THURSDAY JANUARY 19 3-6 PM – FRESH FROM THE BACK OF BEYOND
Belgium-born France Crispeels (above) didn’t spring from a winemaking family so when in middle age she decided to throw over her business career there was no patrimonial plot waiting to receive her attentions. After looking in the Loire and the southern Rhone she settled, in 2006, on the Agly Valley, 40 km from the Mediterranean coastal city of Perpignan in the foothills of the Pyrénées – and truly the back of beyond. There she found parcels of very old vine carignan, syrah, grenache and macabeu from which she crafts some of liveliest, most flavorful and congenial wines on our shelves. We’re looking forward to a visit from France in March, meanwhile, come by and can get acquainted with two of her advance team.
• 2014 Vignobles Réveille “White Spirit” Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes. $22.95
• 2014 Vignobles Réveille “Franc Tireur” Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes. $22.95
FRIDAY JANUARY 20 3-6 PM – INAUGURALS
They don’t take oaths of office, march down Pennsylvania Avenue or engage in any swamp draining, but these three new arrivals promise to evidence true faith and allegiance to their respective terroirs and to preserve, protect, and defend your dinner table from wine humdrummery. They do. So help me.
• 2014 Château Richard Bergerac Sec, $16.95
• 2014 Ronchi di Ciallo Friulano, $21.95
• 2014 Clot de l’Origine “Soif de Plaisir” Vin de France, $22.95