The Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile is one of the world’s great white wines. And at $35, it’s also one of the world’s great white wine bargains.

I had the 2001 recently with a friend and loved it. I tried the 2002 at a tasting last week and found it higher in acidity and not quite as subtle as the 01, so I went out and bought some more of the 01. I’ve never had the top wine from the Alsatian producer, the $120 Clos Ste. Hune (find this wine), but one of my friends who has had it describes the “Freddy” as “more than half the wine at a quarter the price.”

Although I prefer German Riesling on the whole to the Alsatian versions, this Freddy has a German-like precision, alluring aromas of lime zest, lemon grass, wet rocks and a touch of honey, while the palate has excellent richness while remaining dry and a long finish. I’d like to try a version of this wine with some age on it so I’ve stashed away a few bottles for just that purpose. Next time I’ll try it with pan-seared scallops.

The wine is from grand cru vineyards but still seems to have a production size that means that it actually can be found. Search for it now before it is all gone.

Why write about this wine today? Why, it is for Wine Blogging Wednesday #45, with a theme of Old World Riesling that Tim Elliott selected. Surf on over to Tim’s site to see a roundup of which other Rieslings people chose to explore. And thanks for the one day grace period, Tim!

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Oregon’s Beaux Frères is not only making some of America’s finest pinot noirs, but is also that most rare of things: a winery with courage. Vintage after vintage winemaker Michael Etzel shows the courage of his convictions and produces dramatically distinctive wines with a personality all their own. Some dismiss the success of Beaux Frères as mostly due to the fame of Etzel’s brother-in-law and partner, famed wine critic and publisher of The Wine Advocate, Robert Parker, but considering the stunning quality of these wines I can’t help but believe they would still be sought out by collectors everywhere with or without Parker’s impact.

While a bevy of authors have pilloried Robert Parker for dragging the wine industry down the road of standardized, jammy wines, his own winery is the polar opposite. The Beaux Frères Pinot Noirs are tight, structured wines with a decided spritz from natural CO2 when young. That’s right they’re a little fizzy. These are truly natural wines and the little spritz is a result of the natural, cool slow malolatic fermentation practiced by Etzel.  None of their wines are manipulated to make them ready to drink young and even the precocious 2006 vintage produced wines that need a minimum of several years of bottle age to unfurl their now tightly wound personality. These are wines that do not try to mimic Burgundy, but that set their own unique style, both as Oregonian and an expression of Etzel’s winemaking art.

The current release of 2006 Beaux Frères Pinot Noir, The Beaux Frères Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge is nothing short of exciting. In his notes Etzel describes this wine as, “a beauty and can be drunk young.” However, he must mean in relation to his wines from previous vintages as compared to other 2006 Oregon pinots this wine far from being ready to drink. The nose is already exotic with layers of black truffle, porcini and dense, black wild forest fruits, but it is not yet resolved and you can just sense the greatness that is to come as the components intertwine and integrate. The wine hits your tongue with a thousand tiny little bites from the firm acidity and the slight spritz of the CO2, but then quickly expands dramatically into the voluptuous textures you would expect from this forward vintage. What strikes you as you taste and smell this wine is the endless swirling of exotic characteristics that make the wine change from second-to-second as you savor each sip. If you must drink this wine now, please give it at least an hour in a decanter before serving. However, at $80 a bottle you may want to give it the respect it deserves and wait at least five years before releasing the treasure inside.

Beaux Frères produces wines of great integrity and character because they are made by a winemaker with the same attributes. Mike Etzel makes what he believes. These are wines that must be on anyone’s list of the best American pinot noirs.

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Of course, it would be no surprise to assert that Argentina has come a considerably long way over the last decade in terms of the depth that its wine producers are capable of achieving. The manner in which this process has and continues to take place, however, has less to do with the factors that used to be paramount (foreign buyouts) and more with the industry exporting a different image of itself altogether. This phenomenon alongside other compelling developments in recent times have precipitated what I believe to be a pivotal changing of the guard when it comes to the style of Argentine wines that American consumers are welcoming more and more.

Artisan-made Argentine wine producers are no longer lost in the wilderness, playing second fiddle in terms of international exports, to say, the larger, industrial-style producers or Mendoza wine operations funded with foreign money. Argentina?s bout with hyperinflation in the early 1980?s, the kind that made my family sell their business and book it towards the United States, as well as the government?s mismanagement of the World Bank and IMF-instigated crises of the 1990?s were devastating for the export aspirations of Argentine families with a winemaking tradition. Like many American fruit farmers getting undercut and essentially obliterated by Dole, Sunkist and the like, the nature of wine production during times of turbulence in Argentina has made it difficult for these producers to stay afloat; and so, like vultures, the 1980?s and 1990?s saw foreign capital descend upon Mendoza in the form of large multinational drinks corporations and others who scooped up the winemaking patrimony of many financially pressed families.

