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

Summer is really starting to slip over the horizon. I can feel Fall in the evening air. We have to close the doors at night it is so cold!! Brrrr. It is also football time.The Trojans are rocking (even though we played like plonk against the Huskies) and the other local team has faltered as expected. I posted a pic of the band for the #1 team in the country at the Idaho rout at the end of this entry.

Something nice about the end of summer, post-Labor day, pre-Halloween weeks is that we find ourselves with open weekends. No plans. Relaxing and playing it by ear is nummah wun. A good time to hang out in your 'hood. So naturally I am going to visit my local wine shop, Woodland Hills Wine Company (WHWC). I have been instructed by the Connecticut Mouse that I must get my hands on a bottle of Sagrantino post haste. Mouse has recently returned from Barolo where he stayed at Da Felicin and LOVED every pour and bite. Here is a photo of da man Nino at da place Da Felicin. Somehow in the calculus of wine pals I am now beholden to Mouse to get over to Paul Smith's emporium, WHWC, ASAP. Mouse has already foraged around the website and verified Paul has at least one bottle of the Sagrantino.

WHWC is humming at 2:30 on Saturday. I spot super-sales guy Steve Gulden immediately and present the details of my quest. He finds the bottle and asks me if I would care to sample the 2005 Beaujolais being poured in flight at the wine bar. I have a couple hours until USC kicks off in Lincoln so why not?

WHWC (aka Paul's) just gets better all the time. The sales team has always been fun. Paul sets the ribald tone and the wine flows. The wine flights (fLights not fights) at the bar are always interesting and well considered. Pricing is quite fair. Stemware is top notch. What's not to like? What I love is the 2005 Beaujolais flight. I have tasted some of these wines but not all.

There are 2 Trenel wines - St Amour, Morgon Cote du Py; a Pierre-Marie Chermette Fleurie les Deux Roches; and a Vissoux Morgon. Paul has something special with Trenel. I just do not see them anywhere elses and they are across the board excellent. Brittany is one of the reps pouring the 4 wines and she happily poses with Paul for me then gets her own pal to get a shot with Paul on her own camera. Doesn't Paul look great? I forgot what we talked about. I bought the 4 Beaujolais wines. How could I not?

When I got home Linda M. called and invited us to her home for BBQ and whatever wine I would like to bring. Curious to learn what other wine lovers might think of a 2005 Beaujolais and pull something waiting long enough in the cellar I accepted the invite. Plus I adore Linda. OK. There is the setup for a casual afternoon and evening. Here are the wines.

2006 Mirassou Sauvignon Blanc ~$12: This was open when we arrived. The wine is quite nice. This category of wine (~$10 California wines from high volume wineries that make their stake in supermarkets) is meant for easy pickins. Mirassou competes with Gallo...and thank God it does. This is fine wine for the price. Well made, balanced, nothing challenging here. Easy to drink. It would never spoil a meal and it complements many. I saw the Wine Speculator gave the 2005 an 83 score. While I have never tasted the 2005 version I cannot imagine it was much different. The grapes for this wine come from all over the state so any vintage issues are washed out in the blending. Alcohol is admirably restrained at 13.4% You have to be a real s-n-o-b to rate this wine in the low '80s which is equivalent being tossed to the WS deepest dungeon.

2006 Quincy Domaine Fouassier $15: Now here is what you get for a few bucks more if you shop at WHWC and hit their floor stacks or the back wall as you walk in from the parking lot. This is also sauvignon blanc but instead of the goal being to to smooth out all the wrinkles this wine is all about the idiosyncracies of the region. The wine is aromatic with mild grassy aromas (sauvignon blanc, especially California and New Zealand SBs have profound grassy noses).
The flavors are mineral without beaucoups acid. Anise in the flavor. The wine is very well balanced. 12.5%. When I asked Steve at the counter what he thought of the wine he kept it simple "great wine for the price". Right. Take that Mr. Mouse!

2005 Trenel Chiroubles $16: Second review for this wine this summer. I said I needed to get more. Now I have more. Same fruit bomb ala' France. Among the 2005 Beaujolais this is the seductress. Who needs fruity California wines when we have fruity French wines from this vintage? The resemblance (to fruity Cal wines) is there although the nuances are important. Start with 13% alcohol - low by Cal standards. The black cherry fruit is still there. Dokkerm asks can it age? Will any of these 2005 Beaujolais be drinkable in a couple years? Do I realize how many fruit bombs from Santa Rita Hills he is sitting on? Yes...yes...and yes.

