Old World/New World: Comparing 2003 Cabernets

The summer puts me within arms' reach of my wine cellar--a long windowseat in a house in the woods that that never goes above 60 degrees. (you can see the tell-all pictures here) Every wine bottle I unearth has some history attached to it--where I bought it, when, why--and it feels like greeting an old friend to see them again.

While puttering in the windowseat I found two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines from the 2003 vintage that had entered my cellar the same month--December 2006. One was from France's Haut-Médoc region in the Bordeaux. The other was from California's Alexander Valley. I decided to grill some steaks and open both bottles to compare their taste and their readiness for drinking. I like experimenting with cellaring wines, and usually find that my patience is rewarded.

The first wine, the 2003 Château Cantemerle, cost me $20.99 from K & L Wines. I purchased several bottles in April 2006 as Bordeaux futures. They arrived in December 2006 and were promptly stored in my windowseat cellar. Even six years after harvest and with two and a half years of cellaring I think it might have been a bit early to open up this wine, which is made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. When I pulled the cork, there were aromas of earthy funk and leather. Over the course of the evening, plum and cassis aromas and flavors were added to the earthiness, along with some herbal notes. What I most liked about this wine was its silky texture, and the way the wine tasted like a cross between a Burgundy and Bordeaux. The wine was still awkward, though, a little like a gawky adolescent. Nevertheless, I think it represented very good QPR for Bordeaux, and will be interested to see how the other bottles develop over the next 2-4 years.

I purchased the second wine, the 2003 Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, in December 2006 at Costco. The price was $14.99, and it's been waiting in my cellar ever since. I expected this bottle to be a bit more integrated and really hitting its stride--and it was. Alexander Valley Cabernets are (in my opinion) a bit "old world" in style, so I was ready for the initially strong aromas of cassis and bell pepper that I associate with red wines from this part of California. As time passed, however, there were more plummy and cassis aromas and flavors, accompanied by some toasty oak, and the vegetal notes faded. I liked this wine's lushness, and its cinnamon-inflected finish. All in all, I thought it was excellent QPR for the price paid and was glad that I'd let the wine sit as long as it did before opening it up. Right now the wine's compexity is evident. If you have any of this wine in your cellar, I suggest opening it up now or over the next two years.

If you've got some 2003 Cabernets in your cellar, are you drinking them yet? And if so, what are your experiences?

Umbrian Merlot--Even Miles Would Approve of This

Merlot has really been kicked around the block since Sideways. In spite of the fact that Miles downs a considerable amount of Merlot in a fast food restaurant at the end of the film, large numbers of people now refuse to drink Merlot on general principle.

This is good news for you and me. Because Merlot can be fabulous. Not everybody makes their Merlot grapes into blackberry jam. Some actually make it into wine. And because of the dip in demand, there is some great Merlot out there in the market that is priced to sell.

I just had an Umbrian example of Merlot, and it was fantastic--and it in no way resembled a simple, over-oaked fruit bomb or a breakfast spread. Instead, the 2004 Falesco Pesano Merlot was an excellent QPR steal for just under $12. I purchased the bottle back before this blog was born in early July 2006 for $11.99 at Costco. A quick search on Vinquire revealed that if you want a bottle of the stuff now, you can expect to pay $25.99 at the one retailer who sells it online. More recent vintages can be had for between $11.99 and $16.99 in case you want to try your luck.

What did I experience when I pulled the cork? The first thing I smelled was fresh-ground coffee. Yes, not a breakfast spread, but a breakfast drink. This was followed by another breakfast smell: bacon fat. The combination was enticing and mouth-watering. In the flavors, I tasted cherry, blackberry, and more coffee bean. There was a smoky aftertaste that was quite distinctive. This was a lot of wine for $12 and I think that it probably benefited from the 2+ years that it received in my various storage spaces. We had it with meatloaf and potatoes, which was a perfect pairing for the meaty and smoky flavors in the wine, but you could just as easily pair this with a roast or stew. Yes, you could have it with an In 'n Out Burger if you must be like Miles.

One of the wine mags gave this an 89, which in my opinion is just plain silliness. This wine was distinctive, widely available when it was released, and worth every penny that it cost and then some. If the more recent versions of this wine are anywhere near this good (and CellarTracker reviews of the 2005 vintage suggest it is) then you should grab this if you see it. You're in for a real treat.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #48: Roots

The theme for today's 4th anniversary/ 48th Wine Blogging Wednesday is "Roots." Our founder and host, Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours, asked us to dig down into our wine memories and taste a wine that helped to make us the wine drinker we are today.

For the occasion I opened my last cherished bottle of 2002 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley. ($38.69, Costco way back in March of 2006 before this blog was a gleam in my eye; expect to pay $50-$60 in today's market)

The reason why I chose this wine is not because it's what I drank in college, nor was it my first fine wine.

The reason why I chose this wine is because I first came to understand that wine had roots--that it came from grapes that were grown somewhere and then made into wine by somebody--at Polly Solari's sprawling ranch house on Larkmead Lane in the summer of 1987 when I was a mere 22. It was here, with Polly and Larry Solari, that Larkmead Vineyards began. I was visiting the house with a close friend that I met in Oxford who, it turned out, had a grandmother who lived in the wine country. Mrs. Solari was warm, hospitable, and pulled together fabulous meals out of some amazing produce grown right there. To this day I can remember the taste of the warm white peaches that we ate with vanilla ice cream in her backyard overlooking the grape vines. My friend Geoff and I walked out into the vineyards--my first touch of the vine!--and there were discussions of wind towers, pruning, grape varieties, and more. It would take me another ten years to return to Napa and take up wine with a passion, but I think that the roots of that passion go back to those warm summer days and the extended Solari family's generosity and friendliness.

