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

Independence Day produces the usual parties, BBQs and libations. July 4th is not necessarily a wine event like, for example, Thanksgiving. Burgers, dogs and potato salad call for robust reds so tBoW expects to see plenty of Cabernets while hoping to encounter some Rhone style wines as well. And if someone should pop the cork on some frothy fruity high acid white wines, well, that makes blowing off fireworks even better. Here is what we tasted over the holiday.

2007 Moulin de Gassac Guilhem $10: Brought here by Beaune Imports which is an importer to put on the radar. This wine fooled me. It is a traditional regional blend from Mas de Gassac, a Languedoc house notable for its cab wines. This tastes like Cabernet Franc but is a classic southwest France blend of Grenache (the Cab Franc masque), Syrah, Carignagne and CInsault. Somewhat sweet for an old world wine, mild flavors and light weight, almost minty or citric as in orange. Which suggests an Argentine Malbec from Maipu. But make no mistake this is not New World style. 2007 is a lighter vintage. The region is ~3000 feet in l'Herault which is rugged country. Nice U20 value wine. 12.5%

NV Michel Dervin Champagne $26: Acquired from K&L. A blend of 80% Meunier and 20% Pinot Noir. Citric, lemon like, good acid. Very nice. Bright and fresh the way we like it. 13%

2004 Massa Pertichetta Croatina $25: This bottle comes with pedigree and some buzz as an insider's wine. Local vendor WHWCo sold out of 13 cases in a couple days to "Euros". It is high alcohol with the ripe and rich flavors that must accompany high ethanol wines. Zin-like in flavor from the obscure and once nearly extinct Croatina grape (thus the buzz). Tastes Tuscan but it is actually from a lesser known region north of Piemonte. Not our style but a nice wine nonetheless. 14.5%

2007 P2 Pinot Noir Brousseau Vineyard $22: Low production wine made by newcomer under supervision from Brian Loring in Santa Rita Hills. He makes a red, green and blue label signifying different vineyards. This is Chalone AVA which is Monterey. Smoky nose, whiff of bricquets. Hits the upper register and when it opens up it tastes like Pinot Noir. This is lean by Santa Rita Hills PN (while the juice is not SRH the style definitely is) but fat by 2007 Oregon standards. Not the tBoW style but at a slightly more than U20 price it will please many. 14%

1999 Williams Selyem Rochioli River Block ~$100 online: Bologna on the nose, sweet and silky in the mouth. Long finish. Delicate.

2005 Williams Selyem Weir VIneyard $56 (on release): Sweet sweet and sweet, deep tomato red color. Vineyard in Mendocino. It appears these guys have to go further and further to find juice to meet the demand. Am I mistaken here? I think I am losing my flavor for WS wines. Maybe it is the summer season. 14%

2007 Cameron Hughes Los Carneros Pinot Noir Lot 10 $14: Interesting story; these guys are effectively negociants in the tradition of Jadot and xxxxx, buying small lot juice, bottling it under their line(s) and releasing them to market. Light but smoky nose and flavors. Nice enough wine. Easy to take the price. 8000 cases. 14.5%

Due to circumstances beyond our control we spent some time recently in Hawaii. tBoW's Island wine bruddah Kealia Poke (KP) filed this special report.

Hey aloha and here are some tips for where you can find wine in da islands. First, you never know where you are going to run into a Leroy 1986 Mazis Chambertin [ed. online price ~$200]. I sit down for a homey Chinese meal at Little Village in Honolulu's Chinatown near Hotel Street and dis guy next to me pulls that very bottle outta his canvas wine tote along with crystal stemware. No kiddin. Lucky me I know da label and he is so impressed he pours me not one but two tastes. Maybe becuz I pointed out 86 was off vintage but even in off vintage Leroy Mazis is going to be ono. Still fruity although past da crest but not slamming me into da reef. You never know bra'. Wow. And da food is incredible at Little VIllage plus dey get own parking lot.

