Tough Dame #1: Patricia Neal

In my long tenure as Geerlings & Wade's wine director (years before we became part of Winetasting.com), I was occasionally summoned to the telephone to help a member of the call center answer a difficult wine question or speak with a customer who specifically asked for me by name. That's how I first spoke with Patricia Neal.

She wanted my personal opinion, rather than our in-print descriptions on some wines she was considering. She needed wine for a function and more serious, less commercial, food-friendly values with some cellar potential for her admittedly modest personal use.

The wines that day pleased her; she used our own Hamilton Estates Merlot and Glass Ridge Vintner's Select Chardonnay for whatever that function was, and a price-sensitive Chateauneuf du Pape alternative that I liked better than the others, plus the same criteria on an Alsatian white ... food and wine savvy questions.

Since then, a few times per year I would get called to the phone because Ms. Neal wanted to talk with me. She always contacted me via the call center rather than my direct line – and made sure that the person who received her call and fetched me got the credit for her order.

I admit it, I was smitten. No way was I ever going to miss a call from that husky voice, copied by Kathleen Turner and umpteen others. She was the Mother in The Day the Earth Stood Still! Even after multiple strokes, learning to speak all over again and at an advanced age, she still possessed that wonderful instrument.

She always remembered what we had chatted about during the previous call and routinely inquired as to the (often precarious) health of my parents, in addition to doing our business. Being on the telephone with Ms. Neal was like talking to a mega-cool aunt who just happened to be my personal link to the tail end of the golden era of Hollywood, through to the breakdown of the studio system.

I only had the chutzpah one time to ask her about her career, about working with Kazan, who named names, on A Face in the Crowd. Then I told her how, as an impressionable lad, the scene with her dragging Andy Griffith into her hotel room by his collar was the most provocative thing my young eyes had seen. Instead of obtaining the obvious restraining order, she thanked me for knowing the film.

Patricia Neal died Sunday.

Though she compared portions of her life to Greek tragedy, she was a fighter. She suffered a nervous breakdown, nearly lost her infant son in a taxi accident, lost her daughter to measles in 1962 and suffered a series of strokes in 1965. The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center in Knoxville still helps patients recover from strokes, spinal cord and brain injuries.

The Fountainhead, The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Face in the Crowd, Hud -- her 1963 Oscar-winning role opposite Melvyn Douglas and Paul Newman -- all are worth the price of admission. After her strokes, she made it back to the screen in 1968, earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance in The Subject Was Roses. She also starred on Broadway and earned three Emmy nominations.

The next "old movie night" we host at our home -- we do this regularly with a small group of classic film fans -- will include The Day the Earth Stood Still, and with the meal, we'll serve two wines that she would have bought for herself . Food-friendly, they over-deliver and will improve in the bottle: the 2008 Louis Reffelingen (ALS123, $19.99, in stock soon), a Riesling from Alsace, and the 2006 Camp des Garrigues, Vacqueyras, from the Southern Rhone (RHO164, $24.99).

I could never bring myself to call her anything less formal than Ms. Neal. Knowing her paramours included Dashiell Hammett and Gary Cooper was intimidating enough.

She was my favorite "old G&W" customer. It was an honor to serve her.

Aug 10, 2010 at 11:45 AM

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If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It: Part 3

I’m sure you’re even more tired of reading this than I am of typing it: At Geerlings & Wade (and Winetasting.com), we taste and reject more wines than any other wine seller.

If we cannot find a wine, or tweak an existing bottle blend for the better, or assemble a wine from different components that delivers an optimum price/value ratio for our clients, we always walk away from that wine category. Our house brands -- four featured here in August -- are far, far more difficult, because these are wine categories we have to regularly keep in stock.

The 2008 Grass Tree, Riverina Semillon Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia (AUS299, $11.99) fills both an Australian white blend and Chardonnay alternative category. Production and tasting notes hail from the Riverina winemaking team, based in South Eastern Australia value central where we bottled this wine ... my only real contribution being a slight blend percentages adjustment.

"Warmer than usual January nights [Southern Hemisphere, remember] led to some varieties reaching maturity earlier than usual. Late ‘07 rains and some showers in January ensured fruit in good condition. With an unusually cool February, varieties that had not reached maturity in January took longer than expected to ripen. Nearly all white varieties were harvested before the end of February, with overall quality good."

"The grapes selected are chosen from vineyards that express the desired flavors. The Semillon providing citrus flavors, and the Chardonnay peach and melon flavors. The Semillon and Chardonnay were fermented separately over 12-15 days between 12°C -14°C. Selected parcels were fermented with American Oak. Approx 25% of the blend completed malolactic fermentation. This wine is designed for immediate enjoyment, or can be cellared for up to two years. Perfect with chicken, fish or salads."

Since its initial release, this Grass Tree has earned a bronze, recommended at the 2010 World Wine Championships: "Pale straw color. Aromas of toasted nuts, baked star fruit and grilled limes follow through on a soft entry to a dryish, somewhat hollow light-to-medium body with a hint of balloon dust and praline. Finishes with quick, chalky fade. (Tasted on Mar. 08, 2010.)"

Customer Marie Zonfrelli ranked it 4 stars on May 21, 2010, insisting, "If you like Semillon, you will like this wine ... nice nutty-style, good food wine ... a little sweet."

The 2008 Alazar Winery & Vineyards, Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, California (NAP975, $14.99), is the inaugural white our slightly more upscale non-Cabernet Bordeaux varietals produced in California label, Alazar eventually being expanded to encompass several Old World varietals. We worked with Rutherford Ranch's Steve Rued on this wine, who nailed the wine with minimal annoyance from me, hence his notes:

"This Sauvignon Blanc is crisp and refreshing. It has delicious stone fruit characteristics and explosive tropical aromas and flavors which distinctively reflect our Napa Valley fruit. We source grapes from warmer areas of the Valley for the grassier characteristics and blend with those from cooler sites, which give us bright tropical notes and flavors. Fermentation in 100% temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks maintain constant cool temperatures, which allow us to showcase fresh fruit aromas and crisp bright flavors."

