Don Gillette's Wine Blog
October 14, 2011
Two years ago I moved from a homely house with a tiny kitchen and a three car garage to a prettier house with a huge kitchen and a shared one car garage. My priorities are, sadly, never less than obvious. Needless to say I threw out a few things. The disposables included fifteen to thirty years of The Wine Advocate; The Wine Spectator; Connoisseur’s Guide; California Grapevine; and The Wine News. Time and the Internet had made them redundant.
I also abandoned collections of several defunct, but at one time significant publications. I was sure that these had never been electronically transcribed, but they had to go. I grieved a bit at the disposal of so much history. I should perhaps have kept and framed the Spectator edition that advised readers not to buy the 2002 Bordeaux (a vintage extraordinary for the cash it brought those who actually invested in it). I wish I had found time to locate and save the ’70s era issue of Vintage that exposed Heublein’s habit of misrepresenting the source of bottles sold at their annual rare wine auctions.
What I most regretted parting with were my copies of the early issues of Robert Finnigan’s Guide to Wines. I began that subscription in 1972 or 1973 and was an avid reader for several years. Finnigan’s early writings had an easy style and a good turn of phrase, yet pulled no punches if a wine was substandard. He ignored “average” bottlings, but wrote accurately and at length about those that were worthy, and briefly and harshly about bad ones. He wrote elegantly, before the idea of numerical wine scores and other crude shortcuts became the norm.
I was sad to read about his death this October and wished again that I could re-read some of his more memorable phrases. My all-time favorite, just a curt dismissal of a winemaking disaster, was: “A wine bubbling with biological activity”. RIP Bob.
Don Gillette
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September 19, 2011
During my blog’s hiatus a considerable number of significant new wineries and bottlings have made an appearance. Recession or not, they just keep on coming. What I find most surprising is that the newcomers seem to fall neatly in to one of two very different categories.
Camp A, makes a less dramatic market splash, even if it gives me gives me the greater pleasure. This group includes mostly mid-priced to lower-mid-priced entries. Often these spring from less-heralded or not yet fully-explored appellations. Just as often the grapes involved are recent plantings of newly-arrived or seemingly forgotten varietals.
Just in the last few weeks, Napa Valley Winery Exchange has introduced the following: a lovely 2008 Sonoma Coast Syrah, from Corkscrew Winery; the delightfully drinkable 2010 Alexander Valley Carignane “Carbonic” (Beaujolais-style, and from 120 year-old vines), from Broc Cellars; a rich and juicy 2009 El Dorado Viognier-Roussanne blend, from David Girard Vineyards; the delicious 2009 Sierra Foothills Viognier, from Naggiar; and outstanding 2010 Tocai Friulano and Cortese offerings, from Mendocino’s new Fatto e Mano winery. Each of these sells for under $25.00, yet each is a wine I could construct a lovely dinner around.
The wines in Camp B reflect a more elevated financial base, although the people behind them seem to be no less enthusiastic. These are “top of the market” debuts. Their price will invariably signal the presence of a celebrated winemaker or a highly-regarded and widely known piece of land. An even more elevated price might signal the presence of both.
Location, Location, Location
With the 2008 vintage Sojourn – a highly-regarded Sonoma producer known best for a fleet of lovely Pinot Noirs – chose to enter the Napa Cab sweepstakes. They launched 4 $90.00ish Cabs, the most easily recognized being a delicious and already highly-rated Beckstoffer “George the Third” entry from Napa. It may not even be the best of the four, but George III is a name we certainly knew.
This month NVWE debuted the 2009 12C Wines Cabernet from the George III vineyard @ $71.95. It is already a joy to drink and is every bit the wine the 2008 Sojourn G3 is. “You chose wisely”, said the old Knight as I lowered the Grail from my lips.
Calling in the Heavy Artillery
Earlier this year we introduced a delicious 2006 Bennet Valley Cabernet from Flanagan Vineyards. This area has neither history nor a reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon, yet the wine was released @ $95.00! It is a lovingly-crafted wine, with pretty oak, polish and all the bells and whistles one could ask Philippe Melka, its famous winemaker, to cram into it.
We all remember Phil, ex-winemaker at Bryant Family. One of Phil’s current day jobs is as chief cook and bottle washer at Dana Estate. Dana makes three Napa Cabs from fine, if lesser-known properties. 2007 was only Dana’s second release, yet all three wines sold out immediately @ $285.00 per bottle. These are extremely tasty Cabs, but it may be Phil’s name that made them so “recession proof”.
