Mas Martinet (27 October 2018)

Mas Martinet

October 27, 2018

In April 2009 I spent a week or so touring vineyards and wineries throughout Spain, which included

a remarkable day in Priorat. My notes from that day:

Day Seven – Falset/Montsant/Priorat We tasted some great wine today (and you know me – the better the wine, the fewer the words), but what made this day the best of the trip was the time we were fortunate enough to spend with Sara Perez and her father-in-law, Rene Barbier. Rene is one of (along with Sara’s Father) the driving forces behind the creation of the modern D.O.s of Priorat and Montsant and Falset. In the late morning Sara drove us up to the heights of her Clos Escuricons [sic] vineyard and spent about two hours explaining her philosophy and methodology. After lunch in Gratalops we spent the next four+ hours with Rene Barbier – first he drove us to the top of his home vineyard – Clos Mogador – then, after a tasting, he drove us to one of the highest points in all of Priorat, planted to 100+ year-old Grenache, which makes a wine he calls Espectacle. We learned the difference between schist in Martinet – loaded with iron – and schist in Mogador, pure and dark; and the granitic soils that produce Espectacle. The point is, these are some of the world’s great red wines (they made terrific whites as well), and we spent the whole day with two of the greatest winemakers in the world. And they thanked us for being there! Incredible. What a fantastic week! Much more on Priorat when I return. For now, a little sleep, then off to Barcelona for a day to relax before the flight home on Sunday. Buenos Noches.

Flash forward to Today - October 19, 2018 - we had a visitor: Roger Valls Jové from Mas Martinet. It wasn't as romantic as visiting Sara in Priorat, but the tasting was still exceptional. When I tasted with Sara in 2009 Escurçons and Pesseroles were new projects, and we were tasting 2006s in bottle (as well as 2008s from tank). Today we tasted 2016 Menut and Martinet Bru, 2014 Clos Martinet, Escurçons and Pesseroles. Nearly a decade separates these two tastings, yet my notes are remarkably similar. Clos Martinet 2014 is currently more giving than the 2006 Clos Martinet was in 2009, but in both cases this is the most elegant wine of the lineup. Escurçons and Pesseroles, ten vintages apart, remain different expressions, the former as pure a Garnatxa as can be, the latter with its signifiant dose of Cariñena, more animal, more dark and forbidding, but irresistible. Martinet Bru, made from younger estate vines, is a bargain - fully Priorat in its licorella, black fruit intensity, but not as closed or in need of cellaring as Clos Martinet. Menut wasn't around in 2009, but its a great addition to the lineup. Made from purchased fruit, it has all the classic aspects of Priorat - licorella, black fruits, herbs - at a great price.

Want to taste what Priorat, Falset and Montsant are all about? Mas Martinet and the other Perez/Barbier projects tell the story, deliciously.

Randall Grahm. Bonny Doon. Popelouchum. (2 October 2018)

Randall Grahm. Bonny Doon. Popelouchum.

October 2, 2018

Randall Grahm. It took nearly 40 years, but it finally happened, and I'm only sorry it took so long to meet the man who made Bonny Doon Vineyard; an original - if accidental - "Rhone Ranger"; master of puns; pioneer of wine ingredient labeling; possessor of a restless, tirelessly creative mind. I was thrilled to have the opportunity (thank you Patrick McKee and Kysela Père et Fils), if a little intimidated by the idea of meeting this guy. Shouldn't have worried. Mr. Grahm - he is two years older than I - was warm, charming, funny, and full of knowledge, both technical and philosophical. 

The "accidental" part was that Randall started with the intention of making great Pinot Noir. He had the good sense to realize quickly that grape varieties often found in France's Rhone Valley might prove to be a better fit in California's Mediterranean climate. While Grenache has long been planted in California - it is still one of the most widely planted grapes in the state - other "Rhone" varietals such as Syrah, Roussanne and Viognier were virtually non-existent when Bonny Down got started in 1983. Mourvedre, interestingly, has had a home in Contra Costa County since the late 1800s, where it has long been known as Mataro. 

Grahm's wildly creative, pun-filled writing can be found on the back label of his wines. There was a point, when many of his labels were designed by Ralph Steadman, that the inherent quality of the wines might have been overshadowed by the art, both written and visual, on the outside, but the wines have been consistently good. Over the years Randall shed some projects - sadly, there is no more "Heart of Darkness" Madiran from France or any other imported wine under the Bonny Doon mark - sometimes profitably. His sales of Big House and Pacific Rim, two of his most successful labels, probably helped fund his latest, most audacious venture: Popelouchum. 

For now, however, our focus is on what is currently available from Bonny Doon. Randall poured nine wines for us, starting with two in cans: La Bulle Moose de Cigar Rosé - a carbonated version of his wildly successful Vin Gris de Cigar and La Bulle Moose Rousse Fizzy Red of the Earth - 79% Grenache, 21% Syrah. Both of these are decidedly drier and more savory than anything else we've encountered in cans. Next in line were two whites.

Growing Picpoul in California is a heavy lift, since the grape is overwhelmingly known for the mostly inexpensive white wines it makes in Pinet (as in Picpoul de Pinet), France. Bonny Doon's version, retailing for about $21 (about $10 more than the average bottle of Picpoul de Pinet), is a fine bottle of white wine, with more salinity than any California-born white I've ever tasted. Randall's Le Cigare Blanc - 66% Grenache Blanc, 34% Roussanne - grapes from Bee's Wax Vineyard (named before Roussanne was planted there), is, despite its $30 price, a value, with fragrant (honey, and yes, bee's wax!), full-bodied but balanced flavors.

Bonny Doon's best seller is their Vin Gris de Cigare, a wine as close in style to good Provence Rosé as you're going to get in California. Keep a future eye out for Grahm's attempt at growing Tibouren at Popelouchum, as he hopes to emulate the great Provence estate of Clos Cibonne, one of the last Provence outposts where this indigenous grape is predominant.

Imagine a Grenache-dominant wine that possesses grace, even elegance, an sort of Burgundian sense of intensity without weight - then taste a bottle of Clos de Gilroy (88% Grenache, 12% Syrah). Making fairly light yet complete Grenache must be difficult, based on my experience - Bonny Doon has nailed it.

Two more reds. First Old Telegram (a nice nod to Domaine Vieux Telegraphe, but not a nod specifically to Chateauneuf du Pape) - 100% old vine Mourvedre from Contra Costa County. Randall leaves harvested whole bunches out to dry for three days before dropping the whole mess into the fermenter. You get a sense of dried fruit without the heaviness of wine made from completely raisined grapes. This is dark and intense, but also sort of brisk and edgy, 100% delicious. Le Cigare Volant is Randall's homage to Chateauneuf du Pape, with a blend - 39% Mourvedre, 33% Grenache, 26% Syrah, 2% Cinsault - fairly typical of the region (specifically, Chateau de Beaucastel comes to mind, especially considering the high dose of Mourvedre). Again, Bonny Doon nails it.

