“You can’t drink a label or a price tag or anyone else’s palate.” How often have my friends and tasting companions heard me utter those exact words? More times than they care to remember, I’m sure. And all this time I thought they were reaching for another bottle of wine simply because they liked it, and not to inoculate themselves from my redundancy. Well, to that I say “some things are worth repeating.” Wine snobs buy wines to impress other people, wine lovers buy wines they and their friends like to drink. The former is about status and insecurity, the latter about sharing and partaking in the best that life has to offer. Surely, what appeals to one may not have that same appeal to another. So, to thy own palate be true. Yet, who can deny the existence of a true quality factor in wine? Some wine as food for thought.
Collector’s Series Top Picks
Choosing this month’s Collector Series Top Picks isn’t any easier than in previous months, but I don’t feel the same sense of guilt. Why? This month’s Collector Series white has a good self image. Colli di Lapio’s delicious Fiano di Avellino has been a perennial favorite of mine and of the club membership, too, so no disrespect intended nor perceived. With that being said, my first Top Pick for this series goes to the 2010 La Vau Gigondas. It’s a pure, polished Gigondas from one of the finest vintages in the Southern Rhône in recent memory. Moreover, I can drink this wine happily now or better still, lay it away for several more years to gain further depth and complexity . . . but that’s only if I can contain myself. My second Top Pick is Pezzi King’s 2007 Old Vines Zinfandel. It’s classic, old time Sonoma County Zin: it’s big, brawny, and positively packed with flavor. No wimpy wine here and no smoke or mirrors, either. This big boy will never be mistaken for White Zinfandel, and for that I’m thankful.
Don’s Premier Series Top Picks
This month’s first Premier Series Top Pick is a no brainer for my palate. Pietra Santa’s 2009 Cienega Valley Pinot Noir gets the first nod. Why? Pietra Santa had built an enviable reputation over the years for fashioning classic Italian varietals, most notably Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from Pietra Santa’s first estate bottled Pinot Noir. Well, now you know. I think winemaker Alessio Carli got it right. His first estate Pinot Noir is bright, juicy, and true to the terroir and climate of Cienega Valley. Pinot Noir is a tough grape to grow and a difficult wine to make, so Carli gets my first Top Pick and my second Top Pick, too. Yep, his excellent 2010 Amore Signature Collection Pinot Grigio is simply delicious. It’s by far one of the top two or three California Pinot Grigios in the market. Nevertheless, this second Top Pick was a tough choice to make because I really like this month’s Vergenoegd Runner Duck Red. It’s an incredible value and a unique wine with a lot going on. I’m also pleased with 1805’s crowd pleasing Chardonnay. It’s not always easy to reach a consensus on Chardonnay, but this one seemed to have something everyone enjoyed.
A Votre Santé!
Don
Chardonnay: A Love Hate Relationship
True confessions, yes! Remorse, no, I don’t plan to lose any sleep over past transgressions, mine or anyone else’s. So, here it goes. Years ago, I loved Chardonnay, and then I just lost interest. At first, it was benign neglect. But then I found myself loathing quite a few Chardonnays, especially a certain breed of California Chardonnay with its propensity for flabbiness and preponderance of oak. At times, after tasting some of these wines I thought I would have to pick splinters from my mouth from the less than judicious use of raw wood. “Is this wine I’m drinking or oak water,” I asked myself. And honestly, I wasn’t sure. I began to hate such concoctions. Admittedly, there were exceptions and some extraordinary California Chardonnays that were not over-oaked or under-wined depending upon one’s perspective. And there were still many French white Burgundies (the original Chardonnay and my first Chardonnay love) that stood the test of time, but the cost of the finest French Burgundies went through the roof in the 1990s and have kept on soaring to the point where such classics are now the exclusive domain of multi-millionaires and billionaires, which precludes me and nearly the rest of the planet, too. I still get to taste these Burgundian classics on occasion, but purchasing them is out of the question. Too bad, but aside from the ridiculous cost, the payback just isn’t that great . . . most of the time.
So, what now? I’m coming full circle on Chardonnay, back to where I once belonged. I enjoy lighter more affordable French Chardonnays such as Pouilly-Fuissé and many California and Washington State Chardonnays, too, now that these producers have begun to eschew oak and those that still barrel ferment and age their Chardonnays have come full circle, too. Many producers have toned down their use of oak and now allow the luscious, natural flavor of Chardonnay to show through. Apparently, I was not alone in my distaste for wood chips, splinters and mega doses of vanillin. So, for me there’s more now to love than hate.
