Juice

Love Arneis

So I have a new wine love.  She is Arneis.  Arneis is a little known grape originating in the hills of Italy's Piedmont.  In the past she was mostly used in scant amounts to blend with the noble Barolo of the region.  This practice echos that of vignerons in the Rhone who blend viognier with syrah to give it a little more finesse and aroma.  I suppose my love is fitting in that Arneis is often compared to Pinot Noir, my favorite red grape, in terms of being a notoriously difficult grape to grow.  In fact Arneis means "little rascal" in the local dialect.  Like Pinot Noir, when it's great it's ethereal.  Unlike Pinot Noir, which has to be the most "en vogue" grape, Arneis was nearly forgotten.  Only by the grace of a cluster of Barolo makers is it still around.  Over the past few years it seems to have gained some steam outside of the Piedmont.  I have seen examples from California and Australia.

I only recently was turned on to Arneis at the Golden Glass event here in San Francisco.  I tasted numerous examples highlighted by the Cornarea Roero Arnies.  Roero is the name of the region just north of Alba.  Roero Arneis DOC is normally the wine classification on the bottle.

The bottle I had last night was beguiling.  It was a 2004 from Giovanni Almondo (Giovanni is also the mayor of Monta da Alba.)  His "Sparse" vineyard is located at a fairly high altitude only about 20 miles from the Swiss Border.  I kept thinking what does it taste like?  Chardonnay?  Pinot Grigio?  Semillon?  No.  Not any of these.  It is singular.  Very light in color.  Great aromatics of pears and apples and a subtle but definite taste of almonds.  Lingering sexy finish. 

I think I shall add a bottle per week to my habit.

2003 Cuvaison Pinot Noir "Carneros"

I need to open wine with a little more of an open mind sometimes.  How many times to I open a bottle and expect one thing or another based on little or no real reason?  This can have a number of effects.  I can be disappointed because I expected too much or impressed because I expected too little.  Such was the case with 2003 Cuvaison Carneros Pinot Noir.  I received a complimentary bottle from Pete Danko of Paterno Wines a few months back.  I don't know why, but I expected an average, modern styled, non-distinctive pinot with a little too much oak.  To be sure, the 2003 Carneros is a modern styled pinot.  Lots of upfront fruit, but the impressive thing about the Cuvaison was that it carried its weight very well and the oak acted as a nice creamy frame rather than an imposing element of its own.  There is a really nice core of fruit that is multi-dimensional.  Steve Rogstad, the winemaker wrote,"The Pinot is typically 35% to 40% new French oak, and the balance used-French oak. We typically just use two coopers for the Pinot and 3-year-old air dried wood of exceedingly tight grain, mostly Alliers forest.
The Carneros Pinot sees about 10 months in barrel."
One of the other things I enjoyed about the Cuvaison was that it really evolved well over the course of the 2-3 hours that it was open.  Had I known or expected this, I would have decanted a few hours earlier.  I can imagine this being a great sleeper wine to pull out in 2010 in which people would say with astonishment, "Cuvaison?"

This wine runs about $25 and should be widely available.

2003 Radio Coteau "Marsh"

Another Radio and another impressive pinot.  God dang this guy makes some good stuff and his growers obviously grow some good grapes.  I find myself equally looking forward to the 2004 and wishing I had purchased more of the 2002 and 2003s.  Including the zin and syrah.  All of it is sold out.  I can't decide if it's a collecting or hoarding feeling. There are a minuscule 74 cases of the 2003 Marsh and had I realized, I probably would have saved it for wine blogging Wednesday, but what the hell. (The next wine blogging Wednesday is small production wines and is hosted by Gastronomie) 

The Marsh Vineyard overlooks the Pacific from a south-facing vineyard just west of Occidental.  The vineyard was only planted in 1999 which strikes me as very young to be producing wines of such intensity and depth.  Good things to come, one would think. One if the qualities that really stood out in 2003 Marsh was this fresh coolness that was stuck in the middle.   Refreshing.  It acted as a nice counter-point to the dark cherry coffee, and plum flavors. It also possessed as Kelly said, "some spicyness." 

2004 Saison Des Vin "L'Hiver"

I've always wondered what kind of people the tasting coordinators at Wine Spectator are.  I mean, these guys must get to taste absolutely everything.  It turns out that these coordinators are people like Wells Guthrie at Copain.  Wells went from tasting coordinator in San Francisco to Chapoutier for two years and then back to California to work with Turley.  Wells is producing some killer pinots and syrahs at his Copain label.  His Saison des Vin series (Printemps/Rose, L'Ete/Sauv Balnc, and L'Automne/Pinot) offers a pretty good value for a set of second wines.

