The Week in Wine

I wanted to make this blog entry a recap of the last week starting Friday, February 1st and finishing tonight, Sunday the 10th In the past week, including last weekend, a few bottles of wine were consumed. Some wines were had with dinner and some just to drink with friends over conversation. This is the most in one week in a while for me. The last few weeks have been wine-light for me since the holidays passed, sans the Barbera blowout offline dinner I attended two weeks ago with some members of the Robert Parker Bulletin Board.

Friday, 2/1 2006 Three Thieves, Bandit ($8) 2006 Pinot Grigio, California (1 glass with scallops)
Friday, 2/1 2006 Mollydooker Cabernet Sauvignon Maitre'D ($20), Mc Claren-Vale, Australia (shared with Lisa and our good friend Elizabeth Haight)
Saturday, 2/2 2002 Château Pradeaux Bandol ($30), France (shared at dinner with friends for Dino's birthday)
Monday, 2/3 2006 Les Domaines Barons De Rothschild Reserve Speciale ($14)Bordeaux Blanc
Tuesday, 2/4 2006 Chateau Pesquie Viognier ($14) Vin d'Pays, Rhone - dinner at home
Thursday, 2/6 2002 D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie Shiraz/Viognier ($22) Mc Claren-Vale, Australia - dinner at home- Mexican
Friday, 2/7 Mongeard-Mugneret - Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru ($32 retail), red Burgundy (dinner at Amanda's in Hoboken)
Saturday, 2/8 Neyers Merlot Neyers Ranch Conn Valley ($46) - filet mignon at home
Sunday, 2/9 2001 Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga ($33) - Had with my favorite Piedmontese dinner: Osso Bucco)

The Bandol, the Burgundy and the Barolo were by far my favorites and are highlighted below!

2002 Chateau Pradeaux, Bandol $28 – Decanted at the table. Dark purple in color. Aromas of lavender and Provencal herbs, funky tobacco, some mocha and trace notes of black fruits emerged from the glass. In the mouth it was tighter and not as revealing as the nose telling me this baby has a little while to go. *** (could be ***1/2 with more time). Mostly Grenache and some Syrah.

2004 Mongeard-Mugneret, Savigny-Les-Beaune, Les Narbantons 1er Cru, Burgundy $32 – Classic Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir)! Light plum color in the center, ruby red on the edges. Smells of the land and soil, earth, mushroom, red fruits and herbs. Great burgundy smells like a beautiful woman’s perfume. Lithe, yet strong on the palate. Supple tannin and stylish flavors of earth mingle with elegant red cherry and strawberry fruits. Beautiful 30 second finish of all of the above! *** Drink now as 2004 will likely not age. Those not used to reading a Burgundy label, here is the dissection: Producer: Domaine Mongeard Mugneret; Region: Burgundy; Appellation: Cote de Beaune; Village: Savigny-Les-Beaune; Vineyard: Les Narbantons; Classification: 1er Cru or “Premier Cru”

2001 Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga $33 – Decanted 3 hours. Dark maroon in color, red brick on the edges. Notes of tar, red cherry and ripe raspberry fruits, leather and flowers complete the nose. Firm, yet refined tannins support a complex wine with great acid structure proving there are years to come. Cherry, soil, tobacco and oak fill the palate. Excellent finish highlighted with minerals, flowers and cedar-cherry framed acidity and tannin! ***


Wine Purchases

This time of year is a busy year in the mailbox as I receive the bulk of my mailing list wine offerings. Most I am passing on as I have directed funds in other directions for our wedding, condo purchase and honeymoon, as well as conserving room in my cellar for only the best or immediate consumption wines. Speaking of the best, some great offerings did arrive and are no brainers such as Kosta Brown, Quilceda Creek (first time), Carlisle, Paul Hobbs and Bond. I passed on my first allocation of Colgin after waiting 4 years to be added to the allocation list. As the lowest cost of a wine was $275 I passed. Sorry, I’d rather buy a half case of excellent 2004 Bordeaux or 2005 red Burgundy.

MIXER!

For the first time in a while I bought a value case, with the wines averaging $15 per bottle. The following were our purchases at the Wine Library yesterday. Only one from the US and it was Euro-centric in style. I was jonesing for some Bandol but the only ones they had required 2 years at a minimum of aging so I passed. Only one wine was new world in style, the Cocodrilo Cabernet from Argentina made by Paul Hobbs.

Noblaie Chinon Rouge 2004 (2) $13.99 – Cabernet Franc, Chinon, Loire Valley, France
Nativo Cocodrilo Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (2) $13.99 - Mendoza, Argentina
Mascarello Dolcetto D’Alba Santo Stefano Di Perno 2005 $14.98 - Alba, Piedmonte, Italy
Masciarelli Montepulciano D'Abruzzo $7.99 - Montepulciano, Italy
Chateaux Recougne $10.99 – Bordeaux Superior, Bordeaux, France
Leocadie Fernand Averoux 2004 $14.99 Minervois, France (Carignan, Grenache, Syrah)
Tour De La Roque 2004 $9.98 Coteaux du Languedoc, Fontanes, France
Hubert De Bouard 2003 $10.99 Bordeaux, France (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet)
Les Hauts De Smith Rouge 2004 $19.99 Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France
Edmunds St. John "Rocks and Gravel" 2004 $11.98 El Dorado County and San Luis Obispo County Vineyards, California – California does “Cote du Rhone”

A Tale of Two Cabernet Francs

I had a Chinon this past Saturday night and it blew me away so I wanted to have a Cabernet Franc from my stash with dinner tonight. Chinon is located in the Loire Valley of France and is famous for its Cabernet Franc based red wines. I was so impressed last night that tonight I wanted to have another Cabernet Franc. The peppery and earthy Chinon was fresh on my brain and taste buds, what better time to double dip and see how a new world version compares. Also, Lisa did not want any wine and dislikes most Cabernet Franc so I figured this was my chance. I personally only have Cabernet Franc from the US so since I have had the Pride a few times I passed on that and went straight for my only bottle of the 2002 Soter "Little Creek" Cabernet Franc. I have to say historically Chinon and I got off to a bad start. I bought a bottle of Chinon a few years back with huge hopes and it ended up being one of the few bottles I have ever poured down the drain, not even good enough to use as cooking wine as it tasted like iron, overwrought green and black tea and under-ripe green bell peppers. That wine was obviously not a great example because it was out of balance and literally under-ripe. Too someone new to Chinon they may liken it to overly stinky cheese - one may have to be in an adventurous mood as most are so distinct and not what one reaches for on a regular basis. I have had many since that have had those flavors and aromas in better harmony with the acidity, tannin and fruit in an exceptional Chinon (or Bourgeuil its neighbor to the north in the Loire Valley). Saturday's wine was one of those exceptional examples: 2004 Domaine de la Noblaie, Chinon Les Chiens-Chiens.


