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This is from Stonewell in the sub-region of Marananga. The winemaker is Barossa superstar Troy Kalleske and the executive producers are brothers Pierre and Bert Werden. The name JaJa is an acronym derived from the names of their four children - Jake, Andrew, Jordan and Alana. Bert has had another kiddy called Tara since so maybe they should call future releases JaJaTa…which sounds a bit like a cracker and could be wholly appropriate based on the quality of this first release.
Aromas of blackberry, plum, raspberry, aniseed and meaty malty coffee oak with just a suggestion of fresh mint. On the palate full bodied and packed with an array of lush blackberry, dark cherry and raspberry fruit backed with savoury meaty toasty oak. Beautiful ripe textural tannins here. The mouthfeel is outstanding. Finishes long with blackberry/raspberry and toasty espresso flavours. This is a classic Barossa shiraz offering deep yet vibrant fruit and altogether too much value for money.
A wonderful surprise. Light golden colour. Lovely nose of honey, toast and citrus. Silky palate with depth and richness. Long, every element in balance. At its peak now, this is a world-class wine. Cork. 11.5% - 92/100
I am a fan of Spencer-Roloson winery, so I sought out Sam Spencer for our “20 Not So Penetrating Questions for a Wine Craftsman.”
Sam and his partner Wendy Roloson produce high-end, affordably priced, small lot Rhone and Spanish style wines, mostly reds and a couple of delightful whites.
Simply, these people get it.
They sell in Indiana, which always engenders a boutique producer to me, because most others eschew distribution in the state without understanding the opportunity. They sell Direct-to-Trade, a program that I helped initiate with Inertia Beverage Group; they are starting a blog and their positioning to market is, “Provocative Wines Evocative Dirt.” Oh, and this is on top of their wine line-up being fantastic from top to bottom.
But, Sam doesn’t stop there, in fact he has side projects, too. His most recent project is the current Cameron Hughes “Hughes-Wellman” Cabernet. As a wine club selection and a slight one-off from the CH model, the $50 Cabernet with just 199 cases produced should go extremely fast. Available now at this link.
Fortunately, Sam found a few spare moments to interview with us and our 20 questions … an economy of words and a spareness of detail makes this interview kind of like the subject—smart, to the point and without a lot of artifice. Though, as a child of the 80’s and a viewer of late night Cinemax as a young teen, I do have to chuckle at his favorite movie genre.
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins are you most guilty of?
Sam: Lust mostly, pride in the balance
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Sam: Poor diction and improperly spoken English. Although I speak Spanish terribly and mangle that language daily.
Sam: Failing to keep your area/station clean
What is on your nightstand?
Sam: James Salter: Last Night John Mcphee : the founding Fish Luca Turin: Perfume: the Guide
What is in your refrigerator or pantry that you would not openly admit?
Sam: Nothing
What do you drink when you are not drinking wine?
Sam: Tecate, Campari or Patron silver-rocks and lime
What type of music or radio station is played most often in your car?
Sam: KQED for news and KCRW via satellite for the best music in CA
In what era would you live if you transport yourself?
Sam: 100 years in the future
What is the best wine-related book you have read?
Sam: The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr and Assembling California by John Mcphee
The former is about the science of olfaction, scent and the perfume industry the latter is about the geology of CA put into lay terms with explanations
What is your favorite movie genre?
Sam: 1970’s Soft-Porn
Is your desk messy or organized?
Sam: Both
Are you always early or terminally late?
Sam: Late
Whom would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
Sam: Jack Nicholson
What super-power would you most like to have, and why?
Sam: Super strength and endurance—Get more done with time to spare for hanging out with my family and friends
The best thing about this very moment is that I am in my own bed. Finally. After camping out for five days at Vinitaly and then taking to the road for another week in northern Italy, I came home exhuasted and relieved. Airplanes filled with sick children coughing for eleven hours must have broken down my resistance. A week in the office trying to put together a series of wine seminars across Texas and then a very important dinner for an important Italian winemaker, almost broke me. I spent a weekend alternating between duties at wine dinners and laying on my couch trying to prevent getting any sicker. But come Monday I was stung. Maybe it was a little flu, or a cold or allergies, whatever it was, I should have sat the week out. Instead I took to the road. Dallas on Monday, Houston on Tuesday, Austin on Wednesday and San Antonio on Thursday, with a quick flight back to Dallas for a private and very upscale event for Riccardo Cotarella at the home of a friend in Highland Park and sixty of his closest friends and family.
