I arrived at Chartier, a classic Parisian brasserie, before my companions. This was our second day in Paris, and my wife had just called to say that some of her co-workers wanted to join us, which suited me fine, because who was I to complain about being the only man dining with four women? Chartier does not take reservations, but they do move fast, so I got in the perpetual line outside the door. I hadn't been in the line ten minutes before the hostess asked me how many were in my party, but in the din of the six languages going on around me (and surely because of my Day 2 French ear), I reacted as though she had said "who" instead of "how many"--so I blurted out, «J'attends que mes femmes. Quatre des eux.»

I immediately realized that I had said, "I am waiting for my wives. Four of them."

The hostess certainly heard it this way, too. She clutched my forearm and doubled over laughing, like an American might. Since Parisians are usually more reserved, I'm hoping that she was seizing her chance to blow off some steam from a very busy evening....

Anyway, once my wives joined me (one of whom turned out to be male), we were seated in a flash, and we immediately ordered some wine. We initially ordered some Rosé and a Côtes-du-Rhône, but when I saw their wine special, a Cahors, I dumped the Rhône in favor of some French Malbec.

Malbec is one of the darlings of the wine world, thanks to its success in Argentina, though it's popularity isn't as robust among retailers as it was a couple of years ago. This is because it is easy to grow weary of a popular wine, and a common sentiment arises..."Oooh, another Argentine Malbec...." Enter Cahors, a region of southwestern France where Malbec is the required principal variety.

Cahors was widely treasured in the 19th Century, in part because of its longevity. The region fell on hard times when the phylloxera louse destroyed its vineyards, and it has taken nearly a century to recover its mojo. Cahors is literally awash in good wine these days, as was evidenced by the very good wine offered as a special at Chartier.

Chartier is a spectacularly ebullient restaurant with an atmosphere so infectious that even a morose teenager would be delighted. Shoehorned onto a table for four, we started off with the bottle of Rosé (despite the 30°F temperatures outside, it was like the sunshine we hadn't seen for a while), the name of which I couldn't tell you, and we continued with the Cahors, which was called Noir de Casteyrac (it is almost certainly unavailable in the U.S.). The Cahors was particularly satisfying, because it was really delicious and complex, and it cost the equivalent of $20! Find me a wine this good in a U.S. restaurant for this price and I'll show you someone who's losing money! It was a hearty, robust, slightly rustic wine that was a fabulous partner for the lamb and rumsteck that we ordered. It overwhelmed the other two dishes, free-range chicken and Choucroute, but no one complained, because the experience of the restaurant itself obscured this small weakness.

If you can't find any Cahors, then get your retailer to order some. Cahors has been on a upward trend in quality for a century, and since at least 1998, early-drinking wines have become commonplace, so really no one has any excuse for not stocking at least one (unless even their wholesalers are afraid to stock it...). It takes a little bit of imagination to sell it, I mean, who the heck has heard of Cahors? Oooh...there's the sales opening right there!

Popularity: 11% [?]

Or specifically, a day at the only estate I could manage to fit into a six-hour span! The rail ads in Paris make a day-trip to Champagne sound easy (and it is), so I took the TGV from Paris to Reims, rented a car and drove south to drink some bubbly. Turns out that car access to the rail station in Reims is a morass of construction and detours, so naturally this figures prominently into the question of my punctuality for the return train to Paris, but that's another story. Thrilling though that tale is, the part you'll care more about (I hope) is that I spent the better part of an entire day at Pierre Peters, a small grower-producer in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, a village south of Épernay.

An Ineffable Spirit
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is in the heart of that portion of Champagne known as the Côte des Blancs, referring to the white, high-chalk-content soil. In this area, Chardonnay is the only grape to which growers give serious consideration. This part of Champagne is Grand Central for Grand Cru vineyards, and Pierre Peters has holdings in four different crus: Le Mesnil, Oger, Avize, and Cramant. Grand Cru holdings don't ensure great wine, of course, but they do give one an edge. When that one is Pierre Peters, the wines are among the great Champagnes. For all you Chardonnay-weary folk out there, these wines also provide ample evidence/reminder that Chardonnay actually does deserve its exalted place in the firmament of wine.

Some have said that Peters' wines are textbook expressions of Blanc de Blancs Champagne, and that's not wrong, but that description doesn't accommodate the soulfulness of these wines, a trait that transcends the confines of "textbook". Peters' wines have an intimacy of élan, expressing their charms with dramatic flair, but they do it as though whispering into your ear. This may sound like mystical nonsense to you, but to me it is the underlying character that emerges only after you taste many Peters wines from through the past few decades.

Strong Even in Weak Vintages
The thoughtful and generous François Peters, erstwhile mind behind the wines at Pierre Peters (his son Rodolphe took over in 2008), presented a series of wines that far surpassed what I had hoped to encounter. We tasted a wide range of years and different cuvées. We started with the the always exciting non-vintage Cuvée de Réserve, then dove into the vintage wines. Two vintages that we tasted are considered "great" vintages--2002 and 1996--and indeed these wines were great. Naturally, the less-than-ideal vintages provide a more satisfying glimpse into the mastery of this estate, and the luminescence of the wines 2005 and 1993 vintages do just that. The '05 was positively velvety, which is not a quality I associate with this producer's wines. It was excellent and rather warmly comforting, although still a bit stiff, so I'll stash some of this one in my cellar to give it time to unwind. The '93 was the real revelation, as it bore no hint of the trickiness of this vintage. It was in the prime phase for drinking, sensuous and in perfect harmony, and no, I didn't spit this one.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I'm headed for France today--I'll be there for the next week while my wife is on a business trip for her employer. You can get from Paris to Reims in 45 minutes--thanks to the TGV--so while my wife is working, I will do some wine work Champagne. I'll be visiting two of my favorite small grower-producers, Pierre Peters in the Côte de Blancs (south of Epernay) and Vilmart further north in the Marne Valley (just south of Reims). Also thanks to the TGV, I'll spend two days visiting and tasting in the under-appreciated region of Alsace. It is a mere three hour zip across the country to the eastern corner of France, where I'll see several producers, including Trimbach, Weinbach, and Zind-Humbrecht (alas, they do not have a website). I know, it seems crazy that it's February and I'm going to be drinking a ton of white wine. Sounds perfect to me. I'll post updates as time allows--the next one will be from France!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association is staging one of the greatest wine festivals in the country: the International Alsace Varietals Festival on February 20 & 21. This is another, yes another!, reason to love the Anderson Valley, jewel of Mendocino. I find the Pinot Noirs from Anderson Valley to be among the most compelling in the world, and here they are hosting wineries from all over the world, showcasing their wines and doing what more people need to do: promoting the consumption of white wine, which has fallen on hard times because of a "lack of seriousness" factor. Here's an excerpt from their press release:

Anderson Valley, because of its cool climate, provides ideal growing conditions for Alsace varietals. Brought to the valley in the late-1960s, Gewürztraminer from Husch Vineyards, Lazy Creek Vineyards, and Navarro Vineyards soon defined the region for early wine explorers. Today, more local producers craft Alsatian-style wines, including Claudia Springs Winery, Esterlina Vineyards, Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, Handley Cellars, Londer Vineyards and Raye's Hill Vineyards & Winery, among others.

Consider attending this great event, if you can--you'll get to taste Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, and Auxerrois from all over the world, and the local wineries will be having open houses. If you can't go, try out some of the wines from the estates listed above. I am particularly fond of Handley and Esterlina, but that's only because I have had a long history with those producers. When you do try them, I don't think you'll be disappointed (unless you want an oaky chardonnay instead....).

Popularity: 3% [?]