The Amateur Wino

Like a merciful bit of payback for the awful heatwave(s!) we’ve been experiencing in New York this month, I was rewarded this week with the wine world version of the perfect storm – one of those nights when everything just comes together.  The venue: Apiary, a cool little restaurant in the East Village that has a brilliant little tradition – no corkage Mondays.  Which means that on Monday nights, the place turns into a bit of a crossroads where wine industry veterans cross paths with tasting groups, cork dorks and other variations of the wine-obsessed, all vying for seats in a place that is packed to the gills.

On this night, I am dining with a group that, excluding me, could be described as Young Turks and Turkettes of the wine trade – a gang of bright young folks spanning the wine retail, distribution and wine bar channels of NYC.  Future captains of the industry to be sure, but in this crowd, we are among the less laden with disposable income – but we have enthusiasm and some smartly chosen bottles on our side.

As we settle into our table, the first winds of the stormy wine adventure start blowing.  For lo and behold, sitting at the next table is my friend Suzanne from the wine bulletin board community Wine Berserkers and a blind tasting group I’m in. We greet each other, exchange pleasantries, I ask what they’re drinking.  Next thing I know, I’m being asked for my glass, and it comes back filled with burgundy.  Not just any burgundy – Grand Cru burgundy.  My oh my, my favorite region, and suffice it to say, drinking at the grand cru level is a rare treat for me.

Our generous neighbors have poured me a beautiful wine, a 1995 Dujac Charmes Chambertin.  I smell, I swoon, I pass the glass around the table.  We

are off to a fantastic start.

We hand our bottles over to our server to have the corks pulled.  It’s a nice lineup: Movia Lunar and ’99 Chateau Musar for the whites, and the reds include a Chamonard Morgon, ’07 Vincent Girardin Clos Renardes (more Burgundy!), a Cotes de Provence wine I’m not familiar with called Nowat, and my bottle, which I have covered for everyone’s blind tasting pleasure.

As we’re perusing our menus trying to make decisions, our neighbors have a wonderful surprise for us – they’re leaving us the wines they haven’t finished.  One of the best things about having wine as a passion is the terrific generosity of wine enthusiasts – and tonight, my friends from the next table are flooring me:  we get tastes of the Dujac, a 1990 Fougeray Bonnes Mares, and a healthy amount of 1991 Camille Giroud Echezeaux.  Our impromptu wine dinner has gained some serious heavyweight firepower.  The wines are wonderful.

As we our appetizers arrive, I’m enjoying the Movia Lunar – a true wine geek wine.  It’s from a producer in Slovenia (just across the Italian border), made with noninterventionist techniques, it’s unfiltered and cloudy, and it’s made from a grape I can’t pronounce or spell without help. (It’s not that bad really – ribolla gialla) It’s somewhat reminiscent of the Gravner I had from my March 10 Tasting for the Ages- a little bit golden-orange colored, in an artisanal and unusual style, and it’s genius Continue reading The perfect storm, vino version

As New York has been struggling through a heatwave these last few weeks, I’ve found myself reaching for refreshing white wines, and one of my favorite choices in that regard is Muscadet wines, which hail from the Loire Valley of France.  Muscadets are made from the melon de bourgogne grape, and in my experience they are quite dry, with light lemony flavors as its central profile, and often a briny minerality.  These characteristics make these wines a great match for seafood and other light fare; they also make muscadets a great choice for fans of Chablis wines, which have a similar profile.  Another thing that makes muscadet one of the staples of my wine diet is affordability, with very solid examples in abundance in the $10-13 range, and the high end examples often found for under $20.  Some of the best known names in the region include Domaine Luneau-Papin and Domaine de la Pépière; below are notes on a few muscadets I’ve enjoyed recently. Check them out and stay cool! -Alan

• 2008 Guy Saget Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Les Clissages d’Or – France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (7/16/2010)
  On the nose, slight funk and notions of seashell. On the palate, this has the citrusy foundation and slight briny taste common to many muscadets, but it has a nice sweetness to it that combines with the juicy acid here to present a long, inviting finish. Quite well done and a good accessible example for those new to muscadet. 89-90+ (90 pts.)

• 2009 Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Vieilles Vignes Clos des Briords – France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (7/16/2010)
  Leaner and more mineral-laden, with slight vegetal green, compared to the Domaine de la Pinardiere muscadet. Likable, consistent with prior vintages of this wine, for those who are into salinity more than fruitiness in their wine. 89-90. (90 pts.)
  

Look also for the excellent Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie bottling from this producer, which runs a few dollars cheaper than the Clos des Briords but is often just as good.

