Two whites from Washington

In the last year, I've discovered the wines of Washington state. Not literally, of course. Washington's long had a reputation for excellent wine. It's just that nothing much had really connected with me.

Part of that was that I didn't taste as much as I should. Part was that what I did taste never much excited me. And part is certainly that the wines are getting better and better. Mix that together and you're ripe for a sense of discovery when you finally get it that Washington state really does produce delicious wine.

Of course, Washington's best known for big red wines, something I'm not usually fond of. It stands to reason then that I'm more interested in things off the beaten path. Such as, white wines.

First, something fairly mainstream but delicious in the 2005 vintage. I'd tried the Ch. Ste. Michelle riesling collaboration with Ernest Loosen of Mosel wine fame, but I never thought much of it. A bottle of the 2005 Ch. Ste. Michelle Riesling Eroica the other night, however, was exceptional. Young and fresh looking with lightly sweet lemon cream and petrol aromas, it had such focused and clear flavors that I was taken aback. Could this be so good? I tried more and understood at last this wine's reputation. Not sugary, not so petrol as to be vulgar, not fat and wan in the mouth. This was excellent and something I wish I had a few more bottles of. This isn't a new release so it might be hard to find these days.

Then with dessert we had a half bottle of 2008 The Curtain Call Late Harvest Gewurztraminer. This wine comes from Trey Busch, formerly of Basel Cellars and now on his own under the Sleight of Hand label. What a terrific wine. Very pale in color, it smells pure, honied and varietal but not too much so. Sometime gewurz can be so floral and aromatic it lacks nuance. The flavors are nicely sweet but again not too much so, with pure gewurz flavors but just a hint of balancing bitterness that sometimes overwhelms this grape. Think the white pith of grapefruit. The finish is long and again pure. What a nice effort. I just bought this new release wine, so if you're interested, look for it locally. I imagine there isn't much, but it's worth a search.

2001 Edmunds St. John Los Robles Viejos Red Wine

It shouldn't be a surprise, but I'm astonished by how Gigondas-like the 2001 Edmunds St. John Los Robles Viejos red wine smelled and tasted over the past two nights.

This southern Rhone blend from the Rozet vineyard in the Paso Robles area of central California is classic Edmunds St. John -- uniquely Californian, but with a savor and earthiness that you just don't see much in wines from the golden state.

Initially the wine isn't very aromatic, but with about 20 minutes it seemed to wake up and gently fill the air with a dark, earthy and perfectly herbal fragrance that reminded me of some Domaine Cayron Gigondas. There's a bit of age showing, with a leathery sweetness but no loss of fruit or freshness.

The flavors are similarly dark, stoney and just a bit herbal, with smoothed out tannin and a long finish. Perhaps the acid is a bit high to make this an easy sipper without food, but with roasted vegetables one night and pizza the next night I loved it. So complex, so interesting, so delicious.

I would have guessed this was simply dark fruited grenache. I see it's half mourvedre with the balance being grenache, syrah and counoise, and that makes sense. The slightly hard acid, the earthy, undergrowth quality, that's classic mourvedre. If you have this and you think you like Edmunds St. John wine, definitely try one now. Just give it a little time to blossom in the glass. Excellent.

Terrific new Burgs from Pernot and Rapet

Recently I had the chance to taste through current releases from two excellent Burgundy producers. First, I sampled whites from Domaine Paul Pernot. Then (mostly) reds from Domaine Rapet Pere et Fils. What terrific wines across the board. I have enjoyed Pernot wines going back about a decade, but this was my first chance to taste through a variety of Rapet wines. Exciting stuff on both counts, what good Burgundy is all about.

First, Pernot. The 2007 Bourgogne Blanc showed nice straightforward chardonnay character, pure white Burgundy aromas with maybe a touch of figgy botrytis? Good white Burgundy flavors, harmonious, low oak, just lovely stuff. Next the 2007 Puligny Montrachet, with a similar aroma but a more lactic/creamy in the mouth, in a good way. There’s definitely a step up here in quality with the fatter texture and good flavors with acid in harmony.

Then the 2007 Puligny Montrachet Folatieres 1er cru, which showed more yeasty, beery notes at first, then nicely integrated with some subtle oak notes with sweet cream and apple fruit notes. There’s more barrel influence here, perhaps a bit sour edged at this point but it’s so mineral and tight, I think the nice balance of elements portend nice ageability.

Finally the 2007 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru. What another step up, with green apple aromas and some barrel notes but just pure finesse and great balance of elements. Better length here, just a touch sweet/sour, with a notable burst of flavor on the finish, very nice wine.

For a nice comparison, check out Brooklynguy’s write up of similar bottlings from 2005.

Then on to Rapet. First a white wine, the 2007 Pernand Vergelesses En Caradeux Blanc 1er cru, with a nicely stoney, bright and perfumed aroma. The flavors are delicious with lively green apples and a sense of richness. Things are a bit compact but this is clearly young, high quality wine.

Next came the 2006 Pernand Vergelesses Les Belles Filles, a red wine that’s fragrant with a pretty red cherry pit aroma. In the mouth it’s nice with a lighter intensity but everything in its place. Stylish, feminine village level Burgundy.

Then the 2006 Pernand Vergelesses Rouge 1er cru. Was this Les Vergelesses? I thought so but my notes don’t say. Anyway, reminds me of others from this vineyard, slightly herbal smelling but with a subtle richness than you don’t find in the Belles Filles. Nice soil and stalk notes with a bit of a furry texture to the lovely red fruit flavors. All these Rapet red wines are lighter colored but have intensity that creeps up on you. Very nice.

Next came the 2006 Beaune Champs Pimont 1er cru, with a very transparent aroma, more of that subtle fruit richness, turned soil, cherries, really nice in the mouth with great harmony and verve. There’s more ripeness than you think but this is nicely restrained wine, classic red Burgundy that tastes like no other place.

Next the 2006 Beaunes Greves 1er cru, again with beautiful balance of richness and finesse, with a worsted texture and just more depth than the others so far. I love these Rapet wines. Absolutely stellar burgs.

Finally the 2006 Corton Pougets Grand Cru, ok, not my favorite. It’s a bit vulgar with a warm, roasted aroma and fat, rich but less finessed flavor. Not tight and tannic like Corton tends to be, but otherwise a bit obvious as I think is typical of this appellation. This isn’t a favorite, but what can I say? It’s still very good. I’m going to make an effort to try more Rapet wines.

2001 Falesco Montiano

Here's an IGT wine from the Lazio region of Italy, near Rome. The producer, Falesco, is well known for its inexpensive Vitiano blend of sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon and merlot made in the modern style that the largely untraditional grapes suggest. Montiano is a the premium bottling made in the same style, from 100% merlot.

IGT means Indicazione Geograficia Tipica. It's a designation for wines that don't fit Italy's traditional "DOC" or "DOCG" categories (think appellations in France), either because the grapes come from an area outside specific regions, or more likely because the wine includes grapes that aren't allowed in those specific regions. For example, you can put a little merlot in Chianti and still be Chianti DOCG. But if you want to make a wine with lots of merlot from the Chianti region, you can't call it Chiant. You can label it as an IGT wine from the Toscano region, and more and more producer do just that with their wines that blend traditional sangiovese with lots of cabernet and/or merlot.

Falesco makes its living off IGT wines, from the lesser regarded Lazio region but well known now for high scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate newsletter, among other wine publications. The wines are clearly modern in style, but have an Italian signature that no new world wines made from similar grapes ever seem to have. I don't ever love the Falesco wines, but I see their appeal. And it's clear they taste "Italian." For all their modern sheen, I've never had an Amercian wine in this style taste anything close to what Falesco achieves. Maybe terroir isn't dead in the modern world?

The 2001 Falesco Montiano is dark colored in the modern style. The aroma is rich with red and black berries and a green bean streak, ripe and focused with tar and truffle notes that are distinctly Italian. At nearly 8 years, the wine is still youthful, suggesting at least that these modern wines can last a while in bottle.

The flavors are ripe and rich, with fine tannin and sufficient acid. There's spicy red and black fruit, oak marked but not dominated. You wouldn't call this traditional in any way, but next to an unnamed Washington state merlot that features lots of candy fruit and caramelly oak flavors, this is nicely Bordeaux-like with tightly wound, proportioned flavors that trade the gravel of Bordeaux's left bank for the game and balsamic notes of Italy.

This won't make me forget great Chianti or Brunello, much less the best of Piedmont. But I like this wine. I'm not sure if it will develop greater complexity with age, or if its appeal is its intensity and ripeness. But it's clearly well made wine with a pleasant dryness that fits the table better than most fruit-centric wines. I have one more in the cellar, and we'll see what it does with another 5 years or more.

2008 Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles

I've recently had a couple great experiences with Torbreck wines from the Barossa Valley of South Australia. But I'm conflicted about this bottling that was sent to this humble blog as a review sample.

Named for the famous Juveniles Wine Bar in Paris, the wine began nearly a decade ago as something of a house wine for the establishment. Demand for the wine grew along with production, and now it's a standard issue in Torbreck's portfolio.

Think about it. Australian red wine at home in a Parisian wine bar? Sounds crazy to me. So perhaps I brought too much expectation to this grenache, mourvedre and syrah blend. It must be a dead ringer for French wine. How else would the French accept it?

Well, the 2008 Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles smells and tastes like good, but very classic, Barossa red wine. It has a dark color with fresh fruit and light eucaplytus aromas, with some pleasant herbaceousness and just a hint of Rhone funk complexity (hard to describe). The flavors are all Australia. Not hot and alcoholic and over the top, but fresh, ripe and almost sweet with a moderately thick texture and not much complexity. The finish is short with a mild acid streak. In sum, not bad but not what I"m looking for in red wine. Not nearly as exciting to me as the Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon I wrote about recently.

