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

This is a blog about wine but not necessarily devoted to wine. Do not be surprised if you read about golf, healthcare, politics, media or anything else we feel like describing and weighing in on.

We knock off Victor Hugo because we are proudly literate (especially dokkerm), unbound by convention, and declaring a call to action. Molly Pitcher guards the right bank as we take on trophy wines and fashion-driven price-bloated trend-setters. If you agree with our battle cry then you will like this blog. NO WINES OVER $20. We date the beginning of our campaign to the first vintage of the Mondavi-Rothschild Opus project. We recall with a smile the Underground Wine Journal editorial titled Hokus Opus. Stand upon the ramparts of good sense. There are too many wines around priced at or below $20 to let them languish in the floor stacks of retail shops. Our raison d'etre is to approach these wanderers and let you know what they had to say about their terroir.

Given that, here is the first entry about trophy wines from our past. We are purging our cellars of the spoils from earlier collector wars. Here are the goods. Friday June 8 the evening's selections included in order, (1) 1990 Prince Poniatowski Aigle Blanc Moelleux Vouvray (2) Rochioli 1999 Estate Pinot Noir (not a designated vineyard), (3) Dehlinger Estate 1994 Pinot Noir Reserve, and 1997 Williams Selyem Allen Vineyard. I also opened a Lascaux 2005 from the Languedoc for those moments when we were out of wine and I did not feel like walking back to the cellar. DokkerM evaluates...

"Each was a perfect representation of the winery. For my taste, the Dehlinger was the favorite. Idiosyncratic but rich and balanced. The Rochioli is a classic - I'll have to rummage around and see if I have any single vineyard '99's. The W/S was spectacular, but more fruit forward than I would prefer (not that I would spit any out, mind you)."

Stu (that's me) says the 1990 Vovuray was outstanding. I tried this in May in a SF restaurant, Pres a Vie. Found it over the Internet in Glendale - ETC Wines. $21/btl. The restaurant offered 16 tasting flights that evening. The flight that included the Vouvray declared

"a dreadfully misunderstood varietal. Filling your glass with pineapple, spiced ginger and lime..."

I got the lime and honey too. At $21 it is a victory for the campaign!!

DokkerM covers most of the rest. The 1999 vintage in Dry Creek was pretty great. The Rochioli bottle was released at $40 or more. The W/S was typical candy fruit in your face. That evening I think the good doctor said you just want to open your gullet and pour it in. Another guest said he would take care of the bottle if we thought it was so unsophisticated. He is so transparent and a W/S swine.

The Dehlinger was the last in my cellar. Bought it on release for ~$35. Five years on it had a repelling barnyard nose and flavor that made me wretch. Thankfully I laid it down for another 7 years and now it is a legend in our backyard. Delicate, cherry fruit, lacey, enchanting. Like a Nawlins madame.

The Lascaux is a great buy at $10. You can get it at Kermit Lynch in Berkeley. Light spice, mild pepper. Easy drinking and perfect with BBQ.

To arms!! (and legs)

2006 Chateau Barbanau Cote de Provence $12: Dry mineral flavors. Everything I expect from a Provencal Rose' which, in my experience, differs in a mineral style compared to wines from Languedoc or other SE France regions. These wines are so easily distinguishable from domestic Rose' wines because they rarely have the big fruit found in CA wines (of which I am also fond, see Anglim out of Paso Robles). However, the real story here - as I discovered - is the importer, Charles Neal. Get thee forthwithly to charlesnealselections.com and read what these folks at Paul Marcus Importer have to say about how to start and sustain an importing business. The first thing you will find is that Mr. Neal picked the region from which to import based upon where he could buy wines below the silly pricing threshold, aka $20. He also took a liking to wines he could drink everyday and that were regional in style and blend, that is, the region has not yet been Parker-ized. The tasting notes from the Paul Marcus Imports staff that toured with Mr. Neal are fun to read and educational. Compare the Neal notes with those found in the LA Times by the Food section's wine-tasting panel ("hint of lime, nice"). It is the difference between riding down a "technical" slope (fun and slightly dangerous) versus riding in your cul de sac (boring and only when necessary).

2005 Beaujolais Paul Durdilly Cuvee Unique Vielles Vignes "Les Grandes Coasses" $11.50: Ring that bell again!! Another winner from North Berkeley Wines. When I asked the clerk about this wine he said at $11.50 how can you go wrong? Put it in the box! Now I must reply how can he be so right? NB Wines - just call 'em up and order. You cannot lose. Perfectly balanced, rich fruit (perfectly ripe), middle-weight so a bit more heft than expected. I need more. So do you. Drink it right up to Turkey-day and put it on the table. How do they do it in Beaujolais? Great vintage, under-the-radar region. The label reads Red Burgundy Wine which is technically correct but without the trophy-wine pricing. I saw a pitch for a current release Leroy Bourgogne at $35. The pitch was this is cheap for Madame Bizes-Leroy. Well exxccuuuuuse me. Bag 'em and taste 'em blind. You may pick out the pinot but you won't tell me the Madame's wine is 300% better.

The next set was tasted at an Independence Day BBQ.

2006 Traversa Moscato d'Asti $15: Summer is for fresh and refreshing wines and that means rose' and moscati d'asti. We have already said plenty about rose' (not to worry I am confident we will say more) so here are some thoughts about moscati d'asti. They are low alcohol, between 5% and 7%. They are frooooty, think peaches, honeydew, melon. When not made well they are tooo frooooty. But when the winemaker hits the target they are like drinking starlight. They have a slight spritz and you serve them cold. This one had it all. Unremarkable house (Tarversa loyalists forgive my ignorance) with an outstanding product. I pushed this on the ladies as the men hit the 1999 Rochioli in protective seclusion. Fuggedaboudit. The moscato killed. "Please suh, cun I have some moh" they asked in their best Oliver impressions. Hell yeh. Going back for more.

1999 Rochioli East Block (cellar): Smoky nose, smoky flavors, bacon, ritz crackers (the cheese and dough thing). Solid unbroken flavor line like a Roman phalanx. A bit cloudy, dark brick color. Opening up after 15 minutes to lush ripe pinot fruit (neither strawberries or cherries). Rochioli is the class of Russian River wines (along with W/S). Extra special (I guess) since East Block is no more.

1995 Gary Farrell Rochioli Vineyard (cellar): Going against the grain here. This wine was over the hill despite perfect storage conditions. Brick-not-brown color but not much red either. A good wine with fruit fading fast. Ironic since I find his wines to be too fruity for my taste. If you're British born before WWII you love this wine and consider it perfectly aged. I confess I have never been a fan of GF (even though he made my favorite domestic pinot at Rochioli from 1982 to 1986). He gets the best grapes from the best growers and is highly regarded and certainly knows much more about Russian River Valley (RRV) winemaking than myself. However, I have tasted through many vintages of Williams Selyem (W/S) and Rochioli to know they are at the summit of RRV wines. If I see a bottle made by a highly regarded winemaker who has sourced a top grower like Rochioli I want to know how he managed. Somebody told me he (the somebody not GF) had tasted a Brewer-Clifton bottling with Cargassachi pinot grapes. This is like Vlad Guerrero going to the Yankees. You have to see know how it worked out when stars get paired. I am sure this was a better wine to taste 5 years ago. On the other hand, I have to say I have tasted wonderful W/S and Rochioli wines that were 13 years old (and older). They held up better. Of course, 1995 was not exactly a memorable vintage for RRV.