The Chinon from la Noblaie had a medium to dark red color. The bouquet jumped out at us with notes of green pepper, spice, cherry/cassis, and slight notes of meat and iron. Medium bodied, the palate was still peppery but focused as it meshed well with the cherry and cedary spice box flavors. I thought this wine is not for everyone but Lisa did say it was the best CF she has ever had. I have a good friend who I think could really like this wine. Brad, check this one out!


Tonight the 2002 Soter Cabernet Franc "Little Creek" is dark ruby red in color. Earth, spice, and black cherry dominate the nose with some coffee notes. Green bell pepper is there but more in the background. The green pepper is more noticeable after an hour. Definitely medium bodied (13.6% alc.). In the mouth spicy cedar frames beautiful cherry, pepper and sage flavors. Oak (sparingly) iron and ripe berry fruits fan out on a smooth lengthy finish. Some meat notes enter the fray after about an hour being open. Not as much of the green pepper and black tea thing going on as I would have hoped, but likely not the goal of Mr. Soter. This is still a very delicious wine and a notch up from the Pride made on Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley. This wine is composed of 75% Cabernet Franc, 20% Malbec, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Soter is based in Oregon in the Willamette Valley but the fruit for this wine is from the Napa Valley in a little known area east of the city of Napa called Tulocay. Tony Soter ships the grapes north to Oregon. Tony Soter has been in Napa for over 20 years as a consultant and is most famous for making the Etude wines from inception. Etude is a favorite stop of mine when I visit Napa as they roll out the red carpet for visitors and allow you to taste their whole portfolio of premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir wines they are selling at that time.

Maybe I am so excited because I had been so under-whelmed by Cab Franc in the past or maybe it was the fact I was furniture shopping right before I had this wine. Either way I will be looking out for more well priced Chinon and Bourgeuil to drink in the coming months. Even in the summer a nicely chilled Cab Franc goes great with any cookouts or grilled meats, even tuna and swordfish.

I will likely experiment with fewer new world examples as they seem to be generic and not very varietal specific. The Domaine de la Noblaie Chinon Les Chiens-Chiens 2004 goes for about $15-20. I can by 3-4 of for the cost of the Soter which retails at $75+. If I want to splurge, the Soter is a great wine and very delicious. But for my money the complexity and character of CF from the Loire Valley regions of Chinon and Bourgeuil will be where I will be focusing.

Cheers!

2004 Mascarello Dolcetto D'Alba Bricco - Giuseppe E. Figlio $19.99

Color: Scarlet red on the edges with darker hues at the center
Nose: Earthy, mineral, herbal notes with hints of berry fruit
Palate: Earthy and mineral, plum, herbal with firm tannins and acidity
Finish: Clean and refreshing from the acidity, earthy and plumy fruits echo the aromas and flavors

Tonight Lisa made some Porcini Mushroom ravioli in a Pomodoro sauce. Lisa made the Pomodoro from scratch, with tomatoes, olive oil, grated Romano (an adequate and much cheaper substitute for Parmesan Reggiano) and garlic. The ravioli were from Vito’s in Hoboken who makes their own fresh and frozen. To pair with the ravioli we needed a wine that would match well with the earthy mushroom, subtle Ricotta/Romano cheese filling, and the acid in the Pomodoro tomato sauce. We would need a wine with fresh acidity and an earthiness a Sangiovese based wine like Chianti Classico or a lighter Italian red like Dolcetto can deliver. I decided on a Dolcetto (fresh out of drinking priced Chianti or Sangiovese). If I had my druthers or the inventory for it I may have tried a Pinot Nero, aka Pinot Noir, because of the earthiness of the mushroom ravs but I have none on hand. I chose a 2004 Mascarello Dolcetto D'Alba Bricco by Giuseppe E. Figlio. Bricco is the name of the vineyard. Bricco is a famous vineyard that produces world class Barolos for the few wine makers that have access to its fruit. Giuseppe also makes 3 different Barbera, as well as 5 classic Piedmontese Barolos made from the Nebbiolo grape from other single vineyards in Barolo.

The Mascarello Dolcetto Bricco thoroughly impressed Lisa a few months back and when I saw the bottle in a shop a few weeks ago I had to snap one up. The first time we had this wine it was at the bar at Cru, a great restaurant in New York City that has a deep and high quality wines by the glass menu. Not to mention two enormous wine lists; one each for red and white and each the size of the Bible! Cru is a special place to grab a glass of wine and a cheese plate if in the area or planned out. Dinner is fabulous and one can have dinner about 20 different ways in 3-9 course creations; made to order with as many or little courses as you wish or can eat based on your tastes and preferences (off menu), a seasonal 7 course tasting menu, or create your own prix fixe dinner based on the usual 11 First Courses and 8 Main Courses and 5 deserts. You can also pair with your meal with the premium wines by the glass poured at the bar or maybe talk the sommelier into some 1990 DRC and 82 Mouton! For my 30th birthday Lisa and I dined here and had the 4 course prix fixe (I had 5).

At first I was surprised how dark the wine was. The first time around I guess I did not notice it as the bar area at Cru is pretty dim. The nose had old northern Italian smells of earthiness, minerality and herbal notes with some red berry fruit. The herbal notes were not easy to pick out but I would say sage bay leaf, and maybe some tobacco. On the palate we had plum fruit, with tastes of the herbal notes, leather and lots of minerality and earthiness. It tasted like the wine was made in the large Italian casks and after some research I found out they were raised in large Slovenian oak casks (see picture at right). Highly structured with firm tannin and acid structure, this wine had a lot of stuffing and was excellent. This is not a wine for beginners; those without proper palate appreciation would think this is bitter and tannic. I thought it was a great Dolcetto, even at an uncharacteristically freakish 14.5% alcohol because of the super high tannin and acid content that balanced the high alcohol content. I can still taste the finish, delicious!

Cheers!

Marlborough Man Wine?

"The Show", 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, California

I bought this wine after seeing it was under $15 and a California wine from a Napa Valley incorporation (Rebel Wine Co.). How much of it is Napa? Not very much, supposedly just a pinch as the label designates a California Appellation, not any specific region such as Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, etc. This wine is likely left over or bulk juice not good enough for a better bottling and sold off to the “Three Thieves” that created Rebel Wine and slapped a clever label on the wine. I will give them that, the label is pretty cool. It would have to be as it from a very popular concert poster publisher (Hatch Show Print). 80% Cabernet, 8% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 35 Petit Sirah, and 3% Petit Verdot.

The color was ruby and medium purple. At first you can tell from the nose the wine was overly oaked with dominating scents of smoke and wood. I was certain it was once I tasted it. It smelled like vanilla and later tasted like chocolate. It smelled and especially tasted out of balance with cedar and milk chocolate from the wood, green pepper and tobacco with additional smoky meat notes. Lisa said it tasted like mesquite beef jerky dipped in caramel. I felt it was more like a wood flavored ice cream pop dipped in milk chocolate.

I only write this blog entry to deter you from making the same mistake I did. This wine was totally out of balance and overly oaked.

Good talk.

