December 13, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday—it encompasses tradition, gratitude, family, friends, quality time with people that matter. But what would Thanksgiving be without that seemingly endless meal, paired with a collection of your favorite wines?
We at Montesquieu Winery are reflecting back on this year’s Thanksgiving feasts, reliving our favorite wines and some of our more successful pairings as we prepare for the next round of holiday parties and dinners. Although certain wines have developed a reputation for pairing particularly well with a Thanksgiving meal — Riesling, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, just to name a few — the truth is that any wine that was a hit at Thanksgiving will likely play beautifully through the rest of the holiday season and beyond!
Helpful Hints
But before remembering some of our Thanksgiving favorites, let’s highlight a few tips we’ve learned over the years that apply to serving wine at any festive occasion.
Feel free to take some license to experiment and enjoy. We believe there are no strict hard-and-fast rules. After all, everyone is different, with different tastes. Pairing food and wine should not require a PhD or cause anxiety. Here are some basic guidelines that are helpful, but more importantly, drink what you enjoy, and serve a variety that you think others will enjoy too!
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December 6, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
The dramatic grand finale of harvest in Napa and Sonoma culminated with Mother Nature delivering a few more curveballs before completing one of the most challenging and unique seasons in history. Here at Montesquieu Winery, we’re pleased to report that our parcels fared extremely well under the vigilant care of our team. Their focused coordination and execution – from canopy and irrigation management to the puzzle of when to harvest, and every variable in between – showed that when push comes to shove, care and experience in the vineyard make all the difference. Aided by the ideal locations of our parcels, we were able to bring in a pristine and healthy harvest – which we’re thankful for after such a roller coaster season.
Montesquieu Winemaker Hélène Mingot Tastes for Optimal Ripeness in October
One of the more difficult aspects of this growing season to manage was the unusually low and variable temperatures — and October was no exception. September closed as the first month during the entire growing season with above average temperatures, and the first half of October was dry and warm, with daily highs in the mid- 90’s. But the weather flipped the second half of the month, resulting in below-average temperatures for the month as a whole.
But October brought with it new dramatic challenges: rain during harvest! Heavy precipitation threatened to invade the vineyards near the end of October, causing many growers to panic and pick early. But Stéphane and Hélène exercised patience. Having experienced more than two decades of harvests in rain-prone Bordeaux, Stéphane knows how to navigate wet Octobers without sacrificing grape quality. View Full Post
December 1, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
It’s no secret that for the past five vintages, Montesquieu Winery has been blessed with access to some of the greatest vineyards in Napa and Sonoma. We’re constantly scouring Napa and Sonoma for terroir to die for, adding a few blocks of vines to our portfolio each year. That ongoing search is led by winemaker-consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt, our winemaker Hélène Mingot, and our Founder/President Fonda Hopkins, who together possess over a half-century of experience in growing, making, tasting and selling wine. It’s a formidable team, and one that seeks always to evaluate vineyards by listening to the land with an ear tuned to the melody of great terroir.
What qualities characterize a site with the potential to breed the kind of singular, transcendent quality we try to craft in our Montesquieu wines? Let’s begin to answer that question by reviewing the line-up of vineyard blocks that we chose to work with in 2010.
Our Cabernet Sauvignon up high at Ink Grade Napa Valley
Ink Grade (Napa AVA)
Where Angwin, Howell Mountain and Pope Valley meet is a beautiful 1400-ft elevation parcel that produces some of the most distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon our team has found to date. This plot has some of the first vines planted in Napa after the phylloxera devastation of the early 1990’s. With vines now reaching 20 years of maturity, our fruit is gorgeous and well-developed. Iron rich red clay and volcanic ash soil lacks nutrients and has difficulty retaining water which stress the vines to produce small berries with deep structure. Struggling builds character!
Howell Mountain AVA
This unique parcel is planted at an unusually high vine density, similar to top vineyards in Bordeaux and rare in Napa Valley. View Full Post
November 29, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
It’s hard to identify the single most important feature of a great winery. But there’s no question that having a really talented winemaker makes the short list.
At Montesquieu Winery, we’re fortunate that our winemaker, Hélène Mingot, not only can navigate California’s wine-growing regions with aplomb, but also possesses a wealth of experience in winemaking in Europe — which is essential to Montesquieu’s global approach to wine appreciation.
