A Zaftig Sparkling Wine

There are many, many styles of sparkling wine out there to bewitch and delight us.

Some are light and graceful sparklers that remind me of ballerinas dancing Swan Lake in foamy tutus. Some are fizzy, dry sparklers that remind me of a worldly jazz musician playing the piano. And some are rich, zaftig sparklers that remind me of an opera diva in a velvet gown hitting a high note.

This wine falls into the final category. It is rich, robust, zaftig, complex--just like a diva should be. And it costs just under $20, which makes it excellent QPR.

Don't let the pale salmon color of the NV Domaine des Roches Crémant de Bourgogne fool you. ($19.99, domaineLA; available elsewhere for $15-$23). Or the faint aromas of mineral, dough, and strawberries. Focus instead on the very active bead and the full-bodied, dry flavors of strawberry and toast. This is well worth the $20, and unusually sophisticated for a Crémant de Bourgogne.

I feel a song coming on...

Budget Friendly White Burgundy

Burgundy and "budget friendly" don't usually appear in the same sentence.

So imagine my surprise and delight when the white Burgundy I bought for a little over $15 turned out to be an excellent QPR find. I bought my bottle from Chronicle Wine Cellar for $15.95. Expect to see it in your neck of the woods for between $13 and $30. And I have to say, even if you pay around $30, you probably won't feel you've been ripped off--which is a testament to the QPR on this wine if you pay under $20.

The 2005 Vincent Girardin Cuvée Saint-Vincent Chardonnay came from a great vintage in Burgundy, and is made by a great maker. I've had a number of Girardin wines, most from his second label and all red. But this was one of those wines that actually makes you understand how great Chardonnay can be when people just leave it alone and let it be itself. There were crisp aromas of apple, stone, and sea salt that were very fresh and enticing. The apple notes carried through the flavors, and the aftertaste turned butterscotchy and rich. But the wine was never heavy, oaky, or clumsy. It was nicely balanced, and very well made.

With the exception of steak, I honestly can't think of any food that this would be terrible with, and its so flexible that almost anything you're serving would be fine. We had it with a Chicken BLT salad. I added some avocado (just as I do on the sandwich) and the creaminess of the avocado in the salad was fantastic with the creaminess of the wine. Ditto the fresh apple and sea salt notes of the wine with the bacon (applewood smoked bacon, anyone?)

This is one elegant, classy wine that is still fun and not too profound. If you liked Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, I think you'll like this wine. Give it a try even if you normally sniff at Chardonnay. You won't be sorry.

Grape Variety #99: Aligoté

I'm down to the final three grapes in my pursuit of membership in the Wine Century Club, the organization devoted to promoting rare and unusual varieties. I've had a dozen rare grapes since January, and today's grape is less rare (it's actually the 4th most planted grape in the world) than it is simply one I've not gotten around to drinking before.

Aligoté is a French variety that is used to make Cremant de Bourgogne. It's known for its fresh acidity, which some people find overwhelming. I like how bracing the wine is, and how food friendly it is. It's also versatile. Aligoté is used as the base for Kir cocktails (named after the one-time mayor of Dijon), which are made with a mixture of cassis liqueur (modern types use blackberry, raspberry, or even peach liqueur instead) and chilled wine. If you use sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne instead of still Aligoté, it's called a Kir Royale. So buying a bottle of Aligoté can take you from cocktails to dinner effortlessly.

The 2004 Michel Lafarge Raisins-Dorés I had was very pale in color and had aromas of apple with a nutty edge. ($14.99, K & L Wines; available elsewhere for $14-$22) The wine had a medium-bodied feeling in the mouth, but lots of crisp acidity in its predominantly citrus flavors. I tasted white grapefruit and lemon pith, as well as a pineapple note as the last of the wine slid over my tongue. I can certainly see why the acidity wouldn't appeal to everyone, but I don't understand why this is relegated to secondary grape status in Burgundy. This is an interesting variety, and should appeal to anyone who likes Sauvignon Blanc, and is looking for a good QPR choice.

Because of Aligoté's acidity and its versatility, it can find a mate with a lot of dishes. One night, I had it with wok-seared scallops with a tangerine sauce, and the acidity in the wine was great with the fresh vegetables and the tangerine juice and cut nicely through the richness of the scallops. The next night, I made Kir cocktails while I was cooking up one of Maya Kaimal's chicken curries (I made the chicken fry curry in her first book Curried Favours, but it's not online; if you want to try her style of Indian cooking, give her Chicken Masala a try). I just kept on sipping Kir cocktails right through dinner, and they went well with this Indian dish. With the blackcurrant liqueur in it, the wine had a soft sweetness that was just right with the aromatic spices and slightly spicy jalapeño notes in the curry.

If you love Sauvignon Blanc you might find Aligoté a nice change of pace this summer. And its versatility makes it a good wine to have on hand for impromptu Happy Hours at the end of a long work week, too.

Spring. It's Spelled SB.

As far as I'm concerned, the way to spell Spring is SB. Short for Sauvignon Blanc, the fresh, zingy, grassy, and citrus flavors of this grape variety seem to go perfectly with the longer, warmer days and the fresh produce that is beginning to show up in markets.

