It’s easy to find a great bottle of wine, but is it easy to find a great group of people to appreciate it with? The thought didn’t occur to me right away when I first became interested in wine. But naturally, almost as soon as I began to investigate the wine scene, I heard about all sorts of cool wine groups, drinking great wine and having a great, funny and sometimes depraved time of it. I thought, I definitely want a piece of this...
My early attempts at forming a wine group met with mixed results. A few good nights, a tolerable picnic during a heat wave and a few interesting characters were among them. There was even a little advert in the Village Voice looking for a third person to drink good French wine with. Don’t know why I didn’t respond to that one…
Then there was the wino I mean, the member of one of my fledgling groups who upon spying some harmless fellow strolling across the Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park wearing a Yale sweatshirt, said, “Hey! Did you go to Yale? Because if you didn’t, you shouldn’t be wearing that shirt!” It wasn’t exactly as I’d imagined it should be, to say the least. Although, maybe I should have cut him some slack - it was 100 degrees in the shade that day. That group didn’t last, unsurprisingly, although I did get to try my first Meursault that day and some slightly chilled Opus One.
My luck changed one day when I did an internet search and among the results were the words, Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts. I came upon a message posting board, a Microsoft group that was festooned with all manner of referential “handles,” tasting notes of many exotic wines (to my eyes at the time – for those who don’t know what Sociando-Mallet is, it’s not French for “anti-social,” but it might be a distant cousin, or perhaps a rare disease that sometimes results in the wholesale drinking of the dump-bucket, but that’s another story), and an overall attitude that was knowing and informed, but not obviously snobbish or lame. I figured I’d give it a try. To be a little less guarded, I was totally delighted with my find and I hadn’t even begun to explore or experience it.
I can’t remember my early posts (to quote Ray Davies: Alcohol, alcohol, sad memories I can’t recall), but after checking a few of the profiles I discovered that one of them worked for my company. I was invited to my first serious, organized tasting, a comparison of second wines – the wines that top growths separate from the blend to insure the high quality of their first wines. It was a blind tasting and honestly, I could barely tell the wines apart, especially after the 18th bottle. I find blind tastings to be quite difficult and to a degree, less appealing. But it was hard work and a blast to work thought the wines, many of which were the seconds of top crus, in top vintages no less, like 1996 Carraudes de Lafite. At the end of the tasting, the coverings on the bottles were removed and I noticed that there was a bottle of 1982 Les Forts de Latour, the highly regarded second of Chateau Latour, a 1st Growth, sitting right near me. It was about one third full. Each sip tasted better and better. What a lovely wine.
I forgot to mention that upon joining the board, all I had to do was choose a “handle,” and I was in. No fee, no initiation, no application. Given the ease of access, ironically there are few if any of what I’d graciously call, “internet weirdos” on BWE. It’s always amazed me. Living in NYC, which is somewhat of an open mental ward, and being a part time professional musician, I’ve met my share of gonzo loonies. But BWE seems to scare them away. But I digress. I’m terrible at choosing my own nicknames but finally settled on Chasse-Spleen, one of my early favorite wines. Why Chasse-Spleen? I’m a fan of Lord Byron, and I read that it was one of (I’m sure there were many!) his favorite wines. That combined with the fact that it “punched above its weight” appealed to me. This means that the wine, although unclassified in the classification of 1855, still manages to reach the heights of a classed growth, albeit a fourth or fifth growth these days, in many vintages.
Before too long there was another highly appealing tasting in the works, which I signed up for: A vertical tasting of Lynch Bages, the “Poor Man’s Mouton.” Lynch is one of the favorite wines of the BD or Benevolent Dictator, the founder of BWE, as we refer to him. His favorite Lynch is the 1989. I knew he as well as quite a few of the other senior members would be at this tasting, and I was totally stoked for it. It proved to be a major success. It was held in an Italian restaurant on 53rd St, with a menu selection specifically designed for the consumption of Bordeaux wines. When I arrived, someone who had a cast on his right hand handed me a magnum of 1990 Jacquart Champagne and asked if I could please open it. “Of course,” I said. The first sips spoiled me for Champagne forever. Full bodied, mature, toasty, chunky – delicious stuff. His name, I found out, was Musigny. I hope to try that wine someday, as well.
In a nutshell, the ’78 had an amazing finish, the ’82 was astoundingly beautiful, the ’86 very tannic but fierce and fine, as well. The ’88 was a favorite, very balanced, the ’89 still kicking hard but complete and excellent, the ’90 was fantastic and exotic and way over my head – at this point I started to lose it (there were about 6 or 7 other wines I’ve omitted!) but there were more: The ’93, a big surprise but I’ve grown to appreciate ‘93s which usually blow away the awful ‘94s despite the press and prices to the contrary, the very modern ’95, and then up to the ’99 which I brought and was totally innocuous by this point, then the much heralded 2000, which was incredible and amounted to an echo of the fabulous ’82.
At the end of the tasting, a 1988 Sauturnes made the rounds – Chateau Raymond-Lafond, an unclassified but highly sought after insider’s wine from a top vintage. It was everything you could imagine, but coming after the aforementioned onslaught of dry red wine, the effect was even more pronounced. It was perfection and a real show stealer, although, that often happens at Bordeaux wine tastings – a Sauturnes comes along at the end of the night of dry, tannic and often quite a few young wines and lots of people say, “that might be my wine of the night!”
This night was a watershed in my wine education, and presents a sort of microcosm of my membership in BWE. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about wine from the other members and my association with them during my four years of being a BWEer, but I came to think of that night as a point were I jumped several steps ahead, if only from a spot close to the starting line.
I’ve often tried to describe BWE to my friends and family and even brought a few of the former along for events. The simple name, Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts, belies the complexity and dedication of the group. For one thing, the wines that we talk about and drink are in no way limited to Bordeaux. Burgundy, Rhone, German and even California wines all get their time in the spotlight, it’s just that Bordeaux is the star of the show. California is a distant also ran.
The participants, connoisseurs and revelers alike, who converged on 53rd street in Manhattan on that night of the the Lynch-Bages tasting came from as far away as San Francisco, Texas and Maine. But the scope of BWE is even larger than that. There are members in Australia, France, England, Finland and Denmark, and other far flung places that I’ve obviously left out. Members visit each other on their home turf, be it Denmark, the South of France, or Napa Valley. But like any internet based groups, there are lurkers as well, and feuds…
To be continued…
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Torrid 2003s
“A Tale of Two 2003s,” “It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times,” or even “Much Ado About Nothing”: All these silly titles flashed through my mind as I thought about how to begin to tell the tale of this vintage that will go down in infamy. In truth, the torridly hot vintage of 2003 in Europe has turned out quite as some critics predicted, ie pick carefully, some great wines and not to all tastes. However I must admit that before I began to actually drink the wines at dinner and with friends in normal wine drinking settings and in formal tastings, I had already adopted a skeptical attitude, imagining the worst about what would certainly define a “new world” style as a benchmark for years to come.
