This was quite the treat, this was quite the revelation for me! I had arrived, I was tasting wines that suited me so perfectly, pleased me so perfectly, and surprised me, too so perfectly that I was brimming and smiling and thinking and feeling so marvelous and pleased with myself! I had arrived, I had found a soul-mate in these wines of Brazil and it was in one of the offices of the Wines of Brazil with Francine and Paula Valenti, Laurent Donchegay and me ( Anthony Quinn ). I LOVED the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, I adored it, I understood it, felt as if it understood me, and that was the link that made it all work for me so completely. Everything else followed smoothly and naturally and I was so content.
Don't get me wrong, I also really liked the dry Gewurztraminer, the dry Chardonnay,the Merlot and even the Tannat ( it was Francine's favorite ) and for me it's higher alcohol levels made it less satisfying for me. Oh well, that's simply how we taste and how many taste buds we each have that determines our impressions that are ours and ours alone. Laurent and I will, in fact buy some of the Tannat and have it come soon along with some of the Cabernet Sauvignon and the excellent Gewurztraminer, too.
We had a great opportunity to taste these wines just the four of us. Paula Valenti greeted us as we arrived. She had set up the tasting downstairs in this private tasting room space downstairs and Francine had a slide show prepared for us with the wines all set up for us to taste. I did not know what to expect, that's especially nice as I had no expectations as I knew very little of the wines of Brazil at this time. I knew that I had quite-liked what I had already tried but I still was quite new to all of this. being an artist I see things like a blank white canvas with very little on it already. I was just starting to sketch things out to paint and develop more with time.
It was great to make this discovery and to know that these wines were coming from another win-making/ grape-growing region of Brazil : that of Campanha very close to Uruguay. They are located at Estrada de Palomas, Caixa Postel 34, Sant'Ana do Livramento, RS Phones : +55.55.9973.2620 / +55.55.9947.4187, founded in 2000 with an annual production of 20,000 liters of wine and already selling really well in England. I listened to all of this very carefully as I tasted through these fine wines and even went back to re-taste them a second and even a third time. I wanted to be sure that they were as good as I thought they were. I did not want the place and the space and the moment steel my affections and influence me as Laurent and I had just enjoyed a wonderful luncheon and wine-tasting at CASA VALDUGA and then a tasting of sparkling-espumante wines at DOMNO earlier with Francine, Elisa and Jones Valduga the owner. It was a whole lot of good things that we had already been exposed to in one day. However, the icing on the cake, the moment that was profound and like a real moment of clarity and connection for me was tasting this one 2004 CORDILHEIRA DE SANT'ANA Cabernet Sauvignon!
The tasting was such a resounding success that Francine immediately called the owners of CORDILHEIRA DE SANT'ANA Vinhos Finos to share this information with them. Everyone was sorry that we could not have been together to have shared this wonderful experience. The owners were sorry that it was such a distance and that they could not have been with us or that we could make it down to see their vineyard and cellars and wine-making facilities. We will have to plan to do that on our next trip to Brazil Laurent!
In closing I would like to add that here in northern Virginia just outside of Washington D.C. that Laurent and I re-tasted a bottle of the Gewurztraminer that had been opened for nine days already ( it was the 24th when we re-tasted it and it had been opened for our Grand Brazilian-Wine-Tasting and launch of our company Bralvin Imports from 1-4PM at the Charbroil Grill Brazilian Churrascuria restaurant in Woodbridge, Virginia, 22192 with 40+ wines tasted. We were meeting at Laurent's home on the 24th of october, 2012 to decide what wines to import here to the United States and what quantities? So we re-tasted some of the open bottles that Laurent still had and I was blown away by how fresh, full of character and personality, focus, etcetera. The wine was not faded in the least : developed and more evolved and with more dimension but not old or tired or fading. Now that's amazing and a great testament to the excellent wine-making and grapes grown and used to produce such a fine, aromatic and floral yet dry white wine from Campanha, Brazil! What a great moment all over again, and months after having left Brazil in late June, 2012 where Laurent and I spent 10 wonderful days tasting an assortment of fine Brazilian wines.
Laurent and I cannot wait to share all this excitement with you all. It's palpable and real and here to stay and here to make a real and a lasting impression on many of you in the coming months.
Hop on board and follow along and taste and promote these excellent wines alongside of us. Please feel free to contact me at : anthony@bralvin.com for more up-to-date information. Cheers, and please stay warm, dry and safe during this tough time here with Hurricane Sandy on Monday, October 28th, 2012 here in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region and all up-and-down the East Coast of the United Sates! Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn
Obregado a todois, que maravilha! Sera um evento maravilhoso, sucesso e muitas felicidades, estaremos torcedo por voces and for us all! Here's a toast to all of us, we lift our glasses now to celebrate where we have come from already, how much progress we have made already and where we still intend to go! BRAVO! TONY
