Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri NYC 2014

Well, as I’ve been doing lately, I’ll tell you what I’m drinking and what I’m listening to - one of my favorite good value California Cabernet - Sawbuck, and Antiques Roadshow is on in the background (I’m such a geek).

Due to my work, I’m generally working with French wines.  Since that’s the case on a daily basis, I generally drink mostly French wines.  But Italian wines always have been special to me in a very different way from my French favorites.  There’s something passionate and emotional about Italian wines, which I explained my feelings on it about 2 years ago in my previous Tre Bicchieri entry.

So, what’s Gambero Rosso and what’s Tre Bicchieri?  Gambero Rosso is a red shrimp.  Tre Bicchieri is three glasses.  Let’s just say that Italian wines get awarded a number of “glasses” from 1 to 3, 3 being highest, each year.  And the ones that win the award are represented at the tasting event.  This was my second time attending (and it was more fun this time, because I had my “plus one” with me - he was actually there last time I went but since we wouldn’t meet each other for another 2 months...anyway this time we attended together and it’s a lot more fun that way!) - I tasted somewhat different wines than last time, and it was lots of fun, and what I decided was that, based upon the wines I got to taste, my favorites were generally the whites this time, which came as a bit of a surprise to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved good Italian whites, especially the off-beat ones, but some of these were truly outstanding and remarkable to me, based on quality and uniqueness and expression of identity.

So I’ll list all of my favorites from the tasting, and I’ll tell you a bit about them, and why they were my favorites.

Braide Alte 2011 Livon (Friuli Venezia Giulia) - a gorgeous wine that we tasted early in the event, which was so lovely and brilliant and memorable - actually gorgeous says it best for me.

AA Valle Isarco Sylvaner Praepositus 2012 Abbazia di Novacella (Alto Adige) - I love Sylvaner, and this one was as good as any I’ve tasted recently, and what I noticed about this one were its near perfect balance and expressiveness of terroir.

Soave Classico La Rocca 2011 Pieropan (Veneto) - this was, by far, the best Soave I’ve ever tasted - it’s so satisfying and delicious and everything I could hope a good Soave to be - in other words, for me it was a textbook example of the grape and region.

Muller Thurgau Vigna delle Forche La Vis/Valle di Cembra 2012 (Trentino) - another German type wine that I love when it comes from Northern Italy - beautiful, floral, lots of fruit, and mineral - lovely.

Cartizze V La Rivetta Villa Sandi Prosecco (Veneto) - we were actually on a quest to find some fabulous Prosecco and we did in fact find a bunch, but this one was my favorite of the tasting - textures, delicious, flavorful, aromatic, and just all around excellent and far from simple.

Elena Walch AA Gewurztraminer Kastelaz 2012 (Alto Adige) - I’m keeping this in the same sort of paragraph as the next wine, because they’re from the same amazing producer.  The Gewurztraminer was for us a show stopper - admittedly, I have a special place in my heart (and my palate) for Gewurztraminer, but this one was, while different from examples from Alsace, absolutely incredible in both quality and uniqueness.  I absolutely loved this wine - we both did.

Elena Walch AA Merlot Kastelaz Riserva 2009 (Alto Adige) - and the Merlot was lovely, delicious, and satisfying.  We loved a lot of the whites, and it was nice to find a red right in my wheelhouse - balanced and all facets of it in check and yet shining simultaneously, this was an excellent wine in every way.

Lambrusco Reggiano Concerto Ermete Medici & Figli 2012 (Emilia Romagna) - I’ve never been a huge fan of Lambrusco - is it just me or are they generally kind of funky for a sparkling red?  Well, agree or not, I get a dirty locker room sort of scent from many of them (fo right ahead and laugh but that’s what comes to mind, and maybe some old socks) - anyway, this one was delicious, fresh, and fun, and on the elegant side, perfect for pairing with simple dishes including pizza and summer fare.  I’d be hard pressed to complain about a wine that attracts me when usually I don’t care much for its type.  Good wine for sure.

Barberani Orvieto Classico Superiore Muffa Nobile Calcaia 2010 (Umbria) - just beautiful and delicious, I’ve had a few good ones from Umbria in the past couple of years, and this one was no slouch.  Complex, wonderful, expressive, unique.

Tasca d’Almerita Contea di Sclafani Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Sicily) - I usually don’t go for the big wines on a regular basis.  I do, however, very much enjoy all of the wines I’ve tasted over the years from this producer, and regularly recommend them - but this was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to try the Cabernet - big though it is, it’s velvety and incredibly satisfying and of all the bigger style wines we tasted that day, this was one of the favorites for me.

Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di S Niccolo 2009 (Tuscany) - I’ve been working on researching and tasting more Tuscan wines as a new year’s resolution this year - this is one that goes down with the favorites - delicious and while it wasn’t quite what I expected, a surprise of that kind (a very good, balanced, delicious wine) certainly can’t disappoint.

Ruggeri & C Valdobbiadene Extra Dry Giall’Oro (Veneto) - gorgeous sparkling wine, my favorite of all the wines on his table, just beautiful with fine texture, great structure, balance, and a very real identity - fruit, mineral, and just utterly graceful on the nose and palate.

And now 2 producers that I thought their entire lineups were amazing and exciting:

Diego Conterno - Barolo Le Coste 2009, Barbera d’Alba Ferrione 2012, and Nebbiolo d’Alba Baluma 2011 - the wines are expressive, approachable, and delicious, and I believe they’re excellent examples of what they are.

Draga (Friuli Venezia Giulia) - I thought these wines were incredible and very unique, I was amazed - Collio Malvasia Miklus 2010, Collio Pinot Grigio 2012, Collio Sauvignon Draga 2012 (also an 80% Merlot blend) - I was truly blown away by these wines, especially the almost pinkish color of the Pinot Grigio and the aroma of the Sauvignon and the flavor and texture of the Malvasia (the Merlot blend felt like a wonderful bonus to me) - I was in love with these wines and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face when I was tasting.  Just amazing, that’s for sure.

So there you have it - my favorites from this year’s Tre Bicchieri.

Hungarian Wines for Super Bowl

I have 2 reasons for writing blog posts on consecutive days: one is that I had some catching up to, considering I’m attending another big tasting again this week (Gambero Rosso - Tre Bicchieri) and so I didn’t want to fall behind, and the other is that the wines I’m covering in this post were pretty awesome and I enjoyed them a lot.

But first I’ll tell you what I’m drinking right now - a German Silvaner.  Delicious, too.  It’s from Franken, so it comes in a cool bocksbeutel - a strange bottle that can be used in Franken, I’ve been told it looks like the Mateus bottle, it’s short and circular and almost flat - I’ve been seeing a bit more of them lately, and they’re fun.

Anyway we decided we’d have at least something with bubbles for the Super Bowl - the rest would just be fun.  So I thought a few Hungarian wines might be cool (channeling my inner Magyar).

The sparkling wine was the Torley Gala Sec, a dry style aromatic sparkling blanc made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and a Hungarian grape called Kiralyleanyka, and demonstrating characteristics of soft white citrus, barely ripened peach, and fresh white petals - it’s clean and lovely and the bubbles are small and delicate.

The red I chose was the Kekfrankos (Blaufrankisch) by J&J Egar, also a delicious and unique wine, quite different from its Austrian Blaufrankisch counterpart - it’s very “red” in that it shows mostly red fruit, red berries, red plum skin, and most of all, a distinctive minerality, very stony and honest and expressive.  It’s medium bodied and satisfying and very clean and balanced.

I’d love to see more Hungarian wines become available on our shelves - they’re fascinating wines, I’ve never been dissatisfied with one yet.

UGC 2014

I had the pleasure of attending the tasting of the 2011 vintage of Bordeaux at the Union des Grands Crus event at the Waldorf-Astoria a couple of weeks ago.  I already knew in advance that it was a challenging vintage for the reds (and in my opinion most of the whites I tasted as well), but the Sauternes were in a league of their own - they were amazing.

I had few favorites but I will mention them and explain why I liked them - they were pleasing.  The others just weren’t all that pleasurable, considering how many wines I tasted through.  I started with mostly whites, and some were quite delicious with plenty of fruit and mineral, but others showed what felt like strange degrees of acidity and excessive mineral with not much fruit except for some very tart lemon.  Regarding the reds, the usual suspects didn’t disappoint, as they’re nicely put together and enjoyable with plenty of fruit and mineral, clean and full and lovely.

