And the 90's Indie Revival Continues: Polvo jams at Slim's on Friday 10/9

Polvo was one of those bands I really enjoyed listening to some years ago while I was exploring indie rock for the first time in my mid-late teens. But I never had an opportunity to see them live. A product of the thriving early-mid 90's Chapel Hill, NC scene, Polvo always had a unique sound: sprawling, psychedelic and laid-back, but with more than a hint of indie slacker aesthetic, experimental guitar interplay and pop sensibility thrown in for good measure.

At long last I righted the wrong of not having seen this very solid quartet. After a nearly ten year absence, Polvo first reunited to perform in 2008 at All Tomorrow's Parties, and like so many other bands have leveraged the reunion to begin recording and touring together anew. Given the competence of their performance, both of new material and re-worked older songs, I definitely would encourage both those who are familiar with the band and the uninitiated to check them out when they head your way next.

Friday night at Slim's, for a focused hour and a half or so, Polvo primarily combined older songs from their Merge Records output with material from their Touch and Go years, with which I'm honestly not as familiar, in their inimitable style. Yes, it is a bit "Sonic Youth-y" as I overheard one concert goer explain to his friend, but there is also a real 70's classic rock element at work here as well, not to mention an Eastern influence which flavors the guitar based compositions and improvisation. While I enjoyed both guitarists' contributions, leader Ash Bowie's songs and riffage really stood out. As did drummer Brian Quast's efforts, especially on some particularly complex and jazz inspired fill-ins. Sparse vocals, usually buried fairly low in the mix, along with some seriously extended jamming, highlight the fact that Polvo is at their most comfortable when they are rocking out, exploring the balance of consonance, dissonance, distortion, bent notes and vibrato at their own leisurely, mid-tempo pace.

Row, Fisherman row

How I haven't posted this in two years of blogging and youtube re-posting, I am not sure. At any rate, this is obviously the beautiful vocal stylings of the Congos, the production genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry, and, in short, this is reggae.

Enjoy.

Testing out the restorative powers of sherry, Equipos Navazos Manzanilla Pasada in particular

What a busy week! Hopefully the overall level of activity and sales at work is a good sign of economic recovery, because if that is indeed the case then it might be a strong holiday retail season after all, and maybe 2010 will see lower unemployment and even some modest economic growth. Then again, we count amongst our customer base some of the wealthiest zip codes in the country, so I will take with a grain of salt the fairly strong September and early sprint out the gates of October.

Today, in particular, we were so busy that I needed a good 10 minutes of lie on the couch time just now as I returned home from work. In my glass, to hopefully revive the senses and ready the appetite, is some Equipo Navazos La Bota de Manzanilla Pasada #10. Manzanilla, because it is fino style sherry from the town of Sanlucar de Barrameda, in this case from a top quality solera at La Guita. Pasada, because this is no typical, young Manzanilla solera; rather it is from wine averaging 12-14 years in age, whose barrels were topped off sporadically to prevent the manzanilla from becoming an amontillado.

I've been working through the bottle over the past several days, and it is quite the killer wine. For $30 retail, I think it is the best buy in dry sherry out there, and arguably one of the best wine buys, assuming you dig sherry, of course. Not a simple, salty, straw colored Manzanilla, the #10 shows a color more akin to 18K gold. Aromatically intense, you can catch marcona almonds, sea salt, lemons, butterscotch, and even some yellow triaminic cold syrup (that is not necessarily a good thing in my book, as pungent as that stuff was as a kid), but focusing on the former aromas I forget about barely palatable childhood cold remedies. On the palate, there is a similar depth, complexity and shifting quality to the flavors that this wine shares with some of the wine world's greatest. It brings to mind really good sous voile Jura wine, without quite the crackle of acidity or liveliness. There is a salty, broth-like savory element as well, not unlike that of a good dry amontillado or palo cortado. Very nutty and savory on the finish.

As you can see, I struggled with that note, but at any rate I do feel revived and ready to go on with my evening. If ever you're feeling tired, lacking in appetite, or otherwise feeling not up to doing much, I would suggest drinking a small amount of good sherry. And if it's one of the best, such as the Manzanilla pasada from Equipo Navazos, so much the better.

For very good quality, production oriented information on this particular sherry, see Peter Liem's excellent post on the topic. You can also explore his blog for posts about other Equipo Navazos bottlings.

Syrah BRIX at harvest, or Jim Barr, why must you pick your grapes so late?

Photo courtesy of Tablas Creek's blog

Not to out him, or shame him, but Jim Barr, my (mostly) respectable colleague insists that his Sonoma (forget exactly where in Sonoma) Syrah grapes must be picked at 24 brix or above. That way, the seed is likely to be nice and brown, or "physiologically ripe." They have already achieved "sugar ripenes." That happens first in warmer, sunnier wine growing regions. California, even in the so-called cool, Type I climate growing zones, is a warmer, sunnier growing region. The harvest was 3-4 weeks later than usual, and the pH of the grapes around 3.40. All exciting things, says Barr.