In fairness to the wine and you readers, I took some over to my neighbor who thinks I like overly dry wines. She didn't swoom over the Cuvee Juveniles, but she really liked it. So you might too. Still I wonder what the French think of it. I know the Brits love Aussie wine. But the French? Maybe I'll have to check this out myself.

Thinking about Willamette Valley AVAs

Today I listened to the latest podcast from the guys at Graperadio. The theme? Trying to taste the uniqueness of the six sub-AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) of Oregon's Willamette Valley. For the unintiatied, that's Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains, Ribbon Ridge, Eola-Amity Hills, Yamhill-Carlton District, and McMinnville.

The episode wasn't my favorite. It's hard to taste wine on the "radio" and make it as compelling for the listener as some of their interviews. But I'm geeky enough to have enjoyed it, and it made me think of a provocative article in the May issue of the Oregon Wine Press by A-Z co-owner Bill Hatcher questioning the basis for these sub-AVAs. Visiting the OWP website tonight, I see that four prominent local vintners have posted rebuttals to Bill's article.

Bill essentially says that Oregon is a niche brand among wine drinkers across the US, but a strong one to those passionate about what our state produces. Yet most of them couldn't tell you where Oregon even is, much less where Yamhill-Carlton is compared to the Dundee Hills, or why wines from the two areas would even taste distinct for anyone to care. The AVAs aren't helping. We should instead promote "Oregon" on every wine label and not worry about essentially meaningless sub-AVAs, at least at this point. Obviously, others disagree strongly.

The Graperadio piece exemplifies both sides of the argument well. In pairings of pinot noir bottlings from each AVA, Jay, Rusty, and Eric try to pinpoint (pun intended Jay) the essence of each area. The Dundee Hills signature of red fruit and bright acidity comes through clearly. Mostly, however, they find it difficult.

Perhaps the ripe 2006 vintage that they largely tasted from obscures the subtlties of each AVA. Or perhaps Bill Hatcher is right. The overly large AVAs with varying soil types and exposures simply don't bring anything specific or consistent enough to the profile of the AVA's wines to do the consumer much good. You just can't taste the difference.

Then I read the rebuttals and I can't help but think David Adelsheim, Ken Wright, Ted Casteel, and Harry Peterson-Nedry make terrific counter-arguments that admit the current limitations of our AVAs but emphasize their role on the path to greater meaning.

Adelsheim makes the point that wineries are in the business of educating consumers they sell to, and that in time we'll have more and more meaningful "sub-sub-AVAs" like Ribbon Ridge. Places limited in geographical area with fairly common soils that might have the best chance to reflect meaningful commonalities among producers in the area.

Wright speaks to the deep, involved process that led to the creation of the AVAs. It wasn't slam bang marketing. It was meaningful collaboration largely focused on common "mother rock" in each area. There may be enough exceptions to dispute that, but if Hatcher's argument is correct that the market may be confused by the various AVAs, it's hard to argue at the same time that the AVA initiative is all about marketing. Clearly there's honest passion for the uniqueness of our viticultural areas behind the AVA movement.

Casteel makes the interesting point that the AVAs are akin to "neighborhoods" that naturally develop as the original, tight knit industry has grown. Everyone doesn't fit in the Tigard fire deparment for industry meetings anymore. It's right and good to sub-divide into regions that can provide the local scale for an industry that no longer fits into one house.

Finally, Peterson-Nedry emphasizes a point the others touch upon. Hatcher's business with A-Z is big by local standards. He needs to find lots of customers in a highly competitive, almost commodity driven price range. His concerns are not the same as a smaller, more premium wine focused enterprise. Peterson-Nedry gives a baseball example. Hatcher is looking for people to get on base with Oregon wine. But many others are after customers who are already one base, looking to advance beyond the entry level of brand Oregon to something more meaningful and specific to them.

In the end, it's clear our AVAs have a long way to go to show real distinctness in their wines. And it's true. Do people in Illinois really know (or care, yet) about McMinnville vs. Ribbon Ridge? Yet I think the industry is right to be forward looking. If you're reading here, you're probably a wine lover. Do you know Oltrepo Pavese from Valtellina? Perhaps, and I applaud that. Perhaps not, but it's not because there isn't something to learn and appreciate about those distinct districts in northwestern Italy. I guess it might just depend on how much wine you have to move.

Champagne from Prevoteaux Perrier

Last week I had the chance to try some well priced and absolutely delicious, terroir-driven, essentially grower Champagne from Prevoteaux Perrier.

I say "essentially" because apparently most but perhaps not every grape in one or both of these bottles is grown by the producer. I'm not sure, but this is close enough for me. Does it really matter?

First is the NV Brut Tradition, with nice mushroom and yeast aromas and bright, slightly oxidized flavors. This has good length and finesse for a non-vintage wine, with a saline quality I only get in real, good Champagne. What a nice value at just over $30 retail locally.

For just a few bucks more, the NV Grande Reserve Brut is amazing. That saline note from the Tradition is downright chalky here, with deeper mushroom aromas. The flavors are stone fruit and chalk with great finesse, meaning a combination of flavor complexity and intensity with a sense of weightlessness. There's some roundness from oxidation, perhaps from barrel aging in old wood. Overall, this is really good stuff. Highly recommended if you can find it. Vin de Gard brings it into Oregon. Not sure if this producer makes it anywhere else in the US.

2007 Burle Cotes du Rhone

From the samples I tried and what I've read from other wine people out there, the 2007 vintage of red wine in France's Rhone Valley is sizing up to be like the 2005 reds of Burgundy. Uncommonly intense and rich without over-ripeness or anything to mask the underlying terroir. I'm typically reluctant to talk about vintages, but rules have exceptions. 2007 in the Rhone looks excellent.

Take for example the 2007 Burle Cotes du Rhone. Sadly this grenache-dominated wine doesn't seem to make it to much of the United States, but it's a favorite here in Oregon thanks to importer PS Wines. Still around $10 as its been for nearly a decade, this is unbeliveabley good wine for twice the price.

Saturated dark ruby in color, it's still translucent and lacking the purple highlights of overextraction or too little exposure to oxygen in the winemaking. The aroma is strongly black cherry, showing the ripe fruit of the vintage. But there are floral overtones, with gravel, black pepper and scrub brush notes that give the wine great succulence.

Things are much the same in the mouth, with fine, ripe tannin and good acid freshness. Nothing harsh or cloying about the fruit sweetness here. The finish is a pleasantly dry and tangy, with good length to the flavors and remarkable intensity for such an inexpensive wine. I'm going to get a few more of these for any time we have roasted food. They will certainly last a few years in the cellar, maybe more.

A note on succession. Old man Edmund Burle died a few years back, and I see the names Florent and Damien Burle on the cork. Looks like this small producer is staying true to its roots despite the new generation. No oaky sheen or creamy fruit sweetness here. Just clear southern Rhone red wine that for me is a benchmark of what the Cotes du Rhone AOC is all about.

2007 Biggio Hamina Syrah

Tonight we tried a very interesting, ethereal syrah from here in the northern Willamette Valley of Oregon. The 2007 Biggio Hamina Syrah Duex Vert Vineyard is from a site in the Yamhill-Carlton district known for unusal (to our area) grape varieties such as melon de bourgogne. While this vineyard produces pinot noir, I'm most fascinated by its syrah, something you don't see much around here. This must be a warm site to ripen such a grape.

2007 of course was a relatively cool year with a rainy harvest, challenging for earlier ripening pinot noir. One would surmise that local syrah would have been a washout, but not so. Not at all, and I find that particularly exciting given my interest in local alternatives to the lovely but ubiquitous pinot noir.

Here's a wine that's light bodied and translucent in color, a product of the vintage but perhaps showcasing the style of a producer that wants to make "challenging" and delicious wine. They've succeeded here on both counts.

The aroma is all syrah (with 8% viognier actually), smokey with notes of cured meat, cranberries and raspberries, white pepper, flowers and sweet smelling earth. It's not intense and deep, but so complex and savory I could smell this all night.

In the mouth, it's nervy and lean, clearly built for food. It was delicious with grilled copper river salmon on a cedar plank. The wine is light in body, but captivating and piquant with a sense of meat and iodine and nicely gripping tannin. The finish is long and lean, a complete opposite to most domestic syrah that overpower with flavor but lack finesse.

In sum, I love this wine. Yet my wife and a neighbor both found it more challenging than satisfying, at least this night. They didn't hate it, but just make sure you want this kind of thing. If so, you might find again as I do that the future of syrah in these parts is very promising.

The Parker Brouhaha

Are you as worn out as I am by the Wine Advocate's ethics flap? Yet somehow I am compelled to write to try to figure it all out so you and I can sleep at night.

Head Wine Advocate Robert Parker has long championed his critical independence from the wine industry. That's to be applauded. Yet there's more to the story now, with the Wine Advocate featuring several other writers who apparently aren't asked to uphold quite the same standard as Parker.

In recent months, everyone in the wine internet-o-sphere seems to be frothing at the mouth. ETHICAL LAPSE! Bloggers have uncovered the goods. The Wall Street Journal has now weighed in. The story is blowing up.

Only one problem. Where are the bodies?

Ok, let's back up. More than year ago, Wine Advocate writer Mark Squires was featured prominently in a CNN report on Israeli wine. According to reporter Atika Shubert's voice over narration:

Israel wants the world to know [about its wines]. In March [of 2008], the government launched a PR offensive to literally wine and dine critics and diplomats the world over. Mark Squires is one of the traveling critics.

The video continues with several comments from a notably happy Squires, whose affiliation with the Wine Advocate is highlighted and perhaps the reason for the face time.