Favorite whites:
Chateau de Chantegrive (Graves)
Chateau Bouscaut

Favorite reds:
Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan)
Chateau Latour-Martillac (Pessac-Leognan)
Chateau Smith Haut Lafite (Pessac-Leognan)
Chateau Canon (Saint-Emilion)
Chateau-Figeac (Saint-Emilion) - this was a standout for me
Chateau Troplong Mondot (Saint-Emilion)
Chateau Chasse-Spleen (Moulis-en-Medoc)
Chateau Cantemerle (Haut-Medoc)
Chateau Brane-Cantenac (Margaux) - another standout, although it is one of my favorite chateaux
Chateau Cantenac Brown (Margaux) - I loved this one, particularly lovely and pleasurable
Chateau Prieure-Lichine (Margaux) - another excellent example, very satisfying
Chateau Rauzan-Segla (Margaux) - very full and dark, delicious (slightly modern?)
Chateau Beychevelle (Saint-Julien)
Chateau Branaire-Ducru (Saint-Julien) - also a wonderful wine, most satisfying to my palate
Chateau Gloria (Saint-Julien) - always dependable and did not disappoint
Chateau Gruaud Larose (Saint-Julien) - another favorite (and through the years as well)
Chateau Talbot (Saint-Julien)
Chateau Pichon-Longueville (Pauillac)

So as you can see, for me at least, the best wines at the tasting were the “usual suspects,” so to speak, and I expected them to be very good, even in a challenging vintage.  The others, for me, were somewhat hit or miss.

Sauternes, as I mentioned, was otherworldly and I loved finishing the tasting at the Sauternes/Barsac section of the room.  Golden nectar of the wine gods, it’s lovely, with tropical fruit, candied orange, and wonderful structure in that they are luscious yet clean at the finish and the texture is to die for.

My favorites:
Chateau Coutet (probably my favorite wine of the entire event)
Chateau Guiraud
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey
Chateau Suduiraut

Trevallon, 3 Years of Blogging, & Some Strange Descriptors

It’s still really cold, so I’m by the fireplace tonight with Cotes du Rhone and Jacques Pepin and Julia Child on in the background.  This winter has brought some wonderful wines my way - and as I’ve mentioned via Facebook, Twitter, and probably Instagram, I’ve been working (over some time) on a collection of both Domaine Tempier La Tourtine and Domaine de Trevallon, both exquisite producers from Provence.  This past weekend, I got to open a bottle which was a recent find - the 2000 vintage of Trevallon, and I’m happy to report that all of the excitement I felt before opening the bottle was well founded.

I should also mention before getting into the blog post that Champagne Taste turned 3 years old this month!  Thanks for reading my wine ramblings (and also my food ramblings via Champagne Taste’s younger sibling, Here, Taste This!).  It’s been fun sharing my tasting notes and more recently my wine philosophy and thoughts with you.

Anyway, I think that telling you about the experience with Trevallon might help you understand the other thing I’ll touch on - my “strange” wine descriptors.

So about the Trevallon - big reds from Provence (often made from Mourvedre if it’s from Bandol, like Tempier) can be a little too much on the palate if they’re opened too young.  It’s why I like holding the bottles quite some time.  Trevallon is a little different - it’s about 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. But it needs to be enjoyed once it’s been waiting a little while in the bottle.  So I happened upon some vintage 2000 and bought it, and opened it this past weekend.  It’s still quite a big wine but it’s softened and on the elegant side now - clean and lovely.  It’s still a dark red in the glass but with a brickish rim to show its age a bit, and the aromas and flavors were fascinating - plenty of red fruit (and a touch of dark fruit) including red plum skin and wild berry, autumn baking spices, savory herbs, dried petals, olive, and (drumroll please) pastrami sandwich.  Yes, I said it.  Why pastrami?  Well, it had the ground black pepper notes of the Syrah that you find with pastrami, the seeds in the rye bread with the savory yet somewhat baking spice sort of thing, and the salty almost briny meat.  (I even told my boyfriend as we drank it, it reminds me of pastrami, and fortunately for me, he didn’t tell me I was completely crazy.)  The wine is elegant and soft at this age, with a lovely finish.  It still has a warmth about it, but it’s nicely balanced.  I can honestly say that it pays to be patient with your wines, and the ones that need to age a while - well, let them age as long as they need to.

And now, regarding strange descriptors for wine...apparently I’m a bit notorious with this.  I come up with tasting notes that surprise even industry veterans (perhaps you’ve heard my story about the nosebleeds that plague me, and how I’m sometimes turned off by a Rioja that has too much iron minerality toward its finish because of the sanguine characteristic?) - anyway the Trevallon reminded me a bit of a pastrami sandwich.  It’s ok to let the wines speak to you and remind you of just about anything you’ve smelled or tasted at some point - it’ll help you understand the characteristics of the grapes and the soils and climates.  So whatever you smell or taste, take note of it, no matter now peculiar it may seem.  (And I’m also a believer in assigning personalities to the wines, but that’s another story!)