Today, the Solari wine making tradition (which began with Mrs. Solari's husband who came to the US from Tuscany in 1920) is in the hands of Kate Solari Baker and her husband Cam Baker, wine maker Andy Smith, and winery manager Colin MacPhail. Larry Solari was president of United Vintners (think: Inglenook and Beaulieu), chairman of the Wine Institute, and bought the Larkmead properties in 1948. Larry Solari believed in the potential that the property had to produce exceptional wine, and the bottle I tasted certainly lived up to that promise.

The 2002 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunning example of a Napa red wine. It was rich, dark purple in color and had pure aromas of blackberry, plum, cassis, and some herbal notes. The flavors came forward in lovely layers of black currant, blackberry, graphite, and eucalyptus. The aftertaste lingered, with smoke and herbs catching in the back of your throat. At a time when critics are pronouncing any Napa Cab a bargain if it is $75, this one delivers excellent QPR for its complexity and its elegance, as well as its price point.

This is not a monstrous Cab that you will have a hard time matching with food, but to really make the wine shine I'd serve it with some grilled London broil, some Fingerling potatoes sliced in half the long way, tossed with olive oil, rosemary, and salt, and roasted in the oven for about 35 minutes at 400 degrees. Toss a salad, slice some farmstand tomatoes, and cut yourself some crusty bread and you have a meal that Mrs. Solari would have approved which will also complement the wine beautifully.

If you ever get the chance to try some Larkmead wine, I urge you to do so. Not only do they make red wines, they also make Tocai Friulano from some of the oldest plantings in Napa (1893!), and have a second label called Meadowlark. The Cabernet is currently by allocation only, through the Firebelle List (named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was an early owner of the Larkmead properties and also known as "Firebelle Lil").

Thanks to Lenn for a great theme, and this is one of those WBWs where I'm really looking forward to reading the other posts.

Oh, Canada! A Great Gewurztraminer

Our neighbors to the north make some great wine--and not just ice wine, either. Until now, I have to admit that the only Canadian wines that I've had were the lovely dessert wines that are made after grapes freeze on the vines.

But I just opened up a 2006 Konzelmann Estate Winery Gewurztraminer Reserve and it was an excellent QPR revelation. ($11.99, Costco; available online for under $15) The 2005 vintage is pictured to the left, because I threw out the bottle before taking a label shot. The Konzelmann's have been making wine since the 19th century, first in Germany and more recently on Lake Ontario. They selected their Canadian site because it has a microclimate similar to Alsace, and is particularly well-suited to Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay.

For just over $10 I enjoyed their off-dry Gewurztraminer that had almost textbook varietal characteristics. The wine was a rich, golden color. Pronounced, perfumed aromas of peach blossom and flowers were the preamble to flavors of peach, nectarines, and golden delicious apples. Everything about this wine was sun-drenched and juicy, and though the wine was off-dry it seemed more soft than sweet and in good balance.

This wine would be perfect with spicy Thai or Indian food, where the sweet fruity flavors would be a nice counterpoint to the warm cumin and coriander and bright lemongrass and basil that are common in foods from these regions. We had it with Coconut Curry Pork with Snow Peas. The meat and vegetables were tossed in a sauce made with coconut milk and Thai red curry paste. The dish has cubes of mango in it, and the mango brought out all the rich peach and nectarine flavors. With some nutty brown rice and this juicy Gewurztraminer, it was an ideal pairing.

What was the last Canadian wine that you had? If you have any suggestions for other good value Canadian bottlings, please leave them in the comments below.

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Summerwines for Summertime

As you may have been able to tell from yesterday's post, I'm in the mood for summertime. When the temperatures climb there's nothing like a chilled white wine to put a smile on your face and a bit of pep in your step. In the summer, I tend to like wines that are either bracing (think: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc) or brightly floral (think: Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Rhone whites, Spanish Verdelho). Recently I had two whites that are widely available that fit the bill for summertime white wines perfectly.

The first wine, from the bracing side of the coin, was the 2002 Domaine des Baumard Savennieres. ($17.29, Costco; available for $16-$22 through online merchants) Loire fans like fellow wine blogger Brooklynguy think highly of wines from this region, and I've picked up a few of them over the years and not been disappointed with any of them. This bottling was a very good QPR example of a French Chenin Blanc with some age. Chenin Blanc can be held for quite a while if you've got a good cellar or wine fridge, so it's not one of those white wines that you have to drink before the summer is over for fear it will get tired. I purchased this bottle a year ago at the Costco in beautiful downtown Burbank, and was worried it was corked when I first opened it, but any possible taint blew off quickly. Once poured, the wine was pale straw in color. It had abundant and easily detected aromas of lime, chalk, and almonds. The flavors were also nutty, citrusy (somewhere between a lime and a lemon), and had some nice mineral notes thrown in there. The flavors were piercing and very intense, but not acidic or sharp. There was a chalky aftertaste left in your mouth after you sipped it. We had it with a citrus-rubbed salmon grilled on the BBQ and an Asian-style spinach salad with orange and avocado and the wine's citrus notes paired beautifully with all the citrus in the two dishes.

