These Burgundies ARE good. Why? Because I say so, dangit!

I do not have tasting notes in front of me, but I think I should remember these wines well enough to properly paint a picture for you all. I'm only describing red burgs today. These are all good values for their respective prices, in some cases really good values.

2005 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Bourgogne Rouge - Cheap ($13) red burg for gamay fans! That is, there is a certain pleasing earthiness to this wine that reminds me of good 'ol, real Beaujolais grown in granitic soil. Rustic but a good table wine, which is probably why I like this more than many anonymous tasting $20 Bourgogne Rouge wines out there.

2005 Domaine Bart Marsannay 'Les Longuieres' - Man, this is tasty Pinot! A real textural pleasure, this. There is an abundance of fleshy, dark cherry fruit, delivered in a wine whose mouthfeel is so incredibly velvety, and at the same time slightly thick - even for this ideal, ripe vintage. Tannins are very smooth, and the wine finishes with just a hint of allspice on the finish. Terrific stuff from someone making serious wines in an unfortunately less than seriously regarded village. For about $21 this is a deal.

2005 Domaine Patrick Size Mercurey 1er cru 'Clos de Montagne' - This is another wine with a darker cherry fruit profile and a similar mouthfeel to the above. It is still tight, though it does not come across as being tannic in any way. This wine has a really interesting, spiciness that does not seem to be derived from new oak as much as it is the soil where it grows. Sort of reminds me of village Meursault if it were a red wine. Should improve for at least 7 years. At $29 it's a winner.

2005 Bachey Legros Bourgogne Rouge - The one generic Bourgogne Rouge on this list is really quite good. There is all the density and depth of flavor that any winemaker could deliver in Burgundy's '05 vintage, but an added weight and structure on the palate that makes this wine stand out. $20.

2005 Domaine Paul Miset (Varoilles) Chambolle-Musigny - Definitely an up-and-coming estate, methinks. This wine smells of strawberries, real root beer (not A&W) and clove. On the palate there is a similar spicy red fruit character that is delicious and distinctive, with good length and well-integrated tannins. $42 and worth it.

2005 Domaine des Varoilles Gevrey Chambertin 1er cru 'Clos des Varoilles' - I do not remember the cost of this wine and do not think that any more is available in this country. Man, it was good though! Very lively blackberry flavors, incredibly focused and pure, pure pure. Very intensely flavored and super long on the finish.

Here were three wines which disappointed:

2004 DRC Echezeaux Grand Cru - Of course it was infanticide to crack this one open, but I was not there when the guilty party committed the act, and then left behind the bottle for me and my co-workers to taste. As a general rule, if there happens to be a bottle of DRC laying around, open, you kind of have to taste it. It's your duty as as a wine drinker. I am not the least bit experienced in DRC (this was my first encounter), though the wine struck me as being super tight, which is not surprising. Beneath all the tannin and structure, it was difficult for me to ascertain much beyond a bit of exotic spice (cumin, cloves) and dark fruit.

1999 Domaine Marechal Savigny Les Beaune Vielles Vigne - Another infanticide. This was definitely pretty, intense, pure PN. No doubt. But maybe I was just expecting a little further development, some more secondary flavors presenting themselves. This was super refined for a Savigny, which I guess is no surprise given this excellent domaine's rep. If you have this in your cellar, I'd sit on it for another few years.

2000 Domaine Pierre Morey Pommard 1er cru 'Grands Epenot' - Many '00 burgs are apparently drinking very well right now. Well this had very fleshy, cherry fruit and that Pommard sense of density and weight on the palate. But again, that was it. Very primary, and just a little boring. Good fruit intensity is a good thing, but I'd like some more in the way of floral and mineral notes in my wine.

A near revelation:

2004 De Montille Volnay 1er cru "Taillepieds" - This was as close to a 'WOW' experience as I've had in tasting red burgundy. Apparently I really like this vineyard; I remember tasting an '02 Bouchard from the same vineyard that was also good. But not this good. Very floral, with an amazing layered array of roses, raspberries, cherries, and mineral. Very lithe and supple on the palate. I could drink this every night and not tire of it. Unfortunately it's $80. But a splurge that is worth every penny.

I must say the good thing about tasting a number of wines from the same region is that you (or your friendly wine merchant) can make some general observations about what you like and dislike, as far as vineyard sites, vintages, producer's style, etc. Closing in on the end of 2007, a year which constituted a very good primer on Burgundy for me, I have discovered that I prefer softer, more feminine styled red burgs. And if they're from traditional producers and more classic vintages, so much the better.

