The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

The Ojai Vineyard Chardonnay Bien Nacido 2005

Sometimes I feel I'm the last defender of California Chardonnay. Sure, I dislike the cheap oak-chip soaked stuff in the supermarket as much as you, but it's become a bit of a mission for me to seek out great Cal Chard lately. Partly, this is self preservation, as we drink a lot of white wine at my house and we can't drink Chassagne Montrachet every night. Now more than ever, with the Euro at hopefully it's peak, is the time to start seeking out high quality American Chardonnay.

Naturally, I'm here to tell you this is one of them.

I've gushed about the output of the Bien Nacido property before, but this one is really unusual. I would urge you to read the refreshingly honest winemaker notes on their site about this wine. The notes convey the struggle with a difficult batch of acidic fruit and the efforts to transform a struggling wine into something unusual and ultimately delicious.

This wine possesses almost a shocking acidity. If you are buying just by label shopping and rightly so, picking up the 2005 Bien Nacido offering on name and history only, you may expect something round and ripe with typical BN aromatics. But this one is different.

On the nose, you get the hit of vanilla from generous new oak barrel fermentation, but on the tongue, it's an explosion of pineapple and lemon tartness. It's a yin and yang kind of wine where you get the hit of New World treatment with some Old World pucker.

Highly recommended, especially with something like a quickly cooked wild coho salmon like we had tonight.

Open That Bottle Night #9: Bremer Family Cabernet Franc 2001

This was my first OTBN, a great push to open a special bottle, lingering in the cellar, that has significant meaning. It's a once-a-year phenomenon and cooked up by Dorothy Gaiter AND John Brecher at the Wall Street Journal.

Bremer Family Cabernet Franc 2001
The story of this bottle only goes back a few years, but it ended up being a part of the conception of this blog. I grew up around endless wine talk at the table, first listening to my father and his friends, then taking a part in it myself once I was of age. I was fascinated by the idea that sunshine could be trapped inside a bottle in such a natural yet other worldly way, but was overwhelmed by the infinite bottles to know. It seemed too much information to parse.

But one day four years ago, I was driving around in Napa with out-of-town restaurateur friends of mine, and we took a turn up Howell Mountain. I had no recollection of tasting up there  but knew Howell Mountain as home to some great vineyards, a tasting room couldn't be far. When we turned down the driveway towards the Bremer Family property, I had the feeling I had been there before. As we looked around for where to go in to taste, there were still remnants of the Deer Park Winery that I had visited in the early 1980s. At the time, there was no  formal tasting room at Bremer but we caught them on a good day and they welcomed us in to taste. Being with restaurant people helps open doors sometimes!

John Bremer and his general manager at the time were there and opened up several things for us and told us about their new venture with this beautiful historic property, in operation since 1891. We opened up a couple of 2000's and then John opened up this Cab Franc, a newly released 2001.

When I put my nose in the glass, I said "This smells like Oakville, where is it from?" John chuckeled and said "Are you in the business? You're absolutely right." "Wow," I said, "It reminds me a lot of the Paradigm Cab Francs." "Well, it's from the property next door" was his reply.

It was then that I thought that perhaps I had a special kind of scent and taste memory for wine. Perhaps I should really start publishing my tasting notes.

So here are my tasting notes from tonight:

Big blueberry, cassis,  and cloves on the nose.  The dark color is much closer to a southwest France wine instead of a Cab Franc dominated Bordeaux which tend to be a lot lighter. On the palate, it is pretty hot on the palate at first, but the flavor edges have smoothed out over the years. While not a spectacular wine, I would still recommend it and I'm glad I let it sit for several years.

2001 Williams Selyem 2001 Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard, San Benito County

I know it's not OTBN yet (Open That Bottle Night - #9 is 2/23/08), but anyone that has eaten at my house knows that I'm a hoarder with some wines. This is one I have been watching sit in my cellar for 5 years now, and after being kicked off the Williams Selyem mailing list for not buying enough of my allocation, I probably won't be getting any more of this. I did a little searching on cellar tracker and lots of people were saying it was in its prime, so time to drink up.

This wine was a revelation--not necessarily how good it was, --it is from Williams Selyem after all --but that it's from San Benito County. John and Kathe Dyson, owners of Vista Verde Vineyards, planted top clones Bruce, Pommard, Calera, and Dijon in the rolling hills outside Hollister, CA and are producing some superb fruit. I didn't realize that San Benito County is actually home to four AVAs (Cienega Valley, Paicines, Lime Kiln Valley and Mt. Harlan) in this region east of Monterey, 20 -30 miles from the sea.