Barr knows grapes, he knows winemaking and, occasionally, he even knows wine (joking, Jim). He has been making wine for around thirty years. He is also a creature of habit - to put it mildly - and I imagine that he looks for these indicators in his grapes year in, year out. However, I know for a fact that Barr really enjoys more moderate alcohol wines, Loire reds, for example. Nonetheless, he insists that if his grapes aren't "physiologically ripe," i.e. brown pips, his wines will not only be hard, but bitter as well.

I'm no winemaker. Never tried it. In fact, I might as well come clean and admit that I've never even helped to harvest. Hell, you know what, I just taste, spit and judge wine for a living professionally. I much prefer maker's and coke... All joking aside, I come across more and more California wines from growers who purposefully pick earlier than their neighbors (see Hirsch Pinot Noir in the Sonoma Coast). Another example would be the terrifically balanced, fresh tasting 2007 Bartolo Minerva, a southern France by-way-of Santa Clara County inspired blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache, all heat loving grapes that typically do need to be ripe enough so that they ferment to at least 14%...except this particular wine comes in at an amazingly low 12.5%! Both of these are examples of wines that I would say do show ripe phenolics (in other words, they come from physiologically ripe grapes) and do not show green, astringent tannins.

I know this topic is oft discussed, maybe people are sick of it, possibly rightfully so. But I'd like to ask a few winemakers some questions:

What's the lowest brix you think California Syrah can be picked at to taste good? How much earlier would you estimate the harvest date would be than that of Syrah picked at 24.5?

The lowest brix that southern Rhone or Languedoc-Roussillon syrah can be harvested to still be good? Northern Rhone? How ripe are Allemand's syrah grapes? What about Chave's? Guigal's La La syrah grapes?

For a great post on ripeness, with a similarly educational thread to match, might I suggest you check out this June 2009 post from the Brooklyn Guy.

Souls of Mischief - Medication

Hip-Hop friday returns with a special late night edition from the mighty Souls of Mischief. This is one of those put you into a trance type classic beats. Hypnotic and highly addictive. Mmm hmm...

The Wine Bloggentsia Meet-up at Terroir

Well, it's 12:25am. Not too long ago, I saw David McDuff and his wife Lorie out the door after a lovely dinner at our apartment. He got the full, dinner at Natalie and Joe's experience: late start, late finish, paper towel napkins, and some simple, humbly thrown together food in between.

As I'm awake and trying to re-instill a sense of diligence and discipline on the blog, I thought I might write up a list of some wines we (McDuff, Slaton, Wolfgang, Emily and, to a lesser extent since they were on the clock, Cory and Dagan) drank on Monday night at Terroir, with brief personal tasting notes occasionally spiced by others' perspectives.

2007 Tavijn Grignolino - There is more soul and Piedmont-ness in this delicious bottle than many Baroli and Barbaresco out there. Serious, broad, earthy cherry aromas lead to a tense, tangy dark cherry, brooding, and, especially for the grape variety, serious mouthful of wine. I love good Grignolino, and this is probably better than my previous favorite by at least 30% or so. I drank the Tavijn with a margherita pizza made outside a local bar in an oven attached to a trailer. Not great, but certainly decent enough for street pizza. Poletana pizza was the name.

2008 Domaine de la Tournelles Poulsard - Reductive and a bit mean on the nose. Flavors were all tart red fruit which went straight to the sides of the mouth and back of the palate, not much of anything on the mid-palate. I'd usually enjoy this, but for some reason various elements were not in particularly good balance. It was a bit funky and sharp, not too pleasant. Slaton and I were chatting Poulsard. How Puffeny makes some great Poulsard from which he somehow coaxes great depth of flavor and texture. Tissot is too pristine and not close to that level for either of us. Tournelles, he was saying, is tempramental and occasionally funky, which I experienced in full force. The wine did settle down and improve somewhat, however. When it comes to world class Poulsard, there is Puffeney and there is Houillon, which Cory was saying could be sold for upwards of $60 to the fervently supportive natural wine drinkers in Japan. Maybe just the Dressner company line, but fuck it - I know how good the wine is and how Japan fetishizes certain things as only Japan can. So tightly allocated Poulsard, here we go. One of my co-workers would really get a kick out of that, allocated natural Poulsard - Champagne Gary, I fucking kid you not, it exists....

2002 Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny (opened two days prior)

Thanks to Slaton for bringing the remains of this bottle. He was mentioning a wine with almost Morey St Denis type flavors upon opening. After a few days, the tell-tale cab franc veg notes were there, but so was tasty, savory, dark fruit and a really elegant, silken texture. Would have loved to follow this wine from opening to where it was last night.

