Bonarda, Oltrepo Pavese, Millennium. 1999, Azienda Agricola Fratelli Agnes
This wine is boldly Italian in character with an explosive rich earthiness and bracing acidity throughout. A brilliant garnet tinged ruby, the aromas are expansive and wonderfully complex with layers of dark fruit, leather, porcini and a warm smokiness. This wine caresses your palate, not overwhelms, but in no way is it light. Rather it is quite rich and concentrated, but the acidity and tannins carry the flavors beautifully. A tremendous, length finish. Fully ready to drink, but able to grow over the next several years, this is by far the finest Bonarda I have tasted.
Looking for Mr. Right Vintage
Those who know business travel, but love wine and food know the drill. You finally get to your hotel to0 late to seek out the best local restaurant, but you are starving. With no choice you head off to the hotel restaurant. There is little hope for an interesting wine on the list and forget anything nice by the glass. You are in corporate wine heaven - otherwise known as your wine hell.
When handed the wine list in such situations, sometimes, low-and-behold there is one wine that looks promising. This week I found a bottle of 2000 Talbott, Case Pinot Noir, Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in the midst of all the blandness. It was lovely.
It reminded me that all to often, when looking at lists we focus on varietals and price, when a better strategy may be to run your finger down the vintages. My 2000 Talbott was a full 3 to 4 years older than the other pinots on the list and what made this wine so enjoyable was the fact that it actually had few years in the bottle. It was no longer dominated by the big dark black fruit flavors of young wine, instead offering real nuance and complexity. You can't replace bottle age. Strangely enough the 2000 Talbott was actually cheaper than some of the more "famous" names on the list.
Keep an eye out for those bottles with a few years of bottle age on them when you search the wine list and not only will you be rewarded with a more interesting wine, but you just might save a few bucks as well.
VinExpo
No, not that VinExpo, but the Wine Expo of Santa Monica California. Perhaps “Expo” is not a good name for what they do there as it implies a gigantic wine exposition, which it is not. The Wine Expo is a small shop, although every inch is filled with wines worth drinking.
The Wine Expo is presided over by manager Roberto Rogness, whom you may also know as the nemesis of the anti-terroir Mark Squires on Robert Parker’s Forum. They have created a store that is filled with wines that have two things in common, they are labels almost nobody knows and they are outstanding wines. To top it off, they are great values.
They have accomplished this by hard work, creative thinking and the wise decision to not try to be all things to all people. The selection at the Wine Expo concentrates on two things: Italian wine and Champagne. Not that that is limiting, as Italian wine on its own is an overwhelming project. However, the store is not filled with the usual suspects: Antinori, Gaja, Giacosa, Krug, Cliquot and on-and-on….
What they have assembled are small producers, many of whom they import directly (another significant savings), who are dedicated to producing wines of character with pure flavors from varietal and vineyard. Oddly enough, their catalog physically looks a lot like The Wine Advocate, but one look at the wines selected and the commentary tells you that this is another world - and a more interesting one at that. Their Champagne selection is simply stunning, full of small estate producers and wines that sell for under $50 that blow away big name Champagne selling for hundreds of dollars. You can buy cases of Champagne here for the price of a few bottles at other stores.
Tonight I am sipping on the 1999 Bonarda, Oltrepo Pavese, Millennium from Azienda Agricola Fratelli Agnes. A bargain at $28, here is a wine that almost screams of its Italian origin, full of earthy aromas and flavors over bright fruit, with a racy acidity throughout, this is a wine that demands great food and pleasure. This is a wine I would never have known without the great work being done at The Wine Expo.
Get some guts and get on this mailing list and invest a few bucks in vineyards and names unknown, in people who make wine with passion, not Excel. Roberto will introduce you to a whole world of wine you did not know existed.
Wine Expo
2933 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404
310–828–4428 Fax 310–828–2969 Email: WineExpo@earthlink.net
Fino Sherry is Disgusting
Fino Sherry is a disgusting wine…at least by the time we get through with it. There the poor dusty bottle sits half-full on the back bar next to the Ports and Cream Sherry going bad as fast as it can.
It is rare to find a restaurant that properly serves and stores Fino and Manzanilla Sherry (the same thing from slightly different areas). This is a real sin as, when fresh and cold, these are among the finest aperitif wines on the planet and one of the most versatile white wines made, matching with an incredible array of dishes and, in fact, is the best match out there for Sushi.
