My last 2007 vacation story: tasting the wines of Porquerolles Island

This will be my last vacation story but I still have to tell you about the wonderful wines that I have tasted this summer on Porquerolles Island. Porquerolles is the largest of the Iles d'Or, a group of three beautiful islands off the coast of Provence. We made several trips to the island, and of course tasted some of the local wines, as our vacation rental was conveniently located within walking distance to the ferry service.


Porquerolles Island
Although in the early twentieth century, Porquerolles had one of the largest vineyards of the region — 200 hectares of vines — most of the island is now a protected national park and only three small wineries are producing wine today, all from the Côtes de Provence appellation.

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The vineyard of Domaine de l'Île
The Domaine de l'Île is the island's oldest wine estate. The owner is the grandson of François-Joseph Fournier, a wealthy Belgium engineer who bought the Porquerolles Island in 1910 after making a fortune discovering a gold and silver mine in Mexico. The vineyard is completely organic and made of Grenache and Syrah for the red wine, Grenache, Cincault, Tibouren, and Mourvèdre for the rosé, and Rolle for the white. I was able to taste the red version of the Domaine de l'Île at a local restaurant. The wine had a pleasant Côtes du Rhône character, fleshy, fruity, and peppery, although I didn't find it specially distinctive.


The tasting room of Domaine de l'Île
The second oldest estate is the Domaine de la Courtade. Founded in 1983, it has now 30 hectares in production. The soil is made of flaky schist which has a great capacity to store water and allows the vines to develop a deep root system. The main planted red variety is Mourvèdre which thrives here thanks to 3000 hours of sunshine a year (the highest in France) and the constant high humidity coming from the sea. Rolle, also known as Vermentino in Italy, is the main white variety. There is also an olive grove of 800 trees on the estate.


The Domaine de la Courtade
The domain uses organic practices. Yields are low, grapes are hand-picked. After fermentation, the wine is kept in casks for 9 months for the white wines, 12 to 18 months for the reds.


The wines at the Domaine de la Courtade
Here are the wines that we tasted at the winery:

• 2004 Côtes de Provence La Courtade Blanc: 100% Rolle. The wine can be cellared for approximately ten years. Light golden color, fragrant nose of white flower, creamy palate with a nice acidity, nutty flavors on the finish. A complex white.

• 2006 Côtes de Provence La Courtade Rosé: 70% Mourvèdre, 20% Grenache, 10% Tibouren. Pale salmon color, floral nose with citrus and berry aromas, nicely textured and refreshing palate, rather classy for a rosé.

• 2001 Côtes de Provence La Courtade Rouge: 97% Mourvèdre, 3% Syrah. The wine can be cellared for up to 15 to 20 years depending on the vintage. Deep red color, nose of red fruit, licorice and dry garrigue herbs, powerful, tannic palate, with a long finish. Really good but needs time.

Founded in the late 1980's, the Domaine Perzinsky is the youngest of the island estate. The planted varieties are Rolle and Sémillon for the white, Grenache for the rosé, and Mourvèdre and Syrah for the red. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to taste the wines of the domaine. The truth is that I spent too much time at the beach and the tasting room was closed when I arrived at the winery!

Related posts:
•  7/7/7 family reunion at the château de la Gagnotterie
•  A visit at the Domaine des Huards in Cour-Cheverny
•  The best table wine at less than 1 Euro
•  And a Bordeaux at less than 5 Euros

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernet Vertical Tasting by James Strohecker

My friend James Strohecker was very lucky to attend a vertical tasting of Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de la Tour Private Reserve Cabernets. The event was organized by wine collector George Kautzman on September 6, 2007. Kindly enough, James is now sharing his tasting notes with us:

Overview

The Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet tasting was a special, once-in-a-lifetime chance to sample some of the great Napa Cabernets from some great years: 1968-1976. Over the years, noted collector, George Kautzman, painstakingly acquired the Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernets for the sole purpose of one day hosting vertical tastings of the wines.

The Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernets were all 750 ml with generally high shoulder fills, and were pre-decanted between 5:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. prior to the 7:45 p.m. tasting. The wines were then blind tasted by the 11-person group, after they'd been bagged and offered to the tasters in flights of three, beginning with the youngest three wines, to the oldest three wines.

All of the Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernets were purchased around the release date (generally five years after the vintage year) and original purchase price is provided as available (some bottles actually had the price tags still on them).

With regard to the (famous) 1968 vintage, the wine we tasted came from the last bottle of the second case of wine that George Kautzman had ever bought (his first case being a case of the Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet 1967 vintage). I think most of us expected this wine to knock us out of our seats and/or blow all the other vintages out of the water. The truth is, as you can read below, it didn't stand out as the highest-rated Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet of the evening.