2005 Malm Cellars Sonoma County Pinot Noir $16: Smoky nose and flavors reminiscent of the Rochioli. Fresher, more fruit, balanced nicely. I mixed it 4:1 with the Martinez 1994 Oporto. Now that was very nice. This excellent value for Sonoma pinot. 14.4% alcohol is average for region. The problem is I have stopped chasing pinot noir so I will not chase this Malm down although it merits pursuit. Feces occurs!

2006 Domaine Cassagnoles Reserve Gros Manseng $10: Lean angular fruit; dry and brawny in a middle-weight way. Reminded me of Cung Le who I was watching on UFC fighting, he was pounding a veteran mixed martial arts guy with a 24-3 record. Cung Le is now 4-0. Le was tougher, faster, deceptively bigger with a wicked command of spinning kicks and backhands. This Gros Manseng is deceptively delicious with satisfying lean flavors and a devastating blend of near-tropical fruit. Find it at local fave WHW. Or make plans for a trip to the Gers region ASAP and find out for yourself over two weeks. This is Cathar country rich in history of the Inquisition with burned out castles and outstanding wines.

1994 Martinez Port (cellar): I bought this on futures at a reputable west valley wine shop (not Woodland Hills Wine Co - Paul and Kyle would never do what I am about to tell you). I paid $30/bottle pre-release. Somehow they had gotten Martinez to pour bottle samples a year ahead of release. The very young wine was terrific and I thought this will the last vintage of new release port I will buy in my lifetime. Martinez is a rarely seen brand with a strong reputation (i.e., Broadbent covers it). When I went to pick it up a year later the retailer wanted $32/bottle. This is, of course, a case of bad faith and I have never returned there for anything. I paid the price and took the wines. I looked it up on the web today and see it can be found although pricing is about double unless you order it from Scotland; g'head laddy. This is the first time I have opened a bottle. It has everything I want in a 13 y.o. vintage port. Still has a strong presence of tannins but softly firm like a Savile Row haberdasher's clothes brush. The peppers and hot spices common with young ports (why are you even opening ports before at least a decade passes?) have blended in. Balance is perfect with fruit now forward. Alcohol subdued in the background. I can look forward to bringing this out on any special occasion (July 4th 2008? Labor Day 2007?) and I know I will be pleased.

2005 l'Uvaggio di Giacomo Vermentino $11: Finally, an opportunity to write about a Jim Moore wine. First, a few words about Jim. He is one of many winemakers who are not media stars. However, he is widely regarded within the winemaking industry as a "go-to" person
when you need something done. Looking for premium juice for sale by a high-profile winery? Call Jim. Need more super-premium French oak barrels? Jim probably knows where they can be had. Want to start a winery from the ground up? Do a custom crush? Fill-in a sudden and unexpected hole on your winemaking team because the winemaker for your long-standing label just went elsewhere? Want to turn around your wine program for your winery that is one of the oldest in the valley? He is the man to see. I am sure there are others like Jim in Napa. He knows them all, too. And what of his wine? Distinctive, meaning his wines share certain qualities regardless of the grape or employer. This Vermentino has all the earmarks of Jim Moore wine. He got the grapes from old old vines in Lodi. My summer reading includes "Blood and Wine", the unofficial story of Gallo wines, and Lodi goes way back in California wine history. Jim knows. Read more about Moore here. His Vermentino is from young Lodi vines, fresh and light, balanced with a subtlety that you do not even think about the alcohol (12.5%!!) or any kind of awkwardness. Perfect summer style. Flavors bring lime, some white grapefruit (Indian River?), citrus rind (pick-a-fruit). Acid supports the overall tart and bright experience. It is available but good luck finding it.

2005 Edward Sellers Grenache Rosé $12: The good dokker paired this Paso effort with the Languedoc wine below. The objective was to compare two fruity wines from the two distinctive regions that we are always yapping about. First sip showed hugely fruity and sweet flavors. I did not like it...at first. The dokker's wife (see photo) was disappointed since she picked it on their last trip top Paso. It is a remarkable achievement that when spouses play bridge or taste wines together there is always something on which we can disagree. Aha! As my palate re-tuned from the more mineral continental roses' I have been quaffing to the fruit bomb side of things I began to find the strawberry flavors more seductive and charming. We killed the bottle with flair. 14.2% alcohol. Nice wine from Edward Sellers. [URL]

2005 Mas de Brassandes Costieres de Nimes $10: Curiously, the good dokker had this rosé from last summer already chilled. He called it a transition wine (evening plans and all). It was also a fruit bomb. And from SW France. Nimes is squarely in the Languedoc which is a region everyone who loves wine should visit at least once. Topographically identical to SoCal with wall-to-wall vineyards and chateaus. The principal grapes are grenache, syrah, mourverdre, and carignane. I have probably already written it but let me do so again (in case I already have). The Languedoc is traditionally the garbage hole of wine. Critics love to tell how the region produces so much ordinary and sub-par wines that in years with an especially large harvest the wine is sold off as fuel. This has changed in some measure over the past decade as French and international winemakers have recognized the conditions are outstanding for producing quality and even better the cost of vineyard land is (was?) extraordinarily attractive. I like to recall our 2001 trip to St. Chinian when it was almost impossible to find a bottle costing more than 10$. And the wine was fine....bring-it-back-in-your-son's-backpack fine.

1997 Rochioli Allen Vineyard Chardonnay (cellar): Controversial wine for me. I have been a wine club member since the early 80s. I have tasted Rochioli through 20 plus vintages. In 2006 I sold off my remaining collection going back to 1996 to a dear friend who was more than happy to take it off my hands. This wine is from the dokker's cellar. It is complex. "Coconut" says dokkerm. "Quince" says I. We agree tropical aromas and flavors emerge over 40 minutes in the glass. Tons of acid. The wine is still young. Dokker says it will not get better. I play my collector trump card and say it will go at least another few years, possibly longer. Playing my collector trump with the dokker is silly since he has tasted through my entire collection. Still looking for a path through his usually invulnerable intellect I suggest this wine captures the problem for me with Rochioli. It is too complex. "Too serious?" he snorts. Yes. I ask Gail (see photo above) what TV game show she would rather, Championship Jeopardy or Deal or No Deal. No contest. Deal gets her vote. Williams Selyem is Deal/No Deal. The look-alike babes march over the grandstand in their short satin dresses with their black leather suitcases and it's all downhill from there. Turn off sound and dig the chicks hamming it up. Rochioli is Championship Jeopardy. Stay sharp. Hit and miss hoping for a category where you actually have some expertise. Fight intellectual exhaustion. Pat yourself on the back 30 minutes later for surviving with some pride intact. "Too many notes" said the King. Rochioli is top of the RRV heap with possibly "the best situated vineyard in North America".

2006 Curran Grenache Blanc ~$20: This is the 3rd vintage of this wine I have tasted...and enjoyed. In each vintage it is a late bloomer. Drink this in the first 6 months of release and you will ask yourself what is all the fuss. Wait 9 months (only another 3 or so, sit down) and you will be very happy. Give it a year and you will be amazed at how much this wine changed. At first it is recessive, withdrawn, almost sullen. Like first seeing Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear. So awkward. When she starts to mature a bit the charms emerge, slowly, gracefully. And after a full year she is all charm, delicate fruit, sparkling flavors, like a kiwi-blueberry-custard fruit tart. Too much to taste in one swallow. Kris Curran is a terrific winemaker (she makes Sea Smoke which is generally opened way too early). This meets the $20 criterion (maybe a little more but worth it) and is age-worthy (if a couple years count). That's Kris on the left and her dear friend Strummy on the right. Curran Wines

WRONG!!! The Jints won. The Pats lost. If you love dee-fence you were on the edge of your seat. If you hate the hype (guess who) you kept nodding off (like me). At least the wines were excellent.

