Thanksgiving 2009 and Thanksgiving Wines Re-visited

I had a realization last Thursday, the last Thursday of November and the day commonly referred to in the United States of America as "Thanksgiving." As much as I enjoy exploring the synergy, indifference, or, every so often, the discordance between food and wine, I would prefer not to during Thanksgiving. I simply don't have the patience or mental acuity necessary to engage in such an activity. Especially as the host, responsible for cooking much of the food, negotiating space in the oven, and making sure that dinner is served at a reasonable hour. By mealtime I just want to eat and drink a single red and/or white wine to complement the meal. No careful consideration of multiple wines and how they complement the turkey, the truffled mashed potatoes, stuffing and multitude of other sides.

Nope, next year I'll bypass that level of intense analysis and observation. It's Thanksgiving, which means getting mildly to heavily soused, over-eating, and passing out on the couch when it's all said and done. I accomplished two of the three last week, thanks in part to the food we made and were brought by friends and family as well as a few more than a few drinks. Here's an annotated list:

BASQUE CIDER
2008 Isastegi Sagardo; 2008 Sarasola Sagardoa

Both tasty (they're sour cider, how could they not be). Though I preferred the more expressive and appley Isastegi. Sarasola is comparably very acetic and slightly too tart. Like the Hansen's Geuze of Basque cider. After about finishing 3/4 of each bottle (with just a little help from Natalie, most people don't dig the sour) I was ready to progress to wine.

WHITE WINE

1999 Lopez de Heredia Viña Gravonia

Delicious wine. Somehow it's rich, soft, nuanced, expansive and possessing of that rare, elusive cutting white wine acidity combined with depth of flavor that I only seem to find in the likes of Huet, good savagnin, Equipo Navazos Manzanilla Pasada, Gerard Boulay Sancerre, vintage Champagne and some others I'm leaving out. Be careful with Gravonia and turkey, though! While this was awesome wine on its own and ok with epoisses, what a train wreck with our heritage turkey. It brought out the gamey flavors in a big way, and created a chlorinated public swimming pool like flavor in the mouth - not so pleasant.

2007 Domaine de Nembrets (Denis Barraud) "Les Chataignieres" Pouilly Fuisse

Not bad. It's become rounder, plumper, a bit more expressive, and also slightly oakier since last tasting it several months ago. For Pouilly Fuisse you could certainly do a lot worse.

2008 Pascal Janvier Jasnieres

Does Chenin Blanc sec to demi-sec always have an intensely mineral pungency along with its sweet fruit flavors? I liked it, and it was the white which best complemented the meal. A stick to your palate Loire white, very distinctive.

2008 Evesham Wood Puits Sec

85% Pinot Gris, 15% Gewurztaminer. Delicious wine, though unfortunately the best of Williamette white alongside the best of Jasnieres white will inevitably be overshadowed. I enjoyed this wine's fruit expression and long dry finish. It just seemed a little one note compared to Janvier's Jasnieres.

REDS

2008 Benaza Mencía Monterrei

A fairly simple and basic lighter style Cote du Rhone like showing. Cherry fruited, peppery, lacking in the acid I need for a meal like this, and come to think of it, the acid I generally prefer in wine, food or no food.

2005 Algueira Ribera Sacra

10 months in French oak, a significant portion of it new, has not robbed this wine of its intense plum and blue fruit quality. Subtly smoky, with delicious fruit. Sort of somewhere between a Pommard and Crozes Hermitage. Nearly 7 days after first opening, this still bears more than a passing resemblance to its orginal self. OK with turkey, but what it really wants is lamb. Next Thanksgiving, young turkey and lamb! While this is a very interesting drink right now, I'd love to check back in five years. Famed mencía master Raúl Perez acts as consulting winemaker here.

2007 Marcel Lapierre Morgon

Tasty, and not surprisingly the best wine for dinner. It had enough depth to handle heritage game, plenty of acidity to refresh the palate, and such a high level of quaffability that Natalie and I nearly took it out ourselves (after some heavy drinking beforehand).

2007 Domaine Cheveau Saint-Amour "En Ronty"

Spotting this bottle in our tiny Beaujolais section at work, I wondered why I have heard so little about this particular producer. Well, I quickly figured out after sampling, giving the bottle more careful consideration, and even re-visiting on day two, that there is a reason I have heard so little about this wine: it is not good. Muddled, unfocused, uninspired.

2008 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir Williamette Valley

This winery makes very good wine. One of the few Williamette wineries (at least who sell out-of-state) whose new releases always get my attention. Two reasons for this: price ($18 for the basic PN and $14 for the white) and consistent transparency. Even in warmer vintages, the wines are nuanced, lighter in color, and taste the way Oregon pinot should but increasingly does not. This is the bottle of which our assorted lightweight guests drank the most.

Next year will be the year of turkey and red meat. Also, just two different wines at the table. Early front runners are good Rioja crianza and albariño just to keep it Spanish and to bore the French natural wine heads out there.