The Sherry industry, importers and distributors must take the blame for this “wholesale” destruction of one of the world’s great white wines. Obviously none of these organisations gives a hoot if Sherry is served properly as long as someone buys it. The restaurants must also take part of the rap as serving warm, oxidized (Fino is not an oxidised style of Sherry like Amontillado and Oloroso) Fino to customers giving them good money is treating their customers poorly. Fino/Manzanilla Sherry should be served just like any other white wine they are serving by the glass. Certainly this is not too complicated of a concept for them to grasp. Can you imagine the reaction a restaurant would get if they served warm pinot grigio by the glass? Also, speaking of glasses, please stop serving fine Sherry in those crappy little liqueur glasses. You don’t have to invest in proper Sherry glasses for Fino, as your Champagne flutes will work perfectly.
Fino and Manzanilla are the most delicate of wines. They are never better than the first day they are bottled and decline in freshness every day after that. These are wines that should be consumed within six months of bottling and should be served chilled to enhance their beautiful fruit, mineral and nut flavors. The bottles should be consumed as soon as possible after opening, unless you drink Sherry very quickly, half-bottles or 500 ml. bottles are highly recommended.
There is one hero out there trying to save Fino from this awful fate. Steven Metzler at Classical Wines from Spain (http://www.classicalwines.com/) is almost a lone voice trying to educate the American trade and consumers on how to enjoy fine Sherry. He has good reason to do so as he is the importer of perhaps the greatest Manzanilla Sherry, Bodegas Hildalgo La Gitana Manzanilla, a beautiful wine that is worth all his efforts to protect. Steven imports this great wine only in 500 ml. bottles to promote freshness and carefully controls his distributors inventories to make sure they don’t offer wine past its prime. To understand the glories of this style of wine at its best, enjoy a chilled bottle of La Gitana with the freshest oysters you can find. There will be no going back.
Most people say they don’t like Sherry because their experience is limited to wine destroyed by neglect. This is like deciding you don’t like Burgundy when the only bottle you have tasted spent the last week in the trunk of a car in Arizona in August.
So I have a new cause for all of you. Save a bottle of Fino Sherry this week. Confront your bartender and get those bottles in the cooler!
For more information on Sherry - click here for my article: Sherry Use it or Lose it
I'll Huff and Puff Your Wine Away
Breathing may be overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I like to breath and try to do it as often as possible every day.
Breathing can do many things, it keeps us alive and opens up young wines to improve their drinkablity. What breathing does not do is replace time.
I don’t understand the claim by some that many, many hours, stretching even into days, can improve wines to the point that it almost replaces years and years in the cellar. Barolo/Barbaresco is the focal point of most of these wild claims. Time and time again you hear the refrain of, “when I first opened the wine it was closed, but after a day (or more) it finally opened…” This, I think, is a bunch of crap.
As someone who opens far more bottles than he should, I constantly find myself with a cabinet full of bottles that have been open for various days or weeks and never has a bottle been better the next day than it was after a few hours of breathing. Some wines do better than others, with some bottles remaining delicious for days, while others are shot the next morning. Strange as it may seem, the girth of a wine has little to do with how it fares with exposure to air.
A case in point, was a recent (gorgeous) bottle of 1999 Giuseppe Mascarello, Barolo Monprivato, which, when first opened was tight, but after two hours in a decanter was sublime and it then gained in complexity over the next two hours of sipping. Never once did it lose its edge. However, the next next night, this extraordinary wine was a shadow of itself: although a lovely shadow it was. The problem was, is this shadow now lacked definition. I want wine with sharp edges, not a diffuse, less interesting profile. It is best to drink a wine before it loses the edges that make it unique.
I agree you can’t argue with taste – actually no, I am debating taste on this point. I think that those who argue for outrageously long breathing periods for wines just don’t like the firm edges, that clear definition that certain wines bring you. Twenty-four hours in a decanter will make those edges hazy, less focused and demanding of the palate. While young wines certainly benefit from exposure to air before consumption, this evolution will never replace those slow years of development in the bottle. From time to time you will visit a producer who will proudly proffer a wine that has been open for days to show its durability and the precision of their winemaking, but not a one will recommend that their wine is best if you leave it in a decanter while the earth does a complete revolution before consumption: not one.
For young, tight wines like Barolo and Barbaresco, two to three hours in a decanter before serving is adequate. Nebbiolo greatness comes from its firmness, precision and edgy cut. Don’t steal a wine's character and try to turn it into merlot, revel in its tannic beauty.
