26
Aug
2013
0

Ver-dacious

It’s been a ver-y, ver-y, ver-y, ver-y good year, at least when it comes to Mediterranean white wines. That’s a weird word lover’s way of saying that four varietals that begin with “ver” have provided untold, unending pleasure.

Three of them ““ verdicchio, vernaccia and vermentino (pictured) ““ hail from Italy, Vermentinoalthough the latter sometimes pops up in southern France as “rolle.” The other, verdejo, grows mainly in Spain (on hills, not plains) and has a tasty cousin, verdelho, in neighboring Portugal, plus Madeira and other islands.

Verily, these four grapes have more in common than their prefixes: They tend to be rich but minerally, mouth-watering and juicy, often with sweet aromas that are rarely reflected on the palate. There’s usually some citrus as part of an array of fruit flavors that can run toward pear and tropical characteristics. They finish clean and generally come in at around $15 to $22 here.

Verdicchio, a bit more acidic than its “brethren,” used to be massively overcropped, an ordinary “commodity wine,” but most of what reaches these shores today has been grown and vinified with infinitely more care.

San GimVernaccia is grown mostly around the Tuscan hill town San Gimignano (left). Vermentino has the widest range, with various clones found in Tuscany, northern Italy and Sardinia in addition to southern France.

Some of my favorite renditions of these varietals:

• Verdicchio: Andrea Felici, Fattoria Coroncino “Il Bacco,” Fazi Battaglia, Vignedileo Dei Castelli di Jesi

TeruzziVernaccia: Falchini, Le Rote, Palagetto, Teruzzi & Puthod “Rondolino”

Vermentino: Argiolas Costamolino, Frescobaldi Ammiraglia, Giacomelli “Boboli” Colli di Luni, Pala di Sardegna, Santa Maria La Palma Aragosta

Verdejo: El Perro Verde, Naia and the incredibly lush Naiades, Paso a Paso, Shaya Old Vines, Tapena, Vina Oropendola, Zapadorado

24
Aug
2013
0

Ooh La-La!

It has been a stupendous, spectacular, ridiculous two weeks of imbibing here, starting with a party in which my way better half and I celebrated (A) our birthdays, and (B) the fact that we have phenomenal friends, who shared, among other treasures, these:

birfday

 

I possess far too few fingers and toes to count the highlights from that night. But getting to have one of the world’s foremost sauvignon blancs from the Dagueneau family, top-notch Champagne and Chateauneuf-du-Pape and a magnum of gorgeous Viader cabernet proved especially memorable.

And two of the offerings were perfection incarnate. While enjoying the 2007 Shafer “Hillside Select,” I gushed that it was impossible to believe California cabernet could be any better. (Hey, it’s my party, and I can gush if I want to.) I’ve had a ’94 Harlan but not Screaming Eagle, Bryant Family or other “cult” cabs. I don’t need to. As sublime as the Harlan was, this is easily its equal.

Same goes for the Kaesler “Old Bastard”; I have never been able to determine if this shiraz Kaesler(certainly appropriate for this occasion) or Penfolds Grange is the greatest expression of Australian wine. I hope to get many more chances to explore that quandary.

There have been several other ensuing gatherings where wines provided delight and/or discovery; I already have written about one of them. But only one contained a true “a-ha” experience, which actually could be called a “La-La” experience. Or, perhaps more appropriately, a “holy shit” experience.

We had the great-good fortune of being invited to dinner at the home of our favorite chef, Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma. The meal was simple, fresh and fantastic, with a grilled peach/heirloom cherry tomato appetizer and a mixed grill with sundry chimichurri sauces proving particularly indelible. Throughout we drank mostly rosés, Dragon and Tempier and others.

As I was starting to consider heading home, my friend Jim decided to walk across the La-Lastreet to his condo to get another bottle. Not pink but red. Very red.

It was a 1998 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne, one of three superlative Guigal bottlings (with La Turque and La Mouline) that have earned the moniker “La-Las” ““ and many hundreds of bottles per bottle, if you can find them.

There is no way to describe this wine’s countless qualities adequately. But there are plenty of ways to talk about how it made us feel. Every third of a second, a different flavor or texture or jolt of something struck, the varying facets attacking, receding and sometimes re-emerging. The wine made me shake and tingle.