Last Thursday I tasted the soon to be released 2009 Bordeaux blends and Cabernets from Capture Wines. Each comes from their Estate vineyards on Sonoma’s little-exploited Pine Mountain.
In the 1990s, Napa Valley Winery Exchange sold zillions of cases of Chauffe Eau Cabernet (@ $20.00) from a Pine Mountain site, and I often wondered what might be done up there by someone who was truly striving for greatness (and had a bit of disposable income).
Thus far, the public has seen Capture as a white wine producer. They produced fine Chardonnay in both 2009 and 2010. Even better, their “Tradition” and “Les Pioneers” Sauvignon Blancs, from the same vintages, have been close to spectacular! Despite this, it is the Capture reds that everyone has been waiting for.
Well, no surprise, the Capture reds are impressive. But after all, they should be. Capture’s winemaker, Denis Malbec, left his day job at Chateau Latour a while back, to seek his fortune in the west. His talents have by now been now widely demonstrated around our local Cabernet country. He knows the plant when he sees it and what the market will bear as well. Capture’s gorgeous flagship wines: the “Harmonie” Bordeaux blend and the top-end “Revelation” Cab will launch at $120.00 and $135.00 respectively.
I personally wish the tight young ’09 Capture reds were to be released a year from now. I know however that farming to make great Cabernet is expensive and that the owners of Capture, Flanagan, C12 and Sojourn may need a paycheck. It is possible that their need is just as pressing as that of the “less well-fixed” folks at Corkscrew, Broc, David Girard, Naggiar and Fatto e Mano. I hope they each find rewards for their efforts.
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October 3, 2010
Back 20 years ago I pretty much despaired of California Sauvignon Blanc. There were only a few producers then worth remembering: Rochioli and Gary Farrell in the Russian River pleased me, as did Babcock and Gainey in Santa Barbara. Each had access to fine vineyards, but more importantly each saw the grape as a noble one, worth noble attention. Such producers stood out in high relief from their competitors, who generally looked at Sauvignon Blanc through the eyes of a banker.
Most Sauvignon Blanc producers of the period saw Sauvignon Blanc as (like white Zinfandel) “cash-flow” wine. Growers use the pruning of a vine to help determine the size of the upcoming crop. An over-large crop may fail to properly ripen if the weather is too cool, but if the weather is warm (so common in California) the high-yield grapes will still ripen, giving the producer significantly more bottles to sell.
A downside of high-yield crops is that the intensity and balance of the finished product may prove undistinguished even in a perfectly ripe vintage, but Sauvignon Blanc is a flavorful grape and even when it delivers a huge crop it can be respectably flavorful. By the late 1980s, crops were reaching 14 tons per acre: a very high yield. No matter if the juice was less flavorful than the barrel it had previously been stored in, the advantages outweighed such trivialities. Stainless steel fermentation was inexpensive and kept the wine fresh, and that wine could be shipped earlier, thus avoiding storage and barrel costs.
A bit of Healthy Competition
During the 1990s, most of California’s nationally-marketed producers took their Banker’s advice. Unsurprisingly, the reputation of California’s Sauvignon Blanc plummeted. At the same time, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was gaining a world-wide reputation and world-wide distribution. These wines showed fine concentration and lovely freshness, and although they saw little time in oak, their fruit had an intensity that shamed many of our domestic wines. At that time, our new customers were asking for New Zealand’s versions two-to-one over the domestic ones.
In France, new producers (led famously by the late Didier Dagineau) were raising the reputation of Pouilly Fume. Its distinction became such that the best producers were getting unheard-of prices. California producers, in fear of the one and envy of the other, finally began again to compete.
Some began to make expensive wines of dramatic richness like Peter Michael, while others made wines of great fruit intensity and purity, like Merry Edwards. Merry Edwards wines have always seemed to me a more “prettified” version of what Rochioli was known for. An even larger number of producers, many new, have followed the New Zealand formula of high-intensity fruit, with little or no oak treatment.
At the end of this decade we find ourselves with a Sauvignon Blanc industry in full recovery and a large contingent of quality-driven winemakers, many committed to biodynamic or organic methods. 2008 has proven a fine year, but in 2009 we have a near-perfect Sauvignon Blanc vintage. The ’09s are now flooding the market and they should not be missed! What follows is a brief list of remaining fine 2008s and some exciting, recently released 2009s, in a variety of styles and prices. Lots of pleasure here, regardless of price!
