Wine Swinging

When vineyards are highlighted in the winemaker’s world, it typically indicates fruit of a higher quality. Only when we opened a bottle, we realized how great of a gift the 2017 Founders Reserve Sonoma-Cutrer Pinot Noir was. It took around 20-30 minutes for the wine to open up and release aromas of dark red rose, red cherries and raspberries, cherry tree tar, and raspberry leaf. The flavors were an exciting combination of ripe fruit of black cherries and raspberries, sweet tea and cola, cherry pith, vanilla, and oak.

Scallops with orange and pomegranate sauce likely the best gourmet food you can make in 15 minutes. Other ingredients are sea salt, black pepper, a couple of cloves of garlic, medium orange, and half a cup of pomegranate juice. Instead of pomegranate juice, we used 2-3 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses. Thanks to the orange-pomegranate sauce, it can pair well with Champagne such as Albert Lebrun Grand Cru or sparkling such as Luc Belaire Gold Brut.

Louis Roederer Brut Premier comes from one of the last great independent and still family-run Champagne houses founded in 1776. After the upheavals of the early 1900s, particularly the First World War that destroyed more than half of the Louis Roederer estate, Léon reconstructed the vineyards and decided to buy grapes to ensure the House’s continuity during this challenging period. Following the bottling, Brut Premier is aged for three years in Louis Roederer’s cellars and at least another 6 months after dégorgement (disgorging). On the nose and palate, it was a classic Champagne: creamy mousse and vibrant acidity, aromas of freshly baked brioche, fresh-cut grass, and chalky minerality; flavors of apple and ripe lemon.

Chablis Premier Cru Butteaux 2015 by Louis Michel & Fils is in a way like a time capsule in the bottle. It’s fascinating that those monks almost a millennia ago did pretty much the same in the same place: planted vines, harvested grapes, and made wine. 2015 Chablis Premier Cru Butteaux comes from four separate plots on the Butteaux slopes in the western part of the Montmains valley. Lastly, at $35-40, Butteaux is a bargain because Premier Cru Chablis is just a notch below in quality from Grand Cru and costs two to ten times less, if not more.