Brought to You By the Letter "B": Betsy's Backacher Bottle Blond

Remember Wine Blogging Wednesday 47--the one brought to you by the letter "S"?

Today I've got a wine for you that's brought to you by the letter "B."

It's the 2006 Spann Vineyards Betsy's Backacher Bottle Blond from the North Coast AVA. ($15.69 from an independent grocery store; you might be able to get it near you for between $14 and $18)

This was one of those wines you pick up and it's unexpectedly fantastic. When I finished it, I couldn't help thinking that it was a great candidate for all around house white with its blend of viognier, semillon, and chardonnay. Depending on what food you pair with it, different nuances will be picked out in the wine. We had it with Jamaican Jerk marinated tuna that I flung on the grill and served with some mango-rice, and it behaved like a Gewurztraminer--all spicy with tropical fruit flavors.

When it comes to the aromas,they are very typical of both Semillon and Chardonnay with scents of Golden Delicous apple and pear. Then you get a faint whiff of peach from the Viognier. Because of the combination of medium- and full-bodied grapes that go into this wine, it feels soft and round in your mouth with flavors of white nectarine, peach, and apple. The wine has a very juicy, almost lip-smacking finish, so it's a good thing it's such an versatile excellent QPR option when you are looking for a white wine to stand up to fall's richer, heavier meals.

This is one of the most interesting white wines I've had in a long time--probably because it's a blend, and therefore has a little multiple personality thing going on. But I really recommend it for just that reason--with few exceptions, this wine will go with everything on your dinner table. And don't be surprised if it turns up in my list of Thanksgiving wine picks for just that reason.

Two White Wine Bargains for the End of Summer

There will be some talk of high-end wines later this week on GWU$20, so to balance out the account books I have not one but two picks for good QPR white wines today that are widely available for under $10 and will get you through the dog days of August.

One is a creamy Chardonnay, the other a light white Bordeaux blend. I received both as samples and they stood out from many of the other bottles I received because they tasted true to their varietal characteristics and were well priced.

First up is the new 2006 Lot 205 Chardonnay. Made by Cartlidge & Brown with fruit from California, the only evidence you will see of their affiliation with the new label is the address of American Canyon on the back. The Lot 205 line of whites and reds will compete handily with Australia in the under $10 category. You should be able to find this near you pretty easily. I was pleasantly surprised by this wine, because it was a nicely balanced, creamy Chardonnay without aggressive oak flavors. It was pale straw in color, and had aromas of butter, cream, and apples. These aromas carried through into the flavors and there was a citrusy, creamy aftertaste that was pleasant and not at all artificial. This wine would be great with grilled chicken with lemon, fried chicken, or grilled halibut. But don't underestimate the appeals of a white wine like this served with some simply munchies and an ice bucket on a Sunday afternoon.

Second up is the 2006 Mouton Cadet Blanc from Baron Philippe de Rothschild. This wine is also available widely for under $10. Made from a mixture of 50% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, and 10% Muscadelle, the wine was pale straw in color like the Chardonnay. The aromas were very different, however: hay, grass, and the white pith of the lemon that rests under the peel. The flavors were dry and slightly tart, dominated by citrus, lemon pith, and hay notes. Overall, the wine had a nice roundness from the Semillon and Muscadelle, and nice freshness from the Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is much better with food than it is without, and would be especially good with shellfish or more delicate fish preparations that emphasized butter and lemon. Not too shabby, and would be great with simple fish preparation. It was good with some goat cheese and crackers, and went nicely with a handful of cashews, too.

With these chilling in the fridge you can settle down to some serious relaxing before everybody comes back from vacation and the kids go back to school. You'll also be able to afford the extra latte you are going to need to get through it all.

A Honey of a Second Label

All over the world, fancy winemakers blessed with more fruit than their limited production wines can use, or fruit that is almost but not quite up to their standards, are crafting wines under second labels. Here in the US, these second labels are often guarded as big secrets. I've had more than one person tell me who the real maker of a second label was as long as I promised not to reveal it. More open "secret second labels" include the great Napa Cab maker Larkmead's second label wine, Meadowlark. Once Gary V has outed you, it's pretty hard to achieve plausible deniability.

In an odd twist, France is quite open about its second labels. Lots of chi-chi makers have second labels, and they're quite proud of them. So it was with real anticipation that I opened a 2003 Sauternes bottled under the second label of the famed Bordeaux producer Chateau Suduiraut. Called Castelnau de Suduiraut, this is (like many second labels) an unbelievably good wine for an unbelievably good price. I received this bottle as a sample from the Bordeaux Wine Bureau, who puts out a list of the 100 top Bordeaux values every year.

