Harvest update - Many more tons of pinot noir, and syrah

Just back from the longest day yet of this harvest, for me at least. With many tons of grapes already in, there's lots of cellar work to do. So gently mixing fresh bins that aren't fermenting yet, kicking off fermentation in older bins, cleaning the press, punching down the bins that are fermenting (which I somehow avoid), and sorting fruit. Literally tons and tons of fruit.

First Syrah from southern Oregon, big jangly clusters of slightly wilting fruit, ripe and pulpy. We went through just a few tons, all very clean and nicely ripe. I have a bad impression of southern Oregon fruit, for whatever reason. But it is so nice to see this fruit, full of promise, and taste a delicious free run sample of newly fermented syrah from another southern Oregon vineyard that came in a couple weeks ago. These look like promising wines, even if the market doesn't seem too hot on Oregon syrah.

Then numerous tons of Pinot Noir from the Amity area, same source as yesterday but from a different block of the vineyard. Yesterday was all Pommard clone, today is all 115. There's some rot like yesterday, but really not a lot and we sorted it out pretty well. The crop on this particular vineyard seems a bit high, so there are a number of lesser ripe wings and shoulders that we weed out. All together, processing goes well and the fruit looks nicely ripe without high sugars.

After cleaning up, we eat and enjoy a couple wines, one in particular the 2005 Palmina Barbera Santa Barbara County. This is the label of Steve Clifton of Brewer-Clifton for his mostly Italian varietals. I really like this wine. It's clearly new world in style with its impeccable purity and cleanliness. But it's true to Barbera, with perfume, a soft texture, and ripe fruit balanced by bright acidity. What's not to like? I see this is $25 or so, which isn't cheap. But for Barbera of this quality, that's about right, certainly not overpriced.

More rain, but the grapes still look good

Today was another picking day at the winery. Happily the grapes arrived before the latest rains swept through the area late this afternoon. We processed several tons of pinot noir, most of it delicious and really quite nice despite the recent weather. However, there was some botrytis (rot) in the center of a few clusters, making me think things might be deteriorating in some vineyards sooner rather than later. That makes me anxious to pick at Wahle vineyard later this week. I just want a nice window of a day or even two of dry weather to let things dry out before picking. Yes, the forecast doesn't look promising. And next week looks rainy too, so I think we're nearing the point where you choose to pick now because it's not going to get any better later. Just a few days ago I was feeling daring and brave about this weather. But wouldn't you know it. Things look different when you're holding rotten fruit in your hands. More soon.

More harvest, and great local beer

Today's weather was typical of the past few days (when it hasn't been raining). Cloudy and cool, with brief sunshine, but otherwise ok for bad weather. Tomorrow's supposed to see more rain, but where I'm working we're planning to bring in grapes for the next two days.

The long term forecast is still mixed, and I'm wondering when to pick at Wahle. I'm also getting a couple hundred pounds of chardonnay from Courting Hill out in Banks, where I got Pinot Noir in 2005. I may get both this weekend if the sun comes out for a couple of days. But how to balance that with my winery work? When the weather's good, they want to pick too. We'll see how it goes.

Tasting note for today, and all of the harvest season this fall, is one of the best beers I've ever tasted. At the winery, we have a 5 gallon keg of Heater Allen Brewing Pilsner. Heater Allen is apparently the brand new commercial brewery from longtime homebrewer Rick Allen (not the Def Leppard drummer as far as I can tell) down in McMinnville, OR.

This "pils" is absolutely delicious, with good richness, great hops and acidity, and a long finish. Tasting this beer made me think of the beer halls of Prague. It's easily the most exciting beer I've tried in years. If you're in the area, definitely check this guy out. I'm going to pay a visit as soon as I can.

Oregon harvest update, and a tasting note

Sunday, the last day of September. And like two years ago, this day brought a strong cold front with lots of rain throughout western Oregon.

Happily, rainfall totals aren't much different from the overnight storm a few nights ago. I have about .6 of an inch in my Portland backyard since yesterday, but there's a forecast for more showers all week. Some reports suggest clearing and sunshine by next weekend, but I'll wait until we get closer to believe it.

Yesteday was cloudy but a big harvest day as expected. Where I'm working, we brought in a few more tons of beautifully ripe fruit. Driving around the area, I saw crews in many vineyards and more and more blocks of vines stripped of fruit.

I had the opportunity to check out the Wahle vineyard where I'm getting grapes for my home winemaking. From a berry sample of mixed blocks, which we'll pick together, the numbers are 22.5 brix and 3.39ph. So we need more ripening, and not any dilution from rain. We'll see what happens.

Oh, the tasting note. Not an Oregon wine, but something I think is a terrific alternative to Pinot Noir for not a lot of cash. The 2005 Domaine Fontsainte Corbieres is a Rhone-style red blend with an uncommon mix of elegance and richness.

The fragrance has an herby note that I initially wondered about. But with air this wine shows all the underbrush and pepper qualities of a good Cotes du Rhone Villages with the perfume of Burgundy. In the mouth, there's alcoholic warmth but still a brightness to the ripe berry and earth flavors. This wine is delicious now but will probably last in the cellar for five years, maybe even ten or more if you're lucky. For $12, it's a bargain.

Rain is here, and beautiful weather

The rain here in the Willamette Valley began last night before I went to bed. Apparently it poured for a couple hours, with about half an inch in most areas by morning.

Today saw a mix of heavy showers and gorgeous sunny, sort of warm weather. By the afternoon down in the Ribbon Ridge district, vineyard soils looked perfectly dry. The sunset and moon rise were epic.

The winery I'm working at got many tons of Pinot Noir grapes from a vineyard west of Carlton, all ripe and very clean. More fruit comes in tomorrow before more rain is due to set in Sunday and beyond.

But so far, so good. And it strikes me. One third of the harvest is in where I'm working. Everything looks great so far. There's already a lot of wine being made this year from grapes picked under nearly perfect conditions. Let's not be hasty thinking that rain will make this a bad harvest.

More tomorrow after another day processing fruit and working in the cellar with everything that's in so far.

A beautiful day

Today was gorgeous, but sadly it may be the last sunny weather we see for a while. Already rain is moving into the northern Willamette Valley and tomorrow is due to be 15F colder than today. Fall has really arrived.

The good news is most of the fruit I've seen looks great and should stand up to some rain without a problem. It's been relatively dry and as long as the rain isn't overwhelming, things should still be good.

I spent this lovely day picking up a new basket press for my home winemaking, visiting a friend's winery busy with harvest activity, stopped by the Wahle vineyard to check on the fruit, and spent the afternoon processing fruit at the winery where I'm working harvest.

Wahle still looks good. Some blocks of Pinot Noir were picked today, but much of the fruit is still hanging. As with other sites I've seen, the vines looks in fine shape. If only we had one more week of late summer weather instead of early winter.

Tomorrow's due to be another big harvest day. Even with the rain tonight, things should continue right along. I think Sunday's forecast soaking will change that. Next week...well, we'll just have to see.

“It’s too early to be freaking out”

So says a winemaking friend, and I can’t help but agree. Even if I’m freaking out, a little.

Lately in the northern Willamette Valley, the weather has been cooler than normal but often sunny and pretty much dry. Apparently great weather for ripening grapes.

But wouldn’t you know it, all that’s supposed to change in a big way over the next week to ten days.

People have been talking about damaging rain since last week, after reports from places like the Weather Cafe. I wanted to believe the long range forecast was really just a guess. Nope. Some changes have occurred regarding timing and amounts of rain. But it still looks bad for next week.

For now, lots of picking is going in vineyards that are ready to go. Some too in vineyards that might not be ready. It’s hard to look at the forecast and not pick grapes that are so close to wonderful, if not quite there yet.

At the Wahle vineyard, where I’m again expecting a half ton of Pinot Noir, I’m looking to roll the dice and wait out the rain. The grapes I tasted the other day while walking the vineyard didn’t taste quite ready to me. The clusters largely look in great shape. Skins a bit thick and firm. I’m thinking they’ll hold up well, provided there’s sun and dry on the other side of even a number of rainy or showery days.

After all, this is Oregon and it’s not even October. The forecast is grim, but it’s way too early to be freaking out.

Right?

Chianti bargain and a nice wine shop experience

I stopped by E&R wine shop here in Portland the other day and noticed they have the 2004 Castello della Paneretta Chianti Classico for $10 flat a bottle. Now that’s a bargain in good if not especially acidic Chianti.

We tried a bottle a week ago after finding it on sale for two dollars more at a local supermarket. This wine smells like a slightly modern take on traditional Chianti, with no cabernet in with the sangiovese and caniaolo, and a nice scent of balsamic vinegar mixed with plump, ripe berry fruit. There’s reasonable acidity, not classic amounts but enough to refresh the palate during a meal. For $10, load up, even if this isn’t one to cellar more than a few years.

The story here is familiar – out with the old, in with the new. The old distributor is dumping what’s left of the current vintage in their warehouse. The new distributor apparently will wholesale the next vintage at a higher price than current retail. So don’t wait.

By the way, I’ve been a little critical of E&R wines in the past. It’s clearly not objective criticism. I simply haven’t felt right at that store in the past despite their having clearly the best and deepest selection of geek wines in town. It’s hard to explain, the parts are all there, the whole just never connected for me.

Yet on this visit, two interesting things happened. For the first time, I connected and felt this was definitely one of the best wine shops I’ve seen. A nice discount price on 2004 Chevillon Bourgogne didn’t hurt. But after wandering the store, I couldn’t help but think I’d finally broken through and understood something inexplicable here that I previously didn’t get.

Well lo and behold, at the counter I get an unexpected question. Did I have a problem with some Cotat Sancerre that I purchased there in the past? Well, yes, but that was years ago. No worries they say, here’s a bottle of ’05 Les Monts Damnes to make it whole.