2008 BERNARDUS MONTEREY
2008 CADE NAPA VALLEY
2008 DEEP SEA ARROYO GRANDE VALLEY
2008 GRGICH HILLS “FUME BLANC” NAPA VALLEY – BIODYNAMIC
2008 LEWIS “RESERVE” NAPA VALLEY
2008 PATIANNA MENDOCINO – BIODYNAMIC
2008 PONT DE CHEVALIER KNIGHTS VALLEY
2009 6 SIGMA LAKE COUNTY
2009 BECKMEN SANTA YNEZ VALLEY – BIODYNAMIC
2009 CAPTURE LES PIONIERS RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY – NVWE is now sold out
2009 CAPTURE TRADITION RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
2009 CROCKER STAR NAPA VALLEY
2009 GRGICH HILLS “ESSENCE” NAPA VALLEY – BIODYNAMIC
2009 LEWIS NAPA VALLEY
2009 LIEFF NAPA VALLEY-YOUNTVILLE
2009 MARGERUM “SYBARITE” SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
2009 MERRY EDWARDS RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY – NVWE is now sold out
2009 PEIRSON MEYER “RYAN’S VINEYARD” NAPA VALLEY
2009 PETER FRANUS CARNEROS
2009 PETER MICHAEL L’APRES-MIDI KNIGHTS VALLEY
2009 RANCHO SISQUOC SANT BARBARA
2009 RIVER ROAD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
2009 ROCHIOLI RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY – NVWE is now sold out
2009 SIGNATERRA – BIODYNAMIC
2009 VOGELSANG SANTA BARBARA HAPPY CANYON
2009 WALTER HANSEL RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY – NVWE is now sold out
2009 WHITEHALL LANE NAPA VALLEY
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June 30, 2010
Well, well, well…what will we California Pinot-lovers do after the supply of 2007, the state’s most prolific and widely available great vintage ever, is exhausted? Are our cellars now full to capacity and our appetites sated, or has that vintage created so many new fans and media advocates that the Pinot market is do for an expansion?
Heaven knows. I suspect that if the country was a bit more prosperous and the wine marketplace in less confusion, the later possibility would be assured. Beyond economic uncertainties, it is hard to imagine a non-optimistic scenario as one ponders what is in store for buyers in the immediate future. The 2008 California Pinot Noirs are just around the corner and Heaven knows (as do many in the trade) that a great many of them will be wonderful.
2007 will be remembered for its wonderful quality, but even more for its remarkable reliability through every appellation in the state. It was a year when failure was almost always a “winemaker’s failure”. In my opinion, when Mother Nature chooses to supply perfect apples, it is almost certainly the baker’s fault if you don’t enjoy the pie.
2007 should have been a tough act to follow, yet it is now abundantly clear that 2008 will also be a great vintage. I have suspected that this might prove to be the case for months now as, despite reports of ’08s lack of uniformity, many of the samples I first encountered (in barrel and in bottle) were stunners. My more recent tastings have convinced me that the number of outstanding ’08s will be very great indeed.
What makes the new Pinots distinctive? The best wines from the new vintage not only have varietal clarity on a par with ’07, but some of them have even more concentration! Crop size may be partly responsible. Small crop size can affect both ripeness and depth, and in vineyards where the weather was equally kind to both vintages, 2008 often gave growers the smaller crop. If it is very clear that the 2008s will not have the uniform quality that made ’07 so distinctive, it is also apparent that in some instances the ’08s will be even better.
Examples have been cropping up since last fall. Two Brewer-Clifton bottlings illustrate the point. The 2007 Brewer-Clifton Mount Carmel Vineyard Pinot is a majestic wine that could outlive BCs slightly less perfect 2008 Mount Carmel by five years. In contrast, the truly delicious 2007 Brewer-Clifton Melville Vineyard Pinot is just no match for Brewer-Clifton’s fabulous 2008 Melville.
Unlike ’07, there are highs and lows everywhere in ’08, yet most of my favorite producers have at least one stunning success and a few may have ’07 uniformity. I just tasted the 2008 Chasseur Blank and Sexton Vineyard bottlings and found both potentially superior to Chassuer’s wonderful 2007 versions.
On Sunday, June 27th, my co-worker Midori and I attended “Pinot Days 2010″, held at Fort Mason Center, in San Francisco. This was our first opportunity to sample a large group of 2008s (as well as some late-release 2007s) at one tasting.
