Portuguese Wines: Pleasures Worth Seeking, And Waiting For
Once again, I want to start with the question.
What is the most frustrating question you can ask a wine lover?
I get it – we are all different, and so are our sources of frustration. Of course, I get it. And nevertheless, give it a thought, please. If you consider yourself a wine lover (not a collector, not a snob, just someone who really appreciates the glass of that special grape juice) – what is the question you don’t like to hear the most?
Okay, fine, I will go first.
“What is your favorite wine?”
This is the most innocent question one might expect, isn’t it? Once you show your love of wine one way or another, people love to ask that question – ahh, so what is your favorite wine? I literally cringe every time when I hear that question, because it is very hard to explain how such a simple and innocent question can’t get a good, simple answer – and yet I can’t answer that question.
Every time I answer this question, I lie. When I say “I have no preference, I love them all” I lie because I have preferences. Lots and lots of preferences, and yes, I love them all, but then… Yeah. And when I say “I love Spanish Rioja” it is a lie, because I love Rioja from very particular producers, and not just any Rioja. Moreover, depending on the day, food, and company, there will be other wines that I love as much as I love Rioja. See, there is no escape from the lies.
So when I say “I love Portuguese wines” it is one of those statements. Yes, I love Portuguese wines, but not all of them – I have preferences.
Portuguese wines became somewhat of an obsession to me about 15 years ago, but I don’t believe you would easily guess the reason why. It was not just because they were really, really inexpensive at the local Bottle King wine store in New Jersey ($5 per bottle was a pretty normal price, with occasional $4 showing up), but because they were made out of obscure grapes, and I was hunting down the obscure grapes to advance to the next levels of The Wine Century Club. Enjoying the wines was secondary, but spending countless hours with the search engine, trying to figure grape composition, grape synonyms – ohh, what a fun journey it was.
Based on what I just described, I wasn’t ready to claim my love for the Portuguese wines overall. In 2013, I was lucky enough to visit Porto, Portugal for work, and this is where it became literally love from first sight. At the restaurant, I just pointed to the bottle on the list. I had no idea what I’m ordering, but at €14 it didn’t seem like a big risk. The first sip made my eyes pop, and Portugal’s status was instantly elevated to the “oh my god” level. That wine was from Quinta do Cardo, a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and a few other varieties – here is the original post.
A few more days into that same trip I had another wine which completely solidified my love for the Portuguese wines – Casa Burmester Reserva Douro – again, pure indulgence. There were lots more wines during that and two other trips to the Douro which made me form the opinion that Touriga Nacional is very similar to Cabernet Sauvignon in its ability to be grandstanding, to create the wine with a perfect flavor profile, perfect ripeness, perfect level of extraction and impeccable, sexiest mouthfeel. If you ever had Kamen Cabernet Sauvignon or Vérité La Joia, you would know what I’m talking about. Yes, I love Portuguese wines.
And one more thing about Portuguese wines. Similar to well-made California Cabernet Sauvignon, well-made Portuguese wines need time. Way too many times I had Portuguese wines which were not ready. I don’t know if analogies with Port are appropriate here (same grapes?), but Vintage Ports can easily age for 50+ years. I never had 50-years old wines from Portugal, but I have first-hand experience with, for example, 24 years old wine which was not ready to drink, not for a minute (you can read about it here).
When I was offered to try two Portuguese wines from the Douro, made by Prats and Symington, I quickly agreed – I told you already that I love Portuguese wines, remember?
I always like to talk first about the producer before discussing the wines. Only a few days ago I wrote at length about a number of Port wines produced by the Symington Family Estates, so this is the part of the story I don’t need to repeat – you can read it here. But understanding the “Prats” was a bit more challenging. The website section for Prats and Symington, or P+S how it is abbreviated provides rather limited information. I was only able to learn that “In 1999 our family formed a partnership to make top Douro wines with the Prats family of Bordeaux”, and that “the first Prats & Symington wine was Chryseia 2000 which received widespread national and international acclaim”. I felt as in my early days of combing Portuguese wine labels and information tidbits for the grape names, so I had to do a bit of research.
I was able to figure that Prats in P+S is actually Bruno Prats, former owner of Château Cos d’Estournel and experienced winemaker, who applied Bordeaux winemaking philosophy, especially around blending, to the production of the P+S wines, which resulted in the wines with the highest critic ratings in the history of Portuguese unfortified wines. This article in the Dinks Business online magazine explains Bruno’s winemaking philosophy very well.
The two wines we are talking about here are 2018 P+S Prazo de Roriz Douro (14.5% ABV, $17, 35% Touriga Franca, 20% Touriga Nacional, 20% Mixed varieties, 15% Tinta Roriz, 10% Tinta Barroca, 6 months in 400L neutral French oak Barrels) and 2019 P+S Post Scriptum de Chryseia Douro Red (14.2%, $27, 56% Touriga Franca, 33% Touriga Nacional, 7% Tinta Roriz, 4% Tinta Barroca).
There are two main vineyards used in the production of these two wines – Quinto de Roriz, one of the oldest and best vineyards in Portugal, already famous for its single-vineyard wines in the 18th century, and Quinta de Pedriz, a newly acquired vineyard in Rio Torta and specifically planted with Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca grapes.
As these were two sample wines, I also got technical notes for both, which I typically like to glance over. Two items attracted my attention in the notes. First, there was a line there saying “Decanting: Not required”. Second, the “Storage and Serving” section stated ” Ready for immediate consumption”. Leaving decanting aside, “ready for immediate consumption” somehow bothered me.
Prazo de Roriz was actually as promised – from the moment the wine made it into the glass, the wild strawberries on the nose and palate, which I tend to believe are signature flavors of Touriga Nacional, were prominent, and the wine was perfectly extracted, round, concentrated, and overall delicious (Drinkability: 8). It was also “dangerous wine” as I like to call them – once opened, they tend to disappear without second notice.
The first sip of Post Scriptum, made me say “hmmm” and reach for the decanter. Decanter didn’t really help – two hours later, the wine was still ultra-dense and literally devoid of fruit. I don’t give up on the wines easily, so back into the bottle the wine went. Next 4 days, I would pull out a stopper, pour a sip, and put the stopper immediately back. On day number 5, the magic transformation completed – the wine all of a sudden opened with the same wild berries profile, perfect extraction, round and layered, and ready to be admired. (Drinkability: 8+).
Here you are, my friends. Portuguese wines are easy to love – you just need to find the right wines and have a bit of patience. But seriously, the rewards are handsome – these are some of the best wines in the world which you can still afford without an expense account. Happy [wine] hunting!
American Pleasures #5: Burgundy in California, or the Wonders of Pop’n’Pour
Wine should give you pleasure – there is no point in drinking the wine if it does not. Lately, I had a number of samples of American wines, that were the delicious standouts – one after another, making me even wonder if someone cursed my palate. I enjoyed all of those wines so much that I decided to designate a new series to them – the American Pleasures.
Burgundy in California. Nonsense, right? Burgundy is located in France, and the last thing you want to hear is a review of Hearty Burgundy, proudly produced by Gallo (believe it or not, but you can still buy this wine at about $9 for 1.5L – a great deal, huh?). Rest assured – Gallo is the last wine I want to ever discuss on this blog. I would like, however, to talk about Burgundy’s star grape varieties, which are also working amazingly well in California – yes, you got it – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
California produces a lot of wine (#4 in the world, with 248 million cases in 2018), using a lot of different grapes – no matter where those grapes are typically from – from Clairette Blanc to Viura to Nebbiolo to Grenache to Tempranillo, you should expect to find them all in Californian wines. Aside from all of the abundance, there are some grapes that can be called California superstars.