Montesquieu Winemaker Hélène Mingot
Raised in the idyllic Loire Valley, a center of fine wine production in France, Hélène seemed destined from the beginning to excel in the world of wine.
She earned a Master of Science degree at the School of Agriculture in Angers, with a Vine and Wine major. Following these studies, Hélène spent a year in Bordeaux working in a lab, testing new strains of yeast for wines and conducting research. Although she found the scientific aspect “educational,” and she proved skilled in her endeavors, Hélène realized that she preferred actual winemaking over research. So she set her sights on winemaking and soon became one of only two people selected from the science arena to attend the Agronomy National School of Toulouse, where she received the French National Diploma of Oenology.
Early in her career, Hélène met renowned winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt, whose
commitment to terroir expression and sensitive handling of vines and grapes has deeply influenced her own approach to vineyard-tending and winemaking. View Full Post
November 24, 2010, by: Stephen George
In Part 1 of this post, we argued that you can’t rely on scores to assessing individual wines or a vintage as a whole – instead, you should listen to the qualitative judgment of people whose palates you know and trust.
So what do we at Montesquieu think of 2009 Bordeaux? Based on our tastings at Primeurs, here is a list of some of our favorites:
- St. Emilion: Pavie-Macquin, Clos Fourtet, Figeac
- St. Julien: Gruaud-Larose, Léoville-Barton
- Pessac-Leognan: Smith-Haut-Lafitte
- Margaux: Brane-Cantenac, Prieuré-Lichine
- Pauillac: Pichon-Longueville, Lynch-Bages
But
the far more interesting assessment, especially at this early stage, is of the vintage as a whole rather than individual wines. Stated briefly, Bordeaux 2009 is a tale of two styles. Both have richness and power, but the first style – which we prefer – remains fresh, vibrant, and elegant; the other is extracted, thick, and loaded with alcohol. Thanks to plentiful sun, warm temperatures and a perfect harvest season, in 09 almost every producer was blessed with fully ripe grapes. And therefore, almost every wine is powerful and intense with ample tannins and sugars.
But as our team tasted through the wines of each appellation, it was clear again and again that those chateaux that managed to retain the acidity and freshness in their grapes by picking judiciously and handling them gently got balanced and lively wines. Whereas those chateaux that picked late and/or over-extracted their grapes got cocktails of oak, tannin, and alcohol that were more obvious and brutish than delicate or refined. Among this latter group are a number of very famous houses, including many in the commune of St. Estèphe. View Full Post
November 22, 2010, by: Stephen George
As Bordeaux’s skilled marketing teams begin to praise the newest harvest, it’s worth spending a moment to look back at the early returns of the much-lauded 2009 vintage.
At Primeurs week every April, hundreds of Bordelais chateaux pour samples of their newest wines for the thousands of critics and merchants who gather in Bordeaux to check in on the latest vintage. We at Montesquieu make sure to participate every year we can. Attending Primeurs helps us keep a finger on the pulse of the wine industry, and especially Bordeaux (the epicenter of the international wine scene), by tasting first-hand the new vintage that everyone is wondering about. As with the new 2010 vintage, the Bordeaux hype machine was in full swing well before Primeurs began this past April, with many proprietors declaring 2009 to be “The Vintage of the Century.”
But is it really? 2009 certainly offered favorable growing and harvest conditions that produced fruit with immense potential. But recall that “once-in-a-lifetime vintage” fanfare was also showered on 2000 and 2005 – have there really been three “vintages of the century” in this century’s first decade? View Full Post
November 19, 2010, by: Stephen George
We at Montesquieu Winery believe in equal opportunity at the wine table. We’ll taste — and, if warranted, fall in love with — wine from any region, not just those with centuries of pedigree. Even so, we do have a few favorites, regions that rarely fail to thrill and intrigue, and keep you coming back again and again. Near the top of that list? The Northern Rhone.
Why so? Putting aside the unusually high delicious factor of its wines, the Northern Rhone has a knack for romance, class and old-world luxury, all of which we’re suckers for. The famed region is situated at the center of what is the most privileged swath of vineyards in the world. At the north of this strip is Burgundy, home to the best Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay on earth. At the southernmost tip on the Mediterranean coast is Bandol, the international gold-standard for Mourvèdre, and then moving northward, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which produces unparalleled Grenache-based wines. And nestled in between these prestigious bookends – some 30 miles south of Beaujolais and 35 miles north of the Southern Rhone – lie the legendary vineyards of the Northern Rhone.
Our favorite Northern Rhone winemaker, Greg Viennois, climbing up Hermitage hill
The eight AOCs that make up the Northern Rhone – Cote Rotie, Condrieu, Chateau Grillet, St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas and St. Péray (from north to south) – run along a 45-mile stretch of the Rhone River from Vienne to Valence, with most of the vineyards planted on the river’s stunningly steep western banks. Many of the vineyards – especially those in the Cote Rotie, Hermitage, and Condrieu – are so treacherous that machine-harvesting is literally impossible, and even the most basic of viticultural tasks involve feats of acrobatics. The views from these vineyards are dizzying, and some of the most beautiful one can find in the world of wine. View Full Post
November 17, 2010, by: Stephen George
They say that laws are like sausages – you don’t want to see them being made. That old adage seems a simplistic banality. But when you witness firsthand the process that gave birth to the saying, you can’t help being struck by the messy impurities that drive much proposed legislation.
The H.R. 5034 Saga
Sadly, the most recent development in the H.R. 5034 saga offers a prime example of this unseemly side of the political system. As you probably know, H.R. 5034, or the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act (the “CARE Act” for short, which feels like some sort of bad joke), is a bill proposed by the wine, beer and spirits wholesaler industry and its allies in Congress. View Full Post
November 15, 2010, by: Lisa Duff Khajavi
Welcome to our blog—Montesquieu Wine Lovers! We hope you visit often and become part of our community as we provide a forum to explore the wonderful world of wine.
Who We Are
Montesquieu Winery is a full-service winery/importer/retailer that sources top quality wines from all over the world, bringing them directly to our clients—all individual wine lovers just like you. We are extremely discriminating, choosing to work mainly with boutique, family-owned, organically-farmed vineyards whose wines reflect unique terroir and local culture. Our buying and winemaking team brings to the table remarkable talent and experience in the industry: world-renowned winemaker-consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt, our winemaker Hélène Mingot, and our Co-founder and President Fonda Hopkins.
Our in-house wine brokers are passionate connoisseurs of all things vinous, working on a personalized, one-on-one basis to get to know their clients’ tastes and needs intimately—and they also consult on cellaring, food pairing, and other key components of a well-rounded wine experience. Our clients are wine lovers from all over the United States.
What We Do
We relish making and finding hidden gems, wines that are usually not available in the U.S. and which are often at the cutting edge of nascent stylistic trends in the industry. We import small lots of unique wines made and bottled by independent producers that we have discovered through our teams’ extensive relationships in Europe, South America and beyond. In many cases we are able to work with the producers from the beginning of a wine’s life, even assisting in the selection of ideal vineyard plots to craft into wines specifically for our clients. Domestically we produce our own wines from some of the most fascinating terroir on the West Coast. The wines we craft — always in tiny quantities — come from premium juice carefully sourced from top growers as well as grapes from blocks we lease on some of the most renowned vineyard sites in Napa and Sonoma. Our on-the-ground winemaker, Hélène, works out of a state-of-the-art winemaking facility high up on Howell Mountain. (For further detail on what we do and why, take a look at the FAQ page on our website.)
What We Believe
That wine is essential to the art of living. That wine, along with food and the arts, is a beautiful way to elevate one’s quality of life. That your own journey and preferences and experiences are the crucial factors in wine appreciation, rather than the whims of critics or the tyranny of ratings. That wine is a glorious paradox—both simple and profound, the product of both man’s creativity and nature’s whimsy. That eliminating the middle-man in wine distribution and connecting you more closely with the hands and the land that made the wine result in a richer appreciate of wine and its arts. That the good life is nothing less than savoring fine wine at a table shared with friends and family. And that helping fellow wine lovers enhance their quality of life through the appreciation and enjoyment of wine is well worth doing, and worth doing well.
Our Mission
Our mission is to share the stories that animate the world of wine in order to inspire, educate, and challenge like-minded wine enthusiasts. Through this blog, we wish to engage, connect with and learn from those who, like us, are passionate about drinking, discovering, and appreciating intriguing, delicious wine. We hope you join us in this journey!
