A visit to Gruet

I spent several days in Albuquerque last week, so what better way to kill an hour than by tasting at Gruet Winery!

Gruet is well known for its Methode Champenoise wines from high-elevation vineyards in Truth or Consequences, NM. Founded in 1984 by brother and sister Laurent and Nathalie Gruet; Gruet was unique in being a French Champagne house that ventured into the US making sparkling wine but outside of California. The high elevation vineyards on sandy loam soils with cold nights and dry air allowed them to grow quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for their sparkling program without the use of pesticides. 

Gruet's NV sparkling wines such as its brut and blanc de noirs are widely distributed and known for quality and value. The tasting room in Albuquerque provided an opportunity to try their vintage & tête du cuvée sparkling wines as well as their still wines. Overall the high-end bubblies that I tried were vibrant and bright with nice brioche and wheat depth. Very enjoyable. The still wines were interesting to good. Also interesting was that none of their reds undergo malolactic fermentation. Full notes on my favorite wines tasted are below-

Gruet NV Blanc de Blancs Sauvage, New Mexico- 100% Chardonnay. Notes of candy apple, butterscotch and chalk. Refined and lively on the palate with finishing notes of citrus and lime. Good. ($17.99)

Gruet 2007 Blanc de Blancs, New Mexico- 100% Chardonnay with 36+ months aging on lees. Fine mousse and bead. Notes of brioche and pear. Crisp open citrus fruit on the front palate. Lithe and silky feel with creamy lime finishing notes. Very good. ($24.99)

Gruet 2007 Grand Rosé, New Mexico- 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir with 36+ months on lees. Fine mousse and bead. Notes of winter wheat and soft red berry. Bright and lively on the palate with crisp red fruit and citrus with hints of spice. Pure flavors and silky in feel with a full finish. Excellent. ($32.99).

Gruet 2003 Gilbert Gruet Grande Reserve, New Mexico- Made from 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir that was completely fermented in oak barrels and aged for a full five years "en tirage" before release. Very fine in appearance. Notes of musky yeast, spice and chalk on the bouquet with bright candy apple flavors added on the palate. Nicely layered depth and clean flavors with just the right amount of aged notes throwing in character. Clean full finish. Very nice. ($42.99)

Gruet 2009 Pinot Noir, New Mexico- Aromas of smoky earth with fig and cherry fruit. Silky rich and forward palate with delicate floral notes and spicy depth on the finish. Good. ($23.99)

Gruet 2007 Barrel Select Pinot Noir, New Mexico- Aged 18 months in new French oak. The bouquet gave earthy and slightly candied red fruit along with sandalwood and eastern spice. Added notes of tea compliment on the palate. Fine and silky structure with a medium finish. Good. ($39.99)

I also tasted the 2010 Chenin Blanc, 2009 Chardonnay and 2010 Rosé. 

A little love for Santa Lucia Highlands

Santa Lucia Highlands sometimes flies under the radar in discussions of great Pinot Noir regions in California.   Its defining features include cool morning fog from the Monterey Bay; high elevations nestled against the Santa Lucia Mountains; sandy and gravelly loam soils; and warm days of generous sun.

If there's a criticism of the region for Pinot Noir it's that it sometimes features prominently that style of Cali Pinot Noir derided by some for over-ripeness and overly dark fruit in the profile. My recent experience shows that those critics may not be looking hard enough.

2010 Morgan Pinot Noir, Twelve Clones, Santa Lucia Highlands is a good example of a pretty and varietally  true Pinot Noir drinking very well in its youth. It is a vineyard and clonal blend aged in barrel for a modest 10 month (36% new French). At under $30 it shows nice red fruit and brambly spice and perfume with balance and decent depth and length. I'd recommend it for an early drinker.

And if you don't mind a little shilling- I also opened a bottle of 2007 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands (disclaimer- I work for Arcadian) over the weekend with dinner at The Shed in Atlanta. Of all of Arcadian's 2007 Pinot Noir bottlings, this one is primed for young consumption with its nice rounded fruit notes and underlying spice & perfume. It's balanced and has the stuffing to age, but it's nice and round for the present. I enjoyed it with cane-marinated duck breast. 