Guess the Attendance: Alsace/Loire Valley in-store tasting edition

We probably had one of the more interesting line-ups for a Saturday tasting that we've had in the store for a long while. We were pouring '07 Huet Le Haut Lieu Sec, '07 Gerard Boulay Sancerre Clos de Beaujeu and even an '89 Vouvray demi-sec.

Care to play the good old stadium scoreboard game of 'guess the attendance?'

It may be helpful to know that we average about 30 people for Saturday in-store tastings.

Was the attendance:

A.) 7
B.) 15
C.) 25
D.) 32

Old Clos Roche Blanche PdA Rose (in case you were wondering)

I came across a $1.99 bottle of 2004 Clos Roche Blanche Pineau d'Aunis Rose on our closeout rack yesterday. Rather, a customer whom I recognized as a frequent patron at Terroir spotted the CRB, purchased a few, and tempted me to do the same. How has the wine held up, you ask?

Well, if bottle one is any indication, not too well. Pale onion skin, Tempier rose color. Very little flavor on the palate, certainly vaguely a faint whisper of the exuberant pineau d'aunis strawberry fruit. To the wine's credit, it is not oxidized, and still has a bit of fruit hanging in as well as acidity. This is typically a terrific rose - not so terrific after spending 4 years in bottle, however.

For less than $5, though, I've done far worse.

100% of my February wine budget has gone to Huet's '07s

I don't have too much experience tasting the brilliant wines of Huet. The '02 Petillant is terrific, much classier and more interesting than many a Champagne. I recently tasted a Touraine rose sparkler, made from 100% gamay. Pretty cool wine, with a touch of gamay earthy, roasted peanut-like savor. And once I tasted a vin de glace from '80, which was truly compelling. It was a tiny taste, and all I remember is being jolted from my seat by the searing acidity.

Finally I have purchased a few bottles of Huet's better known, bread-and-butter offerings from his famous single vineyards in Vouvray: Le Mont, Le Haut Lieu, and Clos du Bourg.

It means that I'll be drinking a bit less often and more on the cheap than usual this month, but I think this should prove to be a small price to pay for enjoying Huet Vouvray in the years ahead.

Chave Hermitage - 0 for 2 (?)

Last night N. and I had a lovely, impromptu dinner at the cafe at Chez Panisse. Greens in a vinaigrette (a bit too heavily dressed and vinegary for my taste) with a wonderful herbed andante farms goat cheese, Persian-spiced duck breast with winter squash, snap peas, and pomegranate juice and an apple-quince crisp. We had an '06 Francois Cotat Sancerre La Grand Cote to start - it showed that lemon oil, flint and creamy lees combination that young 'serious' Loire SB tends to display. The fruit showed a hint of sweetness later in the mid-palate, though, not as strict a wine as I had anticipated. With dessert, a glass of '04 Clos Lapeyre Jurancon showed terrific tang, and enough sweet richness to pair with a fruit based dessert.

But on to the Chave. The last (and first) time I tasted Chave Hermitage was in January 2007. It was a bottle of '99 Chave Hermitage Rouge and it was completely shut down. The fact that I was hanging out with a few nice folks and lots of Napa boobs in Yountville, drinking Napa wine, could not have helped. Anyway, last night I saw a half bottle of 1997 Chave Hermitage and decided to jump. It was not inexpensive, but certainly less than Chave would normally cost due to the challenging vintage. I'm a fan of challenging vintages. Often times it's a great way to taste an icon at a relatively reasonable price. So this bottle of what many would consider to be the best Syrah in the world, tasted good. In fact, it was pretty damn tasty. A touch exotic on the nose, and immediately accessible (after all, it is a 375ml from a lighter vintage, and it was decanted for 30 minutes) with loads of freshness, some mineral, and decent flavor intensity. Thing is, I still would be a bit disappointed paying more than $50 for a 750 ml of this wine in a shop (retail is probably about $150). One interesting observation - there was more than a passing similarity between this wine and the best cru beaujolais I have tasted. Similar fruit, acidity and palate weight. I do not mean that as a slight to the Chave or to top Beaujolais producers. It's just that tasting Chave, just like tasting Raveneau, Haut Brion, Vega Sicilia or any other of the world's great wines, carries with it a certain sense of expectation. In some respect, I suppose that occasionally it's tough not to be disappointed.

Not that I won't drink Chave any more when the occasion avails itself. Last night, the occasion availed itself due to a generous birthday gift certificate to Chez Panisse from my parents. Thanks, mom and dad, I love you both!

UPDATE - 1/12/09

I checked out an order for someone who had ordered a bottle of '96 Chave Hermitage Rouge for $99.99! Not inexpensive, but as many of you know that is significantly less than wholesale cost for Chave these days. Someone got himself a deal.

Welcome to The Holidays

You may have noticed that the weekly posting rate has declined of late, as has the average posting length and overall quality here. Sorry. It's the busy season, which means that I am eating too much junk food, not enough vegetables and drinking a bit more than usual. At work, we are fortunate to be very busy, people are in a hurry, orders are mispicked, everyone's patience is running a bit thin. All of which feeds the unhealthy eating habits above; it's a vicious cycle. So excuse me if things are slipping a little here. After Christmas things should be back to normal.

