I am a Most Happy Fella - four, and often seven, days a week, I am having fun doing things I enjoy. This past week I talked to, and tasted wine with, scores of interesting people - my customers. I learn from them and share with them my passion for wine..
And then, I talk to wine people - sales people, importers and winemakers - in the store and frequently at trade tastings. This past week I probably tasted 40 wines, most of them not very inspiring, but I found some gems that I cannot wait to share with you. So here we go.
Baumard ‘00 “Trie Speciale” Savennieres is possibly one of the most sublime white wines I have ever tasted, but before I tell you about it, I should tell you about Savennieres.
Savennieres is a tiny appellation on the north bank of the Loire, south-west of the town of Angers, not far from the Atlantic. Total production in a good year is about 30,000 cases. Elsewhere, that would be the output of a small- to moderate-size winery. The grape is the Loire’s magical, ubiquitous Chenin Blanc, but here the slate and sandstone soil, and the climate, make it different. Yields, by law, are extremely low, but the inhospitable soil and climate, which gives the wine its remarkable character, limits the yield anyway - the cause of many growers abandoning the struggle to make a living, and the reason for the dwindling output of Savennieres.
The average wine drinker has not heard of Savennieres, and may never, but among a small international band of devotees, it is legendary. Bone dry and sharply acidic (now you know why I am a fan), it will live, no thrive, for 20 - 30 years, getting better as it ages. Roche Aux Moines and Coulee de Serrant, are the two Savennieres sub-appellations whose wines are especially sought after. We have several vintages of the Joly’s Coulee de Serrant, which I recommended very highly.
Now, let me tell you about the Baumard ‘00 “Trie Especiale”. Domaine des Baumard is neither in Coulee de Serrant nor Roche Aux Moines, but, in my opinion, the ‘00 “Trie Special” stands above any Savennieres that I have tasted. The “Trie Speciale” designation is reserved by the producer for exceptional vintages. The bouquet is botrytis - the “Noble Rot” of Sauternes - but remember, this wine is bone dry. The flavor too is botrytis, but mingled with the rich opulence and complexity of which Chenin Blanc is capable, as in the sweet wine of Coteaux du Lyon and Quarts de Chaume. The icing on the cake, underlying it all, is bright glowing acidity. Truly a feast for the palate.
What would you have it with? - any seafood, the richer the better, fruit, cheese, perhaps foie gras, or simply nothing. When should you open it? - any time between now and 2030. Who would you have it with? Only someone special?
We will be tasting Baumard ‘00 “Trie Speciale” starting at noon on Saturday September 3 (Labor Day Weekend). I’m betting that you will be tempted to pay me $49.99/44.99 a bottle. Come early!.
Family dynasties abound in Burgundy. Sometimes the connection is only in the name, so it behooves you to know which member or branch you are dealing with. I was un-familiar with the wines of Bernard Moreau until I tasted his ‘ 03 Chassagne-Montrachet Vieille Vignes - an Estate Bottled red, not that appellation’s usual white. What a happy surprise! From the bouquet to the lovely finish, it is all I hope and ask for. Light, lively and loaded with bright Pinot fruit. You could spend much more than $34.99/31.49 and get much less.
The same salesman offered me Domaine Cheysson ‘04 Chiroubles, one of the ten “Cru” Beauojolais - the very best that the appellation has to offer and only $15.99/14.39. I have not had a Chiroubles in the store in ages, but this one I could not resist - from its stunning bouquet to typical Chiroubles light, bright, fresh raspberry/strawberry fruit. If the Nouveau hype and rip-off have turned you off of the appellation, reconsider. The same Gamay grape, in regular Beaujolais, and Beaulolais Village, with good fruit and acid balance can be a treat, while in the Crus, it is often indistinguishable from the Pinot Noir of Burgundy.
Alsatian wines - despite the shape of the bottle and the Germanic names of many of the producers - are not German (not any more) and, unless labeled “Vendange Tardive”, (late harvest) they are not sweet. They are my kind of wines - not lacking in acidity, and invariably, totally lacking in oak. They age beautifully and are wonderful with food. Gewurztraminer (“Gewurz” for short) is the most common varietal, followed by Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and occasionally Pinot Noir. I look for Muscat, but rarely find it.