2004 Ojai Vineyard Westerly Sauvignon Blanc ~$20 (at 2003 Wine Cask tasting): Grassy, lively acid, pretty well balanced. Complemented the salsa and chips and roasted peppers. 13% alcohol.

1995 Frederic Esmonin Mazy Chambertin $40 way back when: Such a disappointment from what coulda shoulda mighta been. Brown red color. Not a nice nose. Tired flavors. Un-quaffable. Went back twice and it was even closer to le morte. Mazy - or Mazis - is the legendary Gran Cru vineyard. You can keep La Tache and the other DRC slopes. This is the one. Unfortunately, Frederic Esmonin is not the producer. I purchased a mixed case of 1995 and 1996 burgs by Esmonin and a couple other vignerons reviewed in an earlier blog entry. Only the 1996 Esmonin Ruchottes has been memorable [ed. see preceding link]. This was so far over the hill not even Randy Moss could have caught it. It is wines like this that drive me back to Becky Wasserman!

1997 Williams Selyem Riverblock Pinot Noir probably $50 on release, north of $200 today: God bless Dotore' and his bulging wine cave. He bagged this bottle forcing me and the missus to guess. We agreed right away on New World. The smoky nose and flavors were so brawny that I leaned towards a rustic and somewhat silky Carneros pinot, producer unknown. Big Lou nailed it. Is it Williams Selyem? Yes it is. She also called a pretty good game as guest analyst noting that the TV timeout allowed Belichick to thoroughly preview his challenge to Giants having 12 men on the field question during the ridiculously long and endless commercial break. The Cheater challenged and won. Not that it made a difference. Back to the W/S wine. Once again this shows W/S pinot noir wines age wonderfully and rank right at the top. Of course, Riverblock is the best Rochioli grapes W/S gets these days.

...and a couple more in the preceding and following days...

2005 Tablas Creek Bergeron ~$25: It is Rousanne. It is delicious. Middle weight with an orange and lemon peel nose. Fresh and high acid. I guess they do not make it in this style - of the Savoie - that often. I really enjoyed this wine. Please suh can I have summah? 13.5%. Now how hard was that?

2006 Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec $10: Young red wine probably produced by tens of thousands cases. Middle weight. Tastes like Syrah and/or Carignane. I do not know what to expect from Argentine Malbec. I know the Argentine vintners are making moves to export more so they must Parker-ize their wines. Here is an example. The good news is it is not so ripe as to be undrinkable (like a couple of Paso/Napa wines I can think of). 13.5%

MONDO VINO...directed by Jonathan Nossiter, released 2004.
I missed this the first time around and there are numerous posts on the featured "players" and film reviews online. I wrote mine before reading the others. I remember the hubub in the press but never saw the film. I certainly enjoyed it in 2008. Can't say much has changed except the Mondavis, who are portrayed as wine Gods with all the powers of Zeus and company (a role they all seem to relish on camera). They are no longer the Mondavi Winery Mondavis. They are now the former "international imperialists" who "secretly" investigated three Italian wine families, two of whom were the Antinoris and the Frescobaldis, to decide which would be their lucky partner in Luce.

Of course, we all know now that these kinds of theatrical exercises in corporate and personal excess will never be repeated again under this name. Here Tim Mondavi explains away the bad blood that spilled out of the Ornellaia deal and James Suckling avoids claiming creation of the term Super-Tuscan. Stay to the end and an Italian wine merchant tells what he really thinks about wine globalization and all this deep pockets whoop-de-doo.

We also see how the Mondavis found their tipping point in the Languedoc. The project they had proposed to undertake, apparently under the guidance of Michel Rolland, failed fabulously as French democracy prevailed and the rich Americans were sent packing by the new Communist mayor who fulfilled his most important campaign promise...preserving the indigenous wine industry from outside interlopers. Near the end of the film we learn Mondavi friend and consultant Rolland is the new partner with a Bordelaise in a new mega-wine-development in the same area.

Politics plays an odd role in this film on wine. The French director Jonathan Nossiter (who is American born but internationally educated) lets the viewer know that the Antinoris and the Frescobaldis were ardent Fascistas in WWII. The scenes are almost comic as the younger the family member is on camera the stronger the historical truth is acknowledged. The older folks downplay Grandpa's support for the fascists as simply going with the flow. The grandkids leave no doubt the old man loved Mussolini. The director must have thought he hit a vein. He juxtaposes the unfortunately fascist Italian patricians with an unfortunately prejudiced Argentine family (it is the world of wine). Isn't it always just a little creepy when upper class folks living in a "modern" nation feel they have to prove they are not really anti-semitic? The director asks the particular Argentine vigneron about Peron's friendship with Mussolini. He clumsily answers "hey Peron really didn't have any problem with the Jews". While it makes for titillating cinema Nossiter commits a mistake by painting nations and peoples with too broad a brush.

Mondo Vino sets up fairly simply. You have the good guys like Neal Rosenthal who nearly chokes on his pastrami screeching about the Parker-ization of wines globally and the imminent disappearance of terroir. Another good guy is the Languedoc vigneron Aime Guibert of Mas de Daumas Gassac who successfully led the resistance against the Mondavis overwhelming his town.

Then you have the bad guys. Michel Rolland laughs all the way to the bank...day after day. Micro-oxygenation apparently means monetizing bullshit in French. Robert Parker plays the do-gooder bumpkin with roots firmly planted in the radical 60s. He aims to "level the field" and remove wine appreciation from the cold pecuniary grip of the bloodless distributors. The problem is he loves the attention, the awards, as well as rubbing shoulders with, and being one of, the big names in wine. He is a dupe of his own dictatorial (fascistic?) palate. In a poignant scene his very good friend Michel Rolland - who Parker proclaims gets no benefit from their friendship when Parker "objectively" tastes Rolland's wines with Rolland at the table - laughingly (this is one happy dude) talks about how the wine merchants of Pomerol should give Parker his own plaque in the village for all the $$ he has made them.

Neal Rosenthal declares Parker's love for Merlot dictates his palate preferences...along with the rest of the wine world that covets his 90+ points and the mountain of orders that follow. There does seem to have been some film fallout for Mssr. Rolland who has had to "re-organize" as they say in the business world.

Mondo Vino is not Mondo Cane, the legendary international film of my youth. It is more Michael Moore than David Cronenberg. Yes, I am saying that Mondo Cane and its many successors were forerunners of the Cronenberg style.

In real life things are seldom so crisp and clear. The Mondavis are not bad people. Michel Rolland and Robert Parker cannot possibly be this buffoonish (can they?). Michael Mondavi describes the family's flaw as making business decisions based on family emotions. The director definitely captured some very good moments if wine and the business of wine intrigues you. Probably the best moments are conversations between burgundy vigneron Hubert de Montille and his daughter Alix who compete for family leadership as most crusty. Of course, theirs is the only wine I would like to try after watching the film. Read about the Montille estate in a blurb from the Beaune Imports website.

Rosenthal is right. Terroir before "Parker-ization".

Hats off to Nossiter for making a film worth watching.

RENT IT

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.

Mouse delivers a new outstanding Field Report covering a couple of Italian varietals tBoW would have never have heard of had he not recently visited San Francisco (a kind of New York and Boston West...but better) where he left with the sneaking suspicion the unusual and unfamiliar wines he sampled were probably found easily on the East Coast.

Since my last report graced this website in June, wifey and I have been submerged in a cauldron of very reasonably priced offerings. Today I offer three fond memories, along with a show stopper that accompanied last night's Hommard l'Americaine.

We start this never-ending journey in Alto Adige, where along with Trentino and Friuli we find Italy's (only?) enticing white wines. Yet also there, you will find two northeast Italy indigenous red grapes: Teroldego and Lagrein.

