My favorite wines of 2007, or the year I started to truly enjoy wine.

(these wines are not on my list, but I think it's a funny little photo)

As a relative newcomer to wine, I will always remember 2007 as the year that I gained a bit more first-hand knowledge, through tasting, of wines in their various states of maturity. As a former buyer of one of my retail accounts in Baltimore once told me, back when I worked for a distributor, "If you want to learn about wine, if you want to taste a lot of wine, get on the retail side of the business." Well, that is what I did in 2007. My palate, wine knowledge and overall enthusiasm for wine are much stronger now than ever before. Thank you, Peter.

This is a tough list to synthesize, but I'm going to scratch some wines out on paper, rank them, and then put 'em up here with varyingly brief, telling, or perhaps not at all descriptive, TN's, often supplemented by the circumstances in which I was enjoying a bottle. I ought to note that this is a contextualized list. Context is very difficult to separate from the wine itself, so I choose not to do so. Y ahorita, los vinos:

10. 1995 Lopez de Heredia Rosado

This was one of the highlights of a rose tasting this past summer. Someone once described this wine to me, before I had ever tried it, as port like. I think of it more as the perfect embodiment of traditional Rioja flavors, in the prettiest, most ethereal way imaginable.

9. 1978 Poujeaux Moulis-en-Medoc

Delicious, bright, lively claret. It tastes much younger than its 30 years.

8. 1989 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Blanco Reserva - Read about it here.

7. 1995 Luneau Papin Muscadet L d'or

I tasted this alongside the 1989. It was my first exposure to first rate Muscadet with bottle age (I was a little behind, I know, chalk it up to youthful ignorance, and to living in the DC area for 9 years).

6. 1985 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese

Sorry, no AP number...anyway, you know it was a good drinking year if this amazing wine did not quite crack the top five (and if you read this blog you know I love Riesling).

5. 1989 Chasse-Spleen

What can I say, I love Moulis. It showed a pretty, wonderfully perfumed nose with black cherry and licorice notes. Amazingly fresh and young on the palate. Tannins were still not fully resolved, but there is abundant, and abundantly pure, fruit there as well.

4. 1971 Jean Grivot Vosne-Romanee

My first '70's Burgundy experience, and a good one. '71 was when my parents married, August 25, 1971 to be exact. So my parents, brother and I enjoyed this bottle in August, in a Calistoga cabin, alongside roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled lamb chops. After some initial stage fright, this 36 year old opened up and showed admirably, with tangy sour cherry fruit. I do enjoy drinking wine that is older than I am, especially when the year is significant to others who are near and dear to me.

3. 1988 Krug

One of my good friends in the business, and straight up one of the best human beings I know in Washington, DC, Burnie Williams, gifted me this bottle. I decided that we would drink it over lunch at CP Steak. The wine was textbook Krug: rich, full flavored, and a finish that would not quit. To borrow Matt Kramer's description of Meursault, this was truly like drinking 'liquid gold.'

2. 1981 Cronin Pinot Noir 'Ventana Vineyard'

'WTF???' you may be asking yourself. 26 year old CA pinot from a now defunct winery that many people outside of Woodside, California do not know, this bottle was pure magic, and I wish I had bought more. Read more about Cronin.

And the #1 wine is...

1976 Domaine des Varoilles Charmes Chambertin

One of those vintages that at first concerned Burg drinkers due to the heat, many '76s, I am told, have aged incredibly well. This was my Burgundy Epiphany Bottle - I began to understand why people obsess and bankrupt their shit over this shit.

So that's it, those are just some of the wines I loved in 2007. You know, I was thinking of doing a similar list for current releases, but there are just too many enjoyable wines I have drunk this year to whittle it down into list form. To be honest it's too much work and I'm not up for that sort of work at this point in the year, you know? Maybe next year....

Palo Cortado, otra vez.

