This page contains an archive of all entries posted to No Wine Over $20-Reviews and the LA Wine Scene in the Viognier category. They are listed from oldest to newest.
Vermentino is the previous category.
Vouvray is the next category.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
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I don't know where to start: under $20? The list goes on and on. So, I'll start here:
2005 Capestrano Montepulciano D'Aburzzo - between $8 and $12. Plums and leather and loads of character, better the next day.
Try Cline's 2005 Viognier. About the same price. Peaches and spice.
Try any white blend from SoFrance.
xxoo le king
You may have noticed that for a wine blog touting wines under $20 we review many wines more than $20. In fact, we do not post the prices of the over $20 along with the under $20 probably seeking to attain a "sensational" balance only understood by folks with mild ADD.
Here are 2 wines with costs posted, both currently available.
2003 Morgon Vielles Vignes Kermit Lynch Selection (Guy Breton) $16: It's a Beaujolais from an OK vintage. The 2005 vintage gets the press - justifiably - and we have been loading up on those wines as they appear in the bins of our fave retailers (see links to your left and order online). This bottle was touted by a Kermit Lynch floor clerk in Berkeley. It is obviously something left over, on the shelf a little long-ish, for which the clerk will be rewarded having moved a bottle or two ("nice job Jason"). In many other stores this would tick me off. But in Kermit it turns out OK because he has integrity and a great palate. This is a lot selection by Kermit from one of his preferred vintners (Breton) and bottled with the most non-descript label. You have to read carefully to figure out it is a K&L selection. What is that? Humility? Probably. The wine is not humble. It is very nice. Spice on the nose, cranberries in the mouth. I need more for Thanksgiving! Lightweight, almost thin. Let's say reedy. But it fills out enough with a little air to provide just enough body to make Nicole Richie envious.
2006 Anglim Rose' $14: Steve Anglim is one of my favorite Paso vintners. Sources everything. I bought this because the 2005 was so enchanting with its dusty salmon color and delicate flavor with just enough acid. I am telling you it was like a petal. The 2006 was getting closed out at the local cheese shop so I scooped the half dozen. Well, it is not the 2005. This wine is almost hot pink in color. And the nose is profoundly bright with minerals (that would be a gentle touch with acid). Black cherry flavors dominate. There is strawberry too. 14.3% alcohol. Blend is 38% grenache, 33% syrah, 15% mourverdre, and 14% viognier. How French! Steve Anglim makes terrrific wine and this one is priced in my hit-away zone.
My dear Cuban amigo and muy talented artist Iggy-tones writes: "Lately I've been traveling up to Shell Beach in the Central Coast because I currently have for sale a two bedroom house that I own. The house is a block and a half from the shore. The whole area of the Central Coast is growing grapes. Do you have some recommendation of interesting wines and wineries to visit on one of my trips there?"
Toss a 70 mph pitch down the middle to Barry Bonds and he couldn't hit it as far as I can unload on this topic. Paso Robles is my favorite California wine country tour. I love to visit. Consider this. Paso was the up and coming wine region in the state until 
Sideways. Miles puked in the Fess Parker tasting room (it was the Fess Parker winery wasn't it?) and everyone forgot about Paso. Like the 101 just ended in the Santa Rita HIlls AVA. Why oh why do I love Paso? Because it has been somewhat forgotten, cut off at the knees by Santa Barbara. Paso got all the way to the altar and the bride (all us consumers) took off. But the wine did not change in Paso Robles. The changeover that has been taking place in Paso ever since Tablas Creek arrived has continued without interruption. I am talking about dumping the cab and chard and replanting with syrah, grenache, mourverdre, grenache blanc, rousanne, marsanne and every other southern France cutting the folks at Tablas Creek could bring into the country legally with full papers and full quarantine. No mongrels in the Tablas Creek nursery. They are the modern Library of Alexandria for Southern France vinifera.
Tablas Creek is the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of wineries with production facilities, tasting rooms, storage..the whole mushpucha. Consider Justin who still makes a very popular and Napa-priced cabernet named Isoceles. Then there is Pipestone which is a 10 acre site planted, owned and operated by a wonderful couple who abandoned careers in environmental law and biochemistry to live in the middle of nowhere and learn how to make wine and live peaceably with the cougars. Justin, TC and Pipestone are part of the Far Out Wineries contingent. They are located at the greatest distance from Paso Robles. Well worth the ride for the terrain, the wines and the hospitality. This ain't Napa. Or Santa Barbara/Solvang.
And how about Clautiere? They made lingerie before turning their attention to wine. If wine can be sexy then it will be a Clautiere wine. Their parties sure look like a lot of fun. Clautiere is located on the unfashionable East Side of the 101. Where the Westside has rolling hills and deep pockets of microclimate bounty the unfashionable Eastside has low hills and hot dry dusty roads...with some very old Italian farmer fields (another kind of bounty). Clautiere makes very good wine at very attractive price points. Finally, the best indicator that Paso is still developing as a region of repute, the sourcing wineries (e.g., those wineries without walls) are growing in number...like Anglim of whom I have written before.
I have not hit every one of the Far Out Wineries. I have to mention Saxum and Linne Calodo, two notable wineries who are not Far Out even if their wines are pretty heavy dude. I will also mention another highly reputed winery L'Aventure however I have not tasted their wines. Sadly, few of these wineries produce much wine under $20. Tablas Creek, Clautiere and Pipestone are exceptions. Of course, I am a wine club member with each.
Paso has not stopped being the next big thing for want of its own very funny movie. It is well worth a visit. They have their wine festivals. Summer is blistering hot. We like to stay in Cambria and drive up to Paso for the day returning to the cool ocean air for the evening.
2005 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas Blanc ~$15: This is my third vintage of this wine. As with the red (named just Cotes de Tablas) the wine is ready to drink right away. Nose is summer melon. Flavors are fresh, light fruit, well balanced. 75% viognier and Rousanne. A small does of Grenache Blanc adds a little backbone. The sweet-ish viognier fruit really stands out making this a wonderful summer evening wine with a meal of salmon. Hey- that's what we had!
2005 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc $9 in split: I bought this from Jim Ruxin. More on Jim later. Best kept wine secret in LA and beyond. Grenache Blanc dominant so the smoke is in your face but not quite like standing over my BBQ. 70% Rousanne and 25% GB. A young wine that needs at least a year. Even in the split. Serious wine.
The Tablas Creek Wine Club is the best deal I know. They make great wines without exception. They discount generously to club members. And the pedigree is peerless. This is the best of southern France in California.
Heavy hitter wines have big names. Sometimes they have long traditions. They are almost always one of the 3 most popular varietals - cab, pinot, chardonnay. Of course, heavy hitter wines, like their counterparts in baseball, do not always get the big hit. Barry Bonds comes to mind. In fact, Barry Bonds is a great metaphor for what often happens when you pop the cork on a heavy hitter wine. It fails to impress. Barry's best years are long gone yet he still plans to play one more year. His name is worth everything...in Frisco. He couldn't interest any other team when he tried free agency a few years back. The owner of the HH wine cannot wait to show off his trophy...but his audience is necessarily limited to other trophy hunters. For the trophy hunter 10 to 20 years is too long to wait for the wine to mature and 50 years is far too long to proclaim the wine's "greatness" (another totally silly standard by which heavy hitters are judged). Sort of like the Babe's home run record. The Babe was good for 50 years then he gets busted three times in 15. Kind of cheapens the whole idea of the "heavy hitter". Why do we need these trophies? Because they ground us, providing a firm foundation from which we can approach the world?