From the floral camp I tried a 2006 Pyramid Valley Kerner Estate Pinot Blanc from New Zealand. ($22.80, Garagiste; available through online merchants for $24-$32). Even though this wine is a little pricey, it is still an excellent QPR choice for the flavor and quality it delivers and is well worth the splurge if you are having a special dinner in June for a graduation, Father's Day, or pre-wedding event. Like the Baumard, the Pyramid Valley wine was noteworthy for its intensity of flavor and aroma. But in this case the aromas were of apple, honeysuckle, and beeswax and the flavors were of honeyed apple and stone. The wine had a juicy aftertaste and would be a nice change of pace for lovers of dry Riesling. It was so good we fought over who would get the last bit from the bottle! We had it with an equally aromatic dish of pork medallions with a light Chinese sauce of ginger and lemon. The honeyed notes in the wine paired beautifully with the ginger.

Whether you like your summer white wines bracing or floral, or somewhere in between, there are a lot of wallet-friendly choices out there for you to try. And stay tuned for next week's Wine Blogging Wednesday because white Rhone varieties make for terrific summer drinking, too.

Pocket-Friendly Priorat

Two confessions to start out: first, I don't drink much wine from the Tarragona area of Spain known as the Priorat because they're usually out of my price range; second, I like a good fruit bomb every now and again, and occasionally even a wine that has been manipulated to suit A Certain Palate That Shall Be Unnamed.

That's why I decided to write about the 2004 Celler Can Blau from the Montsant DO, which forms a crescent shaped arc of vineyards around the much pricier Priorat DOC. There will be Spanish wine traditionalists who might take exception to my giving this a very good QPR designation, but honestly this is a seriously good buy for those of you who like bold, smoky reds. And if you haven't heard of Montsant, it's an appellation to watch out for if (like me) Priorat wines are often out of your price range.

The 2004 Cellar Can Blau is a terrific wine, that is drinking beautifully now. If you have a bottle, I think you might be able to hang on to it for as much as 18 months more, if you are keeping it carefully. The wine was rich plum in color, with decided aromas of smoke, leather, and blackberries. The ripe blackberry aromas continued through onto the tongue, where they seemed at times as if they were dipped in chocolate. The chocolate turned dusty, like cocoa powder, and melded with the bittersweet tannins and smoke of the aftertaste. Like many wines from the region, this is made from a blend of about equal parts of Carignan, Grenache, and Syrah.

That's a lot of wine for $12.69, which is what I paid for it in the summer of 2006 at Costco. I can't find it online any more, but I wanted to review it anyway because the 2006 vintage has been released and is in stores now, and seems to have a very similar flavor profile. The 2005 did not, from what I can tell (though I hasten to add I never drank it myself). I'd recommend you but a few bottles and drink them over the next few years. Expect to pay between $14 and $17 for the 2006 either online or at your local store..

Is this wine made for New World Palates? Absolutely. A tad spoofulated? Perhaps. Absolutely delicious? Yes, that too. A bargain? Undoubtedly. Once in a while a chocolate dipped blackberry fruit bomb is a delicious, opulent treat (and most readers probably have a wine that fits into this category, even if they usually prefer something leaner). What will I be drinking tomorrow? I think I'll have a Cabernet Franc to keep my palate on an even kilter.

Here Comes the Sun: Two Cool Sauvignon Blancs

Temperatures went above 90 degrees this weekend in LA. I know that it may be snowing where you are, but the sun and hot temperatures are coming. When they do, there is no wine that beats the heat more than Sauvignon Blanc. Drinking a chilled Sauvignon Blanc is the gustatory equivalent of laying down in cool morning grass under a lemon tree and being spritzed by a garden hose.

Stores are starting to get in their new Sauvignon Blanc releases, and I have two for you to look out for that are made in similar styles but come from different parts of the world. This means that while both are crisp and cooling, they deliver very different taste profiles. Hopefully one of the two will appeal to you and you'll get some in the house for when the summer weather breaks.

First up is the very good QPR 2006 Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc. ($10.89, Costco; $13-$17 from other merchants) This is a classic Marlborough style Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. The winery is new to me, and I've already had their Pinot Noir recommended to me by a reader, so it may be that this is one of those names to watch out for in the store as a reliable value producer. It has a typically pale, almost translucent color. Aromas of grapefruit, fresh cut grass, and a zing of lemon zest are consistent with the cool, clear appearance of the wine. The flavors are all across the citrus scale, with a decidedly grapefruity aftertaste, along with some herbal and mineral notes. The wine gets its crispness in part from being fermented in stainless steel tanks at cool temperatures, which helps maintain freshness.

Here in the US, the 2006 CrauforD Maroon Vineyard Highlander Sauvignon Blanc from the Napa Valley also goes through cool temperature stainless steel fermentation. ($10/375ml, 34 North Wine Merchants; $13.50/750ml from online merchants) As in the case of the Saint Cloud Sauvignon Blanc, this keeps the wine crisp and fresh. But this example from Napa both the colors and the flavors of the wine are richer, despite the fact that there has been no malolactic fermentation or use of oak. The wine has aromas of stone fruit (specifically nectarine), citrus (specifically lemon), and melon. The color is pale straw, just a shade darker than the Saint Cloud. The flavors are more reminiscent of hay and melon, but the aftertaste is still fresh and crisp. Another very good QPR choice for this summer.

Either wine would be excellent with a wide range of summer foods, including salads, chicken grilled with lemon and herbs, or shellfish. Both are perfect for sipping, enjoying with meals, and cooling down in the hot summer evenings to come.

Three Spring Party Whites

It's spring. The clocks have been set forward, the days are longer, and we're looking at a new season of family meals, christenings, graduations, birthdays, and showers. Not the spring kind, either. The wedding kind. (photo by Gregor Rohrig)

You may be in the position of hosting such an event. What to serve in the wine department? Not a red, with the increasing temperatures and the fresh vegetables that crop up on most party tables this kind of year.