Happily, I’ve come to enjoy the style of 2003s and I thought it a good time to comment on some bottles and tastings that I’ve enjoyed so as to share my experience and even to help sort it out for myself. I’ve mainly been drinking Bordeaux ‘03s but have also encountered some interesting Barolos and Chiantis.
Naturally, there was a ton of press and speculation about the 2003 Bordeaux crackling through the wine world by the time I managed to try one, which was in 2005. I was staying at the Hotel Winston in Amsterdam on holiday, and they had a 2003 petite chateaux on hand, the only wine that they had. But they had dozens of cases in a side room that I apparently stumbled into, so apparently they staff thought highly of it. Pity I didn’t write down the name, but there were other matters at hand. The wine was quite drinkable, delightful even, although it was somewhat sweet and monolithic. I thought, ‘Gee – I’m looking forward to more of these.’
My next major brush with ’03 Bordeaux came at a Zachy’s tasting where almost all of the top Pessac-Leognon estates were represented, including Pape Clement. No, no Haut-Brion. Whaaaa! There were about ten or twelve wines with their winemakers dutifully pouring, and the telltale bitter, roasted flavors of ’03 first started to make an appearance. Very tannic, and not showing a lot of charm in general, although the last wine on the line was spectacular – Pape Clement. I bought a bottle of 2002 Smith Haut-Lafitte from the lovely Florence Cathiard, mainly because she and everyone else as well said that it was drinking well then. It was and I’m now a big fan.
In 2006 I organized a Margaux tasting with my main wine group, Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts, and I was salivating at the thought of trying the highly rated and resurgent Chateau Lascombes. This wine also had a roasted, bitter component but was undoubtedly still young and tannic and showed promise. It had a strong mineral component and was quite complex. I later tried a bottle of the cru bourgeois La Bernadotte which was highly rated in the vintage and found some similarities that I liked. For less than the price of the Lascombes .750 I was able to purchase a magnum. It was less complex however and more modern in style.
Speaking of cru bourgeois, let’s talk a bit about an area of Bordeaux where I regularly tread. Having gone ga-ga over the little known St. Estephe Chateau Clauzet in the 2000 vintage, I was very anxious to try it when I saw it mentioned as a future on PJ Wine’s website. I waited and bought three bottles at the release price which was the same as the futures, about $18, the same as I paid for the 2000. However the style was completely different. Where the ’00 Clauzet was sumptuous yet balanced and complex and seemingly having at least 10 years in front of it, the ’03 version was much more jammy and modern, a bit like a Cali cab. The wine also evolved rapidly over two years under non-perfect conditions, with the middle bottle showing the best. The last bottle showed the most Bordeaux-like, including coffee and earth on the nose but seemed to be in need of drinking up.
I recently had the chance to drink the highly touted ’03 Potensac with dinner. I’m sure you could have seen my eyes light up from twenty paces as I greeted my friend at the door and saw the bottle in his hand. I loved Potensac in 2001, a velvety, full bodied wine with dark tones and charm to spare. The ‘03 was highly enjoyable, with sweet fruit and an elegant mouthfeel, an excellent compliment to a steak dinner. However it was not showing much in the way of minerality or some of the other characteristics that set Bordeaux apart from most of the world’s cab-based wines. And at $25 to the ‘01’s sale price of $14, it’s not exactly a bargain anymore.
Speaking of 2001, I had the pleasure of sharing another St. Estephe, Chateau de Pez with some friends over dinner, and was struck by the serious earthy qualities and lip-smacking dryness and just over-all chunky, masculine style of the wine. A bottle of de Pez ’03 that I tried early on was quite disappointing, with a very California style in evidence, jammy and sweet. And I thought St. Estephe was supposed to lead in ’03?
A bottle of the Margaux cru bourgeois La Gurgue was much better, although similarly sweet and jammy. The nose of oak and currants was seductive but still a bit Napa, and nothing like the reserved, complex typicity that I experienced with the 2000 version. It was totally enjoyable with an authentic Polish goulash, however, and I must add that this class of ’03 wines is often highly easy to drink, as evidenced by my steady re-ordering of Vrai Canon Bouche, a perfect mid-week or non-geek wine from Canon-Fronsac. A little less weight and finish than its higher pedigreed siblings but much dryer and with more blueberry fruit and a subtle minerality. Excellent for an under $15 bottle of Bordeaux.
But man does not live by Bordeaux alone – what about the rest of the world? What about Burgundy? I’ve had little chance to try many red or white Burgs from ’03, but did manage to snag a bottle of a favorite of mine in ’02, the sleeper value Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Villages wine by the famed Ramonet house. Super balanced with incense and beautiful strawberry fruit and texture in ’02, the ’03 version was a crowd-pleasing, fat and seductive fruit bomb. My friend immediately went out and tracked down a half case. Somewhat flabby but altogether charming, it didn’t seem like it would last and I was right: My initial source sold out before I could re-order a single bottle!
Earlier this year I had the wonderful experience of attending an Italian tasting at Zachy’s where five top Piedmont producers were hawking their wares. While the ’04 Barbarescos showed tremendous promise, the atypically light colored ’03 Barolos that were on hand showed a sexy and sumptuous drinkability that was quite alluring. Hardly for purists or traditionalists, I was won over by these wines and vowed to look for more in the future.
As that future arrived in the form of 2003s from another favorite wine region of mine, Chianti, the specter of the torrid Summer of 2003 again reared its head in the form of lush, atypical wines, although wines not without charm. For comparison I offer the Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva, an excellent quality bargain in ’01 and ’03. While the ’01 had it all in elegance, minerality, complexity and food-worthy acidity, the ’03 was a fat, somewhat jammy but immensely pleasing wine that reminded me of a cross between an Aussie Shiraz and Chianti. The points that were awarded to these wines in the WA could hardly be more illustrative: The ’01 Monsanto drew a rave review but only 88 points, while the ’03 version received a whopping 91.
Ultimately, I can’t make a definitive case one way or the other for the 2003 vintage, as I haven’t tried any of the top wines. But from the perspective or everyday wine drinking with some moderate treats thrown in, I’d say it looks like an appealing, drink now vintage, although not for traditionalists. One way of looking at it is, if these 2003s can stay in the running with the wines I’ve chosen to compare them to, they certainly can’t be all bad. However, there aren’t any obvious cases where the ’03 surpassed its older and more classically perfect reflection.
