Wines of Note - March 2010


Hello everyone, March is in full swing and after a nice week of weather we are again stuck with bad weather - perfect weather to write in!  This Wine Forum entry has no specific topic, but will focus on a few wines I have had the past few weeks that would be ideal for you to seek out.  A few of the pricier bottles would be ideal for a special occasion and the value priced wines are of course full of character for any occasion!


Lets start with the values coming from all parts of the world.  We'll start in Chile, where the recent devastating earthquake has caused havoc and left many producers in dire straights with broken equipment and lost inventories of older vintages.  Chile has a diverse set if micro-climates, allowing it to excel with a few different grape varietals.  Carmenere is the grape that Chile has decided to focus on, similar to Argentina and its famous Malbec.  Carmenere has yet to gain real traction globally so the verdict is still out, however success has been had with blending it into more popular Bordeaux varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon.  Today I have included a great Chardonnay from  Chile that is a pure expression of the grape.  This is the best Chardonnay I recall having for under $15 in a long time.  Also from South America, I have included a Cabernet and Malbec from the great Argentine winery Vina Cobos.  As many of you know by now I am a big fan of Paul Hobbs and he plays a great deal into making the wines of Vina Cobos.  




$14 - 2007 Errazuriz Chardonnay "Wild Ferment"

Chile, Aconcagua, Casablanca Valley

No butter bomb here!  Just pure Chardonnay with a hint of the oak aging.  The best Chardonnay under $15 today that I have encountered, ever.

Color:     A crisp gold with some green hues

Nose:     Apples, pears, limes, some honey, a touch of fresh vanilla.

Palate:   Well balanced, racy. The fruit, acid, and minimal barrel treatment are all seamlessly working together here to deliver a great value Chardonnay. Fresh apples and citrus glide over the palate with minerals and acidity cleaning up the finish.

$17 - 2007 Viña Cobos Cabernet Sauvignon Felino

Argentina, Mendoza

Solid QPR (Quality-Price-Ratio). This is not the first time Felino Cabernet has made it into The Wine Forum and not likely to be the last!  One of my top go-to value wines that drinks like its twice the price, Felino is one of our house wines when we can find it.  Felino is a big step up in quality from your standard $10-12 "cab", with a minimal price upgrade.  Try some out and you will be running back to the store for more!  Last year the 2007 was my #2 wine value of the year.  The 2008 from what I hear is just as good.

Color:   Claret like red core with ruby edges

Nose:    Lush currants and cherry, some mocha and spice

Palate:  Ripe black cherry and blackberry mix with chocolate, cigar wrapper spice, some licorice and cassis - great complexity at this price. Medium to full bodied, clean and full finish of fruit, spice and oak.

$16 - 2007 J.L. Chave,  Côtes du Rhône “Mon Coeur”

France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

Exceptional CdR (Cotes du Rhone).  Classic garrigue and Provencial typicity - this is tasty stuff!  Last year this wine was my #1 value of the year in 2009.  2007 was an exceptional year in the Southern Rhone and it really shows in this wine.  If you wanted to lay these down to age, these would be ideal to do so for 5 years or so.  

Color:   Darker to purple/red hues.

Nose:    Garrigue, peppercorns and spice, crushed berries, some lavender peeks out after a while.

Palate:  Meaty, pepper, spice and crushed black fruits, delicious!

Next up we have the special occasion, deluxe, pricey, over $20 wines.  Call them what you will, these wines deliver profound character, terroir and most of all palate gratification!  Great for any occasion, though in this economy maybe best reserved for a special occasion!

$35 - 2006 Viña Cobos Malbec "Bramare" - 94 Points

Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo

I actually scored this one with points its so good!  We has this with a skirt steak marinated in Chimichurri sauce and the pairing was perfect.  The Lujan de Cuyo was reviewed last year and this wine is developing nicely, I 'd score this a point or two above the last bottle we had and you can read the review here.

Color: Red rim, dark red core.  I like my Bordeaux varietals wines red and not purple!

Nose & Palate: Complexity reigns: Lush and concentrated aromas of blackberry, violets, earth, iron, mocha and toasty creme brulee move on to the palate and coating all corners of the mouth. Excellent texture, viscosity and concentration, truly the best Malbec under $50 I have ever had. Velvety smooth tannins and the right amount of acidity. Super-long finish from the bonanza of flavors and concentration.

