The Amateur Wino

Yesterday, I tasted about 60 wines from the 2007 vintage of Bordeaux at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting here in New York. Here’s my scouting report:

Overall, as many winemakers told me yesterday, it was a tough vintage with less than ideal weather, and I think it showed in the wines. As a result, the wines for the most part show a cooler-climate flavor profile. This resulted in good white wines which benefitted from having a racy adicity, but the red wines are a bit ungenerously fruited overall. The Bordeaux dessert wines are quite good. 

Prices on 2007 Bordeaux are a bit unrealistically high right now, but it’s widely expected that prices will come down eventually given the weakness of the vintage and the current economic conditions.  There are other vintages available at retail that offer better quality, including 2005 and 2006 (which I will also be posting a report on soon), so smart shoppers will want to put their budget toward those vintages, or otherwise choose carefully from among the 2007s when prices come down.  Here are my wines to look out for:

Under $30

2007 Chateau Chasse-Spleen – One of my favorite value picks in Bordeaux, this chateau has a reputation for being good year in and year out, and 2007 is no exception. This wine shows good fruit and classic Left Bank graphite to give it some bass notes. When you figure in the modest price of this wine (about $25), this is a fantastic achievement for the vintage. This motivated me to ask owner Mme. Celine Villars-Foubet to do a brief interview with me on the spot, which she kindly did with great aplomb. Look for the video in a future episode right here soon!

2007 Chateau D’Angludet – this is a nice little QPR pick (about $28) from
Continue reading 2007 Bordeaux Round-up

Today’s episode features one of the wines that got my obsession with wine started – the Vina Bosconia from one of my all-time favorite wineries, R. Lopez de Heredia. Also, some quick tips on how to save leftover wine and keep it fresh, without buying any of those pump or argon gas gadgets!

Lopez de Heredia Bosconia Reserva Rioja 2001 Review from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

Hello all,

Here is part 2 of the interview with Viu Manent winemaker Grant Phelps. In this episode, Grant gives us insights into a number of wines that I picked out as the most noteworthy ones that I tasted from their lineup.  One thing that’s unusual about Viu Manent is that they are a Chilean winery with a special focus on malbecs, which is more commonly known from examples from Argentina. We discuss how Viu Manent got into malbec, the difference between their wines and Argentinean malbecs, and the following wines:

Viu Manent El Capilla Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Viu Manent Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

2003 Viu 1 (malbec blend)

2007 Viu Manent El Olivar Single Vineyard Malbec

More episodes coming soon on:  blending your own wine with a Crushpad Fusebox, review of NOBOS wines from Sobon Estate, and my picks from the Wines of Argentina tasting.

The Amateur Wino Episode 10 Part 2 The Wines from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

Hi everyone,

Today, I’m pleased to post a video interview with Grant Phelps, winemaker of Viu Manent; I sought Grant out because I felt his lineup of wines was the most distinctive among the many wines that I tasted at the Wines of Chile event in New York.  Some of you may have heard about Viu Manent from this post on Dr. Vino’s blog; this interview was recorded before that blog post and the events that ensued with The Wine Advocate’s Jay Miller revising his scores on a number of Viu Manent wines.  Today’s episode focuses on how Grant got into winemaking, how it brought him to Chile, and his approach towards winemaking. 

The Amateur Wino Episode 10 Part 1 Viu Manent’s winemaker Grant Phelps from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

Tune in again soon for Part 2 of this episode, which will include tastings and discussion of Viu Manent’s El Olivar single vineyard malbec, their Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, and their flagship wine, the Viu1.

Hello amateur winos out there,

Wines of Argentina tasting

Sorry for the lack of new posts (other than tasting notes posted to the Twitter feed) here lately – again, film work has monopolized my time.  However, by this weekend, I’m expecting to have some time to edit some of the episodes I promised a while back, and with any luck, time to shoot a little new footage.