Heavy psyching dude. Wine intelligence sez forget the heavy hitters. Go for singles, doubles, walks. Yeh. Coast in on something straightforward, simple, enjoyable...something that puts a smile on your face. A steady performer that costs less. The decent find is always worth the comparatively small risk, especially once you get better at picking out the best bets. Nothing worse than you and your pals hating the trophy wine you just opened. I recall a 1928 Pichon Lalande purchased from a reputable source. The murky pink-gray color was topped by the dead-mouse nose which was surpassed by the brackish bathwater liquid that could only be tasted by the poor fellow who paid well over $200 for the bottle. Perfect label.
Here are a few decent performers and one very underrated power hitter.
2001 McKenzie-Mueller Napa Valley Pinot Noir ~$40: Bob Mueller make great red wines. His pinot noir may be his best. 
Or it might be his Malbec or Cab Franc. The pinot is certainly steady. We reported on the 2002 a few weeks back. All Bob's wines are estate grown. This one is also funky on the nose. This is barnyard. The flavors are deep and rich. Not the berry style of pinot (which I also love). This is meaty but not grilled. Sinewy texture. 13.6% alcohol. The Carneros delta (I think of it as delta) has ideal conditions for growing pinot noir. Hot days and cool foggy nights. My power hitter bats clean-up.
1997 Windward Vineyards Pinot Noir ~$25: I subscribed for 6 years on principle. A nice couple intended to make world class Burgundian style pinot noir in Paso Robles. A noble pursuit but I end busting out this wine whenever I BBQ or dip a turkey like the wild Paso birds adjacent. 
It is all they would produce and it was all estate gown. This is called a monopole in France. Curiously there are only one or two monopoles in Burgundy. I waited for the vines to mature. It made no difference. You cannot grow great pinot noir in Paso. It is just too dang hot. The fruit gets too ripe and the juice is never anything like Burgundy. See Carneros. Now, this does not mean Windward does not make good wine. The 1996 and 1997 are both pretty nice. Sweet nose and flavors. Smells a bit like ripe tomatoes. Evenly balanced. Good weight. Not over-ripe. Just too ripe for pinot. 14.4%. Bats in front of the pitcher.
2003 Sunstone Viognier ~$18: This is a wine I would never buy. And it was not a gift but it was purchased on a trip to Santa Ynez Valley. Sunstone hits pretty attractive price points, makes decent wines from the region, and as a result they get good action in their wine club. This viognier is not terribly ripe which is interesting by itself. It has cool weather plum flavors. It is sufficiently balanced so as not to knock the glass out of your hand. Unremarkable and forgotten quickly. 14%. Pinch hitter when the game is not on the line and I am running out of batters.
None of these wines ruins a summer evening. One can make things transcendent and, like every power hitter, raises the others' level of play.
You may have noticed that "value" in wine is getting quite a bit of attention. A recent LA Times article expounded on the merits of various domestic and international wines which they considered to be good values, i.e., the U20 wines (under 20 bucks) we favor. The Wall Street Journal also recently (Sept 7) featured values in pinot noir.
We could not agree more with this reasonable fascination. We recognize trophy wines have their place as trophies that can play a very helpful role when entertaining and seeking to impress clients or anyone else whose favor is worth culling. I am being perfectly serious. However, we also know when it comes to enjoying wine for nothing other than the sheer pleasure of drinking and talking about wine...it's a great big world. Bully!
Here are four wines we tasted recently that cover the range from bargain to trophy.
2002 Ethan Santa Ynez Valley Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard $25: This was purchased in 2003 on futures at the Wine Cask Santa Barbara tasting. We do not go 
anymore as the event dipped in quality and range of wines offered. It is actually an interesting story of how the leverage shifted from the Wine Cask to the winemakers. As the winemakers and their respective labels received more and more attention the winemakers began bringing fewer wines to the tasting where the cost of entry to them included a mandatory 25% discount (which encouraged attendance). The only way to get many of the top wines is to buy them through the winery mail list at full retail or with a nominal discount. Makes sense, no?
Ethan Lindquist is the son of Bob Lindquist, founder of and winemaker at Qupe. This bottle may be Ethan's first release of Purisima Mountain Vineyard. It was delicious. Profound bittersweet chocolate (65% cacao) flavors. Dustiness initially (soft tannins) faded within 15 minutes. Never faded throughout our meal. There was a companion tasting article in the LA Times that covered a couple other Purisima Mountain releases from SRH winemakers. This vineyard is regarded as one of the area's best. 14.5% alcohol which is typical for SRH. Ethan kept it balanced without pumping up ripeness. I doubt pricing for Ethan wines still begin with a 2!
2005 Clautiere Estate Viognier Paso Robles $20: I am not a big fan of viognier from any region domestic and abroad. The grape just does not thrill me. I have had the "legendary" and very expensive Chateau Grillet young and aged. Nnhh. This wine was nice enough. Came with the Clautiere club order. I like Clautiere wines. Great price points. Well made. I prefer their red blends which are traditional Rhone style. I really like that. But even Tablas Creek (California's best winery) makes duds. I would still recommend joining the Clautiere maillist (along with Tablas Creek), especially if you like costume parties and the bacchanalian debauchery.
2005 Trenel Moulin A Vent Tirage Limite $23: These are numbered bottles which means they are limited production. It is the fabled 2005 Beaujolais vintage. How much longer will we be able to find these wines in our local (and favorite mail order) stores? This is a cut above the ordinary 2005 wines from Beaujolais. More tannic backbone with just as much of the ripe Gamay fruit. This wine will keep for several years. In flavors it is closer to Barolo than Burgundy (its northern neighbor). A lean and sinewy wine (think marathon runner) that likewise does not give out.
1997 Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru: Long term cellar dweller that I finally busted out for a special guest. This is highly sought wine for burg hounds. 1997 was a difficult vintage in Burgundy with intermittent rain. This means some grapes did not ripen enough. French chardonnay blows away California across the price range but especially at the high end. This wine has character and flavors that cause us to prefer French to domestic chardonnay wines, however, the vintage did leave a mixed impression. Stones and minerals in the nose and initial flavors. A bit later jasmine emerged as the wine opened. Ten years is a good time to wait for white burgundy especially a Grand Cru. Because of the vintage problems with ripeness I wold say this was a good time to open this bottle. Served with halibut and a tomato salsa that worked well. Here are notes from the domaine.
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.
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 Beaujolais 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.
Just flew in from Buenos Aires and boy is my palate tired.
The 14 day tour took us to Buenos Aires, Iguazu and Mendoza. I tried to poo-poo Iguazu as just another tourist trap but I was WRONG. Here is a youtube vid with a Moby track that in a very small way captures the majesty of this must-visit site for those of you traveling to Argentina. I loved Buenos Aires and the falls but this is a wine blog so let me tell you about the wine country. That means Mendoza.
