A New Wine Tasting Group: The Wines... Veneto-Italy

I’m part of a new wine tasting group. It’s currently made up of a few current and past work colleagues.

The past time out we tasted wines from the Veneto region of Italy to great effect. The line-up was made up of a Pinot Grigio, a Soave, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and two Amarone. It was an eclectic line-up that, other than the Amarone, show-cased wines and grapes that many wine drinkers don’t normally think of in the Veneto.

Tre Fili – 2008 Pinot Grigio ITG

This wine was best characterized as simple and straight forward. Lime green color with a very distinct lime aroma. The taste was made up of green apple and lime which rose just above a layer of minerality. The acidity was “stretched out” making this a very good food wine along with being a nice summer “quaffer.”

I Campi-Camp Vulcano – 2007 Soave Classico

This was pale yellow in color with light floral aroma and a tiny hint of peach. Lemon was forefront on the taste and this also exhibited a steely minerality. Medium bodied with a soft texture, leading to a refreshing long finish.

Le Ragose-Gaida – 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep garnet colored with a smoky aroma. Dark cherry fruit at first but this turned into more of a stewed fruit with noticeably darker characteristics like blueberry, green peppers, and spices as it saw some air. Soft texture with nice acidity and a medium finish.

Alberino – 2005 Amarone

Amarone is made by the rasinate method where the grapes are allowed to dry and shrivel on straw mats before the remaining concentrated juice is extracted. This process was evident in the deep ruby colored with a raisin and prune aroma as they are characteristics of highly concentrated wine. There are notes of blackberry, chocolate, raisins, and basically dark burnt fruit. This is almost port like which can happen with the way the wine is made. Jammy is the best way to describe this wine.

Guerrieri Rizzardo-Villa Rizzardi – 2001 Amarone

This was the undisputed wine of the night. Black in color with beautiful aromas of cocoa powder, black current, chocolate and dried dark fruit. This was incredibly refined and not as concentrated or overly extracted as the Alberino. Plum also emerged on the taste. This was a very full bodied wine with high acidity, a super long finish and tannins that melted on the tongue. The alcohol clocked in at 15.5% but it was barely noticeable as this was a very balanced wine.

Pisoni Vineyards at Union Square Wines

I've been a little lax in updating lately but hopefully things will pick up…

That said, I also haven’t been taking as many notes as I normally would. Again, I’m hoping that turns around too…

However, I’ve still been drinking and have been to some pretty decent store tasting of late.
One recent visit (with our one year old tagging along no less) was at Union Square Wines where Gary Pisoni and his son Jeff were pouring wines made from their Santa Lucia Highlands grapes along with their own wines which are currently made by Jeff Pisoni.

I’m not the best at taking notes at events like this. For one, you taste so many wines and they often blur together. Also, it’s hard enough to fight through the lines to get a pour and the last thing you want to do is to find a spot to write down thought. Finally, the size of the pour at tastings like this are often small enough to get the essence but often not large enough to give a full expression.
All that said, below is a list of the wines tasted with what sparse notes I have.

Luli ’07 Chardonnay – “Peach and bracing acidity.”
Lucy ’08 Rose of Pinot Noir – “Very Good”
Lucia ’06 Pinot Noir
Lucia ’05 Pinot Noir ‘Gary’s Vineyard’ – “More character than the ‘06”
Pisoni ’06 Estate Pinot Noir – “A+ - clean and smooth”
Lucia ’05 Syrah Susan’s Hill Vineyard

Loring Wine Company ’05 Pinot Noir ‘Gary’s Vineyard’ – “Very good and a lot lighter in body and weight than other Loring’s I’ve had in the past.”
Lorca ’03 Pinot Noir ‘Pisoni Vineyard’
Capiaux ’06 Pinot Noir ‘Pisoni Vineyard’ – “One of my least favorite wines of the afternoon.”
Patz & Hall ’05 Pinot Noir ‘Pisoni Vineyard’ – “Another of my least favorites of the afternoon.”

