Rick's Pick Values

It’s Not about Price - A Rick’s Pick reflects my Evaluation of Pleasure and Value. A Rick’s Pick is not based on Label, Vintage, Someone’s Numeric Rating or Sales Pitch. Only if my taste finds Pleasure and the price reflects Value will I consider buying.

Here is a current sampling:

Isolda ’07 Tinto. Navarra, Spain $6.99/6.19 is all Tempranillo - not the most complex wine you will have tasted, but quite delightful with great fruit and balance. I would drink it at the drop of a hat even if it were $10 a bottle.
JP Azeitâo ’07 Tinto, Terras do Sado, Portugal, $8.99/8.07, Castellâo, 60%, Aragonez 20%, Syrah 20%. This one is complex, not “loud”, exquisitely light - a whole palette of flavors play beautiful music. Here is Value!
Les Berthets ’05 Premières Le Côtes de Blaye, $9.99/8.99 - and it is Estate Bottled. Who said good Bordeaux is expensive? It is going fast, so get yours.
Ruberte Tresor ’07, Campo de Borja, Spain. $9.99/8.99. Old Vine Grenache. Explosive! The bright, beautiful fruit in this wine, balanced with lovely acid and a touch of tannin, is a revelation. Even at half the price of this gem, Nouveau Beaujolais, would not come close (that is why I embargoed Nouveau years ago, but definitely not regular Beaujolais, Beaujolais Village nor Cru Beaujolais - see the next Value)
Trenel Fils ’03 Morgon, Cru du Beaujolais, $24.99/22.49. Let me tell you about Trenel Morgon! First, it has been imported for ages by a feisty gentleman by the name of Robert Chatterdon, who cares not about any opinion but his own - good luck to him - he can apparently afford to. In my own cellar I have the remnants of a case of Trenel ’83 Morgon - yes ’83 - it is 25 years old and has aged beautifully. Pale, delicate, fragile, but exquisite. For as long as it lasts, a treat which we indulge in when we need solace. I can assure you that the ’03, a substantial wine from a hot vintage, will give you solace for years to come - expect elegance - no “loud elevator music” here.
Lungarotti ’04 Rubesco, Rosso di Torgiano, $14.99/13.49, Sangiovese 70%, Canaiolo, 30%. When we think of Umbrian wine, we think Lungarotti, and specifically, legendary Giorgio Lungarotti, the founder of the vineyard and winery in the 1960's. His daughters carry on the tradition. The Rubesco, Rosso di Torgiano is exceptional wine – classic Sangiovese with a Canaiolo kick in the finish. However, I urge you to splurge for a special treat - Lungarotti ’90 Rubesco Riserva, $49.99/44.99 or Lungarotti ’90 San Giorgio, $75.00/67.50. The latter, a blend of 40% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo and 50% Cabernet, used to be nick-named a “Super Umbrian”, is now officially labeled an IGT - Indicazione Geografica Tipica, or “Wine Typical of the Geographical Region” All three represent some of the greatest Values in Italian wine.