Not altogether easy to find, harder to find special ones. For me, the Lagrein is the better of the two. Kind of a Merlot with a split personality, which makes perfect sense given the schizophrenic political history of that region, where German and Ladin (some ancient Latin lingo) are also spoken.

2004 Girlan Lagrein Laurin $16. Never mind that I paid about half that on a close-out. I happily paid full retail about three times earlier. Robust and blackberry, call it comfort wine. Not leather sofa comfortable, but third date comfortable, when you are pretty sure things are progressing and you're only a little nervous. But no worries, the wine and you want to see this thing to its rightful crescendo . You'll love the bottle in the morning, too, because the label's awfully pretty. Nice website, too. Two Shining Mice. 13%

2004 Elena Walch Lagrein $14 perhaps. Another non-Italian name from this Gerry part of Italia. Actually, it's the Austrian part, but if you can explain the difference between an Austrian and a German, you're smarter than I. For that matter, if you can tell me the difference between a typical Canadian and someone who lives in the Central Time Zone, you're also smarter than I. This Lagrein got bettah the second day, as I popped it initially upon returning from some horrendous high school play. Friends, I cannot emphasize the joy of tasting something new, like a Gruner Vetliner or a Nero d'Avola for the first time. Lagrein beats them both. Almost always UNDER $20!!! These are the best two I've had. 1.5 mice.

Now we change our focus a bit, but remain in Italy under the radar in Umbria, whose contribution to wine is the little known but greatly appreciated Sagrantino di Montefalco. Made exclusively from Sagrantino by about 25 producers in 250 acres not far from where Francis of Assisi did his thang. A dark monster, almost black, it was originally used for dessert wines. Of course, back in the day, dessert wines were the most prized, and Sagrantino is an ancient varietal. Paolo Bea and Arnaldo Caprai are the two famed masters of this, but I've bought this one by the truckload.

2003 Napolini Sagrantino di Montefalco $34 retail, $11 close-out at Mt. Carmel Wine in Hamden, CT. Open this and others about six weeks before you put your knife and fork in it. New World big with Old World charm. (Vin Scully: "The eastern most in quality, the western most in flavor.") Cannot really compare it to nada. Did I say it's big? Have a steak, have a burned steak with it. Do not serve to neighbors or drink during college basketball games. Clergy will love it. 2.5 mice. [ed. he did not write clergy will love it.]

Now we shall glide back to the Russian River Valley, whose sun-baked slopes produced a Chardonnnay that accompanied Vermont cheese and Maine lobster last night. Just when I'm about ready to punt on Chard, something like this comes to the table.

2003 Martinelli Martinelli Road Chardonnay more than $20. OK, I was a bit worried, because $20 is a lot for a California white, especially in light of a 2002 Ojai Clos Pepe chardocastrophe we had last month. Used to be that Rochioli Riverblock was the best Chard I've had. No mo'. Ms. Helen T. [ed. Helen Turley for those who dropped their Wine Speculator subscription] put this fruit through some rainbow and kissed it with peaches, pears and glycerin. The best of New England and California for a night of Blue State Heaven. Three Happy Mice! 14.8%

News Flash - before you get started tBoW wishes to acknowledge the first two newsworthy events for the new year in thebestofwines world. The January issues of Gourmet and Los Angeles magazines each feature a tBoW fave. Gourmet covers all things consumable that are Italian. They make a point of including a photo and kind words about the efforts of Napa's most under-rated winemaker Jim Moore and his l'Uvaggio di Giacomo label to produce memorable California wines from Italian varietals. The Jan 09 issue of Los Angeles magazine picks tBoW hero Palate Food + Wine as the #1 restaurant in LA. LA mag gave Palate a curiously arms-length review in August 08 as though withholding final judgment. Glad to read the reviewer made up his mind. [ed. we knew it soon as we walked through the doors in June] Unlike Los Angeles mag, Gourmet does not post open links to its content so you will have to pick up a copy.

Between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year the adaptable wine taster has an opportunity that comes once a year. That is to taste a wide range of wines you might normally never encounter. Already tBoW has had his glass filled with Moet White Star, a Zinfandel and a late harvest Chardonnay. How bizarre how bizarre.

2004 David Coffaro Price Family Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel $20: This is the perfect example of a wine I would never taste if it was not for the holidays. tBoW never drinks Zinfandel by choice [ed. he ain't crazy about Viognier either]. This is a ripe Dry Creek Valley wine that is typical of what is generally regarded as the finest region in the state for growing and producing Zin. Ripe Zin often has prune or raisin flavors like we find here. There is nothing wrong with the wine. I am just not a fan of the varietal (with a couple exceptions like Franus and ). Nalle both made in a Claret style) This wine is high in alcohol which is not unusual for the varietal and the region. 15%

2005 Bouchaine Bouche d'Or Carneros Chardonnay $30 at the winery: One does not often see a late harvest wine made from Chardonnay grapes. This is a Mrs. tBoW selection purchased at the winery. She picked a gooder. The wine is lively with firm acidity. The flavors show apricot, honey...and Fuji Apple. Very long finish. Young tBoW sommelier-in-training Senor X grappled with the flavor, not satisfied with the apricot call. He returned 10 minutes later (the finish is that long) to proclaim that Fuji Apple is exactly what we were tasting in the slight bitterness like one gets from the apple pulp. tBow kvelled noticeably. By the way, Bouchaine is the oldest winery in Carneros but changes are afoot. The former winemaker at Acacia Michael Richmond joined the team in 2007 and they are being distributed by a division under Southern Wines so they should get more exposure. If you are a Kendall Jackson fan you might want to check out Bouchaine as a superior product in essentially the same category. The wines seem to have improved. 11%

Heitz Cellar Ink Grade Port NV $30 (split): Yet another unusual bottle not found among tBoW selections. This blend of 8 traditional Porto varietals from as many as 6 recent vintages is personal project of Joe Heitz; he of Martha's Vineyard fame [ed. the original big-ticket award-winning highly-collectible Napa Cab]. Deep black ruby color. Rich honey flavors which seems unusual for a red port. Beautifully balanced. Not at all cloying or candy-ish. An excellent wine at a very good price point that is worth pursuing. 18.5%

2007 Vinos Sin-ley "Valleclaro" Prieto Picudo Rosado Valle de Benavente$11: A hot summer ticket in 2008. This delightful light cherry red wine from Spain got a big Parker rating and was noticed by Tanzer. The fruit is like pear rind [ed. you have to imagine this]. A dry bite on the finish because the wine itself is a bit hot for Rosé at 13.5%.

2005 Kaiken Ultra Malbec $16.50: Covered this winery from South America in an April 08 tBoW blog post following Argentina trip in Spring 2007. The "trick" is they blend Argentine and Chilean juice. OK. The wine is very good. I do wonder if they drive the juice over the Andes pass. Mendoza is just over the border. The "ordinary" blend is very good. This is extra thick and extra rich without being over-stuffed. Thick fruity flavors. Almost like a liqueur. Very dark color. This is among the best in a class of richly sweet and thick wines from South America that maintain balance. The price is excellent given the high quality. Costco pick. 14%

Dotoré reached deep into his double double cooler (wider and deeper) and came up with some real beauties for celebrating the holidays. Your humble blog-host reports on the premium treats along with a couple other not-so-shabby year-ending tastes.

