WBW 71 Wrap-up: (Mostly) New World Rhones

It has been nearly three years since I last hosted Wine Blogging Wednesday but my choice of theme was easy. Wines made from Rhône varieties are among my personal favorites and I was hoping to learn about many more new wines from participants this month. There were 25 bloggers posting reviews from all over the [...]

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A Country Neighborhood Red from Tablas Creek

We?re always happy to try whatever comes our way from our friends at Tablas Creek Vineyard, because since we filed our first report on their wines, we?ve never had anything they?ve made that rated lower than a ?very good,? and more often than not, the stuff is ?really, really, really good.? We recently got to [...]

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A $6.99 Cali Cab Franc from Trader Joe's: Lightning in a Bottle?

"I've come to never expect greatness from a Cab Franc, and this one's no exception."
-Miles in Sideways

I stopped in at Trader Joe's the other day to see if they had any new interesting wines. The Gypsy and Lost Sonnet were long gone but they still had some Cocobon. I spotted a new wine in an interesting looking bottle - the 2010 Lazy Bones Paso Robles Cabernet Franc.

I've been doing a lot of LIFO drinking lately - last bottle in is the first out. I've got about 250 bottles on hand here but like cable television it sometimes seems like I'm not in the mood for any of them. Maybe that's because I'm thinking of new releases to write about here on the blog. Maybe it's because I'm looking for juicy delicious daily drinkers.

Who knows for sure, but I was interested in this Lazy Bones Cab Franc for two reasons:

First, I remember trying a Chimney Rock Napa Cab Franc about 10 years ago and really liking it. I also liked McKenzie-Mueller's Cab Franc, but both were kind of pricey ($30-$50 if I recall correctly). I liked the idea of revisiting this grape at the $6.99 price point.

Second, I remembered the line in Sideways quoted above where Miles expresses his lack of enthusiasm for Cab Franc. It's not as famous as his line about Merlot but given that he says it when in a Santa Ynez tasting room (I think it's Kalyra) I thought tasting this affordable Cab Franc from not-too-far-away Paso Robles would be interesting.

Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere, Cabernet Franc is one of the six Bordeaux grape varieties. It's primarily a blending grape but most successfully produced as a single varietal wine in Chinon from France's Loire Valley. We also see it produced in the northeastern United States a bit. When it struggles it's because of overly vegetal aromas and/or extreme barnyard funk. When it's done well it can be beautiful.

What a build-up, right? I may have found lightning in a bottle! Unfortunately, the Lazy Bones was hard to get through. A single glass dumper-outer.

2010 Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc
$6.99
13.6% Alcohol

This stuff is pretty awful. Stewy aromas with a watery transparent mid-palate. Even worse the second day. Avoid.

62/100 WWP: Not Recommended

That's not to say you can't find a great bottle of wine at Trader Joe's. Here's one I found for $5.99 I've been enjoying again and again. It even stood up under a stopper over the course of three nights. It displays characteristics I more readily associate with wines costing $30 and up. It's from Italy and it's readily available. I think the 2009 has come around and is drinking nicely. Check it out.

Question of the Day: Any recent discoveries in your local Trader Joe's?


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Who Will Be The First Wine Blogger Who Raps?

My morning routine starts with visits to my various email accounts and concludes with a quick scan of my Winecast Gmail. If I have the time, I sometimes open my Google Reader to see what blog posts have come in overnight. This morning I stopped in my tracks at a post on Vinography which pointed [...]

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2011 Wine Spectator New York Wine Experience October 20-22

Wine Spectator's New York Wine Experience is coming to the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City Thursday October 20th through Saturday October 22nd.

The event includes grand tastings similar to those I wrote about back in May as part of the Boston Grand Tour event. The New York Wine Experience also includes moderated sit down seminars and a grand award banquet. Total cost for the full experience: $1,875.

But don't let sticker shock scare you away - there are more affordable options. The award banquet costs $400 a la carte. The value play, I think, is the $250 grand tastings which run Thursday and Friday from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

$250 for a wine tasting might sound like a lot. And it is. But if you're looking to try some of the best wines produced in the world today in an efficient and indulgent manner, tastings like this are a great way to go.

