A grenache hater's tale of one '05 Cotes du Rhone

Grenache is hot. It gets too ripe. It's all fruit, no nuance. It's part of the reason why many well informed, particularly astute and, well, particular wine drinkers have all but abandoned Spanish wines.

Personally I detest most Chateauneuf du Pape. Many Cotes du Rhone strike me as all fruit, no acid, occasionally prematurely oxidizing, boring red wines. Garnacha from Spain is occasionally interesting, but you need to be incredibly selective to find a good one.

Well, leave it up to Terroir to serve up one of the brightest, most delicious and fun to drink bottles of southern Rhone wine I have yet to have, the 2005 Eric Texier St Gervais. Eric Texier gets lots of ink (perhaps I should say 'screen play') on wine blogs. He makes wine sourced from the Maconnais, northern Rhone as well as the southern Rhone. As one would expect for a wine of this quality, the vines are grown naturally, with cover crops between rows and occasional tilling to loosen the soil, which consists of decomposed limestone, clay and gravel. Located on a south facing vineyard in the relatively cooler climate of the Rhone village of St Gervais, vines (predominately grenache) average 80 years of age.

While Texier makes a wide range of wines from a number of different vineyards, the wines are each fermented near their respective source vineyard, and then aged in traditional 228 liter wood barrels and larger demi-muids (450 liters) in his cellar outside of Lyon (Beaujolais).

It's quite unusual for wines from the warmer southern Rhone to go through elevage in Beaujolais, where the cellar temperature is cooler and more steady. Just as I imagine it is unusual to transfer grapes immediately after harvesting to refrigerated trucks and then on to the winery. This attention to detail, combined with the excellent vineyards Texier owns and sources, surely are key factors in producing some of the most lively and unique expressions of grenache based wines in the world. If you haven't already, you should try them sometime.

HUSKER DU - ZEN ARCADE

Released in July 1984 on SST Records, Zen Arcade won instant critical praise for its blend of hardcore, enduring melodies and boundary pushing aesthetic. In other words, this was not your older brother's hardcore - far from it. Easily the most important record from Husker Du, many people rightfully call it a visionary work which would, seven years ahead of its time, lead to the commercial predominance of power pop and so-called alternative music (remember MTV's 120 minutes, then later the more mass marketed 'buzz' video selections?) Between their formation in 1979 and breakup in 1987, Husker Du's work essentially paved the way for everyone that followed, from the Pixies to Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr to the Gin Blossoms.

I'll always look at Husker Du as one of those rare personal discoveries, not something recomended by friends or my musical mentor, older brother extraordinaire Michael Manekin. As I recall, I was thumbing through a copy of Alternative Press, reading a Bob Mould interview as he must have been promoting the debut album from his second band, Sugar. I think I was 13 or so at the time. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a copy of Husker Du's last album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories, and from there would buy each of their other studio records.

Zen Arcade is an important record. Clocking in at over 70 minutes, the double LP is ambitious in length alone, in a time when most albums were significantly shorter than they are now. There are standard two minute hardcore tunes, proto indie rock pop songs, a solo acoutic guitar and vocals song, as well as a whole lot of distorted, fuzzed out guitar, feedback and tape loops. It adds up to quite a powerful listening experience, one where I often times have a tough time sitting still and listening; the record has always caused me to get up and walk around, or in the case of yesterday's listening during Grant Hart's brilliant, intensely melodic 'Somewhere,' literally get up and take a break from listening. The melodies in songs like 'Broken Home, Broken Heart', 'Chartered Trips' and 'Whatever' seem to be hard-wired in my brain and are unforgettable.

A concept album, Zen Arcade touches on themes such as disillusionment, failed relationships and an inability to live a fulfilling, stable life. Though I paid little attention to the lyrics when I first discovered the record (not a huge loss, as one of the album's flaws is the poor, low level recording of vocals). What I was focusing on more was Bob Mould's disturbed growl, Grant Hart's anguished yells, Greg Norton's impressively steady and accurate (even at supercharged tempo) bass playing, and plenty of Mould's punk meets rockabilly guitar heroics. In between there was the high pitched repetitive calls in 'Hare Krishna,' the slow, spooky, churning tape loop driven 'Tooth Fairy & the Princess" as well as the album's closer, the fourteen minute avant jazz inflected opus 'Reoccurring Dreams.' Once again, not just another hardcore record.

Zen Arcade shows what can happen when a talented, dedicated band masters their chosen genre and reaches outside of it, in this case laying the foundation for a completely new style of music to come.

Oh, I highly recommend that you check out long-time Rolling Stone correspondent David Fricke's review from February 1985. He pretty much nails it.

Hüsker Dü Review for You

It's a double LP, so the review may or may not go up today. Either way, here's a track to get you ready for the post-punk trio with one of the biggest sounds in the past thirty years, and for that matter, ever, in the history of pop music.

Farming Dry

I ended last week reading an interesting article in the SF Chronicle about the emergence in popularity of dry farmed fruit. Not to belabor what may seem an obvious definition, dry farmed means that no watering or in the case of modern, larger scale farming, drip irrigation, is used during the growing season. A few smaller growers in drought prone northern california were profiled, describing how eliminating irrigation resulted in smaller, but more intensely flavored and better quality fruit. I can personally attest to this, having enjoyed dry farmed early girl tomatoes from the Santa Cruz mountains last summer and finding them to be amongst the most flavorful tomatoes I have ever eaten. Of course, besides fruit quality, a primary reason for dry farming would simply be the serious drought in which California finds itself.