With the white grapes, it is easy – Chardonnay clearly steals the show. California made Chardonnay its own way back, with Chateau Montelena already proving its prowess to the whole world by winning Judgement of Paris in 1976. Chardonnay’s style changed and changed again since those early days of success, and when you are opening a bottle of California Chardonnay today, very often you don’t know what to expect – too much butter, too little butter, too much oak, no oak. Most importantly, you have no guarantees that you will enjoy that bottle.
Speaking about red grapes, ask a wine lover to name the most famous California red grape, and I’m sure 9 out of 10 will say Cabernet Sauvignon. I love California Cabernet Sauvignon as much as every one of those 9 out of 10 people. But based on my experience, the majority of the California Cabernet Sauvignon need time and time again to mellow down, to transform, to become truly enjoyable, and not just “drink the label and keep smiling” type of beverages. California Pinot Noir typically give you a lot more hope for finding the delicious Pop’n’Pour wines. And don’t forget – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay – it is the pleasure we are looking for here, so “pop, pour, drink, and ask for a second glass” is a sequence of events we are hoping for in here.
Here is a collection of the well-known wines I had the pleasure of enjoying – and have been blown away by the Pop’n’Pour quality, truly.
Domaine Anderson takes its roots from 1981, when Jean-Claude Rouzaud, patriarch of the Louis Roederer family came across Anderson Valley along the Mendocino coast in California, in search of the perfect spot to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Today, Domaine Anderson continues to be run by the Roederer family, farming organically and biodynamically 50 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyards. Here are 3 wines I had an opportunity to taste which were all just a perfection from the moment they were poured into the glass:
2017 Domaine Anderson Chardonnay (13.5% ABV, $30)
Light golden
Touch of honey, a hint of smoke, minerality
Clean acidity, tart lemon, a touch of smoke, texturally present, medium-plus body, earthy underpinning.
8/8+, this wine screams Chablis to me. Superb.
2015 Domain Anderson Pinot Noir Anderson Valley (13.8% ABV, $39.99, 15 months in French oak barrels, 19% new)
Dark ruby
Smoke, violets, earthy notes
Nicely restrained, good minerality, a touch of tart cherries
8, delicious
2017 Domaine Anderson Pinot Noir Anderson Valley (13.6% ABV, $45, 15 months in French oak barrels, 8% new)
Dark Ruby
Stewed plums, smoke, earthy undertones
Plums, cherries, lavender, tar, smoke, sweet tobacco, crisp, fresh, clean acidity, excellent balance
8, nicely restrained Pinot Noir, not over the board.
Merry Edwards Winery needs no introduction to wine lovers. Bright and noticeable labels always stand out on the shelf, it is hard to miss them. Merry Edwards’s sole focus is on the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, which was first produced in 1999 (vintage 1997) – but she is also well known for her Sauvignon Blanc which was first produced in 2001. In addition to the passionate pursuit of Pinot Noir, Merry Edwards is also very passionate about sustainability, which is fully embraced at the winery and in the vineyards – you can read more about sustainability philosophy here.
2017 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Meredith Estate Russian River Valley Sonoma County (14.5% ABV, $68)
Dark Garnet
Sage, tar, coffee, eucalyptus, freshly crushed dark berries
Tart, fresh cherries, crisp acidity, bright, invigorating
8, very uncalifornian, more Italian than anything else.
Considering how widely available La Crema wines are, I always made an effort to avoid them as “mass-produced”. After I tasted the wine, I completely changed my opinion – the wines might be produced in large quantities, but these are well-made wines. Also, the winery website has lots of good and well-presented information.
2017 La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast (13.5% ABV, $25)
Dark intense Ruby
Plums, fresh herbs, mineral undertones
Ripe fresh plums, mint, a touch of stewed strawberries, good acidity, good balance. Interestingly spicy finish.
8-, nice
Landmark Vineyards was founded in 1974 by a group of people that included Damaris Deere Ford, the great-great-granddaughter of John Deere. In 1991, Damaris Deere Ford, now a sole proprietor of the Landmark Vineyards, focused exclusively on the production of Chardonnay and released the first vintage of the flagship Overlook Chardonnay. In 1993, Helen Turley started working as a consulting winemaker helping to create the Landmark’s signature style. Two years later, Landmark released the first vintage of its Pinot Noir under the name of Great Detour. In 2016, Landmark Vineyards extended into the Russian River Valley via the acquisition of the Hop Kiln Estate – and this was one of the wines I had an opportunity to taste.
2018 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay Sonoma County (14.3% ABV, $27)
Light golden
Vanilla, apple, lemon
Vanilla, a touch of butter, golden delicious apples, citrus profile, roll-off-your-tongue round, excellent balance, delicious
8/8+, excellent
2017 Landmark Vineyards Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands (14.3% ABV, $45, 14 months in French oak, 35% new)
Dark ruby
Plums, dirt, forest floor
Plums, cherries, tobacco, iodine, short finish, good acidity, good balance.
8-, excellent and classic
2017 Landmark Vineyards Pinot Noir Hop Kiln Vineyard Russian River Valley (14.5% ABV, $40, aged in 40% new French oak)
Intense ruby
Cherries, underbrush, the nose says Oregon with dark intensity
Tart cherries, dark chocolate, tobacco, complex bouquet
8/8+, superb.
Here are you – a collection of delicious Pop’n’Pour American Pleasures. And don’t worry, I have a lot more wines to share with you. Cheers!
A Quick Trip To California With Chalk Hill Estates
Have wine, will travel!
Let’s start with the question – equally eternal and pointless, but always fun – does size matter? Yes, of course, it does.
Now, a follow-up question – is bigger always better? Remember, this is still a wine blog, so please have the right perspective here.
While you are thinking about it, let me share what I learned from one and only Kevin Zraly during his Windows on the World Wine School class.
Kevin asked everyone to imagine a circle – let’s say, it would be California. Now let’s imagine a smaller circle inside of this one – let’s say, now it is Napa Valley. The wines from Napa Valley are better than the wines from the whole of California (I’m not doing any particular comparisons, just a general bottle of California appellation wine versus a general bottle of Napa Valley wine – there always will be exceptions, but this is not what we are concerned with right now).
Next, let’s place even a smaller circle inside of the Napa Valley – how about Oakville, one of the best appellations in Napa. Oakville designated wines should be (on average) better than Napa Valley designated wines, would you agree? But how about nesting next smaller circle inside – To-Kalon Vineyard, one of the most coveted vineyards in the whole of California? To-Kalon designated wines are some of the most sought-after wines in California, so the tendency is clear – the smaller circles get, the better wine should become. We don’t even have to stop at the vineyard level – we can continue to the blocks and plots, but I think you got the point.
So now, what is your answer to the question? Yes, when it comes to the wine appellations, smaller is usually better – but of course, don’t apply this logic when someone is asking if you would prefer a standard bottle of Screaming Eagle as your present, or if you would prefer a Jeroboam.
The Chalk Hill AVA (AVA is an abbreviation for the American Viticultural Area) is a tiny sliver of land located in the northeast corner of Russian River Valley AVA on the border with Alexander Valley AVA. The area is so small that it was first discovered by Fred Furth from his plane, while he was flying over the Russian River. Fred started the Chalk Hill Estates winery in 1972, and in 1983, the Chalk Hill area received the status of the AVA.
Chalk Hill’s name comes from the white chalk volcanic soils prevalent in the area. While Chalk Hill is a sub-appellation of the Rissian River Valley, it is warmer and has a lesser amount of fog, but more of the cooling breeze. Chalk Hill AVA is best known for its classically Californian grapes – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Malbec, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel are also successfully growing there.