2004 Rollin Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Sous Fetille

To my minimally trained (and minimally appreciative) white burgundy palate, I much preferred this producer's villages, which actually has some Pinot Blanc in the blend, to this 1er cru which I'm assuming has a lot less or none at all. Much more overt oakiness, alcohol, and lack of togetherness in this wine, even as it fleshed out and integrated over the course of a little longer than an hour. It still wasn't doing it for me then, though I stood squarely in the minority on this one. Chalk it up to chardonnay and French oak hating, but I was really disappointed here. On a brighter note, the last sip was nearly enjoyable.

2004 Rollin Pernand-Vergeless

OK, I actually drank this wine at Terroir a week ago, but it made quite the positive impression. Plus, as much as I liked it I did not want to leave on a negative note for Rollin given my experience with his wine above. This wine had everything I was wishing it's slightly fancier sibling had: rich texture, impeccable balance, mouth expansive, delicious stone fruit flavors offset by lightly roasted nuts. The elegance and flavor development in this wine made it one of my favorite chardonnay based wines of the past couple years for me. I'm not much of a chardonnay guy, though, so take that for what it's worth.

2008 Dashe L'Enfant Terrible Zinfandel McFadden Farm Potter Valley

A bit oakier than I remember it, a suspicion that was confirmed when I learned that there were not enough grapes to fill up Dashe's beloved larger foudre. I prefer last year's, though I must say that the last sip o this 2 oz taste, consumed 40 or so minutes after it was poured, was showing very well, drier and more structured than it had showed upon first pouring.

2007 Foillard Morgon "Cuvee Courcelette"

Another wine geek wine. This was peppery and quite reductive initially, showing tense and structured gamay fruit which eventually opened up and softened a bit. It's very mineral and a bit backward out the gate, but really opens up with air. Tasty stuff, and worthy of the bonafide wine geek coveted beaujolais status.

2001 Bunan Bandol "Moulindes" (375ml)

I was joking with DMcD tonight that perhaps this was an ill advised move, to just get one more bottle, or half bottle as it were, after all the drinking which previously took place. A huge departure from the types of wines we had been drinking the rest of the night, this guy showed meaty, dark fruits, black olive, and loads of structure. One for food, not for closing out the wine geek night. Still, decent wine - we could have done worse.

Dinner at The Pigeon

In addition to downing large quantities of Deschutes beer, perking up with Stumptown coffee and exploring the famed synergy of maple and bacon at Voodoo Doughnuts, one of my anticipated Portland food highlights was a dinner at Le Pigeon in the city's trendy section of East Burnside.

Chef Gabriel Rucker has received lots of praise in the past few years, with nods from both local food critics and those based across the country stating that his restaurant is a must visit for anyone in Portland. Incidentally, one of my co-workers was the one who first recommended that I get to Le Pigeon ("if you can get in," he said). Well, maybe it was luck, but we managed to sneak in without a reservation on a Sunday night. Mononatalie and I waited 30 minutes and headed over to B Side for a pint of beer, where we loved the undeniably awesome behind the bar decorations like the Ted Nugent clock and a framed, crocheted piece which read "cunt." Clever. It's a cool spot provided you're not with people who have touchy sensibilities.

We returned and were seated at the bar, which is the best way to go so that you can check out the action in the small, simply laid out open kitchen. The dining room is intimate, an elegant but casual vibe with a touch of whimsy added from the beautiful portrait of three staff members woven with yarn. To start we ordered a half bottle of 2004 Von Kesselstat Piesporter Goldtrofchen Riesling Spatlese - love those 04 Rieslings for their acidity and cooler, less ripe fruit profiles. The wine was good with my hamachi nicoise - a few slices of barely seared yellowtail, surrounded by a few small morsels of black olive tapenade, sauteed tomato, and hard boiled egg slices. However, it really was killer with Natalie's pork belly, green tomato and pickles.

For entrees, Natalie had the poussin - an adolescent chicken with shell beans, corn and chanterelles. It's earthy and satisfying, perhaps a bit monochromatic for some palates but tasty nonetheless, and an awful lot of food. I preferred my main, the beef cheeks bourguignon, which I later learned is something of a signature dish at Le Pigeon. Very slowly braised, they were intensely flavored, meaty, and incredibly tender. Great dish, and again, a very sizeable portion.
I had ordered an underwhelming bottle of 2002 Jacky Blot Bourgeuil, not realizing that this is a modernist Loire Cabernet Franc that tastes middle aged, overoaked, and heavy.

We had stuffed ourselves so much that dessert was out of the question, though the all northern Italian cheese plate piqued my curiosity. Piedmont's famous La Tur, a Lombardian cheese similar to tomme de savoie, and one other cheese made for an exciting regional focus on what is typically an assortment of cheeses from all over.

Overall, we had a wonderful experience at this well respected Portland institution. Go there if you're in Portland; just come hungry as you will be very well fed.

Le Pigeon
738 E. Burnside St
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 546-8796