La Cigarrera, makers of manzanilla, amontillado, palo cortado in Sanlucar de Barrameda

[This will be the last profile of a sherry bodega that I write for a while. I'm not sherried out, not in the slightest. However, it has taken a good bit longer than I had anticipated to conclude this slowly unfolding series of visits, all of which took place a few months ago in March. I hope that you enjoy the post and continue to drink plenty of good sherry.]

If the town of Jerez is like a country club, full of self assured, relaxed, people, possessed of a confidence that is the product of success, money and blue blood, then Sanlucar de Barrameda is the local dive bar: full of character, characters, charm, and perhaps some scrawled graffiti every now and then. To offer another analogy, if Jerez is East Hampton, then Sanlucar is, umm...Jones Beach? OK, so I don't know either of these places other than by reputation. Let's try another one. Jerez is to Sanlucar as Rehoboth Beach, DE is to Ocean City, MD.

If you're not from or well familiar with the mid-Atlantic, then let's just say that coastal Sanlucar feels completely different from the slightly more inland Jerez. People do not take themselves as seriously. They dress less formally. You get the sense that folks are content to munch on french fries and a simple ración of chorizo, washed down with a cold Cruzcampo (this sort of lunch would NOT work for many Jerezanos).

All the above may be a sweeping generalization (one based on just a few days spent in the region, at that) but things just seemed that way. I think that the wines bodegas in either town specialize in is also pretty telling: Sanlucar's manzanilla is easy to drink, thirst quenching, and to be enjoyed in robust quantities. Jerez' amontillados, olorosos, even the more serious of their finos, are contemplative and intellectual, serious wines to be respected, perhaps even revered, and taken seriously.

I learned that La Cigarrera, as do the rest of Sanlucar's top bodegas, excels equally at thirst quenching manzanilla as well as more serious manzanilla pasada,amontillado and palo cortado. Located in Sanlucar's prime barrio bajo district, an especially humid part of town (humidity in the bodega varies between 80-90% most of the year), La Cigarrera has been an almacenista since 1758. Their manzanilla is arguably the most delicious around: salty, almondy and savory, but also showing a tangy yellow fruited quality, the purity and expression of which is not always a given in other manzanillas, even examples of other brands which are fresh and recently bottled. This must have something to do with the elaborate solera system, consisting of 8 criaderas. The bodega is clean (showing its age, but tidy), barrels are in very good shape, and one senses the pride and dutiful yet low-key stewardship of this place.

During the course of a long, drawn out, delicious lunch, we drank a lot of sherry. We also had ample time to relax, become better acquainted and spend time in one of the most ideal settings I can imagine taking in a leisurely Sunday meal: inside a beautiful, weathered, centuries old sherry bodega.

Sherry: Some useful symbols and definitions

Here are just a handful of useful definitions. If you're more of a pictures type of person, then scroll down to get to some very cool, artfully drawn symbols which were used in a sherry seminar I participated in.
Capataz - the cellar manager, and most importantly the person who determines a base wine's initial categorization (fino or oloroso)

Crianza biológica - ageing under flor as is practiced for fino and for amontillado

Crianza oxidativa - oxidative ageing as is practiced for amontillado, oloroso, palo cortado and pedro ximenez

Criadera - The "escalas" or stages of a solera system. 1era, 2nda, 3era, etc. The more the number goes up, the further away you are from the actual solera level, or the source of the finished sherry.

Sobretabla - a young, recently fortified wine which is ready to enter into a solera system.

Solera - 1.) the system in which a sherry is made; 2.) the entire group of criaderas that produces a particular wine, usually given a name that appears on what is commercially bottled (e.g. Valdespino Fino Inocente); 3.) the last barrel(s) of a group of criaderas, which will be bottled and released to market.

Almacenista - Someone who makes sherry, stores/ages it, and sells it on to sherry shippers (whose name is the one that appears on the bottle). Lustau has trademarked the term "almacenista."

