two good wines from the 'bad' 1997 vintage

Yet again, more proof that talented, consistent producers, who make consistently good, balanced wines, will do the same in more challenging vintages. Here we look at a Bdx and a Mosel Riesling from the oft maligned 1997 vintage. In the case of Bdx, it really was a tough year, with rains during harvest and many diluted, overly vegetal wines. Many '97s are not fun to drink. For the Mosel, I think that '97 was more overshadowed by the amazing '96 vintage, and was not by any means a dud.




Langoa Barton St. Julien 1997 - If St. Julien represents Bordeaux at its most elegant, with a most consistent spread of typicity, elegance and value (which, based on my experience up to this point, it does), then Langoa Barton is a perfect representative for the commune. Just like the '04 which I had a few months ago, this '97 is a balance of meaty savor, pure understated fruit, and soft texture. Of course this is a good bit more advanced, especially considering the fact that the vintage is not one for long cellaring. But really delicious, a much more complete and balanced wine than any other '97 Bdx I have yet tasted. '97 Malescot is pretty good now that I think about it, and may last a bit longer, but Langoa is the more interesting wine right now.



Max Ferdinand Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Kabinett 1997 - I had to return a badly corked bottle to get to the good stuff. Which reminds me: at between 20-25% corked bottles (and I have cracked open many of Dirk's rieslings as I used to sell them for a distributor), this winery has BY FAR the worst corked wine to good wine ratio I have ever encountered. Dirk - you make very good Riesling but either find a better supply of cork or switch to stelvin!!! Anyway, VE is a monopoly vineyard for Richter, who is based in Mulheim in the middle Mosel. The flavors are very bright, pure, focused and citric, almost like Wehlener Sonnenuhr but lighter, more simple and with a more delicate minerality. Soil here is gray slate and quartz, not the famed blue Devonian slate as in Wehlener Sonnenuhr. With a light straw color, a bit of petrol and citrus on the nose, and a very juicy, snappy palate tasting of clementines, this wine can probably still evolve for another several years. The wine is starting to get the nice, silky, mature Riesling texture, but isn't all the way there yet. And it seems as though there is some sweetness that could further resolve itself in another few years. Richter's Veldenzer Elisenberg. wines, though, and this is no exception, are a real delight to drink young, middle aged, and I imagine old, though I have yet to experience a 20 yr old Richter wine from VE.

Tomorrow, probably back to the Loire valley (again....)

Good night.

Evolution of a reggae band - pt I

Aswad, from WAY back in the day.

Evolution of a reggae Band - pt II

Check out how much more polished Aswad is here. Not sure when this is from, but judging by how the band looks and the way they sound, I'd say somewhere between '89-'92.

French country wines outta Mags

Thanks to Nadia for hosting a fun holiday get-together in her beautiful Specific Whites (oops, I meant to say 'Pacific Heights') apt. Here were my chosen imbibements:

Domaine Rimbert 'Le mas au Schistes' St Chinian 2004 (1.5l) - Good, fresh dark berry fruits which were powerful and a bit chewy for my taste, without any hearty meat dish to accompany the wine.

Domaine Rimbert 'Le mas au Schistes St Chinian 2003 (1.5l) - Rather mature and baked fruit, lacking freshness and the nice minerality of the '04

There was a nice little Chenin from Anjou, also outta mag, that was crisp, braeburn apple deliciousness. I don't recall the producer.

It was good fun kicking off the upcoming Christmas/Hanukah party season. Next weekend will be a latke throwdown, which of course as a fried potato loving Jew I am anxiously anticipating. Mmm...latkes.

On ageability....

Though it is a hotbed of drama (and some would say fascism), the ebob board is nonetheless capable of some really fascinating posts, such as this one here. Loire/Alsace/Champagne/Burgundy/German/Austrian critic David Schildnecht has a way with the written word, especially as it pertains to the grape and all things wine (no surprise that someone who covers the coolest - climatically and stylistically - regions so well would have something interesting to say about how wine ages. I'll let you read it and check it out for yourselves.

As for what I think will age, I'm still working on it, and as DS says, so much of this sort of forecasting depends on experience, not only with multiple vintages of general regions but of specific producers. I'm only 28, dude. And I did not grow up with a serious wine cellar in the household. So there's lots of learning ahead. Fortunately this year has been a real education for me personally with regards to tasting fully mature, and maturing, wines of high quality. I've been lucky enough this year to have tasted mature wines such as'89 Luneau Papin Muscadet L d'Or, '76 Varoilles Charmes-Chambertin, '79 Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Auslese, '81 Cronin PN (central coast CA PN that still tasted fresh, spicy and unbelievably good), '70 Latour, '89 Chasse-Spleen, '27 Domaine Bory Muscat de Rivesaltes and others. And I have also tasted excellent young wines that I think will age gracefully for years: '96 Salon, '96 Fleury, '99 Lopez Bosconia Reserva, '04 Langoa Barton, '02 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards PN, '04 de Montille Volnay 'Taillepieds,' '96 Pontet Canet, '04 Conn Valley Cab, '05 Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Herrenberg Spatlese, and many, many others. So what do I look for? In vague, highly subjective, layman's terms, I look for wines that are already very interesting, highly drinkable and balanced, but seem like they have more to show. So I look for what I view as balance, and then combine it slightly with theory and book smarts, and then go from there. And, I'm guessing, prepare myself to be humbled when I re-visit a wine in 5 years, one that I knew would be a 15yr+ wine, and find it to be over the hill. Most of the fun is in the drinking and experimentation, not in the satisfaction of being right. Though it's always gratifying to be right....

Wouldn't it be interesting to cellar a few 95 pt Spanish, Aussie and Napa wines which are predicted by some to age well for 10+ years and track their progress? If many wine consumers actually were to do this, I would suspect that lots of subscriptions to certain wine publications would be canceled....

De La Soul - Breakadawn

This is just nice and mellow. Though it's not my favorite De la jam, I really dig the Smokey Robinson 'Quiet Storm' sample and overall vibe. Makes me relax after an occasionally frustrating Friday. Happy weekend.

PALO CORTADO - Good stuff if you can get it.

The past few evenings I have been enjoying a nip of Barbadillo 'Obispo Gascon' Palo Cortado. For those of you who may not know, Palo Cortado is somewhere between an Amontillado and Oloroso; i.e., it retains the livelier acidity, saltiness and citric tones of Amontillado while simultaneously suggesting the deeper, darker flavors of Oloroso. And of course there is a walnut nuttiness that lasts for days and extra days as my Guyanese drummer friend might say.

Palo Cortado is basically a sherry aged under flor (white growth caused by yeast indigenous to Andalucia). As you may know a natural, thick tuft of flor growth in a barrel of sherry is destined to remain fino sherry, whereas amontillado sherries are finos with lesser flor growth and additional fortification. An amontillado which loses its flor becomes a Palo Cortado and is fortified even more, as an oloroso would be (to 21-22%). Olorosos are sherries which have never developed a protective layering of flor.

As only 1-2% of all sherries produced are palo cortado, they're fairly rare and not inexpensive. The Barbadillo retails for $35 where I work. For the quality of the wine, palo cortados, like all high quality sherries, are some of the best deals in all of the classic wine regions. Relative to the exorbitant prices of Bdx, burgundy, top-notch Baroli and other Italians, and very likely Champagne in the near future, sherry, along with German riesling, Rioja (traditional), and the Loire valley, are where many of the deals are right now for wines to buy and age for a while.