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

Summer is the season for stealth wines like Rosé and Moscato d'Asti. And if you really need something more substantial there are the very stealth Gamay wines from Beaujolais. Which makes summer the most bombastically wonderful season of the year. Put away the pretensions with the ratings gurus and get ready to just sit back and enjoy. Here is a group of summer wines recently tasted.

2007 Rosé du Nuit Domaine du Deffends: Robert Chadderton is the B-2 Stealth Bomber of wine importers. Silently dropping vinous mayhem on our palates. For tBoW it is a tossup between Charles Neal, Chadderton and Peter Weygandt for most captivating importer. In case Chadderton is an anti-war guy I apologize in advance for associating him to my fascination with military porn. This is the stealth wine. [ed. God I hope "W" isn't "protecting freedom" in Iran by the time we publish.] Plenty of acid but still balanced. Undertones of PINK grapefruit. Pale salmon in color. Almost sophisticated but who cares? Not sure what the vogueing lady has to do with the wine except I am sure she has something to do with it. That or she just TRIPS on Madonna. Please check her out and let me know. Fenks. 12.6%.

2005 McKenzie-Mueller Clan Rosé Napa Valley $19: Screw top cap lets us know Bob Mueller means we should drink this up. Knowing Bob makes serious wine even when he is not being terribly serious we had it with lamb chops off the grill. Perfect. 63% Cabernet Franc, 27% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. That's right - it is a Bordeaux blend Rosé!!! BRAVO!! Who else would try this? Unfiltered to make sure we get all the blend has to offer. I did not like particularly this when he poured it at the winery. Now I am blown away. Beefy Rosé with a light bright red color. A Rosé meant for grilled meats. Who knew? Here is what Bob has to say about this wine. There is only one Napa mail list to be on. 14.7%

2007 Txakoli Gurrutaga Rosado: The pink version of the Basque white wine we drank at the Playboy Jazz Festival. That was super acidic. This is just bright and acidic. I like it just fine. Not your grand-papa's pinkie. Or maybe it is if he is a Viking. A Kirk Douglas Rosé. I am going to go out on a limb and say you need to try this wine just to prove you are not a WINE WIMP. I like it. I'm a real tough palate when it is 80 degrees at 8:00 in the evening. 10.5%

2007 Vissoux Pierre-Marie Chermette Les Griottes Beaujolais Rose $15: [ed. I could not find the label so here is the MAN with his vines]. Pale pink salmon color. Creamy, sour cherries, good acid balancing the fruit like a seal tossing a ball. This has to be Grenache but no...it is Gamay. Unfiltered. So what! It is just perfect in early sumer when the SoCal air is still kinda cool. Peter Weygandt (tBoW Best of Wine Importers) does it again. Kick my booty in a frosty glass bottle no less. Great touch. 12%

2005 Chateau de Thulon Beaujolais Villages $15: Winemaker is Jean-Marc Gurgaud. The vintage continues to show very well, as expected. Solid cassis flavors usually reserved for Cabernet Sauvigonon. With light shining through. A translucent wine. Outstanding. Rich and hedonistic flavors like a liquer. How do they do it and keep it so lightweight? This is simply excellent wine. 12.5%

2005 Rousset Crozes-Hermitage $20: Kermit Lynch selection purchased at Wine Country in LA's South Bay where the buyer does a wonderful job. Dry, sour-like, balanced, stoniness. I like it; Missus does not. You have to develop a taste I suppose. She much prefers the next wine down.

2007 La Morandiña Moscato d'Asti $18: This is the perfect summer wine, or it is the wine of the summer according to the Missus. Like key lime pie in a glass. Has the bitter bright lime topping a core of ripe summer fruit; peaches, oranges, honey with a slight fizz and just enough acid. More sophisticated than other efforts (which we also love). 5%.

2007 Sori del Re Moscato d'Asti Degiorgis $18: WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER. Some like it better than the Morandini. Peaches and zing and slight spritz. Wunnaful wunnaful. 5.5%

Can the summer go on too long? Izit possible? maybe....yes.....NO!!

