Newsletter
 October,
2003
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Wines of the Month
2003 Pinot Gris, Andre Lurton, Argentina $7.99/$6.49
(per bottle) by the case: And you will want to purchase
this white by the case. It’s made by a French company
that is making a big move into Argentina. And, as we’ve
written all too many times, Argentina is the future of South
American viticulture, not Chile, where mass produced bottlings
of bland wine seems to be their preferred mode of operation.
This is in the French style of Pinot Gris/Grigio, not Italian.
That is, it is richer not livelier (read the story below
about the differences). On the tongue it is round and satisfying.
One bottle invites another. That is why we advise purchasing
by the case. It may be the perfect fall afternoon sipper.
2001 Castel Pietraio Chianti, Colli Senesi, Regularly
$10.99/Sale $9.99: Well, those hills around Siena
(Colli Senesi) can be pretty, but prosaic, like the Tuscan
people. And most of the wines from that zone aren’t
anything to propel “vero” wine lovers into a
drinking frenzy. However, we are always moved by some of
the things that can slip out of there, untouched by the tourists
roaming Siena’s “campo” or the “Auto
Grills” on the “auto strada.” This is a
great value in Chianti. It has some soul and style. Drinking
beautifully now, there are flavors of cherries, earth, spice
and other pleasant things. Only 500 cases were made.
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Tasting Calendar
October 29, 6 p.m.
WINE TASTING DINNER AT THE NEW “THREE DOORS DOWN”
Joel and Meg Wittenmyer are too nice to be in the difficult
and perilous business of running a restaurant. Nonetheless,
these two brave souls are the new proprietors of the restaurant
Three Doors Down, at 26 East Kiowa. We can report that the
food is delicious and the wine list brilliantly selected. To
introduce you to all of this, we have worked with Joel and
Meg to organize a wine dinner. It will be a showcase of Joel’s
cooking excellence, with each dish carefully matched with wines
off their list. This dinner will convene at 6 p.m., on Wednesday,
October 29. The fee per diner is $50 (plus tax and service).
Call Three Doors Down to reserve your seats (477-9144). Seating
is limited by space and some seats have been reserved already.
Thank the Gods that Colorado Springs is no longer a two restaurant
town.
November 21st, 6 p.m.
PREMIUM AUSTRALIAN WINE TASTING AT THE CRAFTWOOD
G’day Mates! It’s that time of year again, when
temperatures begin to head “north” as we move from
fall to winter in the Rocky Mountain West. And that makes it
the perfect time to kick-off the holiday season with a tasting
of offerings from The Australian Premium Wine Collection, the
premier portfolio of distinctive red and white wines from the
land “Down Under.” The depth and diversity of Australia’s
finest wines—with wonderfully evocative names like brokenwood,
coonawarra, wishing tree, nuriootpa, isolation ridge, cooladerra,
blewitt springs, kangarilla, pigott range and hill of content—will
be showcased on Friday evening, November 21st, at 6 p.m., at
The Craftwood Inn, where Chef Jeff and company are rustling
up their typically delectable “vittles” to partner
the magical wines. We guarantee that your eyes will light up
once you sink your palate into these babies! Call Coaltrain
now (475-9700) for rezzies.
December 9th, 5:30-8:00pm
Coaltrain's Infamous Christmas Tasting at The Craftwood Inn
Don't miss the chance to taste 30-40 of our favorite wines
and champagnes on Tuesday, December 9th from 5:30-8:00pm. The
Craftwood will provide tasty
hors d'ouevres, as always, and we'll even throw in a few fine seasonal
beers. We promise a good time will be had by all. The price to taste this
multitude of delicious wines will be a meager $30.00 per person. To reserve
your spot please call us at 475-9700.
