Alex Gambal in Beaune

A long-time island friend and favorite winemaker, our selection of Burgundies would not be complete without offering something from the only American who now owns parcels in the Grand Cru Batard-Montrachet!  All of his wines are fermented by indigenous yeasts, racked only once and bottled by gravity without filtration.  According to Alex, ‘the superb 2009 vintage is a benchmark in the maturation of this fine little Burgundy house.’

To drink or to keep, you decide….just don’t wait too long!

St Aubin ‘Les Murgers des Dents du Chien’ 1er Cru $50

From one of the most famous climats from this small region located next to Chassagne-Montrachet, this wine offers what a village level wine from its next door neighbor does at a fraction of the the price.  Soft citrus and orchard fruit, rich flavors with medium acidity, slightly linear but with a lingering finish.

Suggested Pairing:

Sea Scallops with fresh corn salsa

Puligny Montrachet, $68

A straight-forward village wine that offers hints of soft toasty oak and citrus notes, mostly lime zest.  Fresh and vibrant, this wine is a perfect pairing for the abundant seafood available on the island.  Be sure to save a bottle to pair with Nantucket Bay scallops with a celery purée in the months ahead.

Suggested Pairing:

Lobster!  Lobster!  Lobster!

Bourgogne Rouge “Cuvee des Deux Papis” $30

Alex does it again with a sophisticated single-village wine worth its’ price!  Perfumed nose of spiced red berry that lead to bright middle weight flavors on the palate.  Perfect for those sometimes chilly nights when the fog starts to roll in before we are ready to receive it.

Suggested Pairing:

Salmon with roasted shiitakes

Chambolle Musigny, $70

Perfume of red berries on the nose  and a silky flow of soft, fading  tannins on the palate.  This is a wine that any Pinot Noir lover will appreciate.  Buy a couple bottles for your collection and reap the benefits of aging this wine a few years.

Suggested Pairing:

Coq au Vin, Roast Chicken with potatoes Dauphine

In the vineyard with Tim Mondavi, daughter Carissa, and Bayla of Continuum

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO THE NANTUCKET WINE FESTIVAL 2011?!

Oh, how we love the Nantucket Wine Festival…the annual ritual of welcoming old friends and making new ones—meaning, of course, people AND wines.  We’ve made many friends at the NWF through the years, and brought other friends to the event, both luminaries and patrons.  This January, Mark and I had the distinct honor of meeting Tim Mondavi and luring him to be the Nantucket Wine Festival Luminary of the Year.   His legacy as the winemaker for Robert Mondavi is laudable as is his impressive new label, Continuum Estate, and its commitment to excellence in winemaking.  Continuum makes “a single red wine produced with clarity of focus at the highest quality level”, a blend of varieties from the cabernet family, and aspires to the level of a first growth Bordeaux.

We have in stock or can order wines from any of these producers, including Continuum Estate.  Our selection is all the more compelling due to the inclusion of  these esteemed makers.  Offered here are some photos of the many friends of currentVintage–on both our turf and theirs.

Lunch with Tim and Carissa Mondavi

Alex Gambal in Beaune

Sean Larkin in currentVintage

Jack Larkin of Jack Larkin in cV

with Don & Joanne of Shibumi Knoll

John Arns and Sandy Belcher in currentVintage

with Ray Coursen at Elyse

Sonoma Coast lunch with David Hirsch

Maria and Rob Sinskey

Tyler Thomas, Donelan winemaker, at Cyrus

Michael & Fiona Ragg of Mischief & Mayhem at cV

Michel Anglada of Anglada-Deleger, in Beaune

Domaine Comte Senard in Aloxe-Corton

with Kristen at Newton Vineyard

Hourglass

Seminar with Elton Sloane of Robert Craig Winery

Andy Peay pouring for me and Ziggy the Wine Gal

Magnificent Palmaz winery

Big Bottles at Miner Family

Cesare Casella, Chef-Owner Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto, NYC

cV continued to get a lot of press and was featured in a gorgeous 6-page spread in Cape Cod Life.  There were numerous trips…California, NYC, St John, France…and we launched our signature cV wines, including our 2008 currentVintage “Boschetti Vineyard” Pinot Noir.  There were wine tastings, photo shoots, and VIPs–the store practically  pulsated with energy and inspiration!