I love to watch the weather guys and ladies put the week's forecast up and all I see is 92, 94, 95, 93, 91. And you know what to you have to do. Enjoy it. Like the SRH gangsters above. That is Wes and Uma Hagen and David Corey on the right. David is a ton of fun (so is Wes). Like a mischievous puppy. He was dry-humping like crazy on this summer evening in 2005 only it wasn't the pillow. It was another well known SRH winemaker and she took at least 15 minutes to tell him to cut that out.

2007 Core California Rosé $12: So there I am buying a case at K&L of Moscato d'Asti for the Missus' staff party...and as I am checking out I check out the Rose display. I spot the Core red version and since I have great photos of David Corey I think I should get a bottle. Actually, I remember David Corey's wines are always challenging and usually rewarding. The closer on the sale is the teaser card that says he uses 10 different varietals or ten different sources for this wine. Maybe ten sources because I am fairly certain the blend consists of Dave's favorite grapes - Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Tempranillo. This wine is firm, muscular, sinewy, like a marathon runner or a distance cycler. A lot like Dave. As would be expected not your garden variety delicate pink summer wine. Love it. 14.3%

2007 Tintero Sori' Gramella Moscato d'Asti $10: The K&L purchased Moscati. The idea was to serve this at the MIssus' staff party. At 5% everyone stays in the safety zone and still gets to chill a little. More spine than the Bartenura and almost up to La Morandina (the summer Moscati standard). Excellent wine. Mixed it with some Lodi Vermentino and that was also pretty tasty. 5%

2006 Chateau d'Aqueria Tavel Rosé $12: Costco purchase. "Tavel is acknowledged to be the world's most complex and flavorful rosé wine" says the back label. "Tell it to Bandol" sez tBoWl!! Dry, dried cranberry fruit, very nice...like a Bandol. Dry, even woody. What was it Dotoré said about Bandol? Highest expectations with decent delivery. Think the original iPhone release.

IGTY [ed. I Gotta Tell Ya...bring it on!!!] I think I prefer the fruitier offerings from...California's Central Coast!! Yes, I am talking about Point Concepcion, Anglim and the Languedoc. Given that the new Costco wine buyer has been on such a hot streak this summer I have to say she fouled one off here. 13.5%

[ed. tBoW continues to overheat like Pacino in his seminal film...below]

2003 Clautiere Cabernet Sauvignon $22 wine club: Speaking of the Central Coast, i.e., Paso Robles, this is a pretty decent effort from the uber-fashionable vineyard on the unfashionable East Side. If you like Cabernet Sauvignon unblended. Pencil lead nose yields to a mineral flavor with high tone fruit, smoooooth and plummy. Is it Pauillac? St Estephe? In the Parker/Rolland era? How many folks would be fooled. Can we please stop growing Cabernet Sauvignon in Paso and focus on Rhone blends? Leave the vcabs to Napa. Pinots in Sonoma and points north...far as Oregon. Rhone styles in hot regions like...Paso!! This is a good time to try. 14.5%

And Dog Day Afternoon? His best work, overacting and all. [ed. until Scarface of course] You see the trailer you've seen the movie. Such a New Yawkuh. Pleece. Un-joy.

The Missus told tBoW she has had it with the pedestrian wines we have been putting in front of her lately. She gets the concept there are decent wines to be had for under $20. She appreciates the thrill of the hunt for these wines, AND ALL THAT. However, after all the tasting fun is completed during hors d'ouvres she wants tBoW to know when the main course arrives she expects a glass of good wine to accompany.

Fortunately, tBoW did not have to bear this assault alone. The perceptive and fearless Dotoré was present to get to the bottom of things. It turns out she has grown increasingly less fond of the choices placed in front of her the past year. The Missus misses a fruit forward, rich California wine, preferably a pinot noir. Dotoré concludes "there is no question these southwestern France wines are an acquired taste and radically different from California products. However, there is also no question if you are looking for value wines today do not waste your time with California".

tBoW says he'll handle the wine, the Missus will get her fruity reds, but we really should let an authority weigh in on domestic differences and mending fences.

Onto the wines with help from friends and other innocent bystanders.