Wow, that’s wasn’t expected. How do they know who I am? I’m a browser who buys little and cheap stuff at that. But that’s a statement by E&R. They made things right and that’s the right way to do things.

Never mind that ’02 B. Baudry Chinon Les Grezeaux they still have on the shelf at $22. Somebody buy that before I can’t resist any more.

Catching Up

Is it me, or was Gary V. the other night on Conan kind of a dud? Maybe the quirkiness of his internet personality doesn’t translate well to TV. Maybe the schtick of literally tasting dirt and old socks wasn’t funny enough, especially when most viewers probably thought he was serious. Sure, he apparently “learned” to taste by eating cigars and such, but is he really on a mission to get other people to do that? That’s news to me, but if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he was serious, and seriously odd.

Let’s not mention how unintentionally funny his vertical brevity was next to the tower of Conan. They just looked weird next to one another.

Oh well, so it goes for anecdotal blogging. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place.

So back to wine. I had a lovely little wine last week that merits reporting. The 2004 Olessen’s Riesling from Central Otago on the south island of New Zealand isn’t great wine, but it has great acidity that made my mouth water and compelled me to drink. That’s good wine, though I can imagine how you might try it and wonder what the big deal is. Maybe it just hit me at the right moment. Wine’s like that.

And the other night I caught up to some old aquaintances who do “meat night” every Wednesday. BYO meat and wine, our host fires up his fryer for some fresh truffle fries. And a small group feasts on beef and a nice range of wines.

Highlights from this past week included the NV Baumard Carte Turquoise, a chenin-based sparkler from the Loire. Terrific crisp, appley wine with verve and subtlty. Delicious. We also had the NV Champagne Brut Nature from a producer I can’t recall that was a terrific contrast. Crisp and minerally like the Baumard, but bisquit and bread aromas even in this non-dosage bottling. Delicious.

Notable whites included an ’05 Rijckeart Chardonnay from the Jura that was also very mineral and lean. Someone remarked they’d like a glass of this but not a bottle. Certainly not cocktail wine. I loved the ’05 Tissot Cour-Chevergny from the little known Romorantin grape. Tasting blind, I thought this hazy, slightly sweet wine was a later harvest Chardonnay from the Macon. Someone suggested the Jura and I thought that was a better guess. But no, it’s from the Loire and though it didn’t have any sense of Riesling that I sometimes get in Cour-Chevergny, I loved this and will likely buy some to cellar.

The only notable red was something I brought – the 1996 Druet Chinon Clos du Danzay, which was the best Druet wine I’ve tried. Usually Druet’s wines seem too hard and tight, even those I’ve tried with some age, as if they’ll never come around (at least in my lifetime). Happily, this was still young but open for business, with a pretty fragrance and flavor. Wish I had more of this.

Finally, we tried another oddity – the 2005 Texier “O Pale” that is made from Viognier grapes from the Condrieu AOC in France (though the label doesn’t get that specific) made in a Germanic spatlese style. Meaning, partially fermented to about 7% alcohol with the remaining sugar balanced by bracing acidity. Except this wine lacked the acid of a better spatlese, leaving it sweeter than table wine and perhaps more like a German QBA wine. Soft, porky, delicious in a grape juice way, but lacking definition and certainly the exotic nature of more varietally charateristic Viognier. Overall, it’s good enough and I’ll drink my other wine with a fruit tart dessert or something like that. But I’m not sure I’d keep making this type of wine if I were the producer. Better to let Condrieu be Condrieu, rather than flaccid quasi dessert wine.

Winelibrary TV on TV

As you may have noticed, I’m not much for anecdotal blogging. But I noticed over the weekend that Gary Vaynerchuk from Winelibrary TV is going to be on Late Night with Conan O’Brien tomorrow (Wednesday) August 1.

I first became aware of Gary as a young and obviously enthusiastic wine lover from New Jersey on the Mark Squires wine discussion group. Then Gary rose to internet prominence with the creation of Winelibrary TV, supporting his family’s suburban wine emporium.

I’ll admit it. I like Winelibrary TV. Where some people find Gary obnoxious, I think he’s doing great work turning the tables on wine marketing and wine on the internet. He’s funny, he’s irreverant, but he’s also serious about wine and, for a guy hawking the stuff, remarkably candid in his commentary.

Match Gary with Conan, who recently filed hillarious wine-related reports from Napa Valley on the show’s recent trip to San Francisco, and I think you have some good old fashioned TV worth watching. Check it out.

Winemaking Update

Last fall I imagined I would be giving frequent updates on my winemaking. For whatever reasons, it hasn’t happened. I suppose over the winter there was little to report. But nearly ten months since harvest, a lot has happened.

Winter indeed is the time wines hibernate. If you’ve innoculated for malolactic fermentation, often your wines are done before Christmas. But if you’ve let malolactic take its natural course, you may start ML before winter sets in before finishing the following spring when cellar temps gradually rise with the seasons.

Or make that summer. I hope. My barrel of 2006 Wahle Vineyard Pinot Noir is still prickling away, more quietly than a month ago but clearly still active well after I’d hoped malolactic would be finished. I haven’t sulfured the wine since the crusher, a long time ago at this point. And despite a modest acid addition to this wine, I can’t wait until ML is done so I can hit it with some SO2 to knock back any bacterial threats to what I expect is a relatively high ph wine.

But ML continues, and I wait patiently.

Happily, the wine smells and tastes great. Great at least in terms of the ripe, overtly fruity and rich pinot noir that is common to the northern Willamette Valley in 2006. I’m not crazy about the style, but I’m thrilled nonetheless at my barrel. I just hope this harvest provides me with more appropriately ripe fruit.

In May, I bottled four gallons of Pinot Noir rosé, from juice I separated from my red wine about 30 hours after crushing. That turned out to be longer than I really wanted, giving me an almost light red wine instead of something more salmon in color. I fermented it like a white wine, did my best to supress ML bacteria, and bottled in time for summer.

Notice, I didn’t filter. So despite a nice SO2 addition before bottling, ML is slowly happening in the bottle. Doesn’t that ruin the wine? Not exactly. It remains as clear as unfiltered rosé can likely be and there’s no affect on the aroma or flavor of the wine, just a light sparkle that’s not unattractive. Would I prefer the wine to be still? Yes. But does the wine taste good? Yes, suprisingly to me to be honest. I keep thinking it’s going to smell like sauerkraut, but it doesn’t. Our neighbor can’t get enough of the stuff. And I’ve learned a lot for next year, so I’m happy.

One of the best developments is that my converted water closet barrel room is perfectly cool even on the hottest days now that I slapped a small air conditioning unit in the room’s one window. That means my garage winery is working out great and should be good for another year or two.

And can you believe it, harvest is almost here again. More on that soon, but the good news is I’m going to work with a terrific newer producer that’s bootstrapping itself into prominence locally and beyond. I’ve mentioned the producer here on a few occasions, and this fall should provide a terrific lesson in how to start up a winery.

Old Rosé

I can’t pass up a deal, even when I should know better. For example, last year sometime I found half bottles of 1992 Clos du Pape Chateauneuf du Pape Blance for $6 each in a local shop that’s quirky but filled with interesting wine.

Just writing this makes me shake my head. Of course the wine was likely dead. Yet, how could I pass up what is essentially a $6 lottery ticket promising a payoff of wine nirvana? So nevermind the long odds, I couldn’t help myself and grabbed a bottle.

Sure enough, the wine was vile. And even six dollars seemed like a high price to learn what a fool should only have to learn at this point. Why can’t I resist such deads?

So last week I found a twice marked down bottle of 2004 Ch. Pradeaux Bandol rosé. Originally $25, now $7.50.

Hmm, it looks coppery colored but this producer is known for light hued, razor sharp rosé. And I recall the 1997 F. Cotat Chavignol rosé for $10 a few years back at another shop that was deliciously round yet taut like a finely aged white wine. I’ve heard of people enjoying old Tempier Bandol rosé. So why not? It’s only $7.50, right?

And wouldn’t you know it, the wine is neither dead nor quite alive like that ‘97 Cotat. Instead, somewhere in between, smelling something like fine Champagne and tasting faintly cidery, starting nicely but tailing off with an old fruit streak that shows the wine is coming apart at the seams.

It wasn’t awful, in fact it was reasonably enjoyable even as an intellectual rather than sensual wine. It was certainly worth its discount price, enough so to make sure that the next time I come across a bargain that’s too good to be true, I’m buying.

2004 Tyee Pinot Blanc Willamette Valley

After an extended break from the blog, why not have a surprise return with an equally surprising wine?

Tyee Wine Cellars is the longtime label of Barney Watson. The same Barney Watson who teaches in the Chemeketa Winemaking and Viticulture program. And the same Barney Watson who taught the class I took this spring called Science of Winemaking.

I’ve long known of Tyee but never tried any of their wines. After taking the class, I figured I should try some. This bottling, of the grape sometimes referred to as pinot bland, is a revelation. And not just because I’m drinking my teacher’s wine.

The 2004 Tyee Pinot Blanc has a pale yellow color, but the aroma is where things get interesting. It’s clean and fresh, but the melon and lemon fragrance you expect in a better Pinot Blanc mix with a mineral note and the distinct scent of crushed mint leaves. Not overly so, just enough to give a freshness that beats any mojito in your local trendy bar.

In the mouth, lemon and melon flavors dominate, with terrific length and crisp acidity that leaves your palate ready for another sip. This wine would be perfect with crab, which just happens to be pictured on the label.

All together, this is terrific wine and a nice value. I’ll have to try the Tyee Pinot Noir, which I’ve heard is also a good value if sturdy wine built to age.