A Well Fed Network
Its great to see the continual expansion of high quality food and wine blogs. There can be no doubt the nature of culinary conversation is changing. Thank God. The recent issue of Bon Appetit features the following fine cooking advice on preparing a platter of fresh fruit for a spring party, “Make things really easy by everything ready the night before or – even simpler – by buying prepared fruit from the deli section of the supermarket.” So much for the concept of “fresh”
The explosion of alternative ideas brought by Bloggers are making culinary information fresher than ever. On excellent new source is The Well-fed Network (http://www.wellfed.net), which is a group effort featuring contributions from a wide range of food bloggers. On the wine side of things the Wine Sediments section of The Well-fed Network offers entries from such thoughtful writers as Tom Wark (Fermentations), Andrew Barrow (Spittoons), Lenn Thompson (LENNDEVOURS) and Mark Fisher (Uncorked) among other fine writers.
An example of the anti-Bon Appetit cutting corners approach is The Terroirista post by Tom Wark linked below:
Wine Sediments - The Terroirista.
Barolo, Giuseppe Mascarello, Monprivato, 1999
Brilliant ruby laced with garnet. Deep bitter black licorice aromas mingle with tar and and minty chocolate over brilliant fruit. Firm and extremely layered on the palate with an amazing silky texture to the significant tannins. The dark, brooding fruit is blended with bitter amari notes balanced by a unique dry sweetness. A lively minty note expands on the finish of tar, bitter chocolate and spicy tannins. A really fine, classic Barolo. Just beginning to wake up, you don’t need to be in any hurry to drink this beauty.
Grüner Veltliner, Thal, Trocken, 2003, Austria
Lovely brilliant light gold with green hints. Firm mineral-laden aroma with a cool stony note floating over key lime and tart peach aromas. Racy and mouth filling with bittersweet caramel flavors that frame the clean stone fruit flavors. A mouth-watering finish cries out for another sip.
1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda Barolo La Rosa
1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda Barolo La Rosa, Feb. 2004
Saved by the Bank
Like Bordeaux and Burgundy, Barolo is a complex patchwork of communes and vineyards where sometimes the space of only a few meters changes the character of the wines produced. In Barolo and Barbaresco these differences were often lost as production was dominated by large producers who bought grapes from throughout the region and labeled them as simply Barolo or Barbaresco.
However, the explosion of estate bottled wines in Alba has been changing this and slowly-but-surely the market is becoming aware that there are differences between nebbiolo grown in Serralunga d’Alba and La Morra - just as there are recognized differences between St. Julien and St. Estephe or Corton and Volnay.
The commune Serralunga d’Alba is on the eastern edge of the Barolo zone and the sandstone soils produce some of the most tannic and structured of Barolo wines. At the northern tip of Serralunga, as it reaches towards Alba, sits the great La Rosa and Gattinera vineyards that surround the historic Fontanafredda estate. This estate is indeed part of Barolo history and some of the earliest Barolo wines produced came from these cellars – a tradition that dates back to 1878.
However, the greatness that was Fontanafredda had gone into hibernation until it was rescued by the bank. That's right the bank – Fontanafredda was acquired by Immobiliari S.p.A, Gruppa Bancario Monte dei Paschi di Siena, who has also invested in two Tuscan wine properties, Poggio Bonelli and Chigi Saracini. This influx of capital and leadership has launched Fontanafredda on the road to reclaiming past greatness.
As one of the largest and oldest estates in the region they had a core of outstanding vineyard holdings - most notably La Rosa and Lazzarito in Serralunga d’Alba and La Villa (a sub-section of Paiagallo) in the Barolo commune to build upon. Under the leadership of Director General Giovanni Minetti and winemaker Danilo Drocco the entire Fontanafredda line has seen marked improvement, but what is most exciting is the introduction of a range of single vineyard wines from their classic vineyards which they have called Tenimenti Fontanafredda. This important range of wines includes offerings from all the important DOC and DOCG zones of the Alba and Asti region. Each is a single vineyard selection and the stars are, of course, the three Barolo selections; La Rosa, Lazzarito La Delizia and Paiagallo La Villa. The Tenimenti Fontanfredda releases make this estate once again a producer that should be considered by anyone who loves Piemontese wines and the 1999 La Rosa is a wine that deserves consideration from serious collectors.
Tasting Notes: 1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda, Barolo, La Rosa
Bright ruby/scarlet with just the lightest hint of orange. Just translucent. The aromas are an exotic mix of ripe dark fruits and leather with hints of dried porcini mushrooms. Smoky ripe plums show in the nose and on the palate are followed by layers of dusty burnt cherries and bitter oranges that are still held in check 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 no oxidation on the forth day. Decidedly a wine for long-term cellaring.
