Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 25 Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED!

In my line of work, I hear it all. People spout alleged facts about wine left and right and it's hard to tell what's truth and what's fiction. We could go on and on, but this week Rick and I debunk the top 7 myths of the wine world.



Here are the show notes...

We start with a few shoutouts to awesome reviews on iTunes for the show! Amazing stuff!

A new and fabulous piece of "old school" technology for the Wine For Normal People Podcast... Call us!!! 800-599-8478 (in the U.S.) or 1-415-226-9105 and dial extension 5 to leave your question for the Wine For Normal People Podcast, and we will play it on the show!

• Listener Question - from Brandy in the UK about food and wine pairing
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Main Topic - Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED! We cover these topics:
  1. Flavors in Wine
  2. Aging Wines
  3. Expensive Wines
  4. French Wine
  5. Cigars & Wine (controversial and I'm sure some of you will hate me for my view)
     
     
  6. High Scoring Wines (and Wine Critics)
  7. Screw Caps (vs. Corks)
     
     
     
     
• Grape of the Week - Tempranillo

And a special and amazing thanks to Sean Amann for creating an awesome intro for Grape of the Week!! If you want to submit your version or any other music or stuff for the show, drop me an email at elizabeth(at)winefornormalpeople(dot)com and we'll put it on the air!

Please comment on the Facebook Page and if you haven't done so already please review us on iTunes and we'll give you a shout out!

To access the podcast please click the player below or go here:

Ep 025 Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Readmore »»

An Affordable Bordeaux That's Only Getting Better: Château de Camensac

I love French wine. Why? Because the wines from there really do taste like the land in which they grow and that's not the case with all wine. I can never mistake what I call "the Bordeaux stink," the funky, earthy character of every red Bordeaux I've ever had. A friend of mine always teases me that I like my wines dirty...ok, I'm guilty.

I've covered Bordeaux in my Bordeaux Primer, so I'm not going to go into lots of detail on the region, but I will say that whenever I talk Bordeaux in my classes people seem to think that it's a place that exclusively churns out really expensive wines.

Nope. I've had lots of good Bordeaux for $15. Bordeaux creates a virtual sea of wine. The area is about 290,000 acres. It creates 38% of all still wine (not bubbly or dessert) made. Four out of 10 people who live in the area are employed in wine. Most of that wine is not part of the 1855 classification (see the primer for what the heck this is)...

But then again, some of it is. And I got a chance to pop open a fifth growth the other night and was in heaven. Lest you think all this stuff is ridiculously expensive, the bottle, from one of the best vintages in recent Bordeaux history, was $25. It's from one of the "lesser" Châteaux in the classification, one that people frown on and think shouldn't be in the classification. I'm not going to make a judgment either way, but I will tell you that the 2005 from Château de Camensac was amazing and I'd drink it all day long!

Part of the reason people are jerky about Camensac is that it's not located in the communes where most of the top wines are located: Pauilliac, St-Julien, Margaux, and St-Estephe (on the left side of the map). It's in an area called the Haut-Médoc, specifically in St. Laurent-Médoc. Close to the best areas, but not quite there.

Still, this place is amazing for wine. It's got perfect stony soils with great drainage (a must for grapes) and the Château grows Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot only (most places also grow Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec for the blend too).

The Château has been around since the early 1800s and was outrageously high quality through the 1800s, but it languished for the first part of the 1900s and in 1964 it was taken over by the Forner brothers, who owned Marques de Caceres in Rioja. Despite owners that knew what they were doing, Camensac still didn't really get the love it needed to get acclaim.

But all isn't lost. In 2005 the owners of the very awesome second growth, Gruaud Larose, bought the property and there are high hopes this may mean that things are about to take a turn for the delicious at Camensac. If the 2005 vintage is any indication of where they are going with this new acquisition, we're all in good shape (although I'll say that 2005 is considered one of the top vintages in the last 30 years, and it would be hard to mess up in that year, there's no denying that the Château is in good hands). I'll give a full review, but let me give you a hint: It's definitely a "DRINK"!

The Wine: Château de Camensac
The Grape: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot
Where it's from: The Left Bank (south side) of Bordeaux
Alcohol: 13%
Vintage: 2005
Price: $25.99

Color: With a majority of the dark Cabernet Sauvignon and a year with good ripeness on the grapes, this was a darker color than most Bordeaux I drink. It was a brownish maroon -- like prune juice. Totally opaque with a watery edge when I tilted the glass. It looked like it was going to pack a punch of flavor.