Happily, I’ve come to enjoy the style of 2003s and I thought it a good time to comment on some bottles and tastings that I’ve enjoyed so as to share my experience and even to help sort it out for myself. I’ve mainly been drinking Bordeaux ‘03s but have also encountered some interesting Barolos and Chiantis.
Naturally, there was a ton of press and speculation about the 2003 Bordeaux crackling through the wine world by the time I managed to try one, which was in 2005. I was staying at the Hotel Winston in Amsterdam on holiday, and they had a 2003 petite chateaux on hand, the only wine that they had. But they had dozens of cases in a side room that I apparently stumbled into, so apparently they staff thought highly of it. Pity I didn’t write down the name, but there were other matters at hand. The wine was quite drinkable, delightful even, although it was somewhat sweet and monolithic. I thought, ‘Gee – I’m looking forward to more of these.’
My next major brush with ’03 Bordeaux came at a Zachy’s tasting where almost all of the top Pessac-Leognon estates were represented, including Pape Clement. No, no Haut-Brion. Whaaaa! There were about ten or twelve wines with their winemakers dutifully pouring, and the telltale bitter, roasted flavors of ’03 first started to make an appearance. Very tannic, and not showing a lot of charm in general, although the last wine on the line was spectacular – Pape Clement. I bought a bottle of 2002 Smith Haut-Lafitte from the lovely Florence Cathiard, mainly because she and everyone else as well said that it was drinking well then. It was and I’m now a big fan.
In 2006 I organized a Margaux tasting with my main wine group, Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts, and I was salivating at the thought of trying the highly rated and resurgent Chateau Lascombes. This wine also had a roasted, bitter component but was undoubtedly still young and tannic and showed promise. It had a strong mineral component and was quite complex. I later tried a bottle of the cru bourgeois La Bernadotte which was highly rated in the vintage and found some similarities that I liked. For less than the price of the Lascombes .750 I was able to purchase a magnum. It was less complex however and more modern in style.
Speaking of cru bourgeois, let’s talk a bit about an area of Bordeaux where I regularly tread. Having gone ga-ga over the little known St. Estephe Chateau Clauzet in the 2000 vintage, I was very anxious to try it when I saw it mentioned as a future on PJ Wine’s website. I waited and bought three bottles at the release price which was the same as the futures, about $18, the same as I paid for the 2000. However the style was completely different. Where the ’00 Clauzet was sumptuous yet balanced and complex and seemingly having at least 10 years in front of it, the ’03 version was much more jammy and modern, a bit like a Cali cab. The wine also evolved rapidly over two years under non-perfect conditions, with the middle bottle showing the best. The last bottle showed the most Bordeaux-like, including coffee and earth on the nose but seemed to be in need of drinking up.
I recently had the chance to drink the highly touted ’03 Potensac with dinner. I’m sure you could have seen my eyes light up from twenty paces as I greeted my friend at the door and saw the bottle in his hand. I loved Potensac in 2001, a velvety, full bodied wine with dark tones and charm to spare. The ‘03 was highly enjoyable, with sweet fruit and an elegant mouthfeel, an excellent compliment to a steak dinner. However it was not showing much in the way of minerality or some of the other characteristics that set Bordeaux apart from most of the world’s cab-based wines. And at $25 to the ‘01’s sale price of $14, it’s not exactly a bargain anymore.
Speaking of 2001, I had the pleasure of sharing another St. Estephe, Chateau de Pez with some friends over dinner, and was struck by the serious earthy qualities and lip-smacking dryness and just over-all chunky, masculine style of the wine. A bottle of de Pez ’03 that I tried early on was quite disappointing, with a very California style in evidence, jammy and sweet. And I thought St. Estephe was supposed to lead in ’03?
A bottle of the Margaux cru bourgeois La Gurgue was much better, although similarly sweet and jammy. The nose of oak and currants was seductive but still a bit Napa, and nothing like the reserved, complex typicity that I experienced with the 2000 version. It was totally enjoyable with an authentic Polish goulash, however, and I must add that this class of ’03 wines is often highly easy to drink, as evidenced by my steady re-ordering of Vrai Canon Bouche, a perfect mid-week or non-geek wine from Canon-Fronsac. A little less weight and finish than its higher pedigreed siblings but much dryer and with more blueberry fruit and a subtle minerality. Excellent for an under $15 bottle of Bordeaux.
But man does not live by Bordeaux alone – what about the rest of the world? What about Burgundy? I’ve had little chance to try many red or white Burgs from ’03, but did manage to snag a bottle of a favorite of mine in ’02, the sleeper value Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge Villages wine by the famed Ramonet house. Super balanced with incense and beautiful strawberry fruit and texture in ’02, the ’03 version was a crowd-pleasing, fat and seductive fruit bomb. My friend immediately went out and tracked down a half case. Somewhat flabby but altogether charming, it didn’t seem like it would last and I was right: My initial source sold out before I could re-order a single bottle!
Earlier this year I had the wonderful experience of attending an Italian tasting at Zachy’s where five top Piedmont producers were hawking their wares. While the ’04 Barbarescos showed tremendous promise, the atypically light colored ’03 Barolos that were on hand showed a sexy and sumptuous drinkability that was quite alluring. Hardly for purists or traditionalists, I was won over by these wines and vowed to look for more in the future.
As that future arrived in the form of 2003s from another favorite wine region of mine, Chianti, the specter of the torrid Summer of 2003 again reared its head in the form of lush, atypical wines, although wines not without charm. For comparison I offer the Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva, an excellent quality bargain in ’01 and ’03. While the ’01 had it all in elegance, minerality, complexity and food-worthy acidity, the ’03 was a fat, somewhat jammy but immensely pleasing wine that reminded me of a cross between an Aussie Shiraz and Chianti. The points that were awarded to these wines in the WA could hardly be more illustrative: The ’01 Monsanto drew a rave review but only 88 points, while the ’03 version received a whopping 91.
Ultimately, I can’t make a definitive case one way or the other for the 2003 vintage, as I haven’t tried any of the top wines. But from the perspective or everyday wine drinking with some moderate treats thrown in, I’d say it looks like an appealing, drink now vintage, although not for traditionalists. One way of looking at it is, if these 2003s can stay in the running with the wines I’ve chosen to compare them to, they certainly can’t be all bad. However, there aren’t any obvious cases where the ’03 surpassed its older and more classically perfect reflection.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Masculine/Feminine – A Tale of Two Burgs
Did Jean Luc Godard have Burgundy in mind when he chose the title of his 1966 study of frivolous Parisian youth on the make? It’s doubtful, as there’s plenty to work with when delineating the battle of the sexes at any age or place. But when discussing the various styles of wine, no other region’s wines break down so deliciously into categories of masculine and feminine as do the pinot noirs of Burgundy.