2002 Domaine Huet Vouvray Petillant $27: Robust sparkling wine, lemon rind, simultaneously green and ripe. Every bit as wonderful as when we first "discovered" this producer and this wine in particular at Palate. A Robert Chadderdon selection. Chenin Blanc. 12%

1996 Frederic Esmonin Griottes Chambertin $100: Thin and undernourished like a fashion model in Vogue; an appropos metaphor since with Burgundy and Grand Cru vineyards like Griottes it is all about what is on the label. What happened to these wines in this vintage? 30 minutes later the wine opened up a bit and showed an exotic nose with black cherry and black berries. Too little too late. 13.8%

1996 Armand Rousseau Ruchottes Chambertin Grand Cru Monopole $130: Lean, showing its age. More structured than the Esmonin, soft with yam flavors. Red brown robe (like the Esmonin) indicates age past its prime. Flavor is more full than the Griottes. Suits the potatoes. Better of the two wines. 13%

CAVEAT EMPTOR: ON at least three occasions in 2008 we found disappointment with 1996 Burgundies from top producers considered among the region's finest. The vintage was simply less than stellar.

1997 Rochioli West Block Pinot Noir $250: Bourbon nose. Great contrast to the two 1996 Burgs. Towering, lean, tannic, deep pinot fruit. Burnt sugar cane, hedonistic. Full exudatum nose. Ripe and lush. Velvety, rich, exotic. Showing its age. Sour mash whiskey on the nose. "The perfect glass of wine" or just too ripe? Certainly one of the most widely collectible! 13.5%

The year-ending bottles included the last of a mixed case of 1983 Sauternes along with a fresh and lively California Pinot Noir.

2006 Nettare Carneros Pinot Noir $20: Carneros wine featured at the Napa Valley Wine Exchange in San Francisco. NVWE specializes in small production outfits and this fits at 112 cases produced. Sweet candied fruit, some smoke as we would expect from Carneros. A bit rough around the edges and still worth the price. 14.2%

1983 Chateau d'Arche $200: The end of a collection that saw the last 2 opened over the past holiday season. This was perfectly ready as was the Sigalas Rabaud. Honeycomb flavors which is to say there was waxiness and a raw essence quality to the wine. Extremely rich and concentrated. Another spectacular example of an outstanding vintage. The online price for the d'Arche is almost 10 times the Sigalas Rabaud. While the d'Arche is superior and more spectacular it is not so by a factor of ten. The readiness of these two wines contrasts with the relative youthfulness of the 1983 d'Yquem. This was an excellent investment and a strategy tBoW would recommend to any young wine drinker looking to put wines down that can be enjoyed in their glory at 20 years age. 12.5%

The emergence of a newfound wine snob can be dangerous. Chances are things go the wrong way if the ingenue parrots all the same stoopid metaphors, failing in the process to represent a personal point of view. And make no mistake; it is the POV that matters. It also helps to have a tasting palate and to generally enjoy wine and good food. Things go well when the fearless taster is willing to share his point of view and can craft his own metaphors for what he experiences. Say hello to Wild Willie, a man who described a Sangiovese as "typewriter ribbon". Now, he might have been having a little fun but the effort was strong. Refreshing as a bright fruity Albariño.

Speaking of new friends, tBoW was able to interview and taste the wines made by Hank Skewis of Skewis Wines in Healdsburg. Thanks to Palate Food+Wine for hosting another terrific "Sunday Session" at which Skewis was featured (along with the typically delicious and simply prepared lunch). He sources six vineyards in Northern California from Sonoma Coast to Mendocino's Anderson Valley. Because tBoW has 20 years experience tasting Rochioli and Williams Selyem Pinot Noir wines he is a bit jaded about Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley [ed. a snob]. I have tried to describe this dilemma which wins absolutely no interest from others, including Hank Skewis, in these pages. In a sentence Rochioli has "too many notes" and Williams Selyem is too sweet for current preferences. Both wines are quite pricey, as well.

The opportunity to discuss wine, the wine industry and wine preferences with an accomplished winemaker is always a treat. Here is what we learned from Hank Skewis.

He has made wine for 30 years. He claims no prior career so suffice it to say he is stuck on wine. He first made wine for Lambert Bridge until the founder sold the winery and label. He did a crush in Mersault where he discovered Burgundy. tBoW asked for his view on our contemporary contrarian theme - Chardonnay is not very interesting. He acknowledged that the only Chardonnay he prefers is Montrachet. With his funds, he only makes Pinot Noir. His annual production is 1,000 cases and he is in his 16th vintage. The discussion turned to aging wines, another popular tBoW topic. Agreeing that aging wine is anything but uniform he mentioned the 1994 vintage remains one of the most fresh in his cellar! Interestingly, he features the 1994 label at his website. One of those in vino veritas moments, eh? [ed. we only have the 1994 label to show]

Here is what we thought of the Skewis wines we tasted.

2006 Skewis Salzgeber-Chan Vineyard Pinot Noir $40: Brick red color. Deep flavors,bittersweet chocolate, a bit beefy. Somebody said wet stone. Light to medium weight. 14%

2006 Peters Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $48: Muted nose, brighter red color. Perhaps a bit more alcohol. Again, kind of meaty in flavor. Light to medium weight. Good depth. A bit more liquer like. 14.5%

2006 Bush Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir $48: Gamey nose, elegant, balanced. Dark red color. 14%.

These are very nice wines. tBoW likes this style; not overripe, not too alcoholic, more elegant and lightweight in texture. The price is higher than $20 but he pays top dollar for the fruit (he confided his per ton cost can cross $4,000) so the price is justified in the most basic economic terms. While the opportunity for the consumer to purchase quality wines below $20 has never been better every cellar should have some premium wines that are frugally allocated. 1,000 cases is not a lot. These are wines worth owning, although given the current economy we have time to get on board. Hank Skewis loves what he is doing and does it very well. tBoW purchased which, after all, is the best praise.

Other wines recently tasted...

2003 Manzoni Bianco Marca Trevigiana $1: BING BING BING. Lifted from the closeout bin in a local haunt, the tasty snob rationally reasoned if it was priced at $4 he figured he could get it for $1. And he did. Here is the best news. The wine was good. Would we run out and buy a case for $12? No because it won't be there. A blend of Pinot Blanc and Riesling from the northeastern corner of Italy which is the newest regional discovery for our infrequent Least Coast correspondent, Mouse, or as he prefers, the King. The wine is oxidized but not to the point of being offensive, rather it touches the caramel threshold and shows some butterscotch and anise. Online notes say the vines are 30 y.o. and the wine was slightly oxidized to begin with. Put this in a blind tasting and it would be a winner. 12.5%

2006 Morellino di Scansano La Selva $11: Bargain bin Tuscan pickup that turns out pretty nicely. Medium weight Sangiovese (10% Merlot), light and fruity but with enough age to not be overbearing at all. Good fruity flavors. Easy to drink. Great with food. Light on its feet. Widely available in UK; more likely to find it on East Coast than West. 2005 was Gambero Rosso rated two bicchieri. 13.5%

2006 5 Mile Bridge Syrah Margarita Vineyard Paso Robles $9: Wades Wines which has always been the go-to local vendor for Central Coast wines is loading up his bargain bin...with mixed results. This wine has a moldy nose but the flavors are simple and straightforward and without any rot. The winemaker sources the fruit from the Margarita Vineyard and has a website worth visiting. This is his second release. Deserves a second try. Admirably low alcohol for the region. 13.1%

1996 Chateau Soucherie Coteaux du Layon Chaume Vielles Vignes ~$25 online: A gift more than ten years ago. Never quite knew what to do with the wine until the generous giftor reminded me this was probably a good time to uncork it. Wasn't he right. This represents everything tBoW thinks is great about wine. The price is very fair; in fact, for the quality it is a steal. The region is completely under-valued. The Chenin Blanc grape is under-publicized and unfashionable even though it has produced outstanding wines for centuries [ed. high snob appeal]. Read this web site description and you have to visit. "Domaine de la Soucherie is located in the village of Beaulieu sur Layon in the very heart of the Côteaux du Layon appellation just south of Angers. This quaint city traces its roots to early Roman times..." This is 100% Chenin Blanc dessert wine. It is qualitatively different than Sauternes. Where the great sweet wine of Bordeaux is heavy like syrup this is light weight. There is flint and chalk in the nose. Lychee in the exotic flavors, both sweet and sour and in balance. Honeysuckle, acidic, excellent balance. A pleasure to drink. Ownership turned over in 2007. Available online.