Chalk Hill Estate is a 1,300 acres property, with 350 acres of vineyards, planted vertically on the valley slopes. Chalk Hill Estate was acquired in 2010 from its original owner, Fred Furth, by Bill Foley, a successful financier turned vigneron, who smartly and successfully amassed a good number of famous California wineries under his Foley Family Wines brand. Actually, after the acquisition, Chalk Hill became home for the Foley family. Courtney Foley, the youngest daughter of Bill and Carol Foley, grew up surrounded by the beauty of Chalk Hill Estate, where now she became a winemaker working together with her dad.
Chalk Hill Estate vineyards are sustainably farmed, with a focus on soil and water conservation. Lots of work had been done in the vineyards to research how well different clones grow in the different sections of the vineyards, with particular emphasis on Chardonnay clones. To demonstrate the results of the study, Chalk Hill even produces a special Chalk Hill Clonal Collection set of wines.
I had an opportunity to try two of the Chalk Hill Estate latest release wines:
2019 Chalk Hill Estate Chardonnay Chalk Hill AVA (14.9% ABV, $45, 11 months in French oak, 40% new)
Light golden
A hint of gunflint, lemon, herbs
Butter, vanilla, good acidity, bitter undertones
7+, over-extracted for me, but I’m sure someone might like the raw power
2018 Chalk Hill Estate Red Chalk Hill AVA (15.5% ABV, $70, 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot, 2% Carménère, 21 months in French oak, 61% new)
Dark garnet
Cassis, pure cassis
Beautiful crunchy cassis, cherries, eucalyptus, a hint of espresso, well noticeable but not overbearing tannins, good balance, full-body, long finish.
8+, excellent
Somehow, the Chalk Hill Chardonnay is not made for me (this is not my first encounter with the wine, but the results are identical every time). The Estate Red was a pure delight, though.
And now it is time to conclude our trip. I hope you enjoyed a brief visit to the beautiful Chalk Hill Estate – next time, I’m sure it is worth a hands-on experience. Cheers!
Perfect Pairing for a Quiet Night
Quick: can you name the wine (a type of wine) which would help you to enjoy your quiet evening? Winter evenings often bring out this “quiet night” analogy, as it gets dark really early, and you might find more time available to yourself. But of course, there are plenty of quiet nights during spring, summer, and fall. When all the daily chores are done, the house is getting quiet, you can pour yourself a glass of something, sit in your favorite chair with your favorite book (maybe), and just feel at ease. So what would that “something” in your glass be?
If you said Scotch (neat!), we are totally intuned, but this we will discuss other time.
If you said Port, then we really understand each other, because it is Port I want to talk about today.
What do you think of Port? Not the port-style, but actual, classic Port from Portugal – 10, 20, 30, 40 years old, vintage, late bottled vintage, colheita – doesn’t matter what type and age, but classic Port?
Port used to command the wine world. It was born out of need more than anything else – in the 17th century, the war between England and France forced Englishman to seek a replacement to the French Claret. Portuguese wines were not great, tart and austere, and had a tendency to spoil in transit, until someone discovered that the addition of Brandy can prevent the spoilage – and additional of Brandy during fermentation made wines to retain a lot more of the sugar, thus making them even more palatable.
In the middle of the 18th century, in 1756, the Douro region of Portugal (this is the region where Port is produced) became the first identified and protected wine-growing area in the world (take a note – this is a perfect fact to know for the next wine trivia night with friends). Another interesting trivia fact is that the first time Vintage port terminology was used in the wine auction catalog in 1773, to identify a bottle of an excellent 1765 Vintage Port. However, I don’t want to take you too far into Port types and styles – I wrote about it in the past so please refer to this article if you want to learn more.
Everything was going right for Port in the 18th and a good half of the 19th century until Douro vineyards received a “perfect” one-two punch – first, powdery mildew epidemic which started in 1848, followed by … yes, I’m sure you guessed it – the phylloxera hitting the vineyards in 1870. It was not until 1896 that the Douro vines were consistently grafted on phylloxera-resistant rootstock. From there on, Port started working on the comeback, but never reached its glory days of demand and appreciation.
Just to get a bit philosophical for a minute – you got time, you don’t mind, do you? I would say that there are three reasons why Port doesn’t have the attention it deserves nowadays.
First, the way we eat changed. One of the best “classic” pairings of Port is Port and stilton, the stinky, sharp cheese. Now, we lost the art of dinner where cheese is offered as a dessert course (by the way, forget traditions – there is a scientific explanation of why it makes perfect sense). At the best, cheese is considered an appetizer, often offered as part of the charcuterie board together with smoked and cured meats – but heavy and powerful Port is anything but an aperitive type beverage (I’m not talking about white Port – this is a separate category we are not discussing today).
Second, sweet = shame. We became extremely cautious about other people’s opinions towards us. Port is sweet. It is commonly appropriate to publicly despise sweet things, while secretly craving them. We are born with a love of sugar, and we need sugar as a source of energy – everything in moderation, of course. But outside of enjoying an actual dessert, and especially when it comes to the wine, we are trained to state how much we don’t like sweet, and we don’t enjoy sweet wines at all. “Oh no, I don’t drink sweet wines, no”. The pleasure of the wine is in the balance of the elements – sugar-loaded Sauternes, BA/TBA Rieslings, PX Sherries, Port – as long as the wine has enough acidity, it becomes an absolute pleasure, but we are too afraid to admit publicly that this is something we might be suspected of enjoying.
Third, we lost our ability to relax. You want to take your time with a glass of Port. The time stopped. You can just be, taking tiny sips from a glass, looking at the fire, flowers, or slow-rolling waves. Just be. But we can’t. There is always something new on the phone we need to attend to. We can’t just lose time relaxing. There is a new post to like, what relaxing are you talking about?
It is hard to properly introduce Symington Family Estates and explain its role in the Portuguese wine industry and the world of Port in particular. Symington Family Estates story started more than 130 years ago when Andrew James Symington arrived in Portugal at the age of 19. After spending some time at Graham’s Port, he started a Port shipping company under his name, which was the beginning of the family business.
It is impossible to represent the history of 5 generations of the Symington Family in a few sentences here – here is the link to the Symington Family Estates website where the history is presented in all the finest details. Over the years, Symington Family Estates acquired four of the Port producers – Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, and Cockburn’s, as well as a number of wineries in the Douro Valley. Symington Family Estates owns 26 vineyards (Quintas) in the Douro Valley, a total of 2,255 ha (5,600 acres) of which 1,024 ha (2,560 acres) are under vine. All the vineyards are managed under a strict minimal intervention policy, and 260 acres are certified organic. Symington Family Estates is also a registered B Corporation, the first wine business in Portugal to receive such certification.
Enough about the business – let’s talk about the Port. I want to offer to you a choice of Port for all those quiet moments your heart desires.
First, the Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Port (20% ABV, $26, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca – with the addition of Tinta Amarella, Tinta Cão, Souzão, and Tinta Francisca from the mixed plantings). I had this port many times before but never paid attention to its story. It appears that in the old days, the grape symbols were used to represent the quality of wine in the individual barrels, from 1 to 6. Six grapes implied that the wine in the barrel had Vintage port potential, or effectively was of the highest quality. In the early 1900s, Graham’s started bottling such wines under its own “Six Grapes” label, and it continues to do so to this day.
This bottle had a recent redesign, now adorned with the red top, slick and beautiful. The Port was excellent – dark cherries and blackberries on the nose, blackberries, blueberries, and more of the dark cherries on the palate, with nice tannins in the finish. This wine ages in the oak barrels between one and two years, so the tannins overall are noticeable – and contrary to the general recommendation of chilling the Port slightly before serving, I don’t recommend it – the tannins on this wine become too pronounced and bitter. (Drinkability: 8).