A Votre Santé!
Don
Shiraz or Syrah?
Whether we refer to this great varietal as Shiraz or Syrah, we are talking about one of the world’s most illustrious red grape varieties. It is also one of my personal favorites. Grown for centuries in the Rhone Valley of France, where it is responsible in all or part of many of the greatest red wines of France (Hermitage and Châteauneuf-du-Pape specifically), the exact origin of this full-flavored varietal remains in debate. However, historians do agree that it was brought to Europe from the Middle East, but when and by whom remains a mystery.
Some historians maintain that it was the Crusaders, who first brought Syrah to France, while others point to the earlier Roman legions under Probes, and yet others claim it was the remnants of Alexander the Great’s army on its return from Persia. The latter theory is particularly intriguing since Alexander himself was so enamored of the rich, powerful wines he found around the city of Shiraz in Central Persia, that he insisted on staying there, apparently far longer than he should have, since that is where he met his end. Nonetheless, the one point that has been ascertained that everyone seems to agree upon is that the name Shiraz, from the Persian city of that name, is the origin of the varietal’s name. The grape’s name changed to Syrah as it traveled west. In any case, Syrah flourishes today not only in the south of France but in other Mediterranean climates. It fares particularly well in Australia, California, and South Africa, where it is often called by its original name – Shiraz. Australia’s Barossa Valley, South Africa’s Western Cape and several appellations throughout California produce a bevy of lush, polished Syrah/Shiraz wines that are not to be missed.
A Votre Santé!
Don
Don’s June Collector’s Series Top Picks
The 2005 Vergenoegd Cabernet Sauvignon is a clear Top Pick for this month. Vergenoegd is one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa and the estate’s Cabernet embodies all the attributes that have made Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon both exciting and unique. Vergenoegd’s deep, intense flavors mingle berry fruit, chocolate, coffee, and the special terroir of Stellenbosch to render each sip a new experience. Several caveats, however: never judge a South African red by the first sip, allow Vergenoegd’s 2005 Cabernet plenty of aeration, and serve all traditional South African Cabernets with a hearty meat or vegetarian dish. Like the finest red wines of Italy, South African reds are not giant fruit bombs built exclusively for tastings. They do, however, shine at table and stand the test of time.
My other Top Pick this month is the 2010 Bouchard Père et Fils Pouilly-Fuissé. Why? It epitomizes Chardonnay, and offers a tasty draught of white Burgundy without smoke or mirrors. It also demonstrates why first rate Pouilly-Fuissé is one of the most popular French wines in America. It’s elegant, flavorful, and so easy to drink, so I want for nothing.
A Votre Santé!
Don
Don’s June Premier Series Top Picks
I like good Shiraz, and I love great Shiraz that doesn’t cost $45.00 a bottle, which means that Mary-Lou Nash’s 2008 Black Pearl Shiraz gets my vote this month as a Top Pick. This wine really blew me away, but don’t just take my word for it. John Platter (South Africa’s rendition of wine critic Robert Parker, Jr.) rated the 2008 Black Pearl Shiraz four stars, and for good reason. Mary-Lou Nash knows how to make fine, natural wines with plenty of sensual appeal. Moreover, I can recall tasting quite a few perfectly good Shiraz/Syrah wines that cost twice the price from Australia and California that can’t hold a cork to Black Pearl. Hence, Black Pearl is hands down one of my Top Picks.
Frankly, my other Top Pick is a much tougher choice, and I might as well pick it blindfolded because each of the other three features this month has merit and appeals to me. With that said, Domaine des Quatres Routes’ 2010 Muscadet is an ideal summer wine, and by June I’m ready for summer and seafood. Having grown up on an island fishing and clamming, authentic Muscadet appeals to me for its simplicity and affinity to clams, oysters, scallops and just about anything else that crawls or swims in the sea. Never complex but always refreshing, good Muscadet like the 2010 Domaine des Quatres Routes reminds me of long summer days at the beach followed by plenty of clams and steamers on the half shell. However, in an ideal world one begins such an evening with Domaine des Quatres Routes’s 2010 Muscadet and has a bottle of the 2008 Fioravante Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon open to accompany whatever you have cooking on the grill for a main course.
A Votre Santé!
Don
