Spring 2016 - International edition Food & Wine pairing by Nicolas Frion California, Bordeaux, Douro, Tuscany, Marche, Alsace, Cognac Whiskies… Focus on 7 wineries 600 Wine to discover & Spirits reviews Crédit photo : © Leif Carlsson for Monteverro Crédit photo : © Leif Carlsson www.vertdevin.com Discover seven properties, 600 wines from Bordeaux, Tus- cany, Marche, California, Douro, Alsace and Spirits (Cognac, Whiskies). It is with great pleasure that I invite you to discover this 2016 Spring edition of VERT DE VIN magazine. For this issue I chose to explore European and American wine regions, and also to give a spotlight to certain spirits. It is the result of exhilarating trips and meetings! So in the first part of the magazine you will discover beautiful wineries in Tus- cany, Napa Valley, Tuscany and Bordeaux. In the second part you will discover Nicolas Frion, a great Chef from Bordeaux. Nicolas Frion, Chef of the famous restaurant Le Gabriel, created especially for VERT DE VIN a few recipes to pair with wines. This customized creation will tickle your taste buds ! In the third part you will find 500 wine tasting reports (Bordeaux, Alsace, Tuscany, Marche, California, Douro) and 100 Spirits (Cognac, Whiskies) : Bordeaux is one of the largest and one of the most renowned wine regions in the world. We believe its reputation not only runs through the names of some very famous châteaux and exceptional winemakers but its wealth is also more complex, more diverse. In this magazine you will find presentations of some Bordeaux vineyards and 160 wine reviews. California is one of my favorite american wine region. This stat has a great diversity of terroir which is unfortunately often overlooked. There are lot of different terroirs in the same valley that are no longer seen as a global appellation but that gain recognition step by step. In this section you will find articles presenting not only different terroirs of Napa Valley but also wines from Sonoma and Lodi. Alsace is a great wine region adjoining the slopes of the Vosges. It produces mainly white wines of which some are among the most famous in the world. It also includes a small pro- duction of Crémant and red wine. In this magazine you will find a hundred white wine and sparkling wine reviews. Tuscany is one of the largest and best Italian wine regions that offers tremendous diversity of property and soil types. Not only that, this Italian region offers a rather exceptional epicurean quality of life for which I bear certain affection. I have chosen to present 150 Chianti Classico wines and 50 other wines from Tuscany. Douro wine region is growing in that it is easy to find great wine, delicious dining and offering all this at an excellent value for the money. Marche is a coastal Italian wine of the Adriatic region. Historically it has produced mainly white wines, however in recent years we see red wines are appearing that are worth talking about. In this part of the magazine you will find mainly wine from the appellations Offida and Piceno / Piceno Superiore. Cognac… what can I say about this great Spirit. It’s one of the oldest and most famous spi- rits in the world and one of my favorite delicacies. In this magazine you will find 50 Cognac reviews, mainly XO, vintage and Hors d’Âge. Enjoy the reading, savor the tastings and read with delicacy the Wine & Food pairing part. Jonathan Choukroun Chicheportiche Website + Magazine subscription € 29.90 a year Subscription includes : a printed magazine published every four months and sent to you anywhere in the world. 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I agree to receive emails and promotional information from Vertdevin and its partners Complete and send to : Vert De Vin Magazine, 49 rue Guynemer, 33200 Bordeaux - FRANCE Payment with CB or Paypal on www.vertdevin.com Vert de Vin magazine Spring 2016 International edition Interviews Tuscany Chianti Classico .............................61 Italian wineries Chianti Classico Riserva .......................67 • Monteverro ............................4 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione ..................73 • Il Cerchio ..............................6 Brunello di Montalcino ........................74 • Col d’Orcia ............................8 Rosso Di Montalcino ..........................76 Sant’Antimo ................................77 Californian wineries Toscana IGT ................................77 • Joseph Phelps .........................12 Maremma Toscana ...........................79 • Toquade ..............................14 • Duckhorn .............................16 