Hidalgo is perhaps best known for their Manzanilla 'La Gitana,' as well as their single vineyard Pastrana Manzanilla pasada. Well, they also make Palo Cortado, and I finally got around to trying some tonight. Compared to the earlier reviewed Barbadillo Palo Cortado 'Obispo Gascon,' the Hidalgo PC is a totally different animal. In short, if Barbadillo's style is Palo Cortado bordering on oloroso, then Hidalgo's is more towards the Amontillado side of Palo Cortado. In the glass, the sherry is a duller shade of amber, with less of the brilliant orange glints. Dried black currants and fruit cake aromas on the nose are somehow a bit less intense and spirit like than the Barbadillo PC. No surprise here, as the Hidalgo weighs in at 17.5% abv whereas the Barbadillo is closer to 21.5%. Similarly, the palate is less viscous and powerful, both in terms of alchohol and intensity of flavors, but there is plenty of dried fruit character, acidity, salty tang and nuttiness to make this yet another excellent value fine wine from sherry country. Hidalgo's PC also gets huge bonus points for transmitting that tough to pinpoint sherry glow and energy (no, I did not finish the bottle, not even close) that I have not experienced since visiting Jerez in 1999 while living in Sevilla.

Next up in my Palo Cortado exploration: the Hidalgo Palo Cortado Viejo, which, if I understand correctly, comes from a solera dating back to colonial times!

Grignolino - Mmm, mmm mmm.

The 2005 La Casaccia Grignolino del Monferrato is such a mouth-wateringly tasty imbibement, I thought that it merits its own, brief, post. Produced from 100% Grignolino, the Piedmontese specialty, this wine is pure wild strawberries, with fine sandpaper tannins, the kind that leave your tongue feeling like a cat's tongue when it licks you. There is the barest hint of marzipan on the finish. Oliver McCrum continues to amaze me with his terrific portfolio of Italian wines; this particular example is available in the Bay Area for less than $15. Drink it up.

Champagnes for the poorly served or last minute shopper

You might be visiting a friend who lives far away from a decent wine shop, or live in an area without shops which stock smaller, higher quality houses and grower champagnes. If that is the case, try one of these 3 champanskoyas:

Bollinger Brut Reserve NV - Depending on where you live and how liberally the local bottle shop marks up champagne, this will probably run $38 - $52. As always, it is big, rather austere and with a good base of tangy red berry fruits from the Pinot Noir. I am always happy to drink Bolli.

Pol Roger NV - $30-$45. This is not particularly exciting in my book, but always tastes clean and has the perfect amount of toastiness to add a bit of richness and texture, which balances the bright appley and lemony tones.

Laurent Perrier NV - This is a very distant 3rd pick, just because it will be available, probably cheap ($28-$40) and won't offend anyone.

Once again, this list is based on a shitty neighborhood shop selection (though I really do enjoy the Bolli). If possible, you should find Champagne elsewhere and get the really good stuff.

Best of 2007 - German Riesling edition

Greetings from Tacoma, Washington! On the list below, you may notice a dominance of Kabinetts, and lots of 10 or so year old wines. These are generally my preference. Also am noticing a predominance of Mosel wines on this list - no surprises there as these are the most commonly available Rieslings. Next year I hope to taste a lot more German Riesling and thereby diversify the list a bit more! So, without further adieu...Here are my Top 10 German Rieslings of the year:

10. Verinigte Hospitien Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett 2004 - Delicious Kabinett that I bought at a ridiculously low price, this beauty had a satin like mouthfeel, with gentle white nectarine fruit and more than a hint of red currants. Hospitien may not be the fanciest or most acclaimed of Saar producers, but they are reliable rieslings for the money. I'm trying to lay off my 6 remaining bottles for another few years.

9. Jakoby Mathy Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett 2006 - Beautiful, juicy, mouthwatering Mosel Riesling. It has that orchard fresh fruit thing going on. Just tasty, uncomplicated, Mosel Riesling.