Unfortunately Barney Watson mentioned at class that he’s selling or sold his share of the winery, apparently to focus on the many wines in production at the Chemeketa-Eola Northwest Viticulture Center. Perhaps other things too, I imagine. Let’s hope so.

Scott Paul Selections: Grand Cru

Picking up where I left off the other night on the Scott Paul Selections Burgundy course, we reach the Grand Cru.

Tonight, two wines from Francois Lamarche, a producer whose lackluster reputation of years past Scott Wright made no bones about mentioning. Times have clearly changed.

First, the 2004 Francois Lamarche Grandes Echezeaux Grand Cru, which shows a delicate aroma at first that opens to a meaty red fruit compote fragrance. In the mouth, the texture is silky with red fruits and young, crunchy acidity that again suggests aging. There’s good length here, and overall I enjoy this wine but know it really needs time.

Also needing time, but showing tremendously tonight, is the 2004 Francois Lamarche La Grand Rue Grand Cru. La Grande Rue was the most recent vineyard to be upgraded to Grand Cru status, no surprise as it sits between the fabled Romaneé Conti and La Tache sites. This wine is excellent, with a floral, subtle at first black fruit and complex spice aroma. In the mouth, it’s firmer than the luscious perfume suggests, with fine tannin and a long, elegant sweet fruit and earth flavor. I could smell and drink wine like this all night long, and also want a bunch of bottles to store away for ten or more years. Too bad the price is so dear at $115.

In sum, the class was mostly review for this geek. But I learned some interesting tidbits, such as a lieu dit being not just a subplot of a larger vineyard, which it is in some cases, but also the vineyard itself. Yet as plain and accessible as Scott made Burgundian minutiae for this crowd, I felt like people could go away, despite what we tasted, still believing that the whole Grand Cru and Premier Cru system is just a bunch of marketing.

Sure, all classifications have a purpose of separating what is at least allegedly the “best” from the rest. But in the case of Burgundy, even just a look at the Cote d’Or via Google Earth will show the obvious – the best sites are those with the best exposure, and they’re all at least 1er Cru. There are few deserving sites missing from the top classifications, and despite underachievement on the part of some growers, there are few classified sites that are lackluster as sites. Soils will further dictate what grows best, so you see Chardonnay here and Pinot Noir there.

Try and find a great exposure in the Cote d’Or that’s not already at least a 1er Cru. You can’t do it. And that’s not just marketing. It’s terroir, and it’s fact. These terrific wines from Scott Paul Selections only underscore the point.

Joe Dressner and Australian Shiraz?

I love the first line of Maureen Dowd's column the other day about former CIA director George Tenet. Poor Slam Dunk, she began.

Classic.

And poor me. Too long I delayed, and when I finally called E&R wine shop in Portland today to see about attending tonight's Louis/Dressner Selections tasting, I was denied. There's a wait list, I'm told. No chance even joining it.

But what's this? An email in my in box? Who could it be? Would you believe...Joe Dressner at the World Cup cafe in NW Portland (next to Hot Lips pizza!), and he's sought me out.

Is he psychic? Is he from the government? What's the difference?

Now, Joe was a charter reader of this web log two years back. But he hasn't been around for a while. We've missed him, but we haven't given up hope that someday he'd return.

Sure, my email inbox isn't this controversial, hard hitting vanity site. It's a mirror all its own, but I'll take it. I feel I'm on the cusp of something special.

I reply to Joe detailing my plight. The long nights blogging, the many mugs of World Cup coffee. I simply forgot to RSVP for his tasting. How could I be so stupid? Now there's a waiting list and, try as I might, I can't even join a waiting list for that.

Maybe Joe will get the hint. Maybe he'll plead for my presence. His reply arrives, ending with a cryptic "xsee you soon."

What does it mean? Am I in? Does he think I'm someone else? Should I crash the tasting? Should I follow him around all night? After all, I would like to talk to him about our sedimentary Oregon soils, which he's remarked about in the past. I'm sure he's excited about that.

No, this doesn't feel right, and I don't do anything but ride the slow bus home and open a bottle of fine, aged Australian Shiraz.

No kidding, the 2000 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Shiraz, vinted according to the label in the Frankland River region of Western Australia.

And just when this day couldn't get any stranger, this is delicious, satisfying, even compelling fading ruby colored wine.

The fragrance is peppery with a charred earth note that speaks of France more than anything. Then there's a subtle eucalyptus aroma mixed in with ripe but not overt red fruit. In the mouth, it's more austere, even lean in the middle but moderately long with a mixture of fresh and aged flavors.

This isn't Barossa Shiraz, candied and artificially tart. This is honest, cool climate syrah that's really satisfying, even if it doesn't make me forget the collection of Dressner wines I'm missing at this very moment.

Oh well, maybe next time. Of course, that's what I said last year when my ticket to the Real Wine Invasion went sadly unused.

Joe, is it too early to book my spot for 2008?

Burgundy from Scott Paul Selections

A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of attending an “advanced” Burgundy class held by Scott Wright at his Carlton winery, Scott Paul Wines.

Burgundy in the heart of Oregon Pinot Noir county? Do they drink Oregon in Burgundy? I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s no one importing Oregon wine in Beaune. Of course, things are different here.

In addition to producing some of the more interesting local Pinot Noir out there, Scott Paul Wines is also Scott Paul Selections, representing some terrific white and red wines from the Cote d’Or.

Scott Wright also leads a series of tasting classes on Burgundy, from beginner to “graduate” level, demystifying the complexities of what is obviously his passion. Of course, there is no simplifying the absurdities of some vineyard names and classifications, yet Scott somehow explains it and makes you feel good with his almost jolly manner. He even supplies detailed maps, whicha person has to love.

We sat down in two long tables in the front room of the old brick winery building and began with a single white wine. The 2004 Philippe Chavy Puligny-Montrachet had a pretty greenish gold color and nicely complex, floral, apple, and hazelnutty oak aromas, then oily tangy lemon lime flavors with barrel notes. The oak flavors are a bit rough right now, but this wine has nerve and length and should age for several years. Very nice, and in Scott’s words, classic Puligny.

Then a selection of wines from Pommard, to highlight the same producer working with two vineyards, and the same vineyard in the hands of two different producers.

First, the 2004 Aleth Girardin Pommard Epenots 1er Cru, with an Oregon-like aroma of black cherries, underbrush, and woodsy spice that, were it from here, might be one of the best Oregon wines I’ve smelled. The bright cherry flavor had a ripe, sweet quality that also suggests the new world. But this is Burgundy, with mineral acidity that promises more in the future, as good as it was today. Scott notes that Aleth Girardin’s holding in this vineyard are in the Le Grand Epenot section, which is a perennial candidate for upgrade to Grand Cru status. Upgrade are rare occurances, and this one isn’t actually likely to happen anytime soon.

Then the 2004 Aleth Girardin Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru, the vineyard half a kilometer away from Epenots. This was more subtle aromatically at first, then turned sweet and almost jammy, to me suggesting more the style of the producer (ripe) than a vineyard difference. In the mouth, this was also cherry dominated but finely tannic and again tightly structured, again suggesting cellaring for a few years.

Next, a 2004 Theirry Violot-Guillemard Pommard Rugiens 1er Cru that had a slightly lighter color and more finesse that the Girardin. This too smelled Oregon-like at first, with loamy earth and cherry, then pepper and floral notes. Scott used the term “lacy” a few times to describe the fine texture of good Burgundy, and this wine showed that lacy quality. Finely tannic and again tight and young, I really liked this aside from a slight bitter note on the finish. That’s picking nits though.

Next time, a pair of truly fine Grand Cru from Echezeaux and Vosne to finish the session.

2002 Le Petit Chambord Cour-Chevergny Vendanges Manuelles

Two years ago I wrote about how much I enjoyed the Francois Cazin’s 1999 Le Petit Chambord Cour-Chevergny Vendanges Manuelles. When I saw the 2002 edition about a year ago, I immediately wanted to buy it. But I already had my hands full, and the same genius wine guy who recently steered me toward the bizarre 2005 Crima told me to stay clear of the Cazin. Something about it being a little off kilter.

In the moment, I listened and obeyed.

Fast forward to a recent visit to a local fancy supermarket, where I again found the 2002, priced at just $11.99. Temptation got me and I bought one, only to open it last night and find, well, something off kilter.

Now Cour-Chevergny isn’t typcial wine. Made from the Romorantin grape, it tends to show a unique blend earthy diesel notes balanced by pronounced red fruit and citrus, not unlike Riesling, with the honeycomb and lanolin edge of Chenin blanc.

The 2002 Le Petit Chambord Cour-Chevergny Vendanges Manuelles smells and tatses just that way, only with a fumey, slightly volatile bent to the aroma and a sour acidity on the palate that doesn’t mesh with the off dry sweetness.

The wine didn’t tasted flawed, just ripe and a bit on the edge, maybe over. We drank it over two nights but I didn’t really enjoy the wine. It was ok, just nothing like the 1999 I loved.

Go figure. 1999 was supposedly a difficult vintage, and 2002 just the opposite. Maybe my wine guy isn’t crazy from the Crima after all.

Science of Winemaking Class

Lots of times, when people find out I’m interested in making wine, they ask, “are you taking classes?” They seem to think making wine means you have to be a scientist.

Nevermind the millenia of winemaking history, long before anyone understood anything about the chemical and biological process. After all, it wasn’t even until the 20th century when we first understood something as important as malolactic fermentation. I’ve had wines older than that, and they tasted just fine.

Real fine, in fact, but that’s another story.

The point is, you can make wine without understanding the science behind it. I’ve done that for six years. But I recognize that I now have the experience to benefit from learning more about the science of winemaking. Not to become a scientist, not even to radically shift my artisanal perspective toward the technological. Rather, to know the rules better before I break them.