The smiles continued back at the erobertparker wine discussion forum that Squires runs. In a love-fest of a thread posted when the video went public, several regular posters congratulated Squires on his CNN appearance, among them former longtime Wine Advocate writer Pierre Rovani. Only one person asked who paid for the trip, and Squires answered the question clearly. No one else seemed concerned with the potential conflict of interest.

Then last month, Dr. Vino published a bit of an expose that brought up another potential conflict of interest. Mike Steinberger had published an article in Slate questioning the direction of Australian wine. Squires rebutted on the discussion group, but the thread was locked (and deleted) before Steinberger could respond. Dr. Vino published the private correspondence from Steinberger and Squires, where Steinberger brought up another thread (also now deleted) on the discussion group about Wine Advocate writer Jay Miller's high profile dinner at Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, FL, with three Spanish wine importers. Miller's beat for the Wine Advocate includes Spain. Needless to say, Squires appeared less than gentlemanly and perhaps gave the story additional legs for his defensiveness and outright rudeness. Where's there's smoke there may be fire, and Squires was smokin' that day.

Now comes the Wall Street Journal with a summation of the story delivered on the doorstep of the mainstream media. Wine may be a niche subject, but Parker's had movies and books made about him. Something tells me this story isn't done.

Yet where are the bodies? Where is the meat? So far, the issues are two, neither than impressive to me.

One, there's the potential for conflict of interest. But so far, the best people seem to have is that Miller was brought to Australia on a junket and now he's published high ratings for lots of Australian wines. What's new? Miller's busy publishing gobs of high ratings on pretty much everything he reports. It's a new running joke. "Jay Miller didn't like the wine. It only got a 93." The issue here isn't proven conflict of interest. It's grade inflation.

Two, there's a lack of transparency and consistency in the Wine Advocate's ethics policy. Perhaps. It is puzzling that Parker has published a policy now that sets one standard for himself and another, less rigorous standard for his writers. Really though, the junkets haven't been a secret. Sure, the newsletter could (and probably now will) be especially clear about who's paying for what, but it's not like these were deep, dark secrets. From the WSJ article, it sounds like a few of the trips in question were unearthed with a phone call. Others were hidden in places like...CNN and on the Parker web site!

If -- and it's a big IF -- if more news comes to light, perhaps this whole to-do will seem more worthwhile. I'm sure people will keep digging. It isn't helping that Parker's been calling out bloggers as essentially worthless parasites. Maybe that will bite him in the rear. If there is pay to play in the Parker kingdom or any other kind of major dealbreaker, well wouldn't that be interesting. But that's not the case yet, and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. Just a hunch. Meanwhile, if you're really worried about all this, why not taste wines for yourself and give up worrying if something's a "92." Spend more effort of your food match.

NZ Sauvignon and a Rhone

I found the 2008 Isabel Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough region at a local store and bought one to try. What a delicious wine. Screwcapped and fresh, with a fragrant vegetal aroma of green peas and a bit of stinky reduction notes that unwinds to a more golden fruited, leesy but still pleasantly vegetal fragrance. It's hard to explain but I really enjoyed the changes and overall complexity this wine showed. In the mouth, it's a bit fat from lees aging and maybe some barrel time, but crisp and focused too. I suppose "well balanced" would be the right thing to say here. Just delicious, and a search of internet notes suggests this wine can age. I don't usually think of NZ sauvignon as something for the cellar, but who knows, maybe this has some potential to last.

Then another excellent Cotes du Rhones from Domaine Milliere. This, the 2006, is darker colored, more extracted and intense than I remember older bottlings (going back to the stunning 1996), with a bit of a gummy, fruity syrah/shiraz aroma. Still, this is all southern Rhone wine with minerality, pepper and a sense of savor to the aroma that more modern, purely new world wines just don't usually show. In the mouth, there's rich berry flavors with chewy tannin balanced by a fresh, sweet impression. There's a bit of alcoholic warmth here, in a good way. This is wine for a cool, sunny evening when you're out back, feeling the need for a sweatshirt at dusk but still enjoying some grilled food and hopefully your friendly neighbors. If this was from California, people would be drooling over the mix of complexity, intensity and finesse, and paying a handsome price. From the lowly Cotes du Rhone appellation, this is inexpensive, somewhat ageworthy and unquestionably interesting red wine. Hard to go wrong here.

More Valtellina

Robert Parker doesn't like Valtellina. At least, that's how it appears to this reader. Any time I've read him comment on these nebbiolo-based wines from far northwestern Italy, he doesn't just sound unimpressed. Rather, he sounds inspired to criticize in a way he hasn't in years in the pages of his Wine Advocate newsletter. It's kind of refreshing, even if I might not agree.

Tasting another wine purchased from Wine Expo in Santa Monica, CA, where Parker got the Valtellina he mentioned above, I think I see what was objectiving to. The 1998 Balgera Valtellina Superiore Grumello isn't a Sforzato-style wine like he tried, those made from dried grapes a la Amarone. But this has all the dried fruit, leather, and baked fruit aromas Parker seemed to like, and all the piquant flavor and tannic texture he seemed to hate. Sipping wine this isn't.

But then with galettes of feta and farm cheese with dill and thyme, this wine was absolutely gorgeous. Perfumed with fragrant herbs and fresher seeming cherry fruit, then silky, complex and refreshing in the mouth. What a terrific match, where again the earthy and herby flavors of the food brought out the freshness and sweetness in otherwise earthy, herby wine. It just goes to show how important food is with old school wines. Parker didn't mention trying his Valtellina with food. I wonder how that might have changed his impressions.

White and red

With summer weather in Portland, we got the dry season off to a nice start last night with dinner in the backyard with neighbor friends. After a little Blind Pig ("Swig a Pig") ale from Russian River Brewing, we tried two very interesting and delicious wines.

First, the 2008 Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon from the Barrossa Valley of Australia. I found this for $8 locally, which is aberrant pricing. Still, at $15 or so, this is a seriously nice wine for summer. Light gold in color with a slight greenish cast, this is fresh smelling, lemony with light wax and mineral notes. Nothing complex but just so beautiful and pure, I loved this. The flavored followed, with bright, crisp lemon and steely notes, pure and focused but with just enough fat to give a sense of richness. This is excellent Aussie semillon, exemplifying yet another wine category beyond the usual shiraz that merits your attention. I don't know if this is worth aging, but semillon from down under can have surprising cellarworthiness.

Then the 2000 Thunder Mountain Star Ruby, a Bordeaux variety blend from the Cienega Valley of California. Check out this old Elevage post from 2005 when I detailed the sad but uplifting story of this winery. Sad in that Milan, an old acquaintance from wine board days, is no longer with us. Uplifting because he was a homebrewer who went pro and made excellent wines like this one.

So how's this bottling holding up? From that old post, I see that I found this wine tight and needing age. Nearly four years later, it's rocking good. Certainly in no danger of fading, but this is drinking really nicely. Lots of berry, cassis and barrel toast on the aroma, all nicely integrated as age does for good wine. There's some tobacco in there and other spicy notes. The flavors follow, with lovely fine tannin that's beginning to resolve. This has terrific balance and a long finish, just what I look for wine a wine. Four years ago I said this could easily go for 10+ years, and I still feel that way. You can drink it now or over another decade. Thanks Milan.

Bodega del Fin del Mundo

I found a cheap bottle of red wine the other day from an Argentinian property with a strange name that I somehow just had to try. So I bought a bottle of 2006 Bodega del Fin del Mundo Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, which came to Portland all the way from the arid plains of Patagonia. I find I don't often try wines from South America, so here's a chance to find something new and different.

I didn't look too closely at the back label until getting home. Get this:

The mysticism and romance expressed in the wines of Bodega del Fin del Mundo (From the end of the earth) come from the vast landscapes of Patagonia our wines pay honor to this land of immense beauty where the final touches of creation can still be traced.

The sand and rocky soils. Intense sunlight. Dry breeze warm days and cool nights. Plus the use of drip irrigation yield grapes of uniform ripeness and excellent color.

This wine is the perfect expression of its orgins. Bright in color. With full fruity aromas. Fresh and rounded in the mouth. With persistent length.

WOW! The obvious translation issues aside, can we get an editor? Grammar is universal I think. But who knew the selling powers of ... DRIP IRRIGATION. I must say, I've never seen boasts about drip irrigation on a wine label. Makes me want to drink straight from the little black hoses down each vineyard row.

Ok, seriously, the wine's ok for what it is. Manufactured and adjusted for inoffensiveness, with a glossy texture akin to highly conditioned sandwich bread. I wouldn't call it "bright in color" and the "full fruity aromas" have a 'vegetal, we cropped this high but still pushed for high sugars so its rich but still not quite right' edge. In the mouth that glossy, candy texture has just the right amount of tannin, a sweet / tart edge of acidulation (I'm guessing on that), and a sense of harsh intensity like poorly mixed fruit juice from concentrate.

So I'm not a huge fan of the wine, but it's certainly good in the cheap wine for a party idiom. For more information on this producer, check their highly interactive website or Jamie Goode's write up from a couple years back on his terrific Wine Anorak site.

Du Vin and Ott Bandol

Two days ago I drove around west LA on a quest to see my dad's childhood home in Hollywood. On the way I stopped at a couple of wine shops.

One is the relatively new Hollywood location of Bay Area leader K&L Wines on Vine Street near Hollywood Blvd. K&L was long a favorite of my when I lived in San Francisco. K&L Hollywood has a parking lot, which is saying something these days in LA, and a deep selection of mostly conventional domestic and international wines. It lacks the depth that the Redwood City store has in the rarities section, but I'm sure I'd be here regularly if I were still an LA local. Prices are very competitive.

