Coteaux du Languedoc, Château La Rogue, Pic Saint Loup, 2003
Pic Saint Loup is probably a tough sell. It’s a shame for in the under $20 category red Lanquedoc wines still offer some of the best value you can find. Just compare this wine, selling at $16 against a California Merlot or Cabernet selling for the same price and you will see there is no contest. Full rich fruit flavors mix on the palate and nose with tar and black licorice to make for a really interesting drink. A great wine for summer cook outs.
Château Puy Arnaud, Côtes de Castillion, 2003
The heat of 2003 was certainly a great year for Bordeaux’s lesser Chateaux and this very nice wine is one of the better values of the vintage. With a structure and aromatic profile that could be nothing but a Bordeaux, this nice wine is sure to please the true Bordeaux lover. Drink over the next 2 to 3 years to take full advantage of the lovely fruit.
Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene, Vincenzo Toffoli, NV
A creamy and delicious sparkling wine with just a touch of sweetness. A charming delight to drink.
Malbec, Tikal, Amorio, Altos de Medoza Argentina, 2004
Winner of the heavy bottle award of 2004. Out of this massive bottle comes a pretty good wine - often a surprise when such pretentious bottles are used. Richly colored with a woody, ripe character that, with a little air time, starts to reveal some real complexity. Going for under $25 a bottle, those who love Napa Cabernet, but can’t stand the price should grab up some bottles of Tikal Amorio, as you are sure to like the style.
Chianti Classico, Rocca di Castagnoli, 2003
A very nice Chianti with a bracing structure balanced by the ripe fruit flavors you’d expect from a sauna of a vintage like 2003. No great complexity, but good solid sangiovese character and true-to-type style. Certainly a much better straight Chianti Classico than some more famous names put in the bottle.
Grignolino d'Asti, Cascina 'Tavign, 2003
Brickish red with not a hint of purple, quite translucent. Lean and mean throughout and all-in-all a very good grignolino. A bit more serious and less light-hearted than most grignolino - but I won’t hold that against it.
Sleaze and Wine
Tom clearly points out the evil in this organization by identifying the key personnel of the W.S.W.A. staff as former lobbyists of the National Rifle Association, Big Tobacco and Big Drugs. It’s hard to imagine a sleazier or more adept team and we should be afraid of them.
As many of you know, my real job is to produce and sell wine. Our wines are represented by distributors in nineteen states and not one of them belongs or has any interest in the W.S.W.A. - no wine distributor that really cares about the wines they sell is seriously involved with this organization primarily financed by vodka.
As a small wine producer, it would never occur to me to not work primarily with our distributor network. This has nothing to do with the mandated three tier system. I would work through our distributors anyway, as they do outstanding work on our behalf. They present our wines, educate consumers and trade on our philosophy and maintain an inventory of our wines to support their market. I would never consider not working with any distributor who does such fine work - with or without the three tier system.
So why is the W.S.W.A so paranoid? It’s because most of their members are incompetent when it comes to selling fine wine and only truly care about spirits - where the big bucks really are.
They should be afraid, because without three tier laws they would have no reason to exist for any fine wine producer.
Dolcetto di Dogliani, Luigi Einaudi, 2004
Here’s an irresistible explosively fruity Dolcetto with more than enough acidity to balance out its modern styling. Deep purple with mouthwatering fruit flavors and an electric tinge of acidity. A perfect pasta and pizza wine. My mouth waters just writing about this wine.
Barbera d'Alba, Giacomo Conterno, 2003
Well I guess Barbera doesn’t get much better than this. Rich and zesty at the same moment, the ripe dark fruit flavors roll in velvety layers on the nose and palate. However, this richness is balanced by a bright acidity that ties everything together in a lively and complex package. As good as this wine is now, I see no reason to age it.
Drink up and enjoy.
Clos St. Martin, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 2002
A classic Bordeaux throughout that will age for many years and develop great elegance and complexity. Lean, yet very layered and compelling on the nose. The firm, structured fruit is just barely starting to expose its depth. Sure to be a very fine bottle in another 5 or more years.
Rioja, Allende, 2003
Nice clean medium bodied tempranillo - no more, no less. Nothing more than a good every day wine. A good wine if it’s under 10 bucks.
Nebbiolo Langhe, Parusso, 2004
A good solid effort here, but not very exciting. Nice forward fruit that actually expands out into real nebbiolo flavor and character. Good to drink over the next year or two with meats, roasts and even pizza.
Barbera ď Asti, Cascina Castel’t, Maria Borio, 2003
After the awful La Spinetta I just tasted, this wine is a delight. Certainly modern and explosively fruity, it still has plenty of Barbera acid zest and freshness of fruit. Spicy clean and mouthwatering. Very nice and a wine I would happily drink again.
Syrah, EQuilbrio, Matetic, D.O. San Antonio, Chile, 2003
Big and chunky throughout, while still being quite good to drink. Not a meaningful experience here, but a nice big red wine. Good for charred steaks and other power meats. Good value for the money and more interesting than most Australian wines from this varietal as although it is big it still has some edges.
Marionberry Wine
One of the pleasures of living in Oregon are the fresh bakery goods in the morning. Big juicy Marionberry muffins, scones and anything else you can think of baked into butter, flour, eggs and sugar. They are all delicious and it’s exciting that an Italian wine producer has figured out a way to get the luscious, juicy, dense black fruit flavors of Marionberries all the way from Oregon bakeries into their wines in the Piemonte region of Italy.
Much to my surprise, when I took my first sip of 2003 Cá di Pian, Barbara d’Asti by La Spinetta the proof was there. La Spinetta has obviously not only transplanted Marionberries to Piemonte, but has discovered how to make a wine out of them. Strangely enough this wine, which certainly should be called DOC Marmellata di Marionberry, is somehow called Barbera d’ Asti. This must surely be a mistake, because anyone who has ever tasted a fine Barbera d’Asti will realize that this wine could not be made from the Barbera grape – at least not naturally.
The only thing this could be is some sort of bizarre fruit wine (Marionberries?) as it is grotesquely purple and juicy-fruity to the point of being revolting with food. I tried meat, pizza, panini and pasta with this bottle and it is very clear the only thing this glop of a wine can go with is itself.
The rhinoceros on the label of this wine is very appropriate as the rhinoceros is as graceful and refined as this “wine”. La Spinetta is a label that should be avoided by anyone who cares about the harmony of wine and food.
(artwork by Peter Puszta)