In wine, there's truth. ... The best kind of wine is that which is most pleasant to him [or her!] who drinks it. -- Pliny the Elder

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Perfect Pinots and Charming Chardonnays



An East Coast friend was recently insisting that you just cannot get a good Pinot Noir from California, that Oregon was “the” place for it. In fact, he and his wife were planning a trip to Willamette Valley this year to experience the lovely Pinots at the source, in the cascading hills caressed by the cooling Pacific Ocean breezes. “Good for you,” was my response, and I agreed that Oregon produces many magnificent Pinots. In fact, I recommended he visit the Evening Land Vineyard (www.eveninglandvineyards.com), where consulting winemaker Sashi Moorman works his magic.

But I gently admonished my friend, and informed him about the beautiful, local (to me, anyway, in Southern California) AVA called Santa Rita Hills, just 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, which is producing some of the loveliest, most nuanced, and most drinkable Pinots – and  Chardonnays – I’ve had the pleasure of tasting.

My local wine retailer, The Wine House (www.winehouse.com) this week hosted a "focused tasting of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA" featuring 29 wineries and 58 wines, produced from grapes grown in the AVA. It was almost overwhelming for me, as I can for the first time ever say that there was not one sip of wine at this event that I did not like. The hardest decision I had to make all night was which wines to purchase.

Established officially as Sta. Rita Hills AVA in 2001 (note that the abbreviated spelling is in deference to the Chilean producer Santa Rita) is situated in the cooler hills of Santa Barbara county, just east of the sprawling and warmer Santa Ynez Valley. Just about 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the area benefits from the eastward jag of the coastline and the west-to-east running hills, which allow coastal fog and wind into the area. The fog lingers from late afternoon to early morning, and then burns off, creating a combination of warms days and cool nights, which is perfect weather for Pinot and Chardonnay.  Additionally, a wide variety of soils – clay, sand, silt, slate – provides conditions that have been described as Burgundian, adding intense minerality to the wines.

The weather and soil conditions also produce grapes with nice acidity – a key to any good wine. So, in addition to Pinot and Chardonnay, you will find Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer – varietals known for their high acidity – as well as Grenache. 
   
The big-flavor wines that typified the AVA in the early 2000s are giving way to much more refined, mineral- and “terroir-“driven” examples. Several vintners at the Wine House event had two versions of their Pinot Noirs, from two different “micro-lots” (patches of earth) in the Hills, and the comparison was quite interesting. For instance, Transcendence’s (www.transcendwines.com) Joey Gummere had  tastes of his 2012 ‘F’ Street Pinot alongside his 2012 Encantada Pinot. The former ($34.99) had a beautiful fruit on both the nose and palate, while the latter ($44.99) was all about the minerals. Delicious in both cases.

Longoria's "Lovely Rita"
Richard Longoria of Longoria Wine (www.longoriawine.com) has been making wine since 1982, long before the area achieved AVA status. His two Pinots were the 2012 Lovely Rita ($29.99) and the 2011 Fe Ciega ($46.99). Lovely Rita had the classic Pinot aroma and taste of sour cherry as well as some spices, while the Fe Ciega offered much more, as it “is one of the most elegant, refined vintages of Fe Ciega we have produced,” per Longoria.

Other notable Pinots included Montemar (www.montemarwines.com) 2011 La Encantada ($49.99) and Rio Vista ($44.99); 2012 Wan Fiore Project Pinot Noir ($45.99); Pali Wine Co. (www.paliwineco.com)  2011 Pinot Noir “Fiddlestix” ($53.99); Lindley 2011 and 2012 La Lomita Vineyard (both $54.99); and Kitá 2011 Pinot Noir Hillard Bruce (www.kitawines.com, ($59.99). (Kitá is a Chumash Indian word meaning “Our Valley Oak,” and winemaker Tara Gomez is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, who provided a scholarship to help her study enology at UC Fresno.)

LaFond Chardonnay
A few Chardonnays were also notable, including the 2012 Lafond (a bargain at $21.99). This was oaked, but not too much, with good minerality and acidity. The Crawford Family 2012 Chardonnay Tin Shack ($41.99) is stainless steel aged, with nice acid and minerality, and a touch of grapefruit on the palate.

Many of the Sta. Rita Hills producers have tasting rooms located in Lompoc, Los Olivos, and downtown Santa Barbara. The “Lompoc  Wine Ghetto” (that’s pronounced “lom-poke” I was told several times during the event!) set up in an industrial park on the east side of town, has become the in spot for tasting rooms, so don’t just pass through this town on your way to and from the tonier spots in the Santa Ynez Valley. Stop, and enjoy a few tastes.