Hasenpfeffer - re-posted from Here, Taste This!

http://here-taste-this.blogspot.com/2014/01/hasenpfeffer.html

Malbec

I enjoy pouring wine tastings.  Even when I’m pouring somewhere other than my regular Friday gig, if someone asks me something ridiculous or takes a cheap shot at a wine I’m showing for no legitimate reason, or gets drunk at a grand tasting on the 100+ wines being shown, etc. - I still enjoy pouring most tastings.  That’s no secret.

The other thing that’s no secret, particularly to those who know me (and my palate) or who read my blog with some regularity - the other non-secret is that I’m a Sud-Ouest wine devotee.  I love those wines.  They’re so honest and expressive and delicious.

That said, something I noticed, especially when I’m pouring some of my tastings, is this...

If I say Malbec, what’s the first word to come to your head?

Malbec based wine from Cahors, France

If you said Argentina, ok, I understand and to an extent I agree, but being a Francophile and lover of wines from Sud-Ouest, unfortunately you’d probably get a bop on the head from me if you did indeed say Argentina.

Why?

Well, Malbec isn’t originally from Argentina.

Think of it this way.

I live in New York.  Not to brag, but lots of people want to live in New York.  So plenty of people move to New York, from other parts of the United States and other parts of the world.  If someone moves here from elsewhere, do you think that now that he lives in New York, he’s suddenly going to worship the Yankees, automatically know how to fold a slice of pizza correctly, and understand the subway system overnight?  Doubtful.  And for good reason - he’s a transplant.  He’s not a native New Yorker.

Malbec is not Argentinean.  I repeat - Malbec is not Argentinean.  He’s French.  And I’m not just saying that because I have a special devotion to French wine.  The truth is, Malbec is French.  He’s as French as the Eiffel Tower, Cassoulet, and Louis Vuitton.

I pour a Cahors at lots of wine tastings.  People in attendance look at the label and see Malbec clearly printed on the label.  As I go through my spiel, I mention that it’s a Malbec FROM FRANCE.  And people look at me and say, “Malbec from France?  Are you sure it’s not from Argentina?  Because Malbec is from Argentina, and I’ve never heard of a Malbec from France.”

Ok, for starters, I represent this portfolio, so yes, I know this wine, and yes, I’m sure it’s from France.  And another thing - you’re wrong.  Malbec isn’t from Argentina.  It’s from France.  It just happens to grow well in Argentina and the winemakers in places like Mendoza have been quite successful in producing Malbec based wines.  But Argentinean Malbec isn’t quite the same as the original French Malbec.  It doesn’t have the same characteristics.

And that makes sense.  A person from Boston moves to New York.  He eventually learns to fold the pizza correctly, bagels become his regular breakfast, and Chinese food becomes his midnight snack.  He learns when to take the 123 and when to take the NQR.  He learns never to go to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.  And he embraces Billy Joel.  But in all likelihood, however, he never learns to love the Yankees or any of our other teams.  It’s because he’s technically Bostonian.  But he sure can thrive and become quite successful after his move to New York.  And aside from his accent and his Red Sox hat, he appears like a New Yorker.

Malbec is from France.  Whether his origins are northern Burgundy, Bordeaux, or Cahors (in Sud-Ouest) is somewhat disputed, but he’s definitely from France.  Some time later, probably around the mid-1800s, Malbec arrived in Argentina.  Over time, winemakers discovered the potential for success in Argentinean wine regions, and Malbec from Argentina has become very popular, while French Malbec has diminished in popularity.

Malbec from Argentina is round and rich and luscious with characteristics of stewed blueberry, dark chocolate, and purple blossoms.  Malbec from France (oftentimes Cahors but sometimes Bordeaux or Loire) is drier and shows characteristics of more tart fruit, leather, and savory herbs.

My point is, Argentinean Malbec has its own unique style, but it’s not the original Malbec.  So it’s completely ok if you had never tasted a French Malbec until you had it at one of my tastings.  Just trust me when I tell you that French Malbec is the original Malbec.  And Malbec from Argentina, I agree, can be absolutely wonderful.  But try to remember who Malbec really is, and that, much like many other grapes grown around the world - well, he’s actually from France.

New Year’s Eve 2013-2014

My mood, for some reason, definitely calls for some of my favorite French songs today - and right now it’s a duet by Francoise Hardy and Etienne Daho, and I could listen to this song over and over (in fact, sometimes I do).  It’s something I love listening to when times are good.

