Greetings, ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 10:51:09 -0500 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Greetings, Sancere and Pinot from anywhere. Even France. :) Thursday at 6:30 at JPs Bistro. Call Bob (612-672-0607), e-mail the list (wine(a)thebarn.com) or reply to me if you can make it. Please trim the articles form your replys to me or the list. Bob Dave Betsy Lori Bill Russ/Sue Jim JP's American Bistro 2937 S. Lyndale 55408 (612) 824-9300 Parking: Meters were free after 6 or 6:30. Side streets may be an option. Pay lot behind the restaurant. Cheers, Jim July 9, 2003 By FRANK J. PRIAL MENTION the Loire Valley to a white-wine lover and chances are he or she will immediately think sauvignon blanc. There are other white wine grapes, of course. At the mouth of the Loire River, near the city of Nantes, the grape is muscadet. Oh yes, and the harsh, untamed gros plant that is supposed to go well with oysters. Chenin blanc dominates Touraine, from Anjou and Saumur westward through Tours and Vouvray, but then slowly at first, sauvignon blanc begins to take over. Of these sauvignon blancs, Sancerre is the best of the lot, with Pouilly-Fumé close second. Local experts, unless they recognize a friend's wine, often have difficulty telling the two wines apart although some experts say the Fuméare a bit fuller-bodied and richer. And at times, the Dining section's tasting panel had the same difficulty as we went through 15 Sancerres and 13 Pouilly-Fumé(not to be confused with Pouilly-Fuisséa wine from the Mân region in southern Burgundy made from chardonnay grapes). We decided to taste them nicely chilled one boiling afternoon because, in the words of Eric Asimov, one of our regular panelists, "they are such friendly, relaxing summer wines." Mr. Asimov was joined on the panel by two other regulars, Amanda Hesser and me, and a guest, Daniel Johnnes, the wine director of Montrachet restaurant. After having tasted all 28 glasses, Mr. Johnnes called them a good sampling of what's happening in the Loire Valley. He said: "There are many different styles of these wines, and it becomes a matter of the commercial wines versus those showing the heights these wines can reach." And there were a good many wines that met all the criteria for a refreshing easy-to-drink Loire white. That is, they had a vivacity and crispness to them, that sharp bite that comes from good acidity. And they had a smoky, flinty flavor and aroma that tells us where these wines come from: Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé Most of the wines we tried were made in the traditional style, aged briefly in steel tanks or large, old barrels to retain the pungency of the sauvignon blanc grapes without adding a new oak flavor, as is often done in California. But a small group of Loire winemakers are experimenting with oak. Sometimes this is done with sensitivity, softly buttressing the sauvignon blanc flavors; often, the oak is overbearing. A glance at any map of Central France will help explain why Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumétand out among sauvignon blancs. Chablis, which makes some of the greatest of all white wines, is only 50 miles to the east and shares its special terrain, chalk on Kimmeridgian marl, with Sancerre and Pouilly to the east (and Champagne to the north). In our sampling, we tried to hold the line at $25 a bottle. Except for one at $30, they ranged from $13 to $25, with the average price just over $17. Of our top 10 wines, six were Pouilly-Fumé four were Sancerres. Our top wine, with three and a half stars, was a Sancerre, Raimbault's 2002 Apud Sariacum ($15). It was also our best value, but isn't the easiest wine to find. Mr. Johnnes found the Raimbault "juicy, ripe and delicious." I found it to be more Californian that Loirean. Also at three and a half stars was a 2001 Pouilly-FuméLes Berthiers, from Domaine Gilles Blanchet ($18). Mr. Johnnes liked its "richness and precision," its "stony mineral finish." Two wines each garnered three stars, both Sancerres: a 2002 La Croix au Garde from the Domaine Henry Pellé$21), and a village wine from Richard Bourgeoise ($15). Everyone liked the mineral qualities in the PelléThe Bourgeoise wine was Ms. Hesser's favorite. One wine captured two and a half stars, a 2001 Pouilly-Fumées Pentes from Serge Dagueneau, the uncle of the more famous Didier Dagueneau of Pouilly-Fuméwhom many consider one of France's finest winemakers. Much of Serge's winemaking is done by his daughters, both of whom have worked in the Napa Valley. Didier Dagueneau's wines, which we did not include, as they start around $50, can be stunning, though they're hardly classic Pouilly-FuméHe ages them in small oak barrels and achieves a richness and complexity unheard of in these wines. The wines we tasted were traditional feisty sauvignon blancs. In "The Wine and Food Guide to the Loire" (Henry Holt, 1996), Jacqueline Friedrich has fans sensing a move to a softer, California style, and she has them paraphrasing the poet and murderer Françs Villon. "Where," they ask rhetorically, "are the Sancerres of yesteryear?" Our exercise indicated that the change has yet to happen. It had better not. Screw tops at the ready, New Zealanders are waiting in the wings. And they make terrific sauvignon blanc. Takes your breath away, mate. Tasting Report: A Welcoming Liveliness BEST VALUE Raimbault