Paul Hobbs Kick Ranch Syrah, Sonoma County 2005 and the Worldly Syrah Grape

Kick Ranch Syrah is Paul Hobb’s first attempt at Syrah from his Sebastopol winery located in Sonoma County. The color of this Syrah is black in the center with dark red framing the edges. The bouquet reveals scents of blueberries and graphite, with subtle notes of meat and as always with good Syrah some pepper. Black fruits and white pepper, in the background are notes of pencil shavings and meaty (think roast) flavors all framed by judicious levels of oak. The tannins are ripe and the finish is something between a Cote Rotie and a well made Shiraz. Not as heavy as a Shiraz, not as lean and powerful as a Cote-Rotie. Delicious! Decant if you can or use a Vinturi as this shut down shortly after opening and needed air to coax it back open. Wait 6 months+ to enjoy. Cheers to Paul (right)!

Now I know why many who like Syrah from Australia and the traditional northern Rhone in France do not find California Syrah as attractive as Shiraz or Hermitage (Syrah from the Northern Rhone). The best examples of Syrah in California are nothing like the ripe, almost burnt fruit of Australia. Nor is California Syrah like the leaner, more aromatic, more velvet glove with the iron fist of the Northern Rhone. California Syrah can tend to share characteristics of both Shiraz and the Rhone by varying degrees.

California Syrah flavors and aromas are more French, but the body and color is more Oz. However that may be, I like this wine style. It seems almost like a hybrid of the Rhone and Shiraz. But to understand what I mean, first you have to understand what Shiraz is and what the Northern Rhone is (Hermitage, Cote Rotie, and Cornas).

Syrah from California is typically different than Shiraz in flavor profile except for the ripe fruits, yet just as concentrated with comparable alcohol levels and lower acidity levels. In France the flavor profile is similar sans the high fruit levels. In most cases Rhone Syrah fruit shares the stage equally with mineral flavors like hot rocks, graphite and pencil shavings, as well as bacon fat, game and meat flavors with some herbs like sage, herbs de Provence and in rare cases mint sprinkled in. Hermitage, Cote Rotie and Cornas show bacon fat, roasted or stewed meats, white and black pepper, coffee, espresso, minerality, liquorice, blueberry and blackberry fruits. Shiraz gets you those fruits and some mild pepper notes, but lacks in many cases the bacon, meaty, minerality the terroir of the steep slopes of the Northern Rhone exude. Rhone wines tend to age longer and in an average year are less concentrated in body and alcohol. In fact last month Lisa and I had 3 Cote Rotie from the 1996 vintage from the great negociant Guigal: La Mouline (see left and my favorite), La Londonne and La Turque. All were incredible, showing their maturity except the La Turque which seemed more youthful and more new world in style. Each were on sale for $250 that night at the wine shop that was generous enough to be pouring samples of all 3 (We passed on purchasing). Rhone Syrah also tends to not wear out the palate as they retain their acidity better than new world Syrah. To fans of Northern Rhone wines, California Syrah can be too low in acidity and too high in alcohol, glycerin and concentration. Shiraz lovers like the alcohol, concentration and massive fruit flavors in California Syrah but likely dislike those extra mineral, gamey and herbal notes from the Rhone that they probably think is a funk of some sort. I think it just makes the wine more interesting.

It seems like Syrah, tagged by many in the past few years to be the next Merlot, is not catching on like many would have liked in California. The reason Syrah probably never caught on as the next Merlot is that it is not like Merlot at all. In most cases Merlot is like a lighter, less complex version of the oh-so-popular and expensive Cabernet Sauvignon that established itself as the dominant red grape of the world a very long time ago and still to this day dominates red wines sales. There are great versions of Merlot, believe you me some of the best wines in the world contain or are made solely out of Merlot. Syrah is NOTHING like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. Apples and oranges here folks.

In California (and Washington State) there are the die hard Syrah enthusiasts and traditionalists that create excellent examples. A few of my favorites include Cayuse (WA), Alban, Pax, Shafer, and Clos Mimi. They are well established small production wineries but consistently make excellent Syrah.

Syrah is a different beast and in many cases the best bottles are rare or hard to find. Most of my friends I have recommended these wines to have not loved them. I have yet to meet a friend of mine that is a Syrah Freak. There are plenty of Shiraz nuts, just no Syrah nuts. They mostly say the wines were nice or ok, but rarely do I get an emphatic response like, "Thanks, I bought a case". Most people love Shiraz (very frequent) or love Northern Rhone (few but more than California) - rarely do the same people like Shiraz and Rhone Syrah, let alone California Syrah.

To me, Shiraz is its own wine: super ripe, super dark, low in acidity, full of ripe fruit. Northern Rhone, like Hermitage, is leaner and lighter in color and alcohol, contains good levels of acidity, yet is concentrated and balanced in terroir, flavors and super aromatic. Almost like chewing a mouthful of blackberries, super ripe Shiraz is popular the world over. As it should be – it is simply delicious. Not overly complex but more fun. From the time we knew how to eat fruit the rule of thumb has been the riper the better. I think that's great when I want that Oz style. Some finer Shiraz examples show some refinement and great balance. Penfolds Grange is one such example of Shiraz that is one of the great wines of the world up there with Latour, Guigal, Domaine Romanee Conti, and Harlan.

Syrah is an incredible grape and has many identities; all regions have their fine examples of this ancient varietal and are justly different because of the unique terroir. There is no other grape in the wine world with so many identities and variations. For the Rhone fan, next time reach for a California Syrah from Pax or Clos Mimi or a Shiraz from Two Hands (right), Torbeck or Mollydooker. For the Shiraz fan, maybe try a Cote Rotie or a Washington State Syrah from Cayuse.

Cheers!

Please enjoy these photos of the Northern Rhone to help you understand why the terroir is so unique in Hermitage and Cote Rotie. Syrah is not grown in these conditions anywhere else in the world!

The Hermitage hillside from the Rhone River

Hermitage in all its glorybelted by the Rhone River

The steep hillsides of Cote Rotie (notice the label for la Mouline above is these man made terraced hillsides)

The famous Cote Rotie brick terraces created ages ago

Petrus - The Most Expensive Wine?

This evening I was able to taste one of the rarest and highly sought after wines in the world. Petrus. From the right bank of Bordeaux, Chateaux Petrus (pronounced PAY-troos) comprises of 30 acres of vineyard which are planted to 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc in the Pomerol AOC north of Saint-Emilion. Yes, you read right, it is mostly Merlot. Production averages roughly 4,000 cases per year. Not a tiny production, but not large by any means in comparison to Lafite or Latour which average 20,000+ cases. Merlot grows best in clay soil and that is what most of Pomerol is composed of. This is Bordeaux at one of its finest. Pauillac being the other "finest" place on the left bank of the Gironde River in Bordeaux. Petrus’s history dates back to the late 19th century and was purchased by the modern day owners, the Moueix (pronounced moh-EX) family, from the Arnaud family in 1961. Now, the 1992 vintage was a difficult one in Bordeaux, but Petrus managed to still create a wine worthy of the ages. Robert Parker gave it a 90, the Wine Spectator gave it a 98, and the lowest price for it I saw online was $899. This is the most expensive wine I have ever tasted. How was it? Well, it was unlike anything I have ever had before. Was it the best? It was better than the 1994 Cheval Blanc I had last year which is a top flight wine from the right bank of Bordeaux whose vineyards lie on the border of Pomerol and the Medoc in Saint Emilion. Was it better than the 2003 and 2004 Chateau Angelus? I'll say that it is the best wine from Bordeaux that I have had with this kind of age to it. Still concentrated and complex, yet in a stately, mature way. I get classic aged aromas of tobacco, smoke, leather, and dried currants. I also noted hints of petrol and mint, unusually for a wine of this age. I could imagine this wine in its youth, dense, complex with deep red and black fruit aromas and flavors mixed with smoky oak and silky smooth tannins (mainly from the Merlot).