Another wonderful value in Italian wine, from the acclaimed Chianti producer Fatorria La Ripa, San Giorgio Alle Rose ’03, IGT Colle della Toscana Centrale, $14.99/13.49/12.74. This wine is made of Sangiovese and Canaiolo and I suspect that the Sangiovese is less than 85%, which would explain the IGT. The “Alle Rose” means “of the Rose” - it is not a Rosé, and the Lungarotti San Grigorio and this San Grigorio are unrelated. What is important is that this is another superb value - the $12.74 price is the bottle price if you buy a solid case. You will enjoy each bottle for several days after you open it, if you so choose, and the wine has staying power for several years, in case you resist drinking it all up in short order.
Domaine Hubert Chavy, ’07 Bourgogne Blanc, “Les Femelottes”, Estate Bottled and harvested by hand, $24.99/22.49. Chardonnay, but what Chardonnay - exquisitely delicate, with an unusual finish, You will reach again for the bottle.
Le Haut Chesneau ’02, Touraine, Tradition, $13.99/12.59. Cabernet Franc, Estate Bottled by Jean-Marc Villaine. Bottle age has softened the tannin, allowing the exceptionally complex Cab Franc fruit to come to the fore. You will enjoy this Loire wine with any rich food - pasta or meat. Beware; the bouquet is a little barnyardy.
Another exciting Grenache - Monte Oton 100% Garancha, Campo de Borja, Moncayo $9.99/8.99. Moncayo is an extinct volcano in the mountains in east central Spain, and the volcanic soil shows up in the underlying minerally component of light, ever-so-tasty quaffing wine, typical of Campo de Borja.
Domaine de la Madone, ’06 Beaujolais Le Perron, Estate Bottled by Jean Bererd, $14.99/13.49. An eye-opener.
Having, in short order, stolen the world’s Sauvignon Blanc limelight, New Zealand is in the process of doing the same with Pinot Noir. Characteristically, offering lovely bouquet and fruit, good balance and no noticeable oak, all for a fair price. Mud House ’07 Marlborough Pinot Noir, $16.99/15.29 and Latitude 410 ’05 Pinot Noir, $19.99/17.99 are good examples that focus on value. Latitude 410 would appear to define the north of theSouth Island and specifically Marlborough.
Domaine de la Pertuisane, ’05 “Le Nain Violet”. VDP Côtes Catalanes, Grenache 50%, Syrah 40%, Carignan 10% $24.99/22.50. Côtes Catalanes, is the foothills of the Pyrenees in southern Roussillon where Grenache is king. There is a unique, exquisite note in the mid-palate of this wine - does it come from any one of the three varietals? Does “Le Nain Violet”, which translates as the “Purple Dwarf” have anything to do with it?
If I could have only one wine for the rest of my life, it would be Syrah - specifically from the Northern Rhone Valley, and if I had a choice, it would be Hermitage - in my opinion France’s most underrated appellation, and if that wish could not be fulfilled, I would choose Porcupine Ridge Syrah from Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa. The ’07 vintage is $12.99/11.69. Incredible Value. Meaty, smoky, earthy, barnyardy, cowshed, stables - infinitely satisfying. To each his own, especially when it comes to wine.
My “wine bible” is a little book by Jancis Robinson “Guide to Wine Grapes” the pocket edition of a more comprehensive book by the same name, sadly now out of print. My bible has never failed to reveal something about every one of the many obscure grape varietals that I have encountered. Some of those varietals can be found as Rick’s Picks on the Madison Wine Shop shelves. Such is Torrontes, a white varietal, apparently native to Galicia in north-west Spain. I encountered it years ago as an Argentinean wine which I dubbed a “cameo Gewurztraminer” because of its bright acidity and hints of the spicy floral characteristics of Alsatian Gewurztraminer, but few shared my excitement and it disappeared from our market. I learn from Jancis Robinson that there are several white grape varietals, known as Torrontes, widely planted in Argentina. No definite relationship has been established between the Argentinean and Spanish Torrontes.
Within the last few months several Argentinean Torrontes bottlings have returned to the Madison Wine Shop, the most exciting of which is Inca ’07, $11.99/10.79. Torrontes 80%, Chardonnay 20%, squeaky clean, devoid of oak and malolactic fermentation, light, slightly spicy, with a hint of unadulterated Chardonnay.
An odyssey that spans nearly 15 years! Petit Verdot, was a Cinderella, imprisoned in Bordeaux by a relatively short growing season. The risk that it will not ripen has limited its planting to less than 5% of the Bordeaux vineyard area, and made it a minor component of most Bordeaux wines. Why you may ask do they even bother? I suspect that the answer is that a little Petit Verdot goes a long way towards spicing up typical (if there is such a thing) Bordeaux. Petit Verdot may be at the bottom of Bordeaux totem pole, after Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc and Malbec, but I suspect that it may be the tail that wags the dog. I find that it has a great bouquet and more tantalizing fruit and structure than either Cabernet or Merlot - even the color is a gorgeous striking plum red.
Benziger’s 1992 single-varietal Imagery Series, was my first encounter with Petit Verdot. I was smitten, but the wine disappeared from the market. By a creepy coincidence, during the course of writing this, I reached into a bin in my cellar for a bottle of wine for dinner, and what came out was probably the last bottle of that Benziger ’92 Petit Verdot! It was all I remembered, and more.
Three years ago, Inaki Castro, a Basque Jai-lai professional who retired 23 years ago and started a Spanish wine import business, brought me his first winemaking effort in Chile - Inaki a stunning wine, made of 49% Petit Verdot, which largely accounts for its utterly remarkable character. It re-lit my Petit Verdot torch. The latest vintage, Inaki ‘06 is a bargain at $19.99/17.99.
Two years ago I persuaded Inaki to make me a 100% Petit Verdot. The first vintage, Korta ‘05 Reserva, hit our shelves in November 2007 - an instant success which sold out 3 months before the new vintage was due. The Korta ’06, Barrel Select, Reserva, Petite Verdot $12.99/11.69 is getting raves. You absolutely must taste this.
Suddenly, it now seems that Petit Verdot has been “discovered” - a Spanish bombshell, Casa de la Ermita’s ’03 100% Petit Verdot $29.99/26.99,- is a watershed with its gorgeous plum color, seductive bouquet and tangy black fruit. Undoubtably my Wine Value of the Year.

