Here's one way to have a white Christmas.
Cheers,
Jim
December 19, 2011
A Toast to Versatility
By ERIC ASIMOV
NO doubt this column appears on first glance to be one of those dutiful end-of-the-year pieces on sparkling wines. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let me be plain: I need no seasonal inducement to write about sparkling wines, in this case blanc de blancs Champagnes. .I don.t have to show you any stinkin. badges!. as the oft-misquoted Alfonso Bedoya put it in .The Treasure of the Sierra Madre..
Got that? Good. I don.t mean to sound belligerent, but I feel compelled to emphasize that I love Champagne and sparkling wines too much to ever consign them to the scrap heap of obligation. I drink them year round, with all sorts of foods, for any occasion, but more important, for no occasion at all.
An estimated 40 percent of Champagne is sold leading into the holidays, according to the Champagne Bureau, a trade association, but that does not mean we all must abide by the nonsense of restricting sparkling wines to end-of-the-year gatherings and celebrations.
The plain fact is that Champagne is one of the world.s most versatile and pleasing wines. That.s another crucial point: Champagne is a wine, though this may not be obvious to some, and it needs to be thought of in that context.
Too often, sparkling wines are set apart, as if they were a valued set of cuff links brought out only for special occasions, then returned to their plush box. But Champagne goes wherever other wines are capable of going, whenever, with ease.
I must say, this perception of Champagne is partly the Champagne industry.s fault. It.s done such a good job of turning Champagne into an emblem of black-tie urbanity that it now seems out of place on the kitchen table.
The panel tasted 20 bottles of blanc de blancs Champagne. What might seem like just another seasonal roundup was in fact a tasting with year-round staying power. Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two other members of the what.s-good-in-December-is-just-as-good-in-July club: Juliette Pope, wine director at Gramercy Tavern, and Carla Rzeszewski, wine director of the Spotted Pig, the Breslin and the John Dory Oyster Bar.
Now, I love all sorts of Champagnes, but I especially treasure blanc de blancs, the finest, most delicate of all. Most Champagnes are blends of three grapes: pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay, but blanc de blancs are made solely of chardonnay.
At least they are almost all the time. The three main grapes account for just about all Champagnes, but, as most Champagne geeks know, the rules allow three other white grapes: pinot blanc, petit meslier and arbane. Very occasionally, I come across a blanc de blancs that incorporates small percentages of these grapes, too, along with chardonnay.
Our Champagnes were from the lower end of the price spectrum, which admittedly is not so low in the greater scheme of things. You rarely see good Champagne for less than $35 a bottle these days. Yet only three of the wines were above $60, and the most expensive topped out at $80, which effectively eliminated high-end vintage Champagnes.
Only four were vintage dated, and only one of those made our top 10, the 2005 Ruelle-Pertois Grand Cru, our No. 10 bottle. Nonetheless, we all considered this an excellent tasting.
Florence and Juliette were both surprised by the range of textures, from lean to rich and broad. Carla suggested that many consumers might find these Champagnes confusing, primarily because the dosage, a small amount of sweetened wine added to Champagne just before it is sealed, can vary greatly.
Producers use the dosage to balance out the wine.s acidity, which on its own can seem harsh. But it also serves a stylistic purpose, as more sweetness can soften austere wines.
.Dosage is a delicate thing,. Carla said, posing a sort of three bears scenario. .Too much, it.s top-heavy. Too little, it can be abrasive..
We were seeking just right. Nine of our 10 favorites were bruts, which by definition may receive a dosage of up to 15 grams of sugar per liter. The remaining favorite, from Jacques Lassaigne, was an extra brut, meaning its dosage was 6 grams or under.
What stood out to me was how well balanced most of these Champagnes were. Few were too sweet or too harsh. I noticed most of all how the best of these Champagnes, like good Sancerre and Chablis, seemed transparent, with almost savory herbal and mineral flavors rather than the richer fruit tones that I often detect in Champagnes with pinot noir and pinot meunier.
Our No. 1 bottle, for example, the Delamotte nonvintage, was wonderfully elegant and fresh, with the sort of finesse and understated complexity I love in good blanc de blancs. Delamotte, incidentally, is the sibling producer of Salon, one of the greatest, and most expensive, blanc de blancs. Besserat de Bellefon, which produced our No. 2 bottle, has nowhere near the reputation of Delamotte, but this Champagne, with its lively texture, was surprisingly good.
Among our top 10 were several very good smaller producers, like Pierre Moncuit, whose precise, chalky Grand Cru Brut was both our No. 3 wine and, at $43, our best value.
The No. 4 bottle, from Marc Héart, was very different from the Moncuit . riper, fuller and more fruity than any other bottle in our tasting . while our No. 6 bottle, from Joséhondt, long one of my favorite small producers, was more austere and fresh. The extra brut from Lassaigne, whose grapes come from Montgueux, far removed from the other producers, was likewise distinctive, very dry with a touch of caramel, not austere at all.
Among the bigger houses we especially liked the complexity and finesse of the Billecart-Salmon, though it was the most expensive wine among our top 10.
Though we tasted 20 bottles, that really accounts for just a handful of the available Champagnes. Small producers like Larmandier-Bernier, Pierre Gimmonet, Agrapart, Guy Charlemagne, Aubry and Guy Larmandier are just a few of many who make excellent, reasonably priced blanc de blancs, while you could do a whole lot worse than the blanc de blancs from fine bigger producers like Louis Roederer, Deutz and Duval-Leroy.
I should mention that one bottle in our tasting, the Prestige Brut from Franck Bonville, was tossed out because it was corked. It was a reminder that Champagne is more like other wines than we think, for better or worse.
Tasting Report
Delamotte, $55, ***
Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Great combination of finesse and complexity, with brisk, fresh flavors of minerals, herbs and chalk. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, Ala.)
Besserat de Bellefon, $56, ***
Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvédes Moines NV
Savory mineral flavors with a rich, gripping texture. (Winesellers, Skokie, Ill.)
BEST VALUE
Pierre Moncuit, $43, ***
Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut NV
Chalky and herbal with fine, clear, lingering citrus and fruit flavors. (Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
Marc Héart, $46, ** ½
Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Brut NV
Ripe, fruity, with flavors of lemon, apples and plums. (Terry Theise Estate Selections/Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, N.Y.)
Billecart-Salmon, $80, ** ½
Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Light, lacy, clear and pure with a fine texture and toasty, nutlike flavors. (Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York)
Joséhondt, $50, ** ½
Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Clean, fresh and refreshing with citrus, mineral and herbal flavors. (Becky Wasserman Selection/Pas Mal, Tenafly, N.J.)
Jacques Lassaigne, $50, ** ½
Blanc de Blancs Les Vignes de Montgueux Extra Brut NV
Dry and earthy with flavors of minerals and herbs, and a touch of caramel. (Jenny & Françs Selections, New York)
Ruinart, $70, **
Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Taut and fine with fresh, chalky, spicy flavors. (MoëHennessy, New York)
Demiè-Ansiot, $57, **
Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
Steely aromas, with spicy, herbal flavors and a touch of balancing sweetness. (Becky Wasserman Selection/Pas Mal)
Ruelle-Pertois, $40, **
Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru 2005
Fresh, tangy and herbal with flavors of herbs and green apples. (Charles Neal Selections, Richmond, Calif.)
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
Greetings,
A review of Isaly Malts seems fitting given our Islay weather. Cold and wet.
A note on the ratings. I find Laphroig 10 to be almost undrinkable. The 15 and 18
are quite nice. Ditto the Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Bowmore.
Cheers,
Jim
December 6, 2011
>From Scotland, Fog and Smoke and Mystery
By ERIC ASIMOV
TASTING whiskies can be a clinical, prosaic task, nosing and assessing, jotting notes, reconsidering, lips compressed in concentration, brow furrowed. Yet, as the spirits panel tasted 20 single malts from Islay, we reminded ourselves to step back a moment, to contemplate with no small amount of awe the magic of what was in the glass. Islay demands a sense of wonder.
I.ve never visited Islay, that island off Scotland.s western coast with the evocative pronunciation EYE-lah. But sipping a good Islay single malt, with its astounding range of complex expressions, transports you to an Islay that seems as mythical as it is real.
It.s a world unscarred by modernity.s claws, an island of fog, smoke, brine and mystery, where ancient distilleries, after years of throbbing production, go dark when demand wanes. There they sit, abandoned on the green and craggy landscape, their distinctive pagoda roofs intact, yet silent like phantom freighters.
Some remain that way, their sites revered like ancient stone circles by whisky lovers. For others comes reincarnation when market conditions change again. The ghostly cobwebs are cleared away, the pot stills rejuvenated, and once more they will yield the precious distilled vapors of malted barley, peat, yeast, crystalline water and air.
If it seems odd to consider air an ingredient, you have to stick your nose in a glass of Islay single malt. Along with all the other components, a savory whiff of salty sea breeze is unmistakable.