Here's a list of producers pouring that caught my eye:

  • Beaucastel
  • Carter
  • Cassanova di Neri
  • Cheval Blanc
  • Clerc Milon
  • Cos d'Estournel
  • Dominus
  • Donum
  • DuMOL
  • Felsina
  • Gaja
  • Harlan
  • Haut-Brion
  • Kistler
  • Kosta Browne
  • Lafite Rothschild
  • Lynch-Bages
  • Chateau Margaux
  • Peter Michael
  • Mouton Rothschild
  • Opus One
  • Ornellaia
  • Papapietro Perry
  • Joseph Phelps
  • Pichon-Longueville-Baron
  • Pontet-Canet
  • Revana
  • Ridge
  • Domaine Saint Prefert
  • Sassicaia
  • Saxum
  • Schrader
  • Tenuta Sette Ponti
  • Shafer
  • Staglin
  • Vieux Telegraphe
  • Chateau d'Yquem
Perhaps even more amazing is the wineries pouring I didn't include. Folks like Beaux Freres, Caymus, Siduri, and Loring. If it's like the Boston tasting each producer is only pouring a single wine - and it's their best. Better yet in many cases it's the winemakers themselves pouring the wines.

Have a look at my write-up from the Boston Grand Tour event to get a feel for what's in store.

For more information visit the 2011 New York Wine Experience website.


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Burgundy visits ? how much time does a critic take per domaine?

Coincidentally, two American critics are tweeting from their Burgundy visits right now. The critics are Antonio Galloni of Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate and John Gilman, who publishes The View from the Cellar. Galloni offered this information from his trip on Twitter: Nine visits per day, needless to say, would equal about 30 – 45 [...]

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Best 2009 California Pinot Noirs Under $30

In my prior post about Wine Spectator's 2009 California Pinot Noir ratings I mentioned I'd be talking more about the best values under $30. I'll get into that in today's post, but before going further I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Wine Spectator.

I truly enjoyed reading through this Pinot Noir issue in particular. There's something unmatchable about taking a break from staring at the computer monitor and thumbing through glossy pages while enjoying a glass of wine. The issues arrive with higher frequency this time of year, covering the most interesting categories for the upcoming holiday buying season, so it's a great time to subscribe.

You can even use airline miles (here's how) and once you have a print subscription you can get an online subscription for 50% off. I constantly refer to their ratings database. Not just for the scores but for production levels, prices, and historical rating trends for a given winery.

But the thing I like best about the magazine is how it turns me on to new producers.

If we look at the top rated 2009 California Pinot Noirs they've rated so far, cap the price at $30, and sort based on the WWP QPR (what's that?) we find a select group of wines:


Price Rating WWP QPR
 Loring Pinot Noir Russian River Valley $29 93 2.07
 Loring Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands $29 93 2.07
 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands $29 92 1.64
 Chasseur Pinot Noir Sonoma County $30 92 1.59
 Alta Maria Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley $28 91 1.35
 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley $29 91 1.30
 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast $29 91 1.30
 Laguna Ridge Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast $20 89 1.19
 Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato $20 89 1.19

I touched on Loring and Siduri in my prior post. I consider them to be cornerstones of value in California Pinot Noir and once we get past them we see a few names that might not be as familiar.

First - Chasseur. Their $30, 92 point 2009 Sonoma County Pinot Noir is one to seek out. I've tried two bottles of the wine and each time I've been impressed (91-92 points). The CellarTracker median for this wine is currently 90.5. They produced 562 cases of the 2009 Sonoma County and distribute to the east coast so there is still an opportunity to buy this wine at retail. I bought mine at Grapes the Wine Co in White Plains, NY (review of the store here - I think he still has some). Consult Wine-Searcher for retailers with availability near you.

The next producer is new to me - Alta Maria. They've got a tasting room in Los Olivos and although they've submitted wines to Spectator for review previously none have been rated 90 or better. Spectator rated their 2009 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 91 points and The Wine Advocate's Antonio Galloni rated it 92 points so there's multiple critics praising this vintage for them. The CellarTracker median is currently 89.5 and with 1,660 cases produced we see some availability across the country at retail with prices as low as $22.94. Might be a good mailing list to get on as well.

Strangely, it's hard to get excited about 89 point rated wines (c'mon, admit it - it is). But given the $20 price point of the last two wines on the list they're worth discussing:

Laguna Ridge is a second label from Lynmar who produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from (mostly) the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. Lynmar's Pinots range in price between $40 and $120 and Spectator rated their 2009s between 88 and 94 points. 492 cases of the 2009 Laguna Ridge Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir were produced. No CellarTracker ratings yet. Scarce availability at retail so far.