2006 Mâcon-Villages Vendanges Manuelles Auvige $15: Robert Chadderdon selection. How quickly we forget! Reviewed in Jan 08. Loved it then. Love it now. White Burgundy that is special not only because it meets the U20 criterion but because it is so dang tasty. Lean with some butter, mostly Chardonnay fruit, apple fruit. Meant to be drunk young. Been drinking this most of the summer. May I say it blows away domestic efforts with Chardonnay? Youbetcha. Has not failed yet. 13%

2005 Domaine Gauby Les Calcinaires $22: The perfect wine for returning to the world after hanging on for dear life with a dreaded summer cold. Rousillon village wine with just the right spice and cherries to remind me that I had been living on cough syrup the previous 3 nights. We all know how the palate goes on the fritz in the face of running snot and throat-like-rasping-tool...non-stop. OK. Enough whining and back to the wine-ing!! "Although initially the wines were tannic and extracted, Gauby has moved towards a more balanced elegant style in recent years, and the wines are much better for it." Credit the Wine Doctor who is always worth reading. Get the rest of his enlightening Gauby review here. Predominantly Grenache which is a grape I favor especially when made like this. I should have known; another brilliant Peter Weygandt Selection. A very civilized 13% alcohol level (unattainable if you are making wine in SoCal).

L'Oustal Blanc K6 $16: Winemaker Claude Fonquerle from MInervois. 100% 100 year old Carignane vines. In poker that could be the Minervois nut nut. Fruity for French wine however perhaps not so much for an inspired Southwestern France vintner looking for some New World love. Another Peter Weygandt Selection. I am thrilled that I can publish a photo from Minerovis which is an ancient Cathar stronghold where 200 locals were burnt at the stake in the 13th century following a long and religiously righteous siege. And what goes on with Minervois wines? Let Peter Weygandt's website tell that story. And this wine in particular? Can you say 2/3 in concrete vats. That is why they call it Old World. Cannot argue with the delicious results at phenomenal value. 13.5%

A few brief words about the Cathars. Some refer to the decades-long assault on Southwestern residents of the culturally distinct and independent land known as the Oc as the 4th Crusade; the only crusade fought on European soil. Led northern French nobility, in particular Simon de Montfort, under the auspices of the Papacy soldiers dedicated 120 days (a quatraine) to seeking out and destroying enemies of the Papal state, banished from Rome at that time.

The times roughly coincided with the fatal attack on the Knights Templar and, like in that dark-of-night blitzkrieg, the aim was to grab whatever wealth and title could be had with a ruthless and merciless military maneuver under the blessing of a besieged religious institution (that would be the Catholic Church). [ed. twilight on the plaza in Carcasonne]

The Cathars were doomed precisely because they were a very popular religious sect whose leaders eschewed the fine clothing and crusty rings favored by local Catholic priests. [ed. In today's mondo vino is it unfair to characterize terroir driven winemakers as the Cathars, the all-homogenizing Pope as Michel Rolland, and Parker as swordsman Simon de Montfort?] Cathar priests wore simple unadorned robes and sandals and walked throughout the region preaching simple life, sexual abstinence (I never said they were perfect, although the holiest Cathars were known as Perfects), healthy nutritious diets, and living a life devoted to joining the heavenly Father after death. They also believed the earth was actually hell and the Pope and all his minions were devils.

They were harmless as a military threat however they were the very definition of sedition and it was their intention to undermine the Holy Roman Church. The Church referred to them as Albigensians because the city of Albi was an open - and defiant - Cathar religious center. Of course, one of the most quoted lines was uttered by th Inquisitor Abbott Arnaud when ordering the wholesale slaughter of 20,000 Beziers inhabitants: "kill them all, God will know his own". [ed. Beziers cathedral above]

Here is a video pitch for a book I have not read that covers (romanticizes?) the era. Romanticizing the Cathars is easily done since the events that occurred frequently appear in culture (films, books) without really linking one and all. For example, Dan Brown's books in some if not large part derive directly from Templar and Cathar history and beliefs.