• 2008 Pinardière, Domaine de la Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie – France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (7/16/2010)
  The nose has fresh fruits – green apple, stone fruits. Palate is a bit briny, citrus-like acidity. Full-flavored for a muscadet, with a bit of richness to it that’s quite pleasing. 88-90 points. (89 pts.)

The Clissages d’Or was tasted from a complimentary review bottle; the Clos des Briords and Pinardiere were tasted free of a charge at a public retailer tasting.

As the futures campaign for the much-hyped 2009 Bordeaux seems to be in full swing, I’ve noticed that the prices seem to be quite high (for me, anyway) – and when I see high prices, I tend to run the other way and think about value.

One of my favorite picks for top-flight Bordeaux at a comparatively reasonable price is Chateau Haut-Bailly.  This chateau has been getting crazy high scores in recent vintages from critics like Robert Parker – scores that rate them with the very best wines in Bordeaux.  Thankfully, the prices are still relatively affordable for those who may want top-tier Bordeaux but don’t have First-Growth budgets – many vintages are available in the $50-60 range while getting scores from pro critics as high as 95 points. Grab some bottles now before the masses catch on and start driving prices upward, as seems to be the case with Chateau Pontet-Canet (which seems to have become a popular favorite if you trust CellarTracker community holdings as a barometer) – it seems like the secret about the quality and value of Haut-Bailly has not fully hit the Bordeaux-buying masses yet.

Chateau Haut-Bailly is located in the Pessac-Leognan appellation (formerly known as Graves), and I find the house style to be very elegant, refined and structured.  To me, it has a classic Left Bank Bordeaux flavor profile (technically, Graves is not Left Bank, but the blend at Haut-Bailly is generally about 70% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot – so it has very Left Bank-like proportions), welcome news especially for people who are not into the ultra-modern, fruit-forward style that a lot of Bordeaux chateaux seem to be modulating toward.

Considering the price levels of the 2009 futures, my recommendation right now is actually to look for the 2006 vintage of Haut-Bailly.  The 2006 Haut-Bailly was wonderful when I tasted it last winter (I bought a bottle for myself the next day), and it’s available now at a price that’s about half of the futures price for the 2009 Haut-Bailly.  I find that there is a lot of consistency year-to-year in the quality of Haut-Bailly, and I like the 2006 vintage in Bordeaux a lot – it reminds me a bit of 2001 in that it’s a vintage with classic Bordeaux flavors (and by classic I do not mean “austere” ) and ample, appealing fruit at the same time.  Even the 2007 Haut-Bailly impressed me a lot, in that it was very close in quality to the 2006 despite 2007′s reputation as a weak vintage.  However, since prices are about equal right now in the U.S. for the two vintages, 2006 is the better buy.  Look for sales on both 2006s and 2007s, as a glut of these wines on the shelves as the 2008s start to come in may well result in some retailer discounting later this year or early next year.

Below are my tasting notes on the 2006 and 2007 vintages of Haut-Bailly, as well as a brief video interview with Mr. Gabriel Vialard, the Technical Director (head winemaker) of Chateau Haut-Bailly, recorded at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting in New York in January.  Click on the video to hear about the terroir of Haut-Bailly and the winemaker’s take on the 2006 and 2007 vintages.  Enjoy!  -Alan

• 2007 Château Haut-Bailly – France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (1/23/2010)
  This is well done for the vintage – very much in the same tight, structured style that the 2006 showed, with classic Haut-Bailly touchstones of lead pencil and dark cabernet fruit showing. 90-92+. (92 pts.)
• 2006 Château Haut-Bailly – France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (10/24/2009)
  2006 Bordeaux Tastings; 10/24/2009-11/1/2009: Lighter nose than SHL – slightly estery nose at first, but that blows off. Palate is tannic and deep- refined red fruits and gravel. Tightly wound but pretty, needs time. When retasted later – a little more funk/earth on the nose. Very structured, perhaps moreso even than La Mission Haut Brion and Haut Brion; darker fruits here too. Hits alongside the big boys (but a bit less approachable now), at a fantastic QPR price. Perhaps the toughest to identify blind as a Graves, but this compares very well to top Pauillacs and St. Juliens, in my opinion. 93-95. (94 pts.)

I tasted 2006 and 2007 Ch. Haut-Bailly at a retailer tasting at Sherry-Lehmann and the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting in New York, respectively, in each case free of charge.

Hello Amateur Winos out there!