If you traveling to Kauai you may think you got to ship your own bottles over for $175 a case. And maybe I would have agreed dis decision 2 years ago. But no more. The most beautiful island has at least two wine shops where the vinpire can pretty much satisfy wine craving beyond Clos du Bois. In Lihue you get Wine Garden which carries a decent domestic and international selection at fair prices. Ask for Colette. They also carry Kauai-grown cigars rolled in Honduras. If you further north like Princeville or Hanalei you should check out Kilauea Town Market & Deli. Rosie and Stan have assembled a very impressive assortment of California and old world labels. KP was stoked to see the Vermentino and Rose' from l'Uvaggio di Giacomo at $14. Hey, good price anywhere. And great wine too.

So save your bucks to play da Prince golf course or take da trip down Na Pali coast. One more ting - if you like Hawaiian coffee but tink only choice Kona den you should try Wailua coffee from Daga Hawaii. Al roasts and Dan packs. But you gotta pay Noreen. Dis stuff ono grinds and dey ship to you. Aloha buggas!

Thanksgiving is an extravaganza to be indulged at every age. The day is all about indulgence in your favorite activities. AMC has all the Godfather movies. There are college hoops, college football and the pros. A buncha abundanza. Many folks will make some effort to re-enact or recognize the "first" Thanksgiving. There will be plenty of political talk at the table. Some adult may look at everyone and suggest everyone say what are they thankful for today. Should that happen here is how tBoW will reply [ed. it did, he did].

I am thankful for being alive during an era of wine production that is wonderfully wide ranging in terms of regions and styles. I am thankful the Parker era is finally past. I am thankful that I am living at a time when local wine bars are sprouting like truffles in the fall. I am thankful Dotoré takes my calls and that I have plenty of great friends (IGTY, Mouse, M&J, Large) and family (Mrs. tBow, tBow kindt, the TOs) [ed. Turkey Queen stage left, her creation above] who have good palates and appreciate wine because it is so interesting.

What about the Bird? A partner-in-wine is essential if the guest list will be lengthy [ed. Large partner below]. The T-day meal has become a vinous gauntlet. The only thing missing is Sly Stallone to shoot/punch/explode the corks off the bottles. Yo Pinot! Cut me Mick. G'head. Do it.

Maybe you dined at your sister-in-law's like we did. Did she produce a fat brown bird or two bathed in truffle suffused butter? Stuffed with oysters and cherries? The only part of the Thanksgiving meal I will concede has gotten out of hand is the license for anyone to make an awful side dish...and serve it. This year it was a candied yam casserole topped with mini marshmallows. Like Billy Wilder's closing line from "Some Like It Hot", when Jack Lemmon pulls off his wig so Joe E. Brown can see he has just proposed to a man in drag Joe E. replies...nobody's perfect.

Here is what got opened.

NV Charles De Fere Blanc de Blanc $10: That is correct sir. A U20 champagne. Yeast streams out when the cork is pulled. Acidic, citric but not lemon or lime. Have to go to the flavor wheel. Has a bite. At this price, quality, alcohol level and cachet it is a wedding planners dream. From Du Vin, an outstanding wine shop in West Hollywood. 12%

2006 Domaine Alary La Grange $14: French Rousanne and another U20 winner. Good tannins with soft fruit makes it an easy Old World pick. Imported by Weygandt-Metzler makes it another easy pick for price and quality. 14.5%

2005 Sea Smoke Southing $50: The big ticket big rep wine of the day. Went so quickly tBoW could to get a second pour! Muscular strong nose. Alcohol is in your face. Extracted fruit. For my palate it is hard to distinguish Santa Rita Hills Syrahs from the Pinots. So excuse me for saying these wines are completely over-rated. There are quite a few other Santa Rita Hills fruit bombs out there less than half the price. Dotoré has a 2001 and a 2002 that will be sampled shortly. Large and tBoW Jr loved it. So call me a curmudgeon. Maybe if I could have gotten that second pour...? 14.7%

2005 Andrew Murray Syrah Roasted Slope Vineyard $30: Speaking of SRH Syrahs here is one of those often touted. Sweet juice. Nicely balanced. So unlike Old World Syrah, i.e., no roasted meats or coffee flavors. Like the other SRH/Central Coast wines best with food. 15%