December 12, 7 pm
Best of the Best at La Petite Maison
How would you like to taste some of the very best wines we've
found this
year out of the thousands we've sampled? These wines are indeed "the
best
of the best"! And you will be able to try them matched with some of
the
tastiest food west of Monument Creek. We'll be providing the wines and La
Petite's gifted chef, Pete Moreno, will whip up the delectable dishes. With
Pete, we will produce synergy between the wines and food. This event will
take place at La Petite Maison on Friday, December 12. At 7pm we will begin
with some bubbles and proceed to the great whites and reds. The tariff is
$100 per diner (plus tax and service). If you would like to experience the
best wines we have tasted this year please call us (475-9700)to reserve your
seats. Since this will be a top event, seating is extremely limited.
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New Arrivals
2001 O’Reilly Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley,
$14.99: You don’t normally find Oregon Pinots
at this low price. And the wine is pleasant. It’s full
of sweet fruit and cherry flavors. Call it a quaffer. Best
of all, the dog on the label looks vaguely like one of our
dogs.
2001 Cotes du Rhone, Belleruche, M. Chapoutier, $9.99: A
surprising nose of dried fruits and coffee. It’s round
and fulfilling on the tongue. We’re no rabid Chapoutier
fans and it impressed us.
2000 Cotes du Rhone Villages, Rasteau, Le grandes
Vignes du Roy, Regularly $16.99/Sale $12.99: “Man,” this
is one “Rasta” Rasteau. Of the 16 villages allowed
to put their name on a bottle of Cotes du Rhone, Rasteau
is perhaps the biggest and way baddest. The bouquet is utterly
killer. The flavors are monstrous with substantial earthiness,
in need of a grill with beef, lamb or boor (oh, we mean boar)
upon it. It’s a “steppin’ raiser.”
2002 Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay, Marlborough,
$13.99: Boy, we wish more Chardonnays tasted like
this one. It’s a mouthful of Chardonnay fruit with
apple essences abounding. A complete malo-lactic fermentation
gives it fullness without the ponderance which often results
from oak.
2001 Moshin Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River, $16.99: This
is a pretty little Pinot, lacy and light with soft cherry flavors.
The maker is a mathematics professor at Berkeley. The wine
is calculus 101, not differential equations.
2001 Bodega Andre Lurton Malbec, Argentina, $9.99: A
sibling of our Pinot Gris “Wine of the Month.” It’s
smoky, spicy and delicious. Tasted blind, it might be mistaken
for a French Syrah. Why do these French people (Lurton) always
try to confuse us?
2000 Contino Rioja Cosecha, $26.99: What
a mouthful of wine. The integration of the fruit and wood is
almost “un milagro.” Congratulations to Jesus Madrazo,
the maker. This is one of the finer reds we’ve tasted
this year.
2002 Andrew Rich Sauvignon Blanc, Oregon, $15.99: A
fullbodied, mouthfilling wonder. Why don’t other people
in Oregon make Sauvignon Blancs like this?
2002 Sancerre, Les Boucauds, Claude Riffault, $19.99: Another
shining example of how great a vintage 2002 was in the Loire
Valley. This offers a satin mouthfeel, unusual complexity and
what the French call, “nervositie.”
2002 Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris, Corbieres,
$13.99: Now 2002 wasn’t a stellar year in
Southern France, whence this rose comes. But Fontsainte did
an admirable job here, giving us a joyful wine for warm,
Autumn afternoons.
2000 Finca Antigua Tempranillo Crianza, La Mancha,
$9.99: A Tempranillo bursting with spicy flavors
from that dry and hot part of Spain where Don Quijote attempted
to grasp reality, or was it to escape reality.
2001 Peachy Canyon Incredible Red, $10.99: If
you are looking for a good value in a Zinfandel (this is Zinfandel),
get this one. It actually tastes like a Zinfandel with spice
and raspberry fruit essences. While easy drinking, it still
has plenty of zest.
2000 Stoneheath Nebbiolo, California, $10.99: This
is the first California Nebbiolo that actually tastes like
the Nebbiolos of Italy’s Piemonte, which means cherries
and berries. Its most impressive aspect is a haunting nose
of roses, which is classic Nebbiolo. We’ll spread the
word about these guys.
