August 2004

August 31

Michelot Meursault Genevrieres 1996 is right for the drinking. It shows plenty of fruit: red apple, orange and tangerines, lemon zest; as well as earthy Meursault notes: licorice, hazelnuts, almonds, was and honey. In fact, I wish I owned twenty cases of this so I could show people what Meursault is about.

If you have twenty cases, don’t fret. Just make sure they’re gone in the next five years or so.

August 30

Pina Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 was a little more rewarding but just as warm (if not hot). It showed the kind of fullness you might expect from a Howell Mountain appellation wine. Still the balance was pretty for the lush, overripe style.

One of my friends from United Airlines who was along for the tasting with Jerry enjoyed all our rapture for the Relentless but then he told us he didn’t like the name, Relentless. “It sounds like a Chevy,” he said.

August 29

Cloud Nine Composition 2000 didn’t exactly send me there. It tasted as though there were some Zinfandel in it, though no info was included from this vanity affair. It was good wine, a little too overripe, but with price info missing, I have to assume (the package and all) that this is fifty dollar stuff. For fifty dollars for a bottle of wine, I want sex. Sex in a bottle. This was like a well-used copy of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Been there.

August 28

A few other bottles that I tasted with my friend Jerry Shriver of USA Today (you should read him any time he’s in their lifestyle sections); he was the generous soul with the bottle of Relentless.

We tasted Brown Brothers Patricia Shiraz 2000 from Victoria – none of the vineyards were identified. It tasted like Bendigo fruit with a touch of Heathcote, except that there wasn’t enough mint to be Heathcote. Still the Heathcote G.I. (Australia’s Geographic Indication or appellation) has grown radically in the last few years and there are spots that don’t exhibit the minty character some expect.

It definitely had the richness and balance of Heathcote and Bendigo – these are areas that can be as warm as the Barossa but have better balance in the growing season and grown wines that manage to remain crunchy, at the same time they are full.

August 27

But Relentless is a wine apart from other Syrahs in that it has nearly 20% Petite Sirah. I don’t believe that previous vintages had this much (someone correct me if I’m wrong) and this is very lovely Petite Sirah – some black tobacco, some furry tannins and black tea notes. But otherwise this Petite Sirah doesn’t add the disturbing vegetal notes that so much Petite Sirah is prone to show.

Instead, it adds complexity. Anyone assessing California Syrah (with or without Petite Sirah) needs to reckon with this wine.

August 26

Shafer’s new version of Relentless, the 2001, is just as great as the previous vintages. And this wine is further proof that there are bottles of California Syrah that can indeed be great, layered and fascinating, instead of the same old fat (and rather boring) big fruit bomb.

Intense plum fruits are broken up with pepper, soot and smoke, lots of tea leaf and some cracked peppercorns, and throughout it’s dense and chewy.

August 25

So with the 1995 J.J. Prum Spatlese there was fruit intensity of course and certainly there was firm acidity. But more than that, the wine had earthiness, not just the typical “petrol” that everyone talks about with Riesling. Manfred Prum has always angrily rejected any description of German Riesling as smelling of petrol. He’s right, of course, it’s far more complex than that.

Instead of simple petrol (which to me smells of a wine in premature decline), I smell unscented beeswax, wildflower honey, rocks, washed stones in the sun, all sorts of wild and earthy smells that trigger memories of sliding into home plate on a makeshift diamond in a vacant lot. Hmm.

August 24

The J.J. Prum 1995’s have always been well built. The question remains which is better for the long haul 1995, 1996 or 1997. I honestly have no idea at this point. I thought it was the 1996, but a recent glass of the 1995 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese was very firm and capable of many, many more years of life. For my palate, the focus is not necessarily upon the intensity of fruit nor upon the tartness of the wine – in other words the structure of the wine. A wealth of acidity may allow the wine to age but that doesn’t mean it’s going to age well, or even get better.

August 23

More plugs for the Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report 2005. Tom likes the Stone Hill Norton that I have sent him so much, that he considers it tops among native grapes. Others need to taste why.

Norton is as shy as Jim Carrey and as light as Petite Sirah. If it’s too much for you, well, duh. It’s too much for everybody. That’s why we like it.