Last Sunday I knew I was sunk. I had driven off the wine trail onto a shoulder, and it was leading me straight into the gates of hell. But what could I do? I was scheduled to work all week with my colleague and friend the Master Sommelier, Guy Stout. Four days, four cities. The show must go on.
I had no voice. I emailed a friend whose wife is an opera singer, a coloratura soprano. She is very protective of her voice. So I asked him to have her send me her remedy for a sore throat with no voice and the need to perform. Her email was priceless, and someday I must reprint her remedy, for it is alchemy and genius.
I proceeded to go forward. Monday was upon me. Our meeting with salespeople went well enough. That lasted for an hour and was fairly low impact. The challenge would come in the afternoon when we would be doing a ninety minute presentation and a lot of talking.
Time out. I don?t usually talk about these things. I call these kinds of posts ?mommy blogs.? See what I did, see who I talked to, see my wonderful life. I usually stick to topic. But lately I have heard from a lot of folks about how wonderful my profession and life is. And it is. But not without some downsides as well. Many hours, lots of work and when one wears themselves out, burn on through it. Don?t stop. Not very glamorous.
So I was suited up and sounding like Barry White. Dallas went well, plenty of folks showed up; it was an SRO(standing room only) kind of day. Around 5:30 I was dragging and someone suggested I go home. One stop first. A friend with MS needed some wine for her MS charity event planning meeting. So I rounded up some bottles and took them to her penthouse. And then home and straight to bed.
8 PM and it is still light out. But in eight hours I must get up and catch a plane. So I forced myself down and hoped when I awoke I would feel better.
No chance. But I'm on a 6:30 AM plane, anyway. If I wanted to feel bad about my plight I saw two other colleagues at the airport who had come from way out in the suburbs to catch their flights as well. So no tears for me.
I have a friend who I rarely see, but it seems lately we are on the same plane to Houston. We both started out about the same time in the wine biz and we took different paths. But it is always interesting talking to him about the big Napa Valley wine business. Lots of correlations.
Houston. 7:30 AM. 80°F and 90% humidity. I should have brought more shirts. On to the morning meeting.
First one went well. The afternoon one started later and I found myself on a hotel room laid out trying to regain some strength. I was taking a mixture of antihistamines, zinc, aspirin, nose spray, cough drops and cough syrup. I was up, down, soft boiled, poached and rendered. I felt like crap. Thirty minutes to showtime.
Seventy folks filed in and my spirits were raised. I talked as long as my voice held out and then I handed the program over to Guy. A friend in the audience told me later that he saw my voice trail off and disappear as I handed the program over to my colleague.
2 days down ? 2 to go
After flying to Houston and doing a full days worth of program we loaded up the car and headed to Austin. I have taken that Houston to Austin road three times this year and I am beginning to really like it in a country and western song writing kind of way. As we headed into Austin, missing dinner with any number of Italian winemakers who had descended upon the capital, we rolled into the hotel and bagged it for the night.
Austin. We had two great days and we got cocky. A decent enough session with our staff and then on to the trade function.
Austin isn?t like anywhere else. There?s no predicting what will or won?t work. We set up the room, decorated the tables for 50 and opened up scores of great Italian wines. And then we waited. And waited.
Earlier we had rolled out for a quick lunch of tacos, chased with a bottle of Kerner. In plastic glasses, over ice. Had we offended the wine gods? This was Austin, was that so wrong?
Finally we started. Seven brave souls made it to the event. Along with double that amount of wine suppliers and staff. I had no voice and my emotions weren't too high, but I belted out a program that was one of my best. I gave it 120%. Later one of my friends showed up and lifted my spirits. I was really down. Guy wasn?t feeling so masterfully wonderful either. But we soldiered on and packed up the car and headed to San Antonio.