It’s difficult to make a regular habit of the consumption of red Burgundy. To begin with, it’s expensive. And its many charming and seductive qualities make it the perfect candidate for sharing with other serious wine lovers or that special someone. It also cries out for fine cuisine. Put this all together and you probably aren’t going to pop open a bottle to accompany a weeknight baseball game or for a quick pick-me-up after a hard day at the office. However, if I don’t get a good Burg fix every now and then, I start to get this gnawing feeling deep in my bones…
My most recent Burgundy fixation is being fueled by two simultaneous happy occurrences: The reaching of the magic five year mark (well, almost) of my small stash of extremely alluring 2002 reds, and the first releases of the highly anticipated 2005 vintage just starting to appear on the shelves. I chose the following two wines at random and drank them on successive weekends. Ladies first…
Rene LeClerc 2005 Bourgogne Rouge
I was introduced to the wines of Rene LeClerc by a wine merchant in my neighborhood. The first wine I tried was a 1998 Gevry-Chambertin, a village level wine that was delicious, satisfying and one of what many claim are a rarity in the Burgundy racket – a great value. I went back to the well at least three more times. I’ll add that I was so impressed that the first Grand Cru Burg that I ever bought, cellared and subsequently drank was another Rene LeClerc (he’s got a brother, Phillipe, also a winemaker in the Cotes de Nuits), a 1999 Griottes-Chambertin that proved to be much more complex, equally satisfying, much more expensive but still – a good value. To make a long story short, I’m a devoted fan.
So, it was a great joy that I felt when I spotted a bottle of ’05 LeClerc Bourgogne on the shelf of one of my money pits. I’d tried the ’01 version and it was somewhat thin and acidic, but I knew that that was nothing to worry about as ’05 is supposed to be a great vintage across the board while ’01 was a vintage where careful selection was more the rule. I grabbed one and quickly forgot about all the other wines I was lusting after. This says a lot.
I chilled the wine a bit on a Friday night and opened it up, at the same time letting a slab of French Compte warm a little on the table. I usually try to have Burgundy with the appropriate meat or fish, but in this case I felt I could get away with something simpler. Immediately I was struck by the beautiful nose, a mixture of berries, mostly strawberry and that unique “pinot scent” that is so endlessly beguiling. The color was classic translucent ruby/purple, again immediately identifiable as pinot noir, but with a slight brownish tinge, hinting at a relatively early maturity. This wine was totally singing right out of the bottle at age two, which suggests that it was vinified for immediate pleasure. Fine with me!
The most amazing thing about this wine is the texture and body. While the wine is light to medium bodied, you could never really call it just ‘light bodied,’ as it has a subtle chunkiness and fatness to it, with a glycerin texture that’s not at all oily or heavy. It was like a hot summer breeze at night where you can feel the heaviness of the moisture in the air – a very sexy sensation. In a word the mouth feel and texture were ravishing. It also has perfect balance and excellent concentration. Fine tannins were accompanied by perfect acidity (depends on your style preference, of course) with ripe strawberry flavors in abundance. The finish was quite long. The overall effect was of fresh strawberries resting on a pillow of wind. If Helen of Troy showed up at my door, this is the wine I would proffer.
Jadot Pommard 2002
Hopefully, upon my return from the gladiatorial ring, fair Helen would have this wine waiting for me. While certainly not a bruising style of Pommard, Jadot’s village wine in the highly structured and excellent 2002 vintage is both a good example of the Pommard style and highly drinkable now. Pommard is known as the most masculine of the Cotes de Beaune wines, with a chunky, earthy and tannic style. It’s said that most good Pommards require about 10 years of age, and in truth, this wine was a little on the young side. However, not being a premier cru and having somewhat less than ideal storage might have pushed it into an earlier drinking window. Jadot is known for producing highly age-worthy Burgundies.
The nose was fairly reticent, not showing much at this time. The color was a darker shade of purple than most pinots. The palate was medium bodied with an abundance of black fruits – blackberries, cassis and black currants all made multiple appearances. There was a smoky, savory quality, with some hints of incense and spice. The wine opened up considerably in the glass but still the nose was generally absent, a surprise. The finish was long and satisfying. There was a slightly modern aspect to this wine. There was no real evidence of astringency, which is a hallmark of more rustic and traditional Burgs. The wine had a velvety smooth texture with fine but somewhat resolved tannins. Very luxurious and rich. Again, excellent concentration and balance, although somewhat lower acidity than the LeClerc. However, overall the Pommard showed greater depth, richness and complexity.
I served the wine with an herbed chicken sauté and cous cous. The meal was preceded by a 2005 Chalone Vineyards (California) Chardonnay as an aperitif with brie. I don’t think you could truly enjoy this wine away from a proper meal. The acidity and tannins would become too tiresome. Honestly, this was only the second Pommard I’ve ever tried, but it really hit the spot and has lingered in my mind since that night. I don’t remember the producer of the first one, only that it was somewhat disappointing and chosen at a time when I knew very little about Burgundy and the proper food pairings to accompany it.
So, what’s the verdict in the comparison of these two wines? Are they really a ‘his and hers’ pair? Would a glass of LeClerc’s ethereal Bourgogne reflect poorly on your three pound Rolex watch? Or would your hot date suddenly cool your ardor if she began to chug back a lioness’ share of the Pommard? I doubt that very much. I think these wines could even work at the same meal, although I would definitely serve the Bourgogne first, preferably with the appropriate starter. A smoked salmon salad or something similar would be miraculous – yumm! Perhaps a mediating wine might go well between them – is there a wine with a reputation that suggests it could stand in as a marriage counselor? Because, you know that when two extreme opposites like these get together, sparks will fly. Maybe it’s better to just say, – “viva la difference!”