There was conversation around the table, but it seemed to be in another room. I’m not big on the “better than sex” tag to describe food, but this was every bit as good as sex. If I were a faith-based person, this would have been a religious experience; regardless, the wine grabbed a-hold of my soul and shook it to the core. I was kind of in a daze, but with clarity, a state of mind and body that I hope to attain again someday.

Although it’s OK if I don’t.

23
Aug
2013
0

Wines of the Week: Aug. 19-25

Everyday: If there’s a better bang-for-the-buck Spanish winery than Vinos
Zestos 2Jeromin Zestos, I would seriously love to find it. The 2011 Zestos Old Vines Garnacha ($10) offers up a friendly, cherry/berry nose and tasty, ripe but rustic red fruit. The tannins are well-integrated, the mouthfeel and finish chunky in a good way. This is an “outdoor” wine, made for the grill, whether it’s sausages, sauce-slathered ribs or chicken or peppers and onion on the barbie. And don’t miss the Zestos Blanco, an almost peerless al fresco delight.

Occasion: Granted, most U.S. wine consumers are loath to spend more than $20, Laureaumuch less $39, on a white that is not chardonnay. But that’s only because they’ve never tasted chenin blancs as delicious and vibrant at the Damien Laureau “Le Bel Ouvrage” Savennieres 2007. Yes, that’s the current vintage, and it’s still a bit tightly wound. But a little glass time, and/or a whole lotta swirling, reveal a lush but minerally nose and rich, ripe, spice-tinged fruit. The finish is a melange of all those elements and more, with spot-on acid/mineral/fruit harmony. Try it with creamy fish, fowl or porcine dishes, or late-summer/autumn soups. And do consider cellaring a few bottles.

21
Aug
2013
0

For the Bible tells me so …

The so-called “Good Book” is filled with vinous references. A few of my favorites:

• “Eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry head.” — Ecclesiastes 9:7

Luke• “No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” — Luke 5:39

• “Wine, which cheereth God and man.” — Judges 9:13

• “Wine was created from the beginning to make men joyful, and not to make men drunk. Wine drunk with moderation is the joy of soul and the heart.” — Ecclesiastes 31:35-36

• “Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure” — Ecclesiastes 9:10

20
Aug
2013
0

In the bag: Making blind tasting fun

Blind tastings with friends can be a lot of fun, and my friend Bill Jacobs recently came up with an especially interesting way to conduct one with three other couples. His account:

The wines:
A: 2010 14 Hands Hot-to-Trot Red Blend ($8)
B: 2010 Sattui Family Red Blend ($20)
C: 2010 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages ($25)
D: 1996 Brunello Di Montalcino Cerretalto ($100)

“To avoid a complicated contest, our only official task was to identify the $100 bottle of Cerretaltowine. We emphasized that it was OK to talk about how we liked the wines as we tasted, and talk about tastes that we could identify, but we would not discuss the values until the end. I made a point of warning everyone not to be swayed by anyone else’s comments, because this is a sure route down the wrong road.

“No one knew what the wines were, except the persons who contributed each bottle. But we did announce the four prices, and provided score sheets. The bottles were bagged so they could not be identified.

“We tasted in three rounds. First we tasted all four wines in this ‘just opened’ state, and talked about the wines. At the end of this round we all noted on our score sheets which wine we thought sold at each price point. Then we used a simple flow-through aerator and Vintouriaerated the next glass. We then made a second note, matching each of these wines with the price points. Before the third pour, I provided one more piece of information: that three of these bottles were 2010 vintage, and one was 1996. I did this partly to even the playing field “” at the time I was the only taster who knew the vintages “” and partly to see if this gave anyone an additional clue that would help them identify the values.

“On the first tasting, we discovered that the first three wines looked very much the same, with nearly identical bright red-cherry color, and they tasted very much alike. They were very pleasing, somewhat soft-tasting, and had a full berry taste throughout the entire mouth experience. Comments were made about the weight “” some thought that one was ‘heavier’ than the other two. I am not good at identifying tastes, but to me, two of these wines had a bigger taste and bouquet than the third. Wine D had a significantly different color, much darker, and was not nearly as fruit-forward as the other three. As we talked it seemed that this fourth wine was the least liked of the group. The three that looked alike were ‘OK’ “” no one was overly enamored with any of the three.

“After running each wine through an aerator on the way to its glass, everyone realized what a huge difference this made at enhancing the flavor of each wine. The three same-colored reds were tasting much better to everyone. The fourth wine, the darker red, gained by far the most from the aeration process “” it really bloomed with the addition of some oxygen.

