In Training for Hospice du Rhone

Next weekend I'm off to the 17th annual Hospice du Rhône tasting, an event held in Paso Robles to celebrate Rhône varieties and the winemakers who use them to create world-class wines. I am something of a Syrah maniac (a tendency I try to keep under control here on the blog) and love Viognier, too, so I'm really looking forward to tasting and learning about these wines.

To get in training for the event, I participated in the Hospice du RhôneTwitter Taste Live last Friday. (I can't seem to locate any feed of the tasting notes, but you can read east coast co-host 1 Wine Dude's report here.) From Europe through several time zones to the west coast, this provided an opportunity to taste a number of wines that were made with Rhône varieties from all over the world. I focused on wines from Australia and the US, and made a particular effort to get a sense of the differences between the wines made in US regions.

Here are my favorites from the tasting, and some initial observations.


Rhône Reds Can Be Larger Than Life. We tasted some big reds. The one I liked best was the 2005 Kinton Syrah from Santa Barbara County. With a whopping 15% alc/vol, I thought it was still a balanced wine with aromas of pepper, plum, cherry, and roasted herb. It tasted of plums, roasted coffee, and mint, with some spice cabinet flavors in the aftertaste. This was a lot of wine, but if you are looking for a big red, look no further. (available for $15-$23; good QPR)


I Love Mourvedre--Young or Old. I sampled two Mourvedres, one young and one from the 2003 vintage. I loved them both. The youngster--the 2006 Tablas Creek Mourvedre from Paso Robles--was a delicious wine with meaty and spicy aromas and flavors full of lashings of plum and a nifty espresso aftertaste. This wine is delicious now--but I wonder what it will be in another six years. My experience with the 2003 Cline Cellars Mourvedre Ancient Vines from Contra Costa County makes me think it will be even more spectacular. I purchased this wine three years ago in and when I popped the cork I was greeted by delicious aromas of spice, earth, cherries, and plums. There was terrific spiciness in the flavors, with a backdrop of plums, black cherries, and chocolate. (find the Tablas Creek Mourvedre for around $35, very good QPR; find more recent vintages of the Cline Mourvedre for $13-$22, excellent QPR)

Don't Forget to Look North for Rhône Varieties: Two of my favorite wines Friday night came from regions I don't normally associate with Rhône varieties: northern California's Sonoma Valley and Washington State. The 2007 Anaba Coriol White from the Sonoma Valley was one of the most exciting white wines I've had this year. Made from a blend of 69% Viognier, 15 % Roussanne, 10% Marsanne, and 6% Grenache Blanc, this extraordinary blend had aromas of sea salt and fennel pollen that reminded me of a stretch of Coastal 1 I know very well, where the sea is on one side and wild fennel grows on the other. There were flavors of apples, honey, melon, and spice. I'd highly recommend this wine. So, too, would I highly recommend the 2007 Substance Counoise from Washington State's Walla Walla Valley. This wine had oodles of character, with aromas of rose petals, roasted herbs, and earth. The flavors were a mouth-watering blend of cherry, leather, grilled meat, and pepper with a spicy aftertaste. (the Anaba Coriol White is available for $32 from the winery, excellent QPR; the Substance Counoise is available for $18 from the winery, excellent QPR)

I'll have a lot more to say about the Rhône in a little over week, so stay tuned.

Full Disclosure: I received the Anaba and Substance wines as samples.

Taking the "Where?" Out of Buying Washington Wine

Does anyone else remember WBW #34? It was hosted by Catie, the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman and we were asked to find a Washington Cabernet to drink for the event. As a special request, Catie suggested we try to find something NOT made by Chateau Ste. Michelle--a great producer, to be sure, but she wanted us to experience a wider range of Washington State choices.

I went to four stores, came up empty, and ended up drinking Chateau Ste. Michelle. I'm all for Washington wines, but where are you supposed to find them in Southern California?

The Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman wants you to drink Washington wine. And to help you, she's opened up her own online wine store with a terrific choice of bottles to tempt your tastebuds. I had my first shopping experience with her just a few weeks ago, and though I haven't tried any of the wines yet, I wanted to urge you to go and see what Catie has on her virtual shelves.

I checked out with some Lemberger from College Cellars, an Austrian grape variety that is widely planted in Washington state. Also in my basket were a Sauvignon Blanc with a great story behind it from Couvillion, and a dessert wine from Forgeron made with Gewurztraminer. I bought six bottles in all (full haul pictured at left), and the best part was not a single bottle cost more than $20. For those of you who are interested in a splurge wine, I'd suggest you consider one of the great Washington Cabernets that Catie has in stock, from wineries such as Couvillion, DaMa, and Garrison Creek. Click here for details on all the wines that are available. If you spend more than $100, you will get a free Wild Walla Walla Woman corkscrew made by Rialto. I love mine--it's sturdy enough that I seriously considered using it for a small home improvement project, and it is compact enough to pack in your picnic basket this summer.

Thanks to Catie for providing those of us who don't live in Washington state with such a great resource for its wines. I'll be updating you on these bottles after they've settled down a bit from their shipping over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Summer in a Glass: the 2005 L'Ecole No. 41 Chenin Blanc "Walla Voila"

March is a tough month in most parts of the country. I remember when I lived on the east coast I always felt like spring was NEVER coming. Ever. Summer seemed a complete impossibility in March. All that warmth and color. No way that was ever coming back.

If you are longing for summer, why not get a taste of it in the glass? Pick up a baguette, some Cypress Grove "Purple Haze" goat cheese if you can find it (has fennel and lavender pollen in it, and it's fabulous), and the very good QPR 2005 L'Ecole No. 41 Chenin Blanc "Woila Voila." ($12 directly from L'Ecole No. 41, or under $15 through a variety of merchants). Tear off a chunk of bread, smear it with some tart, summery goat cheese, and take a sip of this luscious wine and you will instantly be transported to June. (photo taken with permission of pabulum.ext212 from a photo essay of a vineyard trip on Long Island wineries on her blog)

This wine was pale gold in color, conjuring up images of honeysuckle and yellow roses. Aromas of flowers like honeysuckle and apple blossom followed. When you took a sip the most striking first impression was of a satiny mouthfeel--richer than silky, but not at all syrupy or unctuous. Flavors of honey-dipped apples were accompanied by a brisk, citrusy finish. This wine was slightly off-dry, and would be a good companion to spicy barbequed chicken or buffalo wings, or a miso and soy marinated salmon fillet done up on the grill (if you can find your grill under the snow). Goat cheese and chenin blanc is not exactly a classic pairing, but I found this worked in much the way that port complements blue cheese--the tang of the cheese and the slight sweetness of the wine were very good together.

L'Ecole no. 41 has been named the best regional winery every year from 2002 to 2006 by Wine and Spirits magazine. What a track record! They've been in business since 1983, and have been making old vine, vouvray-style chenin blanc since 1987. The word that crops up again and again on their website is "expressiveness," which is the goal of their viticultural and wine-making philosophy. This wine, which was so expressive of the chenin blanc grape and the summer in which the grapes were grown, really lived up to any expectations I had of their wines from the website. Try one, if you get a chance!