Here are my own Pinot Days favorites, listed in alphabetical order. The asterisks indicate my first impressions of relative quality. A wine I give one * to is a very good wine at the least and wines earning ** or *** are cause for progressively greater excitement. Many of these wines may prove better than I expect, but I think very few will disappoint.
2008 Ancient Oaks RRV * (Fine Value)
2008 Arista Long Bow **
2008 Arista Mononi ***
2008 Arista RRV **
2008 Arista Toboni **
2008 August West Rosella’s **
2008 August West SLH *
2008 Auteur Sonoma Coast **
2008 Belle Glos Taylor Lane **
2007 Calera De Villiers *
2008 Cartograph Split Rock *
2008 Coho RRV *
2008 Coterie Saralees *
2008 Dutton Estate Manzana *
2008 Dutton Estate Thomas Road **
2008 Dutton Goldfield Devils Gulch **
2008 Dutton Goldfield Sanchetti ***
2007 Evening Land Occidental ***
2007 Faila Occidental *
2008 Freeman Akiko’s **
2008 Freeman Sonoma Coast **
2008 Fulcrum Anderson Valley (Hein & Hayley) **
2008 Fulcrum Gaps Crown **
2008 Goldeneye Anderson Valley **
2008 Inception Central Coast * (Fine Value)
2008 Inception Santa Barbara County Cuvee * (Fine Value)
2007 Kosuge Shop **
2008 Mary Edwards Meredith Estate ***
2007 Morgan Rosella’s
2008 Rebecca K Sonoma Coast (Maboroshi) **
2007 Russian Hill Leras **
2008 Sand Hill Durrel **
2007 Thorne *
Wines I had previously sampled, but re-tasted:
2007 Halleck Hallberg **
2007 Halleck Hillside **
2007 Russian Hill Tara **
Wines I did not re-taste at Pinot Days, but have enjoyed at other venues:
2008 Benovia Bella Una **
2008 Benovia Sonoma Coast **
2007 Halleck 3 Sons *
2007 Halleck The Farm **
2007 Hirsch San Andreas ***
2007 Ketcham RRV *
2007 Ketcham Estate **
2008 La Follette Manchester Ridge **
2008 La Follette Sangiacomo **
2008 La Follette Sonoma Coast *
2007 Londer Parabal **
2008 Melville Estate SRH **
2008 Melville Carrie’s ***
2007 Morgan Gary’s ***
2007 Morgan Double L **
2007 Pelerin Rosella’s **
2008 Peter Paul Mill Station *
If I failed to include some new wineries that deserved attention, I apologize. The time and my own energies were too brief to make visiting every table a possibility. I undoubtedly missed many exciting wines and I probably have some good friends mad at me for not stopping. I hope to get a chance to make up for that. A special sorry goes to: Kastania, Londer, Pali, Pisoni, Roessler, Sojourn, Talisman, Talley, Tantara, Testarossa and TR Elliot. All are fine producers whom I was unable to get to.
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April 29, 2010
The best trade tasting each April (some would say each year) is the Oakville Growers’ Taste of Oakville event. Since little beyond Cabernet Sauvignon is planted in Oakville and since some of the greatest Cabernet vineyards on the planet are located there, it is not surprising that the tasting is long anticipated, and it can be an especially rewarding tasting during a period of 5 straight great vintages, like 2004-2008.
At Monday’s event, the supply of good juice was plentiful, even if quantities of some bottlings were limited. What follows is a list of what has been, or is being released. The tasting was about a 50/50 mix of the very fine 2006s and the possibly finer 2007s. Our release prices are included (these do not reflect cases discounts), but in some cases the quantity available is tiny, so it’s best to snap-up your favorites while you can!
Recent releases still available and May 1st offerings!
2006 Tamber Bey Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon – available @ $64.95 Long sweet-natured & delicious already, tons of Cassis & blueberry.
2007 Stanton Cabernet Sauvignon @ $74.95 In the typical Stanton mode: soft-edged & full of dark berry & mocha.
2006 Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon @ $49.95 Firm and gripping, in the classic mode.
2006 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon @ $61.95 Sweet cherry & plum flavors, like the lovely 1999.
2007 Plump Jack Estate Cabernet Sauvignon @ $77.95 Lots of Cassis & berry, vanilla & toast, more gutsy than elegant.
2007 Miner Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville @ $64.95 Red berries and vanilla, in the classic mold.
2007 Hoopes Cabernet Sauvignon @ $66.95 Their best yet and a vintage star, with focused cherry and red currant in layers.