The sense of mystery in the terrain is palpable as well. .As you explore you can see how it compresses its secrets into tight parcels: dune-fringed beaches, remote hills, cliffs, caves, peat bogs, standing stones, lost parliaments, abandoned townships and Celtic memories,. Michael Jackson wrote in .Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide. (DK, 2005). .It is a tapestry of geographical and historical treasures through which whiskey runs like a golden thread..
It.s this air of mystery, along with a reputation for the smokiest, most robust and challenging malts, that seems to set Islay apart from Scotland.s other whisky regions. Most experts, however, agree that whiskies can no longer be classified geographically. Production methods have become so homogenized that they no longer reflect local eccentricities as much as they do a distiller.s predilections.
The smokiness comes from the tradition of using peat . bog soil made of decomposed vegetable matter that was harvested to fuel kilns used for drying barley. Assertive peating has long been a trait of famous Islay malts, like Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg, but it is not exclusive to Islay. And just as much a part of the Islay tradition are gentler malts like Bunnahabhain (BUN-na-hah-ven) and Bruichladdich (brook-LAD-dy), which are lighter in body and more floral than peaty. Another tradition, shared throughout Scotland, seems to be names that are impossible to sound out phonetically.
Our 20 Islay single malts included bottles from each of the eight working Islay distilleries. Indeed, two of the eight, Bruichladdich and Ardbeg, were dormant for years, only to be reawakened to distill again. The revival of another distillery, Port Charlotte, is planned.
With 20 whiskies, we tried to mix in widely available, well-known bottles with some of each distillery.s more esoteric malts. We also included one mystery malt, a bottle packaged by a whisky merchant who does not reveal the actual distiller.
For the tasting Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Flavien Desoblin, an owner of the Brandy Library in TriBeCa, which has more than 250 single malts on its list, including 50 from Islay. Also with us was Pete Wells, who next month takes over as the restaurant critic.
The gathering of 20 samples from Islay made it as clear as a Scottish spring that whatever traits the whiskies had in common were overshadowed by their differences.
.To pull utterly different characters out of essentially the same material is stunning,. Pete said. .It.s a wonderful demonstration of range and diversity..
The tasting also testified to the high level of quality in Islay malts. Seven of the eight distilleries were represented among our top 10, and the eighth did not miss the cut by much. Islay malts are not cheap. With a cap at $100, our 20 bottles ranged from $36 to $97, with 16 of them $50 or over.
Our No. 1 bottle was one of the easiest Islay malts to find, the Laphroaig 10-Year-Old. It was one of the smokiest of the group yet one of the subtlest and most complex as well, with all of the rich medicinal, waxy, savory and saline flavors that people associate with Islay, but with an underlying sweetness, too. At $45, it was also our best value.
By contrast, the Laphroaig 18-Year-Old, our No. 5 bottle, was less bracing and mellower. The smokiness was more of an undercurrent, amplifying its floral, honey and meadowlike qualities.
We found similar distinctions in comparing two other pairs of bottles that made our list. Our No. 2 bottle, the Ardbeg Corryvreckan, was huge and robust, with layers of complex flavors. Smokiness was only a small part of the majestic picture. Its 10-year-old sibling, the No. 4 bottle, was likewise complex, but emphasized a briny, smoky, almost oceanic quality.
Our No. 3 bottle, the Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1993, showed the warm, burnished complexity of age with a spicy, raisiny fruitcake quality that perhaps attests to time spent in barrels previously used for sweet sherry. The basic Lagavulin 16 Years, our No. 10, though not appreciably younger, was much less complex, mildly smoky with both savory and sweet flavors. I must say that, as a fan of Lagavulin 16 Years, which I remember as so robust it demanded a bit of water for sipping, this example seemed a bit meek.
The bottles rounding out our list show the range of Islay. Bruichladdich, No. 7, was the gentlest, most delicate malt, with sweet notes of butterscotch. Caol Ila, No. 9, was huge and oily in texture, smoky yet fresh, too. In the middle was Bowmore, No. 8, rich, balanced, moderate, delicious nonetheless.
That leaves the new guy, Kilchoman, which began production in 2005. Its Spring 2011 Release was one of the youngest in our tasting, if you do the arithmetic, yet it was superb, fresh and complex with plenty of smoke.
Bunnahabhain was the only Islay distillery not on our top-10 list, and although Florence and Flavien loved the 18-year-old (the $97 bottle), it barely missed the cut. Other bottles worth recommending that did not overcome the stiff competition include Bowmore.s 15-Years-Old Darkest, which Flavien and Pete especially liked, and the Laphroaig Triple Wood, which we all liked.
And the mystery malt? It was simply called Smokehead, a whisky that, judging by its busy graphics and aggressive packaging, is being marketed to young single-malt newcomers. It was powerful and smoky, and Pete and I liked it more than Flavien and Florence did.
.It.s for peat freaks,. Flavien said.
Guilty. But I will allow that, while I liked it, I would not classify Smokehead among the more contemplative malts in the bunch. No, for woolgathering and armchair voyaging, preferably in front of a fire, I would be most happy with any of our favorites. I prefer them straight, with maybe a spoonful of water and an equal amount of wonder. As the song goes, thinking is the best way to travel.
Tasting Report
BEST VALUE
Laphroaig Islay, $45, *** ½
10 Years, 43%
Heavily smoked, richly medicinal, savory, subtle, complex and deep. (Laphroaig Import, Deerfield, Ill.)
Ardbeg Islay, $80, *** ½
Corryvreckan, 57.1%
Lightly smoky and sweet with rich citrus, soy and saline flavors. (MoëHennessy, New York)
Lagavulin Islay, $90, *** ½
Distillers Edition 1993 Double Matured, 43%
Complex and mellow with flavors of smoke, wax, citrus and fruitcake. (Diageo, Norwalk, Conn.)
Ardbeg Islay, $50, *** ½
10 Years, 46%
Multidimensional and oceanic with smoky, briny, medicinal flavors. (MoëHennessy)
Laphroaig Islay, $75, ***
18 Years, 48%
Like a meadow, with aromas of flowers, honey, spices and a light touch of smoke and citrus. (Laphroaig Import)
Kilchoman Islay, $65, ***
Spring 2011 Release, 46%
Fresh yet complicated with aromas of smoke, butter cream and citrus. (Impex Beverages, Burlingame, Calif.)
Bruichladdich Islay, $52, ***
12 Years Second Edition, 46%
Gentle and mild, with aromas and flavors of citrus, honey, flowers and butterscotch. (Winebow, New York)
Bowmore Islay, $45, ***
12 Years, 40%
Rich and well balanced with aromas of flowers, forest and beeswax, and an underlying smokiness. (Skyy Spirits, San Francisco)
Caol Ila Islay, $57, ** ½
12 Years, 43%
Big, broad and almost oily in texture, with ample citrus and smokiness yet a freshness as well. (Diageo, Norwalk, Conn.)
Lagavulin Islay, $57, ** ½
16 Years, 43%
Pleasant and mildly smoky, with savory flavors but also a creamy sweetness. (Diageo, Norwalk, Conn.)
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
SFGC Top 100 - Sparkling
Sparkling Wine
The American sparkling wine industry is clearly being pulled in two directions. One school of thought sees a need for sweeter, easy-to-please bottles. The other is holding true to the vision of pioneers like Schramsberg, trying to create crisp, food-loving alternatives to French Champagne.
That latter style is proliferating in regular nonvintage brut as well as vintage and roséottlings. Top houses are hunting colder vineyard sites and reducing the amount of added sugar used to finesse the wines. The result is more sublime and affordable bottles that can be enjoyed year-round.
NV Domaine Carneros Cuvee de la Pompadour Carneros Brut Rosé$36, 12% alcohol):
There's some finesse at work on Duhig Road, seeing as the pink version of Carneros' brut shows a remarkable focus and distinction, with depth from added Pinot Noir. Accents of rose hip, damp stone and bread dough provide depth to this tight-knit, raspberry-inflected effort.
NV Domaine Chandon Brut Classic California Sparkling ($22, 13%):
Winemaker Tom Tiburzi has been fine-tuning Chandon's trademark bottle, with less added sweetness and more focus on the fruit. It's paying off beautifully, with rich pear-tart aromas and a bounty of fruit and pastry flavors. The bright lemon-oil and sea-foam accents signal a wine with serious intent.
2000 Gloria Ferrer Carneros Cuvee Carneros Sparkling ($50, 12.5%):
This long-aged reserve bottle from Ferrer shows its commitment to the potential of Carneros. After a full decade on its lees, this is simultaneously opulent and precise. Aromas of citrus pith, thyme, pear skin and yeast underscore remarkable youth for a 10-year-old wine.
NV J Vineyards Russian River Valley Brut Rosé$28, 12.5%):
There's a return to form at this Healdsburg house, with its pink brut offering a sweet yeasty note that underscores raspberry and rose petal, and vibrant citrus tying it all together in a mouthwatering way. Think of it for the holiday table.