The other is a store in West Hollywood that I found back around 1992 called Du Vin. It's on North San Vicente just below Melrose and is one of my favorite wine shops ever. Not because it's big, because it isn't. And not because it's particularly inexpensive, because it isn't (though there are some exceptional values if you dig around).

Rather, Du Vin is great because it's like entering another world, one authentically rooted in French wine but squarely LA. From the tile-roofed San Vicente frontage, you walk down a red brick driveway to a shady courtyard with the wine shop in a rear building. Past the "Ouvert" sign, the shop is dimly but satisfactorily lit and cool, bottles arranged everywhere, the most prized in plastic bags to protect fragile labels.

Back in the early '90s the shop featured sandwiches and other light snacks, and the courtyard made for a nice place to grab a bite to eat and catch up on the LA Weekly. These days things are focused solely on wine, high quality wine that's mostly from Europe and well selected. The Burgundy selection is nice, the Champagne well chosen, Rhones attractive, and the Bordeaux deep for a smallish shop.

But for me, the prizes are in the lesser traveled appellations, like Bandol or Rasteau Vin Doux Naturel, which Du Vin seems to specialize. On my last visit five years ago, I found 500ml bottles of Trapadis Rasteau VDN that apparently aren't available in the US anymore. This time I found the oddly shapes bottles of Bandol from Domaine Ott at relatively discount prices (Ott isn't ever cheap).

Since I was leaving the next morning for Portland with only carry on luggage, and I wasn't looking to ship a bunch of wine, I purchased only a half bottle of 2001 Domaine Ott Bandol Chateau Romassan to try back at my Mom's. What a terrific little Bandol, very interesting and quite good if not great.

The color is bricking and the perfume woodsy, very mourvedre, with some fruitness but much more to the earthy side of things. In the mouth it was much softer than I expected, but pleasantly so. Mourvedre can be so tannic when young, and while this isn't new wine, even at 10 years a true vin de garde can still seem primary and ungiving. This wine was flavory with a round but natural texture, nothing glossy or candied, and fine tannin that's nearly resolved.

My brother tried the wine and described it as having different flavors after a few moments in the mouth, which I interpret as "finish." This wine has a finish, which so many big, bold wines lack. I think that quality alone makes a wine interesting and worth drinking. I wouldn't keep this wine in the cellar too long, but what a delicious Bandol for the dinner table. If you're in LA, head down to Du Vin and pick some up. And for those Sine Qua Non fans flush with cash, I noticed some bottles of the Raven series wines for a clean $200 per. Some might find that a bargain.

2004 Don Jacobo Rioja Crianza

I picked up this bottle yesterday here in LA thinking it might be nice for dinner tonight. What a terrific, traditional Rioja it turned out to be. Check out Wine Expo in Santa Monica if you're interested. I don't think you'll find this wine many other places.

I wrote about Wine Expo last year. It's unusual in that you probably won't recognize many producers and possibly appellations. The store undoubtedly has more Oltrepo Pavese than Napa cabernet. But be careful about prce, at least for the wines you can find elsewhere. On this visit, the Valpolicella of Vaona caught my eye as something I'm familiar with but can find elsewhere for much cheaper.

Nevertheless, the store has an amazing selection of Champagne, among other things. (I salivated at the big bottles of Scaldis Noel beer.) And pretty much everything is going to be in a super-traditional style, meaning drier and winier in character than the typical dark colored, fruit sweet and powerful wines so in favor these days.

I figured this was a good place for traditional Rioja. That is, ruby red colored, with floral aromas of pepper, tobacco, cherries and old wood spice. Then bright, racy flavors that mirror the aromas and come alive with a plate of lasagne and bread. This is the 2004 Don Jacobo Rioja Crianza. There's no jelly doughnut, pain grille or alcohol burn here. Just spicy, racy wine. Perhaps a touch dirty, with musky notes, but delicious and right like mildly stinky cheese.

I understand this kind of wine isn't for everyone. You're not a better person for liking this kind of thing. I just find an uncommon joy in such a wine. Simple and delicious, yet also subtle and complex. And this is just the crianza. I'll have to try reservas and gran reservas from this producer. The few notes I've found online suggest good things, but a look on winesearcher doesn't show anyone in the US carrying it (obviously not true, but clearly this isn't common stuff). Thanks Wine Expo.

1997 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard

I'm always on the look out for wines from 1997 because it's the year my wife and I married. In Oregon's northern Willamette Valley, 1997 was the third rainy harvest in a row, and the rainest harvest in the decade leading up to the wet October of 2007. Farming techniques and cellar practices have advanced in the last decade, and I've heard recently from few local winemakers that 2007 would have been another 1997 if not for those changes. Meaning, 1997 was a tough harvest.

Still, I like trying local wines from my wedding year. And while today isn't my wedding anniversary, it does mark 15 years since my wife and I went on our first date, and 13 years since our engagement. So, tonight we pull out the good stuff...well, sentimental stuff. It doesn't always have to be fancy to be special. There isn't anything in the cellar queue from 1994, so the wedding year it is.

If you look online for notes about the 1997 Ken Wright Cellar Pinot Noir Carter Vineyard, what little you'll find suggests the wine is dead. Well, that depends on your perspective. Ken tends to produce pretty large scaled, rich wines. This isn't that, and I don't imagine it ever was. If you're looking for dark and purple, this wine probably is dead to you. I like it.

The color is bricking, the aroma delicate with floral and red fruit notes with light oak spice, mature with some ea / nail polish notes, nothing egregious. This wine is cracking, but like the surface of an old painting still very much alive. If you like mature wine, this is good though not great.

The wine is gently flavored and light bodied, soft at entry with stronger acid in the middle and finish. The tannin is resolved, the texture smooth and supple. There's some dilution from the rainy harvest, but the quiet autumnal flavors echo nicely. It paired nicely with lentils, roasted red peppers and feta with basmati rice.

Perhaps it's a nice metaphor for our maturing relationship, changed from youth, still very much alive, hopefully in better shape than the wine but certainly not the same as it was. As it should be.

Champalou Vouvray

Quick note on the 2004 Champalou Vouvray Cuvee des Fondreaux. This chenin blanc is essentially demi-sec in sweetness, and usually lacking the acidic cut of other more highly regarded producers such as Huet and Foreau.

Still, I have always liked this wine for its purity, honied aroma and, yes, value. We can't always afford Huet. This 2004 edition is classic with its perfume of honey, chamomile and lemon, with subtle mineral notes that come out with airing. In the mouth, there are golden fruit flavors and a mild honey sweetness, without enough acid balance to cleanse the palate and carry the flavors out for quite a while.

In sum, what delicious Loire white wine that has surprising aging ability. For $18 this is ok value. Occasionally you can find it for $14 or even less, and at that price I think it's terrific.

Lackluster Marche wine

I've written previously about how the hot 2003 vintage in Europe, challenging though it may have been, produced a variety of interesting wines for my palate. Ripe and soft, sure, but I've enjoyed many wines.

Of course, there's the downside to the vintage -- overripe wines that are fiercely tannic and lack freshness. That's pretty much the story with the 2003 Villa Pigna Rozzano Marche IGT.

Translation -- the producer is Villa Pigna, the bottling name is Rozzano, the area in Italy is the Marche, and IGT essentially means this isn't a formal DOC or DOCG "appellation" wine. IGT wines often have non-traditional grapes such as merlot or cabernet sauvignon, that aren't otherwise allowed in a particular DOC or DOCG.

In this case, the wine is apparently 100% Montepulciano, so no merlot or whatnot to wonder about. Instead, just the weather.

The dark ruby color leads to a ripe, plummy and even pruney aroma that's definitely Italian but just not fresh and appealing. There's nice spice and old wood aromas, maybe even some mint, but the raisiny quality smothers any character or nuance.

The flavors are similarly baked, with prune and spice notes and fierce tannin that suggests the grapes shivelled in the hot weather before truly ripening. The finish is short and tangy, with rough tannin and a plodding flavor.

Is this horrible wine? No. In fact, I'm surprised it's not horribly volatile. It seems rare to taste a wine so pruney that somehow didn't get away from the winemaker and start its path to vinegar. It's just emblematic of the exceptionally hot 2003 vintage. No more, no less.

Rutherglen Muscat

Astute Elevage readers will notice a general lack of tasting notes here on Australian wines. One might infer that I'm anti-Australia, in with the "I hate big ass shiraz" crowd. No, not at all. There's so much more to Australia, a place I've visited twice and love dearly.

Sure, some of the larger scaled Aussie reds are way too over the top for me, not to mention overpriced (at least here in the US). Yet there are terrific reds from older producers like Henschke and Tahbilk, and more recent producers like Torbreck.

What I really love about Australia are the lesser known (again, in the US) wines. I'm thinking of the white wines, the rieslings of Clare Valley and semillon of the Hunter, and the stickies.

Ever been to Rutherglen? It's a dusty farm town off the Hume Highway in northern Victoria, a bit closer to Melbourne than Syndey otherwise in the middle of nowhere. It reminds me of what Sonoma might have felt like 50 years ago or more, when you were more likely to see a tractor on main street than a Jaguar.

Rutherglen is also home to some of Australia's most prized and famous wines, namely its dark, rich and intense brown muscats that age seemingly forever. There's history here too -- many of the producers have been around since the 19th century, some with wine stocks going back nearly as far.

On my visits down under, I've managed to stay over in Rutherglen twice. Winery visits included the venerable Chambers, Campbells, All Saints and Morris, the inspiration for tonight's post.

Back in 2002, I brought back a 500ml bottle of NV Morris "Old Premium" Liqueur Muscat, made in the solera style typically used in this region. That's where wines are periodically bottled from partially drained casks, with the casks then filled with young wines, aged, partially drained again for bottling, and filled again. Over time, the casks hold a mix of vintages younger and older, giving wines of great depth, maturity and freshness. Some casks are held longer still, providing blending tools so that younger soleras can be intensified with a bit of an older lot.

