No Wine Over $20-Reviews and the LA Wine Scene

It is OK to stop eating now. And let me tell you the ladies who hosted the New Years Eve party (Tootsie) and the New Years Day party (Lettie) made it impossible to slow the cascade down my gullet. Prime rib and lasagna were followed by a torrent of extra special wines.

We can all go back to drinking excellent everyday U20 wines. The 2007 Christmas/Hannukah/New Years/Wedding Anniversary holidays are CLOSED. USC is the best football team in the nation and will open the 2008 rankings in the top 3. And we open at home against Ohio State. Now back to work!

These 2007 holidays came to a resounding close. New Years Eve with the Sinkowskis and New Years Day at the See-Glits, being awful damn friendly with new friends and old friends. We watched Uncle Pete and his Trojan Heroes obeying the Two Rose Bowl Laws: [1] It will be a beautiful SoCal day (the kind of day folks back east call "sun-splashed"); and [2] the Big Ten will lose.

The most interesting thing about the also-ran Illini was learning about the banishment (I mean retirement) of their beloved mascot (I mean symbol). There are at least half a dozen websites devoted to the controversial Chief Illiniwek.

The other important news about the Illini is they were the only team to beat OSU in 2007 which was enough to land them in the Rose Bowl for the inevitable thrashing. Wish it would have been the Buckeyes...soon enough my pretties.

If you think it might be interesting to read how Chicago sportswriter Steve Rosenbloom saw the game then click here. With a 49-17 USC victory in the books I can tell you now 2008 will bring another football championship to University Park...behind Mark Sanchez & Mitch Mustain, Stafon Johnson & Joe McKnight, and a defense that could be better than the #2 defense in the nation in 2007.

Here is a bucket of bottles that helped bring in the New Year.

2006 Marques de Caro Cherubino Valsangiacomo $11: 90% Mersequera, 10% Muscat. Alto Turia is the region. Mountainous region west of Valencia. Wine Expo is the local vendor. A moment to describe the Wine Expo where Robert Rogness roosts playing the vinous Lothario; think Orson Welles as Citizen Kane in a wine shop. Bombastic, impatient, ultimately charming and quite persuasive. His newsletter says he has the best selection of Ital wines and champagnes in the Southland...and maybe he does. Like Granpappy Amos might say "no brag just fack". If there is one caution it is that Rogness' tastes are wide ranging and on occasion mine do not match his...despite his enthusiasm. His newsletter is a hoot and fun to read. My brother-in-law shops there and always brings something direct from Robert's stacks. This is Spanish Blanco. First opened wine is always under added pressure to be good. It is. Quince and citrus then pear flavors in the middle and on the finish. Cannot top the U20 price. Good job Don Pharaoh.

2001 Ciu CIu Esperanto $30: Another Wine Expo selection. Could not uncover a millibyte of data on the web. It is a blend of Montepulciano and Cabernet Sauvignon. That's right, Montepulciano is a grape. Mixed with cab means Super-Tuscan intentions. Nice nose and flavors. Delicate with tannins present. Middle to light weight with some earth. Good fruit. Pronounced choo-choo. I liked it because it was so gentle. By the way, Esperanto is an international language created in the 1870s as a second language that would promote internationalism over nationalism. I wonder if "W" ever heard of it?

2002 Paul Lato Duende Gold Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir $25: Purchased at the 2004 Wine Cask Santa Barbara Futures Tasting. One of two wines that stood out for myself and Dotore' at this tasting and the next two (then we stopped going). Paul Lato is the winemaker who produces all of 75 cases annually. That Paul Lato will end up making thousands of cases each year for somebody is a done deal. It will happen. This first vintage is beautiful. It tastes like Pinot Noir fruit. The key flavor is sweet beets. Not veggie. Not cherry although it gets close. But sweet red beets. If that sounds ridiculous then you will have to figure this one out on your own. Here is a thought. Paul Lato captures pure Pinot Noir fruit in his wine. Smoke on the nose. Some in the taste. He has to work with Santa Rita HIlls high alcohol coming in at 14.3%. Which is low. One of the best in region. He kicks booty. His wines rock. He makes wine like Guns 'N Roses work over Paradise City!!! And we discovered him all..by..ourselves (and a couple hundred others).