Mendoza is the the name of the city and province (e.g., Los Angeles city and county). For a city of 1.400,000 the place is pretty dang relaxed. The large province is geographically diverse which is very good for the wine. The weather in the city is ideal (end of summer this time of year in the 70s). There are purportedly 1,200 wineries in the estado. A winery that produces half a million cases like Salentein in Uco Valley is not unusual.
A winery that produces 500 cs such as La Azul also in the Valle de Uco (pictured below) is also not unusual although it is apparent the larger wineries get the greatest exposure...for now.
The three wine principal growing areas surrounding Mendoza proper that get the greatest exposure are Lujan de Cuyo, Maipu and Valle de Uco. 
There are numerous micro areas within each. Think of Lujan de Cuyo as Sonoma, Maipu as Napa and Valle de Uco as...the Rockies with vinifera. Wine is also grown north of Mendoza in San Juan (out of the province) and south in San Rafael (warmer and in Mendoza province).
There are also a couple other important growing regions, Salta to the very north with its CafayateValley and Rio Negro in Patagonia to the very south. We will discuss these regions in subsequent reports. Especially since the most impressive winery in my view comes from Salta.
I will be writing several reports. They will focus on wine quality, regional style and value. This entry reports the wines I tasted at the Vines. Forthcoming reports include bodega touring including the incredible Uco Valley, availability of wines I liked in LA, and other wines tasted including many more Malbecs.
First an observation. Wineries in the region are well represented on the Internet. In fact, web-presence is somewhat formulaic featuring Flash with music and "visionary" dialogue. In town and on the ground, thankfully, things are not so cookie cutter.
We booked lodging at the Posada de Rosas over the web and crossed our fingers. This turned out to be very fortunate as our hosts were two very charming Americans (Ellen and Riccardo) in the travel business who provided endless touts on dining, shopping and touring. Their Posada is ideally located and quite comfortable.
[ed. Ellen and Riccardo share the very strong expectation that Mendoza wine touring is about to boom. The signs are everywhere.]
The Vines of Mendoza is emblematic of the Mendoza wine boom. This outfit is (1) a tasting room with nearly 200 local wines, (2) a wine store that ships to the USA (through their wine club Acequia), (3) the original and now former wine touring service, (4) a real estate business that sells 10 acre vineyard plots for wannbe vignerons, and (5) a vineyard management service for the buyers of their vineyards. Take a breath.
I am happy to say that the folks at Vines were extremely knowledgable and helpful; in particular Carolina Escudero, Pedro Cubillos and Mariana Onofri. Just to make my point about opportunities in the Mendoza wine scene, Ms. Onofri is a certified sommelier who left La Bourgogne to join the Vines staff. La Bourgogne is the highly regarded restaurant at the Carlos Pulenta bodega (take the bodega tour, skip the lunch at LB). Pulenta is one of the major players in Argentine wine. You would think a gig like that is worth hanging onto and certainly would trump working in a wine store. Except in Mendoza where being in the right place at the right time can make a career. And The Vines appears to be the right place right now.
I tasted nine wines at the Vines. You will see they ran a gamut in price, varietal and region which is exactly what I wanted for my get-to-know-you tasting. I paid $50 which some folks might think is kind of pricey for spitting wine, and in Mendoza it might be. I cannot make a comparison since tasting wine in Mendoza is not like California where tasting rooms are open to the public all day long. Of course, that is excluding Napa's tonier wineries where $40 is de riguer and you do not get to keep the logo glass. [ed. tBoW reviewed Napa in this Nov 07 column] Wine touring and tasting is by appointment in Mendoza. Even though there are other tasting rooms in Mendoza (e.g., Marcelino Wine Shop, see Ellen at Posada de Rosas) I only tasted at the Vines. Otherwise, tasting took place at dinner (only Argentine wines were ordered) or wineries. I will say dining in Mendoza was outstanding.
Prices are in US$. Exchange is 3 pesos to 1 dollar.
2005 Gimenez Riili Perpetuum $10: Sparkling Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir) wine from Maipu grapes. The winemaker/owner is a partner in the Vines. No alcohol or vintage. Toasty with oak notes. Walnut and green apple flavors. Really nice. I saved some for the end and lemon had emerged. 12.6%. Can we get this over here soon?
2007 Lurton flor de Torrontes $8.50: I am in love with Torrontes. I started drinking it the first chance I had when I ordered an Alta Vista Torrontes for dinner at Tomo 1 in BA. This is Valle de Uco juice. It is herbaceous with no oak. Feline character and viognier flavors. 12.5%. Not my style but I bet the Missus would have loved it.
2007 Lorca Viognier $13.50: Soon as I mentioned viognier, Pedro Cubillos, my server, brought one out. Salty nose. Very floral in the mouth. Also Valle de Uco fruit. 14%.
Time out. The photo at top is from Valle de Uco which is a region 100km south of the city. It is higher elevation, closer to the Andes and tends to produce higher tone fruit with more acid and more alcohol. Much of the big international $$ is going into Uco valley.
2007 Jose L Mounier Torrontes $5: The Vines staff love this wine. So do many other folks [ed. see Oct 07 SFgate article] so I am bucking the trend. Mounier is the winemaking veteran of Cafayate Torrontes which is the cradle of great Torrontes. His is a good story. After producing great Torrontes wines for others in the region he has opened his own small bodega (winery), small production (8,000 cs) with 25 year old vines. Except it is not my style. Full bodied, subdued nose, viscous wine. Floral nose but just too heavy for me. 13%.
Time out #2. Torrontes was described to me as a cross between Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat and/or Criolla. In fact, it is a cross between Muscat and Criolla Chico which is the Mission grape. It is not related to the Spanish Torrontes grape and aren't you glad we got that straight. It has weight (viscosity) which comes from Criolla. It has an herbaceous and/or floral nose which comes from the Muscat. However, I also tasted and smelled that distinctive Riesling petroleum component along with bright acids when made in a certain style. It comes on like a cross between a Ligurian white and a Saarburger Riesling (think Zilliken). In the least is a great summer wine. At best I think it can make a great white wine.
2007 Altosur Sophenia Sauvignon Blanc $12.50: Pedro strikes again. Mention Sauvignon Blanc and here it comes from the high altitude Finca Sophenia vineyard. Grassiness, grapefruit in the nose. What I would expect from SB. However, sexier bottom fruit. "What do you mean?" inquires Pedro. OK. the wine is weightier than I would expect. It has substance and elegance. This is from a 4,000 foot vineyard named Altosur in the Uco valley so it also has higher alcohol and acid. That's sexy isn't it? I would buy this.
2002 Carmelo Patti Cabernet Sauvignon $20: Pedro poured this with pride. Carmelo Patti is a beloved long-standing local winemaker from Sicily who remains independent and true to his family style winemaking methods. Production is 50,000 cs. of which 14,000 are Cabernet Sauvignon. With 6 years on it maturity was expected. The nose is exotic with black pepper and black olive. The aroma is not heavy or dominant like we often find in Napa cabs. Color is dark red brick showing some age. Flavor is acidic but balanced. Weight is light to medium. It is like a southern Italian wine, even Sicilian. Style is old world. 13.5%. Too bad I rarely drink Cabs. But you might.
