What: Free Wine Tasting — a vertical tasting of St. Julien from Domaine de Jaugaret

Where: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, 318 E. 84th Street (between 1st and 2nd Aves.)

When: Saturday March 1, 4-6pm

Jean-Francois Fillastre is the current proprietor of this tiny Bordeaux estate in Saint Julien that has been in his family’s hands for over 350 years. To drink his wines is to step back in time and bear witness to a winemaking approach that harks back to the 19th century. Composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remainder planted with Petit Verdot and Malbec, some of which comes from 100 year old vines.  All hand-harvested and hand-pressed, these wines will show you what great Bordeaux used to be before commercialism, market pressures and Merlot ruled the roost. This guy just refuses to budge from his old world standards and we love him for it.  Here is a truly unique wine from a gentleman who follows the most classical traditions.