Burgundy - worth the price of admission?

Not Ron Burgundy of Anchorman fame (to which I would respond with a resounding 'yes') but Burgundy as in the famed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay based wines of France. I must admit, though I've been tasting more and more of these wines, most of them current or recent release, some of them older, I am consistently underwhelmed. Well, maybe 'underwhelmed' is a little harsh. What is on my mind when I taste Burgundy, though, is the following: Why have I had so few wines that I find to be truly interesting, that are distinctive and that I can easily remember how it tastes, its texture on the palate, what make it unique from other Burgundies, etc? OK, once again a stretch. I know Meursault when I taste it, I know Puligny Montrachet when I taste it. Gevrey Chambertin vs Chambolle-Musigny, or Volnay? No problem. I'm speaking about generic Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc, and a good many village wines as well. Maybe it's just that I don't appreciate these grape varietals. I can say with certainty that I don't much care for Chardonnay, unless it is from Chablis or Champagne.

Even wines I've tasted from the amazing '05 vintage, while they are very well-made, have often times struck me as being tasty, well-made, nice wines. Nothing more. Here is a list of wines I'd rather spend money on then 99% of Bourgogne Rouge or Blanc:

REDS

Good nebbiolo
Traditional Rioja (La Rioja Alta, LdH)
Cru Beaujolais
Loire Vally Cab Franc
Mondeuse
Poulsard
Pesquera
Cerasuolo di Vittoria

WHITES

Muscadet
German and Austrian Riesling
Vouvray
Gruner Veltliner
Pacherenc
Jurancon
Sancerre...

...and plenty others. Why have I yet to have a revelation, a Burgundy that makes me say "Yeah!!! That's what it's about it, now I get it." Maybe I need to have my palate checked, could it be fatally flawed? Perhaps I'm just a hater, a Francophile hater. Maybe I need to hang out with more wine geeks. Wine geeks with deeper cellars. Wine geeks with deeper pockets than me.

I can appreciate peoples obsession's with Burgundy, without a doubt. But I just don't find them to be particularly exciting wines, at least without spending a good chunk of change. And I'd rather have an excellent producer's benchmark wine from a less fashionable region than some mid-end village Burg at twice the price. That's just me. Now let the hate mail and nasty Burghead posts begin....

Next post, I'll review some red burgundies whose taste I actually remember and write up one near revelatory Burgundian Pinot Noir experience I had several months ago.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

My dad has been truly interested in learning more about wine ever since I started working in the industry. He's definitely come a long way from the occasional CA trophy wines and magnums of Concha y Toro that I remember from my youth. Now, my dad enjoys Gruner Veltliner, Spanish reds, and nearly any other well-made, interesting wines you throw his way. Except for Greek whites and the ever challenging, oxidative whites of the Jura.

So dad, thank you for your continuing love and support. Enjoy your birthday - and drink well tonight! Love, Joe.

Spotlight, Loire Valley: COT vs COT!

Here is the premise for this vinous COT clash, first conceived towards the tail end of last Sunday at the shop (one of the advantages of working on Sundays is that the inevitable down time allows for some inspired moments of genius): Malbec, that increasingly rarely found Bdx blending grape, exclusive component of the formerly distinctive, once impenetrable 'black wines' of Cahors in southern France, and fruity component of many a wine from Mendoza, Argentina, might make some truly interesting wines in the Loire Valley, where it is known as 'Cot.' Why not taste a couple side-by -side, cipha' style, and see what each wine has to say?

Our two competitors are Clos Roche Blanche, probably best known for their delicous sauvignon blanc, and La Grange Tiphaine, a smaller winery whose Loire Valley star status is quickly rising under the incredibly talented Damien Delecheneau. The wines are the 2004 Clos Roche Blanche Cot and 2005 La Grange Tiphaine Cot Vielles Vignes, both produced in the Touraine AOC. Well, the results proved to be very interesting indeed.

Though these are two versions of Cot, from the same appellation, with the only apparent difference being the vintage and producer, the contrast between the two wines is dramatic. Whereas the Clos Roche Blanche is an opaque, dense purple color, the Grange Tiphaine is more violet and translucent, with bright purplish tints along the rim. Clos Roche Blanche smells of cassis at first, but then takes on an aromatic spiciness not unlike a Rhone wine. Meanwhile the Grange Tiphaine is all primary fruit on the nose, leading to a very sappy, '05 styled palate. It is reminiscent of Cab Franc. The Clos Roche Blanche, on the other hand, is darker, with more of a plum skin and dark cherry quality, as well as a persistent spice character. Some mouthfuls are floral, redolent of violets.