Too Much of Good Things
It was an “in” place with a “name” chef. Racy architecture and mind-dulling pulsing modern Muzak. Everything designed to stimulate every sense possible. The only things missing are simple, clean flavors, that have no chance of survival in these food discos.
There is this compelling and uncontrolled American feeling that more is better…
- more noise
- more flavors
- more color
- more, more, more…
My tuna tartare was overwhelmed by ginger, so what was surely sashimi grade toro was reduced to a searing ginger intensity that destroyed both fish and wine. Every course that followed was cursed by similar excess and obliteration of the prime flavors the dish was supposed to offer. After all, shouldn't tuna tartare taste more of tuna than ginger? What is sad in this more is better insecurity, is that the same chefs producing these excesses are also going out of their way to find the finest raw materials – then burying them under more and more of everything instead of letting their true character and elegance show through.
The same goes for winemakers today, who are harvesting some of the finest fruit ever produced, only to bury it under layers of oak and over-manipulation. The rule for chefs and winemakers should always be that the freshest and most expressive raw materials should be left alone to show their greatness. Add accents and highlights, but don’t destroy their essence. Cooking and winemaking should be like adding the proper frame to a great painting.
Oddly enough, the wine I ordered that night was just the opposite of the over-manipulated food. The 2000 Woodward Canyon Winery Walla Walla Valley Merlot (its OK to order merlot in Washington) was balanced and graceful. It was a wine full of edges and angles, unlike the insipid merlot offered by most producers today. It reminded me of the days (almost 30 years ago) when I discovered wine. A time when merlot was an interesting and compelling varietal only taking the lead in wines from Pomerol and Saint Emilion, before merlot became the wine hated in Sideways - and for good reason. This was a beautiful bottle, lean and firm with great complexity throughout. It was the best part of the meal and I saved my last glass to appreciate after the noisy food left our table in peace.
Food and Wine
Food and Wine: two words that seemingly go together like ham and eggs. Yet the reality of wine today is that more and more of it does not go well with food. As chefs continue to push the envelope of complexity, the wine industry seems to be veering in two divergent directions. One branch is going down the road of clean, industrial stability with flavor profiles determined by market research and the other going down the points-driven feeding frenzy of more-is-better powerhouse wines.
I recently purchased a bottle of 2003 Peachy Canyon Zinfandel, and it convinced me that when push comes to shove, I’d rather go with blander wines with my meal than wine that could double as fuel for the NASCAR circuit. A clean, if somewhat boring, Zinfandel at 13% alcohol, actually compliments a meal better than the Peachy Canyon that weighed in at a combustible 15.5%. Strange as it seems, commercial can be better than artisan when it comes to wine.
This it the greatest danger of today’s points driven wine criticism. Ultimately it will always reward wines that are at their finest on the first sip or two. However, these very same wines dull the palate after a half-a-glass and do nothing to enhance the food on the table. Not only do they not enhance it, they conflict with food – they very thing a wine is created for in the first place.
Balance, refinement, elegance are all attributes that are as important in the kitchen as they are in the cellar.
Pinot Noir, Fiddlehead Cellars, Fiddlestix, Seven Twenty Eight, Santa Rita Hills, 2002
Brilliant light ruby with touches of garnet. A nicely complex nose with hints of toasty oak, caramel sugar and black tea. Good ripe fruit on the palate, with tar and burnt wood notes over bright bitter cherry fruit. A lovely finish dominated by tea, smoke and a touch of vanilla. Very nice. Drink over the next 2 to 3 years.
Peachy Canyon, Zinfandel, Paso Robles, Westside, 2003
It's my fault. I should have know better as it clearly states on the label 15.5% alcohol. What the hell do you do with a wine like this other than drink it with over-ripe blue cheese. Like course port on the nose, but without the sweet pleasure and complexity offered by fine Oporto. Just a brutal, undrinkable wine that has no place at the dinner table, but might (maybe) be able to make an appearance with cigars after food has fled from the table in fear. To be avoided while eating.
New is not always better
The usual foodie goal when they hit a city is to get to the new hot spots. To touch the new culinary buzz. This often means not only an expensive disappointing meal, but missing established restaurants that are still making your palate shiver with joy. Often it takes a situation out of your control to balance this drive to see the new and trendy and it was reservations made by someone else that brought me back to San Francisco’s Aqua. I have dined at Aqua about a dozen times and each visit was excellent, but this recent trip really brought home to me that new is not always better. Great restaurants are like great vineyards, they both make exceptional products year after year.
