WBW #24 Loire Whites: Domaines Louis/Dressner

I was thrilled when Alder Yarrow of Vinography, this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday host, selected white Loire wines as the topic for WBW #24. After all, these are some of my very favorite wines. For example there are the stunning wines from producers like Domaine de la Pépière and Luneau-Papin in Muscadet or the Coteaux-du-Layon & Quarts-de-Chaume from Château Pierre-Bise and the Anjou from Mark Angéli of Domaine de la Sansonnière or the Savennières from Domaine du Closel and the Sancerre la Garenne from Fernand Girard.

As gorgeous as these wines are they are relatively obscure to most wine consumers, which is a sad fact as Muscadet is easily the best value white wine available. The Loire makes wines from a long list of grape varietals thought of as second class by the average wine buyer. Chenin blanc, caberent franc, sauvignon blanc, melon (muscadet), gamay, côt (malbec) just don’t seem as regal as chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pinot noir to most wine drinkers and, for that matter, most wine writers. On top of that, names like Coteaux-du-Layon and Savennières don’t make good sound bites for marketers. This means not many Americans are pulling corks from bottles of Loire wines and this is truly a shame.

All the producers listed above make extraordinary wines, but they also have one other thing in common - they are all imported by Louis/Dressner. If you want to drink an exceptional white (or red or rosé for that matter) Loire wine you don’t have to remember any unfamiliar place names, you only have to look for the Louis/Dressner label on the bottle and you are guaranteed to find an outstanding wine that perfectly reflects the character of the place it was grown.

Last evening I immensely enjoyed a Louis/Dressner selection, 2005 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet, Clos des Briords, a single vineyard wine produced from old vines. This wine was nothing short of exceptional with an almost electric minerality and precision. While certainly drinkable now, those who can wait a few years will be well rewarded. By the way, this exciting wine put me back a whopping $10.99.

Joe Dressner, famed internet personality and partner in Louis/Dressner, is as intense and focused as this Muscadet and has assembled the finest portfolio of Loire wines available in the USA. Anyone seeking to experience these wines at their best should seek out his selections. Incidentally, his wines from other French regions are equally compelling. 

On my last trip to New York I ordered a bottle of  2002 Savennières from Domaine du Closel. After a confused look from my waiter, it took them about a half hour to find the bottle at the back of the cooler. Apparently it had been a while since anyone ordered a bottle. It was delicous and a relative bargain, but it looks like Joe has a lot more missionary work to do before Savennières becomes a household name.

The World Through Rosé Colored Riedel

It my email box this morning there was a nice note from Amy Lillard, co-proprietor of the soon to be famous La Gramière Côtes du Rhône winery and author of one of my favorite blogs to read, The La Gramière Blog. The ever considerate Amy inquired into my well being due to the curmudgeonly nature of my last several posts. Amy was right and made me think about what had poisoned my keyboard as of late.

The start of this black cloud was easy to spot as it coincided with letting myself slide back into the black hole of a debate  on Robert Parker’s Forum. Its easy to see how immersing yourself in a world where terroir doesn’t matter; where wine quality doesn’t have anything to do with food; where the culture and history of a wine doesn’t mean anything; where wine quality is defined by points and precise rankings - can turn you to the dark side of wine.

There was only one wine antidote: I needed a cool, refreshing bottle of rosé: the ultimate anti-point wine. Unfortunately I was unable to get my hands on the new release of La Gramière, which sounds like it would cure anyone’s blues, but I found another charmer, the 2005 Domaine de Fontsaintes, Gris de Gris, Corbières Rosé. There is something about a really fine rosé that matches food with such harmony that it really brings you back to what wine is all about - how it works at the table. This crisp, brilliant, deeply fruity wine matched with some grilled rockfish in a lightly garlicy chucky tomato broth so well it could only bring a smile to your face. It certainly did to mine.

A warm sunny afternoon, a good bottle of rosé and a great meal. How can you argue about that?

Thanks Amy. 

(pictured above, another rare bottle of  La Gramière Côtes du Rhône Rosé disappears!)

Rosso di Montalcino, Valdicava, 2004

A clean and well made sangiovese showing plenty of varietal and Montalcino character. Certainly modern in style, but not overblown or chunky, maintaining a good firm sangiovese structure. Good spice and touches black truffle add depth to the clean bitter black cherry fruit.  Very nice.

Pinot Blanc, Albert Boxler, 2004

There is that telltale touch of honey and once again, botrytis aromas and flavors start to overwhelm what could have been a great wine if picked a little less overripe and mouldy. Although enough acid exists to hold the wine together, this wine is just too clunky and too expensive to make it worthwhile. The residual sugar makes a second glass seem cloying and boring. Too bad  behind all that honey and sugar you can sense what would could have been an outstanding wine.