What you need is easy, quaffable whites. But you don't want factory-style whites--you want something a bit more distinctive. And you don't want to spend a king's ransom on the wines, either, especially not if you are hosting more than 50.

So here are three recommended whites, all of which go with a different kind of spring food, and all of which can be had for around $10. Some a bit more, some a bit less. All are delicious, and were just tested out on 75 guinea pigs--I mean guests.
If you are serving roast chicken, pasta with a creamy sauce, or varied cheeses: Get yourself some 2006 Razor's Edge Chardonnay. I got mine from domaine547 (my new party wine headquarters) for $9.99/bottle, but I cleaned them out of the stuff, so you may have to elsewhere for yours. This is an unoaked chardonnay that has a zesty yet creamy set of flavors and aromas that will be a nice pairing for the food you are serving. There are smooth apple aromas, a nice apple and honeydew melon set of flavors, and a freshness that keeps you coming back for more. Good chilled, but because it's not oaked it's not horrible when it warms up a bit (as it's bound to do during your party). Excellent QPR.

If you are serving asparagus frittata, goat cheese, or vegetarian dishes: Get yourself some 2006 Cameron Hughes Lot 26 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc for $11. This was released last apring, and I've already given it a thumbs-up, but I had a bottle this week and its every bit as fresh and delicious as it was 9 months ago. Check out the full review here, and pick some up at your local Costco or directly from Cameron Hughes. The zingy herbal profile of the wine is made for salads, it sings with goat cheese, and it is just fine with one of the world's most-difficult-to-eat-with wine vegetables: asparagus. Excellent QPR.

If you are serving mixed appetizers and dishes: The wine for you is the 2006 Zonin Pinot Grigio Amore. I received this wine as a sample, but you should be able to find it in a store near you for around $8. This is a simple, straightforward, classic Pinot Grigio, which is seems has become the default wine option in bars and restaurants all over America. It has abundant bitter lemon aromas, and a citrusy flavor with a pithy edge that keeps the wine fresh and interesting. This is not a wine to have with a burger, but it will certainly shine with anything in the appetizer department, and the price is right to keep you (and your guests) happy. Very good QPR.

If none of these sound right, or you just want some help picking the perfect wine for your special occasion, ask your favorite wine merchant for some suggestions that fit within your budget. In the past, I've gone to BevMo and done my best, but a lot of stress was taken off my shoulders this year when I simply asked domaine547 for their recommendations. The wine they suggested was terrific--and we ran out. Is there a better endorsement?

Good luck with your spring parties and if you know there's one in your future get the wine you want NOW. It will be one less thing to worry about.

Cozy, Comfortable, and Classy: Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Of all the wines I love, there are none that I love so much as the Rhone blends from Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Some wines make me shout with excitement, others impress me with their finesse, and then there are those that intrigue me because of their rarity or their exceptional value. But only Chateauneuf-du-Pape makes me feel like I've put on a cozy, comfortable sweater and slipped into my favorite chair. The heavy embossed bottles, with the keys of St. Peter crossed just over the label, are classy enough for any fine dinner party, yet they never seem to intimidate anyone, either, perhaps because they are not so highly touted as Bordeaux and Burgundy. Despite their relatively low profile, wine critics love them, and bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape often appear at the top of "the best wines of" lists, as they do this year.

What's even better is that truly excellent wines from Chateauneuf-du-Pape can be surprisingly affordable.

The 2003 Perrin & Fils Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Sinards is a case in point. I bought this last January at Costco for $23.69. You can still find it online for between $25 and $38, which is not too bad for a wine this good with some age on it. My first tip, though, is to by them a bit younger and age them yourself, even for a short period. This wine was only 2 years into its suggested "drinking window" when I bought it and eleven months older when I drank it. But it should continue to develop and evolve for the next five or six years, if you have space in your cellar for it. That's one of the nicest things about Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines: they tend to be ready for drinking much sooner than their red neighbors to the north in Bordeaux, and yet they have aging potential, too. The January 2008 edition of Food & Wine Magazine, for instance, includes 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Papes as one of the best wines to buy this year and cellar for the future, since the 2005 vintage is seen as one of the most age-worthy in recent years.

When I popped the cork on the 2003 Perrin & Fils Les Sinards all the comfort and excitement I associate with one of these great Rhone red blends was evident from the very first aromas that came from the bottle. Scents of plum, leather, thyme, and tobacco were accented with just a hint of ripe apricot. As if this wasn't complexity enough for one wine, the flavors included plum, allspice, and blackberry. The wine had a lingering finish that was warm and spicy. This was a lot of wine for $24, and something that would fit well on any holiday table whether you're serving beef, turkey, goose, or even a vegetarian option like mushroom and chestnut stuffing. Excellent QPR, and I will be seeking out other vintages of this wine.

The Perrin family has roots in the Rhone that extend deep into the 16th century. They are known for making superb wines, including their flagship Chateau Beaucastel red wine. The Perrins are long-time partners of Robert Haas's vineyard and winery in Paso Robles, Tablas Creek, which has done so much to raise the quality, and consciousness, of Rhone varieties here in the US. So when you drink this wine, you are also tasting more than a little bit of history with each and every sip. But the Perrins aren't content to rely just on their history--they embrace the future as well as the past and explore sustainable farming practices as a way to link together traditionally-proven growing techniques with their concern for the environment. They even blog, and you can learn a lot about the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation, and their viticultural efforts, by reading it.

