Northern Rhones, Young and Old
October 1st, 2009 | 
Author: I love Northern Rhônes, particularly the reds made from the great Syrah grape. Although great Syrahs are now made in lots of places, there’s nothing quite like a great Cote Rotie or Hermitage, especially ones that have been given a respectful sleep in a cool cellar for a decade or two. So I was pretty jazzed when my wine group, the X-pensive Winos, dedicated the tasting this month to Northern Rhones, Young and Old.
Now most of our group hasn’t been collecting that long, so getting some interesting youngsters was no problem. Fortunately, a couple of us, ahem, mature members of the group, have been cellaring Rhone wines going back into the early 1980’s and even earlier. My own introduction to Rhones came via Kermit Lynch, and in those day ole’ Kermit had a lock on the top Northern Rhone masters—Chave, Rostaing, Jasmin, Gentaz, Clape, Verset, Champet—the list was endless and was pretty incredible by today’s standards. So we were fortunate to have some interesting (meaning “great”) old and mature Rhones to sample and compare to the young upstarts. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tasting Tablas Creek in Charlottesville
Sept. 3, 2009 – Charlottesville, Va – The beauty of living so close to the DC area is that every once in a while it creates an opportunity for the local wine market. Occasionally, some of the bigger names in the wine industry or some of the more cutting edge players in the wine industry find their way south of The Beltway and to the southern edge of horse country into the “wine boonies” of Charlottesville and one of the independent wine stores. Market Street Wine Shop is one such store. Market Street once showcased 2001 Sauternes just a day after several chateau had tasted with Robert M. Parker, including the likes of Chateau Doisy-Daene, Chateau Suduriaut, Chateau Climens and others. Having reps from the actual chateau and without the filter of wholesalers is such a pleasure. The connection to the wine feels so much closer. The infectiousness of their enthusiasm stokes the wine bug. Read the rest of this entry »
Dinner at the Forest Grill, Birmingham, MI
Crab and Avocado - almond infused crab salad
Charcuterie Assortment
Oxtail and Bone Marrow Ravioli, Parmesan Reggiano, Black Truffle Jus Lie
Last evening, we joined our dear friend Anne Keller for dinner at Brian Polcyn’s Forest Grill, in Birmingham, Michigan. The setting is American -bistro and the menu “showcases house made charcuterie, a raw bar, clay oven baked pizzas, and traditional bistro dishes…inspired by French, Italian, and contemporary American cuisine with an emphasis on simplicity and flavor. Chef Polcyn’s vision for the Forest Grill is simple, an American bistro that uses quality local ingredients and is rooted in traditional cooking techniques.” The wine list offers a wide variety of selections from around the world, and we had no trouble finding a few bottles to compliment our appetizers and entrees. Read the rest of this entry »
Tryin' this sucker out with a TN
OK, I really don’t know what I’m doing here, I think I’m posting, but have no idea where it will go or how it will be viewed. Whatever, I’ll go ahead and blather into the blogosphere anyway.
Came home late from work last night, with some new, high-end premade pasta sauces we sell in the store. I tried the Tuscan Vodka sauce, and of course I needed a nice Zin to go with it, and what better than a Mr. Ridge? My technique is just to go into the wine room, where most of my Ridge wines are all grouped together, and just grab one. I wound up with an older ATP bottling, the 2001 Del Carlo Zin from Dry Creek. 100% Zin, 14.3% alc. Given the moderate (for zin) alcohol, this was surprisingly ripe, verging on pruney, with some distinct raisiny notes to the fruit. The fruit lacks a bit of intensity in the middle, and the tannins are poking a bit on the finish. Surprisingly, this seems a bit dull and perhaps past it’s best, although PD’s note on the bottle (written in 2003) suggests the prime drinking window is 5 to 7 years. Draper’s usually conservative on his drinking windows, but I think he overshot a bit on this one, which seems like it has seen better days. Overall a rather lackluster and disappointing ATP from Ridge.
New Wines from Wyncroft & more…
Jim Lester came to town recently with a batch of his current Wyncroft releases for an informal tasting hosted by Errol and Patty Kovitch. We’re always up to try new things from Wyncroft, and so were Jim and Cheryl Brennan, Brad Cook, Eagle Eye Import’s president, Jean-Jacques Fertal and the Champagne Warrior himself, Brad Baker. Errol always likes tasting Jim’s wines compared to some other quality wines as a benchmark, and while we did just that, there was no actually “judging” to speak of. Wines were simply opened and enjoyed with a variety of cheeses, breads and other delectables for what they are, and by and large, most were very tasty indeed.