A great tasting overall with the general impression that these wines were well made, in balance, and without the “heaft” that often mark the typical California Pinot Noir that I’ve been exposed to.

Like I said, these notes are less than helpful but there you have it anyway.

August West’s ’06 Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir is ruby red in color and medium bodied. Spice and cherry cola on the nose. However, there is also a darker essence to it as well with a complexity I can’t quite nail down. Smoother than might be expected for a 15% alc/vol wine with a medium long finish and a slight acidic zip at the end.

Good juice. Not great but good. $45 from the winery.

2000 Phélan Ségur - St. Estephe - Bordeaux

The 2000 Phélan Ségur was, to be honest, a little bit of a disappointment for me as I had been holding on to it since its release.

This St. Estephe is ruby red in color with a leather, charcoal, and pencil lead nose. These “secondary notes” are upront with the more primary fruit notes of black currant and blueberry fading in the background. They are still evident though. The blueberry also comes through more on the taste. This is dry with a medium body, somewhat bitter tannins and a medium long finish.

This is a C+/B- wine for me that would have been obviously much more enjoyable a couple years ago.

2004 Chateau Pipeau - Saint-Émilion - Bordeaux

A short note on the 2004 Chateau Pipeau, a merlot based Saint-Émilion from Bordeaux.

Deep dark garnet colored wine with rich dark fruit intermixed with cedar. Fruits come across as cassis, blackberry and maybe a hint of prunes. Tannins need to soften. Super long finish.

Young young wine that needs time. Luckily I have more to go through and the time to let it sit!

2007 Domaine “La Garrigue” Cuvee Romaine - Côtes du Rhône - France

This is my second “wow” wine of the year. Rich ruby red in color with tar and blackberry notes intermingled up front. Dark and rich with a thick, velvety texture and a fruit laden long finish.

A large part of the “wow” comes from its $13 price tag at Garnet Wines. When Tahirih was asked how much she thought this was, the guess was $35 and it drinks like that.

2005 Domaine Marcel Deiss Pinot Blanc – Bergheim - Alsace-France

To quote my wife after her first sip of this… “Wow! And I mean that in a good way!”

The 2005 Domaine Marcel Deiss Pinot Blanc – Bergheim is unlike any other Pinot Blanc I’ve ever had. To set up the point of contrast first, most Pinot Blancs I’ve had, weather from the US or Europe, tend to be light in color and body with noticeable minerality ahead of the fruit and a clear acidic zip, not really unlike a Finger Lakes Riesling.

This was different. It was a rich golden color with what I thought were honey, orange citrus and some light notes of petrol on the nose. The minerality was there as well but as a very nice and subtle secondary layer. This also had a very full bodied texture, again unlike most other Pinot Blancs I’ve had. Very mouth coating but that same acidic zip comes at the very end if you hold the wine in your mouth long enough.

Very food friendly and extremely good!

This was a wine recommendation from my friend Chris at Blanc & Rouge, a really nice wine shop in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood. The kind of place where you can tell that everyone LOVES wine. You can tell it’s a passion of everyone who works there. You can find this wine there for $22 which makes it a great QPR find.

Anyway, I’m hoping this is the first of many recommendations to come my way from Chris and the other fine people at the shop

2002 Termes Toro - Bodega Numenthia Termes - Spain

This lovely wine is starting to near the end of its life (within a couple years I think) but is drinking beautifully now.

Garnet colored and medium bodied with secondary notes of tar and cedar now at the forefront with some nice black currant and other dark notes receding some.

Fine tannins and a soft texture with a long finish. A touch of heat at the end is the only slight against this really nice wine.

Bought 3 or 4 years ago from Union Square Wines for $25.