If you see a bottle of 2003, 2004, or 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape when you're in the wine store and it's a good price, you might want to give it a try since all three were recommended vintages. And if you see a bottle of Perrin & Fils, snatch it up right away. I may be behind you in the aisle, and if you show the slightest indecision I'll have it in my cart before you get a chance to think again.

How do You Malbec?

Malbec is a big, blue, brawny red wine that is most often associated with the Mendoza wine region of Argentina, even though its roots can be found in Bordeaux, where it was used for centuries as a blending grape. I've had two different kinds of Argentinian Malbec. One is soft, fruity, and plush. The other is surprisingly complex, with herbs, leather, and mineral notes mixed in. No matter what kind of Malbec you prefer, there are bottles out there for under $15 and they are wonderful red wines for fall because they go with such a wide range of soups, stews, and roasts.

Take the 2005 Kaiken Malbec for instance. ($8.99, Costco; available from other merchants for $8-$15) This was a malbec that was soft, lush, and pleasantly easy to drink. There were huge blackberry and blueberry aromas that were so clear and distinct there is no way anyone could take a sniff and say "I can't smell anything but wine." The wine tasted plush, and had a thick, velvety texture. There was a fair amount of oak mixed into the blackberry fruit flavors that dominated this wine. Some might call it a simple fruit bomb, but it was awfully tasty and I thought it represented good QPR.

A completely different Malbec drinking experience was had when domaine547 gave me a sample of the 2006 Bodega Renacer Punto Final Malbec to try ($13.99, domaine547). This was fruity, to be sure--but it was no simple fruit bomb. Similar aromas of blueberry and blackberry were accompanied by notes of leather and anise which made for a combination of smells that was rich, deep, and autumnal. The berries and spice aromas were echoed in the flavors, but the wine had additional notes of herbs (I thought I tasted eucalyptus, but others described it as mint) and a tight mineral twang. I wondered if it was still a bit too young to reach its full potential, but given its complexity the extra $5 was worth it to me and I thought for under $15 this was excellent QPR for a surprisingly complicated wine. Bodega Renacer makes a reserve version of this wine, too, which I've never had. If you've tasted that, please leave a comment and let us know how it compared to the regular, "classic" bottling pictured here.

We drank these wines at dinner party with grilled steaks and all the sides you would get in a steakhouse. The Bodega Renacer Malbec was drained long before the Kaiken Malbec, so I definitely think it was the wine that the six of us preferred. No matter whether you like your reds soft and fruity, or complex and meaty, there is a Malbec for you at a price you can afford. How do you Malbec?

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.

Indian Food and Wine Find

The challenges of pairing pizza and wine are exceeded only by the challenges associated with pairing Indian food with wine. Most people just have beer. For me, though, it has to be vino.

Usually, my go-to wines are riesling and gewurztraminer. They have enough of a sweet impression to handle the heat of the food without amplifying it with tannins, and their aromatic profiles also stand up to all of those spices that waft out of the pots. But I was surprised to discover a Rhone-style white blend could be an equally good partner for Indian food.

The 2003 Treana Mer Soleil is a white blend made with the Rhone varietals viognier and marsanne and it was superb with Indian food ($14.99, Costco; available elsewhere for between $20 and $30). The prelude to the wine was rich and sweet honey and apricot aromas laced with lemon blossom. At this point, I was ready to dive into the wine! Sipping it, my first impression was of satin, as the marsanne gave it a full, heavy feeling in your mouth. Despite the wine's first impressions, it is actually a dry wine with flavors of golden delicious apples and pink grapefruit dipped in honey. Good acidity made for a well structured wine that was refreshing and fresh.There is the merest suggestion of botrytis in the long and luscious finish, although my research did not indicate that botrytis was really present in the wine. Very good QPR.

We had this superb wine with Maya Kaimal's Black Pepper Chicken Curry, which originally appeared in her second cookbook, Savoring the Spice Coast of India and was reprinted in an article in Food and Wine Magazine. We had it with some steamed basmati rice, and I pulled out some leftover corn on the cob to use in a recipe from Sunset magazine for spicy corn and mustard seeds. The curry has coconut milk in it, so the heaviness of the wine and he creaminess of the curry's sauce were well-matched. And the balance of sweetness and acidity in the wine was just right for the rich spiciness of the dishes.

This is the second Rhone white that I thought would pair well with Indian food (the other was a Kris Curran Grenache Blanc). So if you've never been drawn to riesling and gewurztraminer, but want wine that goes with curry, don't be afraid to try another aromatic white. You may make an Indian food and wine find, too.

2007: the Summer of Roses

1967 was the Summer of Love, when Hippie counterculture was born in the streets of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. Now, forty years later (ouch!) baby boomers and their younger friends can enjoy the Summer of Roses.

Rose wines are everywhere. In newspaper and magazine columns, piled high in end-cap displays, and on the internet, you can't move without coming into contact with another rose recommendation. Since December I've tasted nearly two dozen roses, and written up reviews here on the site of quite a few. My peak of consumption was in April with Catavino's Virtual Tasting of roses. They've come from the US, France, Spain, and Argentina and have been made of pinot noir, cabernet, grenache, and malbec. Eric Asimov may be the only holdout who is still not wowed by the prospects before him, even though Dr. Vino launched an impressive defense on the pink stuff's behalf.