"This stylish Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect companion to Dungeness crab cakes or a farm-fresh platter of local fruit and artisanal cheeses. The 2008 harvest followed a season of harsh frosts, unusually high temperatures and a record early start. The quality of the fruit is outstanding, producing elegant, well-structured and concentrated wines.”

Since release, this Alazar has earned both a bronze at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition and a silver at the 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Mira Luna, Crusher & Stemmer Red, California (CAL914, $12.99) is our red field blend and the first Corked comic tie-in wine. Its evolution from vintage Bordeaux blend to non-vintage field blend was adequately chronicled in our Feb. 26, 2010, blog post (When a "Corked" bottle is a good thing) and on our independent comic site, www.corkedthecomic.com.

Crusher & Stemmer Red, named for the dogs named after winery equipment in the strip, is also proudly on display in several of the nation's elite comic shops. Crusher & Stemmer fetched a silver (sorry, bad pun) at the 2010 New World International Wine Competition, and the following notes come from both comics and wine fans:

New England comics retailer Doreen Greely assigned it 5 stars: "Yummy wine! Just what I need after a hard day of selling comics! At first taste, I knew I wanted a case of this wine. Now that it is an International Silver Medalist, I hope I can still get a bottle! I highly recommend this wine!"

Carrie (no last name given) rated it 4 stars: "Little too sweet for my tastes, but overall a good wine for the price." And Sylvia Schafer made my day July 8th with her Facebook message: "I love your Mira Luna Crushers and Stemmers Wine … Fantastic red table wine!"

The 2006 Alazar Winery & Vineyards, Clarksburg Merlot, California (CAL913, $17.99) was the prototype of the entire Alazar line. The success of this California homage to Pomerol, St.Emilion and the extra-cool, early, pre-Merlot boom California Merlots spawned this somewhat upscale Bordeaux varietal produced in California line, which was eventually expanded to other Old World grape types.

Our Nov. 27, 2009, blog post (Alazar's 2006 Merlot) explains my winemaking travails wrestling with a political AVA, and why we keep the vintage in quotes. This Alazar snagged a bronze, recommended at the 2010 World Wine Championships, and is, according to the judges:

"Deep ruby color. Aromas of marinated sour cherries and roasted peppers and salt water taffy are different and follow through on a soft, silky entry to a dryish medium body with honeyed tomato and delicate spice notes. Finishes with a soft, powdery tannin fade. (Tasted on Feb. 03, 2010.)"

Another thing you're probably sick of reading here is: Don't take my word for it; take the words of the competition judges and our customers. To paraphrase Sam Spade to Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon: "We didn’t believe your story; we believed your fifty dollars."

It's my job to get the stuff in the bottle, then to you. Believe the endorsements by people who aren't on our payroll.

Jul 27, 2010 at 1:20 PM

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Building the '09 Red Brick

Red Brick Cellars, Vintner’s Select Cabernet Sauvignon has been our value-priced house brand California Cab since the late 1990’s. There have been several Red Brick label designs – we’re debuting Dave Griffin’s version with the '09 later this summer (see below).

Possibly the most painful (not just Red Brick) label ever was an indecipherable black line drawing of a brick pizza oven – it looked more like a poorly executed tattoo -- on a yellow background, with no red in it at all, and vintner’s spelled incorrectly, but the gurus of the time felt they saved on printing costs!

We devote a significant amount of work to getting our house brands right re: price/value ratio, and when based in Napa, the heart of Cabernet country, spiritual and ancestral home of the American wine business, the stakes are much, much higher.

The last few years we assembled this wine at Stonehedge Winery, with vintner Shahin Shahabi and winemaker Jon Alexander-Hills, whom we run ragged as we pillage their tanks and barrels in pursuit of the optimum blend for our clients.

Representative Red Brick awards since Stonehedge earned “Red Brick rights” include:

• 2006 vintage, bronze, 2010 World Wine Championships.
• 2005 vintage, silver 2008 New World International Wine Competition & silver, highly recommended, best buy 2008 World Wine Championships.
• 2004 vintage, bronze, 2007 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.

No one on the current team wants to be the first to break the medal chain, so to speak.

My sometimes-less-than-flattering, most recent “road to the 09 Red Brick” notes, nastiness that’s rarely made public, follow.

March 22, 2010:
08 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Brilliant garnet.
• Perfumed brown over red fruits nose, as much leather, lavender and tree bark as berries.
• Soft, supple and pretty, with up front tannins.
• Want more heft, extraction and power – right now it’s too balanced and pretty…

April 23, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (base wine Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Thought I was receiving re-blended 08?
• Too translucent garnet.
• Herbaceous, jammy, juicy cassis/currant nose.
• Delicate & pretty, but insubstantial and one-dimensional cassis/currant flavors.

09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (final blend Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Thought I was receiving re-blended 08?
• Murky garnet.
• Herbaceous, meaty pepper/currant/cassis nose, some vanillin.
• Heft & feel OK, want more “textbook” varietal fruit extraction and am nervous re: the potential life span.
• Needs more extraction and structure – need to “feel” the wine a bit more…

May 7, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, (93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petite Sirah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Somewhat translucent garnet to brick.
• Slightly meaty currant/cassis nose, with lavender & vanilla hints.
• Somewhat extracted, earth, tannic red & brown fruit flavors.
• Need more color, weight and heft.

09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Petite Sirah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Inky garnet.
• Black & brown fruits nose – pepper, leather & earth over currant/cassis.
• Brawny, lush, hefty, textural black fruits flavors, chocolate hints.

Follow up on at 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petite Sirah…

May 21, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petite Sirah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Purple garnet.
• Floral, concentrated, gutsy cassis/currant nose.
• Varietal fruit, ripe, round tannins plus brawn – black earth, spice & tar.

09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Syrah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Garnet-to-brick.
• Refined varietal fruit nose, elegant & balanced.
• As it smells, supple, accessible, beginner-friendly.