If you think it’s too bold, don’t blame the grape for being what it is. And before you decide that Stone Hill is the best Norton (it often is) try other Missouri Nortons such as St. James, Les Bourgeois, Heinrichshaus, Hermannhof, Augusta Cynthiana (same grape, different name), Montelle Cynthiana and HolyField Cynthiana from (gasp!) Kansas.

August 22

B.C. wine is so ignored outside of British Columbia. I doubt that anyone will call about the following list but here goes:

Crows Nest Riesling, Hainle Riesling, Kettle Valley Viognier, Lake Breeze Pinot Blanc, Lang Pinot Gris or Riesling, Pentage Sauvignon, Poplar Grove Pinot Gris, Silver Sage Gewuzrtraminer, Township Seven Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay – all worth a taste and they’re new names, in general.

August 21

Three hours later, the same wine is fruitier than before, rich and a bit tannic. Did I miss the call? You bet I did. It turns out that this particular bottle is surprisingly together and adds some richness and dusty cut to the spicy character of the excellent pheasant I was served at Rain City Grill.

On the other hand, if you have any of these bottles, drink them yesterday. This bottle might have been delightful but it was a fluke, I’m sure.

August 20

The 1989 Cayron Gigondas shouldn’t be drinkable. The last one I had was almost completely shot. So the last bottle I own I’ve dragged to the PBS-TV shoot in Vancouver, not because I think it will be great. But because it will be interesting (and no one will be able to spot the vintage on TV), I’ve chosen this lovely but tired example of southern Rhone wine.

Imagine my surprise when the wine is smooth, clean, fruit-laden and fairly firm. Must be a momentary glimpse of the wine’s forgotten youth. Second taste – earthy, probably fading. Nice wine.

August 19

La Frenza Semillon is fruity, more like tropical fruit than like classic Semillon in its flavors. On the other hand, it is recognizably Semillon. That must sound like damning with faint praise, but it’s more like I’m praising with only a faint damn. I would put this up against most American Semillons, and would insist that this is a very good thing.

Most American Semillons are good (though few Americans are aware of this) and this is easily comparable to anything from California or Washington. My strong suspicion about this well-made wine is that an even better wine is available from this Okanagan Valley estate, one not made from such a fruit-driven, cool fermentation. Give these people a few more vintages to work this out, and a great wine could be the result.

August 18

But since I can’t get to B.C. wine country, I’ll drown my sorrows with beer. More Spinnakers.

And a delightful lunch at Blue Water yields my newest oyster fixation – Kuschis. Apparently, they’re from up the B.C. coast and they are diminutive, cuddly, sweet and delicious. Like little balls of oyster meat.

Since I’m having those and a delightful seafood salad (everything and more), I try a glass of Blasted Church Gewurztraminer 2002. Youthful, firm, not overly scented, but very pretty and crisp throughout, it’s a wine from a new place that some people are raving.

August 17

Why not? It’s simple. There’s not enough great wine to go around. B.C. residents alone (not to mention the rest of Canada, who are just as impressed by these wines as they rest of us are) can consume all of the high quality wine made here.

The reason for that is simple, there are not great vineyard sites available to those vintners trying to make world class wine. The requirements for great vineyards are too stringent in this part of the Northwest; and the possibilities too few. Even after all the best sites are planted (and there are a lot of farmers who have yet to be convinced that vineyards are more profitable than other crops), there will be more customers than wine from these vineyards.

A few interesting whites to talk about…Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris, like most of their wines, is pretty and tasty. Pinot Gris and Pinot Banc in general are impressive wines. The Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs remain incomplete in the main. A handful of Syrahs are even less persuasive, though I wasn’t able to find one of my Syrah favorites, Nichol Vineyards.

August 16

A trip to Vancouver B.C. is long overdue, but there will be very little time for fun and no time for a trip to the Okanagan or Similkameen Valleys, two of the great unknown wine regions of North America. It’s a pity because I believe in these wine regions. The white wines here can be delicious and decidedly cool climate in character and structure.

What, you haven’t tasted the wines of B.C.? Oh, that would make you normal. And, while the wines here have improved enormously of late, they will gain even more in consistency and greatness over the next five to ten years. But that still doesn’t make them wines you will taste.