Smell: Oh, yeah. The Bordeaux stink was kicking. There was a real note of gravel and soil -- this was a deliciously dirty wine, with a real feeling that it was from the land. Under a dark cherry and ripe plum fruit note, there was also a sweet spice flavor like a combo of cinnamon with some cocoa powder. Cabernet can smell like herbs or vegetables, and this had a real pronounced minty smell that was super fresh.

Taste: Reminded me of sipping an espresso or coffee, and since I love both these beverages, this was a great wine for me. There was a distinct bitter note and with the prominent but not overbearing mouth-drying tannins and some refreshing acid, it could have been a Starbucks blend. It had that earthy, gravelly flavor but with red and black cherry, dried plum, vanilla, and cinnamon flavors. This was a rich, flavorful wine with lots going on.

Pairing: I am not a red meat eater, however M.C. Ice has told me that I have an uncanny ability to pair wine with it and this time was par for the course. He had a filet with this wine and was in seventh heaven. The tannins of the wine and the protein in the meat combine to make the meat a velvety, soft, and fruity treat that had M.C. Ice giddy and still talking about the next day. For you non red meat eaters, you can simulate this sensation with a portabella mushroom -- you just need something kind of meaty in texture and you're good to go.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. This is an affordable way to enjoy a quality Bordeaux. 2005 was an exceptional year for Bordeaux, and it was also the year that new ownership took over at Camensac. I think this is a good indication of where this Château is heading and I love what I see. I can't wait to try it again -- an excellent wine.
Readmore »»

Muscadet: Refreshing, Delicious, But A Tad Weird...

I was with a client last week, doing a "shopping 101" session. After we were done, I asked my friend who works at the store if he had any "must-trys" in the world of very refreshing whites, something I sorely needed since it's been a million degrees here with about 100% humidity every day (ok, so it's hyperbole, but go with me...it feels like that).

He brought me over to the French section and told me they had some great Muscadet. I always forget about this wine (since many are forgettable) and I was excited to revisit it.

The Muscadet (moose-kah-DAY) area is in the far Western Loire Valley -- right on the Atlantic coast surrounding the city of Nantes. The wine is made from the white, fairly neutral tasting Melon de Bourgogne grape (meaning "Melon of Burgundy," indicating where the grape is from).

Originally planted here by the Dutch in the 1700s after a hard frost killed off the existing vineyards which had mostly red grapes, Melon de Bourgogne was harvested with the goal of distilling it and selling the booze all over Europe. The enterprising Dutch gave the grape its start and eventually production moved from spirits to wine.

Today Muscadet is the most produced wine of the Loire, and in recent times, it has been pretty awful. Producers have made terrible bulk wine and the reputation of the area has suffered. It's a real shame, given that this region has a moderate maritime climate and is full of rivers, varied terrain, and diverse soils -- all great for grape growing.

The biggest sub-appellation/area (there are four) and the one you'll usually see in the US is Muscadet Sevre et Maine, named for the two Loire tributaries (the Sevre and the Maine) running through it. Most of the appellation lies on the slopes of the river with lots of ideal well-drained, sandy and gravelly soils. With all this geography going for it, often this wine can be great and is the most consistent of the four Muscadet sub-regions.


Before we get to the wine at hand, I do want to prove that every grape/region has a "behind the music" (even one that's been slammed for making plonk) so I'm going to tell you three really weird things about this wine that make it interesting:

Weird thing 1: The name. Muscadet is not a grape (the grape is Melon de Bougogne) and it's not, as most French wines are, named for a place (which is technically the Pays Nantais). Muscadet is actually a description of the wine -- "musky tasting" and now indicates the area where the wine is made. I guess I could accept this, but the wine is so NOT musky tasting. At it's base, it's just lemony, salty, and acidic...and very simple. Strange that it has this name.

Weird thing 2: Alcohol content. Muscadet is the only wine in France that has a maximum alcohol content (12%). This ensures it will always be on the lighter side, regardless of how great the weather was that year and how ripe the grapes got. The French government regulates this, so there's no wiggle room.

