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

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

Bordeaux Mega Tasting...

Here are my thoughts on the Zachy’s ‘05/’06 Bordeaux tasting I attended in January ’09 at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers…

I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to list all the wines I tasted that night and let you all go…”wow”… He tasted all that? How cool!

Let me also say this, from the list below I couldn’t tell you more than 5 wines that night that really stood out to me in such a way that I could accurately describe them with anything that remotely looks like a note.

And of the ones that stood out, with the exception of maybe a couple, I think they stood out simply because they were big and rich enough to express themselves louder than the rest.

That said, I do believe that I got a general idea that these wines were good in the context of the ’05 Bordeaux vintage being a “good year” and honestly, it was pretty cool to be able to taste all these great wines that I would have a really hard time affording in today’s economic climate!

The Wines…

Les Ormes de Pez ‘05
Les Ormes de Pez ‘06

Lynch Bages ‘05
Clerc Milon ‘05
Clerc Milon ‘06
d’Armailhac ‘05
d’Armailhac ‘06
Pichon Longueville Baron ‘05
Pichon Longueville Baron ‘06
Pichon Lalande ‘05
Pichon Lalande ‘06
Pontet Canet ‘05
Pontet Canet ‘06

Beychevelle ‘05
Beychevelle ‘06
Branaire Ducru ‘05
Branaire Ducru ‘06
Gruaud Larose ‘05
Gruaud Larose ‘06
Lagrange ‘05
Lagrange ‘06
St. Pierre ‘05
St. Pierre ‘06
Leoville Poyferre ‘05
Leoville Poyferre ‘06
Talbot ‘05
Talbot ‘06

Brane Cantenac ‘05
Brane Cantenac ‘06
Cantenac Brown ‘05
Cantenac Brown ‘06
Prieure Lichine ‘05
Prieure Lichine ‘06
Kirwan ‘05
Kirwan ‘06
Du Tertre ‘05
Du Tertre ‘06
Giscours ‘05
Giscours ‘06
Labegorce ‘05
Labegorce ‘06
Malescot St. Exupery ‘05
Malescot St. Exupery ‘06
Marquis de Terme ‘05
Marquis de Terme ‘06

La Louviere Blanc ‘05
La Louviere Blanc ‘06
Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc ‘05
Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc ‘06
Larrivet Haut Brion ‘05
Larrivet Haut Brion ‘06
Latour Martillac ‘05
Les Carmes Haut Brion ‘05
Les Carmes Haut Brion ‘06
Malartic La Graviere Blanc ‘05
Malartic La Graviere ‘05
Malartic La Graviere ‘06
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc ‘05
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc ‘06

Beauregard ‘05
Beauregard ‘06
Clinet ‘05
Clinet ‘06
Gazin ‘05
Gazin ‘06
La Cabanne ‘05
La Cabanne ‘06
Petit Village ‘05
Petit Village ‘06
Angelus ‘05
Angelus ‘06
Beau Sejour Becot ‘05
Beau Sejour Becot ‘06
Canon La Gaffeliere ‘05
Canon La Gaffeliere ‘06
Figeac ‘05
Figeac ‘06
Larcis Ducasse ‘05
Larcis Ducasse ‘06
Pavie Macquin ‘05
Pavie Macquin ‘06
La Gaffeliere ‘05
La Gaffeliere ‘06
Troplong Mondot ‘05
Troplong Mondot ‘06
Trottevielle ‘05
Trottevielle ‘06

Climens ‘05
Climens ‘06
Doisy Daene ‘05
Doisy Daene ‘06
Guiraud ‘05
Guiraud ‘06
La Tour Blanche ‘05
La Tour Blanche ‘06
Lafaurie Peyraguey ‘05
Lafaurie Peyraguey ‘06
Sigalas Rabaud ‘06
Suduiraut ‘05
Suduiraut ‘06

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.