If you are looking for a good Sauvignon Blanc, but don't want the assertive New Zealand variety, nor the round and rich California style, why not try one from Burgundy? You may think that Chardonnay and Burgundy go hand-in-hand, but Ghislaine and Jean-Hughes Goisot demonstrate that some stunning examples of SB are made there in the Saint-Bris AOC. The Goisots grow their grapes using both organic and biodynamic guidelines, and I was pleased to discover the mineral qualities in this wine that I so often associate with fruit that is grown under biodynamic protocols.

The 2005 Ghislaine and Jean-Hughes Goisot St. Bris was a terrific example of a classically-styled Sauvignon Blanc. ($15.99, domaine547). The aromas were herbal without being too grassy, and there were also abundant citrus and just a touch of wet beach stones. The flavors were poised nicely between the green and juicy citrus elements of the wine, and the stone turned pleasantly chalky as it touched your tongue. There was a reasonably long finish, with just enough tartness to make your mouth water and want more. This was a definite rebuy, and very good QPR.

Get a jump start on spring cooking by pairing your Sauvignon Blanc with an equally springy dish just made for the wine that involves pasta, grilled vegetables, and goat cheese. This is a great opportunity to dig out your gas grill if you've got one, and if not the vegetables can be broiled or cooked on a stovetop grill pan. Once that's accomplished, you chop them up--radicchio, peppers, zucchini, squash, leek, and artichoke hearts--and toss them with cherry tomatoes, corkscrew pasta, and some tangy-creamy goat cheese. If you've never had goat cheese with Sauvignon Blanc the two are made for each other, and you're in for a treat.

I know that in some parts of the country spring feels pretty far away right now. But this wine and the pasta dish that goes so nicely with it will make you feel like spring inside, even it it's still cold outside. And for those of us lucky enough to be smelling daffodils and seeing robins digging up worms already, we can just start enjoying the season in full.

Open That Bottle Night: Vincent Girardin Echezaux

Saturday was Open That Bottle Night, the one night of the year when Wine Street Journal critics Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher urge you to go into your closets, cupboards, wine fridges, and cellars and pull out a bottle of wine you are "saving for a special day." Sometimes they're old bottles. Sometimes, they're bottles you set aside to celebrate a specific event. Sometimes they were gifts that you couldn't bear to open because they were so special.

The wine I drank for OTBN fit into categories 2 and 3. It was given to me by a dear friend in July of 2006 to celebrate a major career milestone: turning in my second book manuscript. This is the kind of thing that you just DO, you stick it in the mail and go home and eat chocolate. So this wine was very special to me and even after the book came out I couldn't bear to open it.

Open That Bottle Night to the rescue!

The bottle in question was a 2003 Vincent Girardin Echezeaux. I know, I know, I could have opened this for OTBN 2018, but I opened it now. And I'm not sorry that I did, either. This wine was just spectacular, and I loved the way that it tried to find 100 ways to say cherry -- iron-inflected cherry, herbal-inflected cherry, mushroom-inflected cherry, cherry blossom. The wine had a beautiful color, too, as this picture showed, which only added to the pleasure that I had in drinking it. After it settled down a bit it evolved into a cherry and truffley set of aromas and flavors wrapped in a silky package. There were also interesting meaty and gamy notes in both the aromas and the flavors. There was a slightly sweet aftertaste--like cherry essence--and smooth, smooth tannins.

I have to admit that I wonder what this wine would have become in another 5 or 10 years, but I'm glad that I took the plunge and drank my special bottle of wine. You can read what others opened up by checking out the WSJ forum dedicated to Open That Bottle Night. If you missed this year's event, just open that bottle anyway, and start uncorking all the memories that you've stored away.

Tasting Burgundy

I had the opportunity to attend a wine tasting devoted to celebrating the wine heritage of Burgundy recently that was sponsored by the Burgundy Wine Council. I wanted to share some of my observations from that tasting with you. Getting over my Burgundy anxiety was one of my 2007 wine projects, and I can't say that I had a lot of success. I still felt that I was paying too much for wines that were pleasant, but not memorable. And I was often stumped in the wine store by selections of wine that I simply could not afford. So I was particularly interested in this tasting because the organizers were emphasizing "Burgundy Best Buys" that cost less than $35. I wanted a chance to taste these wines, and to compare them with more costly wines from the same region.

Here are my thoughts, after tasting more than 60 different wines from this one spectacular wine region.

1. Yes, there are great buys in Burgundy. Let's get that out there right away. Sparkling wines, white wines, red wines--there were excellent choices for under $35 in each of these brackets. I loved the fresh biscuity aromas and flavors of the 2004 Dufouleur Pere et Fils Cremant de Bourgogne ($NA), and the unexpected anise note in the finish. Among the white still wines, I adored the aromas of golden apple in the 2006 Domaine Sylvain Langoureau Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Le Sentier du Clou ($NA). Though the 2005 Champy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Le Charmois ($NA) had more muted aromas, the soft and balanced flavors of apple and citrus opened up nicely and I was impressed by how food-friendly the wine would be. Among the reds, the 2005 Chateau de Chamirey Mercurey ($35) was a stunner with aromas and flavors of earth, spice, and cherry. There was a pleasant lift at the core of this wine's flavors, and a nice silkiness, too.

