Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
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It's a new dawn, it's a new day...
Unromantic tasks
At NVWE, we taste, on the average, 30 to 100+ wines per week. That does not include bottlings we may see at other venues. Most of the samples we try are forgettable, and many times a brief glance at a label is enough to suggest that work, not pleasure, awaits.
In the course of a week we nearly always find a few wines we would be proud to carry, and sometimes we find a real gem or two. So we don't miss any beauties, I try to taste every wine that is poured. I may at times be the only one here that does so, as co-workers who get to the store later in the day are free to avoid trying any samples already reviewed as hopelessly uninteresting, or toxic.
Last week Denise, our GM, was on a tasting panel at the SF Chronicle. She returned looking beat, and I asked what she had tasted and if anything was exciting. She had "blind tasted" fifty+ Sauvignon Blancs and found six or seven worthy of note. She would learn the names of her favorites when she called-in the next day. In her absence, we had examined a small and rather ho-hum group. The next day, however, was different.
An Unusual Day
There are days when five different salesmen pour wines for us, but very few days when all five show up looking excited. That happened last week. It wasn't just that they had good wine to pour and hoped for a sale (which of course they did), but they were exhilarated to be pouring something they thought would shake us out of our complacency.
Our staff has long-expected a rush of fine 2005 Cabernets. We remember how good they tasted in barrel and know there will be good supply: a relief after a wonderful but small 2004 crop. We have also lately come to suspect that the 2007 whites, in general, will be the best in recent memory. In one day we saw dramatic evidence that suggests we were right on both counts. So what were we drinking?
A list of goodies
I will start with the Chardonnays, if not in the order they were poured. We got an early look at a lush and perfectly ripe 2007 from Hollywood & Vine. I loved Newton's just released 2006 Unfiltered, an especially unctuous version; and found Richard Partridge's 2006 as focused, if not quite as rich as his wonderful 2005. The 2007 Diatom Huber Vineyard wants age, but certainly impressed, if not so much as Diatom's fabulously Chablis-like Clos Pepe bottling. A 2006 Dutton-Goldfield RRV Dutton Ranch was as close to classic Pouilly Fuisse as California can get.
We saw five brilliant Cabs, two that were new to me. The 2005 Grassi was a juicy-gutsy Atlas Peak bottling with pretty dried herb nuances; while the super-focused 2005 Lindstrom, from Stags Leap, was long and structured. Sage has released an equally terrific 2005 Mt. Veeder Meritage, called Veedercrest; while Celia Masyczek's 2005 Cora Cabernet (ultra-scarce) was the picture of depth and refinement. The late-released 2004 Brown Estate Cab combined the ripeness of 2004, with the jammy-citric notes characteristic of the bottling.
There were gorgeous bottlings from other varietals, including a vivid 2006 Peter Franus Napa Zin and a tasty 2007 Franus Carneros Sauvignon Blanc; the later eclipsed by Cora's even deeper Napa '07. Samsara poured a fine 2006 Ampelos Vineyard Pinot Noir, a somewhat under-developed little brother of their considerably more dramatic Melville '06. Kamen had a truly first-rate 2005 Estate Syrah, which was every bit as eye-catching as Samsara's Melville Pinot. Etude's new 2007 Pinot Gris was less floral than their lovely 2006, but proved just as rich.
Our near-perfect day was rounded-out by two fine 2006 "value" bottlings: A $22.95 William Knuttel Sonoma Coast Pinot; and a tasty $16.95 Napa Merlot, from Sean Minor. Overall, it was quite a group, one that successfully brought some romance back into the job.