8. Schmitt Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Spatlese 2005 - More texture and richness on this guy; the 80+ year old ungrafted vines deliver some real density in texture. Somehow these wines always come across as drier than the norm for the pradikat level and the vintage. Which in addition to the aforementioned texture and creaminess makes them true originals. Tasty fruit as well, but to me this wine is more about texture.

7. Hauth Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 1996 - A stunner! Mature Kabinett with intense lime and slate flavors. With the '96 acidity this might be the driest tasting pradikat wine I have had. Terrific, powerful, gutsy Kabinett.

6. Hauth Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 1994 - Even better than the above. The nose had a bit more sweetness, almost a sweet quinine aspect to it. Very similar to the '96 Kabinett on the palate, with more length and a minerality not as thoroughly integrated as on the Kabinett. Delicious now and probably a lot more so in 5 years

5. Carl Scmitt Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett 1992 - So young, this wine tastes so young! Even the color, which has deepened to a slightly darker and more intense light yellow, still suggests a younger wine. All the texture and cream of his '05 Spatlese from the same vineyard, with the added dimension of greater fruit intensity and balance from the bottle age. I'd be curious to see this wine in another decade, and would not be surprised if it still tasted young.

4. Diehl Dorsheimer Burgberg Riesling Kabinett 1997 - A textbook lesson in balance between fruit, residual sugar and acidity in mature Kabinett. Lovely Nahe riesling from one of its masters.

3. Max Ferdinand Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Kabinettt 1997 - Another impeccably balanced Kabinett. I love this site, which always seems to produce vivid citrus flavors, often times taking on a similarity to perfectliy ripe, juicy, Florida pink grapefruit. As Dirk Richter once told me, "In Germany we have a saying: 'the girl should be young, and the Riesling should be old!' "

2. JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 1996 - Such a firecracker of a Riesling, what with all of that beautifully clean acidity. This wine was my second pick in a Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr auslese vertical in which I participated a few months ago, only because the next wine was so spectacular.

1. JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 1985 - Beautiful, 18K golden color. This mature Auslese showed a strong vanilla extract and cookie dough note. After a bit of time ripe pear and honey showed as well - definitely a botrytis wine. Acidity is present on the palate, but very mellow, and the fruit is similarly subtle and tough to pinpoint - the fruit is there and it is delicious.

Best of 2007 - Holiday wine shopping edition

Here's the first of what will probably be a few list of superlatives posts. Enjoy!

Most misguided proposed food pairing proposed by a customer-
2005 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva and Veal scallopini

Most inspired proposed customer kitchen sabotage -
a lady who wanted to cook rib roast, but instead was told she needs to cook a turkey, plans on making sides that will not go well with the turkey, but that would have complemented the beef perfectly.

Best breakroom snack (nutritious) -
the never ending supply of dried apricots, peaches, currants and plums

Best breakroom snack (not nutritious) -
the tray of chocolate truffles

Most timely breakroom food run - Burritos mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve. You're the man, Jorge!

Best customer t-shirt - Putting the 'g' in 'gangsta,' pink typeface on a bright green tee.

Most encouraging feedback from a customer - "Thanks for your persistence" (after spending nearly 10 minutes tracking down the riedel single malt glasses). Temporary location? Underneath the wine accessories behind the counter.

Best POS made by a home winemaker -
Olema Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2005 - "Totally vinified to drink right now!" That's why they call you 'the master,' Jim Barr!

Best bottle of Champagne enjoyed toward the end of the day -
Tarlant Cuvee Louis magnum.

Go-to gift bottle of Italian red -
La Fortuna Brunello Riserva 2001

Go-to gift bottle of Bordeaux -
Pontet Canet 1996

Category with the best, deepest selection for the holidays -
German wines (congrats, Jefe.)

Outstanding

That's how I feel right now - outstanding. Glands, swollen. Nose, stuffy. But I'm looking forward to the last push of holiday insanity.

This jam is for everyone working hard in the service and retail business this holiday season. Crank it up and get down!