In all, however, the majority of the wines from this era were still packed with Napa Cabernet clout; they opened up, and in some cases were remarkably edgy — but never flabby. This was simply a tremendous tasting, offered by a stellar host and collector, Mr. Kautzman.


General Notes

First flight: Great start; the 1976 vintage clearly stood out. These wines were an example of the fine Napa Cabernets that were produced by famed winemaker, Tom Selfridge.

Second flight: Only after we'd sampled the second flight, did George Kautzman read from the "White Book of California Wines", the bible on wine during that era. The 1972 Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet received a score of 11 out of 20. "The harvest was in rain and mud, with people gathering grape clusters in ankle-deep water ..." The 1972 Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet received a score of 16 out of 20.

Third flight: the best of the evening The surprise was that the 1968 Cab didn't stand out as the knock-down favorite. Feedback was varied. However, the 1969 vintage was vivid and solid; an unrecognized year with a tremendous output (from Beaulieu). Apparently, according to George Kautzman, his is not the first time that this Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernet vintage has shown so well. It's been consistently great in tastings over the years.

Wine	Tasting Notes
Roederer Estate Sparkling Wine NV	Clean, dry, refreshing — with a perky finish on the palate. Azalea blossoms and rice nose. Opened up a bit — with more flowers and a finer finish.
Grgich Hills 1978 Napa Valley Chardonnay	Nice, with residual fruit and pear blossom nose. Good color, with a polished finish.
Kenwood 1979 Deltane Ranch Sonoma Valley Chardonnay	Very apple cider nose with a light, caramel finish. Color had changed to a cream soda look; nutty and Sauternes-like flavors on the palate.
Georges De La Tour Private Reserve Cabernets	(in order of flight tasting)
1974 Vintage	Full nose; completed; Man, this is polished; pushing to perfection; "medicinal nose." 4 votes for best. ($16.99 original price)
1975 Vintage	Latent palate finish; "edgy and unbalanced," a little barnyard with some chocolate, less finished or polished. A second (delayed) tasting of this brought this reaction from me: "A lot of character." ($12.95 original price)
1976 Vintage	This really sings; younger, with more bounce; Ummmm!; nice, nice finish. "Fresh fruit, nice and balanced." ($16.99 original price)
1971 Vintage	Wow, Surprising finish; "Only 1/3 the menthol as the 1973."
1972 Vintage	Polished; full; driven. Berry, with a bouncy finish and a smooth nose. Some choco-berry hanging in the palate.
1973 Vintage	Rich; classic; slight menthol nose.
1968 Vintage	Chocolate and Napa soil; tobacco and spice. "Trunk of the car wine!" Very firm and diverse; food friendly. Leftover "muscle memory" from a great year. But it's the right time to consume this wine — it's not going to get any better.
1969 Vintage	Plush. Awesome. Complete. Holding steady & expanding into berry land. Surprisingly excellent.
1970 Vintage	Very, very good; this is an epitome of the Cabernet; cigar box nose; fruit intact; a lot of open-field room to move. The favorite of the tasters for the evening

James Strohecker



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WBW #37: Hello Teroldego!

I am afraid I missed two Wine Blogging Wednesday events during the summer. Nevertheless, I am back this month for this 37th edition hosted by Tyler better known as Dr Vino. This month Tyler has asked us to say goodbye to Chardonnay and venture off the beaten path: go native!

So here we are, off the beaten path, with a bottle of Teroldigo Rotaliano. Have you ever heard of Teroldego Rotaliano? As far as I am concerned, I don't think I ever tasted such a wine before so I was quite happy to find this bottle at my local wine store last week. Teroldego is a rare Italian red variety planted almost exclusively in Northern Trentino, in a valley called Campo Rotaliano, and its sole appellation of origin is Teroldigo Rotaliano.

Campo Rotaliano has been famous for growing grapes for centuries. It is a small glacial valley around the confluence of the Adige and Noce rivers and protected by mountains on all sides. The Dolomite Mountains bring cool air into the valley in summer and protect the vineyards against the cold in winter. The soil is mostly gravel, silt, and various alluvial deposits.


Campo Rotaliano

Teroldego is a cool-climate vine that is hardy, vigorous and potentially prolific. The fruit is not very tannic but high in color, aroma, acidity, and potential alcohol. If yield is restricted, Teroldego can produce an ageworthy wine of intense flavor. It has recently been discovered that Teroldego and the French grape variety Dureza, one of the parents of Syrah, were sibblings.

Some suggest that the name Teroldego is derived from the German term Tiroler Gold (gold of the Tirol). Most likely, Teroldego takes its name from the word tirelle, a system of wire harnesses to train the vine.