To give you some pertinent details, the Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes is a premier cru wine from Bordeaux. The 2003 bottle scored 93 points consistently across the board, and had a suggested retail of $55 for 750ml (though that size bottle is now going for $50-$100). Right now the average price for a 375ml bottle of the stuff is $35.

The 2003 Castelnau de Suduiraut, on the other hand, is available at lots of places for under $15 in the 375ml format, and virtually every place for under $20. Want a bigger bottle? 750ml bottles go for $30-$50.

So how was it? In short, it was excellent QPR. The 2003 Castelnau de Suduiraut Sauternes was a lot of bang for the buck, and though not as transcendent and ethereal as some of the most expensive Sauternes, it was full of the spicy, sweet, and honeyed flavors that make this most people's favorite dessert wine. If you've had dessert wines in the past and found them unidimensional and sickeningly sweet, that's not what you experience in good Sauternes. Instead, the fruit I always think of is pineapple. There is a sweet yet acidic quality to a good Sauternes and this wine had it. It was honey-colored, and slightly less thick than some Sauternes that I've tasted. There were prominent aromas of pineapple, coconut, and honey and these aromas developed perfectly into the flavors. As the wine opened up a bit during the course of the evening, the flavors continued to deepen and gain some weight, which suggested to me that this wine--though delicious now--will be even better in a few years. Because it is not terribly sweet for a dessert wine I would think of pairing it with cheese and fruit for dessert, or just sipping it on its own.

If you are looking for some inexpensive but excellent Sauternes to try, or to buy in multiple bottles so you can stash them away and open one every now and again, this is a no-brainer choice. 2003 was an excellent vintage, and this is an excellent QPR way to get a taste of it.

A Classic White from Bordeaux

When most of us think of whites from Bordeaux, we think of the delicious Sauternes dessert wines made with a luscious blend of sauvignon blanc/semillon grapes that have been kissed by a touch of botrytis or "noble rot." But Bordeaux also makes dry white wines using the same mix of varietals. Because Sauternes gets most of the attention, dry whites from Bordeaux can be good value picks when you are in the wine store and are in the mood for something a little bit different with dinner.

I picked up just such a dry Bordeaux white, and was pleasantly surprised by the 2006 Château Lamothe de Haux Blanc given its low price. ($10.95, Chronicle Wine Cellar; available from other merchants for between $10 and $11) The wine greeted you with fresh, juicy aromas of melon and citrus. These aromas were the perfect prelude to the flavors, which were also citrusy with round notes of melon. There was a touch of thyme as you finished the wine, which only added to the pleasure of this full and rich wine. I thought this was an excellent example of a dry sauvignon blanc/semillon blend, and had excellent QPR.

We had the wine with a delicious grilled shrimp with an accompaniment of couscous salad. The shrimp were basted with a tarragon-flavored oil that picked up the nice herbal notes in the wine, and the shrimp seemed to pop with rich flavor just as the wine did. I should note that this wine would also be excellent with turkey--especially if you are going to serve some creamed onions with the meal, or sweet potatoes. So don't be surprised to find it in this year's Thanksgiving picks in a few weeks!

Semillon School

I don't drink much semillon, in part because there isn't much of it sitting on the shelves and in part because I'm such a fan of really citrusy whites. In my ongoing efforts to try wine that's new and relatively unfamiliar, I decided to pick up a 2005 L'Ecole no. 41 Semillon (between $10 and $20 through most merchants) from the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington State and see what I could learn about the varietal.

Semillon goes into the blend of one of my favorite dessert wines, Sauternes, but it also is used in dry table wines like this one. L'Ecole No. 41 is one of the most highly-recognized producers of this varietal in the US, so I knew I was in very good hands. The 2005 L'Ecole no. 41 Semillon had the same gleaming golden color that I associate with Sauternes. The aromas and palate were entirely different, however. When it was poured, I could detect scents of toasted bread, pear, and butterscotch. The butterscotch and pear continued in the flavors, accented by a very rich and round vanilla that made this wine feel velvety when you sipped it. Given its price tag and its abundant varietal characteristics, I felt this wine had excellent QPR.

