Bar Covell

Bar Covell is my absolute favorite wine bar for bespoke wine suggestions and ambiance in Los Angeles, California

It had been much, much, much too long since I had the pleasure of stopping at Bar Covell. Luckily, since Matt and I had reservations at 6pm at Sogo Roll Bar, walking into Bar Covell at 7:30pm was perfect.

Cozying up to the bar, I explained the concept of Bar Covell to Matt. You tell the sommelier / bartender what flavors you’re looking for. They will come back to you will a selection of three wines for you to try. There is no physical wine list – it’s all in the bartender’s head. There is a small selection of small plates, cheese and charcuterie and oven baked goodness.

There was a sister wine bar in the Valley, Augustine Wine Bar, that I hadn’t been to in years. When I inquired about if it was still open, the guy told me that it had burned down in a fire, May 2023. I was shocked. Luckily, that’s what insurance is for and they are working to rebuild. I later found out about another wine bar, done by the same group – Mirabelle Wine Bar in Valley Village.

But, back to Bar Covell.

Because we have very similar taste palates, when Matt suggested a Pinot Noir as a direction, I agreed. We were presented with three wines: 2022 Domaine Maurice Charleux & Fils Pinot Noir from Burgundy, a 2020 Colombaia Tutti Frutti Rosso Sangiovese from Tuscany and a 2019 Tinpot Hut Pinot Noir from New Zealand.

Our wine glasses were splashed with samples, with Matt going for the Colombaia. Non of them really spoke to me, so I clarified my taste request. I asked the bartender for a wine that had a fuller fruit forward feel in the mouth. He came back with the 2018 Frédéric Lornet Winery Charles Rouget Pinot Noir Côtes du Jura. However, the bottle sampled for me was the last they had. Which was not enough for a full glass.

So, he poured me a taste of the 2021 PARDUCCI TRUE GRIT PETITE SIRAH from Home Ranch Vineyard in Mendocino County. It fit my desires perfectly.

And wow – as it opened up – it was incredible.

The conversations I have with Matt, a professor at a local college, are always top tier. It is consistently a blessing to me the day I walked into Green and Bisque and requested private ceramics classes with him, a few years ago. Some great quotes that I told him I wanted to save and remember:

“Social media makes witnessing humans a spectacle, instead of an honor….it short circuits meaningful interactions.”

“It’s okay to strive. But, it’s also okay to be good enough. If you’re always trying to be better, that takes away from nostalgia to remember where you came from and the success you have achieved. You’re doing a disservice to the aspects of yourself that strived to be where you are now. It’s a delicate balance.”

“The last few years have not been wasted money. They have been an investment in your growth as a human in the experience of life. They have changed the way you express and interact with people and the world.”

It was deep, intellectual, thought provoking brilliance of flowing conversation.

Not wanting to end the night (after almost four hours of conversation) I asked if he wanted one more glass of wine. He agreed and we ushered the female bartender over. I told her that I liked her shirt and wanted to try her palate of expertise for our last wine.

As we were striving for a fitting riesling, she came back with a selection of wines from Germany. We first tried the driest of the selection – 2022 Isegrim Winery Auxerrois, 2022 Weingut Fußer Gutswein Riesling, and 2022 Weisses Landschwein by Lukas Kraus.

But, none of these were – it.

When I expressed this, our server came back with a splash of 2023 JOLIE-LAIDE WINERY’S TROUSSEAU GRIS from Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard. in Russian River, Sonoma County. It was magnificent. I loved the label, loved the flavor and wanted a bottle to take home.