To relax from the overall craziness that is retail during the holidays, I went to Terroir last night. Rolled in dolo (I think that's mid 90's QB slang for solo). I very much enjoyed an '07 Pinon Vouvray, the 'silex noir' bottling. So juicy and balanced. Terrific stuff. Then moved on to a '98 Wittman riesling spatlese from the Rheinhessen. Definitely into tertiary land now, some citrus and that brown sugared note I get in Rheinhessen and Pfalz rieslings. After that, a '94 Hauth Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese I brought in from work, which showed bigger, broader flavors with a deeper swath of acidity. Developed, but still developing. Finally a bottle of '95 Reinhold Hart Piesporter Goldtrofchen Riesling Spatlese, generously brought in by another guest. It was more primary than I expected. Golden colored and flavored. Appley, deep and just very vibrant and delicious. Apparently low sulphur too. Good bring, Michael.

OK, off to the bike to the Caltrain to the Camino to the shop, and then back again this evening. Have a good day.

Thanksgiving recap

We pulled it off. 14 people, a first time heritage turkey cooking experience, Spanish vs French wines. Somehow it all worked. We started with 2004 Francois Pinon Vouvray Brut (1.5l), progressed to some whites, worked our way through cru beaujolais and Rioja, and finished with a 1990 Gordon & McPhail Glen Grant bottling. Some things I learned:

- Truffled may not be the only way to do Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, but it's surely the only way I plan on doing it in the future. Here's a recipe for 15 (with some leftover): peel, cut and boil 8 lb of russets for 20 minutes, drain, mash with a pint of half-and-half, a stick of butter, 2 tbsp white truffle oil, salt, pepper. Transfer into a baking dish, grate some parmeggiano on top, throw under the broiler to make a crust, take out of oven and douse with more truffle oil. A crowd pleaser, and incredibly easy.

- Thanksgiving is a white wine affair. The right cru beaujolais may do the trick, but not as well as the right whites.

- Spanish wines can work great. True, I'm a fan and write them up fairly often here, but the right Spanish wines work every bit as well as anything else for Thanksgiving. In fact, the '07 Carballal Sete Cepas Rias Baixas, with its terrific phenolic ripeness, moderate alcohol and bright acidity, was the best wine with dinner. Rich enough for the meatier than usual heritage bird, very receptive to the earthy savor of mushroom stuffing, and somehow equipped to even handle the sweet-tangy cranberry sauce. As far as reds, I wish I had had another bottle of 1999 Campillo Rioja Reserva. Why drink CA pinot (or moderately priced Burgundy, for that matter) when you could have this? It's a perfect compromise between softer, plumper new world fruit, and more old world acidity, terroir and savor. Perfectly balanced, traditionally styled Rioja with a bit of bottle age.

- Just about everyone loves the Beach Boys. As is usually the case, Dad was happy to be the itunes DJ, striking a chord with our Swiss guests when he played California Girls ("Udo, that's what was playing when we first met in Paris in 1968!") A few of us then reminisced about the video for the version of this tune which my generation perhaps knows a bit better:

A coupla' bistro French reds and Peruvian chicken

You know, I noticed that hardly anyone is blogging about cool, vin naturel on their wine blogs (I mean seriously, get off the Napa cabs and Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, wine bloggers). So, given the dearth of information on these hopelessly unfashionable, humble vin naturel, I thought I'd write up a few which a young upstart in the busniness named Joe Dressner imports. These are wines which I really enjoyed before and during dinner last night.

2007 Les vin contes Olivier Lemasson 'P'tit Rouquin' Gamay Touraine

French for 'carrot topped kid,' the p'tit rouqin is sourced from hand harvested gamay grown in clay and flint soils by several growers who farm organically within a 40 km radius in Touraine. Classical gamay vin naturel treatment here: no pigeage, carbonic maceration, only 2g/hectoliter sulphur added at bottling. And how does it taste? Delicious. Red cherries and goji berries on the noise, with a touch of earth, lead to a snappy red fruited and hibiscus inflected palate. There is a delicious minerality as well, one that at times stands out more than the understated fruit. This is definitely a mid to back palate and sides of the tongue wine. A chiseled, finishing wine. Streamlined, no baby fat, just perfect. Especially with roasted chicken and yuca (if you're in SF and have not yet done so, try Limon's on Van Ness btw 21st and 22nd). The Ptit Rouquin even held up to the spicy flavors of the various dipping sauces and a tangy cole slaw I made.

2006 Domaine de la Pepiere 'La Pepie' Cabernet Franc (1.5l)

This (and now that I mention it the wine above as well) were both opened the day before for a Loire tasting at the store. It's tasting much better than we first received the wine in a little over a year ago. Dark cherry fruit, showing a much more expansive and fleshed out mid-palate than when I had last tasted the wine. Some pretty cab franc floral notes towards the finish made it even tastier. Good, but not quite gamay good, with the chicken and yuca.