I’ll also soon be embarking on a little reorganization of this website – dividing it into areas by category – winemaker interviews, wine reviews, and probably a “Getting Started/Wine 101″ section.  I’m also going to try to do shorter episodes to allow for more frequent posts.

In the meanwhile, I have continued tasting whenever I can, so look for upcoming reports on: the Wines of Argentina trade tasting in NYC (some killer malbec values; I’ll tell you which ones to look for and which to skip), a round-up of 2006 Bordeaux from the Graves (Pessac-Leognan) appellation, and some Chateauneuf-du-Papes, including some of the heralded 2007s.  Also, look for a blend-off episode between me and an opponent(s) to be determined, using Crushpad Fuseboxes.  More soon!  Cheers!  -Alan

Okay, here’s one for the riesling fans out there – on September 24, I’ll be participating in a TasteLive event tasting the wines of Weingut Schloss Saarstein - you can follow my notes live starting at 8pm EST (along with the notes of other bloggers participating) on Twitter by searching for posts with the hashtag #ttl. 

I love German riesling (just had an excellent 2007 Weingut Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese this week – great great QPR producer), so I’m really looking forward to this one, and who knows, maybe some other varietals will make their way into the tasting too!  Once I have the full lineup of wines, I’ll update this post.   Check it out if you can, and open up some German wines with us and post your notes!  Cheers,

Alan

Bottles of the 2007 Schloss Saarstein QbA Riesling, Kabinett, and Spatlese rieslings were received free of charge for review purposes.

So, I think I’ve got a mini-scoop for CA syrah lovers – about a month ago I got to taste some of the new wines being made by Morgan Twain Peterson (son of Joel Peterson of Ravenswood) of Bedrock Wine Co.  In the retailer tasting, at Crush in New York, Morgan was actually pouring a white blend, a rose, and a zin, all nice - but what really got my attention was the Bedrock syrahs – they made me think that this is a winery that may well become all the rage among wine geeks – so you might want to get in on their mailing list now before they get discovered by the wine-drinking hordes.

I happened to mention being a CA syrah fan, so Morgan was nice enough to offer me a taste of his 2007 Old Lakeville and Kick Ranch syrahs which he happened to have with him.  I was pretty blown away from my first taste of the Old Lakeville – it had a wonderful nose of violets, lavender, and gorgeous fruit – all of which followed through to the palate with a nice bit of oak and pepper spice.  It had great balance, and imho easily won a comparison to a Neyers Old Lakeville syrah that was highly rated by Wine Spectator.  My first impression was that it was remarkably similar to a 2004 Copain Garys’ syrah that has been my highest-rated wine of the year so far.  This is especially notable, because the mailing list price is $35, a steal compared to the $60 or so tariff that it takes to get the Copain. (A tasting of the Copain syrah and more interview footage with winemaker Wells Guthrie will appear in a future episode of the Amateur Wino – in the meanwhile, check out the scoop on Copain pinot noirs in Episode 3 of The Amateur Wino).

I also tasted the Kick Ranch syrah, which was also very nice, giving slightly less at this point but I believe in time it will be equally good.  Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find my written notes right now, but I gave both syrahs a score in the 92-93+ point range.

I’m not really the first to find this winery (I found out later that it’s been reviewed by IWC and they gave similar scores) but for some reason not many people seem to be talking about this one.  At the prices offered, this is an excellent way for the budget-minded to still get great syrah but pay less than what it costs for other syrahs of a similar level – and this is a winery to watch in my book.  Also, Morgan is a super nice and humble guy – he was very flattered by the Copain comparison and mentioned how much he admired the wines being made by Wells, as well as other wineries like Peay, Rhys, and others.

