California VS Burgundy Wine Tasting Featuring Sanford Winery, Domaine Jean Francois, Labet and Dechelette and Pierre Damoy With Special Guest John Terlato

“Every day I spend my time
Drinking wine, feeling fine
Waiting here to find the sign
That I can understand, yes I am”
-Everyday by A$AP Rocky ft. Mark Ronson, Miguel & Rod Stewart

Generalizations are dangerous; The wines of Burgundy tend to have a structure and earthiness that is unique but with global warming it is harder and harder to tell the New World wines of California from the old world wines found in Burgundy. Every region has vintage variation but one of the things that make Burgundy unique is that the differences between the vintages are more pronounced than most. Distinctive with small producers being the norm, a bevy of microclimates, it is fascinating how individual wineries portray each vintage along with the 600+ named wines that exist from the Macon through Chablis. 

California tends to be on the fruit forward end of the spectrum. Whether it’s the bright red cherries and spiciness from Santa Lucia Highlands, the fresh mineral laced wine of Santa Rita Hills or the deeper red fruits from Russian River, pinot noir from California offers immediate pleasure drinking.

Tonight we have one of the iconic California pinot noir and chardonnay producers and one of Burgundies Benchmark wineries on the table to compare and contrast the differences and similarities that the wines of the Santa Rita Hills have to those of the Cotes D’Or. 

Our host tonight is John Terlato Chairman of the Terlato Wine Group.   This group owns several wineries and also has some of the top Imported wines from around the world like the great burgundy wines we have on the table tonight.  Join us as we welcome John and the Terlato family to South Florida for a special night of great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in an effort to study the difference between the great chardonnay and pinot noir of California VS the classic wines of Burgundy.

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

California VS Burgundy Wine Tasting 
Sanford Winery, Domaine Jean Francois, Labet and Dechelette and Pierre Damoy
With Special Guest John Terlato
Thursday, May 23, 2024
7:30 PM

2020 Sanford & Benedict Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard
2020 Sanford Chardonnay La Rinconada Santa Rita Hills
2019 Domaine Jean Francois The Twelve Rows Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Chardonnay Sta Rita Hills
2018 Domaine Pierre Labet Beaune Clos Du Dessus Des Marconnets Blanc, Cote De Beaune
2018 Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard
2018 Sanford Pinot Noir La Rinconada Santa Rita Hills
2017 Sanford Winery Block 6 Pinot Noir, Sta Rita Hills
2019 Domaine Jean Francois The Twelve Rows Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir Sta Rita Hills
2019 Labet And Dechelette Chateau De La Tour Clos De Vougeot Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru
2018 Pierre Damoy Chambertin Clos De Beze Grand Cru

Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Sea Scallop Carpaccio with Candied Lemon and Lavender Aioli
Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras Served in Bourbon Vegetable Consumee with Edemame and Tomato concasse and cheese Tortellini
Strawberry BBQ King Salmon Served over Black Beak Puree and Strawberry Salsa
Chocolate Covered Bacon and Berries

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $350 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

A bit about John Terlato- Vice Chairman of the Terlato Wine Group

John A. Terlato is a principal of Terlato Wine Group (TWG) and Terlato Wines, one of the world’s leading luxury wine companies, based in Lake Bluff, Ill. 

After earning his law degree in 1986, John spent three years working outside the family business before joining Terlato Wine Group in 1989. 

John’s passion lies in the Terlato family’s wineries and vineyards in Northern and Southern California, which include Rutherford Hill Winery, Chimney Rock Winery, Terlato Vineyards and Sanford Winery. He enjoys working with the winemaking teams in bringing to life the family’s vision of crafting wines that are classic representations of the varietals planted in their vineyards while also being seamless, integrated, delicious and tell the tale of the place.

At the Terlato family’s wineries, John has supported and encouraged environmentally friendly initiatives, including conversion to 100 percent solar power, innovative vineyard management practices aimed at protecting the land while increasing the quality of their crops and water conservation.

John also is passionate about Burgundian farming, winemaking and wines. John travels to Burgundy on a regular basis, where he has cultivated collaborations with a number of winemakers and winemaking families, stemming from their shared love of Burgundy. Today, Terlato Wines imports a growing selection of Burgundy wines including Mischief & Mayhem, Domaine Ramonet, Château de Meursault, Château de Marsannay, Château de La Tour, Domaine Labet, Domaine Georges Roumier and others.