Weird thing 3: Winemaking is described on the label. Muscadet is one of the only wines where the winemaking process, sur lie, is part of the name of the wine and winemakers have to meet certain criteria to add it. We've already said that Melon de Bourgogne is a total yawn on its own, so to give it some umph, winemakers' main tool is sur lie aging. This is a process where the wine sits on dead yeast cells after fermentation, which break up and create a nutty, creamy flavor. To be able to put it on a bottle of Muscadet, the wine has to sit on the lees for a winter and the wines can't be filtered, the juice is just taken directly from the barrel/resting on the lees to the bottle. Pretty oddball that you'd call out how a wine is made right on the label, but that's Muscadet.

For a wine that's made from a very low brow grape, it's pretty high maintenance. But that's ok. Especially when you find one that's more than insipid white.

I'm happy to report that the wine I had was one of the most impressive Muscadets I've had to date. It's from 8th generation winemakers Pierre and Monique Luneau-Papin, who hand harvest the grapes to ensure flavor is preserved. They use traditional techniques, and age the wine sur lie for 6 months to give it rich flavor. Luneau-Papin is considered one of the best producers of this wine and I agree with that assessment ...here goes:

The Wine: Domaine Pierre de la Grange, Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie
The Grape: 100% Melon de Bourgogne
Where it's from: The Pays Nantais/Muscadet area in the Western Loire Valley of France
Alcohol: 12%
Vintage: 2009
Price: $12.99

Color: A light straw color with just a little yellow tinge, it was pretty non-descript in color. Typical of Muscadet.

Smell: Wow, this thing smelled like sea water (not fishy, just like being on a boat). It was salty but also had a fresh basil smell. Apples, a little bit of honeysuckle and a TON of that mineral/water running over rocks/waterfall smell made my mouth water. The wine also smelled like laundry hanging out to dry. It was super-fresh. Couldn't wait to try it.

Taste: It totally lived up to the smell. It tasted like all the things it smelled like -- laundry, basil, minerals, and sea air. It also tasted like a buttered croissant (from the sur lie aging) but was a little acidic and lemony, which added a great balance to the creaminess. Delicious and refreshing!

Pairing: Seafood: nothing else to say. I don't eat oysters, but if I did this would be the wine for those. Amazing seafood wine. Bet it would be great with pesto because of the basil note -- a great complementary pairing. It's great alone too -- I did that and it was pretty damn good too.

Drink or down the sink?: Drink. If you like a refreshing, light, minerally wine, this is just perfect for you. A simple, but simply delicious wine! Readmore »»

A Delicious Surprise from a Small Corner of the Southern Rhone: Chateau Roustan from Costières de Nimes

The Rhône Valley is a big place. It's got a northern region where Syrah reigns supreme in reds and native (and lesser known) white grapes Viognier, Roussane, and Marsanne play lead roles and supporting roles to Syrah (yes, they blend white and red there). It has an even bigger southern region, which is super diverse and contains the famous Côtes-du-Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape designations.

I'm going to do a primer on the Northern Rhône soon, and then I'll get to the Southern Rhône shortly after, but for this post, I'll concentrate on a lesser known area of the Southern Rhône from where I have previously never tried a wine. It's called Costières de Nimes (Coat-Tee-AIRE d'Neem) and its the most southern of the Rhône's vineyards. It's so far south and west that it used to be considered part of the Languedoc region, which is bigger and less prestigious than the Rhône.

This is an area with a long history of winemaking and a whole hell of a lot of pride. Greeks were the first to cultivate vines in the Costières de Nimes. They alighted from the Mediterranean, found some native grapes, and in 500 BC started making the good stuff. Centuries later, Romans moved in, developed the area and it's rumored that Julius Ceasar's soldiers hung out here and imbibed in the fruit of the vine! In the 8th century, the real wine-lovers and perfectionists -- the monks from various sects (Benedictines, Cistercians, oh my!) started making fabulous wine.

Things clicked along for a while and then the world got a better taste of wines from this area when, in the 17th century, the Canal du Midi, a waterway connecting the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, opened international markets for this region's wine. The region was awarded its own designated, controlled origin (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) in 1986.