Either '09 Stonehedge is good enough to become Red Brick, am requesting 8% Petite + 8% Syrah to see if we can further bring out the best of both samples…

May 26, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (84% Cabernet, 8% Petite Sirah, 8% Syrah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Inky, almost opaque garnet.
• Meaty, earthy brown & black fruits notes beneath the currant/cassis nose.
• Supple but gutsy extracted varietal fruit supported by ripe, round, up front tannins.
• Accessible but serious, also covers the "only can feel rather than taste" Cabernet users.
• Serious, follow up on…

Please be on the lookout later this summer for CAL921, '09 Red Brick Cellars, Vintner’s Select Cabernet Sauvignon, California, now that you know the brick-by-brick story of its construction. (Sorry, can’t resist bad puns.)

Jul 14, 2010 at 9:37 AM

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If You’ve Got It, Flaunt it!

I’ve said and written this a zillion times before...At Geerlings & Wade/Winetasting.com, we take every wine we offer to our clients seriously. However, we devote the most scrutiny to our house brands. Bottling house brand labels is the toughest job I have. In our non-house brand offerings, if we are not satisfied that the wine over-delivers – if it does not represent optimum price/value ratio, we are not obligated to offer the wine category. Not so with our house brands - these categories are always among our top sellers, so there’s no net – the option to walk away when unsatisfied does not exist.

We taste literally hundreds upon hundreds of candidate wines for each category in the region where said appropriate wine type is produced. If we cannot find a wine good enough for us to use, we search for an existing bottle blend that approaches what we’re looking for, then modify that blend to what we need. And if tweaking the blend won’t work, we locate a base wine, and/or several components, then assemble the entire wine ourselves. Sometimes the appellation will vary, sometimes the price point varies, but the quality and price/value ratio our house brands historically deliver does not waver.

CAL917, 09 Glass Ridge, California Pinot Grigio:
This is the second ever Glass Ridge Pinot Grigio release. Glass Ridge had exclusively been our $9.99 California Chardonnay label. After much teeth-gnashing (chronicled ad nauseum in our March 26, 2010 blog) we expanded Glass Ridge to include California Pinot Grigio, as we could not unearth any 08 Italian Pinot Grigio good enough at the price our clients were willing to pay for PG, and living without was out of the question. The inaugural California vintage, CAL916, $11.99 08 Glass Ridge Pinot Grigio, went on to earn a silver at the 2010 New World International Wine Competition. But my agita remained uncured. We could only bottle about one-half the wine we needed out of that first 08 vintage, so we fashioned the Pinot Grigio balance in 09, with the help of Rutherford Ranch’s Steve Rued. Speaking strictly in generalities, this is the more satisfying project for me of the two, the 09 being slightly more Old World in style, and adequate Pinot Grigio volume in house allows me once more to go back to turning over the rocks in Northern Italy.

We’ve now reached the “don’t just take my word for it, believe the critics, who are not on our payroll” section of this July features blog…

SON573, 09 Mira Luna, Tough Day Chardonnay, Sonoma Carneros, California:
This “Corked” the comic tie-in debuted with our February 26, 2010 blog, “When a “Corked” bottle is a Good Thing…” which you can still see here, as well as in an appearance at www.corkedthecomic.com. Since that date, the wine has become the fastest selling >$9.99 white in our 20-plus year company history, and earned a silver at the 2010 World Wine Championships. The competition notes read “Aromas of pineapple segments, floral waxy lip balm, and tropical fruit custard have a peppery spice edge and follow through on a brisk entry to a tart, dry light-to-medium body with nice smoothness. Finishes with a baked apple and orange peel fade. (tasted on Mar-04-2010)”.

CAL899, 08 Hamilton Estates, Merlot, California:
If we were forced to pick a flagship wine, it would be Hamilton Estates, Merlot’s standard-bearer for quality at $9.99. Always our number-one seller, the Hamilton history was adequately chronicled in our October 21, 2009 blog, “Bad Ideas to Best Seller”. Again, don’t listen to me, the current Hamilton earned a bronze at the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition, followed by a silver, best buy, from the 2010 World Wine Championships, where the following notes hail from “Aromas of cocoa, cracked pepper, and roasted nuts follow through on a soft entry to a dry-yet-fruity medium body with dried cherry, Naughahyde, and berry notes. Finishes with a tangy, slightly leafy, dusty tannin fade. (tasted on Feb-03-2010)”.

SON568, 08 Alazar Winery & Vineyards, Sonoma County Sangiovese, California:
We nailed it on our first-ever Alazar Sangiovese! This release began as a humble line extension test, as Alazar has been evolving from our non-Cabernet Bordeaux varietals bottled in California label – originally one-up-from-Hamilton Estates Merlot and more recently, upscale Sauvignon Blanc, to now include other bottled-in-California Old World varietals that require Bordeaux bottle stock. You don’t have to listen to me listen to me blubber on about this Sonoma County Sangiovese though that’s my job – believe the following silver, highly recommended, best buy rating earned at the 2010 World Wine Championships, “Blueberry, tomato and herb aromas have nice purity and follow through on a supple entry to a dryish, savory medium-to-full body with a firm, char roasted pepper and powdery tannin finish. Try with fajitas or pate. (tasted on May-10-2010)”.

Jun 28, 2010 at 12:05 PM

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Saga of the Black Shadow

Black Shadow was traditionally our Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel label, created to accompany Tria, which belonged to a now-defunct partner company. Early in the game Mira Luna became our Burgundian varietals label, Black Shadow keeping Syrah and Zinfandel duty. Since much of the label design work was originally done by said partner, though we liked the Black Shadow name, we knew we had gotten the short end of the label art stick. But, true to our mission, we remained proud of what we put in the bottle, as evidenced by my following blog from November 2009…

Black Shadow is traditionally our own Syrah and Zinfandel label
Philip Zorn and Brent Shortridge. If this wine were the model for the Aussies, Shiraz would still be the current vin du jour!