It’s difficult to make a regular habit of the consumption of red Burgundy. To begin with, it’s expensive. And its many charming and seductive qualities make it the perfect candidate for sharing with other serious wine lovers or that special someone. It also cries out for fine cuisine. Put this all together and you probably aren’t going to pop open a bottle to accompany a weeknight baseball game or for a quick pick-me-up after a hard day at the office. However, if I don’t get a good Burg fix every now and then, I start to get this gnawing feeling deep in my bones…
My most recent Burgundy fixation is being fueled by two simultaneous happy occurrences: The reaching of the magic five year mark (well, almost) of my small stash of extremely alluring 2002 reds, and the first releases of the highly anticipated 2005 vintage just starting to appear on the shelves. I chose the following two wines at random and drank them on successive weekends. Ladies first…
Rene LeClerc 2005 Bourgogne Rouge
I was introduced to the wines of Rene LeClerc by a wine merchant in my neighborhood. The first wine I tried was a 1998 Gevry-Chambertin, a village level wine that was delicious, satisfying and one of what many claim are a rarity in the Burgundy racket – a great value. I went back to the well at least three more times. I’ll add that I was so impressed that the first Grand Cru Burg that I ever bought, cellared and subsequently drank was another Rene LeClerc (he’s got a brother, Phillipe, also a winemaker in the Cotes de Nuits), a 1999 Griottes-Chambertin that proved to be much more complex, equally satisfying, much more expensive but still – a good value. To make a long story short, I’m a devoted fan.
So, it was a great joy that I felt when I spotted a bottle of ’05 LeClerc Bourgogne on the shelf of one of my money pits. I’d tried the ’01 version and it was somewhat thin and acidic, but I knew that that was nothing to worry about as ’05 is supposed to be a great vintage across the board while ’01 was a vintage where careful selection was more the rule. I grabbed one and quickly forgot about all the other wines I was lusting after. This says a lot.
I chilled the wine a bit on a Friday night and opened it up, at the same time letting a slab of French Compte warm a little on the table. I usually try to have Burgundy with the appropriate meat or fish, but in this case I felt I could get away with something simpler. Immediately I was struck by the beautiful nose, a mixture of berries, mostly strawberry and that unique “pinot scent” that is so endlessly beguiling. The color was classic translucent ruby/purple, again immediately identifiable as pinot noir, but with a slight brownish tinge, hinting at a relatively early maturity. This wine was totally singing right out of the bottle at age two, which suggests that it was vinified for immediate pleasure. Fine with me!
The most amazing thing about this wine is the texture and body. While the wine is light to medium bodied, you could never really call it just ‘light bodied,’ as it has a subtle chunkiness and fatness to it, with a glycerin texture that’s not at all oily or heavy. It was like a hot summer breeze at night where you can feel the heaviness of the moisture in the air – a very sexy sensation. In a word the mouth feel and texture were ravishing. It also has perfect balance and excellent concentration. Fine tannins were accompanied by perfect acidity (depends on your style preference, of course) with ripe strawberry flavors in abundance. The finish was quite long. The overall effect was of fresh strawberries resting on a pillow of wind. If Helen of Troy showed up at my door, this is the wine I would proffer.
Jadot Pommard 2002
Hopefully, upon my return from the gladiatorial ring, fair Helen would have this wine waiting for me. While certainly not a bruising style of Pommard, Jadot’s village wine in the highly structured and excellent 2002 vintage is both a good example of the Pommard style and highly drinkable now. Pommard is known as the most masculine of the Cotes de Beaune wines, with a chunky, earthy and tannic style. It’s said that most good Pommards require about 10 years of age, and in truth, this wine was a little on the young side. However, not being a premier cru and having somewhat less than ideal storage might have pushed it into an earlier drinking window. Jadot is known for producing highly age-worthy Burgundies.
The nose was fairly reticent, not showing much at this time. The color was a darker shade of purple than most pinots. The palate was medium bodied with an abundance of black fruits – blackberries, cassis and black currants all made multiple appearances. There was a smoky, savory quality, with some hints of incense and spice. The wine opened up considerably in the glass but still the nose was generally absent, a surprise. The finish was long and satisfying. There was a slightly modern aspect to this wine. There was no real evidence of astringency, which is a hallmark of more rustic and traditional Burgs. The wine had a velvety smooth texture with fine but somewhat resolved tannins. Very luxurious and rich. Again, excellent concentration and balance, although somewhat lower acidity than the LeClerc. However, overall the Pommard showed greater depth, richness and complexity.
I served the wine with an herbed chicken sauté and cous cous. The meal was preceded by a 2005 Chalone Vineyards (California) Chardonnay as an aperitif with brie. I don’t think you could truly enjoy this wine away from a proper meal. The acidity and tannins would become too tiresome. Honestly, this was only the second Pommard I’ve ever tried, but it really hit the spot and has lingered in my mind since that night. I don’t remember the producer of the first one, only that it was somewhat disappointing and chosen at a time when I knew very little about Burgundy and the proper food pairings to accompany it.
So, what’s the verdict in the comparison of these two wines? Are they really a ‘his and hers’ pair? Would a glass of LeClerc’s ethereal Bourgogne reflect poorly on your three pound Rolex watch? Or would your hot date suddenly cool your ardor if she began to chug back a lioness’ share of the Pommard? I doubt that very much. I think these wines could even work at the same meal, although I would definitely serve the Bourgogne first, preferably with the appropriate starter. A smoked salmon salad or something similar would be miraculous – yumm! Perhaps a mediating wine might go well between them – is there a wine with a reputation that suggests it could stand in as a marriage counselor? Because, you know that when two extreme opposites like these get together, sparks will fly. Maybe it’s better to just say, – “viva la difference!”
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Wine Scout Summer Party
With Summer upon us, my friend Patricia, aka The Wine Scout (http://www.thewinescout.com/) hosted a tasting party at her crib in Brooklyn. It was a perfect early Summer night and the flawless showing of the wines reflected this happy circumstance. A group of about ten friends and wine lovers got together to enjoy a fabulous menu of salad, cheeses and pot roast, with a dessert of absolutely scrumptious biscotti. The basic theme was French, but in deference to the Wine Scout’s tradition of highlighting New York State wines, a few exceptions were made at the beginning of the tasting to get things going.
Dirty Girl Chardonnay, Texas
A light to medium bodied Chard with a slight effervescence. It showed traditional melon and pear aromas and flavors. The Dirty Girl’s cousin from France would show up later in the evening.
Pugliese Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blanc Brut 2002
100% Chardonnay in the blanc de blanc style, this sparkling wine from the North Fork of Long Island showed well with a light body, decent mousse, and slightly sour apple on the nose and in the mouth. Good finish. A pleasant surprise. Definitely more complex and authentic than plenty of Champagne wanna-bes.
Domaine Guyot Pouilly-Fume 2005 “Les Loges”
Light yellow gold color. A fetching nose of grass, grapefruit and other citrus fruits. In the mouth the wine is soft and gets softer and more seductive as it warms. Medium bodied with great balance between fruit, acid and texture. Medium long finish. It was wonderful with a citrus and (sunflower? Pine nuts?) flavored salad and the cheeses. A classic style of wine from a wine region that remains slightly under the radar in the US. Elegant and refined with sex appeal and a great value, to boot.