2006 Romano Dogliotti La Caudrina Moscato d'Asti $17: Another super wine to serve first on a summer evening wherever you are. Fizzy, even frothy in the glass. Not too sweet. Good acid, balanced, excellent. At the end of the night looking back we liked it as much as any other wine poured. 5.5%

2007 Domaine de Rieux Cotes de Gascogne $10: Vin de Pays from Gascony by P. Grassa. Lovely, steely, green melon flavors. Minerals. Refreshing. Screw top says drink me every day. 10%

1997 Josef Friedrich Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen Auslese: Cellar purging yields this forgotten item. The ghosts of fruits that once were here, now faded. I did find a 2001 review that raved. Still, quality Riesling is present with some petrol, elder flower and linden flavors. If you are curious here is an excellent description of all the terms on the label. Here is a photo of the village where Josef Friedrich calls home. Kinda steep. 9%

2005 Michel Sarrazin Mercurey: Imported by North Berkeley Wine. Dried out, light tannins, bitter. Not a tasty wine. May be the wine that pushed the Missus over the top. Even Kobe misses pay ups [ed. news to me.]. 13%

2003 Terres de Truffes Cave TerraVentoux $12: The Cotes du Ventoux is a Rhone appellation known for black truffles. This wine is made by Bruno Clement who is a leading harvester in the region and owns the most prominent regional restaurant for cooking with truffles. Sounds good to tBoW! 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah can be a heavenly blend. This is a very nice wine with some stuffing and plenty of forward fruit. Grenache blended with Syrah can show a creamy texture and flavors in the right hands. The Missus was able to enjoy it once she evacuated her festering opinions. Thanks to Vin de Pays Wines in Long Beach CA for posting the excellent write-up on Bruno Clement. 13.5%

Postscript to the lovely Missus...the 2003 TerraVentoux is why we hunt. Wonderful wine, made locally in the cooperative winery, tasting like something the vintner imagined. And $12. Can't beat that with a hockey stick.

The Basque country is in northwestern Spain on the border with France and includes the Navarre region. The French resort Biarritiz is right over the county line [ed. tBoW's first link to wikitravel]. Notable Basque towns include Bilbao and San Sebastian although Hondarribia (near San Sebastian) is certainly one of the most charming. This is the road less traveled when it comes to Spanish tourism. Good for you!! Area highlights include Bilbao's Gehry-designed museum, knocked off repeatedly, even by himself, (see LA's Disney Hall) and the surfing town of [ed. to prove the point side by side pics can be examined at bottom] and Mundaka...

(arguably Europe's most renowned surf spot tucked into a river entry cove on the road to Bilbao.

Basques are proud people and do not consider themselves to be Spanish...or French. More like Greek with their cyrillic script, abundant use of the letter "x", affection for desolate churches and balalaika-like string instruments. Many battles with the French and Spanish have been fought to preserve the national identify.

Count on lots of seafood and regional wines which are brisk and lean whites. tBoW did review a Basque Rose a few weeks ago. Something about being so lean you could easily whistle while sipping.

These wines are not California or French chardonnays nor are they in the same basket as German and Austrian Rieslings. Maybe the Gruner Veltliners. More along the lines of white Rhone style wines, however, they are unto themselves and not having any appeal to or interest from the "Parklander Beast" these wines remain true unto themselves displaying unflinching regional pride. Oh bully!!

2005 Segrel Pablo Padin Albariño $15: Purchased at K&L. Sour say the Missus. I would agree but sour as in a green apple mashed up with a lighter lime. Clean and still a bit lush. All of 12%.

2006 Quinta de Couselo "Turonia" Albariño $17: The other K&L purchase. Crisp, bitter in a brash and not caustic fashion. Clean, not as rich as the Padin but also more bracing. Liked this wine and would buy it again. 12.5%

Had dinner with friends who are Tablas Creek wine club members so there was plenty to choose from. Here is what we came up with.

2005 Cote de Tablas ~$16: The entry level blend in 2005 was 43% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah and 15% Counoise. Now I do not know about you but that blend sounds just about perfect on paper. Nose is gently red and toasty. Flavors are creamy, Syrah seems to stand out. Consistently a great value and delicious wine. Have had it in past three vintages and it was excellent each year. 14.8%

2004 Cote de Tablas $14: 64% Grenache, 16% Syrah, 13% Counoise, 7% Mourvedre. Doncha wonder how they decide the distriibution of grapes? Wouldn't you assume it is a function of the winemaker's palate? I will tell you right now that is a fair assuption that is most likely DEAD WRONG. The wine, nevertheless, is wonderful. Still have a few more waiting to taste the business side of the Laguille opener. Grenache dominant and has the powdery sublime fruit that is soft and seductive like a lithe and sinewy even a touch zaftig ballerina...like Brigitte Bardot!! [ed. that's right...a classicallly trained ballerina hope you'd like to know]. Never seen a zaftig ballerina you say?