Mother Nature’s magnificent 2007 Central Coast fruit, fermented in stainless steel, malolactic completed in French oak (20% new), and barrel aged one year prior to bottling. Dark and dense while complex and beautifully balanced. Sleek and supple in the mouth. Blueberry, blackberry and pepper flavors, over vanilla and all spice, due to nicely integrated oak. A touch of minerals present, just enough to remind you that this is an agricultural product. Other tasters identified dried black cherry, plum, molasses, tobacco and leather – perfect barbecue wine. This will become the thinking person’s house red for the duration.

The wine went on to earn a silver, highly recommended, best buy at the 2009 World Wine Championships.

As Geerlings & Wade and Winetasting.com further distanced ourselves from that bankrupt partner company, we asked creative director Dave Griffin to re-do our weaker label designs in the same sequence that we were preparing the next wines to bottle. For those of you that do not know, Dave is the Will Elder to my Harvey Kurtzman in our bite-the-wine-industry-hand-that-feeds-us comic strip http://www.corkedthecomic.com, episode 21 being the most recent installment.

Here are designs we did not use, with Dave’s notes on what he was striving for with each. Please keep in mind he was designing for Zinfandel too, traditionally in a Bordeaux bottle. ”This was originally designed for a Bordeaux bottle, the first early design incorporated the shadow, which seemed to be the obvious first step in redesign since that’s what it’s called. I liked the idea of having a dramatic, elongated shadow and started off using it on the word Black. It had a noirish feel to it which I liked (We’re currently working on a label/wine with homage to film noir, so stay tuned.)

The second version I put the shadow under the word shadow which seemed to work better.

The third version I decided to add color so I kept the some of the brand identity of the old design and added the purple (a little lighter purple to make the shadow pop more.) That eventually transformed into the final Syrah design. Still keeping that elongated shadow but this time a little more subtle by changing the shape of the purple block. I still kept the effect I wanted, which was to create a 3-D effect on the word shadow.”

The Winner...

I voted for the new, current design because it looks great on either a dark green Burgundy or Bordeaux bottle full of deep red wine. 2) Finally, a shadow effect on a label with “shadow” in the name! 3) I also like the way the black on purple shadow expands to the far right, as most Americans read left-to-right.

Here’s my step-by-step notes on the wine in the bottle with the newly designed label, CAL919, $14.99 06 Black Shadow, North Coast Syrah, California...

January 22, 2010
Final blend:
Not quite opaque purple to garnet. Nailed the nose! Pepper, graphite, smoke and a cooked bacon hint. First impression is one-dimensional it’s so balanced and integrated – sleek nose flavors plus a jammy blackberry element.

Rejected higher rs blend variation:
Not quite opaque purple to garnet. Missing what makes the previous Syrah special, floral, homogenized, soft, round. Really is one-dimensional, gone from varietal to soft, round jug wine – lost the character.

May 20, 2010 QC tasting right after bottling:
Almost opaque garnet to brick. Meaty/bacon, graphite, smoke & pepper over a core of jammy blackberry fruit. Sleek & supple, with adequate tannins, tastes just like it smells – accessible to all – domestic, Rhone & OZ Syrah fans. Look forward to the 2 weeks in bottle QC tasting!

May 28, 2010 final QC tasting - stabilization:
$14.99 06 Black Shadow, North Coast Syrah is OK to turn on, put in both warehouses and offer to our clients. We nailed this with both the wine, which over-delivers, and the re-designed label.

As you can see, we strove to make this new wine in the bottle worthy of the new label on the bottle.

Jun 21, 2010 at 4:35 PM

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Swoon over these June features so you don't have to hear me croon during the late June full moon -

 my inner Bing Crosby really isn't working well today...

CHI125, $14.99 2009 Vina Sutil Colchagua Estate, Colchagua Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Chile:
Sauvignon Blanc may have emerged as Chile's signature white, as the Chileans continue to figure out what works best there. At the very least it's a sensible alternative to the other Southern Hemisphere Sauvignons, particularly because the Chileans are less likely to fall in love with their own press. In this 09 Vina Sutil, Loire Valley tradition, 100% varietal, no oak, meets New World terroir in "Chile's Napa Valley". Fresh, vibrant gooseberry, herbs, grapefruit and pineapple aromas and flavors mark this as the perfect into-the-warm-weather-affordable-white. And keeping the recent Chilean earthquakes in mind, supply is not what it should be, so you're advised to take advantage while we've still got the wine in stock. Chile no longer means cheap, it now means exemplary price/value ratio, as represented by this 2010 World Wine Championships silver medal winner, highly recommended, best buy. For a true "a-ha moment" pair the 2009 Sutil Sauvignon with goat cheese.

ITA683, $14.99 2008 Feudo Marino, Nero d'Avola, Sicilia IGT, Italy:
Nero d'Avola may be the best known grape of Sicily, aka Italian Value Central. This 08 bottling from legendary Northeast vintner Gian Andrea Tinazzi, who has expanded his empire to the south & Islands, is perfect for barbeque. I teach Nero d'Avola to beginners as the love-child of two previous American vins du jour - Syrah and Pinot Noir. Deceivingly dark like Syrah, it is also sleek and supple in the mouth, with that same chameleon quality Syrah has that works well with a wide variety of foods. And it exhibits the same heft, feel and quite fruit driven, less tannic quality as Pinot Noir - beginner friendly while serious simultaneously. Slightly rustic cherry & rhubarb aromas and flavors beg for Mediterranean cuisine.

ITA670, $19.99 2007 Salvano, Barbera d'Alba, Piedmont, Italy:
The locals that produce Barolo and Barbaresco drink Barbera at home - they sell them big Nebbiolos at export for top Euro. The 07 Salvano price/value factor is exceptionally strong here, as Barbera is somewhat out of favor in the New World. This "wily" grape is a vintner's favorite, unfurling vibrant, exhuberant herbaceous raspberry aromas and flavors that display the local terroir - it's fruit driven with immense character. The Salvanos don't overdo the oak, which allows the raspberry and powdery, rustic dark chocolate dust components to sing. Time for smoked turkey on the grill.

