Newsletter
November,
2002
- Wines of the Month
- Exceptional Arrivals
- Super Sale
- New Arrivals
- In Praise of a Valorous Bird
- Archives
Wines of the Month
2000 Chateau Tour de Gilet, Bordeaux Superieur, $12.99—Some, such as Robert Parker, are calling the 2000 vintage of Bordeaux, “the greatest vintage ever.” But, as far as Bordeaux goes, we are from Missouri, i.e., show me. And this wine does indeed show us. It is one of the first Bordeaux 2000s to arrive and it is impressive, particularly for its plebeian provenance...Bordeaux Superieur. The brilliant garnet hue is the first indication that this is something out of the norm. The nose and flavors are all dark fruit with earthy and un-earthly delights. All this is because it carries a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon than most its neighborhood. No, it isn’t Leoville Las Cases, it lacks that kind of complexity, but it’s 100 Euros less. If this Tour de Gilet is characteristic of the 2000 Bordeaux vintage, it is indeed a great vintage. It serves as a nice warm-up for the more prestigious wines of the zone, yet to come.
2001 Domaine de la Garreliere, Touraine Blanc, $9.99—Sauvignon Blanc here, from France’s Loire River Valley, where we get the seminal and fine SBs of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. Touraine is the part of the region where some of the most opulent Loire chateaux stand, places like Chambord, Blois, Cheverny, etc. So much for background. The wine is both floral and flinty. There is a clear gooseberry aspect in its impact. There is no wood or other distraction. If you would compare it to the delicious Sauvignon Blancs coming from New Zealand, you would see it is not as bold or citrus flavored. There is some detectable French hauteur with this. We love it.
Exceptional Arrivals
2000 Les Pallieres Gigondas, Hilarion Roux, $34.99—As good as Gigondas can ever be. And it can be sublime. It has beautiful plum color and a nose of plums and Havana cigars. On the tongue there are plums, spices and Provencal herbs. It’s 65 percent Grenache, made in the traditional style the Roux family reveres. The price is high for its type, but, believe us, it’s worth every “centime.”
1999 M. Coz, Meritage Red, $81.99—Mick Cosentino has crafted a remarkable wine here. Blended from the traditional Bordeaux varietals, it has great depth of flavor and complexity. The balance of fruit and earth is perfect, and we love the presence of “terroir” in this wine—something you just don’t find in many California Cabs. M. Coz was a big hit at the Napa Valley Wine Auction this year, and it’s a hit with us too! One of the best Meritage wines we’ve tasted in a long time. Supply is, of course, very limited.
1998 Ridge Montebello, Santa Cruz, $64.99—This is a chance to taste a California wine icon for less than $100 per bottle. The reason is that 1998 was not a stellar vintage, particularly for long term aging prospects. Consequently, (and surprisingly) Ridge wisely cut the price of this, their most expensive bottling. Don’t get the wrong idea—this is still a very good wine and definitely tastes like Montebello. It has that identifiable Santa Cruz fruit with essences of herb, mint, and sage, but without the “grip” of the great vintages. Basically, this means you can happily drink it four to six years from now instead of waiting ten or fifteen years.
1998 Aldo Conterno Barolo, Cicalla, $109.99—Of Conterno’s single vineyard bottlings, this is the most powerful, manly, and longest aging. The 1998 vintage is one of the best ever in Barolo, and this is one of the top five I tasted from that harvest. It combines power and elegance. Believe it or not, this wine is way underpriced and, like last month’s Giacosa ’96 Falletto Barolo, will almost evaporate from the store.
Super Sale
2001 Catena Chardonnay, Argentina, Regularly $16.99/Sale $13.99— Our admiration for this winery is almost without limit. It’s Malbecs rival the best from Cahors in France. Now they are showing what they can do with white grapes. This is a smooth, rich, perfectly balanced sip of Chardonnay. We can’t think of any Chardonnay as fine at the price. These guys are “amazin’.”
1999 Estancia Cabernet Sauvignon, Regularly $14.99/Sale $12.99—Estancia continually turns out good values in Cabernet. This stands out from the bargain pack by having some grip and personality. It’s not the mindless, fruity thing you normally get for $12.99. It could serve as a respectable, nice “house wine.”
New Arrivals
1997 Dezzani Barolo, Regularly $29.99/Sale $19.99—For us (or me), Barolo is the best red wine in the world. The only problem is that it can be hard to find and hard to buy (expensive). No problem here. It gives you the Barolo experience, at a third the going price. If you want to see what all the excitement is about, without spending $50, at least, try this. We can’t figure out how they do it at this low price.
2000 Dominique Rocher Cairanne, Cotes du Rhone Villages, $12.99—We never thought we’d see this again. Our last delivery sold in a week. This delivery is even better—the wine has calmed some. Parker bestowed 92 points on this and called it one of the best wine values ever. No argument from us.
