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.

2005 La Vieille Cure – Fronsac – Bordeaux

Deep inky red color with a rich bouquet of blackberry, cassis and blueberry along with oak and the slightest hints of a floral nature. But it’s hard to tell on that last one.

Concentrated, dry and tannic as I would expect a young and age worthy wine to be. But what does come across on the taste is a great combination of dark chocolate and berry.

Super long finish.

This was also opened in my quest to sample young Bordeaux at the beginning of their aging journey. Luckily I have a few more of this wine as I really think this is going to blossom.

2006 St. Innocent Pinot Gris – Vitae Vineyard – Willamette Valley – Oregon

Tasted on our recent visit to Portland, Oregon. Purchaced for $19 from a great wine shop/wine bar down the street from our hotel called Oregon Wines on Broadway.

This was straw yellow in color. Very floral with that possibly being honeysuckle or hawthorn but what the heck do I know about plant smells. (little…) Green apples are noticeable on the tongue along with apricots.

This also has a creamy texture which seems to be a hallmark of the Pinot Gris wines that I’ve liked. Medium bodied with a long finish.

Definitely worth picking up if you find it although I have never seen this one the west coast. I’ve only seen St. Innocents well made Pinot Noirs here on the east coast.

2006 Louis Michel & Fils “Montmain” – Chablis Premiere Cru – Burgundy

Straw colored wine with flinty mineral notes. There is also a nice aromatic floral essence along with some nice citrus but the “slate” really comes across the most.

There is a slightly “grassy” taste along with stone fruit but I don’t think this wine comes across as “green.”

Smooth texture with a perfect acidic touch at the end making this a great food pairing white. B. $40 at Chelsea Wine Vault.

2004 Chateau Gloria – St. Julien – Bordeaux

Inky black concentrated color with predominate aromas of black fruit and smoke. Cassis and fresh leather maybe… Hints of berry and tar… Lots going on with the smell. Dry texture with loads of tough tannins that will certainly soften over time. Somewhat “steely” right now as well. Long finish.

This wine was intentionally opened “young” and I’m in the learning stage of figuring out what age worthy wines taste like at their first/infant stages.

I’m guessing that this is a more “classic” style of Bordeaux that will be ready to drink in a few more years or a few hours in a decanter.

PS – The second half of the bottles was sealed and saved for the next day where the tannins and softened and smoothed out considerable, leaving all the aforementioned aromas in place. Much more approachable but I assume all with come together more harmoniously with actual bottle age.

2006 Clos de Rochers – Pinot Blanc – Luxembourg

I’m starting to get turned on by these wines from Luxembourg as evidenced from my past experience with Clos de Rochers.

Their Pinot Blanc is hay colored with a noticeable and pleasant minerality along with light citrus notes. The texture is round and creamy with apricot as the predominant stone fruit. It’s also noticeable in the taste. Medium finish.

A solid and overall excellent wine. It’s also an excellent value at $14 from Northside Wines in Ithaca, New York.

2006 Knapp – Dry Riesling – Finger Lakes

Pale yellow in color with a night light lime note mixed with flowers, green apples and nectarines.

This also has nice minerality, more prevalent on the taste than the nose. One thing about this wine though is that it lacks some crispness and the zip that I usually associate with Finger Lakes Riesling.

Still, this is a good wine. A perfect end if the summer quaffer.

This was $13 at Northside Wines in Ithaca, New York which makes it one of the more affordable Finger Lake Rieslings now-a-days. It’s a good wine and worth the price but like a said, best to think of this as a summer quaffer.

Enjoy!

2001 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva

This is a revisit of one of my favorite Chianti Classicos and it did not disappoint at all!

Rich red color with oak and earthy notes up front with the very well integrated dark berry and lighter cherry notes lurking just behind. Minerally and smooth with fine tannins and a long finish.

Lovely….. A!

2004 Loring Pinot Noir – Gary’s Vineyard – Santa Lucia Highlands – California

Overall, this wine actually comes across as more cocktail than wine. It’s a candied colored red with a nice black cherry and spice aroma along with hints of oak and a general all over earthiness.

Cherry cola also comes across on the taste.

The texture is surprisingly smooth at first for a 15% alcohol wine but then the heats hits you at the end.

I fell that you really have to like this “high-octane” style to enjoy this wine and generally I do but the alcohol is too exposed here.

This is an ok wine overall. B-.

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.