Most importantly:  I got engaged (!), then, currentVintage had its first store engagement (he proposed to her in cV!) and, our little Rosie (*star employee*) got married.

Here’s a look at a few highlights…

Our first proposal at cV!

She said "I do"! Congrats Brendan & Kate!

Rosie & Ivan got married!

Getting engaged at the Wauwinet...

...on our 8th anniversary!

11th Annual Lingerie Fishing Tournament

Wendy Schmidt & Co at Petticoat Row

Dominique Demarville of VCP!

Content at Caneel Bay

Stylist Julie Biondi (ctr) & friends

cV models in Cape Cod Life

MLK Jr Day at Glide in San Fran

B-52s Kate Pierson in cV

modeling Cheryl Fudge (who just opened a store in Santa Monica)

Actor Sarah Fraunfelder modeling for cV

Burgundy:)

Many a Grand Cru...

with LA Lifestyle Chef & "Food to Flowers" Author, Lulu Powers

Meursault & Margaux

NFF Party with Kim Corkran of Cape Air, Kate Brosnan & Tom Scott of Plum TV, Caterer Susan Warner

going to The Bazaar in LA, Pre-Grammys

La Superica in Santa Barbara

with Dan Kosta of Kosta Browne

cV Signature Wines launch at Nantucket Wine Fest

Michael Ragg of Mischief & Mayhem, Burgundy

Daffodil Day

at The Vanderbilt in Newport

If you need a bottle of Auxey-Duresses or a Puligny-Montrachet before you can get to Puligny, head to cV for a selection of white & red Burgundies to delight the senses.

Relais & Châteaux L'Abbaye de la Bussière

Grounds of L'Abbaye de la Bussière

L'Abbaye de la Bussière

Escargot at l'Abbaye de la Bussière

Hostellerie de Levernois

Michelin One-Star in Levernois

Restaurant Le Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet

Denis at Restaurant Le Montrachet

The beloved fromage course

When you get to that point when you are done with butter, cream and jambon persillé, consider the Indian-inflected cuisine of Via Mokis and a pint at Pickwick’s Pub.

Alex Gambal

Alex Gambal and his then wife moved with their kids to France in 1993.  They were looking for an experience abroad and a serendipitous meeting with famed wine importer Becky Wasserman led to that experience and then some.  What began as a stage, resulted in his enrollment in viticulture school, and voila, in 1997, Maison Alex Gambal was born.

Ray Coursen of Elyse

Ten years earlier, Ray Coursen and his wife were working on Cape Cod.  One day, Ray offhandedly asked Nancy when she’d be ready to move to California to start making wine. “Tomorrow,” she said, and off to the wild west, they went.  Ray worked his way from the tasting room to the cellar, becoming winemaker in a matter of  a few years.  In 1987, the Coursens founded Elyse, producing 286 cases of Morisoli Vineyard Zin, still one of their preferred fruit sources today.

Ray is known for Zinfandel and Rhone varietals.  His wines are extracted, rich and voluptuous.  Alex deals exclusively with chardonnay and pinot noir, and his style is typically more elegant and restrained.

Alex makes about 5000 cases of wines/year; Elyse makes nearly double.  Alex makes 18 wines, 60% white and 40% red.  Of Ray’s 20 or so bottlings, of whites there are only two.

Stylistically, the wines of Alex Gambal and Elyse don’t have so much in common, yet on many other levels they do.  Both Alex and Ray are negociants with both eyes on the vineyard.  They each hold long-term contracts with trusted growers to ensure the quality of the fruit.  They each own a few of their own vineyards.  Ray went to school to study agriculture.  Alex tends his own garden.  They are both artists, farmers and scientists, as that is what is required to own a winery and produce consistently good wine.  Elyse wines are on all the great lists in Napa.  Alex’s are on some of the best lists in Beaune.

They are both good friends to the Nantucket Wine Festival and they share a passion for wine, food and life.

These days, countless points and accolades later, Alex and Elyse continue to produce amazing wines:  Food friendly, fruit-centric, hand-crafted wines from their respective corners of the world.  They are truly living the dream.

What a nice couple!

