Erick's Cheese & Wine Shop
   Tasting Wines 12.18.2010
 

 

 

            2008 Dark Horse "Hoe-Down" Chardonnay (California, $16.99). It will knock you off your stool and make you pinch yourself (or your neighbor) to make sure you aren't dreaming. Crafted from the best Chardonnay found throughout California you'll feel lucky and maybe even get lucky with a bottle of this foot stomping, hat throwing, roll in the hay of a wine.

 

(Warning: This wine may cause spontaneous line dancing. Please use caution when consuming and make sure you are in an open space with hardwood floors and plenty of honky-tonk music in supply.)

 

            2007 Treasure Hunter "Gunner's Daughter" (California, $24.99). This wine whacks your nose with sinuous strands of raspberry, wild strawberry and fresh violets. Not to be out done, on the palate we see cherry, dark fruit, coconut and sweet cedar and graham cracker notes.  One of our most popular "finds" in 2010.

 

            2008 Treasure Hunter Cabernet Sauvignon "Silk Sling"  (California, $26.99).  Rich and heady this wine is lavish with its aromas of Bourbon Vanilla, Royal Ann Cherry and smoky cigar box undertones. Soft and as plush as a hammer wrapped in velvet this powerful but balanced wine.

 

            Our $5 component of our tasting (with proceeds to support the Avery County Humane Society) will be the extraordinary 2005 Gallet C�te Rotie (Rh�ne, $64.99).  From Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "Bright ruby. Explosive floral and red berry aromas are deepened by notes of cocoa, cola and tobacco. Supple and sweet but well-focused, with pure raspberry and strawberry flavors framed by dusty tannins. Finishes with bright red fruits and impressive energy. This elegant wine was made from yields of less than 28 hl/ha, according to Mme Gallet."  This wine is drinking beautifully now.

 

 

NEW CHIANTI ON THE BLOCK

 

            Our new Chianti ranks # 47 on Wine Spectator's top 100 wines of 2010  --

 

            2007 Castello d'Albola Chianti Classico (Tuscany, $13.99/$12.59 case).  From Wine Spectator (90 points):  "This is what Chianti should taste like, with plenty of dark cherry and floral aromas and flavors that say Sangiovese. Fresh and fruity."  Get this baby by the case and enjoy it over the next several years, if you can defer your gratification.

           


Champagne and Cheese Tasting  

Erick's Cheese & Wine in Banner Elk invites you to a champagne and cheese tasting and a showing of art by local artist, Giselle Wiseman on Wed.,  Dec. 29, from 5 - 7 pm in our tasting room adjacent to the store in the Grandfather Center.  The tasting is free but a suggested donation of $10 to the support the work of the Avery County Arts Council would be appreciated.  This won't come as a surprise, but these sparklers will be available for purchase at the prices indicated to support the work of Erick's!  Here's our line up of bubblies we'll be pouring:

 

n/v Roederer Champagne Brut Premier ($51.99)rated 90 points by Steve Tanzer:  "Bright yellow with a strong mousse. Fresh lemon and lime zest on the nose, plus a hint of white pepper adding energy. Tightly wound and focused, with energetic citrus and orchard fruit flavors underscored by dusty minerals. Nicely balanced and pure, with very good finishing citric bite and persistence. This leads more with finesse than with power today, which suits me fine."

 

The property traces its roots back to 1776.  Over that time, they've figured out how to make good Champagne.  Much is owed to the fact that they own vineyards and can source most of their grapes from those properties; most producers have to rely more heavily on purchased fruit.  Since they lost their biggest customer during the Russian Revolution, they've had to rely more and more on sales from Erick's.  Do your part by picking up some.

 

n/v Heidsieck & Co. Champagne Monopole Blue Top ($46.99).  Wine Spectator 91 points:  "Elegant and expressive, this delivers floral, pear and toffee flavors matched to a creamy texture. Beautifully integrated, this lingers nicely on the mineral finish."

 

A "Johnny-come-lately" firm established in 1785, Heidsieck & Co. is not to be confused with Piper Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck, which split off and are now independent houses.  The Blue Top has always had a heavier proportion of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier juice than most, and it produces a wine with more richness and depth.

 

n/v Roederer Estate (Anderson Valley, California, $22.99).  Wine Spectator 91 points:  "A rich version, loaded with spicy cinnamon notes. Bold apple aromas, with a whiff of yeast, lead to complex, layered pear, cr�me br�l�e and baked apple flavors that linger."

 

Roederer Estate is the California branch of Roederer (Champagne) and, like its parent, it ensures outstanding and consistent wine as a result of its ownership of the vineyards (and hence every level in the production process) and the addition each year of oak-aged reserve wine from previous excellent vintages.  Unlike its Champagne counterpart, the California sparkling wine is more heavily weighted toward the Chardonnay component in its blend.

 

n/v Louis Perdrier Brut Excellence (somewhere in France, $13.99, or 2 for $20). If you've got a party planned and money IS an object, then you need this French bubbly! Louis Perdrier Brut is a unique blend of grapes including Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Chenin, Folle Blanche, and Menu Pineau. The grapes are fermented separately then blended before the 2nd fermentation after which they undergo extended aging on the lees to produce a sparkling wine with good balance. It comes from Burgundy producer Patriarche P�re et Fils, who have gathered a thing or two about making fine wine since its founding in 1780!

 

          Trivia time - you say you've never heard of Ugni Blanc???  Where have you been?!  Ugni Blanc (a/k/a as Trebbiano in Italy) is THE most widely-planted white wine grape in France and THE second most widely-planted wine grape in the world!  It is also used to make the base wine for Cognac and Armagnac ... and industrial alcohol.

 

 

             

 

WINE - ART ON OUR WALLS

 

Erick's is pleased to feature Wine-Art by local artist Gisele Weisman in our Tasting Room.  Gisele's one-of-a-kind expressive, paintings convey joyful motion and emotion that invite the viewer to contemplate life's pleasurable passions...such as wine!  Her  acrylic paintings are for sale.  For commissioned works, please contact her: [email protected]

 
SPACE FOR RENT
 If you are looking for a location to hold your event.....party, meeting, family gathering, club event, holiday party... you think of the possiblities.....our Tasting Room is available.  Contact Randall about the possiblities and arrangements.  828-898-9424
Erick's Cheese and Wine Shop, Grandfather Center, Banner Elk, NC 28604, (828) 898-9424 www.erickscheeseandwine.com