2007 Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon @ $59.95 Even bigger, if not as elegant as the 2006: an ager.
2007 Oakville Winery Cabernet Sauvignon @ $50.95 Sweet cherry fruit, herbal spice, pretty oak and an elegant style.
2006 Tierra Roja Cabernet Sauvignon – 5 on shelf & more available @ $114.95 Rounding into classic form, with years ahead.
2006 Rudd Estate Cabernet Blend @ $125.95 Extremely tight and powerful, years away.
2007 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon @ $2495.95 Lafite-like elegance & great focus and flavor, if at a rarified price.
2006 Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon @ $795.95 Tight and muscular & years away.
Unreleased, but worth watching out for:
2007 Liparita Cabernet Sauvignon – August release Even more delicious and forthcoming than the 2006.
2007 Tierra Roja Cabernet Sauvignon – September release Classic for the cellar.
2007 Tamber Bey Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon – September release A slightly juicier clone of the 2006.
2007 Nickel & Nickel Sullinger Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – August release Best Sullinger in recent years.
2007 Nickel & Nickel Rock Cairn Vineyard (AKA Ghost Block) Cabernet Sauvignon – August release Our favorite N & N ’07, a wine with great purity of fruit.
2007 Oakville East Exposure Cabernet Sauvignon – Fall release A style change toward elegance and greater focus.
Exciting New Kids on the Block:
2007 Oakville Terraces Cabernet Sauvignon – available soon Full of berries and dried herbs.
2007 Maybeck Cabernet Sauvignon – Deep, rich and classy, but restaurant distribution only.
2007 Giannone Cabernet Sauvignon – September release Winemaker Karen Culler’s new project, with plenty of class and richness.
2007 Kristine Ashe Cabernet Sauvignon – September release Hot new project, with a fine Sauvignon Blanc as well
As you can see, Oakville Cab can be a tasty subject!
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February 15, 2010
For Pinot, it Sometimes Comes in Waves
In California, a Cabernet Sauvignon vintage is typically released to the marketplace over a 3 1/2 year period. Late last summer, we saw the first 2007 “bargain-Cabs”. The inexpensive wines always lead the way, while a few famous Reserve bottles always show up at the end. In March 2012, the 2007 Heitz “Marthas” vineyard Cab, a perennial late-comer, will be released.
The release of a great Pinot Noir vintage like 2007 comes in, excepting lunar influence, rather more like the tide. At first we see just a trickle of wine; then significantly more; then the full rush; then a gradual decrease that ends again with a trickle.
Three categories of Pinot are likely to be launched first: Those which are annually scheduled early; those in danger of losing “restaurant placements” because the previous vintage can no longer be supplied; and those wines that are already so attractive that it is sensible to offer them before they have more market competition.
Great Pinot is by nature a scarce and sought-after commodity and by the time a great vintage such as 2007 is at full flood, press coverage is heavy enough to drive sales of any special wine that the reviewers have unearthed. At that stage a feverish search for the most talked about bottlings will be well under way, but many of the best Pinots are so obscure or in such short supply that the national press will miss them. Alert collectors soon turn their attention in that direction, and word-of-mouth does the rest.
Ultimately the time comes for the next vintage to enter the marketplace. If the press has been generous and loud, as in 2007, what remains of the vintage is a combination of un-released Reserve-level (usually vineyard-designated) bottlings and wines from producers who failed to live up to expectations.
Enter 2008
Last week I attended a regional tasting put on by vintners from the Santa Lucia highlands. The tasting was dominantly of Pinot Noirs and I expected to see many attractive 2007s and to get a look at some 2008s. That was pretty much what happened. What I didn’t expect was that the most attractive wine in the room would turn out to be from 2008.
That wine was the 2008 Roar Garys‘ vineyard Pinot. It was less concentrated than Roar’s brilliant and power-packed 2007 version, but it reminded me of a particularly feminine Musigny. It is quite possible that, in time, the ’08 may be the more delicious wine. Roar’s ’08 Santa Lucia Highlands bottling is also exceptionally pretty.
The winemaker at Roar is Ed Kurtzman. Ed was pouring another of his efforts, the August West 2008 Rosella’s vineyard Pinot, at a table across the room. It too was delicious, if a bit firmer in texture and tannin. The only other Pinot I tasted that was of this quality level was the 2007 Pisoni Estate: a wine of terrific intensity, but one of the two most backward wines of its vintage (the other is Brewer-Clifton’s Cargasacchi).
How good is 2008?