“I came in frankly not knowing the first thing about Burgundy or how to make wine, but to have an experience with my family, trying to enrich our lives. If things turned out well, that would be great. But if it didn’t we’d go home to our former life.”—Alex Gambal

“When I first saw how small Burgundy is and how diverse it is I realized that it would take me a lifetime to begin to understand it. That’s what I love about Burgundy, because I continue to learn something new about it every day. That’s what makes it so wonderful, and also so maddening. Here we have two principal grape types and how can it be so different from one little place to the next. Burgundy isn’t a spectator sport, it’s a contact sport. You really have to be willing to get in and get your hands dirty. Otherwise, forget about it.”—Alex Gambal

“In our winemaking we let nature express each vintage uniquely, by using indigenous yeasts which are naturally on the grapes. We make our wines following Burgundian tradition : our whites are barrel fermented and both red and white wines are matured on their lies with just one racking prior to bottling.”–Alex Gambal

Re. the 2009 harvest:

“When one controls all from A-Z, and mother nature provides 6 months of glorious weather, the results are easy to see and taste.” Alex Gambal,  September 2009

“I also recommend Alex Gambal’s 2007 Bourgogne Blanc.  It’s another wine that delivers more than its appellation suggests, I suspect because it comes entirely from Cote d’Or Chardonnay (the law allows Bourgogne Blanc to be made from grapes grown throughout Burgundy, including the Côte Chalonnaise and Côte Mâconnaise).  Gambal waited to harvest the Chardonnay in 2007– and it paid off.  I guess it’s in his nature to gamble.”—Michael Apstein, www.winereviewonline.com, July 2009

“A meal without wine is eating; a meal with wine is dining – it’s a conversation, an event. It’s what wine is about.”—Ray Coursen

“Winemaking is cooking without a flame. Great chefs search for the best ingredients and then carefully prepare them so the layers of flavors in the food all reach the table. They’re constantly searching for wonderful fruit to work with. Besides the vineyard at the winery, we’ve been fortunate to find amazing fruit from vineyards stretching from Carneros to Howell Mountain. As a fellow winemaker once said, “The best wines come from the vineyards with the most footprints in them.” –Ray Coursen (s2wines.com)

Re. C’est Si Bon:

“This was the favorite wine that we would all take a little pull from in the wine room.”—Ray Coursen

Re. winemaking:

“I like a little oak, but I don’t want it to be overpowering – I want to taste the fruit. I love wines that pair well with food…When I make a wine, my tastes and techniques will influence the process, but what’s most important is the fruit. The fruit dictates what the wine will be. We’re fortunate to work with an amazing group of growers and vineyards, whose fruit keeps taking us to wonderful places.”—Ray Coursen

Re. visiting Elyse:

“This is a MUST  for all serious wine drinkers.   It does not have a fancy tasting room, no gross monuments to oneself here, no long driveways with valet parking,  no cheese-and-figs,  no members-only library, no bubble room,  no car collection,  no tram, no tractor ride, no cablecar,  no castle, no outdoor sculpture garden,  no ponds,  not even pistachios…if you know what I mean.
This is Napa the original way.   A small tasting room  with giant, delicious wines that do all the promoting themselves.   This is THE BEST OF NAPA. “—Brenda S., NY, NY, March 2008 (www.yelp.com)

Re. Elyse Wines:

“This excellent winery continues to turn out a bevy of intriguing wines, including both Zinfandels and Rhone Ranger offerings.” -Robert Parker (June 2008)

Balloon over Napa seen from Elyse Winery

Alex Gambal Blog:

http://www.alexgambal.com/blog/

Ray Coursen video:

http://www.winetastetv.com/video/tastings/grenache/2315/article%3C!—raycoursenelysewinery—%3E

I first met Ray Coursen in Yountville in 2003 and have been fortunate to dine and lodge with him several times since.  Most day’s you can find him lunching at Redd with fellow winemakers such as John Arns and Jim Barbour.  Alex’s wines I discovered years ago at the Nantucket Wine Festival and I have also enjoyed clinking glasses with him in Beaune.  His cuvée is in an historical courtyard just inside the town wall of Beaune.  I look forward to seeing them both this winter and again at the Nantucket Wine Festival in May.  Elyse and Maison Alex Gambal wines are available at currentVintage.

Tasting of Alex & Elyse Wines

4-7, Wednesday, September 30, 2009

currentVintage, 4 Easy St, Nantucket.

Maison Alex Gambal window in Beaune