A nice meal at Luca and a glass or two of wine and we were three days down and one to go.
San Antonio ? Thursday 9 AM ? there must have been 45 salespeople in the room. Guy and I did our thing and afterwards several salespeople came up and told us we had made a difference for them that day. One old boy brought tears to my eyes. Something that I said about just making a note to have an answer to the question, ?what?s new?? really pushed his button, in a good way. Yes, they liked me, they really liked me. On to the afternoon seminar.
Meanwhile Guy drove us, on the way, to an aggie store where he returned some ridiculously expensive pesticide. I had been traveling in his car for two days with this ultra concentrated poison that cost $200 a gallon?
In the poison store that had these wonderful posters with detailed drawings of ants and bees and sharpshooters. Down to the hairy backs on the big headed ants. Weird, but wonderful, in a macabre way.
Finally we made it to the last venue in time to get a call that my alarm back home is on and the alarm company won't call the police because I haven?t updated my permit info. All this while my phone/blackberry is crashing every five minutes.
So I lose it. I call my son and neighbor to go over and check it out. Seems that Dallas was having some serious April weather and the power was out. Small favors.
The afternoon seminar, the last one before heading back to Dallas for the Cotarella event. The restaurant had set the room up as if only seven people were coming to this one. No, no, no. Eventually 15-20 people showed and we averted a disaster.
I started the event off knowing I would have to bow out early and get to the airport. Around ten minutes past the time I should have stopped, Giulio popped his head in and got me out to the car. Along the way he made conversation about things, trying to ease my worry.
Airport. In time. Phone dead. Catch plane. Ears clog up and stay clogged up. I?m never gonna get well.
A hard landing in Dallas and a quick dart to Highland Park to prepare for the Cotarella event. I am dead tired. I am grouchy. But the show must go on. Clouds were gathering. Would our wonderful Italian al fresco event be forced to move inside? Please, please, please, don?t rain.
Riccardo showed up looking tired too. We were the walking wounded in search of the illusive bella figura. But we grabbed each others arms and headed for the stage. Just like Bing and Bob. We killed ?em. They loved it. Almost done.
Finally about 9 PM Riccardo looks like I feel. He stands up and says good night. Thank you, Riccardo, we can all go rest up and get ready to pitch our tent another day.
That?s a peek into a week of the glamorous wine life.
If you?re interested in designing your own custom wine cellar there are a number of options available to you. The best news is that there are wine cellar designs for everyone from the avid do-it-yourselfer to the complete woodworking novice.
There are modular wine racks that are available in different grains and finishes, with the least expensive generally being a wood such as pine. Most modular wine rack dealers will offer other materials such as red cedar or finished wood as well. Of course you can always save some money and finish the wood yourself if you desire a particular type of finish or color for your wine cellar racks.
There are many wine racking companies that offer crown molding and skirting pieces so that you can easily combine different styles of wine cellar racking materials and types. This approach can yield some very unique custom wine cellar designs.
There are built in glass racks that are made to fit snugly within a rack system. A good place for one of these individual units would be above the table top piece mentioned above. This would add to the ambience as well as functionality of your custom modular wine racking system.
If you want something a little different than the traditional wood wine cellar racks, there are attractive metal trellis rack pieces that are very economical, yet stylish. These tend to look classier than the wood modular wine racking pieces, especially for placement in bar areas that will be viewed by visitors.
If you would like to add a table area to your wine cellar while increasing the storage capacity of your cellar at the same time, a wine bin table may be the best addition to your modular racking system. There are taller, wine tasting tables that hold just over 100 bottles or about 180 bottles of wine, and there are shorter wine rack tables that hold more than 200 wine bottles in case bins.
There are many online dealers and manufacturers of wine cellar racking pieces that also offer custom computer design services to help you achieve the exact wine cellar layout that you have in mine. With many of these professional services you can then have the plans sent to you and decide if you will build them yourself or have someone else build them for you.