2006 Graff Riesling Auslese – Mosel-Saar Ruwar – Germany

Quick Note: 2006 Graff Riesling Auslese – Mosel-Saar Ruwar – Germany. Pale yellow in color with peaches and apricots mingling with honey on the nose. Light bodies with a medium finish and a light touch of acidity. Sweet notes but not overly so.

I’d give this wine a C. Not bad but really reminds me more of a slightly sweeter version of an entry level kabinett than anything else. It basically lacks any distinctiveness for me as well.

All said with the understanding that '06 was a difficult vintage for Riesling in Germany. At roughtly $20, I'm hoping that the '07 provides more QPR as the price certainly could be seen as right for an auslese.

New Year's Resolutions

New Year’s Resolution #4 - To start the process of creating a more balanced cellar than what I have now.

This came about as a result of reading a thread on the Mark Squires Wine Discussion Board where the question posed was “how to other collectors balance their cellar.” It came from someone who had a fair numbers of wines stashed away but with few of them being ready to drink.

That aspect mirrors my own situation but I also have the added issue of having 75% of my cellar devoted to Bordeaux, much of which I’m sitting on for future aging!

I don’t feel that is so much of a problem but truth be told, there are other wine regions I very much enjoy drinking but are lacking in my cellar for no good reason. Among my favorites are Tuscan reds, California Pinot Noir, and German Riesling. There are also what I will call secondary regions that I am now starting to uncover and enjoy such as France’s Rhone Valley (mainly Southern), Loire, and even Cru Beaujolais. That’s not even counting dabbling in Finger Lake Rieslings (and their whites in general), Greece, South America, Lebanon, etc… This list goes on…

I admit that my palate does definitely lean heavily towards Bordeaux as it is my “first true love” in wine with Tuscany and California in the wings. But I also don’t want to shut out these other regions that I either know I like or want to explore more of. I want to continue to learn and expand my palate and and to also have more choice when heading down into the basement to pull something for dinner.

This is a long term goal given my current economic situation (see: Lily - born 3/19/08) but I would like to start the process this year.

Resolution #5 - Drink more of what I currently have. No need to sit on some of the stuff I’m sitting on and there are only so many special occasions throughout the year.

To quote Maya from Sideways - "You know, the day you open a '61 Cheval Blanc … that's the special occasion."

(Disclaimer - I do not actually own a ‘61 Cheval Blanc.)

'05 Two Hands Lily's Garden Shiraz - And the Story of a Cork

The ‘05 Lily’s Garden Shiraz from Two Hands Winery in Barossa Valley - Australia is one of the best Aussie shiraz I’ve had in a while.

This is a very concentrated wine with a nearly impenetrable black color. Very complex aroma of blackberry, chocolate and spices along with smoke and tabac notes. Silky texture and a super-long mouth-coating finish. The complexity and lushness masks its high 14.5% alcohol but I guess that’s standard with most Aussie shiraz anyway.

This wine is a definite keeper which I found for $40 at T.B. Ackerson Wines in Brooklyn.

All the above said, I did note one somewhat eye-raising mark with the cork of this wine.

I was initially worried when the foil was pulled off the bottle as wine had soaked through cork, covering about 1/3 of the top end of the cork. When the cork was pulled and examined, there was a slit from one end to the other which facilitated the seepage of wine through the cork itself. The only thing keeping the wine from soaking through more was that the cork appears to be “capped” with two end cork pieces that did not split. These were the “saviors” of the wine if you will as without them, the wine would have basically seeped on through.

This is noteworthy to me for a couple of reasons. First is that I had never seen anything like it before in a cork with the split down the side. Second is that I was surprised to see this on a relatively high end wine which retails for $40+ a bottle.

As you can tell from the note above, this wine was still fantastic. Just makes me think that screwcaps on higher end wines might not be such a bad thing, even if this particular bottle dodged a bullet.

'06 Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris - Willamette Valley - Oregon

I consider the ‘06 Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris to be one of my “wine finds” of the year. We originally tasted it at the Eyrie tasting room on a visit to Willamette Valley this past summer and bottles we’ve had since then have never failed to impress.