Apologies for the delay in getting this posted – I had been hoping to put together an episode about Bedrock, but I’ve been busy with other things.  I’m hoping to get my hands on a full bottle of these syrahs at some point to do a complete review and episode.  In the meanwhile, try to check these out:

2007 Bedrock Wine Company Old Lakeville Vineyard Syrah

2007 Bedrock Wine Company Kick Ranch Syrah

Greetings my fellow winos,

Just a brief note to mention that I and my winetasting group will be participating from nyc in a live simultaneous tasting event being put on by the folks at Chalk Hill Winery in Sonoma this coming Wednesday, August 26th.  The basic idea is that people all around the country will taste along with the winemaker of Chalk Hill, post their notes on Twitter, etc., and I will be filming the impressions of my tasting group and reviewing the wines.  I think a live feed of the winemaker will be available on Ustream as well, so check the details link below for more information or follow ChalkHillEstate on Twitter.

If you would like to join in too, there’s still time to order from the winery and take advantage of a 20% off deal.  Details can be found here.  Or, just pick up a bottle from your local store; wines tasted will be the 2006 Chalk Hill merlot and the 2007 Chalk Hill sauvignon blanc.

About the wines, I haven’t tasted these new vintages, but I have tasted Chalk Hill’s merlot twice over the years.  Both times, my impression was that this was higher quality, refined merlot with a lot of fruit and depth.  Another way I describe it is “tastes expensive” – but be aware, the wines carry a premium price too (about $50 a bottle).  Definitely a splurge for the budget-minded, but in my experience, these wines do deliver.

I’ll be throwing in a bottle of 1996 Chalk Hill merlot that I have in my collection into our tasting in NYC for comparison with the 2006, so we’ll be able to get a little perspective on the evolution of these wines as well.  Please check back here for our results and share yours too!  Cheers,

Alan

Bottles of the 2006 Chalk Hill merlot and 2007 Chalk Hill sauvignon blanc have been received for review purposes, free of charge.

Hello amateur winos out there,

Today’s mini-episode of The Amateur Wino is a tongue-in-cheek message to the winners of the contest. For those of you who don’t know, Hardy Wallace – a candidate I liked a lot from the start and twittered about a while back, won the whole shebang.  Rocky Slaughter, whose video I also liked enough to twitter about, got an internship as well.  A week or two ago, Rocky was kind enough to invite me to do a guest post on his blog – which got me thinking about the idea for this episode – so this may land on Rocky’s blog as well, Also, Kamary Phillips, who I’m not as familiar with, got a consultant position.  Congrats to all of you guys!  Here’s what I wanna see from you all! Cheers! -Alan

P.S. Thanks also to the Murphy-Goode folks for the goodies used in this video – they were received as part of a care package sent to all of the top 50 

The Amateur Wino Episode 9: Message to the Murphy Goode winners from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

My message to the winners of the Murphy-Goode contest – Hardy Wallace (lifestyle correspondent), Rocky Slaughter (intern), and Kamary Phillips (consultant); congrats guys! I was a contestant who made the top 50. You can see more about this at www.amateurwino.com.

Hi everyone,

So, the Top Ten candidates for the Murphy-Goode contest were chosen this week, and unfortunately I wasn’t one of those picked.  But I really want to thank all of you for your awesome support! Also, there were some really excellent people chosen and you can see them here – I’m no expert on the various candidates but my personal favorites include Rocky Slaughter (hilarious video and great energy), Todd Havens (he really is a really good guy!) and Hardy Wallace (he’s fun and a really knowledgeable wine guy through and through).

As for me, it would have been nice to get paid to vlog about wine for a while, but I’m happy to be moving onward and upward with The Amateur Wino series, especially since I won’t be limited to one winery and can continue to spotlight great wines from all over the world! And in that spirit, here’s Episode 8! Also, upcoming episodes will include less instructional and more personal and funny bits, including (if I can talk her into it) some cameo appearances by Plee featuring her culinary creations including her yummy ice creams! Cheers! -Alan

The Amateur Wino Episode 8 Wine Pairing and Cabernet Franc from Amateur Wino on Vimeo.

In this episode, we profile an acclaimed cabernet franc-based wine from the Loire Valley of France, and do a little experimentation to learn about the effects of pairing the same wine with different foods

Wine featured:  2006 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges