| JANUARY 2024 NEWS Louis Jadot Blanc Tasting What to Do With Vintage Variation? In with the New and Out with the Old Mardi Gras Hours Wine Tasting: Louis Jadot Blanc 2021 Tuesday February 1st, 4:30-6:30pm – $70 In the slim gap between the end of Dry January and the peak of the Uptown parade season, we are going to be hosting a tasting of white Burgundies from Louis Jadot! The focus will be on the 2021 vintage — a stunning one, with a return to cooler weather after the run of warm growing seasons since 2018. Acidity is more focused, fruits are brighter and fresher and tend toward citrus rather than tropicality, and best of all: we expect these wines to age gracefully should you decide to cellar them. Though they may not be as impressive as the 2014s, we’d compare them with the 2017s, and we are delighted to have them in stock! We will admit that due to 2021 yielding the shortest harvest in France since 1957, prices have climbed drastically in some places, as much as a 50% increase over the previous year! Luckily, Jadot’s pricing wasn’t as punitive as others, keeping these wonderful wines relatively accessible. We will offer cheeses to pair to the wines as well. This is not a seated event; arrive at the shop by 6pm and you will have plenty of time to taste through the full lineup. Give us a call at (504) 227-3888, stop by the shop, or simply reply to this email with any questions, or to reserve your spot!  We will be opening the following wines for the Louis Jadot Blanc 2021 Tasting: -Auxey-Duresses 2021 -Ladoix ‘Le Clou d’Orge’ 2021 -Pernand-Vergelesses ‘Croix de Pierre’ 2021 -Pernand-Vergelesses ‘Les Combottes’ 2021 -Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2021 -Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume 2020 -Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 2021 -Meursault 2021 What to Do With Vintage Variation? We are very particular in choosing the wines we buy. We also insist on tasting a new vintage before we let the wine go home with you. Most of the time, a change in vintage works out well for all concerned, but there can be surprises. Wines are living, breathing things; sometimes they remain consistent, but sometimes they change in unexpected ways. This change can be welcome, or can warrant a closeout price to help the wine find a happy home (see “In With The New and Out With The Old” below). The real challenge comes when a new vintage of an old favorite arrives and the wine isn’t quite what we remember. Is it more than just being at a different point in its life? Is it remedied by letting the wine breathe in glass or in decanter? Do we make a fuss about it and hope people buy it anyway? Or do we ignore it, hoping that we’re simply being too picky and the fans of the wine will keep buying it? Should we seek a substitute, hoping that a change in label will be embraced? Do we return the wine to our distributor and make note to revisit it in a few months? Or tuck the wine away in the shop, hoping that time will improve it? To be crystal clear, if we think that the wine is actually flawed, we have no qualms about removing it from our shelves immediately and returning it to our distributor. But what if it just seems a bit different and it’s a wine from a fairly unique category? These are some of the questions we ponder when there is a change in the style of a wine. When you see us in the tasting room with glasses in our hands during the day, know that we are at work, not cocktail hour. Some days that work is a true pleasure and some it can be rough, but either way tasting is an integral part of what we do here. We have worked hard to earn your trust in the wines we choose to stock and we do not want to risk losing your confidence in us! |
In With The New and Out With The Old January is always quieter than December, but we have been busy sampling and buying new wines. We have added nearly three dozen selections so far and are aiming to add a few dozen more before the end of the month. About a third of the wines that arrived in January are under $25, as are a large portion of the planned addition. And as a slight aside, we have at least 150 wines on hand that are priced at $20 or less, and a slightly larger number that range from $21 to $30. Be sure to take a look around the shop on your next visit and we’ll be happy to help you find a brand new favorite! Mardi Gras Hours  Please note that due to the Uptown parade schedule, we’ll have some adjusted hours for the above dates, including being closed on the Saturday before Mardi Gras and on Mardi Gras itself. We’ll see you all on the parade route!We are sad to share that our friend and former colleague Brian Perkins passed away earlier this week following a long illness. Brian was a social butterfly, always quick with a smile, and he leaves behind a legion of adoring friends from his decades in the wine business. He passed away too soon but we have a wealth of stories and smiles and laughter through which we will fondly remember him. We hope to have details about a funeral service in the next few days. If you send us an email indicating that you would like to receive those details we will share them with you and we will also share it via Instagram. Please raise a glass this weekend, share a happy memory and toast our departed friend. Rest in Peace, Perk. |