A funny thing about this region -- bullfighting seems to be a huge deal here. Although I didn't see anything in my research on Spanish influence, the web site for the wines of the region mentions two festival days involving bullfighting and a Pamplona-like bull chase...kind of not what I'd expect in Southern France, but what do I know?

I guess I better stick to the wine...

Like a lot of the Southern Rhône there are 5 main grapes that drive the boat in these wines: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Cinsault. Growing in a hot climate, which experiences some crazy storms, and the Mistral wind that comes from the North and can rip all the grapes off a vine in seconds, these grapes are each hearty and resilient and each add a special something to the blend. The soils tend to be stony and alluvial (deposits from rivers that look like stones and dirt) and can add a dusty mineral note to the wine.

Although similar in climate and in grapes used, wines from the Costières de Nimes are nothing like their richer neighbors in the east and northeast Rhône Valley (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacqueras, Gigondas). These wines tend to be lighter in style with less complexity -- more everyday wines than ageble ones! It's also worth noting that because of all the sucky weather in this area, vintage matters a lot. The wine below was a 2008, which was a harder vintage in the Rhône with wind, rain, and a wicked Mistral wind that lead to a smaller crop of just ok fruit -- very different from 2005 or 2007, for instance.

And now to the wine, which I was surprised to find and bought out of curiosity -- having never before seen a Costières de Nimes on a shelf!

The Wine: Chateau Roustan
Where It's From: Costières de Nimes, Rhône Valley, France
The Grapes: 50% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Grenache
Vintage: 2008
Price: $12.99

Color: Syrah and Mourvedre are both pretty dark varieties so, not surprisingly, this wine was a rich ruby. It had a pretty watery rim, which I find typical of Rhône Syrah (the Australian Shirazes are so much darker and hold color to the edge practically) and medium legs, meaning moderate alcohol (it was 13%, which is pretty standard).

Smell: I really love when a wine tastes like it's from somewhere. There are so many wines out there that are generic-tasting -- not so with this puppy. Flowers, blueberry, cherry, and spice all wrapped together in a wine that was like a bottle of expensive perfume. I smelled something like a pecan sandy cookie too. The best parts of this wine for me though -- the stinky, mineral, dust smells and then the new leather that anchored this wine to the land it grew in. Very interesting, in a good way.

Taste: Syrah is known for dark fruit flavors, high tannin, and leathery flavors. Mourvedre is used for its musky, earthy notes. Grenache adds alcohol, acid, cherry, and other red fruit notes. In this wine, together these made something really delicious. Blueberry syrup, orange rind, sour cherry, and warm cinnamon spice were all over this wine. Dark flowers and roasted walnuts hung around in the background. The wine had noticeable tannin and a little alcohol burn, but it was all in balance. Even with all that flavor, the wine was medium bodied -- it wasn't huge.

Food Pairings: Like I said, this isn't a big daddy wine. Hard cheeses and salty meats like prosciutto are great for this wine. Perhaps it's because of the bullfighting stuff, but I also envision this with Spanish tapas -- mushrooms in olive oil and garlic or patatas bravas (spicy fried potatoes in a special spicy aioli).

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. A solid wine for a great value. If you like full-flavored, blockbuster wines, this will be too subtle for you, but I liked it's lightness and complex smells and tastes. It's a good find from a small, historical, and pretty awesome region.

Note: If you can't find a Costières de Nimes, look for a Côtes-du-Rhône with Syrah as the main grape, or a Côtes-du-Ventoux or Côtes-du-Luberon, which should have some similarly delicious characteristics! Readmore »»

Big increase in French organic viticulture

I'm still flat out on the current book project but thought I'd post this link to a report in The Drinks Business on the latest figures on the extent of organic viticulture in France which now accounts for nearly 6% of total wine production.

More interesting is the rate at which the rate of conversion is speeding up. According to Elizabeth Mercier of France Agence Bio at Millésime Bio in Montpellier last week Languedoc-Roussillon’s organic vineyard coverage increased by 51.9% from 2008 to 2009 (the last date for which statistics are available), Rhône-Alpes by 50.8%, Aquitaine by 45.2%, Burgundy by 43.2% and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur by 34.6%.

The report points out that growth was slower in the Loire and Alsace (7.1% and 13.5% respectively over the same period) but doesn't take account of the fact that those regions already have a significant number of organic and biodynamic producers.

There are also current figures for Italy and Spain.

