On a gorgeous New Jersey day, what better to do than a little wine tasting, consisting of some gorgeous whites as Spring Fever sets in!
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Today, I took a ride over to Princeton, to visit Mark Censits and his crew at CoolVines. Mark's vision for CoolVines is to carry affordable, small production wines from many great boutique wineries from all over the world. But don't let that vision scare you, as they carry some high end wines as well. Some of those high end wines that we have acquired from Mark range anywhere from Sine Qua Non, to Scarecrow. He truly has a great selection of many wines you may have never heard of, as well as some well known heavy hitters. But if they don;t have exactly what you are looking for, someone from their friendly staff will point you in the right diection, and probably save you a few dollars at the same time. It's a win win!
Mark happened to be in-store, so I had a nice chat with him about how his new store is coming in the centere of Princeton, as well as some other stuff. He is a great guy, and his staff is great as well. Today, Thomas and Daniel happened to be in-store, along with another associate who's name I do not know, but we have seen her in the store on a few occasions.
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Today, Mark was tasting 2 different Biodynamic wines, and he gave me a quick synopsis about biodynamic wine, which I find pretty awesome. As for Mark, he is a great guy, with a heck of a passion, and a great business model. If you get the chance, I highly recommend checking out his store in Princeton, or his Westfield, NJ store!
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As for the wines today, the first of the tasting was the 2008 Domaine des Gerbeaux Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes Terroirs de Pouilly et Fuisse. This is a 100% chardonnay, and a heck of a great summer sipper. Nice lemon citrus on the nose, with hints of flint and petrol. This really had some sauvignon blanc qualities to it, and seemed like a great, light, summer sipper. On the palate, there was some more nice citrus, with hints of pear and a bit of honey suckle. The finish was short with nice acidity, and this wine is drinking very well right now. This will indeed be a great summer sipper, and at under $30, this is a nice value worthy of 90 points. .
Next up was the 2007 Gérard Bertrand Vin de Pays d'Oc Cigalus Blanc, and yet another great summer sipper, composed of 80% chardonnay, 15% viognier, and 5% sauvignon blanc! The first thing I notice on the nose of this wine is "Pal bubble gum." Yes, I said Pal bubble gum. What a fun smell. There is also some nice hints of lemon, and peach, with a good mineral aspect. Finally, sublet hints of passion fruit and nectar round out the nose. On the palate, the viognier adds a really nice element to it, and the sauvignon blanc, although only a small percentage really comes through as well. More citrus and passion fruit on the palate, with hints of a sweet nectar of sorts, and again, a nice acidity. This wine is crisp and refreshing, with yet another pleasant finish. 91 points!Say what you will about biodynamic wines and biodynamic farming, but these two hit the nail on the head. For some, the prices on these might be a little higher than you usually like to spend, the first at $45, and the second at $32, but these are wines that are well crafted, and to me, they exceed the price tag, and do qualify as good QPR's (quality to price ratio).
In short, what can I say about a gorgeous, sunny, almost 60 degree day in March in NJ? These were nice wines that I look forward to drinking with Zelda on our bistro this summer, and I can see going through several of these over the course of the summer season.As for CoolVines, as always, thanks to Mark and his great team! His store is a nice breath of air in the area, and he couldn't have a better staff selling great affordable wines! Stop in, say hello, and tell him that F. Scott and Zelda sent you! Cheers!
PRINCETON
344 Nassau St
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 924-0039
WESTFIELD
23 Elm Street
Westfield, NJ 07090
(908) 232-5050
http://www.coolvines.com/
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