Our second wine was the California cousin of Petrus, the 2004 Dominus Proprietary Red Wine ($115). Young, rich, and perfectly ripe, the 2004 was from magnum and served decanted. This wine is a great example of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (with small doses of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot). Not overly oaked, not overly ripe, it has the right amount of acidity and tannin to balance the ripe fruit. The nose and palate combine to reveal notes of black cherry, currants, sweet oak, and herbs.

I can’t resist telling the Dominus story as it is a subsection of one of the least known family winery stories from the Napa Valley. No, not the Mondavi’s but they had a hand in its creation. Christian Moueix, son of Jean-Pierre Moueix who turned Petrus into the world famous wine that it is when he led the purchase in 1961 of Petrus, traveled to the Napa Valley in the early 1980’s in search of a vineyard to bring the Petrus name and style to the new world wine and latch on to the rapidly growing wine region. Moueix found the 140 acre Napanook vineyard via an introduction from the man who started the modern day Napa Valley craze - Robert Mondavi.

Robert Mondavi introduced Moueix to Robin Lail, daughter of the late (and great) John Daniel Jr. Daniel, who used to own and reside on the Inglenook estate in the mid 1960’s and in many circles is considered the best winemaker in Napa Valley history. His Inglenook wines from the 40’s and 50’s are still opened and enjoyed by wine connoisseurs on the rare occasion a bottle surfaces or Francis Coppola decides to share (he bought most of the Inglenook Estate from Heublin, Inc. in the 1975 and its wine cellars with stocks of old Inglenook vintages). Robin and her sister Marcia kept the Napanook Vineyard in the Daniel family after her father sold Inglenook to a large alcohol conglomerate in 1964 (Heublin, Inc, now Constellation Inc. after about 4 sales and mergers). John Daniel as passionate as he was about winemaking was not a good businessman and had to eventually sell the winery to retain the family’s wealth. The Daniel daughters Lail and Smith decided that Moueix was the right fit for the vineyard and partnered until 1995 when the daughters sold their shares to Moueix. Robin thought up the name “Dominus”, meaning “God” in Latin, and Christian agreed it was a great name and very marketable. Not to mention the stuff inside the bottle being great, the Napanook vineyard lives on in the Dominus ($115) and second label wine Napanook Napa Valley ($39).

Dominus has excelled from its initial 1983 vintage. It still does well as Parker scored the 2001-2004 95, 96, 95 and 94 points respectively. The Dominus Proprietary red wine (not Napanook) we tasted tonight was from the 2004 vintage. Lisa and I both liked it and would definitely recommend picking some up for a special occasion as its not $899 per bottle. Its a mere penance at an average cost of about $100 compared to the Petrus. The Dominus winery is closed to the public and is located in the Napa Valley in the northernmost part of the Yountville district, bordering the famed Oakville district, just west of highway 29.

At the tasting we took home with us a great bottle for dinner that I have to mention (pictured right). Tonight with dinner we had a great table wine from the Rhone. Priced at $5.99, the Paul Jaboulet Aine “Table du Roy” paired well with salmon marinated in a pomegranate sauce. Paul Jaboulet is famous for one of the best Hermitage (Syrah) bottlings from the Rhone (avg. price $150). This non vintage (NV) Grenache (the grape) blend was great. Much more interesting than your average $10 school night wine, I would buy it again. Red berry fruit meshed well with the spicy and meaty notes you find so often in a Provencal wine from the South of France.

Cheers!

Jonesy Tawny Port and a California Cabernet

Not to supersede the Thanksgiving wines I recommended a few days ago, I have to talk about two wines I had tonight that would be great tomorrow or anytime. First off was a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. We then followed that up with a glass of Australian Tawny Port. With dinner tonight Lisa and I had a bottle of 2001 Mount Eden Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc). The wine just meets the legal minimum to call it a Cabernet Sauvignon. According to the ATF a wine in the USA must contain 75% of one grape in order to call it by that varietal on the bottle. It was an exceptionally pure and complex wine. Wonderful flavors and aromas of currants, mixed berries and herbs jump from the glass and liven the palate. A surprisingly refreshing finish was defined by its acidity by which California wines get knocked for having a lack of. I blogged a few months ago about this winery and recommended all of their wines - check out my May 2007 archives!

The spotlight of this Blog I want to be the Jonesy NV Tawny Port ($8-12!). NV equals non vintage which means the wine is not of one vintage but composed of may different vintages blended together to make one singular expression of that winemaker. 46 years in fact for this particular NV wine! How do they do it? Well first of you may ask what the heck are they doing with all that old wine and where does it come from. Well, no one really knows how much 40-something year old wine is in the blend except the people making the wine. It is also not in any way ever detailed on the bottle of wine from my experience. In a bottle with 46 years of different wines it could be as small as a drop or more if the winemaker feels it is appropriate for the type of expression he'd like his wine to have. It all sits in different barrels by vintage, aging for years and blended in as the winemaker sees fit. It sounds almost like a mad chemistry experience. A little of this year, a little of that until they get what they feels is a complete wine worthy of consumption. If I were to guess (and I am as I did not do much research on port before I wrote this) I would say the winemaker uses the least amount if wine from the old and the new vintages and the core of the wine is made up of the middle to later middle ages of the wines available to blend.

Tawny port is usually brown in color bordered by copper to dark ruby hues. Aromas and flavors commonly include: maple syrup and molasses, candied fruits (think really ripe, sugary ripe, raisin-like or raisins), caramel, hazelnut, and my favorite - roasted nuts (like those in NYC sold by street vendors).

The Jonesy tawny port is ruby-brown with coppery hues on the edges. The nose is fresh and chock full of wonderful maple syrup and overly ripe dark fruit aromas. On the palate the wine is fresh and lively for its concentration and flavors of roasted nuts and maple syrup. I have to say this is a profound finding and I am going to buy a few bottle to stock up and have on hand, especially at about $10 a bottle!