Schramsberg Mirabelle NV: Venerable Napa sparkler. My first taste of this. Kind of lean, even weedy and soapy but not off-putting. More acidic with a reflux backwash. Sounds just super. WE did not hate it but it did not get a second pour from me.
Canard-Duchene Brut ~$35: This got a couple pours. Tangy orange fruit. Mandarin. Ripe. Really nice. Available in LA County at Wine House (West LA), Wine Country (Long Beach/Signal Hill), Heritage Wine (Pasadena).

2005 Foxen Sea Smoke Pinot Noir ~$45: Bought at the 2006 Wine Cask SB Futures Tasting. Sea Smoke is a coveted Santa Rita HIlls vineyard that is also one of the most coveted labels from the new Pinnacle of Pinot Noir. A big near jammy wine. 14.5% alcohol typical of the region. Says Dotoré "I no longer have a taste for these big wines". Me too. However, if you have the taste then this one is pretty well balanced and you will find it quite appealing.

2005 Pipestone Viognier $25: Shipped under Wine Club. Fruity and fairly forward. Not too much oak (7 months in barrel). 250 cases. Does not have the foxiness I sometimes find off-putting and that, I believe, comes from new oak. Guests preferred this to the Chalone PN (which I think says something about the Pipestone wine). Much more character here and a very nice wine. 14.5%.

2006 Domaine Colette Régnié Beaujolais $13: The first find of the new year. A WH/SG selection. Fruity, cherries, not jammy (!!), special. This is a Beaujolais cru with which I am not familiar. A Charles Neal Selection so there are excellent notes on the wine and the Regnie region. I will be visiting local wine whop Woodland Hills Wine Company to pick half a case. Thinking how nice this will be with Spring lamb being from a biblical shepherd family and all.

Here is one final biblical shot of Rey Maualuga making memories for the Illini quarterback and fans. Click here to see the photo of Rey Maualuga and local fan taken in August.

Wine has inspirational powers. Kermit Lynch on occasion publishes thoughtful da-kine-wine musings from Jim Harrison in his newsletter. In his page 10 December 2007 piece Mr. Harrison considers his own contradictions when it comes to balancing side pork with red wine. A fun read from a prominent author.

Large has appeared on this blog in the past. He is an enthusiastic wine-taster who is developing his own wine-mind. He creatively shortened the battle cry "no wine over $20" to "U20" wines showing some marketing chops otherwise found at his Alternity Records website. Did you know Jim Harrison is one of the foremost artists creating advertising works for Coca Cola?

The Large has assembled some ideas as only he can. Here he is unvarnished, untamed, and in glorious U20 mode.

Budget Unconscious? There’s simply no doubt all but the wealthiest among us are under considerable cost pressure out there. If your ARM isn’t through the roof [ed.: my ARM feels like it is broken] and you start to worry about $20k at the budget end of a year for your kid’s college expenses… Then there’s Bush talking about Iran and Word War III pushing oil back up over $100 a barrel, not to mention a good 7 foot Christmas tree now pushes over the $100 mark. Where to get a break? Think grapes and fermentation for starters. Don’t think cheap, think smart value vintages.

There’s always a sigh of slight remorse when I pull out that last bottle of Qupe Rousanne from the cooler (an ’04)—one of the most delicious whites with a fruity, complex, and tart finish—but at $43 a bottle, just imagine the satisfaction of finding something comparable—or great but different—like the White Knight—recently in abundant supply at the Woodland Hills Wine Co. for about $10.99! Okay, I admit the Rousanne probably blows it away—but here’s an 06 Clarksburg Viogner with a crisp, complex nose—a delightfully dry alternative to a pedestrian $30 bottle of Chardonnay—think about a 3 to 1 value in that scenario—at least for me. It does require a lot of detective work, and brushing up on your savvy business skills to practice some relationship building. You find a trusted confidant, whose taste and U-20 recommendations are built on a foundation of trust—that guy or gal you rely on at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, or your favorite wine shop. [ed.: Large echoes prime directive; my local guide is Steve Goldun at WHWCo] There’s risk too--you may wind up talking to some clueless dolt who’d equate 2 Buck Chuck to an ’04 Ridge Monte Bello. You have to be bold enough to sift the disingenuous from those that know. But remember it’s ultimately your palate that must be the judge (no offense, Chuck). The satisfaction of sipping the divine, titillating your taste buds like an 0-40 rather than U-20—is truly worth some good research and chatter with some fine wine merchants who are happy to turn you on to some rare bargains. Now you’re starting to understand the lure of the U20 mission.