So this spring, I broke down and enrolled in Science of Winemaking, an eleven week course offered by Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. Coincidentally, the Oregon Wine News’ latest edition has a nice article about the Northwest Viticulture Center where my course and many others are held on the red soils of the Eola Hills.

My instructor is Barney Watson, a UC Davis graduate and longtime teacher here in Oregon. I’m very impressed by his knowledge and ability to communicate complex ideas fairly simply. Prior to reading the OWP article, I didn’t know that Watson was the guy behind Tyee wines. I’ve never tried any, but will seek them out just to see more of what he’s all about.

The class itself is challenging to this technical novice. My chemistry background is ancient for a 37-year old. But my interest in learning technical details is apparently strong enough to make the weekly three-hour sessions fly by, leaving my wishing for more.

We’re four weeks into the class, and we’ve mostly focused on grape chemistry and some viticulture as it relates to what this class is all about – making wine.

So we’re investigating the development of berries through the growing season, looking into the chemical compounds that become the elements and precursors of wine chemistry. Some is review, such as the various acids you find in grapes (tartaric and malic, some citric). Some is incredibly complex and still mysterious to me, such as carboxyl groups and benzene ring structures of various molecules in grapes.

What have I learned so far? Perhaps the most signficant thing is the reason behind why “canopy management” is so important in the vineyard. Specifically, that in cooler climates such as the Willamette Valley, an open canopy of vine leaves reduces mildew and other disease pressures by allowing more airflow throughout the plants. Open canopies also provide direct or indirect sunlight and heat on the grape clusters to allow for chemical changes in the berries that encourage what we perceive as ripe and pleasing aromas and flavors in most wines.

Too much light and heat can be negative depending on the site, grape variety, and season. But I think we can attribute the development of increasingly higher quality wines from our region to open canopies more than any other factor. Better winemaking technique is a close second. But as the old saying goes, great wine is made in the vineyard. Open canopies, and the chemical transformation they allow, are evidence of that.

More on the class as we move from the vineyard into the cellar and look more squarely at the subject at hand, the science of winemaking.

High Thread Count Wine

Being a wine geek seems to mean you have to spend a lot of money on wine. But it’s just not true. There are terrific wines out there for even the slimmest of budgets.

Yet I recognize that the better wines often do cost more than most people want to spend, unless it’s a really special occasion.

Even then, I think a lot of people aren’t sure why they’ve just spent a lot of money on a bottle of wine. Sure, it tastes good. But an hour later when the bottle’s all gone, they wonder, was it really worth $20, or $30, or more? Was it better than something I could have gotten for a lot less?

No and yes. If you’re looking for “flavor,” you can find a lot of that in many cheap wines. Perhaps not the complexity or subtlty of a better wine. But these days, it’s not hard to find something for $10 with a ton of flavor.

For me, spending more on wine is all about texture. And texture is worth the money, if you’re interested.

Texture? Isn’t that winespeak? I don’t know enough about wine, you’ll say, to know about this texture thing. I disagree.

Now I’m not cloth expert, but I know fine fabric when I feel it. Whether it’s high thread count bed sheets or a horribly expensive shirt that I of course won’t buy, am too lazy to even try on, yet still drool over on occasion, there’s nothing quite like the feel and the feeling of really nice fabric.

Wine’s no different. You don’t need to be a wine geek to know great texture when you feel it. You just need to know to look for it.

Take the 1998 Domaine de la Cote de l’Ange Chateauneuf du Pape that I had recently. This moderately aged wine is a case study in texture, showing how really good wine makes itself known to you by the high thread count feel in your mouth.

With this wine, you know you’re on to something when you smell the subtle fragrance of rocks, berries, old wood, and some light farm scents. But one sip and it’s all about texture, the firm but soft, worsted texture that covers your mouth and makes you pause and reflect just as you do when you slide into a fancy sheeted bed.

Yes, this is the stuff. And if I had all the money in the world, I’d drink wine like this every night. And you should, too. Don’t just settle for flavor. You wouldn’t buy colorful bed sheets that felt like cardboard, would you?

Weirdest Wine Ever

Years ago I was at an “offline” dinner, that is a gathering of internet wine geeks, where some brave soul brought a wine many others immediately and fairly dubbed the “weirdest wine ever.”

It was the 1998 Fox Creek JSM, an Australian blend of various red grapes intended as a lower priced sibling to their Shiraz varietals. That is, until the ’98 JSM got a huge rating from the pundits and turned into something you’d bring to an offline.

Indeed, this was weird wine with a dayglow color, a buttery oak aroma, a syrupy texture and flavors more akin to sugary breakfast cereals than anything vinous.

Now I think I’ve found something weirder still.

Wine geeks reading this might think it heresy to mention Fox Creek with something so different in character like the 2005 Conti di Buscareto Crima Marche Rosso IGT. The Buscareto Crima (crima allegedly being the grape, though I haven’t found much to support that) has a natural texture and wine-like base aroma and flavor.

But it’s now the weirdest wine I’ve ever tasted.

It starts out black as night. But take a sniff and it’s like someone’s soaked incense sticks in Italian petite sirah, maybe with hand soap in there too. A local wine store guy, who has a terrific though more than adventurous palate, suggested it’s like gewurztraminer blended into some red wine, as if it were a good thing.

I don’t know about that.

In the mouth, the Crima is taut and tangy with a simple charm, but it’s dominated by a strong floral perfume taste, leaving a less than pleasant bitterness that overlingers. One day later, the wine hardly seems different. And while I want to like it for its distinctiveness, I’m simply perplexed. It’s not flawed. It’s exactly as billed. It’s just not that pleasaurable.

What would you serve this with? How do you get past the bitterness? What am I missing here? Who drinks this and says, I want a case!

I’m always happy to try something different, and this wasn’t undrinkable in its odd way. But once was enough. Unless of course it gets a big score and I have the chance to bring it to an offline.

Visit to Owen Roe

On the way to my first winemaking class ever down in Salem, OR (more on that soon), I took the opportunity for a brief visit to the Owen Roe winery near Newberg.

Owen Roe is the operation of David O’Reilly, originally a business partner of Peter Rosback in Sineann and possibly still. I’m simply can’t keep track. And the Owen Roe web site shows that Peter is somehow affiiliated here. The details there aren’t the point, rather these guys have for about the past decade truly changed the face of Oregon wine, and Washington wine for that matter.

You see, Owen Roe is one of these Oregon labels that are setting a new trend by being mostly about Washington wine. They have bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah among other things from appellations like Walla Walla and Yakima in Washington, and the Columbia Valley stradling the Oregon and Washington border.

Owen Roe isn’t the first in this regard. There’s Andrew Rich in Carlton who makes lots of wine from Oregon and Washington. Cuneo also in Carlton making most of its wine from Washington grapes. And many others, including Sineann.

Where O’Reilly's (and Rosback's) wines have most set themselves apart is packaging. Now this could sound like faint praise – mention wineries and laud them for packaging? Are the wines bad? Not at all, assuming you like hefty, fairly well-oaked reds with more in common with California than anything I’ve tasted locally in a while.

It’s just that the labels at Owen Roe take good wine and set it in another league. Ask local retailers which local Syrahs fly off the shelves, and you’ll likely hear about The Sinister Hand Ex-Umbris that both come from this producer. Both have distinct labels and, while they’re good enough wine, the packaging seems to be what seals the deal with most drinkers.

So as I pull into the farm-like Owen Roe on the flatlands just south of Champoeg State Park and the Willamette River, I can’t help but reflect on how this operation looks like other producers if even the business is pretty different.

Unfortunately, this same day sees the visit of a key vineyard owner for Owen Roe, so my time will be short as the staff scrambles to pull things together for a special tasting and lunch.

Still, I have a chance to taste some barrels of new wine that will mostly go into the lower end O’Reilly’s label. Mostly we taste a few samples of Chardonnay that’s round and correct, a good vehicle to see the effects of barrels from different French coopers that give markedly different qualities to the wines they hold. Some with a subtle toast element, others with more pronounced sawdust notes that on their own seem out of whack but after blending will yield another well priced, people-friendly wine.

Then on to some finished wines that allow for more complete reporting. First two from O’Reilly’s, the label David uses for his value wines that are very popular in the marketplace. The ’06 Pinot Gris from Oregon sources is lightly sweet and round, but the ’06 Riesling from Yakima is more to my taste, clean and pure with just a hint of diesel.

Then onto some big boys, all Owen Roe labels, all from Washington grapes, all impressive wines if a big alcoholic for my tastes though, given how they sell, obviously I’m in the minority. And again, the packaging. These wines all have long, bold labels covering the heavy dark bottles like those from an old Chateau in Bordeaux. But instead of a crest and lots of French, these minimalist labels feature stark black and white photos of ancient Irish castles and little text.

First, an ’04 Sangiovese Columbia Valley that’s strapping and tannic with a light herbal note that doesn’t quite suggest the menthol of some Tuscan Sangiovese, but still seems right. Then an ’05 Merlot Dubrul Vineyard in Yakima that’s chocolatey and rich with a pleasant herbal note but a hot and tannic finish.

The ’05 Seven Hills/St Isadora bottling of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon from the Walla Walla area is also ripe, rich, even regal modern Bordeaux-like wine, chewy in the mouth with a touch of bell pepper and an interesting soil note.

Finally, the ’04 Cabernet Franc Slide Mountain Vineyard, a cool site in Yakima that produces a pretty wine with tobacco notes and a fairly tight texture. This is my favorite of the line up; it’s also the most expensive at $72. It’s more Bordeaux than Loire, actually more Napa than either of those. But this delivers the goods in its idiom.