Winemaker: Trevor Jones (aka the Port-meister) and Dan Phillips (importer of rock star Aussie wines)
Cost: $10
Availability: Wide! Wine-searcher.com had many places in NY and NJ that had this bottle for $8-12.
Not to supersede the Thanksgiving wines I recommended a few days ago, I have to talk about two wines I had tonight that would be great tomorrow or anytime. Lisa and I had with dinner a bottle of 2001 Mount Eden Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc)

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Wines for a Thanksgiving Celebration

No doubt you have read countless ideas of what wines go best with Thanksgiving Turkey this year. American Zinfandel because it’s the only indigenous American grape; Napa Valley Cabernet because it’s American, Riesling because it’s versatile, etc. Those are great ideas and feel free to serve that with the Turkey. I am going to take a slightly broader approach and focus on the entire celebration on not just dinner. Here is how I feel an ideal Thanksgiving dinner should unfold.

To start things off I would serve a champagne or sparkling wine, country of your choice of course. I would serve a “Grower Champagne”, preferably a Blanc de Blanc which is always 100% Chardonnay from Larmandier or Diebolt-Vallois ($35-50). BdB’s are lighter and leaner than your average Champagne because the Chardonnay is typically blended with Pinot Noir and a small percentage of Pinot Meunier. BdB’s maybe leaner, but are intense in a different way. They scream minerality and purity in aroma and flavor with a beautiful pearl like texture thanks to the bubbles and vibrant acidity.

A Grower Champagne is from one of the small guys in Champagne. Not a Cliquot or Moet, the small growers only account for 22% of Champagne sales, 3% outside of Europe! The big guys only own 12% of the vineyards in Champagne yet account for 78% of sales. Most growers don’t make their own wine; they just sell it to the big houses. The big guys are great, not doubt I love my Feuillatte and Cliquot, but growers create individual wines full of character and personality because of their small size and unique vineyard sources.

Now if I were to single out a white grape to serve I would choose Viognier. The best from France and California will display notes of citrus and/or stone fruits, honey, floral aromas, an oily texture and refreshing minerality to complement the flavors. The floral aromas and the oily texture are hallmark notes for Viognier, flavors and aromas vary otherwise.

I consider Viognier a red wine drinker’s white wine. My favorites from California are the Alban Vineyards Central Coast Viognier ($20-25) and the Peay Vineyards Estate Viognier, Sonoma Coast ($30, hard to find but worth searching out).

In France Viognier’s home is in the northern Rhone village of Condrieu, but is also grown plentifully in the rest of the Rhone. Condrieu is located on the Rhone river and thus where the village and the vineyards take its name. The name Condrieu is derived from coin de ruisseau, which literally means 'bend in the stream.' Steep hillsides and scattered terraces define the vineyard appearance. Viognier that is not from Condrieu will be labeled Cote du Rhone or Vin de Pays and may contain 100% Viognier or be blended with Marsanne and/or Roussanne. A favorite of ours from France is the Domaine Miquel vin de pays d’oc which is 100% Viognier and priced nicely at about $15. The production in Condrieu is so small that only a few hundred cases each year make their way to the US so prices are a little higher in the $30-60 range. If you want to spend around $40-50 to taste the heights of what this grape can be, try a Guigal, M. Chapoutier, Jean-Luc Colombo or Rostaing Condrieu. If you can’t find my recommendations and come across Viognier in the $15-30 range try one. I would recommend you ask the salesperson first to check that the Viognier is a classically styled wine. Sometimes winemakers get to generous with the oak and that can mask the natural flavors and aromas.

Now onto a few red wine recommendations for Thanksgiving. For the meal, various wines will work just fine. However I think medium to lighter body reds pair best. If you want a more full bodied wine with dinner, maybe serve the lighter reds before dinner, alongside the Viognier and after the Champagne. This time of year is when the Gamay grape is in the spotlight because of the marketing campaign that pushes Beaujolais Nouveau to consumers. Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine of the harvest to be put on the market from the 2007 vintage. The wines are simple, fruity quaffers made for immediate consumption. However, Cru Beaujolais is not a simple fruity quaffer. Cru Beaujolais, also made from Gamay but from 10 special Cru villages in the Beaujolais region, can age 10-30 years depending on the vintage! These are subtly complex wines deserving your attention. Most Cru bottles cost between $10-15, with the very best and rare only costing about $30. These are affordable to just about anyone! Gamay has very similar characteristics to Pinot Noir so if you like Pinot, you may like Gamay. In fact, the Beaujolais region is just south of Burgundy and has similar weather patterns and soils. In 1935 it was declared illegal to plant Gamay in Burgundy where it was planted along side Pinot Noir grapes.

Any Beaujolais from the ten Cru villages are considered the best that Beaujolais has to offer. The ten Cru villages are Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent, Régnié, and Saint-Amour. My favorites usually are from Brouilly, Morgon and Moulin à Vent. Popular producers are George Deboeuf, Brun, Desvignes and Louis Jadot. My favorites this year so far were the 2005 Desvignes Morgon Javernieres and the 2005 Broilly Chateau Thivin.

If you desire a full bodied red wine with dinner your options are quite numerous. Red Zinfandel (not the pink stuff) has been quite popular for Thanksgiving because of its American roots. Most are relatively affordable and give you a lot for your dollar. The Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel portfolio offers up a few different Zinfandels and are some of my favorites. The entry level bottle is about $15-18 and is called the “Sonoma County” bottling. The Sonoma County is one of my “go to” bottles and one of Lisa’s favorites. The Old Vine, Cortina, and Home Ranch are single vineyard Red Zinfandels that cost around $25-30 and are a step up in complexity and flavors. Another reason I recommend them as they are not the ultra-ripe, high octane alcohol fruit bombs that can sometimes be made when ripeness levels are pushed to the extreme which tends to happen a lot with Zinfandel.

Other than that, I leave it up to you the reader to decide what you want to drink with dinner. Maybe open up that special bottle or two you picked up at a winery you visited. Maybe you have a special magnum you have been saving for a special affair. Wine should not be about what you should have but what you want to have!

Cheers!

Paul Hobbs and his Single Vineyard Wines

For my latest blog posting I have chosen Paul Hobbs as my subject matter. Paul Hobbs has been making wine for over 25 years in California and Argentina. He is praised by critics, professionals, and wine geeks for his incredible single vineyard wines of remarkably consistent quality. Paul Hobbs wines make up one of the larger percentages of bottles in my collection and his Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite all around cabernet sauvignons.

Roots

Originally a New Yorker born and raised near Buffalo, it was no surprise to learn Paul comes from a large fruit farming family of 11 children. His first wine experience was what some would consider a remarkable first. When Paul was a small child his father gave each child a small cup of a well know Bordeaux desert wine called Sauternes, in fact it was a 1962 Chateau d'Yquem to be precise. At that moment he new exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up. According to his brother Matt, who I met recently at a wine dinner, Paul convinced his dad when he was 16 to rip out a few fruit trees and plant grape vines.