Whilst on the subject of France I've found a new site, Club du Vin Authentique which has a very interesting - and alarming - feature on the level of pesticides in conventionally produced wine. (In French, I'm afraid) Readmore »»

A Primer on Bordeaux: The 4 Things You Need To Know

What can I say about Bordeaux? I mean, we don't exactly think of it as "Wine For Normal People" material. I remember seeing it written for the first time and thinking, "THAT'S how you spell it? With an X? Weird." And then there's the issue that it just kind of sounds expensive. Wine snobs talk about it all the time and go on and on about vintages and Banks and other confusing stuff. Kind of makes you want to throw your hands up and walk away.

But here's the thing: when I first learned about Bordeaux, I was kind of surprised that it wasn't as complicated as I thought. There's a lot to know if you want to become an expert on it, but once you get a few basics under your belt it's really not that bad. Right now you're thinking that I'm full of s*&t, but I'm really not. I promise.

I think 4 basic points should make you feel like you've got a handle on it: the grapes and wine styles of the region, geography, the importance of weather (vintage), and the prominence of producers in the region. Then I'll tell you about an awesome wine I had last night from the region and how it rocked my world.

First a quick preface that I pulled off the Web from Bordeaux Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux. I'm citing facts because I don't think they're so boring and they help answer the question: "Why is Bordeaux such a BFD?":

• The area is about 290,000 acres (117,500 ha)
• It represents 38% of all still wine (not bubbly or dessert) sold in the world
• It has 8,650 winegrowers
• It is responsible for 55,000 jobs (that's 4 out of 10 people employed in the French wine industry)
• In 2009 (a recession year, no less), it produced $3.37 billion Euros in revenue
• It is the largest exporter of AOC (controlled appellation wine) in France.

If you were wondering what part of the hype was...that should give you a good start. Wine in Bordeaux is big, big business and it behooves the Bordelais to keep quality high...and most of the time they do.

Now for 4 basic things about Bordeaux that can serve as a cheat sheet:

1. Grapes and Wine Types
Ok, so it's not as easy as Burgundy, where there are really only three main grapes to know (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay), but Bordeaux deals mainly in 8 grapes...3 whites and 5 reds:

• White (11% of all grapes planted): Sémillon (53%), Sauvignon Blanc (38%), Muscadelle (6%)
  
• Red (89% of all grapes planted): Merlot (63%), Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), Cabernet Franc (11%), and less than 1% of Malbec, Petit Verdot, and some others.
  

Almost all Bordeaux is a blend of two or more of the grapes above. Why? Two reasons. First, to add complexity to the wine and intensity of flavor, which is what makes these wines so unique. Second, farming plain and simple -- each ripen at different times so the winemaker has a hedge if anything goes wrong with any one variety and can make up for it with others. Smart thinking -- remember that wine is just glorified agriculture.

So now you'll know that when you see a bottle of Bordeaux, it's a blend of the grapes above. It will be similar each time you get taste it, with variations, but now you know the recipe, so hopefully you'll feel more confident picking it up.

2. Geography
I'm not going to be too detailed on this, because there are 60 appellations or different areas with kind of distinct wine styles in Bordeaux.

Bordeaux’s name actually originates from the French phrase “au bord de l’eau,” which means "along the water." It's not just some romantic name -- the area does actually lie along the banks of three rivers, the Dordogne in the north, the Garonne in the south, and the Gironde, into which both flow and which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

From a climatic standpoint, the area is pretty ideal. The warming maritime influence of the rivers, along with a pine forest in the south helps protect this otherwise very exposed area from the tumultuous weather and severe frosts that often come in winter. From a geological standpoint, the rivers are a dividing line for the types of grapes that grow best on each side of the river. And here's where the whole "Bank" thing comes into play -- banks just are sides of the river.

There are three main areas of Bordeaux:

• The Right Bank is on the Dordogne and the Gironde River (including the famous areas of St-Émilion and Pomerol) and is famous for its mainly Merlot with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon as supporting players (you may have heard of Petrus, which is usually one of the most expensive bottles in the world).
  
• The Left Bank on the Gironde and Garonne, includes the Médoc, where some very expensive Châteaux are located. It is known for wines made of a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon, always blended with Merlot and/or Cabernet Franc for softness and texture. One area, up river, called Graves makes great reds and excellent dry whites too.
  
