THE JUNKYARD BAND - SARDINES

Two things I learned about this:

1.) It was released by Def Jam
2.) Produced by Rick Rubin.

For more JYB flavor, visit this earlier post:

http://oldworldoldschool.blogspot.com/search?q=sardines

A Mag of the 'Doon Cardinal Zin!

We are selling mags of the 2002 Bonny Doon Cardinal Zin for a very reasonable price. I thought I'd buy one and give it a test run; if it were to show well I'd buy some more to have around for unexpected guests, or for times when the 'drink now' pile is lean and I don't want to dip into the cellar.

The wine is sound. A reasonable 13.5% alcohol was promising to see on the label. At first the wine was ok, with some tiny red berry fruits and decent acidity, but a very clipped finish, and not too much expansion on the palate. After an hour or so, though, the wine really improved - more expansive on the mid-palate in particular.

Randall Graham is one of America's more intelligent voices when it comes to the elaboration and enjoyment of wine. While I think that the overall quality of his wines is just ok these days (maybe that's not fair - the last time I tasted through most of his offerings was 2 years ago), he is an important person in the US wine world and has done a lot of good for the business. He has promoted competently made American expressions of classic Rhone style wines and riesling, and packaged them in cool Ralph Steadman designed labels which attract people to them and encourage a consumer to go for one instead of an Echelon Pinot Noir or some such other basura.

Anyhoo, at $8 per mag I think I better buy some more.

Why, at this early stage, I prefer '06 to '05 in the Rhone

Recently I tasted some Languedoc and Rhone valley wines primarily from the '05 and '06 vintages. Based on the few young '06s that I had, I think that I will relate to 2006 and enjoy it more than the 2005 in this neck of the woods. A chart of some key differences (in general, bearing in mind that there are always exceptions):

2005 IN THE RHONE | 2006 IN THE Rhone |
Monolithic, brawny| nuanced, lighter
Dense, chewy | Layered, feathery
Sweet, plodding | Tangy, brisk

So here's a 2006 wine, not from the Rhone, but nearby Languedoc (Pic Saint Loup to be exact) which shows the virtues of the vintage. Beau Thorey Bogus Vin de Table 2006 is biodynamic, delicious, Carignane based wine, with a dash of Black Muscat thrown in for perfume. Its lifted, floral bouquet leads to a fresh, transparent palate with loads of black raspberry flavors, as well as a freshness, vivacity, and elegant palate persistence which I am increasingly associating with wines fermented using the yeasts which grow naturally on the grape skins.

And now for the exception to prove the rule...I just loved the 2005 Lucien Barrod Chateauneuf du Pape. Traditional vinification (namely no de-stemming, elevage in large foudres of used oak) and terrific fruit lead to a bright, lively red fruit/hibiscus oriented wine with an enjoyable, breathable, airy texture. It should age well.

What's for din-ruh? Something to go with rosé.

I have affectionately referred to my favored meal of the day, dinner as 'din-ruh' for many years now. How, or why, this came to pass I cannot quite recall. Nevertheless, 'what's for din-ruh?' is a question that some in my life have come to expect. So when I posed myself this question tonight, I remembered that I have two bottles of 2006 Sancerre rose, both opened last night. My usual short list for foods to go with rosé would go something like this: fresh gazpacho, capellini with fresh (uncooked) tomato sauce, bread, cheeses and cured ham, or if I'm motivated, some fresh, garlicky seafood preparation of some sort. Given that it's way too early for tomato season, there was no good cheese or prosciutto in the fridge, and I was not sufficiently motivated to be creative with seafood, I improvised a poor man's pasta dish, with the scant ingredients available in our refrigerator and larder: De Cecco capellini, Alemany farmer's market mustard greens, lots of garlic, ginger, Frantoia olive oil (a favorite ingredient in the household, worthy of its own nickname - 'Frantoya Jackson'), soy sauce, salt and pepper. Simple fare for the time crunched day laborer. Similarly simple wines to complement the quasi italo-chinese fare:

2006 Gerard Boulay Sancerre Rose
Viewing the front label, I recently discovered that Boulay are 'vignerons de peres en fils depuis 1380.' Translation: Father and son winery since 1380. That's even longer than Chave, I believe. A very delicate light pink color, almost Provencal rose style pink appearance. Very likeable, with excellent purity and length on the palate. Tart red plum flavors, but very broad, elegant and natural tasting, with a bit of a nutty/savory character. Very good.