Until next time, Cheers!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Bordeaux for the Rest of Us



Bordeaux wine brings to mind words like chateau, age-worthy, expensive, status symbol, and even elitist. Not exactly wine for the budget-minded consumer.

Selection of wines at Grand Cercle Des Vins de Bordeaux
Bolstering this view, the March 31, 2013 edition of Wine Spectator stated that “the 2010s were the most expensive Bordeaux vintage in history” upon release en premeur in spring 2011. En premeur is a capital-raising pricing system used among the more prestigious properties in Bordeaux – where vineyard and wineries expenses are among the highest in the world – in which producers release a portion of their wine for sale the year following a harvest, after it’s been rated by critics. The costs up to and including the bottling of the wine are included in the price. The first release (tranche in French) is the least pricey (a relative term here!) with subsequent tranches getting pricier and pricier. 

Rated at 96 points and above on a 100-point scale, Wine Spectator’s top picks ranged from $103 to $3,400 a bottle (Chateau Petrus).

The en premeur system is high-stakes wine merchandising … an area of the industry that I, frankly, do not play in, nor do most consumers. So, when a colleague informed me about the Grand Cercle Des Vins De Bordeaux tasting event in Santa Monica last week I was excited to be afforded the opportunity to sample some wines that I don’t often get to taste.

There were three really cool things about this event:  1) The year 2013 was an annus horriblus (to borrow a phrase from Queen Elizabeth of England) in which some of the worst weather conditions prevailed to create a very tense growing season, with mixed results at harvest, and all the vintners at Grand Cercle brought along their vintage from that year. 2) To give a nice comparison tasting, most of the vintners also had samples of their 2011 vintage (in some cases they had their 2010), which was another less-than-stellar growing season. 3) Most of the wines were in the “affordable” category – under $30, with many being under $20. (Not all of the wineries have California or even US distributors; the goal of these trade events is to find one.)

The 2011 and 2013 growing seasons posed many challenges for Bordeaux grape growers, with rain, cool temperatures, hail, late bud breaks, forced early harvests, and general weather mayhem. As I tasted wines at the Grand Cercle (I stuck to the Merlots and Sauternes), many of the vintners I spoke with reported that their 2013 harvest was half of their normal output.
  
The 2013 vintages were obviously young, and had the fresh fruit liveliness that I personally love. The Merlots were ripe, but not dense. The 2011s, with two more years of barrel aging, displayed less fruit, but more spice, smoke, chocolate, and tannin – characteristics that develop with age.

Alain Raynaud pours his Chateau du Parc
Alain Raynaud, the driving force behind the event, is himself a vintner as well as Chairman of Grand Cercle. Four years ago Raynaud and his wife purchased Chateau du Parc, a petite, unassuming property in the St. Emillion commune of St. Sulpice de Faleyrans and produced their first vintage in 2011. At this event, Raynaud’s wines were among my favorites. A blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the 2013 had a beautiful nose, with nice florals (violets), and lovely fruit on the palette, while the 2011 had black pepper, espresso, and subtle fruit, including red plums and blueberry. This, du Parc’s first vintage, was very elegant, a character Raynaud says he strives for, and achieves in my opinion. I was happy to see his price, too, at $19.99 a bottle. I’m hoping he gets a distribution deal soon so I can purchase some. 
  
Chateau de Myrat Sauternes
The Sauternes region of Bordeaux also experienced low yields in 2013.The Chateau de Myrat Sauternes from 2013, which is 88% Semillion, 8% Sauvignon Blanc, and 4% Muscadelle,  was very fresh tasting, and easy to drink, making me yearn for warm summer days in my back yard sipping glass after glass. The 2011 had more spice from the aging. This was one of the more expensive wines I tasted, selling for around $40 to $55, but worth it.

It will be interesting to see how the 2013 vintages age, but it may be a good idea to just drink them young. Dany Rolland, a vintner, on behalf of Grand Cercle stated in event literature, “2013 will be a wine to drink when it is young, revealing fruitiness and freshness; it should be a wine for pleasure, devoid of powerful tannin, just plump and not green; an appealing wine that will enable 2008s, 2009s, and 2010s to be left in the cellar out of mind so you can enjoy this cheerful, immediate balance.” 

I’ll drink to that!

Until next time, á votre santé!