“The riches of this grape
are a tiny bit of earth
and gravel, pebbles,
and stones”
says Elisabetta Foradori, owner of the Azienda Agricola Elisabetta Foradori and maybe Italy's finest producer of wines made from Teroldego. Her 2003 Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano has a dark red color and an assertive nose of black fruit and violet aromas and some gamey notes. On the palate, the wine is absolutely delicious, rich, complex and elegant with a lingering mineral finish, which reminds me of a softer version of a Bordeaux.

What a discovery! I love being off the beaten track, thanks Tyler!

Previous WBW posts:
•  WBW #34: 2002 Stella Maris Red Columbia Valley
•  WBW #33: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a superb value wine from the Midi
•  WBW #32: Reserve or not Reserve?

Guess the wines

Before Summer break, we had a special tasting event for our wine tasting club. This time, each wine had been transfered into a non related bottle to be tasted blind, and the guests were asked to identify the varietal and region of the wine. Everybody had fun, tried hard, and generally did well with several good answers. Nevertheless, our friend Jean, who was also hosting the event, was the best. He got half of the answers right and won the winning prize, a bottle of Champagne.




We tasted 7 different single varietal wines from different regions of the world including Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, and Spain. Here they are:

• 2005 Fortitude Luvisi Semillon. Fortitude is a project developed by the Etude Winery winemaking team to focus on endangered varietals such as Semillon, Valdiguie, Charbono, and Carignane. This is a 100% Semillon from 25-year old vines grown in the Luvisi family vineyard near Calistoga in Napa Valley. Showing aromas of citrus and honey, the wine was medium-bodied and refreshing, and many tasters identified it as a New World Sauvignon Blanc.

• 2005 Step Road Chardonnay. The wine is produced from a high altitude vineyard in the Adelaide Hills region, in South Australia. It is a cool-climate region with high winter rainfall and cool summers, ideal for Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The wine had a golden color, tropical fruit and citrus aromas and a good depth on the palate. Many tasters rightly identified the wine as a New World Chardonnay, the most cited regions being South Africa, California, and Australia.

• 2005 Valle Isarco Sudtiroler Pinot Nero: This is a Pinot Noir from the cool Alto Adige region in northern Italy also known as Sudtirol. The region is bordered by Austria to the north and by Switzerland to the north-west. The wine had a light garnet color, a fruity nose, with a good amount of acidity and slightly tannic on the palate. This light-bodied Pinot Noir was not easy to identify and many tasters thought they had recognized a Gamay.

• 2005 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette : the Clos de la Roilette is a nine hectare east-facing vineyard in Beaujolais' Fleurie appellation, bordering the famed Moulin-à-Vent appellation. The soil is clay and manganese, the vines are on average 25-33 years old. The wine is 100% Gamay with a deep purple color, peony and red berry aromas, a medium-bodied palate with a well-balanced acidity. This one was rightly identified as a French Gamay by many tasters.

• 2005 El Quintanal Vendimia Seleccionada: the wine is a 100% Tempranillo from Spain's Ribera del Duero region. In the Ribera del Duero appellation, vineyards lie on either side of the Douro river, on a high-altitude plateau with cool nights and low rainfall, ideal growing conditions for the Spanish native grape Tempranillo. With a deep color, a black fruit nose, a ripe and spicy palate, this was tricky wine identified as a California Zinfandel by many tasters.

• 2004 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve: Viña Los Vascos, located in Chile's Colchagua Valley, is owned by the Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite. Vascos means Basques and is a reference to the estate's Basque origin. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon with a dark red/purple color, black fruit and licorice aromas and a well balanced and elegant palate. Many tasters rightly identified the wine to be a New World Cabernet Sauvignon. The most cited regions were California, Argentina, and Chile.

• 2005 Ridge Zinfandel Ponzo Vineyard: Ponzo Vineyard is a cool-climate vineyard located in California's Russian River Valley. It has small amounts of Carignane and Petite Sirah interplanted with Zinfandel in the oldest blocks. The wine had a deep color, a blackberry and cherry nose, and a fleshy, spicy texture on the palate. Many guessed rightly recognized a California wine, a few identified a Zinfandel, others thought that it was a Syrah.


Our next tasting event will feature summer wines from around the Mediterranean Sea so let's stay in touch.

Previous wine club tastings:
•  Tasting the wines of Australia and New Zealand
•  Tasting the wines of Piedmont
•  Champagne Tasting

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

And a Bordeaux at less than 5 Euros

Who said that Bordeaux had become far too expensive? In fact, many small properties in the generic Bordeaux appellation sell their wines for less than 5 Euros. Unfortunately, too many of these wines are mediocre and uninspiring, and the sad story is that these vignerons are struggling to survive. However, if you're lucky, you might discover a real winner at a bargain price.

