White Hot Summer

Yes indeed, it's the first week of August, and summer is in full swing. I've been privileged to enjoy some extremely tasty whites over the last couple weeks.

First up is the Maxwell Creek Sauvignon Blanc. If you've never heard of Maxwell Creek, there's a very good reason. It doesn't exist. That's because Maxwell Creek is the name a local wine retailer used to relabel the remainder of the 2008 vintage they got at bargain basement prices. I'm not going to tell you who REALLY made the wine, because frankly, I'm not sure I'm allowed to say. I'm also not going to name the retailer, for the same reason, so do a quick search on cellartracker.com and you'll find it. But suffice it to say, this gorgeous bottle came from the Rutherford area of Napa Valley. It got 90 points under its original name and generally sells for $25. Which is why the $7.97 I paid for it is a SCREAMING deal.

I'm going to repeat that in case you weren't paying attention - a 90-point, $25 Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc for $7.97.

It's easy to see, when tasting the wine, why the original label sells for so much. The nose is nothing short of decadent. I love it when a wine is so much fun to smell that I almost forget to start sipping. Intense candied grapefruit comes through, along with a hint of peppery capsicum, gooseberry, and fig. And something else I can't read. Curse my handwriting. But I bet it was good. 

This is one case of truth in advertising. The palate delivers the flavors promised by the nose, but the true pleasure with this bottle lies in the harmonious way they weave together. The lush viscosity gives the wine a rich, round mouthful, yet the bracing acidity keeps the texture light and lively. The flavors manage to be intensely fruity, yet dry, with a flinty minerality laced throughout. Limited quantities left on this stuff, so find some quick and put it in your face!

Date: 7/20/2010
Wine: Maxwell Creek Sauvignon Blanc
Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
ABV: 13.5%
Origin: Rutherford, Napa Valley, California
Color: pale straw
Nose: intense grapefruit, capsicum, gooseberry, fig
Palate: same. very dry w/ minerality throughout, lush viscosity balanced well by bracing acidity.
Price: $8

Next up, I had an opportunity to retaste one of my all-time favorite whites, Caymus Condundrum. Caymus, also located in the Rutherford area of Napa Valley, is primarily known for producing intense, high-end Cabernet Sauvignon. At $25 per bottle, their white blend Conundrum is their most affordable offering ... and also one of the most expensive splurges to which I ever treat myself. Needless to say, I found a great deal I couldn't pass up - 375ml bottles for $6.49, effectively half price.

The nose is a complex symphony of tropical fruit, exotic flowers, rare herbs, and vegetation.  Sensual nerula and honeysuckle entwine with fig and spicy fennel. Grapefruit, green pepper, and a bright freshly torn watercress follow. Gorgeous flavors completely fill the mouth. Honeyed apricot, ripe peach! Papaya, mango!  Exotic hibiscus and rosehip, and a gentle hint of hay on the finish. Full-bodied with fantastic legs and an absolutely perfect refreshing acidity. Not too dry, not too sweet ... this one's just perfect. Perfect. If you can find an excuse to splurge, put it in your face!

Date: 7/26/2010
Wine: Caymus Conundrum
Grapes: State Secret
Vintage: 2007
ABV: 13.5%
Origin: Rutherford, Napa Valley, California
Color: light gold
Nose: nerula, fig, fennel, grapefruit, green pepper, fresh watercress
Palate: honeyed apricot, ripe peach, papaya, mango, hay, hibiscus rosehip
Price: $25

Pinot Way!

Way.


I found a $10 Carneros Pinot Noir. And it's good.


I know what you're thinking, and I'm fairly certain I have neither lost my mind nor jumped the shark on this one. As many of you are no doubt aware, $10 Pinot Noir that's decent is hard to come by, and one that's downright delicious is practically unheard of. There are two factors accounting for this.


One is the fact that Pinot Noir is a tricky grape. It's tricky to grow, being extremely sensitive to sunlight levels (too much sun will fry the stuff - no hot Syrah climates for this baby), cropping levels (the flavors inherent to the grape are so delicate that anything above the lowest yields results in bland, insipid wine), and soil (it requires chalky clay to truly thrive, none of the volcanic rock or gravel that gives Cabernet Sauvignon such character). It also doesn't grow on what might call "robust" vines; its delicate structure and thin fruit skins make it highly susceptible to any number of hideously crippling vineyard blights. It's tricky to vinify as well, being extremely sensitive to yeast strains and fermentation techniques. It's also highly malleable by the soil, which can drastically affect the direction of the wildly varied flavor profile.


The other is what I call the Paul Giamatti Factor. Let's face it, Sideways was a huge movie. I admit, I love it. But if the movie damaged the reputation of my beloved Merlot ("If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving!"), it did twice as much good for Pinot Noir. The price shot through the roof and demand made a rare wine even rarer. Two harvests after the movie was released, vineyards in the state of California crushed almost twice as much Pinot Noir grapes as they did in 2004, when the movie came out. Producers struggled to keep up. Cheap, low-quality Pinots started flooding the market.