Tasting notes:

2001 Williams Selyem 2001 Pinot Noir Vista Verde Vineyard, San Benito County

Huge hit of balsam pine when I first pulled the cork. Pie spices of cloves and allspice as well as fresh sour cherries and smoke on the nose. Intoxicating aroma. This is the kind of wine you can bury your nose in the glass all night.

Surprising flavors of tangerine peel and cherries, very fresh, wild, and delicious. The finish lasts for many minutes.

Verdict? Highly recommended if you can find it.  And, most important  --drink up. It's perfect now and may decline in a year or so.

WBW#42 (Say it in 7) Round-up in Record Time!

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Wine Blogging Wednesdays #42: Just Seven Words

Vietti Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne 2002

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cherry magic.

2005 Rutherford Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

I was given this as a press sample, and opened it up yesterday. I have pretty low expectations for Cabernet in this price range, around 18 bucks, but I have to admit I agree with Parker on this one -- it's a very good value.

As we all  know, most wine is consumed the day it is bought in the U.S., so the fact that this isn't loaded with long-reaching tannins or complex acidity shouldn't stop the average buyer from grabbing for this one first, either to bring to a party, or to serve at home with a nice steak. This is a very round, balanced, smooth wine, and ready to drink tonight. It has classic Napa Cabernet flavors of green pepper and licorice without the sticker shock. Check it out.

Crazy Cork Tales: Two Corks are Better Than One

I have to share this. At Thanksgiving 2007, the capper of the night was a 1963 Croft vintage Port and Man, was that good! So I bought a few more bottles and 3 of us split the stash.

When my friend "L" got his home, he discovered that his cork had a twin in the bottle! His bottle came with one cork in the neck and one floating on top of the wine. I've never seen anything quite like it, and K&L Wines, where we got it, was kind enough to swap out the bottle for another with only one lonely cork in it.

Amazing to think that someone 44 years ago made this mistake, probably by doing these corks by hand and we just discovered it. If it weren't such an expensive bottle, it would have been interesting to open it up and see if the floater changed the wine. We'll never know.

2005 Staglin Family Vineyard Salus Estate Chardonnay

The Salus Chardonnay is one of those benchmark California Chardonnays for me, and shows that even a Rutherford Chardonnay that is treated with all French oak (50% new, 50% 1-3 year old) barrels, can still pack so much nuanced flavor that all that oak acts to balance and enhance, rather than mask. The first time I had one of these Chardonnays, years ago, I thought it was one of the most Chassagne-Montrachet-like California whites I had ever had, and it is consistently so.

2005 Staglin Family Vineyard Salus Estate Chardonnay

Lemon cream and sweet oak mix with earthy wild mushroom, melon and straw. Weighty and muscular, the oak soon succumbs to the beautiful fruit it surrounds. Very highly recommended.

Spring Release Tasting of Austrian and German Wines: Terry Theise Estate Selections

This was a huge tasting, with 139 listed wines at the lovely Ame restaurant in San Francisco. I tasted the bulk of them and below are my favorites. For the most part, my usual favorites --Nigl, Brundlmayer, Schloss Gobelsburg, and Hirsch rose to the top of my list, but some unfamiliar producers like Salomon, Nikolaihof, Selbach-Oster, and Hexamer had some wines that I really loved. I'm sure there were some excellent German wines I missed. I was spitting diligently, but at the end, my teeth were aching and I had to stop! All of these were excellent, and I've assembled the list more like a shopping list, so it can be a quick guide if you're shopping for Grüners or Rielsings.

Austrian Grüner Veltliners:

2007 Schloss Goblesburg: GV "Gobelsburger"
2007 Nigl: GV "Kremser Freiheit
2006 Berger: GV "Lössterassen
2006 Hofer: GV Freiberg DAC
2006 Schloss Gobelsburg: GV Steinsetz
2006 Hirsch: GV Heiligenstein
2006 Hirsch: GV Lamm
2006 Nikolaihof: GV Im Weingebirge Smaragd
2006 Bründlmayer GV Alte Reben
2006 Salomon GV Lindberg Reserve