NV Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rosé$27, 12%):
Roederer's rosén particular remains a standout, a sign of winemaker Arnaud Weyrich's talents. Subtle notes of rose, copper and peach, with a warm vanilla-bean accent and cool berry ice flavors.
NV Scharffenberger Mendocino County Brut ($19, 12%):
Now affiliated with its neighbor, Roederer Estate, this longtime local fave (just renamed Brut Excellence) has found a new level of precision for its quintessentially California style of sparkling. There's just a hint of a soft side to an otherwise steely texture, with green apple, poppy seed and morning bun flavors underscored by a perfect mineral bite. The best hidden value in American fizz.
NV Schramsberg Mirabelle North Coast Brut ($25, 12.8%):
Schramsberg's nonvintage second bottling is stellar right now. A Chardonnay-dominant blend is fresh with tree fruit, freesia and chalk accents, and a wonderful strawberry edge from its Pinot Noir. Just enough bready opulence without losing its playfulness.
The Chronicle recommends: Bubbles around the globe
Jon Bonnéunday, December 11, 2011
One final shot, then, to buy year-end fizzy drinks. We've covered Champagne (go to: sfg.ly/v9DY0K) and homegrown bubbles (go to: sfg.ly/trOkwT), but once more to the shelf for a grab bag of options that deliver a lot of fun for under $20.
While Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, traditional Champagne grapes, make the occasional appearance, you'll notice a proliferation of more unusual options. At these prices, your better choices are standout Prosecco, cava, Lambrusco and more.
It simply signals the desire of winemakers everywhere to apply their know-how to a diversity of sparkling options. What's not to like?
NV Les Vins ContéPow Blop Wizz Petillant Roséin de France ($19, 11% alcohol): Olivier Lemasson's avant-garde Loire label keeps making plain delicious table wine using minimal methods. Here it's a blend of older-vine Pineau d'Aunis and Trolleau doing the work. An oyster and crab wine - think mignonette - with robust accents of wet stone, celery, cranberries and sourdough. Showing a yeasty side, its spiritual sibling might be white ale. Great fun. (Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections)
NV Markus Huber Hugo Austria Roséparkling ($14, 11.5%): Huber's efforts in the Traisental region reflect Austria's merging of tradition and modern progress. We could use more wines like this fashionably frothy take on Zweigelt and Pinot Noir, pressed as a true roséWith tangerine, strawberry and jasmine tea flavors, and just a tiny hint of sweetness to give it body, it tastes well crafted and carefree without being cheap. (Importer: CircoVino)
NV Graham Beck Brut Western Cape Sparkling ($16, 12%): Famed South African vintner Beck leaves behind this beautifully dry effort based on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A properly crisp nose of saltines and lemon peel, with a slightly softer texture to the bubbles and chalky orange flavors to the palate. Delivers a ton for the money. (Importer: Maritime Wine Trading Collective)
NV Borgoluce Brut Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene ($16, 11.5%): While too much Prosecco uses sweetness as a crutch, the Collalto family's sprawling estate frames the best of a true brut style. It has the baby's-breath freshness of dry Prosecco, with ripe pear, melon and orange. Immediate and refreshing, with a food-friendly bite that Prosecco too often lacks. (Importer: The Sorting Table)
2010 Vigneto Saetti Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce ($18, 12%): Lambrusco with soul. Using the Salamino clone, Luciano Saetti's wines undergo second fermentation in bottle - a Champagne-like method almost unheard of in Emilia. He uses no sulfur dioxide, again a rarity. The result, from organic 40-year-old vines, features earthy cranberry overtones with cardamom and bark accents and intense minerality, providing depth and vivaciousness so many Lambruscos lack. (Importer: Louis/Dressner Selections)
NV Vilarnau Brut Cava ($15, 11.5%): Sherry house Gonzalez Byass has invested heavily in this Penedes property, and it shows in the serious profile of this Macabeo-dominant bottle, aged on its lees for 18 months. Stony and accented by tangy mandarin orange flavors, it brims with refinement - subtly opulent without losing the chalky bite of good cava. (Importer: San Francisco Wine Exchange)
E-mail Jon Bonnét jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/11/FD351M9HAR.DTL
This article appeared on page G - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Just say yes to disgorgement dates
Posted on 12/08/2011 at 11:03 am by Jon Bonnéin Champagne, France, Wine, Winemakers
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A bottle of Bruno Paillard Champagne shown next to a back label that reveals a disgorgement date. (Photo: Craig Lee / The Chronicle, 2004.)
Buying Champagne is a bit like shopping for a late-model car. The model itself may not change, but model years do. A nonvintage wine may not change, but Champagne houses always have new releases.
How do you know if you have the latest? Disgorgement dates on the label tell you when the wine was uncapped from its extended aging, its flavors polished with a bit of sugar or sweetened wine, and the bottle sealed with a cork. After being disgorged, Champagne is ready to be sold.
Yet the vast majority of nonvintage Champagnes lack disgorgement dates.
At the behest of importers like Terry Theise, who requires it of his producers, and thanks to the evangelism of Champagne makers like Bruno Paillard, there is a growing trend to include these dates. It is a trend largely pushed by small grower-producers, who increasingly are capturing the agenda for Champagne lovers. That said, some larger houses provide disgorgement dates for certain wines, like Bollinger.s R.D. (.rémment dérgé or .recently disgorged.) and Dom Perignon.s Oenotheque line.
But most large Champagne houses have no interest in including this information. At best they include a lot number, often on the cork, for the importer or wholesaler (but not consumers) to be able to trace a Champagne back to its origins.
That is changing, slowly. Last month the famed house of Krug, which had been steadfastly opposed to disgorgement dates, said it would start including them for its nonvintage Grande Cuvee . although it won.t reveal the base vintage for each release.
And that.s really the key information. A disgorgement date is in no way a sell-by date; just the opposite, since Champagne often improves with time. Instead it.s a clue to a bottle.s place in time: which vintage served as its base, which reserve wines were used, what the dosage was.
Not knowing this information presents a huge challenge if you want to review a nonvintage Champagne. A critic receives a bottle, tastes it and rates it. But how to know which batch it comes from, or whether it bears any resemblance to the wines on the shelf? Without a disgorgement date, there.s no way to know you.re buying the same wine I.ve tasted.
A writer.s crusade
Some wine writers have been frustrated by this lack of specificity, none more vocally than Antonio Galloni of the Wine Advocate, who announced he would only review nonvintage wines with that information included. Other writers, myself included, voiced our support for his stance, most recently in some Twitter banter noting the problem last month.
Galloni ramped up his challenge this week, saying it is .time for my colleagues at other pubs to step up to the plate..
For The Chronicle.s part, we already include disgorgement dates in our reviews if a Champagne lists it.
But perhaps that.s not enough. In a subsequent e-mail, Galloni said that .[t]he bottom line on disgorgement is really about credibility and protecting the consumer..
His argument: If the wines we taste aren.t the same as those you find on the shelf . except in name . then our reviews have little meaning.
And that.s exactly the point. The blending of nonvintage Champagne was once a means of ensuring continuity amid often marginal vintages. But it has been stretched by large producers who now insist that their wines show continuity year in and year out.
That can in fact be done; the solera-style system devised by Anselme Selosse can provide a continuity of flavor, much like similar methods in Jerez. But the truth is that nonvintage Champagnes are mostly based on a single vintage, and they vary significantly from batch to batch. Like Forrest Gump.s box of chocolates, you never know what you.re going to get.
The simple solution? Disgorgement dates.
While some large producers insist that info negates the value of nonvintage blending, it.s not true. A disgorgement date isn.t a vintage date; it.s a mark of a specific batch made a specific way.
So, why the opposition? Shouldn.t Champagne makers stand behind every bottle they release? Do they find batch varation less worrisome than the wide quality swings created by shipping and storage? (Next time you dash to your local liquor store for that top-shelf bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Piper-Heidsieck, ask yourself how long it.s been sitting there.)
91 forever
It.s hard to imagine who.s hurt by a disgorgement date. Certainly not the consumer. The Champagne houses? Only if they.ve sided with brand equity over full disclosure.
That.s why more writers, myself included, see the value in requiring disgorgement dates if we.re going to review a nonvintage Champagne. (Champagne expert Peter Liem laid out an effective case back in 2008, and his reviews on Champagneguide.net are probably better than any other at including this info.) Galloni and the Wine Advocate deserve credit for standing forward.
The next step is for other wine publications like the Wine Spectator to join in. Why? Because the way the system currently works, getting a 90-plus score on your nonvintage Champagne is like having your bar mitzvah: Once it.s done, it can.t be taken back. If the same Champagne gets a 91 and an 88 in different years, which number do you think gets quoted on the shelf?
What about a general-interest publication like The Chronicle? We don.t numerically score wines, so the value of our recommendation is different, and our readers aren.t necessarily as focused on Champagne connoisseurship. But certainly we and other newspapers should be seriously weighing this option. If we.re in the business of giving readers more information about the products we endorse, it.s a key data point. And not just for Champagne; ideally, we.d do this for domestic sparkling wine, too.
