We are delighted to welcome Brett Zimmerman, owner of the Boulder Wine Merchant, and friends to our table this Saturday. Below are Brett's selections for Saturday's menu, and his own words about each one. Enjoy!

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Beer

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Blackberry Farm Spring Saison $20.49

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Blackberry Farm is known for its top quality experiences and this beer is consistent with that effort.  Nestled in the hills of the Smokey Mountain Range outside of Knoxville, it was Sam Beall’s dream to produce world-class Farmhouse Saison from local and natural ingredients.  Sadly, the hospitality world tragically lost Sam earlier this year, but his legacy and spirit continues on with his many projects.  This beer is testimony to his pursuit of excellence.  The charm and rusticity of this Belgian farmhouse is driven by a spicy, citrusy scent, with mild earth tones, and flavors of earthy grains and dry weathered wood.  Texturally, the sweetness dissipates, leaving a dry creaminess behind in support of the fruit and spice balance that unfolds on the tongue. Orange peel and lemon, pear and apple - the hops work seamlessly with the beer's natural esters for the whimsy of orange blossom and honeysuckle to emerge.  The beer's expressive effervescence has a heavy hand in drying the palate and lightening the beer's body.

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Bubbly

 

Patrick Bottex ‘La Cueille’ Bugey-Cerdon Methode Ancestrale $41.98

 

Bugey is one of the best-kept secrets in France.  It is the geographical crossroads of the Savoie, Jura, Burgundy, and the Rhône.  The region and winemaking go back to Roman times, but it was only in 2009 when the appellation was first awarded AOC status.  Cerdon is one of three crus within the appellation of Bugey and is the only one whose entire production is sparkling wine.  La Cueille is one of seven villages surrounding the medieval town of Ponsin.  Patrick and Catherine Bottex have been working five hectares of land here since 1991 and only produce a few hundred cases of wine.  The Bottex blend is generally 90% Gamay, with 10% Poulsard.  It is made using Méthode Ancestrale, a rare technique that predates Méthode Champenoise.  The wine goes through primary fermentation and is then bottled before all of the residual sugar is converted to alcohol.  There is no dosage and the resulting wine is refreshing, bright, sparkling, and pink, with a touch of sweetness depending on the vintage. 

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Rosé

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2015 Triennes, Rose, Provence, France $24.98

 

This project started in 1990 by three friends, one of which was Jacques Seysses, founder of Domaine Dujac in Burgundy. As a producer of wines with terroir, the focus of Domaine Triennes has always been in the vineyard. Situated just thirty miles from the Mediterranean coast, the aim is purity with a classic expression of the soil and environment – simple winemaking without cosmetics. From the hillside vineyards south of Aix, the grapes are night harvested to retain freshness of fruit. The 2015 vintage is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Merlot, with a beautiful bouquet of strawberries, white flowers and a hint of vanilla. Light and nimble with a harmonious freshness, this wine has earned appreciation throughout the world of what the great rosés from Provence can offer.

 

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White

 

2013 Sattlerhof, Sauvignon Blanc, Südsteiermark, Austria $20.98

 

While the Danube is responsible for producing top quality Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, the Südsteiermark is known for grapes like Sauvignon Blanc, Morillon (Chardonnay), and Gelber Muskateller.  Actually, with its proximity to Italy’s Friuli Venezie Giulia region, the style is more similar to those wines than to the rest of Austria.  When standing in the vineyards of Südsteiermark the Adriatic coastline is only 30-40 kilometers to the south.  Willi Sattler was one of the producers involved with establishing the STK classification for the region and works hard to maintain the highest quality within his own winery as well as the region as a whole.  Südsteiermark is still emerging on a global scale, but if you like great, dry white wines it is an area that you can’t ignore.  These are serious wines with outstanding cellaring capabilities. 

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2013 Regis Bouvier, ‘Les Longeroies’, Marsannay, Burgundy, France   $46.98

 

This is one of the most exciting wines we have discovered out of Burgundy in the past few years.  The price to quality ratio is absolutely amazing with this wine. Bouvier is located in Marsannay at the northern portion of the Côte d’Or, just north of Gevrey-Chambertin.  The village generally shares a similar style and grace to the wines of Gevrey at a fraction of the price. The village of Marsannay is primarily known for red wine production, but produce lovely Chardonnay wines with fresh fruit character, elegant texture, and pretty aromatics.  Les Longeroies is a top site in the appellation and produces both red and white wines from this terroir.  The Chardonnay is endowed with richness and structure, but balances nicely with bright acidity and mineral.  The wine spends 12 months in French oak barrels with 30% new oak for added flavor and roundness.  This delicious summer sipping Chardonnay requires no aging and is best enjoyed within a year or so – a spectacular White Burgundy value. 