One of these good values is the 2004 Château de Perière, another wine that my father-in-law found at his local Carrefour. The wine is medium-red in color with a subdued nose. The palate is clean, medium-bodied, and well-balanced with supple tannins. Overall, it's an agreeable wine that complements well my mother-in-law's roast with a purée de courgette.

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

The best table wine at less than 1 Euro

When I was visiting my family in France, I got impressed by the rare findings that my father-in-law had discovered at his local Carrefour Hypermarket near Paris. In fact, he pays less than 1 Euro for his everyday white table wine, a wine that I found of remarkable value for the price.

The wine is non vintage from Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, a lesser Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure appellation located at the westernmost part of the Loire valley, near the Atlantic ocean. It is made of Folle Blanche, also called Gros Plant in the region, a highly acidic grape variety traditionally used in the distillation of Cognac and Armagnac.

The wine is light, crisp, uncomplicated, but deliciously refreshing, the perfect match for a simple plate of tiny crevettes grises (grey shrimp), fresh bread, and Brittany butter (with sea salt).



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A visit at the Domaine des Huards in Cour-Cheverny

The Château La Gagnotterie, where we organized our family reunion, is located in the Loire Valley appellation of Cheverny. This appellation, south of the Loire river at Blois, produces a wide range of wines from Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc for the whites. Cheverny has also a small sub-appellation called Cour-Cheverny that had been specifically created for wines made from the little-known but interesting Romorantin grape.

So Monday morning after the party, we decided to drive to the tiny village of Cour-Cheverny and pay a visit to one of the best producers for the Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny appellations, the Domaine des Huards.


Cabernet vines at the entrance of the Domaine des Huards

The domaine covers 32 hectares including 8 hectares planted exclusively with Romorantin. The soil is mostly clay and chalk with a layer of sand in some areas. The estate is certified biodynamic, banning weed killers and chemical fertilisers in order to keep the microbiological diversity of the vineyard.


Tasting at the Domaine des Huards

We tasted different Cour-Cheverny cuvées as well as their Cheverny reds. Here are my notes:

• 2002 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards: 100% Romorantin. Light color, mineral, herbal, crisp. One of the few wines that could be paired with asparagus.

• 2002 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée François 1er: 100% Romorantin old vines, the oldest planted in 1922. Bright golden color, nutty nose with hint of hay, crisp, full and complex mouthfeel, long mineral finish, ageworthy.

• 2005 Cheverny Domaine des Huards: Gamay 55% Pinot Noir 30% Cabernet Franc 10%. Deep red purple color, gamay nose, peppery , floral notes of peony, light-bodied, balanced palate.

• 2005 Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée Le Pressoir: Pinot Noir 80% Gamay 20%. Garnet color, red berry nose, raspberry notes, lively finish.

• 2004 Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée Jean-François Deniau: Pinot Noir 50% Gamay 40% Cabernet Franc 10%. Floral peony nose, fuller palate, long finish of licorice.

• 2004 Cour-Cheverny Domaine des Huards Cuvée J. M. Tendresse: 100% Romorantin demi-sec, late harvest style. Light golden color, delicate nose, flavors concentrated on the palate, nutty, herbal finish.

All these wines were delicious but I really liked the cuvée François 1er (I bought half a case to cellar) and the serious but very food friendly cuvée Jean-François Deniau.

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

7/7/7 family reunion at the château de la Gagnotterie

What do you do when you have a large family in France (my husband has 8 brothers and sisters with an average of 3 children per family) and you want to see all of them together? You find a convenient time, a location that can accommodate everybody, and you organize a big family reunion party.

So on July 7 2007, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and a happy crowd of cousins between 2 months and 18 years of age, gathered at La Gagnotterie, a nineteenth-century château near Blois in the Loire Valley.


Château de la Gagnotterie

For the main dinner on Saturday, my sister-in-law Claire-Élise had planned a mouth-watering catered buffet (terrine st jacques à la laitue de mer, marbré de foie gras de canard aux artichauts, pavé de blois au chocolat et nougatine, crème fine au pain d'épices...) and I was in charge of the wines.

Naturally, the wines that I brought were all from the nearby Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and Centre regions. We started with a lively Saumur Brut, the Saumur Brut Bouvet-Ladubay cuvée Saphir, a refreshing Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay blend made, like in Champagne, using the Méthode Traditionelle.

Our two white wines were very different in style although both equally excellent. There was a Savennières from the renowned Domaine des Baumard, the 2003 Savennières Domaine des Baumard Clos de Saint Yves. It was a 100% Chenin Blanc sourced from a south-facing vineyard next to the distinguished butterfly-shaped Clos du Papillon. it had a bright light golden color and a delicate honeyed nose. The palate was complex with a mineral backbone and a lenghty finish of citrus and white flower aromas.