The wine is straw-hay colored with a floral nose mixed with apricot and maybe even a hint of orange peel. It is medium to full bodied with a creamy texture and a medium-long finish.

Very very nice and a wonderful food-pairing wine.

The '06 Eyrie Pinot Gris can be found for $20 at Chelsea Wine Vault.

'05 Stolpman Estate Syrah - Central Coast - California

The 2005 Stolpman Estate Syrah was savored this holiday season at Dante’s Restaurant in Syracuse.

It shows dark berry fruit on the nose including noticeable blackberry and cassis. Overall strong aromatics. This fruit forward wine is also full bodied with a thick, rich texture and a very long finish.

This was a really lovely wine that pairs easily with food even with its full bodied presence. It was the best wine of the holidays and at approximately $30 retail, I would look for again. I even thought that it was a fair price at $46 on Dante’s wine list.

Yum!

'07 Erath and '07 Argyle Pinot Noir - Willamette Valley - Oregon

This past holiday season featured both the '07 Erath and '07 Argyle Pinot Noirs from these two Oregon - Willamette Valley produces.
I feel prices are important to mention here as both are entry level pinots for both wineries with the Erath costing $19 and the Argyle $25 at Northside Wines in Ithaca.

The Erath was tasted first and proved to be the lighter in both a visual sense and in texture with a red cherry flavor mixed light floral notes with a slight hint of spice but I also detected some bitterness to it. It's a simple wine that requires food rather than just benefiting from it. Not really a wine to talk about.

The Argyle shared a similar profile with its light ruby red color and bright cherry nose. Cherries and spice also showed in tasting with the main differentiator from Erath being its medium body and finish which was longer by comparison. I also felt that this was a simple wine that needed food.

In the end, these two wines were simply not exciting to me. Fine and certainly not flawed but just quaffers in the end.

Normally I don't have a problem with this and would just move one but in this case I want to express two opinions. First, these wines are both commonly found in wine shops across the U.S. and are likely to be the first Oregon pinots that many will taste for the first time. Oregon is a fantastic pinot noir region and I fear that drinkers new to the state might not give the next level of pinot a chance after experiencing these. Second, at approximately $20+ a bottle, better values can be had even in the entry level from Burgundy. Namely from Drouhin and Louis Latour. Like I said, not exciting and somewhat disappointing as I was hoping for just little bit more.

Happy Holidays!

Brooklyn Tasting Group: Burgundy

The Brooklyn Tasting Group got together this past Tuesday 10/28 and drank through some fantastic Burgundies.

Notes can be found here.

2006 Domaine de Mirail - Côtes de Gascogne - France

The 2006 Domaine de Mirail is a great $9 value from South West France’s Côtes de Gascogne region and made with the columbard grape, the white wine workhorse grape of the region.

The wine is pale yellow in color with a predominate aroma of green apples. There might be a bit of spice too, the kind you might find in a mulled cider.

Round and smooth texture, easy to drink and good acidity to make it very food friendly. This is a simple wine to drink and not really think about. To that end, it does everything asked of it and does it well.

A good value at $9 from Sherry Lehmann and Garnet Wines.

2004 Chateau Leoville Barton - St. Julien - Bordeaux

I recently had the opportunity to sample the ’04 Leoville Barton at Sherry Lehmann weekend tasting where proprietor Anthony Barton was signing bottles.

Before I get into my tasting scribbles, I just have to say that I loved having the opportunity to taste this wine so early in its life. I was able to sample this as a barrel sample in 2005 and picked up a few bottles to lay down for a while. Being able to sample this young and chart its development without having to pop the cork on a $50+ bottle is great!

Dark and almost black in color. Concentrated with a lot of complex and rich aromas. These include black currants and charcoal/smoky aroma among others. Still very vary tannic. This needs a long time to soften up. Velvety texture and a very long finish.

