All of our managers and wine staff travel at least once a year to a wine-growing region somewhere throughout the world. Traveling is one of the many aspects of Joe Canal’s that sets us apart from other wine shops. We know that by meeting the winemakers, walking the vineyards and tasting new wine from the barrel, we can see first-hand the passion that goes into each bottle. We can then convey this commitment to quality to our customers. Rather than having you just looking at a label and a score, we believe it is our responsibility to bring you closer to how the wine was made and the people who made it. We'll be sharing their trip reports with you here on the BottleBlog.
In June 2011, Debbie Miller Nelson, Wine Manager of the Iselin store had the privilege of traveling to France and immersing herself in French food, culture, and most importantly, wine! Here is the 8th installment of Debbie’s trip.
Thursday, June 17th
This is our most ambitious tasting day and I’ll break these posts of this one day into smaller blogs for everyone.
We drive to Vosnee-Romanee to meet up with importer Jean-Marie and Domaine Lamarche. Nathalie Lamarche meets us and takes us to the cellar. Nathalie is operations while her cousin Nichole is the winemaker – the 2nd female winemaker of the 35 in Burgundy that I am fortunate enough to meet in this one week. These two could not be more different. Can you guess who’s who?
Nathalie is a shy, mouse of a woman who only speaks when spoken to or when she needs to tell us what she is pouring. Nichole is punk rock chick with short, spiky hair, leather jacket, sequin jeans and a nose ring. Yet, despite Nichole’s hard appearance, her wines are some of the most elegant and perfumed I have ever tasted. We were lucky enough to taste the 2010 barrel samples.
As we were sampling, I almost dropped my glass in the cellar (a big no-no!), but recovered in an impressive display of balance. Thankfully, it was empty anyway!
During our visit, a Cooper came to meet Nichole. A Cooper is the person who makes and toasts the barrel that the wine will develop in.
It is during this time that a winemaker can air his/her grievances – which ones are leaking, which aren’t holding up, does it have the right toast, etc. And the Cooper can taste the wines to make sure he has come up with the correct toast levels that the winemaker has asked for. It’s one of the small details we tend to forget about when enjoying these fantastic wines.
I knew from our dinner the night before as Nathalie sat across from me and I enjoyed her wines with her, that Lamarche had quickly become one of my favorite producers of the trip.
Life is good. Next time Domenique Gallois!
Deb’s Spotlight
Domaine Francois Lamarche Bourgogne 2007
Swirl, swirl, swirl to open up the aromas and flavors as they are a bit closed when first poured. The nose has a strawberry and rhubarb aroma with flavors of strawberry jam and cola. This is quite lovely and elegant and this Pinot Noir would pair well with salmon. A beautiful wine made by an amazing woman!
Also Available*:
Lamarche Echezeaux 2005 BC $199.99
Lamarche La Grand Rue 2005 BC $409.99
*Extremely Limited
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