This same week, I picked up (‘grabbed’ would be more accurate) two Alsatian wines from Domaine Michel Fonne - the ‘03 Pinot Gris, $15.99/14.39, and ‘03 Pinto Blanc, $11.99/10.79, both from the renowned Bennwihr vineyard - two very different wines that go wonderfully with food. The Pinot Gris is rich, complex and mouth-filling - almost unctuous - loved by everyone. Pinot Blanc, I have always thought of as being “shy” - low-key when it first hits your palate requiring you to coax it. When you do, the lovely bright fruit emerges reluctantly - your patience is rewarded.
Who would have thought that a Rosé sparkling wine would have moved me and everyone who has since tasted it? Renardt-Fache’s ‘04 Bugey Cerdon comes from the appellation of that name, in the Jura foothills to the east of Beaujolais. The label says “Methode Ancestral - demi-sec, pétillant par fermentation spontanée” - off-dry, slightly sparkling, by spontaneous fermentation. My wine authority calls it a particular speciality among a disparate collection of grape varieties, wine styles and terroirs, most of which are consumed locally. With light food, there’s joy aplenty in this bottle!
Three, uncommon Reds, two Italian and one Spanish were the harvest of yet another day.
From Tenuta Montebello in Piedmont, Per Marco ‘03 Barbera del Monferrato Superiore is one of those joyous minglings of old-world and new-world styles that has kept the best of both - a tannic backbone and lovely complex varietal fruit that does not quit. $19,99.17.99
Poggio al Sole is a Chianti producer who has, happily, strayed far from his roots with his ‘03 Syrah. If it were a blend of 85% Sangiovese, 15% Syrah it could be labeled Chianti, but this 100% Syrah could not. Hence the back label says “Toscana IGT”. They are doing good things with Syrah in Sicilly, but not consistently, and the few Tuscan Syrahs I have tasted did not impress me. This one does. It follows neither the classic Northern Rhone style nor the oaky, fruity new-world style. It is elegant, but unmistakably Syrah. Not inexpensive at $39.99/35.99, but I bought it!
The French grape Mourvedre hides, unknown and unloved in many southern French reds, to which it imparts tannin and dark, spicy fruit. The wines of Bandol are entirely Mourverdre, and most of them are undrinkable until the lovely bouquet and black fruit flavors emerge from the depths of the tannins - sometimes as long as five years after the vintage.
Monastrell, the Spanish name for Mourvedre, has long been cultivated in the south, around Jumilla, but only recently has the grape’s potential been exploited. Whether due to soil, climate, winemaking or, a clonal variation, Monastrell from Jumila is unlike Mourvredre from Bandol. Typical Monastrell, offers immediate gratification in its youth - vibrant, intense, ripe black fruit, ample tannin and, not as apparent, high acidity, which not only enhances your enjoyment in a subtle way, but helps to stabilize the wine especially once the bottle has been opened..
Juan Gil ‘03 Jumilla, $17.99/16.19, is 100% Monastrell, and what I describe as an elegant wine, meaning that it is low-key and complex, with fruit, tannin and acid in perfect balance, getting my attention by stealth rather than by force. I love it! I bought it!
And finally, another “experience” of this particular week. On Thursday I tasted a Bordeaux Superieur, which shall be nameless . It was fabulous! Exquisite, spicy nose. Wonderful, complex fruit, lovely tannins and great length. It would have to sell for $33 - outrageous for a Bordeaux Superieur, but my reaction was “This beats, hands down, most fifty or even one hundred dollar wines from anywhere”. The next day my order was delivered and I immediately opened a bottle and sold six bottles between 4pm and 7pm.
On Saturday, we continued tasting from the same bottle, opened 18 hours earlier. Noticing that no one had made any comment I took a taste - Bouquet gone! Fruit gone! Only tannin left. I was flabbergasted! Opened a second bottle - it was great, but six hours later it too had faded.
The wine is not for me. Sent an email to the supplier, relating my experience and telling him that I wished to return the wine. A message came back that he was sure that he wine went flat because the severe storms we had on the Friday night were accompanied by low barometric pressure, a phenomena he had experienced before. I have heard many wine myths, but for sheer inventiveness, this takes the cake. This myth can be destroyed by simply pointing out that the pressure in any unopened bottle of wine is unlikely to be at ambient atmospheric pressure.
The wine’s flaw is probably low acidity.
This incident puts the spotlight on my aversion to those numeric wine ratings and raises an interesting question “how many times, and over what period of time after opening it, did the reviewer taste that bottle of wine in arriving at his rating?” Once exposed to the air wine changes - some wines change slowly, some rapidly, some improve initially, some do not, all are eventually destroyed by oxygen. Beware of those numbers!
Rick Lewis
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