2005 Domaine la Garrigue Cotes du Rhone “Cuvee Romaine”
This wine, a blend of 65% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah, is somewhat controversial. Rated a whopping 91 by Robert Parker, it carries a price tag that’s distinctly on the other side of the spectrum from many wines that have recently received the benefit of his largesse. The rating seems to be somewhat inflated, possibly because the wine is an excellent value, but either way, it was a hit at the tasting. A very competent CdR of the black cherry and spice variety, it has a dark purple color and zesty nose of black cherry, spices, earth and perhaps some crème de cassis. More of the same flavors show up on the palate, with good complexity and texture. The wine is full bodied with a medium long finish. There’s well integrated tannin in a low acid style for 2005. Balance is excellent overall and this example had none of the gooeyness that a previous bottle possessed. Don’t know if it will last ten years as RP believes but that’s mainly because folks will be chugging it down at parties all Summer long from St. Tropez to Fort Greene, Malibu and beyond. A very solid wine.
Marc Colin 2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge “Les Encegnieres”
As big of a hit as the previous wine was, this single vineyard red Burg from the much lauded ’02 vintage glided past like a vintage Bugatti overtaking a gas guzzling 70s muscle car on hairpin turn in the rain. Colin’s style is no doubt a modern one, but this wine proved that his reds can gain in complexity over the short term. Some mature brownish tones showed in the garnet/ruby color. The wine’s nose was classic pinot, with sweet cherries and incense. Some strawberries emerged later. Smooth but with fine tannins and perfectly balanced acidity, it was a match made in heaven for the beautifully done pot roast that was served by the Wine Scout. The fruit is simultaneously round and bright and the finish very suave. A crowd-pleaser.
Domaine Ramonet 2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge
However, the glory of Colin’s delicious rouge had a limited timeframe. The legendary (for their whites, at least) Ramonet produced some great value reds in ’02, and they’re aging beautifully. It was a fascinating pairing, really, showing the subtle differences in the house styles. The Ramonet was a little fatter and had more of a velvety texture and was more opulent, plus there were some subtle almond or praline notes. Much the same aromatic and flavor profile, but with more subtlety and complexity. Everyone agreed, as much as they liked the previous wine, that the Ramonet was clearly better. Classy, complex, elegant, sexy, smooth – what more do you want from a wine?
Chateau de Fieuzal 2003 Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux
Just to bring everyone back to earth, we next sampled this sweet little Bordeaux from the torridly hot 2003 vintage. A deep, semi-opaque red, the wine has a ton of sweet oak on the nose and in the palate, plus cherry and some pruney flavors. It doesn’t lack for charm, however, and I included it in the tasting because it was much enjoyed, with a slight smirk, perhaps, at a broad tasting of Pessac wines earlier in the year. It tasted exactly the same as before. Light to medium body for a cru class Bordeaux, but there is nice texture with some glycerin and mild chunkiness. A wine that many would enjoy at table or in the garden, it nonetheless suffered in comparison to the two high society denizens of the previous flight. Charming and slightly slutty, but perfect for dinner and a movie when the SO is away on business or visiting with the in-laws.
Chateau Gloria 2002 St. Julien, Bordeaux
The ’02 Gloria offered a return to a much more traditional style of Bordeaux. A dark purple color was accompanied by a somewhat reticent nose. The palate was anything but, however, displaying significant soft tannin along with plenty of liquorice and dark fruits. Full bodied. There was also an element of charcoal or dark chocolate and the overall impression was of a dark toned, complex Bordeaux that was somewhat evolved. The texture was fairly soft as well with balanced acidity and a good finish. Most preferred this wine to the ’03 de Fieuzal. A classic style of Gloria, however I’m not sure it will ever rival the ’96, my favorite so far.
Chateau Bastor Lamontagne 2001 Sauternes, Bordeaux
Fortunately for the Bordeaux fans in attendance and the crowd in general, the inclusion of this wine in the lineup insured that the Southwestern stronghold of France’s illustrious wine industry would not go down swinging at the clever hands of their rivals to the East, those ever elusive and seductive Burgundians. It often seems unfair to many a great lineup of dry red wines to conclude with Sauternes, but that’s often the nature of how things work. Upon release, Bastor Lamontagne’s 2001 offering seemed a bit on the light side, with an iridescent and complex mixture of tropical fruit flavors whispering and winking from a distance in the somewhat dilute palate. Worries over whether this wine would last or perform were dashed immediately upon pulling the cork however, and the reputation of the fabulous ’01 vintage in Sauternes was upheld and increased. A pure, enticing light gold color was joined by an intensely alluring aroma of honey, butterscotch, apricot and orange. Full bodied, a huge surprise, and a viscous texture added to the very satisfying experience. More honey and apricot on the palate concluded with a pure, long finish. Great balance, with excellent acidity holding it all together. Everyone loved this wine and if it didn’t exactly even the score, it at least offered a chance for some to argue over a split decision.
Overall it was a wonderful and exciting night with great company, excellent wines and delicious food. Stay tuned for more of the Wine Scout’s events!
Dirty Girl Chardonnay, Texas
A light to medium bodied Chard with a slight effervescence. It showed traditional melon and pear aromas and flavors. The Dirty Girl’s cousin from France would show up later in the evening.
Pugliese Vineyards Sparkling Blanc de Blanc Brut 2002
100% Chardonnay in the blanc de blanc style, this sparkling wine from the North Fork of Long Island showed well with a light body, decent mousse, and slightly sour apple on the nose and in the mouth. Good finish. A pleasant surprise. Definitely more complex and authentic than plenty of Champagne wanna-bes.
Domaine Guyot Pouilly-Fume 2005 “Les Loges”
Light yellow gold color. A fetching nose of grass, grapefruit and other citrus fruits. In the mouth the wine is soft and gets softer and more seductive as it warms. Medium bodied with great balance between fruit, acid and texture. Medium long finish. It was wonderful with a citrus and (sunflower? Pine nuts?) flavored salad and the cheeses. A classic style of wine from a wine region that remains slightly under the radar in the US. Elegant and refined with sex appeal and a great value, to boot.