We finished with dessert - Viognier Vin de Glacière. Made from grapes frozen in an ice box instead of on the vine, which makes this eminently affordable, as opposed to Ice Wine (Eiswein). This reminds me of an October morning in Ampuis, the town at the base of the Condrieu hill. On the way to an appointment with Marcel Guigal, we stopped in a little bar to have a glass of Viognier must (grape juice just beginning to ferment). Best fruit juice I've ever tasted. My only note about this wine: What's not to love?

What is Popelouchum? A vineyard on hallowed ground in San Luis Batista (San Benito County), planted with many obscure, under appreciated grape varieties, at least here at the start. The long term plan is to cross some of these species in order to discover new hybrids that will thrive in a significantly warmer climate. Popelouchum is partly Randall Grahm playing with long loved varieties from other lands, partly a search for a uniquely American grape through varietal crosses that haven't been attempted before, and finally, a realization that varietals we know and love now might not be viable in a warmer world. I can't help but think we're likely to have bigger worries than what grapes to plant when it gets too damned hot for the ones we have now, but I appreciate Randall's tireless brain and his great humor. 

RWC Sources: Vintage 59 (19 September 2018)

RWC Sources: Vintage 59

September 19, 2018

I am often asked how I select wines for the shop. The smart-assed answer is "I taste 'em, and if they're good enough, I buy 'em." This is true, of course, but it is more complicated. I depend on a few good sales representatives from a few good wine distributors and/or importers to bring me samples of wine they hope I'll have interest in. It is, like most everything else involving wine, all about people.

Tomorrow's (20 September 2018) RWC "Wine of the Week" - Domaine Claude Branger Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Monnières-Saint-Fiacre 2014 - is a good example of how many steps it could take for a wine to end up in this store. 

Working backwards, I tasted this wine last March, over lunch with Vintage 59 representative Debra Lewis. We were brought together by Jennifer Minke, sales representative for The Country Vintner, Vintage 59's local distributor. I first met Vintage 59's founder and president, Roy Cloud, soon after he formed the company (1997) and soon after opening my first store (Chesapeake Wine Company) in late 1998. I've known Jen since the late 1980s - she even worked a short stint at CWC in the early days. I've known some of my sources for longer - up to nearly 40 years at this point - and some for shorter, but it is not unusual to have layers of relationships result in the latest wine find at RWC.

Like long-time importers such as Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant; Vineyard Brands; Rosenthal Selections (and more), the Vintage 59 logo on a bottle's back label is a virtual guarantee of quality. 

Other Vintage 59 wines you can find at RWC:

Champagne E. Barnaut - Bouzy (Blanc de Noirs and Brut Rosé) 

Domaine Joseph Voillot - Volnay (Bourgogne Rouge Vieilles Vignes)

Chateau Coupe Roses - Minervois (several different cuvées)

Chateau de Caladroy - Cotes du Roussillon-Villages Les Schistes

Wine Over Time (15 August 2018)

Wine Over Time

August 15, 2018

Chateau Lafleur, Pomerol 1979. Viader Red, Napa Valley 1993. Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2001. Opened at 39 years, 25 years and 17 years of age yesterday, these three provided a valuable illustration of the effects of age on wine. 

If we had been drinking this trio with a meal to match, we'd have gone youngest to oldest, starting with the Chateau Montelena 2001, but this time, with just a baguette and a few nibbles of cheese, we drank Chateau Lafleur first. This bottle survived multiple moves and less than ideal storage, but the cork pretty much disintegrated upon removal. Still identifiably Merlot (mostly), at first the tannins dominated the drying fruit. With air, however, even at 39 years of age, the fruit gained ground. Overall this bottle was fascinating, if past it's prime - it was probably better 10 years ago, but I would guess a well-stored 1979 Lafleur is still a fine bottle. 

Next up, Viader 1993. At 25 - the age at which fancy Bordeaux are re-corked - the Viader's cork was in perfect condition, as was the wine. Like 1979 in Bordeaux, 1993 in California was an average vintage - nothing exciting overall, but a source of value and pleasant surprise from the best winegrowers. 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Cabernet Franc, from hillside (Howell Mountain) vines, this was still dark and dense with fruit, but the tannins had mostly softened, replaced by that savory oxidative character shared by most red wines of a certain age. Still, this was clearly, unequivocally Viader - deep, dark, savory, balanced. Unlike the Lafleur, however, the first or second glass of Viader was better than the last. Its time is now.

Chateau Montelena 2001 is one of the finest vintages of many fine ones from this great property, and its 17 years barely registered. Still nearly opaque purple red, intensely, darkly fruity and with softening but still substantial tannins, this remarkable wine has a long life ahead of it. Having tasted it multiple times when it was first released, however, this baby has grown into a beautiful young adult. It doesn't always work out this perfectly, and another bottle of 2001 Chateau Montelena might not be as perfectly developed, but this one was the stuff of dreams.

Drinking older bottles is a game of chance. Less than ideal storage, the possibility of cork taint, simple bottle variation; all can play havoc with each bottle of wine. This day, all three wines showed very well for their age,  the Chateau Montelena dazzling us. Tasting - no, drinking - these fine bottles with a few good friends, well, that's what it's all about.

Georgia on My Mind (6 July 2018)

Georgia on My Mind

July 6, 2018

As the first (or possibly second, to Armenia) place in history to cultivate grapes, Georgia has a lot of baggage. The fact that this little country is smack in the middle of the path connecting Europe and Asia adds layer upon layer of turmoil, the past 200 years or so having been caused mostly by successive regimes in Russia, from Tzars through Soviets, including Putin. In fact we can credit Putin's ban on Georgian wine imports (2006-2013) with forcing Georgia to look west for new export customers, many of whom they found to be thirsty for distinctive, traditional, high quality wine, made in Georgia's unique contribution to the wine cellar: qvevri.

Qvevri, like amphorae, are earthenware fermentation/aging vessels. Wine grapes, in whole bunches, stems and all, are dumped in qvevri, which are capped and sealed, to be opened anywhere from one to six or more months later. The longer the time in qvevri, the more complex (or umami, or funky) the wine. Wine made from white grapes in this fashion ends up amber, orange or tawny brown in color, depending on the length of time in qvevri. Some wineries de-stem the grapes before they go in qvevri, which makes a less tannic finished wine. Either way, these "orange" wines make for a distinctive drinking experience. 

Red wine made in qvevri, especially the indigenous Saperavi, is less surprising, since reds around the world are commonly fermented on their skins (less often with the stems), but the often high quality is definitely a revelation. Wine producers around the world have noticed, as Georgia is experiencing a first-ever international demand for its qvevri. It would be a mistake, however, to think that all Georgian wine is made in qvevri.

Georgia produces a lot of wine - much of it, as in most wine-producing nations, is mass-manufactured. And some of the quality-oriented estates have chosen to use stainless steel and oak for fermentation and aging, often of international varietals like Chardonnay and Cabernet. The marketplace for this "international" style, however, is extremely crowded, and not as interesting a story. The Georgian wines that have drawn the most interest in the fine wine world are the ones made in the traditional style - in qvevri.