Rocio - Transferring of wine to refresh a criadera or the solera itself.

Palo cortado - classically defined as a potential fino whose flor dies off prematurely, enabling it to possibly be categorized as "palo cortado" after some oxidative ageing. Many different definitions exist for this style; the explanation you receive really depends upon whom you ask.

Amoroso, generoso, abocado, pata de gallina - all terms referring to a lightly sweetened (through the addition of PX) sherry. Pata de gallina is the least sweet of these (Lustau's Almacenista Pata de Gallina is a good example)








Next up: the venerable Valdespino....

Next Week: Sherry, in depth

"Sherry is a hell of a drug."

- Adapted from Dave Chapelle, adapted from Rick James

My last visit in Spain was up high in the rugged area ascending the mountains from Guardiola de Font Rubi, approximately 30 km southwest of Barcelona. Oriol Illa, one third of the team at Els Jelpins, was describing the wine list at his buddy's restaurant in Sant Feliu de Guixols, a seaside town in northern Catalunya, closer to Girona. The list consists of roughly 85% Burgundy, 10% Andalucía (sherry), and 5% everything else. "Don't you think your list is a bit unbalanced?" Oriol asked on one occasion (Oriol himself used to own a restaurant and has built up a wine program of his own).

"No,not really," replied the restaurant owner. "These are the wines I like."

Sherry, in its myriad styles, is a wine that I too like, perhaps enough to entertain opening a spot with a similarly out of balance wine list like Oriol's friend. My relationship to sherry has lasted about 12 years. And it has taken much of that time to even begin to scratch the surface and start to understand these wines. Visiting the region last month was obviously extremely helpful. The great appeal of sherry, to me, is its endless complexity, as well as its uncanny, sneaky, slow burning appeal. I was never bitten by the sherry bug, instead, I remained loyal and curious. For anyone who regularly drinks wine, carefully considers it, and merely appreciates sherry, you might want to be careful about exposing yourself more regularly to it. You will likely get hooked (not that it's a bad thing). After some years of enjoying a fresh fino or manzanilla before a meal, and more recently an amontillado, oloroso or palo cortado anytime, after having read (and re-read) Julian Jeffs' "Sherry," after visiting some cellars both large and small, tasting sobretablas, criaderas, even flor, I can safely say that I'm hooked.

The next batch of blog posts are about sherry. I hope that you enjoy them.

Jerez sneak preview: A Tale of many Flors

Yes, I'm still alive (though you might not have thought so if you saw me yesterday), yes I'm going to blog while in Spain, and no, I have not seen the illusive VLM at any point on this trip to Spain. He's probably drinking Burgundy somewhere in North Carolina or something. Don't ask him anything about that crazy volatile acidity eating flor.

Not much time to write something now, so how about some pictures in the meantime to tide everyone over, and get back into the creation of content over here.

A view of the catedral (from outside the Alcazar)



A few shots from Valdespino

Tasted Recently...

Nothing too crazy, but some goodies to be sure. I'll probably post another one of these later in the week, as I expect to be tasting some middle aged and older right bank Bordeaux - wines I hardly drink or describe on the site.

For now, though, a short list of goodies:

Equipo Navazos No.21 La Bota de Palo Cortado Jerez de la Frontera

From Valdespino, the oldest bodega in Jerez (and a bodega I will be visiting in less than a month, very exciting). This wine is so perfect an expression of palo cortado: the salty tang of amontillado, but with incredible flavor intensity and elegance, as well as a bit more richness on the mid-palate. Still a dry style. This is one of my top sherries. Just amazing.