Sarapo resells small lots of wine from artisan wineries. It's run by Eric Kent's winemakers and deals mostly in the grape varieties Eric Kent is known for: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The 89 point 2009 Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato can be found at retail for $19.99 and eligible for mixed case discounts which would bring it down to $16.99 or so. One to consider on the more affordable end of the spectrum. There's even some availability in Massachusetts.

Conclusion

While there are a few new names to discover here, we haven't seen any mindbending QPRs revealed - at least not yet. It's been mostly a "get what you pay for" vintage as notable for the highly regarded producers who were snubbed (more on that another time perhaps) as it was for the reliable producers who delivered great wines in a great vintage.

That doesn't mean it's a bad vintage to buy from - far from it. It just means that for the most part we'll have to pay $25 and up to get an outstanding bottle of California Pinot Noir.

But that doesn't mean there's not a few gems out there Spectator didn't rate. Or that we just don't agree on. Check back later this week and I'll share my tasting notes for the 25+ 2009 California Pinot Noirs I've tried so far. I think there'll be some gems in there worth discovering.

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Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite affordable California Pinot Noir producers?


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Aragawa: No grandiose décor yet it is among the most expensive

No chic decoration, nothing elegant and not even a grand entrance, but when it comes to flavors, the diners will love to be back here again and again. According to Forbes magazine, Aragawa is one of the most costly dining areas on this earth under its humble atmosphere. This simple restaurant is situated in the [...]

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Value Alert: 2009 Balletto Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

The road to discovering new wine producers can take many directions. I usually have at least a dozen wines on my mental shopping list - a combination of recommendations from friends on Twitter, things I've read on blogs, tips from friends in real life, offers from retailers, and favorable ratings from wine publications. It typically takes months for me to hear a recommendation, seek a wine out, procure it, taste it, and write something up about. But I recently discovered a wine and completed the whole cycle in just a week.

To kick off Restaurant Week Boston we visited Sorellina. It was our first time there and I thought it was fantastic: Elegant & serene but with a lively atmosphere. Impeccable service. Outstanding food. 4.5/5 stars. Enjoyed it very much.

That said, the mark-up on the wine was pretty aggressive. The table next to us ordered a $140 bottle of Groth Cabernet that's readily available at retail for $39.99. I think I've even seen it for $34.99. $210 for a bottle of '07 Orenellia...too bad it was a half bottle.

But restaurants almost always use wine as a profit center - nothing new there. I chose to go the by-the-glass route. I probably should have gone with something from Italy (Sorellina is a modern Italian restaurant) but I just wanted to enjoy some wine with whatever I might order. I went for a glass of 2009 Balletto Pinot Noir for $14.

In the context of the tranquil environment, beautiful stemware, and ideal serving temperature I thoroughly enjoyed the wine. I took note of the producer and thought to check whether I could track it down at retail. I did a search on Wine-Searcher.com (the gold standard for finding wine online) and it turned up a retailer who said they had it for less than $20. That's the good news.

The bad news it was only available at Select Liquors - a retailer I've had bad luck with. I've tried ordering wines from them at least a couple other times and they've never fulfilled for one reason or another. However, after a couple days I received an email saying my wine was ready for pick-up.

Select Liquors is situated within Bazaar on Cambridge - a funky but evidently well-regarded (according to Yelp reviews) Russian grocery in Allston. I had a hard time finding someone who spoke English to direct me to where I could get my wine. I showed my ID at the register and that was that. I got my 2 bottles of Balletto and I was on my way.

Drinking it later that night during family pizza night (Old School this week for those keeping score) something occurred to me. The atmosphere in which I tasted the wine the first time couldn't have been much more different. And I have to say - although it was still outstanding the second time I did like it more the first.

In many ways a bottle of wine is a commodity. The effort that goes into preparing it in a restaurant pales in comparison to the Lobster Gnocchi we had at Sorelina (which was amazing by the way). But when you factor in the overall experience and the resulting discovery of great wines that can occur it's a bit easier to swallow the high markups we see in restaurants.

2009 Balletto Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
13.9% Alcohol
4,004 Cases Produced
Release Price: $24

Rich but not overripe. Black cherry and cola notes. A little rough around the edges (mildly astringent, which may improve with time) but there's so much right here it's hard not to love. Really nice wine.

90/100 WWP: Outstanding

Winery Website
CellarTracker
Wine-Searcher

Question of the Day: 
What's your strategy for dealing with overpriced wine in restaurants?


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