2. These affordable Burgundy wines are not easy to find. Burgundian vineyards are tiny, tiny, tiny in most cases. The small number of cases each producer is able to produce means that it's going to be difficult to find these wines in most markets. The one bargain I could find online, for instance, is available only through NY merchants.

3. There are a lot of great wines that aren't being imported into the US. I tasted some great, great wine that is simply not available in US markets--and not because the winemakers don't want us to drink it! Champy, who makes the great white I mentioned in #1 is looking for an importer. I tasted nine of their wines, and with one exception each one was a wine I would recommend. They were complex, balanced--and not available in the US. Other producers whose wine I loved across the board, but who don't have importers at present, include Maison Lou Dumont and Domaine de Mauperthuis.

4. Gevrey-Chambertin. Because I was able to drink wines from many different appellations, I was able for the very first time to realize that I love wines from Gevrey-Chambertin, with Pommard coming in as a very close second. The 2005 Maison Albert Bichot Gevrey-Chambertin Les Corvees was just lovely, with its pure cherry aromas and flavors and spicy notes. And the 2005 Maison Albert Bichot Pommard Clos des Ursulines Domaine du Pavillon ($43) was just as nice, with deep aromas of black cherry and plum.

5. Entry level Burgundies can be just terrific. If you think there's no point in drinking entry-level Burgundies, think again. These will not have a specific vineyard or appellation associated with them, and often carry a varietal designation. But I was really impressed by the freshness and appeal of the "Bourgogne Chardonnay" and "Bourgogne Pinot Noir" that I had. the 2005 Maison Albert Bichot Bourgogne Chardonnay Vielles Vignes was clean and fresh, with creamy apple aromas and flavors. The 2006 Champy Bourgogne Pinot Noir had lovely aromas of cherry and cherry blossom, a gorgeous true ruby color, and a slightly drying finish. And the 2005 Maison Lou Dumont Bourgogne Red (which retails in Europe for around 10 euros), had a terrific structure and a cherry nose with a pleasantly earthy underpinning.

In just one tasting I was able to push my knowledge of Burgundy well past what I knew going in to the event. And it gave me hope that with some more experience, I might be able to return to my Burgundy project one day.

WBW News: #39 Roundup and the New Theme for #40

We always knew there was very little that would keep Neil the Brooklynguy away from beloved Burgundy wines. But this week he rose to new heights. Despite computer problems, he managed to get the roundup of tastings from WBW #39 ("Silver Coast" Burgundies) up in under a week. There were some new bloggers (like regular reader Jeff at Indiscriminate Ideas), some bargain finds (Farley at her new blog Behind the Vines found a Burgundy for $3.99!), and all in all 36 reviewers tasted 52 wines. A great showing for a great theme.

And next month, there is more fun in store as Sonadora from Wannabe Wino leads us on a tasting adventure through Petite Sirah (or Durif, as it is known in some parts) in Wine Blogging Wednesday #40. This is a great winter wine, with lots of body and should not be confused with a syrah in a 375 ml split--this is its own grape! Get ready for some rich, robust red wine drinking and send her any notes or links by December 12. To read her full brief, click here. And if you want to learn more about the grape, its history, or its producers, you may want to visit the Petite Sirah advocacy group, PS I Love You.

What to drink next month...maybe something from a winery with a big, gnarly old tree...?

Wine Blogging Wednesday #39: Silver Coast Burgundy

This month's Wine Blogging Wednesday has a theme that's near and dear to my heart: value wines from Burgundy. Our host for this week's event, and the genius behind the theme, is Neil the Brooklynguy Who Loves Wine. He asked us to look for Burgundies from a specific region that often has better values than those found on the Cote d'Or (Burgundy's Gold Coast). In the Cote Chalonnaise and the Maconnais (map of the latter to the right), Neil explained, it was possible to find excellent wines that were characteristic of Burgundy but did not always have astronomical prices associated with them.

I've been drinking a lot more Burgundy this year, since I am trying to get over my phobia that all Burgundies are going to be wildly expensive. So I was eager to see what the store would turn up. What I found was a white Burgundy from Pouilly-Vinzelles in the Maconnais: the 2004 Domaine Larochette-Manciat Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Longeays made from chardonnay grapes. ($15.95, Chronicle Wine Cellar; available from other merchants for around $19).

This was one interesting bottle of wine: it was fascinating to drink and gave you lots to talk about if you were tasting it with others. It was bright straw in color--not too golden, nor too pale. When you sniffed it there was no fruit. At all. It smelled instead of almond, hazelnut, and stone. These nutty and mineral notes were echoed in the flavors, with perhaps just a whiff of citrus when the wine entered your mouth. The wine had a quality of a live electric wire after a storm (in a good way!), and it felt tense and alive in your mouth. This wine was fresh and complex, and delivered an awful lot for just under $16, so I thought it represented excellent QPR.

We had the wine with some mustard-tarragon roast chicken, some noodles tossed with parsley, and a salad. It was nice with the dish, but I think something even simpler--broiled scallops or fish, perhaps--would have been an even better pairing. The tarragon and Dijon mustard threatened to overwhelm the wine here.

Thanks once again to our host, and to Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours who dreamed up this event more than three years ago. I'll be sure to let you know when Neil posts what promises to be a terrific roundup, and I'll see you back here in December for WBW #40.