I don’t love these wines, but I do enjoy them. I’m compelled to remember them and want to buy them because the wine is good, but the packaging is amazing. Again, I know that sounds like criticism. But when you consider how tough it is to make and sell good wine of any persuasion, I can’t help but be impressed by this whole operation from what’s in the bottle to the actual bottles themselves. I hope to return here to learn more about this organization, which is apparently growing tremendously.

Check Owen Roe out, they’re the face of new Oregon wine that isn’t bound by political borders or old conventions of what a Willamette Valley winery can produce. Namely, something beyond Pinot Noir.

Oregon Wine News

I’ve been meaning to report on the news about Seven Springs/Anden vineyard, one of my favorite sites for Oregon Pinot Noir that supplies many top local wineries.

Or make that, supplied.

The vineyard was once simply Seven Springs, on the western flank of the Eola Hills not far from producers like Cristom and Bethel Heights. Then a few years back the owners divorced, the lower and older block remaining as Seven Springs with the more recent plantings in the upper block rechristened as Anden vineyard.

Now, as St. Innocent winemaker and owner Mark Vlossak confirmed recently in a post on erobertparker.com, the owners of Anden and Seven Springs have agreed to lease all the fruit to a Californian for the next 15 years. That means St. Innocent and others who make wine from this site including Evesham Wood will apparently no longer have access to these grapes.

I write apparently because, however unlikely it may be, the deal may not in fact be done. In any industry, deals can materialize and fall through with remarkable speed. Mark seems resigned to his fate, but I’m holding hope, perhaps false hope, that the longtime producers of this property continue to get grapes.

With Mark’s history with the site, not to mention the others who have made the names Seven Springs and Anden meaningful in the wine world, I have to wonder if Anden owner Al MacDonald – himself a local legend in viticulture circles – couldn’t manage to salvage something here. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, the erstwhile Chateau Benoit near Lafayette, OR, itself rechristened Anne Amie a few years back, is taking a bold step toward higher quality wine production. How is that? By lowering production.

You don’t hear wineries doing that too often. What’s next, lowing prices in off vintages? I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Actually, in the release I received from Anne Amie general manager Craig Camp, it looks like the lower production at Anne Amie, along with a commitment to sustainable agriculture and minimal intervention winemaking, is really all about rebalancing the winery portfolio of owner and local media and gravel magnate Robert Pamplin.

Chateau Benoit was created a few decades back and built a reputation for lower quality but popular wines that us geeks might categorize as soda pop wine. But they sold and continue to sell. Meanwhile, the Anne Amie label has featured all sorts of bottlings that seem more serious but still haven’t captured too much attention in the quality end of things. Now there will be a third label, Pamplin Family Vineyards, producing “extradorinary Northwestern Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay” in a separate facility in Sherwood, OR.

There is a growing number of local wineries sourcing grapes from warmer areas in southern Oregon and eastern Washington to make Bordeaux and Rhone variety wines. The Willamette Valley is still mostly about Pinot Noir, but our wineries more and more are going further than that. It looks like, to capitalize on this trend, the Pamplin label will allow Anne Amie to be streamlined while positioning the whole enterprise to grow even more.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m trying to get Craig’s ear for a visit to see for myself what’s going on behind the scenes, which I hope to share with you.

Live tasting: 2004 Edmunds St. John Rocks and Gravel

It’s an Élevage first, a live tasting. Meaning, I’m drinking and typing, allatthesametime.

In all seriousness, I usually don’t write while drinking (usually I’ve had my share), but this little wine just made me cozy up to the keyboard and share with y’all.

Now I love a bargain, and the 2004 Edmunds St. John Rocks and Gravel is just that. Locally, you can get this for as little at $14, before the pretty much standard discount for six or 12 bottles depending on the store.

You might be thinking, no, no, no, it’s the 2003 that’s being closed out locally for that price. And that’s true. But the 2004 just showed up and the price tags haven’t changed. So if you like what I think is one of the top California producers of Rhone-variety wines out there, don’t delay. This deal might not last.

What does the wine taste like? I think the winery’s web site does a good job describing things, though I would add that there is a bit of alcohol showing in this otherwise impeccable blend of grenache, mourvedre, and syrah.

It’s earthy but clean, savory but rich in fruit, smokey without the flavors of oak that marr most wines from my native golden state. And the texture, that’s what Edmunds St. John wines are really all about. Silky smooth without any sense of artificial texture enhancers like powdered tannin and fancy tricks in the cellar.

Is it grand vin? You know, the stuff you pay more than you should for, that demands aging in a cellar better than you have. And then there’s the occasion it requires that never comes.

No. This is wine for drinking, preferably with anything grilled, meat or otherwise. It will last a while, but there's no need to hold it.

So pick some up for your summer barbeques, after you’ve downed some nice dry rosé and need something with a little more heft. Wine this good shouldn’t be so cheap. Thank you, I will have some more.

Riesling from Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt

The tasting group met a few weeks back to sample Reisling.from Mosel-Saar-Ruwer producer Reichsgraff von Kesselstatt.

I had tried a few things from this house over the years and always liked the wines, but had never tasted more than one at a time. Tonight, we knew the producer but nothing more about the wines. So I was particularly excited to taste through a range of Reichsgraff wines to see what I thought without any other information about vintage, vineyard, or pradikat (Kabinett, Spatlese, ...).

The first wine was light straw colored with a fresh aroma of petrol, apples, and orange blossom. Its flavors were pure and sweet, with grapefruit notes. Not complex and not terribly long, but nice, young riesling. This was the 2003 Brauneburger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Auslese “Fuder 02” Lange Goldkapsul. AP 52 04

Then a light gold, figgy smelling thing with brown apple, sort of plasticy aromas. And saffron. This is very interesting wine. Rich and thick in the mouth, obviously auslese with older apple, spiced jelly candy, and mineral flavors, I loved the purity and length here. This was the 1999 Brauneberge Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Lange Goldkapsul, AP 19 00.

Third, a similar aroma to second wine but with less botrytis on the aroma and a more tangy profile in the mouth. Sweet petrol, slate, and figgy apple flavors, even red currants, this was very good and only just behind the last wine. This was the 1999 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese Lange Goldkapsul, AP 68 00.

The fourth wine poured a bit fizzy, but that cleared up. Light gold in color with a strange aroma initially with butter and mint jelly. But just when I thought it might be damaged, it turned pure and tasty if simple. Fairly sweet in the mouth with tangy acid and a nice pretty, moderately sweet flavor, lacking only complexity. This was the 1999 Scharzhofberger Auslese Lange Goldkapsul, AP 58 00. I should note that this wine was the only non-Mosel wine, coming from the Saar River Valley. I wrongly and boorishly “corrected” the very woman who provided these wines, assuring her they were all from the Mosel. I hate when that happens.

The fifth wine was possibly corked and certainly flawed. Positively frothy when poured, this was a complete mess. Too bad, it was the 1999 Bernkasteler Doctor Auslese Lange Goldkapsul.

Finally, an older wine. Moderately gold with a killer red currant aroma, almost strawberry in a way that only German Rieslings seem to show. Deep aromatically but still light and elegant. This smelled wonderful. But in the mouth it was lighter bodied with a slightly bitter grapefruit pith quality, balanced by sweet baked apple flavors. This was nice but not great, certainly worth drinking but not as special as you might hope. It was the 1988 Piesporter Goldtropfchen Auslese, AP 18 89.

In sum, these Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt wines were delicious but perhaps not the highest quality of Riesling out there. However, these wines represent tremendous value. And happily, here in Oregon, Lemma Wine Company brings in a wide variety of this producer’s wines at attractive prices.

It Is Alive

Spring’s not quite here, though spring did unofficially start here in western Oregon last week when we said our last goodbyes to February. Which means things should be happening in the wine cellar as ambient temperatures rise and the new wine from last fall comes back to life.

What things, you ask? Why, malolactic fermentation of course.

Geeks know that “ml” is that still sort of mysterious process where malic acid is broken down into lactic acid, turning a sharply acidic, young wine into something more mature with a softer, rounder texture. Not to mention a slight spritz, as the wine gives off carbon dioxide in the process.

These days, ml typcially happens during or shortly after primary fermentation just after harvest. Wineries tend to innoculate for ml with a special strain of bacteria that quickly and predictably completes the process, free of any delay or worry. The idea is that bad things can happen if ml doesn’t finish quickly. But not everyone agrees with that.

In the old days, ml happened naturally, typically in the spring when young wine slowly warmed up after the cold winter and resumed its chemical activity. The thinking was that, as the sap rose in the vines, the prior year’s wine would return to life in a symbiotic way to finish primary fermentation. No one knew for sure about ml until the early 20th century, and winemakers were certainly surprised to find that a bacteria, otherwise considered the enemy of quality wine, would play such an important and useful role in creating great wine.

Science has since shown us that the ml process won’t happen when the temperature is too cold. So if you don’t innoculate for ml and keep your wine cold over the winter, you can live like the ancients and let your wine complete ml naturally. No additives, no rushing, just natural winemaking. Many wineries still do it this way, but even more will look at you funny at the notion of letting a wine go through ml on its own. Are you crazy?

Well, maybe. It’s true, things can always go wrong if you don’t assert your control over every aspect of the winemaking process. But things can go wrong if you do. And plenty of great wine (perhaps most) was and is made with a hands off approach, so I’m trying my best to experiment with that route and see what I learn.

So you can imagine my delight after pulling the bung on my one barrel of 2006 Pinot Noir from the Wahle Vineyard to do my regular topping and noticing, and then hearing, a slight sparkle in the wine. I’ve been waiting for this moment, partly in fear that it would ever come, but mostly not sure when. That is, how warm would it need to be to reactivate the wine?

Turns out that, after a winter where my barrel was in the 40s down to the upper 30s, a creep into the 50s was just enough to get ml going. Which is great, because that’s still a low enough temperature to keep the wine fresh but obviously not too cold for renewed activity. The wine tastes a bit fizzy but otherwise shows no ill effects of ml so far.