2003 Esprit de Beaucastel$36 on release: 50% Mourvedre, 27% Syrah, 16% Grenache, 7% Counoise. Rich, deeper than the Cote de Tablas. Softly smoky. Very nicely developed at 5 years. I am very pleased as this is the first Esprit de Beaucastel to be opened from the wine club shipments. With the higher alcohol I do not taste the heat. These are both very good, well made wines. The vines are in ten years and the fruit is showing wonderful if still youthful maturity. It is just terrific that they have all their homeland fruit to choose from transplanted in the Paso vineyard. 14.8%

Having been a TC Vinsider member (the wine club) for a few years AND understanding that TC wants their reds to take some age, my TC tasting experience has been limited to the white wines. All more or less very good and some outstanding (Bergeron, Rousanne, Grenache Blanc, and one 2003 Esprit de Beaucastel in a split which is their serious white Rhone blend that should also take a few years). The only red I have really tasted is the Cote de Tablas however it was was good enough to join the wine club. Now having tasted the 2003 Esprit red my positive instinct is confirmed.

2004 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Red Cotes du Rhone $18: So this is the "baby Beaucastel" from the Tablas Creek granddaddy; i.e., it is the entry level bottle from the mothership, Chateau de Beaucastel. I did not know Beaucastel even made this wine. My remembrances are with the Chateauneuf du Pape. Even though they are both similarly allocated estate grapes in similar blends the "baby" Coudoulet is getting juice from younger vines. I was never very fond of the flagship Chateauneuf du Pape but I like this "baby" just fine. Has liquer-like intensity and focus. Also plenty of coffee so I am thinking Tia Maria. It is kind of simple but lovely. As a parallel to the Cotes du Tablas this is more lean with higher tone fruit. Given the two to choose I take both side by side. If choosing between the Esprit and the Chateuaneuf du Pape I take the Esprit every time. A Costco buy. Winna Winna Chicken Dinna. 14%.

2003 Crozes Hermitage Cuvee Sassenas $19: Picked this wine up at the new Wine Cask in our neighborhood. The high end operation that created the Santa Barbara Futures program has finally come south. So what if it's housed in a former art glass retail shop. The glass pieces are spectacular. Not my style but someone who likes wine will surely buy a big glass piece. In the meantime, this wine bodes well for customers of the new store. Domaine Maxime Chomel has the steep hillside Syrah vineyards that make up this bottle. The wine has cherries and cranberries. Tannins evident but soft. Have to call this good value at 5 years old. 13.5%

TIME OUT. tBoW wonders why he does not taste the same stuff he reads in other reviews. For example, here is a nice brief review on the same wine.

"The 2003 Crozes-Hermitage could easily be a luxury cuvee. Dense purple to the rim, with hints of incense, licorice, creosote, tapenade, blackberries, and cassis, it is tannic, medium to full-bodied, ripe, rich, and heady. We stole this wine from the distributor!! Drink it over the following 12-15."

Agree the wine is a steal. I missed the licorice altogether. In fact I would say it was not there. Licorice is easy to smell and taste. Tapenade? Creosote? I had to look these up. Olives (Provencal dish) and coal tar (from beech wood). I love olives. I was in the Languedoc and am confident I ate tapenade. No olives in the wine I tasted. I also know coal tar from when I had some "hair issues" and used the stuff as treatment (Successfully thank you). I know that aroma. More to come as tBoW blows the whistle on the aroma wheel of bullshit.

Care to examine two innovative designs by Frank Gehry? [ed. NO? Take a look at this Rolex? Real gold.] Enter here...and consider...what does it mean when the world's most famous architect knocks off his own work...

first examine the Disney Hall in LA...completed 2004...

now consider the museum in Bilbao...completed in 1998...

In certain professions basing one's own work on the ideas of others is not only the highest form of flattery it is the preferred protocol. For example, in medical research or many academic disciplines, new research is always predicated on old models and studies. Is it any different in architecture? What does it mean when an architect replicates his own innovative style in new settings? And isn't it worth wondering if Gehry was inspired by Gaudi, the great Spanish architect, in creating his Iberian building?