2000 Bernard Griffin Merlot, Columbia Valley, Washington, $16.99—Washington is producing some delicious Bordeaux varietal wines. They come from the eastern part of the state (the dry part). This is representative. It gives you fruit with some dirt and dustiness. It’s also fairly priced.
2001 Ta Moka Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, Marlborough, $12.99—Our admiration for the Sauvignon Blancs of Zealand is virtually without bounds. This offers the expected citric zing, but with a pleasant sweat pea aspect. We almost made it “wine of the month.”
1999 Gneiss Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, $17.99—A little gem. It provides dark flavors...lots of black cherry. Not just a technological creature, there is some soul here.
2000 La Mision Sauvignon Blanc, Chile, Maipo Valley, $7.99—A French/Chilean joint effort here. The noted French winemaker, William Fevre, has teamed with Chilean partners to craft an impressive wine. It’s a sleek, yet flavorful product, not meager like the normal stuff down there.
1999 Blackjack Ranch Harmonie, Santa Barbara, $32.99—Bordeaux is what you think of when you taste this. Indeed, it is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, with three percent Syrah (non-Bordeaux) in the mix. There is earth along with licorice and cassis. Impeccably knit. Parker gave it 90 points.
2000 Dudley Partners Shiraz, Kangaroo Island, Porky Flats, $16.99—Yes, that is the whole name. It’s a bit different than the usual Aussie Shiraz. It is more restrained and balanced than most,due, we’re told, to the Kangaroo Island provenance which is cooler than most of the mainland.
1999 Renteria Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $31.99—An extraordinarily interesting and rare wine (191 cases were made). It’s rich, but not brutish. It’s creamy, but not fatty. It’s about the perfect model of what California Chardonnay should be.
2001 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa, Stellenbosch, $18.99—One of the world’s benchmark Sauvignon Blancs. It’s bigger, earthier and more herbal than those from New Zealand. Golly, we seem to be bewitched by Sauvignon Blancs this month.
1999 Benessere Zinfandel, Napa Valley, $24.99—A handmade wine, from a winery that produces about 5,000 total cases a year. It’s a silken and stylish Zin, in contrast to some of the “sluggo” Zins of California. We find this often the way with Napa Valley Zinfandels. This was a favorite at our staff tasting.
NV Blanc de Blancs Champagne, Pierre Peters, $39.99—When you drink Champagnes of this quality, you agree that none of the world’s other sparkling wines can rival real French Champagne. There is a subtle elegance that is really “hors concours” with the masses of bubbles. We have a minute supply, partly because we drink most ourselves.
1999 Neagles Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, Clare Valley, $18.99—Australia’s Clare Valley must be a many varied place. It can produce some of the world’s greatest Rieslings and superb red wines too. This offers black currant, mint and a mouthful of fascination.
2000 Lucia Pinot Blanc, Alto Adige, $9.99—Did we feature this last month? If not, we should have. This is a pesky, persistent Pinot Blanc. All too many wines made from this varietal are boring. Not this. It refreshes and inspires at the same time.
New Arrivals 2001 Woop Woop Shiraz, McClaren Vale, $10.49—Now, when you look how some of Australia’s everyday Shiraz have plunged in quality (we won’t mention who), this is wonderful. It has bright, raspberry toned fruit. It’s nothing fancy, but, it does “go down good”.
2000 Pezzi King Fume Blanc, $14.99—Huh, it does appear we have indeed lost it over Sauvignon Blancs. This is a different rendition of the grape. It’s bigger on the tongue. Of many different flavors, two that you can readily sense are quinine and lemon. There is a small bump of oak. The wine is so smooth and exhilarating it is hard to stop drinking. It reminds us of the Andrew Rich Sauvignon Blanc that we featured as a Wine of the Month last year.
2000 Iron Horse Chardonnay, Sonoma Valley, Regularly $22.99/Sale $20.99—An unusual and tasty Chardonnay. It’s fermented in steel and sees very little oak, yet it has a creamy texture, provided by the malolactic fermentation. If you want to enjoy the fruit fascinations offered by Chardonnay, this is a bottle for you. Again, a staff favorite.
1998 Charles Cimicky Shiraz Signataire, Barosso Valley, $28.99—Rich, but refined Aussie Shiraz. This is not the massive, spicy, malty rendition of the grape. It could humble many a French Cote Rotie.
1999 Andrew Rich Mesalliance, $19.99—Andrew Rich is one of our favorite Oregon winemakers. Those of you who have been snapping up his Pinots and Sauvignon Blancs should agree. This is a “misalliance” of three grapes—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. It’s kind of like a Bordeaux, but not entirely. Try it and let us know how you would describe it.
1998 Antoine Arena Blanc, Corsica, $12.99—Who else but Kermit Lynch, out of Berkeley, would come up with something as wild as this? And, who, other than us, would put it into their store? It’s a pretty full bodied white with nut essences. It would be interesting to try this with turkey or similar fowl.