In the next few months, I expect the wine to turn a bit cloudy and taste a bit metallic as ml completes. Then things should settle back down and the truly finished wine will emerge during the summer.

So far, so good. An enologist friend of mine wondered if I knew precisely which strain of ml bacteria was working in the wine. I have no idea, and I don’t really care. So far, things have gone well. And if the ancients could make wine this way, I don’t see why I can’t too.

More Wine, Admiral?

So after the initial Beaujolais tasting, there were “post pours” of broad assortment, again all tasted blind.

First a gummy Beaujolais smelling wine with nice raspberry fruit and more of the granite soil character. Tannic and full in the mouth, nice drinking sooner than later. This was the 2005 Domaine Vissoux Beaujolais Cuvee Traditionale V.V., the only non-Cru Beaujolais of the evening. Quite nice for something like $10.

Then another wine with a similar profile, but only deeper with a nice pepper note to the aroma. It’s nice, full and rich Beaujolais for sure, better than the first by a step. It’s the 2005 Vissoux Moulin-a-Vent Les Deux Roches.

Then something much older, with a mature color and gorgeous bottle sweet aromas of red fruit and sous bois, with a touch of volatility that suggests drinking sooner than later. This is the 1986 Leroy Nuits St. Georges.

To match, another old wine that looks a bit older than the previous but only slightly so. A smokey cherry, aged aroma that needs time to open preceeds the silky, spicy old pinot noir flavor. A little eggy and volatile, again I’d drink this up. It’s the 1986 Reine Redauque Corton Renards. Someone suggested it showed its Grand Cru terroir, but I didn’t think so. Still a nice mature Burgundy.

Then something I thought was certainly from the southern Rhone valley in France, probably Gigondas. A younger color compared to the previous two but still maturing. Bottle sweet with cherries, red raspberries, and a floral, herbal musky quality to the aroma. Maturing flavors with a forest floor quality that got me thinking of the mourvedre grape. But no, it’s the 1994 Adelsheim Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot Noir from here in the northern Willamette Valley of Oregon. It was a warm vintage and it shows, but nice if you can get by the lack of “pinosity.”

Not that we needed more to taste, even with the spitting. My mouth was wearing out. But I had already opened my contribution, something I wrongly heard was drinking well. This looks no different than it did on release five years ago, young and purplish red. It’s peppery scented with grape and raspberry aromas, really nice but again hardly aged. Then the wall of tannin, with unevolved raspberry and a slightly metal quality on the finish, hold this indefinitely but still I like it. This is the 1999 Clos Roche Blanche Cot Touraine, otherwise known as malbec from the Loire valley.

Oh, but then there was dessert. First something figgy with botrytis and pure pear and apple fruit, clean and sweet smelling. In the mouth it was thick and rich with fair acid but good enough balance, pretty yummy dessert wine. I didn’t get much riesling character, but others thought it to be classic. Go figure. This was the 2005 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese***.

Then something controversial, which some thought corked or otherwise faulty. I didn’t like the mothball quality, to be sure, but otherwise this was nice spicy smelling wine with golden raisins and lychees and then thick and rich flavors of honey, flowers and pears, with nice length. This was the 1999 Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu “Les Rouannieres.”

The next wine probably should have come sooner, it was light colored with a pure, light clean rainwater aroma. It was only moderately sweet, and a bit jarring after the previous two, but obviously nice wine. It was the 2003 Pierre Frick Sylvaner Bergweingarten Vin Moelleux from Alsace.

Finally, an amber colored, sherried or ranico smelled wine with nut skins and spent coffee grounds. Rich and sweet flavored, with more sherry notes, dried oranges and such. This is ok, but seems a little disjointed and a bit harsh. It’s the 1990 Joliette Rivesaltes Ambré, in a fancy 500ml bottle. Not bad mind you, but a little tough though better honestly when you know what it is. No one ever said Rivesaltes produced subtle wine.

2005 Cru Beaujolais

After running into some old friends at the afternoon Produttori tasting, I happily attended their group’s 2005 Cru Beaujolais tasting that night.

We started with two blind whites, the first something I was able to pick out after tasting and noting it here recently. The 2005 J.M. Raffault Chinon Blanc was again nice if not stellar. It’s more sauvignon in character than chenin, but it’s a good value.

The second white was hard to pick. I started at a ripe, dry Loire chenin blanc. But someone else guessed southern Rhone white and I immediately agreed. Straw colored, ripe and nicely precise but still bold and rich mostly roussane wine. This turned out to be the 2002 Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape blanc, probably picked before the rain and quite good.

Then six 2005 Cru Beaujolais tasted blind, all “Cru” bottlings meaning coming from vineyards in any of the ten most respected villages, all of them adjacent to one another in the northern part of the Beaujolais region. Overall, these were excellent examples of gamay, all fresh and clean but with terrific earthiness balancing the sweet fruit. I would happily drink and probably cellar any of these for the five to ten years.

All the wines were deep ruby purple in color. The first was the most overtly sweet smelling of the bunch, purple fruited, focused with dark earth noties in time. Finely tannic in the mouth with gummy raspberry and lightly spicy fruit flavors, sterner with time but still lush and fruity. This was the Joel Rochette Regnie Cuvee des Braves Vieilles Vignes.

Second, a more raw smelling, broader even a little buttery fragrance, probably the least fruity of the lot. Crisp acid with fine tannin, red raspberry fruit, nice but hard edged through the finish, needs time. This is the Domaine Diochon Moulin-a-Vent V.V.

Then another dark, cleanly earth smelling wine with deep rich black fruit. In the mouth, this one has softer acid, fine tannins like the others, some gummy fruit like the first wine, in the words of our host, “big and lucious.” This was the Laurent Gauthier “Chatenay” Chiroubles V.V.

The fourth wine was a bit odd at first, with pasty dough and some alcohol, but opened to show more earthy but clean complixty. In the mouth, it’s finely tannic, even hard with a slight herbal edge, peppery and leaner than the others but still good if not my favorite. This was the Clos de la Roilette Fleury, and when it was unveiled I thought I should have known this one. Very typical to my expeience with this producer.

Fifth, a nicely earthy with sweet fruit but a savory, beguiling element to its fragrance that I loved. Again, finely tannic with nice red and black fruit, crisp acids, this is a focused, precise wine with a nice taste of the soil. I wrote that I “love” it so I shouldn’t have been surprised to find it was the Champs-Grillés St. Amour, my first time tasting wine from this village of love.

Finally, a peppery wine with more soil and black fruit aromas. In the mouth, this was big and rich with fine tannin, slightly gummy ripe fruit but that signature earthiness of Beaujolais, really nice but more stern with time. This was the Pascal Aufranc Juliénas.

All in all, these are pretty ripe for the appellation but just terrific wine. For their largely sub-$20 prices, they are extremely worthwhile. We had some roasted chicken after tasting though these blind, and every wine just tasted terrific with the food. I just sat there and marvelled at how much I liked all of them.

Of course, I had to pick a favorite with this group and was then mocked for choosing the Champs-Grillés.

Now, where’s the love?

Produttori di Barbaresco 2001s

On the heels of the Vietti Lazzarito tasting, Aldo Vacca of Produttori di Barbaresco came to town for another tasting at Pastaworks.

You might remember two years back, when I almost literally stumbled into a free tasting of the 2000s at this landmark spot. This year I planned ahead, and despite a staggering $5 tasting fee, managed to enjoy a sampling of 2001 Produttori di Barbaresco Riservas.

Aldo first poured the Rio Sordo, a lighter, pepper and cherry scented wine with nice floral elements. Aldo suggested this was the most approachable now, but the fierce tannin suggests to me it needs time. This is only ok.

Then came the Pora, a richer, redder fruited wine with more intensity that better matches the tannic structure than the Rio Sordo. This should age well but isn’t showing so pretty today. It’s certainly the more impressive of the first two wines.

Aldo then poured the Ovello, in another league from the first two with terrific depth and a cassis-tinged fragrance. In the mouth it’s chewy with more prominent fruit balancing the structure, I really liked this wine. It’s rich and ripe, but very precise.

Finally, the Montestefano, not Chateauneuf-like as I remember the 2000, rather Burgundian if you can believe it. Ripe Burgundy for sure, think macerated cherries with woodsy fragrance that speaks to me of both Italy and France. Still tannic as nebbiolo can be, I liked this but preferred the elegance of the Ovello just a bit more.

But wait, there’s Peter de Garmo of Pastaworks with a bonus pour, the 1990 Produttori di Barbaresco Montestefano. What a difference 11 years makes. This is classic Barbaresco, maturing with truffe aromas and terrific bottle sweetness already, yet still tannic and wound up on the palate. There’s great length and mature flavors, but the structure requires food or perhaps more time, though the aroma and flavor suggest this should be ready to go. Still, lovely stuff.

What a lovely tasting, made better by my running into a couple of old friends who invited me to a tasting of 2005 Cru Beaujolais, which I’ll report on soon. It turned out to be the best tasting I’ve been to in a while, with numerous wines I really enjoyed.

Vietti Barolo Lazzarito Tasting

The tasting group has reformed now that harvest and the holidays are over. Our first event of 2007 featured Vietti Barolo from the Lazzarito vineyard in the Piemontese town of Serralunga d’Alba.

Lazzarito has been described at the most modern Barolo in the Vietti line up in part for its barrique aging, something I didn’t know at the outset of the tasting. The élevage became pretty obvious as we moved through the wines.

Typically I favor Barolo and Barbaresco of a more “traditional” style, with longer skin contact during fermentation and aging in large, old oak Botti that allow for the right amount of oxidation without the toasty, woody influence of young, small barrels.