Gutierrez Colosia "Sangre y el trabadero" Oloroso El Puerto de Santa Maria

I enjoyed a glass of this immediately after the La Bota above. Somehow, miraculously, it refused to be outclassed and certainly held its own. That having been said, it's important to note that these are entirely different sherries. The La Bota No. 21 contains some very old wine, and is the Jerez equivalent of any iconic, benchmark producer you can think of elsewhere. Sangre y trabadero (literally translated as "Blood and the worker," profound stuff, no?) is a younger wine, as well as an oloroso stylistically. So the wine never had any flor form above the wine in barrel. It is still a dry style oloroso, with a low (for oloroso) 18% alcohol. It shows just a hint of the rancio character inherent in oloroso wines, but the predominate quality in this oloroso, this oxidatively styled, fortified wine, is, quite paradoxically, freshness.

[Quick break from the notes. I should mention that the podcast will likely have at least 1 episode from Jerez. Live and direct. Once things get going, I will continue to post episodes (as I posted the trailer - scroll down a few posts if you have yet ot listen) on this site. It is also on iTunes and you can subscribe just like any of your other favorite podcasts. In fact, I encourage you to do just that whenever you are next on iTunes. Things are set up and ready to go.]

2008 Henri Gouges Bourgone Rouge

If anyone has not yet had a Gouges experience, you seriously ought to take corrective action as soon as humanly possible. Buy a bottle, order one in a restaurant, encourage a friend to open one from their cellar, whatever you've got to do. 2008 seems to be all about the charm with red Burgundies: fresh fruit, great acidity and transparency. As with the best of Bourgogne Rouge bottlings, this not only is a delicious drink, but it shows a lot of character reflective of its more specific origin: Nuits St Georges. Pure, focused, slightly floral and mineral dark berry fruit predominates. This is all domaine fruit from two separate .5 hectare plots.

As we are at the close of SF Beer Week, here are a few beers to round things out.

Kern River "Just Outstanding" IPA (draft)

Kern River has, deservedly so, been getting a lot of traction with this brew. I enjoyed a pint of the Just Outstanding yesterday at what is arguably the best German restaurant and bar in the Bay Area, Gourmet Haus Stadt. Hoppy to be sure, but not in the overt, California, uber hoppy to the point of distraction way. This is hoppy beer that is still balanced between alcohol, floral hop quality, and bitter notes. There is a more assertive malt build than is typical of the style, perhaps this is why I liked it more than most other IPA's?

Haandbryggeriet "Haandbic" Wile Ale

Currants, cranberries, lambic style yeast and bacteria, 18 months in barrel...right up my alley. This is one of the most complex and satisfying, intense and ethereal, as well as downright vinous beers I have ever tasted. To the wine drinkers, I'll just say that it somehow simultaneously evoked the Gouges Bourgogne above (pure red fruits) and Radikon's Ribolla (funky/cidery, but without sacrificing purity or focus). To the more beer inclined, I'll just say that if you like sours, Haandbryggeriet continues to make some of the most compelling ones around (I've found their other, non-sour offerings, to also be good and certainly worth checking out). To anyone reading, I'll go out on a limb here and say that for about $11 for a 500ml, this is one of the more gratifying beverages of any kind I have yet to taste.

SPAIN 2011

In about a month, it will once again be time for the annual (hopefully, going forward twice yearly?) trip to Spain. A portion of the trip I will be tagging along with this NC resident's crew, with stops in Jerez, Rioja and Pais Vasco, which will feature a tour of one of my favorite ciders. Swate! (actually, sour, but for me that would be sweet!) Anyway, verbal gymnastics aside, the rest of the time I will be in Rioja for some further wine exploration, as well as outside Girona for a bit more of the same as well as some R&R. And, of course,there will be the big PVN (productores de vinos naturales) tasting in Barcelona, featuring Laureano Serres along with some of his Spanish, French and Italian colleagues. A lot to look forward to this March!

Apropos the upcoming viaje to España, let's take a look at two Spanish wines I enjoyed recently.

La Cigarrera Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barrameda

The freshness, vibrancy and immediacy of this young manzanilla exceeds that of any other I have yet to drink. Now I love manzanilla (the name given to fino sherry aged in Sanlucar), but something about this particular one is so appealing and gulpable. The fruit is very expressive, reminding me of the abundant nisperos (loquats - like tinier, not as fuzzy, tangier apricots) you see in the Andalusian markets. Clearly, these wines were bottled and shipped very fresh. Of course, the requisite slight almond nuttiness also shows on this wine's finish. A real treat that I'll be drinking lots of this year.

