Taste of France was a two-day festival held last weekend in Bryant Park promoting French culture and lifestyle. There were more than 120 booths showcasing French culture, technology, beauty and cuisine including 30 French Master Chefs . Of course there was also wine. On Saturday afternoon there was “Le Grand Wine Tasting” held under the big-top in the park featuring 100 wines from the top 10 regions of France poured by some of the top Sommeliers in New York . It was a consumer event with a portion of the proceeds going to Action Against Hunger and Wheeling Forward. I made a beeline to the Burgundy table where I started my tasting.
Bourgogne;
Christian Moreau Chablis Grand Cru “Blanchots” 2009. Gold in color with a nose of honey and toast with full fruit and notes of slate and wet rocks with a long finish.
J. A. Ferret Pouilly Fusse “Sous Vergisson” 2010. Light gold in color with a floral nose with medium fruit and some nice crispness on the long finish.
Antonin Guyon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Pucelles” 2009. Yellow with floral notes on the nose, starts tight and then opens with some sweetness in the middle before dropping off.
Francois & Denis Clair Santenay “Clos Gents” 2010. Medium red with notes of cherry earth on the nose with moderate body, chewy fruit with great balance with some earth notes on the finish.
Joseph Drouhin Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru 2008. Medium red with an amber robe, big nose of barnyard and black cherry and was silky and smoky with an excellent long finish.
Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin “Villes Vignes” 2011. Dark red with a nose of wet stones and dark plums and was chewy with hints of dark chocolate with moderate tannins and a long finish.
The Burgundy table was nice and I had some nice juice at the Bordeaux table as well.
Chateau D’Yquem “Y” (Sauternes) The dry white wine from this estate made with equal parts Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and was yellow in color with a nose of damp earth and fresh-cut grass and had great fruit and balance with a long finish.
Chateau Brillette 2005 (Moulis-en-Medoc) Poured from a Magnum, it was dark red with an amber robe and had a big perfume of herbs, bell pepper and black fruit and was chunky with notes of smoke and black licorice with great balance. Tasty.
Chateau D’Issan 2005 (Margaux) Dark red with mint and vegetal notes on the nose and was very tight with firm tannin on the tight finish. Not my favorite on the table.
Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2007 (St. Julien) Dark red with red licorice, mint and dark fruits on the nose and was chewy and smoky with great balance and a long finish. Another tasty one.
Chateau Lynch-Bages 2010 (Paulliac) Dark red with a nose of roasted meat and black cherry and was silky with a hit of mouth puckering tannin at the end.
Chateau Phelan Segur 2004 (St. Estephe) Dark red with an amber robe with notes of damp earth, mint and cherry on the nose with great mouthfeel and a balanced finish.
Domaine de Chevelier 2005 (Pessac-Leognan) Poured from a magnum, it was dark red to black in color with notes of earth and barnyard on the nose and was concentrated and silky with black licorice on the balanced and long finish. Drinking nicely.
Chateau Gazin 2005 (Pomerol) Dark red with a big nose of mint, bell pepper and black licorice and was silky and dusty with mouth filling fruit and great balance on the very long finish. Nice juice.
Le Petit Cheval 2006 (St. Emillion) Dark red with notes of Asian spices and stone on the nose and was tight and concentrated, I thought it was a little closed right now.
That was some outstanding juice on those first two tables but I had to give the other regions a stop by. I tried some nice wines at Beaujolais, the Cru wines are very underrated and are a good price quality ration in my opinion. A few that I enjoyed includes:
Domaine Guy Breton 2011 “Regnie”. Medium red with a pretty tang of sea air and earth on the nose with great balance with notes of damp earth on the long finish. Very complicated for a Beaujolais.
Domaine de la Conseillere 2010 “Julienas”. Dark red with a nose of earth and cherry candy with notes of wet earth on the fruit with good acidity at the end.
Domaine Du Vissoux 2011 “Brouilly” Pierreux. Dark purple with a nose of red candy and was silky and dusty with good acidity.
Loire
Domaine De L’Ecu 2011 Muscadet “Granite”. Nose of apricot with notes of canned peaches on the fruit with good balance. Not at all what I was expecting from a Muscadet.
Pascal -Jolivet 2011 Pouilly-Fume “Les Griottes”. Dark yellow with notes of earthy flowers on the nose and mowed grass on the fruit with good balane.
Domaine Galbrun 2010 Bourgueil “Chatrois”. Dark purple with a stemmy nose with big notes of dried herbs on the finish.
Rhone
Chateau De La Selve 2006 Coteaux De L’Ardeche “La Serre De Berty” Dark yellow with a nose of ripe floweres with full, floral fruit and good balance.
Chateau De Vaudieu 2010 Chatteauneuf Du Pape. Black in color with a closed nose of cherries and bacon with fruit and was chunky and firm.
Domaine Pierre Gaillard 2009 Saint Joseph “Les Pierres”. Dark red with a nose of earth and cherry and was chewy with notes of bitter cherry on the long and balanced finish. Very nice.
It was a great afternoon with some outstanding wine.
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