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!

When it comes to Pinot Noir we are entering unchartered territory, if you will, irregardless of goodness of fit. Pinot Noir, like "common" language, is becoming absurdly stylized and impossible to understand. In the attempt to create individually expressive Pinot Noir wines that can win big Parker Points, a phalanx of PN wines has emerged that does not taste like Pinot Noir while at the same time tastes remarkably alike. Either my palate is becoming more finicky or there are more and more of these big fruit big alcohol Parkerized fiascos.

The whole movement to re-make Pinot Noir as a new world vision began when the alcohol levels crossed 14.5%. The tBoW has tasted a Pinot Noir above 16%. tBoW liked it! as the excessive alcohol was balanced by the excessive fruit. Kind of like hippoes in toe shoes. The flavors one associates with Pinot Noir are barely present in high alcohol Pinot Noir. This grape is supposed to make wine that is exotic, gamey, even stinkyfunky, the old forest floor. Mushrooms, bacon fat. Cherries, strawberries, black cherries. Sometimes beets. They are supposed to be delicate, light to medium weight, translucent. Neither clouded or dense. And the alcohol should begin with the calming figure of 13%.

Otherwise we get problems in the most egregious New World versions. We get palate crushing fruit bombs that are closer to New World Syrah. In fact, tBoW gets confused sometimes with these two varietals especially if they are from Santa Barbara County or Paso Robles. In many cases the high alcohol blows out the fruit, overwhelming the palate and even the nose. The wine comes off hot. The winemaker needs the big fruit to balance the high alcohol which gets harder to pull off the higher the alcohol. Even when the trick is pulled off the result still ain't Pinot. Serious music fans HATED Fantasia. Here is a mixed review that tries to get at the weaknesses and strengths of the 1940 animation. As for New World Pinot Parker bombs when the winemaker gets the gaminess going the typical correspondent is a profound smoky nose and flavors. This is where things begin to melt into the Rhone style.

There are exceptional New World Pinot Noirs. Several have been reviewed here: Skewis, Chasseur, Paul Lato. Each winemaker shows restraint and a traditional idea about what comprises classic Pinot Noir. However, for each one of these New World traditionalists there seem to be thousands that occupy a narrow bandwidth where big fruit, high alcohol, short finishes, ultimately produce a forgettable wine. It is shocking how many big name producers are in that space. They are making something closer to a milk shake or chocolate covered briquets.

As with many enterprises today (sports, cooking, unction) that prefer to stretch the limits of taste and skill, there exists within the broad New World group an extreme contingent: the Uncharted Pinot Noir Winemakers. These are the Pinot Noir wines that are from another dimension. We tasted one such recently and it is reviewed below. These Pinot Noirs taste nothing like any of the above descriptors. At best, they begin to taste like lesser known Italian varietals, i.e., Amarone or Lagrein or Sagrantino wines. I am not talking about Pinot Noir wines from Germany, Austria or Switzerland which express their regions and climates without losing the Pinot Noir character. I am talking about somebody's vision, maybe their dream, to do something truly exceptional. Whatever. Please pick on another grape.

2005 Le Cuvier Paso Robles Pinot Noir $45: Bourbon? Sour mash? The alcohol is not really that big but combined with the over-ripe fruit that tastes like it was dried on straw mats in the sun, and some premature aging in the color, this could be a high-end Amarone. It is not a bad wine [ed. you mean FLOD] but it ain't Pinot Noir either. Bee-zarr. The http://www.lcwine.com/ is highly entertaining. Maybe I should try some other vintages but I don't think so. 14.7%

2006 Williams Selyem Allen Vineyard $78: Here is the original model for New World Pinot Noir. WS wines - only Pinot Noir - were always sweet to the point it was rumored they contained Viognier. But they were also balanced, delicate, lyrical. WS wines made the perfect book end for their neighbor Rochioli. WS still produces a Riverblock bottle which is premium Rochioli juice. The Allen vineyard is about as big as it gets for WS. This is no exception. There is smoke and light tannins. The flavors are ripe, crossing the robust fruitiness of Gamay and cherries with some gamey qualities. This would be a great Thanksgiving wine big enough to stand up to all the important flavors of that meal (nothing can handle Mrs. tBoW's marshmallow yams). Allen is a cornerstone WS wine; one you can count on to show characteristic style. A classic wine even though tBoW feels a twinge of hypocrosy given the price and the wine's sweetness. 14.1%

2006 Eric Ross Poule D'or Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ~$30: Another hot [ed. as in alcohol] wine that comes across on the nose and dominates the first sip. The poster wine for Parkerized Pinot Noir. Sourced form xxx in the Russian River Valley, arguably California's best Pinot Noir region. [ed. It isn't; Carneros is]. Flavorful enough but undistinguishable from a million others just like it. 14.7%

2005 Cote de Brouilly Cru de Beaujolais Cuvée Vielles Vigne $20: Here is the other end of the discussion. A Gamay wine from Beaujolais that is almost Pinot Noir. This is a house blend selected by North Berkeley WInes which is a favorite tBoW retailer. The wine is almost brawny. Tannins still very much in evidence, balanced, good dark fruit flavors. Beaujolais has been blessed with great vintages in 2005, 206 and 2007. If you see one from a producer other than Georges Dubouef you might snap it up. 12.5%

2007 Pali Pinot Noir Alphabets Willamette Valley $15: The label is from Santa Rita Hills. The winemaker for 2007 was Brian Loring whose own label tends towards big and fruity. Pali produced 13 Pinot Noir wines in this vintage from what many would consider the premier domestic growing regions for Pinot Noir: Sonoma, Santa Rita and Oregon's Willamette Valley. This is one of three Oregon efforts. It tastes like the 2007 vintage which tells you that it is all about the terroir. The wine is smoky, light to medium weight with restrained pinot noir flavors on the forest floor side of the spectrum. Not a fruit bomb. If tBoW had tasted it at the Portland Indie Wine Fest it would not have made the final cut. But the terroir is there as is the lightweight nature of the vintage. And he used a screw cap. 13.3%

We continue with the evening session of a Great Riesling Tasting in 100 degree heat. As you can see laying down a leeching field is critical. If you missed the preceding afternoon session click here.