2003 Anglim Syrah French Camp Vineyard $35: Speaking of California fruit bombs, this wine falls in that group but remains captivating. The fruit bomb benchmark for myself and the good Dotore' has to be Kenneth-Crawford wines. When we first tasted these in 2003 it was an epiphany. We realized that the Santa Rita Hills were going to be the next great growing region and the next great set of California winemakers were coming out of SRH. And the winemakers of K-C were two guys to watch. A year later we were in deep reconsideration. The alcohol levels for these wines are...how to put this...high...maybe even excessive...out of control? We have a Melville Pinot that is more than 16%. The better winemakers get so much ripeness and extraction from the fruit that the alcohol is overwhelmed by it. At least upon release. Which leaves us with the nagging question...can wines with all this alcohol last? When the fruit fades will there only be vodka? But I digress. Mr. Steve Anglim makes very good wine and he is not even in SRH. He is in Paso. This wine is big and juicy. It is not thick as the Lone Madrone (which is a cabernet) but it definitely falls in with the K-C crowd. 15.4% alcohol. Glad I bought it. Glad I drank it. Had it with grilled steak. Just like they say you should.

1995 Pelissero Barbaresco Vanotu ~$40/$80: I am sure I paid around $40 but I have found it online closer to $80. This is my cellar wine that I took over to Linda's. Her guy - El Rocco - liked it mucho. I can see he and I will probably be sharing more wines in the future. He has a good palate. I was happy with this wine. The 1995 vintage is a toughie to count on. Same with 1993. When we returned from a Barolo vacation in 1998 I loaded up on 93 and 95 Baroli while I waited for 96 (I have always preferred 96 to 97 in spite of the hype). This wine has classic tar and roses in the nose and in the flavor profile. Baroli are like train travel; they need a little extra time to arrive. This took 15 minutes to open. The first whiff out of the glass complemented the first taste; dusky but not corked, some say "old world" when what they mean is lean and almost astringent. This is because the old world Barolo winemakers (Giacomo Conterno) still use Slovenian oak barrels the size of a scud missile to age the nebbiolo. Look at this photo I took in the cellar of a very famous Barolo wine house. No wonder the flavors can taste old world. But when a Barolo (and I should point out that this wine is from Barbaresco which is adjacent to Barolo and is often considered a younger sibling) comes into its own the wine is like no other. It is truly unique, seductive, fruity and lean, luscious and delicate. Wish I had another. I think the Dotore' needs to prune his Barolo stash. I really hope he doesn't give me a hard time on this rather urgent matter.

Up next...Trojans conquer all who face them. Still not safe to lay the points. Uncle Pete has shown his kind side. Now it's winning time.

Along with great meals, close friends, good cheer and all of that...holidays at the end of the year should include giving to others. Many have their favorite charity and many do not. Please check out my good friend's website www.givr.us and sign up to give something to someone you never knew existed but who you also know can use your help. The site is a networking center that connects those who want to give to those organizations that give to those in need.

Happy Turkey Day!! 386 years and counting of stuffing the bird and ourselves!

Here are a couple of recently tasted wines that probably will not make it to the celebratory dinner table. My list of wines that will are at the bottom.