As it relates to wine, many regions throughout the world practice drip irrigation. Mendoza, Argentina. The Colchagua Valley in Chile. South Australia. Even Ribera del Duero in Spain. Here in California, irrigation from Mendocino county all the way to the most southerly wine AVA's is the rule rather than the exception. That having been said, I recently tasted a line-up of wines from Qupe with Bob Lindquist. Amongst a strong line-up (if you haven't tasted these wines before, they have good acidity, balance, and true varietal character), one of the most expressive wines was an '05 Bien Nacido Syrah. Though it was a very dry, sunny year (not unusual for Santa Barbara county), apparently it had rained a lot the past few years. As a result, the drip irrigation was hardly implemented, and according to Bob the fruit was among the best quality he had ever seen.

Past rainfall, as well as the existence of a water table at a certain depth below ground, are two critical elements of successful dry farming in dry climates. What I am still grappling with, though, is why more smaller wineries throughout the world are not dry farming. Yes, it's more labor intensive and results in less productive vines, but if you're relatively small and want to produce good wine, then aren't lots of quality time in the vineyard and less productive vines two things that you're already seeking out?

Contigo: Very good Spanish tapas in SF

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of eating at an authentic, Catalan inspired tapas restaurant which recently opened up in Noe Valley. Contigo is the vision of Brett Emerson, who apparently had been in the process of opening his restaurant for the better part of two and a half years (read more about the struggle on his blog here). Yes, between financing, build out, licensing, staffing and many other considerations, opening up a restaurant has the potential of testing even the most patient of business owners. Well I'm glad that Emerson and his business partner (front of house manager and girlfriend Elan Drucker) perservered. The fact that the space is as green as it is, from building materials all the way up to choice of a printer for their business cards, is an added bonus. As far as first rate regional food experiences go, Contigo is a great addition to any San Francisco resident's list of go to places in town. And if you're out of town, on the prowl for tapas, Contigo should be at the top of your short list. For the New York tapas fans, think Casa Mono or Tia Pol. Otherwise, the only other comparisons would be the more contemporary (but not overly so with regard to foams, quotations and precious plating) tapas bars in Spain.

What follows is not a proper restaurant review, but rather some captioned photographs of the food. I'm sure that I'll be back soon to further explore the menu and enjoy more of what's on offer. If you're in the area, I suggest that you do the same. In fact, maybe an SF food and wine blogging (readers and bloggers alike) community dinner is in order.

Fried skate with pan fried baby artichokes

Roasted chicken

Coca (Catalan flatbread) with house made Basque style chorizo and wilted radicchio

Tortilla española with mushrooms

mixed chicory salad

croquetas de buey (deep fried balls of braised brisket, served with arugula and a lemon wedge - great flavor and textures: crisp, juicy, smoky, earthy, bright)

Setas a la plancha (wild mushrooms with parsley pesto)

Iowa's finest: La Querccia prosciutto

Bread served with fruity, mellow, arbequina olive oil

A humble '04 Montsant blend of Garnacha, Cariñena, and one or two international varietals from Celler El Masroig called 'Castell de les Pinyeres.' Sturdy, fruity and well liked by our table.

AWARD TOUR

It's Friday I'm feeling pretty good, so why not run some ATCQ?

Two from the Arbois at Terroir

(fun Dive Bouteille promo image, yes?)

Last night I accomplished what had previously been considered impossible (well, at least by the girlfriend anyway): go to Terroir Natural Wine Merchant and Bar, consume a couple of glasses of wine, and then leave after about an hour and a half. Since I seldom go out drinking, when I do, I usually like to hang out for a while. Last night, however, was a successful experiment in the quick stop-in at Terroir, and since it worked out great I plan on future visits of shorter duration, combined of course with the occasional all nighter.

After being gently chided by Luc for my extended absence from San Francisco's greatest wine bar, coolest low-key hangout, and home of a few champion arbiters of vinous and musical taste, I settled in with a welcome glass (thanks, guys) of Vouvray Petillant from Catherine & Pierre Breton - crisp, appley, with great earthy and mineral Vouvray typicite, while still coming across clean and focused. Next was an '04 Domaine de la Tournelles Poulsard. Bright, red fruits, just a shade animale on the mid-palate and finish. A nice quaff, but enough complexity to make it more than just 'nice.' Sorry, it's clearly a limited vocabulary day here for me. Next, an '04 Savagnin (the Fleur de Savagnin, I believe) from the same domaine, run by Evelyne and Pascal Clairet. Luc told me that the whites are where it's at with these guys. They are more serious, more chiseled, more nervous. Well he didn't say all of those things, but it is what I inferred and he is definitely correct. The wine, especially for a not so pricey ($12 or $13) glass pour, is off the charts, ridiculously good. Lemon oil, green figs, excellent texture and structure on the palate, with just the barest oxidative nuttiness perceptible on the finish.

Now let me pause for the cause here a moment, to quickly editorialize. Savagnin is better chardonnay than chardonnay. Now, I recognize that I'm generally a huge hater of chardonnay, but even white Burgundy fans must admit that good Savagnin can deliver the goods in a way Chardonnay often can't, for much less money.

Let's see...oh I tasted the '06 Binner Pinot Noir (if you're counting, I'm up to two and one half glasses, the Binner was just what my girlfriend was drinking). Very nice. Sort of like a lighter Hautes Cotes de Nuits or Fixin. There was good cherry PN fruit, damp earth, a touch of a floral aspect. Surprisingly good, well actually not so surprising as the other wines I have tried from this Alsace producer have been pretty solid, lively, interesting efforts.

Happy Friday everyone, and thanks Guillhaume and Luc for the continued good times.