From November 2, 2010 blog:
CAL893, $19.99 2005 San Valencia Winery, Reserve Malbec, Mendocino County, California:

San Valencia Winery is our almost-too-good-to-be-true-deal California label Shahin Shahabi, Dennis Patton, Jon Alexander-Hills.

Is Argentine Malbec still the current vin du jour, or is it Malbec, the wine grape? Argentina clearly benefits from varietal labeling – there was no Malbec madness in the US due to it being a part of the traditional Bordeaux blend. Even less Americans know the “black wine of Cahors”, in spite of the region’s recent educational blitzes. When compared with Argentina, a stronger US dollar makes most Argentine Malbec sold here at least as much about price as it is about quality. But at the $15 and up price points, it becomes far more about value - does the wine deliver - and just like the Merlot boom of 15-20 years ago, Argentine Malbec at the most affordable price ranges has slipped. Supply and demand, Argentina’s fiscal strength and the world financial crisis have all eroded price/value ratios. Most of all I miss the display of affordable complexity – inky purple fruit juxtaposed against a delicate violets nose, followed by juicy, yet still rustic fruit – too many wines are now “homogenized”, lacking any sort of personality or dimension. What I am find more and more is that non-Argentine Malbecs often now clearly out-deliver the world market leader when at the same price. Time to abandon the soapbox…the cost-effective Mendocino County fruit for this gem hails from one of the best vineyard sites in Sanel Valley, Southern Mendocino County. Here, the “reserve” on the label is not just a legal marketing term, as was we culled this lot out of a somewhat larger production that retails for approaching $30 per bottle - our San Valencia label, remember – feeling it has about a 10 year bottle age potential. Small tank fermentation was the key, allowing the dense, inky purple-black color to emerge. An almost dainty floral nose leads into a hefty, slightly rustic (plenty of pepper) juicy, soft, silky mouthfeel bursting with black cherries, blackberries, anise, hazelnut and white chocolate. This Malbec will be magnificent - give the Argentines credit where credit is due – they know their beef - with a grilled steak, chimichurri sauce and fries.

Don't just take my word for it - I'm the guy that puts these features in the bottle! I'd rather you believe the 2010 World Wine Championships panel of judges, who awarded this 2005 San Valencia Winery Malbec a silver medal, highly recommended...
 

May 25, 2010 at 2:25 PM

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May Day Parade, Geerlings & Wade and Winetasting.com Style

Instead of traipsing our military might, equipment and workers through Red Square in front of the state’s military and political leaders, for May we’re parading this month’s award-winning and soon-to-be award-winning features for our clients.

LAK021, $14.99 2007 Lakeville Cellars, Maxwell Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County, California:
bronze, recommended 2008 WWC
Sauvignon Blanc remains the Rodney Dangerfield of the big three whites in the US, though people really should be lining up for this versatile gem. Vintner Hossein Namdar owns one of the greatest sites for Sauvignon in the nation, Lake County’s Maxwell Vineyard. He, Bob Goyette and I bottled this Loire tradition Sauvignon (100% varietal, no oak) under the guidance of the world’s number one winemaker, Mother Nature, in her quite accessible 2007 vintage. This textbook high quality Sauvignon displays old world winemaking traditions in the service of top new world terroir. Tangy acidity supports aromas and flavors of herbs, lemon-lime (7 Up!), figs, grapefruit and pineapple, all nicely integrated. Perfect as the warm weather approaches, particularly with salads and seafood.

ITA684, $14.99 2008 Masserie Civitella, Rossone, Negro Amaro Malvasia Nera, Salento IGT, Italy
OK, so they’re not gonna be asking for this Puglian red by name, but once they taste it, they’ll be fighting over the rest of the bottle - the price/value ratio here is off the charts! Legendary Northeast Italy vintner Gian Andrea Tinazzi also works down South, (as well as in Abruzzi) and we’re offering his version of the traditionally-already-among the-greatest–of-values, the Salice Salentino Riserva blend. Tinazzi uses the identical local Puglian grapes, but sourced from slightly beyond the area boundaries. The less expensive raw materials, Tinazzi winemaking ability, plus the unique local techniques, yield additional value. Floral, mature-but-not-old red berry and plum aromas and flavors, framed in toasty vanilla and cigar box oak, supply the hook. Beginner friendly, yet rustic and earthy, with the smooth, supple feel and heft of the finest California Merlots, this wine works well with most white and red meats. Guaranteed-to-be-an-award-winner-soon, the Puglian delivers accessibility and character via virtuoso wine-making, but you’ll be too busy enjoying it to take notice.

AUS292, $17.99 2007 Strongroom, Geographe Shiraz, Western Australia
silver, highly recommended 2010 WWC
Australian wines are in an interesting place right now in the US. Recently forced to sell their wines as fine wine, rather than subsidized, low price commodities with a gimmick, the jury is still out on how many down under bottlings really stack up now, dollar-for-dollar apples-to-apples with the rest of the wine world, and if the buying public will continue to embrace them. Since Western Australia has always been one of the country’s lesser known and undervalued regions, I suspect that at least WA wines will be able to continue to expand on their tiny American market share, hence this signature-Aussie-red Shiraz feature. Since I’m flogging the 07 Strongroom, from a relatively new Geographe appellation, as an optimum value versus the rest of the planet’s Syrahs, I’d rather that you heed the notes of the 2010 World Wine Championships judges – don’t just take my word for it: "Dense inky violet black color. Aromas of blueberry compote and eucalyptus follow through on a round, supple entry to a dry-yet-fruity medium-full body with great spicy depth and a rounded creme brulee note. Finishes with a long, juicy tangy fade. A delicious, zesty shiraz for sipping or the table"