1997 Dante Rivetti Bricco de Neueis Barbaresco: Not a U20 wine ever. However, it got into my cellar somehow (I am pretty sure it was a K&L purchase). Barbaresco is known for producing premium nebbiolo as in Barolo with the aging potential but without the brute muscularity of Barolo. Barbaresco is "feminine" in style. I always feel like Jeff Garlin when I write this. Feminine versus masculine? In wine? Silly? No...useful. Let's bring up an important question every wine aficionado faces sooner or later. Do you prefer wine older or younger? Masculine or feminine? Luca Brasi tells Marlon Brando "gawdfadda may your first child be a masculine child". Wine goes well with imagery. You will enjoy it more if you embellish it (true for many things). If the development of a wine were plotted on a curve it would look like some kind of parabola. Some wine writers like to refer to a wine as being in some developmental stage like adolescence, young adult, octogenarian, and the like. Once you set a model in your own mind you can begin placing wines as you drink them on that curve or in that stage of life. You might find, as I did, that I prefer a wine in its young maturity, like a 35 to 45 year old person. Still vibrant without the youthful blush. Exceedingly thoughtful and definitely capable of surprise. Muscular or sinewy. Charming without being nostalgic. These are wines before the crest of the curve. They are not yet in the descending plateau of middle age (45-55). We could go on and on, conjuring images of people who we liken to our favorite wines. Send in your thoughts. I definitely do not find wines advancing in age to be very interesting. They require too much support. I would not say this about older people (like myself!) but it is true that aging can bring many more disappointments beyond rescue. So it is for me with wines beyond the crest of the curve. Parabolas, people, gangster movies, find a metaphor and work with it! This 10 year old Barbaresco was browning at the edges with age. Weight is fine. Fruit is good with the pressed roses and minerality. I thought about the 1996 Ruchottes Chambertin recently tasted and considered how similar are these two wines. Both past their prime yet still stitched together like a fine ladies purse from the 19th century. The Barbaresco even had some baked bread on the nose. Otherwise the nebbiolo was like they say, textbook, and Dotore' picked it out right away. Barabrescos do age faster as a rule and they are not the same in depth as Barolos. This wine is more than ready to drink. I really should not wait too much longer...and I will not.

2003 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon ~$25: Bought this at the winery which
means we paid top dollar (>$25). Not my pick so that means you-know-who (she who cannot be resisted) had to have it. I did not find the wine interesting on site and I did not find it interesting with veal chops and mushrooms, lovingly prepared by you-know-who, which is a dinner this wine should complement perfectly. Justin is the premier cabernet grower and producer in Paso. I think Paso is not and never has been (e.g., HR Mountain Ranch) good cab country. Even though Justin does the best job of it (there are other collectible cab blend wines from Paso) and sells a lot of wine and has a very nice winery that should be on your tour...I just am not fond of their products. So bully for me. There are plenty of folks who love Justin wines, think my opinions suck, and I am glad for them. This wine had a tinny high acid flavor and not much of a nose. The fruit had a touch of veggie which is typical of Paso Robles cabernet (and Santa Barabara, too, as long as we are calling out regions where certain grapes just do not flourish). 14.5%

2005 Blaunfrankisch Burgenland $22: Not sure what to make of the producer as it appears to be a cooperative effort among Austrian producers. However, the wine is easy to appreciate. Blueberries, cool weather fruit. Some pepper but not sharp or tart. Nicely made wine. Easily the most fruit forward Austrian red I have tasted. Something like being the most flamboyant CPA. Blaufrankisch is a popular grape for Central Europe wine regions. Perhaps related to Gamay which we like mucho.

2002 Clendenen Family Vineyards Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Petite Verdot $24: Bought this at the Wine Cask Santa Barbara Futures Tasting in 2004. Wife picked it out and she made a great choice. Fruity spicy nose. Red berries in flavor. Cranberry and raspberry. Some sharp acid. Robust. Has aged well and will continue to. An unusual bottle but then Jim Clendenen is not exactly shy about trying something different. Only 100 cases so this bottle would be difficult to locate.

Now here is the Best of Wines thanksgiving day wine lineup. I will be toting the following wines north to the home of Uncle Alan and Aunt Betsy in hopes these humble gifts will complement her home cooked turkey and Kirkland lasagna!!

REDS
2004 Cote de Tablas
1997 Dante Rivetti Barbaresco
2000 Parador
something I buy at Kermit Lynch and/or North Berkeley

WHITES
2005 Domaine de la Motte Chablis Premiere Cru Le Vigneau
1990 Prince Poniatowski Aigel Blanc Mouelleux Vouvray
2006 L'Uvaggio di Giacomo Vermentino

DESSERT
last minute decision drawing from a nice batch of California stickies

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

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

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

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

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

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

[West Coast Choppers celebrate the holiday their way]

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

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

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

A cool and dreary start to the summer. LA is known for June Gloom (AM coastal fog that works great for early morning tee times) but this is something else. Overcast and slight drizzle for the unofficial start of summer. [ed. that was 7 weeks ago, now in the 90s plus daily] tBoW hosts three couples who are ready and willing to try anything we put in front of them. What more can one ask from a guest?