, $45: This is the big ticket big rep wine of which there are many. The Familia Zuccardi label is the premium label for one of Argentina's largest (1.25 million cases) enterprises. Call it your Argentina trophy wine. Beautiful King's robe, regal red. Strong middle palate. Otherwise pretty boring...and over-priced (although "good value" for a trophy wine). 14.5%
2005 Bressia Monteagrelo $26: Finally a Malbec and a really good one. I think it is remarkable and indicative of the diversity among Argentine wines (and the knowledge of Mr. Pedro Cubillos) that I tasted 6 wines at the Vines before getting to a Malbec. And this was the one to taste first. Bressia is a bit of a mystery. The website is under construction and I am not sure where is the winery and I did not visit there (even though Ellen offered it just did not work out). However, there is no mystery about his wines which are roundly admired and recommended. This is his Malbec from the Monteagrelo vineyard. The nose was aromatic with berry notes. Distinct chocolate and cherry flavors. Good acid. Medium weight. Seductive. We need this wine here. 13.5%.
2003 La Azul Reserve $20: A blend of Malbec, Cab Sauv and Merlot from Flavia Monterolla in the Uco Valley. She is the rare woman winemaker and bodega owner. Production is 500 cs.
We attended a wine dinner sponsored by a couple of nice gentlemen who call their business Wine Vine & Dine. The theme was Cotes du Rhone and they poured seven representative wines (three white). They purchased most if not all bottles at Du Vin in West Hollywood, a premium retailer with one of the best French wine selections in the city.
The dining room doubles as a deli. The chef served spuds, quiche and lamb chops (yummy). One diner wondered what he had against vegetables. The food was good but the wines were the main act.
A tasting is always something of a show. Why do people go into the wine business? The business is something like entertainment. It has glamour, lifestyle, enough complication to make it "intellectual". Ultimately, it comes down to the actors. Robert Mondavi was like Caruso or The Three Tenors. Everyone can't be Pavarotti, however, there is plenty of room for lesser stars (long as you are not sharing a booth with Luciano). Nyuk nyuk [ed. cue Curly vid].
And in the wine business you always end up with the wine. Here is what Joe and Will of VWD served up.
2006 Abel Clement Cote du Rhone Blanc $10: Blend of Claret, Grenache Blanc and Picpoul. Pale yellow. Light, fresh, just enough tartness in the flavor. Perfect to begin the tasting. 13%
2005 Condrieu Cave de Chante Perdrix $29: I am not fond of Viognier. Others at our table liked this wine just fine. I usually write the same notes...foxy, flinty, dry. The guys talk about peaches. I only taste the pits. This is not bad wine by any measure. It is nice to drink (if you like Viognier). Chalk it up to a bad marriage between the taster and the grape. 13.5%
2004 Cairanne Vieux Clocher Cotes du Rhone Villages $10: Strong red color. Tannic, lightweight body, toasty, dry. Opens with 10 minutes. Taste the grenache. Me likey. Good value. Not sure I would buy it over something else. 14.5%
2003 Guigal Cote Rotie Brune et Blonde $80: Every show has to have a big number, the show stopper (we hope). Like Le Marseillaise in Casablanca. This was tonight's show stopper. Syrah from the most well known producer in the Rhone. And it was excellent. The glasses were tough for getting much aroma. Not with this wine. Roasted nuts. Middle weight body. Dense, blacquisimo cherry fruit (that is very very dark cherry flavors). Beautifully made and wonderful to drink. I prefer these wines to most home grown syrahs which, it seems, have to be over-ripe in order to achieve this density and weight. Of course, I would never pay $80 for this bottle. I would rather spend twice as much for an aged La Landonne! Hey - 13%!
2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Lieu dit Les Combes d'Arnevel $39: Grenache based blend. Joe points out that as many as 14 different varietals can go into the CdP blend. Maybe that is why I rarely cozy up to a CdP wine. This one is light, with dark fruit. It is also spiny which in my vocabulary means it is lean, somewhat rigid, but not austere. 14.5%
2005 Gigondas Cuvee de Beauchamp Chateau de Montmirail $34: Imported by Beaune Imports. This should be the star as the 2005 vintage has been highly touted. Darkest wine of the evening. At first, I am put off. Too deep. The master beckons. Violets in the nose and flavor. Can taste the alcohol. After a rough start it comes together. Now I am liking it more. Getting balanced. Another example of a syrah wine that is not overripe but has plenty of stuffing. May be my favorite wine in the group. 14.5%
NV Muscat Beaumes de Venise Vignerons de Beaumes de Venise Vaucluse $21: A dessert wine. Golden color. Tastes like a young Sauternes, sauvignon blanc peach and chalkiness. Almond, wax. Very nice. 15%
Nice show.
The wine economy update:When I wrote this post about a month ago in advance of this publication preceded the greatest economic event in our lifetlme. The current financial crisis in world markets has bearing upon what we will be buying and drinking over the next couple years. It is more important than ever to find value wines and avoid the vinous equivalents of institutions deep into credit debt swaps
The end-of-days folks are getting new airtime. tBoW finds that contemplating the mass psychology of cataclysmic disaster scenarios makes it all the more important to attend to more rational minds breaking new ground in their own way.
New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov recently published a column that addressed the "intersection of price and value". It is definitely worth a read. With the economy slipping into darkness we are going to be reading a lot more about the broader issue of price and value - a favorite and frequent tBoW subject. Click here to read a pdf version of "Modest Luxuries for Lean Times" posted with permission from Mr. A.
tBoW interviewed an industry insider who has seen plenty of ebb and flow over the past 30 years. Here is what he sees in his looking glass. (1) Trophy wines are a dead market and have been for 6 months. After all, even Sumner Redstone had to sell off stock at depreciated values to cover his margin calls. (2) We will be seeing more and more wines form South Africa and South America because they are the only wine producing nations that can compete at the sub-$10 level with Two Buck Chuck. (3) California wines have to recalibrate and re-negotiate in order to avoid pricing themselves almost completely out of a declining consumer market. Look for this to be a painful process that will not be realized until 2010 as California vintners hang on to the vapor from their Mondavi-style hangover.
And this is just the start. Here is what tBoW was thinking about a few weeks ago.
The Canyon Bistro in Topanga Canyon has been open less than a year. The history of dining establishments in Topanga Canyon is checkered, to be blunt. Topanga is the canyon where time stands still. 
I suppose time also stands still in East LA where mariachis and homies have been alive and kicking for more than 60 years. The Topanga equivalent is hippies, pot and artists...since the 60s.
The last decent restaurant predictably folded [ed. ca 1993] undone by Topanga's finest hippies, artists and reefer. The place was a home with a fireplace masquerading as a dining establishment. Dining was very relaxed.
Steaks were broiled on a grill in the fireplace in the dining room. [ed. That had to be out of code] Sometimes you had to remind the waiter the steak was ready to come off. 