I recently had the pleasure of attending a tasting event put on by New Wines of Greece, and while I was there, I discovered a red grape variety that I’ve never had before that I’m getting pretty excited about:  it’s called xinomavro (I’m told it’s pronounced “Zee-NO-mah-vrow”).  Why am I excited about it?  Well, if your budget is anything like mine, barolo (one of the great wine varieties from Italy) is a treat that you can engage in only rarely because of its high price.  At this Greek wine tasting, I was told that xinomavro is sometimes called “the barolo of Greece”.  After tasting some of the wines, I can say I do think there’s something to the comparison, and most importantly, xinomavro is much cheaper!  They mostly seem to sell for $25 or less, and at that price level, some of them approximate barolo about as well as some of the other Italian wines I turn to for a “baby barolo” experience, like aglianico or budget nebbiolo.

One note: you may need to search around to find some of these wines – I was able to find a few of these only in stores in parts of New York city that have concentrated Greek-American communities, like Astoria.  While not all xinomavros resemble nebbiolo/barolo (some are a lot more modern and structured) below are some of my favorite xinomavro wines from the tasting for the barolo-like experience. I encourage you to perhaps taste them blind or side by side with a nebbiolo/barolo; see if you agree with the comparison, and I think you’ll also discover that these wines also have a uniquely Greek character of their own in the process. Check them out if you get a chance!  -Alan

• 2004 Boutari Grande Réserve Naoussa – Greece, Macedonia, Naoussa (5/20/2010)
  Four years in oak. Definitely lighter and prettier than the Tsantali, with some olive here. More balanced, less power, less structured, less oak. More towards the barolo-like spectrum. Quite nice on the palate, balanced. A bit fuller and more rounded than the Karydas. 90-91ish. (90 pts.)
  
• 2006 Domaine Karydas Xinomavro – Greece, Macedonia, Naoussa (5/20/2010)
  Shows barolo-like qualities, as advertised: Old World leather and spice. Quite impressive on the palate – indeed reminds me of good nebbiolo: medium body, spice, with the medium-ruby color edging ever so slightly toward browning, that would make me feel like this wine is older than it is. No new oak on this, and large casks used I am told, so perhaps an oxidative style explains the age that I sense here. 89-91. A lot of character for the price, and has something pretty about it. (90 pts.)
  
• 2003 Tsantali Xinomavro Epilegmemos (Reserve) – Greece, Macedonia, Naoussa (5/20/2010)
  Three years in oak. Has a bit of a Bordeaux-like sense on the nose. Red licorice fruits and kind of a stony thing going on too. Reminds me just a bit of a Left Banker, with darker fruits and more modern in feel than some of the other xinomavro I’ve tasted. Palate shows the darker fruits profile, some sweet oak, modern, structured; pleasing in a different way that the other xinomavro. 88-89 (88 pts.)
  
• 2000 Vaeni Naoussa Coop. Xinomavro Grand Reserve – Greece, Macedonia, Naoussa (5/20/2010)
  Shows quite a bit of oxidation on the nose, and plum color, with some movement toward browning at the edges. On the palate, quite tasty – a good blend of of oak, exotic spice, red fruit, leather, tobacco. Shows some age but still plenty lively and showing some tannin, and with these elements in an Old World oxidative style, this reminds of a traditional Rioja or a nebbiolo with some age. Perhaps my favorite red from this Greek tasting, and a terrific value at under $20. Impressions confirmed in a second taste from a bottle I purchased subsequently. (90-91+ points)

Posted from CellarTracker on GrapeStories.com

The wines in this report were tasted free of charge at a tasting open to members of the wine trade/media.

UPDATE: it seems the deadline for the petition I posted about below has passed.  Sorry for the trouble, folks! Watch this space for updates on the Mosel bridge situation, as I find out more… I’ve left my original post below, for those who want to know what all the commotion was about…  -Alan

Hi everyone,

Today is a quick post without any reviews.  To make a long story short, authorities in Germany have plans to build a highway (elevated on stilts, it sounds like) that will run over some of the top riesling vineyards in the world, in the famed Mosel region.  For those of you who are not familiar with the vineyards of Germany, this is something like building a highway over Pauillac in Bordeaux, Vosne Romanee in Burgundy, or Oakville in Napa Valley.  The actual effects are debated and well covered in this article in Slate by Mike Steinberger, but it doesn’t take much to imagine that the traffic, pollution, construction, etc. could all irreparably damage some unique and hallowed wine terroirs in the Mosel region.   To oenophiles everywhere, the question has got to be, “why would you take the chance with world-famous vineyard land?!?”

Fortunately, there is one thing we can do to help – here is an online petition to the German government to protest the highway plan.  Please fill it out even if you’re not a riesling fan – you never know when you might be (I wasn’t until the last year or two, and now it’s one of my two most indispensable varieties), and even if you never are, your support will benefit wine lovers everywhere.  The petition is in German, but there are English translations on the left side of the page to guide you through the process of signing the petition.  Please help if you can, this riesling lover thanks you!