2000 Lopez de Heredia Viña Bosconia Reserva Rioja

Though it was initially a bit tight, this one opened up to show all of the succulent warm red fruit one could hope for in a Bosconia, with that distinctive minerality and elegance. I do not recall the average age of barrels used to age this wine, but I bet it is north of 5 years, which is older than those used at most other traditional producers in Rioja. This wine went spectacularly with grilled Spanish style, pimenton laced, garlicky chorizos on its first night open. On the second night, it complemented a vegetarian meal of sauteed cauliflower, parboiled carrots, salad, bread and cheese. On night three, the Bosconia was great with braised chicken.

A Xit ton of Xeres - the ambers

Once you get into it, drinking good sherry is a dangerously addictive, habit forming way to roll. I highly recommend it.

I drink way more manzanilla and fino than any other type of sherry. Regardless of the season (yes, we do experience variations in temperature as well as seasons in San Francisco...well, sort of), I love the crisp, saline, sometimes appley sometimes citric bite of the drier styles of sherry. When I say "bite" I do mean it; these wines are bone dry, disarmingly so for many people. Anyway, I could be just about anywhere south of Greenland and still crave a bracing glass or two (ok, three) of manzanilla or fino.

Olorosos (the variety of sherry which never has much of a tuft of flor form above it in the barrel) are wonderful. Pedro Ximenez based sherries, for me, are just too damn sweet for sipping, regardless of the style or VOS (very old sherry) or VORS (very old rare sherry) status. Amontillado and palo cortado styles, with their initital ageing under flor influence, hit a nice sweet spot between nuttiness and racy, tangy immediacy [he says as he downs his glass of amontillado.] Ahh!

So that having been said, I'm focusing on the three bottles of amber hued sherries which are currently open in my apartment.

Herederos de Argüeso Amontillado Sanlucar de Barrameda

#AwwHellYeah. Oops, I'm not twittering now. Anyway, this tastes like dried toffee and orange candies, if you were to take out the sugar, add some salt and a pinch of magic. There is something about amontillados from Sanlucar that are so full of energy and vitality. Awesome value at $25/750ml.

Barbadillo "Obispo Gascon" Palo Cortado Sanlucar de Barrameda

Deeper amber in color, with a decidedly more pungent and slightly boozy nose. It's 21.5% abv, a bit up there by palo cortado standards. Aromas are a shade more rancio, more oxidized, with something that I often find in amber sherries that I can only refer to as "yellow Triaminic." I don't recall what the yellow variety of Triaminic cold medicine was specifically for (maybe really bad colds, given the extra nastiness of its smell and taste), but rest assured that this sherry "tell" as it were is a personal one, and just one element of a satisfying sherry experience. Flavors echo the richer aromatics, with a bit more ripeness, nuttiness, and a hint of a dark chocolate quality as well. To me I see this as a terrific after dinner drink, whereas the aforementioned Argueso Amontillado could function as apero as well as dinner accompaniment for the right dishes.

Lustau Almacenista "Pata de Gallina" Juan Garcia Jarana Oloroso

At 20% abv, this is a comparably lighter oloroso. Very minimal detectable sweetness as well. It drinks brighter than the Barbadillo Obispo Gascon PC, with racier acids as well as a more noticeable depth in the mid-palate and finish. Hella walnut, we might say here in the Bay Area. I think this could well be the most versatile of this trio, equally adept as apero, dinner companion, and after dinner drink with cheese (Cabot clothbound cheddar, perhaps?), nuts, or just a warm fireplace and some interesting modern or contemporary fiction. Nothing pre 20th c, that would just be too stodgy in today's fast paced, casual, drinking and reading environment.

