2000 Beau-Site – St. Espephe – Bordeaux

This is a very nice, solid, affodabl wine that I believe was approximaly $20 on realase in 2003. It has aged well over the past 9 years and it drinking well right now.

Dark purple hued with notes of plum, oak, tabac, smoke and an overall earthiness. The plum also comes through on the taste but mixed in well with the secondary notes. Medium bodied with sweet tannins and a medium long finish.

A solid wine. At the price I paid, I wish I had more of these. Also, I don’t think these are going to get much better with additional bottle age but its so good now I don’t see why you would want to wait any longer!

The Tasting Group Tries Out Loire Valley Wines...

The Food Network Wine Group got together last Thursday and tasted through a fantastic selection of Loire Valley whites and reds.

The wines…

’08 Chinon Rose - Wilfrid Rousse – This light pink wine had green apple and grapefruit notes. A little tart but not unpleasant. Juicy and mouthwatering with great acidity.

’08 Cheverny Blanc – Domaine Francois Cazin – Light gold in color with a lot of minerality. Grapefruit notes and a little bit of peach and floral notes mixed in. A little tart but with juicy acdity and a smooth, medium long finish. This wine is unfiltered and a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc and an interesting addition of 15% Chardonnay which addes to the weight of this wine. Very good.

’06 Chenin Blanc “La Croix Boissee” - Domaine Bernard Baudry – Golden colored with a flowery aroma mixed in with a hint of petrol. It might not sound like a good combination but it works. Grapefruit and peach on the taste but also slightly earthy too. Another incongruous combination that works. Rich texture with a long finish. Very good and the wine of the night for most attendees.

’99 Le L d’Or Muscadet Serve et Maine – Domaine Pierre Lineau Papin – What was most interesting about this wine was the age. It allowed a glimpse in at what a well made Loire would taste like with a little bit of time in the bottle. Very minerally with green apple and another dose of petrol and a touch of floral notes, similar to the Baudry. Hay colored and dry. What was different about this wine is that it had more in common with a good Riesling than a Loire white. Still very good.

’03 Sancerre Los Belles Vignes – Fournier Pere & Fils – This was the first of two reds for the night. Notes of stewed meats, smoke, and cherry. Medium bodied and smooth with a medium long finish. Although the wine notes here are a little on the light side, this was a good wine and pleasant to drink. Not as complex as the whites but its not hard to imagine this as part of a backyard bbq and more than pulling its own weight.

’06 Bernard Baudry - Chinon Les Granges – This wine was fermented in stainless steel. The nose shows red fruit and a little bit of spice. Medium bodied with a medium long finish. Good wine.

Overall a great night and a nice overview of Loire Valley wines. Its an area I’m excited to learn more about.

Chambers Steet Artisanal wine tasting... (more notes)

I wanted to talk a little more about the tasting I went to at Chamber's Street earlier in the month where they hosted the “8th Annual real Wine Assault (Part 1)” which pulled together over 40 wines from over 10 producers, most of whom where there to talk about and pour their own creations.

I love events like this for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a venue to discover new wines but second and most importantly, I usually find out about wines that I would have never found about otherwise.

For one thing, the “vignerons” at this event, all French, are all small artisanal producers. These wines are not readily found in the marketplace. Another point, and this is a big one I have to work on, is that I’m not in the habit of buying random wines from growing regions that I don’t already know.

This is a BIG part of my wine education that I really have to work on. If the wines tasted are any indication, I have a lot to work on. The majority of these wines were really tasty and they came from French regions that I know relatively little about.

Three wines stood out to me.

- ’07 Terres Dorees Fleurie from Jean-Paul Brun – The lesson from this one is that I really need to explore more Cru Beaujolais.

- ’05 Coteaux du Loir “L’Effraie” from Domaine Belliviere – Lesson from this is that the Loire region is definitely an area I need to explore more. This was an excellent wine that I went back for.

- ’06 Chinon Blanc “La Croix Boissee” from Domaine Bernard Baudry – This wine was so good with fantastic minerality and structure, that it rivaled some of the best white wines I’ve ever had. While not cheap at approximately $40, the lesson here is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get world class quality from Loire whites.

All that said, school was in session for me that day.

Artisanal French Wines at Chamber's St.

Chamber Street Wines in Tribeca has some pretty good afternoon tastings. They don’t happen all the time but when they do, it’s more often than not worth the trip in from Brooklyn on a Saturday afternoon.

Such was the case on April 11th when they tested a selection of French artisanal /natural wines from Louis/Dressner Selections. The wines came mainly from the Loire and Beaujolais and in all the 10 growers who were the states poured a total of 45+ wines. Note that some estates where represented without their owners present.

They were for the most part very good with some being fantastic. The disclaimer I have to make up front is that I am not as familiar with Loire or Beaujolais as I would like to be. On one hand I don’t have as much of a base of knowledge to compare these wines to. On the other, it was a great educational experience.

I’m terrible at taking notes in situations like this so listed below are the Domaines and Chateau that were represented. Below that are the individual wines that stood out to me above the rest. These three bottles are the ones brought home from the tasting.

