B-21 on Facebook
wine tastings
2009 Bordeaux Barrel Samples: Taste them yourself!
C’est vrai! The vintage everyone is talking about will come to Tampa Bay next month so B-21 fans can have a rare advance taste of the Bordeaux buzz.
We knew great names of the Bordeaux wine trade and great wines were coming to Aprils Grand Bordeaux Tasting and Sale. As a bonus they are bringing 2009 barrel samples of the likes of Haut Bages Liberal and La Confession to taste at our two grand wine dinners Saturday April 17th.
Jeffrey Davies of Signature Selections
This year we will hold two dinners, one at Currents in Tarpon Springs and the other at the new Seasons 52 in Tampa, and each will feature a 2009 barrel sampling plus a multi-course meal paired with seven top French labels from recent vintages, and a chance to meet the great names and faces of modern Bordeaux.
Jeffrey Davies, negociant extraordinaire, will headline the Bordeaux and Beyond Dinner at Currents, our intimate, favorite, close to home base in Tarpon. Davies will be joined by Jean-Christophe Meyrou of Chateau Le Gay and Francois Villars of Gruaud- La Rose. They’ll pour an exciting range from St. Emilion, Minervois, Fitou, Bergerac and the south of France, including Davies’ own 2007 Chateau Rigaud. Reception and barrel sampling begins at 4 p.m, dinner at 5 p.m.; cost is $65 per person, all inclusive.
The Bordeaux Revealed Dinner will be held at Seasons 52, the sleek wine-savvy restaurant at Westshore Plaza. Here our stars are a trio Bordeaux of innovators, consulting wizard Stephane Derenoncourt, wine grower Jean-Phillipe Janoueix and negociant/vintner Christophe Reboule Salze. The wines will come from their own properties and also Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. Reception and barrel sampling is at 6:15 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m.; cost is $85, per person, all inclusive.
What a choice. I‘d love to be at both, but duty summons me to Seasons 52 (and it’s closer to home). I’ll see some of you there.
Either dinner and barrel sampling is a lot closer than the quais on the Gironde.
And if your Saturday night’s booked, all our guests will be at the Sunday tasting and sale ($25) in Tarpon with the addition of Coralie de Bouard of Chateau Angelus and La Fleur de Bouard.
De Bouard will preside over a bonus tasting, a rare vertical of Angelus, four years of great St. Emilion: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. A real flight of fancy with Angelus providing the wings.
Reserve a spot now at B-21.com
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
The French are coming, the French are coming!
Some people think that the only thing that changes in Bordeaux are the vintages, that quality and classification were locked down in the 19th century _ or the 1950s. Fou! Lines on the map are the same but the passion and quality within them will never be the same. Vive la revolution…
Learn what’s changed and find your way around the best estates, old and new, direct from today’s smartest French vintners and importers. B-21 has invited those who know the land and new times best to host seminars tastings and dinners on the weekend of April 18.
Bordeaux has felt the same waves of rediscovery and innovation of the rest of the world, Mondovino not withstanding. The wine landscape is in full bloom of renewal as well as tradition, thanks to a new generation of prospectors, explorers, growers, consultants and negociants.
Sign up now to meet and taste 21st century Bordeaux and environs:
-
- Jeffrey M. Davies
-
- Jean-Philippe Janoueix
-
- Coralie de Bouard
-
- Christophe Reboul Salze
-
- Stephane Derenoncourt
Coralie de Boüard, part owner of Chateau Angelus and assistant winemaker at La Fleur de Boüard, represents one of the traditional greats of St. Emilion, according to both Robert Parker and James Bond. She was born at the estate, which has been in her family for eight generations.
Jeffrey Davies is Chicago born and UC educator but he has lived in France for 30 years as an explorer and wine broker, who cares nothing about official classifications. He has found, revived or helped craft dozens of wines from St. Emilion, Languedoc, Minervois, the Rhone and Ribera del Duero.
Stephane Derenoncourt is perhaps the best consulting winemaker and oenologiost in France behind Michel Rolland. He started at Chateaux Fronsac and La Mondotte and has since had hands in and on the best of Bordeaux including Clos Fourtet, Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château Prieuré-Lichine. Intriguingly, his skills have been invited outside of France not only to Napa (Francis Ford Coppola’s Rubicon) but to Turkey, China, Syria, India and Lebanon. His own estate, Domaine de l’A, is in Côtes de Castillon,
Jean-Philippe Janoueix, belongs to the newest generation of one of the big names in the Libourne and holders of dozens of vineyards and chateaux in Pomerol, St. Emillion and as well as Cotes de Castillon. He himself owns La Confession (St Emilion Grand Cru), Croix Mouton and Le Conseiller (Bordeaux Supérieur). He was named winemaker of the year in Bordeaux for rescuing once-mediocre vineyards.
Christophe Reboul Salze, is one of the new stars of the right bank, making his mark with merlot at Chateau Gigault in the Premieres Cotes de Blayes, which has always been good value country and now shows it has greatness too.
Jean Christophe-Meyrou, the director of Péré-Vergé, is a key figure at 100 wineries, including his Chateau Le Gay in Pomerol, La Violette, Montviel and La Gravière as well as Bodega Monteviejo and Alta Vista in Argentina and Dereszla in Hungary.
Click here to make a reservation.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
Saturday Saturnalia: Free Tastings 1pm-5pm at B-21
Now, you can taste and learn from the best every Saturday, from 1 to 5 p.m. every week. Tastng are free, focused and led by people who know wine at its best. Just bring your nose and your tongue . The schedule so far this spring:
March 20: The wines that made Ridge famous.
March 27: Kermit does France, Part Deux
April 3: Spanish values from importer Eric Solomon.
April 7: Great Burgundies with importer Jean Marie de Champs.
Please call ahead! Reservations appreciated.