The 2006 Cameron Hughes Lot 37 Campo de Borja Rose of Garnacha may be the best bottle of rose I've had all summer ($7.99, Costco; $10 from Cameron Hughes). This wine is not a salmon-colored, delicate Tavel-style rose--much as I love them, too. Instead, the deep, rich color of the wine is your first indication that this is a rose wine that most red wine lovers will find appealing. Floral aromas mix with whiffs of pretty raspberry and strawberry. The first taste you get is pure strawberry essence, with a note of watermelon on the finish. There are indeed some streaks of stony minerality running through it, but the overwhelming impression is round, rich, and dry. Made from 100% grenache, it is the perfect BBQ wine and represents excellent QPR.

Grenache, as I mentioned in a previous post, is superb with food grilled on the bbq, and this wine was no exception. I paired it with a recipe that caught my eye in the New York Times for cashew chicken. You make a paste with jalapenos, cashews, herbs, and spices and then smear it over the chicken (I used drumsticks) before popping them on the grill for 20-30 minutes. The wine's crisp berry flavors were the perfect foil for the green spiciness of the jalapeno and the buttery cashews paired nicely with the round, full-bodied feeling of this rose.

As with all Cameron Hughes wines, we don't know who grew the grapes, but we do know that they came from the relatively young Campo de Borja DO. I've bought quite a few Cameron Hughes wines recently, and I've yet to have a single one that has disappointed me or failed to represent excellent QPR. So use his "lot locator" on the website to see if your local Costco stocks this (and other) Cameron Hughes wines, or order some directly. There are two more months of hot weather before us. Get yourself some drums(ticks), a tambourine, and a tie-die shirt and celebrate. If you're going to San Francisco, both the San Jose and Novato Costcos have CH Lot 37, so pick it up on the way in to the city. It's the summer of roses. Cameron Hughes is making it easy for us to really enjoy it.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #35: Spanish Value Wines

Welcome to the 35th Wine Blogging Wednesday, the monthly virtual tasting event started nearly 3 years ago by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours and still going strong under the guidance of Michelle and Kevin of My Wine Education, today's hosts. Their theme for July was Spanish value wines, and they asked us to try to find a bottling under $10.

The wine I found was made by Bodegas Castano, located in the Yecla DO, south of the city of Madrid. They have a comprehensive website, complete with a soundtrack and flash. If you want something a bit more narrative, check out the bodegas' profile over at the Wine Doctor. The family that operates Bodegas Castano, one of the largest vineyards in the appellation, have been making wine for generations. In the 1980s they rebuilt their winery, and have been making high-quality, budget-friendly wines ever since making full use of their old vines such as the ones that produced the grapes for this bottling.

The 2003 Bodegas Castano Yecla Solanera ($9.95, Costco; available from many merchants for between $10 and $19) is a big, bold wine made with 75% monastrell (or mourvedre, as it is known elsewhere). The monastrell is blended with cabernet sauvignon and a touch of grenache. At present, the wine is taking about 45 minutes to fully open up. Once it does, abundant cherry aromas emerge along with a bit of black tea and herbs. The aromas are more effusive than the flavors, which are a bit muted with cherries and mineral notes. This is a tannic wine, and can make the sides of your tongue pucker, but they soften with food and with decanting. I found that this wine wasn't fully integrated yet--its alcohol, aromas, flavors, and tannins didn't quite hang together into a harmonious package. Still, once we'd let it sit for a while it was an easy drinker with good QPR. If you've got a bottle of this wine, I'd put it aside until the winter and see how it's doing then, or remember to decant the wine before you drink it.

This big, bold wine needed some hearty food to go with it and help tame the tannins. We had it with rib-eye steaks grilled outside, and some baked potatoes with sour cream and chives. These were a perfect partner with the wine, and I would recommend something similarly meaty if you have a bottle.

Thanks to Michelle and Kevin for their great theme. I'll have the roundup posted once they manage to draw together all the contributions from what I imagine will be a popular event. And, as always, I'll see you here next month for WBW#36, the theme of which is still TBA.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #34: Washington State Cabernet

Welcome to Wine Blogging Wednesday #34, the online virtual tasting event dreamed up by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours and hosted this month by Catie over at Through the Walla Walla Grape Vine.

Catie picked a great theme for this month's event: Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. I've had a few cabs from this region, and have always liked them, but this was my first opportunity to try to explain why. And though Catie encouraged us to look beyond Columbia Crest and Chateau Ste. Michelle, I had a hard time locating a cab by anyone else in my neck of the woods. I checked four stores, but then threw my hands up in defeat and opened something in the closet.

What I opened was the 2003 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon Indian Wells ($13.99, Costco). Indian Wells is an area in central Washington that extends from the Wahluke Slope to Cold Creek along the Columbia River. It was a dark, inky purple-red in color. Warm aromas of spice, currant, and tobacco leaf were interesting and inviting--especially for a cabernet at this price point. Flavors of red currant, blackberry, herbs, and more warm spices followed through on the promising aromas. The well-integrated tannins made for a plush drinking experience, which was round and fruit-forward without becoming a characterless fruit bomb. This wine had excellent QPR for a cabernet sauvignon, and I would definitely buy it again if I saw it.

What impressed me most about this wine was its balance. Though fruity and rich it was not heavy, oaky, or demanding like some California Cabs can be. It was easy to pair with food, especially food with an earthy or smoky edge like smoked apple chicken sausage and some mashed potatoes. Most cabernets seem to demand beef for me, but this wine didn't. It would be good with a steak, don't get me wrong, but think of things that are grilled or smoked as well. They'd be great with this wine.

Thanks to Catie for such a great theme--and I'm sorry I couldn't find a more exotic bottling. I will try to seek out more Washington cabs based on this experience. As always, I'll have a link to the roundup of all tasting notes when its completed, and an announcement about WBW #35 as soon as it is posted.