Of course rules have their exceptions, and these Lazzarito wines were certainly impressive and delicious despite some obvious oak. These are wines built to age and they are clearly of high quality. I suspect time will allow the elements to integrate further, though at the $80-$100 price per bottle, I also suspect I won’t have any to find out for myself.

To start, we tried an oddity, the 2005 J.M. Raffault Chinon Blanc, made from 100% chenin blanc in this Loire appellation known for its red wines of cabernet franc. This was clean and fresh, more sauvignon in character with a gooseberry edge that seemed a little manufactured, but overall it’s nice wine. I know others who love this wine more than I do.

Then we poured five vintages of Vietti Barolo Lazzarito. We began with the 1995 and this, I hope, was damaged somewhere along the way. The color wasn’t unusual, with a rusting if slightly brownish cast. Aromatically the wine seemed tired, and even though it opened to show hints of cherries, fenel and menthol, it never lost the dead leaf, papery quality of oxidation. It wasn’t corked. In the mouth, the same story. Some drying fruit flavors with brown spices and cigar tobacco, but tannic and a bit sour. Many in the group liked this wine, but this tasted damaged to me.

Next, the 1998, with a slightly darker blood red color that still hints at rust. This wine showed a clear sweet oak aroma, but with air gained lots of interesting cherry, brown spice, cooked meat, pepper and fenel aromas. In the mouth, the wine seemed more mature in flavor than its fresh, tannic structure suggested, but this is still a baby and I think it will age well. Still, it wasn’t as good as others that followed.

Then came the 1999, slightly ligher in color than the 1998 with its own hint of rust. The wine smelled of plastic at first, but developed a deep and intense fragrance that showed similar qualities of brown spice, cherries, and a hard to define melange of earthy, meat, and leather elements. Some tasters picked up an unappealing band-aid like brett aroma, but I found this wine quite attractive overall and wasn’t put off by the slight uncleanliness. In the mouth, it was ripe, round, even plush in texture with grippy tannin in the middle and finish combined with an already delicious bottle sweetness. Greath length, just terrific modern-styled Barolo once it had a chance to breathe.

The 2000 showed the roasted quality of this hot vintage, with a similar color to the 1998 and a complex roasted sweet cherry, leather, pepper and juniper aroma, and clearly a whiff of alcohol. In the mouth, it was tannic, roasted and powerful but still excellent, more Chateauneuf du Pape-like than most Barolo and showing some heat, but again just delicious. In my subsequent research about this wine, I found a note from review Steve Tanzer suggesting that Aldo Currado from Vietti finds the Lazzarito vineyard Chateauneuf-like “in terms of its ripeness and dark fruit flavors.” Interesting, it shows here for sure. This is extreme, but I like it plenty.

Finally, the 2001 that naturally had the most youthful color of the line up with an oaky milk chocolate element that turned out to be nicer than it might sound, blended into a high toned but still rich aroma. Got that? This wine showed more typcial nebbiolo floral character than any other wine here. What a gorgeous perfume that seemed to benefit from the barrique aging. In the mouth it was tight, tight, tight, more wound than any other wine here but so impressive with red berry, even cranberry notes amid the darker, earthy profile typical of all of these wines. This was my favorite wine but it’s all potential.

In sum, these were some terrific wines that make me think a little differently about small oak aging for nebbiolo. While I still wouldn’t choose to do that myself, there’s no denying that these wines are both “modern” and clearly of Barolo and clearly of one fine site. Just wish I could afford some.

1999 Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc

We all know that sometimes a “great deal” isn’t so great. Wine is no exception.

When I find something significantly lower than market price, I always wonder if it’s damaged goods. Many times, it is.

But sometimes, the great deal is just that. Distributors close stuff out perfectly good wine when they who won’t be representing the producer in the future. Or when they’re getting rid of last year’s release to clear space for new wine. Or when they simply have too much of a particular bottling, especially if it’s known to be more obscure and perhaps harder to sell.

Who knows what it was a couple years ago with the 1999 Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc, which showed up on close out in half bottles for $4.99. This should have been three times that price, and a nice deal at that.

I can imagine people thought the wine was getting old. And half bottles aren’t always big sellers. And despite that quasi-cult status of this southern France producer, really, who’s buying chardonnay, viognier, etc. blends from the hinterlands?

So I bought a few, and sadly drank the last one earlier this week. This wine is fully mature, with a golden yellow color and an amazingly complex aroma that mixes white Burgundy with the northern Rhone.

It has aromas of pples, yellow fruits, toast, sweet cream butter, an exotic star fruit note and then a hint of mint like a Ramondet Chassagne-Montrachet. In the mouth, it’s rich and round with minty yellow fruit, apples, soft acid that just carries the lush flavors to a nice long finish.

This is seamless wine, truly complex and perfectly mature. For five bucks. Some deal.

Homebrew update

It’s clear this isn’t a frequently updated site, but that’s not for lack of things to write about. First on the list is a homebrew update.

So two weeks ago, I racked my 2006 pinot noir by gravity into a series of tubs. Then I cleaned out the barrel, reset it in the makeshift barrel room, and returned the wine.

The wine seems no worse for the process, and it seems less stinky if not completely clean. I’m now thinking that malolactic fermentation, which will finish up in the spring, might help areate the wine without excess oxidation. We’ll see.

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking a lot about reduction. Some winemakers don’t mind it, but most do and every book on winemaking seems to treat it as the enemy.

I’m of mixed mind about reduction. A visit to Cameron winery last weekend got me thinking that I need to worry less about it. Read more about that visit here from local guy Michael Alberty. I’ll write up something about it next time with more on reduction.

Stinky barrel

Upon returning from Los Angeles, I found my barrel of 2006 Wahle Vineyard Pinot Noir notably stinky.

It smelled ok before I left, but I did notice some reduction in the wine. Reduction in this case sulfides, the smell of rotten eggs or “passing wind” or stinky things like that. A little is fine, and it keeps the wine from oxydizing or browning, something you definitely don’t want in your new wine. But mor ethan a little can turn into worse problems later on, so it’s time to act.

What do you do with stinky wine? Rack the wine off its lees, the sediments that usually are the source of sulfides.

If you recall, I pressed this wine and put it in the barrel “dirty,” meaning I didn’t let the gross lees settle out of the new wine for a day or two before moving it into the barrel.

Why go to barrel “dirty”? Doesn’t the conventional wisdom suggest that lees are the source of more bad things than good?

Yes, but lees encourage the malolactic fermentation that I haven’t innoculated for. Lees aging adds textural richness to the wine. And lees appear to have antioxident properities that I don’t think are fully understood yet. Happily, though much of the lees have settled out already, there will still be fine lees that accumulate going forward that should only benefit the wine’s progress.

Perhaps my sulfide issue is due to going to barrel dirty. I wouldn’t be surprised now that I think about it, given the minor sulfide issue I had during fermentation. But it’s not a bad problem, and if nothing else I will end up with clearer wine come bottling time for having eliminated so much sediment. Many wineries would be racking wine soon anyway, though artisinal Pinot Noir producers commonly don’t rack their wine until bottling time next summer or fall.

Racking, or moving the wine out of the barrel through a gravity siphon, will allow the highly volatile sulfides to “blow off” or dissipate as the wine moves. Other winemakers have suggest “splash racking” the wine to increase oxygen expose.

With particularly stinky wines, one winemaker told me he splashes the wine over a copper sheet, the sulfides bonding to the copper to “clean up” the wine. Another suspends a copper pipe piece in the wine barrel before racking. In wineries, you might treat the wine with more precise amounts of copper sulfate, a highly toxic chemical that I don’t believe is legal (or safe) for home use.

This wine won’t need that, especially because I’ll rack twice. Once out of the barrel, then I’ll clean the barrel and return the wine. Wineries call it a “rack and return,” which you might also do with juice during a stinky fermentation. It’s a nice, low impact way to mitigate a problem without much downside at this point.

Wine in Los Angeles

Over the holidays in southern California, I had the chance to savor some fine wines and taste some real oddities. We didn’t have wine at every meal, clearly. And wine wasn’t the focus. But you always end up with something to report.

I greatly enjoyed the 2002 Produtorri di Barbaresco Barbaresco normale bottling from the rainy, much maligned vintage. This wine is terrific, with a typcially ruby color, floral and tar perfume, and a tannic but ripe flavor. Unlike most ‘02s I’ve had, you could hold this for a few years. It’s not overly soft or even dilute, though I wouldn’t keep it too long and I’d watch it closely. But for $20 it’s a deal.

A half bottle of 1999 Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port was better than I even expected. Softer as an LBV tends to be, traditionally bottled at four years, this is classic fragrant with peppery flavors, nice texture and length. Terrific value at $10

A 2004 Donnhoff Riesling QBA was good enough but not as precise as I was looking for, more spatlese sweet without the higher acid quality of that pradikat. Still a nice drink, with light earthy petrol notes and fat lemony mineral flavors.

At Christmas we had some NV Korbel sparkling wine, still labelled “Champagne” which seems hard to understand at this point. But the wine is not horrible, actually just not memorable. I did enjoy the oft-maligned NV Moet et Chandon Champagne White Star, more yeasty and firm, not bad at all. A 2005 Zaca Mesa Viognier Santa Ynez Valley was too soft and fruity to make much of an impression, but it was ok. More soda pop like.

For reds, the 2005 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir Willamette Valley was good and fruity, more gushing then past vintages but nice for a crowd. The 1994 Leoville Barton St. Julien was nicely fragrant maturing Bordeaux but less yielding in the mouth. That’s code for tannic. Hold forever. Of course everyone preferred the 2004 Rombauer Zindanfel from various California counties. It’s hugely ripe, oaky, alcoholic, and sweet. I struggled to understand it. I also tried the 2003 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon “Starmont” Napa Valley that was a pretty good value at $20, even if the same money would buy you more wine in another category.

