Wine freezing fallout, rosé tasted blind, & a nifty Mersault pairing

It's been a busy week at the world headquarters of Wine I Like! I think I bummed some folks out on Linked In with my wine freezing... My three commenters there seemed genuinely offended, although I'm not sure they actually read the blog post or checked the links. It's funny what gets people riled up.

Elsewhere, I participated in the latest installment of the Central Coast Wine Press Tasting Panel. We enjoyed  a couple of rosé wines tasted blind and paired with cheeses, charcuterie and pulled pork. One was Central Coast and the other Provence. The group opinions were mixed, but I definitely leaned toward the 2012 Domaine de la Fourquette Cotes du Provence Cuvee Rosee d'Aurore over the 2011 Carhartt Grenache Rosé Santa Ynez Valley. It was a contrast in styles - crisp, dry and aromatic newly released Provence vs round, full and luscious Central Coast with a year of bottle age. At any rate it was great fun with good folks. Click here to read Laurie's full notes on the evening.

Finally, I decided it was time to "close the deal" on a purchase I made from Wines 'Till Sold Out two years ago. I wanted to open my second and final bottle of 2007 Louis Latour Mersault-Blagny 1er Cru Château de Blagny ($37 each with free shipping), so I decided to search on Google for good Chardonnay pairings. What I found was a simple recipe of chicken leg quarters roasted in white wine, marjoram, cream & butter that was recommended for "medium oak-influenced Chardonnay" - the rich dark meat of the chicken alights the fruit and richness of the wine. It was a solid pairing and the wine showed well otherwise- Austere and nutty upon opening, it really came alive after an hour or two. Light gold in color with aromas of toasted almond, river rock and lemon zest. Bright citrus and stone fruit flavors framed with dried herb, mineral and nutty notes. Richly layered and brightly polished, with a full 45 second finish of spice, herb and citrus. It continued to improve until the end of the bottle. Very nice. Drink/short term hold. It was so good I didn't even have to freeze it!

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.

Eric Solomon Imports tasting in Santa Barbara, and an homage to Richard Jennings

Richard Jennings is the most prolific taster in the wine blogosphere. It's not even close. On Cellartracker he's posted over 27,000 tasting notes- his closest competition is just north of 11,000. His blog, RJonwine.com, covers wine tasting events and other wine information with comprehensive detail. His tasting notes are short and succinct, but presented in a manner that gets to the heart of the wine. They give you a good idea of what the wine's all about, whether or not your tastes align with Mr. Jennings. 

When he covers a wine tasting event on his blog, he'll post notes on every wine poured with photos from every table or producer. I've read these accounts in wonderment. It seems like a Herculean effort putting these reports out as he does.

I've started to think about RJonwine.com when I find myself at a wine tasting. As I think about how I might want to write about an event, the Jennings blogs become the impossible benchmark to attain. I don't have the time, resources, work ethic, attention to detail, or the will to cover an event in that manner- as much as I might like to. And it blows my mind to think about how many wines that Jennings tastes as an amateur blogger, 

I think the essence of blogging on any subject is being willing to be comfortable in your niche, realizing you're just one voice among many, and that the many may be well ahead of you. Maybe from that tiny place in crowd a gap can be filled with unique perspective, if not the highest expertise.

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Before I got sidetracked thinking about Richard Jennings' tasting acumen and in-depth coverage of wine tastings, I was thinking about how to put together this piece on a recent Eric Solomon Imports tasting that I attended in Santa Barbara. At this late stage I'll just give the basic info- it was presented by The Winehound retail store this past Saturday Feb 25. It was held at the Soho Restaurant and Music Club and featured a broad selection of wines from Eric Solomon's Spanish and French Portfolio. I tasted 31 wines over the course of 2 hours. Overall it was excellent quality and interesting wines, many if not most of which were organic or biodynamically farmed and handled mininally in the cellar. I've set aside some of the wines to highlight- great ones (epic), excellent wines/values (smart), and wines that disappointed (oh well). 

