007. One of James Lawther's Top 10 Minervois to Try, Decanter, March 2008. Order some now.
2004 La Chapelle Minervois Red - 13.5% Alc. by Vol. $42.00/$252.00 for a case of 6
The 2004 vintage has more structure and is a little less fruit forward than the 2003 version. It is a classic Minervois heavyweight, comprised of 96% Syrah (barrel-aged for 18 months) and 4% Grenache. Made from old vines, it is drinking beautifully now and will keep for many years. Jancis Robinson included the "La Chapelle" in her list of '50 Great Value Reds' in the Financial Times at the end of 2007. It will amaze and delight the most discerning collector. Gold Medal; Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2007. Order some now.
If you are interested, Graham has some magnums available of the Le Château (‘03 and ‘04) and the La Chapelle ‘04. They come in six bottle cases and I am sure that we could convince him to mix a case for us. The price is just slightly more than double that of the 750 ml format (the bottles are quite expensive). Please get in touch with me if you would like some.
We will be taking our orders for the wonderful wines of Château Saint Jacques d’Albas to the LCBO on Thursday, November 27th. Please note that the above prices include a $1 per bottle handling fee.
|
Although our local robins are sensibly heading south for warmer climes, we are delighted to let you know that Jérôme Caillé of Château Robin has released a few more cases of his lovely Côtes du Castillon (a rapidly ascending Bordeaux appellation near Saint-Emilion and Pomerol) from the excellent 2005 vintage to replace them. We have tried several bottles of this Merlot-based beauty over the past coupe of weeks (it was a stand-out at the Freemen’s wine tasting evening) and were delighted each time. 
Would you like to visit the source of many of Arthur's Cellar wines? Does a relaxing week living on a luxurious Provençal country estate appeal? Do markets in quaint villages, visits to our vineyards, lunches in restaurants perched on hillsides or cantilevered over streams, gourmet dinners with a local flair and so much more sound tempting? You can with Hélène's tours of Provence