Holiday Wines From America

Hey Everyone,

I'm sitting in my kitchen enjoying a beautifully wintry view out the window; the result of a winter storm covering much of the United States, and i thought I'd share a couple of fantastic wines I've encountered during my stint here in America.  It's nothing new to say that America is capable of producing top-quality wines, with quantitative scoring and historic tasting competitions to back up the claim.  But what is truly exciting about many wines is the ability and willingness to experiment, take risks and try to make something truly exceptional.  Here are but a few of the exciting wines I've encountered over the past few months.

Stag's Leap Karia Chardonnay 2011- It's not always about the oak when it comes to California Chardonnay as modern producers are showing us.  That said, a little bit never hurts, especially when the oak is pretty much neutral flavour-wise and serves mostly to allow gentle oxygen contact to stabilise the wine.  Stag's Leap is of course best known for it's Cask 23 which topped many other California and Bordeaux wines at the Judgement of Paris Tasting. This Chardonnay, however is a very beautiful, almost chablis-like approach to with crisp minerality and restrained green apple and pear.  It's also significantly cheaper than it's stable-mates and alongside the Stag's Leap Sauvignon Blanc represents excellent Napa white.

Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2011- This is probably the best value wine reviewed here today, not only because it is the lowest priced, but because it really over delivers.  It shows off all those wonderful, rich black currant flavours, gripping, yet polished tannins and a mouthful of juicy flavour with a very pleasing price tags coming under $20.  Cassis, black berries and even a hint of bell pepper give a Cab lover his fill and make for a food-lovers wine as well.  I had this with some grilled strip steaks and thought I'd found a real gem!

Buena Vista Ramal Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007- Forget about tannins and cassis for a moment and let's talk about pretty wine.  This is most certainly that! Buena Vista makes a lot of wine and in many different bottlings so I won't make great big pronouncement of quality overall, but here's a wine I must praise.  This pinot from the Ramal Vineyards in Carneros has reached a point that showcases maturity on a very human scale.  Six years old and it has opened up all the complexities and layers you want from classy Pinot Noir.  It is floral, with violets and rose petals, yet it also comes forward with notes of raspberries and red currants.  There is a definite but light earthiness as well.  Overall, it reminds me of but not identical to, an older Nuits-Saint-Georges.  Very pretty stuff indeed!

Orin Swift, Abstract 2012- From producer David Phinney, who I consider a winemaker very much in the footsteps of the illustrious Sine Qua Non, has produced excellent wine for some time now, from his start in 1997 as a farm hand with Robert Mondavi to his own operation bearing both his parent's middle names, Orin Swift produces top-tier wines in Napa.  The wine in question here is not one of his more expensive bottlings, but it shows a cavalier approach to wine making.  A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah, the Abstract hits the nose like a young, Chateauneuf and slams into the palate like a Napa Cab.  Aromas of blackberries, clove and rich figs come at first, with marvellous layers of leather and earth all leading to a palate that can be described as... big.  Big tannins, big acidity make this vin de garde one that will certainly live a long, fruitful life.

I hope your winter and Holiday seasons are filled with amazing food and good company.  That's what makes December such a wonderful way to end the year.  While you're at it, remember to enjoy some amazing wine!

Much Love,

G

Mmm... Douro

Hey Everybody,

Tonight I've been packing for a trip to London and as I go I am enjoying a nice bottle of Portuguese red.  Specifically from the Douro Valley in the North of the country, along the same river known as the Duero in Spain.  Douro w
ine is mostly known on the international stage as the source of some of the world's most highly regarded wine: Port.  That fortified, sweet and long lived wine is the stuff of legend but in a valley so blessed with an abundance of old vines, a plethora of cultivars and prime vineyard space, it is ridiculous to assume that top quality table wine is not made there as well.

Fruit forward and full bodied, it is a wonder that Portuguese reds are not more widely known.  Perhaps they are suffering from some of the same malignancies that continuously frustrate German wine makers, with confusing terms, unfamiliar grape varieties and association with a stereotypical style.  Whereas Germany contends with the misconception that all wines are going to be sweet and sickly, it may be that Portugal has the ghost of sweet fortified Port wine looming over it.

Fortunately it does not take too long to get through the layers of retrograde pfaffery, and the winemakers are doing what they can to help.  I'm not saying that the wineries are doing what many of the Bordelaise producers have done and Parkerised (made their wines suitable for Robert Parker's palette), rather they have made an effort to be more engaging with modern style but unchanging class.  For example, Dirk Niepoort of the legendary Niepoort Port house has made a conscious effort to put more emphasis on table wines, rather than his easily respectable vintage ports.  He is putting forward excellent examples of dry table wines, such as his 'Redoma' range alongside the truly world class 'Batuta.'  Kitted out with classy but interesting labels and amazing quality it is a great first step to showing the world what Portugal is capable of.

Other Port houses are following suit with their own table wines, and really putting some good effort into what they are producing.  Quina do Portal, another well respected house is putting out an excellent dry red made from a blend of Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca that represents excellent value with a definite nod towards high quality.  Call it a sort of gateway wine into the world of excellent Douro.  Hopefully what this will lead to is the development of interest in other quality wines from the Douro.

Other producers like Quinta do Macedos are going so far as to adopt the practice of the second wine with their 'Lagar de Macedos' and in so doing they have developed a pair of excellent bottlings, both of which are remarkably capable of standing the test of time, developing into something exciting and providing us wine geeks with another means of enjoying old wine.  One of the greatest pleasures of wine is to track the development of a wine over the course of it's life.  I love Rhône wines, young or old, but truly they are different wines entirely.  The same bottle that was once deep, chunky and spicy, becomes leathery, briny and earthy.  These Douro wines are perfect for that as well.  They live for years and years and over time, the deep black fruit and intense body of youth becomes something different, refined and elegant.

Essentially, the Douro is one of those regions that stands at the top of wine.  Bordeaux, Rhône, Burgundy, Napa and Mosel are all known the world over for their ability to produce mind-blowingly delicious wine.  The Douro is right up there with the rest of them.  Hopefully soon enough the rest of the world will catch on.  Or hopefully they won't.  Just leaves more for us!

Much Love,
G