Sancerre Apud Sariacum 2002 $15 *** 1/2 Juicy, ripe and delicious, Daniel Johnnes said. Frank J. Prial called it a California-style wine, big, solid and rich. Eric Asimov found it pungent, fresh and lively. Amanda Hesser detected pineapple and mint in the nose and praised the long finish. Domaine Gilles Blanchet Pouilly-Fumées Berthiers 2001 $18 *** 1/2 Prial lauded the wine's beautiful nose and rare intensity. Johnnes found richness and precision, and a stony mineral finish. Asimov called it piquant, airy and herbal. Smoky and vivid, Hesser said. Domaine Henry Pelléancerre La Croix au Garde 2002 $21 *** Asimov found a rare complexity and depth in this wine. A lot going on, said Hesser, who detected passion fruit and pineapple aromas. Prial liked a mineral touch and long finish. Johnnes called it juicy, vibrant and concentrated with great minerality. Richard Bourgeoise Sancerre 2002 $15 *** Hesser's favorite: she liked its delicacy and clarity. Prial detected a wet stone aroma and praised the acidity. Johnnes liked the brightness and crisp finish. Asimov called it was a classic Sancerre with mint and lemon aromas. Serge Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumées Pentes 2001 $20 ** 1/2 Good concentration with presence and persistence, Johnnes said. Asimov found it lively but narrow, a simple wine. Hesser called it coarse, without much clarity. But Prial enjoyed its attractive touch of citrus. Marnier-Lapostolle Châau de Sancerre 2001 $15 ** Asimov detected aromas of hay and sweetgrass and a touch of honey that he said added richness. Hesser, too, found honey and an earthiness. Johnnes noted a quality of minerals and decay, which he found appealing. But Prial tasted a sweetness that he didn't care for in sauvignon blanc. Langlois Pouilly-Fuméhâau Les Pierre-Feux 2001 $16 ** Nicely balanced with a nice bite to it, Prial said. Hesser felt the nose lacked freshness, but liked the softness in the mouth. Johnnes found an attractive peachy quality. Asimov called it tart and minerally. J. C. Chatelain Pouilly-Fuméomaine de St. Laurent-l'Abbaye 2001 $13 ** Lively, bright, delicious to drink, Asimov said. Prial liked the balance, acidity and finish. Hesser called it vibrant, but Johnnes felt it was light. Henri Bourgeois Pouilly-Fuméa Porte de L'Abbaye 2001 $15 ** Prial found the nose flowery and the wine vibrant. Fresh and clean with a snappy finish, Johnnes said. Hesser termed it drinkable but not intuitive. Asimov called the flavors clear but found it too tart. Domaine A. Calibourdin Pouilly-Fuméuvédu Bois Fleury 2000 $17 ** Ripe with a long finish, but lacks concentration, Johnnes said. Hesser detected lots of fruit, lots of lemon zest. Prial called it correct and pleasant, though bland, and Asimov liked the rich aroma but felt it lacked character. May 16, 2007 WINES OF THE TIMES A Purple Passion for Pinot Noir By ERIC ASIMOV SINCE the movie .Sideways. came out in 2004, America has carried on a passionate affair with pinot noir. Restaurants can.t keep it in stock, wineries can.t make enough of it and consumers show no signs of loosening their embrace of it. Sales shot up by 70 percent in 2005, and might have continued at that rate in 2006 except that shortages held growth to 20 percent, according to the Wine Institute, a trade organization. To retain a sober perspective on the trend, Americans drink far more cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, zinfandel and, indeed, merlot than pinot noir. Still, it.s fascinating to think back to the early 1990.s, when, as reported in 1993 in Wines and Vines, a publication for the industry, many pinot noir vines in California might well have been pulled out and replaced had it not been for producers of sparkling wine, who provided a market for pinot noir grapes in those otherwise lean times. While the unslackening demand for pinot noir makes American producers almost giddy, consumers who have a longstanding relationship with Burgundies, which are also made with the pinot noir grape, are apt to be a mite cautious. Where Burgundy producers aim for harmony, balance and understated beauty, many American pinot noirs offer a lavishness of fruit that can be overwhelming for those used to the more subtle approach. I count myself among those who have cast a skeptical eye toward many American pinot noirs. Rich, powerful and heavy? Indeed. Buckets of sweet fruit with little structure? Absolutely. Inky purple with lots of alcohol? Of course. In short, all the characteristics that I.m not looking for in a pinot noir. Nonetheless, the continuing popularity of pinot noir practically demanded that the wine panel go forth and taste, so we plunged in, sampling 25 pinot noirs from .Sideways. country, Santa Barbara County. Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Adam Rieger, wine director of Bar Americain, and Rebecca Foster, a sales consultant with Empire Merchants, a distributor. We did find wines that struck us as over the top, soft and sweet, with flavors that would overpower food. But we were also pleasantly surprised by how many wines seemed balanced and somewhat restrained. We all agreed that we preferred wines that were elegant and structured over those that were powerful, oaky or shapeless. Pinot noir comes from two main regions in Santa Barbara County. The Santa Maria Valley, south of the town of Santa Maria, forms the northern tier. It has an industrial-agricultural feel to it and remains largely off the wine tourism trail, though it contains some prime pinot sources like the Bien Nacido vineyard. The southern tier, just north of the city of Santa Barbara, is the more bucolic Santa Ynez Valley, which encompasses a cool region to the west near the Pacific and a warmer area to the east. Since the two parts of the Santa Ynez Valley were so obviously different, the western portion, between the towns of Buellton and Lompoc, was granted its own appellation in 2001, designated Santa Rita Hills. That designation brought trademark-infringement objections from the Chilean wine company Viñanta Rita, so the appellation is now rendered Sta. Rita Hills. Thirteen bottles in the tasting were from the Santa Rita Hills and 11 were from the Santa Maria Valley. One was designated Santa Barbara County, meaning the grapes came from more than one appellation. Our consensus favorite was the 2004 Siduri from the Clos Pepe Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills. Siduri is a husband-and-wife operation that makes small lots of 21 pinot noirs each year from vineyards throughout California and in Oregon. The Clos Pepe has plenty of bright fruit balanced by an earthiness and the crisp acidity characteristic of many pinot noirs from the Santa Rita Hills. The No. 2 wine, the 2003 Melville from Carrie.s in the Santa Rita Hills, is in a similar mold, with acidity that grounds and gives shape to the intense fruitiness. The wines ranged from $22 to $85. Our best value was an old favorite, the 2005 Au Bon Climat La Bauge au Dessus from the Santa Maria Valley. This is a balanced wine, built on a more elegant scale than many California pinot noirs, with flavors of blackberry and spices. Some well-known Santa Barbara names did not make our top 10, including the 2004 Brewer-Clifton Rancho Santa Rosa, the 2002 Arcadian Dierberg, the 2004 Loring Rancho Ontiveros and the 2004 Belle Glos Clark & Telephone. But some lesser-known names did make the list, like A. P. Vin, shorthand for Andrew P. Vingiello, the owner of this small winery, whose first vintage was 2003. His 2005 Rancho Ontiveros, from the Santa Maria Valley, had the rich, ripe fruit that is typical of so many California pinots, but the anchoring structure and balance held all that fruitiness in check. Ambullneo, whose 2004 Bulldog Reserve from the Santa Maria Valley was No. 5 on our list, takes a slightly different approach than many top pinot noir producers. Instead of making a series of single-vineyard wines, intended to show off the specific characteristics of a particular place, Ambullneo specializes in blended cuvé so as not to be beholden to single vineyards. On its Web site it asks this question: .What if Burgundy could blend La Tache, Musigny and Chambertin? Just imagine the results.. I can tell you what a Burgundian producer would answer: .Quelle catastrophe!. Regardless of possible heresy, the Bulldog Reserve manages to be Burgundian in its mellow balance, good acidity and structure. The name, by the way, alludes to a new breed of dog developed through a crossbreeding of bulldogs and mastiffs . a canine cuvé so to speak. Over all, I was glad not to find as many high-alcohol, sweet-tasting, overly concentrated wines as I had expected. As American chardonnay producers have learned, bigger, louder and more extravagant is not always better. One day, the infatuation with American pinot noir may mature into a lasting relationship. If so, I think consumers will be thankful to have traded in the fireworks for wines made for the long haul. Tasting Report: Elegance From Santa Barbara County Siduri Santa Rita Hills $53 *** Clos Pepe Vineyard 2004 Earthy and bright with floral and cherry aromas; well balanced and structured. Melville Santa Rita Hills $60 *** Carrie.s 2003 Cherry, cola and violet aromas and flavors balanced by vibrant acidity; bright but not overbearing. BEST VALUE Au Bon Climat Santa Maria Valley $33 ** 1/2 La Bauge au Dessus 2005 Deep, dark and balanced with a core of earthy fruit. A. P. Vin Santa Maria Valley$50 ** 1/2 Rancho Ontiveros 2005 Ripe, rich, well-balanced raspberry and spice flavors. Ambullneo Santa Maria Valley $85 ** 1/2 Bulldog Reserve 2004 Mellow and well structured with bright fruit and earth aromas. Tantara Santa Maria Valley 2005 $45 ** Soft and silky with ripe floral and berry flavors and a bit of cocoa. Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Highliner $45 ** Santa Barbara County 2004 Aromas of licorice, menthol and berries but unbalanced by alcoholic heat. Ken Brown Santa Rita Hills $53 ** Clos Pepe Vineyard 2004 Spicy and rich with licorice and sweet raspberry flavors. Lafond Santa Rita Hills $23 ** SRH 2004 Somewhat oaky but well structured with restrained fruit. Alma Rosa Santa Rita Hills $55 ** La Encantada Vineyard 2005 Ripe and pleasant with flavors of raspberry jam. WHAT THE STARS MEAN: Ratings range from zero to four stars and reflect the panel.s reaction to the wines, which were tasted with names concealed. The panelists this week are Eric Asimov; Florence Fabricant; Adam Rieger, wine director of Bar Americain; and Rebecca Foster, a sales consultant with Empire Merchants. The tasted wines represent a selection generally available in good retail shops, restaurants and over the Internet. Prices are those paid in wine and liquor shops in the New York region. Tasting coordinator: Bernard Kirsch