I feel Paul's style of winemaking suits these wines really well.  His hand is a great match with the outstanding fruit they get out of their vineyards, weather from the Lujan de Coyo or the Vina Cobos Esate.

This is an immediate re-buy, even by the case at this price. The Bramare Lujan Malbec is a treasure that will last a good 8-10 years if you can hold out that long!

$50 - 2006 Justin Vineyard Isosceles

USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

We had this over two days and I could not have been happier with this wine.  Rich, plush and oh so California in style, the Justin Isosceles is an extremely enjoyable, well made wine.  Justin Vineyards & Winery is a premiere, and large, producer from the Paso Robles region in Central California.  Across they board they make quality wines with their access to some of the best vineyards on the Central Coast of California.  The Isosceles is a blend of red grapes and is the flagship wine in the Justin portfolio. Here is the technical composition: 

86% Cabernet Sauvignon

9% Cabernet France

5% Merlot 

Color:    Deep red with velvety red edges, almost vibrant

Nose:    Creme de cassis, cherries, caramel

Palate:  Currants, cherry, ripe raspberry, and mocha mix with generous oak.  Smooth and supple tannins finish and loads of fruit complete the finish!

$30 - 2006 Jean-Michel Guillon Gevrey-Chambertin White Burgundy

France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin  

Unlike any Chardonnay I have every had.  Chardonnay rarely, if ever, is sourced from Gevrey-Chambertin (GC).  However, being from GC this is sort of what I expected for a White Burgundy from Gevrey-Chambertin.  Classy and crazy complex.  This baby white burg was way too young and should settle down in 2 years or so, shedding some baby fat and revealing more complexity.

Color:    Classy gold with green flecks.

Nose:     Aromas of cut flowers, slate like minerality, fresh lemon and orange peel zest.

Palate:   Laser like acidity, great delineation of flavor, structure and complexity.  Medium bodied.  This was very tough to unfold the flavors of this superbly complex white Burg.  Up front this is giving lots of minerality and fresh sweet cut grass, not in a green way.  Citrus and some apple take the mid palate by storm, then ever so slightly turn more exotic on the finish with star fruit, with more zesty apple and pear.  Given a few more years, the fruits will set a little better and mellow.  Right now I am not loving it integration, but in 2 years or so this should be doing just fine.  Powerful, complex, rich and very age-worthy red wine (Pinot Noir)  is what the GC is known for so it is of no surprise this wine needs to decant, or better yet wait 2-3 years to drink optimally.

$100 - 2000 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto

Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

The Cerretalto was exceptional, powerful, showing great structure and concentration. This took about 1 to almost 2 hours to open optimally.  This is another wine I feel was opened a little too early and would show better with another 5 years or so of age. 

 

Brunello di Montalcino is one of the great wines of Italy.  After the Super Tuscan and Chianti Classico wines this is the most sought after wine from Tuscany.  To me I think it is the greatest wine from Tuscany for its originality and tradition (which has been questioned a lot lately by the authorities).  Always made from 100% Sangiovese Grosso grapes, and fermented in large oak staves and foudres, or in barriques like we see in modern wineries, the wines made from Sangiovese Grosso are long lived and expensive.  Most Brunello average $50-75 in price, but can be found if you search deep enough at $35-50.   The “Reserva” bottling can cost even more, from $65-300 depending on who the producer is.  The Cerretalto  is considered to be the “Reserva” from Casanova di Neri as the wine is only produced in the greatest of years where some production is so good it is reserved for separate bottling.  The Cerretalto spends 2 years in French oak barriques and 18 months in the bottle before it is released. 

Color:   Youthful dark core, ruby red edges

Nose:    Tarry flowers, tobacco, and dark fruits, cherries

Palate:  Great mouth feel, tannins prevalent but not overbearing. Chocolate appears on the palate with the cherry, tar and tobacco. A long finish of earth, cherry and leather. Nice acidity.

This could easily go another 10-15 years no problem, though I’d probably enjoy it more with only 10.

Well, that is all for now everyone.  Enjoy and keep an eye out for a special report on New Zealand Pinot Noir coming as soon as I can rip into those wines!