August 15

So, I’m drinking beer. Spinnaker’s is a good producer of beer; all of the beers are well-balanced and well-made. Their Extra Special Bitter is clean and correct, if a little short. At least the beer is not too sweet (that’s the fault of too many cheap American micro-brews) or over-hopped like most Pacific Northwest beers. No, this is a very pleasant beer.

Not so the Gulf Islands Mayne Sail Ale. To this palate, it’s disgustingly caramel tinged, with dry hop or hop pellet character covering any malt flavors. Avoid.

Not so the Mount Begbie Selkirk Stout, a cherry infused Stout, without the weird sweetness of most fruit infused North American beers. The cherry notes are so small as to be unnoticeable. Rather the beer simply has another layer of flavor among the typical chocolate notes of stout.

August 14

Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and U.S. residents are shamefully ignorant of the cosmopolitan character of this great coastal metropolis.

I’m here not to taste wine or even to enjoy the beauty of B.C., or even of their wines, but to tape wine segments for the PBS food show Seasonings, hosted by cookbook author Dede Wilson. I’m here to add wine color, as it were.

The whole experience is great fun and Dede and her chefs (stars such as Marcella Hazan, Emily Luccheti, and the great Tony Mantuono) are first rate.

August 13

The newest edition of Tom Stevenson’s Wine Report (2005) is about to be released and, well, yes, I’m a contributor again. Obviously he hasn’t read me carefully enough yet.

This time Tom actually enjoys the wines I have sent him and finds the Callaghan Syrah 2002 worthy. I’ve found it a shockingly tasty wine, if a little like sucking on a pepper mill. Hey, come on it’s Arizona, for chrissakes! Callaghan is just getting to know this wine and still sorting out with his style; Tom finds it a trifle sweet, but still likes it. So there.

August 12

Fairview Viognier 2003 may be viewed as short of varietal character, but who cares? It’s got delicious structure and round flavors and is utterly drinkable. Pose that against so many U.S. examples with excessive oak, high alcohol and a flower vase full of floral notes, if you can knock the sawdust off of them.

August 11

Chimney Rock Fume Blanc 2002 – rather surprisingly devoid of character, a shot of new oak and little fruit. It’s clean and lean and dull, with perhaps a hint of heat damage in my bottle. So is that a fair assessment of the wine? From a bottle that may be damaged? Well, for one, there was absolutely no weeping at the cork, no detectable heat damage, not even in the nose. But the mouth ended in butterscotch and I’m not pleased.

August 10

Guigal Crozes Hermitage 2001 has some nearly New World flavors to it, yet begins to restore my shaken faith in this venerable (at least for northern Rhone wines) house. It doesn’t have a lot of depth or length but at least there’s some fruit there which is more than I can say about some of the 2000’s from Giugal – unless you’re spending the big bucks and then if course you get lots of fruit. At those prices, you should get a back rub too.

August 9

The next two wines were even more exotic and aged. Chambers Rosewood Grand Muscat is a wine I've used several times in dinners during the past year; I love it and consider it a great value.

This was earthy, chocolatey, with very dark cherries and fruits rolling all about the nose, mouth and mind. The mouth was dried cherries, figs, dates and peppercorns.

Finally, we finished up with Campbells Rare Muscat. It's over the top, of course. Figs, tar, walnuts, bittersweet chocolate and an amazing amount of texture, waves and layers of texture.

Throughout the wine, that peach note darted out its head, as much as anything could move quickly in that oozing mass of richness. Not only was that note consistent throughout these four wines, but the floral vibrancy that had been so present in the first two wines was a consistent theme as well, and had just as much presence here at the end of the tasting.

But the Rare Muscat seemed far too textured to taste right with Panna Cotta; rather like having sparkling wine with soup. They're too close in texture to complement each other. But with wine like this, who cares?

August 8

Campbell Rutherglen Muscat was bright and delicious, with just as much orange peel and citrus as the more honeyed and figgy flavors you'd expect from an aged, fortified, sweet wine. A peach and quince note lingers.

It wasn't a particularly ideal companion for the Panna Cotta with Apricot and Pistachio we were offered, but it liked the apricot just fine.