Fancy Dinner for 6? The $44 Cameron Hughes Wine Solution

June is all about big celebrations: graduation, Father's Day, weddings. What this means for many of us is that we are hosting, and attending, more than our usual share of fancy dinners. This month, lots of us are trying to figure out how to stretch our food and wine budgets to accommodate special meals with grandparents, visiting relatives, dads, grads, brides, grooms, and in-laws. (photo by Ian Britton of FreeFoto.com)

What you need is a little help from Cameron Hughes and your local Costco. With them on your side, you can serve each guest 3 glasses of wine (one sparkling, one white, and one red) for $44--total. Yes, these will be normal size glasses, not a huge beaker full of wine like the picture to the right. If you want to serve your guests more generous pours, buy two bottles of each. At $88 dollars for 6 bottles, it's a steal. I received these bottles as samples from the winery, but I would (and did ) happily pay retail for them after I went through the samples. This was my first Cameron Hughes experience. Trust me, it won't be my last.

People can get a bit sniffy about Cameron Hughes wine, and make comparisons between them and Trader Joe's "Two Buck Chuck." I've had both. There is no comparison. These are wines with much more complexity and finesse. The reason? Like a European negociant, Hughes buys his grapes in lots from top-notch growers who have a surplus, and then in most cases he bottles wines made just from that lot to preserve their unique characteristics and distinctive flavors. Sometimes the production totals are relatively small--a few hundred cases--so you have to move quickly to get your stash before they're sold out. To bring them to you at the best possible price, Hughes makes his wines available directly from the winery or from Costco, cutting out the markups that typically go to distributors. And, Cameron Hughes is the first US winery to be carbon neutral, so his wine is good and good for the environment, too.

Here's how to have your own fancy sit-down dinner and serve three excellent QPR wines that taste like they set you back $100 but will cost only $44.

Before dinner, serve your guests the NV Cameron Hughes Lot 25 ($21). Packaged in a classy bottle with platinum wrappings, it's labeled NV for technical reasons having to do with dosage, even though the vast majority of this wine came from grapes picked in 1998. The wine's age gives it wonderful richness of color and and a biscuity taste, as well as a refined texture from its tiny bubbles. Flavors of apple and a round nuttiness made this a hair shy of brut, in my opinion, but this was perfect for me since I like a sparkling wine that has some soft edges to it. Made from equal parts of chardonnay and pinot noir grapes picked in the Carneros AVA, this is a nice step up if you're used to drinking the standard non-vintage $20 sparklers. And it's good with cheese, guacamole, shrimp cocktail--a very versatile food wine.

Try serving a first course of asparagus spears wrapped in prosciutto, or a leafy green salad with sherry vinaigrette and warm goat cheese rounds. The 2006 Cameron Hughes Lot 26 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($11; $8.99 at my local Costco) would be a perfect partner for either of these dishes. I like sauvignon blancs fermented in stainless steel like this one, and I really love the relatively low 12.8% alc./vol. It was a textbook example of a Marlborough sauvignon blanc, with a pale, translucent color and tangy aromas of cut grass and citrus rind. The flavors are predominantly white grapefruit with a bit of lemon, but the grass notes are reintroduced in the juicy finish. This makes it a perfect summer sipper and for about $9 a bottle, it is no wonder that every time I go to the local Costco there are fewer and fewer cases to be had.

For the main event, many of us will head straight for the beef. Steaks, roasts, and London Broils are favorites at fancy dinners. Of course, this kind of main course demands a rich and complex wine, like the 2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 29 Lake County Meritage ($11; $8.99 at my local Costco). Poured into a decanter and tasted blind, most drinkers would think it was a young cru bourgeois from Bordeaux. Made in a restrained Old World style, the blend contains cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc. This wine had abundant tannins, but it drank very well after 30 minutes in the decanter, and even better later. It was dark plum in color, with aromas of pencil lead, herbs, blackberry, and currant. As the wine bloomed, there were flavors of eucalyptus, more herbs, plum, and blackberry. I suspect this will age into a beauty. Sadly, Lot 29 is already sold out at the winery, but it may be available to you locally--there are still a few cases at my Costco in the LA area, and I ran out yesterday and bought 3 more bottles to stick in the cellar. If you can't find it, you might want to snap up one of their other new releases, like the 2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 34 Rutherford Cabernet ($14; $11.99 at my local Costco and now also cooling its heels in my cellar).

All three wines represented excellent QPR, with their textbook varietal characteristics, yummy flavor profiles, and low cost. These wines tasted special, and sitting back and sipping a distinctive 9-year-old sparkling wine with my guests that retails for around $20 makes me happy. And if you're reading this blog, it will probably make you happy, too. We are the people for whom Cameron Hughes makes wines: consumers who know enough to know they don't want oak chip tea bags in their chardonnay, but don't necessarily want to pay $30 or more for a bottle to drink with dinner.

If you missed your chance to get Lot 29, be sure that you don't miss any future releases by signing up for their email newsletters. I seem never to be in my Costco when the Cameron Hughes Wines arrive--and they do go quickly--but the newsletters tell you specifically which Costcos are receiving which wines, and they let you know those that are available on the website for you non-Costco types. I've got a few more bottles to share with you over the next few weeks (including a Chardonnay and a Syrah-Mourvedre blend), so stay tuned for more Cameron Hughes reviews.

Of Costcos and Cabernets

Not all Costcos are created equal. Just ask any wine lover.