Cheers,

Tom

"Value" Cabernet Blend from Napa Valley

2007 StellaGrey Napa Valley Red Wine

For our first blog of March 2010 at The Wine Forum I decided to put a few words you never usually read (or hear) in the same sentence:  "Value", "Napa", "Cabernet".  The 2007 Stella Grey Napa Valley red wine has become a main stay in our purchases over the last year and will continue to be based on the 2007 example we have here.  This is our third bottle of this wine and the best one to date.  Rich, plush, with plenty of structure and acidity, this wine has great balance to please the most demanding new world palate, and age for a few years.  But at this price why bother laying it down?

The great wines of Napa valley seem to be surviving through the recession pretty well for the most part.  I am on many mailing lists and buy from many different producers in Napa and Sonoma each year.  This year has been a focus on 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and last year was primarily Pinot Noir from 2007.  I have seen and passed on many more lists this year for some really pricey stuff (Harlan), no doubt a result of the recession naturally pricing people out.  Others I could not pass up (Screaming Eagle, took 7 years!) and have made good use of these hard to come by allocations.  But overall I am buying from the same people that I have in the past (Paul Hobbs) and sampling from new ones (Keplinger) to see how their wines match up with my tastes.  I really appreciate the personal level that many wineries have always had (Herman Story) and continue to maintain with their customers.  This really sets the California vintners apart from the rest of the wine world.  If you are curious as to who is worth checking out in 2007, drop me a line and I can tell you what I am looking at in 2007.  Who is on my radar and who I have already secured bottles of?  A future blog is planned to answer these questions, but am trying to keep value the focus for now.

The Wine

More of a kitchen sink than I thought it to be, this wine is anchored by the main Bordeaux varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot:  48%Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 15% Syrah, 10% Petite Syrah, and the rest Malbec, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. 

The notes

Even better the 3rd time around.  This is showing better than the last 2 bottles we had.  A fun wine, that is ready to drink now but even better with 30 minutes of air.  What a value at $19! 

Color: Deep velvety red/purple core with brighter edges.

Nose: Mocha, black cherry, and some pencil lead.

Palate: Oodles of concentrated ripe cherries and chocolate continue to fan out on the palate. Some sage and cedar accent the primary flavors. The acid on this wine is great and refreshing. The tannins add further structure and depth to the wine's texture.

Cheers!

-Tom

The Saga of the Never Ending Search for Value Pinot Noir....from anywhere!  


I rarely post a story about a wine I do not like on The Wine Forum.  However, I feel that I end up here most of the time when researching a value Pinot Noir.  I get the feeling that many of you readers out there end up here as well when value hunting, especially for a Pinot Noir.  Many of us wine geeks are on a never ending search for anything of value or new, even Pinot Noir for under $15 or $20.   There are gems we discover all the time, and for sure they are out there, but none are as elusive as the fickle Pinot Noir.


This past week I thought I found one from Carneros of all places, for $10.99.  Now, of course one has to be leery at this price, so I did my research and it turns out this was a recession special and super slashed from the $15-20 range.  This has all the right pieces to make it a great value.  A reputable Pinot Noir winemaker and fruit from the Carneros region which happens to be one of the best sources for Pinot Noir fruit in California.   


Recession Specials


I have had some great $17-25 wines; but are those really values if that is there regular price?  I think not as your average wine drinker is probably spending in these tough recessionary times $10-15 or less.  Recent surveys have revealed that wine purchases overall are up, but only in wines under $15.  The current over $40 bottle of wine market is getting crushed and only getting worse for the 2004-2006 wines.  Exceptional vintages from California 2007, Rhone 2007, Bordeaux 2008 and 2009, and Burgundy 2009 are coming to market and attracting all of the new money away from the current wines in the supply chain considered mediocre vintages.  Keep an eye out for great deals on premium 2004-2006 wines from some of the best regions in the world.  I have heard many, many people state the opinion they are waiting on spending and going "all in" for Napa Valley Cabernet in 2007 and Bordeaux 2009.  I also happen to be one of those people.  


Sad to say this wine did not deliver and I would not recommend it.  My tasting notes are immediately below.  For Pinot Noir, I have nothing to recommend at this price point, but there are plenty of Italian reds, Malbec and Cabernet that deliver much more for your money at this price.