Piedmont has a native grape, Arneis, that is another Cinderella. Despite glorious pear fruit and aroma, it lacks acidity, and wine without acidity is mere fruit juice that oxidizes rapidly. Cerreto, a Barolo producer came to the rescue about 20 years ago, by fermenting it under pressure in a closed fermenter, trapping the carbon dioxide in the wine. It is similar to a sparkling wine but under much lower pressure. Cerreto Blange ’07, $24.99/22.49, not only has the most beautiful label in the store - Italian flair - but is quite exquisite with a lovely mouth-feel and richness that goes with many foods
Cesari Pinot Noir delle Venezie ’07, $9.99/8.99, is an Italian revolution that appears to come from nowhere. Exquisite Pinot Noir bouquet and flavor with lovely balance - not a hair out of place. This bottling is young and opens up beautifully with aeration. Unbelievable Value.
The finalé - three wines from the south of France that reflect diversity and fantastic Value
Domaine de Chateaumar ’07 “CuveeBastien” Côtes du Rhone, $15.99/14.49.
Chateau de Sérame ’03 Minervois, $15.99/14.39
Dom de Familongue ’03, Coteau du Languedoc, $11.99/10.79. Estate Bottled, Grenache 59%, Syrah 11%, Carignan carbonic maceration, 9%; classic vinification 9%, Cinsault 8%,
Mouvedre 1%.

Rick Lewis

© Copyright 2008 Rick Lewis. All rights Reserved. Not responsible for typos.

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Two Great Wines, Two Big Gripes

I have neither Ranted nor Raved for some time, not because I have mellowed in my old age, but because I am perennially out of time. However, I am motivated by two Rave wines and two Gnawing public policy issues.

Rave No 1: Sorrel ’05 Hermitage: the most exciting wine I have tasted in several years.

Not surprisingly it is Syrah and it comes from Hermitage in the northern Rhone; in my opinion, the source of France’s best red wine value. My first sniff of J M B Sorrel’s 2005 Hermitage “Ler Vigneron” Lot 8 set my heart racing, my first sip left me ecstatic - Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastic playing on my palate. But it comes at a price - $89.99! In this economic climate? I hesitated for a minute or two, but then concluded “To hell with it - this is too good to pass up” A Super Rick’s Rave.

Rave No 2: My “Ultimate Turkey Wine”

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, and Christmas close behind I remind you of Montferrant Rosé Cava (Spanish sparkling wine), which, with every passing year, gains more and more fan. If you are already hooked you’ll need no reminder. It makes everyone happy -young, old, big red wine lovers (once they get over their sparkling Rosé phobia), and even lovers of fruity wine.

How does one wine do all of that? Lets start with the white meat/white wine shibboleth, which I do not accept. Delicately flavored food needs delicately flavored wine - the flavor of lobster is obliterated by an oaky, buttery Chardonnay, but complemented by a crisp, minerally Chablis, which is Chardonnay from the Chablis region of Burgundy. The day-after Thanksgiving, that cold turkey sandwich could go with either a white or a light red, but that Thanksgiving dinner with all the flavorful stuffing, gravy and tasty accompaniments, is a candidate for full-flavored red, like a big muscular Zin, which may not be the choice of many members of a family gathering.

So, bring on the Montferrant Rosé Cava! It is a relatively dark rosé, made mainly of Monastrell, the Spanish name for the French grape called Mourvedre, a tasty red that lurks in many southern French wines, and which gives Montferrant its bright black-fruit bouquet and its dark delicious fruit. In addition it has a tangy touch of tannin and the ability to stand up to that full-flavored turkey. Last, but not least. it is festive and should be served chilled.. Make your Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey memorable. $19.99/17.99 (bottle/bottle-by-the-case, mix or match). Open for tasting every day till Thanksgiving!

It occurs to me that over the past six months my Rants have been piling up, urging me to let them out. Only a few Rick’s Rants are non-wine-based - but letting them out makes me feel better.