Lovely French dinner, with French wine and new French friends

Last night, my special lady and I were invited over to our friend Josh's place for dinner with him and his French girlfriend, who is still settling into San Francisco. We all had a great time, and, true to form for Josh and I, it was only our yawning with increasing frequency around 1am which finally broke up the party.

We started with a delicious glass of 2007 Chaussard 'You are So Nice' Cot-Gamay. So much nicer than the last time I drank this! Apparently a customer of Josh's returned the wine earlier in the day and said it was not good. Well, the customer was right, as the wine was not merely good, but really fucking good! Lively dark berry and that delicious iron like minerality that cot seems to deliver in the Loire. The wine was delicious, impeccably balanced, and really persistent. I only wish Josh had received two returned bottles instead of just one.

I brought a bottle of 2005 Jo Landron 'Fiefs du Brueils' muscadet which was so ungiving on the nose, so compact and tight on the palate, that I suggested Josh keep it in his fridge and check in on it throughout the week. It would not have been too pleasurable a drink with dinner. Instead, Josh pulled out a wonderful bottle of 2006 Gramenon Cotes du Rhone 'La Sagesse.' Another natural wine, made with minimal sulphur added prior to bottling, it was richer and warmer than the Chaussard, with a touch of a baked character, but still showing pure grenache dark cherry fruit, balanced acidity and an accesible character. It should improve for up to 7-8 years (I think, there is the whole fragile low sulphur wine thing to worry about if you're not storing these carefully, though). We ate pork chops, sauteed with mustard, creme fraiche, rosemary and mushrooms, with sides of mini buttered elbow pasta and pan fried kale (cooked with a controversial, but unexpectedly tasty, dash of lemon zest thrown in). I love kale, and this version was good for a change of pace.

Pungent Valdeon (spanish blue cheese), really good, earthy/funky Brie and Pierce Point (from Cowgirl Creamery) followed dinner, which was then proceeded by a tasty Pippin apple crumble and then a wee dram of Caol Ila 10 year for me, some bourbon for Natalie and Josh and sparkling wine for Catherine. A really fun evening - thanks to our gracious hosts Josh and Catherine for cooking great food and entertaining us in their new apartment.

BLT and PdA

Without a doubt, the best matched food and wine pairing of the past few weeks was a delicious BLT from Bar Jules paired with the 2007 Clos Roche Blanche L'arpent Pineau d'Aunis. In typical pinot d'aunis fashion, this wine showed gorgeous wild strawberries with a hint of sichuan peppercorns, terrific acidity and very fine finishing tannins. Combined with the crisp, smoky, meaty BLT sandwich it simply could not be beat. It was a terrific Friday lunch. Thanks for bringing the bottle, Mr. Gerard.

My man Jo Landron is in effect mode. Domaine Bart too!

Obligatory ATCQ reference there, sorry I couldn't resist. Anyway, it is a very happy week when a new container of French wines, including such reliable, consistently good values as the Muscadets of Jo Landron and the Marsannays of Martin Bart, arrives at our warehouse. I haven't had the '06 Bart wines yet as I would like to wait several weeks for them to settle in and recover from their journey. However, I did recently drink a large portion of a bottle of Jo Landron's '07 Amphibolite, which is simply delicious. It is his one wine that is not aged sur lies for an extended period, and as such is not quite as mineral, compact, and intensely flavored as wines such as his Fief du Breils, Marc Ollivier's Clos de Briords, Guy Bossard's 'orthogneiss', and other more serious bottlings of Muscadet. It is, however, soft, pure, and incredibly tasty. Loads of gentle peach and melon rind flavor, with good length and an enormously high thirst quenching factor. Not one to forget about for a while, though. My last few bottles of '06, while enjoyable, are noticeably darker in color and, while gaining in weight, losing the pure, delicate fruit flavors that make this wine so attractive.

In these trying, uncertain financial times, I plan on drinking lots of Muscadet, even more than usual. It's good for you, invigorating and refreshing stuff. Having all but sworn off my credit cards after clearing my debt earlier in the year, I will pay for all of this Muscadet with cash or a debit card.

Goodbye, Didier Dagueneau.

It is tough to eulogize someone whom you have never met. It is somewhat less tough to eulogize someone whom you have never met, but whose work you respect and admire. My very limited experience with Didier Dagueneau's work involves three wines: 2003 Pur Sang, 2004 Blanc Fume and 2005 Pur Sang. All three wines were deeply thought provoking, and I would say that two of the three were amongst the best expressions of Sauvignon Blanc I have ever tasted. I have not yet tasted Dagueneau's most famous achievement, Silex, though I look forward to drinking it one day and toasting the maestro.

Most of what the media said about Dagueneau was that he was a trailblazer, a man who took chances both in winemaking and in his personal life. A man with wild, unkempt hair, dressed in overalls, who some might call 'unpredictable.' In a field of wild personalities, Didier apparently stood right at the top in both his ability to impress with his wines and confound with his eccentricities. As much as we wine lovers will miss him, I think of all of the young vignerons with whom he shared knowledge and offered encouragement. Francois Chidaine, I am told, was particularly close with Didier, as I imagine were many other winemakers.