Tasting Notes:  


Not bad for $11, but very out of balance. There was some true Pinot flavor peeking out of the aromas and flavors but overall it was very disjointed. Great entry, decent mid palate, but between the mid-palate and the finish the wine spiked in acidity in a bad way, then finished fruity and then flat. Just not a seamless product.

Color: Purple red, with brick edges (brick is not a good sign for a 4 year old wine)

Nose & Palate: Strawberry, damp earth, straw-hay like aromas and flavors initiate the start to this wine, some cherry comes into the fray on the palate. The mid-palate starts to climb, and then it all goes bad...the flavors disappear, the acidity abruptly spikes and the finish comes in with some fruit, but it's rather flat and dull. That acidity spike was tempered with some food (salmon), but I do not recommend this wine. The search for value Pinot continues!


If anyone has some great recommendations for fellow readers for Pinot Noir values please post in the comments guys!  This is a forum after all!




Cheers,
Tom

BUYER BEWARE - Smoke Taint in Wine - WARNING

I wanted to give everyone a heads up on the next wave of 2008 wines coming out of Northern California, particularly Pinot Noir.  If you are not a wine geek or in the wine business you probably do not know this but much of the Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast, minimal parts of the Russian River and most of Anderson Valley in Mendocino County in 2008 contain obvious amounts of "smoke taint".  Many vineyards were in the path of some serious fires and the smoke from those fires engulfed vineyards in some cases for 10 days.  Right now the 2007 Bordeaux varietals are entering the market and are outstanding so buy away on 2007.  Napa has had its best year in 2007 since 1997 for Cabernet Sauvignon based wines.  2007 was great for Pinot Noir, but most of those were released last year and the new wave of Pinot Noir this year are the 2008s and may be in big trouble.

At first most thought all was fine.  The fruit came in smelling and tasting "smoke free".  The problem was that the taint did not appear physically until after fermentation of the wine from juice.  Research later found that the smoke taint is initially absorbed into the vine's system through the leaves, not the roots or the grape itself as many has suspected.  The worst possible time for smoke to be absorbed in a grape vine is during verasion since that is when the berries expand the most and take in the most nutrients from the vine's leaves (sunlight) and roots (water & nutrients).  Ash from the fires on the grape clusters does not affect the quality of the grapes either.  These fires occurred in July, at the end of or in the middle of verasion for many vines.  At the point of picking, sorting and crushing, the only way one can know if there is smoke taint in the grape is to run a laboratory test to check for a few of the trace compounds that cause smoke taint.

This happened in Australia two years ago and wreaked havoc on those wines.  Australia was the first modern experimentation on how to get the smoke taint out of wine.  However, from my research I feel that the wine glut in Australia caused most of the "smoke taint" problem to go by the wayside as everyone from the government to growers say there is too much wine already in Australia.  I have read recently the government is asking grape growers to uproot vines as there is just too much wine and not enough demand from customers.  The glut is damaging the image of Australian wine.  I guess the train of thought there was who needs more wine, let alone smoke tainted wine?  In the end they were not able to find an adequate solution and many just declassified the worst stuff and sold it off on the bulk market.  The best results came from reverse osmosis, but that also takes out other components inherent in wine and ultimately change more than what the process is intended to do.  It is also thought that varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot are less susceptible to smoke taint than Pinot Noir, which is a vacuum for the terroir it resides in.  Sangiovese is thought to be very susceptible to smoke taint as well, but not much of that is grown in the regions most effected by forest fire smoke, let alone in all of California.

In Sonoma no one is for sure what to expect, but early results seem to point in a few directions so do your research and be careful.  Some experimentation has made the smoke problem worse or entirely stripped the wine of not only the smoke, but the fruit and other delicate nuances hard filtering can strip from a wine.  The professional verdict is still out as many critics have yet to release significant tasting notes for any of the 2008 California Pinot Noir wines from Northern California.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate will release its scores this week on the most recent wines of Sonoma County, which will include many 2008 Pinot Noir.  It is thought many of the better names in the business will declassify the worst of the tainted wines and sell them off to the bulk wine market for sale as innocuous $7-10 bottles.  Be careful, a new label in 2008 at a rock bottom price may not be the best thing to reach for.  If you must, buy one and see how you like it and if the coast is clear of smoke taint, back up the truck.

