The Best Sangiovese Ever...

There can really be no debate about the best Sangiovese ever…

Well, that’s not exactly true for the best ever will be debated with no resolution. However, the best Sangiovese ever for under $20 – in fact, under $15, is not a topic open to debate in my opinion.

That wine is the Fattoria Zerbina Ceregio Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore. A wine of perfect Sangiovese varietal character vintage after vintage with a bright freshness that embarrasses most Tuscan reds. Ceregio is everything you could want out of Sangiovese at such a modest price range. In fact, Ceregio is a better Sangiovese and more Italian in character than most Tuscan reds at double the price. The only reason this wine could remain such a value is that it not Tuscan, but a product of neighboring Romagna.

Winemaker extrordinaire Cristina Geminani, owner and winemaker of Zerbina, has crafted this wine with the same passion, intensity and skill she devotes to all of her wines – no matter the price. Cristina is dedicated to excellence and that means her top wines, like Pietramora and Marzieno are extraordinary, but it also means that her basic wines, like Ceregio, are incredible values.

The current  release of Ceregio, the 2004, is yet another of a long list of very fine Ceregios that I have had the pleasure to enjoy for well over a decade. Explosively alive with fresh fruit on the nose and a bright rich ruby color that is still translucent, the juicy bittersweet cherry fruit mixes with sweet tobacco and a firm mineral backbone to create a wine that could only be Sangiovese.

This is a wine to go out of your way to find.

If Points Were Years

If points were years, less would be more, but now everyone pays for points, not maturity or complexity, while leaving older, more developed wines for others – like me.

The current release of Guigal, 2001 Côte Rôtie Brune et Blonde runs about $50, but there it was right in front of me, a long ignored bottle on the shelf. In the bottom rack was a 1997 Guigal Côte Rôtie Brune et Blonde at the same price. Sure, for those in the wine-know Guigal is famous and Côte Rôtie revered, but other than those eight people nobody cares so the 1997 was still there waiting…

Côte Rôtie was a name mentioned with respect and awe not so many decades ago, but now drinkers are more interested in Shiraz than Syrah. Easy is in and terroir is esoteric. I suppose that’s great for me and other old guys in that we can find bargains like this, but I find it hard to believe that decades from now someone will be waxing poetic about some machine-picked, low-acid and over-extracted wine from a hot vineyard made in 2006 – unless you have a thing for canned stewed tomatoes, which is what those wines will taste like in a decade or so – just about the time 2006 Côte Rôtie will be just getting warmed up.

Today’s feeding frenzy is for the latest and hottest, while store shelves throughout the USA are filled with bottles from a few years ago that are cheaper than current releases and far better to drink on the week you take them home. While I can’t understand why you (the consumer) aren’t grabbing up these wines, I am very happy that you don’t. The earthy beauty of this Côte Rôtie was exotic and layered with spices and a generous sottobosco of mushrooms and cedar chips with an expansive mid-palate and a lingering finish of wild flowers and a depth throughout that challenged and inspired the palate and the mind.

The definition of great Syrah is still in the Northern Rhone Valley of France.

Cassis and Oak Hunters

It smelled funky: earthy, compost and dried mushroom without a touch of black cherry or cassis. Man-o-man what a wine. I love the taste of wine aged in big old barrels, as this one was for eighteen months.

It was hidden there on the wine list in an out-of-the-way section sure to be missed by the cassis and oak hunters. All the  better for me and I pounced on it. Best of all, it was a bargain. I was doing them a favor as they would have hated this wine. I also did myself a big favor by ordering it.

This beauty was the 1999 Bosquet des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape, Cuvee Grenache. One of the best wines made from the grenache grape, it is a outstanding example of a varietal at it finest moment. Although, considering its non-fruit driven character, many will find this wine disorienting. That would be a good thing for today’s young wine drinkers need a bit of disorientation to wake them to the pleasures of wines driven by terroir and varietal instead of the “wisdom” of the latest hot-shot consulting enologist dead-set on making wine by a proven point-winning formula.

Brickish in color without a touch of purple, the aromas explode out of the glass with a smoky meaty character mixed with tar, fresh tobacco and coffee grounds. Not a bit of blueberry, blackberry, raspberry or currant show in any aspect of this wine. Warm and generous on the palate with flavors of a haunting burnt black fruit tarry-ness dominated by fresh morels and exotic spices. This is a wine more about wildness (sauvage) than simple, obvious fruit.

