Dr Vino's wine blog

Nebbiolo, it’s not just for Piedmont! Well, actually it is just for Piedmont (think: Barolo, Barbaresco) since there are so few examples of the grape outside the region. But consider this example from Valtellina, in the adjacent region of Lombardy, slammed up against the alps and Switzerland.

Perched at about 4,200 ft altitude, the vineyards of producer Ar.Pe.Pe. are so steep that the grapes are harvested by a sort of modified ski gondola! And their steepness so rivals Hermitage that they also have signs in the vineyards in between terraces! It sounds outrageously cool and I am putting this on my list of places to visit. Fortunately, we can taste the fruits of these vineyards in the US today.

Ar.Pe.Pe.–an abbreviation for Arturo Pelizzatti Perego, pronounced “are pay pay”–provides a tasty treat with its Rosso Valtellina, 100% Nebbiolo fermented in stainless steel with brief aging in old oak barrels. The traditional producer makes more expensive, longer-aged reds, but this entry-level wine is ready to drink. I threw it in a decanter just for laffs, served it at 55 degrees and the transparent, light red color was appetizing in and of itself on a summer evening. Delicate fruit, stoniness, and the alluring slight bitterness of Nebbiolo, combine to make this wine (about $30) a stunner.

SIPPED: Politesse
Diddy’s Bad Boy staff will receive etiquette training including how to hold a wine glass. As slatewine put it, “Pass the Courvoisier, correctly.” And maybe not to spill the Cristal on the floor? Sheesh! [nypost]

SIPPED: sincerity?
Francis Ford Coppola says that he wants to make more elegant wines by reducing alcohol and oak and increasing freshness in his newly revitalized Inglenook wine. While tasting is believing, it is notable to hear a Napa vintner articulating such a position. [decanter]

SPIT: status quo
The Albany Times-Union comes out in favor of wine in grocery stores (the delightful acronym, WIGS) in New York.

Also: Groupon files to raise $750 million in an IPO.

And… Jon Stewart riffs on a Coppola character by chewing out Donald Trump about New York pizza.

Ah, Memorial Day. Grilling. Veterans. And politicians pandering to motorcycle groups.

It also happens to be the kickoff to summer drinking season and here in the Northeast, we had terrific weather. My wine highlight of the weekend was uncorking a Domaine Baudry 2010 rosé, made from cabernet franc in the Loire appellation of Chinon. It’s a gorgeous, fresh rosé that has great color from the skin contact, delicate fruit as well as terrific acidity and even a little length.

What did you uncork? Or what are you looking forward to enjoying (outdoors) this summer?

A couple of weeks ago, Robert Parker went to Spain to collect a medal for his contributions to Spanish wine. However one views his impact on Spanish wine, it’s worth noting that it was only the second time he had been to democratic Spain. And since his previous visit was only in 2009 after he had handed over the reviewing of Spanish wines to his associates, he never visited a vineyard during his tenure as Spanish wine reviewer. Certainly visiting a country is not a prerequisite for knowing a country’s wines, but it helps exploration, knowledge and discovery.

One American who relishes being on the ground in Spain is Andre Tamers. He imports a range of exciting wines from Spain (and France) exclusively from small, family-owned properties that include some of the best white wines from Spain. Andre started his wine career in the 1980s with a brief stint at the New York City wine story Sherry-Lehmann, followed that with five years working for a distributor in New York. Then he set off to Spain to pursue painting and, as so often accompanies Read more…

Cider is fascinating. In Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan tracks the history of the apple. It turns out that because the apples that proliferated in early 19th century America were tart or mushy, they were cultivated to provide fruit for cider, a fermented (read: alcoholic) drink. This is why Johnny Appleseed was welcomed so warmly in every cabin in Ohio and beyond, Pollan says, calling him “the American Dionysus,” elaborating, “he was the guy bringing the booze.”

I’ll never be as into cider as I am into wine. But the diverse varieties of apples produce different juice–maybe there’s also a terroir of cider? And it is a pity, as Pollan points out that many of diverse varieties of (cider) apples have been crowded out in favor of a few, sweet apple varieties such as Delicious.

Enter Basa Jaun cider, which I tried the other day at the distributor tasting for de Maison Selections. Made in the French Basque country, it comes from 15 different varieties including Ondo Motxa, Eri Sagarra, Anisa, Gordin Xuri, Minxuri, Azau sagarra, Eztirotxia, Geza Xuria, Mandoburua, and Patzulua–how bout them apples? It’s really a fun drink, with apple-y notes (go figure), balanced between sweet and tart, with a faint sparkle and low in alcohol. I could see it working at a weekend lunch with some savory crepes (but who really has savory crepes at lunch in America?) or even chips and salsa. Oh, and Basajaun is apparently a hirsute, forest-dwelling protector of livestock, inron-worker and agricultural sensei in Basque legend.