I really don’t know yet about the general quality, but there will certainly be some great wines. Not much has yet been shown to the trade and even fewer examples have been reviewed in the press. 2008 still stands clearly in the shadow of 2007, at least in our understanding and appreciation of it.
I have seen too little of 2008 to form opinions as to which appellations are stalwarts, but one general characteristic about the vintage is distinctive: small crops. Small crops bring concentration, and small crops can ripen better when Mother Nature has not provided enough sunshine.
I have already had a few highly concentrated ’08 Pinots, and anyone seeking an example may try the delicious 2007 Melville Estate Pinot with its 2008 sibling. The ’08 is the richer and better wine. On the same day I tried the ’08 Melville, I tasted the upcoming 2008 Brewer-Clifton Mount Carmel Pinot. The 2008 was not as concentrated as the massive 2007 version, but it was in its quality range and will need a few years less cellar-time to reveal all of its charms.
There is no indication that the amazing consistency of 2007 will be quickly repeated, yet it seems to me that the best 2008s may be exceptional. It also appears that it may require more work to uncover them, so I best get to it.
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December 31, 2009
I don’t know anyone who isn’t glad that 2009 is over. In too many ways it was a trial for us all. Yet for the wine consumer and salesman it was a year when – assuming that both were still employed – the marketplace was packed with wonderful things.
What follows is a random and by no ways complete list of wine news that pleased me personally in 2009. Forgive me if I forget things that were important in January or March in favor of more recent events, as such “senior moments” come often to me these days.
Most upbeat year-long topic: The near-endless supply of fine 2007 Pinots. A disappointing bottle from such a vintage could only lower ones estimation of its winemaker. All but the truly incompetent made delicious ’07s.
Best indication of my future job security: The maturation of all those great young Pinot Noir vineyards.
Next best indication of my own job security: An orderly progression through five straight outstanding Napa Cabernet vintages: 2004-2008.
Most helpful recent trend: Three fine Chardonnay harvests on the shelves at once: 2006-2008. The best 2007s are as good as it gets. Anyone tasting a “regular” ’07 bottling from Chasseur or Lewis will get the picture.
Best new Chardonnay producer: Clearly Morlet, although for Tiffany prices one should get a pretty jewel.
Other likable trends: Napa Cabernet “appellation blends”, like Whitehall Lanes’ St Helena and Rutherford bottlings. Fancy Pink Bubblies like those from Schramsberg & Roederer. $60.00 Cabs for under $40.00.
Best reasons to gulp Sauvignon Blanc: 2007 Grgich Hills; 2008 Signaterra Shone Farm.
Indications we should plant more Italian varietals in California: 2008 Palmina Arneis; 2008 Mahoney Vermentino.
Best reason to collect Merlot: 2007 Paloma.
Best Cab Franc in memory: 2006 Keenan.
Good excuses to buy Syrah: Lewis, Peay, Roar, Lucia & Spotted Owl.
Top pourers at Zap 2009: Seghesio and Gamba.
Favorite new Cab producers (both 2006s from Napa): Malk – from a plot astride the famous Fay vineyard in Stags Leap; and Boeschen – next to Chabot vineyard, at the base of Howell Mountain.
My personal favorite “Eureka!” moment: Learning where the Malk vineyard was located after describing that 2006 Cab as “Cask 23-like”.
Winery of the year: Bill Hunter’s Chasseur. With 6 fine-to-great whites and about 11 fine-to-historic Pinots. No one else was really even close.
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November 25, 2009
My daughter is a senior in high school. One of her latest assignments is to compare a work of fiction with a film representation of it. She is behind in her work (due to illness) and was irritated by the assignment. She wearily asked her dad for book/film suggestions (she finds adults in general and her father in particular, verbose). Naturally, I had dozens of suggestions. Most of my choices got her eyes rolling, but she agreed (when I assured her that the book was short and the movie in color) to read Conrad’s novel Heart of darkness and watch Coppola’s film Apocalypse now.
I bring this up because mention of Coppola’s film (which I saw upon release and had not seen since) always brings back memories of Anne Chiquoine.
In the 1970s, I worked in a wine store in Santa Barbara. Through my job I became friends with Chuck Henderson, a Gallo salesman who serviced the store. Chuck had a dull job, but lots of outside interests and much more free time than I. He was a literature and film buff and most of our conversations were about books, especially modern fiction. We used to surreptitiously share wine and chat as I worked behind the counter. Often we continued our conversations over Margaritas after I got off work.