The next sticky was the Stanton & Killeen Classic Muscat. I was struck by two characteristics of the wine; it was intensely floral and it was spicy enough to suggest that new barrels were in use here.

Stanton & Killeen is a neighbor of the Campbells . I didn't ask point blank, but Colin was quick to point out that new barrels are not the norm in Rutherglen. I held my tongue. The Stanton & Killeen Classic was really showy, and tasted like a chocolate dipped cherry. The finish went to figs and raisins and lots of black pepper. I think that's further evidence of some new oak.

August 7

We were fortunate enough to have Colin Campbell (yes, of the Campbells in Rutherglen) show up and bring a few stickies for the entire class to taste. He explained the ideals of the consortium of which he's a member, eight members of a Rutherglen producers group in all.

They utilize four categories to categorize their Muscat wines: “Rutherglen”, which is the youngest of all the blends at three to five years of age, and in ascending order of age, “Classic”, “Grand”, and “Rare”, which has an average age of twenty years old.

Age isn't all that separates each category. “The ‘Rares' might come from grapes that are 80% dehydrated,” Colin explained,” So we have to rehydrate them.”

“We don't put a specific age on the wines,” he said, so they can blend them. But even more importantly, he explained that the vintage is far less important than the way they have been aged. It's the time in the vessel (he uses large 100 gallon puncheons) and the vessel used that has the greatest influence.

August 6

Salpicon is a very, very fun place. I like the food and the list is a dream – that should have been suggested by the wines noted above.

And perhaps the comparison is not fair, but the prices are roughly equal. Two nights previous, I had been at La Hacienda Ranchero in Dallas and had really boring TexMex. In contrast, Salpicon's food isn't gimmicky, tastes good and even works with wine.

I suppose the name of that Dallas joint should have been enough to throw me off my feed but learn while you live.

August 5

I had to enjoy my classic favorite (at least one of them) the El Tesoro Blanco. The owner at Salpicon insisted that I try a new brand called Casa Noble. Very interesting and very earthy. Lots of the high altitude, wet cement smells but very little fruit.

Compared to the Don Julio we simply HAD to order to taste against these others, it was very, very soft and smooth, without any false sweetness. All the edges had been cleaned off but I fear that the distiller removed some fruit while doing that.

August 4

We argued back and forth about these wines and whether to order the 1994 La Chapelle or the 1995 Chapelle. The 1994 would be more drinkable, but the 1995 is the better wine. Brian insisted that better was best. Hard to argue the philosophy, especially when the 1995 was such a lovely bottle of wine. True Syrah character to the bone, with lots of vim and vigor. I continued smelling my virtually empty glass for the next few hours, even as we switched to various glasses of tequila.

Class time came a bit early the next morning.

August 3

The next bottles were more uneven. Trimbach Frederick Emile 1993 Riesling which Brian Julyan called oxidized. That's a bit harsh though it wasn't showing much flesh and the finish was short. I preferred to think of it as merely in its middle years and not particularly attractive at present. A Baumard Ste Catherine 1989 was funky as well; though I still found it earthy and mushroomy in a nice way.

August 2

The first night of the MS is given to drinking. After all, we've taught these classes for years and everything's all setup, right? Hardly.

The first bottle was a Bollinger 1979 RD. Uhm-hum. Think about it – toasty, biscuity, yeasty, gooey, stinky, even. The finish was nearly austere, very youthful. Very remarkable.

August 1

The Master Sommelier Advanced exams in Chicago probably ought to bring memories of my own effort here back in 1990. I guess I remember it but I was so stressed out during those exams that my brain entirely by-passed short memory compilation. Fear was all that registered. I suppose that makes me understand the candidates as well as anyone.

Indeed, I smell their fear. My own experience was particularly risky; I hadn't prepared at all. In fact, I bypassed the Introductory exam (on bad advice from a friend) and showed up not quite sure what this exam, title, you know, all that, really WAS.

I fairly quickly spotted that there was going to be lot of my own blood spilt. I have always argued that the reason I passed at this first attempt was that it was entirely unthinkable to me that I was going to pass. Therefore after failing (or so I thought) the first exam, I chilled out completely. I took to call everyone, including the examiners, “dude.” I told a lot of jokes.

Fred Dame crushed my spirit entirely in response.

I guess it worked.