Last Friday I was at a wine bar and saw a 2008 Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast.  Since the smoke taint issue was such a big story of late I had to try it for myself.  I asked to try the Hirsch Vineyards "Bohans-Dillon" 2008 Pinot Noir.  From the first whiff, it smelled like a BBQ pit in the middle of a July heat wave.  Obnoxious aromas of smoke and burnt cedar wafted from the glass with what little fruit was left in the wine.  The palate was a little better, not as offensive as the bbq-bouquet!

This is just a warning.  Not all Pinot Noir from California in 2008 is tainted with flavors and aromas of smoke.  DO YOUR RESEARCH before you buy any Pinot Noir from 2008 from Northern California, especially Mendocino and the Sonoma Coast.  Unless you like your wine to overtly smell like smoke, wood and barbecue, this is a vintage to pass on or at the most be extremely selective.

Cheers,
Tom

Wine News & Updates, 2007 Robert Foley Griffin, Wine Notes of Interest

Recently I have been preoccupied with enhancing The Wine Forum from a simple blog to a real website with more features for you to learn and experience more about wine.  I am not tech-savvy so it's been a work in progress just to understand what I can reasonably do and who to work with in achieving this goal.  I have a layout and idea of what I want it to look like, but no theme yet to work out of Wordpress.  I even bought a url from Go Daddy.   I just finished drawing up a prototype of the main page, now all I need is a logo.  For the logo I am trying to go simple, yet powerful: utilitarian.  Ideally the logo would be easy to recognize and work easily in the website or marketing materials.  The log could be the symbol of the wine enterprise I am ultimately planning to assemble to provide my later years of life with enjoyment and of course employment.  That is a big work in progress however.  For now I am just a student, collector, drinker, teacher and consultant....oh and for the time being also a web designer.   


Before we get to the wines, I have some great news I'd like to share.   Recently friends of mine put me up for auction to raise money for a good cause.  I agreed to do a wine tasting for a group of people to raise money for the Manhattan School for Children.   It turns out the folks at MSC took it to the next level, they teamed me up with a professional cook and we will be creating a wine and food pairing for a party of 8.  The bidding was fierce and the item was able to raise a nice sum of money for the great kids and faculty at MSC.  I will be repeating this same donation for another friend of mine and their children's school the Park Avenue Synagogue.  Auctions are such a great idea to raise money for the schools and I am so happy that I am able to make a difference in children's lives.  


I have not been attending any wine events besides the wine bar stop last week at Vintry so I only have some notes to share with you at this time and a great value wine from one of my favorite winemakers Bob Foley of Robert Foley Vineyards.  The Wine Forum will be getting an upgrade this year, but in the meantime we will all have to make due with this site.  


Tasting Notes  


2007 Robert Foley Griffin - about $30
Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Petite Sirah, 22% Merlot

The Griffin is made by Robert Foley, or simply Bob as he is known by his many loyal fans and many peers in the wine business.   For me this is my first serious Bordeaux varietal bottle of 2007 Napa Valley wine.  It is a little young to drink this now, but I have plenty of these on their sides so I do not feel bad opening one of these on the early side.  If you too can't hold back the temptation, decant for maybe 30 minutes or pour slowly from the bottle.  


I tasted through all of Bob's 2007 wines this past December when we were in Napa on a quick weekend getaway.  I bought a few wines of all that he makes except the Petite Sirah, and went deep on the Griffin.   After tasting the 2007 Foley Merlot the first thing I uttered to complete agreement with the Foley people showing and pouring for us was "Man Bob is so damn good with Merlot!"  The Griffin as no slouch and at $32 list from the winery a great deal as you get a lot in the bottle at this price.   It is the all around is the all around value out if the Foley portfolio.  


This style of wine is all the rage right now, mixing Zinfandel or in this case Petite Sirah with Cabernet and Merlot.  The Prisoner comes to mind as a popular wine in this category, though I think this one is a little more to my taste as Bob makes the Cabernet and Merlot the focus of the wine.  As I mentioned earlier, Bob makes a great Merlot.  So good I would dare say he also probably makes in my opinion the best Merlot year in and year out for his winery Robert Foley Vineyards, as well as in the past for Pride and currently Hourglass and Switchback Ridge, two blockbuster "cult" wines.  