2004 Linne Calodo Sticks and Stones $145 in Atlanta restaurant: If you like a big alcohol jammy fruit bomb this is your wine. Matt Trevanian likes non-traditional blends however this is his Rhone style from Paso Robles; 57% Grenache 23% Syrah 20% Mourvedre. In the moth it is still somewhat restrained for a really ripe wine. 15.8%

2006 Palama Mavro Salento $29: Picked this up at 55 Degree Wine shop in Atwater Village in LA. Charcoal nose less pleasant to The Large who likened it closer to paint thinner. However, it was agreed this Southern Italian wine from Puglia was the best with the Bird. Middle weight blend showing rich dense dark berry flavors that contrasted well with the Central Coast wines also strutting their stuff. 80% Negoramaro 20% Malvasia. Special thanks to blog with same interests for the label image! 13.5%

1985 Conti Boca $40: Score a double win for Italian wines. The Mavro took down the Bird Trophy while this rare and unusual wine took the Wine 'O Day hardware. This wine was contributed by Chef Tash (picut4d above) who learned of it at a Barolo tasting. It is in the northernmost corner of the Piedmont. At 24 years the wine is on the downside although that should not be taken to mean it is "over the hill" or any such diminution. This is sipping wine. It is like a great Barolo made in the style of the Piemontese old masters, think Giacomo Conterno and Rinaldi. Funky muted nose right away that opens for the next hour. Deep red brick color. The wine blends Nebbiolo with a local varietal Vespolina and sometimes Bonnarda. Like classic Barolo it is slow to open but as it does we get the delicate if masculine flavors of the high hillsides. All tannins have melded. Soft, pure, delicate dark fruit. A treat. This is the kind of wine that I will guarantee locals in the know [ed. Nino of Da Felicin] are sure to collect. Please read about the region's vinous history, this particular house, and this particular vintage! 12.5%

Black Friday observation...the watch collection from Burberry advertised in the Nordstrom catalog seems without inspiration. This is the best they can do? A Timexwith a "signature" plaid strap?

Before we get started with the new year let us reflect on the wine trends of 2009. [ed. New Year view from Malibu coast Jan 2 2010]

Mega trend #1: the rise of terroir in the USA. All of a sudden pockets of winemakers have discovered the meaning of wine that reflects a region instead of a style. First on this list are the small lot Willamette Valley producers of Pinot Noir and other vinifera. If you want to see and taste the best of these wineries and the general movement to smaller and better you should consider attending the 2010 Portland Indie Wine Fest (sometime in May).

Mega trend #2: the diminution of wine Parkerization goes hand in hand with the upswing in terroir consciousness.

Mega trend #3: general growth in all things local from wineries in Malibu and regions south of Salem OR to neighborhood retailers that feature value driven quality wines domestic and international. Let us hope this continues.

Mega trend #4: the collapse of the trophy wine market. While it may seem we are delighting in the misfortune of others, such would be the case, selectively. Hooray for winecommune.com and winestilsoldout.com. If we can root against the Dodgers and Bruins in support of the Angels and Trojans then we can also root against Big Ticket Monster Cabs, ridiculously expensive Aussie Syrahs, and root for the success of Tablas Creek (showing how a "large" producer makes the terroir commitment), McKenzie-Mueller (Carneros true), Uvaggio di Giacomo (proving terroir sourcing works) and Malibu Sanity (vision and just enough madness). We smile every time we get an email from a local retailer announcing they are offering another Cult Classic at 60% off. And if you love Cabernet (because these are almost exclusively Napa Cabs) then your day has arrived...fortunately along with the presence of more low alcohol, well balanced wines from France, Italy and Spain. Now, if we could see something like this from Burgundy and Barolo?