Marche . .80 Bordeaux • Château Haut Peyrous ...................18 Bordeaux Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux (red wines) ..............83 Focus on… Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux (white wines) ............85 • Nicolas Frion, Restaurant le Gabriel ..........21 Bordeaux / Bordeaux Supérieur ..................86 Cadillac - Côtes de Bordeaux ....................87 Francs - Côtes de Bordeaux .....................87 Castillon - Côtes de Bordeaux ...................88 Graves ....................................91 Wine & food pairing Haut-Médoc / Médoc ..........................92 Margaux / Pauillac / Saint-Estèphe ................95 • Champagne ...........................22 Listrac-Médoc / Moulis-en-Médoc ................96 • Bordeaux .............................23 Lalande de Pomerol ...........................97 Saint-Emilion ................................97 Côtes de Bourg .............................102 Wine reviews Spirits reviews Alsace Cremant d’Alsace ............................25 Cognac Alsace Grands Crus ...........................27 VS / VSOP. .104 Alsace .....................................31 Napoléon / XO / Hors d’Âge ...................104 Vintage ...................................107 Douro Red Wines .................................37 Whiskies White wines ................................45 . .109 California Napa Valley ................................47 3 Sonoma ...................................56 Lodi ......................................59 Interview MONTEVERRO «A great wine is like a work of art: it pushes us to seek out and respect each terroir’s unique character.» (George Weber) onteverro is a young winery founded in 2003 to the soup of her family, went hunting with her father’s gun. Mby Mr Georg Weber, German nationality. The The naive girl wandered into the thick bush and killed a boar property is located in Capalbio in Maremma (Tuscany), so huge and dangerous that even the bravest fighter friends on the border of the Lazio region. This region was of her father would have feared the boar. That feat was im- long, until the mid-twentieth century occupied by mortalized in the name of Monteverro.” large agricultural grain fields. Focus on Matthieu Taunay, winemaker / oenologist of Georg Weber’s love for wine Monteverro was born when he was a stu- «We are using progressive far- dent while he was dripping ming methods but our prac- for the first time a glass of fine tices are inspired by the orga- Bordeaux. Since that day his nic farming (no insecticide, passion for wine only grew up just copper and sulphur). to bring it to the purchase of Each action and decision Monteverro. here is made with care / In 2000 wishing to acquire for example the craftsman- property Georg Weber began winemaker understands looking for a vineyard. For the strengths, weaknesses, three years visited many pro- constraints, potential and perties in Bordeaux, Napa Val- needs of his vineyard. We work ley, Bolgherie or Australia but our vineyard little by little. it’s coming on holiday in Tus- cany, on the border of Lazio G. We harvest by hand in small Weber was in love at first sight crates 7kg then vinify by gra- for the place would become vity. Each year we produce 5 Monteverro. labels (2 white, red 4) with a In 2003, not wishing to rush total of about 150,000 bottles without being sure to be able of wine per year. The first pro- to produce great wines he duced vintage was the 2008. It asked leading international was sold for the first time in experts to study the soil of 2011. We were already very Monteverro. Satisfied with the happy with the result but we results he proceeded with the want to go further each year. purchase of this former farm of It also produces about 1,000 50 hectares. bottles of olive oil a year. In 2004 he planted Merlot, Ca- Photo ©Leif Carlsson for Monteverro bernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot; in 2005 Syrah What I like here is the terroir, the challenge to be part of and Grenache and finally Chardonnay in 2006 to reach a total nothing but to create a property, the love for this region of 16 hectares. Since, they’ve been planting, every two years and its potential and to the atmosphere within the team. It roughly, to increase the Bordeaux grape varieties. is a very cosmopolitan team. I am French, the owner is Ger- Today the property has 50 hectares of Monteverro including man, our winemaker is French and our team also includes 4 27 hectares of vineyards and 23 hectares of scrubland, buil- Italian, German and a Swiss. Between us we worked on five dings and trees. continents.» “‘Monte’