Muscadet has had recent parallels to Goldilocks: The wine region near the mouth of the Loire River was hit by a reduced harvest in 2008, an abundant harvest in 2009, and a just right harvest in 2010 that has superb quality too.

Outside of hipster wine circles, Muscadet is not so well known among younger wine drinkers. That’s because of the wines are often indifferent at best; many of the growers sell their grapes to a duo of negociants, who in turn sell to British supermarket buyers. So when Mother Nature reduced the crop to 25 percent of the previous year’s levels in 2008, the short supply meant many growers raised prices to keep afloat financially. But that turned off the supermarket buyers, who walked and found another wine they could sell for that price point. Then with the abundance of 2009, prices fell. As a result of this turbulence, dozens of growers have gone out of business.

While that is sad, the best of the small producers have not had as difficult a time since they aim to make a distinctive wine at a slightly higher price point, rather than low-priced, high volume wine that supermarket buyers can more readily swap out for The Next Cheap White.

As to the quality of the vintages, the 2008s are mostly gone but the wines that did appear on these shores from the top growers were actually quite good. I have tasted many 2009s, including in a blind tasting in New York a few months ago, and while they are surprisingly rich and full, they are perhaps a vintage for Muscadet newbies rather than aficionados. In some of the wines, I have found the 09s somewhat innocuous, lacking that distinctive blend of brine, iodine, acidity and minerality.

But the great news is that the 2010s have all that crunchy minerality in spades. I tasted some of the 2010s from Domaine de la Pepiere, Guy Bossard and Jo Landron in the Loire in February. They are delicious and even though the early samples of top wines are still tightly wound, they have recovered that nervy intensity that I found frustratingly lacking in many of the 2009s. While the entry-level wines from each of these producers will make the perfect accompaniment to many (outdoor) meals in my house this summer, the real magic will be in these producers’ top wines from the vintage. I’ll definitely be tucking away a few magnums since older Muscadet remains one of the affordable pleasures for wine enthusiasts.

2010 Muscadets to seek out: Read more…

With all the hype about the Bordeaux campaign to pre-selling their 2010 wines, it made me think: surely there are more affordable, just as age-worthy alternatives out there. Here are five current releases I would cellar for 15 years that will bring a whole lot of bang for much less buck:

Domaine Baudry, La Croix Boisée, 2008. Cabernet franc grown on limestone from a top grower in Chinon. And around $30 a bottle? I would sign up for a case faster than I would a 375ml of 2010 Lafite–and I’d probably save money if I did.

Clos de la Roilette, cuvée tardive, 2009: Granted, this wine is mighty hard to find now, but it is worth seeking out. A Fleurie from the edge of Moulin-a-Vent, this is more pinot-like than gamay, structure and elegance over fruit and ebullience. I have a case and plan to age at least half of it for a decade.

Napanook 2007 cabernet sauvignon: This wine’s list price is about $50 but I’ve seen it online as low as $35. Even though it is the “second” wine from the Dominus estate, it has the seductiveness of good cabernet. And the fact that it comes from the Napanook estate under the hand of Christian Moueix gives it a track record of success.

Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco, 2006: This excellent nebbiolo can age (the 1978 is drinking well today, apparently). It sells for under $30.

Isole e Olena, Cepparello 2006, about $60: I had the chance to try this wine at a tasting last year and thought it was terrific. I don’t have a lot of experience with aging sangiovese, but if I were going to, this is where I’d start.

And, of course, for the prices Bordeaux futures are fetching, you could get plenty of Bordeaux with a decade or two of cellar age on them. There’s slightly more risk with the provenance, but the rewards come a lot sooner than pre-release Bordeaux since the pleasures of older wines can be had immediately. Or, as we recently discussed, there’s always Lopez de Heredia.

I was discussing this topic on email with a site reader who is a Spanish wine buff. He offers his suggestions from Spain after the jump. What are your suggestions for age-worthy alternatives ?

Search for these wines at retail Read more…

Why pay en primeur prices for young Bordeaux that won’t arrive for two years? A case against en primeur certainly comes in the form of the traditional Riojas from R. Lopez de Heredia. Read more…