1998 Giacosa Barbaresco, Santo Stefano Riserva Barbaresco,
$199.99: Well, Bruno Giacosa, the mythical master
of Piemontese winemakers, may have given us his most mind
boggling creation here. The concentration and flavors defy
description. Buy a bottle, hold it for a special occasion,
like the day you bid adieu to the world as we know it. Incredible
wine!
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A New Winery in the Shop
Curtis Winery has claimed a space in Coaltrain. The young
winery is located in the Santa Barbara wine zone and is completely
devoted to making wine from Rhone varietals. And, judging by
the two wines following, they are doing a pretty good job.
The winemaker, Chuck Carlson, says that he manages each vineyard
block from the vantage of “physiological ripeness,” or
the pursuit of optimal balance between grape flavor, acid,
texture and tannin structure. This approach seems to yield
ripe, fruit-forward flavors with distinctive accents of “terroir.” Here’s
our read on the two wines we have.
2001 Curtis Heritage Blanc, Santa Barbara County,
$9.99: Simply delicious. It has a fetching bouquet
of lilac and peach. On the palate it is round and creamy.
It is mainly composed of Viognier with dashes of Roussanne
and Chenin Blanc. You could mistake it for a Cotes du Rhone
blanc.
2000 Curtis Cuvee Red, Central Coast, $9.99: An
unusual, little red here, particularly for California. In the
nose, there are chocolate and dried fruit essences. In the
mouth, you have a velvety texture with dried fruits again.
It is a true Rhone blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache and
Counoise. Though we slightly prefer the above white, we like
this too.
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There is Something About Pinot Grigio/Pinot
Gris
It appears that Chardonnay’s hegemony in the world of
white wines is coming to an abrupt and perhaps ignominious
finish. We have more and more customers asking for a white,
anything but Chardonnay. Often we advise Pinot Grigio/Pinot
Gris. Here’s some background on this soon to be famous
grape.
Pinot Grigio is the Italian name for the French varietal,
Pinot Gris. In French or Italian this means, “gray pinot.” At
the same time, Pinot Noir means “black pinot.” Most
of the best Pinot Grigio is grown in the northeast of Italy,
in Friuli, near the border of Slovenia. Much is also grown
in the Trentino, north of Verona, in the foothills of the Dolomite
Mountains. In France, Alsace is Pinot Gris’ primary residence.
In general, the Italians have a tendency to pick the grape
earlier than the French which makes for a livelier wine that
Americans seem to like. But, in so doing, the Italian Pinot
Grigios never have the profundity of a special Alsatian Pinot
Gris. But, normally, the Italian models cost half the price
of their French equivalents.
In its normal form, Pinot Grigio can be a refreshing bistro/café wine.
Good by itself or along with light antipasti, or for just watching the lovely
girls stroll by on the Piazza Bra in Verona. But, some of the Alsatian Pinot
Gris can be among the world’s most complex white wines, with long aging
potentials. Kind of like Marcel Proust.
Beside the aforementioned “Wine of the Month” Pinot
Gris, here are some others we have in stock from all over the
world.
2002 Chehalem Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, Oregon,
$16.99: Big flavors and body from one of our favorite
Oregon wineries.
2002 Estancia Pinot Grigio, California, $12.99: We
featured this last month and are seeing customers coming back
for more. It’s refreshing...a nice effort from this California
producer.
2002 Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio, Trentino, $7.99: This
little Italian guy (actually a gigantic cooperative) always
offers significant value for its varietal.
2001 Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio, Venezia, $11.99: Here,
the success has been so immense that they have had to start
sourcing grapes from regions other than their homeland, Alto
Adige. It’s still pretty good, in fact it’s still
very good.
2001 MacMurray Pinot Gris, $19.99: This is
a furry, friendly wine that Fred MacMurray, whose family owns
the vineyard, could be happy with. It has some Chardonnay-like
aspects in that it is a little richer and a bit rounder than
most Pinot Gris...but, in this case, that’s not a bad
thing. It’s delicious.
2001 Lange Pinot Gris, Oregon, $11.99: An
estimable creation that combines power and elegance.
