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Pierre Ferrand
Paul Marie & Fils Tres Vieux
Jacky Navarre Rosé
Thursday, July 28 (for as long as they last), we're pouring one ounce of each for $5
Pineau de Charentes is made in the French départements of Charente, Charente-Maritime and, to a much lesser extent, Dordogne in western France. It's not well-known in The United States, or even outside its production area in France. PdC is made by adding Cognac to unfermented grape juice and then aging it in barrel. The effect is to brighten and enliven the Cognac and add depth and character to the grape juice. It is kept in the fridge, and brought out to serve guests upon arrival on a hot summer day.
It is one of Mark Pascal's favorite drinks. In honor of his 51st birthday yesterday, we're going to pour you a tasting of three different PdC, side-by-side.
Pierre Ferrand: Maison Ferrand is the result of an encounter in 1989 between Alexandre Gabriel and one of the oldest wine-growing families in the Cognac region. This is a simple baseline PdC.
Paul-Marie & Fils: Named after our friend, spirits importer Nicolas Palazzi’s late father, the Paul-Marie bottlings are limited runs of old & rare single casks of Cognac and/or Pineau des Charentes. They source old brandy through Nicholas' family connections. Nicolas bottles one cask at at time, sells through it, then looks for another extraordinary cask. There often is a gap between two releases as finding the right cask is a very time consuming process. We are very happy with this new "Très Vieux" bottling that includes some very old Brandy.
Jacky Navarre: Jacky Navarre is one of the last purists among the artisan cognac distillers. The 4th generation of cognac makers in his family, located in Gondeville since 1811, he takes care of his small Grande Champagne estate with a very basic rule, “Let nature do (most of) the work.” He makes a point to harvest by hand – a technique long ago forgotten by most in the Cognac area – then distills right away using a small 30hl copper “charentais” potstill. The Cognac is wonderful and this Rosé expression of PdC is also remarkable.
We will open one bottle of each at precisely 6:30 PM
When it's gone, it's gone. I hope to see you there.