With all of the wine cellar design options available to you, there are many ways to accomplish the perfect wine cellar design for you and your situation. There are many wine enthusiasts online communities and the like where you can find others interested in the same things that you are and maybe gain some other ideas about wine cellars and the design aspect of creating your own wine cellar.
For those phobic of these eight legged creatures, New Zealand is the place to be. It's thought that Scorpions evolved in one place (in the Northern Hemisphere) and then spread throughout the world (like Humans out of Africa), though they were too slow to reach Aotearoa.
Image credit: Thanks again to by dear sister for the photo.
This year 9,358 wines were judged from 35 different countries, by 400 judges. The judges came from 19 different countries and included 33 Masters of Wine. 260 Gold medals were awarded, 1,129 wines won Silver medals and 1,839 wines won Bronze medals.
The top 3 medal winning nations remain the same as last year ? France, Australia and Italy. France scooped the most medals with a total tally of 635. English wines continue to show improved form with 21 medals in 2007 up from 16 last year.
I'm going to buy this wine...because I just think it's terribly cool that a winery would honor one of the greatest jazz vocalists in the history of the genre. (Have you ever heard Ella sing "mack the knife"?!!?)
However, I'm probably not going to drink this Domaine Carneros Sparkling Wine while listening to any jazz, including Ella. Here's why.
I've long believed that even given the range and the diversity of the Jazz genre, the absolutely most appropriate drink to accompany Jazz is something that attacks the senses, throat, palate and body with a Velvet Bite.
No pure wine I've ever consumed possesses this quality.
By "Velvet Bite" I mean, first, that sensation of a subtle sting that warms just as the sting diminishes when the liquid is poured over your palate. You need to feel the relief of the alcohol sting diminishing just as the alcohol also begins to warm the throat and stomach.
There must be a soft clamping down on the palate that does not linger, but also is not escapable. The sensation alerts the senses in a momentary shock like no wine can do, yet fades away, relinquishing its bite in favor of alertness and warmth.
This state, I think, is best suited for listening to Jazz. Bourbon, Whiskey, Scotch and even cognac and armagnac are the proper drinks to pair with Jazz; best suited to provide a velvet bite.
Further, I believe the full affect of pairing the Velvet Bite with Jazz occurs when a shot of any of the above beverages is taken in advance of sipping on a second round of the same. And, how this shot is performed can affect the pleasure of the pairing even more if done right.
The shot, while it should be taken in all at once, should not be targeted at the throat so that it slips down past the palate with minimal contact. On the other hand, taking time to swish the beverage around the palate will also ruin the experience. Rather, the throat should be half to 3/4s closed when the shot enters the mouth. The partially closed throat will promote a slow movement of the bourbon over the palate, followed in quick order by it slowly sliding down the gullet. The technique delivers the bite, but does not sear the palate. And at the same time, a decent amount of alcohol enters the body and the blood stream in relatively quick fashion.
Yes, I'm suggesting that Jazz is best appreciated with a slight buzz. Not a "drunk". But a warm, comfortable, smirk inducing buzz.
It should be noted that after the initial shot of our preferred beverage, the second round can be sipped, and probably enjoyed even more due to the palate, body and mind having been properly prepared by the initial shot.
Wine is simply too week to stand up to the challenging nature of jazz; the subtle, complex and sometimes jolting nature of jazz rhythms require the body to be properly prepared with an anesthesia that both weakens one's grip on convention, yet provides a bite.
If one were to speculate on the wine market as a savvy investor might in the small-cap stock market, the game would be the same: follow people you know with good track records. In the wine world, we'd also have to include a corollary about betting on great vineyard sites, but leaving aside the raw materials, it's clear that most good wines don't happen by accident. They're made by talented people.
Finding talented people in Napa isn't hard at first. There are a lot of them, many of whom have big brand names. When they start working for a winery, everyone pays attention.
But there are many more talented folks in Napa that never get the limelight of the big names. These are the "small cap" talents that are responsible for many of the small production wines throughout the valley that are just waiting to be discovered by anyone who can start connecting the dots between great vineyards and the people that work them.