Austrian  Riesling
2006 Schloss Gobelsburg Riesling Gaiberg
2006 Hirsch Riesling Heiligenstein
2006 Nigl Riesling Privat
2006 Nikolaihof Riesling Vom Stein Federspiel
2006 Bründlmayer Riesling Kamptaler Terassen
2006 Bründlmayer Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein
2006 Salomon Riesling Pfaffenberg Reserve
1993 Salomon Riesling Kögl Library Reserve

Austrian Pinot Blanc:

2006 Prieler Pinot Blanc Leitaberg Weiss

Austrian Red Wines:

2003 Bründlmayer St. Laurent Ried Ladner

German Wines:

2006 Loewen Detzemer Maximiner Riesling Spätlese Feinherb
2006 Jakoby-Mathy Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett
2006 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett
2006 Christoffel Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese
2006 Dönnhoff Norheimer Dellchen Riesling Auslese
2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinnger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese
2006 Selbach-Oster Ziltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese
2006 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Badstube Riesing BA
2006 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Spätlese
2005 Hexamer Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling Auslese

ZAP 2008 Round-up

This year's ZAP grand tasting, put on by the Zinfandel Advocats and Producers at Fort Mason, was a chance to taste the latest releases of mostly 2005's and get a sneak peak at the 2006's from barrel.  2006 is shaping up to be a good year, especially in Dry Creek, Russian River, and Napa. Here are my favorites out of the 100+ that I tasted.

Acorn Winery
2005 Heritage Vines, Alegria Vineyards, Russian River Valley

Adobe Road Wines
2005 Sonoma County

Artezin Wines
2005 Dry Creek Valley - good value

Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves
2005 Big River Ranch, Alexander Valley - highly recommended

Benessere
2005 Black Glass Estate Vineyard, Napa Valley, St. Helena - highly recommended
2006 BK Collins Old-Vines, Napa Valley, St. Helena - recommended

Robert Biale Vineyards
2006 Old Crane Ranch, Napa Valley, St. Helena - recommended

Bradford Mountain Winery
2005 Grist Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley - recommended

Brown Estate Vineyards
2006 Chiles Valley, Napa - nicely perfumed and an improvement over the 2005

Dashe Cellars
2005 Old Vines, Todd Brothers Ranch, Alexander Valley

D-Cubed Cellars
2005 Howell Mountain

Downing Family Vineyards
2005 H&H Vineyard, Fly by Night, Oakville

Hendry
2005 Block 7, Hendry Vineyards, Howell Mountain

Limerick Lane Cellars
2005 Collins, Russian River Valley

Macauley Vineyard
2005 Moss Creek Zinfandel - top marks, highly recommended (also see Moss Creek below)

Mauritson Family Winery
2005 Cemetery Vineyard, Rockpile, Sonoma - grippy but delicious

Moss Creek Winery
2001 Estate - mellow and delicious - try to find this one
2004 Estate Reserve, Wappo Camp Moskowite Ranch, Napa Valley - recommended

Novy Family Wines
2005 Papera Ranch Vineyards, Russian River Valley - full of wild cloves, distinct and delicous

Ottimino
2004 Von Weidlich, Green Valley, Russian River Valley - spicy and gamey - one to look for
2005 Estate, Green Valley, Russian River Valley, extracted but very good

Papapietro Perry
2005 Pauline's Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley - licorice scented and delicous
2005 Elsbree Vineyard, Russian River Valley

Ridge
2006 East Bench
2006 Geyserville
2006 Pagani Ranch - my favorite, tangerine scented!
2006 Old School

Rosenblum Cellars
2005 Monterosso, Sonoma Valley - excellent
2006 Maggie's Reserve

Saddleback Cellars
2005 Old Vine, Frediani Vineyard, Napa Valley - dark and brooding

Saxon Brown Wines
Vertical from 1997 to 2004 (Such a treat at a big tasting!) Look for 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004

Tin Barn Vineyards
2005 Glisson Vineyards, Russian River Valley - one of my favorites of the day: Highly recommended

Tofanelli Family Vineyard
2005 Tofanelli Family Vineyard

Trinitas Cellars
2004 Ancient Vines, Contra Costa County
2004 Old Vine Cuvée -plush and round

Turley Wine Cellars
2006 Hayne Vineyard, Napa Valley - lighter body than most Hayne, but lovely -recommended

Z-52
2005 Truchard Vineyard, Napa Valley - recommended
2004 Clockspring Vineyard, Amador County - very good