Rant No 1: Employer-based health-care.

I understand that, like all members of Congress, those two senators, who have been haranguing us of late, have unlimited life-time health care paid by their employers - us the taxpayers. Is that socialized medicine?
If either or both recognize that health care “insurance”, of the kind we taxpayers are offered, is unlike any other kind of insurance, they are too smart to admit it. Conventional home insurance for example, is based on the fact that the statistical chance that any house will burn down does not generally increase year to year, but as individuals, it is a foregone conclusion that our healthcare needs increase as we get older. The insurance industry would prefer to insure the young who feel that they do not need it and prefer not to insure the old who do need it. They are able to increase premiums to the point where those who need it can no longer afford it. It used to be called highway robbery.

Rant No 2: Those bailouts.

If I am unable to sell that Rave No 1 wine can I get in line, behind GM for a bailout even though I knew, when I bought it, that any Rick’s Pick at $89 would be a tough sell? GM knew, in 1973, what was coming and they “downsized” the tanks that we were driving at that time. In the course of time oil prices dropped, perhaps with malice aforethought, killing the plans for alternate energy resources spawned by the1973 embargo, and it encouraged the auto industry’s highly profitable promotion of trucks gussied up as SUVs. The geniuses at GM, in mid-2008, suddenly woke up to the fact that SUVs would no longer fly and that they needed $125 billion and an undisclosed number of years to bring a replacement to market while they burn through billions in cash.

It brings to mind GM’s “Hydrogen Economy” PR red herring in 2003, which I believed then, and still do, was aimed at perpetuating the highly profitable SUV era and delaying the inevitable. It made no economic sense and even less technological sense. It led the lay public and many decision makers to believe that you could dig a hole in the ground and find hydrogen, just like we find coal, oil natural gas and uranium - that was the deceptive implication of “zero emissions”.

The supply of hydrogen is unlimited - simply separate it from water. But that requires energy. Electricity is the easiest way, and when you generate electricity in a hydrogen fuel cell you get back electricity (and the water you started with), but less electricity than you used to generate the hydrogen in the first place.

So hydrogen is a form of energy, just like electricity. Neither is a source of energy.

We have a huge infrastructure, probably reflecting an investment in the trillions, for generating and distributing electricity. For the hydrogen economy we start from scratch. What is more, we now have unused capacity for recharging electric vehicles during the night-time hours.

I am surprised that Honda has a limited number of hydrogen fueled cars on the road in California. At least they have put their money where their mouth is. All it takes to relegate GM’s hydrogen economy to the dust bin of history is a major break-through in battery technology!
I read recently that Warren Buffet has invested a few billion dollars in a Chinese company dedicated to research on battery technology and manufacturing electric cars!

Rick Lewis

© Copyright 2008 Rick Lewis. All rights Reserved.

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Wine Mythology - The Dried-out Cork

Wine Mythology
The Dried-out Cork.


How does it happen that virtually everyone, even those who know nothing and care nothing about wine, knows that a bottle of wine should be stored on its side, and that the reason is to keep the cork moist so that "it doesn't dry-out and shrink"?
The truth is that you cannot wet a cork. It is impervious to water, and if it were not, it would not make an effective stopper, and, if you cannot wet a cork, it cannot dryout!.
Over the years, I have opened countless bottles of wines - new, old and very old. I observe that sometimes the outside of the cork might be moldy (the space between the cork and the capsule is an ideal environment for mold which has no effect on the wine inside the bottle) but, invariably the outside of the cork is sound, while quite often the inside of the cork, which is in contact with the wine, is crumbly. I have come to the conclusion that the deterioration of the inside of the cork is caused by contact with acid. in the wine. So we should be storing wine bottles standing upright. I recently proved that to be true!
My personal wine cellar, goes back to the sixties. Recently I came across an unopened case of Barra 1970 Gattinara from Piedmont, Italy - it is made of Nebbiolo , as is Barolo and Barbaresco, which can age beautifully. The bottles were packed standing upright and had been that way for about thirty-seven years. Surprisingly the wine level in every bottle is way up the neck, right below the cork, as it was when it was filled. I pulled a cork and found it to be no more than a half inch long - probably the cheapest cork you can buy, but amazingly, both outside and inside faces in "as new" condition, untouched by wine. Proof, in another way, that contact with wine causes cork to disintegrate.
Even more surprising, the thirty-eight-year-old wine, which I am sure cost me less than $2 a bottle, is superb - beautifully aged Nebbiolo - and. still delicious three days after being opened.
So why are bottles packed and stored on their side? Could it be that storing bottles upright is not space-efficient?
Why do many Californian producers pack their wines upside-down? Could it be that they believe the wet-cork myth?
If you would like a taste of my Barra 1970 Gattinara, get yourself to the Madison Wine Shop (rick@rickspicks.com for directions) on Saturday July 5, starting at 12 noon. I will be opening one bottle only, as part of our regular Saturday tasting.