Weekend Wine Shopping: WBW Made Me Do It!

Wine Blogging Wednesday. It's good news and it's bad news. Good news because we learn a lot about wine. Bad news because, once we learn about it, we want to drink it.

So this weekend's wine shopping is dedicated to helping you find the wines to either feed the need for Portuguese vino that was caused by reading all those fabulous tasting notes that Ryan and Gabriella drew together from WBW #38, or to feed the need for Burgundy wines in preparation for Neil the Brooklynguy's WBW #39 in November.

After I had my bottle of Portuguese white, I knew I wanted to taste more Portuguese wine. So I clicked over to domaine547, my favorite armchair wine store, and bought one of the new "wine blogger packs." This is a new idea at domaine547, where wine bloggers select a few wines that they think that their readers would like to try. The first pack was put together by Catavino's own Ryan and Gabriella, and included three carefully selected Portuguese wine. The price? $50. The Catavino Pack contained a zesty 2006 Famega Vinho Verde; a hearty 2003 Esporao Trincadeira; and a 2003 Bacalhoa Touriga So. Opening the box was a bit like opening a present--there was a great information sheet (which included the recipe for a perfect food pairing for the Trincadeira!) and a little gift (a much snazzier foil cutter than the one I presently own). I'm happy to have my three bottles of Portuguese wine, and to have reduced the sizable carbon footprint I planted on LA in the past few weeks trying to find wine for WBW #38! Are you going to someone's house for Thanksgiving? This would be a great "send ahead" hostess gift! I'd sure be happy to have this arrive at my house before the guests, and I might even save a bottle for you to drink with me.

With WBW #39 looming, and Turkey Day on the horizon, I headed to Chronicle Wine Cellar to see if I could find some burgundy that would fit Neil's brief. I'm in a comfortable rut drinking my Girardin second labels, but Neil suggested I try something else and happily Chronicle has a great selection of white burgundies right now. I scored a 2004 Domaine Larochette-Manciat Pouilly-Vinzelles Les Longeays ($15.95). They also had a Pouilly-Fuisse from this maker for under $20, a Girardin Rully for $24.95, and some other scrumptious looking white burgundies from the Cote de Beaune. When I was there Elizabeth was also packing some Portuguese reds (go figure...), including the 2004 Symington Altano made with Tinta Roriz and Tourgia Franca grapes ($6.95). They still have bottles of affordable and tasty Cono Sur wines on the shelves, too. Jerry Hall of Winewaves likes these Chilean pinots, so they're worth a try considering they are under $10 at Chronicle.

We're entering into the part of the calendar that I call "The Crazies." Beat the crowds and calm the hysteria by getting a few nice bottles into your house now. With these bottles safely in my possession, I can think about sipping Trincadeira Halloween night, and finding a good chicken dish to have with that Pouilly-Vinzelles.

Wine Blogging Wednesday Upddates

I've got two news items from the Wine Blogging Wednesday front to report today.

The first is that our hosts from this month's WBW #38 on Portuguese Table Wines, Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino, have posted a marvelous round-up of all the submissions they received. It includes a map so you can orient yourself among the Portuguese wine regions, and regional lists of the wines that were tasted with links to the reviews themselves. 34 bloggers and 2 non-bloggers provided us with 62 tasting notes, so it is a terrific resource if you want to find out more about Portuguese wines.

After cruising the excellent reviews posted by fellow bloggers--and non bloggers--I think the overwhelming response was one of surprise at the quality of the wine given the price. I also think that most of us made appeals to distributors to make it easier to find Portuguese wines in our local stores, given how hard it could be to find one of these bottlings. So thanks once again to Ryan and Gabriella for hosting such a great event.

Now that WBW #38 has been wrapped up, it's time to start preparing for WBW #39. Next month's event will be hosted by Neil, the Brooklynguy who loves wine. The theme is "Silver Coast" Burgundies, which tend to be a little less pricey than their Cote d'Or neighbors but are wonderful wines to drink and get to know Burgundy a bit better. Neil provides lots of information about how to identify wines from the Maconnais and the Cote Chalonnaise on his website, and asks you to submit your tasting notes to him by Wednesday, November 14.

Cellaring White Wines

I read an interesting article the other day by Jancis Robinson, one of my favorite wine writers. She wondered why there is so much more expert wine writing focused on red wines than on white wines. (image from Ian Britton and FreeFoto.com)

There are a few possible explanations. But one leading reason is that most folks drink white wines young and fresh--they don't cellar them, and they often don't spend much money on them in the first place so they aren't seen as an investment that demands a lot of time and thoughtfulness. In the case of reds, however, many wine drinkers do age their wines, and are willing to pay hefty price tags for their favorites--both of which lead to a desire to know more about what will soon be taking up precious financial and storage resources.

Robinson points out that this ongoing media fascination with reds is especially odd given the kinds of food we tend to eat these days--chicken, fish, vegetables and other foods that go far better with white wines. And she provides some good tips on white wines that do improve with aging and deserve a place in your cellar. Chardonnay, for example, is a white varietal that often shines after a little cellar time. Recently, I pulled out two older chardonnays--a 2001 chardonnay from Burgundy, and a 2003 chardonnay from Oregon--to see whether they agreed with my palate. I didn't buy either one of these wines specifically to age, so take my findings with a grain of salt, but I felt that in neither case were the wines necessarily improved with their extra time in bottle.

