Wednesday Wine Tasting 6/3

June 6: French Whites

Come join us for a fabulous afternoon of wine tasting at The San Francisco Wine Trading Company! Whether you're a wine connoisseur or just looking to have a good time, this event is perfect for you. Sample a variety of exquisite wines and mingle with fellow wine enthusiasts. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to expand your palate and enjoy some delicious wines. See you there!

2015 Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon $285
In 1668, Dom Pierre Pérignon, a Benedictine monk, was appointed procurator at the Abbey of Hautvillers. At a time when winemaking relied largely on empirical methods, Dom Pérignon introduced revolutionary techniques in both viticulture and cellar work, establishing rigorous standards in pursuit of “the best wine in the world.”

The “wine of Father Pérignon” quickly became one of the most sought-after wines in France, served at Versailles and enjoyed by Louis XIV himself. Dom Pérignon is always produced from a single vintage and crafted as a blend of grape varieties and terroirs. The inaugural vintage was 1921 under Moët & Chandon, today the largest landowner in Champagne, sourcing fruit for Dom Pérignon from its finest vineyards throughout the region. The wine spends no fewer than eight years aging in the cellar before reaching its first “plenitude.”

2023 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex $194.94
Didier Dagueneau was a fourth-generation winemaker in Pouilly-Fumé who first left his hometown to race motorcycle sidecars internationally between 1978 and 1982. Upon returning home, he chose to establish his own estate rather than join the family domaine, determined to elevate Pouilly-Fumé to the level of the great wines of Burgundy. Inspired by mentors such as Edmond Vatan and Henri Jayer, Dagueneau focused obsessively on terroir and vineyard precision.

He released his first vintage in 1982 from the En Chailloux parcel, followed by the now-iconic Silex in 1985 and Pur Sang in 1988. The estate became renowned for meticulous farming, employing roughly one worker per hectare, an extraordinary ratio in the Loire Valley.

The wines are raised in oak using a carefully calibrated combination of barrels, including Didier’s famous elongated “cigar” barrels designed to maximize lees contact and oxygen exchange. The wines spend their first year in oak before aging further in tank prior to bottling.

Tragically, Didier died in a plane crash near Cognac in 2008 at the age of 52. His son Louis-Benjamin and daughter Charlotte continued the estate, preserving his uncompromising vision.

The Silex bottling comes exclusively from vineyards high on the slopes of Saint-Andelain rich in flint soils (“silex”). The wine is aged primarily in 450L and 600L barrels alongside Didier’s signature 350L cigar-shaped barrels.

2023 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot $299.94
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey is one of Burgundy’s most iconic modern producers, based in Chassagne-Montrachet in the Côte de Beaune. The domaine was founded in 2005 by Pierre-Yves Colin and his wife Caroline Morey, both descendants of prominent Burgundian winegrowing families. Prior to establishing the estate, Pierre-Yves spent a decade as winemaker at Domaine Marc Colin, his family’s winery.

After inheriting vineyard holdings from both sides of the family, Pierre-Yves and Caroline launched their own domaine with a style that has become highly influential in Burgundy: extended lees aging, larger barrel formats, minimal bâtonnage, and bottling without fining or filtration. The resulting wines emphasize precision, tension, and transparency of terroir.

2006 Domaine de la Grange des Pères Blanc Pays d’Hérault $395
Domaine de la Grange des Pères was founded in 1989 by Laurent Vaillé, whose remarkable résumé included work with Coche-Dury, Gérard Chave, and Eloi Dürrbach of Domaine de Trévallon. Vaillé reclaimed rugged family land inherited from his grandfather, using dynamite and bulldozers to break through the hard limestone soils before planting vines.

He sourced exceptional vine cuttings from Chave and Trévallon, ultimately planting nine hectares of red varieties and just one hectare of white grapes. The domaine produces only two wines — one white and one red — in extremely limited quantities. Both are classified under the IGP Pays d’Hérault designation due to the inclusion of varieties outside local AOC regulations, namely Cabernet Sauvignon in the red and Chardonnay in the white.

The blanc is a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne, and Chardonnay. Laurent Vaillé passed away in 2021 at the age of 57, but the estate remains one of the most revered cult producers in southern France.

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