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Super Sale Wines
2002 Vouvray, Domaine Le Peu de la Moriette, Regulary
$10.99/Sale $8.99: Another good bottle from the
profound 2002 vintage in the Loire region. It’s not
a “sec,” but off-dry. The nose of toast with
peach marmalade is captivating.
2000 Gary Farrell Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, $37.99/Sale
$29.99: It seems like we’re going overboard
with Pinot Noirs this month. You can tell we adore the grape
and have tasted some good ones. This is one of the best.
It has a very pretty bouquet with black cherry and nuances
of cranberry in the flavors. From the Russian River Valley
which produces some of California’s better Pinot Noirs.
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New Arrivals from Oregon and California
A small, specialty wine importer is making several of his
hand crafted wines available to Coaltrain as exclusive retailer
for the Colorado Springs area. They include:
2001 Sineann Pinot Noir, Oregon, $31.99: David
O’Reilly, who has his hand in a number of the Northwest’s
highly regarded small wineries, produces tiny quantities of
meticulously-made, distinctive wines under this label. His
deep, rich, spicy, mouth-filling, beautifully balanced Sineann
Oregon pinot is wonderfully elegant, with a refined structure
and remarkable length. If you love good pinot noir, you want
some of this (while it lasts).
2002 O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir, Oregon, $14.99: Not
one to be accused of producing only top-notch pinot noir at
a premium price, David O’Reilly also makes a lovely pinot
at a more pocketbook-friendly price from several small vineyards
throughout Oregon. The result: luscious black cherry fruit
shines through the wine’s toast-and-vanilla nuances,
created by the judicious use of new French oak barrels, to
produce the perfect pinot for “everyday” consumption.
2000 Ojai Chardonnay, Talley-Rincon Vineyard, Arroyo
Grande, $24.99: Ojai’s Adam Tolmach, who worked
for years in partnership with Jim Clendenen at Au Bon Climat,
is a pioneer in California’s Central Coast. He has
sourced superb fruit from a number of vineyards to produce
this luscious chardonnay, abounding with ripe, bright pear-and-citrus
notes and a complex finish reminiscent of vanilla and earth.
Bravo!
2001 Ojai Syrah, California, $21.99: A California-designate
syrah that offers much of the richness and intensity of many
single-vineyard wines. The wine is stylish and elegant, without
sacrificing layers of concentrated berry fruit, pepper and
spice. Quantities are limited, so stop by for your share of
this superb, limited-production syrah soon!
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Wine Myths Debunked
There is as much misinformation out there about wine as there
is about sex. And we seem to hear about both areas every day
of the week. Though we don’t know much about sex, we
have some clues about wine. Here is how we feel about several
of the most lurid wine myths.
Myth One: “Europeans keep the best
wines for themselves
and send the lesser wines to America.”
Reality: Just the reverse (other than Switzerland),
European winemakers export their finest wines to America. Most
Europeans look at wine as a liquid to wash down food. They
don’t prize it and idealize it as we Americans do. Plus
they are cheap. Most would never pay the prices we pay for
the finest wine, like, say, Bruno Giacosa’s 1998 Barbaresco
at 175 Euros the bottle. Europeans think wine should cost around
the same as bottled water. The greatest stuff is for “Stati
Uniti, bebe.”
Myth Two: “Sulfites in wine give me
a headache,
which is why I want sulfite free wines.”
Reality: Well, sulfites could do that. We
have heard hundreds claim this, but not one has acknowledged
that they have been positively diagnosed as being allergic
to sulfites by a medical doctor. There are many things in wine
that can give someone a headache…like alcohol. Sadly,
for those truly allergic to sulfites, there is no such thing
as a “sulfite free wine.” Though there are wines
with no “added sulfites,” all wines have some naturally
occuring sulfites. Simply, people who get headaches drinking
wine should probably not drink wine. What a horrible concept!
Myth Three: “Sherry is sweet.”
Reality: Actually the majority of sherry
is dry, like the Finos, Manzanillas and many Amontillados.