Today’s post is a somewhat belated report on a Wines of Argentina tasting that I attended in October – apologies for the delay in getting this report together, but since the tasting was a sneak preview of the new vintage for most of the producers present, many of the wines should just be getting in to stores now.

Like many budget-minded consumers, my experience with Argentinean wines was pretty much limited to affordable malbecs.  And of course, this tasting gave me a chance to try many malbec-based wines (over 30 of them) in one sitting to suss out the best of them- but it also exposed me to a white wine varietal widely grown in Argentina called torrontés, as well as a chance to taste other varietals being grown in Argentina including bonarda, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and petit verdot.

Malbecs

While Argentina is perhaps best known for its affordable malbecs, my top wine from the tasting was a premium-priced malbec, called “Lindaflor” from Bodegas Monteviejo, which is owned by Mme. Catherine Pere Verge, who also owns the notable Bordeaux estates Chateau Le Gay and Chateau La Violette in Pomerol.  Here is my tasting note on the 2006 Lindaflor:

• 2006 Bodegas Monteviejo Malbec Lindaflor – Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco, Vista Flores (10/8/2009)
  Delicious. Supple, has some noticeable oak treatment but is very balanced. On the nose, dusty tannin and pretty, plummy fruit. Best wine of the Wines of Argentina trade tasting NYC 2009. Tannic but approachable even now. 92-94 (93 pts.)

I’m not turning up any listings for the 2006 Lindaflor yet on Wine-Searcher, so this wine may not have reached Continue reading Wines from Argentina: my top malbecs, and some whites worth a look

Many people have observed that today’s major wine critics seem to award their highest scores to wines of a certain profile. If a wine gets, say, 95 points or more on a 100-point scale, it seems like certain words tend to pop up in the tasting note: “massive”, “concentrated”, “powerful”, “hedonistic”, and “opulent” leap to mind, usually embellished with exclamations about “gobs and gobs of fruit” or “a finish that goes on and on for over 60 seconds!”

I like big wines as much as the next guy, but the wines that really scramble my brain are the ones that don’t have to knock you backwards with power to impress you – they’re the ones with a sense of dynamics, subtlety, complexity – wines with more than one gear. The ones where you judge it with your palate and not a stopwatch – based on the quality and beauty of the flavors, not on how many seconds that the overextracted fruit flavors register for in your mouth.  Let’s take wine appreciation away from the realm of competitive sport, shall we?

I recently came across a wine that could be the poster child for my argument. I hesitated to write about this wine, because I recently did an episode on this blog about a wine from the same producer. But some wines just demand attention, and at a recent Polaner tasting in New York, this wine stood head and shoulders above not only the many fine wines poured that day, but also above almost every other wine I’ve ever tasted.

The wine I’m talking about: the 1991 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva, a classic rioja rendered as flawlessly as I’ve ever had the pleasure to taste. Right out of the gate, the nose has so much going on – an airy openness, an oxidative note, a hint of a savory element, spice, leather, tobacco – all anchored by a pleasing sweetness to the fruit that is not powerful, but incredibly impactful.   The nose is just thrilling and sets up so much anticipation for tasting the wine, which is just what the nose of a wine should do in my book.

The palate, thankfully, lives up to the pleasure given off by the bouquet of the wine. The Continue reading The kind of wine that should get 100 points from the critics, but doesn’t

Hello amateur winos (and maybe some pro winos out there?)!

It’s been a while since I did a post about wines that are truly bargains, so today I am focusing on some white wines I tasted recently during Taste Walla Walla, a tasting event in New York featuring producers from the Walla Walla Valley in Washington. While I was there, I found some bargain whites, and now that spring is upon us, it seems like the perfect time to share some of my notes with you all.

Today, I am focusing on highlighting a few wines from two producers: Waterbrook and L’Ecole No. 41. I liked the Waterbrook line of whites for their fresh, light style and low price (the wines here can be found for $10-13 generally). If you want clean and focused, the sauvignon blanc is a good choice; the Waterbrook chardonnay will please those who favor a light, less buttery style of chardonnay, and my highest rated white from the Waterbrook line; and the Melange blanc is good for those who want something a little fruitier and floral on the nose.

The L’Ecole No. 41 Luminesce was a nice choice for fans of white bordeaux, as it’s a blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc, which are the core components of most Bordeaux whites. It’s got a bit of clay and slate on the nose, for those who like that added earthy complexity in their whites; the Luminesce is also very affordable, and can generally be found for under $20.  I’m also a big fan of the L’Ecole No. 41 reds, which were wonderfully balanced without feeling over-the-top in power, but I will save those for another post, on another day, soon.