Paul received a viticulture degree as an undergraduate at Notre Dame and obtained a masters in enology from UC Davis - one of the perennial viticultural schools in the world. Paul got off to one of the best first steps a winemaker could have. Few people may know this but he is an alumnus of the Opus One team that made all of those fabulous wines back in the early 80's when that wine was the premiere wine made in this country. Paul was personally selected from UC Davis by Robert Mondavi to join a team built to create Mr. Mondavi's newest vision of American wine. In no time Paul was named head enologist at Opus One. To this day that wine still carries the prestige as one of America's finest cuvees. Though of late, Opus One has seen better days from critics. From there he moved on to Simi over in Sonoma's Alexander Valley in 1985 where he was the head winemaker. In 1989 Nicolas Catena hired him to create a world class chardonnay in Mendoza, Argentina. At the same time back in California Paul consulted for wineries such as Peter Michael, Lewis, Kunde and Fisher. In 1991 he decided to create his own label and recently in 2004 completed construction of a state of the art winery in the Russian River Valley town of Sebastopol. Up until 2004 Paul made his wines at Fisher and Kunde Vineyards in Sonoma County as he lacked a winery of his own.

The Craft, Terroir, and wines with "a First and Last Name"

Paul is a disciple of the traditional French methods and philosophies of winemaking: non-interventionist and bio-dynamic. Winemaking starts in the vineyard with meticulous care applied to the vines and the fruit. Vines are pruned, crops are thinned and come harvest the resulting fruit is ready for crush given physiological ripeness. Great wines are made in the vineyard. You can't make great wine from inferior grapes. A skilled winemaker can only mask the faults of inferior fruit and the resulting wine will be out of balance. A balanced wine seamlessly weaves the acidity, alcohol, fruit, and tannin (reds) components. In a poor vintage if a winemaker knows what they are doing and make the right decisions in the vineyard you can still get impressive results with outstanding fruit.

An excerpt from his web site explains his philosophy towards single vineyard wines, "Taking grapes from a particular site and allowing them to show me different possibilities in the varietal makes for a wine in which the subtleties of the individual vineyard come through — a wine, you might say, with both a first and last name." A single vineyard wine is made from the fruit of one designated vineyard that shares all or most of the components of that vineyard's terroir (pronounced ter-whar). Terroir being the French term for the impact of soil, angle of planting, air, wind, water, elevation and sun on a vineyard and its fruit. For example the Hyde Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is made from grapes sourced from the Hyde vineyard located in Los Carneros, a cooler wine region at the southern tip of the Napa Valley (see this month's Wine Spectator for a great article on Larry Hyde). Carneros is known more for pinot noir and chardonnay production because of its cool temperatures and the cool, clay loam soils. The resulting cabernet will have different levels of acidity, alcohol, tannin and resulting flavor nuances when compared to a To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon sourced in Oakville, a much warmer part of the Napa Valley. The To Kalon Vineyard lies in the sweet spot of Napa Valley: Oakville. Oakville is centrally located in the Napa Valley. The To Kalon vineyard lies west of highway 29 and east of the Mayacamas mountain range on the valley floor. Since it is at the floor of the valley the appellation is flat and its soils are dry and alluvial, a result of the volcanic activity of Mt. St. Helena from prehistoric times. This harsh soil is perfect for growing cabernet sauvignon. When it is farmed correctly it, amongst many other facets of growing wine grapes, stresses the vines to help produce impeccably concentrated fruit. Cabernets from Oakville are typically endowed with higher tannin and flavor complexity when compared to Carneros where a cabernet typically has softer tannin, lush fruit and crisp acidity from the loamy clay soil, cooler temperatures, and the almost constant winds blowing across Los Carneros. However Oakville cabernet is not without its own unique acidity. Oakville, like most other wines from warm growing regions, obtains its acidity from the cool nights where temperatures dip 20-25 degrees from days' high. This cools the fruit and slows the ripening process, while at the same time locking in flavor and nuance you find in a wine's bouquet.

The Wines

The Paul Hobbs Winery portfolio consists of well endowed and fabulously crafted wines of elegance and structure. Worthy of instant gratification but well rewarded with patience from cellar aging. Cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and chardonnay - the trifecta of California wine making of late - make up the bulk of the portfolio. Robert Parker is a huge fan of Paul's' wines and his ability to source great fruit. Each year he reviews in barrel and bottle the wines for his Wine Advocate buying guide. James Laube of the Wine Spectator regularly reviews the wines and they typically land north of 90 points from both Jim and Bob.The cabernet sauvignon portion of the portfolio encompasses distinctly different single vineyards and one that ties them all together. There is the Hyde and To Kalon mentioned above as well as the Stagecoach Vineyard from Atlas Peak in the Vaca Mountain range that borders the eastern edge of the valley. The newest addition to the lineup is the 2003 Dr. Crane Vineyard located up valley in St. Helena. Lastly, the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (my favorite and his most widely available at approximately 2,500 cases) blends all or some of the single vineyards (depending on the vintage) into one single expression of what Napa valley Cabernet Sauvignon is all about - power, elegance, and ripeness. The unequivocal iron fist in the velvet glove!

Pinot noir is quite the grape "du jour" of late. 10 years ago I heard that you could not give away California Pinot Noir. Since the Sideways effect took hold in 2004 the wine has had a surge of popularity unlike anything seen since the merlot madness of the late 80's and early 90's. These Pinots are all crafted from single vineyards and have been around far longer than the "Sideways" effect has taken hold. The Russian River Vineyard Pinot Noir is made up of a majority of Paul Hobbs' only estate vineyard - the Lindsay Estate Pinot Noir Vineyard (see picture) with some minor additions from other local Russian River vineyards. The Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir (my favorite) is a bigger, fuller style than the RR wine as the vines produce more mature fruit. Crisp, yet balanced acidity mingles with beautiful cherry and plum flavors on the palate. A dollop of vanilla rounds out the flavors and the leads to an always reliable, smooth finish. As if the Hyde Pinot could not get any better there is the "Cuvee Augustina" Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir. The Cuvee Augustina is named for Paul's daughter and is a selection of the best barrels of the Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir. The wine has a similar flavor palette but with greater structure from the extended barrel aging (16 months compared to 11 for the RR and the regular Hyde pinots) and a silkier, sexier finish. The latest Pinot Noir addition to the Paul Hobbs portfolio is from the Linsday Estate Vineyard located at the winery in the Russian River Valley.

All of the Chardonnay goes through 100% malolactic fermentation, a style that of late has been attacked of late as being "too California" as the ripe fruit from California in this French method tends to create wines with what seems excessive flavors of butter or vanilla flavor from the toasted oak barrels. The argument is that this style hides most of the other flavor components of a wine - mainly the fruit. These wines have the creamy flavors associated with barrel aging "sur lees" and malolactic fermentation, but are not overtly cloying so they take away from the fruit and acidity. These are enjoyable wines with impeccable balance. However if you like a Chablis style chardonnay you may want to rethink purchasing one of these wines as they are not inexpensive. The entry point wine is the Russian River Chardonnay, Paul's second most widely availably wine at 2,000+ cases. Walker Station Ranch, being the smallest in production with fewer than 100 cases in 2003, is my favorite of the group. It displays one of my favorite flavor profiles of a chardonnay - green apple. The Richard Dinner Vineyard chardonnay is located on Sonoma Mountain and is whole cluster pressed. The best barrels from Richard Dinner, like the Hyde Vineyard Pinot Noir, receive the "Cuvee Augustina" status.