Pues...nada. Salud!

Good fino, Great fino

I have been enjoying two tasty bottles of fino over the past week. One is marketed by a very well known (arguably the best known in the US), large shipper of sherries and the other is from a small, but significant producer with some prized real estate in one of the region's best vineyards.

Lustau Almacenista Fino del Puerto Obregon

Lustau started out as a family owned bodega in the late 1800's. They then became a reliable blender of sherry, or almacenista (a sherry blender, who historically was not allowed to commercially bottle their own soleras; in sherry country you are either a shipper - no matter how small, or an almacenista selling to shippers). In 1990 Lustau was bought and became a shipper. The company established the idea of marketing special bottles of some of their favorite almacenistas' best soleras. This is one such bottle, from José Luis Gonzales' fino solera of 143 barrels. It has an 18K golden hue, which leads to some classic aromas and flavors of salt, browning apples, and walnuts. This bottle is no slouch, a deal at $20.

Valdespino "Ynocente" Fino Macharnudo

From both a sourcing and production standpoint, this sherry is very unique. The grapes hail solely from the Macharnudo vineyard, which is viewed to be amongst the best for palomino grapes in Jerez. The fermentation, typically carried out in the region in 50,000 liter stainless steel tanks these days, takes place in used American oak barrels of 500 liter capacity. Then the wine is aged seven years prior to being bottled. The color here is significantly paler than the Lustau. Its aromas are very fine, there is a purity to the fruit and less of a flor dominated quality. Flor, of course, is that cottony layer of yeast growth growth which simultaneously prevents fino from oxidizing while lending a nutty character. Perhaps theirs is a thinner layer than usual, which allows the fruit to stand out more? Having recently reviewed the Jura issue of The Art of Eating, I do recall a producer saying that his layer of flor is the thickness of a playing card, whereas in Jerez it can be up to 1 centimeter thick. Flor aside, this bottling, from sometime in 2008, is great. If you have had the Equipo Navazos No.15, then this is the same bodega which provides them with some "botas" (butts, or barrels) of fino sherry from the very same vineyard. Off the strength of this particular bottle, I think I may prefer Valdespino Valdespino to Equipo Navazos Valdespino. I'll let you decide that one for yourselves, however I would encourage you to find a half bottle of this wine, which at roughly $18 is very much worth the tariff.

Given the quality of the Macharnudo vineyard, as well as the recent excitement created by labels such as Equipo Navazos and some boutique bodegas, one cannot help but wonder if the sherry triangle will start moving in the direction that Burgundy, and more recently Champagne, has. That is to say, a greater choice of estate bottled wines, from specific vineyards, produced by dedicated farmers and artisans. This question may be built upon a false presumption or poor understanding of the reality on the ground in Jerez/Sanlucar/El Puerto de Santa María, but nonetheless I'm going to risk looking misinformed and pose it to anyone with any background, perspective, or opinion on the matter.

Some tasting comments, critical snapshots, blogulous capsulations...

...just don't call them "tasting notes." These have become increasingly controversial. There are those who write them off, others who defend them as a way of explaining such an esoteric, tough to grasp staple as wine, folks who begrudgingly concede that they are necessary tools of the trade, and then plenty of others, myself included, who live by the tasting note yet usually do not enjoy writing nor reading them. I have a tough enough time expressing myself clearly as it is, let alone expressing the characteristics of a product that holds such long standing historical, religious and traditional importance. Nonetheless, myself and countless others persevere. To catalogue our impressions, to assert our tastes and defend what we view as noteworthy and important, delicious and deserving of wine drinkers' attention. Or, perhaps, to use merely as an excuse to get mildly drunk and then pursue our innate inner creativity. Whatever the motivation, the tasting note is here to stay, and I for one will attempt to both limit its use and expand its potential meaning. To learn more through them yet stop reading when they inevitably become tedious. Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself!

Now that we got that out of the way, how about some critical snapshots?