One day he loaned me a John Hawkes book: “The Beetle Leg”, which I loved. I had never heard of Hawkes and asked where I could buy more of his books. Chuck sent me to a tiny bookstore in Ventura, owned by Anne Chiquoine. He said her’s was the only store in the state to carry them. He said she had dozens and dozens of books from small publishers which could not be bought in LA of San Francisco.
A few weeks later, I drove to Ventura and found her shop. It had little in the way of window displays and was very cramped inside. It was longer and thinner, but not larger than the display area at Napa Valley Winery Exchange. The interior was entirely filled with revolving wire book racks and each wall was tightly packed also, mostly with paperbacks. One had to weave a path around the wire racks. When I stepped in, the only occupant was a small woman, apparently of late middle age. She stood, loading a wire rack, with her back to me.
When She heard me, she looked over her shoulder and asked tersely, with no warmth or welcome in her voice: “What do you want”. Rather startled, I told her I had been sent by my friend Chuck and that I wanted to track down some John Hawkes books. She turned backed to sorting her books and said, in a neutral voice: “You can stay”.
I looked through the dozen or so racks and was surprised to find but one copy of each book. Customers had to leaf through every section of every rack just to learn what was for sale. What was for sale was remarkable. Anne specialized in small publishing houses and bought only books she was excited about. She could describe any book you asked her about and could minutely criticize the vices or defend the virtues of emerging writers from all over the world. She was the only west coast source for much of her inventory. I later learned that college English departments from Northern California, Oregon and Washington would buy their books from her, making annual safaris down to Ventura to explore the new ones.
The Passions of the Day
One day, while shopping at Anne’s store, I became involved in a conversation with another customer about the just released film “Apocalypse Now”. He had read various pro and con reviews, but had yet to see it. I had gone to opening night (after rereading Heart of Darkness in preparation). I said that it was a remarkable and important movie, and then went on to nit-pick it to pieces. I said, rather emphatically, that it had missed being a great film because Coppola had so filled it with visual “impact” (the word I actually used might have been “distractions”) that the public might miss the message that the darkness (or its potential anyway) lay not in the jungle and in all the “rockets red glare”, but in the hearts of the men who hoped to conquer it. At a pause in this conversation, Anne interjected a comment. She too had been to opening night. She said the she also had some criticisms, but that: “Make no mistake, twenty years from now our complaints will be forgotten and we will be grateful that he has made such a remarkable film”.
I lived in Santa Barbara for over seven years and regularly made the 45 minute drive to Anne Chiquoine books. She introduced me to writers like Alain Robbe-Grillet, Sebastian Japrisot, Kodo Abe, Yukio Mishima and Heinrich Boll. She tracked down five of the six B Traven “Jungle novels” (we could never find an English copy of “Trozas”). She insisted that I buy the first ever reprinting of Ben Hecht’s (banned for 50 years as obscene) Fantazius Mallare novels, which I treasure.
I always thought Anne could smile a bit more and intimidate her customers less. I also came to think that her business profile might work well for a wine store.
After writing this blog, I watched Apocalypse Now and discovered that Anne was right, the essence of the book comes through clearly. I also Googled the name Anne Chiquoine. I learned that she passed away in 2003, leaving over a million dollars (apparently earned prior to the opening of her bookstore) to a college. I also learned that Anne is talked about in a book called: “An Alphabetical Life”, written by a friend who was also in the trade. I can’t wait to read it!
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September 21, 2009
Fine Sonoma Cabernets are so few in number that it is seldom one has reason to write about a vintage. How small is the field?
The greatest Sonoma Cabs come from Sonoma Mountain:, yet Laurel Glen, Benziger, Kamen, and Audellsa are the only real contenders here. The quality range, in a worthy vintage, is fine to great.
Alexander Valley is Sonoma’s most famous Cab appellation. It was made so by the success of Silver Oak and Jordan, neither of which has attempted to produce great wine there for some time. The other bearers these days include estates like Lancaster, Simi or tiny Eric Guerra. The quality range is OK to very fine.
Dry Creek Cabernets are notorious for being heavy in tannin and frail of fruit, although higher elevation (Bradford Mountain) is certainly a plus factor and a few wineries (Rafanelli for instance) succeed fairly regularly. That being said, I have tasted more fruitless and bitterly short Dry Creek Cabs than I care to remember. It is certainly possible to make fine Cabernet here, but bad Dry Creek Cab is truly bad. The quality range runs dismal to fine.