Pinot Gris, Albert Boxler, 2004

Yet another, botrytized way-to-sweet out-of-balance and boring to drink Alsation wine. Take a pass. Is foie gras the only dish they serve in Alsace these days?

Asprinio di Aversa, Villa Carafa, 2005

A lot of nice white wine is coming out of Campania these days, much of it from interesting indigenous varietals like Asprinio. The Villa Carafa wines are all very well made and enjoyable to drink. Most of the time when I drink white wine I am looking for a crisp refresher to match with some simply prepared fish and this is one of those kind of wines - fresh and bright with good acidity. I’d be on the lookout for a big platter of fritto misto and a ice cold bottle of this - add a view from the Campania coast and you’ve found a bit of heaven.

Grillo, Di Giovanna, 2005

Produced from yet another southern Italian varietal you’ve probably never heard of, Grillo. However, if you’ve ever had a good crisp sauvignon blanc you’ll know what to expect from the wine from Di Giovanna. Clean, refreshing and easy to drink with a touch of that grassy/flinty character that gives sauvignon blanc its charm. This is a lovely wine for fresh seafood and would be perfect at a beach-side restaurant in Sicilia - or anywhere.

Sauvignon Blanc, Steirische Klassik, Gross, 2002

One of the most enjoyable sauvignon blanc wines I have tasted in a long time and a bargain besides. Steely, flinty and clean with just the right touch of grassy and grapefruit. No cat pee here. It was a perfect match with a dozen pristine oysters.

Bourgueil, Domaine le la Chanteleuserie, Cuvée Beauvais, 2004

Brilliant ruby, with seductive fresh picked cherry aromas hightlighted by fresh mint. A totally charming wine that slides effortlessly across the palate kicking your saliva glands into high gear in the process. Drink this pretty wine up young and slightly cool on a warm summer evening.

Pinot Noir, Goldeneye, Anderson Valley, 2003

Brooding and closed at first, this wine slowly opens into an extremely interesting pinot noir. The slight rustic, wild character is very appealing and shows in every aspect of this wine. Quite intense and on the big side for pinot, but it still hangs on to its balance and grows on you making the second glass more compelling than the first. I would hide a few bottles away for 3 or 4 years as I think this will really be stunning with some patience.

Taurasi, Radici, Mastroberardino, 1995

I discovered this gem on a restaurant wine list at a bargain basement price. No international style here. The color was brickish and the aromas had little to do with dark fruit, instead displaying layers of warm earth, wild mushrooms and new leather. Firm, almost lean on the palate, but there is no lack of sensations to grab your attention. Long and lingering flavors finish the appealingly rustic wine.

Too Big for the Pig

It was a glorious Bastille Day. The weather was so appealing you could not resist being outside. So, off we went to Portland’s Bastille Day Festival. As the lines at the food stands were just too long, we opted for lunch at the lovely Fenouil restaurant, which is on the same plaza as the festival, to more comfortably enjoy some fine French cuisine and wine to celebrate the day.

The spectacular day combined with my anticipation for the excellent lunch soon to arrive and the charming live French music coming from the adjacent celebration inspired me to splurge a bit on the wine. Although, I confess this does not take much inspiration. I could not resist trying the 2003 La Font ď’Estévenas, Domaine Daniel and Denis Alary, Cairanne Côtes du Rhône. Although expensive for a Cairanne, I love the firm earthy intensity of a good Côtes du Rhône and as it was imported by Weygandt/Metzler it seemed  especially promising.

I goofed. I should have followed a newly developing rule: When in doubt, stick with the medium priced wines on the list. Unfortunately these days, high prices usually mean you’ll get what I got: an over-extracted, over-oaked fruit bomb with high alcohol (14.5% in this case), that tasted awful with food and sedated my taste buds into hibernation. What a disappointment this heavy-handed effort was. It was so massive that even the delicious, rich roasted pork from a wood fire roasted whole pig prepared specially for the Bastille Day menu was overwhelmed.

For half the price I could have enjoyed a number of zesty southern French reds from lesser known regions that would have been a delight. I hope I have finally learned my lesson and remember that for less you often get more. Not more power, but more pleasure. When it comes to dining I prefer pleasure over power.

VA

There was this wonderful smell. Exotic, floating enticing, but what was it? It had been a while sense I’d experienced it and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then it came to me it, that clean tang of Balsamic vinegar. This wine had VA and I loved it.

The wine was 1998 Alion, Ribera del Duero, from Spain’s revered Vega Sicilia. I found it to be wonderful, complex, layered with both power and balance. The kind of wine that grabs your attention and holds it every single sip and sniff, always growing, changing and expanding. This is a wine that plants itself in your memory. Yet, it clearly displayed volatile acidity. Something considered to be a fault in modern winemaking, that often was an integral part of the great wines of the past.