YOUNG WHITE WINE

2008 Paul Pernot Bourgone Blanc

Pernot is based in Puligny. Apparently these grapes were harvested a good couple weeks after his neighbors harvested theirs, since he believes in fully ripened grapes and there were lots of underripe white Burgundies made in 2008. While I always expect a lot from this Bourgone Blanc, this year it seems to offer the usual extra dimension of richness and texture, minus the typical Puligny minerality and old school acidity. This, however, is based on impressions from two separate bottles, recently arrived into the store. Tasted in a line-up of at least several other wines each time, for about 30 seconds each time. I'd like to report back in a few months after having drunk this with fish at home with more knowledgeable Burgundy drinkers than I.

LESS YOUNG WHITE WINE

1999 Jacques Puffeney Savagnin Arbois

I enjoyed this terrific bottle with my girlfriend Natalie while dining at Bay Wolf in the Piedmont neighborhood of Oakland (If you haven't been, Bay Wolf is similar to Chez Panise but less expensive and not quite as good). Oils of nuts, oils of citrus, oils of apricot skins. Fairly advanced, but still lively enough. Not quite as taut and rip-roaringly acidic as I had hoped for, but so it goes. Still an interesting bottle, academically and gastronomically. It was delicious with the black cod and preserved meyer lemon, and was even ok with the duck liver flan. Perhaps most surprisingly, it has eventually led me to a wonderful Polish blog (written in English) on the subject of tea and wine.

DISAPPOINTING CRITICAL DARLING

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino No. 15 Macharnudo Alto (the white label La Bota....)

I've written about this before, and while I've had delicious bottles, this one sucked. It smelled of paste - Ralph Wiggum of Simpsons fame would love this stuff. After some days in the fridge, I decided that the weird, off putting aromas were actually more akin to play dough than anything else. First tasted while somewhat mellowed by Champagne consumption on New Year's Eve and re-visited every few days since then. Anyone familiar with common sherry or even wine flaws that may cause the aforementioned pasty/play dough qualities?

OLD RED WINE

1976 Brovia Rocche Barolo

An ok, but not particularly good, bottle of older Barolo. While the fruit showed fairly well out the gate, there was something a bit on edge about the acidity and overall balance of the wine. Funny, the usually terrific Italian restaurant in Noe Valley where we capricorns were celebrating our birthdays also left me longing for its more typical, comforting, expressive self. Oh well. Not all older Baroli can wow you, and hardly any consistently wonderful restaurants can truly deliver the goods every time you go.

The best wines that money can buy? EQUIPO NAVAZOS La Bota de....

If sherry is one of the wine world's few remaining under-appreciated values, then Equipo Navazos is its elusive crown jewel; a bit tougher to find, but worth the slightly higher cost and intensive search. Think of Equipo Navazos as the sherry equivalent of the criterion collection; just as CC carefully curates their classic films, Equipo Navazos is as choosy about the soleras with which they choose to work Fancy yourself a pop and world music re-release buff? Then EN is the Soul Jazz Records of sherry. They source the best quality product, put it in a classy package, charge a small premium but ultimately provide a most rewarding experience.

Equipo (translated as "team") Navazos is something of a sherry negociant. Their love of sherry motivated them to seek out the best, oldest soleras from their favorite bodegas and to bottle it for their own enjoyment. They expanded to the point where they had a small surplus to sell outside of Spain, and fortunately so for many non-Spaniards as we otherwise would have been deprived of such amazingly pure, rich, characterful interpretations of Sherry.

What makes these sherries so delicious and unique? Three key factors:

1. Relatively smaller, older soleras from smaller sherry houses
2. these smaller soleras are customarily used as reserve stock for the families who produce them (or alternatively, to improve the quality of the stuff in their larger soleras)
3. NO FILTRATION. Most sherries these days are filtered.