I found this tasting note from wine writer Daniel Rogov on this wine in 2002:

“Bosquet des Papes, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 1999: Made entirely from Grenache grapes, this deep, full bodied wine is packed with ample black fruit, mineral, tobacco and earthy aromas and flavors. Showing its tannins and its acids rather strongly now so don’t dare drink this one now but give it until at least 2005 to find its equilibrium. After that this will be a wine to sip slowly, for as it opens in the glass it will reveal an almost sweet-stewed plum overlay. Don’t worry as the 2005 date approaches for the wine will store nicely until 2020 or longer. Score 94. (Tasted 6 Jan 2002)” Link to original article

I find his notes right on the money and forgive him for reducing such a complex wine to mere points.

This wine is yet another example of why it is better to first search a wine list by vintage instead of varietal. Most wine lists are dominated by current vintages and not only do wines with a few years of bottle age offer better drinking, but usually much better value.

13 and Under

I know numbers lie, but in the eighties I think they lied less. Alcohol levels were not an issue, so if they were less than accurate on their labels, they did it for convenience instead of as a marketing ploy. Yet, these labels of two wines from the 80’s made me think.

I opened two of my cellar wines over the weekend; a 1989 Girard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and a 1980 Fisher Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon - each were 13% or less. Both were excellent wines that had aged gracefully. In fact, the Fisher was an extraordinary bottle still showing great depth, richness and layer after layer of complexity.

How can that be? A twenty-six year old wine with less than 13% alcohol that is still rich and complex? The reason is these wines were made to last, to expand and develop over time.

If anything should make today’s winemakers sit back and contemplate the current fashions of winemaking,  it is bottles like these. We must seriously ask the question; how will today’s 14+% wines taste in twenty-six years? We certainly don’t know the answer, but the quality that these two bottles showed should make a lot of people insecure about extended aging of today’s California (and others) Cabernet Sauvignon.

Today they make’em to drink now. To taste great in a press tasting when only two years old. This was a concept that never occurred to Steve Girard and Fred Fisher when they made these magnificent wines. They aspired to make Cabernet Sauvignon that would develop greatness over time. The philosophy that made Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon famous. They were trying to make great wines not great points.

A winemaker that makes wines like these today is consciously sacrificing high press scores when the vintages are first reviewed. This is courage not many have. It would be very sad if great California Cabernet Sauvignon, like these two wines, was a thing of the past.

(pictured: Fisher Wedding Vineyard) 

Small Pleasures

Small pleasures are a lovely part of enjoying wine. Pretty little wines that don’t cost much, but deliver pleasure and enhance a Monday night dinner. Tonight with an all Oregon omelette with Tillamook Cheddar and Apple Orchard Smoked Ham from McMinnville, a charming little bottle of Bordeaux provided just such a moment. Running somewhere around $10, this is the type of Bordeaux ignored by the American press and public. However, I found it disarming with my dinner for its clean flavors, medium body and obviously regional character: this could be nothing but a Bordeaux. This is exactly the type of wine it is hard to find at this price point from New World producers as the Australians are so often just too fruity and the American wines are just too characterless to provide such a nice counterpoint to a meal.

Tonight’s wine was the 2004 Chateau les Bordelaises, a plain AOC Bordeaux from Dominque and Jean-Louis Pointet and it is a charmer to anyone who loves the angular character of a true Bordeaux. I don’t expect lovers of Yellowtail and Mondavi will understand why I find this wine so delightful, but here is a wine with no pretense, yet plenty of terroir and enough character to actually make you think for just a second before taking another bite.

(Recommended by Doug Salthouse at SmartBuy wines in New Jersey) 

Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places

I’m trying. I keep buying. It’s just not happening.

The harder I try to love Zind Humbrecht, the more frustrated I get. My latest ZinDebacle was the 2003 Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl: a wine without a place or purpose other than to prove how much extract you can concentrate into a dry (kind-of) white wine.

The 56 bucks I shelled out for this wine may be the greatest white wine bargain of all time if you consider the flavor delivered per Dollar. Here is that “bang-for-the-buck” we keep hearing about, for there may be plenty of bang here if you expose this wine to open flame. Clocking in at 16% alcohol (and I would not be surprised if it was higher) you risk an explosion if you drink this Pinot Gris while smoking – although it would match a good cigar better than a good meal. Seemingly inspired by the wretched excesses of a Fellini movie, this wine is to food what Roma is to movies.

What do you do with a 16% alcohol dry white wine? The answer is; you got me. I tried and tried to love this wine, which I consumed over a two week period with every type of meal and cheese you can imagine. It did not go with anything: including itself. That big burn in my throat would never go away and I had to force myself to go beyond a quarter of a glass. In fact, the better part of my last three glasses of this wine were tossed into the grass. Yes, I find it that undrinkable.