Healthy U-20 Psychology. As you move further along in exploring the U-20 imperative, you’ll discover the considerable psychological benefits—specifically in terms of the mental calisthenics of budget transference and expenditure justification. As I’m sure my good friend, Dr. Stumpf (aka the ‘Vinemaster’) would attest, the U-20 hunt is half the fun [ed. note: Hunting U20 Wines coming to youtube soon], and there are any number of mind exercises that can delight and astonish your friends when they start exploring the wonders of U-20 wines. Forget about tasting the stuff—for a few minutes while The Large elaborates. Last summer I found myself vacationing on the Isle of Capri—a modest room there goes for about EU220—ouch! In a small mart I stumbled on a blue bottle of some island grown white grape… “Capri Blue”—price? EU9! Even at about $13 with the exchange rate—the savory, crisp, unusual flavors still linger in my mind as one of the best whites ever—just because your limiting yourself to a great bottle of wine for under $20 doesn’t mean you can’t spend a fortune to find one! Look, not for a moment would I commit to going cold turkey on the occasional splurge: a nice Cargassachi, Siduri, or Foley Pinot Noir, well north of the $30 mark. But my refined palate simply outpaces (along with my daughter and wife) my cash flow, and in truth, truly savoring two to three outstanding bottles a week does not have to add up to another car payment (or my daughter’s latest “I’ll have to go to school naked if you don’t buy them Daddy” designer jeans). The U-20 imperative is mental-health-friendly, in that with only minor impact on your pocketbook, you can escape the aforementioned dilemmas at least temporarily.

Fun Wine-Mind-Unwind Games. As my friends in the sciences might intone, “Consider the U-20 mission as a social tool to engender cognitive harmony (if not gradual cognitive degradation).” Gather five to eight friends or new acquaintances or three or four couples who enjoy tasting great wine and invite them to help you crack the enigma of your Mystery Rack. The Large keeps a Mystery Rack always at the ready—meaning three or four promising U-20s (always some potential losers, or wild chances, mixed with a couple well tested vintages). Add some goat cheese and crackers, and for less than $60—you have one hell of a small-scale party in the works. Everyone rates the bottles from 1-10, picking a best value of the evening. Sure, you take a few risks on some clunkers—but what’s the downside? $30? Many of you lose that and much more regularly betting on football. On the other hand, think of the prolonged savings if you find that awesome label at $12.99 that goes at $9.99 when you buy a case—great with casual meals, but still passing muster on the holiday dining table. Here’s a sampling of what lurks in my current Mystery Rack:

2006 Southern Right Pinotage Walker Bay, South Africa $15.99
2005 Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon blend (61% Napa 39% Sonoma) - $18.99
2005 Point Concepcion Esplandia Paso Rosé $9.99(!)
2005 Terrazas Reserva Malbec Mendoza, Argentina $14.99
2005 Trenel Beujolais Saint Amour $18.99
2005 Arroyo Del Sol Pinot Noir – Arroyo Seco, CA $17.99

First of all, I’m compelled to inquire of the Vinemaster, “What the **ck [ed. note: ed. reserves exclusive right to consider and act upon expletives on tBoW] "is a pinotage?” [ed.: note wikipedia entry] A beautiful right whale on the label though—sure to please Al Gore. Crazy Boers. We’ll find out soon enough. The Malbec is terrific—the rosé is amazing for the price. As for the other two I have no clue, but the cab came highly recommended as a holiday special from Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa. In Harvard business school they teach you risk is great—if it’s managed. The U-20 mission is not without risk. I tried an ’06 Saint Cosme Cotes-Du-Rhone ($10.99), lemon notes on the finish or not, it struck me as another countless boring but passable budget French wine. On the other hand, I found a Syrah-Grenache blend that was fabulous and distinctive with a deceptive nose and a strong raspberry notes on the finish—same price at Woodland Hills Wine Co, and more than adequate as a wondrous contrast to another merlot or zin, with real complexity (’05 Mas Carlot).