Service was a direct function of what weed was in the canyon that month. All the servers were stoned. We saw Steve Guttenberg in there a couple of times [ed. and Rebecca Romijn in Canyon Bistro]. Now it's an "antique" clothing store.
The Canyon Bistro is sober and quite charming. The tBoW team hopes they make it. Service is alert, food is prepared well, and the wine list is decent. One recent evening we brought in a wine and ordered one off their list.
1996 Rochioli Little Hill Pinot Noir $475 (today online): If I had to pick a favorite Rochioli pinot noir this would be it. 1996 was a very good vintage in Russian River. The lineup used to be East Block, West Block, Three Corners and Little Hill. The color on this 12 year old wine is cherry red. The nose is exotic in the way Broadbent describes the exotic nose of Mouton as Chinese spices. We have tea, truffles (funk), cardamon. Indian spices? There is acid in the front. Fruit is high toned. It all settles down and wasn't this a very fine bottle of wine? 13%
2006 Louis Latour Macon Lugny "Les Genievres" $42 (on the list, $20 retail): Stony, citric. Green apples. Mineral-like and lean. No oak. tBoW prefers this style of Chardonnay. Very nice bottle. 13.5%
2005 Grange des Rouquette Marsanne Viognier$8: A Robert Kacher Selection from the Languedoc. Chalky nose, lightly woody, call it balsa. On the lean side. Some honeydew melon emerges but it is too late. Lost interest. Probably one year past prime! 13%
I know what you're thinking. Where is Steve Guttenberg now? Find out easy enough online. Just turned 50. Hot work period was in the 80s. Still works on stage, Dancing With The Stars showing off a "hot press" facelift. Playing it a little safe. Best line from his IMDb bio "Spent a week volunteering at the Houston Astrodome after Hurricane Katrina hit". Bravo.
Scarface loses the election and gazes on our new world of economic chaos and the unavoidable destruction of a false history. tBoW apologizes for his morose mood. While I am happy with our presidential choice and hope his long coattail brings with it sweeping changes in our economy and political culture, I know the road ahead will be very rough.
Well. Let's talk about wines.
2006 Magnien Bourgogne $30: What's not to like? If you ever want to know the difference between old and new world Pinot Noir here it is. tBoW says this entry level wine is perfect because (1) the price/quality ratio is there, 2) the wine is very nicely made, and (3) it will drink well for a few years. Concentrated dark fruit we seldom see domestically (excepting McKenzie Mueller and other certain Carneros styles). Good spine-firming tannins. I held it four days after which it showed a spiciness. Selected by the team at North Berkeley Wine through their Beaune Wine Club which is one club I kept because they always send wines that have great price/quality ratio, $75 every other month. Delicious. 13%
2005 Anglim Viognier BIen Nacido $~25: Steve Anglim makes two Viogniers one each from Bien Nacido and Fralich vineyards. The Fralich is local to Paso and Bien Nacido is in northern SB County. Purchased this in Paso. Anglim did not have a "visiting" winery then. He had a retail shop in the train station. That was when he did everything from tend vines to bottle to pack cases to hand sell. He may still be doing it! This is a pretty tasty example of Central Coast Viognier. More candy cane than feline. Nice if you like Viognier. The alcohol, which is typically Paso, does not overwhelm. 15.3%
2000 Clos du Val Estate Carneros Pinot Noir ~$30: A guest brought this to dinner. Nice pick. Has the dark Carneros fruit reminiscent of a McKenzie Mueller Pinot Noir. By comparison, Acacia Carneros Pinot Noirs are quite fruity, a style that is not as attractive to tBoW. At 8 years it was showing very nicely. Cinammon and smoke are vineyard characteristics and present here. Clos du Val, started by Bernard Portet, is 35 years old, a real Valley veteran from the 70s boom years. They have 150 acres in Stags Leap and 180 in Carneros. He knew he wanted to make a Napa Cabernet and a Carneros Pinot Noir. Cannot fault his judgment. Clearly the Cab line is more successful. One rarely sees or hears from the PN line. A bit more rustic in style, earthiness not barnyard. Fell apart a bit after 90 minutes. Who knew Clos du Val had vineyard in Southern Napa? 13.8%
Just because the economy is in the tank does not mean we cannot enjoy fine wine. Huddling with pals amidst the economic collapse can prove a good tonic. You just have to know how to balance the U20s with the O50s. Here is our plan for finding a way to balance U20 selections with O50 [ed. over $50] indulgences. 
Purge your cellar and scour the sales bins at local high end retailers for the O50s. Hit the Kirkland bins for the U20s. Pressure your wine pal into playing the piano (no please OK). Now you can create some spice and verve for a special event like Valentines Day at the home of a dear pals. We had our own little V Day massacre with IGTY's [ed. igottatellya] Williams Selyem collection showing how it all gets done.
Presto NV Prosecco Brut $10: Nothing special here however a sparkler is a good place to begin an evening. This is dry, not fruity like I would expect from Prosecco. If you were buying a sparkler for a party of 100 this would be a great selection. Picked up at Whole Foods. 11%
2007 Louis Jadot Macon Villages $12: I liked this wine. Another bargain U20. Stone fruit (as they say) meaning the fruit is not way ripe. Reminds me of fruit pits in your jugo. In a good way. Dry. Easy quaffer. Quick finisher. What's not to like?
Root:1 Sauvignon Blanc $8: A Kirkland Nation wine presented in a brown bag. Yup. We tasted it blind which was fun. Picked it out as Sauv Blanc immediately. That was easy. Grassy style. Of course that also threw us to California which we amended to New World [ed. cheaters]. It is the Chilean juice from ungrafted vinifera root stock that is all over Costco. The Cab is all the rage and this was pretty good too. This wine has stuffing meaning it is a bit weighty in viscosity. Bitter in the mid palate like a wheat grass drink you get at the spa. Lemon grass too. Another great buy and I guess we can all say tough times demand smart U20 buying! I prefer the Ugni-Colombard reviewed elsewhere but this works also for 75% the cost.
2001 Rochioli Estate Chardonnay~ $70: Rich rich rich. Closed at first. Continued to open for more than an hour. Toasty and buttery on the nose and in the mouth. Technicolor flavors and lush. Dotoré detects a note of tropical fruit and claims it is papaya. Yes. This is the Estate bottle not one of the vineyard designated wines. Like its brother Estate Pinot Noir it is a consistently well-made wine that you can always count on...if you are willing to pay. Of course, next to the vineyard wines these are cheap. Wine of the evening. 14.2%
2005 Linne Calado Contrarian $40: 64% Rousanne and 36% Viognier. Smoky, dry. I can taste the Viognier and I do not like Viognier. This was a better wine for me a few years ago but now I am displeased. I also wonder - and here is my beef with Linne Calodo and others - if this is a common blend in the Rhone or SW France? I think not. Tell me I am wrong. Matt Trevanian, who is a winemaker of well deserved and considerable reputation, likes to blend Zinfandel with Cabernet and Syrah and other grapes that are non-traditional and IMHO do not work very well together. Chalk it up to my problem but I was disappointed. I expected more having fond memories of at least two earlier bottles.