Saperavi, while certainly not the only indigenous red grape, is the most widely planted as well as producing the best wines. The most widely planted indigenous white is Rkatsiteli, which, like Saperavi is also widely grown in surrounding nations (especiallyRussia). In Georgia Rkatsiteli has some formidable competition. In western Georgia, especially Imereti, Tsolikouri is important. Mtsvane, Tsitski and Kisi, all scarcer, can all produce distinctively good wine.

Regionally, wine production is concentrated most heavily in the east, with most of the legally defined areas in Kakheti, then Kartli. The west, while less important commercially for wine, is developing. Georgia, once a land where it seemed every house had its own grapevines, is rediscovering it wine mojo - a good thing for the rest of us.

For a taste of Georgia, we recommend the following:

Baia's Wine - Imereti

Tsolikouri 2016. Three months in qvevri, no stems.

Orgo - Kakheti

Mtsvane 2016. Six month in qvevri.

Saperavi 2016. Six months in qvevri.

Dila-O - Kakheti

Saperavi 2017. One month in qvevri - made in a style that in Georgia would not be bottled: folks would just ladle into pitchers directly from the qvevri.

Shopping at RWC? You Can Leave the Wine App in Your Pocket. (5 June 2018)

Shopping at RWC? You Can Leave the Wine App in Your Pocket.

June 5, 2018

We are often amused, sometimes a little bit sad, when we see customers using their wine apps to do research on bottles in our shop. Sometimes folks are checking to see if a particular wine on our shelves is something they've drunk before. This wine app feature is certainly useful, and arguably better than just taking a picture of a favorite label and having to scroll through hundreds of photos when you want to show us that wine you liked. More often, however, folks are just looking for some guidance beyond the shelf tags with my tasting notes on every wine in the store. Those hand written tasting notes should be a sign that this is not your usual wine shop. Many first-time visitors ask about those little tags, and are often surprised to find out they're the work of the dork standing in front of them. Not that I blame you for having a wine app on your smartphone. If more of my colleagues in the retail wine business were better wine merchants, and more restaurants had wine-knowledgeable servers, you wouldn't have had a need for a wine app in the first place. The fact is, many liquor stores and restaurants offer little or no help to their customers.

What makes RWC unique is that the folks who know stuff - who do the tasting and purchasing of everything - are the ones in the store serving you, every day. This is a concept so old it's brand new to most of our customers: a specialty shop staffed by people who know the inventory. What's more, they have historical knowledge of the business, which means that if we don't have the exact label you're looking for, it's likely we know the product anyway, and if we have something similar (or better) we can offer a comparable (or better) bottle. If not, we might be able to send you somewhere that has what you want. 

I'm sure I've lost some of you. If you're a certain age, chances are you remember that neighborhood hardware store (Hampden still has a great one, Falkenhan's) where you could not only find the exact tool and material to make a particular household repair, but a person who could tell you how to do it. Neighborhoods used to have their own bakeries, butcher shops, grocery stores, drugstores - each one of these places was owned by someone who knew their business intimately, and was on the floor, eager to serve - to sell of course, but also eager to build relationships in order to grow. If you have never had this sort of shopping experience, you don't know what you're missing, but I promise you, you're missing a lot.

One of our special skills is pairing wine and food. Many of our long time customers know all they have to do is tell us what they're having for dinner and we will find the perfect wine match. Algorithms are powerful tools, but I'd put our wine pairing ability up against any app. Of course, as the saying goes, the customer is always right. You can choose a wine app over an actual conversation, select your wine, and we'll be happy to take your money. It will still make us a little sad, because every experience like that makes us fear for a future when no one remembers what it was like to have a more intimate, enjoyable shopping experience.

Raventos i Blanc (14 March 2017)

Raventos i Blanc

March 14, 2018

Josep Samsó came calling, with four wines. He is assistant winemaker at Raventos i Blanc, in Conca del Riu Anoia, Spain. While a Raventos has grown grapes on the same land in Conca del Riu Anoia since 1497, Raventos i Blanc is just over thirty years old. Before its founding in 1986, the family sold its grapes to other wineries. Josep Maria Raventos i Blanc, created the winery with the goal of making sparkling wine that would be considered among the world's finest. Josep Maria, while working at Codorniu, the winery his family co-founded (and where he spent forty years, during the most significant growth of the winery as well as Cava itself), not only spent some of that time as mayor of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia; he was one of the creators and promoters of the Cava DO. One of Josep Maria's predecessors had a part in creating the first Cava, in 1872. Just a couple of weeks after opening the Raventos i Blanc winery, Josep Maria died, leaving his dream project in the hands of his son Manuel.

Manuel's son Pepe joined Raventos i Blanc in 2001. With twenty generations of Raventos winegrowers preceding him, Pepe made some momentous changes, capped by his decision to withdraw from the Cava DO in 2012. His controversial decision (many of his neighbors consider him a traitor) came from his sense that the name "Cava" implies, if not low quality, at least low cost. With a commitment to quality over quantity he wanted to separate Raventos i Blanc from the pack. In establishing the rules for a new DO - Conca del Riu Anoia - Pepe made it one of the most stringently demanding place-names in the world of wine. More stringent, even, than Champagne. Conca del Riu Anoia winegrowers must be certified organic or biodynamic. Vines must be at least ten years of age. Yields are significantly lower than in Cava, while minimum aging on the lees is 18 months, twice as long as Cava. Only indigenous varietals are permitted - no Pinot Noir or Chardonnay in a Conca del Riu Anoia wine. With the weight of twenty generations of family, mingled with the history of Cava and the self-imposed burden of a strict new DO, Raventos i Blanc has created high expectations. After tasting four current releases, I can happily report that those expectations have been met, and exceeded.

Blanc de Blanc Reserva Brut 2015 - Formerly labeled Blanc de Blanc "l'Hereu," I've tasted (and sold) the past three vintages, and each subsequent vintage has been an improvement on what has always been a very good introduction to Raventos i Blanc. As in every wine made here, Xarel-lo (covering 50% of the Raventos vineyard acreage) is the predominant player in the blend, with Macabeu second and Parellada third. The 2015 seems to be the driest Blanc de Blanc yet, even more refined and elegant. It is immediately clear from tasting this "entry-level" Raventos wine, that we are on a much higher level of quality than the good, inexpensive Cava we sell so much of.

"de Nit" Rosé Brut 2015 - 40% Xarel-lo, 36% Macabeu, 18% Parellada and 6% Monastrell; 4g/L dosage; paler than previous vintages, drier, and again, more elegant. We sell this wine for $26/bottle - we would have to spend twice that to find a better rosé from Champagne.

Textures de Pedra 2012 - 30% Xarel-lo, 25% Xarel-lo Vermell, 25% Sumoll, 15% Bastard Negre, 5% Parellada. Xarel-lo Vermell, Sumoll and Bastard Negre are all indigenous red varietals. Until DNA evidence proved otherwise, Bastard Negre was thought to be Monastrell. 42 months on the lees, no dosage - at just under $50 it must compete with Champagne. It does. Comfortably. Sea shells, saline, lees - mouthwatering.