2006 Franck Millet Sancerre Rose
While it's a darker pink in the glass, the flavors are less intense than the Boulay, and are even fading in the way that a one-year old rosé can fade. Just to confirm the lack of flavor, I swirled around a mouthful that was twice as large as the Boulay I had just had: lack of flavor confirmed. There's still some red curranty fruit there, it's just not that tasty, clearly defined or vibrant. Serve well chilled, throw in some perrier and toss it down.

Scientist - Masterpiece

And now...for some heavy dub courtesy of the Scientist, recorded at Channel 1 Studios in Kingston, JA. Here's the deal with Scientist - the only way to buy his music is on vinyl, so that you can appreciate the fantastic cover art in all its glory.

Bullwackies-Dancing in the street

Some classic lover's rock from Bronx based, Jamaican expat 'Bullwacky.' Dig the red, white and blue Wackie's T, and the striped tube socks. Such style in the early 80's! If you like dub, pretty much any release that the Wackie's label put out is going to get some serious play on your itunes, CD or record player.

Dinner with a Rioja classic and Priorat up-and-comer: Lopez de Heredia, Buil & Gine at Orson

Boy was I looking forward to this. On Wednesday night, K&L, along with a few people from one of our distributors, Winewise, their Spanish importer and the good folks at Orson, hosted a dinner with what are undoubtedly some of the world's most distinctive, elegant and age-worthy wines. Of course I am talking about the wines of Haro's own Lopez de Heredia. Standing in marked contrast were the evening's other featured wines from Buil & Gine in Priorat/Montsant - big, bold and fruity, yet still not at all overly ripe. A similarly remarkable contrast was Maria Jose's beautifully told anecdotes about the 100+ year old history of Lopez de Heredia, her succinct summary of what the wines are about, and the reactions they elicit in tasters, compared to Xavi Buil's friendly, low-key explanation of his relatively new wine ventures in Priorat, Montsant and Toro. There was even some friendly joking between Maria Jose and Xavi, about the differences between their wines and respective regions. Later I would learn that the two of them have travelled together before, are good friends, and enjoy presenting their wines together to provide a unique side-by-side comparison to anyone interested in learning about Spanish wine. The menu:

Chicory salad, apple hazelnut, lengua
1.) 1981 Lopez de Heredia 'Vina Tondonia' Blanco Gran Reserva Rioja
2.) 1997 Lopez de Heredia 'Vina Tondonia' Rosado Crianza
3.) 2006 Buil & Gine Rosat Priorat

Yeah, so basically we decided to flash the wine of the night during the first course! Of course that would be the '81 LdH Blanco Gran Reserva. As any of you who have had this wine know, words truly fall short. It is a beautiful, deep golden color, with deeply pitched stone fruit and orange aromas that become increasingly complex with air. On the palate, there is so much nuance and texture. A wine that doesn't blow you away at first sip, it just demands your attention throughout the experience. Silent, insistent, and ready to school you on what wine is all about. The delicate flavors and silky texture combined well with the velvety, fatty lengua, as well as with the hazlenut in the salad - a tiny but inspired detail as LdH whites often times have a nuttiness to the finish that goes well with - you guessed it - nuts. The julienned apples and chicories were light, bright and crunchy, a perfect contrast to the more decadent texture and flavors of nuts, lengua and Tondonia. You better believe that I made sure to save a bit of '81 Tondonia to re-visit later in the evening, and of course it only got better - at its most vibrant and youthful at the end of the evening. Unfortunately, as distinctive a wine as the '97 Rosado is, it was inevitably overshadowed by the white. It continues to improve each time I have it though, with more open-knit red and Sicilian orange fruit to match the beautiful, coconut inflected nose. the '06 Buil & Gine Rosado was a deep pink; there is gamay somewhere in the world with a lighter color than this wine. Fresh, fruity and simple, it is a bit of a fruitier rose than I usually prefer, but still would hold much appeal for many folks.