Thursday, April 3, 2014

Pouring, Sipping, Savoring, Learning




Part of my wine education is experiencing all aspects of the business, and pouring wine for consumers is something I had on my spit bucket list. Until last week, that is, when I got to pour at a really cool event, The Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure 2014, held March 29 and 30 in the historic and beautiful Veterans’ Memorial Hall in Solvang, Calif.

I poured at the Saturday morning seminar, “Rhones Rule: The Wines of Ballard Canyon,” which featured three vintners: Michael Larner of Larner Vineyards, Larry Schaffer of Tercero Wines, and Mikael Sigouin of Kaena Wine Company.  Each vintner brought along two wines, either Grenache or Syrah.

These three vintners either grow or buy grapes in one of California’s newly minted AVAs (American Viticulture Region), Ballard Canyon in the Santa Ynez Valley.  The Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) recognized this new AVA on October 1, 2013, and Ballard Canyon joined Santa Rita Hills AVA and Happy Canyon AVA as the three distinguished growing areas of Santa Barbara County. Comprising 7,800 acres, it’s located in a canyon located between the towns of Solvang, Buellton, and Los Olivos.

What significance is this to wine consumers?

First of all, we will now begin seeing wine labels from Larner, Tercero, and Kaena, as well as close to a couple dozen other wineries, carry the term “Ballard Canyon,” whereas before they might say “Santa Ynez Valley” or simply "Larner Vineyard."

But even more importantly, the AVA designation signifies that the grapes used in these wines have a proven track record for producing high-quality, world-class wines particularly in the northern Rhone style.

And while there may be similarities in Ballard Canyon AVA wines, there will be significant differences too. There may be more minerality or earthiness to the grapes, depending on which vineyard within the AVA they are grown in, or even within the vineyard, as the geological difference of just one row can create two distinctive grapes styles. 

In general, the grapes grown in Ballard Canyon AVA are aromatic varietals such as Grenache and Syrah for reds and Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne for whites. Many other varietals are grown in Ballard Canyon too, including Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon (reds), Sauvignon Blanc, and Grenache Blanc (whites).

Now, back to the seminar.  How did the Ballard Canyon AVA wines taste? Were they distinctly different or similar? Yes and yes.  
  
The two Kaena Grenaches were from two different Ballard Canyon vineyards. Both were lovely, but the 2011from the Tierra Alta Vineyard ($38) blew me away with its beautiful fruit – raspberries mostly – its lightness, and its refreshingly long finish. It’s a very feminine wine, in my opinion. I would describe the 2011Kaena Grenache from the Larner Vineyard ($44) as more masculine, with pronounced minerality, richer tannins, and an earthiness … but lovely too. Mikael Sigouin hails from Oahu and his winery name and labels reflect his background:  Kaena, per his Web site (www.kaenawine.com) is a shortened version of his native name and means “potential for greatness.” I would agree with that.

Larry Schaffer of Tercero (www.tercerowines.com) also had a 2009 Grenache ($35), which he sourced from the Larner Vineyard. His tasting notes state he, “Just took what I was ‘given’ and made the best wine possible.” And that he did. Also lovely, this version was different from Kaena’s, even though they were sourced from the same vineyard – Tercero’s being less fruit forward, and more earthy and full-bodied.

All three Syrahs were also similar yet distinct. 

Tercero’s 2009 Syrah, sourced from Larner Vineyards, was blended with 5% Viognier, which brings a smoothness to this bold, black fruity, spicy wine. It’s drinkable now, but also suitable for aging five years or more.

Michael Larner, a second-generation vintner, is from the family that owns Larner Vineyards. His label is Larner Wines (www.larnerwines.com). At the seminar he showcased his 2009 ($38) and 2010 ($38) Estate Syrahs. Both displayed the bold black fruit richness of Syrah, with spices and espresso notes. The difference was in the barrels, with the 2009 using some American oak and the 2010 using all French oak – nuances that affect the outcome.

The takeaway from this seminar, besides the fact that all three vintners are passionate, articulate and instrumental in the development of the Ballard Canyon AVA, is that the same grape from the same AVA may find different expressions depending on the exact location within the AVA as well as the wine maker. And, Ballard Canyon AVA is one to watch. All of the wines poured at this seminar were small lots, ranging from just 100 to 300 cases total, so I suggest you hunt them down now before they sell out.

All the wines can be purchased directly from the vineyards or from The Wandering Dog (http://wanderingdogwinebar.com) wine club in Solvang.

Until next time, Cheers!

A special thank you to the producers of The Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure – Stewart McLennan, Doug Minnick, Lisa Dinsmore, and Melanie Webber. I will pour for you any time! For more information visit http://californiagaragistes.com/.