Mas del Serral 2007 - Xarel-lo, Bastard Negre; 10 years on the lees, no dosage. Clos du Serral is a small parcel holding the oldest Xarel-lo vines on the estate (avg. 70 years). Words defy - this is exceptional; you might expect the lees to dominate after ten years of contact, but they don't. Instead, you get hauntingly beautiful, almost tender, fragrant fruit. Impossibly pretty, it is hard to get my head around the fact that it has zero sugar. At $180/bottle, you won't see this on our shelves, but we'd be happy to special order it for you. Yes, it can be poured proudly alongside the best Champagne has to offer.

Pepe Raventos has bet his family's reputation and standing in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. Whether or not Conca del Riu Anoia establishes itself as a notable, successful DO remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Raventos i Blanc is making fantastic sparkling wine. 

2017 - The Year in Wine (3 January 2018)

2017 - The Year in Wine

January 3, 2018

Spending nearly all of 2016 out of the wine business, it was great to get back in the game in 2017. Wine at its essence is timeless - an ancient product of agriculture. It provided some comfort during a year of particularly violent upheaval. But the business of wine is more divided than ever, with conglomerates on one side and mostly small independent operations on the other. The big guys push brands, often chemically constructed beverages produced for focus groups. The little guys are still farmers first, making wine that tastes like it comes from a particular place. Our wine shop is for the little guys, and 2017 was a good year for many of them.

The subjects that follow were some of the compelling wine stories for us in 2017.

Wine Country Fires

This is a story about people - thousands of whom lost their homes and most of their personal belongings. For less well-off folks, many winery workers among them, the question going forward is whether or not they will be able to afford to continue living near their workplaces. Napa and Sonoma Counties, especially, have become dependent on wine tourism, which was nonexistent for at least two months. Restaurant and hotel workers were left not only homeless, but without income. A couple of dozen wineries sustained severe damage, along with some vineyards, but overall the impact is going to be felt much more among the wine-industry supporting population. Wild fires are likely to occur more frequently, with more destructive intensity. Will Sonoma County, especially, support low-middle income housing development? Will houses in the hills between Sonoma and Napa be rebuilt, and if so, will they be insurable?

Natural Wine

The four accepted tenets of natural wine: Grapes grown without use of chemicals; hand-harvesting; native yeast fermentation; no fining or filtration - in other words, most of the wine I've been selling for the past twenty years. Perhaps my time has come - what was nearly impossibly quirky in 1998 is pretty cool now - at least for many folks here in Remington (and visitors from New York and Paris). Of course, those four tenets of natural wine making are not new - many of the greatest wine estates in the world have been practicing natural wineries for decades, if not centuries. Using chemicals in winegrowing - whether fertilizer, herbicide or pesticide - is barely 50 years old; two generations, a flash in time for centuries-old wine estates.

It is ironic that wine labels are not required to list ingredients. Wine is, along with all other alcoholic beverages, a "controlled substance," therefore, in the eyes of the US Government, not an agricultural product. Organic and biodynamic winegrowers, who are making wine in the most traditional method, are compelled to seek (expensive and time-consuming) certification for their methods, yet corporate conglomerates can use up to 60 different additives to "craft" their products, with zero disclosure. Perhaps the growth of interest in natural wine will lead to a reckoning with the absurd state of our nation's legal treatment of winegrowing and wine sales. 

No Added Sulfur

Is it possible to make fine wine without adding sulfur? Sulfur is a natural byproduct of fermentation, so there is usually a trace amount in every wine, but the fact is that some brave, and talented, winegrowers are proving that it might not be necessary to add sulfur after all.

In 2009 I visited with Matthieu Lapierre in Morgon. Among the wines we tasted was a sans souf (no added sulfur) cuvée. It was delicious, and utterly stable, but it wasn't for sale in the U.S., only in Europe. Earlier this year Thorsten Melsheimer visited the store to taste with us. He mentioned making a no-added sulfur cuvée of Riesling for a particular retail client in Germany, but also admitted that all of his wines were stable enough to be bottled without adding sulfur. Still, I can understand why Lapierre and Melsheimer would be reluctant to ship no-added sulfur wines to the U.S. We have, consumers, retailers, restaurateurs, distributors, importers, been led to believe no-added sulfur wines are too risky and/or too funky. Indeed, personal experience with sans souf wine over many years has been mixed. What I have come to realize, however, is that as with all methods and techniques of winemaking, bad wine as well as good is made. 

A couple of my favorite wines of 2017 - Chapuis & Chapuis La Bulle 2014, and La Derniére Goutte Sang Neuf 2015 - were made with no added sulfur. Both wines are imported by Jeff Snow (Glou-Glou Wines), a local who went to France a couple of years ago to study winemaking in Burgundy. He ended up stumbling on a network of winegrowers who happened to be making wine without adding sulfur - not that this was his intention when he first set out for France, but he kept tasting delicious, relatively inexpensive wine made without the addition of sulfur, by folks who'd never thought of selling their wine in the U.S.. Our go-to "value" Champagne of the holiday season, Lelarge-Pugeot Tradition Extra Brut, is made by a family who made their first zero-dosage, zero added-sulfur wine in 2014. We haven't had it yet, but we will be working on getting it here. 

Patricia "Patty" Green, and Patricia Green Cellars

(Willamette Valley, Oregon)

I never got to meet Patty Green - she died this past November at the very young age of 62 - but 2017 was the year I tasted my first Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir(s). Her longtime partner in wine, Jim Anderson, brought six (out of 23 that vintage) 2015 vintage Pinot Noirs for me to taste. Since Jim and Patty purchased their 52 acre vineyard in 2000, they made wine from one varietal, Pinot Noir. We purchased two of the six wines - a pretty good ratio of success in a shop with only a couple hundred labels from around the world, and which had only one other Oregon Pinot Noir on the shelf at the time. While each of the six wines had distinct personalities, I tasted a consistent approach - it seemed, and in fact was, entirely natural. I found them all delicious in their own way, and considering the high quality across the board, remarkable values. We have since moved from 2015 to 2016 Reserve Pinot Noir - the '16 is even better - and I hope and expect to have a long-lasting relationship with this place. Haven't been to Willamette Valley since 1980 or so - it's way past time to consider a return visit.

Rory Williams, Calder Wine Company and Carignane 

Rory Williams had quite a year in 2017. He and his longtime girlfriend Molly were married in April - at the Baltimore Museum of Art. They met as students at St. John's College in Annapolis and have been together ever since. Rory works for his dad John Williams at Frog's Leap Vineyards, and also makes wine under the Calder (his middle name) Wine Company label. He makes two whites - Riesling and Chenin Blanc - from two small parcels on Frog's Leap's home vineyard. The Riesling is from a tiny parcel of very old vines; the Chenin comes from a small parcel of Merlot recently grafted over to Chenin. His red wines, Charbono and Carignan, are made from fruit he purchases from longtime growers in Calistoga (Charbono) and Mendocino County (Carignan).

