INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 DOMAINE DES DEUX CLES 'JEUX DE CLES BLANC' ROUSSANNE VIN DE FRANCE $28.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We are also doing both a white and a red option each week, with the white wine available for the discount on Thursday and Friday, while the red wine available on Friday and Saturday. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

Labeling can make it difficult to tell the whole tale about a wine, especially when something different is being done. In France, for example, anything that falls outside the regulations of their Appellation or Vin De Pays is designated Vin De France. For most of history Vin de France was seen as the lowest quality wine, often not even requiring vintages on the label, and generally only consumed in the cafes and local restaurants cheaply by the carafe. Sometimes excellent wines fall outside those sometimes strict guidelines, a problem many of the experimental and 'natural' winemakers run into frequently. This meticulously crafted Roussanne comes from organic/Biodynamic parcels at the higher elevations of the Corbieres region in Languedoc, worthy of being discussed with similarly made versions from the Rhone, yet can only carry a Vin De France designation. Hopefully we can convince you to see past that to experience what's in the bottle. Immensely fresh in character, with only a bit of time in barrel before racking and bottling unfiltered, the nose is loaded with orchard fruits and white flowers, and a spice I always place as Asian tea but is uniquely tell-tale for the variety wherever it is made. The texture is round and juicy without any oak or buttery character to get in the way of the rich minerally fruit character that runs through the palate. Exotic without being heavy or unctuous, this is a fantastic match with richer seafood (crab cakes), things you would usually lean towards a white Burgundy/Chardonnay choice but want to push the culinary envelope.  

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