The wines themselves are curious in that they aren't fermented very long. Rather, grain alcohol is added early in the fermentation process to kill the yeast and preserve the sweetness, yielding wines with moderate acidity but tremendous residual sugar that apparently provide exceptional ageworthiness.

According to this label, base wines at the time of bottling nearly 10 years ago were more than 25 years old, making this a fairly old wine. The aromas are classic Rutherglen muscat, with floral, raisin, brown sugar and roasted nut notes. The flavors are intense and rich, with raisin, fruit cake and a mild sherry-like nutiness. There's great sweetness but more acidity than you might expect.

These wines are never laser-like with acidic structure. I simply love them for their intensity and uniqueness, with lingering flavors and a delicious taste that I've found in no other wine. Rutherglen muscat is truly original wine, and this Morris bottling from its Mia Mia Vineyard is exceptional. I'll have to go back to Australia and get more. I don't believe this wine makes it to the US, though plenty of others do. Give on a try.

Random wines

During my recent time off from this blog, I did manage to drink some wine. Here's a run down of random things I managed to sample.

First, two QPR wine (quality/price ratio for the ungeeky) that I bought in quantity from the Wine House in LA for a family event. The white was the 2008 Maipe Sauvignon Blanc from the Mendoza region of Argentina. For $9, this was a steal. Lively and fresh smelling with nice crispness and varietal character, without excessive grassy or herbal notes. This was a hit. I will admit I bought this purely on the "shelf talker" that compared it to Sancerre. I wouldn't go that far, but indeed this was a no brainer at the price.

Then a red, the 2007 Antinori Santa Cristina Toscana Rosso, mostly sangiovese blended with some merlot and also $9. Call it internationalized and industrial, I find this wine to be a safe bet in lots of places where the pickings are slim. The Wine House has a nice selection, but I needed multiple cases on short notice and interestingly enough, there wasn't much to pick from in this price range. Sweet fruit aromas, but clearly Italian with savory flavors and good acidity. This was another crowd pleaser and is nice on its own and with food.

With lots of family in an LA restaurant, I went with what my dad would have ordered - barbera. Not the 2004 Castello Verduno on the wine list, but the 2007 Damilano Barbera d'Alba was a fine substitute. Again, terrific on its own and with dinner, this was prototypcial barbera with dark color, earthy fruit aroma, and clean, crisp but ripe fruit and spice flavors in the mouth. Nothing fancy, but this was a great pick.

The other highlight in LA was a glass of Yellow Tail Shiraz (vintage irrelevant). It's sweet, syrupy red wine that tastes more like alcoholic fruit punch. But people dig it. What are you going to do?

Then back in Portland, some drinks around the house. The 2004 Lafond Lirac Roc-Epine Blanc was a bit long in the tooth. I guess more viognier or grenache blanc than marsanne or roussane? Some mild walnut smells with dry honey and some gain alcohol, this was more together in the mouth but nothing to write home, or here, about.

2003 Lorinon Rioja Reserva was a bit of a revelation. I bought it on a whim to try something maybe Alice Fiering would decry as modern, horrible Rioja. Lopez y Heredia this wasn't, but neither was it glossy and processed. Some dill notes suggest traditional American oak, with pretty tobacco and plum flavors that seemed medium bodied even in this hot vintage. Not bad at all.

Another bottle of 2002 Cray Cremant de Loire sparkling rose was delicious, just as in the past. I don't care what Marshall Manning says, this is good stuff and worth your time and liver even if it's not as earthmoving as something more fancy. Take that Marshall Manning.

Finally, something I found for $5 on the back table at Pastaworks one Sunday afternoon, a lone half bottle of 2001 Fattoria le Pupille Sol Alto dessert wine from Tuscany. Once in a blue moon Peter di Garmo simply gives something away. Once I found a full bottle of terrific Jurancon. This is a top rate Sauternes clone, with a light gold color, intense but delicate figgy, pineapple, and honey aroma, and a classically balanced sweet fig and pleasantly bitter pith flavors. I have no idea of the blend, but if it's not sauvignon, semillon, and/or muscadelle I'd be shocked. Put a label of Rieussec or Sudiuraut on it and people would pay out the nose for it. The regular price is $20 or $25, not cheap but worth it. For a fiver? Ridiculous. Keep your eyes open. Bargains abound.

Seghesio Pinot Noir Costiera

For Easter Sunday, one of my brothers brought a bottle of (I believe) 2006 Seghesio Pinot Noir Costiera from California's Russian River Valley. He's a big fan of Seghesio wines, primarily their zinfandel bottlings, and for good reason. Although I wasn't so fond of the basic 2007 zinfandel bottling, Seghesio has long been a terrific producer of old school, delicious zinfandel from the Dry Creek Vally.

So here was my first taste of Seghesio Pinot Noir, and while I found it perfectly delicious to drink, it tasted like zinfandel. Well, not entirely. This is clearly pinot noir, with the rooty sweetness you only get from this grape. The British call it "beet root" and mean it as a compliment. Some Americans refer to it as "I don't like pinot noir." It's that distinctly earthy, often tantalizing quality of any pinot noir-based wine that some people simply don't like.

At 15% alcohol, this Seghesio Costiera was clearly made from grapes harvested well past what I would call "ripeness." There are raisiny tones that give the wine richness, but to me detract from the varietal nature of pinot noir. The alcohol gives lots of body to the wine's texture, and some burn on the finish. In a zinfandel, that's not entirely a bad thing, in a certain balance. In pinot noir, it's just not right. Call that snobbish or whatever. I'm just being honest.

Yes, I happily tasted and drank the wine. I would have had more if my brother hadn't pounded the rest by himself (joking!). This wine was like an action movie with noise and explosions that satisfied, in that idiom. Not classic film, but highly enjoyable. Thanks bro.

South African pinot noir

Back after an unplanned break. Thanks for your patience. Here's a short note to ease back into things.

Recently, a variety of imports from Leucadia Wines showed up at my local discount outlet. Among them were some South African wines from Bouchard Finlayson. I did some internet research on the producer and saw some positive notes. So I grabbed one of the wines to sample for myself.

This 2007 Galpin Peak Pinot Noir from Bouchard Finlayson is interesting enough wine. With a California label, it would surely run $50 or more. I suppose that's what the importer was asking as well, but for $14 on close out, it's a decent bargain.

It has a dark color, but not excessively so. The aroma is pungent, with smoke, root vegetables and black cherries notes that are very attractive. However, in the mouth the acidity sticks out too much, as if these ripe grapes needed a boost of tartaric acid to retain freshness.

The flavors are rich and round, with soft tannin, just the profile so much "high quality" new world pinot noir shows. That prickly acid though just doesn't fit. I suppose there's some alcoholic burn here too, but that's to be expected with such large framed pinot noir.

All told, this isn't horrible wine, and for the money it's going to please a crowd. Sometimes that may be enough.

Strong Austrian Beer

Tonight with steak I chose not to open another pinot noir. My experiences with grilled or broiled steak and pinot noir are generally not good. What to choose? What to choose? How about a 2004 Eric Texier St. Gervais Veilles Vignes des Cardinieres?

I've enjoyed Eric Texier's wine for nearly a decade. Ever since I found a delicious bottle of the 1998 Brezeme Cotes du Rhone at Pike's Place up in Seattle, this producer of southern and northern Rhone wines and the occasional Burgundy has become a sentimental favorite.

In the past though, Eric has bottled some wines with synthetic corks, which I've found to provide inconsistent results with ageing wine. I still have some of the 1999 Brezeme standing up in the cellar, the idea being that the wine doesn't need to, and shouldn't, touch the synthetic cork. We'll see how the last few bottles hold up.

A few years ago I tried a single bottle of the 2000 Cardinieres, and loved it. So lively and peppery, just what I want in a Cotes du Rhone Villages wine, with the depth and intensity of a higher AOC like Gigondas.

So this 2004 Cardinieres has been in the cellar queue for a while. Made from 80 year old grenache vines, this wine is an ideal alternative to cabernet for a nice steak. That is, when it's not corked. Yes, no artificial cork here. Instead, the real thing, taint and everything.

Damn it! I suppose there are far greater ills in this world, but when I get a corked wine, it hurts.

So the steak went solo, but after dinner I opened a little bottle of "the world's most extraordinary beer." Yes, Castle Brewery in Eggenberg, Austria's Samichlaus Bier, bottled in 2007. This is "malt liquor" and allegedly the world's strongest beer at 14% alcohol. I imagine the micro brewers here in the US have things that trump that strength. Still, 14% is powerful beer, ideal in my case for a pinot noir stem.

What can such a strong beer smell and taste like? The first sniff simply said "Austria." This beer smells like an intense version of the crisp but malty beers of Vienna, where I spent some time in university. With time, there are hay, honey, and light burnt sugar aromas as well, still nicely fresh for what is obviously aged beer.

The color is bronze and the flavors moderately sweet, with round malt, apricot, and mild alcohol notes and terrific length. This in fact may be the most extraordinary beer I've ever tasted. Yes, the label's boast seems correct.

More details from the back label: this beer is brewed once a year, on December 6, and aged 1o months before bottling. Thus, this must be from 2006, and apparently this should age nicely and become "more complex with a creamy warming finish." I'll buy that.

Where strong beers are hot and alcoholic at 10%, this is amazingly wine like with great aroma, balance, texture, and length, everything I look for in a quality wine. Treat this like an aged white dessert wine. Chocolate didn't work, but maybe fruit dessert or biscotti would be nice. Or sip it on its own. For nearly $5, it's pricey beer. But for the quality, it's a steal.