Piña Napa Valley is owned and operated by the Piña Family, a name that might not mean much to most wine drinkers, but will turn the head of anyone who is reasonably involved in growing grapes in Napa. In the current generation, the Piña Family, through their firm Piña Vineyard Management are responsible for farming some of Napa's most prestigious vineyards (Bryant, Pahlmeyer, Cafaro, Gemstone, Outpost, Showket, Sawyer, O'Shaughnessy, just to name a few), but the family has been making its home in the Napa valley since 1856 when their progenitor Bluford Stice led a wagon train into the valley from Missouri.
Only a few years after that wagon train, the family became involved in the wine business in Napa. They owned a vineyard just south of St. Helena, and Bluford Stice's son became a prominent winemaker at the then famous Inglenook winery (now Rubicon Estate) The family has been part of the Napa wine industry ever since.
As early as 1979 the family had thought about making their own wine, even founding a company called Piña Cellars with that intention, yet somehow never found the time until they purchased a small property on Howell Mountain in 1996 and decided to put their viticultural talents to work for themselves.
Their Howell Mountain property is known as the "Buckeye Vineyard" and its partially terraced hillside surrounded by Redwoods, Oaks and Madrone trees border Ladera and Beatty Ranch.
The family has been producing wine from their estate vineyard for the past 7 years, and the last couple of years they have been acquiring long term leases on several more vineyard sites around Napa with the goal of producing single vineyard wines.
One of these sites is the D'Adamo vineyard which sits at the foot of Atlas Peak in the southern part of Napa. This sustainably farmed vineyard is planted with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Piña's began their project with the wines being made by winemaker Cary Gott (a longtime Napa wine veteran and consultant who has worked for more vineyards than are possible to list). In 2001, Ted Osborne (of Storybook Mountain Vineyards most recently) took over as head winemaker, and is responsible for this particular wine. Osborne recently departed Piña, and has been replaced by the young Anna Monticelli.
This particular wine is aged for 18 months in 100% French oak (50% new) before bottling. 1147 cases are made.
Full disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample.
Tasting Notes: Inky ruby in color, this wine has a rich and juicy nose of cherry and dark cassis aromas that are surprising and arresting for a Napa Cabernet. In the mouth the surprises continue with dark juicy flavors of black cherry and cassis wrapped in a package of silky tannins. The wine is beautifully balanced and dynamic on the palate, conveying darker fruits than typical for the varietal, making for an unusual and compelling experience. The wine finishes nicely, with lingering notes that nearly reach blueberry.
Due to the unusually cool summer, and the recent rainfall, Oregon's Willamette Valley wine producers are nervously biting their nails, dreading a harvest with grapes that are not fully ripened. Without the proper heat units, the grapes will not reach full maturity, although they may look fully ripe. The cooler weather will likely mean that harvests in Oregon will be delayed as much as they can be, without pushing the grapes over the edge.
Look for the next two weeks to be crucial to the '07 harvest.
Brilliance is a word that can mean many things: luminosity, intelligence, perfectly executed and, when it comes to flavor, lively and electric. All of those things come together in these two seductive, brilliant wines that are great values to boot coming in at under $25.
2005 Clos de la Roilette, Fleurie, Imported by Louis/Dressner Every time I’ve served this wine each person at their first sip is taken back for a second as they ponder what has crossed their palate. Each knows that they have experienced something special. This is an extraordinary wine is that is is just so alive that it makes you take more pleasure in living. Concentrated elegance and finesse.
2005 Bourgogne, Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Joseph Voillot. Imported by Vintage ‘59 Imports – Anybody who thinks there are no great values coming out of Burgundy be prepared to be proven wrong. This racy, bright pinot noir also comes packed with loads of flavor and complexity on its rather electric acid frame. Here’s a pinot that can both sing and dance. A short stint in your cellar of two or three years will give you quite a bottle of pinot.
A pair of 5’s may seem a long shot to those that think a lot of chips are required to get great wine, but sometimes a pair is all you need. These days it’s hard to imagine such a winning hand at this price range from anywhere other than France.