Icardi Suri Vigin Brachetto NV $19: Time to transition to red. How about a sparkling red from Piemonte? Wow. Absolutely delicious. These light sparkling fruity wines are the joy of summer. Pronounced blueberry flavors with just a hint of pepper in the back. The King decrees Brachetto is a fun wine. Long live the King!! 6.5%

2007 Bugey Mondeuse Maison Angelot $14: The most challenging wine of this tasting. "It hurts my tongue". Terroir-driven wine. "Bacon bits". Palatable to the same two tasters who found redeeming qualities in the Austrian Riesling. Imported by Charles Neal with his typical hallmarks; from off the trodden path, very local, daring. 12%

2006 Menetou-Salon Domaine Philippe Gilbert $24 at K&L: Loire Valley Pinot Noir. Light in color, delicate in flavor. Nicely balanced, a perfect start for the red flight. Imported by Neal Rosenthal who also digs discovery. 12.5%.
2006 Martinelli Bella Vigna Russian River Valley $44: It is official. tBoW and Dotoré are done with rich full and lush domestic Pinot Noir. And that is what this wine is all about. I smell the sweet on the nose. You got a run in your hose. We don't taste no more of those. Nothing wrong with the wine. It is well made and every bit as good as Rochioli and Williams Selyem. We are just dunwiddit. Some tasters cry bias. My liege says 1 mouse. Two peasants grumble. Grumble grumble. 14.7%

2006 Artadi Viñas de Gain ~$30: Spanish showpiece. Middle weight, deep, lush, complex. Nice follow to the Martinelli. Just that much bigger. tBoW lifted the rest from a website. In fact, these words are on a lot of websites. "The 2006 VIñas de Gain is old-vine Tempranillo aged in 40% new French oak for 12-14 months. Deep crimson-colored, it offers an alluring perfume of truffle, pencil lead, vanilla, blackberry, and black cherry jam. Full bodied, the wine is opulent yet elegant. It has enough stuffing to evolve for 4-5 years and should drink well from 2012 to 2025". We can add the vines are 40 years plus from Rioja Alavesa which is the finest Rioja region. Very nice. 12.5%

1997 Domaine de Plaisance Quarts de Chaume $50?: Tasting fraulein EJ requested dessert wine with her fruit and cake. The mark of a great dessert wine is its ability to capture the interest of thoroughly fatigued palates and, in some cases, tasters who have hit the wall. "Looks like beer" - WW. This is a special bottle for several reasons including its ability to drag one more effort from tasters' palates. The Coteaux du Layon is a 1500 year old premier growing region in the Loire; the Chaume is the top region with the Coteaux du Layon; and the Quarts de Chaume is the Gran Cru site within the Chaume. Only dessert wines may be produced from the Quarts. The wine showed coconut, in particular the milky inner lining of the hairy nut. Flavors show candied, walnuts, toasted almond, and Hawaiian haupia. "Traditional syrup" - WW. This wine is the next step up from the Chateau Soucherie Coteaux du Lyon Chaumes tasted only one week ago. Two outstanding Chenin Blanc wines, properly aged and tasting absolutely delightful. Makes one wonder how Bordeaux manages to overshadow the Loire. 12.5%

Any wine tasting is greatly enhanced when there is at least one taster with the encyclopedic knowledge of someone like Steve Goldun, both Wasserman brothers, or the King aka Mouse [ed. Martin Glasser]. As wine snobs we appreciate the "back story" and history of regions, producers and bottles. There are not many folks who can bring it like The King. This was an outstanding tasting that really rang the bell in terms of diversity and excellence.

LA the city as brasserie. Flames fan the hills. Corks get pulled. Once for Dotoré's 60th. Again for RB's departure. Friends mix, barely familiar. Zins and Cabs here. Pinot Noirs there. Fruity whites cross all snob lines. Wine greases the wheels. Everyone loosens up. Even the tighties. Almost everyone. Birthday boy pulls the cork on two Melville bad boys. tBoW pops a double mag and a 26 year old port. Different fetés. Same classic soul mix with 60's thrash. Dotoré and tBoW the only fans.

So what got poured...it's all right here.

1997 Ca' Moreis Sandro Fey $50 (jeroboam): Poor man's Barolo from the region's best producer. Middle weight Nebbiolo from the Italian Alps. Not meant to age so no wonder the color is brown and red brick. Coffee nose, herbal flavors. Soft, lean. Balanced, spicy. A perfect night to pull this cork. 13%

2009 Crios Torrontes $12: Susan Bilbo's classic white from Argentina. Drink it now. Fresh cantaloupe in a glass. Cousin Gar asks if it is Viognier crossed with Riesling. Nice instincts. Every new winemaker should start with Torrontes - the wine you can't screw up. 12%

The guests will eventually dictate the wine lineup so you know in advance what you'll be tasting. At the birthday this meant a descent into big fruit Napa wines...and a couple of bad boys from the Central Coast.

2004 Vincent Arroyo Entrada Napa Wine $65: Mostly Syrah (62%) with a solid Cabernet paunch 23% and a 15% Petite Syrah kick. The only big California grape left out is...that's right...Zinfandel. Carob flavors, i.e., dark chocolate. Thick, heavy weight. Reaching for the Silver Oak style. Not much tannin. Heavy wines should have tannins or they come off mushy. Are you ready for the sex girls? 14.3%

2005 Quintessa $55: Big ticket Napa Bordeaux blend. Lots of Merlot in the mouth. Soft delicious fruit. Balanced. And mushy. 14%

2002 Melville Carrie's Pinot Noir $60 (at winery on release): The LEGEND. The wine Dotoré had to have or be hounded by fever dreams. This isn't wine. It's MMA in a bottle. Seven years ago it was brutal, nasty, ready to take off your head. Now it is somewhat weedy. The fruit has yielded to the alcohol. All that's left is vanilla from what must have been a thorough oaking. Deliciously stupid. 16.1%

2002 Melville Carrie's Syrah $55: A wine only an investor could love. I like to imagine this is the wine that drove the family apart. Like it's sister the Pinot It is just huge. Together these bottles are the Williams sisters of wine. 16.1%

As though the fires in the hills extinguished and a strong ocean wined blew all the smoke somewhere over the desert...there was one more entry.

2006 Stevenson-Barrie Willamette Valley Pinot Noir $32: Cuzzin Gar slipped this one in honoring the Pinot lovin' Dotoré. After having our palates carpet bombed this excellent Oregon wine helped tBoW re-calibrate. Coming from the fruity ripe 2006 vintage the wine actually fit in well. Creamy oak, smells and tastes like PN. 14%

What do you do when the "revenue river" decides he should redirect his course to the Middle East? Same thing we do every weekend. With a bit more subdued crowd, selfishly selected to suit tBoW's taste. The wine choices were more familiar. We skip the whites report except to say there were two goodies: a 2005 Macon Village from Kermit Lynch, matched with a 2005 Dirler Pinot Gris from Alsace. Both were quite pleasing, a cut above and U20s.

2006 Williams Selyem Westside Road Neighbors $100: The first time tBoW has tasted this blend of Russian River premium Pinot Noir. Tannic, exotic, viscous, Plums and blueberries. This was an exciting bottle. The most notable WS tasted in quite a while. 14.2%

1996 Rochioli Three Corners Vineyard $475 (?!?): The wine held form like we would expect from California's most collectible Pinot Noir. Sweet flavors, slight volatile acidity. Focused and balanced. Coffee and toffee flavors. 14.2%

1983 Smith Woodhouse Oporto $35 in split ($9 sticker!): Wow. Port in a split makes such sense. It is so hard to finish a 750 ml bottle at the end of a meal featuring great wines. You have to have 8 solid citizens to make a dent. But, a split is just perfect. This wine was smooth, soft, with stuffing. Dark red, sweet but focused. Each pour was drained . Threw sediment in the split! A perfect port. xx%

Fall in LA is the best time of year. Fall in LA means it is safe to go outside without fearing a microwave burn. The tarantulas and rattlesnakes have left the patio to the hounds. [ed. real-Yankee Derek Jeter likes to have a little Halloween fun this time of year] I can watch TV outside into the early evening.

Fall means baseball playoffs and a chance to see the current future ex-Yankees: among the star players an ex-Red Sox, ex-Angel and ex-Twin. The once September, then October, Classic now ends in November. Yo. The Yanks and Phils are worth watching long as the "tri-state area" don't get an early snowfall no-what-i-mean? October is also the middle of the Pac 9 season. UCLA football is the nucelar winter of local sports teams and USC, having already lost its annual sucker game, can win the conference and go clobber Cincinnatti or Iowa in the Rose Bowl.