Helpful hints. As the Vinemaster would insist, get to know your importers (their names, not necessarily in the biblical sense). Get to know great vintages and regions that have had a particularly good harvest and yield. The above mentioned Trenel is a Robert Chadderdon selection—according to my buddy at the Woodland Hills Wine Co. always a good bet. If you don’t know an authority personally—ask around at a couple wine shops—browse the magazines, and don’t take anybody’s opinion without testing and tasting for yourself! Thanks to the Vinemaster’s wisdom imparted about the ’05 Beaujolais villages crop, I’ve savored many a revelatory bottle at $11 to $14 which I’ve found more savory than some Pinots at twice the cost!

The Grand Prize. In conclusion, the U-20 mission empowers the budget epicurean to minimize risks, and maximize sustainable returns (i.e., consumption)! It requires a little networking and detective work, but ultimately, what’s good for business is good for the palate (Orson Welles notwithstanding). Of course the grand prize in the U-20 mission is to dupe some particularly smug, want-to-be wine auteur who’s offered up a $40-60 so-so bottle at a social occasion, and pour a subversive U-20, and watch some tasters get loopy over your ’05 Beaujolais or Mystery Rack #2. I can’t lay claim yet to having won the Grand Prize—but I have raised the Vinemaster’s eyebrows and elicited a sly smile more than once with a delicious U-20 find.

[ed. final note: My eyebrows may never descend following your tour de force. Go to the head of the class. Always an upside when The Large is in da haus. Thank you Chris for adding to the world of U2 wines. All love.]

2005 Inco Bianco La Viarte $13: I could not resist including at least one U20 review. This wine was served on New Years Eve. I got to it late, as in post several champagnes and reds, but I did taste it. Notes say tangy, fresh. 13%. I liked this wine and found it impressive even after the preceding parade. Today I received the new Kermit Lynch mailer (snail mail of course) and there is the 2006 Inco Bianco. He calls it a value-of-the-month and identifies it as a Friulian wine made up of mostly Tocai Friulano with small %ages of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Grigio. Herddat Kermie.

[St Chinian valley in the Languedoc] I know I am building traction here at tBoW because fellow wine snawbs are starting to submit their own thoughts on wine. Witness the Mouse, aka the King. He has sent several comments which I am collecting into his first blog entry. Welcome to the Web 2.0, your lordship!

Mouse is a SoCal local who lives back East where he finds stuff we just do not see out here. Even California wines. He has developed his palate to appreciate just about any wine from anywhere WHICH IS A GOOD THING. He subscribes to the U20 principle and, darn it, people think he is capable of telling a good story. Like the Large he is mildly inventive and has, to no surprise, developed his own rodent rating system. Thankfully, this eponymous system gets right to the point without resorting to a 100 point scale. You have read the Large, now read the Mouse. I have begged him to move to Paso Robles so that I will have a place to stay for free (and someone to drink wine with) when I visit. So I guess getting him on the tBoW blog represents progress!

A couple Italian wines and more white Rhone ranting from Mouse!

2000 Barolo Fratelli Serio & Battista Borgogno ~$30: Bought in Piemonte. The Fratelli is a firm in Barolo that specializes in Cannubi. We bought a 2001 for home and a 2000 for immediate consumption. Big slovenian oak. Good stuff, honest stuff, not Parkerized. Tasted and bought on site, nice old lady; she was floored when I didn't buy the 2001 Cannubi...at first. It was HUGE. So, it's waiting in my cellar. 21 euros.

2005 Capestrano Montepulciano D'Abruzzo $10: Another quality MdA from another good producer. Incredible deals. Think of a merlot-zin-dolcetto blend, if you must [tBoW: must I?] Actually, the Montepulciano grape can be found in Marche and other areas, too. It has replaced Nero D'Avola as the home grown table wine.

Three News Year's Eve treats, listed here in ascending order of preference.