First, there was the 2001 Domaine Anne Gros Chardonnay ($16.99 on sale; now I can't find it anywhere else, but you can buy a more recent vintage for under $30). Recent tastings that others have had of the 2006 wine suggest that this may be a wine that is best drunk young. This is the entry-level wine for the talented Anne Gros, and I think this was past its prime. The aromas of toast, butterscotch, and apple were very promising, but these notes did not emerge in the flavors. When you took a sip, it was flat a bit acidic on the palate. I didn't store it myself, so there is no way of knowing whether this was because of improper storage somewhere in its life, of whether it was just a bit tired.

The next older chardonnay I tried was the 2003 Argyle Chardonnay ($8.99, Costco; available elsewhere for around $14). This wine was sealed with a Stelvin closure, and was holding up pretty well with pear and lemon aromas that were muted and subtle. More pear flavors emerged as you drank the wine, which veered towards apple towards the end and was accompanied with a high, citrusy note. There was a creamy, tangy finish that reminded me of creme fraiche. What was interesting to me was to compare my note with one made by Jerry Hall at Winewaves in September 2005, almost two years ago. He found much brighter aromas, and much tarter flavors. The creme fraiche I seemed to taste was a "butterscotch twang" when Jerry drank the younger wine.

Based on this experience, I'm not sure how to proceed with cellaring white wines. Is it worth the space in my cellar, given my preference for crisper, fruitier whites? Am I buying the right kinds of white wine to cellar, or should I steer clear of chardonnay for the moment and focus on rieslings or some other varietal? If you've got experience cellaring white wines, I'd love to hear your advice. And if you have questions, like me, feel free to leave them in the comments in hopes someone will know the answer.

Something to Talk About

There are wines you drink. And then there are wines you talk about while you drink--but only to good friends, who also like to talk about wine, or your dinner companions will soon evaporate.

Burgundy probably grows more than its fair share of wines that call for conversation. The latest stage of my Burgundian adventure involved wine that was almost more fun to talk about than drink. It was from Vosne-Romanee, a viticultural area area of Burgundy that conjures up images of classic pinot noir wines. It's also where the famous (and famously expensive) Domaine de la Romanee-Conti has its origins. (image of vineyards in Vosne-Romanee from Wikimedia)

I suppose you could spend nearly $10,000 on a single bottle of 2000 Domaine Romanee Conti Romanee Conti (hey, it's on sale!), but I chose instead the 2000 Baron de la Charriere Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots ($29.95, Chronicle Wine Cellar). Oddly enough, though this was the most expensive Burgundy I bought during my spree at Chronicle Wine Cellar this winter, it was not my favorite, and simply represented good QPR in my book. But it did give all of us at the dinner table a lot to talk about as the wine evolved and changed and developed over the course of the evening.

The 2000 Baron de la Charriere Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Les Suchots opened up with a nice bright ruby color and tinges of brown around the edges known as bricking. A quick taste determined the wine wasn't corked or oxidized, although we were a bit worried since there was some slight signs of seepage on one side of the cork. The first taste was spicy and rich, with very little fruit. At this point, we were expecting great things. We pulled the cork and let it sit in the bottle for an hour. Then we poured our glasses and gave them a swirl.

After an hour, the wine was much more aromatic, with black cherry fruit smells, cinnamon and spice. But it was more closed in the flavors department, with muted earthy notes. As we continued to drink the bottle, the earthiness of the wine began to emerge in the aromas, and the black cherry flavors developed along with more spice and growing complexity. Then the third glass had a metallic odor of tinned tomato paste which took us all by surprise. We let it sit, swirled it some more, and it became full of cinnamon, cherry, and earth. An interesting wine, but not one that most of us felt hung together very well.

During the hours we sat at the table, no matter what we started talking about, we always came back to the wine. "What are you tasting?" "Do you smell aluminum?" "Anybody getting cinnamon now?" These were some of the questions that we shot back and forth, swirling our wine and taking sips. I honestly can't even remember what we ate with the wine. All I remember was that this was a wine that was a better talker than a drinker--at least to my palate. Have you ever had a wine that fit that description?

Persistence: More Burgundian Adventures

It's been a while since I've opened one of my precious bottles of Burgundian pinot noir to continue my novice exploration of the region and its wines. Burgundy makes me anxious--and one of this year's wine resolutions was to start learning about the wines so that I don't break into a cold sweat whenever I see one in the store.

So far I've been drinking wines from a single maker (Vincent Girardin, bottled under the "Baron de la Charriere" label for the European market) and a single vintage (2000). I bought my Burgundies back in January from Chronicle Wine Cellar, and have so far opened the Volnay (which taught me a lot about how balanced Burgundy can be) and the Nuits St. Georges (which was all about how a wine could develop and change from one glass to the next). Tonight it was time to venture into the region achored by the French commune of Aloxe-Corton in the Cote de Beaune. Known for its whites (Corton-Charlemagne) as well as its reds (the Corton Grand Crus), this wine comes from the subdivision of Corton Renardes.