If you find that you like these wines from Walla Walla, you are in luck – you will probably be hearing a lot more about these wines soon, as the Wine Bloggers Conference 2010 is being held in Walla Walla this June. I’m sure there will be an onslaught of coverage from wine bloggers from all over.

My fuller tasting notes on the Waterbrook and L’Ecole no. 41 whites that I tasted are below.  Enjoy!  -Alan

A FEW BARGAIN WHITES FOR SPRING, FROM WASHINGTON – (2/2/2010)

• 2007 Waterbrook Chardonnay – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley Continue reading A few bargain whites for spring, from Walla Walla

This week I had the pleasure of attending the Bordeaux Barrel to Bottle tasting in New York, and one section of the tasting was devoted to tasting of barrel samples from members of Le Cercle Rive Droite, a consortium of producers from the Right Bank of Bordeaux (meaning that they are located on the Right Bank of the Gironde River; most of these wines are predominantly merlot). For any of you who still believe Miles from “Sideways” and think that merlot sucks, there were quite a few wines in this tasting that could change your mind in a hurry.

Evaluating barrel samples is tough- the wines are so young at this point, they can feel like something between juice and wine – they haven’t had time to settle and develop complexity yet, or else the complexity that is there is hidden behind the sometimes dominating fruit flavors.

The good news is, the fruit flavors in the 2009 vintage are very, very good. Most of the chateau owners present told me that the weather was perfect in 2009 – enough warmth to get excellent ripeness, without fear of rain that might dilute the grapes, enabling producers to pick exactly when their grapes reached optimum ripeness.

The scores below are just preliminary due to the early nature of barrel samples. The chateau included in the tasting are not quite the very highest tier of Bordeaux chateau in terms of price and prestige, but there are some heavy hitters in the lineup that can compete with just about anyone. Here are my most notable wines, followed by complete notes in the order the samples were tasted.

Top-scoring wines

2009 Ch. La Fleur de Gay – my top wine of the tasting, this showed roasted nut/earth, fine slate, and some herbal character on the nose; a bit more perfumey than the other samples, the style is not hugely powerful, but refined and classy, with varietal character. Not as much complexity shows on palate as it does on the nose at this point, but I believe the material is there – tasty fruit, good ripeness, with a hint of spice on nose that I think will develop into good complexity. 93-95 pts. Reminds me a bit of La Conseillante.

2009 Ch. Rol Valentin – my big-time sleeper of the tasting, this chateau may surprise many people with its quality in the 2009 vintage. It’s initially a little minty on the nose with sweet fruits; the palate has irresistible sweet fruit, Continue reading First look: does 2009 Bordeaux live up to the hype?

I love blind tastings. I’m not particularly good at them- especially when they are done double blind (meaning you know have no idea what the bottles are at all – they could be any grape(s), from anywhere in the world). But they’re always fun to me, and a huge learning experience. I’m a member of two tasting groups that do blind tastings, so I do my fair share. But then, every now and then, you have a wine-drinking experience that completely resets your world, wine-wise. Last night was one of those nights for me.

A double blind tasting at Blue Streak Wines

In my last post, I wrote about a blind tasting that my friend Shaun and I did together. After
hearing about it, our mutual friend Chris in California surprised us with a gift/challenge: he was going to send us a box of wines that he wanted us to taste blind – the only condition was we had to make a guess at each wine and share our thoughts with him.

This immediately set Shaun and I into a frenzy of intrigue. Chris has got a dizzying amount of wine knowledge, so we knew the wines would be cleverly chosen, and a real challenge.

A date was set, and the players chosen: Shaun (a pro in the wine trade, also young like Chris with a similarly encyclopedic range of knowledge and impressively strong blind tasting skills, very much a mentor to me in my drive to learn more about wine every day), Val (another trade pro who used to work with the guys, with an excellent palate and WSET training), myself, my filmmaker friend and colleague Jen, Stephen and Rhoda (owners of the store that Shaun manages that hosted the tasting, Blue Streak Wines, located in a charming neighborhood of Long Island City), myself and my wife Plee, who’s not drinking tonight but is kind enough to film footage of the night, which I will post later when it’s edited. The offer to join is thrown out to a handful of other trade veterans and a community of wine geeks, but ultimately, no one else makes it to the tasting. Most importantly, Chris is in attendance, through videoconference on Skype.

Chris sent us 10 wines, blinded already, which are bagged and decanted by James, Shaun’s Continue reading A blind tasting for the ages!