L'Hiver is Mendocino syrah that makes an excellent food wine.  The electric blood color is eye catching for starters.  Tart cherry flavors and a reduced cranberry-ness fall short of bringing a pucker and it is well balanced.  Fairly long in the mouth but not all hefty.  Very nice, simple syrah.

2000 Robert Chevillon "Les Vaucrains" plus Braised Short Ribs

After having braised short ribs a few times recently. I decided to try to make them myself.  I followed Daniel Boulud's recipe that seems to be the benchmark, although Kelly wanted me to try Asian style.  In the puree I substituted cauliflower for celery root since I couldn't find any here in Springfield, MO.  It turned out very well that way though.  One key:  BUY GREAT SHORT RIBS.

I have tasted a number of Chevillon Burgundy's this year, including the 2000 "Les St. Georges" and the 2000 "Pruliers".  Vaucrains is supposed to usually be the biggest most brooding of Chevillon's wines.  This 2000 easily out classed and out sexed the other 2000s I have had.  Nice, very round flavors of cherry and blueberry and an attractive creamy character.  Some sandalwood and cinnamon were present on the nose.  Very soft, well integrated tannins.  The thing that separates a Burgundy like this from many well made "New World" pinots is this slight restraint in the wine.  It easily gives a lot but there is something else there.  Not at all unpleasant but more intriguing.  This wine is peaking right now.

2002 Pousse d'Or Corton "Clos de Roi"

A while back, I reviewed the 2002 Pousse d'Or Corton Bressandes which I really liked.  I suppose you could call this a sister wine.  This bottle was opened before its time.  Wasted youth.  It had deep layers and a creamy texture like the Bressandes but everything is packed more tightly together at this stage.  Some very concentrated cherry and raspberry notes.  Sexy mouth-feel.  There was about a glass left in the bottle when the desserts arrived so I took it home.  Although my tasting faculties weren't optimum at 7:30AM, it hadn't evolved a whole lot, but the aromas has opened a bit.  I haven't had a lot of experience tasting Burgundys as they age so we'll see what happens.  I probably won't come back to my other two bottles for a few years.

2003 Aubert Chardonnay "Lauren"

Named after Mark Aubert's daughter, the 2003 Lauren is a cherry.  The overriding impression I came away with was the duality.  Intense layer after layer of flavor somehow tempered with elegance and lightness.  This seeming contrast is overwhelming. There seems to be a pinpoint somewhere in the middle of the wine that brings all this into perfect focus. 

Am I waxing a little too zen?  This shit is freaking good. 

If you are a chardonnay fan, however un-vouge(?) that may be, its quite an experience. A bit of minerality and citrus serves as the foil to the wonderful tropical fruit and carmel flavors.  A nice acidity keeps it hopping on the finish.

Marc puts the majority of his focus on the vineyard selection and management and then uses rather traditional Burgundian practices to make the wine.  All of the vineyards are located in northern Sonoma on cool hilltop locations.  Natural yeasts, malolactic and barrel fermentations, sur lie aging, and new French oak barrels are all employed to let the fruit shine.  And the flavors are vivid.

I would pair this with a rich fish like escolar or some cream based sauce.

As high scores from Parker, Spectator, and Tanzer suggest this is a project on the rise.  Mark is also currently the winemaker at Colgin. Previously mark had stints at Rutherford Hill in Napa and spent 10 years at Peter Michael under Helen Turley. 

Steve Tanzer:

Rated: 94
($65; five-year-old vines) Cool, subdued aromas of green apple, lime skin, aromatic oils and iodine; distinctly Burgundian. Then large-scaled, fat and sweet but fresh; offers great richness without undue weight. Finishes with real palate-staining persistence. These five-year old vines include clones from Hyde, Hudson Mt. Eden and Calera. Like the Rueling Vineyard wine, the finish here is amazingly long considering the youth of the vines. But then crop levels in both of these vineyards were just over one ton per acre in 2003.

Robert Parker:

There are 300 cases of the 2003 Chardonnay Lauren Vineyard (situated next to the Reuling site). This stony, terroir-driven effort offers up terrific scents of licorice, white currants, lemon zest, orange rind, and a hint of tropical fruits. While full-bodied, with zesty acidity, a liqueur of stone component, and a monster finish, it is also elegant and light on its feet. I can only think of one or two other California producers who made anything close to the quality of this riveting Chardonnay in 2003. It should drink well for 5-6 years, possibly longer.