This wine is very good and I can’t wait to pop open another bottle in 10 years time.

2005 Fiefs de Lagrange – St. Julien – Bordeaux

Another wine that is still on the young side but this was opened as a way to “guess” at what the ’05 Lagrange; the first wine of the estate where Fiefs de Lagrange is the second wine; will taste like when ready a few years from now.

This is purple hued with tar notes and nice ripe fruits consisting mainly of black currant. Its earthy with nice overall aromatics.

Dry and slightly tannic texture so even this could still use another couple years of age to soften up some.

The dark jammy black currant also comes out on the taste.

Medium bodied with a long finish.

1999 Le Moulin – Pomerol – Bordeaux

This is a wine I had been wanting to try for a long time, namely because Robert Parker has said that the 1999 Le Moulin “exhibits a kinship with the famed Pomerol, Le Pin.” But consider this. I picked this up for $50 from WineBid.com where the 1999 Le Pin retails for $1000+ a bottle if you can find it!

This is an inky purple in color with a gorgeous and complex aroma of black fruit consisting of blackberry and cassis. But there is also a tart raspberry on the red side. Most noticeable is the spice which consists of a noticeable mint.

Beautiful texture with smooth tannins. Dry with a long velvety finish.

2006 August West – Rosella’s Vineyard – Pinot Noir – Santa Lucia Highlands - California

Brick red with a somewhat rustic and rough essence to it. Slightly vegetal on the nose but this is overshadowed by the nice dark fruit, noticeably blueberry. There are also nice black cherry notes here too.

Smooth, well balanced and with a medium long finish. Surprisingly, at 14.7% alcohol, you don’t really notice it on the taste (but do so after helping finish off a bottle!)

Very nice overall. $45 from the August West website.

2004 Chateau La Nerthe – Chateauneuf du Pape – Rhone – France

This is a blend of 56% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 12% Mourvedre, and 8% Cinsault. It’s also another wine I bought and decided to open up before it had much age on it as a way to gauge what “young” wines taste like.

This has nice dark fruit aromas black currant and black cherry along with dark violets and chocolate. Most noticeable though are the white pepper aromas that emerge at the end. It is a deep rich purple color with a somewhat tannic structure but still smooth (although it would certainly become smoother with age.

This is a nice and solid wine that although it drinks well know, I can tell that with enough age (or air), it will just soften and blossom.

2005 Chateau Kefraya “Les Breteches” – Bekka Valley – Lebanon

Dark purple color with fruit notes, most predominant being blackberry. Cedar as well. There is also noticeable but not overpowering alcohol. On the taste there is a nice mix of tea and spices. Full bodied and creamy texture with soft tannins.

Good wine. This Chateau Kefraya is $13 from Northside Wines in Ithaca, New York and it’s a nice and affordable example of what Lebanon has to offer in wine.

2005 Moshin Vineyards – Russian River Valley – Pinot Noir – California

Cheery red color with a spicy nose mixed in with oak. Fruit is in the background but what is there is mainly cherry. Interestingly, this wine seems like its high in alcohol / “hot” with it coming more noticeably on the nose but also on the taste. I say this is interesting because the alcohol level is listed at 13% which I don’t consider to be excessive. Slightly tannic with a medium long finish.

This was a $30 winery purchase from our trip to California last year. The Moshin winery itself was interesting (we got the tour) as it is a gravity flow and they hold the philosophy of going light with grape manipulation.

This wine is their entry level Pinot Noir. I think its aromatics are better than its taste or texture and because of that, its an ok effort but that’s it.

2005 Marquis de Fonsequille – Vacqueyras – Rhone – France

Purple hued with red brick towards the edges. Overall fruit forward with predominate cherry and strawberry notes. Accented by cedar aromas.

Medium bodied with overall good balance of fruit and acidity. Soft and round texture but with a somewhat short finish.

Overall decent wine and at $15 from Northside Wines in Ithaca, not bad. Would by again.