To the family of Mr. Dagueneau, his colleagues in the Loire valley and anyone else who has come to know and love the man, I'm deeply sorry for your loss. The wine world is losing one of its most passionate and talented vignerons all too early.

Notes from Dressner Tasting last week

Mr. Joe Dressner (?)

Now this was my kind of trade tasting. Held in the kitchen of Dressner's west coast rep's Castro home, with a manageable amount of wines to taste through and a friendly group of like-minded wine people. Thanks to Mr. Dressner and Shawn Mead for putting this tasting together.

2007 Lemasson Gama Sutra VdT

100% tasty gamay. This Puzelat protege clearly knows what he's doing.

2007 Lemasson Cheville de Fer

Cot. Deeper and more intense nose. Tangy mixed berries over a very smooth, elegant texture. Less earthy than the wine above, and a bit more heft. Delicious young cot - tasty now but will surely gain complexity over time.

2007 Cascina Tavign Grignolino d'Asti

Excellent. Pure cherry essence with wonderful acidity and loads of freshness. Grignolino as good as this is way too easy to drink (not necessarily a bad thing).

2006 Noussan Torrette Val d'Aoste

Mixed berry and dark fruit skins. Good flavors and focus here. Reasonably bright for a Torrette, which can sometimes be a bit darker and slightly chewier.

2005 Gioia de Colle Primitivo

My notes read simply, "Berry. Dusty cocoa. Best primitivo I've had." Ceri Smith, proprietor of the terrific San Francisco Italian wine shop Biondivino, shared my sentiments, saying that it was primitivo she actually liked. Couldn't agree more.

2005 Gioia Antello del Murge

More intense and brambly. Interesting. A touch more earthy complexity as well.

Massa Vecchia VdT Rosso (vintage?)

I have heard a lot about this wine. Maybe I'm just not ready for it; perhaps it's too 'challenging.' Regardless, I found the aromas to be very heady and intense. Macerated cherries on the palate, a touch of CO2, and the sans soufre/minimal sulphur nutty aftertaste I seem to be picking up with increasing frequency in some natural wines.

2006 Malescondo Rosso di Montalcino

Very intense, earthy, tangy red fruit. Some tuscan savor as well. Quite good.

2005 Malescondo Chianti Classico

More intense flavors. Darker fruits and fruit skins. Slightly raisinated nose and more assertive tannins, but all balanced and truly delicious.

Back to the French wines...

2007 Puzelat Tesnieres (Pineau d'Aunis)

Classic white pepper and wild strawberry nose, leading to vivid blue and purple fruit flavors. A true original, and very fine.

2007 Tue Bouef Cheverny

Light, earthy gamay. Tasty and decidedly thirst quenching bistro style wine.

2006 Descombes Brouilly
This is serious cru beaujolais; don't let the Brouilly cru designation fool you. Intense raspberry and blackberry on the nose lead to a palate of of lively mixed fruit, with great intensity and unique savor.

2006 Descombes Morgon
Damn, this is good. A good bit more tightly wound than the Brouilly and in want of long decanting or opening a night before consumption. Even better, stash it away for several years. Very dense, explosive berries, but as I mentioned, decidedly stern. It's not showing close to everything it's got to offer.

2007 La Guillaume Monpertuis

'Poopy red berries,' on the nose, according to my notes. Light, dilute, and perhaps too sans soufre-y for my taste.

2006 Ca de Nocci Sottbosco Ca de Roci
Emilia Romagna sparkler. 50% lambrusco grasparossa, 30% lambrusco maestri, 20% malbo gentile. Dark. Tastes like a sparkling Loire cot might taste if they made such a wine (maybe someone out there does?) Nice gripping tannins on finish. This wine makes me hungry for hearty Italian cuisine, of the regionally authentic, homestyle variety that is probably best pursued in Italy (but of course).
Long time, no new content...THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE! So despite my strong dislike for writing long posts with a bunch of random tasting notes, here is one such entry below. Occasionally, unique wines do merit my putting down the most boring, gray area prone, self indulgent of all prose known to man, wine tasting notes. Hope you enjoy reading.

Massa Vecchia Bia
Another wine that I don't enjoy. If I've lost points with the geeky Italophiles out there, that's just too bad. I apparently don't think dig these Massa Vecchia wines that much. The red was more enjoyable than this one, which had a weird, Brett and wild yeast geuze style savor to it. The Cantillon geuze of sparkling wines. I'd give you more info but the Dressner website links to the Ca de Nocci above when I drag my mouse over the Massa Vecchia link.

OK, whew...this took a good while to get up here. Busy at work, tired at home, and thus the delay in getting these up. Good wines, though, take a while to learn how to make. And so it follows that their descriptions sometimes take a while to post. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading, and that you might find something new and exciting to try if some of these are available in a shop near you.

Back in the Saddle

Well, Labor Day has passed by and, though some of the sunnier, warmer days are possibly still ahead of us in northern California, summer's come and gone. Here is a quick run-through of a few wines I've drunk over the past week, and then more in-depth stuff tomorrow and later in the week.