I poured the last quarter of the bottle down the drain tonight. I give up – Zind Humbrecht is beyond me and the food I eat. What is the point of a wine that does not compliment a meal?

Barolo Bussia Dardi La Rose, Poderi Colla, Monforte d'Alba, 1999

Bright scarlet/ruby with hints of garnet. Translucent. Smoky, smoky, dried porcini aromas slowly open into tart raspberry fruit. Closed and intense on the palate with layers of flavors: mushrooms, leather, cherry, raspberry. The finish is concentrated long and very tannic. Truly an outstanding classic Barolo destined for long-term greatness. One of the wines of the vintage.

Barolo , Cavallotto Bricco Boschis, Castiglione Falletto, 1996

Bright, translucent ruby with just a touch of orange at the edge. Explosive, earthy smoky aromas with a touch of underlying caramelized rasaspberries and a hint of Graham’s 20 year-old Tawny Port. Exceptionally complex. On the palate it is at first lean and tannic, but this is a façade as the wine soon broadens into layer upon layer of complexity. Bitter chocolate and bitter cherry flavors lead into a long warm earthy finish. Try to keep this one at least until its tenth birthday. If you must drink it now decant it for at least three hours before serving. Traditionally made Barolo wines have a unique blend of aromas and flavors they make them among the most interesting wines in the world. No simple black fruit references here, but all sorts of one-of-a-kind sensations. Dried roses and leather are the classic ones and they are certainly there, but add to this mushrooms, truffles and a certain wildness.

Barolo, Einaudi, 1978

I thought this wine would never come around. I was right. Brilliant light scarlet with orange overtones, translucent. Funky, earthy-mushroom-leather-rose aromas. Hint of varnish when first opened but it mostly blows off. It even smells tannic. Hard and lean on the palate but the flavors are expansive but decidedly not fruity. Almost a tawny port like fruit - 10 year old Graham’s without the sugar. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. What can I say - I enjoyed it. Drinking this wine is like touching a piece of history.

Barolo, Fontanafredda, La Rosa, Serralunga d'Alba, 1999

Bright ruby/scarlet with just the lightest hint of orange. The aromas are an exotic mix of ripe dark fruits and leather and dried porcini mushrooms. Smoky ripe plums show in the nose and on the palate with layers of dusty burnt cherries and bitter oranges followed by firm, hard tannins that are somehow surprisingly round in their intensity. The finish is restrained by its intense tannins, but the powerful complex fruit flavors are already starting to show through. Tasted over a four day period and the wine was still fresh and showing now oxidation on the forth day. Definitely a wine for long-term cellaring.

Barbaresco Bric Balin, Moccagatta, 1999

Bright deep scarlet. Very oaky first impressions on the nose, underlying smoky plumy fruit. Oak also apparent throughout the palate. Firm, somewhat astringent fruit is made more astringent by wood tannins. Under the fruit and wood tannins ripe plumy fruit struggle to keep up. Not a good first impression. I would prefer to see less oaky astringency overlying the already tannic nebbiolo from a fine vintage. Still overall a first class serious effort at the modern style. Not recommended for barrique haters.

Barbaresco Palazzina, Montaribaldi, 2000

Amazingly generous for such a young wine. Bright ruby with garnet hints. Round and ripe in the nose. Deep plums, with and underlying bitter wild cherry and a hint of orange. Underneath is a clear earthy nebbiolo varietal note. Rich and lean at the same time. Start out big and sweet then implodes into tannin. The finish is long and complex and although this wine is not nearly ready paired with intensely flavor foods like fatty, charred American steak it can be consumed now with pleasure

Barbaresco Roncoglie, Poderi Colla, 2000

Ruby with garnet hints. Translucent. Quite ripe even a hint overripe. Sweet plum, spicy with earthy hints. Floral with violet hints. Round and ripe on the palate with quite a tinge of very ripe fruit. Dark canned cherries and raspberries followed by very apparent but well integrated tannins. Should mature somewhat more quickly than usual.

Prunotto Nebbiolo d'Alba, Occhetti, 2001

Brilliant ruby, quite translucent with just a hint of garnet at the edge. Lively smoky plum with bittersweet cherry aromas open into light porcini and tar. Floral, open and expansive with a bite. Firm, but very drinkable now with good complexity and balance. Spiced burnt oranges with sweet cherry fruit flavors carry the firm, but well integrated tannins. Delicious and ready to drink now.