“In the end, every wine got at least one vote to be the $100 bottle. The 14 Hands, 14 Hands(cheapest) got two votes, the Sattui and Louis Jadot one each and the Cerretalto got two. The Cerrentalo was the $100 bottle, and the huge swing provided by the aeration process supported my original guess that this was the $100 bottle. Darryl also guessed correctly.

“What we learned: First, that blind tasting is a ton of fun. We had a great time, and no one felt intimidated or hesitated to say what they were thinking (especially after they had some wine in them!) Secondly, that you don’t have to pay a lot of money to get a tasty, pleasant drinking red wine. I was very pleased with how the 14 Hands compared, because I buy this often and believe it’s a really good value for the price.

“Finally, we learned about the effects that aeration has on all wines. Every one of these wines improved dramatically with this process, and every taster realized it immediately. And I believe every one of us, experienced or not, realized that Wine D improved the most with the aeration. My first thought is that this would happen with any older-vintage wine, but I realize that this may or may not be true.

“Anyway, we all had a great time, learned a lot about wine and its prices, and all agreed we’d like to do this again sometime.”

19
Aug
2013
0

Linkin’ logs: 8-19-13

This is an abbreviated version of the logs, but wanted to get a timely (and synergisticself-promoting) link in today:

• Minnesota wineries did quite well in Friday’s Cold Climate Grape Competition. Minnesota-created grapes (from the same outfit that developed the Honeycrisp apple) did even better.

• My home state did not fare as well on this fabulous map of how wine-consumer-friendly different states are. The assessment, btw, comes from a fabulous new organization started by blogger extraordinaire Tom Wark called the American Wine Consumer Coalition. Serious wine consumers should consider joining, which I (blush) am overdue to do myself.

• And finally, my way better half and I are gonna figure out a way to make these:

Bottle light

 

18
Aug
2013
0

Older? Nope. Wiser? Well, I tried.

It’s been an amazing week of treasuring good friends and great wines. Last night the revelry continued with a lamb dinner at my friend Lonny’s house, where I had a revelation of sorts.

Most of the guests are part of a wine group that leans strongly in a Francophile direction. Throughout last week, they were sending emails about what they were bringing, two to three bottles per couple, and almost all of them were French and at Donjonleast 10 years old and highly rated by Robert Parker. And almost certainly pretty expensive, in the $50-$150 range.

My cellar has only a few such wines, mostly Chateauneuf-du-Papes. And while I’m not vain or proud about such matters, I do not want to feel remotely embarrassed about not “stepping up to the plate” at these gatherings.

And then came the “a-ha” moment, as I thought: These friends became passionate about Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone and delved deeply into learning about them, purchasing wines that they had heard or read about (from sources they trusted). And in more recent years, I have been doing exactly the same thing with California, researching and buying unusual, distinctive wines that writers such as Jon Bonné, Patrick Comiskey and David White and my Healdsburg merchant buddy, Perry Rankin of 34 North, had unearthed.

So I brought a couple of those, a Massican Sauvignon Blanc and Arnot-Roberts Clary Ranch Syrah, both of which I knew to be delicious and fascinating. And both 2011, a arnot-robertsdecade younger than the average bottle the others were proferring. And less expensive than almost every other bottle there, something I could not, uh, afford to worry about.

My theory/rationalization: Like them, I was sharing wines I loved, that I had searched out and that should prove a swell experience for anyone who loves wine. I hoped that they might provide “discovery” for my friends.

Mission accomplished. The old Rhones, Bordeaux and Champagnes were an uneven lot, many quite enchanting, a few fantastic, but most were more interesting than delicious or profound. And as my fellow cork dorks dissected the two Vieux-Donjons and other vintage bottles, from time to time I would hear someone at another table say “Who brought the Arnot-Roberts?” or “Is there any more of that Massican?”

So I did either the best I could or what I do best, and it apparently was plenty good enough.