2007 Grange Tiphaine Bel Air Sec Touraine Amboise

60-70 year old Chenin Blanc vines produce the grapes that make this delicious, dry white. Great intensity and minerality.

2006 Goisset St. Bris

A solid sauvignon de st bris, this wine slowly opens up to show broad citrus flavors - think kafir lime - with a touch of herbaceous green notes and intense minerality. Rich, complex, and very Pouilly Fume-like. One to cellar for a few years.

2007 Nathalie & Christian Chossard 'You are so Nice' Cot - Gamay

Here is a most naturally made 'natural wine.' Organic farming, working towards biodynamic, natural fermentation, malolactic which begins and ends naturally, and a minimal amount of sulphur added only immediately prior to bottling. Lots of enticing cot aromas on the nose: violets, barnyard and dusty purple fruits. Not showing a whole lot on the palate, this wine really disappointed, my first Dressner imported Loire wine disappointment. Could just be travel sick, will try another one in a month.

A Query about 2005 Edmond Vatan 'Clos la Neore' Sancerre Chavignol

I picked up two of these for the cellar and need some advice. When should I open them? My usual cellaring routine involves buying a reasonably priced bottle, drinking it, purchasing more, asessing a rough time frame of checking in on the bottles (say, for example, opening a bottle three years after purchase, then another one after five years) and then putting away and forgetting about said bottles. As Vatan is allocated and not inexpensive, I will need to consult the public as well as my knowledgeable readership for advice with regards to cellaring time.

Well, readership, what do you think?

Geeking out (again) at Terroir SF

It was a celebratory evening last Wednesday night, as my friend Paul was in town and decided to have an assortment of friends - mainly wine business types - meet at Terroir. This makes sense as Paul has been a vocal advocate of naturally made wines for at least the past several years (longer, perhaps?) Though a bit under the weather, Paul clearly was in his element, staring slack jawed at the selection of wines from the Jura, remarking excitedly about what a ridiculous list the three man crew at Terroir have assembled, and clearly happy to catch up with old friends and share some great bottles. Which, of course is what it's all about. And, as anyone who reads wine blogs should well know, it's also all about trying to remember these various bottles and inform the masses on what one thinks is good (and not). So, in rough order of consumption, here are some quick (and I do mean quick) TN's.

Gros Jean Cremant de Jura 2001 - super earthy and funky, not very fresh nor charming.

Luc Massy Dezaley Chemin de Fer Chasselas Grand Cru 2001- a repeat from a few weeks ago. Found it more delicate, pretty and floral this time around

2000 Movia Puro - Disgorged by yours truly. Tart bitter cherry, maybe a bit lambic like? 50% Pinot Nero, 50% Ribolla. Cool wine, my first puro experience.

2006 Chidaine Rose sparkler - Sweet, one-dimensional and not as good as my favorite bugey cerdons. My disdain for sparkling Chidaines continues....

Bruno Michel Blanc de Blancs 1er Cru - Fun, bright, somewhat simple BdB.

2004 Thierry Puzelat 'in KO we trust' Cot - pure cot deliciousness. Floral, dark fruited, intense, fresh.

2005 Courtois 'Racine'- Fairly bright, high toned berries with some SSF (that's 'sans soufre funk,' see here for a related post)

2005 Freres Grosjean Fumin (Valle d'aosta) - Dark, penetrating, not fresh and alpine until the finish. Slowly grew on me.

2000 Montborgeau Cuvee Speciale L'etoile - nutty, bright, great intensity, nuance and depth. WOTN!

2006 Dard et Ribot Crozes-Hermitage - sweet, smoky, savory.

Pairing of the week - Artic Char and Bolognani Moscato Giallo

On Friday night I made some very simply prepared, delicious Arctic char, if I do say so myself. Characteristically I did not follow a recipe and will not go into much detail regarding its preparation; not much detail is needed.

To accompany the fish I drank a delicious, dry muscat - a 2006 Diego Bolognani Moscato Giallo (Trentino). The low alcohol, crisp flavors and exotic, floral-herbal aromatics of a good dry Muscat really set off the delicate herbal component of the char. Additionally, the wine's pure, focused, crisp yellow fruit also acts as a terrific foil to the meaty, rich, slightly strong flavor of the char. As a red wine possibility, and because I had a two day old bottle of Chinon to finish, I also tried a 2005 Bernard Baudry Chinon. A bit too rich for the dish, though it was great with the fried potatoes. Very nuanced, balanced, slightly rich Chinon with just enough freshness and finesse to keep it highly drinkable. Next time I'll have the same crispy potatoes and a skirt steak instead of fish.

Here's a recipe for the fish.

Ingredients:

1 lb arctic char or salmon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
A few tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
One small branch of rosemary (enough to yield 2 tsp chopped rosemary)

Simply start with one pound of as fresh a piece of arctic char or salmon as you can find (I used a great piece from Avedano's). Cut it into three even pieces, add salt, pepper, the juice of one half a lemon, a small pour of olive oil (nothing too fancy needed since it's going on a hot grill or pan) and a couple teaspoons of rosemary. Thyme would be great too - I used rosemary so as to not over-harvest from my young thyme plant. Let the fish marinate for twenty or so minutes at room temperature and either grill outside or pan fry it inside on a lightly oiled pan. Cook until desired doneness - my preference is for the fish to retain its deep salmon color on the inside, which would be on the medium-rare side. Serve alongside some thin rounds of fried or baked russet potatoes and a green salad or vegetable.