• An area in between the two rivers before they converge, called Entre-Deux-Mers (translated to "between two seas," but really it’s between two rivers) is known for dry whites that are totally affordable and lighter in style.
  
• Sauternes and Barsac, technically on the Left Bank, need to be called out separately, since they make sweet dessert wines from grapes that have been infected by a fungus called Botrytis, which makes the grape look disgusting, but the wine taste rad.
  

3. Vintage Variation and Aging
I am an animal lover, so I hate to beat a dead horse, but I will say it again: grape growing is agriculture. Some years Mother Nature is kind, some years, not so much. In years where it all works, prices rise and wine geeks get excited. If you pay attention to weather conditions, then you’ll understand vintage – very simple but something people love to complicate.

With that horse flogged, a note on aging. Bordeaux are known for their age-ability. A good Bordeaux from a good year can age for decades because the tannins in the wine act as a natural preservative. Over time, the tannins loose a lot of the “fight” in them as the remain in an anaerobic environment, and mellow. That means that older wine tends to be softer, and have more complex flavors, as the chemical compounds change over time and combine with the other elements in the bottle.

Can all Bordeaux age? No way. Young white Bordeaux should be consumed within a few years and less expensive red Bordeaux is meant to be consumed within 5 years. Don’t hold onto it unless it’s of high quality, or you’ll lose the enjoyment it can offer you now. Not all great wine has to age!

4. Classification Systems
Ok, the final and most complicated point: Bordeaux, more than any other area, is obsessed with classifying its Châteaux by perceived quality. There are three main classifications that have been done in this large area, and none are without controversy. They are: Graves, St-Émilion, and most important..the 1855 classification.

What's the 1855 Classification? In 1855, Napoleon III requested a ranking of wines of the region from best to worst for his Exposition Universelle in Paris. The result: A ranking of the Châteaux by the price they fetched. A simple demand-driven strategy, and not entirely foolhardy, there were 61 wines classified into 5 growths/levels or “Cru.” Four Châteaux were at the top and the rest fell in the other 4 buckets until a price point was reached that they didn’t feel was worthy of classifying.

Huge controversy erupted that still exists today because all the Châteaux were on the Left Bank, and most were in the Medoc area – the entire Right Bank was shunned, as were other parts of Bordeaux that churn out amazing wines. To complicate issues further, since 1855 only 1 change has been made (Château Mouton-Rothschild was elevated from a second to a first growth) even though Châteaux have changed hands and quality has ebbed and flowed. Nevertheless, the top 5 Cru still garner the highest prices and are considered some of the best wines in the world. History reigns supreme on this one.

____________________________________________________________

So those are Bordeaux basics. Here, the Châteaux are top dog. The best happen to be on the best land and can therefore produce the best wines, but ultimately Bordeaux is a marketing driven business and, frankly, it's a caste system, not a meritocracy. That said, there is a spectrum of great affordable wines. The region pumps out 700 million bottles a year, and most of it is just affordable table wine that can be quite phenomenal and give us peons a glimpse of what it must be like to have the $700/bottle stuff that those who live high on the hog enjoy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Case in point:
The Wine: Château Haut-La- Pereyre
Where It's From: Bordeaux Superieur (Sourced from slightly better grapes than regular 'ole Bordeaux, the wine is aged 12 months before being released)
The Grapes: Some combination of the Bordeaux grapes, probably mostly Merlot. They don't have a web site so it's anyone's guess
Vintage: 2005
Price: $15.99

Color: This gorgeous wine was the color of dark red rose petals -- a deep red with a brownish tinge. The wine had a watery rim and evenly spaced tears, meaning the wine had a medium alcohol level (water and alcohol separate, water runs out first and the "tears" are the alcohol left over), typical of a Bordeaux, which is generally moderate in alcohol.

Smell: Here's a typical Bordeaux characteristic: fruit takes a backseat to more organic smells. Wet dusty road, soil, and gravel mixed in with chocolate and coffee and a dark floral smell. There was a smoky mocha aroma and a very strong hit of mint on the nose too. The oak (which imbues the grape juice with the coffee, smoke, and chocolate as it ages) played so well against the blackcurrant, and dark cherry flavors that were the backbone of the aroma.