As with all of my previous adventures in Burgundy, the 2000 Baron de la Charrière Corton Renardes was a simply amazing pinot noir (Chronicle Wine Cellar, $24.95; Rosso Wine Shop, $39.99). What stood out about this wine was its persistence. This wine had the longest finish imaginable, but the real charm of it was the way in which the aromas stuck with you from the first sniffs to the last whisper in your mouth. It was a beautiful dark ruby in color, just like a ripe cherry. When I first opened the bottle, I was greeted by sour cherry and blackberry fruit aromas laced with a hint of stone and mineral. The flavors involved layer after layer of cherry, black cherry, and sour cherry along with a bit of gamy meatiness that gave the wine complexity and interest. After you swallowed, your mouth continued to sing with creamy sour cherry, white pepper, leather, and chocolate.

As I know next to nothing about red Burgundies, I'm reluctant to make any kind of grand pronouncements about this wine other than these. For $24. 95, this represented excellent QPR. If I had paid $40, I would still not feel ripped off in the slightest. Burgundy makes great, thoughtful pinot noirs and I can see why some people are obsessed with them. Every bottle I drink is a revelation, and every bottle I drink makes me want to buy more. Happily I have another bottle of this, which I plan to open next year so that I can see what another year of age does for it.

It's pretty hard to imagine this wine getting better, but check back next July and see.

A Glass of Gravel, a Twist of Lemon

If you've never tried a French chardonnay with lots of terroir, no oak, and very little fruit, you really should try to find one or put it on your wish-list.

Typically these wines come from the region surrounding the town of Chablis in Burgundy, and can cost a packet. John at Brim to the Dregs clued me in on a classification--Petit Chablis--that I've never head of, but where good bargains can be found. He wisely pointed out to his readers that French Chablis doesn't have anything to do with the jugged, boxed, and massively bottled supermarket varieties. I want to underline this point: this is not THAT CHABLIS. This is altogether different and marvelous.

Sometimes, careful hunting in a Costco near you can reveal good bargains in Chablis--even grand and premier cru chablis. Like this 2002 La Chablisienne Chablis 1er Cru Grande Cuvée ($16.99, Costco). What a wonderful, wonderful wine. Drinking it was like ordering a glass of gravel with a twist of lemon. It was pale and straw-colored, with whiffs of wet beach and stone followed by a mouthful of mineral tastes with the faintest hint of citrus around the edges. Excellent QPR.

Of course, there is the issue of what food to pair with your glass of gravelly wine? I thought seafood and vegetables would be good, perhaps with a little pasta. I tried this Chablis with just such a dish, accented with cream and fresh herbs, which you can find by clicking here. The mineral notes in the wine picked up the saline qualities in the shrimp, and the wine's nice acidity cut through the slight richness of the sauced pasta.

This isn't a quaffable wine, so much as a wine to wonder at, meditate on, and enjoy down to the last drops. It's a wine that will engender conversation--have you ever had a wine like this??--and take you straight back to the store to look for more.

Evolution, or a Burgundy in Three Acts

Sunday night we had dinner with friends, and I decided to take along one of my bottles of Burgundy bought back in January from Chronicle Wine Cellar. These are Burgundies labeled "Baron de la Charriere" which Allen Meadows and others tell me is Vincent Girardin's pre-2003 European label. I know this was a special opportunity to taste some really excellent, well-made Burgundies. Not a highly-regarded vintage, it seems, but I'm enjoying them enormously.

We popped the cork on a wine from the Cote de Nuits, the 2000 Baron de la Charriere Nuits St. Georges "Les Damodes". (map of Burgundy showing the Cotes de Nuits and Nuits St. Georges from Justerini & Brooks, a merchant specializing in Burgundy wines) This was a premier cru wine, and it cost $22.95 at Chronicle, slightly more than the 2000 Baron de la Charriere Volnay "Les Santenots" that I had last month.

With the Volnay "Les Santenots" I was most struck by its balance. This wine was also balanced, but what struck me about the Nuits St. Georges "Les Damodes" was its evolution. The Nuits St. Georges was much more complex and intriguing, and it kept changing and developing in the glass as you drank it over the course of a meal. Act I opened to simple aromas of cherry, strawberry, a bit of alcohol and a bit of earth. These were echoed on the palate, along with a good grip of tannins suggesting it still could handle a bit more age in the bottle. Ten minutes later, Act II: the wine the wine had opened up a bit, and now had aromas and flavors of cherry with chocolate and roasted coffee. I thought the play was over at this point, but once the second glass was poured we got Act III: the wine had become silky with totally integrated tannins, flavors and aromas of fresh red fruits, and just a dusting of cocoa at the end. This wine had less upfront, ingenue appeal than the 2000 Santenot. But (like watching a movie with Meryl Streep) it had much more complexity and interest all the way to the end.

This is only my second bottle of burgundy that I've spent any time with, and just like last month I feel I am progresing towards a complete understanding of why folks get utterly addicted and consumed with this marvelous wine. I drink few wines from any region that are as entertaining as this one was. Worth every penny of its admission price, this was a wine to savor, to talk about, and to enjoy over several happy hours with friends.

Beating Back Burgundy Anxiety: 2000 Baron de la Charriere Volnay Santenots

Aahhh.

Now I see.

I just had my first encounter with Burgundy that was not in a restaurant or at someone's house where I couldn't think about it properly. Recently I bought a selection of red Burgundies from Chronicle Wine Cellar, all of which were Vincent Girardin wines labeled for European markets under the "Baron de la Charriere" brand. This was my chance to start drinking them.

