Page 39 - Staff Tastings

Yesterday, a few of our lucky staff members attended the UGC tasting (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux) held in New York City, a tasting of 2009 Bordeaux, which have finished aging in barrels and are now bottled. The UGC is an association of over 130 Grand Cru Bordeaux estates who strive for top quality in their wines.

As many of you may recall, 2009 was praised as one of the greatest vintages in history by world renowned wine critics and the winemakers too.

There was so much hype and frenzy around this vintage, so we were excited to finally taste these wines in bottle. Robert Parker said, "...for some Medocs and Graves, 2009 may turn out to be the finest vintage I have tasted in 32 years of covering Bordeaux." That's a big statement from one of the world's most prominent wine critics. With the 2009 vintage, Parker had also done something he hadn't before - he assigned asterisks (*) to a select group of wines that the thought was the finest of all offerings

Syrah: the noble grape varietal with roots in the Northern Rhone, loved by Rhone Rangers of California, and fondly called Shiraz in Australia. Often we find him showcasing his power as a solo leading role, occasionally backed by a touch of the white varietal Viognier for exotic flair. Or quite often he can be found in a cast as a faithful sidekick to his fellow Grenache, with buddies like Mourvedre or Cinsault. Tonight, I had the pleasure of enjoying two wines with a slightly different casting call, with Syrah as the star, and the other red varietals loaning support.

First up was the 2010 Badenhorst Family Wines Secateurs Red Blend, composed of nearly 2/3rds Shiraz with the remainder Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvedre. This South African wine is made on a farm in the Paardeberg area of the Swartland appellation, so its Wine of Origin is Coastal Region, part of the Western Cape. The name Secateur pays respect to the pruning shears used to shape the old bush vines during

Recently, it seems that I've been drinking wines from every other region except Bordeaux. It is though one of the best regions in the wine world, if not the best, so as I was planning my dinner last weekend, I made it a point to pull a bottle of Bordeaux for dinner.

As I was searching the wine fridge for the perfect Bordeaux, I stumbled upon one of my favorite Chateaux - Calon Segur. Two of the best wines I've ever had were a '61 and '82 Calon Segur, but that's beside the point as I have neither vintage in my fridge! The bottle I did have was from the '03 vintage, which as you may remember was an extremely hot year in Bordeaux, so it wasn't a smash hit across the board. There were probably 20-25 Chateaux that made some spectacular wine, but due to the heat, production was down 30-40 %. Calon Segur was definitely one of the winners from the vintage, as it received 94 points from Robert Parker & 95 points from Wine Spectator.

Calon Segur is a third growth from

I'd like to take you through an un-planned dinner that turned out to be one of my all time favorites for two reasons: 1) it cost under $35, which included the wine and food & 2) if I wasn't running low on groceries, I would've never paired these two together.

Wine
2009 Jean Paul Droin Chablis Vaillons has been ignored in my wine fridge for weeks - and you can guarantee that'll never happen again! During my first sip, an energetic plethora of lemon zest, wet stone and citrus fruit danced together on the palate. It had great minerality as with most Chablis, thanks to the unique terroir. Not overly toasty but just the right amount of oak lingered. The richness flowed through the glass like saline or lamp oil. I thought back to an Aligote that I drank frequently last summer and associated the quenching characteristics. You just couldn't stop sipping.

While Malbec has a history in France prior to the 20th Century and even the United States prior to Prohibition, Argentina now is the country most tied to Malbec. Specifically, the Mendoza province is known for their highly rated Malbec wine and is the largest wine producing area in South America.  Mendoza is also known for their olive oil.

I recently decided to try one of our new arrival wines, a high value Malbec from the 2010 vintage - Cobos Malbec El Felino (Mendoza, Argentina): $15.99/bottle and 91 points from Wine Advocate December 2011. This wine is 100% Malbec. Interestingly, it is also the product of a collaboration between the highly regarded California winemaker Paul Hobbs, and winemakers Andrea Marchiori and Luis Barraud. The talented Paul Hobbs is owner of Paul Hobbs Winery and is well known for his Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Cabernets.