In Memoriam

Paul recently stopped production of one of the best examples of Merlot to come from California - the Michael Black Vineyard Merlot. Started in 1996, the last vintage was the 2003. In a sea of average to plonk-ish merlot coming out of California, this will be a dearly missed wine. A wonderful replacement to the merlot is the release of a Syrah available recently in 2007 and sourced from Sonoma County - the 2005 Kick Ranch, Sonoma County.

Conclusion

From the start Paul has displayed an unyielding dedication to creating the best, most natural wines possible. Since that first taste of d'Yquem to what will be a hopefully be a profoundly "Rhone at heart" Syrah, Paul's wines have been a result of dedication to the learning, creation and innovation of wine methods and philosophies. I can't wait to see what's next as the fall allocation is just a few weeks away!

Cheers!

Related web sites:

http://www.paulhobbs.com/

http://www.napavintners.com/

Avalon - Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley – 2005 - $12.99

One day on a walk home from work I stopped in a small local grocer looking for a cheap bottle of white wine to cook with. I knew they had (and still do by the way) a decent selection of wines so I would probably find what I need. I found what I needed up front near the register (a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for $3.99) but as I usually do when I go anywhere that has wine, a compulsion inside me draws me to peruse the aisles for any under-priced gems or rare bottles. One in particular I found to be one of my best buys in a while and want to share it with you. That bottle was the Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2005 vintage and it only cost me $12.99

“Unlike wines from the Culinary Industrial Complex, Avalon wines are original and uncut. Our wines reflect the true essence of Cabernet Sauvignon without pretense, hang-ups or apathy.”

So says the quote from the website extolling the virtues of Avalon Winery. He is the long short of this winery. The business man behind the wine, Derek Benham, started the Blackstone label (famous for their Merlot) right when Merlot hit its stride in the 90’s here in the US. He later sold it 7 vintages into its genesis. The winemaker, Alex Cose, was a banker for six years and must have made a killing or burned out as he left the banking business behind to seek out his dream to make wine. After a few small jobs at some reputable wineries he landed at Joseph Phelps and later the eponymous Peter Michael, quite possibly one the best wineries in California. The website (http://www.avalonwinery.com/) references many quotes from legendary writers and musicians, as well as to comparing the wine industry and their wines to the entertainment industry (mostly movies and music).

The wine was consumed over two days. The first day we did not decant and upon first taste I deemed it was unnecessary as it had superseded my expectations. It had the hallmark full flavored California fruit, nicely fine grained tannins and ample acidity to balance out the fruit. Classic aromas of cassis, cherry and oak rose from the glass. The palate was fresh cherries and cocoa with an herbal note on the back and the finish. Clean and pure, the wine finished off with those supple tannins and acidity. The second day the wine was even better. It added a few more layers of complexity. Blackberry and plum now mixed with the cherry, oak and herbal aromas and flavors. The cocoa turned into dark, rich chocolate. Sadly we only had about a glass and a half left. Most wines in this price category turn bad after a day being opened. I used no gas to preserve the wine. Just a bottle stopper (clamp style) and the refrigerator! Simply amazing!

Were not done yet! The fruit is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon (I would guess about 85-95%) from Rutherford and Oakville (excellent sub-appellations in the Napa Valley – Hello! Paul Hobbs, Schrader, Provenance, Plumpjack, Cakebread, BV, Mondavi Reserve, Opus One, Silver Oak, Rudd, Screaming Eagle are Oakville/Rutherford sourced Cabernet) ) with the addition of a minute portion of Syrah. This is great considering most people cut their Cabernet with Merlot. You just don’t find many wines of this pedigree and quality for under $20, let alone under $15! I will be buying a case VERY soon! There is also a “California Cabernet” and I will be trying to source some over the next few weeks and will blog it if it turns out to be as good a deal as the Napa Valley bottling. This will be my house red for the foreseeable future!

Cheers!

Graff Hardegg - Veltlinsky - Gruner Veltliner 2005 $9.99 - 11.99

In a first for my wine blog, today's wine is a Gruner Veltliner. Fresh on the scene here in the US, "Gruner" hails from the great country of Austria (one of the countries my family hails from). Not exactly the place that people think of when they are thinking wine, Gruners were brought about in the US marketplace by the demand for certain types of wines to pair with the Asian fusion culinary explosion in the last 10 years. Fresh and clean, these wines deliver varietal distinction with their hallmark white pepper notes, spicy mouth feel, and refreshing acidity. If you took a Sauvignon Blanc, removed the grassy and gooseberry notes and swapped them for white pepper and spice, you have Gruner Veltliner. If you ask me though, a proper Gruner has too much white pepper and in most cases is too spicy for spicy Asian cuisine. To me a Chenin Blanc, Riesling Kabinett, or a Gewürztraminer are ideal with Thai, Chinese, and Japanese (CB especially with sushi) cuisine. I think minimally enhanced seafood (some butter, some garlic) and raw oysters are best with a Gruner.

If you are seriously thinking of getting into these wines, they have a very accessible price point. The most expensive in recent vintages are only about $75 from what the recent wine shop I visited had for sale (Crush Wine & Spirits – NYC), with many great bottles priced around $20. Wachau seems to be to Austria and Gruner what Napa is like to California Cabernet. Try other, less known regions to the marketplace and buyers such as such as Kremstal and Kamptal for ideal varietal character and great price points. Some say the soils in the latter two make for better Gruners, that’s up to you to decide for yourself.

Today's meal was a spinach salad with zebra tomatoes and my own balsamic vinaigrette, broccolini in olive oil and roasted garlic, and pork tenderloin marinated in olive oil, garlic and herbs. Not exactly what I would pair with a Gruner, or anything else specific, but the pairing worked well because of the refreshing acidity natural to a well made Gruner Veltliner. Now on to the wine!

This wine is a blend of different vineyards in Austria by the winemaker Graff Hardegg. Veltlinsky is considered Hardegg’s value wine and interesting enough is bottled in a Bordeaux style bottle and not the traditional Riesling style (long, cone shaped and skinny). The wine is straw yellow in color. Aromas of flowers and blossoms dominate a nose also containing spicy granny smith apple notes. On the palate, the acidity and peppery spiciness abound. Fresh citrus fruits round out the palate. The finish is white pepper, lime and that fresh acidity. This is a great all around wine perfect with food! Grab a dozen oysters, some mignonette, and drink up!

NON WHITE DRINKERS: If you "don't drink white", please know that wine is about what tastes good and pairs well with food. Not what color wine is and what people think of you when you have a certain color wine in your glass. If you care about that, do you really have any preferences of your own? I love cabs, merlot, pinot and syrah like any other wine geek, but not really in the summer when its 95 degrees and I am looking for something refreshing. By all means drink what you like. Heck, I have red with a lot of foods like fish that normally people would say only white wine will do on a 100 degree day. It happens, but not many times.
Please keep an open mind!