As is usually the case, we started off with some whites.
1998 Vincent Girardin Mersault Les Charmes, 13% alc.: The gold color of this one is just starting to show some amber and oxidation which shows on the nose and palate as well, along with notes of old wood and a faint touch of honey. It almost gives the impression of being corked, but there’s no TCA here; the wine is well past its prime, although not entirely undrinkable. Jim mentions candied ginger, and while others revisit it later and say that it comes around a bit, it’s “No mas” for this taster. Find this wine
Imported by Vineyard Brands, Inc., Birmingham, AL
We brought this next wine back from our visit to the Niagara Peninsula in August of 2008, and thought it would make an interesting comparison of “cold climate” Chardonnays with the Wyncrofts.
2005 Hidden Bench Beamsville Bench Chardonnay Estate, 14% alc.: Clean medium straw in color, with some flint and toasty oak on the nose, following through with a nice ripe core of pear on the palate. Full bodied, but not heavy, with excellent acids. One taster mentions that this “smells like Mersault,” but Jim mentions a note of sulfur wick,” and suggested that the winery “had some problems with hydrogen sulfide and had to add copper to compensate.” He adds a compliment however, calling it “lean and mineral driven,” saying that it would pair well with something off the grill. Smoked chicken seems like a good choice to me. Find this wine
Jim offered the following two for comparison, saying that the 2006 was their coolest vintage on record, while 2005 was the warmest, and the differences are apparent.
2006 Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore Chardonnay Avonlea, 13% alc.: Showing medium straw color, and somewhat reminiscent of lemon custard with nice underlying acidity, this wine is full bodied, yet somewhat lean at the same time, being not as ripe as some, with excellent balance and acidity. Lester says that it bears a striking resemblance to a 1997 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne a friend opened for him recently, adding that his late wife Rae Lee called it “the most classical Chardonnay we’ve ever made.”
2005 Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore Chardonnay Avonlea, 14.8% alc.: Medium straw to pale gold color, with a rich core of pear accented with butterscotch, some subtle honey, a little bread dough and a hint of morel mushroom on the finish. Full bodied, with slightly lower acidity than the ’06 and very nice indeed. Jim calls it his version of Kistler. Read the rest of this entry »
I Got the Power!
Boy, this is kinda cool! Reminds me of the time the Wine Spectator admin accidentally sent me her code and I was messing with the Forums for almost a week before they caught on… Oh, those were the good old days!
Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from Europe!
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We LOVED Marques de Riscal Rioja back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and we still have labels from several different vintages spanning three decades. I remember the ’73 and ’76 with particular fondness, but all were very good, with a good deal less obvious oak than they use these days. I have no recollection whatsoever of the other Riojas. Likewise, the wines from France and Italy whose labels are shown here don’t register any real “wows” from back then, but I have fond memories of several of the Germans, including those from Dr. Fisher, Schloss Schonborn and Dr. Thanisch.
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Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from California!-Page 2 of 2
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Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from California!-Page 1 of 2
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As has been previously reported, our favorite California winery back in the ’70s and early ’80s was Burgess Cellars. Burgess was to us then what Ridge is now, and they made a fairly wide variety of different wines before settling into a lineup the “usual suspects.” We DID occasionally enjoy Ridge back then as well, but for us, Burgess ruled.
We were very Zin-centric back in the ’70s and ’80, which should come as no surprise to those who’ve followed our ravings over the years. Besides Burgess, Fetzer, Kenwood and Clos du Val made particularly good Zins back then. I bought the 1972 Souverain Napa Petite Sirah on a whim, having never had that variety before, and it started a love affair that continues to this day. (This particular bottling wasn’t nearly as long lived as some from the likes of Ridge, Freemark Abbey and even Burgess, but for a year or two, it was downright beautiful.) Any Cabernet labels shown here were probably from bottles that were opened for us by friends and acquaintances. It’s not that we didn’t like them, we just didn’t buy them much. And yes, our good buddy (Long and Boring) TomHill confirms that the 1974 Havelock Gordon Napa Zinfandel “Paul Draper Selection” does indeed refer to Mr. Ridge himself, though the circumstances as to how his name came to be on this particular label are unclear.
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Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from Bordeaux!
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Bordeaux was actually affordable back in the late ’70s. If memory serves me well, the ’67 Lafite cost us something like $36 (OK, we DID get it at wholesale), and we were buying Beycheville and Gloria for around $12-13. Pontet-Canet and Lafon-Rochet were bargains at around $9 a bottle.
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