Man vs Machine, or is it the Man Machine

Well, they are at it again. I needed to delete three identical hacker posts this morning. I am waiting to see if someone on the blogger help team can un-hack this site for me. If anyone reading has any experience, personal or anecdotal, about hacked blogs I'd love to hear from you.

In other news, I picked up a bottle of 2006 Bobinet Saumur Champigny 'Amateus' from Terroir yesterday, which I think I'll open up now to let it breath all afternoon in preparation for a 4th of July New York strip. Ok, done. While I was there, Dagan poured me a taste of some sparkling melon de bourgogne that was delicious - ripe citrus and a touch of brett savor - it reminded me of a cremant de jura from Berthet Bondet; alternatively it also reminded me of Cantillon geuze, if it were to have a touch of residual sugar.

In yet other news, musically oriented, I saw a really entertaining show put on by the boys and girls of Still Flyin' last night at the Cafe du Nord. Fresh off a six show tour of Calgary (that's right, 6 Canadian shows, all in Calgary) the band was tight and in good form. Ska and reggae influenced party music for indie kids.

I'm listening to what is by far my favorite Billy Joel record, Streetlife Serenader. This is the Billy Joel that I love: Los Angelenos, The Great Suburban Showdown, Root Beer Rag, and for a classic radio single, The Entertainer. Terrific sound featuring inspired playing by all the sessions players (and there are lots of 'em). Not surprisingly, Streetlife Serenader has aged much better than the 1980s Billy Joel output.

Wednesday night LOIRE Degustement

Some colleagues and I, along with a few other imbibers, met up at 18 Reasons gallery tonight to taste a wide variety of Loire wines: natural wines and high chemical wines, cult wines and modest bistro wines, current releases and 15 year olds, everything from the Atlantic coast all the way to Sancerre. Overall a terrific variety. Thanks to Josh for organizing and Morgan for providing tasty snacks to munch on.

2006 Henri Bourgeois 'Petit Bourgeois' VdP du Jardin de France

A simple SB affair, with the usual citrus flavors, but lacking in purity and intensity. Many better Loire VdP SB and Touraine sauvignon exist at this price point. Most recently I'm really enjoying the '07 JF Merieau Touraine imported by JD Headrick.

2006 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre 'Mont Damnes'

Of course this is a step up: stronger citrus, rounded stone fruit flavors and a touch of mineral. Even so, it lacks the tension and intense minerality of a good Mont Damnes. Not knowing the price (probably $20-25) I would take a pass on this one.

2005 Didier Dagueneau 'Pur Sang' Pouilly Fume

I was excited to try another vintage of this wine, one that I would more than likely enjoy a lot more than the super ripe '03 tasted a few months ago. Currently not offering much on the nose, and nearly as shut down on the palate, the wine is still clearly a powerful example of Pouilly Fume that should show more of its personality in a few years. Intense, broad, mouth filling citrus flavors, with some lemongrass as well as creamy lees flavors. Though it's shut down, you can still taste the intensity of flavors and note the amazing persistence of the finish.

2004 Courtois 'Originel'

Truly an original, this Jenny & Francois import is aptly named. 100% Meunier from near Cheverny. I have had this wine before, and it was consistent in its funky character. A faded golden color, with amber tints and a bit of an oxidative character to the aroma, this wine seems as unstable as I remember it. In fact last time I decided to let it sit in the fridge over night and it turned golden brown. Aromas are at first funky and green, but with pretty cherries and biscuit dough beyond the initial stank. On the palate the wine is very dry, with a pronounced hazlenut character, freshly baked biscuits and a hint of coriander on the finish. Some people mentioned a cidery quality, which I did not catch this time around but certainly did the last time I tried the wine, after it had been open for a day. Interesting wine, not one for the masses though.

2006 Janvier Jasnieres Cuvee de Silex

Very pleasant dry chenin, with creamy nectarine flavors, a bit of Chenin tuffeau chew, and nice grip.

2001 Prince Poniatowski 'Clos Baudoin' Vouvray

Of course this princely estate is now defunct, its vineyards bought by Francois Chidaine. This wine turned out being classified as 'sec' in '01, while in other years ('90 for example) it was moelleux. The style of wine depended on vintage conditions, it was not consistent year to year. Though I thought that the initial mustiness was mere Poniatowski diry cellar stink, others pronounced the wine corked. Either way, it was clearly not the best bottle from this now defunct winery known for its pretty good Vouvray and dirty cellar.

1993 Jo Landron Domaine de la Louvetrie 'Fief du Breil' Muscadet

Just beginning to show signs of maderizing on the nose, this wine is still tasty, with broad lemon flavors, minerals galore and a boiled oat quality as well. This was a near consensus pick for one of the wines of the night. It's further proof that top-notch muscadet ages remarkably well.