Every Calder Wine Company wine we had on the shelf in 2017 - Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Charbono and Carignan - was terrific. Two of his wines, the 2016 Chenin Blanc and 2015 Carignan, were among my favorite drinks of the year. I told Rory I thought that a the 2016 Chenin was a huge improvement over a very good 2015. He agreed, saying the difference was mostly time and patience - leaving the Chenin on it lees several months longer than last year. Of course, time and patience is not free - every month wine is stored and not sold has a financial cost. We just got into the 2015 Carignane a couple of weeks ago. This could be the best red wine he's made. It certainly has the most beautiful fragrance I've encountered in a Carignane. Thanks to Rory; and to Diego Roig (Populis) and Alex Davis (Porter Creek Vineyards), at least a few great parcels of old vine Carignane that flourish in Mendocino County are safe from being torn out and planted with more economically practical varietals.

Carignane (aka Carignan, Cariñena, Mazuelo, Samsó) vines, planted in the right place by the right hands, preferably allowed to grow to old age, can produce fruit that is exceptionally savory (it is rarely as beautiful as Rory's 2016). Ridge Vineyards has made terrific Carignane from Sonoma County fruit (especially Buchignani). In France, Sylvain Fadat (Domaine d'Aupilhac) and Marjorie Gallet (Le Roc des Anges) make examples worth searching out. In Priorat, Cariñena is, with Garnacha, one of the original vines of this ancient region near Barcelona. This is a good time of year to taste - ok, drink - Carignan. Happy New Year!

Foradori (26 October 2017)

Foradori

October 26, 2017

We had a visit today from Theo Zierock, son of Elizbetta Foradori. Tasting four different 2015s, all made from Teroldego, was a treat. Chatting with Theo was even better. He talked about the work his mother has done since the 1980s to identify and propagate the best clonal selections of Teroldego. Since establishing the integrity of their home vineyard, all subsequent vineyards have been propagated by massal selection, if not directly from seed. This rigorous approach has made Foradori's Teroldego the benchmark. Fact is, this is the only Teroldego we're likely to carry in our shop. Theo's brother Emilio has been winemaker since 2012. I believe they use more amphorae each vintage, and it shows in the wines, which seem to be more tender at a younger age, with no lack of structure. The '15s were deep and dark - not unusual for Teroldego - but also supple and generous, even the tightly structured Morei.

While many sommeliers and traditional retail merchants snark about this "new" "natural wine fad," it is important to note that as Foradori has become more and more "natural" its wines have become more and more delicious. Massal selection and growing from seed; biodynamic farming; vinification in amphorae; extended skin contact. These are extremely labor-intensive, detail-oriented processes. Natural winegrowing is not a fad for the Foradori family - it is a consciously chosen path carved out over the past nearly forty years and two generations. 

RWC's 20 Under $20 (28 September 2017)

RWC's 20 Under $20

September 28, 2017

Eric Asimov, wine writer for The New York Times, offers a regular feature titled "20 Wines for Under $20. Of course, finding any or all of the twenty wines he mentions outside of New York is, as he is quick to note, virtually impossible. So, with thanks to The Times and Eric Asimov for coming up with the idea, I've put together our own 20 Wines Under $20 list. Like Asimov's list, ours covers a lot of grape varieties and styles - some more well-known than others. Our list includes three sparkling wines, which is three more than Asimov's (a glaring omission on his part). One more fact to consider: The New York Times 20 under $20 was drawn from wine shops across New York City. Our list is drawn from one tiny shop in Baltimore. Without further ado:

Clemence Guery - Loire, France: Cremant de Loire. $17

Juve y Camps - Penedes, Spain: Cava Brut Rosé (Pinot Noir). $16

Fiorini - Emilia-Romagna, Italy: Lambrusco Grasparossa "Terre al Sole." $19

Chocapalha - Lisboa, Portugal: Arinto 2016. $14

Brooks - Willamette Valley, Oregon: Amycas 2016 (Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris) $18

Branger - Muscadet de Sevre et Maine, France: "Les Gras Mouton" 2015. $17

Leon Boesch - Alsace, France: Sylvaner 2015. $16

Maison Chanzy - Bouzeron, France: Aligote 2015. $19

Muralhas de Monção - Vinho Verde, Portugal: Alvarinho 2016. $16

Bisceglia - Basilicata, Italy: Aglianico del Vulture 2015. $16

Escarlata - Colchagua Valley, Chile: Red Wine 2015 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Carmenere, Malbec). $15

Domaine La Grume - Brouilly (Beaujolais), France: "Grain de Sable" 2015. $19

Sorin de France - Côte d'Auxerre (Bourgogne), France - Pinot Noir 2015. $16

Petit Paveil - Bordeaux, France: Rouge 2015 (70% Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon). $17

Mas Donis - Montsant, Spain: Tinto 2014 (85% Garnacha/Syrah). $16

Les Hauts Acantalys - Lirac (Côtes du Rhone-Villages), France: Rouge 2015. $15

Eugene Carrel - Jongieux (Savoie), France: Mondeuse 2015. $17

TAMÍ - Terre Siciliane, Italy: Frappato 2016. $19

Concreto - Chianti Classico, Italy: Sangiovese 2012. $16

Chateau Haut-Montplaisir - Cahors, France: Malbec 2014. $19

A Summer Close to Home (18 August 2017)

A Summer Close to Home

August 18, 2017

Having a new business and a new place to live means we've been staying close to home this summer. When we moved to our new digs on Memorial Day weekend, I started to keep a food and wine diary. As August speeds by in a blur and another summer passes, I think about how much I love this season, not least because of the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables available at our doorstep.

Regular Sunday visits to the downtown farmer's market have been especially rewarding this summer. Starting with fresh local asparagus in early June, to beautiful greens, fresh English peas (from the "pea man" of course); beet leaves and arugula; sugar snap peas sweet enough to eat raw; young onions, garlic, potatoes; tomatillos; then local tomatoes, corn, patty pan squash. The latest market brought us Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers and chanterelles.

Since the middle of June we've had fresh basil, thyme and oregano ready to be picked a couple of steps into our new backyard. We had enough tomatoes this week to make an awesome fresh caprese salad with one of the burratas we just brought into the store.

Debbie is the grill master. Sea bass; beef tri-tip (a California specialty); flank steak; chicken - thighs (Greek style and Asian style) and spatchcocked/brined whole; butterflied leg of lamb; brined pork loin. Deb has nailed it every time she's fired up the grill this summer.

I help with prep, and I get to pick the wine. That grilled sea bass was downed with Feuillet Petite Arvine (after starting off the evening with a bottle of J. Lassalle Champagne Brut Préference). Tri-tip called for California: Ridge Carignane 2015 Bucignani Ranch. A pasta night - penne with local asparagus and salt-preserved Meyer lemon cream sauce was matched by Les Lunes Chardonnay 2015. We kept the California theme going that week in June - the next meal was Rancho Gordo cassoulet beans, fennel sausage and oven-roasted tomatoes with Populis Carignan 2016 Reversée served cold - we have drunk several bottles of that irresistible wine this summer. By the Sunday at the end of that week it was time for me give Deb a break and return to France as well - Chicken Paillard on greens with a Chateau Les Valentines Provence Blanc 2014. And that was just the first two weeks of June - yes, we've been eating and drinking well.