Our other white wine, the 2005 Sancerre Alphonse Mellot La Moussière came from the exceptional Domaine La Moussière, a southwest exposed chalky vineyard of over thirty hectares, planted with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. This was a seductive and generous wine with a light yellow-green color, a fragrant Sauvignon nose, a well-balanced palate with a hint of oak and some nice acidity on the finish.

The red wine selection included the 2003 Anjou Château de Pimpéan Cuvée Passion, a nice mellow drinking Cabernet Franc with gentle tannins and a fruity finish, a perfect accompaniment to the pâté d'oie en croûte.

After the appetizers, the pavé de selle d'agneau grillé and the magret de canard en tapenade were calling for a more serious red and the 2001 Bourgueil Pierre-Jacques Druet Grand Mont happened to be exactly what we needed. Showing a dark red-purple color, this 100% Cabernet Franc had a spicy nose of blackcurrrant and plum and a firm palate followed by a finish of great earthy-mineral quality.

After such a feast, nobody had much room left for the cakes and pastries, but that ended up not being a problem: we served the cakes again on Sunday and they all disappeared, mostly eaten by a hungry crowd of kids.

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

Family vacation in France but coming back soon!

These are our last vacation days in France. I have to say that we have been pretty busy during this last month. We started our vacation with a family reunion near Cheverny in the Loire Valley, then stayed near in Paris, then drove to the south of France where we had rented a place facing the island of Porquerolles. We are currently in Saint Paul de Vence on the French Riviera.


Fondation Maeght in Saint Paul de Vence

We tasted several pretty good wines from the Loire Valley and the Côtes de Provence and I have some tasting notes on most of them, so stay tuned for a few tasting reports coming soon!

Technorati tags: wine food & drink

Winemaking step #7: barrel tasting

It's been more than six months since our 2006 Crushpad Cabernet Sauvignon Ink Grade Vineyard had been aging in a new Sylvain barrel and it was time to check how the wine had evolved. So last Monday, I had an appointment with our winemaker Kian Tavakoli to taste the wine.

Wow! Six months in new oak and the wine had turned into a truly magnificent teen with a deep, inky purple color and an intense nose of blackberry liqueur. The palate was concentrated, woody, and tight with tannins. After five minutes in the glass, the rich dark fruit aromas became more peppery, spicy. Kian was also very pleased with how the wine had aged so far. And then we tried another Ink Grade Cabernet from an adjacent barrel, a wine with a different set of winemaking parameters and that had been punched down. Surprisingly, the wine was very different. The nose was minty, more herbal than fruity. On the palate, the oak seemed less integrated, with a noticeable acidic finish. I am glad to say that so far, ours was the best!


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No Man's Land: a wine from Bulgaria with a story

Last weekend, my friends David and Sylvie brought us a red wine from Bulgaria with an interesting name and label. They found it at a small Palo Alto food store specialized in world products, including some delicious French frozen desserts and various wines from Eastern Europe.

The wine was called No Man's Land. According to the label, No Man's Land is a 5 mile strip of land in Southwest Bulgaria that used to separate the worlds of Socialism and Capitalism. During the cold war, it was a horrific place for those who dared to escape the Socialist Countries, hoping for a better life in the West. Nowadays, it is an environmental paradise — pollution free and a preserved wildlife — where the vines have grown free.

The wine is produced by Damianitza, a winery established in 1940 and located in the Struma river valley in Southwest Bulgaria. The Struma river valley is a warm and dry region with hilly terrains of volcanic origin, maybe one of the best wine regions in the country. The 2003 No Man's Land Silver Label is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a dark color and a mix of herbal and dark fruit scents on the nose. On the palate, it was medium-bodied and bone dry (we were afraid it would be sweet). The wine worked nicely with our grilled lamb chops and tasted better served slightly chilled.

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WBW #34: 2002 Stella Maris Red Columbia Valley

Oh my! The June edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday is today! This month, the world famous tasting event is hosted by the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman and the theme is of course a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon.

Therefore, for tonight's dinner, I chose a Cabernet blend from Northstar, a winery located in Walla Walla. “Walla Walla is culturally the anti-Napa — it's cozy and familiar — with an amazing camaraderie among the growers and winemakers.” says the winery website.

The 2002 Stella Maris Red Columbia Valley is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 5% Malbec, from selected vineyards in the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley. “Stella Maris” means “Star of the Sea” in Latin and refers to the Virgin Mary. The wine is affectionately called “Stella” by the winemaking team and is considered the little sister to Northstar's flagship wine, the Columbia Valley Merlot. It has a dark red color and intense aromas of sweet fruit and leather on the nose. The palate is tannic but juicy with a long earthy and minty finish. Stella Maris, you're a real star!