John is a frequent host of wine dinners and events around the world, sharing his views on the common threads between the great and important wines of the world and how those wines from families of the great Domaines and Chateau have affected his own family’s views on grape farming and the resulting wines they are crafting as vintners.

All the Wines from these producers in the store on SALE!

2020 SANFORD & BENEDICT CHARDONNAY SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD
Price: $75.00                     Your Price: $66.00                Quantity in Stock: 29

2020 SANFORD CHARDONNAY LA RINCONADA SANTA RITA HILLS
Price: $69.00                     Your Price: $60.72                Quantity in Stock: 6
The La Rinconada is very expressive, displaying grilled lemons and wet rocks while a touch of hazelnut adds charm. Bright, detailed, and nuanced, La Rinconada has a lot going on aromatically, while the mineral white fruits on the palate are elegant and suave. This classic pairs well with sushi, Asian dishes, or a simple cheese plate.
The La Rinconada Chardonnay comes from the southern and western edge of the vineyard. The light alluvial soils coupled with the cool and breezy exposure provides wines with exceptional purity charm and elegance.

2017 SANFORD CHARDONNAY STA. RITA HILLS
Price: $30.00                     Your Price: $26.40                Quantity in Stock: 2
(91 Points)  The 2017 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills was barrel fermented and aged eight months in about 20% new oak. It has a very toasty nose with gunflint hints over baked yellow apple, white peach, pastry crust, lemon meringue and banana chip. Medium to full-bodied, it has a good core of toasty/savory fruits, with juicy acidity and a long finish.  - Erin Brooks, The Wine Advocate

2021 SANFORD PINOT NOIR ESTATE STA. RITA HILLS MAGNUM 1.5L
Price: $94.50                     Your Price: $83.16                           Quantity in Stock: 2
2021 SANFORD PINOT NOIR ESTATE STA. RITA HILLS
Price: $49.00                     Your Price: $43.12
This Pinot Noir is dark ruby in color and is very spice driven on the nose with cloves, lavender, wild mushrooms, and forest floor. The palate delivers spice and savory, dark fruits, espresso, and leather with balanced acid and suave tannin structure, which carries the lovely finish. The wine was aged in French Oak barrels (25% new oak) for 11 months where it gained complexity and elegance.

2018 SANFORD PINOT NOIR LA RINCONADA SANTA RITA HILLS
Price: $69.00                     Your Price: $60.72                Quantity in Stock: 17
The 2018 La Rinconada comes from our higher elevation vineyard blocks, all high on the hill east of the winery. These windy and steep vineyards give great intensity, complexity and structure.
The 2018 La Rinconada Vineyard Pinot Noir is a wine of tremendous depth. Black tea, leather, fennel, and raspberries all jump out of the glass. The 2018 is deep, rich and suave with great length. This wine is delicious now yet has the balance and structure to age gracefully for some time.

2018 SANFORD & BENEDICT PINOT NOIR SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD
Price: $60.00                     Your Price: $52.80                Quantity in Stock: 36
Sanford and Benedict Vineyard is one of the best known sites for Pinot Noir in this part of California and there are many that make a great wine from this fruit but Sanford Winery made this vineyard famous. This wine has a deep dark cherry color and is loaded with black raspberry and cherry berry fruit featuring a full array of exotic spices, clove and cinnamon. Very silky and velvety on the tongue with lovely ripe cherry raspberry like fruit and a host of spices echoing the aromas on the nose through the finish. Most Excellent

A bit about Sanford Winery:

In the Sta. Rita Hills, it all began with Sanford. In 1971, the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard became the first vineyard in what would become a world-class, cool climate wine-growing region. Sanford Winery has been a pioneer in the Sta. Rita Hills from the beginning and the vineyards and winery continues to thrive, innovate and excel under the vision, guidance, stewardship, leadership, and hands-on participation of the Terlato family.  
(Cellarmaster Auggie Rodriguez (right) and family at Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in 1972)

Botanist Michael Benedict and his friend Richard Sanford were committed to finding a cool climate region and location with just enough heat accumulation to ripen, but not over ripen, wine grapes. A location where they could plant and grow grapes and craft wines, where the quality might equal the best of the best in Europe.

