The Borrowed Penguin Wine Review

Kicking Off Octoberfest

This week one of our suppliers rolled out a new line of Austrian and German wines, and to launch the new products they held a large industry tasting. I was particularly busy on the day of the tasting, but I did run down for a few minutes and attempt to taste of couple of things. Fortunately, the next day my rep brought the wines and the importer to my store and I was able to have a far more personalized and meaningful chance to try the wines.

My initial excitement was to try some new Gruner Veltliner wines. Gruner Veltliner is Austria’s star grape, and in many ways is comparable to an Alsatian varietal. The wines are normally dry and crisp, although some Gruner has quite a bit of fruit. Unfortunately, the wines are a bit tricky to come by and I’ve always wondered how the rare Gruner I’ve come across rates. This was my chance to give it a shot.

Surprisingly (or maybe I just didn’t do my homework), there weren’t too many Gruner Veltliners to try. The ones that were there showed a bit more structure and acidity than much of the stuff I’ve had, and I was impressed by the fragrance and fruitiness of them. However, I have to admit that the Austrian Pinot Blanc probably stole the show; it was great.

But the real star was the new Rieslings. Most Americans think of Riesling as being a sweet German wine, although more experienced wine drinkers are aware of the number of spectacular dry Rieslings made in both Alsace and Germany. The interesting thing I learned is that overall the majority (in fact, the dominant majority) of German Riesling is dry. The sweet stuff exists almost exclusively for export to the US and there is virtually no market for it in Europe. The importer explained the reason for this, which is quite curious: following World War II there were a large number of Americans stationed throughout Germany, and they greatly preferred the sweeter style of wine, so the Germans responded to market demands and began producing larger quantities of sweet Riesling.

The dry Rieslings were great and later on in the tasting I had the chance to taste the sweeter ones (Auslese, Kabinett, Spatlese), which were notably different but also very good wines. I wish there was more of a chance to taste dry and sweet Riesling side by side so people could see the difference between fruity and sweet. Having a couple of good dry Rieslings that bring apple and even peach flavors to the palate followed by a sweeter Kabinett really demonstrates how sweetness is a completely distinct and unique characteristic to a wine, and it is possible to have wonderfully fruity wines without residual sugar, or you can leave in a little sugar to enhance the wine’s flavor.

Finally, I did get to have some good German red wine. I’ve known for years that it was made, but hardly any of it ever comes to the US. Well, now there is some very nice German Pinot Noir, and while it may be a bit of an effort to track down, it is a great experience. As you would probably expect it is reminiscent of Burgundy, although with a bit less smoke.

I’m still sifting through my notes on the red wines, although I was impressed enough that I will be ordering some for the store. While that is an exciting development, my feeling is the increased visibility of wines like Gruner and dry Riesling shows that Americans are continuing to move away from the over-oaked Chardonnays that dominated the early part of this decade. I’ve got nothing against a good California Chard, I’ve had many that were great. But as more people are exposed to the crisp and powerful white wines that are out there I think they will find a lot of things to enjoy.

So I Walked Into a Cocktail Party...

Over the weekend I went to a cocktail gathering, and I got to try a few fun things. Few of them were new, but it was the first exposure to some vintages and it’s always good to go back and reflect on things. Admittedly this isn’t the best order to be trying these, and plenty of food was involved, and this was certainly not a controlled setting, and lots of time passed between the wines, but without further ado…

When I first arrived I was offered a small glass of Veuve Cliquot. I’ve got nothing bad to say about his wine, but at the same time I really don’t understand the hype. The fruit is fine, and the yeastiness is decent, but there just isn’t a lot going on. At this price, I expect something to excite me. It isn’t just that Veuve is everywhere these days, it’s that I don’t find anything to really get the wine going. I’m not dismissing the overall quality of the wine, I’m just saying it’s not the Champagne that I look to order.

Next up was Rombauer Chardonnay, and while the 2005 has just been released, this was the 2004 vintage. Rombauer Chard certainly falls into the cult wine classification, and while it is reasonably priced and has a fairly wide distribution it just up and vanishes. I’m not a big fan of oaky Chards, but I do understand why people enjoy this one. The fruit builds up and then actually blends into the oak, instead of just being run off the map. It is a very nice wine.

About this time one of the guests made up some nice scallops, and to go with them we had the 2005 Morgan Sauvignon Blanc out of Monterey. I like Morgan wines, particularly the 12 Clones Pinot Noir and the Metalico Chardonnay, and while the Sauv Blanc came highly recommended from a very trusted friend, this was my first time trying it. The wine has bright acid and a pleasant lemon flavor, not an up-in-the sinus lemon bite. Paired with the scallops it was superb, and I’d have to say it was the hit of the party.