Now, three more Ports from Dow’s, one of the original Symington holdings. The grapes for Dow’s Ports are harvested from some of the finest Quintas in Douro – Senhora da Ribeira and Bonfim, both supplying grapes for the Dow’s port for more than a century. Two of the Ports below are so-called Old Towny Ports, which means that the wines were undergoing a special wood aging regimen to reach their specific character. And another interesting tidbit – over the 10 years of aging, the Port barrel loses 25% of its original content. For the 20 years old Port, this number reaches 35% – while these Ports might seem to be pricey, you really need to appreciate the amount of labor and effort going into the creation of such a bottle.
Dow’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port (20% ABV, $39) – dry fruit and candy notes on the nose, a touch of mint. Hazelnuts and dried figs on the palate, good acidity, overall delicious (Drinkability: 8)
Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port (20% ABV, $67) – Powerful and complex nose – dried herbs, dried fruit, present but not overpowering, inviting and seductive. On the palate, beautifully integrated, with perfect acidity, dried fruit harmoniously balanced and intertwined. (Drinkability: 8+).
And the last wine for you for today – Late Bottled Vintage Port. Late Bottled Vintage, or LBV for short, is a very special category of Port. You see, in Portugal, each and every type of wine should be approved to be released in its category by the IVDP, the regulatory body. If a company wants to declare a vintage year for a Port, it needs to request approval for that from IVDP. If such approval is not granted, the company can proceed with such a Port either in the path of the Old Tawny (the Ports we just discussed) or it might age it for some time and then declare it an LBV.
2016 Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port (20% ABV, $26, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Souzão, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, 4-6 years in seasoned oak before release) comes from a difficult vintage – warm winter, cold spring, one of the hottest and rainiest summers on record. Dry, sunny weather before harvest helped quite a bit, and the result was tasty and powerful Port – tart and sweet cherries on the nose, a hint of dried figs on the palate, cherries, good acidity, nicely present tannins on the finish. (Drinkability: 8).
Here you are, my friends. You can be honest with yourself – it is okay to enjoy well-made, sweet, but balanced, harmonious wines. And one way or the other, we all need our quiet moments. So get a bottle of Port, get comfy, and just enjoy your being. At least for a few moments.
Sparkle Every Day
Ohh, festive times… Bubbles, laughter, smiles, more bubbles, and more laughter and smiles.
We still think of bubbles as a holiday or otherwise celebratory wine, but it doesn’t have to be like this – every day is worth celebrating, and good bubbles bring something special – they have a magic power to make things better.
But now the bubbles are on everyone’s mind – the last two weeks before the New Year celebration, bubbles need to be consumed and gifted. Very appropriately, I’m inviting you on a trip around the world, to taste some sparkling wines, and maybe even find new favorites or discuss the old and familiar.
You can’t beat the classics, so let’s start in the place which started it all (I know it is contested, like everything else nowadays, but let’s just skip that discussion) – the Champagne, of course.
I’m starting today with Champagne which is unique and different, and in reality should warrant a full post, as this is Champagne with the story. In 1975, Bruno Paillard, tracing his family grower and negociant heritage back to 1704, started working as a Champagne negociant. In 1981, at 27 years of age, Bruno sold his old collectible Jaguar and started his own Champagne company with the vision of producing a different style of Champagne. In 1984, he designed a unique above-ground cellar to be able to fully control temperature during the production of Champagne. By 1988, he already was collecting raving reviews from the critics such as Hugh Johnson, and others.
Bruno Paillard calls his approach to Champagne production Multi-Vintage, as even non-vintage-designated wines still have known proportions of reserve (vintage) still wines used during production. Also, every bottle of Bruno Paillard Champagne carries a disgorgement date on its back label. I had an opportunity to taste Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvee Champagne, which comprises 35 out of 320 Champagne crus, with up to 50% of the wine coming from 25 reserve vintage wines since 1985:
MV Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvée Champagne (12% ABV, $60, 45% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay, 22% Pinot Meunier, 36 months on the lees, 5 months in the bottle, disgorged in June 2020)
Fine mousse, crisp
Classic nose – toasted bread, very clean, delicate
Classic palate – toasted bread, minerality, a hint of apples, fresh, round, great energy, cut-through acidity, delicious overall
8+, superb. If you can drink it every day, more power to you – but it is well worth at least an occasional celebration.
As we are in Europe, let make another stop along the way – all the way down to the South of Italy – in Sicily.
Italy is no stranger to spectacular classical style (method Champenoise) bubbles – powerful Ferrari and others up north in the Trentodoc, majestic Franciacorta in Lombardy, and more classic sparkling wines everywhere in between. However, this was my first encounter with the classic-style bubbles from Sicily.
Not to be overdone, this wine comes from Planeta, which is one of the most famous and best producers in Sicily – still, I never heard of their sparkling wines. This wine was made out of the local white grape called Carricante, but if you would try it blind, it would be very hard to distinguish this wine from an actual classic Champagne.
NV Planeta Carricante Brut Methodo Classico Sicilia DOC (12% ABV, $42, 100% Carricante)
Light Golden color
Beautiful intense nose, minerality, a touch of gunflint, toasted notes
A touch of green apple, minerality, toasted bread, good acidity, medium to full body.
8+, outstanding. Mostly available in restaurants, but you still can find it in a few liquor stores.
Now, let’s cross the Atlantic all the way and then some, going to the west side of North America – we are stopping by in California, to be precise. Here I have two wines to offer to your attention.
If you like California sparkling wines, then you don’t need an introduction to Scharffenberger. Found in 1981 by John Scharffenberger, the winery was built from the get-go for sparkling wine production, showcasing the terroir of Mendocino country.
In 2004, the winery became a part of the Roeder Collection. Overall, it continues the same traditions as 40 years ago, and today the 120 acres estate is sustainably farmed and Fish Friendly Farming certified.
Scharffenberger produces a range of Non-Vintage sparkling wines, all made using the classic method, all made from various proportions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The wine I want to offer for your holiday festivities and casual daily life celebrations is Brut Rosé:
NV Scharffenberger Brut Rosé Excellence (12.5% ABV, $26, 55% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir)
Salmon pink
Toasted bread, brioche, a touch of strawberries
Tart strawberries, hazelnut, freshly baked bread, crisp, generous, invigorating
8+, excellent bubbles for any day
Now, we are still staying in California, but moving about 2 hours south and east from Mendocino to the Russian River Valley. Here, in 1984, Judy Jordan started her J Vineyards and Winery (at the age of 25). Throughout the years, Judy acquired 9 vineyards, managing 300 acres of vines around the area. Her brother John Jordan manages the eponymous Jordan winery in Sonoma, producing “Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Hospitality” (I really love this quote of his as I had an opportunity to experience all three at the wine bloggers conference 2017).
During my first wine bloggers conference in 2014 in Santa Barbara, I attended joint Jordan reception, hosted by J Vineyards and Jordan Winery, creating the most magnificent experience between delicious J Vineyards bubbles and Jordan Cabernet verticals.
Why am I telling you all of this and how is it relevant to the J sparkling wine I tasted? Actually, there is no real connection, except the sad feeling of the loss of true authenticity, after J Vineyards was sold to E and J Gallo in 2015. If you visit the J Vineyards website today, it is all about selling the wine. There is no “about” section. There is no history of the estate. Just buy, buy, buy. Buy this or buy that. Okay, okay – I get it – wine is a business. But it can be a business with soul – sadly, I don’t think E and J Gallo know how to operate one.
This J Vineyards Cuvée 20 was originally produced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the winery but then became a standard feature in the sparkling wine lineup.
NV J Vineyards Cuvée 20 Russian River Valley (12.5% ABV, $38)
Straw pale, fine mousse
Gunflint is a primary element
Toasted bread, gunflint, a touch of lemon, crisp, energetic, perfect cleansing acidity
8/8+, needs food – oysters, cheese, steak – any food.
Let’s now take a long flight down south, to the Argentinian desert, to visit Domaine Bousquet in Tupungato.