Michael began researching and touring the cool coastal regions of California in search of a region and site that would suit this mission. After an incredible amount of research, observation, collection of data and analysis, Michael believed he had found the perfect location - one which possessed just the right combination of weather patterns, overall cool climate and varying soil conditions. His analysis took him to a unique part of the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County and right to the foot of the property that would ultimately become the Sanford & Benedict vineyard.  The first vines were planted in 1971, and soon the Pinot Noir from this remote vineyard created a buzz. Others soon followed, wanting to capture the magic of this place. It was the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard which would form the backbone of what is now the Sta. Rita Hills AVA and it was also this vineyard that supplied the cuttings for many of the surrounding vineyards.

The team of Michael Benedict and Richard Sanford would go separate ways after the 1980 vintage and the Sanford Winery continued its existence. Through the years, Sanford Winery remained notable in the region for its pioneering history and for producing wines of high quality from the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. 

In 1997, La Rinconada Vineyard was planted adjacent to the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard and this site would also become home to the winery building and tasting room. This vineyard shares many of the same ideal characteristics that have made the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard famous while also possessing its own unique and idiosyncratic characteristics. The unique nature of the two vineyards can be identified in the single vineyard wines.
(John Terlato and Michael Benedict)

In 2002, the Terlato family became partners in Sanford Winery. They realized that the vineyards and winery operations required additional investments, which they provided, and as a result they became majority owners and managing partners in 2005. The Terlatos were also responsible for re-uniting the estate when they purchased the Sanford & Benedict vineyard in 2007. This was a major initiative and milestone which formed the foundation of their vision, which was to reunite the properties and recreate the Grand Cru nature of the estate.

The Terlato family has been fortunate to have had enjoyed more than a half century of success in multiple facets of the luxury wine industry. They attribute their success to having followed a simple principle: put quality first, as quality endures. They have applied this principle to the vineyards and wine making at Sanford.

2019 DOMAINE JEAN FRANCOIS THE TWELVE ROWS SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD CHARDONNAY STA RITA HILLS
Price: $127.00                   Your Price: $111.76                Quantity in Stock: 10
(97 Points) The 2020 The Twelve Rows Chardonnay opens with exotic aromas of lychee, poached pears, white peaches, acacia and beeswax with a touch of flinty character. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and seamless, reluctantly revealing its mineral-driven flavors. Chalky and minerally yet certainly not lacking in perfumed fruit, its long, slowly evolving finish hints that this wine has much more to offer as it unwinds in bottle. Domaine Jean François is a new collaboration between Sanford and François Labet, owner of Château de la Tour, the largest landowner in the Clos Vougeot and the only winery located within the Clos itself. The de la Tour wines are imported into the US by the Terlato Wine Group, which purchased a majority stake in Sanford in 2005. John Terlato, Sanford winemaker Trey Fletcher and Labet decided to work together on a new cuvée made from the old vines planted at Sanford. "We followed François's winemaking program, issuing thoughts and suggestions from pruning through to bottling," Terlato notes. If this first bottling of Domaine Jean François is any indication, this will be an exciting project to follow in the future.

2019 DOMAINE JEAN FRANCOIS THE TWELVE ROWS SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD PINOT NOIR STA RITA HILLS
Price: $127.00                   Your Price: $111.76                Quantity in Stock: 12
Domaine Jean François is a new collaboration between Sanford and François Labet, owner of Château de la Tour, the largest landowner in the Clos Vougeot and the only winery located within the Clos itself. The de la Tour wines are imported into the US by the Terlato Wine Group, which purchased a majority stake in Sanford in 2005. John Terlato, Sanford winemaker Trey Fletcher and Labet decided to work together on a new cuvée made from the old vines planted at Sanford. "We followed François's winemaking program, issuing thoughts and suggestions from pruning through to bottling," Terlato notes. If this first bottling of Domaine Jean François is any indication, this will be an exciting project to follow in the future.

DOMAINE PIERRE LABET

2018 DOMAINE PIERRE LABET BEAUNE CLOS DU DESSUS DES MARCONNETS BLANC, COTE DE BEAUNE, FRANCE
Price: $112.50                   Your Price: $99.00                Quantity in Stock: 6
Medium gold in color with a nose of fresh citrus and ripe yellow stone fruit aromas. An accomplished wine, richly flavored and vibrant showing fresh pear, good structure and stony mineral notes.