For quite some time now, these types of wine operations have made drinking the wine of my native country while abroad in the US a sadly confusing affair to say the least. Here I was, drinking these wines which had labels reading ?Mendoza? or ?Cuyo,? so they were certifiably real, but made in styles which weren?t even in the ballpark as far as what I knew I liked to drink. Did Argentine wines change, and thus, Argentine tastes, or was something being kept from those of us who live in North America? Some very successful investors and qualified winemakers from highly prestigious European wineries became involved with their pet projects in Mendoza, but to me, something just did not sit right. I felt a bit heartbroken that as a wine lover, the wines of my native country available for export reflected something I didn?t like?far from it in fact, something I couldn?t even relate to in any meaningful way.

Those darker days, however, seem to be coming to an end as the tide of taste gradually begins to favor Argentine winemakers that provide innovation, quality, exceptional value, and at last, the types of wines that bring a little piece of home back to my dinner table. I feel that a newly found sense of openness and curiosity in the American wine consumer is taking hold. From the wider availability of all sorts of Argentine wines I?ve noticed to the stimulating conversations I?ve had with people here about Argentina?s winemaking heritage and how it is increasingly reflected?things are moving in a direction I am liking more and more. Someone, however, from the point of view of imports to the US, has to be at the forefront of this revolution. For my next post, I?ll be presenting my interview with a major player in building long-term relationships with artisan Mendoza producers and in turn, striving to make authentically Argentine wines more of a staple than an oddity in the US market.

The Wine and Salad Problem - 03 August 2006

Go Low on the Wine - 23 December 2006

Fav Cheap White Wines of 2006 - 26 December 2006

Wine & Cheese for a Cause - 04 May 2007

After a week in New York - including a couple of downright cold days upstate to give a talk at Cornell - I have to say it definitely doesn't feel very spring-like on the East Coast! But, the buds are beginning to break on the trees in NYC, and last night my pal Lesley joined me out at a fab fete at the Theory store in the Meatpacking district in a skirt, sans stockings. She froze, for sure, but kept insisting, "It's spring, damnit!"

Indeed, depending on where you are the weather is turning warmer, albeit by varying degrees. In Cali, we've been enjoying beautiful days for weeks now (including two stunningly sunny 70-degree'ers when I was in Napa for a blissful Easter weekend; The French Laundry was beyond!!). And no matter where you are, it's not too early to start drinking for warmer weather. Read on for the lowdown on my favorite sippers for spring, and here's looking forward to balmier weather in everyone's not-too-distant future.

Photo: Vines at Smith-Madrone atop Spring Mountain, Napa Valley this spring

Suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has been ordered to pay more than $1.1 million for defaulting on a loan to Wachovia Bank. via WXIA-TV Atlanta

Are you the Mac-daddy/-mommie when it comes to creativity? 

Have you ever looked at all the blasé wine labels out there and thought, "I could do so much better."? 

Well, here's a chance to explore your creative side and score a case of a soon-to-be classic red wine - Juice Crew Red.

So far, the J.Crew has nicknamed our maturing vino, "The Mighty Brick."  I think we'd like the label to reflect her personality (perhaps listening to a little Rick James could inspire potential label designers out there):

"So all and all, the blend has resulted in what we wanted - a rich rhone style wine with some backbone. The different varietals playing nicely in the sandbox. Great dark color, long sexy legs and built to party"

Here's the deal - submit a label design, which reflects our sexy Rhone brickhouse and you could win...1 case of JC Red.  Now that's what I call a case for creativity!

Details: Submit* your design entry by November 15, 2007.  The editor will select 3 designs to be voted on by Juice Crew members and Basic Juice readers.  The winning designer will receive the case of Juice Crew Red when it's released (we award no wine before its time).

*by submitting a design, designer retains no rights to design, but will be credited by name

Gentlepeople, start your creative engines..

Although I missed the boat on this one completely, the results are in for the latest Wine Blogging Wednesday over at CorkDork. This month’s objective was to try new red wines from New Zealand. 31 bloggers participated this time! Check it out!

Ted Burns interviews David Schildknecht, Robert White and Greg Jones about the influences of soil and weather on wine grapes. David Schildknecht is a well-respected wine critic and writer for the Wine Advocate and has a special interest in the topic of terroir. Robert White is author of the book, Soils for Fine Wine. Greg Jones is a climatologist and vineyard site selection consultant.

The participants discuss the influence of the physical and chemical properties of soil and the influence of weather on wine grapevine growing, the quality of wine and the terroir of many winegrowing regions. The topic of taste of “minerality” is also discussed during this in depth look at these important and usually only superficially-covered topics.

Sponsor: CRUSHPAD: www.crushpadwine.com

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