2009 closed with a flurry of Barolo wines from the early to mid 1990s that needed to be opened. These were purchased between 2001 and 2003 following a trip to Piemonte. Barolo is a great wine that is tough to peg and time. The devotion to terroir has always been paramount. The flavors are unique among wine. Fungi and truffle flavors are not unusual; veggies are. Fruit ranges from cherries to plums. Many people find Baroli and Burgundy wines share similarities in style if not flavors. The only intra-regional conflict of note is the break between new and old styles which can be fairly summarized in whether to use oak barriques or the traditional cement vats or Slovenian oak barrels (the latter are rarely changed). In some houses both approaches can be found wherein Dad is traditional and the "kids" are modern (e.g., Ciabot Berton). Marc de Grazia Selections has one of the largest catalogs of Piemonte wines as well as wines from other regions in Italy. Perusing his catalog is worth a look just to see how many Barolo producers there are and how many of the less renowned ones we seldom see. Barolo were pricey when we bought them, even more so now. You will never see a decent Barolo U20. Some of the wines tasted below are still available for a price not much more than a notable Burgundy. Labels do not always match the vintage but in most cases they match the vineyard and the color scheme.

2008 Domaine de la Pépière "Vieilles Vignes" Clos des Briords Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie $15: Louis Dressner import, crisp, green apples. Could have had a bottle of this every time we walked into another holiday party and not gotten tired of it. Brightens the palate. A refreshing U20 wine at 12%

1996 Mauro Veglio Castelletto $55: Dark red brown color. Meaty alcohol nose. Spicy in the mouth. Tannic. Opens to a juicy, dense dime bag of dark blueberries and mushrooms. The wine is tight needing 90 minutes to open up. Then it is lean and masculine and still needs time. Like most of these wines, it is a Marc de Grazia Selection. Mauro Veglio, along with Clericao, is one of the new breed winemakers from Monforte d'Alba. This was the first vintage where he held the reins. 14%

1995 Elio Altare Barolo $125: This has all the advance rep; great producer in a very good vintage that was first in a string of seven vintages. Should be a runaway winner. But that is rarely the case with Barolo; more so than any other great red wine. The wines are finicky and this shows all that reticence to blow you away.The nose is lovely if somewhat muted. There is fruit but the wine is tight, so all is elusive. We decide to aerate with the "device"; how handy. The wine opens immediately but is still reserved. This is like preparing an abalone for the meal! Even the cork is a bear to pop at 2.5 inches long. Now the wine is intensely focused. The tar and roses show, especially the tar. Slowly she disrobes and shows all the charm we had hoped for. By the end of the evening the wine is gone and the memories are only of pleasures hard to describe. 13.5%

1996 Elio Altare Barolo $80: More red than brown color. Doughy nose. Plump and less rustic than the Veglio. Opens up with 30 minutes. More Burgundian in style, more fruity but still intense and focused. Very elegant and deep flavors. Loved this wine. 14%

1995 Revello Fratelli Barolo Vigna Giachini $70: Dark red color. Balanced, delicate Nebbiolo flavors. Not rustic. Ripe and fruity for a Barolo. La Morra vineyard and winemakers which usually indicates a softer wine. 13.5%

1993 Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra $106: The vintage had the misfortune of being a good one followed by a mixed one (1995) that was followed by two great ones (1996 and 1997). So when we tasted a lush and generous wine that showed beautifully from the cork pull to the end we were very pleased. No holding back with this wine. It was friendly and enchanting from start to finish. Barolo wines can be so wonderful if you catch them at the right time. The fruit is unique giving a might to middle weight wine with delicate flavors that have a wide range of exotic sweet and savory styles. Instead of barnyard or gaminess they show fungi and mushrooms. They are always more elegant even when the winemaker's hand is less formal. Clerico is a recognized master winemaker so his wines should be wonderful in any vintage. 14%

1996 Pira Barolo Marenca $40: The perfect contrast for the 1993 Clerico above. This wine is rustic, ornery, petulant! It is horrid when opened. No fruit, no grace. Tighter than Urban Meyer's physician. More Woody than the legendary Ohio State coach. Everyone finds it absolutely disagreeable. But nobody can quite give it the em>bacio di morte and say it is a flawed wine. Bring out the "device" and aerate it! But wait 45 minutes. And he began to show some style and fungi flavors. The wine continues to open the entire evening growing more lovely with every half hour. It was more simple and direct, not quite as elegant but in the end showing that 1996 was a great vintage even for the most reluctant houses. 14.5%

Happy New Year!