Walk around the tapa bars of Sevilla at midnight and see what
they are pouring their patrons. You will see nary a drop of
sweet Harvey’s Bristol Cream. In truth, Harvey’s
Bristol Cream and Dry Sack have more or less ruined the American
sherry market by instilling the notion into the ever gullible
populace that sherry is always sweet. Also, the American market
has been tainted by improper handling of the dry sherries.
They must be treated like a dry table wine, i.e., kept cold
and drunk in a day or two. I have witnessed hundreds of half
empty bottles of these dry sherries that have been ruined by
sitting on restaurant bars for months. Treated properly and
served properly, Sherry is a world class wine.
Myth Four: “All Rieslings are sweet.”
Reality: Some are and many aren’t.
Certainly, from Germany, the Beerenausleses and Trockenbeerenausleses
are sweet. But many of their wines labeled as Trocken or Halbtrocken
are dry. Try these last two wines from the great maker, Robert
Weil. They don’t have a molecule of sugar in them. Also,
most of the Rieslings from Alsace are vinified to dryness.
From there, if you want no sweetness, just stay away from an
Alsatian Riesling labeled “Vendange Tardive” or “Selection
des Grains Nobles.”
Myth Five: “Domestic wines are better
values than the imports.”
Reality: Perhaps, if you have Rush Limbaugh
as your wine consultant, you might believe this. If Warren
Buffet is more your type, go European. Normally, you can buy
an imported wine for half the price of its domestic equal,
even with the weak dollar of today. But, if your tastes run
for Barolo, Barbaresco, Burgundy or Bordeaux that’s another
price level. And it’s a quality level unavailable with
domestic wine.
Myth Six: “Roses are sweet, wimpy wines
for beginners or elderly ladies.”
Reality: “Au contraire,” roses
are some of the most “connoisseurial” of wines.
They can be quite complex with satisfying strawberry, cranberry,
mandarin, kirsch essences in the nose. They are difficult to
make. Crack open a Bandol rose or one from Spanish Navarra
and you will see what we mean. Oh, by the way, most imported
roses are dry. American White Zinfandel (a type of rose) usually
has sugar. Maybe this perpetuates the myth here.
Myth Seven: “The older a wine is, the
better it is.”
Reality: Unlike men, older is not better
with wine. There is no Viagra for wine. At the most, five percent
of wine is made for aging. And this brings up the difference
between aging and maturing. Like men, lots of wine will age,
but few mature. If you are into aging, try the reds from Barolo,
Hermitage and a few Bordeaux. For whites try German Rieslings,
Alsatian Rieslings, Sauternes, Tokay (from Hungary) and similar
erotica…sorry, we mean “exotica.” But overall,
drink your wines young.
Myth Eight: “California Chardonnays
are dry.”
Reality: Most California Chardonnays have
noticeable residual sugar. The grapes are often so ripe that
it is impossible to ferment all the sugar out. Sometimes the
winemakers add sweet wines, such as Muscat, to satisfy America’s
craving for sugar.
Only the Columbians have a more acute knowledge of American
cravings and needs than these winemakers.
Myth Nine: “All white Burgundies are
made completely from Chardonnay.”
Reality: In addition to Chardonnay, from
which the hallowed white Burgundies (Meursault, Montrachet,
etc.) are indeed made, Aligote, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris
are allowed white grapes in various Burgundy communes.
Myth Ten: “The best known Champagnes—Mumms,
Moet et Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Dom Perignon, etc.—are
the finest.”
Reality: There are hundreds of Champagne
makers. And those that are well known are not often the best.
The well known makers usually spend more of their money on
sexy advertisements than on what the put in the bottle. These
are the ads you see in NYT magazine, NEW YORKER, ELLE, VOGUE
and VANITY FAIR. The superlative makers like Jacques Sellosse,
Billiot, Delamotte (and others) don’t need to take out
ads. It’s kind of like why Hitler hired Leni Riefenstahl
to be his documentary film maker…he needed a genius marketer
to make up for his lack of substance.
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