Actually, I already wrote a long post about Domaine Bousquet sparkling wines, at the beginning of this year. These are essentially the same wines I tasted before, only with the new labels. If you are interested in learning more about Domaine Bousquet, please refer to the post above, and I will just share my latest tasting notes here:
NV Domaine Bousquet Brut Tupungato Argentina (12% ABV, $13, 75% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, Charmat method, organic grapes, vegan)
A yellowish tint in the glass
A hint of apple, fresh, clean
Perfectly round, good acidity, a touch of toasted notes, apples, easy to drink
8-, very good
NV Domaine Bousquet Brut Tupungato Argentina (12% ABV, $13, 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, Charmat method, organic grapes, vegan)
beautiful salmon pink
fresh, a touch of strawberries
more strawberries on the palate, fresh, clean, good acidity, nice body
8-, perfect for every day
And we are done. I’m leaving you here with a few of the options for your festive and daily bubbles – different prices, different wines, but all worthy of a life celebration as it happens. Cheers!
Vilarnau Cavas – Always a Pleasure for an Eye, and Now Organic Too
Here we go – I’m following up a post about Cava with another post about Cava.
Oh well…
It is really appropriate to drink bubbles every day. Really. And it is even triple appropriate to drink bubbles around holidays. And gift them. And every day has something worthy of a celebration. So yeah, let’s talk again about Cava.
First, a pleasure for an eye – take a look – aren’t these bottles gorgeous? I would certainly use them as a decoration if the content wouldn’t be so good. I love this Trencadis design of the bottles – “Trencadís” is a kind of mosaic that is created from tiny fragments of broken ceramic tiles, used by Catalan architects Antoni GaudÍ and Josep MarÍa Pujol in many of their designs. I talked about the trencadís extensively in a few of the older posts (in 2017 and 2018), so I would like to direct you there if you want to learn more.
Now, you still have a ground for complaint – I already talked about Vilarnau Cavas less than 6 months ago – what gives? Are there not enough wines to discuss?
Yes, you are right. Or, almost right, to be more precise. The reason to talk about Vilarnau now is a significant change – all of the Vilarnau wines are now made with organic grapes.
Why would winery change its [successful] ways to become organic? What can be a motivation for that? Is that organic wine any different from non-organic wine? I decided to ask all these questions (virtually) Eva Plazas, Cavas Vilarnau Winemaker – and here is our short dialog:
2. Why is using organic grapes important for you?
3. Can you taste the difference?
4. Is the whole range of Vilarnau Cavas already using organic grapes (talking about new vintages)?
5. Did you have to make any changes in the winemaking process since you started using the organic grapes?
I have stopped using these products or have looked for alternatives to proteins with the animal origin, using pea or potato proteins instead, that is why all Vilarnau cavas are now Vegan too.
NV Vilarnau Brut Reserva Cava DO (11.5% ABV, $14.99, 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 15% Xarel Lo, 15+ months in the bottle)
Light gold
Herbal, earthy, apple, lemon
Fresh, clean, apples, creamy, good body
7+, perfect for every day
NV Vilarnau Brut Reserva Rosé Cava DO (12% ABV, $15.99, 85% Garnacha, 15% Pinot Noir, 15+ months in the bottle)
Salmon pink
Fresh strawberries, a touch of gunflint
Fresh strawberries, crisp, clean, energetic, delicious.
8, excellent
Now, a placeholder for the wines to be tasted in a week – updated on December 29, 2021
NV Vilarnau Brut Reserva Cava DO (11.5% ABV, $14.99, 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 15% Xarel Lo, 15+ months in the bottle, Organic grapes, Vegan)
Light golden color, small persistent bubbles
Freshly toasted bread, gunflint, medium intensity
Freshly toasted bread, a hint of granny smith apples, a hint of gunflint and minerality, nice creaminess
7+/8-, simply delightful
Looking for Bubbles? Roger Goulart Got Everything You Need
First question: how often do you crave bubbles? (My answer: almost every day).
Second question: how often do you actually drink bubbles? (My answer: not often enough. Read – once in a blue moon).
If you answered “not often enough”, here is the third (and fourth) question(s): Why is that so? What stops you?
I can only speak for myself here – I have a few reasons for not drinking bubbles often enough – price; having the right bottle on hand; not being able to finish a bottle once it is opened. Now, can we solve these problems? Let’s take them one by one.
The third problem (not being able to finish the bottle once it is opened) is the easiest problem. No, you don’t need newly minted Coravin for this. The standard Champagne bottle stopper will do the trick.
For the first and second problems – price and having the right bottle on hand – I have a simple answer – Cava.
Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain, made using exactly the same method as Champagne, with the secondary fermentation in the bottle, and aging requirements on par or even stricter compared to Champagne – minimum of 9 months for the regular Cava, minimum of 15 months for Reserva, and the minimum of 30 months for Gran Reserva. Good Cava offers a pleasure comparable to any Champagne in the same category, at half or even a third of the price per bottle, especially considering today’s Champagne prices.
If you noticed, I used the descriptor “good” in conjunction with Cava. As you can never assume that all of the Oregon Pinot Noir is equally good, all of the Riojas are equally good, or all of the Australian Shiraz are equally delicious, not all of the Cavas are equally good. So let me offer my helping hand and make a suggestion – Roger Goulart Cava will not fail you, no matter what the occasion is.
The history of Roger Goulart Cava started in 1882 when Magí Canals dug a wine cellar in the garden in the back of the house, where he started making Cava, in those days still known as Champagne. 17 years later, his son Josep bought the land adjacent to the Canals’ house from the Goulart family – we can consider that an official beginning of the Roger Goulart Cava. In 1919, a beautiful cathedral building was built by Ignasi Mas i Morell, a student of Antonio Gaudí – this became a new home of the Roger Goulart Cava. When Cava DO (destination of Origin) was created in 1972, Canals were one of the founding families. In 1997, 3,000 feet (1 km) of underground caves (more of a tunnel) were dug at the depth of 100 feet (30 meters), to provide ideal aging conditions for the Cava, maintaining a constant temperature of about 57°F-59°F (14°C-15°C).
Roger Goulart Cava Caves. Source: Roger Goulart
Roger Goulart Cava Caves. Source: Roger Goulart
Roger Goulart Cava offers a range of sparkling wines, including Brut Nature (zero dosage) and a range of Gran Reservas – Roger Goulart Gran Reserva cavas are actually not disgorged until the purchase order comes in, to ensure the freshest possible wine being delivered to consumers. The majority of the non-Rosé Cavas are made with three traditional varieties – Xarel·lo, Macabeo, and Parellada, but some of the Cavas might also include Chardonnay. The Rosé Cavas are primarily Garnacha driven, with the addition of other red grapes (Pinot Noir, Monastrell). The new Cavas are also produced from certified organic grapes, so we should expect to see more of Roger Goulart Cavas made with those in the future.
I had an opportunity to taste 4 different Cavas, and even catch a beautiful winter sunset with one of them (as you will see below in the picture). What was surprising to me was the level of freshness across all four wines – the 2012 and 2018 tasted equally fresh. Another interesting tidbit was the fact that the older Cavas, also been Gran Reservas, benefited from additional breathing time. I used the stopper I mentioned before, and I actually enjoyed those wines even more on the second day out of the refrigerator.
Here are my notes for what it is worth:
2018 Roger Goulart Cava Reserva (12% ABV, $19.99, 50% Macabeo, 35% Xarel-lo, 15% Parellada, min. 15 months in the bottle, organic grapes)
Fine bubbles
Freshly toasted bread on the nose, a hint of apples
Perfect amount of yeast, toasted notes, crisp, fresh, creamy mouthfeel.