2005 Domaine la Garrigue Cotes du Rhone “Cuvee Romaine”
This wine, a blend of 65% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah, is somewhat controversial. Rated a whopping 91 by Robert Parker, it carries a price tag that’s distinctly on the other side of the spectrum from many wines that have recently received the benefit of his largesse. The rating seems to be somewhat inflated, possibly because the wine is an excellent value, but either way, it was a hit at the tasting. A very competent CdR of the black cherry and spice variety, it has a dark purple color and zesty nose of black cherry, spices, earth and perhaps some crème de cassis. More of the same flavors show up on the palate, with good complexity and texture. The wine is full bodied with a medium long finish. There’s well integrated tannin in a low acid style for 2005. Balance is excellent overall and this example had none of the gooeyness that a previous bottle possessed. Don’t know if it will last ten years as RP believes but that’s mainly because folks will be chugging it down at parties all Summer long from St. Tropez to Fort Greene, Malibu and beyond. A very solid wine.
Marc Colin 2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge “Les Encegnieres”
As big of a hit as the previous wine was, this single vineyard red Burg from the much lauded ’02 vintage glided past like a vintage Bugatti overtaking a gas guzzling 70s muscle car on hairpin turn in the rain. Colin’s style is no doubt a modern one, but this wine proved that his reds can gain in complexity over the short term. Some mature brownish tones showed in the garnet/ruby color. The wine’s nose was classic pinot, with sweet cherries and incense. Some strawberries emerged later. Smooth but with fine tannins and perfectly balanced acidity, it was a match made in heaven for the beautifully done pot roast that was served by the Wine Scout. The fruit is simultaneously round and bright and the finish very suave. A crowd-pleaser.
Domaine Ramonet 2002 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge
However, the glory of Colin’s delicious rouge had a limited timeframe. The legendary (for their whites, at least) Ramonet produced some great value reds in ’02, and they’re aging beautifully. It was a fascinating pairing, really, showing the subtle differences in the house styles. The Ramonet was a little fatter and had more of a velvety texture and was more opulent, plus there were some subtle almond or praline notes. Much the same aromatic and flavor profile, but with more subtlety and complexity. Everyone agreed, as much as they liked the previous wine, that the Ramonet was clearly better. Classy, complex, elegant, sexy, smooth – what more do you want from a wine?
Chateau de Fieuzal 2003 Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux
Just to bring everyone back to earth, we next sampled this sweet little Bordeaux from the torridly hot 2003 vintage. A deep, semi-opaque red, the wine has a ton of sweet oak on the nose and in the palate, plus cherry and some pruney flavors. It doesn’t lack for charm, however, and I included it in the tasting because it was much enjoyed, with a slight smirk, perhaps, at a broad tasting of Pessac wines earlier in the year. It tasted exactly the same as before. Light to medium body for a cru class Bordeaux, but there is nice texture with some glycerin and mild chunkiness. A wine that many would enjoy at table or in the garden, it nonetheless suffered in comparison to the two high society denizens of the previous flight. Charming and slightly slutty, but perfect for dinner and a movie when the SO is away on business or visiting with the in-laws.
Chateau Gloria 2002 St. Julien, Bordeaux
The ’02 Gloria offered a return to a much more traditional style of Bordeaux. A dark purple color was accompanied by a somewhat reticent nose. The palate was anything but, however, displaying significant soft tannin along with plenty of liquorice and dark fruits. Full bodied. There was also an element of charcoal or dark chocolate and the overall impression was of a dark toned, complex Bordeaux that was somewhat evolved. The texture was fairly soft as well with balanced acidity and a good finish. Most preferred this wine to the ’03 de Fieuzal. A classic style of Gloria, however I’m not sure it will ever rival the ’96, my favorite so far.
Chateau Bastor Lamontagne 2001 Sauternes, Bordeaux
Fortunately for the Bordeaux fans in attendance and the crowd in general, the inclusion of this wine in the lineup insured that the Southwestern stronghold of France’s illustrious wine industry would not go down swinging at the clever hands of their rivals to the East, those ever elusive and seductive Burgundians. It often seems unfair to many a great lineup of dry red wines to conclude with Sauternes, but that’s often the nature of how things work. Upon release, Bastor Lamontagne’s 2001 offering seemed a bit on the light side, with an iridescent and complex mixture of tropical fruit flavors whispering and winking from a distance in the somewhat dilute palate. Worries over whether this wine would last or perform were dashed immediately upon pulling the cork however, and the reputation of the fabulous ’01 vintage in Sauternes was upheld and increased. A pure, enticing light gold color was joined by an intensely alluring aroma of honey, butterscotch, apricot and orange. Full bodied, a huge surprise, and a viscous texture added to the very satisfying experience. More honey and apricot on the palate concluded with a pure, long finish. Great balance, with excellent acidity holding it all together. Everyone loved this wine and if it didn’t exactly even the score, it at least offered a chance for some to argue over a split decision.
Overall it was a wonderful and exciting night with great company, excellent wines and delicious food. Stay tuned for more of the Wine Scout’s events!
The Eternal Question
As I sat in my local café, sipping a simple but perfectly satisfactory glass of cabernet, I was not quite troubled but inwardly thinking, wondering what I would like to convey, to express, to bring forth in this my latest venture or was it misadventure? I wrote out a list, mentally of course, as I would never be the type to sit and pick away at a laptop computer in a public place... But to continue, how did I get started with my obsession with the grape? Was it the auspicious event of the release of the ’99 Burgundy at the same time as my nascent and peculiarly engrossing pursuit began to take form? That great vintage inspired and transfixed my imagination, bien sur – I consider myself both blessed and cursed to have fallen sway under its considerable charms.
But did the roots go further back? Many things seemed to conspire to push me along the path towards iniquity and this confession, though of course, I was well along that path since an early age. Could it have been I was simply tired of drinking beer? Or perhaps that I wanted to refine my drinking habits, relegating beer to pubs, preferably good old fashioned pubs in Camden Town or Hampstead, and wine to the dinner table, and preferably in company of interesting and charming women.. But no that couldn’t have been it. Maybe I simply looked forward to a day when I could play the ultimate trick on the unforgiving and seemingly hopelessly iron-clad structure of society, and turn all of my hanging out expenses into a tax deduction? But that’s absurd. Although it can work in some instances…
People do ask me, as wine geeks and normal people are want to do: When did you start getting into wine? Really it seems to have been a confluence of forces bearing down on me, or rather caressing me as there is little that can be deemed unpleasant or stressful about the wine experience, excepting of course the morning after. But when I think back on it, one individual always seems to come to mind, Laurent, a drummer from the South of France who I was playing with in the waning days of the last century. I began to get interested in wine and then bang – there he was, aiding and abetting my early blundering yet highly enjoyable experiences. Later we would drive to the Rhone together one summer day in the most scorching heat I probably and hopefully will ever feel. Almost needless to say we didn’t bring enough water for the drive, and Laurent, chivalrous and macho character that he is, (and devoted, of course) had given (and maybe henpecked) the air-conditioned car to his now lovely wife, Isabel, so anyway we were roasting, roasting! But when we reached Vaqueras, and then Gigondas, with the aid of the air-conditioned tasting rooms and the charm of the lovely tasting hostesses, the red red wine we were so lucky to try (they were tasting the tremendous 2003 vintage – more luck, or was it bedevilment?) was as refreshing as a properly room temperature liquid could be, I’m tempted to say like Coca-Cola but that would be blasphemy..But it would be remiss to mention Laurent’s influence without admitting that at the time I had come under the sway of his people at that time – I was (sweating, stammering) a budding Francophile.