 EPIC-

Ossian Blanco 2009 Old Vine Verdejo, Rueda- Slate, earth, spice and stone fruit bouquet. Fine and silky with added tropical and citrus and hints of spice. Aromatic and profound with a full finish. (rating- I love!) $49.99

L'Esprit de la Fontaine 2006, Languedoc- 50% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 25% Carignan. Wow- nose of meaty blueberry and white pepper along with perfumey cherry. Rich on the palate- notes of slate and blue fruit with peppery, meaty and savory depth. Brambly and wild feel yet fine and polished at the same time. Lengthy finish. (rating- I love!) $82.99

Aalto 2008 Ribera del Duero- Brooding bouquet with tobacco & leather, red & blue fruit, spice and earth. Full lush fruit on the palate with hints of sage and spice and cocoa. Super-polished with fine tannins and long savory and tea finishing notes. (rating- I love!) $59.99

Quinta Sardonia 2007 Sardon del Duero- Blend of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Verdot, Cab Franc and Malbec. Meaty notes of the nose with cassis and bold dark fruit. More leathery meaty fruit on the palate with cracked pepper, sage and spice. Firm tannins and a full finish. (rating- I like+!) $67.99

Domaine de la Janasse 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes- Primarily Grenache and Mourvedré. Cracked pepper, candied red fruit and spice aromas. The fruit evens out on the palate still carrying spice. Impactful with a serious presence. Gamey feel with round tannins and full fruit on the finish. Looking for more flavor development. (rating- I like+!) $78.99

SMART-

Pazo de Senorans 2010 Albariño, Rias Baixas- Expansive aromas- everything from nectarine and guava, to mineral and floral, all the way to fine cheeses. Round feel with focused crisp highlights- opulently precise. Full finish. (rating- I like+!) $24.99

Roger Champault 2009 Sancerre Les Pierris- Rocky lime and lemon aromas; furthered with spice, floral, mineral, citrus and stone fruit flavors... a little bit of everything. Focused and lean but impactful. Full finish. (rating- I like+!) $18.99

Izadi 2006 Rioja Reserva- Earth, red cherry and spice; growing to cassis, leather, red berry and tea on the palate. Silky and polished spice on the finish. Good length. (rating- I like!) $20.99

Chateau Puech Haut 2010 Prestige Rouge, Languedoc- Grenache and Syrah. Licorice, mineral, red berry and pepper. Focused flavors on a mineral-driven palate. Firm tannins and medium finish. (rating- I like!) $21.99

Domaine La Garrigue 2009 Vacqueyras- Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault. Gamey and meaty red/blue fruit. Pure fruit on the palate with red berry and mineral flavors with dried herb depth. Firm tannins and full finish. (rating- I like+!) $22.99

OH WELL-

Mas Alta 2005 La Bassetta Priorat- Lots of candied, jammy red fruit and spice. Out of balance. Full finish. $42.99

Espelt 2009 Garnacha Old Vine, Emporda- Chocolate, espresso and licorice with jammy red fruit and pepper. Out of balance. Inexpensive, but similarly priced and more well rounded Monastrells were available in comparison. $11.99.

Gramona 2008 Cava Gran Cuvee- Nice aromas- butterscotch, brioche and stone fruit. Goes totally austere on the palate with tart fruit and minerality. Finishes clean. I wanted to love this, but it was too cold (figuratively) and angular. $20.99

Also of interest- Two dry sherries were poured from Equipos Navasos (NV La Bote De Fino, Jerez- $47.99; and NV La Bote De Manzanilla, Jerez- $67.99). I don't consider myself able to properly evaluate fine sherry, but I did note that the Fino was full of nutty-almond and briny notes with a rich silky texture. The Manzanilla was fuller and richer on the bouquet, with lightly candied and nutty hints of fruit. The palate showed dried fruit and almond with notes of brine, and was very polished in structure.

Overall the tasting was a great trip throughout Spain and the South of France. My favorite regions on this day were Rhône, Languedoc, Rioja and Ribera del Duero. Cheers!

Corkd.com Tasting Notes at Retail

If you write wine reviews on corkd.com, you might start seeing your reviews on a wine display at a store near you. I'm working Augusta, GA this week, and saw accolades on wines for sale at the White Horse Beer & Ale store attributing ratings and tasting notes to corkd.com. Big Vine Napa Cabernet Sauvignon was allegedly rated a 94 on corkd (I couldn't find it on the site), and Red Hawk Winery Cabernet Sauvignon was rated a 92. The Red Hawk review and score came from the user "winewriter", the actual average score was 91. The wholesaler in GA for these wines is LaFayette Distributors. They obviously are scouring the web far and wide for ratings to help sell their wines....

I've read others in the blogosphere speculating as to how long it might be before we start to see wine accolades quoting blogs. This is an interesting development in that regard. As someone who blogs about wine on corkd.com and on this site, I'm not sure that my tasting notes would belong on a retail shelf when compared to a professional wine writer/taster, but it's an interesting development nonetheless.