A sunny day, some great company, a Bandol rosé and a grilled cheese sandwich. Sure, I'd like more from life. That makes me feel so greedy, though. As long as those four items are taken care of, I'd say it's at least a pretty good lunch.
We lunched at Greenblatt's Deli on Sunset Boulevard - my wife, the sun streaming through the windows and a grilled cheese sandwich with a tomato slice before me. The Bandol rosé was provided by Domaine Le Galantin, a $9 glass at the deli.
Bandol is a small portion of Provence right on the Mediterranean coast, east of Marseille. Vins de Provence reports that U.S. retail sales of imported rosé wines grew by 22% in 2010, while exports of rosé and red wines from Provence to the U.S. jumped 132%. America seems to be getting on the dry rosé bandwagon.
The grapes for this rosé - 50% Cinsault, 25% Mourvedre and 25% Grenache - are harvested in the Domaine's organic vineyards, then cooled to 50 degrees for two days before going into stainless steel tanks for fermentation. 10% of the juice is saignee, in which the juice is bled off from the skins after some contact. The remainder is made as in white wine production, with minimal skin contact.
Le Galantin's rose is a very pale salmon color with a nose of melon and minerals and flavors of strawberry fruit with a strong mineral overlay. Dry as a bone, this pink wine has a refreshing acidity, perfect on a warm, sunny day with great company and a grilled cheese. I can heartily recommend the experience.
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Hippolyte Reverdy is a respected domaine in the eastern Loire Valley, in France's Sancerre region. This white wine is made from Sauvignon Blanc and the label shows an alcohol level of "11-14%." That's quite a range, and I suspect it comes in at the high end. The wine cost $9 by the glass at Greenblatt's Deli.
The color is a rather pale yellow, and the nose shows fragrant apricot, tropical and pear notes. Upon tasting, it's the razor blade acidity which captures my attention - even more than the clean, mineral laden palate.
The grassiness is minimal, while the flinty minerals hog the spotlight, upstaging even the fruit. Apples and citrus notes are most noticeable with a zesty bit of lemon peel lasting on the long finish.
The acidity of the Reverdy cannot be undersold. It creates a refreshing and mouthwatering sensation which would be just as welcome on the back porch as in an oyster bar.
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People who stay inside their comfort zones with wine and only drink certain varieties are missing so much. I rarely drink the same brand repeatedly and order offbeat or unusual varieties whenever I have the chance. When I saw a Picpoul by Château Font-Mars on the list at my local deli/wine store, how could I resist?
The appellation of this wine is Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet, from the Languedoc region in the south of France. Picpoul de Pinet is a designation used in the Languedoc for wines made solely with Picpoul Blanc. Font-Mars means "the soil of dinosaurs," and the property took this name due to the fossilized dinosaur eggs which are found there in the limestone and clay soil.
The wine sells for around $10 a bottle online and it cost $8 by the glass at Greenblatt's Deli on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The Font-Mars Picpoul is a pretty golden color and smells of minerals and wet straw. The palate shows plenty of wet rocks, green apples and some floral notes and features great, refreshing acidity. A spring day and a mountain stream come to mind. The finish is lovely and long lasting.
The wine would no doubt be fantastic paired with scallops or any sort of seafood, but I had it with a grilled smoked applewood ham sandwich with potato salad, and I was quite satisfied with that pairing. If only there had been a mountain stream nearby.
Greenblatt's Deli on Sunset Boulevard is not only a very fine deli, it also happens to be a fine wine shop. Now that's a combination I can live with. I had some time to kill and took the opportunity to have a great glass of wine while browsing the racks there. I actually skipped the deli altogether and ordered a glass of the 2005 Ojai Vineyards Thompson Vineyard Syrah.
While browsing, I noticed Greenblatt's had this wine by the bottle, marked down from $45 to $30. That's quite a bargain, and the $12 by-the-glass price isn't bad either.
The wine is colored very darkly, with purple tinting at the edges. The nose is great, with blackberries and an earthy, beefy aroma coming forth. It's very dark on the palate, too, with blackberries and plums giving way to black pepper and mocha on the finish.
If you get the chance, Greenblatt's is a great browse. They cover a nice stretch, from $7 Borsao (which is great, by the way) to Screaming Eagle, with a lot of nice wines in the $20 range.
Greenblatt's Deli is an institution on Sunset Boulevard. They've been there since Sunset was “a dirt road west of Doheny,” according to their website. Nowadays they are right next to the Laugh Factory, but I don't think there were any comedy clubs anywhere on Sunset in 1926. There were no parking valets either. Sometimes progress is a good thing, sometimes not.
In addition to having some truly great corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, and a killer grilled cheese with a tomato slice on it – the healthy grilled cheese – Greenblatt's is also a wine shop. That is reflected in their wine list, which beats all other deli's in Los Angeles hands down.
I tried a Spanish wine in a recent visit to Greenblatt’s, Bodegas Atalaya, from Almansa in the Castilla-La Mancha region. It’s a dry and arid region with hot temperatures. This wine is made from Monastrell - known elsewhere as Mourvedre - Garnacha Tintoreara - also called Alicante Bouschet - and other red grapes. It was $9 by the glass.
Owing somewhat to the fact that Garnacha Tintorera is one of the few grapes with red fruit inside, the wine’s purple color is inky, with no light able to get through. On the nose are plums and road tar, with the taste dark and smooth. I’m reminded of blackberries and even blueberries, but without the sweetness of the fruit, just the darkness of it. It is a rather dry red, with some mouth-puckering tendancies, but overall this wine is exceedingly well made. It’s loaded with character and smooth as silk.
