Vintage Champagne for Friday the 13th

I don't drink much vintage Champagne. Let's face it--until this year when I decided to get to know growers' champagne I didn't drink much Champagne at all, and even now it's a treat that gets poured into a flute only occasionally.

So when I saw a bottle of 1998 Jean-Noël Haton Champagne Brut peeking out from behind a $6 bottle of Spanish Macabeo at my beloved Chronicle Wine Cellar, I had to take it home with me. The fact that it was $19.95 only made it that much sweeter, and I felt very smug after Gus (one of the owners) said rather mournfully that he hadn't known there was still a bottle left.

It's been hard to find out very much about this branch of the Haton family and their winemaking. I know from one online source that Octave Haton founded the company in the town of Damery in 1928, and it is his great-grandson, Jean-Noel, who now runs the business and tends the family's 13 hectares. The area is known for its Pinot Noir, and only Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are used in the wine.

What did I think? I loved the chubby, Taittinger-style bottle that was much wider at the bottom than it was at the top. I was then struck by the deep gold color, which is not typical of NV Champagnes that I've tried. The color suggested age to me, just the way antique lace gets a shade or two darker over time. The mousse or foam on the top of the poured glass dissipated quickly, and there was an active, but not abundant, bead or bubble. This was not one of those wines where zillions of bubbles tickled your nose. What did tickle your nose were aromas of bread, yeast, and chalky stone. The flavors that followed were bready and intense, with toasted notes and a crisp aftertaste.

This was an excellent QPR Champagne--and I suspect I would have felt that way even if the wine had cost about twice as much. Sadly, I've not been able to find any more of it online, so unless you've got a bottle in the cellar you're going to have to take my word for it. However, D&M Wines in San Francisco stocks two other Haton Champagnes that are under $40, and Chicago Lake Liquors has the Brut NV (under $25) and the Rose NV (under $35) if you are willing to purchase a whole case.

Not a standard NV bubbly, by any stretch of the imagination, but a wine that seemed like something that Flappers would have sipped during wild parties in the 1920s, when the Haton's family business was started. If this is vintage Champagne--I love it.

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #46: Rhone Whites

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #46, the monthly online tasting event started nearly four years ago by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours. This month, I'm your host and for the theme I wanted to pick something summery, that wouldn't be hard for people to find, and would bring some under-appreciated grape varieties into the spotlight.

The varieties that I think best exemplify summer are white varieties associated with the Rhone: Bourboulenc, Clairette Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, Picardin, Picpoul, Roussanne, Ugni Blanc, and Viognier. These white grapes are grown all over the world, and produce wines that are rich in orchard and tropical fruit flavors, or have a bracing acidity that cools you down when its warm outsides. The wines made from these grapes are surprisingly versatile, and pair with a wide range of foods depending on how the fruit is treated during fermentation and aging. For this WBW you could drink any white Rhone variety or combination of varieties, from any region in the world, at any price point.

I decided to compare and contrast two wines: one made in the Rhone from a blend of Clairette and Grenache Blanc; and another made in Paso Robles, solely from Roussanne. The French white was aged in stainless steel; the Paso Robles white was kissed with some oak.

The first wine was the excellent QPR 2006 Ferraton Père & Fils Côtes du Rhône Samorëns ($12.99, domaine 547). The wine was made from organically and biodynamically produced Grenache Blanc and Clairette grapes grown in Tain l'Hermitage. Samuel Ferraton and Chapoutier have been in partnership on the property for the past decade, which has brought new resources and attention to the Ferraton operation. When I opened this bottle of wine, it smelled just like summer with aromas of pear, almond, and a bit of flower as the wine warmed up. The pale gold color was equally summery, and the flavors were redolent of summery orchard fruits like pear and peach. Because it was aged in stainless steel the wine retained a fresh intensity that would make it very appealing on a warm June or July day. An interesting nutty almond aftertaste added complexity to the wine. It had a nice round feeling in the mouth, and was a textbook example of a blend of these two varieties--for a terrific price.