Tanks gott for new neighborhood wine shops. Wish they were in my neighborhood. The discerning LA wine buyer who lives in Venice should check out El Vino (covered here) and if you live in Atwater Village you should check out 55 Degree Wine (covered below). Both have excellent style and interesting wine buys. 55D has the most tasteful dungeon with their ex-Yankeesspeakeasy-like subterranean wine tasting room. tBoW got the tour from ex-YankeesJennifer as earthy and toffee-tinted as one of the atypical Italian varietals for sale upstairs. Of course, we bought some. For tBoW it is a drive but being well placed in my memory bank makes 55D a future stop whenever in the neighborhood.

2007 Klee WIllamette Valley Pinot Noir $22: Unlike the artist, this wine is uninspired. It is kind of simple, somewhat fruity, with a detached acid spine. It did not hang together. Needs a neurologist. Or a chiropractor. Acupuncturist? 13.5%

2007 Erath Oregon Pinot Noir $19: Compare this to the Klee and faith is restored in the region and vintage. As the entry level wine for Erath - once a flagship winery for Oregon Pinot Noir - this is elegant, deliate and nicely balanced. Nothing terribly complex, has enough acidic spine to avoid the flabby tag. Think of it as the Saintsbury of Willamette. Steady, dependable, always tasty, never challenging, Color is very light. Some Internet raters not as pleased as tBoW but they are probably not fans of the 2007 vintage either. A U20 winner. 13%

2006 Skewis Salzgeber-Chan Russian River Pinot Noir $40: A very nice example of premium RRV Pinot Noir. tBoW reviewed Skewis wines at a summer tasting hosted at Palate. That was a lucky day because we had no expectations. The wine is still very impressive with well balanced smoky and cherry choco flavors. Scent of game makes it complex. The kind of wine you can drink with or without food and enjoy it equally. Alcohol under control. 14%

2006 Lomazzi & Sarli Latias Primitivo $14: She asked what style of wine I liked. A perfectly acceptable question. Light and delicate Pinot Noirs did not ring the bell. So she steered me towards this U20 bottle of entry level Italian Primitivo from Puglia and we forgot the Nero Amore [ed. he made that name up] altogether. She admonished that Priimitivo is not Zinfandel. So how was my non-Barolo/Sangio Italian-for-wimps wine? Not too shabby. Acidic like many Italian reds tend to be. Steel fermentation, no oak. Exotic kind of like...Amy Winehouse? A little dirty and quite good. Italian wines not my palate but I can learn. 13%

[ed. everything RIGHT with the Super Bowl in one image]

For the third year in a row the Super Bowl presented a pretty good football game that managed to outshine the wine selections. We usually expect the wine selections for a Super Bowl to be slightly more entertaining than the game. The whole mishpokhe surrounding the game is far too familiar to expect anything other than an ordinary game, ordinary food and and ordinary wine menu. Mrs. IGTY made sure the cioppino was exceptional and Mr. IGTY did his best to make sure we opened some big hitters. Dotoré ensured swift justice prevailed. [ed. everything WRONG with the Super Bowl in one image]

This year we hoped for more from the wines and the teams. Both featured crowd favorites so all signals pointed to a decent afternoon. Now more about everything RIGHT with the Super Bowl...this time...

1998 Rochioli River Block Chardonnay $??: Oak on the nose and in the mouth right away, quickly joined by butterscotch flavors reminiscent of the best aged white Burgundies [ed. a 1979 Domaine Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet came to mind]. Still young showing tannins but rich and refined. Quite Burgundian moreso than the Pinot Noir wines from Rochioli. The thought crosses the mind that perhaps Rochioli produces more spectacular and approachable Chardonnay than Pinot Noir. Beautiful. Side note: Rochioli wines are simply out of range price-wise for anyone but the most fervent and fevered collectors. We are lucky to have enough back logged to keep rendering opinions on whether the wines at least deserve the hype if not the price. This one sure did. Anytime a California Chardonnay recalls a Grand Cru Burgundy it is notable. But if I was spending $160 on a Chardonnay it would be a 20 year old Burgundy. 14%

2003 Foxen Sea Smoke Pinot Noir $100+: The game chugs along and we have all winners except the lone loser so the host pops this rare bottle (230 cases, first vintage)>. Foxen was instrumental in helping Sea Smoke establish itself and in return Foxen receives the only outside allocation of Sea Smoke juice on an annual basis. And what do they do with it? They make a Pinot Noir without the fussy attention that strips Sea Smoke the label of character and terroir; a strategy that works very well to please a strong following of trophy hunters. Of course, all Sea Smoke wines are anointed by the Wine Speculator. In fact, Sea Smoke the label nd Foxen's version appear to be quite different. This bottle is a monster wine that tastes like Bourbon. The wine is lean and rich. It has the sweet aroma and flavors of sour mash whiskey. File it under the growing file named "just-cuz-it-says-Pinot-don't-mean-it-is"! As Mouse might say, a great young Chateuaneuf du Pape! 14.%

2000 Williams Selyem Rochioli Riverblock Pinot Noir $fuggedaboudid: Sharp,lean with high tone fruit. Pretty serious for Williams Selyem. Dark fruit with sweet beet flavors. Intense and integrated nicely. Not your typical W-S. Like it a lot. 14.3%

1996 Esmonin Ruchotte-Chambertin Grand Cru $50 (release price): This is a Grand Cru vineyard in a very good year that should produce a fantastic example of French Pinot Noir at its top. Except it sucked. Unfortunately, this cohort of 95-96 Esmonin bottles, all purchased at the same time, have pretty much sucked. This one is kind of pretty and very delicate when opened, only to immediately fall into a psychotic state faster than Amy Winehouse slipping off a stage. Or Sarah Palin talking foreign policy. Or Larry Kudlow calling the end of the recession. But we regress. The fruit disappeared and the woody flavors emerged. Totally out of whack. Never again for this producer. 13.5%

2003 Paul Lato Duende Gold Coast Pinot Noir $50: Second vintage of the winemaker now widely regarded as the top guy in the Central Coast. Why? He makes wines that, at least in his earliest vintages, were lighter in alcohol and more restrained in style. This may be changing in later vintages but not it was still the case in 2003. This is the antithesis of the Foxen wine. Gentle, beautifully balanced, light weight. Perfect in many ways. Hard to find a flaw. Parker ratings have steadily climbed up one point a year since this bottle. Honestly, it is embarrassing to watch the world's most widely read taster try to scramble to catch up with what was obvious to tasters unburdened with the weight of supreme authority who first came across Paul Lato, and his 75 cases of first release, humble and much ignored, wines at the Wine Cask 2004 tasting. Lato's skill was obvious. His light handed style stood in stark contrast to the fruit bombs that littered the adjacent tables throughout. tBoW is sitting on a bunch of Syrahs from 2005 and 2006 which Parker rated very highly; higher than the PNs which suggests a somewhat desperate maneuver to stake out "discovery" territory for the obvious darling of the scene...Parker having missed the first Lato go round. When Parker likes your wines it maybe good for sales (which is always good for wineries) but it is generally the bacio del morte for tBoW readers.

Some jaundiced words on Wine Spectator ratings....tBoW read recently that a Parker 93 is now considered ordinary and only wines rated 95 and higher deserve the attention of the serious trophy wine hunter. Is this a kind of inflation? It takes more points than ever to fire the imaginations of the "look-what-I-got" crew. Such folly is inevitable when a "100 point" scale that starts at 93 and ends at 100 is only 7 points. The "hunnerd" part is just for all those wonderful people out there in the dark!

The science behind the 100 point rating scale is explained here in this fabulous clip from Gloria the Wine Critic.