(re-purposed from November, 2009)
NAP960, $24.99 2004 Brava Terra Reserve, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, California:
silver, highly recommended 2010 WWC
Brava Terra is our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon label and we almost never - one time in the past twelve years – bottle a Brava Terra Reserve, to give some perspective as to how special this wine really is. Fruit for the 04 Brava Terra Reserve originated at a model-for-sustainability, a family-owned ranch farmed in a tranquil corner of Napa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is one the family’s trademark varietals. Here the Napa Valley ‘s warm days and cool nights are exaggerated a bit, due to elevation and distance from the moderating influences of the San Francisco Bay. This yields ripe, luscious fruit with crisp acidity – well balanced grapes that produce well balanced wines. Enough stress on the vines insures concentrated, complex flavors. This yields rich, sophisticated, accessible-when-young wines that unfurl layer upon layer with bottle age. And this 2004 was already aged for two additional years on the family’s dime! (Most of Napa Valley is shipping 2006’s or 2007’s.) This is classic, delicious now, intense, luxurious Napa Cab. A blueberry, cherry and currant nose precedes explosive cassis, cherry and anise flavors in the mouth. The topper is that we’ve seen current vintages of Cabernet from this ranch for $30 to $40 per bottle, back vintages at $100 to $130. And since this $24.99 wine will continue to age gracefully minimum another six years, I’ll let you do the back vintage price math…

And not a politician in sight!
 

Apr 28, 2010 at 1:32 PM

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On the Road - Vinitaly 2010 with Winetasting.com and Geerlings & Wade

Monday, April 5
Arrived at the van Hoof’s Rotterdam office from Boston via Amsterdam.
No rest for the jet-lagged.
Tasted through a group of wines previously filtered by Peter, Annie and their panel: Spain, the Loire Valley, the Southern Rhone and Bordeaux.
Lowlights included a Spanish white with approximately the same make up as our SON573, 09 Mira Luna, Tough Day Chardonnay – more on that theme to follow – it seems that other vintners world-wide realize we have a hit on our hands…
More interested in the 09 Cabernet d’Anjou from Domaine de la Treille, perfect picnic-in-a-bottle rose.
Liked a value priced Bordeaux Superieur, 09 Ch Pudris and the 08 Domaine de Clos Godeaux Chinon was perfect – textbook Cabernet Franc.
Later, with the panel, went through, some would claim tortured by, 21 Nebbiolos, impressed by the 06 Moscone and the 08 Le Cecche.

Tuesday, April 6
Travel day, took the Petermobile to Monte Carasso-Belinzona, Switzerland.
Traffic gods were with us, and in addition to sketching out our European wine plan through 2011, we commenced the annual taste-while-we-drive review of Western European branded chocolates: Dutch, Belgian, French, German, Swiss and Italian, with Belgian clinging to a narrow lead over Swiss.

Wednesday, April 7
Picked up Matt at the airport outside of Milan, which really needs to improve on the signage.
Italians mistook Matt for a visiting fashionista, while the rest of our party couldn’t quite make that claim.
Checked into our hotel in Bardolino, then visited the city of Verona for a couple of hours – checked out the arena, bought my 2010 Gambero Rosso guide in English, comics by Manara for Dave Griffin, and searched for serious balsamico.
Pizza and beer as a snack, lasagna with pesto for dinner – carbo loading for the show.
My cell phone and Peter’s windshield were the day’s casualty – Peter driving a bit too much like an Italian.

Thursday, April 8
Visited 11 old suppliers, as Matt had not met many of these folks face-to-face.
Scored a bit more devilishly good ITA666, 05 Tenuta San Vito, Madiere for the holiday season!
Nick Magnelli’s 05 Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino was as accessible a young wine as I’ve tasted from him, and his 04 Riserva was nothing short of breathtaking.
Paolo Masi and the Castellanis continue to rule the Tuscan price/value ratio.
Today’s lowlight was our time at the Giarola stand, seven people, no two common languages, but we still believe in their wines.
Interesting $69.99 Passione, from Beccarello, Amarone-style in a Voss water bottle type package, but more for fun than business.
Fettucine with salmon for dinner in Bardolino.

Friday, April 9
Visited 18 suppliers and potential suppliers.
Lots of great wines: 09 Marrone Arneis, Dolcetto & 06 Barolo – Matt would have bought all of this for his personal use.
06 Salvano Barbaresco proved to be a steal, if the word “steal” can really apply to the Barbaresco category.
Would have purchased the entire 06 Icardi Barbaresco production on the spot if I didn’t have my calculator with me and if the Icardis hadn’t attempted to foist a Piedmont Tough Day Chardonnay knock off on us.
Pizza and beer for supper, carbo loading for the drive back to Rotterdam.

Saturday, April 10
Left our hotel in Bardolino at the crack of dawn, got Matt to Malpensa Airport on time, eventually arrived in Rotterdam at 10 PM.
Between preparing our Vinitaly follow up plan, we declared commercial Belgian, Swiss and Dutch chocolates, our finalists in each round, the winners.

Sunday, April 11
Remembered to pack Choco Miel and honey-based-soap from Weyns in Antwerp for my wife, plus some nice Dutch chocolates and some tacky ones sporting Rembrandt and Frans Hals paintings on the labels.
Couldn’t find any with Vermeer labels.
Disappointed with all of today’s whites except for the 09 Pouilly Fume from ever-reliable Katia Galiez at Domaine de Bel Air.
Found a couple more value priced Bordeaux rouge to consider, 06 Ch Latapie eleve en futs de chene and 08 Ch L’Escart, Bordeau Superieur.
All of the wines tasted from Le Cecche were masterful - Dolcetto, Barbera & Nebbiolo were like listening to Pops or Lady Day singing tin pan alley – interpretation transcends the material.
Finished “Bite Me” by Christopher Moore and most of “The Godfather of Kathmandu” by John Burdett on the flight back to Boston.

 

Apr 14, 2010 at 9:46 AM

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April is the coolest month, breeding libations out of the sustainably farmed land…

CAL916, $11.99 2008 Glass Ridge, California Pinot Grigio:
I’m typing this on a late Wednesday in March, and decided to lead with the white wine feature because on Monday I received the 2010 New World International Wine Competition silver medal notification for this, our first ever Glass (value-is-my-middle-name) Ridge Pinot Grigio.