1999 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Bichot, $13.99—In the pricey and perilous world of Pinot Noir, this gives you a bit of the experience of the grape without donating all the money in your wallet. It’s a pretty violet and cherry kind of thing.
2000 Skyhawk Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, $17.99—A joyous, gulping Cab from an artisan maker. Ripe fruit, French oak, silken...what we like in any wine, at a great price.
2000 Wellington Vineyards Syrah, $18.99—This may be closest thing to Cote Rotie we have seen from America. The nose is certainly the closest because Wellington has added a drop of Viognier to the wine, as in Cote Rotie, to expand it. So it gives more than the usual bacon-fat and spice. Confused? Just try it. It’s very nice Syrah.
2000 Sinfaroso Primitivo, $10.99—Primitivo was for a long time thought to be the father of our great Zinfandels from California. Now, that’s in question. Well, this tastes a lot like a Zinfandel with a rustic, southern Italian accent. Maybe, we should lovingly call it, “Vito.”
2001 Oestrich Doosberg, Kabinett Trocken Riesling, Kuhn, $17.99—One of the first wines from the profound 2001 German harvest to arrive here. This is fantastic stuff—bone dry with lime and mineral essences. Drink this beauty and you will begin to understand why Riesling is the greatest white wine grape.
In Praise of a Valorous Bird
We love Thanksgiving, but most of all, we love the turkey. That bird, so maligned for its low SAT scores and gastronomic vulgarity. This fowl may be the most versatile wine food (even eclipsing Spam) in our benighted world. You can serve red wines, white wines, sparkling wines with a turkey. You can do this because you have white meat, dark meat, giblet stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberries, etc. Yet, people are so up-tight about what to serve with this para-regal creature. Calm yourself...we can help.
We like “interesting” wines with a turkey, because the best of turkeys, organic or with a 600 SAT score, is still a turkey. A couple years ago, we deep-fried the poor thing. The result defies description. We drank old Barolos with it because we like Barolo. It seemed a jolly good match. It is a friendly, forgiving bird.
This year, we strongly advise that you try some Rieslings and Pinot Noirs with the turkey. With these, the bird will sing, not just gobble.
TURKEY RIESLINGS
2001 Oestrich Doosberg, Rheingau Riesling Trocken, Kuhn, $17.99—Cited in the “New Arrivals,” this is a bone-dry, fab wine. Stony aspects. Plus it has a bottle cap, no cork.
2001 Diedesheimer Kieselberg, Pfalz Riesling Kabinett, Josef Biffar, $13.99—Dry, but not as dry as the above wine.
2001 Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz, Rheingau Riesling Kabinet, Leitz,$13.99—The fleshiest so far. Amazing balance, complexity and class. This shows You why the Rheingau is so esteemed.
2001 Erdener Treppchen, Mosel Spatlese, Meulenhof, $15.99—This shows the spice and race that typifies great wines from the village of Erden.
2001 Chateau St. Michelle-Dr. Loosen Riesling, $21.99—A Washington State/German collaboration. It’s the richest of all these Rieslings with a hint of sweetness. Something exotic to check-out.
1996 Trimbach Frederic Emile Riesling, $29.99: From Alsace, it has icy power. Thought of as one of the models for profound Alsatian Riesling.
2001 Flemlinger Bischofskreuz, Pfalz Riesling Halbtrocken, Theo Minges, $11.99/liter—We’ve talked about this a dozen times. Limey, dry stuff. A tremendous value.
2001 Grosset Riesling, Clare Valley, Polish Hill, $29.99—Australian and one of the world’s best Rieslings. A feast of flavors.
TURKEY PINOTS AND ONE DANDY BEAUJOLAIS
2000 Volnay, Domaine Joseph Voillot, $26.99—Coy and beautiful, a princess of Pinot Noirs and, at this price, a bargain.
2000 Andrew Rich Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, $26.99—Not as massive as the ’99, but still smoky, smooth, and complex. An exceptional value for Oregon Pinot.
1999 Pommard 1er Cru, Jean-Marc Boulet, $49.99—This has some flesh and style. It’s one of our best ’99 Burgundies.
1999 Alderbrook Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, $19.99—There are lots of good Pinots coming from California’s Russian River Valley. Like this, they are richer and more fruit forward than French Burgundy.
2001 Beaujolais, Domaine de Rochecorbiere, Regularly $10.99/Sale $9.99—A simply, delicious, medium weight red wine. Not a snob wine, our kind of wine. Perfect turkey wine.
FINALLY, DESSERT
Alvear Montilla PX, $14.49/500 ml.—This is perhaps the most ideal pumpkin pie wine in the world. Rich, flavorful and full of spice. Pure nectar.
COALTRAIN
Wine & Spirits
330 W. Uintah
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
719-475-9700