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A classic Napa Cabernet: the 1999 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos du Val

I remember the first time I tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos du Val. It was in the early 90s, our first trip to the Napa Valley, although I don't remember why we stopped at the winery. Maybe we had heard that it was a good place to visit, maybe we just liked the French sounding name. Anyway, we really liked the wines, which pleased the tasting room staff. They proudly told us that the Cabernet Sauvignon was made in a true Bordeaux style as the winemaker and winery co-founder was French. Obviously, Bernard Portet's winemaking style must have pleased more than a couple of European palate: his 1972 vintage (and first vintage) was selected for the 1976 Paris Tasting, won first place during the 1986 rematch, and fifth place in 2006, beating the four Bordeaux wines.

According to the winery's cellar notes, the 1999 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol level is a reasonable 13.5% (compared with 14.1% for the 2002 vintage) maybe thanks to a long and cool growing season. The wine drinks very well now but it could be kept in the cellar for several more years. Showing a dense purple color, it displays layered aromas of cassis, blackberry, and mocha. The palate has fine-grained tannins nicely balanced by a lively acidity. The finish is long and slightly bitter. I told you: a truly classic Napa Cabernet.

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2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo: it's almost summer!

You may have heard of the Feudi di San Gregorio estate. It is widely regarded as one of Italy's most progressive wineries. Established in 1986 in Irpinia, a wine region in Campania, not far from Mount Vesuvio, it is now renowned for its modern style wines from indigenous ancient varietals such as Fiano di Avellino, Falanghina, Greco di Tufo, and Aglianico.

Legend has it that Greco di Tufo was brought to Italy by the first Greek settlers. It is one of Campania's oldest varieties as attested by the discovery of a fresco at Pompeii with the following inscription: “You are truly cold, Bytis, made of ice, if last night not even Greco wine could warm you up.”

The 2003 Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo has a bright golden color and a discreet honeyed nose with herbaceous aromas. On the palate, it is dry, fresh, and well balanced with a light finish. It's a fine summer white but if I remember well, the Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avellino seemed to me more aromatic and complex. I also had the opportunity to taste the Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina and in my opinion, it's as good as the Greco di Tufo, although slightly cheaper, therefore a better value.

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Tonight, let's have a glass of 2003 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain

I generally enjoy the red wines from Washington State. I like their distinctive style, rich although well balanced, and often less jammy and less alcoholic than their Californian counterparts.

So tonight, I am tasting the 2003 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval Red Mountain. The Ciel du Cheval Vineyard is one of the most renowned vineyards of the Northwest. It is located east of the Cascade mountain range, in the Red Mountain AVA, Washington's smallest appellation. The place has an arid and hot desert climate with significant diurnal temperature variation. The soil is high in calcium, thus very alkaline, which makes it hard for the plants to extract nutrients and therefore keeps vigor down. Red Bordeaux and Rhone varieties are particularly well adapted to these growing conditions. The name Ciel du Cheval means Horse Heaven, a tribute to the nearby Horse Heaven Hills.

The wine is a blend of Merlot for softness, Cabernet Sauvignon for power and structure, and Cabernet Franc with a dash of Petit Verdot for aromatics. The color is dark red-purple. The nose is spicy and a touch heady. The palate is dense, mouthfilling with some good acidity. It is a promising young wine but this horse in heaven may need a few more years to be tamed! If you cannot wait, try it with a juicy ribeye steak.

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WBW #33: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a superb value wine from the Midi

Mid-priced wines from the Midi is the theme of the 33nd edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted this month by Marcus aka Doktor Weingolb.

So tonight, I can tell you that I am pretty happy with my selection for this month's WBW: the 2004 Clot de L'Oum Compagnie des Papillons, a delicious Côtes du Roussillon-Villages, not a cheap wine but still a wine at reasonable price: $18.99. Thanks Marcus for this great theme!

Clot de L'Oum, which means hollow of the elm in Catalan, is a project that started in 1995 with the purchase by Eric Monné and his wife Leia of a few hectares of vines in the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages appellation, north of Perpignan. Today, the domain has 15 hectares in production on high altitude terroirs of schist, granite and gneiss. Eric Monné has adopted modern and non-interventionist viticultural practices: the vineyard is certified organic, native yeast is used during fermentation, and the wine is aged in neutral oak and bottled unfiltered.