We chose the tasting menu, which was the right choice as, when visiting Aqua, or any other great restaurant, you want to taste as many dishes as possible.
This parade of palate stimulation went like this:
- Tartare of Ahi Tuna with Moroccan Spices
- Artisan Foie Gras with almonds, grapes, smoked duck and shallot sherry sauce
- Hawaiian Walu (escolar) with potato/fennel fondue, mussels and a golden raisin emulsion
- Alaskan Black Cod wrapped in smoked bacon with tomato and date chutney with glazed carrots
- St. Vrain: a cow and goat milk cheese from Colorado – really wonderful
- Pierce Point: A very nice cow’s milk cheese with a herbed crust from Point Reyes California
Each dish shimmered with enticing balanced, restrained, but complex flavors. Every plate was a small piece of edible art. As befitting a restaurant of this caliber, the wine list is excellent with a wide range of choices that go beyond local California wines. The food, wine, service and ambiance were exciting.
On my own I would have hit only the latest and that would have been a mistake. Consistent excellence seems to bore the public today and restaurants and wineries that make outstanding wines for many years often get ignored. Thanks to this wonderful meal, this will be a mistake I will try to avoid.
Aqua, 252 California Street, San Francisco CA - 94110 (415) 956-9662
Valle dell'Acate Nero d'Avola, Il Moro
Valle dell'Acate Nero d'Avola, Il Moro
For readers of wine newsletters the big question for Italian red wine makers would seem to be whether to use new small French oak barrels or giant well-seasoned casks. It is refreshing to see a winery choose neither and in the process make an outstanding wine that no one can fault for lacking complexity. The Valle dell'Acate Il Moro only sees stainless steel, but you will never guess that only by tasting. Once again we are reminded that it is vineyards and vines that make wines great - not coopers.
Valle dell'Acate is to be commended for betting their future on the great classic vine types of Sicily and their zone. They are also to be complimented for their restrained use of barriques. So many Sicilian wines today are overwhelmed by the heavy imprint of internationally styled "flying enologists" that seem more intent on turning Sicily into the next Australia. The wines of Valle dell'Acate show that you can make wines in a modern style without giving up traditional varieties and the unique dimension they can bring. In a world where wines are becoming more and more the same it is a good idea to be distinct.
The wines of this estate are unique and across-the-board delicious. Gaetana Jocono (pictured above) has been given the reigns of the winery created by her father in 1981, and under her leadership the wines are constantly improving. Although the estate itself was not established so long ago, she represents the 6th generation of the family involved in making wines from this region. Their vineyards are located on the southern coast of Sicily almost directly in between Siracusa and Agrigento. In these sun-soaked vineyards they focus on growing frappato and nero d'avola for reds and insolia for whites. Only one of their white wines, Bidis, includes a foreign varietal (chardonnay), while all other wines are pure examples of Sicilian varietals.
Raccolta Selection: 2001 Il Moro, Nero d'Avola, Sicilia IGT
Rating: A * Value: Excellent * Price: $22
A rich concentrated wine that is aged only in stainless steel to allow the intensity of the nero d'avola grapes to show clearly. Nothing in complexity is given up by not using wood in this multi-faceted wine - a big reminder that complexity comes from the vineyard not the barrel.
Tasting notes: Bright scarlet ruby, just translucent. Intense ripe raspberry aromas are blended with tobacco, leather and just a touch of prunes. Rich and mouth filling with a firm structure. The fruit is dense, very ripe and concentrated with a hot tobacco bite that balances the rich sweetness of the fruit. The finish is long and dramatic mirroring the tobacco and raspberry of the aromas. The tannins are apparent, but well integrated. Three of four years of bottle aging will be rewarding. A dramatic and distinctly Sicilian wine.
Other highly recommended wines:
-2002 Il Frappato: Bright ruby with purple hints, just translucent. Explosively grapy, juicy and fruity with almost a note of that "foxy" aroma you find in American grape varietals. The sweet grape flavors continue on the palate with lush grape/cherry jam impressions. The finish is dry but the sweetness of the fruit leaves a sweet impression. All this fruit sweetness is braced by a zesty acidity. A good wine for spicy tomato sauces and aged cheeses.
-2002 Insolia: Bright green/gold. Fresh apple, pear aromas with walnut highlights. Lively, clean and refreshing on the palate with good fruit balancing the zesty acidity. The clean sweet pear flavors are carried nicely by the acids. A pretty, crisp and enjoyable white.