Decoding lot numbers
One recent example: My tastings this year found favor with Bollinger.s nonvintage Special Reserve Brut, which seemed more focused than a year or two ago. But Pol Roger.s often excellent nonvintage tasted reduced and slightly bitter. For the record, Bollinger.s lot number (found on the gold foil at the top) is L113801, which according to Bollinger.s U.S. importer corresponds to April 26, 2011. (For those playing at home, Pol Roger.s was SA10888.)
This sort of information shouldn.t require a secret decoder ring.
Is there a reason not to insist on this information before reviewing a bottle? I can.t think of one, although I.m open to your thoughts. It might not make all Champagne producers happy, but here.s a case where the wine media can tangibly improve the quality of the consumer experience.
If the current state of Champagne tells us anything, it.s that consumers are getting better educated. So why not continue that trend?
Champagne's Aube region gets a moment to sparkle
Jon Bonnéunday, December 11, 2011
The southern region of Champagne known as the Aube has long been an also-ran, growing grapes in large quantities for influential houses up north in Reims and Epernay. It has been a reliable engine of the region's growth but rarely given its due.
Now the Aube is ready for its close-up.
Within the past couple years, this pastoral area two hours southeast of Paris has become a darling, driven by a new generation of Champagne vintners who have turned to this unheralded spot, also known as the Cote des Bar, in the hope of pursuing greatness on a small scale. New names like Cedric Bouchard or Dosnon & Lepage, and established houses like Serge Mathieu, are making wines that speak more of their origins than of the stylish tastes that have turned Champagne from wine to beverage. As Champagne focuses on the small scale (go to: sfg.ly/v9DY0K) the Aube has become a new comfort zone.
The area's often uncomfortable attachment to Champagne has existed since the Middle Ages. Though its main city, Troyes, was once Champagne's provincial capital, counterparts in the Marne Valley regarded the area with disdain - enough that they rioted in 1911 as part of an effort to block Aube grapes from Champagne. Ultimately the Aube was ushered in, but even today its 17,000 acres of vineyards receive none of Champagne's top classifications.
So the Aube has long felt an affinity elsewhere. Indeed, its schism with Champagne can be seen directly in the soil.
Limestone rich
While the Marne's chalky soils come from a later period, the Aube shares the limestone-rich Kimmeridgean soils of its neighbor to the southeast, Chablis. In fact, Les Riceys in the southern Aube is about three times as far from Champagne's beating heart of Reims as it is from the village of Chablis, 30 miles southwest. To the south, the Aube abuts Burgundy, and in some sense its culture nods more toward the Cote d'Or's obsession with a sense of place than toward its sometimes haughty patrons in Reims and Epernay.
These Kimmeridgean soils are part of a band of white-wine greatness that encompasses not only Chablis but also Sancerre and Pouilly-FuméAnd yet this is predominantly Pinot Noir territory because plantings were dictated by the needs of the area's Champagne masters.
That is not to say white grapes don't have a profound role, especially in Montgueux, which grows ripe Chardonnay sought by large houses like Veuve Clicquot. Profound blancs de blancs can be found from such producers as Jean Laurent and Montgueux's Jacques Lessaigne.
But does the Aube speak clearly in the glass? To consider this, I was joined by Rajat Parr, corporate wine director for the Mina Group; Ian Becker, wine director for the Absinthe Group; and Mary Christie, wine director of the forthcoming State Bird Provisions.
Signature of place
Our conclusion: Regardless of grape, there's an unmistakable signature of place - the wines show a weightlessness and bite reflective of all that limestone. Aube Chardonnay can evoke Chablis with bubbles; Pinot Noir often reveals white-grape flavors and savory aromas that nod to Burgundy. These are not only very good Champagnes; they are true to their origins.
The Aube's partisans, even the early ones, clearly arrived at the same conclusion. In 1930, in the western part of the Aube known as the Barsequenais, the house of Fleury decided to bottle its own wines as a way to escape the economic whims of large houses. An early convert to biodynamic farming, Jean-Pierre Fleury now makes largely oak-aged Champagnes from his 50 acres that are dominant in Pinot Noir and brimming with foresty depth and a Burgundian complexity. They are powerful and lusty.
To the east in the Barsuraubois area is the Aube's most influential name: Drappier. This historic house in Urville, farming in the area since the 18th century, helped pull less prestigious Gamay Noir from Aube soils in the 1930s, replacing it with Pinot Noir. The Drappier wines are that rare exception that muscled their way into the ranks of high-profile negociant houses. Unfortunately, the wines appear here somewhat irregularly.
A new generation of pioneers is also making its mark in the Aube with wines that demonstrate skill in the cellar and absolute devotion to place. Even the region's co-op in Bar-sur-Seine, which makes Champagne under the Devaux label, shows remarkable talent.
But a range of tiny producers have caught the most attention. There is Bertrand Gautherot, whose Vouette et Sorbee is named for his two biodynamically grown vineyards in Buxiès-sur-Arce; his lean and uncompromising wines evoke those specific sites. Jacques Lessaigne in Montgueux makes distinct, rich cuvees (although they fell short in our tasting).
New names to know
In the south of the Aube lies Les Riceys, renowned for its rare, long-aging rosé It is further tribute to the dominance of Pinot Noir. It's no surprise that in nearby Avirey-Lingey, you'll find Serge Mathieu, whose hand with Pinot Noir reveals spice and vibrant red fruit reminiscent of a bubbly take on the Cotes de Nuits. And don't overlook Davy Dosnon and Simon-Charles, who in 2005 built a few acres of Dosnon family holdings into a new label that exults in supple, oak-aged wines.
Bouchard, however, is arguably the Aube's reigning star. Based in the tiny town of Celles-sur-Ource and making wine only since 2000, he has quickly become known for his exquisite bottles, each of which hails from a single variety, vineyard and vintage. Made in steel with minimal winemaking and a lower atmospheric pressure than standard Champagne, Bouchard wines like Les Ursules speak with absolute precision of their roots. With less than 20,000 bottles per year to go around, these vanish quickly.
These new names provide a context for the Aube that echoes a modern French tale: Relatively obscure corners become laboratories for innovation precisely because they are the only places the avant-garde can afford to work. Found a new Champagne label in the fancy Cote des Blancs? Doubtful. But if you're Bouchard, son of a vintner in a Champagne backwater, it's possible to find fame by applying a new generation's philosophy.
Now, as Champagne finds many of its big players treading water, the Aube can shine.
>From the notebook: the aube
NV Dosnon & Lepage Recolte Blanche Brut Champagne ($50, 12% alcohol): Davy Dosnon used some family land and additional nearby parcels to launch this Pinot-focused label, making unfiltered wines in oak casks. This all-Chardonnay cuvee lands in one of those "Is it Chardonnay?" spots, with the accents of orange peel and forest floor hinting at red grapes, but also fresh sea foam and green apple that's balanced by a touch of wood-aged richness. (Importer: Jon-David Headrick Selections)
NV Serge Mathieu Tradition Blanc de Noirs Champagne ($42, 12%): The Mathieu roots in the Aube run back several centuries. Pinot is the thing here, and the use of steel tanks with malolactic fermentation and long aging provide both depth and precision. A pure expression of chalk and citrus pith, with vibrant red-fruit notes - cranberry, watermelon skin, apricot, coriander - that telegraph the Aube's potential for laser-like focus. (Importer: Charles Neal Selections)
NV Cedric Bouchard Inflorescence Val Vilaine Brut Blanc de Noirs Champagne ($60, 12.5%): Made all from Pinot Noir in a single vintage, from the Val Vilaine parcel in the town of Polisy. Fermented only in steel, Bouchard's wines have an uncanny ability to telegraph their origins. This latest release , disgorged April 2011, comes from ripe 2009. Layered and dense, with musk, cranberry, dark stones and apricot skin. (Importer: Thomas Calder/Farm Wine Co.)
NV Jean Laurent Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne ($45, 12%): Like Bouchard, Laurent works in Celles-sur-Ource, and this all-Chardonnay bottle from several vintages shows the potential of white grapes there. After time to breathe, it matches a steely iodine presence with rich hazelnut, key lime, sea bean, peach and pastry dough. Disgorged May 2011. (Importer: Handpicked Selections)
NV Vouette & Sorbee Fidele Extra Brut Champagne ($85, 12%): Bertrand Gautherot began farming his parcels in Buxiès-sur-Arce in 1986, and the often-earthy flavors aren't for everyone. This latest Fidele, all Pinot Noir from Vouette and a nearby parcel, Biaunes, is powerful, if esoteric: pine pitch, wheat chaff, nori, lemon confit and a whack of mineral and acidity. You'd be hard-pressed to nail it as Pinot, a further testament to that Kimmeridgean signature. Disgorged January 2010. (Importer: Domaine Select Wine Estates)
NV Devaux Cuvee D Brut Champagne ($52, 12%): Champagne's co-ops often have a lowly reputation, but the Aube's is impressively committed to quality under its Devaux label. If the nonvintage Cuvee D, from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is in a more polished style than that of some Aube mavericks, it's still expressive and almond-accented, with delicious apricot, morning bun and grated orange flavors. (Importer: Adventures in Wine)
NV Fleury Rosée SaignéBrut Champagne ($50, 12.5%): Fleury's rosépproach is uncompromising - it's all Pinot Noir, all pressed off the skins. A powerful, finessed wine with briny accents to cranberry, tangerine and fern, and richer notes of guava and mushroom. It's a serious, pure expression of Aube Pinot. Disgorged May 2011. (Importer: K&L Wine Merchants/Premier Wine Co.)
Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's wine editor. Find him at jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com or @jbonne on Twitter.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/11/FD351M9I5A.DTL
This article appeared on page G - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
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Three strategies.
Cheers,
Jim
Three wine strategies for Thanksgiving dinner
Jon Bonnéunday, November 13, 2011
I've spent a few years underscoring the big untold truth about Thanksgiving and wine: Drink whatever you like. There are so many flavors and textures on the table that tying yourself in knots over one perfect wine will frustrate you, your significant other, your local wine-shop owner and all your Facebook friends. ("OMG! What should I serve?!?")
Perhaps the more important issue is how much to spend. And you're the only one who can answer that. If you think your guests are pining for a lineup of Two Buck Chuck (hint: they aren't), then have at it.
To me, Thanksgiving wine is about bottles that have something to say. On the nobler end, I want to share new and interesting things with guests. On the baser end, it's a surefire backup plan to make small talk. ("Yes, your cousin should dump him. But about this Chardonnay ...")
I have a couple other rules of thumb, too.
One: At least one wine should be American on this most American of holidays.
Sometimes I'll strive to fit the theme - the crisp Westport Rivers brut from Massachusetts a friend introduced me to this year would be a solid tribute to Plymouth Rock - but anything that celebrates American craft will do. Just underscore craft.
Two: Because of the cacophony of flavors at the table, devise a roster of one sparkling wine, one white and one red. The wines should be substantial, but fresh-tasting. This is not a light meal.
With those rules in mind, I gave myself a 3-by-3 challenge: Shop for Thanksgiving wine baskets - three bottles each - on three different budgets.
On the low end, I set a $40 cap. That might seem high for the low end, but if you have a table of five, that's $8 per person for three glasses of wine. It might exceed the holiday drinking budget at Occupy Oakland, but otherwise that's a relative bargain.
In the middle, I set a cap of $75, which pencils out to $15 per person - no more out of line for a special meal than choosing a free-range turkey over a freezer bird. While the midrange can be a minefield of serviceable but meaningless wine, these bottles should make you feel like a billionaire, Travie McCoy-style.
Finally I left myself a limitless top end, though I aimed not to top $150. That's a generous price tag, though accessible without having to be in the 1 percent. As you'll see, I couldn't even bring myself to max that out (though if you feel I went low, I left you some alternates).
My conclusion? Mastering the Thanksgiving wine conundrum is a cinch on any budget. Just give yourself a good couple hours to shop for something out of the ordinary. Ask a few questions. Let yourself be helped.
Budget #1: thrifty and delicious
Bubbles: I knew from the outset this would be the hard part of the budget. As even good Prosecco was going to set me back about $17, I decided to game the system with the 2010 Eric Bordelet Poiréuthentique ($14, 4% alcohol, Beaune Imports), a pear cider made from organic heirloom orchards in Normandy by Bordelet, formerly a star sommelier in Paris. The Poiré pleasant bite and touch of sweetness makes it versatile for the whole evening. I found it for $13.
Alternate: A solid, cheap cava like Dibon, or the recently recommended Korbel Natural (go to sfg.ly/trOkwT).
White: Riesling is a classic Thanksgiving pick, and while it's getting harder to find good, inexpensive ones, the 2010 Pacific Rim Columbia Valley Riesling ($10, 10.5%), from the Randall Grahm-founded project in Washington state is better than ever, thanks to winemaker Nicolas Quillé(This one is slightly sweet with green apple and a river-stone minerality. Get the dry version if you prefer.)
Alternate: What you get in white wine from Portugal for $12 or less is hard to beat.
Red: To avoid the scourge of slightly fake or flawed cheap reds, I returned to a reliable theme for the fall table - Rhone-style blends - and a reliable source: The 2009 Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Vin de Pays de l'Herault ($10, 13%, Beaune Imports) is table wine made by Mas de Daumas Gassac, one of the top properties in France's Languedoc. A classic mix of Syrah, Grenache, Carignane and Cinsault, its ripe, fruity tones and lavender accent is just right for turkey. It's a serious outperformer.
Alternate: Good domestic Rhone-style blends are usually spendier, but the 2010 Hahn GSM Central Coast Red ($12, 14.5%) nails that mix of juicy fruit and a pepper edge. Or grab a bottle - better yet, a 1-liter bottle - of Austrian Zweigelt.
Total price: $34
Budget #2: the great middle
Sparkling: Don't aim for Champagne at this price, but you should still drink like it's Champagne. And so I tapped the 2008 Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava Rosado ($20, 12%, Vinos Unico). Raventos continues to make cava that easily rivals Champagne, and the de Nit roséinds extra depth by adding a touch of red Monastrell (Mourvedre) to the typical mix, giving it an earthy depth. Hell, you could drink this all through the meal.
Alternate: Scharffenberger's nonvintage brut is once again a stellar tribute to California bounty.
White: Without oak, Chardonnay can telegraph all the pretty tree-fruit flavors of fall. Seeing as we'll soon be awash in oysters and fresh Dungeness, I wanted a mineral edge too. (Plus, the prospect of an oaky white to match turkey seems like a turbo booster for your tryptophan-induced haze.) The 2010 vintage once again brought Chablis its stony edge, and I went with the 2010 Patrick Piuze Petit Chablis ($20, 12.5%, Aliane Wines) from an ascendant name in the region. Its exoticism - it smells a bit like a fruit market in Bangkok - rounds out classic gunflint freshness.
Alternate: The pear-edged 2009 Chehalem Inox Willamette Valley Chardonnay ($17, 13.8%) or 2010 Four Vines Naked Santa Barbara County Chardonnay ($12, 13.9%) find just the right pitch of ripe fruit.
Red: It's a matter of debate whether Zinfandel should see the Thanksgiving table, probably because Zin isn't the wine it once was. The 2009 Broc Cellars Vine Starr California Red ($25, 13.5%) provides that perfect exception. Made of 95 percent Zin and a whack of Syrah, its fresh raspberry and ground pepper makes it one of the most impressive young-drinking California reds I've encountered all year.
Alternate: Tap the transparent red-berry freshness of Grenache, like the intense old-vine flavor of the 2008 Bernabeleva Navaherreros Vinos de Madrid ($27, 15%, Rare Wine Co.) or a bottle of heady 2009 cru Beaujolais (go to sfg.ly/u6cGHs), which are still around.
Total price: $65
Budget #3: live large
Bubbles: Krug Clos d'Ambonnay, right, at a mere $2,500? In fact, I did gravitate to Ambonnay, one of the grand cru villages along the Montagne de Reims, for a bottle of the NV R.H. Coutier Brut Tradition Grand Cru Champagne ($41, 12% alcohol, Beaune Imports). The family has been there since the 17th century, producing its tiny output (50,000 bottles total). The Tradition is surprisingly muscular and chewy, with vibrant cranberry and nectarine flavors from 75 percent Pinot Noir in a powerful style that shines all through a meal.
White: The opulence of white Rhones would fit (Chave Hermitage Blanc at $250 a bottle, anyone?) but for a showpiece, let's go with the 2008 Monastere Suore Cisterncensi Coenobium Rusticum ($28, 13%, Rosenthal Wine Merchant), a skin-fermented mix of Trebbiano, Grechetto, Malvasia and Verdicchio grown by nuns in Lazio and made by Umbrian star Giampiero Bea. This higher-end take on the nun wine will warm to all the roasted flavors of the table.
Alternate: Invoke the powerful (but not silly) side of California Chardonnay with the 2009 Hanzell Sonoma County Chardonnay ($60, 14.5%) or the 2009 Kongsgaard Napa Valley Chardonnay ($80, 14.1%).
Red: For all its popularity at Thanksgiving, Pinot Noir needs to be powerful enough to stand up to the kaleidoscope of flavors. No worry of that with the 2008 Calera Reed Vineyard Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir ($50, 14.9%), full of intense pine-needle and soy accents and a tremendous red-fruit intensity from even lower yields (0.37 tons/acre) than usual.
Alternate: Pinots from Littorai, Cobb, Papapietro Perry and a host of others will bring that same power without overwhelming you with fruit. (Let the cranberry sauce do that.)
Total price: $119
Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's wine editor. Find him at jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com or @jbonne on Twitter.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/13/FDO91LSLEQ.DTL
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
FYT,
November 8, 2011
Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner
By ERIC ASIMOV
THE Thanksgiving wine panel, in which the home team gathers for a preliminary holiday feast, is one of our traditions here at the Dining section. We test specific bottles with representative dishes, and, even more important, we reassess the coherence of our assumptions about which wines to serve with the bird.