Enter the Caviste Pinot Noir.


Now, I can't help but notice that in 2007, the vintage of this wine (the only vintage I can find of this wine, bottled by one of my favorite Napa wineries, Acacia), the tonnage of Pinot Noir dropped off sharply from that 2006 peak I mentioned, only to regain its former girth in 2008 and grow even MORE in 2009. This makes me wonder ... what was wrong with the 2007 vintage? Was it not a good year for Pinot? Did something happen to affect the size and/or quality of the harvest? Perhaps that's why this bottle is sold so cheaply. Maybe their stuff just wasn't good enough for their ordinarily outstanding Acacia Carneros bottling.


Whatever, I'll take it. Because while the Caviste Carneros Pinot Noir isn't worth $20, it's certainly a mark or two better than the majority of the $10 stuff out there, and a great cheap Pinot to put in your face.


The color is a stunning deep clear ruby. It's a pleasure to gaze at, truly. The 14.2% ABV shows on the nose ... it comes off a bit hot, but I wouldn't say it burns. Just a sort of port-like quality in with the black fruit like bing cherry and dusty, brambly blackberry, as if they'd been soaked in said.


The palate is honestly surprisingly complex for such an inexpensive bottle. I spent a long time swirling, sniffing, and sipping this one, and I still couldn't quite define each flavor. There was a lot of spiced plum up front and mint-infused blackberry chutney. There was a lot of exotic spice on the finish, like chai: flavors of black tea, cinnamon, clove, and cardamom, with a lovely floral, rosey quality. Certainly a great bargain for the $10. I paired it with a chicken/sweet potato curry, and the pairing was beautiful. The Indian-spice flavors of the wine complimented the meal perfectly, and the heat of the high alcohol content disappeared under the bombardment of rich flavor from the food, getting nicely out of the way for a lovely match.


Date: 7/17/2010
Wine: Caviste Carneros Pinot Noir by Acacia
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2007
ABV: 14.2% 
Origin: Carneros, Napa Valley, California
Color: beautiful clear ruby - great legs!
Nose: brambly blackberry, raspberry, bing cherry, port
Palate: complex! spiced plum, blackberry chutney, mint. clove, tea, exotic spices, more going on, can't quite define. rose?
Price: $10

Sergeant Pepper

Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since my last post. It's been a hectic couple of weeks, and sadly I haven't been tasting a whole lot. What I DID do, though, was clean the house, and lo and behold: I found some tasting notes I'd done during the months leading up to my actually starting this blog. Joy!

Today I'd like to discuss one of my favorite wines of 2010.  It takes one by surprise. Mainly because of the trendy label. I admit, I'm one of those snobs that thinks twice about a wine with a pretty dancing lady on the label and (I kid you not) polka dot foil. I'm going to repeat that in case you missed it: there are POLKA DOTS on the foil.

But I'm begging you to look past that, like I did, because the Penelope Sanchez Garnacha is a treat for lovers of big red wines.


This little beauty has 15% Syrah punching up the fruit factor - and thank God it's there, because the Garnacha is a BEAST. Called Garnacha in Spain, Grenache in France, Cannonau in Italy, Alicante by some people (including Francis Ford Coppola) and about a million other names across the world, is a diva of a grape. Ripening late and therefore reaching stratospheric sugar (and alcohol) levels, it's most often used as a blending grape, lightening up the party with its sweet flavors of strawberry and raspberry jam. But in the right hands, low-yield varietal Grenache can be a powerhouse of black pepper, tar, acidic olives, coffee, and other such flavors that us dirt-drinking lovers of earthy reds so enjoy. The Penelope Sanchez is one such example. In this bottle, Grenache is no chorus-girl ... it's the star of the show, and rightly so.


The complex nose of intense spiced plum is promising. Further aromas of cassis and rose invite; the pepper excites. Now, Grenache isn't customarily a grape known for its tannins, but in this wine they're certainly present. Tight and focused, they spiral down the palate with more of what was detected on the nose - those brandy-soaked plum flavors and an explosive black pepper finish. The acid is bright, lifting the flavors on the palate, but the wine remains silky smooth on the palate. This is a big wine, an intense wine, and not for the faint of heart. Those of you who are accustomed to "smooth, easy drinking wines" ... I love you, but look elsewhere. Score a bottle of that 14 Hands Hot To Trot Red I mentioned earlier in the blog, you'll love it. But those of you who, like me, demand a bit of character from your red wine, a bit of effort; or simply just need something to accompany your Granddad's Signature Seasoned Steaks(tm) - pick up a bottle of Penelope Sanchez Garnacha and put it in your face!


Date: 6/8/2010
Wine: Penelope Sanchez Garnacha
Grapes: 85% Garnacha, 15% Syrah
Vintage: 2009
ABV: 13.5% 
Origin: Campo de Borja, Spain
Color: violet-tinged ruby
Nose: plum and spice, cassis, rose, pepper
Palate: great garnacha! tight tannins, bright acid, clean finish. silky smooth with plum, pepper finish.
Price: $11