While I enjoyed both of these wines, I'd have liked to have had them with some more appropriate food, maybe some duck terrine or at the least some sauteed chicken sausage and fennel pasta, or sumthin'. What I ended up doing was slicing some Acme bread, a bit of Monte Enebro (tasty aged Spanish goat cheese from Avila, just north of Madrid), roasting a few red peppers and making a salad. Oh well, where there is good bread, tasty cheese and distinctive wine, at least there is a nutritious, satisfying light meal, if not the most ambitious or perfectly food-wine matched.

Though I'd have judged this freestyle battle a draw, my roommate Natalie gave the edge to La Grange Tiphaine. All results aside, I'd be interested in learning some more of the differences between these wines in terms of soil and, possibly more importantly, vinification. Yes, '05 and '04 are a world apart but there seems to be more going on here than mere vintage differences.

Sunday night Dinner at Bix

Last night I went to Bix, a jazz themed restaurant tucked away in an alley in North Beach. Posters of Josephine Baker, chalkboard sketches of Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday (that require a flash photograph to reveal their images, gimmicky but also pretty cool), and a bunch of artwork by a guy who did lots of his work in 1940's America (Heinrich something?) Apparently he is a huge influence on many folks, including Marilyn Manson. Bix is a comfortable, cozy yet expansive restaurant, with a handsome bar, baby grand piano, a dozen or so 4-tops on the first level, and another eight or so tables upstairs on a mezzanine level, which was where we sat. We were told by one of the waiters that Sharon Stone is a regular, amongst some other famous San Franciscans. The food was for the most part solid, especially considering the fact that this seemed to be more of a late night and less a fine-dining destination. The fried Bix chicken hash, which the four of us split as an ap, was delicious, as was the tender, flavorful American kobe beef. Maine lobster spaghetti was not as tasty, it was in a simple, overly sweet cream based sauce that wasn't doing it for me. Otherwise, like I said earlier, surprisingly tasty food.

Our (my brother and I) hosts, Harry and Joanie, are ideal dining companions. From hearing tales of hanging out with their son and requesting 'the best stuff they got' in Amsterdam coffee shops, to learning about the advantages of having a regular driver in New York City, to getting a sense of Billy Crystal's routine at Harry's recent ADA conference, there were many great stories told. Harry (aka Harry Lee, aka Henri) and Joanie are without a doubt some of my parents' most hip and fun loving friends - thanks again for a great evening you guys!

As far as wine, I really enjoyed the glass of 2005 Storybook Mountain Zinfandel I ordered at the Four Seasons hotel bar. Dark, brambly, spicy fruit with real grip and length on the palate. Very muscular and well-structured, this is always one of the best CA zins out there. Back to Bix, I started off with a glass of Nino Franco Prosecco, which was was tasty, nothing special, but perfectly pleasant. Theirs strikes me as being one of the more austere Proseccos around, with a pleasant bitter snap to the finish. Dinner presented a challenge as my brother and I were doing the surf and turf thing, Harry ordered lamb chops and Joanie the arctic char. So we got some Bollinger which did the trick. A little disappointing that Bix has not jumped on the grower champagne band wagon, but Bollinger did not disappoint. Great firmness and PN fruit, also austere. Not terribly complex, but consistently one of my favorite medium-large houses for good 'ol NV brut.

Stay tuned for a very exciting Loire Valley show-down in my next post!

Nas - Halftime

THE CLASSIC mid 90's hip-hop Friday drive time mix banger!

Blogging - it's so 2006

My friend Matt is responsible for that gem. I laughed when he offered that as an explanation for an extended absence from his blog. Since I have not found anything that really caught my interest today while trolling around the usual wine sites, and since I'm not up for digging up some tasting notes or otherwise thinking of something vinous to write up, I turn my attention to that long forgotten fad of last year - other people's blogs.

There are some great wine blogs out there, both from the likes of professional journalists such as Eric Asimov, people in the wine business like the author of this blog, and many others. These days, I am getting a lot more information on what's cool and exciting in the world of wine from blogs. I encourage all of you out there to visit the updated links section at the bottom of the page, and to re-visit it from time to time as I'm sure I'll be adding sites every so often.

Bon weekend.