This Richmond, VA group is the real deal, playing salsa in the the golden age, late 70's style. The song structures, talent of the band, and spot on instrumentation all combine to make these guys great interpreters of This performance was a live one from a television show in PR. If you're in the mid-Atlantic or New York area and are looking for a fix of authentic salsa, you definitely ought to see these guys perform. Tight group, great live show. Here's a link (their site was apparently hacked, so this is actually their page on their booking agent's site)
Friday, September 5, 2008
George Breuer, Lil' Wayne and much, much more at Terroir
If the title alone did not entice you to read more, all I've got to say is - wow...tonight (or more precisely, last night) was supposed to be a mellow evening to share a bottle and meet with a fellow SF wine blogger and Wine & Spirits magazine correspondent, Wolfgang Weber, at the nation's #1 wine bar, Terroir in San Francisco. As has happened on several other occasions at Terroir, the evening went by lightning fast. We drank a few bottles of Breuer rieslings (dry and delicious) and listened several times to the popular Lil' Wayne banger and '08 single of the year candidate, 'A Milli' as well as lots of reggae. Several bottles were cracked open, a few tastes were poured from bottles previously opened for other customers, and before I realized what had happened it was 1:45am and I was closing up the establishment with Guillaume and his friend Pierre. Where does the time go at cool wine bars?
It was an enlightening evening. My first wine blogger meet-up, tonight was interesting in that I met someone who both blogs about wine and writes about it professionally. I encourage you to check both Wolfgang Weber's personal and professional writing as he writes well and knows his stuff. His recent SF Chronicle article on sulphur in the winemaking process was particularly insightful and potentially of interest to readers of this blog. On a more personal note, we had the opportunity to discuss with one of Terroir's owners, Luc, the matter of taste, honesty and passion as it relates to the wines selected for his bar's list. We spoke about how French and sulphur-free does not necessarily equal good wine; ditto for biodynamic and low carbon footprint. No surprises here, but I feel that this bears repeating in what can be an absolutist, dogmatic hobby/obsession. You know what I mean...check yourself the next time you make a sweeping generalization, positive or critical, of any single wine growing country or region, vintage or producer. Wine suprises. It will underwhelm, surprise, impress, and satisfy. Repeatedly.
To that end, there were several wines we had tonight, none of which disappointed, one of which fully delivered on my high expectations, and one southern Rhone wine which surprised me for its sheer likeability and liveliness, especially given my general dislike for wines from this particular part of France.
2006 Kiralyudvar Tokaji Furmint Demi-Sec
The first vintage to be exported to the States, this winery has the benefit of some consultation from Huet's Noel Pinguet. A nose of dripping ripe melon, cantaloupe in particular, leads to a palate of intensely pure, melon like flavors, with a bit of the typical furmint orange blossom qualities as well. Pure, intense, gorgeously soft and textured. What more could you want from Hungary (or anywhere, for that matter?)
1996 Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Brunate Le Coste
A youngin'. Shamefully, I did not give these 1.5 ounces their proper due. What I tasted was a dark fruited, traditional Barolo, young, and just beginning to offer up some secondary, meaty flavors. Rinaldi is about as natural as they come in Barolo: fermented with indigenous yeasts and minimal sulphur throughout the winemaking process, aging in old oak. I was reading on Italian Wine Merchant's site that Rinaldi's barolos are fermented Ripasso style, over Barbera skins, which used to be more usual practice in the Piedmont.
2007 Gramenon Cotes du Rhone
A (new?) Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone, this is grenache-based, surprisingly lively and appealing. As I mentioned earlier, be careful when you generalize. I had told Guillaume earlier this summer that I generally dislike grenache, except for a few Gigondas and the very occasional Chateauneuf du Pape. A few visits ago he poured me a grenache I couldn't stand, and this time he got me. Apparently these wines are all the rage in Paris right now.
2004 George Breuer Riesling Berg Schlossberg
13% alcohol, duly noted. Young, compact, not too expressive, and a bit heavy. Not bad, but compared to the first Breuer we drank, a merely pretty good effort (sorry, Luc)
2002 George Breuer Riesling Nonnenburg
Produced from a terrific German Riesling vintage (better for many in the Rheingau than '01), from Bruer's highest sloped vineyards, this wine is a KILLER. Complex on the nose, with quince, apricots, and what I imagine as peach marmelade fermented dry (of course this does not exist, it just brings to mind the intensity of the aromas). After some air, the intense minerality reveals itself on the nose as well. The flavors on the palate are tense and intense. Vibrant, chiseled stone fruit with a real saltiness on the mid-palate and finish of the wine. Very persistent as well. Yes! My WOTN, no question, no contest.
There was a Tavel Rose which was surprisingly natural, nuanced and non-Tavel like. Forget the producer name. Also an '07 Saumur-Champigny from Germain which was tasty and well-made.
On many levels, this was a most enjoyable, educational and rewarding visit to Terroir. Just what the doctor ordered.
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