BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK WINE OF THE WEEK!
"Light and fresh without being insipid, the 2008 Domaine Lavigne Saumur-Champigny is the perfect summer red for chilling." -Nick Passmore of Bloomberg Businessweek
I think Nick tells the story so well I'll just print the rest of his article below:
"I love red wine, but this presents me with a dilemma when summer arrives, as I really don't want to drink a heavy
California cab or worse, an even heavier Australian shiraz.
So what to drink, what red wine to drink, when both the temperature and humidity are approaching triple digits?
My solution is to seek out light, fresh, and fruity wines and briefly chill them in the refrigerator. I don't want them ice
cold, but I don't want them at midsummer "room temperature," either, so half an hour to an hour in the cooler makes
them infinitely more palatable.
Bb>A good candidate for such unconventional treatment is the Domaine Lavigne-Saumur Champigny 2008. The
Saumur AOC is famous for its dry whites and sweet wines, along with some excellent sparklers, but the small
subappellation Saumur-Champigny specializes in an unusually light and fresh version of the cabernet franc grape.
(AOC is an acronym for Appellation d'origine contrôlée, the certification granted to certain French regions that
effectively trademarks locally grown and produced foods and wines. Examples includes poultry from Bresse, cheese
from Roquefort, butter from Isigny, and champagne from, well, Champagne.)
This wine shows the grape's charming virtues to full effect: It's smoky yet fresh, earthy yet lively. In short, it pulls off
the rather clever trick of being a light wine that is anything but insipid.
Zesty enough to be sipped cool at an al fresco lunch or as an aperitif on a sultry evening, but with enough punchy
flavor to stand up to BBQ. A delightful combination that makes it the perfect light, fruity wine for summer chillin'." - Nick Passmore, Bloomberg Businessweek
I've tasted a lot of Saumur
Champigny and I've never found a better one
than this.
Tonight! Saumur Champigny! Cynthia
Hurley
