A Friday Follies Trio Of Holiday Dinner Wines

Nv Champagne Gaston-Chiquet Grand Cru
Blanc de Blancs


Friday Follies Special $56.99

Recently learned that Champagne Gaston-Chiquet was perhaps the original ‘grower-producer’ in the Champagne region, a badge of courage coveted by many these days. Their fabulous Blanc de Blancs is even more unique being one of the very few 100% Chardonnay wines made in the village of Ay, the historical heart of Pinot country. Winemaker Nicolas Chiquet eschews the use of oak in his wine and driven to produce wines as long on finesse and purity as they are on power. The Blanc de Blancs we saw at this year’s Champagne Extravaganza was especially fine. Based on the 2020 vintage with 36 months on its lees, it is a wine of precisely defined fruit flavors; an amalgam of minerals, toastiness, fresh-cut flowers and delicate perfume. It was one of my absolute wines of the day thanks to its gorgeous vinosity and enormous complexity. Yes, it’s a BdB so not necessarily applicable to all dining or toasting situations, but I would be very happy drinking this every day! And then there’s the price. This is an extraordinary value to top notch Champagne! Put some on your holiday table!

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2020 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis, Tete d’Or

Regular Price $66, FRIDAY FOLLIES Sale $44.99,
shipping included on 6 bottles,
mix and match with the Brunello

We don’t often see Billaud-Simon’s must-coveted Chablis at PRIMA. Their wines tend to be very allocated, quite expensive and most-often sucked up by the world’s top restaurants who want to see the iconic ‘Billaud-Simon’ on their list and, of course, collectors who view their Premier and Grand Cru wines in the same way as, say, Raveneau. One thing I can definitely say, we never see it at this kind of discount! But B-S’s importer is interested in making some year-end numbers and, lo and behold, four cases of none other than Billaud-Simon’s Chablis Tete d’Or 2020 showed up on our doorstep this morning at a very, very good price. While this is, indeed, a village-level Chablis, it is anything but an ordinary one. This is the domaine’s Tete de Cuvee culled from oldest vines in their village appellation holdings, all sites adjacent to their Premier and Grand Cru parcels. It gets a little wood from neutral barrels, like the domaine’s Premier Crus, and undergoes a similar treatment in the cellar making it a sort of Reserve-level Chablis of a quality one rarely sees in the appellation. A lovely color, the wine’s stunningly pure, fresh lemon and floral aromatics belies a wine that’s really quite rich and silky on the palate with shimmering yellow and white fruits, lots of Chablis spice and, of course, that only-on-Kimmeridgian chalkiness and citrus spritz at the end. This is, top to bottom, a complete, intensely flavorful Chablis that promises plenty of additional life.
48 bottles only.

James Suckling: I love the lemon-blossom character of this very bright Chablis, which has a lovely balance of oyster-shell character, creaminess from sur-lie maturation and racy acidity. Long, chalky finish with enough energy to give this plenty of aging potential. 92 points
Decanter: Longer aged than the classic Chablis cuvée, with 25% matured in wood of different sizes. Plenty of weight and intensity from a selection of parcels just outside Montée de Tonnerre. Spicy, with some intriguing white pepper notes, Olivier Bailly says this will improve for at least three years. A wine to accompany food. 92 points

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2018 Villa Poggio Salvi Brunello di Montalcino
"Campo alle Noci"


Regular Price $55.00, Ours is only $37.99 with shipping included on 6 bottles or more

People don’t really have ‘House Brunellos, do they? I mean isn’t Brunello di Montalcino one of Italy’s most important special occasion wines reserved for those moments when its gravitas can be fully appreciated? True. But, once in a while, one comes along that hits all the high notes one expects from the bigger names yet costs little more than Brunello’s more approachable little brother Rosso di Montalcino. When it happens, it’s worth jumping in. Villa Poggio Salvi is in the southern part of the appellation, but located up high; so high, in fact, it’s one of the few places in the appellation where you can actually see the Mediterranean! In fact, that Mediterranean plays a large part in the house’s very traditional style of wine. While many wines tucked into the southern part of the appellation, especially these days, tend to be larger boned, riper and show more tannin than those from the cooler northern climes, Poggio Salvi’s estate enjoys the benefits of a steady sea breeze and much cooler temperatures. In fact, the ancient property’s name ‘Poggio Salvi’ means ‘healthy hill’ as the conditions up there are considered quite salubrious and healthier compared with the more landlocked parts of the area. And produces healthier grapes, too. While its wines here don’t necessarily have the pedigree and reputation of, say, Montosoli Hill in Montalcino’s northern quadrant, Poggio Salvi’s Brunellos have a certain panache; a sort of cooler, brighter and more elegant side to them. The 2018 is a bit of epiphany for lovers of Sangiovese Grosso. It’s a compact, accessible and very aromatic wine with all of the grape’s dried and fresh cherry, buttery leather, berry bramble and spice on a mid-sized frame that finishes with taut but ripe tannins and great acidity. It’s a drinker even now but, of course, this is Brunello and not Rosso so there’s quite a bright future in store for this solid bargain too. Your steaks will thank you. Like I said, people don’t really have ‘House Brunellos.’ Do they? Alas, only 60 bottles to sell.
Vinous Media: The 2018 Brunello di Montalcino Campo Alle Noci presents an inviting blend of crushed strawberries, plums and violets as it blossoms in the glass. It's soft and round on the palate, with brisk acidity that propels its ripe wild berry fruits, as a staining of minerals and fine tannin collect toward the close. The 2018 is perfumed with inner rose and lavender tones throughout the long and structured finale, tapering off youthfully dry, yet promising many years of positive development. 92 points
James Suckling: This has aromas of hazelnuts, praline, raspberries and spiced cherries. Polished and creamy yet well-structured, with a full body and firm, finely-knit tannins. Beautifully crafted and framed. 93 points