Real Wine Assault Portland

Last Thursday evening I had the pleasure of seeing old Joe Dressner and the Louis/Dressner(/McKenna) trio at E&R Wine Shop in Portland. That and tasting lots of excellent Loire and Beaujolais wines from the LDM portfolio poured by the makers themselves.

As readers may know, CaptainTumorMan Joe Dressner has brain cancer. Never one for self pity -- he's too busy pissing people off -- Joe's blogging on all things malignant, including an acrimonious family squabble that I'm hoping is just one of his many online fictions.

Dressner may be the Borges of the wine internet. However, this night everything was real and good.

I began with two whites from Marc Olivier of Domaine de la Pepiere. His 2007 Muscadet was excellent, crisp and pure melon, while his 2007 Muscadet Clos des Briords was even better, so mineral and pure but flavory and long lasting. Olivier and I discussed -- I questioned, he answered, that is -- the agebility of his wines. The 1988 apparently is going strong. Not that we see older vintages much here in Oregon.

Next, Evelyne de Jessey and two wines from her Domaine du Closel. I've had mixed experiences with Closel wines in the past. These two were certainly good, but not favorites in this group. They just seemed a bit soft. The 2006 Savennieres La Jalousie was quite fruity for this appellation. The 2005 Savennieres Clos du Papillon was more complex, smelling of spiced jelly candies but showing some alcoholic heat in the mouth.

I was much more impressed with the Domaine de Belliviere wines, poured by Christine and Eric Nicolas. Like the Closel wines, these are made with chenin blanc, but they are lightly sweet where Savennieres are typically dry. The 2005 Eparses VV Coteaux du Loir Blanc was aromatic, perhaps a tough volatile but nicely honied and crisp despite the 15g/L residual sugar. The 2005 Jasnieres Les Rosiers was superb, with a wildly intense aroma and flavor. A touch sweeter too with 20g/L. These are quite distinctive wines, though I'm not sure what to serve them with.

Moving from the Loire to Beaujolais, two red wines from Jean-Paul Brun's Terre Dorees. First, the 2007 Beaujolais Rouge V.V. L'Ancien, this is classic Brun. Light bodied, peppery with crunchy acidity and cherry flavors. Simply delicious wine. Then the NV Beaujolais Petillant FRV100, indeed effervescent with apple cider aromas and light sweetness. This is ok, good for a hot day I suppose.

Next to Brun was Alain Coudert of Clos de la Roilette. The 2007 Fleurie was typically more intense than Brun's basic Beaujolais, but still light and crunchy with nice soil, cherry, and autumn leaf flavors. The 2007 Fleurie Cuvee Tardive, from older vines, was similarly delicious but not necessarily distinct from the main bottling.

Moving back to the Loire, two producers of red wine. The first was Pierre Breton, who began by pouring a rare white wine from chenin blanc. This 2006 Chinon Blanc Beaumont was yeasty with green apple and a pleasant hardness to the flavors. With time this might soften and become more waxy in texture. Then two reds, first the 2006 Bourgueil Trinch! Usually this seems to be a basic but delicious cabernet franc. This bottling had more intensity than I expect, with nicely grippy tannin. The 2006 Bourgueil Galichets was a big step up, and at $20, the bargain of the tasting. Chalky tannin that will need time to soften, but terrific intensity and length. I loved this wine.

Next to Pierre was Matthieu Baudry from Bernard Baudry. His 2007 Chinon Les Granges was a little green, not unpleasantly so. This is the basic bottling and shouldn't need time, but this wine might be a little tight from recent bottling. Who knows. Then the 2005 Chinon Les Clos Guillot, something completely different. Dark, saturated color, with a toasty and minty aroma more akin to the new world than Chinon. Firmly tannic in the mouth, I would have bet this had substantial new oak but Matthieu says no. This wine is hard to read. It's certainly atypical from the wines tonight, but perhaps time will calm down the intensity.

Finally, Kevin McKenna had his own table with a mix of things. First, the 2006 Degli Ulivi Gavi Filagnotti, a white wine aged in acacia wood that showed a little unpleasant cheese rind on the finish. Perhaps this is too "real." Then the NV (really 2005) Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blancs Brut Extra, a dry, lightly oxidized and yeasty Champagne that everyone but me seemed to love.

I preferred the last three wines. 2005 I Vignere Etna Rosso smelled like dry port without the weight of dessert wine, nicely peppery. Then the 2006 Camillo Donati Lambrusco dell'Emilia, simply delicious lightly fizzy red wine, with dried fruit flavors but nice freshness. I could drink lots of this. Finally, the 2006 Bera Moscato d'Asti, a nice sweet finish to the tasting with lots of lemon lime flavors and aromas. Perhaps a bit like soda pop, but I liked it.

During the event, MC Joe Dressner hushed the crowd with a Polinous-esque promise of brevity, recounting everything from the improper leverage ratios of Wall Street and chicanery of Bernie Madoff to the fine foods of our Willamette Valley, eventually mentioning the artisan producers here tonight and the authenticity of their wines.

I pulled Joe aside during the event to reintroduce myself. "Ah, the famous wine blogger," he chided sarcastically, with a big smile. Joe needed to sit down, so we went in the back of the shop where there weren't really any seats. I didn't know what to say, so I joked that he's not in my prayers, and he asked me to not keep him in my thoughts. Joe has rules for what one should and shouldn't say to a cancer patient. I drew a blank in the moment and mumbled something about what I'm up to, making wine from the overly fertile soils of the Willamette Valley. Joe showed restraint and seemed to be listening. Then he asked me to report here that "cancer's really whipped Joe Dressner" so that he doesn't even have the energy to rant against the forces of evil in the wine world. Maybe that day will come, but for now big Joe is still going strong.

Hey Joe, that invitation to drink from paper bags under the Burnside Bridge is still open. Maybe next time.

2007 Vincent Pinot Noir is in the bottle

I spent all day yesterday with a generous friend from work bottling my homemade 2007 Vincent Pinot Noir out in the garage. Recall here, here, here and here the harvest and fermentation of this wine back in October 2007. Have I written about it since? I don't think so.

Well, life in barrel has been kind to this wine of low brix and rainy harvest fruit from the Meredith Mitchell vineyard. Despite the harvest conditions, the fruit was physiologically ripe, meaning the tannins were ripe and there weren't green flavors. After a full 16.5 months in 5 year old French oak, I'm pleased with the results. People who have told me they loved my 2006 Pinot Noir will undoubtedly find this 2007 model to be quite a departure.

Instead of the high alcohol, lush fruit flavors and low acidity of 2006, this 2007 wine is bright, taut and decidedly more earthy. It's clean wine, meaning there are no bacterial issues or problems. But the vintage, combined with the grapes being 100% Pommard clone pinot noir (known for its clean earth flavor), give a distinct soil character to the aroma and flavor. Dare I say it's Burgundian? The balance of fruit and earth flavors, and the pleasant zing of acidity do suggest the old country. If it's an Oregon version of good Bourgogne rouge, I'm satisfied.

Some folks got a taste of it in barrel last November at my first garage tasting. The reception was pretty positive, though the 2006 was generally preferred. I think the 2007 is showing better after a few extra months in barrel. I'm curious to see how people react to having this wine with their dinner, rather than having just a quick taste in my cold garage. It's definitely food wine, in the good sense.

When will the wine be ready to get out to friends and family (and faithful blog readers)? Probably around Memorial Day. I want to work on the label a bit, and let the wine rest after a light dose of sulfur dioxide and the minor trauma of bottling. Yes, bottle shock is a real thing.

If you're interested in trying the wine once it's "ready," let me know. Maybe we'll do another garage tasting.

Ah, sweet Burgundy

I'm not usually one to compare wines like red Burgundy and Oregon pinot noir. Yet I can't help see a delicious similarity between the 2004 Joseph Voillot Volnay Les Fremiets 1er Cru we had tonight with something perfumed and delicate from, perhaps, Evesham Wood of Oregon's Eola-Amity Hills.

As you may know, 2004 red Burgundy was largely panned by wine cognosenti. We heard cries of "unripe" and "green" in tasting notes for the wines. The latest vintage of the century, 2005, only further cemented 2004's reputation as the dirty stepchild (apologies to wonderful stepchildren everywhere waiting their turn for the shower).

Such vintage declarations can open or close the window for buyers. Where 2005s soared in price out of my reach, many 2004s were dumped at sometimes incredibly low prices. If you know me, I loaded up on selected 2004s from good producers and vineyards.

Tonight I needed something a little special. For some people, that would mean spending $50, $100, or more. For me, $15 will do. So this Voillot Volnay Fremiets. It has a beautiful translucent ruby color. At first, the aroma shows some herbaceousness. Then with a few minutes, a gorgeous perfume of cherries, flower petals and old wood spice emerge, gaining depth and intensity with more time in the glass. This is nice Cote de Beaune Burgundy, but the profile also suggests something light and delicate from here in Oregon.

The flavors and texture follow the aroma. There are soft, silky fruit flavors with fine tannin and toothsome acidity, delicate and light but so pure and lengthy. Fans of big cabernet, or pinot noir for that matter, would fret the lack of volume and decibel here. But this is what pinot is about to me. Immediately pleasurable, surprisingly complex and refreshing, easy to match with food (maybe not steak) and so tasty you can't help pouring yourself another glass.

What more do you want? This is a special wine, perhaps a small storefront off the main drag but all the better for it.

Scheurebe and baby Bandol

Notes on a couple wines I've had lately. Both unusual but very nice.