The Compagnie des Papillons (The Company of Butterflies) is Clot de L'Oum's regular cuvée. On the bright green label, you can read the winery's motto, one line of fine poetry: Un soir petit grain d'or, un soir de pleine lune et de grand vent... (One evening small grain of gold, one evening of full moon and high wind...). A blend of old vine Grenache and Carignan, the wines shows a dark purple color and a peppery nose of sweet fruit. The palate has juicy flavors of ripe black cherries on the palate and a good balance between tannins and acidity, followed by a lingering spicy finish.

The wine is really delicious, try it with a rustic Catalan Chickpea Stew.



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Santa Barbara tasting at Crushpad

Crushpad, which has just moved to a new, bigger place on 3rd Street in San Francisco, is now hosting a series of wine tasting events every other Thursday. The tasting kick-off event happened last Thursday with 6 wines from Santa Barbara County.

Who has not heard of Santa Barbara wine country? Remember, it's that Pinot Noir place where it is forbidden to talk about Merlot! Actually, Santa Barbara is much more than just Pinot Noir country. With three main appellations, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Santa Rita Hills, and many microclimates, Santa Barbara produces a wide range of wines from cool climate varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as from Rhone varieties including Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier.

Here are the wines that we tasted that evening:



• 2006 Ojai Sauvignon Blanc Westerly Vineyard Santa Barbara County: from The Ojai Vineyard, a winery renowned for its Syrah, Rhone Varietals, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from premium vineyards on California's Central Coast. Ojai buys its grapes by the acre rather than by the ton and therefore, pushes for low yield crops in order to produce wines of high intensity. My notes: pale yellow color, vivid aromas of grapefruit and pineapple on the nose. On the palate, full-bodied, fat, and crisp with some bitterness on the finish. The wine was far too intense for me, my preference being a lighter, fresher style of Sauvignon Blanc.



• 2005 Babcock Chardonnay Rita's Earth Cuvee Santa Rita Hills: from Babcock Winery, a small winery in the Santa Rita Hills featuring estate-grown fruit as well as grapes from local vineyards. The Rita's Earth cuvee is a blend of Estate Chardonnay with fruit from the Sanford & Benedict vineyard and Gainey's Evans Ranch vineyard. My notes: medium golden color, attractive nose of ripe stone fruit. On the palate, seemed high in alcohol (14.5%), long finish.



• 2005 Barrel 27 Viognier Santa Barbara County: from Barrel 27 Wine Company, the creation of two winemakers committed to producing premium Rhone varietal wines at fair prices, and according to their website, for hardworking people. Their Viognier is made with fruit from the Bien Nacido and Camp 4 Vineyards. My notes: pale yellow color, aromatic floral nose of orange blossom, full-bodied palate with tropical fruit flavors, high alcohol content (15%). Overall, the wine had too much extraction for me, I prefer more freshness and finesse.



• 2005 Belle Glos Pinot Noir Clark & Telephone Vineyard Santa Maria Valley: from Belle Glos Wines, a Pinot Noir producer founded by Napa winemaker Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards, favoring low yields and intense flavors. My notes: deep garnet color, candied fruit nose, full-bodied palate, herbaceous flavors on the finish. Quite a rich style of Pinot.



• 2005 San Sakana Syrah White Hawk Vineyard Santa Barbara County: from San Sakana Cellars, a boutique winery founded by Bettina Briz, her husband Peter, and her best friend Leslie. San Sakana means three fish in Japanese and is a reference to the three founders. San Sakana is currently hosted by Crushpad where the wine is made. The White Hawk Vineyard Syrah was vinified using 25% whole cluster to include some stems in the extraction, and was aged in 100% neutral French oak. My notes: dark purple color, nose of sweet berries with peppery notes. On the palate, full-bodied, rich and seductive, definitively my favorite wine of the evening.



• 2005 Ojai Syrah Santa Barbara County: another wine from the Ojai Vineyard. The Santa Barbara County Syrah is a blend of various fruit from the county with some Grenache (3%) and Mourvèdre (0.5%) to give an aromatic lift. My notes: deep purple color, quite shy on the nose but big on the palate, tannic, peppery with an herbal finish.

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The cuvée Manon of Clos Marie

Last February, I wrote about the excellent 2005 Pic Saint Loup Clos Marie l'Olivette. And then last week, I had the chance to taste the domain's white cuvée, the 2004 Clos Marie Cuvée Manon, a blend of several Southern France white varieties such as Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc, and Bourboulenc. Manon is a nickname for Marie and the name of the vigneron's daughter, but it is also the name of my niece and my daughter's middle name. Therefore, I was really happy to find this wine absolutely delicious. We drank it at lunch time on a warm, sunny day with a sweet and sour Persian chicken dish that one of my friends had prepared. The wine had a nice floral, honeyed nose with a creamy mouthfeel on the palate, some lively acidity and stone fruit aromas on the finish. Manon had a tough job dealing with the nuts and the acidity and sweetness of the pomegranate sauce, but I can tell you that she did extremely well.