8, excellent. Great with food (had it with salami and cranberry encrusted goat cheese)
NV Roger Goulart Coral Cava Brut Rosé (12% ABV, $19.99, 70% Garnacha, 30% Pinot Noir, min. 9 months in the cellar, bottled in December 2016)
Fine bubbles, beautiful salmon pink color
A hint of brioche and strawberries on the nose, nicely restrained
Toasted notes, toasted bread, creamy mouthfeel, delicious.
8+, outstanding.
2014 Roger Goulart Cava Brut Rosé Gran Reserva (12% ABV, $19.99, 85% Garnacha, 15% Monastrell, min. 36 months in the cellar, bottled in March 2015)
Deep reddish color
A touch of toasted bread notes.
Dry, concentrated, a hint of fresh bread, needs time to open up, then crisp and fresh.
8, very good, better on the second day
2012 Roger Goulart Cava Brut Gran Reserva (12% ABV, $19.99, 60% Xarel-lo, 20% Macabeo, 20% Parellada)
Toasted bread, clean, fresh
Perfect balance, apple, a hint of toasted bread, cut-through acidity, tight, vibrant, full of energy, would perfectly compare to any champagne in a blind tasting. Most likely, would beat the competition.
8+/9-, I loved it even more two days after the bottle was opened. Superb.
As you can see all of these Cavas are priced the same, and at $19.99 they are worth every penny, as the comparable Champagne will be at least in the $45 – $50 range. And the great thing about this pricing is that you can choose the wine based only on how you feel at the moment, and not on the price.
The holidays are upon us, but with or without the holidays – every day deserves a glass of bubbles. Try Roger Goulart Cavas and send me a thank you card later. Cheers!
Stories of Passion and Pinot, And Not Only Pinot: Battle Creek Cellars
I love urban wineries (or city wineries as they are often called). Solvang, Woodinville, Walla Walla – each place was different but similar at the same time – unique wines, unique stories, unique experiences. I would venture to say that winemakers at the urban wineries have more freedom to create and experiment, as they can choose the vineyards they want to work with and the style of the wines they want to produce. My latest experience in Portland is a direct confirmation of this.
My last winery visit in Oregon was at the city winery called Battle Creek Cellars, located in Portland’s Pearl District. I was told that I’m going to meet a winemaker who not only makes wines but also plays American football professionally, and has a unique personality. And I had about one hour before I had to start heading to the airport to make my flight – somewhat of a challenge for me as it is in my nature to worry about not missing a flight.
Sarah Cabot, the winemaker, was already waiting for us as we arrived at the tasting room. We grabbed glasses, a few bottles and headed out to the patio in the back to taste wines and to talk.
At the city winery, you can expect to find great wines, but you are not necessarily expecting to be blown away by what you taste and what you learn. The wines were absolutely spectacular, starting with the very first one 2018 Battle Creek Cellars Reserve White Blend – the wine had a distinct spicy nose, honey notes, and on the palate was clean, crisp with great acidity, creamy, and very different from the nose. This is where the unique sides of Sarah were already showing – she was getting the fruit from the vineyard where the vinegrower refused to tell her the exact composition of the blend – she only knew that Riesling and Gewürztraminer are a part of the blend, but the exact composition was not known.
Not only Sarah works with unknown grape blends, but she also uses a range of tools to produce the wines. For example, her 2019 Chardonnay Reserve was spectacular – round inviting nose with a hint of honey, and clean, crisp, and creamy green apple driven on the palate, a delicious rendition of Chardonnay – fermented in the sandstone jar.
Talking to Sarah I learned that while Battle Creek Cellars production is about 10,000 cases overall (6000 cases for unconditional Pinot Noir, 4000 cases of the other wines), Sarah is responsible for the production of more than 100,000 cases annually for her parent company, Precept Wine, Northwest’s largest private wine company. I also learned that Sarah greatly values the freedom to experiment which she has while working with her Battle Creek Cellars portfolio and that esoteric elitism, so common in the wine industry, is making her uncomfortable. And the amount of energy Sarah was exuding during our conversation, explaining all the different ways she utilizes when looking for the right vineyards and the right grapes and deciding how she would ferment and age any particular wines, was simply contagious.
We tasted more wines:
2018 Battle Creek Cellars Reserve Rosé was simply outstanding, offering a whole array of sensory experiences – onion peel color, and the nose which prompted you to imagine yourself walking in the garden and smell strawberries, flowers, and just open meadows. The palate offered great acidity and was fresh and crisp.
2015 Battle Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir from the vineyard planted in 1998 was excellent, with cherries, mushrooms, chocolate on the nose, and more cherries, lean and crisp on the palate. Definitely an aging-worthy wine.
And then there was the 2019 Amphora Series Carbonic Red Blend Oregon which literally blew my mind… Grenache/Malbec blend, fermented whole cluster in amphorae for 30 days with skins. The nose was amazing with crunchy raspberries and cranberries, and then fresh fruit on the palate with beautiful supporting tannins was simply incredible, the wine you have to experience to believe it.
Next, we were out of time – but we agreed to continue the conversation, which we did using both emails with questions and a phone call, so I really had here the full experience as the writer.
Here is what transpired during our follow up conversation:
[TaV]: How did you get into the wine? When did you realize that making wine is your calling?
[SC]: I was working in casual fine dining restaurants as an undergraduate student in Boston and developed an initial fascination with wine there. Eventually, my life brought me back to the West coast and a sommelier I used to work with suggested that I go back to school for enology/viticulture when I mentioned to him that I was feeling unfulfilled in the service industry. I followed his advice and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I had found my calling after my first day of classes.
[TaV]: What was the first memorable wine you made, the wine you were completely happy about?
[SC]: I guess that, to me, they have all been memorable in some way. As far as a wine that I’ve been “completely happy” about…I think that would be the 2018 Amphora Riesling. That wine made its own decisions and I couldn’t have made better ones if I had tried. Now, 3 years later, I feel even more ecstatic about it as I notice the developing notes of petrol that I’ve always coveted about fine Rieslings.
[TaV]: You seem to be working with lots of vessels to ferment and age wines – in addition to the standard vessels such as stainless steel and oak, you also use amphora, sandstone jars of different shapes, and probably a bunch of others. How do you decide when to use what, what grapes to put into what vessel and for what wine?
[SC]: This will probably sound a little silly, but the right fruit just seems to end up in the right vessel. It’s a combination of varietal, timing, and my whim in the moment. There’s no real formula to it.
[TaV]: When you were talking about your 2020 carbonic red blend, you mentioned that you instantly fell in love with Merlot you saw, and you wanted to make the wine exactly with the Merlot. How does it work for you? What was so special about that Merlot?
[SC]: More than the grapes themselves, it was the site where they were growing that made me feel inspired to work with Merlot for the first time since I was in school. It’s a special, beautiful, steep and windy vineyard in the Columbia Gorge AVA called Wind Horse Vineyard. The grower is passionate and engaged and I haven’t ever stood in a vineyard quite like it. I thought…if Merlot from anywhere is going to be extra interesting, it’s going to be from here. Sure enough, the aromatics and texture of the finished wine did not disappoint.
[TaV]: Do you use natural or commercial yeast? Winemakers often get religious about their yeast approach – what is yours?
[SC]: Since I make all my wine in a large winery among other producers, I can’t claim that my ferments are all completed by “native” yeast. I do often allow my ferments to begin spontaneously and finish on their own/without the addition of commercial yeast. I do have a few commercial yeasts that I particularly like to use which are all blends of Saccharomyces and non-sacch yeasts. I’ll use these in certain cases when it is a challenging fermentation environment and I don’t want an unwelcome microbial load to mask the fundamental sensory characteristics of the vineyard.
[TaV]: When you select fruit for your next wine, do you take into account factors such as sustainably/organically/biodynamically grown? Do you have any viticultural preferences?