First, the 2005 Weingut Ch. W. Bernard Scheurebe HackenHeim Kirchberg Spatlese, AP 06 06. Translation: Bernard is the producer, Scheurebe is the grape, Hachenheim is the town in the Rheinhessen region of Germany where you find this particular Kirchberg vineyard, and the grapes were harvested at spatlese ripeness level (at least). Serious geeks pay attention to the AP number, which tells you the number and year of this specific bottling.

Ok, now the wine. Scheurebe is known for its opulence and low acidity, and this example shows that fully. Round, honeyed and moderately sweet, this wine has nice grapefruit pith and sweet lemon cake flavors. It's simply delicious, and pairs nicely with spicy food. The pleasant bitterness seems to work with the low acidity to balance the sweetnees. Just 10% alcohol.

Then a red wine from the Kermit Lynch imported Bandol producer Terrebrune. This is the 2007 Terre d'Ombre Vin de Pays du Mont Caume, labeled Delille vigneron without reference to the Terrebrun label. What fantastic red wine, and a terrific bargain at $12.99 locally at Liner & Elsen. I found it interesting to see this wine retailing elsewhere in the country for $15, even $20.

For those who wonder if "brett" can be a good thing, yes, this wine shows it. Brett is of course a wild, perhaps "spoilage," yeast that gives a wine a bandaid or barnyard quality. It's the latter in this case, the pleasing scent of horse blanket marrying nicely with the sweet lavender, herb, and raspberry aromas. The flavors follow, with ripe tannin and a slight bitterness that again pleases. I wouldn't age this wine, because the brett might take over. The wine is already so lush without being sweet, there's no reason to cellar it. But with a nice cut of beef, it's delicious, the fruit coming forward and the tannin clearing the palate for the next bite. This is my kind of bargain red wine. Thanks for the reccomendation Neil.

Thackrey Video and Austrian Riesling

I was happy to stumble upon this multi-part video of California winemaker Sean Thackrey over on the Chowhound site. Thanks for the link Wine Berserkers. Very interesting stuff, from a complex but still down to earth guy.

I've written before about the online Thackrey library where Sean hosts lots of historical texts on winemaking. Unfortunately, I can't read many of them. Nevertheless, I love the contents and the inspiration to even put something like this together.

On the videos, Thackrey takes on a bit of a controversial point. Where most down to earth types in wine seem to downplay the role of the winemaker in making great wine, Thackrey sees the obvious importance of the winemaker. He gets it that even great grapes won't make great wine without a winemaker making many difficult decisions. That's not vanity. To me it's just a fact.

However, I disagree with him on wine descriptors, and feel his own example shows how useful they can be. Sean, like many people in wine, says that descriptors just don't make sense to most people, so they're not useful. Then he gives the example of smelling fresh roasted cacao beans and finding the exact scent he's long noticed in his syrah but never been able to describe. Before he smelled them, the descriptor was have been meaningless to him. Since most of us, including me, can't say we've smelled that particular smell, surely the term is meaningless to us.

Or is it? For someone so attached to old books and inspired by their ability to communicate nearly ancient thoughts to us moderns, I would think Sean see the ability of language to educate us over time. That descriptor inspires me to learn that smell. More importantly, even if I don't have that experience any time soon, I've seen many times how descriptors become meaningful to me even years after first seeing them. I'd argue they were always meaningful. I just took time internalizing that meaning for myself.

This isn't to say I love wine notes full of laundry lists of descriptors. Rather, specific, even esoteric smells, can be incredibly important to communicate in a wine note when they convey something essential about the wine. You can tell in the video that those cacao beans are exactly what Sean senses in his own wine. How's that not meaningful?

Finally, I liked the view of an ETS lab report of the chemistry of one of Sean's syrah musts (I'm assuming it's syrah). Brix over 30, ph near 4.0, and lots of potassium that suggests the ph will shift ever higher after what malic acid is in the juice has fermented into lactic acid. Does Sean acidify?

Now a tasting note, full of meaningless descriptors. Tonight, with a simple pasta dish with asparagus, riccota salada, roasted pine nuts, and some black olives, an Austrian riesling. Specifically the 2004 Hofer Riesling Kabinett. Many people in the US know Winegut Hofer for its inexpensive 1L gruner veltliner with a crown cap, but this riesling is a big step up. Fragrant, green papaya aroma, pure with lots of minerality. It's dry and clean with ripe green apple fruit, lively acidity but nice richness, finishing long, spicy and crisp. It's delicious with dinner.

This isn't sweet kabinett that the Germans sometimes frustrate me with. Instead, it's pure Austrian white wine, dry and bracing but still substantial. I had a bottle of this last year that didn't seem so good. Tonight, this is excellent.

Recent Northwest wines

The other night I had the opportunity to try a variety of wines, among them some from here in the good old Pacific Northwest. They were each so interesting, I must write about them.

First the latest of non-vintage Cameron Chardonnay Willamette Valley, apparently mostly or all 2007 from the great Abbey Ridge vineyard, just younger vines and particular barrels that didn't finish their malolactic fermentation in a timely fashion, leaving them out of other blends. This is pure, crisp, clean, and delicious Oregon chardonnay for around $12. Ridiculous quality for the price.

The only problem with that wine was trying the 2006 Cameron Chardonnay Abbey Ridge right after it. If the first wine was nice music, this bottle made you realize you were listening in mono. One sniff and you're now hearing in full dimension stereo. Clear French oak aromas that will soften with age, this is very fine wine. Apples and pears, lemon curd, hazelnuts, all lithe and lean but rich at the same time, this isn't "white Burgundy" (not should it be), it's just at that quality level, premier cru at least. Dang.

Ok, back to earth, but pleasant earth on the Washington side. First the 2007 K Vintners Syrah Millbrandt, which was surprisingly gamey, floral, and pure smelling, with subtle perfume rather than a blast of jammy fruit and whiskey barrel smells that I find in too many Washington reds. I know, broad generealization. I need to taste more from our neighbor state, especially if there's more wine like this. In the mouth, it's rich but not heavy, with good structure that makes me think of dinner, not cocktail hour. I like this.

Then the real surprise, a zinfandel made in Carlton, OR, from Washington state grapes that's really good. It's the 2007 Three Angels Zinfandel Avery Vineyard, with nice pepper and plum aromas, full flavors but not overly ripe or alcoholic. If I hadn't seen the label, I might have guessed this was Lytton Springs area stuff from California's zin-centric Dry Creek Valley. A data sheet suggests this was picked in early October a little over 23 brix. I'm not sure how it ended up at 15% alcohol as the label suggests, though the wine didn't seem so large. Nice.

Sure enough though, Three Angels has a fatter zinfandel from the Les Collines Vineyard that, according to the data sheet, was picked closer to 27 brix near the end of the same month. Similar three to four week vatting time, but more new oak, more obvious alcohol, and not the interest to me of the Avery bottling. These are real zins though. Somewhere deep in me there's a dream to make zinfandel. It was my first winemaking love, back in California. Tasting these, that dream came alive. Maybe someday.

Yarden Mount Hermon Red

If you've read even a few of the now 250 posts on this blog, you know I like to drink broadly. I'm not a cab guy, or syrah guy, or Burgundy guy, or what have you. I value diversity in all things, and wine is no exception.

I've reported on Austrian gruner veltliner, Australian stickies, Oregon pinot noir, Loire romorantin, fizzy red wine from Italy's Oltrepo Pavese, and any number of other common and uncommon things on this blog. To this point, however, I've neglected the wines of Israel.

So, the 2007 Yarden Mount Hermon Red from the Golan Heights in Galilee. I've tried a few things from Israel over the years, but never this Israeli favorite that I heard about this past harvest working along an Israeli winemaker who happens to live here in Portland.

As I've learned, the Mount Hermon is an unusual wine in that it's released just a few months after harvest. If the Bordeaux variety grapes come in to the winery in September, they're in bottle as new wine in time for Hanukkah three months later. Hearing about the wine, I thought it must be bubble gummy or otherwise "fake" tasting. How else to make cabernet and family palatable by December?

Sampling the 2007 offering, I'm very impressed. This is quinessential table wine, and at $9 or $10 in Israel and a few dollars more here in the U.S., this is much more what inexpensive table wine ought to be compared to the typical mass market stuff you find in that price range.

Instead of the sugary sweet but harsh, even green flavors of so many domestic red wines in this price range, the Mount Hermon red is ripe without sweetness, with a nicely fruity but savory aroma. The flavors are varietal, with cherry and raspberry fruit and a pleasant green pepper and tobacco quality from the cabernet sauvignon or cabernet franc. The tannins are light but finely textured with juicy acid and a nice winey character overall.

This wine won't change your life, but I really enjoyed it's honest expression of Bordeaux variety wine. I'm not surprised to hear this is popular wine in Israel, and apparently it may soon be distributed here in Oregon. I'll look for it.

Weekend imbibage

After the quick tasting of Antica Terra Pinot Noir and Lillian Syrah on Friday evening, I went home and opened the 2004 Neudorf Pinot Noir Nelson. This New Zealand red wine comes from the lesser known, here in the US anyway, Nelson region on the very north end of the south island.

At first the wine seemed overly vegetal, somewhat remeniscent of older Monterey county pinot noir before that region in California got things together pinot-wise. It wasn't bad, just underwhelming. I probably shouldn't mention that I found myself again pairing pinot noir with unadorned steak. When will I learn that's not a good match?

Saturday was Valentine's day, so we had what turned out to be a lovely rose Champagne with dinner at home. After the overly dosaged NV Drappier "Brut" last week, this NV Henriot Brut Rose was just the thing. Bright, lithe, nervy with pretty but restrained red berry fruit and that telltale chalk of Champagne. This won't make me forget Lassaigne, but it's far closer than the Drappier.