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Tasting the wines of Australia and New Zealand

Last March, our tasting club met again, this time to taste the wines of New Zealand and Australia.

Even if Australia is considered to be one of the main new world wine regions, vineyards were already well established in the 1820s in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. In fact, some of the oldest vines in the world are now found in Australia, as they were able to escape the phylloxera epidemic that destroyed most of Europe's vineyards.

In New Zealand on the other hand, wine remained a marginal activity until the late 1970s, although the country's first vines were planted in Northland in 1819. New Zealand has now ten main wine growing regions stretching from latitudes 36°S (Northland) to 45°S (Central Otago), thus producing a wide array of wine styles.

Our group tasted seven wines, two whites, five reds, three from New Zealand, and four from Australia.

Our first white was the 2005 Grant Burge Pinot Gris Reserve from Eden Valley. Located in South Australia, Eden Valley is one of the country's coolest wine regions with a production dominated by Riesling, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. The wine is produced by Grant Burge Wines, a major wine company located in the Barossa Valley. Established in 1988, Grant Burge is now one of the top 10 privately owned wine companies in Australia. The wine had a subtle nose of citrus, a clean and generous palate with mineral notes and a fresh acidity on the finish. A light wine for a warm, summery evening.

Our second white was the 2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. Marlborough is New Zealand's largest and best known winegrowing area. Sauvignon Blanc is Marlborough's most planted grape variety and the star of the region with Chardonnay in second place, followed by Pinot Noir and Riesling. The wine had an extremely attractive nose of grapefruit and cassis. The palate was crisp with vibrant fruit flavors, followed by a long aftertaste. The wine was definitively one of the group favorite wines.

Then we tasted the following reds:

• 2005 Felton Road Pinot Noir from Central Otago: Central Otago is the world's most southerly wine region. It has a continental climate with great extremes of daily and seasonal temperatures. Pinot Noir is the region's dominant grape variety followed by Chardonnay. The wine had a deep color and a fragrant nose of red berry. On the palate, it was rich in flavors with a spicy finish. This was a very nice wine that reminded me of a California Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.

• 2002 Alpha Domus Hawke's Bay The Navigator: Hawke's Bay is the country's second largest wine region. Chardonnay is the most planted grape variety but late ripening red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc are very also successful thanks to the area's long sunshine hours. The wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of Merlot (43%), Cabernet Sauvignon (36%), Cabernet Franc (11%) and Malbec (10%). It had a deep red color, a very Bordeaux-like nose with gamey and rose petal notes. The palate was less Bordeaux-like but still earthy with firm tannins and a rather long aftertaste.

• 2001 Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River: Margaret River is a leading wine region located in Western Australia. Although it produces only three percent of total Australian grape production, it produces more than 20 percent of the country's premium wines. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the production followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, and Shiraz. Leeuwin Estate is located in the South West of Western Australia, just north of Cape Leeuwin, Australia's most southwesterly point, and less than 6 km from the Indian Ocean. The Art Series are the estate's premium wines. Their labels have paintings commissioned from leading contemporary Australian Artists. The wine had a dark purple color and a nose of pepper and yeast. The palate was chewy and exhibited a nice array of fruity aromas. A classic, fruit-driven new world Cabernet.

• 2004 Henschke Henry's Seven Shiraz-Grenache-Viognier: the Henschke family has been in the Barossa Valley since 1861 when Johann Christian Henschke, who was fleeing religious persecution in Germany, purchased a farm in Keyneton. This wine is a tribute to Henry Evans who planted the first vineyard (of seven acres) at Keyneton in 1853. It is a blend of 60% Shiraz, 30% Grenache, 5% Viognier, 5% Mourvèdre. It had a deep color and a sweet nose of red and black fruits. The palate was full-bodied and smooth with an aftertaste of bittersweet chocolate. A tasty wine, very food friendly.

• 2005 Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz Barossa Valley: Torbreck Vintners was founded by David Powell in 1994. The estate produces wines with intense, rich, Rhone-like flavors using Rhone varietals such as Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne. The name Woodcutter is a reference to David Powell earlier job when he was working as a lumberjack in the Torbreck forest. The wine is a 100% Shiraz from 10 to 20 year old vines. It had a dark color, a sweet berry nose and a full-bodied, smooth palate, leaving a jammy aftertaste of candied fruit. We found the wine much too sweet and much prefered the Henschke.

Our next tasting event should be fun, the theme is Guess the Wine so don't miss it!

Other wine club tastings:
•  From Old World To New World
•  Champagne Tasting
•  Tasting the wines of Piedmont

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