Later on in the trip I happened upon two different Screw Kappa Napa wines, both the wine equivalent of Velveeta. They seem to have jammy sheen to them, with “dialed in” oak flavors, yet momentarily they have some appeal. The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon was perfectly inoffensive, though it didn’t taste much like cabernet. The 2003 (I think) Merlot was more merlot-like, with typcial herbal scents and flavors that tasted manufactured..

Finally, in a restaurant with old friends, a bottle of 2004 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon “Artemis” Napa Valley. This was ripe and richly fruity like Napa cabs tend to be, but not overly so. Finely tannic but built for drinking younger, perfect nice restaurant cabernet.

Christmas Wine

Last year’s Christmas case of wine for my parents proved so successful, we’ve expanded things to two cases this year. This year, all of my siblings chipped in. Being the “enophile” in the family, I naturally do the shopping. Tough break, I know.

Since we’re visiting my childhood home in Los Angeles, I took a trip the other day to the Wine House in West LA to fill up the boxes. With a budget of roughly $20 per bottle, here are some thoughts on what I selected and why.

First, we always need bubbly. In my price range, Champagne prices and selection at the Wine House were a bit lacking, so I turned to two sparkling favorites – the 2000 Domaine Huet Vouvray Petillant and 1998 Domaine Meriwether Cuvee Wm. Clark. Huet is perhaps (inarguably?) the finest producer in Vouvray, and its sparkling wine of 100% Chenin Blanc is fine indeed. Typically lemony and minerally, with just enough dough and yeast. The Domaine Meriwether is an Oregon product and quite nice wine, more in the Champagne style with nice yeastiness from longer lees ageing.

Then, white wines. Domestic Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc tend to be common and boring, at least given our budget. So I turned mostly to Europe for my selections, and that’s probably never a bad idea no matter your price range.

For Sauvignon Blanc, the 2005 Domaine de Chatenoy Menetou-Salon, an appellation close to Sancerre in the upper Loire valley of France. For Chardonnay, two Maconnais – the 2005 Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon and the 2005 Maison Verget Macon-Villages Grands Elevage. Of course, we must represent Oregon and I was pleased to find the 2001 Hamacher Chardonnay Cuvee Forets Diverses for less than you’d pay in Portland. I find this wine to be one of the top Chardonnay from Oregon, released late and still worth cellaring for a few years more.

My parents visited and quite enjoyed Vouvray a few years back, so in addition to the Huet sparkler I added the 2005 Domaine Champalou Vouvray Cuvee des Fondraux, usually a sec-tendre or lightly sweet that should be terrific in the highly touted 2005 vintage. And my father, loving his German heritage, must have wine from the Fatherland, no matter his reluctance of sweet Riesling. So, the 2005 Gunderloch "Jean-Baptiste" Rheinhessen Riesling Kabinett, a drier style even for Kabinett but still with a hint of sweetness. And the always terrific 2005 Nigl Gruner Veltliner Velt Krem Freiheit, which may be a bit out there for my parents. But I couldn’t resist.

For reds, I was again put off many domestic Cabernet selections but still found some oddities of fine quality to include. Namely, the 2001 Cedarville Cabernet Sauvignon from El Dorado County in California’s Sierra Foothills. Likely rich and strapping, but without being over the top. Also, a sale bottle of 2001 Havens Bourriquot, an unusual Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend from Napa made is a Bordeaux style. As a contrast, I picked the 2003 Chateau Coufran Haut Medoc, mostly Merlot from what is usually Cabernet country.

The Zinfandel selection in this price range is also limited, but I found the 2004 Dashe Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley that should be good if more oaky and rich than earlier vintages from this ex-Ridge winemaker. And an old school favorite, the 2003 Sausal Zinfandel Alexander Valley Old Vine, still with its 1970s vintage label and hopefully wine style. Haven’t had it in some years, but I suspect Sausal hasn’t changed much from its days producing savory Zinfandel that can age gracefully.

Branching out, I found some Rhone variety and varietal wines. First, the Grenache-based 2004 Domaine Charvin Cotes du Rhone Le Poutet from the acclaimed Chateauneuf du Pape producer. To contrast, two varietal Syrah – the 2001 Havens Syrah Napa Valley and the 2003 Pikes Shiraz Clare Valley from a cool climate region in Australia. Typically peppery and fruity without too much heaviness or alcohol that plagues the land down under.

Of course, we must have Pinot Noir. So the 2003 Domaine Simon Bize Bourgogne Les Bourgeots from the respected Burgundy producer of Savigny Les Beaune. Should be translucent and fragrant if not especially rich. To contrast, I was happy to find the newly released 2005 Grochau Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, which I tried from barrel earlier this year. Definitely check out this producer.

And from Italy, two bottles (it’s so good) of 2004 Fattoria Felsina Chianti Classico and, with a lacking selection of Barbera, a mystery bottle that I know nothing about – the 2004 Massolino Barbera d’Alba. If it’s modern and oaky, so be it. These wines are for my parents’ taste, not mine, though I couldn’t help including some off the radar stuff.

So there it is, two cases of wine for Christmas. What’s that you say? Only 23 bottles? Yes, I forgot the magnum of 2003 Clos la Coutale Cahors, mostly Malbec from the Dordogne in France that, despite a dose of Merlot for softness, retains nice country wine authenticity. Who can resist 1.5 liters of this stuff. It’s a party in a bottle.

Merry Christmas.

Sampling my new wines

As it’s two months past harvest, I thought I’d taste my new 2006 wines again to see how they’re doing.

In my garage barrel room, I have one barrel of free run Pinot Noir plus two carboys of mostly press wine, one six and the other three gallons. I also have a 3 gallon carboy and another 1 gallon jug of Pinot Noir Rosé.

The barrel room is a coverted water closet, with temps this time of year in the low to mid 40s. The barrel is up on a rack and the carboys are on the concrete floor. The reds all have solid bungs, the rosé airlocks.

The 1 gallon of rosé smells clean, as all the wines are at this point. But it has a dark color for rosé from too long a maceration, and a candy fruity black cherry aroma that is a bit much.. The 3 gallon carboy seems more mineral, but similarly fruity and a little heavy on flavor. These are perfectly good wines, just not quite my style. We’ll see how they change.

The 3 and 6 gallon carboys of red both show some stinky reductive notes, particularly the 6 gallon. I really don’t want to rack these things this early if I don’t have to, but I think it will have to happen. The reduction blows off in the glass, and they both show black cherry fruit aromas and a full, softly structured palate. The 6 gallon seems a little more meaty, maybe lightly syrah like. Again, not the style I’m going for, but not bad and not alcoholic.

The barrel is all free run wine, and interestingly seems a bit more tannic than the press wine. It’s not stinky like the press wine, but the aroma is muted. In the mouth, the wine is still tight but some fine tannins are welcome. This barrel is from 2001, so I don’t expect much wood tannin in the wine, but I’ll be curious to see how this wine changes compared to the wine in glass carboys.

Overall, things are looking good. At this point, the wines are what they are, I just want to keep them healthy. The reds will have to finish malolactic fermentation in the spring, and I’m hoping the malic acid levels are low. That way the finished wine will retain as much acid as possible. It’s already low enough, I don’t want it going any lower than it has to.

What’s next? Topping the barrel regularly with press wine and even some of last year’s wine, whatever’s handy. Last year’s wine is high acid and lighter in color, so I won’t mind using it here and there. This day I used about a full bottle to top the barrel, just 16 days since I last topped. At that rate, I’ll lose about 8% a year to evaporation, the angel’s share. I’ll look at getting a cheap humidifier to cut that down a little.

Domaine Tempier and Lots More on Wine Terroirs

Ok, I'm not exactly frequent with blog posts. And I haven't exactly filled out a site's worth of links and other resources I thought I'd have gotten too long before now.

But savvy élevage readers may have noticed the link on the lower right to Wine Terroirs, my favorite wine blog. If you don't check it out already, bookmark it.

Now, Paris-based photographer and writer Bertrand Celce doesn't exactly update his wine blog much more frequently than I do mine.

But the content. And the photos. Wine Terroirs is gorgeous and among great wine literature in its ability to make you thirsty.

Bert has spent the past two years travelling around France calling on a laundry list of producers I only wish I had the opportunity to visit. His latest post is Tempier, probably around the time I had that nice chance to taste Tempier here in Portand and chat with winemaker Daneil Ravier.

And Bert's been to Oregon, visiting this past summer and posting on one of my favorites, Evesham Wood. I only wish I had known and then invited myself along.

Yes, Bert's a non-native English speaker and writer, and his prose isn't exactly poesy. But he's a good taster, relays terrific information, and the site as a whole conveys what artisan wine and winemaking are all about.

So go read Wine Terroirs and open a nice bottle of Bandol.

2003 Edmunds St. John Rocks and Gravel

I’ve written before about how good Edmunds St. John wines can be. So when I saw the latest issue of Rocks and Gravel, their grenache, syrah, mourvedre blend, marked down to $13 from the usual $18, I grabbed a couple.

This wine is usually a great deal at full price, and I still have memories of the terrific 2001. Peppery, meaty grenache-dominated wine that tasted like a Gigondas or other good southern Rhone wine.

Alas, the 2003 isn’t the 2001. It’s not bad wine, and it improved markedly with food. But on its own the aromas and flavors seemed muddled, with a vegetal streak that I wasn’t sure about.

Then with dinner on the table, the food aromas mixed with the wine to bring out cherry fruit and the vegetal note evolved to an iodine, earthy complexity.

So I enjoyed the wine. But I wish I had the 2001 instead. And with The Shadow still a dollar or three cheaper around town, that’s what you want on the cheapside from ESJ.