2006 Williams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $70: Yummy. Onto the Williams Selyem wines. I would hope the next time this winery sells it goes to Sees Candies. They are that yummy. This has some smoke. Color is kind of dark although each of the next three wines from WS are actually kind of light for California wines. Of course, that is not precautionary for WS Pinot Noir. It is a good sign. This wine is...delicious. Showing forward fruit and softness than the other two which have their own charms.
2006 Williams Selyem Sonoma County Pinot Noir $70: A bigger. More full in flavors and pronounced nose. Also forward and kind of simple. These are the entry level WS wines meant for early consumption.
2006 Williams Selyem Central Coast Pinot Noir $70: The most distinctive of the set. Pronounced cola and sasparilla flavors. A bit more acidic but not volatile in the least. tBoW's personal fave in the set. What a great host, eh?!?!
2001 Beaulieu Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah Signet Collection $15: As happens at most tastings somebody has to tap the host to pour something for which he feigns reluctance. Call it the old "I can't open that it was gift" ploy. That was this bottle. Sooprise sooprise!! The wine was quite tasty. 2001 was a terrific vintage and even though Diageo owns BV with the same effect of Chrysler buying Mercedes Benz or Ford taking over Jaguar this was a decent bottle of wine. Warm, soft, rich, bit of mint chocolate. After a little time it shows some Napa valley floor, redwood flavors. Good luck trying to figure what vineyard(s) where. 13.5%
Best finish of the evening was Dotore' showing off his new chops on the keyboard. Nice.
Jim Morrison sang "Strange days have found us. Strange days have tracked us down. They're going to destroy our casual joys<. Can we use his gravesite as metaphor for the 2008/9 economic collapse? His fevered fans have trashed his grave like our fevered wall streeters trashed...you get the point. I hope we all listen to his moody lyrics and act with the anger he showed singing. Troubled rock stars are a cliché today. We can only hope boom-to-bust traders, AIG executives and hedge fund managers will become tired clichés tomorrow. I can foresee a new era of celebreality shows that replace the Bad Girls Club; maybe Broke Brokers and Bad Bankers, or TARP Traders; re-enact the hey-day of unbounded greed and self-interest. Thursdays at 9:00 on the WB. Strange days have come!!
Yeh!!
tBoW reports on wines from yesterday and today, encountering mysterious memories along the way.
2005 Domaine Labet Cote de Jura Flor de Savinin $27: Purchased at Palate wine shop. Let's not mince any words. This is a strange wine. tBoW has actually reviewed it before. [ed. recently too] It is so unusual it can only be likened to a Patti Smith song you have to hear at least once more to make sure you did not get it. It is plenty acidic but not volatile.
The flavors are dry lemon. Oh? You have never enjoyed dried lemon in your Omega Trek mix? Flavors are bright, woody. Izit oxidized? We thought so before. We are not sure how we feel about it this time except that it is not offensive and it is interesting. I would not say it is an Amy Winehouse of a wine because its picture isn't everywhere you turn...but it is STRANGE.
2007 Barrel 27 "High on the Hog" French Camp Vineyard, Paso Robles White Wine $20: Barrel 27 is a small production, sourced-wine project from the Central Coast. This Rhone-style white is a blend of 54% Viognier with the balance Roussanne and Marsanne. All the fruit is from Paso Robles' French Camp Vineyard. An oily texture, full bodied, balances the foxy Viognier and more sour Marsanne/Rousanne fruit. Good to know interesting wines are still coming out of Paso. tBoW would buy it. 15.1%
2000 Wellington Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard "that time forgot" $n/a: When tBoW was still buying bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1980s he "discovered" Wellington VIneyards in Sonoma. All they do is make a small amount of superior quality Sonoma wines which they sell at bargain rates - for Sonoma and Napa, anyway. The story helped hook tBoW on the wine club. A doctor purchased an old Italian farmer's small acreage vineyards blessed with old varietals scattered throughout the flat acreage. The farmer always sold off the fruit holding back a small batch for his own "red" commonly referred to as a field blend. This was a nice way of saying he had no idea what vines where planted where on the site. The MD, being a scientist, DNA-identified each and every plant on the property. His son became the winemaker and they began to blend the most interesting bottles using the now known locations of old old vines on the property and properly labeled the contents. They also planted new vines and bottled the same old Chardonnay and Cabernet. The most intriguing bottling from Welly-Welly was the Noir de Noirs Old Vines which blended four varieties from the estate and their neighbor, the more famous Pagani Ranch, including Alicante Bouschet, Lenoir, Grand Noir and Petite Bouschet. The stuff was big and hearty without being overwhelmingly acidic or ripe. It was just thick and warm, like a Pendleton blanket. This estate Cabernet Sauvignon is soft and tasty at 9 years old. It is fruity more like a Mendoza Malbec than a Sonoma Cab.
If you love Cabernet Sauvignon from California's premium winegrowing regions for this varietal (Napa and Sonoma) you really should look at Wellington Vineyards. Great wines at great value. Please note the label posted is from a current release and not the 2000 bottle reviewed.
Kings Ridge Pinot Noir $18: Nice
light ruby red color more like Burgundy than an Oregon Pinot Noir. Willamette Valley floor juice sourced form multiple vineyards. Has Oregon smoke, some acid, on the beety side of the flavor spectrum for Pinot Noir. Kings Ridge is a somewhat new project worth checking into once again. tBoW has a wine trip set for Portland in May so maybe we will encounter the Kings Ridge crew? 13.11%
Who knew Argentina has a Promotion Centre in Los Angeles. Consul Adjunto Jose Cafiero sent out invitations to the right people who showed up on a lovely early fall late afternoon to check. Sr. Cafiero promoted six Mendoza wineries that would love to be represented in Los Angeles. All they need is an importer and/or distributor.
tBoW documented a March 2008 Argentina trip that left a powerful impression of the wonderful and abundant wines, the perfect growing conditions, and the excellent values. 
We may not have mentioned how gorgeous is the country and the people. Argentina has a preponderance of spectacular scenery and easy-to-look-at citizens. Today's post is peppered with handsome Argentines pouring their wines. Even their feet are attractive.
The tasting was set in the back yard of the Consul residence. Nothing fancy. Six wineries looking for partners. If there is a downside to Argentine wines it is the difficulty finding them. Distribution in the USA is at best sporadic which was the point of this exercise. A tasting like this is a great way to make a match.
Karma Wine Group showed five wines. The "story" is how a Tibetan guardian priest fled with the Dahli Lama and eventually settled in Mendoza where he started making wine. His wines were being poured by Gary Parker, the owner of San Diego's excellent WineSellar and Brasserie, a ground-breaking restaurant and wine store celebrating 21 years in business. Gary's once unique concept is now widely copied. These wines were all under $20 making Karma the best price to quality ratio table at the tasting. There were other wines we preferred but no other table with this consistency at the U20 price level.