The few Russian River Cabs still being produced are firm, racy-textured bottlings, notable for style, more than ripeness. The quality of winemaking here is very high, but there is scant reason to grow Cabernet at all. One rarely sees a poorly made wine, yet the best wines need age to be just very good.
Sonoma Valley Cabs are occasionally quite attractive and Sonoma Valley fruit is also used in some very attractive blends. The Sonoma County appellation however, is a broad one that is popular with many large corporate wineries, who generally do little to elevate its prestige. Their bottlings are frequently watery and/or dull. Again, higher elevation land usually helps.
The Chalk Hill area is capable of producing outstanding wines, but they are a rarity. The most interesting these days come from a newer producer called Demuth Kemos. They make darkly powerful Cabernets of fine ripeness but manageable tannin.
I said at the start that fine Sonoma Cabernets are so few in number that it is seldom one has reason to write about a vintage. Well 2006 is a good reason. For the first time in several years there is a cross section of fine Sonoma Cabernet available. If the opportunity arises, try any of these:
2006 Audellsa Cabernet Sauvignons
2006 Audellsa Summit Proprietary Red Wine (like a fine Pomerol)
2006 Eric Guerra Cabernet Sauvignon (a great value)
2006 Eric Guerra Ispiri Proprietary Red Wine
2006 Dumuth Kemos Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon (cellar-worthy and full of guts)
2006 Kamen Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Mountain (a truly great, Margaux-like Cab)
When they are released, I am personally longing to taste:
2006 Benziger Tribute Proprietary Red Wine
2006 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon
I am keeping my eyes peeled and won’t be surprised if Sonoma has more exciting ’06s in store!
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August 27, 2009
I have long expected that the Wine Spectator Magazine would do a grand-scale review of the 2007 California Pinot Noirs, a vintage not to be ignored. In mid-August I was searching the WS website for something from a previous issue and noticed that September was to be their Pinot issue. The cover headline proclaimed it our best Pinot vintage ever, an easy proposition to agree with. Clicking on the cover I found a long list of advance reviews. I printed the list and then promptly forgot it.
I did not think of the printout again until customers started to call me about the reviews. This happens all the time, as east-coast and mid-west readers seem to get their copies well before we do. Most of the calls concerned Chasseur (which we are well-known suppliers of), Kosta Browne and Red Car. One caller got me at lunch, so I had some time to talk. The conversation went something along the following lines.
Customer: I am looking at the new Spectator’s Pinot reviews, do you have any of the heavy hitters in yet.
Don: I have only seen the cover. Which wines do you mean?
Customer: Chasseur Rayhill, Red Car Heaven & Earth and the Black Kites.
Don: The Black Kites are on our website. Red Car is long gone. Chasseurs are coming in the Fall. Did they review all of the Chasseurs?
Customer: Yes, mostly big ratings.
Don: The Rayhill is one of my current favorites, along with the Sexton and Joyce. I really adore the Joyce, but who knows which of the nine Chasseurs will ultimately turn out to be the best, I certainly don’t have any idea. Did they review the Benovia’s?
Customer: Just the Sonoma Coast: 88 points.
Don: For Heaven’s sake.
Customer: Is it better than that?
Don: Of course, and the three Vineyard Designates are all wonderful, especially the Savoy. Two are coming out any day now.
Customer: Can I read you some more reviews and see what else has been released?
Don: Sure, fire away. Wait a minute: let me predict some more 88 and 89 point scores first.
Customer: What do you mean?
Don: Every year a bunch of the most exciting wines get 88s and 89s. They aren’t big enough, jammy enough, or off-dry enough to fit in the Spectator’s preferred mould. There are a group of winemakers, who are super-respected by the trade, but whose wines never get into the 90s in the Spectator.
Customer: Like who?
Don: Dutton-Goldfield, Arista, Russian Hill, the less dramatic years of Chasseur: others.
Customer: I’m looking. The Aristas are all 88s and 89s.
Don: Of course. Did they do the Dutton-Goldfield ’07s?
Customer: 89 for the Freestone and 90 for the straight Dutton Ranch.
Don: The Freestone is a brilliant wine and the Sanchetti is even better in ’07.
Customer: No Russian Hill.
Don: The Russian Hill Tara was fabulous in barrel. You could fill a nice cellar with 89s, bye the way.
Customer: Apparently. Don’t worry, I know which ones I like. I just want to be sure a big review doesn’t run you out of something I want.
Don: The good news is that there is an ocean of good Pinot still in the pipeline. Lets hear the rest of your list.
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