2005 Moillard Vin de Pays D'Oc Viognier Hugues le Juste $1: Monsieur le Juste was a 13th Century knight fleeing church persecution during 4th Crusade (link to excellent Cathar website below). He is believed to have drunk from a spring that runs thru this vineyard, located near Bezier. Fun. The wine is a bit hot, but nicely floral and easy (Moillard usually bottles Burg). Doesn't get a Mouse, though.Cathar [ed.: Knights Templar sided with Cathars simultaneously persecuted by the Regency-Vatican alliance. I have posted the Templar Seal for strictly personal reasons and Carcasonne at night for your pleasure].

1999 Jean-Luc Colombo Hermitage Le Rouet Blanc $12: Connecticut close-out (silly price). 80%-20% Marsanne-Roussanne blend. Have bought about 25 bottles in past year. Honeysuckle peach blossom pear pie. (Hermitage oldest known French vineyard.)

2005 Isenhower Snapdragon Horse Heaven Hills $17: 55%-45% Roussane-Viognier blend. From Washington's Columbia Valley. This blew us away. Two finicky grapes - one that ages, one that doesn't - working side by side. Purchased in Falmouth, Cape Cod. Not available in Cal.

2003 Chateau Villerambert Julien $10: Minervois white. Yes, a white - the first I've found from this red drenched land northeast of Carcasonne. This ageworthy beauty - priced at $10! - seamlessly blends an overmaturation of Marsanne and Roussane. Now, go find a vintage of Kris Curran's Grenache Blanc, which despite the different grape tries to seek the same flavors. At twice the price. Just silly. There is a world of darn good Rhone whites that, as far as I know, no one drinks. For the O20 crowd, one can reach for a crispy U. Grant and walk away with a Condrieu. Great stuff. Or, for $30, one can grab a Chateauneuf du Pape blanc. Good stuff. But SoFrance is teeming with wonderful U20 whites! [ed. Town of Minerve today is much the same as when Simon de Montfort sieged it in 1210 burning alive 140 Cathar inhabitants...who chose to die instead of being tortured until they renounced their faith].

[ed. I traveled to this region in 2001 and did wine touring (and took the posted photos). What a blast. The history of the Cathars is worth investigating, especially if you plan to visit the region. As for the wine? It was almost impossible to spend more than $10 for a bottle of grenache-syrah-carignane-mourvedre in some sort of blended wine. I would make plans in advance to wine tour the region (sooner than later!!!) and carefully examine the wine tour plan already laid out at winetravelguides.com.]

Christmas has passed...finally. I have a strongly ambivalent relationship with the year-end holiday. I hate the hype, ruthless and relentless marketing. Wreaths on car grills always make me sneer. But Ray Charles singing about kids...I tear right up. That's right. Big wet eyes. And my kids are adults! I also greatly appreciate my wife and our friends this time of year. That is why we throw a Christmas Day party and invite everyone we know and love.

Another holiday tradition which usually inspires bland disinterest is lists of the past year's greatest whatever [these are similarly disinterested seals on the beach in Jenner] I know what you're thinking...he's going to list his favorite wines from 2007. Why would I do that when I list them for you every week. No, I am going to post some of my favorite photos...and not from this year necessarily. And I am going to post these photos adjacent to the reviewed wines since, for the most part, I was unable to find corresponding labels.

Finally, I expect to taste great wines and unusual wines over the holidays. I bring some and I drink what others bring as well. [Chicago's Fulton Alley was unusually pretty on this night]I really look forward to the holidays for that reason...to enjoy wines with which I am not necessarily familiar with good and new friends. This season did not disappoint.

1996 Cantina Vignaioli Barbaresco Elvio Pertinace Vigneto Castellizzano ~$50: I continue to work through the 1996 and 1997 nebiollos. Forgot where I got this one but if I had to, I would guess K&L. Cherry cola. Ready to go. Delicious. Not the expected tar and roses...and so what? Excellent bottle.

2001 McKenzie-Mueller Pinot Noir ~$30: Believe this came in a mailer for wine club. Opened in a restaurant with following wine below. had this one first. Good idea. Elegant, cherry Carneros pinot. Dining with L&L and they both loved the wine. Absolutely ready, need more. Bob Mueller is one terrific winemaker.

