The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

WBW #46 White Rhône Varietals: Domaine La Bastide Roussanne 2006

This has to be a quick post, I'm afraid. It seems this one caught me a little off guard. When I saw Dr. Debs' post earlier today, my heart sank and I realized I hadn't realized the date. The good thing is that I love Rhône wines and always have a few whites around, as well as a few American bottles made with white Rhône  grapes. I particularly like Roussanne, especially once the weather starts to get warm. Something about a grape that really has to be picked ripe, similar to Viognier, that still packs a nice bit of pucker appeals to me.

I rushed home after work and started rummaging through my cellar and couldn't find the Picpoul blanc I really wanted to try tonight, but did put my hands on this extremely well-priced offering from the Languedoc. I'm pretty sure this one came from Paul Marcus Wines in Rockridge, which always has a large selection of white Rhônes at very good prices for summer drinking.

The Domaine La Bastide Rousanne 2006 from Guilem Durand is 100% Roussanne from vineyards that average 15 years old in the typical sandstone pebbles of Southern France. After cold fermentation, it stayed on the lees for four months with weekly stirring, then filtered and bottled.

The color is  a pale yellow with a nice green tint. On the nose I get fresh melon, citrus, flowers, and Camomile tea. There is a typical oily character to the mouth-feel and it really has a nice bit of acid on it. Of course, since this is such ripe wine and had a lot of tartrates at end left in the bottle, I do have a suspicion that it received a healthy  dose of acidification. None the less, at around $14.00 a bottle, it is really a steal and recommended for a nice night.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #45 Old World Riesling

An excellent theme for this month's WBW, Old World Riesling, from one of the grand poobahs of the WBW, our own Tim Elliot from the Winecast. Thanks for hosting, Tim!

Riesling is a grape of the ancients, dating back to Roman times, but why has its universal appeal continued? I imagine what it must have been like to sit at a fine table five hundred years ago and why riesling was so attractive. I suspect the high-toned floral component and spice aromas,  along with a sweet muskiness,  must have been welcome amongst the other less savory smells that must have all around in those days. The onslaught of too-ripe meats and too-ripe people must have been pretty overwhelming, so a fragrant white wine would have been a fine thing to bury ones nose in to get away from it all.

Another miracle within the Riesling vine is the ability to grow in the harshest of winter climates. Riesling is grown in most northerly region that fine wine grapes can grow, which fosters great acidity. All the best grapes are grown on a south facing slope to suck in every last ray of sunshine. Terry Theise describes the slopes of Domprobst as impossibly steep. In fact, some vineyards are so steep they need small monorail trams to help workers move grapes down the hillside to the sorting table.

Picking German Wine

I'm the first to admit that picking a great German wine is pretty daunting. For me, I find the vineyard names difficult to memorize and like a lot of fine wines, the devils and the angels are in the details --in those vineyard names. A lot of producers make thousands of bottles of their lesser table wines and only a few hundred cases of their special small vineyard designates. To make matters worse, even the most famous of German vineyards, Piesporter and Bernkastel for instance, were synonymous with both greatness and cheap plonk for many years, especially the wines exported to the U.S. so it was only those in the know who were the dependable producers.  Fortunately, quality has improved greatly in the export market and we're now able to get even more spectacular wines from Germany.

If you're new to German wines, I recommend highly the section in the Karen MacNeil's Wine Bible on all things German. According to Karen MacNeil, the new stars of Germany include: Müller-Catoir, Fritz Haag, Willi Schafer, Lingenfelder, Gunderloch, Karlsmühle, and Dönnhoff. Certainly don't overlook Dr. Loosen, Egon Müller, Joh. Jos. Prüm, and Selbach-Oster.

On to Tasting Notes: 2006 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Kabinett Riesling

Extravagant nose with lots of earthy honey, challah/brioche, orange blossom and a touch of petrol. Perhaps a bit of green mint. The quivering acidity makes your tongue come alive and then it's soothed by the off-dry luscious coating. This is a wine that you can drink all night, and at 8.5 % alcohol, you might as well. Absolutely recommended. I immediately bought more of this, and the Auslese #14 after tasting this.

How to Read This German Wine Label:

1. Region: In this case the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

2. Producer: In this case, one of the best producers in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

3. Year: 2006 was a difficult year for weather in Mosel, but in the hands of a good producer, results were excellent

4. Vineyard designation: In this case, the Graacher Domprobst is the main vineyard holdings of Willi Schaefer estate.

5. Sweetness level: Kabinett is the next to driest level of sweetness, so expect off-dry but not sweet.

6. Grape: Riesling
7. QmP designation showing this is a "quality wine with special attributes."

8. Alcohol: in this case, 8.5% which is 50% of the strength of that Paso zinfandel, and the equivelant of 2 strong Belgian beers.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #44: French Cabernet Franc

Once again, it's Wine Blogging Wednesday and this month's host needs little introduction for anyone that has followed the wine blog and vlog scene of the last couple of years, Gary Vayerchuk. His reviews are sometimes sweet, sometimes salty, usually peppery, and always entertaining. The theme for the month? Cab Franc from France, which to me says Loire Valley, specifically Chinon.