Those were all the whites, although when I first arrived there was a bottle of 2002 Carol Shelton Karma Zin open. Shelton, located in Sonoma but making wines all up and down the state, is one of my favorite winemakers and I’m sure I will talk more about her in the future. But in particular this vintage of this wine is a standout. The wine is a field blend with Carignane, Petit Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, and a tiny amount of Palomino. The Alicante Bouschet gives the wine an unmistakable dark color, and the other grapes work together to create wine with good spice reminiscent of black pepper and fruit that is dark and powerful while still lush and controlled. Of all the Zins I’ve ever had, this one combines all the elements of what the wine can be better than any other.

Moving on, our host decided to open a bottle of 2002 Bacio Divino, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Petit Syrah from Napa Valley. I’m not terribly familiar with Cal-Italia stuff (and I’m not even sure if this qualifies as being in that category) but it is a great wine. The Cab provides a solid backbone, but it is only 66% of the blend. The Sangiovese (19%) keeps the wine from turning into a cherry Jolly Rancher, and then the Petit Syrah gives it some oomph, body, and finish. This isn’t a cheap wine ($70+ retail?), but it is yummy. If you just want to learn a little about the wine, check out Pazzo, which is their other label. It is predominantly Sangiovese, and about half the price.

Calls were made to open one more bottle, and this time the decision was finally made to go with something from the Old World (with the exception of the Veuve, the whole thing had been a California monopoly), and I recommended a 2001 George Bertrand Minervois Terroir. We were about to make a dramatic shift, and not everyone would be happy about that. Before I give those details, a little about the wine and the Minervois region.

Minervois is located in southern France, not far from the Mediterranean Sea. It is within the Languedoc region, which historically was the overlooked region of French winemaking where large quantities of low-quality wine destined for export were made. In recent times the quality has been greatly increased and some exciting wines have started to come out of the region.

I haven’t been able to track down the exact blend on this particular wine, but most of the producer’s wines are blends of Rhone varietals (which is typical for the region). Upon first opening the wine it was very funky and one person, whose pallet I respect a great deal, even suggested it was corked. I took one smell and was confident the wine was in good condition. The rest of the group brushed the wine aside. Over the next hour or so I let my glass open, and after about 30 minutes I started to encourage others to go back and sample theirs again. Now most of the group acknowledged the wine was pleasant and had some nice fruit, although a little darker than some liked.

But the real success of the wine was about two hours later. I took the bottle home with me and tried it again before I went to bed: by then it was bright raspberry, subtle spice, and maybe even a hint of strawberry. Lush and relaxed, it was really beautiful, and proof that there is still a distinct difference between Old World and New World, and it also demonstrated why so many people struggle to grasp French wines.

This is no attempt to say that I have a full understanding and appreciation of French wines, because that is horribly wrong. I like to think that I have some respect for what the differences are, but I certainly haven’t had the opportunity to experience all of those things firsthand. More than just getting to try some great wines, what the night showed me was just how steep a hill it is to climb in this country to get people to fully appreciate French wine. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but the evening gave me an idea of just how hard it will be. American and Australian wine have done a great job of making fruit-forward wines that drink good as soon as they are released and as soon as the bottle is opened. This has been the driving force behind the growth in wine’s popularity in this country. I’m not denying that or complaining about it in any way. I’m just recognizing the drawbacks and casualties of this development.

A Tooth Rattling Afternoon

I’m probably going to give everyone the false impression that I have an exceptionally exciting life, which isn’t true. Yesterday I attended an industry Cab tasting, and with 40 different Cabs from California, Chile, Australia, and Washington I dove in and tried figure out which wines will be the strong performers and which ones might not be able to justify their prices. And now, with my molars still rattling around a little, here are my thoughts.

First off, there was a fair amount of 03 stuff that is just being released and this was a chance to do a little bit of a “vintage judgment.” Personally I think people get way too caught up in vintage. As a rule, the better producers make the better wine no matter what. But, having gone through a number of the wines I think it’s safe to say that 2003 was just fine for Cali Cabs, and while it probably won’t end up in the history books I also don’t think anyone should be able to use the “it was a bad vintage” excuse if their wines don’t come out the way they wanted.

The new releases from Robert Craig were there, and I have always liked his stuff. The consensus was that the 03 Howell Mountain Cab was the best of his wines, although I have to admit I was attracted to the price point of his 03 Affinity (a Bordeaux-style blend). The Affinity was about half-as-much as the Howell Mountain and the Mount Veeder, and while I really liked all three wines I have to admit that the more drinkable immediately Affinity is more pleasant than either of the Cabs (at least for right now).