I've tried to be good this week, I really have. Sober-sided comments. Touristic pictures of great Italian locales. No foul-mouthed drunken rants. Bonhomie and good will toward all. No silly business. Christ, it's killing me. Forget my consuming jealousy of bloggers who get invited to write in serious wine journals for money (imagine! it happens!). Forget, like totally forget, writing a book about the nectar of Bacchus. So, to quote the great American poet, "Let's go crazy / Let's go nuts!" To set the scene: I was reading my favourite...
When I first saw this link, I didn?t quite understand what they were talking about. But, never fear my friends, I did the research and am now perfectly prepared to tell you about the Dutty Wine Dance.
There is a Jamaican rapper who wrote a song entitled ?Dutty Wine?. To the best that I can decipher dutty should translate to dirty. The basis of the song is that he is poor and can only afford dutty wine that gets him very?.um?inebriated. Apparently it also gets the women he is with very drunk as well and this is the dance they do for him while drinking it.
The middle class is in an uproar. All their little girls are doing the 'Dutty Wine'. From left, right and centre, even disabled children, everybody is doing the 'Dutty Wine'.
Disabled children? Did they really go there?
Not wishing in any way to detract from the suggestive nature of the dance, I must point out that it is impossible to do it without long tresses. If you can't get your hair to swing round and round your head while you get down on all fours on the ground, you're not doing the 'Dutty Wine'. It requires supreme flexibility. Consequently, there's not a child who hasn't been stopped from doing it by a parent in the last few months
OK, why are CHILDREN in Jamaica doing this dance. I mean, it sure doesn?t sound like the hokey pokey to me.
The ones I feel sorry for are the disabled children. They don't have legs, so it's perfect for them. They can wine their little hearts out. But even when they do it, it's suggestive if not more so. All the adults hurriedly put a stop to it. Poor little children.
LOL! OMG, did I read that right? Why do they keep picking on the disabled kids? Are there just tons of disabled kids sitting around in Jamaica waiting to do a dance?
What?s worse is that I went on You Tube to see what it was all about and when I searched Dutty Wine I got like 50 million results. Here is one of the first ones I found but the most important question is ?How in the hell could a disabled child do this?
2004 Bass Phillip “Estate” Chardonnay: Cloudy light golden colour. Oatmeal, nutty characters, soap and citrus peel on the nose. Rich and round palate with acidity that seems a little bit prickly. I think it was better than I’ve made it sound, but I can’t muster a whole lot of enthusiasm for it. 87/100
2007 Primo Estate “d’Elena” Pinot Grigio: Very pale colour. Banana and tropical fruits (mostly pineapple) aromas. Texturally interesting, but there is also a bit of alcohol heat on the palate that I found distracting. 85/100
1997 Paringa “Estate” Pinot Noir: Dark ruby colour, a little bit murky as well I thought. Cherry, raspberry, stalks and damp soil. The acid is sticking out, but I thought the rest of the flavour on the palate carried well. May have looked a bit better a couple of years ago. 87/100
1986 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses: Light red, with some orange tints around the rim. Yeasty and baked aromas on opening, we feared that it may be dead. We moved on to another wine to give this some time to see what happened and the recovery was pleasing. After around 60 minutes there were some earthy, dusty aromas coming through. Then another look after 90 minutes showed some spice, cherry and perfume like aromas. Palate never shed its dominant tannin, but it was quite drinkable anyway. It didn’t hit any great heights, but the recovery was remarkable and it ended up a nice drink. 87/100
1996 Domaine Bart Bonnes Mares Grand Cru: Medium purple coloured. Nose was very shy throughout the time we spent with it - there were fleeting scents of dark cherry, mocha, rose petal and some other floral notes. The palate is lovely though, it is quite youthful but layered, balanced and very long. Plenty of potential in this wine over the next 10 years. 91/100
1977 Graham Vintage Port: (375ml) Light crimson colour. Earth, spice, roast nuts and mint on the nose. There is a pleasing brown sugar style flavour to the palate, but it is noticeably lacking in depth. Not really what I expected in terms of richness and complexity, would like to know how it looked on following nights. 88/100
Greetings from Asia. I have begun my first tour of duty here in the Pacific Rim, and I started my trip off with a weekend in Shanghai. The fourteen plus hour flight did not seem so bad since I was able to sleep for close to nine hours of it; of course, that was only [...]