 

2013 Bedrock, Compagni Portis White Heritage Blend, Sonoma, California $51.98

 

Bedrock Wine Co. was founded in 2007 by Morgan Twain-Peterson in a 550 square-foot, former chicken coop with 8 foot ceilings and no fermentation space. After six years of Bedrock being a one-man-show, Morgan was able to talk his best friend, Chris Cottrell, into moving to California from New York to join him. They now happily have a little more space to move around in but share the same objectives that guided the winery at the start: to channel the fruit of ancient vines into powerful, elegant, and distinctly Californian wines.  Planted in 1954, the Compagni Portis vineyard is organically dry-farmed under the guidance of organic guru Phil Coturri. The head-trained vines are a palate of fascinating white varietals—Gewürtzraminer, Trousseau Gris, Riesling, Burger, and some that remain unidentified—producing stingy yields of under one ton per acre.   The resulting wine is exotic and aromatic, dense and totally unconventional. It is as unique as the vineyard from which it comes.

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2013 Weingut Bründlmayer, ‘Heiligenstein’ Riesling, Kamptal, Austria $59.98

 

The geological anomaly of Heiligenstein hill sits just outside the town of Zöbing, in the Kamptal region.  Heiligentstein means “rock of saints,” but back in the Middle Ages it was called Hellenstein (hell rock), presumably because of how hot the climate can get on the hill.  Unlike the rest of the Kamptal, the Heiligenstein is a cone of primeval rock, which has pushed through the surrounding area.  The soils consist of weathered crystalline rock, volcanic rock and desert sands.  The Austrians call this “Urgestein” or primary rock, and one is as likely to find a geologist on the hill as a winemaker.  The entire hill has been declared a national monument, and it is ideally planted to Riesling.  Willi Bründlmayer produces the some of the finest wines of the region using organic fertilizers in their vineyards, and cover crops planted between rows. During harvest, multiple selections through the vineyard are made, as botrytis is never accepted. A tiny portion of grapes are held back, de-stemmed and macerated for 12 hours; Willi uses these as ‘seasoning’ during blending to add another dimension and tonality to the final wines.  2013 was an outstanding vintage that shows the power and richness that is capable with top quality dry Riesling.  This Heiligenstein bottling is loaded with concentrated fruit flavors of golden apple, peach, and ripe tangerine.  It is detailed and precise on the palate with hints of wet stone, white flowers, and honey.  

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Red

 

2013 Elio Sandri, Barbera d’Alba Superiore, Piemonte, Italy $36.98

 

This traditional Barolo producer was just recently discovered in the Colorado market.  We are one of the first to receive these wines, but don't get used to seeing the wines on the shelves for too long as their production is tiny.  They are a traditionally styled Barolo producer and only make 300 cases of Barolo in a year. The vineyards are organic, and the winemaking is extremely traditional, with long fermentations and aging in large oak botti. Similar to the great traditional Barolo producers like Cappellano, Rinaldi, and Bartolo Mascarello, their style is classic. Wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts for 2-3 weeks followed by ageing in large oak botti.  The 2013 Barbera d’Alba is absolutely stunning with depth and power that are truly exceptional for a value priced wine.  Loads of dark berry fruit is layered with spice, dried herbs, leather, and potpourri.  Bold, yet elegant tannins drive the long finish, but show a perfectly groomed style.  This is benchmark Barbera that should age gracefully for many years, but is also delicious immediately.

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2010 Domaine Chapelle & Fils, Santenay ‘La Comme’ Premier Cru, Burgundy France $64.98

 

Domaine Chapelle covers 20 hectares of vineyards in the Côte de Beaune area of Burgundy.   The majority of their vines are located in the Santenay appellation, squeezed in-between Chassagne-Montrachet to the northeast and Cheilly-lès-Maranges to the southwest.  It is mainly a red appellation, but 14% of it is planted with Chardonnay. There are premier crus on three sides of the village. One large chunk on the Chassagne-Montrachet side with premier crus such as Les Gravières, Clos de Tavannes, La Comme, and Beauregard. Domaine Chapelle makes their wines using organically grown Pinot Noir grapes with respect to the laws and regulations of certified organic wine production.  Yannick Jacrot is the current wine maker at this historic estate and takes their organic certification very seriously.  The La Comme Premier Cru vines produce small grapes that yield dense and concentrated Pinot Noir wines.  The soil is thin layer of calcareous marl and shale this site is always slightly cooler here than the surrounding premier cru vineyards.  2010 was one of the best vintages in the recent past.  Look for dried raspberries and dark cherry fruits to lead the charge from the glass with hints of leather, turned dirt, and potpourri.  

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2014 Château de Saint Cosme, Gigondas, Rhône Valley, France $71.98

 

Saint Cosme, located just north of the village of Gigondas, is the oldest estate in the region. The property has been in the family since 1490 and is currently owned by Louis Barroul, a fourteenth generation winemaker. Because St. Cosme is located across two geological faults, the property has an incredibly rare diversity in soil types. Their focus on creating terroir driven wines, coupled with the uniqueness of the property, allows St. Cosme to produce some of the most interesting wines in the region. These wines are powerful yet refined with the ability to age, and express the personality of the land from which they come. The 2014 vintage produced significantly less fruit than usual from the Grenache vines, and the resulting wine is much more concentrated and intense. The blend is 50% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre, 5% Cinsault, co-fermented from 25 different plots and aged 12 months in 15% new oak.  This silky Gigondas offers layers of complexity with sunbaked strawberries, dry sage, and a touch of mushroom and game.  Louis Barroul is perhaps the finest producer of Gigondas and his wines are pristine, detailed, and super tasty.

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