Finally Wine

Because there are days when you just need something ridiculous. And the bubbles makes it classy.

We all enjoy basking in the warmth of generous, sweet love. And the easier that love comes to us the better, right? But is that right? Too often, we just follow along from one step to the next letting "love" entice us into a comfortable yet blind stroll down a path rather than compelling us forward on a exciting & unknowing journey. It's safe, I suppose, and easy to nurture the relationship that looks right on paper and feels acceptable to everyone watching. But where is the passion? The stirring feeling? The hook.

Juicy, ripe and familiar are, too often, the hallmarks of both the modern winemaker and consumer. More and more regional producers are working hard to make everything riper and softer as quickly as possible. And Beaujolais is right in there, stomping along. Quality producers from Beaujoalis themselves will tell you that they are struggling to separate themelves from the connotation of theire regional name, bastardized by the Beaujoalis Nouveau fanatacism. Like all fanatics, that craze died a wicked and abrupt death. But now the producers of quality wines from the region are left holding the bag....working hard to rebuild their reputation. Among these are a group of the most dedicated purists--the Gang of Four. I had long been searching for a bottle produced by one of the four and just never seemed to find one along my trail. I came across the bottle above and snagged it. My anticipation was set.

Beaujoalis is the easy relationship. Fruity, juicy and easily pleasing. The crus of Beaujoalis offer more than the regional expressions but can still feel textbook.  For the person looking for that passionate, stirring relationship, it's hard to get off the easy path with the blindless walk. It's safe. You know the one, where one day you wake up and you're getting married and you don't even understand why. Because it was the next step? Because its what everyone expects? Because it's easy? And with wine who wants to waste hard-earned dollars when an old trusted favorite will at least be a safe drink? True love isn't supposed to be easy. And it certainly isn't supposed to look like what everyone expects.

And so I uncorked the bottle and poured a glass. It was completely unexpected and downright funky. The prominent aromas were quite...animal. It was a bretty nose that was off-putting. Without patience it would normally make me push my glass away. But I was determined to know if this could be true love. So I dedicated some time mixing the wine with air in the bowl of my glass and kept an open mind that patience might reward my palate. So I enjoyed the color of the wine while I waited.

Really beautiful ruby but not as brilliant as you'd want in the wine with great street appeal--the easy love. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered and you can see that. It's where the soul comes from. It's not vacant and empty and pretty in a simple way. It doesn't spend its time watching reality TV shoes or following celebrities on instagram. There's thoughtful soul here that needs consideration. It's being quite difficult already. But with time (honestly it was still amazing three full days after first opened, despite the lack of added sulphur) the wine revealed a mesmerizing floral quailty overlaying a crystallized strawberry quality and sense of soil that was way more complex than "juicy, fruity" can ever compete with (sic). In fact, it took the complete three days for all the wines nuances to reveal themselves. And yet, if I were to describe it, it would sound like "strawberry, black cherry, herb, floral"...the usual words. But as with a great and true love, it's all about the feeling. The complex depth and subtleties that move you forward. Some of us don't need that in love or wine. We are happy with the juicy fruity wine that doesn't challenge us to think and stay on our toes. Many don't want to be romanced, they want their thirst to be satisfied without the need of thought. But some of us need more. Some of us know that every bottle is an opportunity to discover the depths of a winemakers soul and the nuances of each valley and rock in a  particular place and time. And for us, true love is worth the risk and definitely warrants the reward.

Drink this.

Sometime the Wine Trail doesn't get me very far from home. Be that as it may, there can be a great adventure found anywhere....just around the corner. Often, when you least expect it. And so I'm traveling to what may be another industry tasting expecting more of the same crowds filled with people who have less than polite tasting etiquette (please don't hog the space in front of the tasting table--grab your sample and step aside!) and more than enough ego. But I'm hopeful that something delicious will surprise me--sustain me--until the next open road journey arrives.

This was one of the wines of the Santa Lucia Highlands tasting at Fort Mason Gallery last week. More to come ...

Jonas, The Blizzard of 2016 arrived on Friday as an epic event on the east coast. But for me, the epic event was the arrival of the second full moon since the December solstice. Set to reach the crest of its full phase on Saturday evening, January 23 at 8:46 p.m. EST, this full moon, often called the Snow Moon,  gave new context to the arrival of white flakes ushered into the sky on a pushy, tormented wind.

aromas of white peach, litchi and acacia flowers. On the palate ripe and pulpy fruit with good concentration and hints of herbs & grass with richness of Semillon that gave it noticeable weight on the mid palate--letting it rest there before plunging toward its fresh acidity of Sauvignon Blanc on the finish.

There is something to be said for getting away. Even when you have to work a bit in order to do it. For me, the desert is a transcontinental flight and a two-hour drive away. Which essentially adds up toe full day of travel. When I arrived, 1999 Laurent-Perrrier bottle in tow, the "dry" heat of the sun left me drained and parched. And when I'm tired, I have no time for wanna-be wine. There is so much in the world that lacks authenticity. With people, they pretend to be whomever they need to be to get by--steal someone's style; dress like your girlfriend wants you to; withhold your true comments and thoughts about backward thinking to remain in someone's good graces....in short, they lead with their bullshit. With wine, its the producers who create a storybook setting backed up by a label but no sound terroir or winegrowing. I'm not much for mixology in my wine. But when I'm tired, my open-mindedness shuts firmly closed. Just give me something delicious. Something with some soul.