[SC]: More than anything, I prefer to work with growers whose priority is to cultivate a healthy and long-term-sustainable ecosystem in the vineyard. Don’t necessarily have a strong feeling about the certification, but care about the ethos of the grower, how the vineyard is treated, and the surrounding area, not just the production environment. I try to work with the growers who take this symbiotically – sustainability is a key. The intention behind farming matters more than a certificate on a piece of paper.
[TaV]: Is there a winemaker you would call your mentor?
[SC]: Brian O’Donnell at the Belle Pente winery. Brian is the owner and winemaker, and this was my first job in Oregon right after enology school – he definitely created the framework that holds up my knowledge now as a winemaker. He taught me what his philosophy is and left me to my own devices to sink or swim. I made a few mistakes of my own, nothing too costly, but this was the best way to learn. I know general ethos and philosophy, and now it is my time to grow, improvise and get on my feet. There are other incredible winemakers I had mentorship moments with, but Brian is the closest to the real mentor.
[TaV]: Is there a dream wine you always wanted to make? What would that be?
[SC]: The perfect Pinot? Nah. High elevation Ribolla Gialla, oxidized. Similar to what Gravner produces in Friuli, it should have acid but should be ripe enough. I have yet to find the fruit in Oregon.
[TaV]: Your single-vineyard wine labels have beautiful simplicity and different images – what do these images represent?
[SC]: The avatar on each label represents the character of the wine, and it is unique to the vineyard. There are explanations of all the avatars on the back labels. The avatars are used for single-vineyard wines. Even when there is a vintage variation, the barrels selected to be bottled under a single-vineyard label have a consistent profile. The barrels selected to be the most identifiable features of the vineyard – power, finesse – and this is what characters represent.
[TaV]: As I promised, we need to talk about football. Does playing football helps you make wine? How about your work as a winemaker influencing the way you play?
[SC]: Football definitely helps me to do everything. That level of extreme physical exhaustion and violence is very cathartic, and this helps me to be a better winemaker dealing with pressure.
My work as a winemaker has had both positive and negative impacts on my game. As the negative impact, winemaking experience makes me second guess my decisions. However, as a winemaker I learn to react quickly and make decisions quickly, which helps, When I will retire from playing football I will need to start coaching because I will need this in my life.
[TaV]: During our conversation, you mentioned that working with Chardonnay is easy, but working with Pinot Noir is a pain in the butt. Do you care to expand on this? Can you be very specific?
[SC]: Chardonnay is not easy, but easier than Pinot. Working with Pinot is difficult because of the thinner skin and lower levels of phenolics, and it is not as protected by phenolics from the mistakes as Merlot or Syrah and is susceptible to all sorts of issues. Growing Pinot, if temperatures reach 88F, that affects the fruit, the vine can shoot down, and you don’t want to irrigate too much, so there is a constant worry. Because of thinner skin, it raisins a lot easier than others; when it is too wet, it breaks a lot easier than the others. With Pinot Noir, you can’t look away for one second.
[TaV]: Was there a pivotal wine for you, or a pivotal wine experience?
[SC]: There are 3. There is one that made me decide I love Pinot when I was 19 and working at the restaurant – 1996 Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara. It tasted like candy, I was 19, and I loved it.
The red wine which made me realize how versatile the grape variety can be and how much where it grows to make a difference was Guigal Côte-Rôtie. I had learned about Syrah as a blending grape in Southern Rhone or Washington Syrah, and then I tired Côte-Rôtie, and my head was blown.
The white was really an assortment of whites from Trimbacbh – big, round, acidic, ultimate food wines.
[TaV]: Do you have an all-time favorite wine or wines?
[SC]: It will be Morgon. Duboeuff or Jean Foillard grand cru. Moulin-a-Vent would be a close second.
[TaV]: Given the opportunity, is there a winemaker you would want to make the wine with, or the winery you always dreamt of working at?
[SC]: I would love to have the opportunity to work side by side with Gravner or Radican, or anywhere in Jura, producing the traditional wines. Gravner is the ultimate. Gravner is the reason I got amphorae. I love their wines very much and I would love to learn there.
I can tell you that after the conversation with Sarah, I definitely want to try Gravner wines, and I can’t wait to experience the 2020 Amphora series which should be made with that magnificent Merlot…
Here you are, my friends. Another story of passion, Pinot, and not only Pinot, and pushing the envelope as far as it can go. If you are planning to visit Portland, make Battle Creek Cellars your “must stop”. Cheers!
This post is a part of the Stories of Passion and Pinot series – click the link for more stories…
Re-Discovering Oregon
It’s been more than 20 years since my first visit to Oregon. It’s been more than 20 years since I tried Oregon Pinot Noir for the first time. More than 150 posts in this very blog mention Oregon one way or the other, including 14 interviews with Oregon winemakers. And nevertheless, this year 2021 was the one when I really discovered Oregon as a winemaking region.
A picture worth a thousand words. When it comes to creating memories, a picture is definitely stronger than just words. What would be even better at creating memories than a picture? An experience. Seeing something with your own eyes, touching, smelling – a full sensory experience would certainly create the most lasting impressions.
In August of 2021, I attended the Wine Media Conference in Eugene, Oregon. Three days of the conference were so filled with wines, conversations, and more wines that these 3 days really became more like just one. One long, very eventful day. It was only after the conference was over, and I stayed behind for another 3 days to meet with winemakers and yes, drink more wine, that I finally had a moment to reflect and create an actual new impression.
We stopped at the rest area off the highway while driving to the first appointment at Le Cadeau with Carl Giavanti, and I found myself surrounded by the beautiful, tall, straight pine trees, standing magnificently over the clean forest floor. This view instantly transported me to my childhood – growing up in Belarus, this was the forest I was used to, full of tall, magnificent trees, perfectly suitable to become ship masts. And the air, the air – you breathe differently in a forest like that. This was a great beginning for my deep dive into Oregon.
And then, of course, seeing the vineyards, seeing the Kill Hill at Lenné and absorbing magnificent views from the vineyard, seeing and touching the rocks at Le Cadeau, and tasting the wines surrounded by the grapes – all of it guaranteed the creation of the long-lasting impressions. Even more, for the first time ever seeing the vines while they are going through veraison, the magnificent promise of the vintage was also a great way to create a strong proverbial “memory knot”.
During these 3 days, I met with winemakers I already virtually talked to before (Bells Up, Le Cadeau, Lenné, Utopia, Youngberg Hill, as well as winemakers I met for the first time, and I plan to talk about those experiences later on. But based on my leanings during the conference, and conversations with the winemakers, let me summarize my realizations about Oregon wines.
One important idea to keep in mind – when it comes to wine, Oregon is not just a Willamette Valley, and Oregon is not just Pinot Noir. Yes, winemaking in Willamette Valley got its initial boost in the early 1970s when winemakers from California started moving up north in search of locations to grow cool-climate Pinot Noir, hoping that cooler weather will push vines to produce less fruit of a higher quality. Considering the quality of the Oregon Pinot Noir, this plan definitely worked – however, as we were visiting the McMinnville area of Oregon, the temperatures during the day were pushing 95F, which is not the idea of a cool climate of course. Leaving that aside, yes, the Pinot Noir is a king of Willamette Valley, but we shouldn’t discount Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, and many, many other grape varieties successfully growing around the state. But as I spent all of my time in the McMinnville area, let me share with you my observations for this Pinot Kingdom.
Pinot Noir is a King, but Chardonnay is a Queen.
Not letting Burgundian parallels stop at the Pinot Noir only, Oregon producers now fully embrace Chardonnay. And this Chardonnay is stunning. I tasted lots of Chardonnays during the three days, and I don’t think I had a single one I didn’t like. And the best Chardonnays were showing purely Burgundian, with vanilla, apples, and honey, my absolute favorite Chardonnay profile.
It’s all about the rocks.
