Wine Down Thursday: French Countryside
October 8 from 6 to 7:30pm
Sampler: $20/person

For this Wine Down Thursday, we’re heading to three French wine regions where sunshine, scenery, and sheer joie de vivre find their way straight into the glass. From Languedoc’s wild, herb-scented Mediterranean slopes to the Southern Rhône’s sun-baked stones and Beaujolais’s improbably charming hills, these are wines with both polish and personality. Expect generous fruit, savory detail, refreshing lift, and enough regional distinction to keep even the most seasoned palate happily occupied. Think village markets, cicadas, long lunches, crooked stone houses, and one more bottle opened because the afternoon simply demands it. Come ready to compare terroirs, debate grapes, and briefly convince yourself that moving to the French countryside is a perfectly sensible plan.

Featured Wines:
2024 Domaine Des Deux Clés “Clés en Main” Blanc
This is a compelling expression of resilience: following the devastating fire that swept through both vineyards and winery, Marjorie and Florian continued by sourcing fruit from trusted nearby organic growers. Grenache Gris brings texture and gentle phenolic grip, while Grenache Blanc contributes sunlit orchard fruit; Chardonnay adds freshness and shape, and Bourboulenc lends a distinctive salty, herbal lift. Rather than a substitute for estate fruit, this is a vivid portrait of community, adaptability, and place.A supple, quietly structured white with Mediterranean brightness, savory complexity, and enough energy to shine at the table.

2021 Domaine Chardigny Saint-Amour Clos du Chapitre
What a persuasive case for Gamay's capacity to combine perfume, structure, and nuance! From Beaujolais's northernmost cru and softened by a few years in bottle, it moves beyond simple primary fruit. Red cherry, raspberry, rhubarb, rose petal, sweet herbs, and crushed stone give way to subtle earth and savory spice. The palate is poised rather than plush, with gentle acidity carrying finely formed tannins and a mineral line through the finish. A significant whole-cluster component reinforces the wine's floral lift and tactile architecture. This is Saint-Amour at its most articulate: fresh but grounded, immediately pleasurable yet quietly complex, and an excellent illustration of why cru Beaujolais deserves serious attention.

2023 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes
The 2023 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes is emphatically not a generic southern Rhône bottling. Drawn from the domaine's mature plantings around Courthézon, where much of the vineyard dates to the 1950s, it carries old-vine depth without sacrificing lift. Grenache leads with ripe raspberry, black cherry, and sun-warmed plum, while Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Carignan contribute pepper, dark florals, and a subtle savory undertow. Garrigue (dried thyme, rosemary, bay, and lavender) threads through the fruit, giving the wine its unmistakably Mediterranean signature. The vintage's generous ripeness is held in check by fresh acidity, fine tannins, and the poise of the sandy soils. Supple and expressive now, the wine offers an aromatic complexity and composure usually associated with more ambitious Rhône appellations.