As the weather gradually warms up, I?m pleased to be encountering more intelligent value Argentine wines from provinces outside of Mendoza.Produced by Viña Cornejo Costas, an estate with established history in the Argentine northwest, here?s another Torrontés beauty from the mineral-rich CafayateValley.This is a great recommendation that can stand up to spicy and Asian dishes, given that Argentina?s native Torrontés variety is intense in acidity and flavor, even if light on body.
This wine reminds me again that Torrontés made in the CafayateValley could well be considered the benchmark for Argentine Torrontés.For being in the $10-$12 range, this Torrontés boasts a great deal more complexity and balance than some French and Italian varieties costing more have sadly failed to exhibit.Although I am a lifetime fan of European wines, I?d like to drink more intelligent value wines made by producers who don?t take me for granted due to some sense of entitlement. I sometimes worry about that and I?m not sure whether it?s that exactly or perhaps the fact that wine prices for Burgundy and Bordeaux are incredibly inflated, but I?m finding it more difficult than ever to put down $15 for a bottle of white wine from prestige regions that won?t underwhelm.
Reflecting more upon possible Argentine wine import trends, I am really looking forward to seeing more wines from Argentina?s provinces outside of Mendoza given that producers are avoiding bulk production like the plague and still very much feel that they have everything to prove.For one, crafting wines in Salta isn?t exactly for the faint of heart?stony, sandy soils on steep Andean inclines and almost 360 days of sunlight.Wines produced in Salta don?t even account for a tenth of Argentine wines, and this especially underscores the fact that bulk producers have stayed away for some time.
I?ve recently noticed lots of new and exciting things which I?ll report on later in terms of Argentine wine imports.Interestingly enough, these wines don?t exactly fit the typical ?Wines of Argentina Awards? formula for success (Bordeaux-style blends with Malbec playing a role to some degree).I am seeing more general Patagonia appellation Pinot Noir, Tempranillo from San Juan and now, more Torrontés producers from Salta stepping up to deliver.I have a feeling that things are looking up for smaller Argentine producers who may want to share their work with export markets such as the U.S., since an open-minded changing of the guard, taste-wise is afoot.For now, here?s my take on the don Rodolfo Torrontés:
In the glass, it is a clear, pale lemon color.The nose is perfumey and stays true to the nature of the aromatic Torrontés variety?clean, pronounced floral aromas (elderflower dominating), stone fruit (apricot and peach), and lemon.The style is dry, with high acidity, light body and an impressive balance of flavors for the price point.The elderflower blossom aspect that dominates from the nose on through to one?s afterbreath really captivated me, as it?s one of my favorite scents/flavors in general.The acidity from the lemon zest is very refreshing and nicely accompanies the stone fruit flavors.
The importer of the don Rodolfo wines is Cabernet Corporation, out of California. Check with them for distribution information if it doesn't seem to be available in your area.
New Year?s and bubbles always seem to go together perfectly, and this season was no exception. So with a lazy Saturday between Christmas and New Year Eve, it was hardly a surprise to find sparkling wines featured at every in-house tasting on our re-stocking the liquor cabinet route. How could we refuse?
We?re both fans of Spanish Cavas for their ability to combine great taste with solid pricing, and the Lavit Brut Rosado we sampled first was no exception. Light strawberry in colour, this sparkler was summer in a glass ? raspberries, strawberries, and just a hint of peach. Even though it was slightly over chilled for this tasting we instantly agreed it would be one to that would help solve the ?what actually goes with turkey dinner? dilemma. Good for pre-dinner sipping too.
The Sigura ViudasBrut Reserva that was next up is pretty much one of our standard stocker for its flexible nature and crisp taste. It?s also, according to Ian Farmiloe, the International Cellars rep pouring, BC?s largest selling Cava. Good for parties ? especially potluck where anything is likely to show up. ?So, is this one, like ? you know ? real champagne?? To his credit, Ian managed to keep a semi-serious expression on his face as he explained the intricacies of the Champagne region to the rather portly lady wearing a combination of tartan plaid, plenty of zestful holiday bling, and sturdy black walking boots. We weren?t quite so diplomatic and had to suddenly develop an interest in the Italian wine section several rows over.
