Another busy Tuesdsay tasting

As is so often the case with Tuesdays, today was quite a full line-up of wine tasting. About 50 wines tasted by day's end, almost entirely Spanish and Italian. Rather than cull the tasting notes for wines which were particularly good or bad, I thought it might be interesting to state a few disparate thoughts on wine which were solidified throughout the course of the day. To complement these observations, I will include a tasting note on a particular wine for each one.

MOST RIBERA DEL DUERO WINES ALL TASTE THE SAME

So much wasted potential in this DO. Old vines, premium grape variety (tempranillo), great terroir. And for what? Largely for super jammy cooked black cherry/blackberry, vanillin dominated, technology and media influenced wines that truly taste very similar. Why? Because they are all aged for similar amounts of time in largely new French allier barrels, with similar toasting levels, from the same coopers. That's why. Method is defining the quality and taste of the wine more than any other factor which, unless we are speaking of Sherry, Madeira, Vin Jaune and Vin Santo (notice the absence of red table wines on that list) cannot be a good thing. That having been said, my favorite wine of the day was a 1996 Arzuaga Gran Reserva. It was delicious, complex and positively claret-like. Sort of a cross between the terrific power, intensity and acidity driven structure of '96 Bdx and the herbal, spicy savor of many wines from the early maturing '97 Bdx vintage. This illustrates how good Ribera can be (oh, and byu the way it doesn't have to be a pricey Gran Reserva to be distinctive and good - check out Valduero and Pesquera, for instance).

THE THEORY OF WINE RELATIVITY

Today I tasted a 2007 Arzuaga 'La Planta' Ribera del Duero. It is their 'joven' or 'cosecha' wine. Not enough oak or bottle aging to be called a Crianza, in other words. It struck me as a bit oakier, coarser and more lacking in nuance when compared to the last vintage I drank of this wine, the 2005. The smoke tinged cherry fruit was still there, but a bit more obscured by smoke than I recall. In other words, a bit of a let down. After tasting through three Chilean wines (Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet) from Armador, I poured myself a bit more of the Arzuaga 'La Planta' about an hour after initially tasting it. Relative to the Chilean wines it tasted like friggin' Burgundy.

In a similar vein, what I thought to be a very pure, honest, multi-layered elegant expression of sangiovese in the 2005 Vecchie Terre Chianti Classico, somehow seemed more of a mid-palate dominated, monochromatic wine compared with the 2007 CRB Pineau d'Aunis I drank tonight alongside it. The CRB really is a finishing wine, a bit strict on the front and mid-palate (especially when first opened), but very pretty and well-structured when you start drinking more than just a taste.

BALANCE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Poggiarellino, a Brunello producer, sure makes some rustic, funky, brettanomyces dominated wines. There are really coarse, unruly tannins that expand all over your mouth - I've seldom had tannins cover so much surface area. Also, the wines show that weird, nutty savor of a minimally or unsulphured wine that has been open for a bit as well. At least two of my co-workers really enjoyed these wines, though, one of whom bought a case of their '06 Rosso. Upon quizzing Jim (who also happens to be a longtime winemaker and former vineyard owner) why he liked the Poggiarellino so much, what with all of the Brett and, to my palate, bacterial issues, he replied that it seemed interesting and balanced to him. 'But Jim,' I said, 'You love fruit, enjoy California wine, and preach about the importance of clean, modern practices in the cellar.' [ok, I did not say this word for word but that was the gist] 'Why do you like this Bretty, funky wine.' He basically replied that he hates brett in California wine, because there is not enough acidity and other characteristics to offset, or add interest to, the funk. In other words, California wine should be full of bright, juicy fruit, and it is ok for European wines to be teeming with brettanomyces and other bacteria, provided the acidity is high enough and the terroir is decent. Hmmm....

That's enough for tonight, hopefully some food for thought for all of you out there.

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.

Please ignore the Hackers

Somehow people have figured out how to hack into here and create posts which you may have seen recently. I am contacting blogger about the situation, but in the meantime, if you see a post that does not involve wine, food, music, or youtube, then you can assume that I did not post it (even if it says 'Posted by Joe M.'). Thanks for your patience during this egregious hacking situation.