steak frites bordelaise with greens
4.) 1985 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva
5.) 2004 Buil & Gine 'Baboix' Montsant
6.) 2001 Buil & Gine 'Baboix' Montsant

Let's start with the food. I love steak, I love potatoes fried in the french style, and I devour all types of greens. So for me, this dish was a winner! It demonstrates what Orson does best: simple, fresh food, prepared from terrific ingredients that are not overly complicated by fancy sauces, cute presentations, or methods which effect chemical changes. As for the wines, on this particular evening I think that the Montsant wines, especially the '01, took the prize over Xavi's Priorat. The '04 Baboix has lots of dark fruit and tannic grip on the finish. It's bold and a bit monolithic now, but should mellow and drink nicely after another 3 years, at least if the '01 Baboix is any indication. I love the flavors that maturing, carignan based wines take on with some age, berryful while preserving a sort of spicy freshness. This wine matched well with the beef, but would have been even more ideal with something a bit more assertive like lamb with lots of herbs and garlic. In introducing her '85 Tondonia Gran Reserva, Maria Jose reminded attendees that Tempranillo is, in her words, 'the flavor of Spain.' I would agree. She also mentioned that the tempranillo grape is thought to be Pinot Noir that was first introduced by monks along the route of the St James pilgrammage across the northern portions of Spain. It was fun to hear about how the French taught her great-grandfather how to make great wine, a tale of cooperation between the French and Spanish that is oft-repeated in other Rioja bodegas histories, as the Bordelais vignerons sought to continue their work in the late 19th century, even as phylloxera was destroying their vines. Back to the '85 Tondonia...the wine is very similar to a mature red burgundy, just as Maria Jose mentioned. I remember really liking it, though that's about the amount of detail I can go into - there was little time to focus on this wine since I had pouring responsibilities, as well as the requisite 'shop talk' with a customer at my table. I really lucked out with my table by the way - Maria Jose, as well as two couples who were both really nice and excited to learn about the wonderful wines in front of us.

Cheese plate: Fiore Sardo and Pepato
7.) 1976 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva
8.) 1981 Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva
9.) 2001 Buil & Gine 'Joan Gine Gine' Priorat

As I mentioned before, I preferred the Montsant wines to this Priorat, which seemed to be showing a bit of an acetate character on the nose. It was unfortunately not the best bottle, as I have enjoyed this wine on a separate occasion a few months ago. The '76 Tondonia was very sturdy, meaty, dark fruited and more Bordelaise in character than any other LdH wine I have had to date. Probably a reflection of the hot vintage. Still a terrific wine, just a little bit lower in acid than usual, and probably my least favorite of Maria Jose's wine this evening. Of course that is a relative statement, it would most likely be my WOTN compared with virtually any other wines on any other evening. '81 Bosconia has a higher percentage of Tempranillo than the Tondonia, and it is still a bright, slightly taut, lively, spicy wine that I'd love to try in another decade. Apologies again for the short tasting notes, I was working and did not have the time to formulate, either in my head or on paper, more specific thoughts. Not to mention the fact that Lopez de Heredia wines typically defy description.

Some thank you's are definitely in order:

To Chef de Cuisine Ryan Farr, Executive Chef Elizabeth Falkner and the staff at Orson for doing one of the best jobs, soup to nuts, I have ever seen at an event such as this.

To Hiram Simon for partnering with us and giving us the opportunity to promote these wines to our customers

To Bryan Brick, for having the cojones to put together a dinner that doesn't involve Bordeaux and doing a great job seeing it through

To Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia and Xavi Buil for travelling such a long way to promote their wines and meet with people day in, day out during their US tour (trust me, it's not easy)

Finally, to all the customers who spent an evening with us and continue to support us, as well as what Maria Jose, Xavi and many others like them do for a living.