Rocks. Seemingly nutrient-devoid soils. You just need to see this land to simply ask yourself – how is that even possible? The vine needs so much strength to reach the nutrients through the rocks and basalt – no wonder Steve Lutz at Lenné was ready to give up on his work as the vines couldn’t establish year over year. You need lots of patience. And you need to believe that one day, the vine will fully establish, and the fruit will be worth it. And it does.
Clones Rule!
It is the clonal game here in the Pinot Kingdom. Le Cadeau grows 18 different clones of Pinot Noir, all of which are used in the production of the wines. At Utopia, there are 12 clones of Pinot Noir growing there, and one of the Utopia Pinot Noir wines uses all 12 clones. The same Utopia is growing 3 clones of Chardonnay, all 3 are used in the estate wines.
The grape juice is clear
I don’t know how much of the trend is this, but as you know, the juice of most of the red grapes is clear – and thus you can produce white wines from the red fruit, which many of the producers already do quite successfully. Will this become a big deal? Maybe. Either way, creativity is always great.
The bubbles are everywhere
Almost everyone we talked to produces already sparkling wines. Whatever way it is done – either by harvesting some of the grapes earlier to preserve acidity, or growing the grapes specifically for the sparkling wines, but the sparkling wines make perfect sense as been based on the same Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The bottling is easily done with the mobile bottling line, so adding bubbles to the repertoire is easy and makes sense, especially as an important addition to the wine club inventories.
Oh yes, the wine clubs!
The wine clubs are the key model. While it is great to have nationwide distribution and demand, selling directly to consumers is a lot less involved, and offers much better margins. You don’t have to deal with the three-tier system, you don’t need to deal with extensive marketing – just create a loyal following, make sure members are happy, interested, and get the royal treatment, and you can achieve your financial goals right there and then.
Don’t hope for Rosé
While it seems that producing Rosé is a no-brainer, and it theoretically makes as much sense as sparkling wines in terms of extending the offerings, it doesn’t make much economic sense. When you harvest grapes for the sparkling wines, you are either using the fruit which will never ripen enough to go into the estate wines, or you will do a first pass collecting fruit for the sparkling wines and thus directing all the strength of the vines to the remaining grapes, making your estate wines even better. To make good Rosé, you need to use exactly the same fruit as you would use for the estate wines – only you can’t charge for Rosé as much as you can charge for the estate wines. So yes, while it sounds fashionable and proper to us, consumers, it doesn’t make much business sense.
The view from Lenné vineyards
This is where I can stop this little summary. The rest of this story is really in the wines, delicious wines I had an opportunity to taste. There will be updates to the stories of Passion and Pinot, and there will be new conversations to share. Until then – cheers!
How Art The Wine Is?
<rant>
Wine is Art.
I always say this, and I’m willing to fight anyone who disagrees.
Same as a painting, a classical music piece, a sculpture, an architectural masterpiece, or an elaborate flower garden, well-made wine solicits the emotional response, hence it is an art form. Defining this art, there is one key difference between, let’s say, a painting and a bottle of wine – we only need to look at the painting to trigger an emotion – but we need to drink the wine to make it an ultimate art form.
A few months ago, a friend told me “I have a wine question for you”. He is a wonderful friend, but he typically drinks Bartenura Moscato, so the wine question? Okay, let’s hear it. So the question was about the wine and NFTs. NFT, which stands for Non-Fungible Token is a form of cryptocurrency, typically used to guarantee authenticity and ownership of unique forms of art or objects – this article might help if you want to learn more. So the friend was asking if he should buy NFTs of some obscure wine (there was a choice in the catalog) – and if not this wine, then maybe that wine.
Literally the next day I got a call from another friend who was asking if he should invest a good amount of money in the fund which invests in fine wines. Technically, you pay for the case (or 5, it depends on availability and demand) of unreleased wine (futures). The fund company will take ownership of that case, will store it in the proper conditions, and will report back to you a current market value of your case, so you can sell it when you think it is time – with a very large profit, of course.
It seems that these investments are flying out faster than hot potatoes in the hands of an amateur chef. That same friend called me to complain that because I didn’t give him good advice right away, the wine he was asking about was already sold out and he had to get on the waiting list for the wine of supposedly a lesser pedigree.
During last month I also heard about the same offerings from yet another friend, and then even received a direct ad in the Instagram stories, to invest in wine with a guaranteed incredible return.
Now, my question to you – a collective “you”, anyone who would spend time – is this how it should be? Yes, I get it, it is capitalism, supply and demand, of course, but the wine is made to be drunk, consumed, mesmerized upon, start crying, laughing, grabbing someone excitedly on the shoulder – but not just to be another form of the stock certificate?
Of course, there is wine collecting. There are people with access, who accumulate lots and lots of bottles, many of them very expensive and very limited, but I would assume that even the wine collectors acquire the wine to be consumed and enjoyed – not all of it, but at least some of it? This wine investment fund idea relegates wine simply to the form of another agricultural commodity – corn, wheat, cattle. Commodity trading had been around forever – nobody owns 100 bushels of rice, but anyone can make (or lose) money on it. But rice is not art – rice is simply a necessity, and yes, if you are hungry, it will solicit the emotion, but it will not be the same as when you are truly enjoying a glass of wine.
The latest entrant into the NFT craze – Robert Mondavi winery. Three of the star winemakers produced 1966 magnums of wine called MCMLXVI (that is 1966 in Roman numerals – 1966 is the year when Robert Mondavi winery was founded), Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Sauvignon blends from 2019 vintage. This wine will be packaged into specially designed porcelain bottles by the French porcelain designer Bernardaud, with each bottle having a unique QR code, and sold at $3,500. Now, when you will buy the bottle, you will get an NFT, which will assure your ownership, and there will be a connection between an NFT and that QR code on the bottle. In addition to the bottle of wine, each purchase will somehow include the generative artwork (you look it up – I guess it means a visual object/ painting generated by computer algorithm) by the artist Clay Heaton. Also, the QR code with NFT will serve as protection against counterfeiting – like the porcelain magnum bottle by itself is not enough.
So I wrote all of this, then took a pause and had to ask myself – what is your problem, dude? Everything sounds great in this picture – great winemakers, perfectly artful presentation of the perfect wine, guaranteed authenticity, and even a bonus in the form of the hot piece of art. What is my problem, really?
This wine is not created to be enjoyed as wine. This product is strictly a financial instrument. Star winemakers will attract attention. Unique packaging will attract attention. But then this is strictly sold as a financial instrument. NFTs are typically sold through an auction-like mechanism, so there clearly will be open bidding, with $3,500 being an initial price. There is also an opportunity to resell that piece of digital art, so all in all, this is strictly a money transaction. I wonder if any of these bottles will be ever open, or they will strictly exist for their monetary value.
Yes, wine is business. Yes, I’m naive. Yes, I’m romanticizing wine. Yes, you can call me old and stupid. That’s all fine. But the only way to enjoy wine is by drinking it. I love money as much as anyone else here, but still, if someone is buying wine only for its resale value, they don’t love wine, they only love money. Connecting NFTs to wine only amplifies the conversion of the wine into a financial instrument. And if wine is becoming only an abstract monetary instrument, one day someone will realize that it doesn’t matter what is in the bottle – any plonk will do. And then another day, someone will open that bottle… and… I really have no idea what will happen then. Or what will happen if one day, unhackable blockchain will be hacked, and all the NFTs will disappear – will someone then decide to drink that wine?
Wine is art. To be more precise, the wine in the closed bottle is only a potential art – or just another monetary instrument. Wine becomes art the moment it is poured into your glass. And that is the only reason for wine to exist.
</rant>
Am I missing something? Do NFTs have anything to do with enjoying the wine? Are NFTs really connected to the future of wine? Am I just jealous of the people with unlimited monetary resources? I’m ready to discuss…
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