[Regusci winery off the Silverado Trail in Napa] 2002 Point Concepcion Syrah Jalama Cuvee ~$40 in mag): Took the mag to celebrate the birthday of somebody special. Did not disappoint. Already developing in bottle. Showing nicely. Softer, some white pepper (I think we say white pepper when it is not black), syrah dark fruit character. Peter Cargasacchi did a fine job with this wine.

[West Coast Choppers celebrate the holiday their way]

2001 Tobin James James Gang Reserve ~$28: A guest at same party brought this one. I am not a zin drinker. There are a few producers I like - Franus and Nalle. Both make their zins in a claret style. I have never found the big tooth stainers to my liking. This wine is very nice. Has the characteristic prune flavor, like an Amarone. Sweet, with some spine. Has aged well in the bottle. I hit it a few times and not just to be nice! Tobin James is an under-the-radar winemaker from Paso with a strong following.

[Santa did not bring me this Gaja stash]
1997 Pacific Star Petite Syrah: These wines were brought out at Carlitos' holiday party (best one I get invited to attend). Carlos puts out non-Kirkland shrimp (in Carlos' view Costco shrimp are a little tired - agreed) that are plump and firm. A couple hours later out comes the filet side that is simply outrageous. Oh yeah - the wines. If you like under-the-radar then check out Pacific Star. Been around for decades. Mendocino Coast winery sourcing Mendocino County grapes. This is the first petite syrah that I have tasted that has been properly aged. Petite Syrah is a legendary grape in NoCal. It is one of those wines where it helps a lot to know the producer. And it has to age. Well this was pure cherry coal (there is that flavor again). My first one. I see what you mean brutha.

1997 Pacific Star Sirius Red: This wine was 40% Charbono blended with Cabernet, Zinfandel, Charbono and Petite Syrah. Charbono is another one of those field blend Italian farmer grapes that was on the table every night in the Cesare Mondavi and Cesare Gallo households. Classic. This was not cherry cola. It was more like a chianti, sweet-ish, light weight. No tannins. House red that goes with everything. I found a good news piece about Pacific Star that you can read here.

This is the second installment of The Best of Wine Importers (go to The Best of Wine Importers Part One). Perhaps this is a continuing series. Perhaps an annual review. At this time, it is part two of my favorite wine importers, currently. The premise is simple. Think cheat-sheet for wine pickens (like the wonderful Slim Pickens). There are so many wines to choose from, and labeling conventions are so distinctively local (nice way to say wine labels aren't always helpful), and international wines are becoming so abundant...well, a discriminating wine buyer in search of that top price:quality ratio could use some help. Enter the importer, the cheat-sheet, your personal wine buyer.

There is more than one entry point for buying the importer. As a naive buyer who just wants to know she is getting a decent wine at a decent price, she can buy with confidence if the back label has the name of one of the tBoW importers on it. As an informed buyer who knows she wants a decent wine from a region less explored (Austria's Wachau to Spain's Navarre to France's Savoie) turn to the back label and look for one of these importers' names. [ed. The Savoie article was written by Wink Lorch whose winetravelguides.com fills a much needed void in wine travel information].

Instead of acquiring an encyclopedic knowledge of regions, producers and vintages...stick with a handful of importers. Buy the Importer! These are tBoW faves.

Charles Neal Selections: For my $$ he is the most exciting importer. When I watch TV I find it difficult to focus on one show for very long. I often watch TV with the sound off since the images tell almost the entire story anyway. However, when I light upon one Travel Channel show - Cash and Treasures - I often watch to the end with the sound on. Kirsten the hostess effervesces her way on hunts for copper, morel mushrooms, and precious stones in Wisconsin, North Carolina and Alaska. She is always thrilled at her "discoveries".

This is how I picture Charles Neal roaming through the Savoie or the Munster valley. In blue jeans, work boots, tee shirt and jacket. Having a ball. Discovering wines others have overlooked or left behind. Here is what he has to say about one of my favorite regions. "The Languedoc is one of Southern France's most exciting wine regions. For years, it was regarded as France's wine lake, accounting for massive quantities of inexpensive wine that was often bottled in gallon containers and sold very inexpensively to supermarket chains. The past fifteen years has seen a renaissance within the region, with hundreds of small producers making excellent wines of all colors from a wide array of appellations, all of which display distinctive character." His website puts Kermit Lynch to shame! Neal does not just write about the wine. He writes about the region providing a ton of information about the farmers, producers, even the livestock. If you want adventures in wine then I highly recommend Charles Neal Selections.