I'm hoping that I picked one that is a little less well known, at least for those of us who shop at Kermit Lynch, who always has a good supply of the Charles Jouget Chinons.  Instead of a Jouget, I picked a wine from another maverick winemaker, Bernard Baudry. Those of you in the trade that live in Chicago or New York can meet him on April 14 (Chicago) and April 15 (NYC). Check here for details.

Chinon Les Grézeaux 2004, Bernard Baudry

This is made from the oldest planted parcel of his three wines, with 50 year old vines on average. It spends 1 year in oak that is is 3-5 years old for a dose of that old wood funk. Tasting notes:

This wine exhibits the classic character of Loire Cab Franc - warts and all. By this I mean that many Loire reds suffer from a wild weediness that when consumed on its own distracts from the flavor of the fruit. What every bistro owner in Paris knows though, is that when consumed with food, especially something like classic Steak Frites with lots of pepper, the general herbaceousness can compliment fat and spice.

The first thing that hits your nose is smoke, sweet old oak, wet stones, and maybe a little wet sock. With an hour or so in the glass, these give way to more pepper, mushroom and forest floor.

On the tongue, it's got plenty of acid and a very Old World kind of dried fruit flavor. It tastes more mature than its 4 years and has little in the way of the fresh fruit of say, a Spring Mountain AVA Cab Franc from Napa or even a Cab Franc from Bordeaux. It's really its own beast, so open it expecting something light in body, lifted with herbs, and plenty of tannins.

WBW#43: Comfort Wines: Olson Ogden Syrah 2005

Wine Blogging Wednesday #44 Comfort Wines

This month's theme, thanks to Joel at Wine Life Today, has been surprisingly thought provoking. For the last week, I've been wondering what makes a wine comforting. Is it a wine you want to  sink your nose in after a bad day? Or a wine that sparks with nostalgia? Is it fatty and plump like a mature merlot, or is it to be lean and leggy, like a great Loire white?

Ultimately, I decided that for me, a wine that is pure comfort should be that reliable bottle that you can count on to be consistently great each time you open it. It should be round and complete with the edges artfully sanded off. Certainly, it should be a wine you are always proud to serve. And, of course, it should be just plain delicious.

As I picked though my cellar looking for something to fill the bill, I had two immediate thoughts. My first reaction was to grab a great mature zinfandel. I had a 2000 Tin Barn Jensen Vineyards in my hands. Good zinfandel was the first thing I started to collect, the first wines I bought futures in, and despite my wandering eonophilic eye --tempted by the fruit of other grapes, I still maintain a large supply of excellent zins.

But alas, WBW is a weeknight event and the thought of having leftover Tin Barn made me shudder. So I grabbed something else that fit the bill perfectly. Sonoma County Syrah.

2005 Olson Ogden Syrah, Sonoma

Tim Olson makes a quintessential American Syrah. In this case American is a euphemism for tastefully oaked. Though I do occasionally look downunder for a bit of Shiraz, most of the non-American syrah I drink is French, and the vast majority of the French syrah I drink is made in giant wood or cement foudres and rarely touches oak. The lack of oak, especially Southern Rhônes, yields the angularity I often seek out for the spark of interest, not necessarily pure comfort.

On the nose, there is a bramble character to it, --both the berry and a bit of stem, along with a controlled whiff of toasted vanilla from the 17% new French Oak treatment. The mouth feel is round with just the right balance between fruit and acid, so it avoids flabbiness.   148 cases made. Around $25.00 US.

Find this wine, buy it, drink it, and be comforted by it.

As an aside, I was thrilled to read in their new blog that they have moved their operations back to Sebastapol, near my friend Fred Scherrer's winery.

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

Please decant me for
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cherry magic.

WBW#41 Friuli-Venezia Giulia White Wines: The Magic of iClivi

It's Wine Blogging Wednesday again, and this month's theme, hosted by Fork and Bottle, is one of the best in many months. I love Italian whites, and haven't had nearly enough Friuli wines, so it's a great excuse seek out a great one.

This month, I feel very fortunate to have been turned on to a wine that I can revisit for this month from a master winemaker, Ferdinando Zanusso at iClivi. I first tasted this at the wonderful restaurant, Hearth, in NYC with one of my dear friends who just happens to work for Artisan Wines, an important importer of great Italian wines. Hearth had it on special by the glass, but honestly, I think it was not this exact bottling, but I still remembered it was very exciting at the time.

When I heard of our theme I called up my friend and asked if he could send me some more to write about today and he also sent a red Friuli and one more Clivi for the cellar. That is what friends are for --I really love this wine.