The beauty of Champagne is that it pairs with almost anything on the dinner table, maybe even steak. The pinot noir in the blend of this Henriot was excellent with our soft polenta and mushroom ragout. Yet I saw the leftovers of the Neudorf calling for another chance, so we poured a little of it as well. Sure enough, the vegetal notes now seemed more root-like and gamey, with the earthy meal bringing more savory fruit out of the wine. I loved it.

We should not doubt the importance of food/wine pairings, even if paying such attention to them takes the wine geek to another level of disdain in most people's eyes. I can't deny it. My concern about what wine goes with steak is pretty small stuff in our world. Yet on a cold winter night, when I do have a modest home and the means to scoop up close outs at the discount outlet, it's real to me.

Antica Terra Pinot Noir

I enjoyed tasting two vintages of Antica Terra Pinot Noir last night at Storyteller Wine Co. in Portland, with winemaker Maggie Harrison on hand. Listen here to a recent Graperadio interview with Maggie detailing her history with Manfred and Elaine at SQN and how she came to make wine in Oregon.

First, the 2005 Sine Qua Non "The Petition," which I found extremely white burg like. Huge aroma of well integrated oak, nuts, minerals, and yellow fruit, this showed lots of chardonnay character. In the mouth it was more alcoholic than anything I've ever tried from Burgundy, but still long and well balanced. I've had this before and I liked it even better tonight.

Next came the 2007 Antica Terra Pinot Noir. This wine is not yet released. I was really impressed with the wine's fragrance. Lovely gamy and floral aromas with bright red fruit and clean dirt scents. The flavors followed in line, with little tannin but bright acid that carried the long finish. What a distinctive wine. 2007 was a challenging vintage and this isn't hugely flavorful and powerful. Instead, it's all about grace and, in another's words, seamlessness. Very nice wine.

I found the 2006 Antica Terra Pinot Noir similar in its perfume, with a liveliness that I didn't expect from this warm vintage. The wine is much more dense than the 2007, with strong black cherry fruit and a soft, round texture. I prefer the lighter, more elegant '07, but the familial resemblance of the two wines is remarkable. I'll be paying attention to this producer. You should too.

Spakling rose and a stop at Bar Avignon

Last night we sampled a bottle of 2002 Domaine de Cray Cremant de Loire Rose, which is absolutely delicious and yet another terrific value in sparkling wine. Where can you get vintage rose sparkling wine made from pinot noir that's this good for only around $13? Better yet, locals should be able to get it a bit cheaper still as the distributor has put it on post off. I'm going to load up.

The wine is a gorgeous salmon color, with a nice berry aroma that's fruity but not overly so. There's also nice yeasty, buiscuit notes that give depth to the perfume. In the mouth, it's again strikingly berry fruited but not sweet, minerally and maybe even chalky with yeast notes. The package is bright and fresh, yet round and integrated, all at once. This is high quality wine from a great Loire Valley vintage, and versatile enough to go with lots of different food. I'm impressed. I don't know how long it will last in the cellar, but I'm guessing a few years won't hurt anything.

A nice touch is the wine's clear glass bottle, which I'm saving for use as a water bottle on the dinner table. The label soaked off really easily. You see, I love water with meals, and certainly with drinking any kind of alcohol, but I'm terrible about remembering it at home. It just so happened that before getting this Cray wine, I stopped by the excellent Bar Avignon in SE Portland to pick up a gift certificate for a friend who's been a great help and support for my homemade wine. Sitting at the bar while they rang up my purchase, a server poured me cold tap water from a clear glass wine bottle. They keep a bunch of them in the fridge and pour liberally, into really nice and simple but not too narrow, not too tall glasses. I thought to myself -- I need to do that. Now, with one empty bottle of Cray Cremant Rose and several more to come, I'm excited for delicious, refreshing water. Come on over.

Finally, it just so happened that I stopped by Bar Avignon while Jay Somers from J. Christopher winery was pouring a few current releases. All four were delicious and interesting. First, a 2007 Maresh Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, very crisp, fresh, and varietal. Nice restrained fruit flavors and persistent acidity. Then the 2007 Le Pavillon Chardonnay, again varietal and minerally, showing its no oak, no malolactic elevage. Very nice.

Jay mentioned that he won't bottle any single vineyard / reserve type red wines from 2007, for economic reasons, not vintage quality. Judging from the basic 2007 Zoot Allures Pinot Noir bottling, quality indeed isn't the issue. This is really nice, bright and pure pinot noir without any herbal or green qualities. Very impressive sub $20 Oregon pinot noir from this vintage. Finally, the 2006 Sandra Adele Pinot Noir, very rich, maybe even heavy in texture but woodsy and floral amid the strong berry flavors. Very 2006, but also very good. Thanks for the samples Jay.

Botrytized Kabinett Riesling?

After my last post about overly sweet "brut" Champagne, we move to the curious case of botrytized kabinett riesling. How is such a thing possible?

Kabinett riesling from Germany is generally lighter bodied, lightly sweet, and brightly acidic. I like it for its pretty aromatics, elegance, and refreshing quality. It's also relatively cheap and some nights, like tonight, I want a light, low alcohol wine with dinner.

Kabinett's siblings in Germany's prädikat scale of ripeness are spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese, and trockenbeerenauslese. To qualify for any of these designations, wine must be made from grapes that achieved a certain ripeness level. If grapes are just ripe enough to make spätlese wine, they essentially aren't ripe enough to be called auslese or anything further up the scale.

Of course, things are never so simple with our German friends. Those spätlese level grapes could be made into kabinett. Sometimes grapes that could even be auslese end up in kabinett wines. Some vintages see lots of ripeness, so the kabinett is more like spätlese, the spätlese more like auslese, and so on.

Sometimes that's a good thing. You might get a little more wine for your buck. And sometimes it's a bad thing. You want what the label suggests is in the bottle. You get an untimely surprise.

In the case of the 2005 Carl Loewen Riesling Kabinett from the Leiwener Klostergarten vineyard, whoa. I don't think I've ever had such a ripe, rich kabinett. This one even smells like a light dessert wine, with figgy apple, grapefruit, and pear aromas. Is there some botrytis in here? That's the noble rot that gives the fig and apricot richness to the highest level prädikat wines? This isn't beerenauslese, but this ain't kabinett either, in my book.

In the mouth, the richness is accentuated by a lack of acidity, giving a slightly syrupy, viscous quality to the texture, with the sweetness a bit cloying. This is tasty wine if lacking percision. It's not at all what I wanted with dinner, but as a sipping wine now it's pretty good. With time the wine does seem more mineral and less overtly figgy, though it's still fat and thick, maybe in need of a bit of mineral water for refreshment.

Sure enough, looking now at broker Terry Theise's write up in his 2006 German catalog, this wine has the same "sense of sweetness" mark as the producer's spätlese and auslese. Terry calls that sweet but not obtrusive. I might argue with that. Still, too bad SOS isn't on the label (I know, just what the Germans need, more information on the label.)

Terry correctly waxes on the virtues of the wine's freakishness, "a real gob stuffer" with a "powerhouse palate." Not surprisingly, the grapes were harvested at 93 Oechsle, putting them well into auslese level.

So what do you think? Do you like hyper rich kabinett? Have you ever been frustrated when you open a bottle of kabinett only to find a flaccid auslese?

In case you were wondering, the AP on this bottle is 5 06. Those Germans.

Champagne avec dosage

I don't drink much Champagne. It's often expensive, and somehow when I have a few extra bucks in my pocket, bubbly of any type isn't what I typically reach for.

That's changing, with sparkling wine in general and, even in these tough times, Champagne proper. Did I write up the absolutely killer NV Lassaigne Champagne Brut Blanc des Blancs I had some weeks back? When researching that post, I found out about importer Joe Dressner's conjoined brain twin and got a little sidetracked.

Nevertheless, Lassaigne makes exceptional grower Champagne, and even their Les Vignes des Montgueux bottling at the base level is startlingly good. Pure, clean, complex, full of spine-tingling acid nervosity, just delicious.

Which inevitably brings me to a topic that I've found tiresome, until now. Wine geeks tend to think grower Champagne kicks ass for many reasons. One big one seems to be that these small scale producers generally don't add too much dosage to their wines, dosage being the sweet wine slurry added to sparkling wine before release to round out flavors and convey some house style. Growers lean away from the heavy dosage that the big houses overload their flashy brand names, taking what might otherwise be acidic, boring mass production Champagne and turning it into overly sweet, boring mass production "dry" Champagne.

Yawn. Seriously, even I've been rolling my eyes at such a David vs. Golaith set up.

Then I try some big name Champagne and...well...it's true. Some of these "dry" wines are way too sweet without the redeeming balance of Loire or German whites.

Take the NV Drappier Carte d'Or Brut. Brut means dry, but if you look around the internet, you'll be hard pressed to find any notes that tell you just how sweet this wine is. Sure, you see "round" and "full bodied," often synonyms for "sweet" in all kinds of wines. One prominent magazine even suggests it's "firm and refined." Maybe if you serve very cold.

I suggest people start using the word "sweet" when describing this wine.

The good news about the Drappier? It smelled and tasted like Champagne. There's no mistaking the chalkiness in most Champagne. But that dosage! It's just too much, leaving me guzzling water to refresh my mouth. Or better yet, something from Lassaigne.

Oltrepo Pavese

Just a quick Sunday night post to say how much enjoyed my first taste ever of Oltrepo Pavese. Specifically, the 2006 Bruno Verdi Sangua di Guida Paradiso. It's a lightly fizzy, deeply colored red wine with 7% alcohol and a flavor profile not unlike barbera. Dark berry fruit, bitter chocolate, and just a beautiful, savory flavor that balanced the light sweetness perfectly. I could drink a lot of this. Highly recommended.