The second wine I tasted was another excellent QPR pick: the 2004 Tablas Creek Roussanne ($22.95, Chronicle Wine Cellar; available online for between $19 and $28) I've tasted this wine twice in the last year or so. In the spring of 2007, it was all about the fruit. Now, a little more than one year later, it was a more complex and interesting drinking experience. This wine was true, deep gold in color and the richness of the color hinted at the richness to come. There were shy aromas of pear and minerals, and as the wine opened up there were delicious flavors of pear, melon, and mineral with a touch of beeswax in the finish. The overall impressions of the wine were soft and round, and there was no hint of alcohol or sense of heat despite its full body and heavy feel in the mouth. There was also just a hint of oak in the aftertaste, since 50% of the juice had been fermented in small French oak barrels. This was a big wine with a lot of complexity for the price.

Both of these wines were quite food friendly, and would lend themselves to a wide range of dishes from spicy curries and stirfries to rich scallop, lobster, and shrimp preparations. We had the Ferraton with a Peruvian Fried Rice--one of the world's earliest fusion dishes created by Chinese railroad workers in South America. Few wines could complement a dish that combined rice, ginger, soy sauce, shrimp, and chorizo, but the Ferraton did the job beautifully. The soft and round qualities of the wine were terrific with the shrimp, and the fresh pear and peachy flavors were a nice counterpoint to the ginger. As for the Roussanne, I always feel that this variety is made for scallops--and that's what we had it with. The rich, buttery texture and sweet flavors of the scallops partnered perfectly with the Roussanne's full-bodied melon and beeswax qualities. It doesn't matter how you fix the scallops, they will be perfect with Roussanne. Try a classic Coquilles St. Jacques, or Eric Ripert's innovative pan-fried scallops on a mound of orzo mixed with tomatoes, ginger, and lemon grass.

Summer is often associated with the crispness of Sauvignon Blanc, but Rhone whites are equally wonderful for drinking during the long, hazy, and lazy summer days and nights to come. Thanks to everyone who participated in this month's event, and be sure to drop me a note or leave a tasting note or a link in the comments if you'd like me to include you in the roundup this weekend. I'm really looking forward to reading what you all have to say about these wonderful whites.

The Spirit of the Vine: First Impressions of Spain

At the end of May, I had an opportunity to visit Spain for the very first time and spend time in the wineries associated with the Osborne family. The Osbornes have been involved in the wine trade in Spain since the 18th century, and today their properties extend from Rioja in the north to Andalusia in the south. In one blissful, action-packed week I had a chance to see and savor some of the best that Spain has to offer.

I fell totally in love with the country, the people, the food, and the wine, as this sampling of pictures shows.



I've traveled to a lot of different places, and lived in a few European cities for months and even years. But I never felt homesick for a place after only spending 5 days there--until now.

So what was it about Spain that hooked me? First and foremost it was the spirit of the land and the people. The word that I associate most with Spain now that I've been there is "genuine" and that forthright genuineness came through in every chilled glass of Fino sherry, every slice of Spanish jamon or ham, and every conversation with a winemaker or a vineyard manager that I had during my brief stay.

I know that last year was the "Spain" year and this year is "Italy" year, but over the next several months I want to share my new passion for Spanish sherry with you, and give you detailed tasting notes from my side-by-side tasting of several rare Osborne sherries. They may well be the best value holiday wines you are likely to find anywhere, and I'll tell you why later this fall. I was amazed during my trip by the range of flavors that you can find in Tempranillo. I had the opportunity to talk to a legendary winemaker, Maria Martinez-Sierra about her passion for this grape and how she makes superb wines from Tempranillo grown in the Rioja Alta region. I watched a master cooper make wine barrels, and saw the traditional being passed down to a new generation of craftsmen. Near Toledo, I also saw first-hand how cutting-edge science is being used to help manage a vineyard so vast that there were grapes as far as the eye could see. In Malpica de Tajo, the Osborne family is growing international varieties as well as Spanish favorites like Tempranillo. They are also experimenting with other Spanish and Mediterranean grapes to determine which do best in the region, gathering data on the life cycle of each grapevine and cluster of fruit.

