The Stunning Terroir-Driven Red Wines of Pierre Bise

One of the great things about having my own company is I can sell whatever wines I want. There is no
extra baggage. "Oh we can special order that for you, but it has to be 10 cases of each," "Oh, we can get you that cuvee, but please order this this and this." You all know exactly what I am talking about. I hated it and will never ever have to do it at Fass Selections. Today, I can offer two wines that I consistently carried at a former employer (I was the only one) and won't be bogged down by an overcommitment or buying other wines, all to make it worthwhile to the distributor. It is worthwhile, because the wines are amazing, I love them, and many many of my former clients and staff loved them and I'm thrilled to offer them.

I had a 2012 Anjou Rouge from Cedric Garrou the other night and it was so good. I offered it last year but the whole time I was drinking it I was thinking how much I loved another Anjou Rouge, which for me is the pinnacle of Anjou Rouge, that is the shimmering, brilliant and suave Anjou's of the Pierre Bise Estate. The first wine is the 2011 Domaine Pierre Bise Anjou-Villages "Sur Schistes" for as low as $24.99 on the 4-pack. This wine is insanely delicious and Claude Papin shows a deft hand at taming the sometimes out of control tannins of Anjou Villages. The blend is 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon grown on very rocky schist soils. It is fermented in 100% stainless steel horizontal fermenters and the must is fermented without being pumped over and that is how Claude Papin tames the aggressive tannins often found in this appellation. It is then aged in tanks and what you have is an amazing wine with such fine, sleek and frankly amazing tannins, sweet fruit, cigar, spice, mineral and tobacco flavors and no astringency like most in the appellation. For me this and the next wine are the best Anjou-Villages that money can buy and it shows a fault in the market that these have not been available since the '02/'03 vintages. They have an elegance and refinement that is just hard to find in Anjou Rouge. This wine is an exceptional value and one of my all time favorites and I am buying a case. No question. Well I might mix 6 and 6 with the next wine.

For how stunning the 2011 Sur Schistes is the 2011 Domaine Pierre Bise "Sur Spilites" for as little as $29.99 on the 4-pack is just as stunning and a bit different. I always sell these wines together and insist on my clients opening both next to each other as the exercise in terroir is compelling. It is fermented and raised the same way as the Sur Schistes but the blend is 50/50 Franc and Sauvignon. From a very unique vineyard on volcanic soils. Tasting this side by side with the Schistes you won't believe they are almost the same blend. Terroir matters and it is very apparent in both of these wines. The Spilites is more fruity than the profoundly mineral Schistes and can be drunk a bit earlier. But that fruit is amazing as the minerality in the Schistes.

Both of these wines drink equally or if not better than Baudry or Breton cuvees priced similarly or more. These don't get the same recognition as Baudry or Breton because Domaine Pierre Bise is known for sweet Chenin and very famous for it. It's not Claude's fault that he is such a brilliant winemaker that his afterthought wines are amongst the best red wines in France for the money.

Claude Papin, the owner and mind behind Domaine Pierre Bise is the type of forward thinker every region needs. Think of him like Deiss in Alsace or Leroy in Burgundy. My favorite quote by him is "We don't know any more than they did (referring to generations past). We are just better at explaining things." His Anjou-Villages redefine what Anjou-Villages is and is in fact some of the greatest Cab-based blends in the Loire and all of France. These wines have more substance and interest than most Bourgeuil and/or Chinon. He is obsessed with terroir and uses words like Polyphenols and conceptual phrases like climactic spice. Once you taste these wines you will realize what a genius Claude Papin is.

2011 Domaine Pierre Bise Anjou-Villages "Sur Spilites" $32.99 

($119.96 4-pack)

2011 Domaine Pierre Bise Anjou-Villages "Sur Schistes" - $27.99

 ($99.96 4-pack)