Robert Kacher Selections: "Bobby" Kacher is wine-speak for q-u-a-l-i-t-y. He imports from France. His portfolio is narrow, almost exclusively French but covering most of the notable regions with special emphasis in Burgundy. Selections are top notch and good value. I seldom look for Robert Kacher wines, however, I often come upon them. Every retailer wants his selections. So, when you find yourself in a rush in a Bev Mo or some tony retailer in a strange town you will almost always be able to find a Kacher wine.

Neal Rosenthal Wine Merchant: Was Neal always there first? It seems so...since 1978! Neal Rosenthal, like Kermit Lynch, is one of the first of a wave of importers who succeeded the old guard from the 50s and 60s (e.g., Robert Haas, now Tablas Creek co-owner, or Frank Schoonmaker). I think of Neal and Kermit succeeding Haas like Coppola and Scorsese succeeded John Huston and Don Siegel. Neal (like Kermit) is one of the original terroir guys. He devotes a web-page to the "concept of terroir". Give it a read and note the decidedly anti-Parker/Wine Spectator tone in the discussion as Neal derides media-driven winemakers who enter a "dangerous zone...where nature begins to be denied". Neal's beat is France (all the right regions from Languedoc to Burgundy to Bordeaux) and Italy; 75% French wines. His website is kind of awkward; probably the kind that scares off Kermit. All the right info is there...but it ain't Charles Neal. One of the really nice features is he provides images of the labels which is extra nice for the likes of tBoW.

Igottatellya I love an importer with a conscience...and a website! Of course, it is especially rewarding when the conscience-driven importer is also an attorney! Maybe this is why Neal Rosenthal is an importer. Neal Rosenthal directly competes with Kacher although there is certainly room for both. At the end of the day, the same truth about being in an unfamiliar shop holds...while I may not be looking for a Neal Rosenthal import if I find one I am probably going to buy it.

A word about his logo. While the company is Mad Rose the back label often has an oval with Neal Rosenthal's name inside, or just his name - Rosenthal Wine Merchant - in extra large font. It is distinctive and you should look for it. The mark of long standing quality.

Consider for a minute a few movies directed by John Huston and Don Siegel (youtube vids linked).

Huston - Moby Dick, African Queen, Chinatown, Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Siegel - Dirty Harry, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Killers

Honorable Mention

Robert Chadderdon Selections: This will be the shortest entry. As Parker writes "Chadderdon remains one of the mystery men among top small importers in the United States. Rarely seen and difficult to reach by telephone". I cannot confirm. I never tried to call him. He does not appear to have a web site. I do know that his wines are highly touted by my local retailer WHWCo. I bought a white Graves today. Link here to a Seattle Times article on Mr. Chadderdon. Unlike the reporter I find the price points to be very reasonable. And the wines are always worthwhile.

Louis/Dressner Selections>: This outfit imported one of my favorite wines in 2007, the 2005 Clos de la Roilette (K&L Wine Merchants). If the wine tells a story about the importer (and why shouldn't it?) then the story of Louis/Dressner is the search for individualistic, well made, true-to-character wines that are easy on the palate and the wallet. For example, Clos de la Roilette is named after the owner's horse (ca. 19th century) which is related to his property getting gerry-mandered out of the Beaujolais Cru of Moulin-à-Vent. The story is from the 1920s. The wine was appellation Moulin-à-Vent and considered one of the best sites in the region. What is distinctive about Moulin-à-Vent is that there are outcroppings of manganese. In 1924, it was gerrymandered out of Moulin-à-Vent into the Fleurie AOC. The owner at the time, didn't put Fleurie on the label and only sold outside of France. The Coudert family bought the vineyard in the 1950s and does in fact have the AOC Fleurie on the label [ed. special thanks to Joe Dressner for his oversight!].