"Think Pink": Rose from Provence, Domaine Tempier

Rose wines are hotter than ever this year. I know, I know, every year you hear it but it never seems to actually be that prevalent. Not this year! I have been to quite a few wine shops around the NYC area and have noticed "pink" displays in the windows and at the ends of many shops' aisles highlighting this great style of wine from so many different areas. The most popular and world renowned Rose is from France. The benchmark for roses, are those from Provence. Spain, Italy, the US, South America and Australia are prominent pink purveyors as well.

Now, let’s just make one thing clear - "traditional" Rose wine is NOT SWEET. New world version may have a little more upfront fruit, but they lack any residual sugar that makes any wine sweet. Old world Provencal Rose is bone dry with floral, herbal and fruit aromas, framed by refreshing acidity. A good Rose has qualities of both a red and white wine. It will have body and texture like a red and the bracing and refreshing acidity of a white wine. Flavors are wide ranging from both sides of the wine color spectrum, red and white, as well as flavors found only in a rose.

This is NOT white zinfandel, the adult "Kool-Aid" concocted by the folks at Sutter Home which gets its sweetness from the residual sugar in the wine. Residual sugar is the leftover sugar not fermented during the process of making the wine and not removed - yes that's right, they don't ferment it fully. One more thing, it also has less alcohol for what that's worth as less sugar is converted to alcohol. There is nothing wrong with saying you once had it; many have had it as a bridge to wine from beer and spirits. So long as you eventually learned about the rest of the world of wine, its ok, not everyone can start out with Mouton Rothschild! Let’s face it, Americans are raised on sweet sugary sodas, juices, and milk with dinner from birth. It’s only natural as you move away from that as a young adult you are inclined to be more familiar with a sweeter wine, it’s more palatable and bridges the soda to wine a lot easier. Maybe that's the reason for the explosion in super-ripe wines in this country as wine consumption is at an all time high? Enough of that for now, that will take a whole other blog to go through. Onto the feature winery and wines.

Domaine Tempier (http://www.domainetempier.com/) located in Bandol (AOC), which is in Provence between Marseilles and Toulon on the Mediterranean, is the modern day benchmark for premium rose wine. Bandol has made wine for centuries, but started to really hit its stride in the mid-20th century when pioneers like Lucien Peyraud championed Mourvedre wines. Lucien married Lucie Tempier and together in 1940 took over at Domaine Tempier and made it into the modern version we know today. Most wines at this estate are made of the grape Mourvedre. In fact red wines with the name Bandol on the label by law must contain 50% Mourvedre in the blend. Therefore, all of the rouge or red wines from this estate and others in Bandol are more than half Mourvedre, with Cinsault, Syrah and Grenache some of the remaining components. The more Mourvedre, the better the Bandol wine is thought to be. The amazing thing about the Mourvedre grape is it is unique from any other red grape in that it has a natural compound that resists oxidation. Tempier wines can age for 50 plus years, some well over 100 years. It’s not uncommon to have a 30 year old Tempier Rose and the wine is in a perfect stage of growth, many times much livelier than one would think a rose of this age would be.

Domain Tempier Rose 2005 $32

Pink and copper in color. Creamy and spicy aromas abound in the wines bouquet. Surprisingly lighter acidity than I would have thought. Rounder and creamier with cherry and fig flavors. The fig was at first odd as I was not expecting it and never had tasted anything like that. It took a while to pin that flavor down, but man it was worth it. The mouth feel was viscous and complex; you knew you had a wine of structure and flavor. The finish was supple and smooth, with refreshing red fruits, spice and a little honey/waxy feel from that fig. The wine is a blend of Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsault and Carignane.











Domain Tempier Rose 2006 $32

Deeper in pink with a copper hue, the 2006 was just as excellent. The acidity was a little more prevalent, but nothing you would notice without thinking about it - quite refreshing. The nose was creamy but had more red fruit like strawberry and a touch of spice. Red fruits like cherry and strawberry filled the mouth. The finish was a little flashier than the 2005 with spice and red fruits. Also a blend of Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsault and Carignane.

Pick up a rose this summer and you won't regret it! Many Rose can be had for $10-15!

"Think Pink!"

Vin de Pays de l'Hérault White Haute Vallée du Gassac 2005 - Daumas Gassac - (Region: Languedoc-Roussillon, sort of)

Typical from the Viognier in the blend, the nose starts out with aromas of white flowers and apricot, followed up by spicy pear and baked apple. On the palate a fresh beam of acidity ties together apple, lemon/lime and pear flavors, framed by stone and minerals. The finish is clean and crisp with citrus and mineral flavors lasting 30 seconds! 90% of this wine is composed of the following grape varietals: Viognier, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Manseng. The remaining 10% are a blend of 5 other varietals : Roussane, Rhole, petite Arvine, and petit Courbu du Bearn. The note on the website says there could also be another 10 or so varieties (read below about the “lax” wine making rules in the Languedoc-Roussillon region)

Daumas Gassac wines come from a place not well known outside the land of wines geeks (or Europeans), Languedoc-Roussillon. Unbeknownst to many people outside of France, the Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest wine region in the world. Many of its wines, however, are "non-appellation"; meaning the grapes are not necessarily all from the L-R. Gassac in fact blends so many different grapes many from other regions such as the Rhone or Provence, that most of his wines are “non-appellation”. A typical appellation would be Bordeaux or Burgundy. West of the Rhone, northwest of Provence and bordered on the south by the Mediterranean, the Languedoc lies dead center in the south of France. Many of the wines from the L-R are blended from a wide variety of grapes. The L-R rules are relatively lax, so you can grow just about any grapes that make wine in this region and blend them any way you like, unlike in other classic regions where only certain varietals are allowed and certain blending practices permitted. (i.e. Burgundy is mostly only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and are not blended with other grape varieties).

The most popular red varietals grown in the L-R are familiar grapes such as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Common white varietals in the L-R are Chardonnay, Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, and Roussane. Many of the wines from this region are inexpensive because of the relative obscurity of the region to the mass markets, and make for some great deals. Gassac wines are the most respected and well known from the L-R.

Daumas is a wily old man and VERY French. Daumas is a classic old French vingeron and is very proactive in protecting and defending his and other fellow European wine making heritages. He is very “anti-new world” (i.e. Parker, California, Australia, etc.) and very anti-Bordeaux. Check out the flick Mondevino as he is one of the featured wine personalities alongside Robert Mondavi, Robert Parker and famous globe trotting Bordeaux consultant Michelle Roland. It is interesting to see how his views clash not only with the Americans but even with his fellow Frenchmen.

Politics aside, its good stuff and his red is worth checking out too. The red, or “Rouge” as it’s labeled as, is also kitchen sink blend mostly composed of Cabernet Sauvignon (80% in the 2003, 20% anything else I guess he could find or fit into the blend).

Try a right wing French wine, try a Gassac.