Upon opening this wine, I noticed subtle hints of rose. The texture is the first thing I realized

A couple years ago, I was introduced to some wines from the slopes of Mount Etna in Northeastern Sicily, and since then have always jumped at the opportunity to taste more. This week I had the pleasure to taste a set of wines from Calabretta and am continued to be impressed by the quality and value of this region.

Located on a south facing estate on the north slope of Etna, Calabretta's vines, like most in the area, are grown on volcanic soils. Composed mostly of ash and sprinkled with pumice, the soil is resistant to the phylloxera bug and most of Calabretta's vines, a good portion ungrafted, are 70-80 years old. Combine this with strong southern sunshine and cool nights at an altitude of about 750 meters above sea level, as well as an extended growing season that lasts until mid-October, and you get ripe grapes filled with amazing aromatics and elegance.

Calabretta produced a mere 175 cases of Bianco in 2008, predominantly from old vine Carricante with a bit

I'm constantly getting asked "what's new?  What's exciting in the wine world?!" So I thought this would be a great opportunity to write about one of my favorite "new & exciting" wines. It also doesn't hurt that this wine is a perfect one to go with the beautiful spring weather that's finally upon us and great for the upcoming Easter holiday. The wine is the newly released 2010 Hoandlhof (Manfred Nossing) Kerner.

It comes from a very small artisanal producer in the Alto Adige region of Italy. The Alto Adige region is starting to grow in popularity mainly due to the excellent whites that are being produced there. The climate is ideal for producing Riesling, Kerner, Veltliner & Silvaner, just to list a few. Many of the wineries produce very tiny productions. 

Manni Nossing happens to be one of the top artisanal producers in the region & is known for producing one of the top Kerners. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate had this to say about Manni Nossing:

Working in the wine industry gives you the access - and spikes your intrigue - for some of the world's most unusual foods and unique wines. Foie Gras paired with Sauternes will never get old, but sometimes one longs for a return back to the classics. And sometimes, you just crave an aged Cabernet paired with a perfectly grilled steak. After raiding the wine fridge, we settled on a tasting between a 20 year-old Cali Cult classic and a village-level Bordeaux from the monumental 2000 vintage (that turned out to be the star of the night!).

1992 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
2012 marks the 20th anniversary for 1992 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, and with a drinking window of up to 2015, it seemed like a good time to enjoy this beauty. Upon opening, the wine was very expressive - rich and fruity, with notes of crème de cassis and black

Chianti quality has come a long way since the mass-produced straw covered bottles that once were synonymous with this red wine from Italy. Chianti must contain at least 80% of the red grape variety Sangiovese, and to be called Riserva, it ages for more than 3 years. It is a wonderfully versatile red wine that goes well with a wide array of Italian fare. Let me tell you about one of my favorites...

Chicken Cacciatore over angel hair pasta is great comfort food for anytime of year, and my wife makes an incredible recipe that she scored while living in Tuscany. We prefer to use thighs in this dish because the dark meat creates an even richer balance along with the peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes.
 
On a recent evening, while enjoying this wonderful dish, we opened a bottle of the 2007 La Maialina Chianti Classico Riserva. What a great surprise! This wine paired perfectly with

It's been all about the Rhone region for me recently.  I started to explore this region in more depth a little over a month ago first with some 2003 CDPs and then moved onto older vintages.  From there, I moved north into Hermitage and spent a few nights with some older bottles.  What I was beginning to figure out was these wines are an unbelievable deal!  When I first entered the wine world, I was unsure of Rhone wines because of the power that they provide when they are young.  This is not the case as they age.  The wine seems to shed some of that alcoholic pretense and meaty tendencies and awaken a more refined and acceptable palate. 

I kept hearing how amazing white Rhone wines could be - that they compare to Montrachet at a fraction of the cost.  What was all this buzz about I wondered to myself?  Recently, we were offered an amazing deal on 2007 Beaucastel Roussanne VV, and I took the opportunity to grab a six pack.