Southern Rhône- the ultimate cellar defender? and other stuff

Is there another wine region where you can drink as many $20 wines that are truly exciting as when delving into the Southern Rhône. This rhetorical question occurred to me again this weekend when I popped open a bottle of 2009 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras.

Vacqueyras, located northeast of Chateauneuf du Pape and just south of Gigondas, can certainly be a sweet spot for bold full bodied reds- the '09 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras is no exception. From 70 year old estate vines grown in clay and limestone soils, the wine is a blend of Grenache with Syrah, Mourvedre & Cinsault. It is imported by Eric Solomon Imports.

My notes- Popped and poured. Dense purple garnet color. Impressive bouquet of crushed rock, violet, earth, peppercorn and blackberry- very expressive. Palate shows medium weight and vivid layered flavors, consistent with the nose, that start a little tight on the front palate but come alive through the middle and finish. Spicy grainy tannins are firm and the finish is deep with nice length. Showing very well, but could get bombastic if the fruit opens up more on the front palate. Good candidate for short to medium term cellaring and a fantastic value at $20.


I'll rate it an "I really like!"

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In other news- here's a link to a recent blog post from Steve Heimoff commenting on the wine media and intelligentsia artificially trumping up a lower alcohol wine trend in California wines. Working on the sales end of the wine business at the street level- it seems to me like the reverse is true. Wine buyers and sommeliers, as well as consumers that I've run across, have been at the forefront of this alleged false trend for some time now. If anything the reverse is true and the broader wine media is just catching up.

It's an interesting read though, and the comments are entertaining as well. I've enjoyed Mr. Heimoff's books, reviews, articles and blogs over the years- sometimes for totally different reasons. He runs the spectrum from insightful to insane and from outsider to insider... you never really know where he's going to land.

Wine club to the rescue.

Thanks to The Winehound in Santa Barbara for actually getting me out of Santa Barbara wine for a minute. As much as I love the SBC, it's nice to refresh the palate with a little bit of the outside world. I joined their "Premier Cru" wine club which each month nets me two hand-selected $20 bottles of wine from around the world. To me it sounds like a great solution to those wine ruts that we all fall victim to from time to time.

My first May wine was a 2010 Farnese Casale Vecchio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. This is a step up from Farnese's entry-level Montepulciano- from the Casale Vecchio terroir in the Chieti province in Abruzzo and aged in barrique for about 6 months. It is imported by Empson. It featured rich color with tons of blueberry & plum notes and hints of cracked pepper and mint. Forward bright fruit on the palate with plush tannin and a full juicy finish. Good value and perfect for what it is- a full juicy Italian red with forward fruit and just enough rusticity (Rating- I like!). A great pasta wine that can work with a heavier meat dish like a braised short rib.

The second May wine was a Napa white- 2010 Round Pond Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley. This comes from Round Pond's estate vineyards in Rutherford. There's no oak, malo or lees stirring on this wine. A very pale color with aromas of melon, grapefruit, wheat straw and river stone. Round on the palate with medium acid and a touch of leesy spice and a slight heat/astringency. The finish featured a lingering fruit tartness on the front palate. I liked this more as the days wore on- special kudos for it drinking so well on day 4 (rating- I like!). Better with seafood than spicy Asian fare.

Not a wine club wine, but a nice little 2005 Mosel Riesling I had laying around- the 2005 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese, Mosel Saar Ruwer. This comes from the monopole Serriger Herrenberg vineyard on severe slopes with red and blue slate soils. The importer is Rudi Wiest Selections. Bright and full gold in color, this has notes of nectarine, guava, orange and lime with subtle mineral and botanicals. Weighty on the palate with the sweet fruit coming across very bright and profound. A little short of perfect on acid, making the sweetness slightly aggressive, but one can really ponder on the profoundness of the fruit. Medium length finish (+/- $30) (rating- I like+!)