2001 La Poussie Sancerre Rouge

My experience with non-current release Sancerre rouge is minimal, so this was a fun bottle to taste. Super light red color with subtle orange tints at the edge, the wine had a real wet rock character, with some gentle, aged French pinot style savory cherry flavor. A touch of violet as well. Subtle, earthy and light. Tasty but frail, and probably a tough one to pair with food.

2006 Bobinet 'Amateus' Saumur Champigny

Another Jenny & Francois import, this cab franc is delicious. Deep black cab franc fruits on the nose, leading to more of the same on the palate, with a floral quality, lavender like. Great intensity and fruit purity here. Another consensus pick for top three of the night.

2006 Phillipe Alliet Chinon

This is the entry level Chinon, and while it is good wine that just needs some time to shed some undesirable aromas, it was really outclassed by the Bobinet, which I unfortunately tasted immediately prior. Funky, reductive, and bretty on the nose (can't say you didn't warn me, Jeff). Dark fruit. Chewy dark cherry and currants on the palate. If you're drinking this now, maybe open it a day before to disperse some of the sulphurous, bretty funk on the nose.

The dinner party: Braised short ribs, côt, and a lot more wines

Sunday night Nattles and I had a lovely dinner with one of my co-workers, her husband, and another couple. There was much food and drink, especially for a school night, but the heartiness of the food and extended time period of the evening made for easy metabolization of the wine. I woke up Monday morning and felt pretty good. Decent enough energy at work, especially after lunch and a few ounces of kombucha. Anyway, a good time was had and without further adieu let's get to the wines.

Clairette de Die Raspail 'Grande Tradition' NV

This 100% muscat sparkler from Languedoc was 100% appley deliciousness. At 7.5% alcohol it is also very easy to drink. It tasted of orchard fresh apples, almost in a simpler Mosel spatlese kind of way. Yeah, if you were to take a fruity Mosel spatlese, put it in a sealed tank and make a charmat method sparkler, it would taste similar to this. Interestingly enough I had the wine today as well, and while it was very tasty the character was decidedly less appley, and more of the typical Muscat grapeyness with sweet, exotic citrus notes. Either side of this wine, the apples from Sunday night or the more typical Muscat flavors of today, works for me. The wine went well with the chicken and apple sausages, as well as the crocodile (yes, crocodile) sausages we were eating.

Schloss Schonborn Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Kabinett 1994

At first whiff, I thought that this Kabinett had headed too far down the road of ash and decay for my tastes. But it quickly revived itself and turned out to be a tangy, quince and citrus filled riesling, with characteristically sharp '94 acidity. A bit simple at first, but it improved and showed nicely after some time in the glass.

Hughes Beaulieu Picpoul de Pinet 2007

This simple quaffer was not as pleasurable as I remember from past vintages. A bit metallic and astringent on the finish. A bit more simple as well. Bottle shock, maybe?

Xavier Frissant Touraine Ambois 'Cuvee Renaissance' 2005

My hunch was that this, one of the two wines I brought, would work great with the short ribs. And did it ever. 50% Cot, 30% cab franc, 20% cab sauv from this talented grower in Touraine makes for a very fine food wine. Cot contributes the full, dark fruit flavors, cab franc the herbal savor and acidity, and cabernet some more of the herbs as well as conveying a bit of added tension to the structure. Once the wine had a chance to flesh out it really shined with the short ribs, which were tender and expertly prepared by aspiring Top Chef Derek Hena. If you like the Domaine de la Pepiere Cuvee Granit, I would try this Frissant, I prefer it.

Vincent Paris St Joseph 2006

Pure syrah, simple as that. Violet, white pepper, and mixed berry fruits on the nose, with juicy blue and red fruits on the palate. It's definitely softer, less tense and less spicy than his Cornas wines, but of course that is to be expected. Vincent Paris makes honest, tasty syrah, which comes as no surprise given that the famous Robert Michel (see Neal Rosenthal's new book) is his uncle and probably taught him some things. This wine reminds me that I really need to explore more northern Rhone syrah - the real stuff - not the ocean of Crozes Hermitage and assorted negoc wines aged in new oak.

City Slicker Syrah Santa Barbara 2006

Speaking of new oak flavors...this is a wine that my co-worker bottled with her dad, through crushpad here in San Francisco. It is juicy Santa Barbara syrah that is not my style but definitely well-made and easy to like if it's what you're into.

Domaine de Fondreche 'Nadal' Cotes de Ventoux 2005

These wines are always awarded high scores and it's easy to see why - they are extracted, anonymous tasting southern Rhone wines. That having been said, the O'sud, which is the cheapest of this series, is usually lighter on its feet and more lively tasting.

Domaine de la Pigeade Muscat Beaumes de Venise 2006

I don't like Beaumes de Venise and I didn't really care for this either. It reminds me of orange marmelade, spiked with alcohol. Bitter and hot. Not really refreshing. Then again, I'm not much of a dessert wine person.

Thanks to Chiara and Derek for the hospitality - next dinner's at chez moi.