We have been drinking lots of chilled red wine - Populis, Lambrusco (Fiorini Terre al Sole and Chiarli Vecchia Modena), Chateau Thivin Côte de Brouilly, Eugene Carrel Jongieux Mondeuse - as well as a broad range of rosé. We drink dry pink all year 'round, but there is certainly more to choose from in Spring and Summer. 

In short, we are eating and drinking the way we imagine many of our customers are eating and drinking this summer. It's not just a job, it's a way of life for us, and this summer, close to home, we have been living well.

Tasting vs. Drinking (8 September 2017)

Tasting vs. Drinking

September 8, 2017

An old friend stopped by last night. I offered Tommy, Italian wine lover that he is, a taste of our wine of the week (Tamí Frappato 2016). Tasting turned into drinking as Debbie put out a plate of Reggiano Parmagiana, prosciutto, olive oil and bread. As the bottle of Tamí disappeared, we turned to Brovia Barolo 2012 (thank you, Tommy). I liked this wine well enough to have ordered it after tasting, but I had yet to consume more than that one sip. Lots of experience tasting led me to believe both of these wines would make delicious drinking. Happily, drinking them was much more rewarding than tasting them. The Brovia Barolo, especially, though not surprisingly (an answer to why some bottles are $19 and others are $52), was more delicious with each sip. Drinking both of these lovely wines with food enhanced the pleasure.

Tasting is an important part of how I make a living. It is, however, just the beginning. Drinking - and eating, since I rarely do one without the other - is an even more important part of my job. The experience I described above, repeated many times over many years, is a key to why folks shop with us. When I am asked for a wine-food pairing recommendation I draw on my own drinking/eating experience to offer ideas. Knowing how special an experience the right wine/food combination can create, I take this responsibility seriously. When it works, I've contributed to an unforgettable moment, and made a lifetime customer.

Drinking a bottle; noticing how it develops from sip to sip, glass to glass, is where you really get to know about wine. It changes with exposure to oxygen, sure, but it also changes with each bite of food. These observations inform my choices when I'm taking those small tastes in the company of wine sales reps. It is why I can have a taste of Tamí or Brovia and purchase them with the confidence that they will likely drink as good or better than they taste. 

Old Wine (7 July 2017)

Old Wine

July 7, 2017

Preparing for our most recent move, I decided to work my way through a bunch of old bottles that I hadn't tasted in twenty or more years. Imagine opening a drinkable time capsule. My first wine obsession was California Cabernet Sauvignon, especially Napa Valley Cabernet. I bought more than I could afford of Joseph Phelps Vineyards Insignia - multiple bottles of 1976 and 1977. Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard Cabernets (1975, that '76 Insignia, '78). Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 1977. A visit to Produttori di Barbaresco in 1983 netted a couple mixed cases of 1978-79-80 vintage Barbaresco. I must have been taken with Torres Gran Coronas (Penedes Cabernet Sauvignon), since I have several bottles each of 1976 and '78. It was time - perhaps past time - to open a few of these bottles to see if they were still alive. 

I was skeptical. Old wine is not necessarily an improvement over its younger self. If it's no longer possible to identify what the wine was made from, or where it was grown, it's too old for me. I was concerned that would be the issue with many of these bottles. The last time I'd tasted a few of them I was less than impressed, but I couldn't bring myself to dispose of them. Good thing.

After opening nearly a dozen different bottles, I am pleased report that most of the experiences have been positive - a few have been remarkable. We have tasted Chalone Pinot Noir 1981; Joseph Phelps - 1976 Insignia (94% Eisele Vineyard Cabernet), 1977 Cabernet (regular bottling), 1977 Cabernet Backus Vineyard, 1977 Insignia (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Franc); Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1977 Cask 23; Caymus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1982; Laurel Glen (Sonoma Mountain) Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 (relatively, a baby); Torres Gran Coronas 1976 and 1978; Produttori di Barbaresco 1978 Normale and 1978 Rabaja; Chateau de Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone 1978 Syrah; Domaine Weinbach Gewürztraminer 1991 Vendages Tardives. 

Some observations. All of the California wineries have changed ownership - none of them lasted one generation in the same family. Produttori di Barbaresco is a growers cooperative established in 1958, but Barbaresco hasn't been a legal appellation for much longer than that. Torres was founded in 1870 and remains family-owned in its 5th generation. Chateau de Fonsalette, along with Chateau des Tours, Chateau Rayas and Pignan, has been owned and operated by members of the Reynaud family since 1880. Domaine Weinbach, established by Capuchin monks in 1612, has been owned by the Faller family since 1898. 

Even the most fragile bottles took some time to open up, to stretch out after decades in a little bottle, but most everything we opened either held on or improved for hours. The Cabernets still tasted like Cabernet, whether from California or Penedes, Spain; the Barbarescos like Barbaresco. The "younger wines" - Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 and Weinbach Gewürztraminer 1991 - were extraordinary. While both could be as good ten or twenty years from now, I'm not sure they'd be better.

And that, my friends is an important question to ask yourself if you've considered putting wine away in a cellar or wine cooler. If you haven't tasted a wine with significant age on it - say, ten years at least - you should go to a restaurant with some old inventory and splurge on a bottle. You might love it, but you could also hate it - either response is acceptable. And if you hate it, hey, you've just saved yourself significant cash. I've run into old customers who informed me that it took them ten years to realize that, in fact, they preferred to drink younger wines rather than older wines. 

Despite having a great time opening old bottles, I wish I'd been a better custodian of my "wine cellar," but I have learned some important lessons to pass on to those of you who are preparing to build your own collection of wine. First, never purchase a wine to cellar without tasting a bottle first. If you don't like it now, do not assume you will like it in the future. Second, never "cellar" one bottle of anything. If you can't afford to buy multiple bottles, it's too expensive. Third, plan to open one bottle of each wine you've collected every few years or so.  Part of the fun of having your own collection is tasting the way a wine changes with age, as it slowly oxidizes. I have more tips, but for now, I will end with one other important point: What you love to drink today is not likely to be what you will love to drink in, say, ten years. Your taste will change. The wines you put away today may not be the ones you would choose to drink ten years from now. This advice is not meant to scare you, but to help you embrace the fact that your wine collection is a living, breathing entity. Accept and enjoy the fact that the wine you've put away will change with each bottle, just as your taste will change, slowly, over time.

My little time capsule experience has been fun, but I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in my current position thirty years from now. I would have had more fun with my "cellar" if I'd taken the advice I'm giving you today.

Carignan(e) and California (9 June 2017)

Carignan(e) and California

June 9, 2017

Meeting Diego Roig, co-owner of Populis, Elizia and Les Lunes, only increased my love for Carignan - aka Carignane, Mazuelo, Cariñena, Samsó, etc. - and helped to support my belief that California is a place where great, naturally made wine could be made.