Taste: The wine delivered on the smell -- lots of mint, blackcurrant, and smoke appeared, but there was even more to it with every sip. Chocolate covered cherries, blood orange (sweet-tart and citrusy), raisins, and licorice dominated the flavor. It was really elegant -- medium in body with light tannins, low acid, and a super long finish that stuck around. It was so subtle and complex that it kept me wanting to go back for more to pick out new things and savor the stuff I knew was there.

Food Pairings: This wine is not a blockbuster and it's best served with dishes that won't out do it. Simple preparation is the key here. Meats that aren't overcooked are key. Herb rubs, simple reductions, or even soy-based sauces on medium to rare meat, mushrooms, or hearty veggies would work awesomely well.

A note on vintage: So, here's the tricky thing. This wine will probably be available in a few vintages and you'll need to check it out before you buy. In Bordeaux 2005 was an awesome year for weather and so most of the wines from that year I've had from the region have been amazing, regardless of price. 2006 and 2008 were pretty good too. 2009 was freaking amazing. 2007, maybe skip it if that's all that's available -- the weather was changeable, and the wines just didn't have the umph that Mother Nature is capable of.

Drink or Down the Sink?: DRINK!!! I'm trying to figure out how to get more '05 of this wine before it disappears. Amazing wine, amazing value. In fact, it was so good, MC Ice and I refuse to finish the bottle -- we just want to keep savoring it for as long as possible and seeing how it changes each night -- dorky, yeah, but it's that good!
Readmore »»

A Cure For Red Wine Ennui: Bandol from Provence

Although I do love the very popular wine grapes and blends that are widely available (Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc), this week I found that I had grape ennui. I was completely bored of all the usual suspects and I was craving something different. So when I went to one of my favorite wine shops and I saw a great deal on a Bandol (BAHN-dol), I grabbed it and cracked it open almost as soon as I got home. Bandol is not a grape. It's a place in Provence, in Southern France.

Amidst the lavender, olives, and beautifully patterned fabrics there is, like seemingly everywhere in the Mediterranean basin, wine. To be fair, most of the wine from this region is only passable, at best. 80% of it is Rose, which tastes like nectar from the gods when you're sipping it in St. Tropez at a beachside cafe, but has oh-so-noticeably lost its spunk by the time it travels the miles to reach us (wherever we may be that is decidedly NOT St. Tropez). The real action in Provence wines is in the 15% that's red...now we're talkin'. There are three red wine areas on the "ones to watch" list from Provence, but only 1 that I can ever find. The three: Cassis, Bellet, and Bandol, with the latter being the only one I've been able to try.

What makes these so special? These wines are made from the very powerful, luscious Mourvèdre (moo-VED-rrr) grape, which is a plummy, spicy, woodsy delight that is rarely made alone but rather part of a blend because it has such cajones. Wines from Bandol contain a minimum of 50% Mourvèdre, but can be up to 95% of the grape. They are often blended with Grenache and Cinsault to soften up the bold, tannic, and meaty flavors of the lead grape. Syrah and Carignan can also be added in small proportions to add depth and soften, respectively. Mourvèdre is so strong that it can't be without oak aging to tame it and in the bottle, these wines can age for 15 years and may still not be ready!

Because the wine world isn't confusing enough (ha!), this grape has a doppelgänger (this is one of my favorite words, FYI) -- its known as Monastrell (moan-a-STREL) or Mataró (maht-ah-ROH) in Spain and is native to that country. It's wonderful there, but the French have made it their own -- mostly because they can: its flavor and character changes based on the soil, the climate, the sun exposure, and the intangibles of the vineyard (all put together, it's what the French call "terroir"). In Bandol, over the last few million years, massive erosion took place following the ice age, giving the area beautifully well-drained, stony soils composed of granite and sandstone, which the Mourvèdre vine takes to like a duck to water.

Growing in tight little bushes that can stand up to the heavy, ferocious gusts of cold wind that come from northern continental Europe and is known as the Mistral this tough, muscly grape produces a small amount of very potent wine that is delicious to those of us who like bold flavors. The grape is mainly used for adding a kick to wines that otherwise may lack tannins and brawn (Mourvèdre is a big component in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, for example, and many Côtes du Rhône).