Rock sold wine for the money.  Great QPR from Napa. Youthful, needs time but with air this is drinking great right now.
Color: Dark, seductive rich hues of red and purples flashes
Nose: Some vanilla, blackberry and flowers, and some mocha powder
Palate: Medium to full bodied. Creme de cassis, blackberry, black cherry, tea, and tobacco create a complex palate, while fresh acidity and semi-firm tannins balance the wine nicely.  Secondary flavors of cake batter and spice appear later.  Awesome stuff!




2001 Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon Connoisseurs' Missouri American Oak 27 Month - $ not available
Napa Valley, Rutherford


A little woody for my taste these days, but not bad overall and still hanging in there. If it were only the normal 18-22 months of oak for a Cabernet Varietal, this would probably show a little better as the fruit is hanging in there still, even with 27 months on wood!
Color: Purple with some red, ruby edges.
Nose: Big nose of fruit and oak you can smell a few paces away...great wine to sniff and analyze
Palate: Blackberry, cherry and spicy currants. Some cedar and acid finish the wine...finish tapers off a little and is dampened by the oak.




2008 Herman Story Tomboy - about $30
California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
84% Viognier, 7% Marsanne, 7% Roussane


Awesome, Russell From's best white Rhone yet.
Color: Dark, orange gold and deep.
Nose: Lychee and sweet flowers, spice and minerality.
Palate: Orange blossom, lychee, citrus oil, flowers and a great mineral streak. I love white Rhones because they always have that EXTRA texture...oily and sometimes waxy, this has both with great overall balance. Well done!

















2003 Viña Almaviva S.A. Almaviva - $65-100
Chile, Central Valley, Maipo Valley, Puente Alto
Cabernet Sauvignon: 73%, Carmenère: 24%, Cabernet Franc: 3%

18 Months French Oak

Very complex, very young still. A delicious and fun, thought provoking wine. Almaviva was great from the pop of the cork, but even better and more complex 30 minutes later with some airtime.

Color: Dark maroon core, purple tinge to the red edges
Nose & Palate: Complex aromas of flowers, graphite, raspberry and currants, tobacco, and coffee bean. Black raspberry and currant fruit continue on, great minerality, some sweet cigar tobacco. Big, but balanced tannins and acidity with this cornucopia of aromas and flavors.  Wonderful wine!







2001 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - $65-80
Leonardini Vineyard, St. Helena, Napa Valley
Morisoli Vineyard, Rutherford, Napa Valley

95% Cabernet Sauvignon,  5% Petite Verdot

Drinking superbly right now. Great fruit, tannins and acidity all in balance.  Recently I had a 2001 from a different producer recently and it was not doing well so I wanted to try another from a different producer.  2001 is doing just fine in this case.
Color: Deep red core with red edges.
Nose: Blackberry and bing cherry, a touch of toasty oak and pencil shavings
Palate: Solid from start to finish. Coffee, crushed summer cherries, some of those shavings and spice. Medium to full bodied, supple tannins excellent Napa Cabernet! Fresh long finish.Drank a 2001 Napa Cabernet from another very reputable producer last night that I expected big things, it could not touch this.

Cheers,
Tom

Vintry Wine & Whiskey

57 Stone Street (Downtown)

New York, NY

www.vintrynyc.com

     Yesterday after work I decided a Guinness would not cut it.  Who would not want to check out a bar that focus' on the two greatest forms of alcohol known to man: Wine & Whiskey?  Nestled on the usually over-crowded strip of bars and restaurants on Stone Street, the latest wine bar I was to visit stands out quietly from its sudsy, martini drenched neighbors.  Six years ago on the whole island of Manhattan there were maybe ten wine bars or so, seriously!  Annoyingly a few of those even called themselves bars but were more like restaurants than an actual wine bar.  Now, they are almost like Starbucks and around every corner.  Many tend to be average at best pouring average wines.  Though, through all of the clutter a dozen or so are here to stay as they satisfy not only the most demanding palates, but also the curious novice and everything in between with solid wine choices and superior customer service. Vintry Wine & Whiskey is one of those that delivers, and in spades I might add.

