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The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Two-Pack
Maybe you hadn’t been thinking about Valentine’s Day just yet. Well, it’s time. But whether you’re planning to brave the restaurant scene (and if so, you’d best get on the phone NOW) or cook an intimate dinner at home, we’ve done the wine thinking for you. Our team got together to tackle one of the most fraught holidays of them all, and what we concluded is that it needn’t be so fraught. Drinking well—really well—is the first and most important consideration. So, we picked two guaranteed winners for your table on February 14th and put them up on the site today so that you receive them in time and get your proper due for having thought about Valentine’s Day well in advance. Be a hero and treat yourself while you’re at it—these are some truly special bottles!
First, we have the newest disgorgement of Chauvet’s Grand Rosé, an outrageously delicious Champagne that epitomizes the mineral imprint of Grand Cru terroir. It’s also from a family-run estate that still painstakingly ‘riddles’ each bottle by hand and allows it to mature over three years before disgorgement. While always a broad, supremely textured Champagne, this is what you savor as an aperitif, allowing it to ease into the first course and trying your hardest to make it last until the main dish is ready. Then it’s on to a sensational Napa Cabernet from world-famous Napa icon Philip Togni, who, as Antonio Galloni says, “has made some of the all-time great Napa Valley Cabernets going back to the late 1960s.” Above all, these are two special wines, meant for special occasions, so be sure to enjoy them than with a memorable meal and, of course, those you cherish most.
First, we have the newest disgorgement of Chauvet’s Grand Rosé, an outrageously delicious Champagne that epitomizes the mineral imprint of Grand Cru terroir. It’s also from a family-run estate that still painstakingly ‘riddles’ each bottle by hand and allows it to mature over three years before disgorgement. While always a broad, supremely textured Champagne, this is what you savor as an aperitif, allowing it to ease into the first course and trying your hardest to make it last until the main dish is ready. Then it’s on to a sensational Napa Cabernet from world-famous Napa icon Philip Togni, who, as Antonio Galloni says, “has made some of the all-time great Napa Valley Cabernets going back to the late 1960s.” Above all, these are two special wines, meant for special occasions, so be sure to enjoy them than with a memorable meal and, of course, those you cherish most.
NOTE: All orders are guaranteed to arrive at your door before Valentine’s Day!
Champagne A. Chauvet, “Grand Rosé” Grand Cru
A. Chauvet dates back to 1848 and has remained in family hands the entire time. Their “Grand Rosé” is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sourced from the chalky bedrock of Grand Cru Tours-sur-Marne and each parcel of their sustainably farmed grapes is vinified separately. Reserve wines, stored in neutral oak casks, make up 20% of the final blend and malolactic fermentation is blocked to create a more precise style. The wine ages for over 36 months on its raw lees in Chauvet’s hand-dug, centuries-old chalk cellar. This extended aging period provides the depth and richness you’ll find swimming around today’s wine. Additionally, A. Chauvet is one of the very few remaining producers that still riddles by hand, meaning each bottle is meticulously turned dozens of times over several weeks in order to collect sediment in the neck. After disgorgement, the dosage consisted of a light 4.5 grams of sugar plus the addition of still Pinot Noir from Bouzy Grand Cru. It’s a downright delicious bottle of rosé that explodes with crushed chalk, delicate flowers, and rich red fruits.
Philip Togni, “Tanbark Hill” Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
When Philip Togni released his winery’s first Cabernet in 1983, he already had more than 20 California vintages under his belt. He had first arrived in Napa in 1959, to help plant Mayacamas Vineyards on Mount Veeder, then made acclaimed wines at places like Chappellet and Chalone, among others. This is a man mentioned in the same breath as people like Andre Tchelistcheff and Robert Mondavi—a seminal figure in the ‘60s/’70s Napa Valley wine revolution—and yet his winery, perched at 2,000 feet on Spring Mountain, is all about small-scale simplicity. There’s no Italianate mansion or wrought-iron gate, just 10 acres of hillside vines and a few cottage-style buildings where the Tognis live and work. The Tognis have always strived for California Cabernets that channel the spirit of traditional Bordeaux—balanced, aromatic, intense wines with the capacity to age for decades. Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Merlot and a few percentage points of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, Tanbark Hill is sourced from the same single vineyard as Togni’s doubly expensive flagship wine. It’s made the same way in the cellar, too: 20 months in 40% new French oak. It is a powerhouse, one that starts with a carapace of graphite, cedar, herbs, and raw earth before ending with an intoxicating fusion of lush, concentrated dark fruits. Its evolution over the course of a few hours is simply stunning.
Dinner Notes:
A couple of hours before your big dinner, pull the cork on Togni’s 2016 “Tanbark Hill,” pour it into your most oxygen-friendly decanter, stow it in a cool place, and then forget about it. Not to worry, though, you’ll have Chauvet’s “Grand Rosé” to savor in the meantime. Serve this Grand Cru Champagne in all-purpose white stems around 50 degrees and take your time enjoying it—I strongly suggest doing so alongside a warm baguette with (preferably) Normandy butter and an assortment of artisanal cheeses. When it comes time to reveal the main Cabernet attraction, serve in your largest Bordeaux stems and enjoy next to a medium-rare beef tournedos that’s spent a few minutes soaking up a creamy morel sauce. Cheers!