However, we did pop back for the Reserva Heredad. Perfect for when we want a bit more of a treat for less than $35, this Grand Reserve Cava has plenty of lemon-lime acidity and always makes a reliable, refreshing pour.
For a complete change of pace, we also checked out two offerings from Gray Monk?s Odyssey series. Even our Scottish wanna-be would probably have hesitated to inquire about the authenticity of this ?Champagne.? Neither of us got the yeasty nose that we would have expected after being left for 16 months on the yeast, although there was plenty of big time buttery texture from the Chardonnay. We settled for this one as an aperitif. The Rosé Brut had pleasing strawberry notes but didn?t hit either one of us as a ?rush out and buy? item. At $27 each, we took a pass on both these BC wines and headed back for a few more of the Cavas? with just a short detour through Champagne for some of ?the real stuff.?
A sell-out crowd of Hip Tasters gathered last Friday eve @ Sugar Cafe downtown to partake of The Salty & Sweet Tasting, this year's first official HIP TASTES event! Enjoy these snaps of the crowd, including this first of me (right) with my sis Claire,the original Hip Taster. Cheers ;)
Tecnorati
This is from Stonewell in the sub-region of Marananga. The winemaker is Barossa superstar Troy Kalleske and the executive producers are brothers Pierre and Bert Werden. The name JaJa is an acronym derived from the names of their four children - Jake, Andrew, Jordan and Alana. Bert has had another kiddy called Tara since so maybe they should call future releases JaJaTa…which sounds a bit like a cracker and could be wholly appropriate based on the quality of this first release.
The best thing about this very moment is that I am in my own bed. Finally. After camping out for five days at Vinitaly and then taking to the road for another week in northern Italy, I came home exhuasted and relieved. Airplanes filled with sick children coughing for eleven hours must have broken down my resistance. A week in the office trying to put together a series of wine seminars across Texas and then a very important dinner for an important Italian winemaker, almost broke me. I spent a weekend alternating between duties at wine dinners and laying on my couch trying to prevent getting any sicker. But come Monday I was stung. Maybe it was a little flu, or a cold or allergies, whatever it was, I should have sat the week out. Instead I took to the road. Dallas on Monday, Houston on Tuesday, Austin on Wednesday and San Antonio on Thursday, with a quick flight back to Dallas for a private and very upscale event for Riccardo Cotarella at the home of a friend in Highland Park and sixty of his closest friends and family.
Last Sunday I knew I was sunk. I had driven off the wine trail onto a shoulder, and it was leading me straight into the gates of hell. But what could I do? I was scheduled to work all week with my colleague and friend the Master Sommelier, Guy Stout. Four days, four cities. The show must go on.
First one went well. The afternoon one started later and I found myself on a hotel room laid out trying to regain some strength. I was taking a mixture of antihistamines, zinc, aspirin, nose spray, cough drops and cough syrup. I was up, down, soft boiled, poached and rendered. I felt like crap. Thirty minutes to showtime.
After flying to Houston and doing a full days worth of program we loaded up the car and headed to Austin. I have taken that Houston to Austin road three times this year and I am beginning to really like it in a country and western song writing kind of way. As we headed into Austin, missing dinner with any number of Italian winemakers who had descended upon the capital, we rolled into the hotel and bagged it for the night.
Finally we started. Seven brave souls made it to the event. Along with double that amount of wine suppliers and staff. I had no voice and my emotions weren't too high, but I belted out a program that was one of my best. I gave it 120%. Later one of my friends showed up and lifted my spirits. I was really down. Guy wasn?t feeling so masterfully wonderful either. But we soldiered on and packed up the car and headed to San Antonio.
Finally about 9 PM Riccardo looks like I feel. He stands up and says good night. Thank you, Riccardo, we can all go rest up and get ready to pitch our tent another day.