Moving on to other California wines, I was impressed by how Oberon continues to make a good Napa Valley Cab at a price point that doesn’t require a second mortgage. All the bright cherry flavor and body of a good young wine, and it should be around $20 a bottle in most retail stores. It’s not a great cellar wine, but it will go with a steak this fall. The Regusci wines were impressive, both the Twenty Bench and the Stag’s Leap. As always, the Renteria stuff was outstanding. Renteria is a great winery with tiny production: the Stag’s Leap Cab is just under 1000 cases a year, and the Q Hill is about the same. It’s a shame these wines don’t get more respect.

So basically it was the usual suspects doing well. At a certain point I have to admit to my inability to professionally taste, at least at the speed we were moving. When you’re trying to do 40 Cabs in about 40 minutes, stuff begins to bleed together. Still along with the above wines the stuff from Woodward Canyon (the Artist Series, not the Old Vines) and Laurel Glen stuck out. Also, the Lang & Reed Premier Etage Cab Franc was outstanding.

The big highlight of the day was getting to try some 2003 Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore. It was my first chance to have Ornellaia, and I admit it’s always fun to have a trophy wine. My impression was simple: the wine is huge and really shouldn’t be drank now. It’s outstanding, and I think in 12 years it will be spectacular and ready to show off all the characteristics that make it a $140 a bottle wine, but right now it just isn’t ready to do all of those wonderful things.

I think that really was the big lesson of the day: good Cabs just don’t due that much right out of the gate. Halfway through the tasting my teeth were rattling around and the tannin was threatening to choke me. All the wines tasted fine, but very quickly it became just about noticing body and structure while watching out for anything that was too out of balance. The wines all taste fine, but they aren’t showing their best yet, so it’s all about picking the ones that will do something over time. If you really want to get the most out of high-end Cab, you have to be patient. Of course, if anyone wants to share a bottle of the 2002 Hartwell Estate Cab with me, I’ll be happy to meet them, and even clean the glasses afterwards.

The Launch of the Borrowed Penguin Wine Review

Welcome to the first posting of the Borrowed Penguin Wine Review. In this space I’ll do what I can to talk about wine, the food and beverage industry, entertainment, and other wine-related experiences. For this first edition I’d like to talk about what to expect from this particular blog:

-How often will it be updated? I’m going to shoot for at least three updates a week, maybe more if I’ve got enough material to justify it. Realistically, I get to taste different wines at least 2 days a week and since I’m around wine and wine people all the time, that should give me at least 3 reasonable blog entries a week. Maybe more.

-Why is this guy qualified to write a wine blog? Good question. I don’t pretend to be the end-all wine expert in the world. Heck, I’m more than willing to talk about my own limitations. But at the same time my job does basically consist of buying wine, and as a result I’ve got plenty of experiences to draw from when it comes to wine, and I think I can offer an educated and unique perspective I’m not pretending to answer all your questions about wine–I’m just saying that I do an okay job of giving people some guidance and background on what to look for.

-How biased will this be? First and foremost, I’m not a journalist nor will I pretend I’m trying to be one. I have my own preferences, and while I will try to put them in perspective I’m also not going to try and block them out in order to be an objective viewpoint. Next, I like to have fun and enjoy things, not dwell on the negatives. That means that whenever possible I’ll work on the positives and focus on the enjoyable aspects of any experience. My mommy told me that if I don’t have anything nice to say I shouldn’t say anything at all. Finally, I do have a lot of friends in this industry and while I’m not doing this to shamelessly promote them or their businesses, I imagine that my fondness for certain people, wines, and restaurants will come across. Like I said, I’ll always try to let you know when my opinion might be affected by outside influences.

-Speaking of shameless promotion, is this a just an advertisement for Gomer’s? Well, if this makes people come shop at Gomer’s Northland, then great. But no, that’s not the goal.

-So what all should I expect here? My thoughts on wines I get to taste and trends in the wine industry. I’ll let you know what I think about restaurants and food experiences in the area. Also, I’ll spend some time talking about the food and wine media and what the key magazines are saying. I’ll offer areas where I agree and disagree with the major voices in the wine world.

-Are you going to be very technical and just deal with those issues in a professional manner? Heck no. I reserve the right to talk about sports, music, cartoons, or anything else that comes up.

-Is this an interactive blog? Absolutely. Comments and questions are welcomed and encouraged. You can always send me email, and I’ll do my best to offer a response as quickly as possible.

That’s all for now, but check back soon and often, and if you like what you see, please let your friends know. Wine is supposed to be shared and enjoyed; so is this blog.