2009 Karma Sauvignon Blanc $10: Fruity, slight grassiness. Fruity with a bubble gum aroma and flavor. Slightly tannic. Good wine at a great price. 13%
2009 Karma Chardonnay $12: 100% Steel fermented. No aging in oak. Good fruit. Perfect restaurant $5-pour-by-the-glass-wine.13.2%
2008 Karma Torrontes $13: Bright fruit. Clean flavors. Best in the flight. From Salta region where great Torrontes comes from. 13%
2006 Karma Cabernet Sauvignon Premium Reserve $18: Cherries on the nose. Gets 6 months French oak. Medium weight. Slightly vegetal that gives character. A U20 winner. 14%
2007 Karma Malbec Gran Reserva Old VInes: Did not get the price. Very nice middle weight wine. Good stuffing. Citric flavors characteristic of Maipu vines. Went back for it. 14%
Bodega Viniterra showed the typical lineup of entry, middle and top level reds. But they also showed a couple of unique bottles; 15 bottles in all! Grapes from Mendoza's premium Lujan de Cuyo region located at 3,400 foot elevations. The commitment to premium winemaking is evident.
2008 Viniterra Pinot Grigio $11: Delightful wine with a minty powder puff nose. Sweet but not too much so. Soft body, fragrant nose. U20 value wine. 14%
2008 Viniterra Viognier $15: No foxy flavors we dislike in the varietal. Like Malbec, another example of how the region or country changes the profile of a particular varietal. Nice enough. 14%
2008 Viniterra Chardonnay $15: Pour it by the glass in your restaurant. Cannot go wrong. 13.5%
NV Viniterra Sparkling Extra Brut Champenoise Method $22: 980% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. Very pale salmon. Yeasty nose. Mucho mousse. doughy flavors, dry. Very nice and low alcohol. 12.5%
2008 Terra Sparkling Malbec: Think of sparkling Buguey or Lambrusco. Only this is much nicer. Red color and a solid spritz. This wine could make it here. Not your fruity summer pink sparkler. A butch sparkling red. Very nice effort. 12.5%
2007 Viniterra Pinot Noir $16: Your basic New World fruity forward, middle weight Pinot Noir. If you like California Pinot then you will be very happy with this wine especially since you are going to pay half to a third of the normal California Pinot Noir price. Forward fruit with lots of cherry flavors. Mrs. tBoW liked it just fine thank you. 14%
2006 Viniterra Select Carmenere $18: tBoW missed the memo on the history of the Carmenere grape...you know - wiped out by phyloxera in Europe mid-19th century memo to be discovered in Chile in the 20th where it is used as the basic blending grape in red wines. That one. Highly perfumed nose. Tastes Italian with plenty acid and lean fruit, especially for Argentina. Violets in a glass. Kind of sweet like a ripe Sangiovese. 14%
2006 Viniterra Select Malbec $18: Fruity with plenty of stuffing. Middle weight and muscular. 12 months in French and American oak. Balanced and rich. Very tasty and excellent U20 value. Can they really sell it at this price? 14%
These are two of the best wineries presenting. Karma with its narrow range and Viniterra with everything under the sun represent the variety and range of wines available in Argentina. We present the other two that impressed in the next post.
Airport wine bar - it just sounds so desperate. Hardly. The help was knowledgeable and the wines were carefully, intelligently selected, and I could construct my own flight cherry picking from the ten flights offered. And the price was right. If I did not want a flight I could pick my wines and pour size from the well represented list. In short, they pretty much covered all the bases.
Next time you are in the Sacramento airport check out Vino Volo, a wine bar....in the airport. This brilliant idea belongs to Doug Tomlinson, a financial guy who enjoys wine and apparently spent a lot of time in airports wishing he could be tasting wine instead of poring over paperbacks or looking at boring golf shirts in the PGA store. He was also thinking up clever corporate names like Taste Inc. which is the parent company of VV. Voila Vino Volo which translates (cleverly) from Italian to English as wine flight. Currently, in addition to Sacramento, there are airport Vino Volos grounded in Seattle, Oakland, Detroit, San Antonio, Newark, JFK NYC, Philly, and DC.
Now, tBoW would not be touting this project unless the basic tBoW rules were being observed, to reiterate...interesting selection, good wines, fair prices. The prices on the list are high end retail, about 50% to 100% higher what you might pay for a bottle if you looked for it. I suppose that is the cost of doing business in the expensive retail space of an airport. However, the pours are fairly priced. Most importantly, we are not simply looking at Napa cabs...and remember I am in the Napa airport. Here is what we tried.
2008 Arger-Martucci VIneyards Viognier Santa Barbara "Iliad" $33: A central coast blend of mostly Viognier (at least 75% required to put the grape on the label) along with quite a few other varietals, e.g., Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat. Color is gold. Sweet, salty, melon flavors. Some tannic bite, middle weight which is heavy for a white wine. Not tBoW's style - too tropical - but still has appeal because it has bold flavors. Should be pretty good with oily foods. A good start for the Thanksgiving meal suggests the hostess. And she would be correct. 14.2%
2006 Cargassachi Pinot Noir $48 (wine list price): A nice contrast to recent earlier vintages from one of Santa Rita Hills two or three most coveted vineyards, made by the grower himself. As long standing as Peter is a grower (and it isn't that long) he is that much less as a winemaker. But he is getting better. This vintage shows a better made and more interesting wine than the 2004 or 2005, both reviewed elsewhere and earlier on this blog. There are smoky bacon whiffs on the nose. Color is light cherry red. Weight is gentle. Still a young wine. Very tasty with good pinot flavors and a lighter than usual for SRH alcohol level. Kind of pricey! 14.3%
2007 Il Matane Primitivo $29 (wine list): I am becoming more aware of Italian red wines on the nose! Like the flavors one often encounters a profound acidic backbone. Sometimes it is sharp; usually it is bracing, firm. This wine is dank and even sweaty on the nose. Some would say this is a sign of bret. Not in this case. No sweaty socks. Sweeter. Ripe raisin flavors. Dark flavors, chocolate (but not dark chocolate), spicy like chili! Vineyards are on the Adriatic coast, the Manduria appellation. It is a "finished" wine. Compact. A bomb but not a ripe one. The most interesting of the flight. 14%
Why didn't you think of this?
I don't care how rich you are...you can't grow decent wine in LA. Besides, there are too many other reasons to not even try. The idea already failed 100 years ago when Southern California was the state's wine center. Most of the planting was northeast of the city in the high desert. Prohibition shut down the locals and the state's wine capital moved to north to the Central Valley, Sonoma, and Napa. SoCal never recovered...until now.
There are 150 new acres planted to vinifera in the Santa Monica Mountains representing 50 vineyards. Do the math...these are small plots. Who are these mad vintners? Growing vines and making wine is not like putting in a pool with a slide. Acreage under 5 acres makes it very hard to turn a profit since 1 acre will yield only 75 cases of wine. Undeveloped land in Santa Monica Mountains makes developers drool. Planting vineyards where they see condos or gated McMansion "communities" must drive them nuts. Be serious. 
You have to have money to burn to do this. And they do. They include actors and folks who sold a very successful business like the Cheesecake Factory or Lowes Hardware; or ran hedge funds or got rich selling helicopters. God knows. Some people say you get a tax break if you plant vines because that will throw your property into a lower tax bracket. But that is not why they are doing it. I think many of this new corps are wine snobs, grape geeks, the kind who say things like "great wine is not a matter of price but of availability".