I can trace my wine obsession even further back though, although it hadn’t reached its epic proportion of today. No perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me – is it possible to mix up one trip to Spain with another? Of course it is. I daresay I even cut my teeth on Spanish wines in those days, religiously reading a ten dollar wine calendar given to me by my doting but crazy ex-boss, and tried to keep my wine purchases under $10 a bottle. It’s true though, the wine calendar and the Spanish wines came after, not before my trip to the Loire in the Summer of 2000. At this time I was still overwhelmed by the fact that one vintage didn’t cover the entirety of France ie, a spectacular year in Burgundy might not necessarily translate to the same level of exaltation in Bordeaux, let alone Champagne and the Rhone. I threw up my hands upon learning this, but hardly gave in. It probably deserves to be mentioned that the trip to the Loire was part of an outrageously memorable vacation that I took which encompassed flying in and out of Amsterdam, with a little side trip to France including Rennes, St. Malo and Blois. In Amsterdam I was struck by the elegant and often black-clad and always quite tall ladies on their bicycles. True to my deep sense of irony, when I arrived in St. Malo, I actually met one. She accompanied me to the Loire, maybe the most romantic place in the world, or at least it seemed to me. I didn’t know a stick about Loire wines at this point, and still don’t know much. Quite naturally, upon my return home, I continued my wine exploration, and what I call ‘the first bottle of wine I ever read about, looked for and actually found’ became a bottle of Pouilly-Fume that I managed to track down at Garnet Wines. That Christmas my paramour would materialize and memorialize it forever in my mind by reaching for a glass while wearing only a large Indian shawl…
But please forgive me if I digress. My intention is hardly to chronicle the more essential aspects that make life worth living, to put it mildly, but rather to show how at the time, my life was moving in an upward and somewhat slightly dizzying spiral. I had embarked on a series of international forays, entered into new and stimulating relationships, I had discovered fine wine… It was a good time period, without a doubt.
But enough! You may say – where are the wines? This is Confessions of a Wine Obsessive – I’ve also got wines to talk about, not to worry…
But did the roots go further back? Many things seemed to conspire to push me along the path towards iniquity and this confession, though of course, I was well along that path since an early age. Could it have been I was simply tired of drinking beer? Or perhaps that I wanted to refine my drinking habits, relegating beer to pubs, preferably good old fashioned pubs in Camden Town or Hampstead, and wine to the dinner table, and preferably in company of interesting and charming women.. But no that couldn’t have been it. Maybe I simply looked forward to a day when I could play the ultimate trick on the unforgiving and seemingly hopelessly iron-clad structure of society, and turn all of my hanging out expenses into a tax deduction? But that’s absurd. Although it can work in some instances…
People do ask me, as wine geeks and normal people are want to do: When did you start getting into wine? Really it seems to have been a confluence of forces bearing down on me, or rather caressing me as there is little that can be deemed unpleasant or stressful about the wine experience, excepting of course the morning after. But when I think back on it, one individual always seems to come to mind, Laurent, a drummer from the South of France who I was playing with in the waning days of the last century. I began to get interested in wine and then bang – there he was, aiding and abetting my early blundering yet highly enjoyable experiences. Later we would drive to the Rhone together one summer day in the most scorching heat I probably and hopefully will ever feel. Almost needless to say we didn’t bring enough water for the drive, and Laurent, chivalrous and macho character that he is, (and devoted, of course) had given (and maybe henpecked) the air-conditioned car to his now lovely wife, Isabel, so anyway we were roasting, roasting! But when we reached Vaqueras, and then Gigondas, with the aid of the air-conditioned tasting rooms and the charm of the lovely tasting hostesses, the red red wine we were so lucky to try (they were tasting the tremendous 2003 vintage – more luck, or was it bedevilment?) was as refreshing as a properly room temperature liquid could be, I’m tempted to say like Coca-Cola but that would be blasphemy..But it would be remiss to mention Laurent’s influence without admitting that at the time I had come under the sway of his people at that time – I was (sweating, stammering) a budding Francophile.
I can trace my wine obsession even further back though, although it hadn’t reached its epic proportion of today. No perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me – is it possible to mix up one trip to Spain with another? Of course it is. I daresay I even cut my teeth on Spanish wines in those days, religiously reading a ten dollar wine calendar given to me by my doting but crazy ex-boss, and tried to keep my wine purchases under $10 a bottle. It’s true though, the wine calendar and the Spanish wines came after, not before my trip to the Loire in the Summer of 2000. At this time I was still overwhelmed by the fact that one vintage didn’t cover the entirety of France ie, a spectacular year in Burgundy might not necessarily translate to the same level of exaltation in Bordeaux, let alone Champagne and the Rhone. I threw up my hands upon learning this, but hardly gave in. It probably deserves to be mentioned that the trip to the Loire was part of an outrageously memorable vacation that I took which encompassed flying in and out of Amsterdam, with a little side trip to France including Rennes, St. Malo and Blois. In Amsterdam I was struck by the elegant and often black-clad and always quite tall ladies on their bicycles. True to my deep sense of irony, when I arrived in St. Malo, I actually met one. She accompanied me to the Loire, maybe the most romantic place in the world, or at least it seemed to me. I didn’t know a stick about Loire wines at this point, and still don’t know much. Quite naturally, upon my return home, I continued my wine exploration, and what I call ‘the first bottle of wine I ever read about, looked for and actually found’ became a bottle of Pouilly-Fume that I managed to track down at Garnet Wines. That Christmas my paramour would materialize and memorialize it forever in my mind by reaching for a glass while wearing only a large Indian shawl…
But please forgive me if I digress. My intention is hardly to chronicle the more essential aspects that make life worth living, to put it mildly, but rather to show how at the time, my life was moving in an upward and somewhat slightly dizzying spiral. I had embarked on a series of international forays, entered into new and stimulating relationships, I had discovered fine wine… It was a good time period, without a doubt.
But enough! You may say – where are the wines? This is Confessions of a Wine Obsessive – I’ve also got wines to talk about, not to worry…
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