Rick Lewis

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Raves for Alsace and One for Fruili

In my opinion Alsatian wines rank among the most satisfying of all white wines - sadly, an opinion not widely shared, perhaps because of unfamiliarity, and more likely because they are generally lumped together with German wines, shunned because of primordial recollections of Blue Nun and Zeller Swartz Katz, sparked by the shape of the bottles and Germanic names and words on labels. Most of us started our affair with wines that were sweet and once we were weaned from them we became prejudiced. However, sweet wines, German included, that have adequate acid balance can be superb.
Alsace is in northern France on the German border - it once was German and many names are German. Atypically of old-world wines, they are labeled by the varietal - Pinot Gris (sometimes labeled Tokay although the use of that name has been officially banned), Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer (German Gewurtz is as rare as hen’s teeth), Muscat and even Pinot Noir.
Generally, the wines are dry or off-dry, except for those bottlings labeled Vintage Tardive (Late Harvest), but above all they are minerally, flinty, quite acidic, should have simply stunning, rich fruit characteristic of each varietal, and they are almost never oaky. Except for inexpensive, branded wines, they are single-varietal and the better ones come from a single vineyard.

The wine-speak word, “fruit”, needs some clarification.

The input that we get from the taste buds in our mouths are limited to sweet on the very tip of the tongue (but a very crude measure of sweetness); acid (which in wine is usually malic, citric or lactic) in the middle of the mouth; bitter on the side of the mouth, and salt.
Those impressions that we get from our sense of smell are what we call fruit and they encompass not only the black and tropical fruit flavors in wine but also literally thousands of smells such as leather, tobacco, cedar, earthy, barnyard, and those that distinguish bad wine of all kinds, including those that are “corked” - the musty basement smell that comes from an improperly disinfected cork.
The next time you have a mouthful of wine try determining which of the tastes you are experiencing are coming from your nose. I think that you will conclude that all of them are in your mouth; such is the ability of the brain to deceive us. My somewhat crude and un-scientific explanation is that your brain says “it's in your mouth and that is where all those flavors are coming from”. Mouth on the other hand does not know anything about fruit flavors - the closest it can come is what it perceives on the tip of the tongue - sweetness, especially those black fruit flavors.
Why am I telling you all this? A few weeks ago one of the wines offered at my WiseUp-on-Wine Saturday tasting was Domaine Michel Fonne ’05 Pinot Gris from a single vineyard named Bennwihr. It sells for $15.99. I love Alsatian wines and this one is something special - great bouquet and an unctuous mouth feel, rich, full and glorious fruit. It has both body and flavor. What amazed me was that of perhaps 100 tasters only one agreed with me that the wine was not only not sweet, but sensational. He bought a case - everyone else dismissed it as disgustingly sweet. Out of curiosity, I took a bottle home and we demolished it with sauteed scallops. The most satisfying white wine I have had in a long time!
Domaine Michel Fonne ’05 Pinot Blanc, also from the Bennwihr vineyard, sells for $12.99. What this bottle, and many other Alsatians does for Pinot Blanc is pure magic, an experience not to be missed. I think of Pinot Blanc as a “shy” grape, demanding patience if you are to appreciate it, because its joy evolves in the very back of your palate, requiring patience, and for that reason it is often overlooked.
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Albert Boxler’s ’03 Tokay Pinot Gris Reserve is exceptional - worth every penny of its $25 cost. Other suggestions - Pierre Sparr ‘05 Riesling, $13.99 and Cuvée Emile Willm ’04 Gewurtraminer Reserve, $19.99.
Muscat is perhaps my favorite Alsatian varietal, but there is none to be had in the Connecticut, market at this time. However back in September, I tasted Laurent Barth ‘06 Muscat d’ Alsace. It will be available in February. Ask for it.
Finally, from north-east Italy’s Fruili region, Cantarutti ‘05 Pinot Grigio, $21.99, stands head and shoulders above the vast majority of its compatriots.

Rick Lewis

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