Ask me if I buy wine at Costco and you are likely to hear a rant about the wine buyer at my local warehouse who buys pretty much Napa cabernet and chardonnay. I'm not alone in thinking this selection is uninspired, since you can go in October and back in April and basically the same wine will be sitting there groaning "buy me" in tired little wine voices. Give me even a sympathetic murmur and this rant will turn into a plaintive whine as I recall the wonders of the Vacaville, CA Costco where I used to shop and where a wide variety of interesting bottles could be had for a song. I will then rhapsodize about the Bordeaux selection at the Novato Costco off Highway 101, my requisite pit stop on the way to the Sonoma Coast. At this point my questioner has either wandered away out of boredom or is waiting for me to draw breath so they can ask about frozen chicken breasts/pallets of Perrier/vats of mixed nuts.

You see, Costco wine selections are determined by the store's buyer. Get a good buyer, you get good wine. Get a bad buyer--you get nothing but Chard and Cab and some very tired Australian shiraz that sits for 9 months. Finally, I asked the folks on Chowhound's wine board if they could tell me which LA area Costco has good wine. And the answer came, in the voice of Johnny Carson: beautiful downtown Burbank.

Thank you, Burbank Costco wine buyer, for stocking two islands of bins and mountains of pallets with really, really good wine. You know you're in good hands when the pallets do not contain case after case of Clos du Bois but instead case after case of Cotes du Rhone. And the bins--bliss. I scored the 2002 Domaine des Baumard Savennières ($17.29), which was recently included in Eric Asimov's 2nd mixed case of wine over at the New York Times. (FYI: they also had bottles of that great French chablis I reviewed recently). I also found two great values in Italian wines: the 2006 Bellenda Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene ($13.89) and the 2003 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva ($16.79). I couldn't resist the 2003 Château Ducluzeau ($12.79), a cru bourgeois wine from Bordeaux that hails from Listrac in the Medoc. And finally, for reasons I cannot fully justify given my reaction to the chardonnays at my local Costco, I picked up the 2003 Argyle Chardonnay ($8.99). My only excuse is that the grapes come from Oregon!

If you have a favorite Costco with a great wine buyer, leave a shout out in the comments section below.

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.

Back to the 60s with a Smokin' Sauvignon Blanc

Chateau St. Jean wines are available everywhere--at least in LA. In the supermarkets, CostPlus, and of course in every pallets section of every Costco in the greater metro area. I recently picked up a bottle of their 2004 Fume Blanc from Sonoma County, and it turned out to be a good QPR wine with a 60s, retro feel to it.

What, you might ask, is fume blanc? It's actually a term unique to America, coined in 1968 by the legendary Napa winemaker Robert Mondavi, to describe a dry, oaked sauvignon blanc. Modeled after the Loire's Pouilly-Fume, the fume blanc wines were intended to be smoky, inflected with the taste of minerals, and elegant. They are a far, far cry from the New Zealand style sauvignon blancs popular today, with their tangy, grassy, and citrus flavors and aromas. Back in the 60s, though, this was as trendy as could be when it came to sauvignon blanc.

The 2004 Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc from Sonoma County ($7.49, Costco) is pale straw in color. It has aromas of smoke and citrus, which are followed by round flavors of melons, citrus, pear, and oak. This wine was a little disjointed--the flavors didn't evolve smoothly, one into each other but seemed at times to almost fight for dominance. Initially, the smoke won out, and if you're going to try this you might want to open it a bit before you drink it and let some of the smoke blow off. As the wine sat in the glass, the melon and pear flavors began to move to the foreground. This wine might overwhelm delicate food, and I would recommend thinking of pairings that might work well with chardonnay, rather than sauvignon blanc if you want to serve this wine with dinner.

I thought the wine would be perfect with a salad, so we had it with a suitably retro, only-in-California fusion salad of hotly contested origin--the Chinese chicken salad--updated by the folks at Sunset magazine to include more vegetables (asparagus and avocado). It was good with the wine, and I suspect that the wine would do equally well with other retro favorites (like chicken tetrazzini), or even a simple (and timeless) roasted chicken.

Having this wine was another good reminder about wine trends and fashions. Soon the New Zealand style sauvignons will have to make way for something else--wonder what that will be? This is one of the true joys of being a wine enthusiast: no two bottles are the same, and the world of choices is always changing and evolving.

A Kiwi Style Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc exploded into the wine world in 1986 with the release of the 1985 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and its crisp, citrusy flavors. In the US, the Cloudy Bay wines set the bar for a new way of making Sauvignon Blanc wines , as well. If you enjoy tangy, unoaked American Sauvignon Blancs, you have New Zealand to thank for it, since before 1986 most US wines were oaked and fermented to taste more like buttery chardonnay.

If you've never had a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, you should try one. And if you like them, be sure to check out the 2005 Te Kairanga Sauvignon Blanc ($12.99, Costco). This is a classy Sauvignon Blanc from Martinborough in the Wairarapa region that is pale straw in color with clear and distinct aromas of passionfruit and lime. These aromas give way to flavors of white grapefruit and more lime. It is very bright and citrusy with a long, tart aftertaste. Ideally, this wine would have some grassy notes to balance out the citrus. A bit one-dimensional--although delicious for someone who likes citrusy wines like me--it represents very good QPR. It's available throughout the US, and should be relatively easy for you to find.

A wine with this abundance of citrus can be a little harder to pair with food than Sauvignon Blancs with a perfect balance between fruity and green, herbal notes. We found a good pairing for this wine with seared tuna, spicy slaw and some of the Barefoot Contessa's Szechuan peanut noodles. It would be equally good with other fish dishes, and with lemon and garlic roasted chicken.