Wine Musings Vol#49

Wine of Merit: ****Shibumi Knoll, Shibumi Knoll Vineyards, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 2004: Wonderfully elegant, even if perhaps a bit short of its Japanese meaning, “Effortless Perfection” (though I admire the pluck). Still…this is a classic effort. Extremely well crafted, it is reminiscent of the Lokoya wines that I cellar with enthusiasm. Stylish, somewhat reserved notes of cassis, red currant, graphite and pipe tobacco weave themselves together seamlessly. With time, these characteristics are enhanced with more redolent black fruit notes. The palate feel is pronounced but not overwhelming, its presence complementary to the flavors, coating from entry to finish, now introducing melted licorice and mint, a hint of hazelnut from the oak, adding to the wines overall gravitas and sense of balance and harmony. The finish is very firm and long but never really out of balance with the rest of the experience. Certainly a wine that will reward cellaring. I am blown away by how sophisticated this effort is, in the winery’s second vintage. One to watch with enthusiasm. At $80, expensive…and worth it. Kudos!

***+Chateau Saint Martin de la Garrigues, Le Bronzinelle, Coteaux du Languedoc, 1999: This wine was literally and figuratively a gift. Offered to me by a dear friend, brought home gingerly from a trip to Paris, this wine is wonderful in its simplicity and exuberance. A Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre, Carignan blend. Plush, fragrant Languedoc aromas of plump red fruit, grilled meats, bell pepper, smoke and yes garrigue waft from the glass. Velvety and round on the palate, with blackberry, briar and chocolate elements all integrated and smooth. Not that the wine is flabby – the acids are lively but nicely integrated with the flavors, all kept in balance. The finish is silky and sweet, with a touch of café au lait and wood spices. Drinking perfectly now. I don’t have the heart to tell her it is imported by Kermit Lynch and can be had for under $20 (in fact under $15). But I will tell you all – and pound the table as it is a steal. I love the Languedoc!

**++Newton, Unfiltered, chardonnay, 1994: It’s alive! A surprise find while digging through the cellar, I did not hold out much hope. Given the dark glass bottle, I could not tell the color but expected that dark, almost persimmon hue that typically suggests maderized chard. Instead…voila! A promising pale gold. Could it be? Fresh if demure aromatics of lemon curd, pineapple, mango and clover. The palate is bright and surprisingly firm…a slight sprtiz at entry, tangerine and a very nice mineral flintiness. The finish is lightly honeyed, showing a touch of tobacco and spicy oak that sadly just turns bitter at the very end. Wow! I would never have guessed this wine would have held on this long. A very nice surprise indeed.

**++Chehalem, 3 Vineyards, Willamette Valley, pinot noir, 2006: Delightful. Still sorting itself out, the 2006 Chehalem 3 vineyards, their entry pinot if you will, still offers bright, tangy cherry fruit, green tea, herbs and a nice cherry blossom element. The palate is also bright and racy, with more red fruit and licorice. Fine, spicy finish. Fairly simple, this is a nice, quaffable pinot noir. Perhaps it will add more weight and complexity with age, but for now it is pleasant and a very nice “first wine” at any meal.

A few side notes: The **Turjanis, Buena Tierra, Russian River Valley, chardonnay, 2001 and the **Chasseur, Lorenzo Vineyard, Russian River Valley, chardonnay 2003 have either passed their primes or were not very special to begin with. Funny, as both boast excellent provenance. This is the second wine from Karen Bower Turjanis that has left me tepid, the other being the Steiner pinot, it too from great grapes. Odd as she has made such great wines for Lokoya and others in the past. In this case, the nose is demure, the palate lemony and vanilla with too much oak showing through, the finish flaccid. The Chasseur is a problem. I like Bill Hunter’s wines so much when they are young…really great stuff. But even just a little bit of bottle age seems to knock his wines for a loop. Here the wine is already showing a mute nose and candied palate flavors with a touch of hazelnut, on its way to old age after only 3 years in bottle. Disappointing.

