As wine enthusiasts, deciding which wine region to visit first in France proved far more challenging than expected. Of course, the usual suspects came to mind almost immediately – Bordeaux, Burgundy, or Champagne? Certainly each are more than worthy for consideration and places we absolutely intend to visit, but we ended up choosing the lesser known village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape largely because it has quickly become one of our favourite wine regions. What we also discovered from our sojourn was a charming village that afforded the perfect getaway to immerse ourselves in local French living.
With any family winery, particularly one with a history that dates back several generations, one must understand the past in order to appreciate the present. At Bodegas Luis Cañas, the winery’s traditional winemaking style and methods have evolved over time but the focus on constantly finding ways to produce quality wine has never wavered.
1999 Remelluri La Granja Rioja Gran Reserva
Wow. A lovely example of a more classic style Rioja. Incredibly elegant and sophisticated with tons of complexity. Both black and red fruits on the nose backed with earth, spice, and some vanilla. Medium in body with less acidity than expected, it had a structure and smoothness that was simply beautiful with a nice savory finish. Drinking perfectly in our estimation but in no danger of breaking down for a while yet.
Excellent+
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Obelisco Estate is a part of the new guard of Washington wineries that are pushing the envelope in terms of producing quality wines. Obelisco is the creation of Doug Long and his partners, when Doug decided that he had retired too early.
2002 Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve
Since 1849 Pol Roger has been making some of Champagne’s finest wines and is now one of the premier Grande Marques. Golden colour with lively mousse. The nose is a lovely combination of warm bread dough backed up with notes of lemon zest and slight floral tones. The palate is wonderfully smooth and rich with a slight honey character to provide a counter-point to the lemon and grapefruit notes. This is a significant step above their NV Brut and well worth the relatively small premium in price. 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from Montaigne de Reims and Cote de Blancs.
Excellent+ – $102 tax-in at BC Liquor Stores
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