Pinot Nero, Campo Romano, Pinot Nero, 2002

Bright scarlet/ruby with just a touch of garnet. Layered complex nose. Ripe spiced plums and strawberry aromas broaden into dark plum notes. Racy and complex on the palate with wave after wave of flavor. Ripe cherry, wild strawberry expand into complex tar, porcini and oak flavors. Still a bit lean and closed on the mouth and nose but very promising. The finish is long and spicy with apparent but well integrated tannins. A fine effort that reminds me of Pousse d’Or Volnay in years past.

Nebbiolo d'Alba, Poderi Colla, 2001

Bright ruby/scarlet with garnet hints. Just translucent. Closed at first but opens into floral, rose dust, firm ripe plum aromas. Firm on the palate the tight flavors slowly grow to a delicious layered intensity. Tarry, bitter cherry flavors grow into warm ripe raspberries on the palate. The finish is extremely long, tarry bitter cherry flavors fade into firm but well rounded tannin. Perfect for drinking now and over the next several years.

Nebbiolo d'Alba, PIra, Bricco dell'Asino, 2001

Brilliant scarlet, hints of ruby and a touch of garnet. Just translucent. Spicy ripe plums with layered sweet vanilla oak. Smoky, charcoal aromas add complexity. Firm and structured on the palate. Loaded with ripe plums and cherries with a distinctive tang of chewing tobacco. Starts out medium bodied, but then expands magically in the mouth into an explosion of tannins, tobacco and wild dark fruit flavors. A really exciting wine to drink. With short term aging - 1 or 2 years - you will have a great bottle.

Le Colline Gattinara, 1978

Brilliant translucent scarlet with just a touch of orange at the edge. The aromas are explosive and delicate at the same time, full of the smell of fresh leather and dark wild cherries. The combination of silky and astringent flavors in the mouth are amazing. The delicious round, warm dark bitter cherry and cassis fruit flavors are mixed with a strong backbone of rich tannin. The complexity of this wine in the nose and on the palate is wonderful. The long finish sums up all the complexities of the aromas and flavors and lasts almost forever.

Actually Alsace

It doesn’t seem like so many years ago that I thought of Trimbach as a sort of boring producer. With all the other action they seemed to be left behind. Just a few decades or so later, to me, Trimbach is making some of Alsace’s best and most authentic wines. They did not change, my palate just grew up. Today other producers are making wines full of residual sugar, boytritis and no varietal or Alsatian character. Now it is Trimbach who is making clean, bright varietally correct wines that actually remind you more of Alsace than California when you drink them. They always did.

Give me these real wines from Trimbach any day over the bizarre wines coming from the likes of Zind-Humbrechet. If you want to actually drink Alsatian wine with a meal, I’m sure you'll agree with me if you really think about the food and wine on your table. The basic Trimbach Gewurztraminer is a charming wine with no pretension to greatness, only balance and real Gewurztraminer character. We enjoyed this great value with some fantastic goat cheese from Monteillet Fromagerie in Dayton Washington – a cheese producer worthy of a post of its own – and you cannot imagine a better cheese and wine match.

One of the saddest stories of the modern wine world has been the destruction of the great white wines of Alsace. A few decades ago, Alsace was the home of some of the most interesting wines on the planet, but today it has become the poster-child of over-manipulation in the vineyard and winery and the resulting sweet, out-of-balance wines should just be avoided.

The Best Wine I Ever Tasted...1995 Muscadet

I could not resist the bottle. A 1995 Muscadet for sale today. It was one of the best wine choices I have ever made as this bottle is one of the finest white wines I have ever tasted - and it cost $15.99.

• 1995 Muscadet, Cuvee Vieilles Vignes, Chateau de l’Aiguillette, eleve sur lie

A wine name that deserves a line to itself to contemplate the incredible achievement of producers Patrice and Vincent Gregorie. This is an extraordinary bottle that will be intensely ignored by the wine media because it does not cut the profile they are looking for, but this wine is everything I look for in a white wine. Unbelievably fresh for an eleven-year-old wine, this is a wine at the peak of perfection. It is worth noting that most of the white wines getting big points today will fall apart by their fifth birthday.

Only a faint hint of older gold shines in the brilliant fresh straw yellow color. On the nose it is expansive yet firm, showing dense mineral highlights over fresh honeysuckle and red apples with cinnamon. Rich, yet zesty and alive on the palate with a finish that evolves into layer after layer of complexity for those paying attention.

No, its not the best wine I ever tasted, but it is almost perfect and is certainly the best dry white wine I have tasted in the last several years. Congratulations to Portland Oregon’s Casa Bruno for having the courage to import such a gem.