Coherence may be an issue this year, because what my colleagues told me contradicted the common-sense recommendations that have become self-evident, at least to me. Frankly, I may still pay no attention to what they said. But that does not mean you shouldn.t hear them.
For the pre-Thanksgiving set-to, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Julia Moskin, a Dining reporter; Pete Wells, the Dining editor, and Bernie Kirsch, our tasting coordinator. Each of us was assigned to bring two wines, a white and a red, costing no more than $25 apiece.
So what was the conflict? First, let me state my no-sweat method for choosing Thanksgiving wines.
Consign to the scrap heap the notion that this holiday requires exact wine-and-food matching alchemy. No, the meal is too kaleidoscopic, with too many shifting colors, textures, weights and aromas, to strain for the perfect pairing.
Frankly, precision can be the enemy of fun if your gathering is anything like mine, where many people join together in casual exuberance. Nothing decorous here; people want wine and plenty of it. I supply a red, a white, open a lot of bottles and let people pour to their heart.s content.
So, two wines. But what should they be? First, they need to refresh and satisfy over the course of a long and fatiguing meal. That means they need to be light rather than heavy, agile rather than powerful, moderate in alcohol and versatile enough to complement the hodgepodge of dishes on the table. In wine speak, the key words are lively acidity, the quality that gives wine energy.
Wines that have worked in years past include all manner of whites from the Mânnais region of France; Chablis; crisp Italian whites like Soave or fianos from Campania; reds and dry whites from the Loire Valley; good Beaujolais; lighter-bodied zinfandels; and sauvignon blancs. The fact is that almost any wines that conform to these guidelines will work pretty well.
This I believe. Yet, Pete and Julia were having none of it.
.Thanksgiving is one meal where the food almost wants to be overpowered by the wine,. Pete said. .This seems to be the theme of the meal: over the top..
I had to disagree. Over the top in terms of quantity, yes. But in terms of the character of the food and wine? No. The wine must smooth the way for excessive consumption, not by braining you with power but by seducing you with grace and refreshment.
Julia demurred. .They want to have their heads splatted against the wall!. she exclaimed. .They want the big red wine experience..
Here, a significant divide was becoming clear. Julia, especially, insisted on the primacy of red wine. .Sitting down to eat the meal is only a small part of the process, if not to say the ordeal,. she said. She likes to serve an easygoing white . a .cook.s white,. she called it . during the preliminaries, reserving the red for the actual meal.
Well, blimey, them.s fighting words! It.s not that I love whites more than reds, but I do believe they can be every bit as interesting and should never be considered second class.
Case in point: My white was a 2009 Ravines Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes, a deliciously refreshing wine, complex and satisfying. Yet Florence, describing its pale color, referred to it as lemon water, and Julia called it .girlish.. Perhaps, but among some excellent whites it was our favorite wine with the food.
Julia.s own wine, a 2010 St.-Vén from Michel Cheveau, was certainly more than an easygoing preliminary with its crisp, mineral flavors, while Bernie.s white, a 2008 Lirac from Domaine Maby, reminded me of a Greek assyrtiko, which, by the way, would be another fine choice.
Pete.s choice, a 2010 Bera Arcese from the Piedmont region of Italy, was certainly the most distinctive white. It was almost golden, with a touch of effervescence, bright fruit and a slight tannic rasp. Excellent, but it demands a crowd receptive to unusual wines. Florence.s 2009 Logan chardonnay from Talbott in the Santa Lucia Highlands in California offered a test of the over-the-top theory. Oops. With its extravagant flavors and heat, it was our least favorite white.
Florence.s red, a 2008 California zinfandel from Joel Gott, likewise pushed the boundary. It wasn.t high alcohol, but it was sweet, and low in acid and structure, and seemed to overpower the food, not in a good way. It was an off year for Florence, who will have to rest on her past laurels.
Bernie.s wine, a 2009 Familia Mayol malbec from Mendoza, was more restrained, but a bit hot at 15 percent alcohol. For all her talk, Julia avoided head-splatting and went for value. Her intriguing 2005 zweigelt from Hungary, a $9 bottle, was dry, with a mild leather-and-tobacco aroma.
Pete, sticking with his effervescent theme, picked a dry 2010 Lambrusco from Vigneto Saetti, a brilliant choice, in my opinion, as good Lambruscos are versatile, delicious and energetic. Our only reservation was the powerful carbonation, which might be off-putting over time. I would look for a Lambrusco labeled frizzante, or softly sparkling.
Despite their over-the-top inclinations, Pete and Julia both offered more gentle wines, which we liked. I, on the other hand, picked exactly the sort of lively red I like to recommend, a 2010 Bernard Baudry Chinon. This complex, refreshing wine was our favorite red.
Now, I.m not saying I told you so. I.m just sayin..
Tasting Report
WHITES
Ravines Finger Lakes, $16, *** ½
Dry Riesling 2009
Juicy, tangy and lip-smacking; floral and mineral aromas and flavors.
Domaine Michel Cheveau St.-Vén, $24, ***
Terroir de Davayé010
Crisp and refreshing, with enticing flavors of citrus, herbs and minerals. (Rosenthal Wine Merchant, New York)
Domaine Maby Lirac, $16, ***
La Fermade 2008
Balanced and lively, with earthy mineral and floral aromas and flavors. (Wineberry America, Orangeburg, N.Y.)
Vittorio Bera e Figli, $16, ***
Arcese 2010
Highly distinctive, with a slight initial effervescence, a pleasantly raspy texture and penetrating fruit aromas. (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)
Talbott Santa Lucia Highlands, $22, **
Logan Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 2009
Plenty of oak, cream and tropical fruit flavors, with a touch of alcohol heat. For lovers of full-on California chardonnay.
REDS
Bernard Baudry Chinon, $19, ***
Les Granges 2010
Complex and refreshing with aromas of ripe fruit and forest floor, along with a touch of funk. (Louis/Dressner Selections)
Vigneto Saetti Lambrusco, $19, ***
Salamino di Santa Croce 2010
Dry, crisp, lively and effervescent, with earthy fruit flavors. (Louis/Dressner Selections)
Vylyan Villanyi Zweigelt, $9, ** ½
Hungary 2005
Light-bodied, with aromas of leather and tobacco. (Monarchia Matt International, Armonk, N.Y.)
Familia Mayol Mendoza Lujan de Cuyo, $17, ** ½
Malbec Montuiri Vineyard 2009
Jammy fruit and almost too sweet, with a pleasant, velvety texture. (T. Edward Wines, New York)
Joel Gott California Zinfandel, $21, **
2008
Jammy, sweet and lacking structure, with aromas of blueberries, vanilla and baking spices.
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
Just in time for the Inoni tasting (this Sunday, 3-6, $50)
Ciao,
Jaime
October 24, 2011
Pure Montalcino, Minus the Wait
By ERIC ASIMOV
IN retrospect, what was all the fuss about? Here sat the wine panel, having tasted 20 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino, reveling in the unmistakable earthy, dusty flavors of pure sangiovese. With their winsomely bitter, citrus-tinged cherry flavors, these wines were soulful and elemental, like good trattoria food. They wanted less talking and more drinking.
In fact, they were so good that I couldn.t help but wonder about all the conflict in Montalcino, where it.s been a rough few years for the wine business. First came scandal in 2008, when some producers of Brunello di Montalcino were accused of adding other grapes to a wine that by law must be made of only the sangiovese grape. Then came prolonged debate over whether to change that rule and others, along with soul searching, breast beating, garment rending and other essential expressions of an acute identity crisis.
It.s not as if the region were tampering with centuries of tradition. Brunello di Montalcino was a relative latecomer to the ancient world of Italian wines. Although wines had been labeled Brunello di Montalcino since the late 19th century, the name was largely the province of one producer, Biondi-Santi. The rules of the appellation were not codified until 1968, and the wines did not explode in popularity until the 1980s.
Even from the outset, the rules for Brunello di Montalcino struck many as being overly rigid. In addition to the 100 percent sangiovese standard, the wines had to be aged at least 48 months, 42 of them in barrels, before they could be released. Over time, the period of barrel-aging was reduced to 24 months, although producers were still required to age their wines for four years, delaying substantially the return on their investment.
To help ease this burden, back in the early .80s the authorities created Rosso di Montalcino, a wine that, like Brunello, could be made of only sangiovese but was required to have only one year of aging before it could be sold. In addition to improving cash flow, the new category let producers release as Rosso the wine that didn.t make the cut as Brunello or that came from grapes grown outside the areas designated for Brunello.
So far, so good. So, again, why were people unhappy? Brunello made in the traditional manner can yield a wine that is lean and tight, requiring years to unwind, even after its long aging at the winery. While good traditional Brunellos like those made by Biondi-Santi offer a rare combination of purity, depth of flavor, intensity and grace, many consumers did not want to make the investment in time.