Send in your own thoughts. Especially architects that love wine.

1997 Williams Selyem Allen Vineyard Pinot Noir: As Dotoré purges his cellar tBoW benefits. We opened his 1997 Richioli Riverblock at the last Super Bowl. Loved it. Fact is the wines from WS are best enjoyed in their youth. In my experience the Allen is among the slowest WS wines to come around. At 11 years this bottle is not spry but it still has some hops. Maybe not as spectacular as the Rochioli Riverblock but nothing to sniff at. Perfectly balanced. Showing some red brick color in the bowl. The first impression is how delicate. Like a dragonfly showing wonder and light. We can smell and taste the figs. "As good as California pinot gets" declares Dotoré [ed. obviously he is coming around to you position that WS trumps Rochioli in sheer pleasure which was originally noted by IGTY]. Yes, it is more fruit forward than Burgundies. Aren't all Calif Pinot Noirs? But only Williams Selyem has the candy. 13.8%

2005 Williams Selyem VIsta Verde San Benito County Pinot Noir: Contributed by IGTY. Unusual source prompts discussion about from how many vineyards WS sources their fruit. Where is San Benito County? Hollister, which you fellow Angelenos know is where they grow garlic and asparagus. This is inland farm country on the hottest stretch of the 101 freeway. Nevertheless, against all odds the wine is pretty nice. Has a deeper color than the Allen, but then it is 8 years younger. Rich, more dense flavor, and still delicate consistent with the WS style. 13.9%

2006 Siduri Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $24: The odd bottle from a highly reputable Pinot Noir specialist vintner. "37% Sonatera Vineyard, 31.5% Terra de Promissio, and 31.5% Hirsch Vineyard" which sounds like pretty good pedigree. Very different form the Williams Selyem wines. Earthy. Like a Gevrey is to a Volnay. Almost (but not quite) rustic. Liked it. Did well in this group. Very nice. 14.1%

2006 Paul Lato Larner Vineyard Syrah $60: Opened it first which was probably a mistake. Should have let it air out. Needed the time. Very intense and focused. Too big too soon. "Hot" with high alcohol. This needs to be aerated. It is a pricey wine but then when you fall in love... you do crazy things! Paul Lato wines are the only ones I am willing to buy from the region. I hasten to point out that Paul makes his Pinot Noir from Santa Maria which is like being on the Eastside of the 101 in Paso. He is now being sought as a winemaker by the premium growers in Santa Rita Hills. I do not blame him for charing premium. He makes so little and his winemaking style is absolutely right when it comes to working with SRH fruit. "The fruit is so muscular it does not need more muscle. I try to give it some grace and intelligence". Hell yeh. 80 cases. 15%

2005 Abbaye de Tholomies $14: Purchased at K&L Hollywood. Grenache based from the Languedoc. The village of Minerve and its historical tragedies at the hands of the Papal armies are documented in another post [ed. with photos of the "island" village]. This wine shows the hot and arid country surrounding Minerve. Highlands, up-river. Hardy country where head cut Grenache and Mourvedre grows well. The "story" is that the winery and vineyards were purchased in 1980s by a surgeon obsessed with quality. Dark red color. Sweet high toned fruit with plenty of backbone acid. The mIssus would call it thin. Call it sinewy, muscular like a dancer (not a gymnast or a diver). [ed. tBoW concedes a lone Olympic reference] Good hot dry fruit. We have happily witnessed the resurgence of Languedoc wines in the past decade. Now will this make me forget Tablas Creek or Gauby? No. But for $14 I can forget a lot of overpriced cabs and red burgs. 13.5%

1995 Weinlaubenhof Alois Kracher Grande Cuvée TBA #12~$80: Not a U20 but a wine probably worth the splurge if you like sweeties. Fantastically delightful and delicious dessert Riesling blend from Kracher. At 13 years there is plenty of time to enjoy this wine. We had it with a cheese plate that matched very well. ..and coffee. Topped off another great meal at Palate. Sommelier Steve Goldun says this vintage is the last of Kracher's more acidic Kracher sticky styles. Apricots, apples, just enough acid to keep it firm. Most amazing...only 12%