Here are the Equipo Navazos (La Bota de....) sherries I have enjoyed up until now:

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla No. 16

This comes from a solera of Sánchez Ayala in the Pago Bilbaína. Color is a shade more intense and darker than most young Manzanillas, owing to the older average age of the wine. Delicious, brisk sea salt, marcona almonds and bright fruit aromas on the nose lead to a palate that is considerably more loaded than your basic, young, freshly bottled Manzanilla ( it's worth nothing that the most recent batch was bottled in January 2009, which is noted on the bottle). On the palate, the wine shows Manzanilla's classic salty quality, with a touch of smoke as well and initially, an unusual inner mouth chlorine aroma. I found that this dissipated after a day open in the fridge. In fact, whereas many Manzanillas fade after several days being open, this one seems only to gain more harmony and balance. It is a likely sign for future positive evolution in the bottle for at least a few years - unusual for a Manzanilla which usually is best drunk a year or so after bottling. Incidentally, I read on their website that this bottling is very lightly filtered.

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino "Macharnudo Alto" No. 15

This comes from a special twenty butt solera (compare with 143 for Lustau's current Almacenista Puerto Fino) from the venerable Valdespino, one of the best in Jerez. Macharnudo Alto is the most privileged section of the famed Pago Marcharnudo vineyard where the palomino grapes come from; it is one of the best crus in sherry country. This fino is the complete package: bright yet mouthfilling, bracing but substantial, a real beauty of a sherry that commands your respect. One of the best sherries and undoubtedly the finest fino I have yet to drink. The Navazos folks predict that this could improve in the cellar for a while.

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada No. 10

This slightly rare style, the Manzanilla Pasada (aged Manzanilla) comes from a stellar solera at Hijos de Rainera Pérez Marín, producers of "La Guita" manzanilla, in the northwestern tip of the sherry triangle, Sanlúcar de Barrameda. By definition, any fino made in Sanlúcar is referred to as a Manzanilla. Beautiful, 18K golden hue, with rich nutty aromas, and a palate that is deeply satisfying in a way that very few wines, white or red, ever will be. The flavors linger on the palate a long while. This is a candidate for my favorite wine of the year.

Waiting in the wings is the La Bota de Palo Cortado "La Bota Punta" No. 17, a half bottle from a single butt which I look forward to enjoying at the appropriate time with the right company. More on that bottle later.

Thanks to Msr. Brooklynguy for his always insightful perspective on Equipo Navazos, as well as to Peter Liem, the noted champagne authority, riesling lover, and Chinese tea drinker, whose blog - over the course of several entries - first introduced me to a wide range of the inimitable Equipo Navazos sherries.

Celebrating 30 years of me at the wine bar

I spent yet another great evening at Terroir (from here on out I'll refer to it as 'the wine bar,' since I really don't go out drinking wine anywhere else). This time I was lucky to share the good times and natty vin with friends, family (i.e., my brother Michael - yes, wassup Michael!) former and past co-workers, a few tasting group members, and even a few readers of this blog. Yep, two of you actually came out and celebrated with some random blogger. So a special thanks to frequent commenter Steve L (great to finally meet, thanks for your continued feedback and contributions on this site) as well as fellow blogger Cory Cartwright of Saignee. Given Cory's enthusiasm, knowledge and facility with writing literate, down to earth wine prose, I had thought that he was in the wine business. If you ever were to need a break from your current gig, Cory, I suspect you'd be able to find a wine job in no time. It was wonderful to meet Cory and his wife, who also happened to stop into K&L yesterday on their way back to San Jose. Hope you two enjoy the Hauth Kerpen.