I took hundreds of pictures while in Spain, but to give you an overview of what I saw I put together this slideshow of some of the most memorable images from my week. You'll be seeing some of these pictures again in upcoming posts, and depending on your browser you may have to click over to Flickr and watch the show over there. Until then, I hope this virtual sight-seeing tour whets your appetite for more on Spanish wine and food.

A Reading Meme: I've Been Tagged!

Nancy, a reader and fellow wine-blogger who also blogs about books at her blog Vellum, tagged me for a book meme (one of those blogging equivalents of a pyramid scheme without any money).

The rules were these:

Pick up the nearest book.
Turn to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences.
Tag five people with this game, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

Nancy thought I might be reading a wine book, but the book closest to me was Neal Stephenson's mammoth tome, Quicksilver, a historical novel about the Scientific Revolution. It's part of a trilogy, and I've been trying to get through it for years. This summer, I have vowed to stop trying and actually DO IT.

Here's a taste of the book, following the instructions above:

"The ass taught me nothing," Hooke said. "Anyone who is not a half-wit can learn all there is to know of painting, by standing in front of paintings and looking at them. What was the use, then, of being an apprentice?"

On the facing page from this exchange is a very reduced picture of Robert Hooke's famous drawing of a flea, which he saw under a microscope. It was the blockbuster-equivalent of Indiana Jones or Independence Day for his 17th-century audience, a frightening alien creature that looked like it could wiggle right off the page and create havoc in downtown London--which of course, it already was.

I don't have much else to report about this book, as of yet, but it's now my duty to tag five other people, so I'm picking some wine bloggers who I know are avid readers, as well as some members of the Shelfari Wine Book Club. They are: Richard, a Passionate Foodie; Deb, from Deb's Key West Wine and Gardening Blog; Our Girl, from As the Vineyard Grows; Jill B. from Domaine547; and Monkuwino from One Wine Per Week. Who knows, maybe one of them will even be reading a book about wine!

Something Sinister This Way Comes

Last week we tried to watch Sweeney Todd on DVD. I say tried because our attempt lasted only about 7 minutes before we gave up. However, we did have the perfect wine with the movie--the 2005 Owen Roe Sinister Hand ($23.99, Mission Wines; available online for between $22 and $29)

The label shows the left hand of Irish hero Owen Roe O'Neill. Legend has it that when sailing around the coast of Ireland, a band of warriors agreed that whoever landed first could claim the land for his own. Owen Roe O'Neill cut off his own left hand, threw it on to the land, and swam ashore to claim the land as his own.

If you can think of a wine more appropriate for drinking with Sweeney Todd, let me know!

Despite the macabre story, the 2005 Sinister Hand was a lot of wine for the money and very good QPR. It is a Rhone-style red made from Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Counoise. There were beautiful aromas typical of the dominant variety in this red blend (Grenache) including berries and herbs. There was also a smokiness to the aromas, which carried through into the flavors along with even more juicy berry. There was a long, lingering aftertaste and a smooth and plush feeling to the wine that made it seem luxuriant and rich. This was a very enjoyable wine, and a wine that was definitely worth the few dollars over $20 that it cost.

We had our Sinister Hand with BBQ ribs and a big salad. The smokiness of the ribs highlighted the nicely smoky flavors and aromas in the wine, and the sweetly spicy Grenache was a nice partner to the BBQ sauce.

If you're looking for a good wine to go with BBQed foods this summer, remember that Grenache is a perfect wine for grilled foods and that many Rhone-style blends have a healthy dose of Grenache in them. Pick up some Grenache, get yourself some ribs, pick another movie (!) and enjoy.