A quick dork out on history of this region for a minute, since we HAVE TO give props to one of the oldest winemaking regions in France. Grapes started growing here 2,600 years ago, most likely when the Phoenicians took over the area we now know as Provence. They probably brought Monastrell from Spain, where they had already been cultivating grapes for several centuries. When they arrived in the Gulf of Bandol, they found a unique situation, what the site Vins de Bandol (which is the source of much of my info on this post and which I'm kind of in love with for its regional pride) describes as a natural ampitheater -- the area is surrounded by mountains on three sides that keep in warmth, while providing a perfect outlet for export on the south. The 8 communes or areas that make up the Bandol appellation or region all have a warm coastal climate, great soils, and enough but not too much rain.

So returning to history, nature's gift was awesome for the commerce-minded Phoenicians. Cha-ching! They could easily export the vino to far flung places and make cash without much transportation overhead (inland locales like Champagne or Burgundy required a trip down a river -- why waste the time when Bordeaux and Bandol were basically on the ocean? Leave those places to the monks!). After the initial investment of painstakingly building stone terraces into the mountainside (which are called restanques and are still there and still used today, although slightly upgraded, I'm sure), the Phoenicians and all the administrations after who owned Bandol, made some great money off the wine trade there and in the process built the reputation of this small enclave.

So apart from the fact that its cool to drink the same wine that Louis XV drank, and that this is one of the oldest and best kept secrets of bold red wine in France, you should know that Bandol producers have a very serious commitment to quality and to what is known as "typicity," which is just a fancy way of saying that, within a few degrees of separation, all the wines should taste similar and have an essence that tells you they are from Bandol. This is a nice safety net feature and one all European wines are supposed to have if they bear their country's version of the French Appellation Origine Controllee (AOC -- in Italy DOC/DOCG, in Spain DO, in Germany QmP, in Portugal DOC). Unfortunately, I find that this is not always true even in high quality regions like Bordeaux or Chianti...but that's a story for another post.

Bandol, in my limited experience, is an exception and is pretty great...so here's an example.

The Wine: Domaine Sorin Bandol
Where It's From: Bandol, in the South of France
The Grapes: Mourvèdre 85%, Syrah 10%, Carignan 5%
Vintage: 2006
Price: $19.99

Color: As expected from a Mourvèdre, this wine is uber dark red -- a red black color right up to the rim where it turned a brownish, watery garnet. After 4 years, this wine had heavy tears and was full of sediment -- a bunch stayed in the shoulder after I poured it into my glass. This was going to be a hearty, bold wine with lots of omph if the color was any indicator.

Smell: Sniffing this wine was like hiking in the woods! It smelled like a combo of decaying leaves, pine needles, and then kind of like an animal skin. The alcohol was standing tall at 14% -- it made my nose tingle and I actually coughed on the inhalation! On a second sniff, the wine did have some plum and sour cranberry scents, plus something like that lingonberry jam you get at IKEA (if you know what I'm talking about. My mom had it at her house so I tried it...I am too immature to actually buy it since it sounds to me like dingleberry or linger-berry, which...ew). After sniffing it a few times (short sniffs, of course so I don't burn out my nose) I realized that it kind of reminded me of a Bordeaux in terms of having a little stinky funk, which I love.

Taste: The wine didn't really taste like what it smelled like, which was fine but slightly disappointing. It tasted kind of like edible violets. There was a distinct spiciness to it that was almost like mulled wine or a spicy cranberry sauce. I loved the sweet clove and cinnamon notes, although I would have preferred the wine be more complex. It was medium bodied and had medium tannins -- nothing outstanding or really bold.

Food: Although game and lamb would normally be classic pairings with a bold Bandol, this particular wine was spicy but not strong. Rather than stronger flavored game, grilled vegetables and beef would be the best pairing because the smokiness of the grilling would go well with the warm spices and fruit flavors of the wine without overwhelming it. We had it with some cranberry encrusted goat cheese and hard VSOP Gouda cheese, and it went really well with both -- the goat cheese tasted creamier and fruitier, and the wine's spices really popped against the nuttiness of the Gouda.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink, however I would try another Bandol if given the choice. This wine has characteristics of a great Bandol, but it's not enough for me. I think for $20 you can do better...hell, for $12 try Hécula from Spain, a Monastrell that kicks serious ass.
Readmore »»