LABET AND DECHELETTE CHATEAU DE LA TOUR

2019 LABET AND DECHELETTE CHATEAU DE LA TOUR CLOS DE VOUGEOT VIEILLES VIGNES GRAND CRU
Price: $450.00                   Your Price: $396.00                Quantity in Stock: 6
(94-96 points) The 2019 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes is very promising, unwinding in the glass with notes of dark berry fruit, orange peel, rose petals, rich soil tones and spices. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and concentrated, with rich, powdery tannins, lively acids and a long, resonant finish. This was a fascinating tasting with father François Labet and son Edouard, who are together pushing Domaine Pierre Labet and the Château de la Tour to new qualitative heights. Organic and now biodynamic farming in the vineyards, vinification with—in red—appreciable percentages of whole clusters in the winery and long élevage in the cellars are the order of the day. Perfumed, seamless and concentrated, the 2019s are immensely promising, and in a richer, more overtly muscular register, the 2018s (which I took the opportunity during my visit to re-taste in bottle) have turned out very well, too. I'll be hoping to spend more time at this address later in 2021 and plan to report back in more detail. (WK) (1/2021)  Wine Advocate

HISTORIC AND PRESTIGIOUS
For seven centuries, the Cistercian monks were the sole owners of Vougeot. After the French Revolution, the clos remained in state ownership until 1818, and was subdivided in 1889 where François Labet’s great-grandfather, Mr. Beaudet of Beaune was one of six buyers, and went on to build Chateau de la Tour in 1890.

When François inherited the 15 acre family clos in the early 1980s, he made his first vintage in 1984, and has been making wine from these coveted Burgundian rows ever since.

François has kept the vines away from outside management and chemical influence by maintaining an intimate, natural, and regenerative viticulture process as a way to honor the unique land with its exceptional soils, and his ancestors, who farmed in the same way.

Today, Clos de Vougeot has more than 80 owners, with Labet as the single largest landholder with 15 acres. With the exception of the famous Château du Clos de Vougeot, Château de la Tour is the only château on the entire clos.

DOMAINE PIERRE DAMOY

2018 DOMAINE PIERRE DAMOY CHAMBERTIN CLOS DE BEZE GRAND CRU
Price: $1377.00                Your Price: $1211.76                Quantity in Stock: 3
(97 Points) Fragrant, fluid and seductive for the silky texture, with cherry, floral, sandalwood and oak spice aromas and flavors. Well-structured yet deftly balanced, this feels effortless and graceful overall. Reveals licorice and mineral notes on the finish. Best from 2025 through 2046. 40 cases made. Wine Spectator

BEST KNOWN FOR PRODUCING PINOT NOIR FROM ITS GRAND CRU VINEYARD
Domaine Pierre Damoy is a Burgundy wine producer located in Gevrey-Chambertin. The family-owned domaine was founded in the 1920s and has been managed by Pierre Damoy since 1992. It is best known for producing Pinot Noir from its Grand Cru vineyard holdings, in particular the Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze Grand Cru vineyard. The domaine covers around 11 hectares (27 acres) of vineyard land spread throughout Gevrey-Chambertin's grand cru vineyards of Chapelle-Chambertin, Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze and Le Chambertin. Damoy owns a portion of Chambertin Clos-de-Bèze as well as Chapelle-Chambertin. Vines at both sites range from 60-80 years old. Damoy also holds a small area of land in the Chambertin vineyard, and produces Pinot Noir from Marsannay, as well as Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge from vineyards in Fixin and Couchey.

Episode

2017 Terlato Family Vineyards "Episode" Napa Valley Proprietary Red
Price: $168.50                   Your Price: $148.28                Quantity in Stock: 6
The pinnacle wine for Terlato Vineyards, EPISODE stands shoulder to shoulder with the very best Bordeaux Blends in the world. The Terlato family makes this boutique Bordeaux blend of classic varietals from the best Napa Valley fruit.

2009 Terlato Family Vineyards "Episode" Napa Valley Proprietary Red MAGNUM 1.5L
Price: $378.00                   Your Price: $332.64                Quantity in Stock: 4
(95 points) Terlato's focus on Bordeaux-style red wines has paid off in the last several vintages, and this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot continues the success streak. It has ripe, spicy flavors of blackberry jam, black currant and sweet, toasty oak, and the tannin-acid structure is balanced. Still, it's an astringent wine that needs time in the cellar, so give it at least eight years. It could age well beyond that. *Cellar Selection*  (4/2013)  Wine Enthusiast