French Wines: St. Michaels Food & Wine Festival

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May arrived with a balmy weekend on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, just the weather to contrast with last month’s rainy, overcast Cognac film noir festival. And so we went to the second annual Food & Wine Festival at St. Michaels, Maryland, little realizing that this would be a fine opportunity to taste excellent vintage French wines and talk with knowledgeable wine distributors. Yes, there were quality wines from elsewhere, notably the United States, Australia and New Zealand (why not some fine Canadian wines, I wondered), but these French wine tastings were the high point for me. I started with some Robert Kacher white wine selections. The 2002 Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Cras” was pleasant and crisp, rather like a Chablis, I thought. There may be some reason for that. I was told that “les cras” refers to the fine grey clay subsoil in which the grapes are grown. This was said to be not unlike the shellfish-laden subsoil of Chablis itself. There are no first or great growths in Pouilly-Fuissé, but the labelling of a vineyard area may be a step in that direction. I found it a satisfying wine, but rather pricey at $25. The 2002 Macon-Igé, at $12.99, was a better buy. Also crisp and dry, it would go very well with a seafood luncheon. A 2002 Pouilly-Fuissé from Louis Jadot, at $21, was a smoother, richer wine, an interesting contrast to the Robert Kacher selection. The Trimbach Riesling 2002 was a wonderful Alsatian offering. This noted house from Ribeauville, like the Hugel firm in Riquewihr, prefers a lean style of winemaking, refusing to bow to the over-rich styles favored by some wine writers. The result is a splendid wine that goes well with a variety of dishes. I recalled that last Thanksgiving, my family greatly enjoyed a Willm 2000 Cuvée Emile Willm Riesling, which then retailed for $14.95. (By coincidence, we stopped at my local wine retailer on the way home, and he was pouring that same Cuvée Emile Willm, still excellent, now retailing for $16.38.) I was intrigued by the offerings from Mark Drake-Boisset France, which included a Charles de Fere Brut Rose and a Charles de Fere Cuvée Jean Louis. These are inexpensive (at $9.99 and $8.99) nonvintage sparkling wines, just the thing to add zest and a sense of occasion to your summer barbeques. The Brut Rose (like most rose wines) was a bit sweet for my taste, but still a refreshing sparkling wine, with a pleasant salmon color. The Cuvée Jean Louis was dry, with a palate-cleansing freshness, and good floral aroma. It is made from the high end chardonnay and colombard grapes with, interestingly enough, some ugni blanc from the Charentes region. This is a base grape (in both senses) for the production of Cognac and adds freshness to the Cuvée Jean Louis. I had not tasted it previously in a blended white wine. Carey Callahan of Centre-Ville Imports was our host for some superior high end wines. From Dodet Naudin, we tasted a fine Pouilly-Fuissé Domaine du Grand Pré 1999. Mr. Callahan told us that Dodet Naudin specializes in locating quality small producers. Certainly their Meursault Premier Cru 2001, at $51, fit that description. It makes one wonder just why fine Meursault wines are thought to be in any way second to their premier cru counterparts from Puligny- or Chassagne-Montrachet. Meanwhile, the price differential will continue to favor those who seek out quality offerings from Meursault. Two grand cru Corton Charlemagnes were also tasted. The 2002 Capitain Gagnerot was very smooth, but aging is clearly needed. It is a fuller style of Corton Charlemagne, but I preferred the 1999 Domaine Doudet Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru. Like Bonneau du Martray, this was in a lighter style. The daughter of the firm’s owner is the winemaker for this grand cru, produced at Savigny les Beaune. Champagne followed from the House of Besserat de Bellefon at Epernay, courtesy of Valerie Lynch of Winesellers, Ltd.. We savored the nonvintage Cuvée des Moines Brut, which I had tasted previously and found to be an excellent, refreshing Champagne in the lighter Taittinger style, at even less cost. The Cuvée des Moines Blanc de Blancs, on the other hand, is entirely made from the fuller chardonnay grape and is a creamier Champagne, imparting a sense of luxury, with fine balance. I also liked the Cuvée des Moines Rose. It is not quite in the same league as its pricier and very subtle Taittinger counterpart, but then, the Bellefon is a good Champagne, far more reasonably priced. There were a few food samples to be tasted. Hummingbird Farms from Ridgely, Maryland, had wonderfully flavorful organic tomatoes. Tired of tomatoes from supermarkets that tasted like cardboard, I once raised a crop of beefmaster hybrids, and found them delicious, but tough on the soil. I was told by the exhibitor that tomatoes do leach calcim from the soil, and that a good local product is Chesapeake Blue, made from crabshells, which restores calcium. FireFly Farms from Garrett County make wonderful artisanal goat cheeses, even including one, called Montaintop Bleu, in the traditional pyramidal shape of my favorite, Valençay, which is almost impossible to find on this side of the Atlantic. I hope they will age their cheeses even more than the five to eight weeks of this flavorful offering, in earnest reference to the incomparable Valençay original. A final treat was timed perfectly, in view of the horseracing season, starting with the weekend’s Kentucky Derby. Lynne Tolley, great-grandniece of Jack Daniels, and the Proprietress of Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding Hose in Lynchburg, Tennessee, held forth on the pleasures of Jack Daniels. We greatly enjoyed the Gentleman Jack Rare Tennessee Whiskey, rich with flavor (80 proof), but the Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, at 94 proof, was a very smooth single barrel whiskey. Our family split in its preferences. If you prefer the rich, often somewhat rough flavor of Armagnac, then the Gentleman Jack is probably your whiskey. For Cognac sippers,…
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