Why bother with California Pinot Grigio? Is it really an affirmation of Old World heritage - a labor of love for West Coast vintners and winemakers with last names that end in a vowel, or is it a blatant attempt to carve back a slice from the still-growing Italian white wine market share for the Golden State? In California’s favor, is the bulk of the Pinot Grigio consumed in the States with any thought towards its Northeast Italian origins? I suspect most is used as a cocktail, far less, for example, than when carefully paired with a Veronese seafood and rice dish. Still, “Sketches of Spain” remains a masterpiece, though Miles Davis & Gil Evans were not Spanish.

Is there anything special about Pinot Grigio, ignoring geography for a minute? Any honest wine merchant will tell you that it sells like crazy, and the subsequent cash flow generated helps support said merchant’s ability to offer more interesting and expensive wines. Pinot Grigio is partially responsible for the current shift away from oaked whites. And since when is an introductory fine white for the masses a bad thing? Wine is supposed to be a beverage of pleasure, which we jaded industry types often forget. To take this even further, as a fledgling wine bottler I was taught that we have an obligation to steer clients to Alsatian (formerly Tokay) Pinot Gris and the like from Oregon and New Zealand, “wines that Pinot Grigio wants to be when it grows up”, but elitism never pairs well with a tough economy.

Tasted table loads of affordable 2008 Pinot Grigios to unearth this wine, including more non-Italians than ever before. Shorter form is that all of the wines making the first cut confirmed the ubiquitous generic Italian white wine traits of light, clean, crisp, refreshing, with no oak. Second cut, wines exhibited some sort of pronounced white flower nose and in the mouth, melon. Some of the more complex (and pricey, it turns out) wines also displayed aromas and flavors of dates, figs and nuts. Where Old World versus New really was apparent, the Italians proved uniformly a touch lighter in body, featured mineral elements in both the nose and on the palate, and boasted fresh acidity. Californians, side-by-side comparison, possessed more body, texture and, to a wine, were a little sweeter. Ginger ale versus Coca-Cola, better with food versus satisfying alone, vibrant and exuberant versus luscious and rich. And, for my money, the best value price range California Pinot Grigio proved to be from a grower that actively cultivates his Italian-American heritage, and that’s what we bottled as the 08 Glass Ridge.

ARG039, $11.99 2008 Baudron, Mendoza Tempranillo, Argentina:
Argentine wines remain a hot commodity for a variety of reasons. The US dollar is still strong there - how many wine-producing countries can you say that about? The thriving Malbec business obviously strengthens growers and wineries, but it has also shifted US consumer perception of Argentine wines from cheap to value to world class. And has gotten Americans to look beyond just Malbec and Malbec blends to re-consider once-unjustly-overlooked Argentine Cabernet Sauvignon – this is a big beef producer of a nation, after all – and to appreciate other Argentine signature wines like Torrontes and Bonarda.

Tempranillo is still way undervalued in the US if not from one of the top regions in Spain. Even more so Tempranillo from Argentina, which flies beneath the radar. With a Merlot-like heft and supple mouth feel, vibrant, herbaceous, olive, nut, black, brown and red berry fruit flavors, the Baudron’s a perfect barbeque red or served with Mediterranean cuisine. And to seal the deal, here’s the notes from the judges at the 2010 World Wine Championships, where this wine recently earned a silver medal and best buy designation: ”Deep garnet violet color. Ripe cherry and boysenberry aromas reveal a touch of pencil shavings and roasted peppers and fennel and follow through on a round, supple entry to a dry-yet-fruity medium body with very good, intensity and balance. Finishes with a tangy oak spice kissed fade. Very tasty and food affined. (tasted on Feb-18-2010)”

ITA667, $14.99 2006 Podere Volpaio, Toscana IGT, Italy:
Don’t take this the wrong way – I love Tuscany, I’m just depressed that as a nation we’ve devolved what should be properly feted as the cradle of the Renaissance into a Food Network cliché. Marketing gurus put the word “Tuscan” on anything and everything, accuracy flushed right down the toilet – obviously they teach misuse of the word “Tuscan” as a case study in a business school somewhere…best practices: “No one knows that we brew up the sauce in Pasaic, call it Sun Kissed Tuscan and we’re golden”…I believe this Tuscan-as-an-adjective phenomenon was exacerbated by the film “Under the Tuscan Sun”. Admittedly, I was paying way too much attention to Diane Lane in her underoos to take seriously any tale of a personal journey towards fulfillment. But since 2003 I’ve received scads of requests to arrange visits to producers in the region all starting with these identical words, “we’ve rented a villa…”

You’d like to think that Americans would be more savvy equating Tuscan food and wine with art and culture - every major US city has an Italian-American region known for its restaurants that’s done a portion of this education for the masses – North Beach, Little Italy, the North End. I’m saddened that the area that birthed peerless olive oil, the architecture of Florence, Siena, and Pisa, brought us Machiavelli, the Medicis and the Uffizi may have a lower Q rating than three-quarters of the named-after-Tuscan-greats Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (I always associated Raphael with Rome, though I may be wrong.)

Toscana/Toscano IGT items, essentially the Super Tuscan and baby Super Tuscan categories, bring out the cynic in me. Originally conceived as blends of estate grown Sangiovese plus Bordeaux varietals, this late 1970’s “producer-led rebellion against the DOC and DOCG” helped put Tuscany back on the map in the eyes of many Americans, particularly certain members of the then-fledgling US wine press. In some eyes, lowly Sangiovese had come a long way. This attention also improved Chianti wines. But was this really a new expression of the area’s potential, or merely a reaction to produce wines in a more international style to fetch some of the astronomical dollars being generated by the sales of classified Bordeaux and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon pricing? Especially now that we see more and more Merlot and Syrah in the blends.