Semillon would go with a variety of foods, from roast chicken to chicken salad, omelettes, dishes with creamy sauces, and cheese dishes. Because of its rich mouthfeel, steer yourself towards food that has a buttery component. Semillon goes particularly well with scallops, for example, which (though seafood) have a buttery taste that sometimes clashes with citrusy, highly acidic wines. Try semillon with this recipe for scallops with orzo, tomatoes, and ginger.

If you're intrigued by semillon, check out this month's Great Grape Day posts over on Sediments, the viticultural part of the WellFed Network where Andrew Barrow of Spittoon leads his merry band of contributors through the good, the bad, and the ugly of one grape varietal each and every month. April was semillon month, and there's a bunch of information over there ready for reading, just click on the logo to the right.

What They're Drinking in Heaven

Sauternes. If there is a heaven, and I get there, this is what I'm drinking. Every day and every night.

It's magical stuff, an alchemical mix of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc and a special rot called botrytis. Who knew fungus could taste so good.

There are shockingly expensive Sauternes (Chateau d'Yquem, anyone?), but there are also suprisingly affordable wines with rich concentration and a dazzling array flavors. So even if you're in the under $20 end of the wine budget spectrum, you can pick up excellent half-bottles of sauternes, which for a dessert wine represents quite a bargain.

The 2003 Ch. Sigalas Rabaud ($16.99/375 ml, K&L Wines), for instance, represents excellent QPR. It's an outstanding young Sauternes that really won't even hit its stride until 2008. Even as a relative juvenile, it already has abundant aromas and flavors of apricot, honey, and a wonderful toasted coconut note. Added to this, the wine is exhibiting a lovely, silky texture. The sweetness and acidity are in nice balance in this dessert wine, so you don't have to worry that this is somehow too sweet. It will be interesting to see how this wine is drinking in a few years when I open the next bottle. Hard to imagine it could get better, but the experts say it probably will.

What to have it with? Nothing. Just sit down, pour yourself and someone you love a glass, and put your feet up. Voila. You're in heaven.

They've been making wine at Chateau Sigalas Rabaud since at least 1660, and the Wine Doctor has a super profile of the chateau and its production, if you'd like to learn more. If you've never had any Sauternes, seek some out and give them a try. And if you love it already, please let us know which are your favorites and what you pair them with, if anything.

Bordeaux Step 2: Familiar Grapes, Old World Style

As I said in my earlier post on Bordeaux, if you are going to devote a chunk of your budget and storage space to Bordeaux wines, you have to know if you like them. Because the taste of Bordeaux wine changes from vintage to vintage and appellation to appellation, you also need to know that in general you like the grape varietals that go into making most Bordeaux wines.

Bordeaux wines are blended wines that are made from cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc (if red), and sauvignon blanc and semillon (if white). But there is often a huge difference between California and other New World expressions of these varietals, and those from the Old World. Though the varietals are familiar to us, they behave very differently when they are planted in different soils--distinctions that are known as terroir. When I was starting out I found Andrea Immer's (now Andrea Immer Robinson's) Great Wine Made Simple absolutely indispensable when trying to understand how these and other grapes behaved in different regions. Much of the information below is drawn from her "flavor maps." If you don't have this book on your wine reference shelf, you really should! And you can also check out Gary Vaynerchuk's discussion of this topic over at Wine Library TV.

After years of reading and tasting, I now think of these Old World/New World varietal flavor differences like a Venn-diagram, with a core of common flavors, flanked by expressions that come from terroir. Here's one of mine, with very low production values (I never could color in the lines). But you get the point. Below is a slightly more polished chart of Old World and New World characteristics for the varietals used in Bordeaux wines, with the common characteristics for each made bold.

	Merlot	Cabernet Sauvignon	Sauvignon Blanc	Semillon
Old World	Plum, vanilla- oak, roasted coffee, wet gravel, cocoa powder, pen ink	Blackcurrant, cassis, wet leaves, wet gravel, spice, vanilla, mocha, pencil lead	Grassy, herbaceous, vanilla	Honey, fig
New World	Jammy plum, blackberry, blueberry; prominent oak	Jammy blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis; sweet and spicy oak; mint or eucalyptus	Citrus, melon, peach, vanilla	Honey

So think hard about whether you would like the Old World expressions of these varietal flavors BEFORE you start madly buying Bordeaux. And, be sure that you eat the kind of hearty fare that will support the red wines, and enjoy sipping dessert wines, too.

Next week I'll be posting about the most challenging aspect of Bordeaux for most of us: storage. Stay tuned for shots of my closet, and some advice gathered from the experts.