18
Aug
2013
0

Wines of the Week: Aug. 12-18

Everyday: I am always hesitant to use the word “sexy” or even “sensuous” in Shayadescribing a wine. Not worried about coming across as a perv (too late for that!) but just aware that what’s sexy to some isn’t to others. (there are people who, for example, who consider Jessica Simpson sexy). Suffice to say, then, that the 2011 Shaya Rueda Old Vines Verdejo ($15) has a tingly, sexy mouthfeel. And waves of delicious fruit, a peachy/pear-y nose joined by apple and citrus flavors. And a nut-tinged harmony on the smooth, minerally, more than ample finish. Yum. Try it with boiled, broiled or grilled shrimp and scallops, or a big ol’ tomato-laden salad.

Occasion: For years I have been enjoying the bejesus out of Stefano Inama‘s Soave BinomioClassicos, but it was only fairly recently that I learned he has a magical touch with reds, too. The 2007 Inama Binomio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ($42) is the tastiest, richest rendition of that varietal I have come across. Harvested from vines planted in 1974, it boasts intense dark berry/cherry flavors, rockin’ & rollin’ tannins and a truly boundless finish. There also are intriguing peppercorn notes on this full-bodied beauty. It’s a steak wine, or a burger wine, or a portobello wine, or just a swell accompaniment for any food with full-flavored robustness.

s

17
Aug
2013
0

Coravin: First-class solution to a First World problem

I’ve been reading and seeing some pretty positive stuff about a new device called the Coravin, potentially the best preservation system to date for those wanting to enjoy wine by the glass.

Unfortunately, the company has yet to send me a sample of the $300 thingie, but my pal Mike Dombrow, the redoubtable, burly-armed wine buyer at Sunfish Cellars, got to check it out. His account:

“A trivial problem arises for many wine-cellar hounds: What do you do when you
La Tachewanna open up a nice bottle but have no one else to share it with and know that it won’t be consumed entirely within a day or two? Often the answer was to choose another, lesser wine and let the fates decide if it held up. But now a new option for this dilemma has been proffered; you now can drink up with near impunity from day one to near infinity.

“The Coravin is pretty slick: Attach the thing to the bottle (kinda like one of those horrible “rabbit” corkscrews), push the needle through the cork (I tried it through foil, young wax and old wax ““ the needle went easily through all but needed to be cleared of the harder wax after using), tap the button to put a small amount of argon into the bottle, tip it into your glass and pour. Et voila! The system fills some of the space created from the wine in your glass with argon and the cork seals itself up when you remove the needle, leaving a near-perfect seal and the wine still intact.

“I’ve tested it with four different wines: 2007 Phelps Insignia, 2002 Mayacamas BosconiaCabernet Sauvignon, 1998 Rocche dei Manzoni St. Stefano Barolo, and 1981 Lopez de Heredia Bosconia. I tried to run the gamut of wines that most collectors or drinkers would have in their cellars. Each of the wines were good and healthy right out of the gate and I saw little degradation on the second and third pours (three and five days after initial Coravin-ing) but the magic happened on the fourth pour: The wines (except for the Lopez) were the same as the rest of the pours! Seven days after pouring the first glass, and the wines were as healthy, hale and delicious as the very first pour*. Tres cool!

“The Lopez de Heredia responded differently to the Coravin after the third pour and I put that down to the wine’s age and sensitive nature. The wine was still drinkable on the fourth pour, but it had started to degrade. I don’t see that as a failure of the Coravin but as a trait of that particular bottle (the ’81 Bosconia is a delicate wine that oxidizes very quickly when opening). I would venture to guess that many extremely mature wines will operate similarly to the Bosconia during use with the Coravin. I did start the test on another bottle of the ’81 but am waiting a week between each Coravin’ing. I am also re-doing the test with the other wines but increasing the time between pours to three weeks.

“In all this thing is a game-changer for those with a developed cellar who want to Coravinenjoy nearly any of their wines whenever they desire. The Coravin, however, isn’t suited towards the more casual drinker: the price tradeoff between the cost of the unit and the gas canisters ($300 for the unit and $10 per canister; each yields about 15 3-ounce pours in my experience) puts the average $20 bottle into the money pit. Sure the thing works great on those bottles, but when you average out the costs, I think you’d be in the hole by the time you empty the bottle. But for anyone who wants to dip in and out of their cellar nearly anytime they want, the Coravin works perfectly.”

* ““ “There was one noticeable change in the wines on the fourth pour: They were shut down or quiet straight into the glass. After a couple of minutes (or extremely vigorous swirling) the wines opened up and drank normally. I don’t know the science here, but I would guess that the argon had started to integrate into the wines and was released after getting some fresh oxygen into the wine.”