Volatile acidity refers to acetic acid, which we more commonly know as vinegar. There is no doubt that acetic acid is a threat to wine, but there is also no doubt that tiny traces of it can add a new dimension, a highlight, to a wine’s character. While some VA is always present in wine, a very little bit goes a long way, but certain wines seem to dial-in just the right extra touch of VA, like the 1998 Alion does. Today’s drive for squeaky clean wines often takes some of the most interesting edges of the wine away leaving only simple fruitiness for a wine to hang its hat on – charming, but not the most interesting of characteristics.

While no one can deny the vast improvements in winemaking, our goal in winemaking should not be to make wines so sterile they’re no longer alive.

Tiny Dancer - WBW #22

It was haunting. Mysteriously darting here and there while all my senses reached hungrily out for each nuance, chasing them like glints of light radiating from a gem. A cloud of delicate sensations ran through my brain then lofted away. Nothing overwhelmed me, but its teasing, tempting and almost impish personality became addicting. I found myself coming back to it night after night as there was something so compelling about its vulnerable, yet soaring complexity. Like a seemingly weightless ballet dancer, every move floated through my senses.

There’s a pretty good chance you’ll hate it, or won’t get it, but I find myself pulling the cork from a bottle of this wine several times a week because I have found few wines so satisfying at the dinner table.

The wine: 2004 Beaujolais, L’Ancien, Vielles Vignes, Terres Dorees from Jean-Paul Brun. Just writing about this wine makes me salivate.

It’s not big. It’s not powerful. It’s not pointy. It is simply delicious. No juicy-fruity Duboeuf here, but a wine with a strangely powerful delicacy. The bouquet entices not attacks and on the palate it dances, challenging your palate to follow its lead - if you have the time and inclination. Considering the under $15 price tag, a wine that can lead your senses in so many directions is a staggering bargain.

Never passing 12% alcohol and produced without manipulation, the delicacy of such a wine is sure to disappoint palates trained on the hyper-extracted and manipulated wines of today, but if you are getting a little bored with indistinguishable wines from unidentifiable places, maybe, just maybe, you can open your palate and mind to something new. Actually, it’s not new; it’s very, very old. We all just forgot.

Beaujolais , L’Ancien, Vielles Vignes, Terres Dorees is imported by Louis/Dressner

Barbera d'Asti Superiore, Litina, Casina Castle't, Maria Borio, 2003

The lovely cascading “C”s of the front label well convey the delicous wine in the bottle. This is an outstanding Barbera with both depth and zest. Both deep fruit and mouthwatering acidity. Both, both, both as this is a wine of perfectly intertwining counterpoints. The combination of rich fruit with electric acidity makes this a perfect wine for steaks and chops. It is sure to impress anyone who takes a sip and pays attention.

Barbera del Monferrato, Goj, Maria Borio 2004

Maria Borio is rapidly becoming my favorite Barbera producer for the clean authentic beauty of her wines and this zesty Barbera is no exception. It is vivace, or lightly effervescent and this lightly sparkling quality is well-loved in Italy, but has no counterpart here in the USA, so consumers are often confused by such wines. However, there is nothing to be confused about as these wines are all about simplicity and straightforward pleasure. The combination of acidity and effervescence makes such wines extremely refreshing with the rich everyday dishes so common in Northern Italy. I find this wine an absolute delight with pizza and recommend drinking this simple pleasure slightly chilled.

Chianti Classico, Fontodi, 2004

All oak. Where’s the Chianti? Avoid. Buy Monte Antico for a quarter the price and get a better modern Sangiovese.

Bandol, Chateau Jean-Pierre Gaussen, 1999

A year in Provence is not enough when you taste wines like this. Deeply aromatic and earthy with a wonderful layered character unlikely to generate many points, but certain to generate pleasure at the dinner table. Yes, this is a big wine, but not by today’s standards as it sports the weight of a big Bordeaux on the palate and will seem almost delicate to Shiraz drinkers. A top-notch wine that really adds pleasure to a meal.

Barbera Piemonte, Mattei, 2003

The real stuff here and more. Firm and bright without going over the edge and joining the over-juiced efforts  jammed out by so many producers today. Certainly there is a lot of fruit here, but it is very balanced with all the characteristic Barbera acidity that any traditional Barbera lover could want. Highly recommended.

Champagne, Brut, Nicolas Feuillatte. NV

Don’t waste you money on this generic effort. You can buy Oregon or California sparkling wines for the same price that offer much more to get excited about. Proof that a name in itself no longer has any importance in an era where top quality wines are produced around the world. As much as I revere Champagne, there is nothing to revere here. Try Oregon’s Argyle for $10 or more less a bottle and you’ll get a far more interesting wine.