This is completely natural wine. No oak. No racking. No filtering. Natural yeast from the grapes themselves do the fermenting. Only age and long slow cold fermentation form what ends up in the glass. The grapes, mostly Tocai with a little Malvasia,  come from very old stock, up to 70 years old, with very low yields. The result is a stunningly clean wine.

2002 Clivi Brazan

The first thing that hits you is how fresh the wine smells, like it was just pressed with the headiness of the must rising from the tank. Then comes gentle flowery tones, honey, seaside minerals, and a hint of banana tropicals.  The lack of filtration makes the wine coat the palate in a lovely way, with some nice heft. Five years of age has left her mark, imparting a beautiful glow in the glass. While this has less of the bracing acidity of a lot of the Friuli whites I've had, with more minerality that doesn't detract from pairing this with food. It is drinking perfectly now, but a few more years of age couldn't hurt.

Seek this wine out. Highly recommended.

WBW#40: Que Sirah Sirah (Petite Sirah, that is...)

Thanks to the Wannabe Wino for hosting this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday, our 40th month of co-global-tasting and blogging.

With humble apologies to my friends at P.S. I Love You, I usually put this grape firmly in the blender category. I say this because Petite Sirah is usually such an inky massive beast, that a little goes a long way in a blend. That being said, it's not just the color that it imparts in a blend, but also an aroma lift that adds complexity.

My wine this month didn't disprove my preconceived notion above, I'm afraid. It was a gift from a great Greek friend, who I begged to bring me some Greek wine one dinner party. Even out here in the land of wine, she couldn't find anything...alas, she did find a bottle with a Greek name! - Orpheus.

I often like Lolonis' Zinfandels, so it was a welcome gift. Lolonis is known for its organic practices and the ladybugs that are their trademark. You can meet the family and get a ladybug sticker next ZAP. This wine was blended with a small amount of Valdiugé, but subsequent years have used Gamay.

Lolonis "Orpheus" Petite Sirah 2001

This wine's aroma is a heady brew of blueberries, allspice, and quality new oak, with hints of dried mushrooms that show its age. The flavor is quite peppery with puckery tannins and a clean, but short-lived finish. There is a shocking amount of sediment in this wine, so much so in my bottle, that it was tooth coating and almost chalky. Not really recommended, I'm afraid.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #39: Silver Burgundy

Oh, I love it when I have the perfect WBW selection right there in the cellar, and with a nice bit of age on it to boot. This month's host, The Brooklyn Guy has asked us to find a Burgundy looking beyond the Côte d'Or, and to do so for less than $25. I usually like to scour my favorite haunts for something that fits the bill, but this time I'm going for the quintessential Mâconnais, from Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon. The label for the Clos du Four offering from Les Héritiers is on the Mâconnais page in Jancis' new 6th edition of the Wine Atlas, stating "There could be no greater complement to this southern Burgundian outpost than the arrival of Lafon and Leflaive".

Dominique Lafon is a fourth-generation winemaker known for his stunning Côte d'Or Burgundies. Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon is his second offering from land he purchased in the Mâcon in 1999 and is farmed with Biodynamic principals. He is unique in making distinct wines from each vineyard to express its own terroir rather than blending all his holdings together.

While his Meursault Perrieres can fetch over $300 a bottle upon release, M. Lafon's gifted hand with the Chardonnay grape can be sampled even at the $25 range with the Mâcon-Milly Lamartine, named for the village where the winery is. A must try, and one that is relatively easy to find, especially in the Bay Area.

Tasting Notes: 2003 Mâcon-Milly Lamartine

Slate and granite minerality as well as lemon and pear appear on the nose. For the "simplest" of the Lafon offerings, the mouth-feel is massive and coating and the color of beautiful golden straw. There is a middle softness that is probably due to the strange weather in Burgundy in 2003, with grapes for this wine picked in August. So, it's not as crisp as a cru Chablis, but not as soft as a Montrachet. Heady, floral, and lovely. Highly recommended.

WBW #39 Announced: Silver Burgundy

The Brooklyn Guy is taking the reins for next month's Wine Blogging Wednesday. You taste the wine, post on your blog, and write to our generous host on November 14th, 2007 and  be included in the round-up of this month's theme, "Silver Burgundy".  We're not talking about the Gold Coast (Côte D'Or) but rather, the more affordable areas like the Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais.

Look to the villages within these, such as Mâcon or Mâcon-Villages, or Bouzeron, Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny. There are plenty of easy to find wines and good values to choose from. I'm looking forward to this one. Coincidentally, tonight I have a glass of Premier Cru Montagny in my hand as I write this, and I have quite a few to choose from. Those in the Bay Area should really consider heading over to the Wine House on Carolina Street & 17, my choice spot for good values in Burgundy.