2003 Bodegas Borsao "Tres Picos"

Back in 2001 and 2002 I bought gobs of Tres Picos.  For about $10 a bottle it was a no brainer to open it.  In fact just recently I found a few bottle of 2000 and 2001 in my stash.  Both were still very good however they were a little less bright than in their youth. 

Tres Picos comes from an area of Spain called the Campo de Borja.  Much like the Languedoc in France it was previously known for producing bulk wine of little distinction.  Also like the Languedoc it was int he shadows of better known and more prestigious regions such as Rioja and Ribera Del Duero.  Over the past few years this area of Spain has produced truckloads of fabulous value wines.  As with the Tres Picos, many are made of Garnacha (or as we call it Grenache) and many are imported by Jorge Ordonez.  The Tres Picos is derived from high altitude old vines (35-40 years old).  It is fermented in stainless steel.

The 2003 Tres Picos has a lot to offer.  The color is dark purple with a tinge of red. It packs a load of bright and deep flavors like cherries, kirsch, and pomegranates.  There is also a very nice wildness to it that keeps from being all fruit.  A nice acidity keeps the tounge on the toes.  The finish is long and pleasant.  It brings more than I remember in past years.

About $12 and readily available

1998 Jones Family

When you combine premium Napa Valley Cabernet vines with David Abreu, and then add Heidi Peterson Barrett you should get a fantastic bottle of cabernet.  (At a $75 bottle release price you might also wrongly expect the same)  Jones Family delivers on these expectations and in a difficult vintage to boot.    1997 Jones is one of my favorites.  This is the first 1998 out of my stash.

1998 was a rather difficult vintage for Napa.  El Nino weather patterns caused a cool and uneven spring.  The result was a delayed bloom.  Eratic extremes during the summer prevented grapes from ripening in a consistent way.  There were reports during July and August that temperatures rose so high that the grapes temporarily stalled, that is, they stopped photosynthesizing in order to prevent dehydration.  The Harvest date was listed as October 11.  This would make it the latest harvest in all 9 of Jones Family harvests.  Mid September is more normal.

At seven years this wine was drinking well.  Still fairly dark colored.  Sweet but not very powerful nose.  the wine tends toward forward but still elegant and richly textured.  Some of the flavors go beyond blackberry into the casis side of the spectrum.  Very very well put together fruit and oak dynamic. 

I enjoyed this bottle with Kelly, her parents, and my parents as we awaited an onslaught on summer rain.

2002 Sea Smoke "Southing"

Sea Smoke is the ambitious "pinot only" project of Bob Davids. They appear to have taken every step necessary to be in a position to create world class wine. Located in the hot Santa Rita Hills AVA, it joins other exciting producers such as Bonacorsi, Drew Family, Au Bon Climat, Babcock, and Ojai. The Santa Rita Hills AVA is on the western side of of the Santa Ynez Valley where the influence of the pacific ocean is more pronounced. In fact the name Sea Smoke is a reflection of the cool maritime fog (sea smoke) that covers the vineyards in the summer evenings. This cool influence extends the ripening process considerably and allows for some stunningly deep wines.

The 2002 "Southing" is an extremely likable wine. I was almost ready to pronounce it a little too forward but that just isn't the case. Beautifullly concentrated dark blueberries, blackberries, a touch of spice, and a cool mineral point somewhere in there. All very silky but focused and in balance. I was a bit suprised to learn it was aged 20 months in new French oak.

Drinking a great bottle like this can be bittersweet knowing I only have one other bottle of Southing left.

Wine making notes:

Grapes were hand-sorted and gently de-stemmed with no crushing; ‘jack stems’ were removed by hand. The must was cold-soaked in open-top fermenters for one to four days (depending upon the lot), then inoculated with a cultured yeast to begin a slow fermentation. Each tank was manually punched down one to three times per day over a period of 16 plus days; some tanks underwent a longer maceration period of up to 28 days. Upon completion of primary fermentation, and the desired number of maceration days, all free-run wine was transferred to tank for settling. Pressing was done at extremely low pressure (0.08 bars) to avoid extracting bitterness from the seeds. After settling overnight, both the free-run and the press wines were racked cleanly to separate barrel lots. The final blend includes favored lots with high extraction and intensity of flavor. The wine was aged for 20 months in 100 percent new French oak barrels and was bottled without filtration.