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SAN FRANCISCO: An Impressive Finale As the Tour de France descended upon San Francisco for its fi nal stop, local trade and media descended two fl oors to the dramatic private room at Boulevard for a tasting that was equally dramatic. Loire producer Pierre-Jean Sauvion, whose emphasis in the U.S. has been on on-premise accounts, elabo- rated on the lees aging techniques that add character and body to his signature Château du Cléray Mus- cadet Sèvre et Maine, a wine that struck a harmoni- ous chord with the fi rst course of silky ahi tuna tartar dressed in miso aioli and a mellow white soy vinai- grette. "Fresh, crisp and enjoyable are the essential qualities of Muscadet," proffered Sauvion, a fourth-generation winemaker whose great-great-grandfather was a port négociant with a thirst that led him to specialize in the wines of the Loire Valley. Deutsch Corporate Education Director Jorge Her- nandez introduced the Pierre Sparr 2002 Riesling Grand Cru Mambourg, which lept from the glass with aromas of stone fruit and petrol. Sparr's grand cru wines are utterly distinct, with the Mambourg being a mirror image of a complex dish of Pacifi c walu (butterfi sh), herb roasted artichoke hearts and arugula. The wine's weight and concentration left nothing to be desired. BevMo! Cellarmaster Wilfred Wong, who was in at- tendance, was quick to point out, "BevMo! shoppers will buy grand cru wines, but they look to us for direction." With a SRP of $39, Sparr's Mambourg, along with his Grand Cru Sporer, Grand Cru Schoenbourg and superior AOC-level wines, clearly represent quality and value for price. Vincent Cruège, winemaker for André Lurton, one of the three largest producers in Bordeaux, makes the iconic Château La Louvière 2007 Pessac-Léognan Blanc, an 85% Sauvignon, 15% Semillon, which he now bottles under screwcap, along with the second-label Château Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers white blend. Since 2005, Cruège has been using the La Tribaie, a state-of-the- art sorting table that washes and sorts fruit by ripeness, to better manage triage at all of the Lurton estates. Lurton's Cabernet Sau- vignon–dominated Châ- teau La Louvière 2005 Rouge found its soul- mate in a wood-roasted bavette of Kobe-style beef; the wine showed marked vanilla aromas, restrained black fruit, supple, spicy tannins and black pepper on the fi nish. "Innovation is a way of working in the French wine business," stated winemaker Guy Sarton du Jonchay of Vidal-Fleury, the oldest producer of Rhône wines. "Even though the style of our Côte-Rôtie remains traditional, production methods have changed. For example, we age all of our Côte-Rô- tie on the lees, which softens the tannins and improves fl avors and textures in the wine." Vidal-Fleury is one of the few producers that still coopers its own barrels, and Sarton du Jonchay pointed to the terroir of the oak and air-drying as key contribu- tors of fl avor in these wines, which age four years in barrel. Vidal-Fleury, owned since 1984 by French cult producer Guigal, is home to a new $26 million facility for aging and bottling its Rhône wines, including the classic Syrah-Viogner Vidal-Fleury 2004 Côte-Rôtie La Chatillonne. "Guigal is having an incredible run world- wide," noted BevMo!'s Wilfred Wong, "and their timing with Vidal-Fleury couldn't be more perfect." The selection of wines from Pierre Sparr in Alsace. The Sauvion wines bring the pleasures of the Loire stateside. PHOTO BY LANA BORTOLOT PHOTO BY DEBORAH PARKER WONG PHOTO BY DAVID GADD Camaraderie: BevMo! Cellarmaster Wilfred Wong (far right) at Boulevard in San Francisco with Vincent Cruège of Lurton and Pierre-Jean Sauvion of Sauvion. july 2009 / the tasting panel / 77 Coast to Coast