So I popped the cork on my last bottle of 1999 Laurent-Perrier Brut and waited to be refreshed. I wasn't sure how "fresh" this wine would taste and became worried that my selection was a mistake. Back home on the east coast, where Fall and its accompanying "snap" had arrived, the flavors of a more mature champagne would pair with the environs a bit better. But here, where the dust of the desert mixed happily with the gusty winds off the mighty San Jacinto Peak--I was thinking refreshing might have been more in order. Perhaps the Ultra-Brut would have been a better choice. The lack of dosage in that wine would have preserved a bit more of the freshness by denying the wine to energy to continue to evolve after being disgorged. 

But oh well. There I was and there it was. The beautiful mousse filled the glass as I poured and settled in a delicate, pin-straight bead of fine bubbles. Just what the doctor ordered. I was happy to find that the wine within was still fresh and light but balanced with a concentration of baked apples and pears with notes of citrus and jasmine, all wrapped in the buttery baked notes of well-made brioche. I ripped apart the croissant and voila--I was sustained. I swear I could survive on bread and bubbles. 

The amazing thing about authentic champagne, particularly one from big house, is the depth, balance and elegance. For me, it isn't always the complexity that makes the glass. Sometimes less complex but more depth is a happy trade-off. I would say that I didn't find this to be the most complex bottle but it was heart-warmingly deep. And real. With great substance that managed to be refreshing in a thoughtful sort of way. You could taste how unafraid and unashamed she was to be just as is. And who wants a phony when you're exhausted? Or someone you have to cater to or create the perfect meal around to be appreciated. When something is authentic, it can just be.

Okay. So I can definitely spend a day at the Italian Embassy being poured endless glasses of Amarone followed by a tasty lunch. I was lucky enough to snag a seat at the tasting sponsored by the Amarone Families.

I have come to say fairly frequently -- the more I know, the less I know. Today proved to be no different. I was one of the lucky ones who responded quickly enough to secure a seat at the complimentary Wines of Mercurey tasting sponsored by the Bourgogne Wine Board. A world-wide tasting held live and interactive with participants tweeting questions to the host was a first for me. It was fun. Truth be told, I mostly signed up for the tasting because it was Burgundy and it was free. As a wine student, free becomes a pretty important word. Even though I get to taste wines for the list at work, there are many wines that are impractical for me to add -- too expensive, too obscure....too French. So I looked upo this as a free morning of pinot noir at the hands of my favored French. A good way to solidify my blind tasting on the Gaul expression. Little did I know that I would encounter a region of intense soil complexity and hidden value. We tasted six wines in total after the lecture. Did I love them all? No. Would I call all of them go-to alternatives to the more expensive Burgundy to the north? No. But there were a couple that were genuinely delightful and engaging. 

The first of these that caught my attention was the sole white of the afternoon - Maison Louis Max Les Rochelles 2013. It reminded me a great deal of some of favored Meursault experiences. Nice mineral tension and notes of white flowers and citrus with a lovely texture and hints of hazelnut. It was definitely a great way to start. Though whites are in the production minority of this region, I'd scout out a few more to try based upon this experience.

I was also really pleased overall with the texture of all the five remaining reds in the flight. That velvety texture that I love so much from French red Burgundy was there. One of the wines kinda ruined the experience for me with their heavy-handed use of oak but that's my personal opinion. The color was off and the aromas was obscured. I drink pinot noir for the full experience and its color and nose are definitely part of it. The Domaine Nathalie & Jean-Claude Theulot was lovely and engaging with notes of cherry, strawberry & Asian spice that kept me going back for more. A little cold maceration brought out the fruit and the color on this one was a bit darker. Very nice. But my favorite overall is the wine pictured above. The 1er Cru Sazenay from Domaine de Suremain is a southeast facing vineyard and so receives good sunlight to aid in ripening. The soils are heavier clay over limestone bedrock holding onto moisture and keeping the vines "feet" cool. These are considered two of the ingredients in the recipe that helps create distinctively delicious pinot noir. The domaine's delicate use of oak lended some pretty vanilla flavors and cold maceration gave this wine nice concentration of color and fruit flavors. The growing conditions helped provide a pronounced lift to the aromas. What's "lift"? I sound like such a geek when a use that term but its hard to describe it any other way. It's a freshness and an aroma that just hits you up "there" -- higher in your nasal passages. And there was that lovely silky texture. A long and elusive finish with hints of forest floor made me happy. It's fall afterall and a little of this earthy complexity seems to go with my chunky sweater and long scarf. The premier cru status of the wines of Mercurey aren't necessarily on par with those you'd find along the Cote to the north but it does symbolize "better" nonetheless. In terms of soil structure and exposure anyway. As is the case throughout France, you have to know the producer: what they do, how they do it and what you like in order to truly unlock your personal "greats". 

It's said that Mercurey was named Mercury, patron god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence and thus poetry, among other things. These gods, it seems, were pretty busy back then. But I'll go with eloquence and poetry here. Those are two words I would use to describe the best achievements in pinot noir and despite their "lesser" status within the Burgundy world, I'd happily drink these Mercurey's any time. 

#nowaytostain