So what about the wines? Visit Cornell Corner off Troutdale Road which is off Kanan Dume Road which is in the Conejo Valley which is one valley north and outside of Los Angeles...and find out. Now tBoW thinks Cornell is exactly the kind of cheesy name a developer would come up with. But it ain't. Cornell has been a three building outpost on the old stagecoach route more than 100 years. If you drive there over Mulholland Highway from Calabasas the way everyone once came it IS a long way. But if you take the 101 and exit at Kanan it's only 5 minutes on the way to the beach.
The new plantings are barely 10 years old. There is a big dog in the region, the
Semmler property with just under 100 acres planted. They have their own tasting room and a cave with 300 year old Chumash cave paintings of the Spanish Portola expedition on horseback. They recently handed over the winemaking to a real winemaker so soon there will be more to do than see the cave.
tBoW visited the Cornell Winery and ate at the Old Place next door in a downpour which only added to the 
wonderful atmosphere of both settings. Cornell Winery is not a winery but a tasting room for local labels and gallery for local artists. The building, built in 1870, was refurbished by Denise and Tim, who own the "winery" and the restaurant next door. The restaurant is a local haunt having existed out in the boonies for more than 50 years before the new 101 was built in the 70s, when tBoW and the Mrs used to hitchhike the old inland road with two dogs. True story.
Cornell features Malibu and Santa Monica producers and vineyards. A few of the labels source juice from other regions, e.g., Santa Barbara and Lodi. However, the majority are home grown. Now, I Gotta Tell Ya, [ed. glowering above] there have been a few articles about the new winery projects. They are always portrayed as vanity deals which is easy to believe because the conditions for growing wine on this stretch of the California coast are not exactly ideal. The most notable "success" story is Rosenthal's Bordeaux blend which is a blueprint for what not to do; grow Bordeaux varietals, and price it like another "collectible" Napa fruit bomb. If Paso Robles is wrong for Cabernet Sauvignon then Malibu must be even worse. The Semler project has produced thousands of cases of very mediocre wine for 10 years. At least they have planted Rhone style grapes. One thing is absolutely certain...you cannot grow Pinot Noir where people surf! So what can we reasonably expect of more newbies working 1 to 5 acres? Smaller tragedies? Here is what we tasted. We were surprised.
2008 Rosenthal Surfrider Sauvignon Blanc $19: Edna Valley juice in a "New Zealand" style which means grassy. It is green and grassy. 10% of sales benefit the Surfrider Foundation which is very very nice. 14.4%
2008 Republic of Malibu Beach Blonde $22: The label name winner for Republic. The wine is 91% Chardonnay and the rest Viognier which is not really discernible. However, the wine is nice with a smoky nose, light gold color, buttery feel. Estate grown on two acres in Malibu. Tiny production. A very restrained and much admired 13.5%. Bravo!
2008 Republic of Malibu Rosé Pink Lady $19: Grown in Corral Canyon which has to be the same 2 acre vineyard, right? Chalky nose and flavor. IGTY likes it because it is not sweet. And that is correct. However, Mrs. tBoW likens the flavor to Kaopectate which is probably not where the winemaker was aiming. Not a bad wine but you can buy a lot of great Rosés for under $20. 13.9%
2007 Cantara Barbera $32: Juice from Lodi which is a long way from Malibu. The owners live in Camarillo which is close enough I suppose. Apparently, they do not have any Malibu plantings. They must be very friendly. For such a young wine it shows very little tannins. Instead the wine is soft and sweet. Tastes Italian. Denise says it is a great everyday wine for any meal. Yes but not at this price. Another much appreciated low alcohol wine at 13.5%.
2007 Milan Vineyards Maximilian $45: It was only a matter of time before we met a bottle named after a much-loved family member. It's like the group of people who buy paintings of landscapes and flowers. These vineyards are in Topanga Canyon [ed. tBoW loves Topanga]. This is a more sophisticated wine. It is an outlaw blend of 50% Merlot, 25% Cab Sauvignon and 25% Syrah. And it is grown in my backyard! Great mouth feel, silky smooth and well balanced. Medium weight, soft fruit but high alcohol at 15%. An impressive effort.
2006 Hoyt Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon $19: Off the map and off the web! But a wine with some age. And it tastes like Cabernet Sauvignon; meaty, chocolate, some veggie quality. Slight sweetness. Mrs. tBoW likes it. Our second U20. 14%
2005 Malibu Valley Vineyards Reserve Syrah $15: It's a vintner like this that gets tBoW excited. All his wines are $15 so people will try them! Brilliant! These new winemakers stuff their dog's beds with hundies so push the bottles out the door ferkrissake. And this is nice wine with a little age. Nice dark robe. Some BBQ sauce on the nose which I like. Some tannins which with the decent fruit shows it is trying to be serious. Taste the vanilla oak. Wonder how long? The hands down U20 winner! 13.6% makes it another big drinkability winner.
NV Saddlerock Old Vine Tawny Port $20: Saddlerock is the second label of Malibu Family Wines. This is a nice non-vintage wine. The oldest plantings on the Semler ranch are Cab and Merlot from 1987. Wonder what is in here. Nice nutty flavor with a caramel core. Nice wine. 19%
The Old Place is quite a place and definitely worth a visit. If you are coming to LA skip Universal Studios or Rodeo Drive and go here instead. Read about the former owner Tom Runyon and learn something about the way it once was in the Malibu Hills at the link above.
We bought two bottles at Cornell and toted them into The Old Place.
2007 Malibu Vineyards Vortex Sangiovese $39: The price is too high and tBoW got fooled by the vortex of Malibu winery names thinking this would be the $15 bottle by Malibu VALLEY Vineyard. The wine tastes like Sangiovese. It had that nice acidic backbone with a lean kind of sweetness. Mrs. tBoW does not like this style. It is Old World which is somewhat surprising for a New World wine. Light body weight. Had it after the killer wine of the evening which was tough competition. Great alcohol level...12.9%
2008 Malibu Sanity Pinot Noir Schetter Vineyard $42: Hey! I thought I told you to not even try to grow Pinot Noir down here ya knucklehead. IGTY said we had to buy this bottle. He was paying so tBoW said go ahead. There was every reason to expect something unusual...even bizarre. If you can't grow Pinot Noir in Paso Robles how can you grow it 200 miles further south? Well, put me in the barrel and stomp my fruit. This was very good wine. Pretty, light cherry red color. Delicate weight and delicately balanced flavors. 
Cherry style with bacon bits. So easy to drink. You have never had a Santa Rita Hills Pinot as light on its feet. Paul Lato makes sinewy if genteel wines that are still masculine. This is 100% girlie and completely charming. Think Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear. After dinner tBoW spotted a bottle of 1998 Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche on the bar (empty) at the Old Place. I started up a conversation with Tim (proprietor in both entities) and mentioned the Sanity Pinot. "Oh yeah, that guy is a total Burgundy freak." Well no shit. 14.5%