And les vins? To start, my co-worker and K&L Champagne buyer Gary Westby bought a bottle of Larmandier Bernier Terre de Vertus Blanc de Blancs. No dosage, native yeast, biodynamic, 100% chardonnay based champagne here from two vineyards in the 1er cru rated village of Vertus. It was bright and classy, though a lot more ripe, soft and playful than I remember it. Very little of the austere cote des blancs acidity and chalkiness, just a delicate, but full flavored, blanc de blancs from this southernmost 1er cru village in the CdB. Maybe this is based primarily on '05 juice? (just checked the Polaner website, and it is in fact all '05)

I really enjoyed some La Cigarrera Manzanilla. This is a producer previously unknown to me, but making some serious manzanilla. A bit fleshier than the La Gitana (my,and most sherry drinker's benchmark for everyday manzanilla), but still with terrific saline tang and satisfactorily savory walnut flavors on the finish. As usual, not many people were drinking sherry which left much of the 500ml bottle for me. No me quejo - no complaints!

Kiralyudvar's '06 demi-sec Tokaji was its usual stunning, vivid, fruity, precise self. 11.8% alcohol, 19.1 g/l rs, 7.6 g/l acidity - I like these numbers. In a pretty strong line-up of wines this was probably my favorite. Think of something akin to cantaloupe and lime juice, with the sort of purity and sugar/acid balance that only a drink made from top quality white wine grapes fermented into wine can deliver, and then drop that thought and just buy a bottle to experience yourself.

2006 Alice & Oliver de Moor Chablis Bel Air was pure and kinda tasty, if a little bit unexciting, overly soft, lacking in acidity and missing something. Oh yes, it's made from chardonnay grapes. Oh chardonnay, yet again you show your deceit.

At some point mid-late evening, Cory generously poured me some Antoine Arena Vermentino. Very dry, very textural, very mineral on the palate.

Now a pair from 1979. Heitz's Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (no vineyard designate, just a Napa bottling) was fading. Ripe napa style cherry fruit with some green vegetal hints, a bit of green peppercorn, and a fairly hollow mid-palate. Not much of a finish to speak of. As promised, I opened one of my most memorable from '08, a magnum of 1979 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. According to their website, this one is a drinker indeed. The site recommends that you 'create a special dinner around this one.' Maybe one day I will, provided that the French portion of the ownership at one natural wine bar in the city by the bay are not present. Cabernet from a particularly ripe vintage in sunny California would be two strikes against this wine for these two particularly discerning palates. I enjoyed drinking this. It tasted just how I remembered, of sweet, ripe dark fruit. And hoisin sauce. And cola. Now what decent, God fearing, red blooded American doesn't like the occasional cola? Though a few folks enjoyed various aspects of this wine, I did not enjoy it as much as when I first tasted it six months ago. Definitely not a repeat purchase, though SCMV's library pinot noirs could well be worth further exploration.

There you have it. Five hours of steady drinking at the wine bar. Now the various birthday celebrations are officially over, and there is much work to be done. Will keep up things on this here site and hopefully even add a few new wrinkles in the coming week, probably including more original photos and maybe even some audio/video.

Peace and out.

This wine drinker is celebrating...Barack Obama is our next president!

I need just a brief moment for gravitas, here. Growing up, I remember discussing the prospect of a female or black president in the US - when would it happen? Would it be in our lifetime? Honestly, I did not believe it would, almost right up until Barack Obama announced his candidacy a few years ago. When that happened, and as he gained momentum, I came to believe that not only would we have an African American president in our lifetime, but it would be Barack Obama taking oath as the first black president in 2009. And sure enough, the polls have closed and that is what the news networks are telling us: Barack Obama is our next president. Obama won Ohio, he won Pennsylvania, he won Florida, he won Virginia (as some of you know it has been 45 years since a democratic candidate won VA). Well, the man is speaking right now, so I will keep it short and simply state that I am inspired as I hope that anyone reading this is equally inspired.

So, what to drink to savor and celebrate the moment? How about, while the champagne chills down, a glass of La Gitana manzanilla, bright, salty, and full of fruit, with uncommon depth and complexity. Then, when the champagne is nice and cold, crack it open. Perhaps it will be a bottle of Tarlant Brut Zero, a blend of 2005 and reserve wines, and of all three major champagne varieties. It is bone dry, poised, classy champagne, showing a serious character and lots of promise for the future, ready to usher in a new era in American history.