     Behind the yellow front door and velvet entry curtain to Vintry, lies a comfortably lit bar room with dark woods and metal fixtures: think steakhouse meets elegant cocktail bar.   Six or so high rectangular tables with stools intersect the wall on the left, opposite the bar and the kitchen.  These 6 person tasting tables are great, allowing a group of friends or new friends to share and talk about what they are drinking and plot their next pour.  The seating is comfortable leather cushioned ergonomic stools.   Recession or not, each table was full and the bar was crowded.  We were able to score half of one of the group tables in the back, right next to the wine vault.

     The list of wines available by the pour reaches to an astonishing 85 varied and well picked selections from around the world, with a focus on France.  California, Italy and Spain are well represented as well.  Vintry also has a deep cellar of wines available by the bottle that hold treasures such as an 1870 Chateau Lafite Rothschild magnum.  There are also pages, upon pages of Bourbons, Scotch, and anything else classified as  Whiskey.  If you can think of it, they probably have it.  Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old Bourbon?  Check.  Lagavulin 16 year old Scotch?  Check, and they also have the rare 15 year old Distiller's edition.  The Whiskey comes served in a small pitcher, empty tumbler, with "sides" such as perfectly clear and square rock hard ice and a small pitcher of ice.  Whiskey purists may not need such things, but I believe it is a nice touch and not surprising considering the excellent service I received and surveyed during my visit.  I did not have any of the food, but they definitely have some creative options to pair with the lengthy wine list. Our fabulous server, Jen, mentioned a few favorites like the lobster stuffed mushrooms, and I was close to ordering the marinated olives listed among 20 or so food options.

     The wines are safely stored and displayed behind the bar in the Napa technology WineStation devices.  These are fancy, sleek and modern electronic wine dispensers used to preserve wines while they are served by the short pour or glass.  A few wine stores and wine bars have these and the Enomatic wine dispensers which first arrived on the scene 5 years ago from Italy.  I love these machines because they are usually only used to preserve great wines and show the care the establishment has in preserving their best wines.  Where else would you have a 1983 Chateau Latour First Growth Bordeaux lay idle as it is served by the 2 or 5 ounce pour?  Fret not, there are plenty more options priced much more reasonably on the list, such my #1 top ten value wines for 2009: the 2007 JL Chave "Mon Couer" Cotes du Rhone.  All of the wines available by the pour are also available in a full glass or by the bottle.

     The next time you are downtown in the Financial District and have a hankering for some whiskey or wine, make sure you keep Vintry in mind as they have a superior array of options for wine and whiskey, and deliver it with a superior high class experience.

Here are a few of the wines I had last night.

2007 J.L. Chave Mon Coeur, Cotes du Rhone
- Delivers the usual deliciousness and goodness in style.  Provencial herbs, black and red berries and little hint of that French country garrigue jump from the glass and coat the palate. Grenache & Syrah from a standout 2007 vintage.

2005 Gevrey-Chambertin, Vincent Girardin Vielles Veines, Burgundy (Pinot Noir)
- SEAMless, PURE, great acid, smidge of tannin, strawberry, a little sweet cranberry, super minerality and earth here. Terroir driven wine!  Front to back what great Red Burgundy is all about.

2004 Shrader Cellars "Experimental Lot" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, CA
Big pinot noir cali nose, oak, sassafras, strawberry-rhubarb, good acid content on the finish considering the weighty attack up front.  Nice experiment, but a little disjointed as the mid-palate seems like it has a hole in it.  It gaps in-between the big fruit up front and the acid driven finish.  Not a bad first experiment from this expert in Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.  Good terroir notes of that earthy, spicy, a touch feral Sonoma Coast.  Just needs to be better integrated.

2006 Orin Swift, Papillon, Bordeaux Blend

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot, 2% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc

From the maker of the famous "The Prisoner" blend.  Aromas of sweet oak, currants, blackberry.
Great texture, supple tannins and nice acidity, squeaky clean.  Nicely done finish of black cherry fruit.  What I would expect based on the Prisoner.

QUESTION:  What are some of your favorite wine bars in New York or where you live?  It would be great to share your knowledge and experience with fellow Wine Forum readers.


Cheers,
Tom