What a good experience--and a reminder that we all benefit from getting out of our wine comfort zones once in a while, whether its drinking more/less expensive wines, wines from a different region, or wines made with a different varietal. We are creatures of habit, and it's easy to fall into ruts without realizing it.

Cautionary note to all readers: I am not well-versed in Burgundian wines, so take this as "notes from a palate in development." I do drink a lot of US pinot noir, but this bottle clarified the differences between French and US style wines made with this varietal--just as there is with any grape. The 2000 Baron de la Charriere Volnay Les Santenots ($19.95, Chronicle Wines) was an excellent QPR wine. It was bright ruby in color with a richness and opulence that was very attractive. It had aromas of herbs and cherries that kept coming from the glass in waves, right down to the very last drops. Flavors of cherries, fresh raspberries, rare roast beef, and a mineral twinge kept this wine interesting. There was a nice juicy finish. My overall sense of this wine was balance: it was fruity without being jammy, velvety without being syrupy, lush without being over the top, with its elements kept in perfect symmetry.

The miracles of podcasting made it possible for me to drink this wine while listening to part 1 of Grape Radio's interview with Allen Meadows of Burghound fame. It's an excellent show, and I learned a lot. If you are new to Burgundy, I recommend you check out this podcast from the American Wine Blog Award finalists at Grape Radio--even if you don't have a red Burgundy or pinot noir to sip with it.

I wanted something rustic, earthy, and warming to go with this wine, so with Allen and the Grape Radio boys playing away through my favorite Christmas present--the IHome under cabinet iPod player--I started cooking some roasted pork with blue cheese polenta. You were supposed to roast the pork in the oven with fresh figs, but they aren't in season right now so I threw a couple of handfuls of whole button mushrooms in around the pork and they were a good substitute. (I also substituted a pork loin for the pork tenderloin in the recipe simply because I prefer that cut--you can, too, but it will take a bit longer to cook so use a meat thermometer to make sure it's done before you pull it out of the oven.) The blue cheese tang of the pinot was a perfect counterpoint to the cherry flavors and aromas in the wine, and I think roasted pork is always great with pinots.

After this, I'm feeling much less generalized Burgundy anxiety. And I'm really looking forward to continuing to explore the wines of Burgundy.

Think Pink: the NV Blason de Bourgogne Crémant de Bourgogne Cuvée Rosé Brut

It's Valentine's Day this week--the time when you throw your New Year's diet out the window (if you haven't already done so), buy a box of chocolates, trawl supermarkets for flowers, and put together complicated dinner menus for the one(s) you love. And, even if you are averse to pink most of the year, you suddenly find yourself drawn to the color.

Fulfill your need for the pink stuff by trying this N.V. Blason de Bourgogne Crémant de Bourgogne Cuvée Rosé Brut ($7.99, Trader Joe's). A companion bottling to the regular brut sparkler from this winery I reviewed for WBW #28, the rose brut is salmon pink tending towards rose in color. There is not much of an aroma, but what you can smell is slightly biscuity like toasted bread. Once poured, there is lots of froth/mousse, and the bubbles/bead is a little rough and rasping on the tongue. Flavors of raspberry, toast, and yeast come through as you sip this wine. Brut rose wines are not as common as blanc de noirs and other pink or pinkish sparklers that are softer in style. This is not the smoothest brut rose you'll ever have, but it is still very good QPR. And, if you like your wine brut and pink, this is the way to go.

With this sparkler we had a fabulous pink pasta, as well, that I pulled off of Epicurious. Shrimp and bay scallops were tossed with garlic and oil, then added to a sauce made of tomatoes, clam juice, cream, and basil. This rich meal with its shellfish and tomato flavors responded very nicely to the brut wine, and of course it all looked fabulous together, too. If you are in the mood to bake, you can try your hand at this chocolate souffle cake from Cooking Light. It has a nice touch of orange from Triple Sec and deep, dark chocolatey gooey-ness and is surprisingly low in calories. It's a bit fiddly to make but you do need to make it in advance and refrigerate it, so you can hide all the work and whisk it out of the fridge, topping it with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and some orange peel at the last moment. Also: I think you could easily substitute 3 Tbs of Chambord for the OJ/Triple Sec and top with a smattering of raspberries if you want to stay on the pink/red/V-Day theme.

Buying into Burgundy

One of my wine resolutions for 2007 was to get to know Burgundian wines, as well as Spanish wines. I've started on the Spanish front, and a little trip to the Chronicle Wine Cellar has helped set the stage for my foray into Burgundy.

Chronicle Wine Cellar recently acquired some 1998 and 2000 Burgundies, including a range of wines produced by Vincent Girardin, a well-known winemaker, for the European market under the Baron de la Charriere label. Quoting Alan Meadows of Burghound: "Some of these wines are also sold through European Cellars under the Baron de la Charriere label and they are identical to those sold under the Vineyard Brands label, Vincent Girardin." (Since 2003, all Girardin wines have been exclusively labeled Girardin.) As a relative Burgundian newbie, I'm trusting the experts on this one, and feel like I've been able to get some wine produced by an excellent winemaker for a reasonable cost.