My original blind tasting notes on this April feature: “herbaceous, bit vinous red berry nose. Textbook affordable Sangiovese with less acidity than I look for (personal, not a flaw). Satisfying in the mouth, some texture, some vif, want more intensity and heft, price will play more of a role on this one”. Three things, beyond the blind tasting results sold us on the wine – this pushed our old price value relationship standards-for-baby-Super-Tuscans Canta Lupo, and Corte alle Mine Cuvee MNT right off the tasting table. Plus there is only a tiny amount of the wine available at this price point, making it a legitimate almost-too-good-to-be-true-deal. Finally, the vineyard is certified organic.

NAP952, $17.99 2005 Lakeville Cellars, Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon, California:
The final April feature is the last hurrah of an old client favorite and 2008 World Wine Championships silver medal winner, highly recommended. This gem from the magnificent 2005 vintage is at optimum drinking now, and was aged to perfection on the winery’s and our dime, rather than sitting in your cellar. The winemaking problem here, solved by the team of Hossein Namdar, Bob Goyette, Guy Davis and myself was to preserve the integrity of our original $21.99 Napa Valley Cabernet that we know we had nailed, but at noticeably less than twenty dollars per bottle price, within reason. Several hours and a zillion blend variations later we had our price point without compromising the wine quality. We sacrificed the prestigious Napa Valley appellation in favor of Napa County and a more accessible price. Here’s the judge’s notes from the 2008 World Wine Championships: “Deep ruby color. Chocolate covered cherry and currant aromas with a touch of vanilla nut fudge follow through to a smooth, fruity medium-to-full body with cola nut, ginger, and roasted pepper notes. Finishes with a bittersweet chocolate, berry, and savory tomato fade. A rewarding table wine to serve with meat and pasta dishes. (tasted on Feb-26-2008)”

And mercifully, no feeble “Waste Land” rip-off in closing.
 

Mar 26, 2010 at 12:46 PM

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When a “Corked” bottle is a good thing…

The first two Mira Luna bottlings totally integrated with our comic strip http://www.corkedthecomic.com are now available, and they’re both drinking and looking fine. Creative Director Dave Griffin, (Basement Boy to the cognoscenti), and myself have been regularly polluting cyberspace since 2008, but started the current continuity, in embryonic form, back in 2006. While poking fun at the wine industry – easy enough to do - the strip chronicles the staff adventures of fictitious Russian River Valley cult winery, Isinglas Cellars.

CAL914, $12.99 Mira Luna, Crusher & Stemmer Red, California, is a field blend that features the Isinglas dogs on the label. We bottled this in Western Sonoma after we modified-for-the-better an existing bottle blend. My mid-June notes on the base wine, originally a Bordeaux blend follow: “looks less than attractive; over-ripe red/brown berry, pepper, leathery, stewed vegetables - some dimension in the nose; lots in the mouth - tangy nose berries from nose - sort of cranberry, herbaceous, pepper, black tea; almost OK weight, almost OK structure, too alcoholic, nice texture”

By mid-September, our version, at the time about 13% Syrah to improve color and temper the herbaceous and over-ripe elements, was on its way:” bit murky deep red; touch of oxidation, stewed fruit, leather, vanilla, plums and red berry nose - pretty complex! pleasant, some acid-driven vif, adequate tannins, light-to-medium-bodied brown and red berry fruit, short finish though”
The final January release, buttressed with other material like Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto and Primitivo, improved the color, unearthed more ripe fruit aromas and flavors, added structure, balance, and lengthened the finish. All of these different vintage and varietal components throughout the process eliminated any legal appellation beyond California and vintage on the label, so Crusher & Stemmer Red evolved from a Bordeaux blend to a field blend. Since 1997 I have been bottling a successful non-vintage field blend as Backyard Red for a partner wine company, for G&W we required a new name. The “field blendish” name came since the Isinglas dogs were already named for winemaking equipment, so the strip tie-in was perfect for this new red.

Using our Mira Luna label allowed us to take advantage of our cast’s full-moon-crazy behavior.

Originally the dogs were to function as a Greek chorus in the strip, but they developed personalities of their own. Crusher, the Chihuahua, drawn in a Ren Hoek less realistic style (I served my Spumco time) feels he’s the baddest banger on the planet, and thinks in Cheech Marin’s voice. Stemmer, the French poodle, thinks he’s Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief”, with Maurice Chevalier’s voice.

SON573, $17.99 2009 Mira Luna, Tough Day Chardonnay, features Isinglas Tasting Room Manager and all around Uber-Babe (sorry KP, you’ve been relegated to Garbo status), Chenin Meunier. Again, we used our Mira Luna label, but hedged our bets – we wanted a more timeless label concept - one that would not live and die only with the strip. We continued to work in black and white as essentially we’re producing a variation on a newspaper strip.

Chenin and her twin sister Rose (no fan boy fantasies from this creative team) are clearly the favorite characters of the straight male demographic, as BB has spent plenty of research time with Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas. Originally the Chenin label was a 100% swipe from http://www.corkedthecomic.com, episode 2, but, strictly in the name of culture, we homaged the still of Jean Peters in the bathtub from Sam Fuller’s classic “Pickup on South Street”, coincidentally enough, screened at January’s Noir City 8, http://www.noircity.com program 3. Anticipating potential label approval difficulties and delays if we drew a prude as a clerk at the TTB, we changed the image to a profile.

The bottling occurred at one of the greatest estates in Carneros, tweaking Sonoma Carneros Chardonnay fruit with a touch of Muscat for more accessibility. My mid -

October notes follow: “tank-sample needs-to-settle look, light copper; difficult to identify aromas and flavors at this stage; difficult-to-find tropical fruits, figs/dates/nuts, toast, under the yeast nose”.
By late October, we felt we had nailed it “same visual; finally, a nose! floral golden delicious apple, tropical fruits; adequate apples, acidity and heft, tropical fruit notes - mango & kiwi.”

By the February release we had a Chardonnay exhibiting pristine varietal fruit proudly framed in Sonoma Carneros terroir, accessible to a rank beginner while providing value to the most jaded connoisseur.

Geerlings & Wade’s Mira Luna, “Corked” the comic wines – so delicious they don’t need to take themselves seriously.
 

Feb 26, 2010 at 11:31 AM

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