We met at the store on Friday (June 2nd) to taste wines I'd already tasted and a couple of which I'd already purchased, save for the new vintage of Roig's attempt to make a Carignane for chilling and chugging (Carignane Reversée). Tasting through the wines this time, with Diego providing running commentary, freed me from having to take notes. Here is a young man who has combined traditional schooling (UC-Davis) with great in-the-field experience (several years working with natural winegrowers in Europe) to inform his work in small vineyards around California's north coast. He and his partners farm their rented parcels themselves, though in most cases the vineyards have already been at least sustainably farmed. They tend to harvest (always by hand) earlier than their neighbors, and they use no chemicals in the vineyard or winery. When they use sulfur in the winery, it is in very small amounts (15-50ppm). Despite their  minimal intervention approach, these are uniformly impeccable wines, which indicates exacting attention to detail. 

You can have your Carignane three ways here. While the source is the same - Larry Venturi's vineyard in Mendocino County, planted in 1948 - the winemaking methods differ. Under the Populis label you get a "normal" Carignane - meaty, gamey, intense black fruit, yet fresh and juicy (and sold out), and Carignane Reversée - brilliantly fresh and fragrant, meant to be chilled and, yes, chugged (in France they call it "glou-glou," like "glug-glug"). Reversée might just be the perfect summer thirst-quenching red wine. Under the Elizia label, things get more serious. Here, Carignan is fermented by whole cluster (stems and all), with a 30-day maceration, then aged a year in used wood. This is Carignane with uncommon elegance, almost Burgundy-like. All three expressions are beautifully rendered.

The age of Larry Venturi's vineyard should be a clue that Carignane is not so new to California. In fact, it is one of the first vinifera grapes to arrive in the state, in the mid-1800s. You can still find 100+ year-old parcels - Ridge Vineyards owns a few. The Monday after Diego's visit we had a great dinner at home: Deb made a California dream meal, grilled tri-tip, whole artichokes and smashed potatoes. We drank an ATP wine from Ridge - their Buchignani Ranch Carignane 2015. 100% Carignane, the oldest parcel of Buchignani Carignane was planted in 1927, the newest in the early 1950s. At 13%abv - remarkably restrained for California, and similar to all three of Diego's Carignanes - it was both intensely flavored and refreshing. A perfect marriage of wine and food. It is no coincidence that Ridge has been making wine naturally - no chemicals, indigenous yeast fermentations, minimal fining and/or filtration - in California for 50+ years.

Last night (Thursday, June 8th) we finally put Populis Carignane Reversée 2016 to the test, drinking it with another California favorite, Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans, oven-roasted tomatoes and fennel sausage. Nailed it again! It is important to note that sometimes you get caught up in the moment when you're tasting with the winegrower, and everything tastes better than it does later on. Not so last night - of course it didn't hurt that we had a great meal to eat with it, but this is simply scrumptious wine. 

This is a good place to give a shout-out to a few more fine Carignane-makers: Alex Davis, at Porter Creek Vineyards (Russian River Valley, California), Rory Williams, at Calder Wine Company (Napa Valley, California) - both of whom also get their Carignan from sources in Mendocino County - and Marjorie Gallet, of Le Roc des Anges (Côte du Roussillon-Villages, France).

Beyond Carignane...

Diego doesn't stop at Carignane. There is a Populis Sauvignon Blanc, also from Venturi Vineyard in Mendocino County, from a one and three-quarter acre parcel planted between 1944-48, with 15ppm total sulfur. Absolutely remarkable. Under the Les Lunes label you get a beautifully old-fashioned Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from a vineyard in Carneros - "old-fashioned" only because it's so low in alcohol (12.5%!) that it reminds me of California Cabernet from the 1960s-70s. It's also important to note that Cabernet and Merlot, while having nearly disappeared from Carneros, are the best grapes for that region which is chock full of mediocre Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. And finally, for now, Les Lunes Chardonnay 2015, which is made from fruit grown at Dobson Vineyard in Manton Valley in extreme northeastern California. I wonder how they found this vineyard, planted in 1972 with ungrafted vines, but we should all be glad they did, since the wine is so, well surprising. It's so subtle - not a word often applied to California Chardonnay - in the best way.

Naturally Made Wine (19 May 2017)

Naturally Made Wine

May 19, 2017

Tuesday, the 16th of May, 2017, was a notably delicious day of tasting. It started with a second visit by J.C. (Jon Chaplin) of Brazos Wine Imports. J.C. and his partner Brian Ravitsky import wine from Chile and Argentina, two countries better known for their giant wine manufacturers (Concha y Toro and Trapiche come to mind). Brazos, however, has found small, often iconoclastic, artisan winegrowers who are making wine without chemicals but brimming with flavor and character. We tasted nine wines - my notes are full of adjectives like "plush," "fresh and juicy," "beautiful," "dazzling freshness," "shit, this is delicious" - you get the idea. If I had the space and cash I would have bought every one of them. Pretty much the same could be said of the wines our afternoon visitor, Jim Anderson (partner, Patricia Green Cellars, Oregon) brought us.

Jim Anderson and Patty Green have been working partners since 1995. Patricia Green Cellars started up in 2000. They make some twenty or so different expressions of Pinot Noir per vintage. Like the winegrowers Brazos has found in South America, Patricia Green Cellars eschews the use of chemicals. I tasted six wines, all 2015 vintage, all - while expressing subtle differences attributable to differences in terroir - delicious. We had a great chat about making wine that expresses a sense of place, and of vintage. Anderson and Green might take this concept to the extreme, with more than 20 different cuvées of Pinot Noir per vintage, but I appreciate the effort, and from my tasting, the results of all that work. Part of our conversation was about a story I told Jim about one of our long lost customers who stopped in last weekend.

Brad and Melissa were great patrons of our last shop, which we sold about 18 months ago. We hadn't seen them until they visited last Saturday. Melissa shared that during our hiatus, any wine that she bought from other stores gave her splitting headaches, something she'd never experienced drinking wine they'd purchased from us. I suggested that perhaps they were purchasing more mainstream wines from those other stores - "corporate" wines, to borrow Jim Anderson's term, made with chemicals. Melissa's story and my conversations on Tuesday with J.C. and Jim Anderson, caused a small epiphany. Never having been dogmatic about a particular style of winegrowing, I have always resisted labels to identify what makes our wine shop different. Part of it is the way I've always bought and sold wine - taste critically, choose carefully and ideally, know the people who are making the wine you are buying and selling. Now it is time to consider another aspect of what makes us different - a focus on naturally made wine.

New customers walking in RWC for the first time sometimes ask where the organic wines are located. I tell them that it's much simpler to point out the wines that are definitely not organic. Aside from a few inexpensive wines from the new world - California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, Argentine Malbec - the wines we sell are made naturally, with as little intervention as possible.Organic, biodynamic, natural, sustainable - I've tasted good and bad examples under all of those labels, but I can also state unequivocally that the best wines I've tasted in my life have been made as naturally as the winegrower considered possible. The reason this is true is because of the rigor it takes to make wine naturally - it's a lot more work than the corporate method. Combine that work ethic with great grapes and good taste - a person who makes great wine is inevitably a great taster - and that person will make the best wine. 

