Last Saturday I attended a fundraiser sponsored by Chambers Street Wine. The event was held in the afternoon at City Hall  restaurant which is located at 131 Duane Street. The event had mostly French wines with some Italians thrown in. All of them were small, little known producers. I started tasting at the table of Marc Ollivier and his trio of Muscadet. His 09 Sevre et Maine “Clisson” had more complexity than most Muscadet with a beautiful floral nose, light peaches and a long, balanced finish.

They were pouring a few Cru Beajoulais. From Domaine Georges Descombes I enjoyed the 09 Morgan “Vielles Vignes” with a nose of damp earth, tight fruit with the earthines on the nose carrying through on the fruit with some tartness on the finish. From Condert Pere et Fils I enjoyed the 2010 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette and the 2010 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette “Cuvee Tardive”.

From Italy Christiano Guttarolo poured a trio of his Primativos frum Puglia. His 2007 Gioai de Colle Antello had a nose of pencil shavings and was jammy with firm tannins. The 2009 Primativo Amphora had a big barnyard nose with moderate to light fruit and a rosemary, tart finish. The most interesting wines at the tasting were the trio of orange wines from Sasa Radikon which is located in the Fruili Venezia Giulia region of Italy. The wines are made using natural methods and eschewing all chemical treatments. All the wines were poured from 500ml bottles. The wines poured were the 05 Oslavje, the 05 Ribolla Gialla and the 05 JAKOT. The JAKOT is made from the local Tocai grape. All of the wines had a dark orange hue with lots of interesting flavors going on.