Wine of the Moment Jean-Louis Tribouley Champ del Petayre
Beth Ribblett
Wine of the Moment
def. a fleetingly fanciful beverage of fermented grape juice characterized by compelling drinkability
Nick Selby came in the other day with a knowing smile on his face, the sly smile he wears when he knows he has a wine bag full of palate pleasing goodies. He had just cause as the four wines, one from Austria and 3 from France, were all winners with each one ending up in the shop this past week. Three of the wines were from Peter Weygandt, a living legend in the world of French wine imports whose logo is instantaneously stamp of quality on the back of a label. Peter seeks out small, undiscovered artisans that produce complex, intriguing high quality wine by focusing on low yields, natural methods of viticulture, and minimal intervention in the winery and bottling. One of the beautiful things about the Weygandt portfolio is the number of great wines under $20 like the easy drinking 2009 Chateau Baulery ($13.99) from the Languedoc and the earthier more structured 2009 Fontenille Cotes du Luberon ($14.99), two of the wines we featured in our Friday tasting last week. But on that particular day it was the rich and spicy 2009 Jean-Louis Tribouley Champ del Petayre that really got my attention.
Tribouley with his ancient Grenache vines. |
Weygandt is a guaranteed symbol of quality |
2009 Jean Louis Tribouley Champ del Petayre - Inky deep purple in the glass with a rich full nose of dark fruit with cinnamon and clove. On the palate is has a velvety almost creamy texture coating your mouth with black raspberries, blackberries and plums plus notes of licorice and burnt sugar. The finish is full and long and makes you want to keep coming back for more...$29.99