Wine Musings Vol#5

From Notes taken December, 2005:

Wine of Merit: ****Montallegro Cabernet, Santa Cruz Mountains 1997: This is one of those wines. You know what I mean…having drank your 100th “ok” wine, you wonder if it is really worth cellaring all of this stuff…and then you have that wine that makes your eyes roll back and you realize that, yes, it is worth it. Really wonderful. Cali Cheval Blanc (even though I don’t think there is any cab franc in here). Amazingly expressive right out of the bottle. Lush, velvety ripe plum, figs, grilled meats and Portobello mushrooms, picholine olives, touch of rosemary, lilac. Very developed already. Great depth and integration, ton of fruit on the palate. Graceful. Fairly resolved on the long-ish finish, this wine would have made me guess very expensive 82 St. Emillion if I didn’t know better. I think it will hold for a good while still, but be would surprised if it gets better. Hard to imagine it getting much better. I bought this bottle on a reco from the NVWE in San Fran and wish I had bought more (still, at $60 a pop back in 2001 for un-tasted Santa Cruz cab - I am not surprised I didn’t). I will now seek out Montallegro and try to buy more as it is A STEAL at $60. Easily a 95+ point wine. Unfortunately, there is like 120 cases made – and not every vintage makes it to bottle. I think the current vintage is 2001 and I hear it is good. Try http://www.nvwe.com/ if you want to experiment with me.

**++Brunello di Montalcino: Azienda Pieri Agostina, 1999. This was a very nice wine, suffering from a little TCA which muted the flavors. Very much an “international” style of Brunello, deep, dark wine with cassis and black fruit elements, very firm and structured. Not very fun. If I want this kind of wine I will more likely buy St. Julien. Buy more? Probably not.

**Fattoria Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano 2004. Morellino is another name for Sangiovese. Scansano is in the Maremma, estate area for this winery and the hot area to grow sangiovese these days. The wine was very varietal on the nose, red berry fruit, saddle leather, white pepper, clove. Very light palate, almost inconsequential. This is a pizza wine and I am on a no carb diet. Lacking depth and integration makes this a pass for me. Maybe as it ages it will take on weight? I’m not going to risk it.

***++Castello Banfi Summus, 1997. You know Banfi gets a bad rap. It is like the Opus of Tuscany – wine geeks turn their collective nose up at it as it is a crowd pleaser, maybe a bit overpriced and the estate makes a lot of wine. It is owned by Americans (!) Summus was a bit of a Johnny come lately to the Super Tuscan party, is a sangiovese, cab, syrah blend and thus is seen as a me too Trophy wine – Sassicaia for the masses. Yeah – whatever. This wine is fantastic. The 1997 vintage in Tuscany is, in my opinion, the best in many, many years –maybe ever. And this wine is great. The cab adds structure and the syrah depth, but this is all about the sangiovese. Laser like fruit focus, purity of fruit, great depth. Concentrated, red berry and black cherry flavors with saddle leather, grilled meats, pepper, earth and cola. Mocha and violets with more red fruit on the palate. Most importantly, perfect balance, which bodes well for long term aging. Amazingly clean for an Italian wine. Buy more? At $50 this is a definite buy. If you can find it. The current vintage is probably 2002.

**++Ciacci Picolomini D’Aragona Ateo 2001. Having grown up in Italy a Jew, I was pulling for a wine called “Ateo” (Atheist) made in a country of Roman Catholics. I hear ya, brother! A very well regarded Super Tuscan (RP 91/WS91). Like the Brunello, unfortunately a little dirty and muted. Underneath this wine, also, was a more international style, made of sangiovese, cab merlot and aged in French oak. It offers black fruit, licorice, nice structure, very good balance, sweet tannins. Very nice, if not very varietal. Again, I would buy Bordeaux if I wanted this kind of wine. Brought in by Skurnick, who knows good wine.

**++(*)Turjanis Steiner Pinot Noir, 2003. From the Russian River Valley area. Steiner usually offers complex, rich pinot. This is a bit of a light weight. Elegant, if not complex. Lots of good red fruit and distinct lavender notes. Integrated wood and nice cola, eucalyptus. Kinda expected. Has the weight and mouth feel of a good Bourgogne. Will not last in the cellar. A daily drinker, in my opinion. Buy more? This would be a good find at $18-22. At $35, I pass. I have 2 bottles in the cellar and will drink through them with some nice cheeses on a Saturday afternoon, watching college football. Go Nittany Lions!