The tasting choices were like a juke box on Adderal. Bottles flew out of the cellar as fast as we could purge. We covered California pinots, white Bordeaux, a Paso white, and Baroli that must get consumed. As they say in film noir, the usual suspects showed up...and I do mean people and wines.

1996 Cantina Vignaioli Elvio Pertinace Barbaresco Vigneto Marcarini: Tobacco nose and flavors. Cherry puckering fruit, too many tannins for 12 years. Not enough fruit left. Anutha bummah from this selection. I think. 13.5%

1995 Sottimano Curra Vigna Masue Barbaresco: I am fighting with the 1996 vintage in Barolo. When I tasted the vintage in the Clerico cellar with Domenico himself it was magic. The wines were forward, rich and elegant. So many now are tough. The chance to taste this 1995, a "harder" vintage, more than ten years later was welcomed. One of the premium vineyards for this label. Tannic, puckering, needs decanting. Opens up after several hours. Still not very impressive wine. 13%

2000 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico: Costco purchase? Parker 90. Was opened last so it did not get much attention that evening. Next evening it was nice enough. You have to like Sangiovese, of which I am not a big fan. Too sweet and rakish. Balanced, sweetish, light to medium weight. Holding up nicely for 8 years old. 13%

2005 Wiliams Selyem Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir: If this were basketball this would be a "make-up call". The Chianti brought by "igottatellya" is all but forgotten whenever he opens his WS stash. Of course, wrestling a glass from him of the nation's finest domestic pinot noir is another matter. This is the first bottle opened from the 2005 and 2006 vintage resting comfortably in the tBoW cellar. So there are many more to come. [ed. cue wicked Dr. Evil laugh] We (the ubiquitous Dotoré) selected carefully, being sure to crack the wine most likely to be ready. This eliminates all the vineyard designated wines. Going through the sealed case and reading every label is a lesson in the marriage of a label with mega-cachet and lesser known Russian River-Sonoma growers. Seeing your vineyard on a Williams-Selyem label brings prestige. We hardly recognized the names. This wine had all the seductive flavors and qualities we associate with WS wines, especially the ones for "early" opening. Vanilla, creamy, forward fruit, some understated smoke. Soft but not flabby. It went quickly. Summer's challenge? Not to plunder the entire two cases. 14.2%

2004 Paul Lato Gold Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir: With the Italian debacle behind us and a strong pinot wind in our sails we headed for the Santa Rita Hills. Paul Lato is one of the finest examples of wines from this region. tBoW put it in a bag and poured on the heels of the Williams Selyem. More tannic but that is no surprise. Restrained at first. More structured than the WS but then this is the flagship. Showing smoke and dark dense pinot fruit. Not an SRH fruit bomb. Excellent. So different than WS and outstanding on its own. It is not Rochioli with all the complications and complexity. It is fine wine. Paul made 70 cases. 14.5% [ed. special credit to Grape-Nutz where I lifted the photo of Paul; an outstanding wine blog for all wines regional; highly recommended reading].

2006 Chateau Martinon Entre-Deux-Mers $10: Recommended by Hi Time Wine Cellar as a go-to summer white. Like white loafers. Reminds me of Jim Moore's l'Uvaggio di Giacomo Vermentino. All the bright acid, lush fruit. Almost oily in weight. Somewhat reminiscent of the Argentine Torrontes wines. Wonderfully good. Here is a nice review on the Entre-Deux-Mer region. Love that alcohol level. 12.5%

2006 Tablas Creek Vermentino: Another excellent white wine from TC. Strong, spiney, good acid. Sharp, lime flavors. Serious, even. But for current drinking. Anytime with anything. Before dinner. 14.5%

2005 Calot Morgon Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Unique: North Berkeley Wine purchase. Pinot pedigree (Morgon borders Burgundy) with Gamay fruit. Unusual. Read the NBW notes on the winemaker. Excellent, fruity but not overtly forward wine. Tannic balance. Will last a year in the cellar. Jump on it.

It is going to be a very good summer.