To stick to the Good Wines Under $20 brief, I purchased red Burgundies from several appellations (map from Terroir-France), all made by Girardin, all from the 2000 vintage, all sold under the Baron de la Charriere label, and all under $30. It seemed like a good plan to limit the variables in an attempt to figure out appellations on this round, and worry about vintages and producers later.

The wines I added to my cellar are:

2000 Baron de la Charrière Corton-Renardes ($24.95)
2000 Baron de la Charrière Nuits St. Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru ($22.95)
2000 Baron de la Charrière Volnay Les Santenots ($19.95)
2000 Baron de la Charrière Vosne-Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru ($29.95)

I bought a few bottles of the Volnay and the Corton-Renardes, and am looking forward to tasting them in the upcoming weeks. When I went to Chronicle Wine Cellar at the end of the week, there were still quite a few bottles of the Baron de la Charriere wines left, so if you're in the LA area and are on the lookout for some excellent values from Burgundy, you may want to head over there to see what's on offer.

Saturday Wine Shopping--Feeling Sorry for Myself

Never, never go wine shopping when you are feeling sorry for yourself.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I am suffering from pre-holiday crazies, with too much work to do. And I'm not just back from Burgundy, like Brooklynguy. I'm not hiking through the wine country with Winehiker. And I'm not decorating my tree, baking cookies, or wrapping gifts because I have too much work to do. Sniff. (This is all rather pathetic really, since I have an awful lot to be thankful for this year and should be counting my blessings.)

So I cut myself a deal: if I got some work done, I could go to Chronicle Wine Cellar and buy some wine.

And so I did.

Chronicle Wines has lots of Italian reds, Cabernets from California, and French reds from the Rhone and Burgundy right now at wallet-friendly prices. Lots of good browsing and buying for holiday meals, and the store was full of happy customers (self included). If you need a break from all the hullabaloo, head on over there and check out their selection.

Inspired by reading all those Burgundian posts coming out of Brooklyn, I was in a definite French mood. I picked up a 2005 Domaine Raymond Dupont-Fahn Auxey-Duresses ($24.95, the label for the 03 pictured here). I didn't have my vintage card with me or I probably would have also bought a bottle of 1999 Pernand Vergelesses (sorry Neil, I can't remember the maker...). Also in the box when I left were a 1998 Chateau la Grave Ste. Croix du Mont ($12.95), a wine that I've never had but it is a dessert wine from an appellation across from Sauternes; and a 2005 Domaine les Grands Bois Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Les Trois Soeurs ($9.95). I continued my romp through the European labels with a 2003 Pago Florentino Tinto from La Mancha ($14.95) and a 375ml bottle of the 2003 Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro Ribera del Duero Crianza ($12.95/375ml and $23.95/750ml). Topping it off? A 2005 Scherer Pinot Noir from Alsace ($12.95).

As I sit among the bottles, with papers strewn all over my desk, the accusing blinking cursor on the computer is telling me its time to pull myself up by my bootstraps. Back to work, with the pleasant anticipation of some interesting wine to get me through the holidays and into the new year.

PS. It worked. Now I don't feel sorry for myself anymore. I feel vaguely guilty, though...

Wine Blogging Wednesday #28: Sparklers!

Just in time for the holidays, Seattle's Culinary Fool is hosting this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday. The theme she set? Sparklers (but not champagne), which are perfect for holiday quaffing and gifting.

Wine Blogging Wednesday is the monthly wine blogging event started by Lenn Thompson over at Lenndevours, now in its third year and still going strong. Today wine bloggers all over the web will be popping their corks, pouring their sparklers, and picking up their pens to report their findings. In a few days the Culinary Fool will be posting a wrap-up of all the submitted posts, divided into budget sparklers good for parties, special splurges, and duds. I'll be sure to post a link to that roundup here on the site.

My contribution to this month's effort was to drink a sparkler from the Auxerrois region of Burgundy: the NV Blason de Bourgogne Cremant de Bourgogne Cuvee Brut (Trader Joe's, $7.99). This straw-colored sparkler had excellent QPR with its aromas of pears, apples, and the yeasty smell of lightly-browned toast. One of the things I look for in a sparkler is a relatively small bead--smooth bubbles, not too big, moving to the top of the glass in a syncopated stream--and this wine has the right stuff. When you sip this very dry, brut wine, you taste apples with a little bit of a nutty edge, and finally a tiny bit of pithy bitterness.

Maybe it was the sunny label that influenced me, but I swear this tastes like Veuve Clicquot yellow label champagne. This certainly qualifies as a budget-friendly sparkling wine that you can buy in quantity for your holiday party and serve without embarrassment. It is undoubtedly the best under $10 sparkler I've had, given my taste preferences.

The NV Blason de Bourgogne Cremant de Bourgogne Cuvee Brut is made by a co-op of four top-notch Burgundian growers: Cave de Buxy, Cave de Bailly, Cave La Chablisienne and Cave de Prissé. Readers from the UK will be more familiar with this wine than those in the US, since it features regularly in Tesco and Waitrose wine selections. Made with a combination of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, you can find it in this brut blanc, and in a rose (review coming shortly). At this price, you can afford to buy both!

Thanks to Culinary Fool for a great holiday theme, and see you back here for the roundup.