The Domaine/Chateau/Clos
Domaine de la Pѐpiere
Domaine du Closel
Domaine Pinon
Domaine Belliviѐre
Domaine Bernard Baudry
Bourgueil
Domaine des Terres Dorѐes
Clos de la Roilette
Marѐchal
Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie
De Moor
Chidaine
Clos Tue-Boeuf
Clos Roche Blanche
Domaine de Roally
Domaine Girard
Chateau D’Oupia

The Stand-Out Wines
Domaine Belliviѐre – 2005 Coteaux du Loir “L’Effraie”
Domaine Bernard Baudry – 2006 Chinon Blanc “La Criox Boissѐe”
Domaine des Terres Dorѐes – 2007 Terres Dorѐes Fleurie

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

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.

1976 Leoville Las Cases - Bordeaux - France

This wine was tasted in 2004 around my birthday in February but I just found the note now so here it is. Word for word. Disclaimer – I knew much less about wine when I wrote this. Not that I know much more now!

Just a whiff of alcohol on the nose. Little acidity. Surprisingly light cherry at the front. Medium long finish.

Has lost some of its assumed complexity over time but it does become a little more interesting towards the end with some air. The finer cherry flavor comes back and the textures softened. Very Good.

2005 Chateau de Coulaine - Chinon ''Bonnaventure'' - Loire Valley -France

This purple tinged wine is soft and plush with black fruit and an earthy texture reminiscent of picking blackberries in the words of upstate New York during the heat of summer.

Not surprisingly, the wine’s flavor is one of crushed blackberries accented by a light kiss of earthy “woodsy-ness.” Cedar? Maybe…

The soft texture really makes this very food friendly wine memorable. B+.

It can be found at Sherry-Lehmann for $17.

2006 Sauvion - Quincy ''Les Glaneuses'' – Loire Valley

This 2006 Quincy from Sauvion is pale yellow color with nice aromas of honeydew and a touch of floral.

Crisp, clean and fresh with a touch of acidity to liven it up. Tart lemon note on the tongue - but just tart enough to enhance and not detract.

Sauvigon Blanc is the grape.

This is a perfect summer quaffer and a good food wine.

Also a good value at $12 from Sherry Lehman.

Brooklyn Tasting Group: Northern Rhone

This past Thursday I had the pleasure of taking part in a tasting with the Brooklyn Tasting Group where the theme was Northern Rhone wines, both red and white.

The wines and the company where all wonderful. Kudos to our host and thanks for the invite.

eRobertParker thread with tasting notes here.

Wines included:
Cuilleron 2006 St. Joseph Blanc "Lysereas"
Chapoutier 2005 St. Joseph Blanc "Les Granits"
Vincent Paris 2006 Cornas "Granite 30"
Levet 2001 Cote Rotie
Porter Creek 2001 Syrah "Timbervine Ranch"
Jamet 1998 Cote Rotie

1995 Clos du Marquis – St. Julien – Bordeaux

A really wonderful and lovely wine which expresses everything I like about Bordeaux.

Brick red in color with the fruit bursting out of the bottle when first opened. Black current and essential dark fruit at first. This receded some to a more classic leather and cedar aroma with hints of spices. Medium bodied and elegant with soft tannins, smooth texture, medium long finish, and exquisite balance.

A+

Bought in Bordeaux on our trip in 2005 but it can be sourced for about $75 or so.

1995 Reserve de la Comtesse - Pauillac - Bordeaux - France

The 1995 Reserve de la Comtesse reminded me of everything I truly love about Bordeaux!

This lovely wine is the 2nd label of Pauillac’s Chateau Pichon Lalande, a revered 2nd growth where the main wine sells for about $100+.

This bottle was bought in Bordeaux on vacation as another way of sampling the solid ’95 vintage at a reasonable price. I believe this was about 20euro at the time where this now sells for approximately $40 in the US for the recent vintages.

As for the wine itself… Elegant and refined. Ruby red with clean notes of smoke and cedar to accompany the dark fruit. Blackberry and currant. Medium bodied. Very nice balance and a caressing medium long finish.

Certainly one of the better wines I’ve had in a while. A-…. Lovely…..

2003 Chateau do Mourre du Tendre - Côtes du Rhône - France

2003 Chateau do Mourre du Tendre is from France’s Côtes du Rhône region.
Brick red color. Earthy. Red fruit and floral notes. Maybe even cigar box or smoky notes… Regardless, somewhat complex in nature. It’s a little hard to describe but overall it has a really lovely aroma. Medium bodied. Very dry with a medium finish.

This is a good wine, especially for the money. A solid B which sells for $13 at Astor Wines.

I should also note that I just finished reading Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route and just felt the need to have a solid unassuming French red. I’m glad I did!

2006 Domaine de Montvac - Vacqueryras - Rhone - France

The 2006 Domaine de Montvac from Vacqueryras in France’s Rhone region is medium bodied with a light purple hue. Red fruit and spice on the nose. Possibly some light floral and licorice notes as well. Earthy too. Soft texture and a nice medium long finish.

Fresh.

Just a really good, solid drinking wine that paired well with the homemade mac & cheese we had for dinner.

What more could you really want! $17 from Astor Wines.