Make no mistake, wine is a human endeavor - wine does not "make itself," as some winemakers claim (either because they are too modest, or because they're bullshitting), but it is true that great wine can't be made without great grapes. Using the term "winegrower" indicates a person who is involved in the entire process, from vineyard work, to harvest, through winemaking. These are the folks we want to know, and that we want you to know. These are the people who make the wine we sell. It's time to state (the obvious?) that Remington Wine's subtitle should be "Specializing in Naturally Made Wine."

Cru Beaujolais (4 May 2017)

Cru Beaujolais

May 4, 2017

Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Julienas, Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, Regnie, Saint-Amour - these are the ten crus of Beaujolais; the villages whose names are permitted to be used on the label in lieu of "Beaujolais-Villages." Ten crus, but one grape - Gamay.

While geographically close to Burgundy, Beaujolais is different in several key ways. Pinot Noir, while it is grown here, takes a back seat to Gamay - in Burgundy the opposite is true. Why? Soil type. Pinot Noir loves limestone/clay, upon which some of the most famous vineyards in the world have flourished. Gamay loves granite and the acidic soils it produces. Thibault Liger-Belair's Bourgogne Les Deux Terres combines Côte d'Or Pinot Noir with Beaujolais Gamay. If he had used Côte d'Or Gamay, Thibault could have used the appellation "Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains," but he prefers using Gamay grown in Beaujolais. Tasting it, I can understand why. With 60% Beaujolais Gamay in the mix, the resulting wine is both fresh and deep - a best of both worlds sort of wine. 

Thibault regards Beaujolais so highly that he has purchased an estate in Moulin-a-Vent (Domaine des Pierres Roses). He farms his Beaujolais vineyards with the same care as he farms his Côte d'Or Burgundy vineyards, and makes all of his wine, whether Gamay or Pinot Noir, in the traditional Burgundy fashion. In other words, carbonic maceration (aka whole cluster fermentation), popular in mass-market Beaujolais production, is not utilized, by Thibault, or his more quality-conscious neighbors, such as Diochon (Moulin-a-Vent); Lapierre or Jean Foillard (Morgon); Chateau Thivin (Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly), to name just a few excellent Cru Beaujolais producers. Combining Burgundian wine making tradition with Beaujolais fruit is not a new thing; it is a return to a time in Beaujolais before the craze for Beaujolais Nouveau. Thibault told me a story about a recent tasting of older wines - vintages from the 1940s and '50s - where Chateau Thivin's 1948 Côte de Brouilly was his favorite wine among some of the Côte d'Or's most famous labels.

The crus you are most likely to encounter - Moulin-a-Vent, Morgon, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie - are home to some fantastic winegrowers, for sure, but they provide an incomplete picture of Cru Beaujolais. The variety of terroir and style is broad and complicated, much like Burgundy, or its southern neighbor, the northern Rhone Valley - another region focused on a single varietal. Gamay versus Pinot Noir, or Syrah for that matter? I'd rather not play that game since I don't see it as an either-or situation. I do think, however, that as Burgundy prices hit stratospheric levels (five or six consecutive short crops will do that), it is a good time to get to know Cru Beaujolais. Gamay is not Pinot Noir, nor is it necessary to choose one varietal over another. What is clear from tasting over the past several years is that Cru Beaujolais deserves way more attention than it is receiving.  

Melsheimer - Steep Slope Riesling (5 April 2017)

Melsheimer - Steep Slope Riesling

April 5, 2017

Thorsten Melsheimer came to visit this week, bringing his current releases to taste. What could have been a brief, 20 minute tasting (five wines, pleasant conversation), turned into an hour-long lesson in wine/family history, biodynamic wine growing on some of the steepest vine-bearing slopes in the world, the effect of climate change on what was once an extremely marginal wine-growing region, and perhaps most important, the meaning of patience.

Thorsten's family has lived and made wine in the tiny Mosel village of Reil for 200 years. Thorsten is the fifth generation, and his 18 year-old son is already working with him, preparing to take over control in ten years or so. Fifty percent of their vineyards are classified as Steilstlage - the steepest 5% of all Mosel vineyards, receiving official certification as a "historical cultural landscape." They grow only Riesling - for now. Thorsten told me that he and his son just planted one-tenth of a hectare of Pinot Noir, ostensibly for their Sekt (20% of their production is sparkling), but he offered that by the time his son was ready to take over the climate could be warm enough to support growing Pinot Noir for red wine production in the Mosel. Their small herd of goats are a welcome addition to the family, emotionally. viticulturally (they provide excellent compost) and commercially (they're terrific lawn mowers!).

Melsheimer was certified organic in 1995, and, indicating even more complete dedication to preserving the estate for future generations, was certified biodynamic by Demeter in 2013. They are the first, perhaps still the only, Mosel winegrowers to be certified biodynamic. The process of achieving such a designation is long (at least three years) and expensive, requiring hard work and above all, patience.

Patience. Average primary fermentation times for most wineries, organic, biodynamic or commercial, run from a few days to several weeks - sometimes months. An average primary fermentation time at Melsheimer is about ten months - a couple of years is not out of the ordinary here. Thorsten believes that every fermentation vessel - he uses only large old foudre (1,000 liter capacity), so he has several different fermentations occurring at once, sometimes spanning more than one vintage - and the wine in that vessel, operates on its own schedule. His job is to monitor, not interfere. We tasted a wine - "Lentum" (lento = slow) - that fermented, non-stop, for three years. Three vintages; a long time, even for Melsheimer. What started in the barrel as a wine with a potential alcohol by volume (abv) of 12% ended up as a completely dry, stable wine of 10%abv. Thorsten explained that spontaneous, wild yeast fermentation accounts for a .5% reduction in abv, and another .5% is lost every year of fermentation in barrel. The result is a wine of great aromatic and flavor intensity combined with a composed, other-worldly, silken texture and balance. Extraordinary, unique dry Riesling. Imagine a Grand Cru Alsace Riesling, but with 10%abv instead of 13-14%. All Melsheimer wines have this remarkably complete sort of feel; intensity, persistence, yet near weightlessness.

Tasting six different expressions of Riesling made by Thorsten Melsheimer at one sitting is a study in nuance. Differences are caused by vineyard parcel - some are impossibly steep and shaded, others are fully exposed to sunlight; length of fermentation - 10 months to 3 years; and style - sekt (sparkling) to Spätlese (slightly sweet, requiring human intervention to stop the fermentation and leave natural residual sugar). One grape, one small estate, one family - six amazingly different wines. 

Thorsten is a man who understands and respects the fact that he is the current custodian of his family's land, He shows his respect by continuing to make Spätlese even though current fashion craves drier wine. This current craving for dry Riesling suits Thorsten. His evolution as a winegrower has resulted in naturally drier Riesling, so for now, all is good. Like every great winegrower, Thorsten Melsheimer has strong roots in tradition, but he's always tinkering, intently observing and prepared to let his wines tell him when to bottle something unique, such as Lentum. You might think growing only one grape variety in one tiny corner of a thousand year-old winegrowing region could be stifling - Melsheimer would argue otherwise.