I’m so glad the holiday season is over at last and it’s time to return to normalcy - eating healthier, more time for exercise, working on some of my wine resolutions (that’s probably going to get some coverage this year, because I chose some good ones - I’ll tell you about them), and just getting back on track.  Christmas can be wonderful but most of us I’m sure can agree that it can be a stressful and insanely busy time of year.  I’ve got some really fun wine events to look forward to in the near future which I’ll tell you all about when I attend them.

Anyway, the New Year’s resolutions pertaining to wine are these:
(1) I’m going to invest plenty of time into exploring German wines.  I’ve been enjoying good quality German wines for the past couple of years now, but as more are becoming available and I’ve been liking them more and more, I’ve decided it would be a good idea to learn as much about them as I can.  They’re just so pure and expressive and delicious and fascinating to me, I can’t help but want to make them a bigger part of my wine racks (which are almost exclusively French at this point, and some Italian, and not much else).
(2) I need to spend some more time on Tuscany.  I’m always having fun learning more about wines form Sicily, Sardegna, Campagna, Basilicata, Puglia, and of course Piemonte, and lately it feels like I spend almost no time on Tuscany.  Strange?  Yes.
(3) I’m currently searching for good quality Rioja, but there’s a catch - I tend to get nosebleeds very often and always have.  And I don’t care much for big, huge, bold wines.  So I need really well balanced Rioja that shows more soil type in its mineral notes other than just iron overload.  When I get to the finish of a taste of Rioja and only sense the iron, it tastes an awful lot like a bloody nose.
(4) Champagne is expensive.  It’s really good and I love snooping around for grower Champagnes, but right now I’m curious to hunt down some fun Cremant from all around France that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and still shows really well and varies tremendously based on grape and region.  Who wouldn’t love fun, good quality, inexpensive bubbles from France, anyway?
(5) I will freely admit that in terms of wine (and in terms of other things too), I’m a europhile.  I love the Old World way of doing things, especially wine - I have a special devotion to South West France, as you already know by now I’m sure, and I drink mostly French wines.  I also drink plenty of Italian wine, I’ve been spending more time on Germany and Austria, and occasionally Spanish, Portuguese, and when I can find some, Croatian.  And now I think it’s time I spend a little more energy on finding some great American wines from small producers.  I don’t want that overextracted, concentrated, big stuff at 14.9% alcohol - no, not that.  I’m talking about expressive, terroir driven American wines.  I told a friend recently that my concern with many American wines (aside from price and in many cases quality) is actually that when I talk to someone in the American wine industry, the winery brags about who its winemaker is.  In a place such as Burgundy (just an example), the domaine would rather brag about which vineyard they sourced their grapes from.  That’s because you should be able to identify the wine by its grape and region, its own identity, and not the identity of its winemaker.  At least that’s the way I see it.  So I’d like to find more than just a few American wines whose producers embrace the terroir/grape type/identity of the wine, and allow the wine to tell its own story.

Enough about resolutions.  How about - what did we drink on New Year’s Eve?  (And I’d love to hear what you drank too!)

The 1999 Salon Le Mesnil was lovely.  It was my first experience with Salon actually.  I’ve eyed bottles of it year in and year out in Champagne sections of good wine shops, but it was finally time.  The soft golden hue of the wine and the beautiful bubbles were so perfect.  The aromas and flavors differed from each other - the aromas reflected an almost honeyed and toasted characteristic, some mature floral notes and a touch of Madagascar vanilla, and caramelized apple.  On the palate, it was more zesty and lively, while still majestic and slightly reserved.  It was the kind of Champagne that you need to allow to approach you on its own terms, in subtle layers of aroma and flavor and texture, and reflect on it throughout the experience, lest you forget the subtleties as each stage and layer of the Champagne comes and goes.

The 2007 Roederer Rose was great - it’s a bright salmon pink color and bursts in the glass.  It’s energetic and electric in its personality, with plenty of acidity that certainly woke my palate up late in the evening (check out the blurry photo and you’ll have a better idea of how much fun I had) - and a bright and fun Champagne like this is a great pairing with - go figure - the New Year’s Honeymooners Marathon.  Yes.  Anyway, there’s plenty of white citrus and lemon, tart red berry, barely ripened strawberry, and some green apple in the nose and palate with this Champagne, it’s mouthwatering, and it’s just a fun yet sophisticated bubbly wine from a very dependable producer.  What’s not to love?

Cheers to 2014 and all the fun wines it brings!