What.s more, in the late 1980s and .90s, critics and consumers became enamored of wines that did not conform to any appellation rules , like the Super-Tuscans. These wines used foreign grapes like cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot, and many were aged in new barrels of French oak.
Seeing the popularity of these luxuriant wines, many Brunello producers began their own stylistic experiments. The wines grew darker, softer, thicker, explosively fruity. Suspicions arose that not all Brunellos were 100 percent sangiovese. You know the rest: scandal, debate and, finally, in late 2008, affirmation of the 100 percent sangiovese rule.
Yet another effort was mounted to ease the sangiovese standard, this time in Rosso di Montalcino. Just last month, producers voted again to uphold the 100 percent requirement.
With wines as good as those in our tasting, why would anybody have wanted to change the rules? For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two guests, Lacey Burke, a sommelier at Del Posto, and Gabrio Tosti di Valminuta, the proprietor of De-Vino, a largely Italian wine shop on the Lower East Side.
We all found common ground in our love for sangiovese, and thought our favorites were excellent representatives of the grape. Most of the wines were from the 2008 and 2009 vintages, with one 2007 thrown in. In the past I.ve tasted Brunellos and Rossos that I suspected were not exclusively sangiovese, but none of these wines raised suspicions.
Naturally, we did find some stylistic deviations. Some wines were leaner and lighter-bodied; others were more robust. Some tasted of new oak barrels; others tasted just of the grape. But very few of the wines were polarizing. It seemed as if, in the case of these wines at least, the so-called traditionalists and modernists were meeting somewhere in the middle.
Our No. 1 bottle was the 2008 from Le Chiuse, a lovely, pure and balanced wine that seemed perfumed with the exuberant essence of young sangiovese. Likewise, our No. 2 bottle, the 2009 Altesino, was graceful and silky with clear, direct aromas and flavors. The 2008 Poggio Antico, our No. 3 wine, was denser and more tannic than the first two but with attractive aromas of red fruits and flowers. No. 4 was the gorgeous, earthy and vibrant 2009 Uccelliera.
Unlike Brunellos, most of these Rossos are ready to drink now and over the next few years. They are less structured than Brunellos, and simpler, but offer great values. In fact, 13 of our 20 wines cost $25 or under, and our best value, the fresh, graceful 2009 Mocali, was just $17.
At the more expensive end, at $38, were the 2009 Valdicava, a lush, rich yet delicious wine, and the 2009 Conti Costanti, a dense, tannic wine that was one of the few in the tasting that did seem to need a little more aging.
Returning to the question of what all the fuss was about, I will say that I am thrilled that the Montalcino producers will retain the sangiovese rules. Does this limit the flexibility of producers in years when they are unhappy with their sangiovese crop? Of course. Yet producers are not without recourse. They do not, after all, need to call their wines Rosso di Montalcino. Plenty of wines are labeled Rosso di Toscana, indicating they are red wines from Tuscany, but don.t necessarily conform to the rules of any appellation.
Sangiovese, exclusively, is the foundation on which Brunello di Montalcino, and Rosso by extension, have been built. To change that would blur the meaning of the appellation and our vision of its wines.
Tasting Report
Le Chiuse, $22, *** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2008
Pure, firm, balanced and perfumed with great texture and persistent flavors of red fruit, flowers and smoke. (Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York)
Altesino, $25, *** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Dense and rich yet clear and graceful with silky, lush flavors of flowers, cherries and licorice. (Winebow/Leonardo LoCasio Selections, New York)
Poggio Antico, $33, ***
Rosso di Montalcino 2008
Dark and tannic with earthy, spicy aromas of cherries and violets. (The Sorting Table, Napa, Calif.)
Uccelliera, $28, ***
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Earthy and well-balanced with sweet, ripe fruit flavors and vibrant acidity. (Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, N.Y.)
BEST VALUE
Mocali, $17, ***
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Pure, fresh, light-bodied and elegant with pretty aromas of red fruit, flowers and smoke. (Michael Skurnik Wines)
Valdicava, $38, ** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Pure and bright with floral, mineral and red fruit aromas. (Vinifera Imports, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.)
Collemattoni, $23, ** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2007
Meaty, smoky, dense and tannic with aromas and flavors of cherries and violets. (Vignaioli Selections, New York)
Campogiovanni, $25, ** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Tannic and dense, with aromas of minerals and dark fruit. (San Felice U.S.A., Manhasset, N.Y.)
Col d'Orcia, $24, ** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Rich, plush and ripe with flavors of black cherries, licorice and a touch of oak. (Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, Fla.)
Conti Costanti, $38, ** ½
Rosso di Montalcino 2009
Earthy with persistent aromas and flavors of ripe black cherries. (Empson U.S.A., Alexandria, Va.)
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
October 14, 2011
German Rieslings, Too, Go Austere
By ERIC PFANNER
ELTVILLE AM RHEIN, GERMANY . Austerity is all the rage in Germany. Its budgeteers are not the only people spreading the word that less is more. Have you tried any German wine lately?
While classic, sweet German Riesling still attracts a cult following in places like Britain and the United States, Germans now consider anything with even a hint of sugar the ultimate in kitsch. As a result, German producers are shifting from sweet to dry wines.
Yet even some Germans were shocked by the dryness, the austerity, of the Rieslings from the latest vintage to be bottled, 2010. How dry are these wines? Painfully so, in some cases. Deliciously so, in others.
.This is not wine to sit down and relax,. said Raimund Prüner of the S.A. Prüate in the Mosel region. .This is food wine. We make wine, not fruit juice..
Last year was a freak vintage in Germany. First, the vines flowered irregularly, leaving growers with a tiny crop. In central and southern parts of western Germany, where the Mosel and the other main German wine regions are located, the summer started with a heat wave, but that was followed by lots of rain and hail in August. The harvest was labor-intensive.
Some German journalists initially labeled 2010 an .Arschjahr,. which translates loosely as a bad year. That assessment was premature.
Growers who were patient, waiting until late October or even November to harvest, picked Riesling grapes that were unusually ripe . but also, bizarrely, unusually high in acidity, which normally fades the more the grapes ripen.
This provided the raw material for wines that display an exquisite tension. They are rich and concentrated but also, because of the acidity, dry and fresh. Imagine corking up a Greek fiscal planner and a German accountant in a bottle and letting them fight it out.
This juxtaposition, of ripeness and acidity, is exactly what fans of sweet Riesling crave, and 2010 certainly looks like a great vintage for the dwindling number of sweet German wines. But what about the dry Rieslings? Would they, too, manage to strike this balance? Or would the acidity, which is prominent in dry Riesling even in normal years, overwhelm in the 2010 vintage?
The VDP, the main trade association for wine growers in Germany, showed off more than 100 of the best dry German Rieslings at tastings last month at the Eberbach Cloister, which nestles among the vines in the Rheingau region, near the city of Wiesbaden.
The producers featured their so-called Grosse Gewäse, which means .great growths. . or, to use the more familiar French equivalent, .grands crus.. The adoption of the term, introduced only a decade ago, reflects growers. newfound ambitions of making dry wines that can rival the great chardonnay-based whites of Burgundy.
The jury is still out on that effort, not least because of confusion over the naming system. The German wine authorities have not endorsed the Grosses Gewäs designation, so growers are not permitted to print it on their labels; generally they just use the initials .G.G..
Just to make things more complicated, one German wine region, the Rheingau, has adopted a rival designation for its best dry wines: Erstes Gewäs, which is equivalent to the French term .premier cru,. or .first growth.. This is permitted on labels.
What is more, these recently introduced terms sit alongside a longstanding classification that employs separate terms to indicate ripeness levels. This system is more useful for sweet wines, but some growers also use it for their dry wines, which are sometimes labeled as such, other times not.
And, at a time when Americans like to shorten the names of grape varieties like cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay to .cab. and .chard,. German producers still delight in selling wine under colorful, polysyllabic, alliterative vineyard names like Kreuznacher Kröpfuhl or Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad. (.Kreuznach turtle pond. and .Ruppertsberg riding path,. respectively.)
As challenging as German wine nomenclature can be, that is nothing compared with actually tasting the wines . at least, tasting more than 100 dry 2010 Rieslings in a single afternoon. Rarely have I encountered such a range of styles and quality in a group of wines from a single vintage and a single variety, all of them ostensibly made in the same general way.
At their worst, the 2010 Grosse Gewäse are sudsy, carbolic and bilious. At their best, they are among the most sublime young Rieslings I have tasted . perhaps among the best young whites of any kind. Fortunately, there were quite a few examples of the latter: wines that were engineered with Teutonic precision but that danced across the palate, intertwining ethereal citrus notes with a seam of serious salinity.
As with any good Riesling, minimalist winemaking . there.s that austerity again . is crucial. While chardonnay, for example, is often aged in small oak barrels and subjected to a secondary fermentation to fatten the wine, such treatments are frowned on by lovers of German Riesling. As a result, any flaws in the terroir, the vintage or the winemaking are cruelly exposed.
While some producers decided to de-acidify their 2010s to flesh them out and make them more approachable, others decided to work with what nature provided.
.For many people, the question was, where do we go with a vintage like this?. said Christoph Graf, commercial director at the Reichsrat von Buhl estate in the Pfalz region. .Do we want to emphasize the potential power, or the expression of the site? We were convinced that the material was there, it was ripe..
The best dry 2010s combine power . in a coiled, compact kind of way . with site expression, something that became clear when running through four different Grosse Gewäse from Von Buhl. All of them were from vineyards in the village of Forst, but the style varied from direct and saline, for the Pechstein, to rich and expansive for the KirchenstüThe strongest-performing regions seemed to be Pfalz and Nahe, which is named after a tributary of the Rhine that lies north of Pfalz but south of Germany.s two best-known wine regions, the Mosel and Rheingau.
Some growers in the Mosel still seem more comfortable with sweet wines or with lighter weight, more delicate dry whites than with the intense, concentrated Grosses Gewäs style, which is like the Mercedes S-Class of German winemaking.
That is not necessarily meant as a criticism. I think 2010 favored the approach of producers like Reinhard Heymann-Löstein, a Mosel maverick who stops the fermentation of his top .dry. wines just short of completion, leaving around 20 grams, or 0.7 ounces, of sugar. Because of the high acidity in 2010, these wines still tasted dry, though not punishingly so. Yet they breach the Grosses Gewäs rules, and are not permitted to carry the .GG. designation, despite being shown off at the VDP tasting.
As the new standard-bearers for German winemaking, the Grosse Gewäse come at a price . usually, at least .20, or $26. Yet even the best bottles rarely cost much more than .35, so they compare favorably with top whites from regions like Burgundy.
Speaking of prices, there is another advantage to buying these wines, at least for readers in Europe: the quality of German online wine shops. Retailers like Wein Refugium and Pinard de Picard deliver to my home in Paris at .10.50 and .9 per case, respectively . about half the fee that most French Internet retailers charge for domestic delivery.
As good as some of the wines from the top estates are, I.m not sure 2010 is the best vintage to introduce Riesling neophytes to the pleasures of this variety, or to German wines more generally. The 2009s, which are widely available, are much more user-friendly, and considerably more consistent.
Aficionados, on the other hand, ought to consider adding some of the dry 2010s to their cellars.
.It really is a year for Riesling lovers,. said Oliver Mü winemaker at the Wagner-Stempel estate in the Rheinhessen region.
October 14, 2011
Abundant Austerity
By ERIC PFANNER
Here are some dry 2010 Rieslings that made strong first impressions. The first name is that of the producer, followed by the vineyard site and, finally, the wine region.
Döoff, Hermannshö, Nahe. For me, the best wine of the tasting, from one of the most lauded producers in Germany. Complex citrus notes. Poised and refined, like a Puligny-Montrachet from Burgundy. About .33.
Schär-Fröch, Felseneck, Nahe. The Nahe region is firing on all cylinders. This fully leaded, high-octane example sent German critics into rapture. It is smooth and very long. About .38.
Robert Weil, Gränberg, Rheingau. A civilized wine from a producer that is best known for its sweet output. The ferocious acidity of 2010 has been nicely tamed here. About .35.
Reichsrat von Buhl, Jesuitengarten, Pfalz. From one of several top sites in the village of Forst. This combines salinity and breadth and will be very digestible . in time. About .30.
Wittmann, Aulerde, Rheinhessen. The most approachable of three Grosse Gewäse from this estate, which produces concentrated, deep yellow Rieslings, balancing the fruit and acidity nicely. About .24.
Wagner-Stempel, Höerg, Rheinhessen. A very ripe wine that shouts out, .This could only be Riesling,. even if it is fruitier than most of what was produced in Germany in 2010. About .24.
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
>From the NYTimes
Enjoying Cabernet of a Certain Age
By ERIC ASIMOV
THE wine in my glass was a pale, rusty red, browning at the edges, as you.d expect in an older wine. The aroma, with its intimations of tobacco and graphite, suggested a good Pauillac, with an added touch of anise. It was lovely and graceful, tangy and deliciously fresh despite the years, and the flavors persisted in the mouth. Beautiful.
It was a 1966 Charles Krug Vintage Selection cabernet sauvignon, the top-of-the-line wine from this historic Napa Valley producer, and if the wine was a great pleasure, I can.t say it was a great surprise.
I.ve enjoyed enough beautifully aged Napa cabernets to be convinced of their age-worthiness, at least the wines made decades ago. But the dominant character of Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon has changed since 1966, and one of the questions about modern-day Napa cabernets is whether they will be able to age as well as their forebears.
In general, the wines have become bigger, softer, fruitier, more powerful and less structured. Whether the currently fashionable style is an improvement is a matter of taste.
Personally, I long for the old days, when Napa cabernets had an elegance and grace that I rarely find today. Some recent wines recall the older ones, or at least modern versions of them: Mayacamas, Corison, Dominus, Frog.s Leap, Heitz and Smith-Madrone, just to name a few. But most are after something else.
I understand I.m in the minority, and I don.t mean to be nostalgic, or to overly romanticize the past. Of course many wines from the 1960s that we taste today are going to be great. The rest fell by the wayside long ago, or were not very good at the outset.
I had an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of Napa cabernets recently at a tasting of 20 old vintages of Charles Krug Vintage Selection cabernet sauvignons from the years 1961 to 1991, culled directly from the Krug cellars, and held at Sotheby.s in New York, which may auction off some older Krugs. The tasting marked the 150th anniversary of the winery, which was founded in 1861 by a Prussian immigrant.
Charles Krug was purchased in 1943 by Cesare and Rosa Mondavi. Their two sons, Robert and Peter, ran it together until a feud resulted in Robert starting his own winery in 1966. Fame, fortune, great accomplishment and loss came his way. Peter stayed on at Krug, plugging away as a mid-range Napa winery, with his two sons, Marc and Peter Jr. Robert Mondavi died in 2008. Peter Mondavi, who will turn 97 in November, is still going strong, showing up to work at the winery every day, Peter Jr. said.
The Vintage Selection is their top wine, made in most but not all vintages, usually but not always 100 percent cabernet, from various vineyards over the years.
Peter Mondavi Jr. was at the tasting to discuss the wines. He, too, has his doubts about how modern Napa cabs will age, even as his own Krug cabernets have become plusher and fruitier, with more alcohol and higher pH levels, which indicates lower acidity.
.It.s a big question and a concern,. he said. .I have serious doubts. The chemistry is out of whack, and the pHs were much lower than today, which affects the aging ability..
The wines were served in a series of four flights: five wines from the 1960s, four from the .70s, eight from the .80s, rounded out by 1990 and .91. The choice of vintages, Mr. Mondavi said, was based both on what he and his family believed would show well, and on availability.
The Krug wines of the .60s bear little resemblance to today.s Napa cabs. It.s not just that they were so much lower in alcohol . 12 percent or so with a high in 1966 of 12.8. The wines were also fermented in open-top tanks made of redwood, a traditional material in California going back to the 19th century. Not until 1990, in fact, did Charles Krug install modern stainless-steel fermentation tanks with technology to control temperatures.
The first three wines, from 1961, .62 and .64, were aged in old barrels of American oak. Not until 1965 did Krug obtain its first barrels of French oak, which are now standard, although with significant exceptions.
My favorites included the .66, of course. The 1961 was browning at the edges, with a slight aroma of mushrooms. Yet beneath this autumnal quality was a freshness and harmony, and a sense of nobility. The .62 also had an underlying freshness, with a touch of the herbal among the aromas. Nowadays, herbal is often the kiss of death in Napa, where so many winemakers strive to avoid any suggestion of .green.. But this wine was lovely.
.I.m not big on herbal, veggie cabs, but it adds subtle nuances,. Mr. Mondavi said. .Today, they.re trying to get all of that out of the cabs..
The .74, too, had pleasant herbal notes. It was not a complex wine, but it was graceful and relaxed, seemingly effortless. The .79 stood out from the others. It was pleasant and elegant, but had a touch of eucalyptus among the aromas. Mr. Mondavi revealed that it, alone among these wines, had been aged in what he called Yugoslavian oak.
The wines from the 1980s all seemed markedly younger. Sweet fruit seemed to leap from the glass of the .80, and the lingering flavors became more complex with exposure to air. The .86 had a mineral, graphite quality that, like the .66, reminded me of a Pauillac, and I especially liked the .88, which had an aroma of violets along with a touch of mushrooms, for complexity.s sake, and gorgeous fruit flavors. The 1991 had a spicy aroma, along with the telltale graphite. It seemed more complex than the monolithic, fruity 1990.
The youngest wine in the tasting, the .91, came along just as Napa.s cult cabernets began to make names for themselves.
.It would be great if people today had a great appreciation of these wines,. he said. .But it.s difficult to reconcile them with the marketplace..
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
